Blues and Gold

Yesterday I missed my bus to work so I walked mile and a half uphill . . . in the rain. After work, I walked another half mile to feed Alex's cats while he is on a trip. . . in the rain. And after deciding to dry out and sleep on Alex's couch, I walked back to the metro this morning . . . in the pouring rain. Yeah, Spring Break has gotten off to a rainy start.

Fortunately my roommate and I found a way to cure the rainy day blues: watching the UCLA basketball game and ordering delicious Thai food.

For those of you who missed it, UCLA pulled off another miracle to comeback and win in the final second of the game against Berkeley. See video below for Josh Shipp's insane behind the backboard basket.



As my friend Eric astutely noted, this year's basketball team is much like our football team three years ago. Dubbed the "Cardiac Kids," the football team came back from seemingly impossible deficits several times. I am going to have ask my dad's company for one of their pacemakers if our basketball team continues down that same route.

Let the Madness Begin

The NCAA tournament has not started yet, but the March madness has. I started my Spring Break last night by curling up on my couch to watching UCLA play against Stanford for the Pac-10 title. After UCLA scored its first basket, I decided to finish up an email. I looked back at the tv and saw the score- Stanford 10, UCLA 2. What?

For the vast majority of the game, we were down by double digits, and I almost fell asleep as the game went well past midnight. But then we came back in the final few minutes, tied the game, won in overtime, and I almost had a few heart attacks along the way.

I cannot wait for the tournament to start. If American wins the Patriot League this week, they will be in the tournament for the first time ever. A bit different from UCLA, which has yellow C's on their jerseys to designate 100 National Championships- 11 of which are for basketball. Who knows, maybe American will be a Cinderella stories. Do not worry though, all of my loyalty still lies with UCLA.

[Photo courtesy of LA Times: Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison, who led UCLA to victory. I love having a team of so many strong players yet so few egos.]

Springing Forward

The skies were bright blue today and the air had a crisp coolness. Absolutely my favorite kind of weather.

Even though Spring is officially two weeks away, I decided this morning that Spring is coming early this year for me. Tired of wearing my usual winter work outfit--a rich colored button up shirt with gray dress slacks, my wool pea coat and a scarf-- I opted today for a light blue striped shirt, khaki dress skirt, and khaki trench coat.

Spring has always been my favorite time of the year. However, I appreciate Spring much more now that I live in an area that has seasons. Even though DC has relatively mild seasons, I am ready to be done with continuous gray skies and wintery mixes.

There are many things I look forward to in the Spring. Strolling through the cherry blossoms (note new header) and rows of tulips. Wearing flip flops and skirts again. Being free from having to carry a coat everywhere. Preparing salad with fresh ingredients. Cheering on UCLA through March Madness. Basking in sunshine. Celebrating freedom after finals. Walking around outside at night without freezing.

I may have to wait for Spring, but thank goodness that Spring Break started today. I think we all needed this.

[Picture from at the basin from last year's Cherry Blossom Festival]

Fiercest Fondue Finale Party

One of the first things that my law school group of friends bonded over was a love of Project Runway. The first time we hung out outside of school was for the Project Runway Season 3 finale. We also have had 2 great Top Chef finale parties (one hors d'oeuvres and one a dip party). This time we decided to have a fondue finale party . . . which was really my excuse for trying to make fondue for the first time.

Below is the whole spread: In front is the desert plate (strawberries, bananas, apples, and Trader Joe Rice Krispie treats to be dipped in chocolate), the cheese plate (broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and bread to be dipped in swiss/gruyere), and the meat plate courtesy of Jessie (salami, prosciutto, and pickles).

Close up of the cheese dippers. I loved the colors on this plate.

Putting the fun in to fondue. My favorite picture of the night with the expressions on everyone's faces.

Daniel perfecting the the broccoli dip and twirl.

Finishing off the night with chocolate covered strawberries (or in my case, just strawberries-- oh Lent)
Oh yeah, the finale was also very good as well--or as Christian would say, fierce! I was happy with the season overall and cannot wait for Top Chef. Maybe I should start thinking of party ideas for that finale now.

[Note: Thank you Trader Joe for providing 90% of the ingredients, they were all fresh, delicious, and cheap. Thank you roommie for going the cheeserie to find that last piece of the puzzle. Thank you to Alex for letting me borrow your fondue pot.]

Do or Die Tuesday

The media has dubbed today "Do or Die Tuesday," saying that Hillary Clinton's campaign is done if she losses Ohio and Texas. I think this is a little more catchy than "C-Day," which is what Drudge has been calling it.

These terms and slogans have made the already interesting election even more amusing (and cliche, as Slate laments). Here are some the names and election lingo from this election cycle that have seemed to stick...

• Primary/Caucus Days: Super Tuesday-- also known as Super Duper Tuesday, Tsunami Tuesday; the Potomac Primaries-- also known as the Beltway Primary, the Chesapeake Primary, or my favorite- the Crabcake Primary.
  
• Campaign Followers: Obamaniacs, Fred Heads, Paulites, Hillblazers
  
• On the Stump: Hope monger (Obama), Mac is Back (McCain), Fired Up, Ready to Go (Obama taken from Deval Patrick), Agent of Change (Clinton), Yes We Can (Obama), Change we can believe in (Obama)
  
• Punditry Analysis: Youthquake
  
• Heard on the Streets/Internet: Barack Attack (coined by Alex), Barack the Vote, HuckChuck Facts, Give 'em Hill

Naturally the Clinton campaign has rejected that today is do or die and said that she'll keep going if Obama loses any of the elections. As much as I hate seeing this being dragged out any longer, it will be interesting to see what name they come up with if Puerto Rico, the last Primary on June 7, gets to vote on my birthday.

[Picture courtesy of Slate]

The Chocolate Factory

Today I got an email from our Lexis (one of the legal research firms competing for our loyalty) representative saying that they were setting up a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN on the sixth floor to promote their training classes. Not only is having a chocolate fountain at school a semi-ridiculous image, it is of course when I give up sweets for Lent. Since Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent...

• Our school has hosted a "Chocolate Bash" to raise money for summer grants
  
• I attended an Inaugural Ball with fancy Italian desserts
  
• Valentine's Day has passed
• One of the new editors on our journal baked a cheesecake from scratch for everyone
  
• Girl Scout cookies have gone on sale
• The paralegal in our office has baked organic cookies that actually looked good
• And there have been many birthday celebrations with sweets

Although feeling like the kid in a candy store has felt like a cruel joke, it has actually been a good learning experience. I do not consider myself a person with a "sweet tooth," but it was not until this Lent did I really realize how much I am surrounded by sugary treats that are not good for me.

And no we do not usually have chocolate fountains set up around school, so do not think we are that spoiled. The amount of sweets has actually been an anomaly, but that makes it an even better test of will power.

Pants on Fire

Many people have seen the clip of Fox's new show, Moment of Truth, where a woman ruins her marriage by telling the truth. The creator of the show has made his rounds on the cable television news networks, explaining that he created this show to bring honesty back to America. Though I rolled my eyes and was naturally skeptical of any person who creates a reality show for Fox, I could at least agree that there is a lot of lying going on. I do not know why lawyers and politicians get so much flack for lying when it happens frequently in all professions.

Recently, a Florida newspaper exposed how Food Network Chef Robert Irvine (of Dinner Impossible) lied about his resume. (article here). He has lied about being a knight, working on Princess Diana and Prince Charles' wedding cake, where he attended school, and more.

When asked if he served presidents and heads of state, as several of his biographies have claimed, Irvine said, "I can't talk about it because it's the White House." Yeah, that is the most ridiculous invocation of 'state secrets' I have heard about, and that's telling in this administration. FYI: White House Executive Chef Walter Schieb responded by saying, "Irvine's only connection with the White House is through the Navy Mess facility in the West Wing ... never in the period from 4/4/94 until 2/4/05 did he have anything to do with the preparation, planning, or service of any State Dinner or any other White House Executive Residence food function, public or private."

I am not shedding a tear that his contract was not renewed. I always thought he was a jerk and he was probably my least favorite tv chef (even behind Rachel Ray). Moreover, I think I am becoming less sympathetic after dealing with a university employee at my job who is lying in his lawsuit and reading about liars in my ethics class. Liars, liars, everywhere.

Anyway, in response to the Moment of Truth creator: I do not know if you can bring honesty back if it has never fully been there. I really do not think that people lie more than they ever did, technology has just made it easier to expose the lies.