Bunsnip

Well hello, you handsome Bunsnippers!

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Pardon my recent reticence. Things have gotten real over here in Law School Land (just around the corner from Lah-Lah Land). The beginning of November marked the beginning of the nervous countdown to the end of my first semester. Only one month left to synthesize all the legal gobbledygook that's been flowing into my brain at the pace of 200 (rather dense) pages per week.

I've been feeling alternating bouts of "I can so make this thing my bitch!" and "Help me, Obiwan Kinobi, you're my only hope!" and "Oh my god, we're all gonna die!"

It's all gonna be fine, though. Really.

Honestly, I kind of expected that by this point in the semester I might be huddled in a corner rocking myself gently while singing incomprehensibly about jurisdiction, res ipsa loquitur, and the statute of frauds, but so far I've managed to keep the crazy to a moderate level.

Still, I can't help thinking about the refrain of Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate: "I'm worried about my future!" It would be nice if I could just allow myself to enjoy the academicness of this experience for its own sake, but I've been in the real world, and I know that everything I do here is primarily for the purpose of getting a job offer - preferably before I even graduate. And so with that comes the pressure, of course, to do really well on the exams. But there is a mandatory curve set at 3.0, so most people will get Bs on the exams. That's ok, I'm willing to accept that. I will naturally strive to do the best I can. But, goddammit, I'm worried about my future!

I am really looking forward to the end of this semester, even while I try to slow the hands of time to allow me to adequately prepare for exams. I am getting tired of the sameness of a lot of things. Some classmates are starting to get to me, I feel a strong personality clash with a certain instructor of mine, and I am just looking forward to something new. I'm still enjoying the experience as a whole, though. Have met a handful of people whom I genuinely enjoy, and found a really good beer at my neighborhood pub that tasted like espresso. Ok, that last bit has nothing to do with law school. Except for maybe a remedy to my pain and suffering. Ha!

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I loved it pretty immediately, what do you think?

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:49:00 +0000

This song has been on regular iPod rotation this week. I particularly enjoy the rhythm for walking to the bus stop on the way to school. It's a little bit Tears for Fears, little bit Queen, little bit eunuch, and maybe even a little bit The Who.

Wild Beasts - The Devil's Crayon

Do you like your eggs short or long?

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Usually I play the critic in language debates, but today, Ian flipped the criticism onto me over the word eggs.

I say "ayggs", long vowel sound.

Ian says "ehggs", short vowel sound.

Normally I would agree that Ian's version is correct, because in general, you will have a short vowel whenever a double consonant follows. But this is how I have always (or oh-weez, as I say), pronounced the word, and so naturally I feel my way is correct.

Ok, ok, I concede. It must be fun to win for once, eh M'Love? But I'm still going to say it my way.

How do you, dear readers, think "eggs" should be pronounced?

Here are further samples of my idiosyncratic pronunciation and understanding of language, from back when I was first learning to read:

I used to say "enn-velope" instead of "on-velope" (which, you must admit, is understandable).

I thought the T in "often" was silent, and argued as much when my pronunciation was called out by a fellow classmate in about 2nd grade.

I also used to think there were two distinct words for the two uses of the word "used":

used as the past tense of the verb meaning "to implement"
Pronounce: youzed
As in: "I used the Kleenex."

used as an adverb of time when combined with "to" to mean "at one time but not anymore"

Pronounced: youst
As in: "I used to go there often."

In first grade, I didn't comprehend that these two words were even related, although I didn't know how the second one would have been spelled. When I very first read a sentence like the second variety, I thought there was something missing between the used and the to, such as, for instance the bus.

What are your language idiosyncrasies?

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Happy Columbus Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:43:00 +0000

When I was a child, Columbus Day was another day off from school. Aside from the fact that I could really go for a bit of a holiday from school right about now (come on, you know you'd appreciate a day off too), I think it's a shame that we stopped observing the date.

I'm sure the break in observance was brainchilded (if I can verbalize a weird noun) during the overcorrective political correctness movement of the 90's. Columbus was a bad man who brought disease and death to the native peoples of this continent. And, on top of that, he didn't even DISCOVER America, despite what they taught when I was a kid.

Yes, yes. True. And Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had slaves, but we don't entirely discount their value to our history, now do we?

Nor should we completely discount the historical significance of Columbus coming to America. Columbus's trips to the Americas were the catalyst of European colonization of the Americas. Maybe if we are to be decent human beings, we ought to wish that colonization never happened, for the sake of the native peoples that arrived here long before the Vikings and the Lamanites made their way to the American continents. But in life, bad things sometimes, nay often, lead to good things. Sure, our history is replete with darkness, but I am here today in part because of the darkness that was the Europeanization of the American continents. And I don't feel bad about celebrating that.

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Tremors

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:47:00 +0000

Wikipedia tells me that tremors -- an involuntary rhythmic shaking,
frequently of the hands -- may be exacerbated by stress.

This is good to know, because I thought maybe I've been drinking too
much caffeine lately, and I rather don't like that explanation.

I have tremors, likely thanks to genetics on my father's side. It's
most perceptible in my hands, particularly on my right side. It's not
usually very bad, but, there have been quite a few people in my life
who have noticed it without my mentioning the fact that I have it.
Usually they ask if I'm nervous, which, shy and quiet though I may be,
nervous I generally am not. I just shake.

When it's particularly bad, I feel it in my body like a pulse of
rhythmic energy. When it's not bad, I usually don't notice it unless
someone points it out, or I happen to hold both my hands in front of
my face and notice the discrepancy in stillness.

Lately it has been bad. I'm righthanded, so every time I reach for a
pencil, or hover my finger over the trackpad on my laptop, I see the
shake. I worry that maybe my classmates are seeing it and wondering if
I'm nervous about being called on in class. I'm not really. Sure, I'm
not keen on the socratic method, but after the sadistic questions I
just fielded in civ pro and contracts this week, I think I can fairly
say I'm not nervous about it. In fact, just today, I actually raised
my hand and VOLUNTEERED an answer in class. If you knew me from junior
high through undergrad, you would know this is unheard of for me.
Something to do with being called a know-it-all teacher's pet in
elementary school. Fine, then, I will introspect myself, if you can't
appreciate my participation. (Yes, I blame elementary school for much
of my social retardation.) But today, before I could even think about
it, or tell myself not to, my hand shot up in the air and I answered a
question. It was like someone else had taken over my body.

Maybe that's what the increased tremors are. I have been possessed by
a more self-assured person (at least intellectually speaking). Or
maybe it was just one comment in class and nothing to get excited about.

Maybe these increased tremors, that I feel pulsing through my body
even as I tap these letters out on my iPod, are just as wikipedia
says: stress-induced.

Maybe I ought to try to fit some yoga into my routine.

On a side note, if you've read this far, apparently the sentences I
write are too long (per critique on my first legal memo). What do you
all think? Is my syntax overly hard to follow in general? As always,
comments addressing this or anything else may be left anonymously.

I want to further disclaim this post by saying that I had two beers
before writing this. Two PORTLAND beers, mind. In Utah I could have
three beers and come away from it with a slight buzz and a lot of
bloat, but here I'm feeling it after half a pint. So I recognize the
fact that there is no organization and plenty of tangentialism here.
But that, my friends, is par for the course when you've been drinking.

If you're fuzzy on the whole then/than thing

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:53:00 +0000

Just remember:

Than is for comparisons

I am taller than you.

I like beans more than broccoli.

Then is temporal or conditional

Temporal: a sequence of events

First we went to the mall, then we got lunch.

Conditional: the old if...then construction

If you find that the defendant violated the statute, then you must find the defendant negligent.

As you can see, these similar-looking words are distinct from one another in use. All you need to remember, if you are not one who enjoys analyzing grammar, is that than is for comparisons and then is for everything else.

Does this make more sense than before? Good, then.

(Re)cycler - good for recycling and not much else

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:25:00 +0000

I previously reviewed Lauren McLaughlin's Cycler here on Bunsnip. To refresh your memories, that's the adolescent novel about the teenage girl, Jill, who turns into a teenage boy, Jack, during what would be a normal girl's menstrual cycle. On the plus side, she doesn't have to acquaint herself with tampons, but on the downside, well, she has to be a boy 5 days out of the month. And boys are icky. But throw in the complications that Jack is in lust with Jill's best friend, Ramie, while Jill is in love with Tommy, a boy who identifies as bisexual, while Jack is homophobic... and things get a little interesting. Altogether, I thought Cycler was a fun little vehicle for exploring gender and sexuality issues, even if it was a bit heavy on the teenspeak.

So I've been waiting with baited breath for the sequel, which I expected to be just as fun and interesting as Cycler. My copy of (Re)cycler came in the mail on Thursday, and I finished it Sunday night (along with the rest of my pertinent law school reading through Tuesday's assignments, in case you were wondering whether I've gotten off task. There are only so many wordy legalese-y cases you can read before you just need to unwind with a smutty teenage novel).

Much to my disappointment, (Re)cycler never got good. It never even got remotely interesting. There was one moment of tension between Jill and best friend Ramie where I was like, these girls should just do it and get it over with already, but then Ramie flew off to London for the rest of the novel. Homoerotic tension aside, I guess I just expected this novel to have a full-circle type of feel like the first one, with a little bit of hmm-I-never-thought-of-it-like-that thrown in for good measure, and complete with a sense of purpose once you reach the end. Instead, there were introductions of irrelevant and flat characters who didn't really add any interest value to the story, and at the end of the novel, I don't really feel like our heroine/hero have grown. I feel like things that should have been tied up are left flapping in the wind, while things I couldn't care less about have been resolved (so what?).

So, in sum, don't bother with this one. Go ahead and read Cycler if you haven't already; I still think it's good. (You can read the first three chapters for free at McLaughlin's website.) But (Re)cycler belongs nowhere but the recycling bin.

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Is it ok for me to bore you to death with an example of bad writing when all you probably want to do is read your blogs in peace without getting grammatical heartburn because you are all out of Tums?

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:40:00 +0000

In my legal writing class, I'm learning about drafting office memoranda for the purpose of examining legal questions that may come up in practice. Here's an example of how my book recommends drafting legal questions:

"Were Arkin's defamatory statements about Dr. Hall privileged when he made them while giving an unfavorable job reference to prevent Dr. Hall from getting a job because he knew a patient had died after being operated on by Dr. Hall?" (The Little Book on Legal Writing, Dworsky, p. 122).

How's that for writing? Looks pretty good if you like run-on sentences. Glad I paid $13 for this garbage.

P.S. I've now read that example sentence several times, and still can't tell you what it's asking.

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IPSO facto

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:27:00 +0000

Today I attended the introductory meeting for IPSO, the Intellectual Property Student Organization at Lewis & Clark. I've been a little hesitant about spouting my interest in intellectual property because, being a humanities major, I lack the technical background most people have when they go into the field.

Ok, first, maybe some of you don't know what I mean when I say "intellectual property". IP covers non-tangible property, namely patents, trademarks, copyright, and trade secrets. The big money item in that list is patents. Usually when you tell someone you are going into IP, they assume you are going to be doing patents.

Patent attorneys sit for two bar exams: the regular bar exam for whatever state they want to practice in, and the patent bar exam so they can prosecute patent applications with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. In order to sit for the patent bar, you have to have a background in something like engineering, chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, etc. I have a background in humanities, so unless I wanted to really be a masochist and get that technical background, I can't sit for the patent bar.

But I'm interested in IP anyway, particularly copyright. I think with the digital age, we are at the doorstep of new era in intellectual property. I can't tell you where I think IP is going, but I have some ideas, and in any case, I think it's going to be exciting. But I was worried that maybe I'm wasting my time trying to get into IP if I can't do all the areas of IP.

Then today, at the IPSO meeting, I heard from our three intellectual property professors at L&C, none of whom has a technical background. Granted, they are all academics now, so maybe that's not a good measure of what kind of IP career you can have without a technical background, but it was heartening to know there are others out there like me.

Furthermore, the patent professor emphasized that the only thing you can't do without a technical background is prosecute patents with the USPTO. You CAN, however, LITIGATE them. (In this area of law, prosecution means filing patent applications with the USPTO and trying to get those applications to issue into patents, while litigation means filing or defending suits about already issued patents in court.)

I never knew that you could be a patent litigator without a technical background, even though I worked in an IP firm for 3 years. (Of course, we only had one litigation case during those 3 years, and it was a trademark matter.)

So I came home today feeling renewed and excited that maybe I'm not chasing the purple unicorn with these aspirations for studying IP. This is further bolstered by a presentation I went to last week by an IP practitioner on Diversity in Intellectual Property. The title led me to believe that we were talking about getting more racial diversity in the IP field (since it seems like that's what diversity means now), but really the presenter wanted to emphasize that the field could use more diversity of thought. So people of non-scientific backgrounds are perhaps being welcomed into the field more than traditionally.

In any case, I'm really excited about pursuing this further. And I'm glad to know I can still deal with patents if I ever want to litigate.

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Pride

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Today was a special day on the L&C Law campus. In honor of Constitution Day (which is technically this thursday - happy ConDay, y'all), L&C began a lecture series in honor of Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the Supreme Court Justices of the United States. Justice Kennedy came to campus and dropped in on my contracts class, where he spoke to us for a few minutes. Then in the evening he introduced our guest speaker for the series, Dean Kathleen Sullivan of Stanford School of Law. Dean Sullivan is a leading Constitutional Law scholar, has a history of advocacy in constitutional matters in front of the Supreme Court, and, from what I've heard, was on the short list for the Justice position recently filled by Justice Sotomayor.

While I listened to Dean Sullivan speak, I was inspired by her enthusiasm for the law -- she exuded it. I can't seem to remember any of the things she said that inspired me. It was more of a feeling than an intellectual acknowledgment (some of you from back home might know this as "the spirit"). But anyway, I was filled with pride that I'm here, now, in law school. There was a lot of doubt in the process leading up to where I am now. I don't think anyone can go to law school knowing it is the right choice. It's a shot in the dark. I still don't know if it's the "right" choice, but it feels right, and I'm loving it so far. It's a little bit surreal, and I fear it will end too soon, though it's only just begun.

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The importance of sidewalks.

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:22:00 +0000

I'm putting off finishing my legal writing assignment which is due tomorrow in favor of writing this post. Normally writing doesn't give me much trouble, but I've always been a free form type of writer, just writing freely what comes to me, and revising afterward if necessary, but this class requires that I put a little more thought into the structure and organization of my work (not to say that free form writing can't have structure and organization, it's just usually more incidental than anything else. The content is the focus of free form, I find.) Thus, I'm having a mental block trying to conform to the formats imposed upon me.

But that's not the point of this post. What I really wanted to talk about here today is the one noticeable thing Portland is lacking: sidewalks. Sidewalks here (at least in the suburban SW, where I live) are sporadic. It is not unusual to find a section of sidewalk that stretches a few feet and then suddenly disappears for no apparent reason. In some places, there are literally two squares of sidewalk, and then nothing on either side, leaving pedestrians to fend for themselves. You wouldn't think Portland would be such a pedestrian un-friendly place, would you? But it is. There are bike lanes aplenty, which is great. I can think of exactly two streets in SLC that have bike lanes, but they are all over the place here. But what are pedestrians to do?

In the residential areas, often the only thing to do is walk in the street, and then try to get out of the way when a car comes. In busier areas, you often find yourself walking in the bike lane because there is nowhere else to walk. This is really not ideal, because I believe that pedestrians and cyclists do not belong in the same place. (Likewise with cars and cyclists, hence the benefits of the bike lane.) Too much potential for injury when you mix these classes of commuters. Sometimes, if you are lucky, there will be a margin of dirt to walk on next to the bike lane. Of course, it rains a lot here, so you can see how this is not ideal. (Actually, it really hasn't rained so much since we've been here, but I imagine in the winter it will be wetter.)

There is usually plenty of room to add a sidewalk in areas that don't have them, so I don't see why this has been so overlooked here. Ian posited that perhaps it is up to individual landowners and not the city to install sidewalks. This could be the case. If so, this is one instance in which a little Socialism could allow one to go a long way... on foot.

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Paragraph bitch

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:46:00 +0000

This is one of those posts.

One of those posts in which I bitch.

About what?

About people who create a new paragraph for every sentence in their blog posts.

Why do they do this?

Do they think it sets their words apart?

That people will pay more attention to what they say?

I, for one, find the practice terribly distracting.

Are you afraid of formatting?

Never got the discussions of paragraphs in your English classes?

Don't understand which of your thoughts go together and which are new directions?

Have you ever read a book written this way?

No?

Ever read a book?

It's not done like this.

Not to say that your blog should read like a book.

Or that I'm the queen of paragraphs.

(Honestly, I format paragraphs more by their length than their content, so it's not like I'm perfect.)

But seriously, folks, how can this not bother you?

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So, what you're saying is, Terrance is dead

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

We shared many lovely years together.

But you couldn't handle the stress of the move. I'm sorry.

Goodbye, Terrance! I will miss you.

*Sniffle*

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Portland in Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:53:00 +0000

Mt. Hood. It's about 2 hours away from Portland by car, but you can see the huge peak from Portland. You can tell it must be big, because this photo was taken from an airplane when we hadn't really made much of a descent yet.

Voodoo Doughnut is a legendary doughnut shop in PDX. Everybody has to go there at least once, and so we did.

It looks as though I might be concerned about the status of my doughnut. But it came, I assure you. There is a picture of it on Ian's camera, but it is too delicious, and you might get diabetes just from looking at it, so I have not posted the picture for your own protection.

Here's a picture of Ian instead. Feast your eyes upon that handsome chap! Boy am I glad he came to Portland with me. We've done some really great things together so far.

Like visit Cannon Beach to see the Goonies Rocks.

While we were there, we also saw a poor little seal, who seemed tired of life. Chin up, little seal!

This is the Tryon Creek State Park, literally the backyard of L&C Law School. Part of my bike commute travels through paths very much like this one. It's incredible, but one must beware of the spiders.

The trees are still stunningly beautiful to me each day. I think maybe they always will be.

See what I mean? Just look at the richness of that green!

Even the bogwater in Portland is green!

But there are hints of other colors in Portland too, like these gorgeous purple blossoms in the marsh at Sellwood Wildlife Reserve. It's just a 10 minute drive across the river from us.

The thing that amazes me most about Portland is all the brilliant wilderness in the middle of such a starkly urban environment.

Take, for instance, this cold cement building living together in harmony with the trees and hills.

There are several such buildings viewable from the Sellwood Wildlife Reserve, and a few of them have brilliant murals painted on them that can be seen from a distance (if you happen to find a vantage point in Portland, which is not easy to do for all the trees).

I like all the birds on this one.

In absence of a third person, I attempted to get some candid shots of us myself. What a consternated look I have on my face. Hmm.

Ian, on the other hand, chose to take pictures of oddities, like this slightly obscenely holed tree.

I always knew my head was big, but man...

This shot reminds me of Lord of the Rings

And this shot reminds me of ER

And, finally, everyone can rest easy now, because I have been reunited with döner kebaps.

Thank you, Portland! I love you!

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I want this sweater

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Look at this awesome sweater on the cover of Macy's current catalog. You might think that because it is on the cover of the catalog, it might also be found inside the catalog, or on Macy's website. But, you would be wrong.

Why would they do this to me? So infrequently do I feel like I absolutely have to have something, but this sweater beckons to me, and it must be mine!

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Misadventures of Bicycle Commuting, part III

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Today, my morning ride to school was going very well. I didn't get nearly as winded as the past two days, and so I thought I must be getting stronger already!

Then, while hanging up my bike on the rack at school, I realized that I left my backpack at home, and my supposed progress was only a result of being 20 pounds lighter on my ride. I did remember my trunk bag, which had my books in it, but my backpack at home had my laptop, notebooks, writing utensils, and, most importantly, my coffee (the school's coffee is terrible, so I had to make my own).

I knew Ian was home, so I could call him and have him deliver my backpack to me. But my phone was in my backpack at home. Do they even make payphones anymore? How can I call him without a cellphone? Furthermore, do I even remember my own inamorato's phone number?

Luckily, I ran into one of my friendly classmates in the locker room, and she lent me her phone to make the call. And by some miracle, I punched in the correct sequence of numbers, and eventually was reunited with my backpack with plenty of time to attempt some contracts reading before class.

I really need to not leave my brain and backpack at home. That's the risk of putting so much new information into my head, though. All the old information and my common sense is falling out already.

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Bicycle! Bicycle!

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Well, it's the end of day 2 of law school, and my second day of bike commuting.

I've had a few misadventures as far as the bicycling goes. First off, I can handle the ride to school loaded down with books ok. It's hard, and I'm all sweaty when I get there, but I have a nice spacious locker reserved for bike commuters, and I change from my spandex power suit into clothes, and that helps me cool down. Tomorrow I'm actually going to shower on campus. Generally, I feel that a little sweat never hurt anyone, and I'm not a particularly smelly person. Plus, it's like free hair product. So I haven't showered at school yet. But tomorrow is the big day. Pray for me.

As for the ride home, it really really sucks. It's very uphill, and I can't do the whole thing loaded with books without walking part of the way. I know, because I had to do it on Monday when I missed the shuttle home. I got out of my class at 7:50:PM, changed into my bike gear and prepared my bike, then watched the shuttle pull away just as I turned the corner with my bike. Then I sat at the stop, thinking the shuttle made a regular stop, but after 15 minutes I consulted the shuttle schedule only to find that another shuttle wasn't due for an hour. Ach, du meine Scheisse! I exclaimed. So I begrudgingly took the very uphill ride home with my heavy books under the fall of post-twilight, pre-darkness. It was ok, I made it, but I really hope not to have to ride home very often, because really, it's a bitch, after a long day of mental fatigue and already a morning exercise behind me.

Then today, I decided I wasn't going to miss the shuttle. After classes, I put in a few hours of study while hanging around on campus to hear the Dean's welcome speech. It was a nice speech. When it ended at 6, I once again suited up, and rushed to make the 6:ish shuttle, which I thought would make a stop near my house on its way downtown. Turns out I was mistaken, and it's the 7:00 shuttle and later than stops near my house. Shuttles before then go directly downtown, which is even farther a ride, and much more uphill than school. Scheissemelone! I exclaimed.

Luckily, I noticed that the first stop downtown was on the 12 line, which Ian and I had previously figured out is a bus line that we can take from our house to downtown, so naturally it must go from downtown to my house. I boarded that bus and took it to the Safeway a few blocks from my house, and finally arrived home at nearly 7. Still before the time I would have gotten home had I boarded the proper shuttle, but at least if I had boarded the proper shuttle, I could have spent the interim time reading. Oh well, I'm read up for tomorrow anyway. Now I have to prepare for Thursday.

School is very good so far. It's a lot of work, but I'm not really freaking out about it yet. Today one of my classes staged a trial in which I got to act as a judge, and that was pretty fun. I also read a hypothetical situation that I anticipate having to write a memorandum for in my writing class, and I spent some time sketching out some arguments for either side of the issue. It got me pretty excited, to tell you the truth. I never thought I would be interested in litigation, but the trial side, and argument is actually looking interesting to me now. You have to be very analytical in law, and that suits me well. I still am a bit afraid of the time I will inevitably be called on in class, and will naturally sound much less eloquent than everyone else who's already been called upon. I tend to sound very informal when I don't really know what I'm talking about. But then, maybe all those people who sound really formal are just using big words to mask the fact that they don't know what they're talking about. Either way, my day will come, and so, too, will come the day that a professor makes me cry. I'm just counting on it.

No, actually, all my professors seem very reasonable and supportive, and not at all scary so far. I can tell some of them are tough, but fair, and those are usually the best kinds of instructors. But emotional showers are still a possibility in the forecast.

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It's always raining in Portland

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Today was the first day of orientation. I ate some free food, met some classmates and one of my professors (who doesn't seem as scary as I feared - he speaks Norwegian, after all, and nobody who speaks Norwegian can be bad), listened to a lot of boring information that I've generally already heard, and got my first case briefing assignment, due tomorrow. It only took me two and a half hours to brief the one case. I understand that's pretty normal, and it will get faster as I get used to the language and the process of sifting through facts for relevancy and extrapolating rules from indirect statements.

I also discussed with a classmate the abnormally hot weather we're having in Portland (this morning I awoke in a sweat, and our apartment has no air conditioning, because "it doesn't get hot in Portland"), and he said that in another few months we'll forget what the sun looks like. We started then discussing rain, and I said, "It isn't that bad here, though, right? Mostly drizzly and not downpourish."

He paused a moment and said, "Because you're already here, I'll say, no it isn't that bad, but if you weren't here yet, I'd say it's terrible."

"Why is that?" I asked. "Too many people moving in or something?"

"It is damaging the infrastructure." He said.

And, get this, the guy isn't even native to Portland. He's from Massachusetts, lived in NYC for a few years, and has been in Portland for a few years now, but already he subscribes to the no-outsiders-in-Portland! mindset, which I postulated existed back when everyone told me the slummy Hawthorne district was the bees knees of Portland. Surely these people are trying to keep people out, I thought.

Seems like it's true!

But for the record, I want to say that I think this new classmate is cool. Also for the record, I will never tell people not to move somewhere. That's just snobbish.

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They forgot to mention...

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:27:00 +0000

So when I was shopping around for the right school and city for the next three years of my life, Portland seemed like about as perfect a place as you could get. And I still think it is really, really close to perfect.

But...

Someone forgot to tell me about all the spiders. I mean, there are spiders EVERYWHERE. I know Utah has a lot of spiders too, but they are the kind that generally stay out of sight, and when you do see them, you scream, and then go find someone braver than you to kill it for you. Or, if they're feeling particularly Buddhist, maybe they'll just put it outside for you. I don't really care either way, as long as I don't have to see it, and it doesn't live in my house.

But Portland spiders are very visible; they are known as orb spiders, because the build those creepy circular webs and then sit in them, waiting for bugs to fly right into them. And of course, in order for those webs to work best, they build them across wide expanses of space between trees and bushes, and sometimes, like today, right in front of your front door.

Today after going to school to have the nerdy IT crew setup my computer for the network (these guys were seriously more socially deficient than even I), Ian and I decided to take a stroll through the Tryon Creek State Park. Not far down the path, I glanced into the bushes only to see the most heinously creepy orb spider I have yet seen. It was a bit larger than a quarter, white in color, and had very pointy angles. Basically it was a member of my worst nightmare incarnate (the entirety of my worst nightmare would be several such spiders crawling all over the place).

I shrieked upon seeing the spider, jumped about 50 feet, and then ran down the path a ways. Ian happened to be taking some video at the time, so he got my little freak out recorded for posterity, and then he took some shots of the spider itself, even when I begged him not to do it. He wants to show his mum, he says. Well, I'm sure she'll just treasure that, really.

So, I would upload the video for you all to see, but I am scared even of images of spiders, and so I just can't do it. Sorry. Just know that it was heinous.

After walking for 10 or so minutes, I started to get an ill feeling in my stomach from being surrounded by all the orb spiders everywhere. I know being here will test my arachnophobia, but I need small steps toward overcoming everything, and I was starting to feel like I could throw up for anxiety. So we went back, and Ian let me know when we had safely passed the heinous spider, while I looked to the other side of the path. As long as I don't see it, it can't hurt me. That's my irrational reasoning.

So, if someone had told me about all these spiders -- and I'm sure they are pretty seasonal, but still -- I might have given more pause to deciding on this place. Everyplace has to have its downsides, but spiders? Really? Why, universe? Why?

But really, this place is great. We made the right choice. When I see a spider the size of my fist, though, we're oughta here!

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Spandex, Apples, Freesouls

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Today we walked over to our local bike shop down the street, and I picked up some gear for my bike. I got a helmet, a yellow spandex jersey, a yellow reflective rain and windbreaker jacket, and a rear view mirror for my handlebar. Then I suited up -- how glorious the spandex is, let me tell you -- and rode the route to school. It's nearly 3 miles from our place, and it only took about 15 minutes to get to school. About 2/3 of the ride is downhill, and the other 1/3 is a relatively gradual uphill slope. I had to rest halfway, because I'm not in terribly good shape and haven't figured out how to breath in this moist air yet (can someone get me a tank of dry desert air, please?), but all in all the route to school is doable. The final half mile or so takes a path through the amazing Tryon Creek State Park, which abuts the law school. It is so beautiful, like I've landed on Endor. I'm going to figure out how to mount my Flip Mino on my bike so I can film that section of the ride. It's so cool.

The way back is more challenging than the way there because that 2/3 that were downhill before are now uphill. I kind of wanted to die a little bit. It took closer to 20 or 30 minutes to come back, and the whole time I was imagining how much worse it would be with some law books and a laptop weighing me down. If I could only drop about 20 pounds, it wouldn't be so bad, and I'm hoping that's just going to happen in the normal course of affairs around here. We are getting a good deal more exercise in this neighborhood than we did in our Utah neighborhood. I stepped on the scale today for the first time in a long time, and I've dropped 4 pounds since the last time I weighed myself. So that's encouraging. If I could just drop the same number of pounds as the weight of my law books, that would be great.

So, the good news is that the law school offers a free shuttle which I could take on the way home from school, and which would drop me off about 3 blocks from my place. So I could ride my bike to school and then shuttle back home. I'm going to start off riding two days a week to school, and see how things progress. I'm pretty excited to get some exercise and wear some amazing spandex. Oh the glory of spandex!

In other news, I am currently typing this post on my new MacBook Pro, which arrived yesterday. I'm very happy with it so far, and think I made a fine choice in laptops. As a lifelong PC user, there is some adjusting to do. For instance, it took me awhile to figure out that the task bar changes depending on which program I have open. Where the hell is the menu? I wondered. I was in iTunes trying to authorize my account on this computer, and I couldn't figure out where the damn menu was! I even searched for a tutorial online, and everyone was like, "Go File > Authorize Computer", or whatever, and I was like, "well, that's great, but where's the mother effing File menu?" Then when I noticed it, I felt stupid. But it's separate from the window, so it wasn't obvious to me. You Mac users probably find this amusing. My friend Aaron told me that, as a PC user, you have to kind of unlearn a few things, but that when you figure out how things work on the Mac, it's actually more intuitive, and I'm inclined to agree. There is still a lot of exploring to do, but so far I think this machine is pretty sweet.

So things are going well. There's still some organizing to do before I can post some pictures of our place, but I'll get to it.

I also wanted to mention that there's this guy in the neighborhood who walks around the village listening to his iPod and singing at the top of his lungs and dancing. It is very amusing to me. I love this little town.

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Update:

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:10:00 +0000

We're here in Portland now, up to our elbows in boxes that need unpacking, but things are starting to settle a little bit. First of all, we love our new neighborhood. There are dozens of shops, diners, coffee shops, bookstores, etc. within walking distance of our duplex. The area is called Multnomah Village, and it's pretty much exactly what we wanted. There is even a German Schnitzelhaus and Pastry shop in the neighborhood! How much more perfect can it get?

There is also a ton of life here. People are walking the streets from morning to evening, and there's a community arts center in the middle of the Village that has plenty of free events to offer. In fact, last night, Ian and I strapped our folding chairs to our backs and walked over to the Movies in the Park showing of Wolverine at the community arts center. Not such a good movie, but it was fun to just sit around with friendly neighbors with their dogs and kids strewn about on blankets. Did you get that? There were KIDS and DOGS and I didn't even MIND!! This is breakthrough for me. Not to say I'm converted to the idea of kids or dogs or anything, but the people here are just so friendly, in a really genuine way, that you can't help but feel relaxed about the wee little minions that usually drive me batty.

Today we took a drive over to the L&C campus for a law school picnic, and I was pleased to note that the route from our place seems completely bikeable. There is some uphill both ways, and it will be challenging at least at first (until I become amazingly fit), but especially with two days per week starting at 1:30, I think I should be able to do it just fine. There's a bike shop a few blocks away where I will purchase some gear, including a helmet (I know, I haven't used one until now -- I'm terrible), and, yes, some beloved spandex! Come on, don't laugh, this is my dream: to wear spandex during my morning commute. Let me have this one, ok guys? And I just ordered a trunk bag with panniers for my rear rack, so I can tote books and things. So I should be all set to bike to school in a few weeks.

Now for our charming little duplex. Our square footage is smaller than our last apartment, and we are having to come up with creative ways to fit stuff in, but in many ways this place is better. For one thing, there's no one above or below us (score!), and we have washer & dryer hookups and a dishwasher (score! score!), and there is a cute little patio that my poor abused lime tree will live on, and we also apparently have a pumpkin plant already growing there. Plus, there is some space in the front where Ian can plant some flowers if he'd like. We also have a wood burning fireplace. I actually love the flow of this duplex, it's very Zen to me. Sure, the only thing that fits in our bedroom (more or less) is our bed, but in a way this is a blessing, because it means our clothing and dresser will go in the other bedroom with our office and studio, so we won't disturb one another when we get dressed in the mornings.

In sum, I'm very, very happy here. I think we will be able to make this place home for at least the next three years. So, yes, there was a happy ending after all the scheisse that happened the month prior. Maybe we had to pay in order to win. Thanks for all your kind support so far. I really hope to keep this blog running while I'm in law school, but of course I can't promise to be terribly regular. Still, sometimes it's the most stressful and busy times of life when you find the most motivation to write.

I plan to post some pictures eventually, so stayed tuned.

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Notes from the road

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:46:00 +0000

1) Idaho is the smelliest state ever!

2) Tips for moving:
   a) if you are shredding personal documents before packing up your belongings for a move, save the shreddings to use as packing material.
   b) boxes are free if you freeload them from your office or friends who have recently moved.
   c) professional movers are expensive, but worth the money when you consider all the time and physical pain they save you.

3) Never leave your lime tree in your hot car for a few hours on the reasoning that it's a citrus tree, and hey -- they like the heat! The leaves will cook, leaving a delightful smell of lime in your car, but diminishing your chances of harvesting your first lime any time this year. Sigh.

4) Given the choice between having cruise control or having air conditioning in my car, I think I'd choose cruise control. Luckily, that is how my car is arranged.

5) I'm nervous!

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They must know it's me

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:44:00 +0000

I think whoever was in charge of coordinating my class schedule for this Fall knows that I am not a morning person. I am pleased to report that I will only have one early day per week, during which my earliest class will start at 9:AM -- totally doable. Two days per week I won't have a class until 1:30, and I will have no classes on Fridays. The only drawback is that two days per week I will have a class from 6:-8:PM. That's ok, though. I think I might have a hard time if I had a schedule in which I had to be to school by 8:AM every day, but this schedule I can handle.

We are hitting the road to Oregon tomorrow morning. We've tried our best to say goodbye to everyone we wanted to say goodbye to, but inevitably some people have been left out. I'm sorry. Moving is the most stressful thing I've ever done, and it's not easy to coordinate schedules when you also have to pack up and load boxes, and spend two and a half days cleaning the 7 years of filth out of your old apartment.

Anyway, goodbye, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, and such. I will miss a lot of you at least a little bit, and some of you much more than that.

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I'm officially unemployed

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:04:00 +0000

Today was my last day of work at the Firm. The morning was filled with
moderate-high levels of stress as I tried to tidy up some loose ends
and last minute emergencies before leaving. I find stress a great
motivator in professional and academic settings, and I actually work
very well under stressful conditions. So my last morning was filled
with last minute accomplishment, which is a good way to go out, if you
ask me. Then the whole Firm went for a farewell lunch at Ruth's Diner
up Emigration Canyon. Well, the whole Firm except the perpetually
golfing member, who I don't think ever liked me very much anyway.

Actually, it's only been the last month or so that I've felt like I
fit in at the Firm at all. I mean, I'm a great worker, and have always
done a good job, but my personality never quite seemed to gel with the
vibe of the Firm. So while I enjoyed my job on the whole, I didn't
really feel sentimental about leaving.

But this last month things have been different. People would actually
have conversations with me, as if I'm a normal human being and not
some socially retarded freak, which is how I often felt. I felt
misunderstood a lot. Ian says I didn't give them a chance to get to
know me, but I feel like the way I behave toward others reflects the
way others behave toward me, and I wasn't given the chance to make
myself understood.

I don't know what flipped the switch, but I have felt better
understood and less freakish this last month. So now I am a little
sentimental about leaving after all. Also, training my replacement
helped me realized just how much there was to learn at the Firm. I'm
really glad for what I learned over these past three years at my job,
administratively, jurisprudentially, and socially. This job was also
definitely influential in my decision to go to law school, so I guess
I have the Firm to blame. Er, thank, I mean.

Well, I never wanted my job to be a defining part of my life. I don't
think what you do should be who you are. But I guess in a way
everything you do becomes part of who you are. And I'm glad for this
part of me. In the end, I really do feel better for it all, and I do
feel supported and appreciated, like I have some friendly colleagues
rooting for me as I depart on this adventure. And these days where
employees are often little more than a number, I think that's saying
something.

WE HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sra) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Ecstatic am I.

We have a place to live!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Words and onomatopoetics cannot fully express the elation I feel. You would have to see the stupidly unnatural grin on my face. >:D

Our luck is finally turning.

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