Legal Writing Final

"I fell in love, gave you my heart

You turned your back, and walked out on me

I once was blind, but now I see

And I'm so glad you set me free." - Rockell

I am now out of my final exam for legal writing. All I have left now is an open memo re-write due Tuesday and I'm 1/5 done with my first semester of law school. Of course, the other 4/5ths is the important part, and I'm far from being ready to take that on. I studied for this final, but not as hard as I should of. I don't know what it was, but during the exam, I feel like I just got it. I might not have been right on a few questions about legal encycopedias, but I feel I was able to tell why all the answers were right and why they were wrong. Maybe it was finding out that I did so well on the first exam that gave me this confidence, but I so worried it was false confidence. I feel like I did well, but I'm told that this feeling isn't always good. We don't find out about our grades until the end of the semester as to not influence us in our other classes. I don't know why, go figure.

After my exam, instead of going home to enjoy my Friday, I met with 3 of my professors to talk about my mid-term exams. My first professor whom whose test I did well, but not exceptional, really inspired me in our talk. We talked for a bit about the exam and then she told me that I was smart and that I can be one of the top 10 kids in the class, but I am going to have to completely devote myself to law school (pretty much work my ass off.) She said she does have many smart students, but she doesn't tell that to everyone. I know it is true that working harder will mean I'll do better, but the proportion is what drives me crazy. I'm going to have to work crazy hard, just to increase a few points. If only we got tests each week, I'd be unbeatable. We'll see if I follow through on that challenge. I then met with another professor whose class I also did well in, and went over my exam. I did great on the multiple choice, but my essay was lacking in the amount of detail. I know I'm a good writer, and I feel like I get the law school essay, but on this test I had the info and didn't get it organized and down well. Then in the class I did the worst in, I went in there and talked to her about how I'm just not getting it. I'm not sure what to do, it makes sense, but how do I tell her, she isn't teaching it in a clear way. I wish she could just say "ok, now this means x." Then I learn x. She says stuff like "well does that mean x, or does it mean y, can it mean both." So I'm like, well I don't know if x or y is better, so I just learn neither. It is my fault I'm not learning it well, I don't dispute that, I just wish she could help me out a bit. She trashed my essay, and after reading it I didn't blame her. She said I was in the mean on the MC, just did really bad on that essay. Like I said, I can write an essay, but I just didn't know the information on this exam I should be writing. I should meet with my professors more.

After my meetings, I went to the mall to get a haircut and do a bit of shopping. I went to Pembroke Pines, which has pretty much everything I need. I don't have much to say about this trip, but the lady that cut my hair really didn't care. She was rushing and there was no one there. You get what you pay for, and she didn't mess it up as far as I can tell so I'll just not complain too much. So I'm walking out and I see two kids playing that game of sorts where they jump the lines on the blocks/lines on the floor. I remember I used to love to do that. I used to even worry I might be obsessive compulsive because I hated walking on the lines. I used to see how many squares I could go with each step and do all kinds of funny things. As an adult, if I can call myself that, man I don't even care about stuff like that. I always thought I would think like a kid as I got older, I guess I don't anymore. Am I really that horse with blinders on that can't see the outside of my daily activities and personal goals?

a good boy

Champions!

"A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...."- Albert Einstein

Congrats to all those Boston fans out there, namely those I know living in Boston, from Boston and who like Boston. You got your World Series and your sweep! 8 games in a row is quite the feat. For fans that knew nothing but misery, this should be interesting to see how they deal with this. My guess is that they will just become obnoxious Yankee fan types. Embrace the moment while you can. Now when people say they suck next year, they can't just blame some abstract curse. There are many reasons I am happy Boston won, one is that I can finally stop watching baseball and use the time to focus on school. Guess there is still college football, NFL, and the NBA.

Today I called up my health insurance company to get the details of my plan. I logged on to the website to see which doctors I could see and I had a lot of options. I guess the only thing that is keeping me from seeing a doctor is my inability to sit down and make an appointment. What type of doctor do you see for learning disorders? I want to get tested for all of them. Well I'll do it next week for sure. Maybe I'll get a general physical too, so that that doctor can tell me to stop eating fried foods and go on a diet.

Let me say it again, I so want this election to be over. 5 days to go and the lies and bitching are just driving me crazy. My bet is that voters will come out in droves and that more minorities will come out, giving Kerry a close, but clear win. It is also my hope more than a prediction, but the worst that can happen is that Bush will win and things will get worse.

What to talk about? I learned today that we get an extra hour Saturday night for Halloween, so 1am - 2am we get to do twice. That is a good hour if you ask me. I don't think I've every fully celebrated Halloween before. I don't think I will this year either, but I have dressed up, I have gone out, but I've never really gotten too excited about it.

I talked to my older sister today. She was on her way to drinks for her 14th anniversary at her job. That is a long time to be working for the same company. I guess we were brought up with loyalty, for better or for worse. It's a pretty awesome accomplishment.

I have a stack of mail, mainly bills, piling up on my desk. Just like everything else in life, I just put stuff on top and try to pretend its not there. If you put stuff off long enough, the idea is that if it is truly unimportant, it will fade away or take care of itself. I think I deal with a lot of stuff by trying not to think about it. Sometimes its easier to not think about things, but some things will always be there, like my lack of knowing/learning Spanish, etc. Is it really ignorance when you choose to be ignorant.

I feel like I have things to say, but they are not coming out. In property we are learning about vested and contingent remainders. I sometimes feel like that about friends. They all start off as contingent remainders (which are easily destroyed), but if they become vested they can't be destroyed. I would rather have a vested remainder than many contingent remainders, due to the fact that you can always count on something that is vested. I pretty much told a friend of mine that I wouldn't have driven him to the polls to vote (had I lived in his city) if I had the option and I'd make him take the bus. (there was justification mind you). That is the type of messed up stuff you can only tell a person you trust, a person you know is truly your friend and thus you can be honest with them and not fake. I really don't know where I'm going with this.

Today I had a 1 hour seminar for my writing class being taught by a 3L law student. She made us read something and asked a question about the issue. No one said anything. Finally after at least 30 seconds, some guy said something, but it wasn't helpful, he just talked cause no one wanted to talk. She asked another question and then silence. She got pissed off and told us that since we didn't give a shit that we should just leave and she was going to give us credit for the seminar. I did feel bad, but it was true, we didn't care, though we should have at least pretended to care. Everyone pretty much blamed it on her for getting upset, but I know it was our collective faults. Actually, its more grey than that, but I left that room feeling pretty bad, though I think I might have been the only one. Mind you, I got over it fast.

I was pretty proud of Angie yesterday because of what she did at work. I won't get into the details, but she cared more about the reasons we are fighting for to win this election rather than the winning in itself. She did end up giving herself more work, but it spoke well for her character. It is good when people impress you. The elderly, poor, and disabled deserve the same rights as everyone else.

I really think Republicans and Democrats want to win so bad, they start to care more about winning and losing rather than the values that established their parties. I think some people would vote down party lines no matter who was running just to further what they think is their agenda. I can see that because I feel like I need to vote against republicans right now just because I don't think they are willing to part with there party when they don't agree. The same could be said of Democrats, but they tend to wield to Republicans a lot more in my opinion. So we have these polorized sides (which a Rep. I know at school blames Gore), and moving towards being moderate makes it seem like you are supporting the other side and you don't want to give them anything. But I'll complain that moderates are bad too because they are just the worst of both worlds instead of the best. I think Ross Perot had a good thing going, if only he could have let someone else run in his place instead of being so selfish. Imagine if we had a real 3rd player in this election, that would be great I think. I'll get in line and say our system sucks, but its representative of human nature I think. You join together to be strong and sacrifice smaller values for the viewed greater good. If only we could find a way to not to have to sacrifice those other issues. Apathy isn't the solution, but I guess that's part of human nature too. When I hear of Blacks who are not voting because they are so discouraged, it angers me at them because it should energize them more, not give them an excuse to quit.

I think I say [write] a lot of stuff to hear it and convince myself of it. I might be feeling down and out so I write about how great life is and reflect on all the good things. But no matter how nice those words look, I know they are more about how I should feel than I do feel. I think I'm pretty good at knowing what I should think, feel and how to approach life, but in reality my actions are not always consistent with that. I talk about seizing the day, yet I count down the hours, days or weeks to certain events...I talk about buckling down and focusing, but I instead find any excuse not to, I talk about completely trusting people, but inside I expect the worse. I say that I don't want to rely on people to be happy, that I'll be happy in myself, yet I know that other people make me happy, a happiness I couldn't have just alone. I tell myself to forgive people, but inside I still harbor resentment when they hurt me. So I write things that tell me how I should think, how I should feel, how I should be, just to keep me from giving up hope.

so how about this?

I Voted!

"Think about a fruit. When you squeeze an orange, what do you get? you get orange juice. you don't get grapefruit juice, you don't get apple juice, you don't get milk. you get orange juice. every time. people are like that. they can only give you what they have inside." - unknown

It is not Nov. 2nd, but I decided to take advantage of early vote. I fulfilled my civic duty and voted today! I had to wait in line for a good hour, but I can only imagine how long it is going to be on Nov. 2nd. Hopefully my vote will get to count. Of course I voted for John Kerry and for Betty Castor. I can not believe what a terrible negative campaign Mel Martinez ran. I thought of voting for him for almost a second, and then I saw what he stood for, his techniques to try to win and I knew Betty Castor was the choice for me. The rest of the ticket I'll spare ya from. As Jon Stewart said, let the fiasco begin. I'm really tired of all this, I just want it to be over. Hopefully we won't have to go past Nov. 3rd again. There were all kinds of people who showed up to vote. Young, old, rich, poor. One woman told me she doesn't vote, but she was going to vote today.

On the educational front, I don't have much to say. Still have that writing final exam on Friday, which I'm trying to get excited about. I went over my Writing mid-term, and I ended up getting two more right (appeals), which is awesome, and moved my score up much higher. Too bad of all my mid-terms, this one counts the least. Tomorrow night will be intense.

I'm watching game 4 of the World Series as I type. I've been instructed not to talk about it, so I'll keep my comments to myself, but I'm sure everyone is keeping up. I am pretty nervous right now.

Halloween is coming up and I don't know exactly what I am doing yet. I also don't know what I will dress up as. I'm still thinking I'm going to try the weatherman thing, but I don't know where to get a weatherman microphone. Then I can interview everyone about the lack of hurricanes. Mean Girls had a funny take on Halloween, I wonder if that take will be more prevalent in Miami.

I haven't really put much thought into my winter break yet. I need to start planning. I know I want to go home to Texas, but I need to figure out if I'm going to go on a cruise, if I'm going to visit Mexico (like Monterey or something) and pet care for Koki and Mia. I'm sure prices will start going up, but I just don't know what dates to pick yet. I haven't been home since July. I'm so glad I'm away from the cold of the northeast.

Have I mentioned that my health insurance runs out when I turn 25. I am kind of worried about that. I have yet to make an appointment with a doctor. I keep putting it off. I'm writing about this so that I can keep it higher on my to do list.

I think I'm at the point where I view my apartment as home now. I don't yet view Miami as home yet, but that is going to take more time since I don't go out as much as I should. I think a few weekends at the beach and a visit downtown will help out a lot. I'll probably wait for friends to visit to go out and get a good tour of the city. I didn't do a good job when Herbert came because I was so stressed with my move, my storage, starting law school, living in a hotel, my cat, and just personal stuff, so I next person I have come visit, I'll work extra hard for them to enjoy themselves.

still on my mind

More Honest Than Cool

For a moment all the world was right.

How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye

Holding you I held everything

For a moment wasn't I the king

But if I'd only known how the king would fall

Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd of had to miss the dance

- The Dance Garth Brooks

Boston is now up 2-0. This is good. I've been told not to use the S word, so I won't. I think that would be great though. I guess we won't start stressing until it's 2-2. Today I read something pretty funny. You know your a republican if you start from 3rd base and think you hit a triple. You know your a democrat if you hit a single, but think you diverse a triple because the other guy got a triple. Off of baseball, I saw a t-shirt that said "Every vote counts. If you count every vote." Lets hope we get them all counted.

You should be proud of me, I was able to track down Koki's vet. I called this vet in Springfield, VA and asked them if they had a Koki Alaniz in their records, they did not. Then I asked if they knew of other vets in the city and they gave me a number. I called it and they did have Koki on file. I told her that I took Koki by, I think about a year ago. She told me that it was exactly a year ago to the day. That that was random and cool. So I find out she got a 1yr Rabies shot, which expires today, so now I need to get her to the vet so that she doesn't get rabies. So step one done, step two the appointment coming up.

Today I got out of class early. Our Torts professor went over our exam question and then let us out. I did ok on the exam, not what I wanted, but check this out. The exam was on "assault" and the elements of it applied to a fact pattern. So our entire time was to be devoted to that. This is what I talked about, assault (yes!), battery, infliction of emotional distress, trespass, trespass to chattels, and conversion. Everything else but assault, you can just cross out on my essay, which makes it short as anything. What can ya do, I still need to see my exam to see how I did on that part specifically.

So I take my 700m laptop and mail it back to Dell. 20 bucks shipping, not too bad for a loaner. I go shopping for groceries to fill up my frig. I noticed something, that people love to talk about their families. The check out lady was talking to this lady in front of me and kept asking questions like, how are your kids, do you have any pictures? etc. I could tell they had a relationship (maybe she checks her out each time), but they hadn't seen each other in a while. The customer lady complained how her son didn't call her enough and she probably wouldn't be approving of what he is doing. They both looked pretty happy.

After work, Angie came by. We went to Aventura mall to return a gift for her sister and to get these pants she saw on her friend Hazel that she thought were really cute. I tried to convince her to go to Pembroke Pines mall, but she really likes Aventura (it is a better mall.) I still argue that Tysons is much better, but I think she and I are biased. So we go to abercrombe and she found her pants. There is no way I'd be cool enough to shop there. We did the mall thing and shopped for a while. So back to the family thing. So while I was waiting for Angie at the mall, I was standing by this guy who worked there, probably a janitor, but his shirt said trainee. We didn't talk and then a woman passed by with 3 little girls. He told me that those were very beautiful girls (in a nice way) and I decided to ask him about his family. His eyes just opened and brightened and he seemed excited to tell me how he had 5 sons and 1 daughter. His oldest son is 16. I asked him if he could still win in a fight and he said yeah. He seemed very happy to talk about them and then Hati and his country. So I guess people just like talking about family, I guess I'll ask more about it. So after shopping, Angie took me to the food court to try her papi salads that she eats for lunch. They were actually very good. A woman came up and asked to have a salad just like Angie's, but the salad person said you pick what you want, and the lady was like, (with attitude) no just give me what she has, so the person starts to put in the same stuff that Angie asked for and then she yells, no I don't want cucumber, it was funny. Guess that's that it's called make your own salad.

So I got this exam on Friday. I figure I'll just study like crazy Thursday night, but I hope to get some general studying done earlier. Well I'd better go read for Contracts and Civil Procedure.

sweet pea

Your Body Is A Wonderland

"Invest your time wisely and choose your friends accordingly...for life will become stagnant if you surround yourself with those who sincerely can offer nothing but just a way to pass the time..." -fri

Sometimes people sleep when they are depressed. I guess I enjoy sleep so much, that I sleep when I am very happy too. Sometimes you feel so good when you go to bed you don't want to wake up because you don't want that feeling to end. You know that waking up will mean going back to a life where you might not be as happy. It is hard to explain.

Thursday night after and I mourned the Astros loss, I went with Fed to a Spring L get together at his friend's apartment. I only hung out there for about an hour or two, but this girl had the nicest one bedroom apartment I've ever seen. I wish I had money. I talked about politics with some people and we went through the usual arguments and responses. I find it interesting how when some people argue, they love to say certain things with confidence, but when you know it is wrong or misstated, and you call them on it, it really irks them. If you let them go on, they act as if what they are telling you is truth. That is how rumors get started I bet. I met some pretty cool people and one guy who called me on my arguments with some pretty good ones. I didn't agree, but I didn't have facts to dispute his facts, nor did I have any proof his facts were off. It's good to talk to people like that because they really keep you sharp. After, everyone went to Coconut Grove, a place I have yet to go to, but I had class in the morning, so I just came home and watched the 1am Daily Show.

Friday, I went to class and took a Property quiz. It was 20 questions on future estates after 1536 and I thought I did very good at first, but I ended up missing 5. It was the last 5 that I missed, but the problem was that I got one wrong, which subsequently made the rest wrong too, because I based them off of that one. Thank goodness it wasn't for a grade. After property, I went to my writing class and found out about a summer semester in Spain. If I am still in law school this summer, I'm definitely going to Spain. I never got to study abroad in college, so this would be such a great experience. I'd like to go to Europe again and this time with the motivation of seeing Europe. I find out in class that I have my final exam in legal writing this coming Friday. I will probably need to study pretty hard for this because I haven't touched my bluebook since my midterm exam. Luckily I'm determined to get back in study mode.

After class, I came home intending to go back to school for a Hispanic group kegger from 4-6, but once I got home, it's always hard to go back to campus. When I got home, my new 600m laptop had come in. I spent a lot of time playing with my laptop and moving over a lot of files and programs. I still have a lot more stuff to do to set it up, but it is getting there. Now I can mail back the 700m, which I'll probably do Monday or Tuesday. I think I might give up on my old 600m. Angie came over after work and we watched the DVD Mean Girls. I think Tina Fey did a great job on the screen play for the movie. There were some great lines from that movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. After the movie, we practiced a little taboo and I showed her how to play Outburst. I also got to show off Rick's mp3s as if they were my own. I need to start listening to my mp3s more.

Saturday I woke up really late and watched a little college football. That evening, Angie arranged a Taboo BBQ party at her friend Guillermo's house so we could test out her new electronic game. I picked Angie up and then we went over to Guillermo 's house. He is a pretty cool guy and has a very nice place, I hope to have a place like that one day. When I got there, I met her friend "Fuzzy." I am actually a loss for his real name right now. We all went to Publix (like Safeway) to get the food. It reminded me that I really need to get groceries. Angie of course picked healthy chicken and organic salad, but we still managed to get steak and hamburgers. As they cooked, I watched the FSU game on TV. They barely pulled it out against Wake Forest. I also saw the end of the Alabama Tennesse game. All of us, Angie's friend Bruno, his girlfriend Diana, Vania, Ada, and her friend Pablo played electronic taboo. It was boys against girls, but we had one more person so we ended up winning. (you know and we were the boys.)

Later we played a game with cups, but it was pretty much sharades. It was a lot of fun, but I guess the guys technically lost because we missed one. After, I guess it was cause of me, but we ended up watching the World Series game 1 on his awesome big screen TV. It had a function where you could pause and rewind live tv. I've heard of it, but never played with it, I wish I had that. Only the Red Sox can blow an early 5 point lead, but at least they pulled the game out. 3 more wins to go. After, we were going to go to a John Kerry party Angie's John Kerry friends were throwing, but we ended up just calling it a night since it was late. Spending a Saturday with a group of friends, even though they were not mine, and having a BBQ was very nice. I wish I had my close friends around to hang out with.

I found out that a friend of mine just started a blogger. I don't know if she will keep it up, but it always makes me happy when more people write. I think it's good for the writer and good for their friends. I remember when Monica started her website back in college, I was so proud of her. You know, sometimes I wonder if I say things that make people think I'm a dumbass or share too much information, or say something that might offend someone, but I figure, if I look like an idiot, it is probably because I am one, so why hide it. Yeah thats not true, because I do try to hide it. Personal note for Marty, saw Reindeer Games, yeah it wasn't that good, but at least you won't be wondering what it was about.

Today Mia made some great strides in trusting me. I woke up and she was sleeping in her bed (well it belongs to her and Koki) and she didn't run away when I petted her. Then at night, she was laying on my desk/table with Koki and she let me pet her again. She is still scared, but slowly she is getting less scared and trusting me more and more. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm starting to feel better about it.

message check

Reverse Sweep

"The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie SATC

So the Red Sox pulled the reverse sweep. That was quite the series. I know a lot of very happy people and of course some sad ones. Too bad for the sad ones though cause their Yankees have won enough for them to get over it. Tonight I hope the Astros win, a Texas v. Mass world series would mirror the election and in both cases I'll be rooting for Mass. (Guess it should really be Mass v. Conn). I can't wait until the World Series is over. Why do I only care about baseball in October? I'm also like that about hockey and basketball, yet I'll watch football anytime. Soccer I seem to only care about every 4 years, like during the World cup, well I guess every 2 years because I watch the women's world cup too. Fyi FIFA 2005 is awesome and addicting.

So I wake up this morning and decide I am not going to class. I was so tired from staying up late and I hadn't done my reading for contracts. I go into Fede's room and tell him I'm staying home (since I was going to give him a ride)...so I tell him to take my truck. I had to get out of bed to tell him, so I got past the hardest part of every morning. I decide to shower since I can do that sleeping. I get out of the shower and lay in bed and it feels so good. I decide to read for contracts since I'll be missing it, I might as well learn what I'm missing. I read and when I finish reading, I notice I can still make class. I put on some clothes and drink a red bull and decide to show up to class, on time I might add. I'm glad I did because I got to ask some questions that helped me get "Parol Evidence." I decide to go home between classes instead as my way to justify going, but after class I stop and eat lunch in the cafeteria (spreading my views on voting irregulatires) and then I figure, ok I'm here so I'm going to my next class. I go to Civ Pro to learn about intervention and class actions. So a day I had totally almost skipped, I ended up attending. It sucks I almost found a way to justify staying home to myself, but I'm also proud of myself for using the same technique to trick myself into going. Isn't my life interesting.

I saw Al Gore on CSPAN making a speech at Georgetown. It was very good. He pretty much explained the motivations and mindset behind the Republican party and a lot of their actions. Sometimes I'll sit there and wonder where they get their motivations to do bad things, I mean we all want what is best for the country, but somehow their decisions never seem best for the country as a whole. Of course it sums up into them caring for and protecting their own interests, but the way Gore explained the thought process and justification was really impressive. Some of the cool facts he shared were that a US sponsored study found that over 90% of Iraqis view the US as occupiers and 2 % view us as liberators. I guess we are to think that 90% are freedom haters. Over 90% of those tortured and abused at that prison in Iraq were not guilty of anything and just there for questioning and were let go. So the argument that we don't owe terrorists human rights shows that when 90 are not terrorists we are jerks. The people we are trying to free might not trust us when we sexually humilate their people. Way to go Rumy. Isolated instances argument you can save because its been proved that there were clear instructions. I mean we are outside the Geneva convention in treating enemy combatants. He also noted how an important republican (pardon the missing name) who is not voting for Bush is quoted as saying "they spill out mistruths with an evangelical fervor." We believe them. And if you know my feelings on evangelical Christians and how they use the word of God to manipulate and serve their own ends instead of those of the lord, you would see how that really struck a chord with me. He did a nice explanation on how Republicans have made poor people hate taxes to serve their own ends and all that other democratic stuff. Don't forget I feel the democrats are part of the problem as well, but at least they stand for the right stuff and are clearly the best of two evils. Dean, why did you have to scare the democrats into thinking you weren't electable?

Angie dropped by yesterday and dropped off a documentary called Unprecedented about the 2000 election and about the voting in Florida. It is narrated by Danny Glover. He spoke at my graduation. I thought I knew a lot about the voting irregularities in Florida, but it was so much more messed up than I imagined. Some stuff is complicated, so I won't try to explain it here, but the issue of purging felons was crazy. In Florida if you are a felon you can't vote. The law was actually created at a time when people were upset that blacks got to vote, so this would decrease their voting numbers. It was beefed up recently before 2000 because it wasn't being enforced as hard. That aside, they create this list of felons and then try ot match it with the people registered to vote. If the names match they delete you off the list. In theory it makes sense if you agree with the idea, but the way the did it was more messed up. They sent out memos saying they wanted the process to be all encompassing, so they just matched people who were somewhat close, ignoring Jrs, srs, name spellings, different birthdays etc, even those with our felony dates or dates in the future. (yeah explain that.) Now this wasn't like a few people that were getting mistaken due to errors, it was thousands...mostly blacks and 93% of blacks vote democratic. There was an example of a preacher who was purged and had his vote thrown out whose name was "johnny jackson Jr" and was born on 9/8/?? and he was matched with a felon named "John Jackson" (no Jr) born in 8/8/??. Close enough I guess, so he didn't get to vote. Then out of state felons who had their voting rights restored in their states are on the list and purged as well, unless they write the governor a letter and ask for his permission to vote.

It goes on and on, with details about the companies outsourced to do it. It has a nice explanation about how the chad ballots sucked and how the new electronic ballots with no audit trail suck too. They already have cases of backdoor code where you can change the results. In Nebraska, the CEO of the company who made the voting machines was the senator whose own machines counted his votes in his last election. Now even if you feel this could still be fair, (like Cheney and Halliburton's no bid contracts) he didn't even disclose that he was the CEO of the company.

It also talks about the recounts, the lawsuits, the way republicans sent all their staffers down to Florida to protest in Miami-Dade county like they were citizens of Florida. The shadyness of Katrine Harris was mind blowing. They made a key point that Gore should have asked for a total recount than a partial recount, which would have been more fair and how that could have cost him the election. The supreme court ruling was talked about and how Scalia (I really don't like this guy in general to begin with) has so many reasons to recuse himself from this case, including his son being benefiting from the election of Bush, but didn't. They also noted that Bush v. Gore only applies to Bush v. Gore and not any other case, this is rarely done in court cases and if you applied Bush v. Gore to any election it would invalidate it. Of course you get a lot of great arguments in the dissent.

This is just a tidbit of the information I learned, but there is a lot more and yeah, 2000 is over, lets move on, but a lot of these same practices exist today. It really makes you worry about our voting process and fair it really is. Dude, I vote, you count it, you add them up, it shouldn't be that complicated.

Wow I'm really going off on this issue, so let me tell you about a press article Angie wrote. Here is a part of it.

"The absentee ballot instructions, instruct the absentee voter to insert their ballot in a sealed secrecy envelope. Apparently, the absentee ballot does not fit in the secrecy envelope, which the voter is instructed to place the ballot in. Since, the absentee ballot does not properly fit in the secrecy envelope a voter is not insured of their privacy when voting.
Furthermore, the instructions do not instruct how much postage should be placed on the envelope being mailed to the board of elections. Therefore, the absentee ballots may be returned to the voter, which may result in those votes not being counted. After speaking with the Miami Dade Board of Elections, Voices for Working Families was informed that a voter needs to place three 37 cents stamps or two 37 cents stamps and a 9 cent stamp. The United States Postal Service is also stating conflicting information regarding how much postage needs to be place on the absentee ballot. "

If this election is close, and every vote is important, I hope people fight all the injustices out there. I'm done with my surmon.

On a more materialistic side, my new laptop from Dell (3rd laptop actually) arrives tomorrow. I will have to set it up, but it will be nice to have a good laptop for law school again. Still working on finding out who has my old one.

I may say I'm not settling, but it's obvious I'm settling

Just wanted you to know

"We are what we repeatedly do." - Aristotle

Sometimes you have this feeling of being on top of the world. Everything seems to be great or looking up and then a few events just seem to knock you off your horse and send you tumbling down.

I'm writing this so that I can get back up and stop this downward spiral. Nothing real bad has happened, but small things are starting to add up and I'm worried that I won't be able to buck this trend. A large part of this has to do with my grades, then my laptop that I sent to fix, well it got lost. Dell is sending me a new one, but it was only two months old, so its not like I care for a new one, I'd rather have mine, with my stuff on it. I had a lot of shit on my laptop, some of it personal journals etc and its all in someone else's hands now. I think they sent it to Virginia instead of Florida and someone just signed for it. I'm gonna do some research but not too much. Then there are some things you just don't want to know because it can only hurt you. I'm also feeling like a cold is coming on. Add to all this a mediocre performance on my exams (and that is being overly kind) and you got something that must be stopped. There are a lot of good and happy things going on in my life, I just worry that on the turn of a dime, they might be gone, so I can't vest my happiness too much in those things. Maybe I'm just in a mood right now, hopefully it passes.

I need to rethink my strategy going forward. I guess my calm and collected not stressing out approach didn't work as well as I thought. I'm not as smart as I think I am and therefore need to learn a lot more than I currently am. I think I'll just be able to figure it out. I have outlines for the entire year and I'm studying them for my exams anyway, so why not start now. Just learn the whole class as if the final was coming and then work from there and really get prepared for the class instead of doing it all during study week.

I was watching the daily show Monday night and I heard Jon Stewart mention Crossfire. I guess I hadn't been keeping up, so I went to cnn.com and read the transcript of the show. I later found the video online. I totally think the way he came out and was honest and how he expressed his disappointment with the media and crossfire was awesome. There are a lot of good articles on this, so I won't try to write one, but once again my respect for him has increased. Partisan hacks, so many partisan hacks.

For example, I'm for Nader running. It is only right. I'm not partisan on that issue even though I know it will hurt Kerry and ultimately America if Bush wins. Yet, his freedom to run, our freedom of choice and the need for a 3rd party all justify this. Nader makes a good point when he says that the Democrats have failed America in showing us what a terrible job Bush has done. You can't have a person this bad and still lose and then blame it on Nader. Now Americans out there, vote for Kerry, we can vote Nader next time, try a 3rd party for a governor election or school board. I have had republicans tell me they want Nader to run because it hurts Kerry, not because they think it is right and fair. What partisan hacks. Just because you feel your man is the best man, nothing justifies doing messed up things (Angie if you only knew how much I've cleaned up my language) to win. You should try to win fairly, not be obscuring the facts, lying or repeating false talking points until America starts to believe it. America, be smarter than that. Just because they say it, it doesn't make it true. There should be fines for lies. So if you are republican and for Nader running solely because you think it will help Bush, I think you are a jerk, a jerk of the worst kind. (Note: that is you Citizens for a Sound Economy.)

I have a good friend who is a big Red Sox fan. Last year I cheered for them and this year I didn't give up hope. I've seen every game and cheered like a real fan. I even took my Sox hat out of the closest. I don't know if the reverse sweep will happen, but 3 games in a row is quite a feat. If you only knew how much I want Boston to win, so much more now. If NY plays the Astros in the World Series I'll be cheering for the astros, but if Boston plays them, I'll be torn. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

there are no deeds

Electronic Taboo

Come The Dawn

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn’t mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts.
And presents aren’t promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,
With the grace of a Man, not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build all your roads,
On today because tomorrow’s ground
Is too uncertain. And futures have
A way of falling mid-flight.
After a while, you learn that even
Sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant you own garden and
Decorate your own soul, instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure,
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth,
And you learn and learn,With every good-bye you learn.

For whatever reason, I've been taking a mental vacation from law school since my midterms. This week I have to get back into law school mode. I no longer have the excuse that I am burned out and tired. I guess you get used to relaxing and doing nothing, which is hard to give up. I'm still waiting on my grades, which should motivate me if they are low, average or high. Guess where I'd put my money?

Well I now know my Property grade, and I'm not too excited. I guess I'll follow my plan of keeping stride in the middle of the pack and making my move at the end to come out on top. I really thought I could really pull ahead in this class, but instead I have made my preparation for the final that much harder. I'm getting the feeling that I'm going to feel this way about my other exams as well.

I love to use the Monday excuse. You know, the thing keeping me from starting any endeavor is that I must start on a Monday. So I put it off until Monday and then Monday I feel too tired and bam another week of procrastination. No wonder I can't play the guitar yet, am not a bodybuilder and don't speak spanish well. What can ya do?

I was happy to find out that Angie was as big of a Taboo fan as I was. My sister Vero got me electronic Outburst a few Christmas's ago and I love the game. We played it on a road trip to NYC with Mark, Shawna and Jennifer and they couldn't get enough. I had once seen Electronic Taboo (same makers as electronic Outburst) in a store, but it was a long time ago and I didn't buy it because I figured I'd see it again. Well when talking to Angie about Taboo when I as first getting to know her, I told her about the existance of Electronic Taboo. She became real excited and started to research it. She actually called Hasbro and found out that they discontinued the product in 2001. It is hard to find. It has even become hard to find on ebay. Well after much work and checking, I found it on ebay. I was in a heated bidding battle, but I came out the victor. So today, Hazel gave me a shopping bag of clothes she had borrowed to take to Angie. I hid the game at the bottom of the bag and dropped it off. Well Angie came with me to PetSmart to get a carrier for Koki and names tags for Koki and Mia. I dropped her off at home and came home with anticipation of the find. So here is the part where I need to be patient, which I can't be, so I decide to write about it. I hope she enjoys the game. Note: She found the game while we were on the phone. She was pleasantly surprised. Gifts are fun.

Fede told me to watch the documentary "The kid stays in the picture." It was very good autobiography about a designer turned movie producer (original Evan in Evan-Picone). To learn about the man who saved Paramount pictures and how he has lived his life was very inspiring. Talk about taking risks and having confidence even when he didn't have shit. (Though I grant he did start off in a good place.) The one thing that really hit me was his relationships with women. This man could pretty much have any woman he wanted and he did so. After he is much older, he falls in love with a young actress in one of the films he was producing, I want to say Lovestory. I've never seen the movie, but I will probably check it out at some point. He was crazy about her, totally in love, you could tell by the way he talked about her, the way he blamed himself when she left him for another man (one of the most famous actors in Hollywood.) After, he once again could have the pick of the litter, yet he never seemed to fall in love again and just went from woman to woman. These were beautiful women, most a lot more beautiful than his former wife, yet still no love. For some reason it made me believe in love and the difference between love and sex with beautiful women. Not that I have the problem of making the distinction, but the fact that this man was truly in love with this woman is remarkable. It wasn't because she was hot or famous, it was for who she was.

I do miss my green beans and corn, or is it the sofrito?

Un Cafe Con Sal

"I was only married to your mother for 22 months before she passed away...it was enough to fill a lifetime." - Cold Mountain

Friday night I went to see "La Oreja de Van Gogh" in concert. I went with Angie, her sister Vannia, and Vannia's two friends. It was at a club/outdoor stage called La Covacha. It was very Miami to say the least. When Angie and I get to the concert, I see a familiar face in line. It takes me two seconds to figure it out, but then I'm like "Hey! Vannessa!" I saw my friend Vannessa from Cornell. She used to play volleyball and was in ILR with me. We went to Cosep before freshman year together and I knew she was from Miami, but haven't talked to her since college. She had to do a double take to recognize me, but is doing well working in Miami. It is a small world.

When we get inside, La Oreja was already playing. It was a pretty sweet setup with the stage outdoors. The weather was perfect because we got a cold front, so there was a nice breeze. I spent the last week listening to their cds while I studied, so they were somewhat my theme music of my exams, so it was awesome seeing them in concert to puncuate this week. They did great. I got to hear every song I wanted to hear. The lead singer is so very talented and she isn't the stereotypical female lead singer. I wish I understood the lyrics better though. Along with spanish, now Angie has to teach me how to dance salsa. I tried my best, but I have so much more to learn. I had a really great time.

I purchased FIFA Soccer 2005 and Madden 2005 on PS2. This should prove to be a great distraction from law school, as if I don't need anymore.

Today is Herbert and Juan Carlos' birthday. Herbert turns 24 years old and Juan turns 25. Becuase today represents 50% of our groups bdays, it always tends to have a large celebration. This year Herbert is celebrating in LA, enjoying a night that ended in his driver getting pulled over for a DUI leaving Herbert stranded in some gas station trying to find his way home in the wee hours of his birthday. What kind of birthday would it be without any drama. Juan and Jorge are celebrating in NYC, while I once again am missing the festivities. I hope they have a great day and maybe next year we will all be able to get together for this celebration.

Tysons

Saved

"One must be poor to know the luxury of giving." - George Eliot

I think I'm going to keep my old laptop. I just can't do it with this small one. I think that what really changed my mind was the size of the keys. They are just too small and I can't seem to get my fingers to learn to type so crowded. I feel lost on the laptop, whereas on my 600m, I feel like its my computer and not a novelty item.

Pick an issue. I've been having a lot of political arguments at school lately. I've decided that next time a person engages in one (I never do the engaging because I find it useless), I just ask them to pick an issue and go down issue by issue on how they are wrong. This keeps them from running all over the map talking about partial birth abortion when we are talking about the idea of preemption in attacking other countries. Today I asked a guy what he ideologically believed liberals wanted? Did they care about the poor, or what was their agenda. He said they wanted to bring the rich down while leaving the poor poor because then everyone could be poor together. I mean, how can someone really believe that. I think conservatives have good intentions, the problem is that their intentions are rooted in protecting their money at the expense of the working class and instilling their values on others. I don't agree with them, but only a few do I see are truly evil and trying to pass their own agendas. (Ashcroft, etc.) Honestly, I just see conservatives as caring about keeping a system where 90% of the income is vested in 1% of the population. Blaming poor people for being poor and keeping things the way they are.

I'm trying to skate out the rest of the week because I really can't think or concentrate right now. Don't you love it when a person makes a joke, which for one, isn't very funny and two, you have heard them say it before. Lets just say that multiple guess doesn't make me laugh.

Yesterday I went to my morning class and then forgot my charger, so I went home to pick it up between classes. I ended up missing my afternoon class. The charger ended up being in my bag. I figured that would be a lesson not to go home, so I learned the lesson fast asleep. Friday, I just took the whole day off. This weekend is so mine.

Wednesday, Angie dropped by to pick up her CDs of "Oreja de Van Gogh." The more I listen to them, the more I like them. We watched the movie Saved. I have heard good things, but it was a pretty kick ass movie. There are so many awesome lines in that movie. I need to get a few people I know to see it. Angie, Fede and I watched the final presidential debate. Bush did better, but just because you lose by not getting your ass kicked, doesn't make you a winner.

I purchased an ionic breeze so that I could get the free car ionic breeze and I returned it after class to the mall and the plan worked perfectly. I enjoy my gadgets.

baseball cap

Se Acabo!

"Be couteous to all but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence, true friendship is a plant of slow growth and must withstant the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to its true appellation." - George Washington

Done. All I can say is that I studied as hard as I could for 5 straight days, doing nothing but learning these four classes. I probably committed more stuff to memory in these last days than I have in a very long time. I'm not exaggerating on how much or hard I studied, I am pretty impressed myself. I can almost tell you any rule of civil procedure by number starting with 1.

I could have failed all 4 exams or done well on all 4, but I didn't ace any of them. All I can do is wait for the grades. This will tell me where I am personally, in respect to my class and in respect to the idea of transferring.

I'm pretty committed to staying here for the 3 years, but if I do well enough, I will probably give transferring a shot. I guess it also depends how mobile I'll be in a year. Maybe I will have set some roots here, so who knows. I hate to predict because I might fail of law school in a year or maybe not be around, but I still need to prepare with a good plan of action regardless. (if you say irregardless, and you are in my class, know I want to hit you with my highlighter.)

Another note on the exams is that I know you are not supposed to talk about them once you are done, but sometimes its just hard not to. I watch myself, but when people start talking to me about it, then I just start when I should just not say anything. There is nothing you can do once they are done, so why talk about whether conversion was on the essay. I usually just bullshit for a minute or two and then leave, because there is no way people will talk about anything but that after or between exams. I have been pretty calm through this whole thing, but my stress is internal and eating me up, the problem is that I deal with stress with apathy. I wish I could deal with my emotions with apathy.

You know when you are studying and working your ass off, you can't wait until it is over. You promise yourself you will just cut loose and get drunk and really have fun. Everytime, I finish and I'm so done, all that I care about is sleeping and being home and doing nothing. I don't even want to drink. I'm way too tired and drained. Instead of going out with classmates to celebrate, I just came home and did nothing. I am still in a daze, but hopefully I'll sleep it off tonight. I did start to drive towards a party, but I could feel that I wasn't the best driver, so I knew after a beer or two getting home would be risky, so it wasn't worth it.

After the exam I was so happy to be done, I just wanted to talk to somebody. I went through my usual list of nubers and no one was answering. For some reason it just popped in my head to call my sister Vero. She used to be part of that list, so I guess it was just normal. Of course the inclination quickly passed as reality set in, but that moment was a reminder that life just isn't the same without her. I miss her, miss talking to her and missed having her and my nieces as a family unit I could always find comfort in. I hope I never stop thinking about her because all I have is her memory and I know that the more I forget to visit it, the more it fades.

So the baseball series is starting. I am rooting for the Red Sox and hope the Yankees lose, even though as I write this, the Yanks are kicking butt. The Red Sox got what they wanted, so now they can only blame themselves. I'm also rooting for the Astros. I hope they have a good post season.

Koki is better from her sickness for all of you out there worrying. I'll still take her and Mia to the vet soon, but I need to call the vet in VA and I'm still trying to figure out where I took her. Plus, I need to get her a nice little carrying crate. These girls are so much work now, cleaning their litter, keeping them fed, etc. (you know not really though.) Two is not the same as one.

La Oreja

Daze

“I’m sure she is unique and extraordinary, but general wisdom is that there isn’t just one person for each of us.” - Love Actually

Quick update: Two tests down. Property and Contracts. They were really hard, much harder than I expected, but I just did the best I could. That is all I'll say about them.

I've seriously been studying non-stop since Thursday and now it is Monday night and I have two mid-terms left tomorrow. Hopefully I can manage the stamina to keep this up, but right now I feel like I'm in a daze. I'm sleepy, but can't sleep and don't want to waste these last precious hours I can use to learn some civil procedure and torts.

How I'm going to get reading done for Wednesday, I have no clue. I plan to just come home and crash out, hopefully watch the Yankees Red Sox game and regain my sanity.

battery

What is Spading?

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." - Charles Darwin

Two days counting today until those midterms. I'm working hard, but we all know not hard enough. I'm taking a break right now to write because I put in a lot of work. I'm not even a 4th done, but what can ya do. (I guess study.)

Here are my topics:

Fat cat - Everyone who meets Koki calls her a fat cat. I thought it was just Herbert, but I've actually heard it a lot now. I don't think she is fat, but in comparison to Mia she is I guess. I do feed her quite a bit, but it seems to make her happy. Does anyone have any ideas on feeding schedules for cats? I usually just feed her once in the morning and hope that she can make her own decisions on how much to eat and how often. I refill her food more now because of Mia and having two cats eating. I don't think she is fat I want it known, but soon I'm gonna figure out a plan to get her back in athlete shape. I figure that playing with Mia will help her be more active.

Sick Cat - Koki has been sick. She has been sick before, but never like where I was sure she was sick sick. Now she is real sick. She looks like crap and I have to keep cleaning out one of her eyes. Interestingly, Mia has this about a week ago and I didn't think much of it because I just thought that she might have a bad and puss-y eye. I'm glad to know she doesn't, but at the expense of Koki now being sick. She sneezes and threw up on my carpet this morning. She looks a lot better than yesterday and I figure since Mia beat it, she can, but if this keeps up, I'm taking her to the vet on Weds. I need to take her to vet soon anyway for a general checkup. I wish I knew the name of the first vet I took her to was. I need the records.

Call Me - I put my phone on vibrate to ring so that I can answer or turn it off before it rings, and still be able to hear it if the phone is a way from me. (In class etc I have it on silent.) Well I have this weird thing where I think it is vibrating but it is not. I check it and nothing. I somehow mentioned it to a classmate and he told me he suffered from the same thing. I'm glad I am not alone in this. My theories are that any grumbling of my body I think might be the phone, that having a phone in your pocket numbs the area it is touching (like the nerves) so that you are not as sensitive or don't pay a attention, so my brain makes shit up and finally that I probably just want people to call me, so its just wishful thinking. The funny part is that when it is vibrating, I don't have any question my phone is ringing, so I should just use that as a standard.

Laptop - I got my new laptop in. Dell 700m. It is much smaller than my 600m, but very cool looking. I am sending in the 600m to get fixed for a minor problem and I needed something for school. I can return it within 21 days or keep the 700m and sell the 600m to Herbert at a good deal. Herbert is in need of a good laptop and mine is pretty new. Here are the benefits of the 700m, a smaller screen and more compact. Widescreen and larger harddrive. Portability, can take anywhere. Cons: less battery life, smaller screen, smaller keys, I already own all the accessories for the 600m (docking station with stand, case, etc.) The 700m doesn't have a port replicating docking station, so I'll have to buy a usb docking station that won't have the monitor stand. I really love that docking station. Plus the price I would sell herbert the laptop wouldn't include the docking station because it is pretty expensive, so it might not be worth it for him. there is no leather case for the 700m, which sucks too, but anyone would do really.It may sound like the cons outweigh the pros, but it is small and really cool. I figure I'll use it for the next two weeks until mine gets back and I'll know for sure then.

Music - I have been listening to this band "Oreja de Van Gogh," they are very good. Reminds me of Shakira mixed with No Doubt. I might get to see them in concert soon, which would be really really cool. Listen to them if you get a chance, they are in spanish, so I don't know everything they are saying.

Doctor Marty - I have this problem with self prescribing medical drugs. I've always tended to do this, and later I go to the doctor and then end up prescribing that anyway. (terrible justifciation) Well I decided to try that again, hopefully it goes well. Don't worry it's nothing crazy, I mean an example is I used to self prescribe claritin and now its available without a prescription.

Too late - If you didn't register to vote, just know that I respect your right not to vote, but unless you did it with intent, I'm still disappointed in you. No matter how you vote, you should at least care to register. And if you are going to be part of that 50% that registered and doesn't vote, know that I'll be disappointed in you too. Give a shit man, its the least you can do. Brings up the interesting question...should stupid people get to vote? I think poor people need to vote, but stupid and racist people get the same vote I get, maybe it is better if they don't vote, but I guess I will always stand up for their right to vote. If only we could get a law passed letting people in PR vote for our President, since he is theirs too, and while I'm asking for shit, why not voting machines that stupid people can run that have are easy to understand and have a paper audit trail. And a donut, I could go for a donut.

Spin - I think we need more Nader talking heads on the news. It would probably hurt Kerry, but I'm tired of republican and democrat talking heads, some Nader views could at least help us out in at least knowing there are other options in the future...though now I agree you have to vote against this dangerous path we are on. Everytime I see a talking head, I just change the channel...man the bullshit they are pandering is unbelivable.

Chicken Kitchen

Independent

"When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. "- Kahlil Gibran

The numbers are out:

Dade County:
Number of total registered voters: 1,043,000
Registered Democrats: 448,105
Registered Republicans: 363,027

Broward County:
Total registered voters 1,035,733
Registered Democrats: 523,755
Registered Republicans: 279,183

Palm Beach County:
Total registered voters 705,020
Registered Democrats: 317,881
Registered Republicans: 228,119


This seems like good information...let just hope people show up to vote. Btw, I am registered in Dade County as an independent. You probably have to do some math to see those numbers.

Today I had another fun discussion about the vp debate and the administration. Pretty much the argument I was hearing was that it was Gore's fault for dividing the country and now Kerry is making it worse. How can people be so divorced from reality? Look at me using talking points.

So as I mentioned in the past, I got a ticket. I pretty much just paid it because I don't have a Florida license so I don't have to worry about points and that stuff. Well ever since I put the letter in the mail, I have been uninitiated with letters from lawyers willing to fight my ticket for me for 60 bucks (50 dollar savings from 115 I paid), but that is plus court costs which last time were 30 bucks, so its like a 20 dollar savings at best, if I win. I guess the point is moot since I have paid it already. It is kind of scary how your name can quickly become public record. Some of the lawyers sending me letter graduated from St. Thomas...that makes me feel wonderful about my future legal opportunities...Fighting speeding tickets, yay.

I have 4 days until my exams, so I figure 1 day and exam and that's the best I can do. So I'm gonna buckle down and just get working and you will get to hear all about it.

Boston

Sugga Bugga

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." - not sure

I feel so much better after a normal night of sleep. I don't feel completely normal, but so much better than the zombie I was for the last two days. I stayed up and watched the VP debate. Cheney was good, but I don't feel honest. I have found that there is no use talking to people about politics who are so one sided. They are so stuck in their ways that they just want to justify their stance instead of really talk about things. It polorizes me because if I agree with then on a sub-issue I can't conceed it because they will just beat that issue like a drum. So they won't conceed any sub-issues either. This just polorizes both sides and that is why you rarely get truth now a days. All spin and both extremes.

Yesterday I was sitting down talking to 3 classmates and the debate came up, and I found myself talking to 3 republicans. That is always fun. I know where they are coming from since I long considered myself a republican, but I think people mistake definitions on what it means to be conservative. Being liberal doesn't mean you want taxes, dress slutty, and want more governement. It means seeing the injustice in the world and the unfair balance of power between the rich and poor. People get rich and then become republicans. You really have to get to issue by issue to have a good discussion on this. Well, we started with the issue of is Fox News really news or entertainment and then on to the debate. I sang the praises of my daily show and compared Fox to Allgeriza (spelling?). The main theme you get is that poor people and minorities are that way because they are lazy. That they worked their way out of poverty, so why can't they? Urgh...misconceptions people perpetuate.

I sometimes forget how people can stand up by this administration, so I quite enjoy the conversations.

I kind of liked it, I didn't expect to like it.

Open Memo

Man this open memo has been an ass kicking. I started working at about 5pm yesterday and I worked until 5am. I do admit some time was procrastination, but I spent the time confined to my room and in front of my computer. It took forever to read the cases and figure out what I wanted from them. Then I had to use them to develop arguments and finally I had to put them together in an order that made logical sense. The writing prep probably took as long as the actual writing. When I finally got all that done, I started busting out some real work, but I noticed I wasn't spending as much time actually tying in the facts of the case I was presented in with the cases I found. I went to bed at 6am and woke up at 10am. It was a good 4 hours of sleep, but it felt like 2, and I don't think the night before's 5 hours helped it much.

I skipped my morning class and worked on my memo from 10:30am to 1pm. I went to class and then worked from 2:30pm - 4:30pm. Class is at 6:30 pm, so I am done 2 hours early, but I had wanted to be done last night. Now time to start working on outlines and getting ready for those exams Monday and Tuesday. I tell ya, it's unfair we get no study period for these midterms. These tests are a 1/4th of our grade, yet we dont get a 1/4 of a study week for them. I'd even take that.

Last night I talked to a friend for a bit I hadn't talked to in some time. Without knowing it, she really made my day. She was telling me about this guy she was dating, but he was moving to Florida. (She isn't from FL). He asked her to move with him after they had only been dating for 3 weeks. Of course its an easy request since it means he doesn't have to move or do anything and she has to give up her life and career. She told him he was crazy. She said that her conversations with him were not that great and that she enjoyed mine better. I don't know, but when a person tells you that they enjoy talking to you, it makes you think that you must be doing something right. I really enjoy talking to people...I try to work on not talking at people, but conversations are what really keep me going. This is while i write too because it's like having conversations with friends and myself.

On the topic of conversations, I can talk to some people for hours...just about nothing and everything. I have been pretty lucky that I have met people who I have enjoyed talking to for that long. It's weird because the more you talk to someone the more you have to talk about, where as if you don't talk to a person for a long time, you feel like you have less to say. I have some good friends that we can talk, but we just don't have that much shit to talk about. Hell, I don't have enough time to talk to everyone for hours a day, so I guess you pick your battles. I do note that I tend to talk a lot more and longer to girls I like, which I guess is normal and explains why teenagers are always on the phone. Some girls aren't good conversationalists, so when I find one who is, I am pretty happy.

I recieved an email from another friend. It really made me start to reflect. She said:
"isn't it funny what happens to people in life? did we really expect to end up where we did in college? like adri in texas, u in miami, iris in dc, george in the bronx, herbert in malibu, me a kate spade specialist [in La]! its crazy i tell u, lol!"

Life is funny and a year ago I would have no clue this would be my life. 2 years ago I would have had less of a clue. New isn't always better, but I always try to make the best of it. Who knows where i'll be next year or in 3 years. God willing I'll be alive and enjoying this wonderful life I've been blessed with.

Ok well I'm going to read some property before this class and tonight I'll be watching the VP debate. I love the line, "this is not a debate competition." Well it should be because if you lose a debate, it might just mean that you are wrong, your policies are wrong and that all the spin in the world won't change that fact.

Handshake

Did anyone notice the awkward handshake at the beginning of the last presidential debate? Kerry held on a bit longer than Bush expected I think. Here is my handshaking advice. First, always make sure you do the firm grip thing because if you are like me and have smaller hands, someone can really crush the shit out of you. Start off by not completely extending your arm as to make them come towards you to shake your hand rather than you going towards them to shake their hand. Finally, try to get a bit of a downward tilt going where your palm is somewhat facing down. All this non-verbal shit should at least make you feel more confident if it doesn't accomplish anything else.

This is what I think about when this open memo is due.

Taken Away

Girls, girls, girls. Why do I spend so much of my life thinking about them? I bet if I didn't, I'd be so much more productive. I'd probably write about other more interesting things as well. You can sit there and list all the things you want from that perfect girl, but in the end, the girl you end up choosing won't be what you thought you wanted, but something different that you fell in love with for reasons other than the ones you might have thought. This won't stop me from thinking about things I want from a girl. One thing that I feel is the most important, is that she like me. What I mean here is like really like, you know smitten. If you are having to work hard to make a girl like you, then it's probably true that she either doesn't like you for you or doesn't like you enough for it to be worth it. I don't want to find a girl that likes me, but not enough. That is a terrible way to start something and it's always a terrible way to end things. I understand that anything must grow and develop, and you will probably reach that point over time. It's not what I mean, its just like when you first fall for someone, you have that crush feeling, wanting to talk to them and spend time with them, it such a great feeling. Imagine that feeling an entire relationship, for an entire lifetime. But if you start off without that feeling, won't it all just be an uphill battle? Doesn't another problem come when the girls that actually feel that way about you are the girls you don't end up liking. I'll admit that, but it doesn't mean I don't have a right to want that from a girl I feel that way about. I don't want to be expendable, I want the lack of my presence to be noticeable because if I'm just anyone else then why risk such an important thing such as my heart. If I am forgettable, then I'd rather not invest my time. I'll probably risk it anyway, but at least I can know that I shouldn't have. What a great time in life right now, law school, a time I don't have to worry about girls, yet somehow I know my lack of time won't make the issue any less significant. I heard a law student ask a panel about relationships in law school. A girl who is at the top of her class who recently got married said,
"If your relationship is strong, it is something you want and you are in love, then you will make it through law school, but if it is not, then law school is a great excuse to get out the relationship." So is any other obstacle I think.

I have done my laundry, cleaned my bathroom, installed my dust buster charger, vacuumed, written an entry here and yet my Torts Outline is still not done. What is wrong with me?

Sunset Place

Saturday was quite the day. I showed up to school at 10am and went to this review session until 1pm. It was hit and miss, but I am glad I went. Then I studied until 5pm, mainly working on Contracts. I felt productive, but I still need Property, Civ Pro and Torts to get setup on. The exams are on Monday and Tuesday. Then to make matters worse, I have this open memo due Tuesday for my writing class. I figure I'm not going to worry about that right now, though I foresee an all nighter really soon. I took a long nap and then went out to Sunset Place. It is a nice little shopping center area. I went with my friend Angie and saw the movie Woman Thou Art Loosed. It was a good movie about battered women and the Black experience. It reminded me a bit of the book Why a Caged Bird sings. Not a romantic movie, but it's interesting. So the question it left me with is if you are a bad person and you repent mins before your death, will you be forgiven and will you go to heaven? This was a pretty bad man. Angie also bought a book from Barnes and Noble, The Alchemist. I don't know why I have heard about that book, but right now I don't have much time for leasure reading and I have two books on that list, so I'll just make that a 3rd. Now it is Sunday and I'm watching football and trying to work on my Torts Outline.

Friday Night

I go to class, then go to a new mall. I was told it was better than Tysons Corner, but I disagree. It was nice, but for some reason I have a connection Tysons. I get a haircut, have lunch and buy some clothes. I come home looking foward to a really fun night. I shower, shave and get dressed and then I spend the evening at home.

The 1st Debate

I will join everyone else and give my take on last nights debate. I don't care how much you agree with Bush or disagree with Kerry, you have to admit that in purely debate terms Kerry kicked Bush's ass. I think people mistake who they like, with who did a better job. But I one agree with Kerry and saw how he did a better job, so I felt pretty damn good. Like Jon Stewart put it, people finally got to move past "voting against Bush" to actually "voting for Kerry."

Bush looked annoyed, flustered, uncomfortable and just overall defensive. He had the 9/11 classroom face on for a bit which I thought was interesting. It is nice to see the man stripped in part from his advisors. He repeated things so many times (mixed signals), but sometimes it just seemed like he didn't know what to say and was just waiting for the time to run out. I won't go into the issues because if you don't understand them by now, you are just lying to yourself.


I don't know if this this help Kerry in the polls, but I hate to think that Americans are this dumb. I'd rather believe they are all smart and evil Republicans who want their puppet and want to continue their way of life of keeping the rich rich and the poor poor. To think people actually buy the bullshit, just makes me feel bad about the state of things.

I had a small debate gathering at my place. It was fun and I plan to do it again.

I'll end with some choice words by Michael Moore wrote a while back I found pretty interesting:

It's never over for Republicans until the last ballot is shredded.They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward like sharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking, lying.

They are relentless and that is why we secretly admire them -- they just simply never, ever give up. Only 30% of the country calls itself "Republican," yet the Republicans own it all -- the White House, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the majority of the governorships. How do you think they've been able to pull that off considering they are a minority? It's because they eat you and me and every other liberal for breakfast and then spend the rest of the day wreaking havoc on the planet.

Look at us -- what a bunch of crybabies. Bush gets a bounce after his convention and you would have thought the Germans had run through Poland again. Suddenly it's like, "THE END IS NEAR! THE SKY IS FALLING!"

No, it is not. If I hear one more person tell me how lousy a candidate Kerry is and how he can't win... Dammit, of COURSE he's a lousy candidate -- he's a Democrat, for heavens sake! That party is so pathetic, they even lose the elections they win! What were you expecting, Bruce Springsteen heading up the ticket? Bruce would make a helluva president, but guys like him don't run -- and neither do you or I. People like Kerry run.But WE are not running for president-- Kerry is.

So quit complaining and work with what we have. Oprah just gave 300 women a... Pontiac! Did you see any of them frowning and moaning and screaming, "Oh God, NOT a friggin' Pontiac!" Of course not, they were happy. The Pontiacs all had four wheels, an engine and a gas pedal. You want more than that, well, I can't help you. I had a Pontiac once and it lasted a good year. And it was a VERY good year.

So, do not despair. All is not over. Far from it. The Bush people need you to believe that it is over. They need you to slump back into your easy chair and feel that sick pain in your gut as you contemplate another four years of George W. Bush. They need you to wish we had a candidate who didn't windsurf and who was just as smart as we were when WE knew Bush was lying about WMD and Saddam planning 9/11. It's like Karl Rove is hypnotizing you -- "Kerry voted for the war...Kerry voted for the war...Kerrrrrryyy vooootted fooooor theeee warrrrrrrrrr..."

Yes...Yes...Yesssss....He did! HE DID!

Instead of the wailing and gnashing of your teeth, why not hold out a hand to him and help the inner soldier/protester come out and defeat the forces of evil we now so desperately face. Do we have any other choice?