Privacy...

I’ve noticed lately a few bloggers who’ve expressed cold feet on their decision to blog. This seems to happen in the law blogger community several times a year. Someone gets outed by a classmate. Another worries about the effects on employment.

Though you can find out my real name through some basic sleuthing I write under a pseudonym for one main reason. As I’ve mentioned before, a lot of what appears in these posts just isn’t factual. I’m a law student, but I’m also a creative writer. Sometimes the events are loosely based on my life. Sometimes the events are real, but the perception of the narrator is different from my own. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I state such repeatedly, many people still have the dim-wittedness to think that this blog is written in the author’s voice.

This blog is written for entertainment purposes. I try to write about what I think people will want to read. In real life, I’m a semi-reclusive nerd.

I read a really interesting article a few weeks ago in New York magazine. The piece was about privacy and the internet and focused almost exclusively on the generation tailing Y. This group is the first to grow up exclusively in the digital age. The author also argued that they are the first to truly understand that privacy as we know it just doesn’t exist anymore and won’t ever again. What the author found so interesting was the generation’s reaction. They all have blogs, facebook accounts, myspace accounts AND with their real names! They write about their true lives, their romances, their foibles and fallibilities…and they just don’t care. One person offered that as long as everyone was going to know their business, that person might as well present it with their own spin.

Along those lines, I think a change is coming for the professional world. The baby boomers who currently rule the roost will be retiring in the next ten years. Industry will need a workforce and they’re going to find a bunch of bloggers. There are certain things that I do believe shouldn’t be blogged – like your actual work experience. My professional life is separate from my personal. I don’t act the same way at the office as I do at home, and my personal life has no bearing on my work performance. I think eventually the ‘professional world’ will realize this. When you think about it, just about everyone has had some type of embarrassing experience in their life. Everyone has had too much to drink at some point, had a bad relationship. Why judge/punish the people who are open and honest about it? It reminds me of the attorney from a large law firm who stated at an interviewing workshop, “We’re very accepting of employees with tattoos and piercings, but we’ve never hired someone who showed either at their first interview.”

Bottled water shot through my nose as I laughed at the hypocrisy of her very sincere statement.

I realize that though these changes are on the horizon, the legal world will probably not be the first to adopt them. Let’s face it, most senior lawyers are still struggling with Word. “What do you mean, ‘Track Changes?’”

I know that there are firms out there who wouldn’t even interview me if they knew about this blog. I’m cool with that. I figure that they are doing me a favor and saving me an interview/job at a place where I ultimately wouldn’t be comfortable. My blog isn’t my resume, but it might help to narrow down the places where I would work. However, if what you’re after is the most money you can get at any place that will take you, a blog might not be your best bet.

In the meantime I will continue to blog because I almost feel like it’s something I have to stand up for in the same way that I insist on wearing pants. Whenever I hear a woman attorney tell me the importance of buying into sexism and wearing a skirt to interviews I think, “Wow. If all women thought the way you did, we would have never gained the vote or been able to enter the workforce.”

I’m not a complete revolutionary over here. I can follow direction and do quite well in a professional environment. I don’t think I will ever be able to be a lemming though and I’d rather be at the beginning of change then catching up at the end.

Oh yeah, read the article...

Almost to the weekend...

I’m not looking forward to tomorrow because it’s going to be a long day. By long day I mean getting up earlier than usual to do hair/make-up, wearing a suit, and sticking around campus until 5 pm. I find my disdain quite entertaining given that just a year and half ago I did all those things five days a week.

Then again, I’m in law school – ie foregoing an income for three years while gaining close to six figures of debt. With a life like that, I really don’t think I should have to wear a suit any Friday during the period.

Things are finally starting to get more organized and my routine feels more like it did last semester. I actually hit the library a couple of times this week. This ‘new Ana’ is having its effects though. Alex stopped by tonight to show me his new bike and I had difficulty forming sentences. This is because I fell asleep while doing my reading for class tomorrow. Taking a nap at any point of the day for me = amazing given that I am somewhat of an insomniac.

It must have been all that sugar I mainlined once I got home from class. I was feeling a little bummed. In true Ana fashion, the one class that I am busting my butt in has a prof who makes off-hand comments indicating he/she is less than fond of me.

“Ana, did you bring your supplement today?”
-No prof. My arms are not any longer than they were yesterday and so I still can’t carry them all to class. In addition, all of my books do not fit in my bag and my lower back has been hurting like all heck this week due to cramps and such. I'm not about to leave anything in my car and switch out during the day as break-ins are pretty prevalent on this campus. (Yesterday we had a car-jacking in the parking lot for crying out loud!) However, if you continue to ask me on a daily basis I can pretty much guarantee you that I will never again bring the book with me to class.

“Ana, did you by any chance have time to do the reading for today?”
-Yeah, prof. Actually I read it twice and spent more time on your fifteen pages of assignment than any other class this week, but thanks for the vote of confidence.

I’ve always gotten the impression that this prof doesn’t care for me and for some reason it bothers me (probably because I used to really admire Prof), but tonight after consuming about half a bag of caramels and getting the world’s greatest sugar high I have decided to no longer give a care and devote more effort to the classes in which the prof doesn’t insult me in front of the rest of the students. I think this is a good move for both my GPA and my self-esteem.

People who link here...

Okay, so I started to make this little-drop-down-box-thing of blogs that link here - look left and scroll down. Anyhoo, I just entered a few names and didn't organize it yet or anything BECAUSE

a few months ago I did a 'thanks' post for websites that linked me and, um, er, I guess some of those people didn't want their blogs listed for all the public to see SO

with that in mind...

IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS I WILL COMPLETE A DROP BOX LISTING EVERY SITE THAT LINKS TO THIS BLOG. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE INCLUDED, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO:

THINKLIKEAWOMAN@GMAIL.COM

If for some reason someone does link to this site and I miss it, please let me know and I will put you on the list.

Muaah,
Ana

Who's reading Ana...

Meg wrote today about checking her stats so I decided to look at mine too…

Since I last checked the counter (during finals/December) there have been between 6,000-7,000 additional hits – not that great, but not bad considering the quality of writing I’ve been giving you guys recently.

If you’ve ever wondered where Ana’s readers are from, here’s the lowdown on the last 100 hits today (greatest to least):

1. My Hometown
2. Cambridge/Boston (The Cambridge ratio was around 3:1 over Boston so I felt I should give the CamCrowd their due.)
3. New York, New York
4. Chicago, IL

The rest (Places with 1 hit each):

International (that's right, I'm global. hardy, har, har...):
Montreal, Canada
Calgary, Canada
Ontario, Canada
Sweden
Miscellaneous United Kingdom
Scotland (Yeah, I know, but the others came up UK and this one came up as Scotland.)
Milan, Italy
Ireland
Lebanon
Japan – (thanks Meg)
Norway
Taiwan

Midwest-ish:
Notre Dame, Indiana
Omaha, Nebraska
Multiple cities in Texas
Michigan (forgot to write down the city)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Paul, Minnesota
(Excepting Texas, I just realized that I have not visited any of these cities. Don’t take it personally. I think it has more to do with cold weather than anything else.)

West Coast
Corvallis, Oregon
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA

South:
Miami, Florida
Atlanta, GA

Northeast:
Connecticut (again, I forgot to write down the city)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


My Favorite Searches that led people here today:
“whacked out woman”
“how would you act if you didn’t know your age?”
“women that act guilty”
“why do women act like that?”

Thanks for reading.

Nirvana…

It’s 76 degrees here…

...and sunny.

Suddenly everything is right in the universe.

UPDATE: I am now in flip-flops, tank top, and gaucho pants. It almost feels like my birthday!

No really, stop talking…

Do you ever feel like you’ve got a concept down and then someone asks a question in class? They’re confused about an issue and a ten minute discussion of ‘who’s on first?’ ensues. Finally after all the hoop-la they understand, but now you feel completely lost.

I only seem to do well in Murphy’s Law…

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I have approximately 24 inches of case books and code books for class. Today I decided to give my back a break and forgo about 7 inches of code books.

Ana walks into class…

Prof: Did everyone bring their code book because we’re going to use them today?

Give Brit a Break...

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I think Britney’s whole head-shaving idea is actually one of the smarter things she's done recently. Let’s face it, in the last two years that girl has alternated between bleached blond and colored brunette every four-six weeks. Can you even imagine the shape her hair must have been in from all that ammonia and peroxide?

I once bleached the holy heck out of my hair and when I decided to go back to dark, I couldn’t get it to hold the color for longer than a week at a time. SO I’d recolor it which dried it out more and caused it to hold color that much less. My hair felt like straw and broke off when I brushed it. There wasn’t any conditioning-treatment in the world that was going to help it. My hair was dead. In the end I got a pixie cut and then started using a non-peroxide colorant that washed out with each shampoo and left stains on my shirt collars and pillow cases. It was a total pain in the ass. Believe me, I considered just shaving the whole thing off.

Now I know when you get your hair colored professionally there is potentially less damage, but who doesn't think that Brit is the type of girl who picks up a box of Clairol at the grocery store when the mood hits?

Therefore I say, “Good for you, Brit. You’ve dumped the guy and you're making strides towards healthy hair. Now let’s try to work on hanging out less with Paris. I know you just got out of a bad relationship, have a new pretty body you want to show off, and are probably tired of two screaming kids, but don't let it run away from you.”

And if you were shaving your head in order to avoid a drug test for custody reasons, I think you'd take the hair with you...and please, like HE didn't do drugs.

Die in a fire...

Don't even get me started on what I think is wrong with a psychiatrist diagnosing a TWO-YEAR-OLD with Attention Deficit Disorder and bi-polar disorder and then placing that child on drugs. A two-year-old! Here’s the article. The child died yesterday of a drug overdose at the ripe age of four. Let's hear it for the medical community as well as today's parents.

Women and the Workplace...

I read in article in Forbes today (yes, I have a subscription to Forbes; let the jokes fly. want even more fodder? it's the first mag I had a subscription to - my dad gives it to me.) about women in the workplace.

The gist of the article discussed why after thirty years in the workforce women still only account for 2% of corporate executives. The piece focused on a survey among men and women. A large portion of the men thought that hard work was the key whereas women viewed the corporate world as still much a part of the good ol’ boys network. Women tended to think that the climb to the top turned on luck.

There are many different factors that create success in the workplace. Personally, I think all of us still need to catch up a little bit. Though women have joined in the workforce and contributing to the family paycheck, they still bear the primary burden in child-rearing and household activities. Men as well as women share responsibility for this reality.

Outside activities aside, the piece brought some memories of my own prior work experience to mind.

Let me say in my opinion, face time is just as important as work performance.

Walking through the law school, I see a lot of women (myself included) worrying about grades, stressing over curves, and micromanaging extracurricular activities to make us appear well-rounded on our resumes while guys sit around looking relaxed just shooting the shit.

Guess what? Shooting the shit is a BIG part of business. In my early twenties, I got called into a supervisor’s office more than once to discuss my ‘sociability’. Because I don’t normally eat lunch, I took the hour from 12-1 to run errands or get out of the office.

“Ana, is everything ok?” my boss would ask.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, you never go to lunch with us, and when you are here, you spend an awful lot of time in your cube.”

“I’m just trying to get my work done. Is anything wrong with my work?”

“No, your work is fine, BUT…are you sure you’re happy? You don’t talk to anyone. The women think you’re snooty and the guys are afraid to talk to you.

“Really? I’m just trying to get my work done. That’s why you pay me to be here. I’m trying to maintain a professional appearance so I don’t discuss my personal life. And I’m SHY! How can they judge me when they don’t even know me!?? I haven’t even had a lengthy conversation with anyone in this office!”

“Yeah, that’s the problem. Your work is great. Now, why don’t you try taking a few breaks during the day to chat with other people in the office? I know you don’t eat lunch, but maybe go to lunch with the team every so often, ok?”

“Seriously?”

“Ana, everyone in this office knows you’re smart and capable. Now they need to realize that you’re a human being.”

[I should also mention that my boss hired a guy at the same time I came on to the job. The guy, who devoted more time to shmoozing than working got promoted twice before I left to attend law school. Now granted, he had more work experience than I did, but I think what really gave him the edge was the fact that everyone thought he was a really nice guy.]

There’s always been something of a perfectionist in me. I want to do well in every task I undertake whether it’s in the workplace, on the stage, or in publication. Despite forward strides in equality over the last thirty years, I still feel as if I need to work harder at my work, my appearance, everything in order to prove myself.

Sometimes I forget about the importance of relationships and what they mean in my personal AND professional life. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m trying to find a part-time job right now. Though I’ve sent out many resumes, I’ve only received one interview. This came through a friend who not only told me of the job, but also recommended me to the person sifting through resumes.

Once we graduate from law school, our opportunities to meet others will be limited. Next time someone from your section invites you for a beer, you might want to take them up on it. The evening could benefit your career. I’m not advocating spending time with people for the sole purpose of networking. I’m just saying that happy hours may be as important to your career as your Torts grade, possibly more so.

…and when you’re at that job, don’t forget to take part in the office softball team.

The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf...

I just read this on the front on the New York Times online -

"President Bush said today he is certain that elements of the Iranian government are supplying roadside bombs that kill American troops in Iraq. "

This may or may not be true, but you-know-who's credibility was shot with me a long time ago.

And even if it was true, then what? Are we supposed to invade another country without any fundamental understanding of the culture or long-term plan? Because, ya know, it worked so well last time.

When we entered Iraq I was pretty sure that Iran was next on the agenda, so the reports are not wholly surprising. What is somewhat shocking is that he has the gall to move forward with this idea given the current political climate, the Iraq state of affairs, and national sentiment. This guy must truly live in a vacuum.

Crappy Valentine's Day!

I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day regardless of whether or not I’m in a relationship. If you’re single, it has a sense of personal pariah day. If you’re together, you feel obligated to be romantic on some level – a concept that lies in direct opposition to my notion of romantic.

This year, I’ve found an entirely new reason to not like the big V-Day. Someone left a package in the office in front of my house yesterday, an anonymous package with only my first initial left on the card.

“Did they say anything when they left it?” I asked the office worker.

“Only that if you thought about it, you might figure out who he was,” she answered.

This is what was in the package.



Immediately after opening it, I wrapped it back up and hid it away. There’s no one I’m interested in dating right now. Since the package was left at my house it is from someone who knows me well, someone who is my friend. I felt instantly sad at the sight of it. Quite possibly someone who I care about on some level cares for me in a different way than I care for them.

Of course, I could be being completely vain here. I suppose the package could have been left by one of my friends with a non-romantic notion. I certainly hope that is the case. However, the flower, the heart, and the mystery of the sender indicate otherwise. If it did come from a friend with no hidden meaning – thanks for scaring the bejeezus out of me! Next time a friend wants to leave me a gift, please just knock on my door and hand me a romantically-neutral pack of cigarettes or bottle of wine.

“What are you going to do about it?” Wine-Time girl asked.

“Nothing,” I replied.

“You could ask pointed questions to the office worker to figure it out. That way the other person wouldn’t know,” she said.

“That’s just thing,” I said. “If it’s a romantic gift I don’t want to know which one of my friends gave it to me because I can already tell you that I don’t feel that way. I don’t want to feel awkward or guilty around them.”

“So you’re not going to ask any of your guy friends about the gift?”

“Nope. I’m just going to pretend like it didn’t happen.”

So, I want to know – what do you guys think? Do you think it might be an innocent gift from a guy friend or something else?

If the sender reads this - don't tell me who you are!

Extended Wine-Time...

So, since the new semester began Wine-Time Girl and I have had many a problem coordinating our schedules for our beloved wine-time. Up until this Saturday, we’d gotten together only once. This made me kinda sorta really sad because wine-time had somewhat of a stabilizing effect in my life. Once a week I met WTG at the coffee shop and got to forget that I was a law student. My inner-geek took over and I was able to speak freely of neurotic ramblings, literature, and social observations. WTG's okay with the geek - she might even like her a little bit.

We met around 4:45 pm at the café…

WTG: What are you doing?
[Sitting on the table are various large stacks of photos and multiple photo books.]
Ana: Oh, for some reason, I’ve decided that I need to organize and catalogue all of my photos. I’m trying to decide what it means – do I think my life is disorganized? Is my past disorganized? What is the meaning behind the desire to suddenly arrange more than a decade of photographs? Especially when I have a CRAP-load of stuff to accomplish this semester in school.

6:30ish
[Ana returns to the table with a flag.]
WTG: Did you just order a second entrée?
Ana: Yeah, I seem to be going through this phase where I eat until I feel guilty. I’m not actually hungry, I just eat enough until I know that I will gain weight. It’s a self-destructive mechanism of sorts.
WTG: Could it be PMS?
Ana: No. Do you ever feel like you create chaos in order to maintain sanity?
WTG: Yes, sometimes.
Ana: Well, that’s me. I’m telling myself that my over-eating is an indication of an outside hunger for something, that there’s greater meaning in all of it. In reality, I just feel like I NEED a problem. I’ve lost my identity.
WTG: Huh, what?
Ana: I’m motivated to write, to create, to sing, etc. by the conflict in my life, but right now, there’s nothing. I’m content. Have you read the blog lately? It sucks.
WTG: I’ve noticed it’s not as spiritual.
Ana: I feel doomed.
WTG: It’s cyclical. The creativity will come back.
Ana: Everything in my life is centered and perfect. Nothing is wrong. I need conflict, chaos, disorganization, struggle… God, I can’t remember the last time I was this unhappy. I don’t even want to think anymore. When I get the urge to read I tell myself, well, I might as well read a law book. That would be productive.
WTG: Okay, now I see the concern.
Ana: I know! I’ve become a machine. Go to school, read cases, pay bills…

7ish
[WTG pulls a novel out of her bag and begins to read.]
Ana: Ohmigod, I’ve become so boring that you now have to resort to literature! What is happening to me!?!?
WTG: No, you’re not boring. You just seem consumed by your photo project.
Ana: I know! What is that? What's with the compulsion?
WTG: I think it’s cute. It’s the accountant in you coming out.
Ana: Snit. …Oh crap, I got a photo out of date order.

7:30ish
Ana: This is so great that we met so early. I’m really trying to get on a regular sleeping schedule. I keep staying up late on the weekends and then screwing myself over when class-time comes around. Hopefully I’ll be drunk by eight, then go home and go to bed.

7:45ish
Ana: What do you think about one glass of wine at PG Bar?
WTG: Sounds good. We can drink it slowly and it will give us a chance to sober up.

8 pm at PG Barl

[Ana and WTG’s really large glasses of white and red sit side by side.]
WTG: I’m going to take a picture of our wine.
[Ana waits patiently and does not lunge for her wine glass…]
WTG: Damn, I can’t figure out this camera phone. Oh well, it's not like I won't have plenty of opportunity to click our contrasting reds and whites at some point in the future.
[Ana swoops for the wine glass.]
WTG: Do you ever worry about being an alcoholic?
Ana: It’s all relative. If I can drink like a fish and still manage to function on a higher level than 95% of the population, I tell myself it’s okay.
WTG: Really?
Ana: Yeah, alcoholism is only bad when it affects your career and your interpersonal relationships. If my drinking interfered with our ability to be friends, then I’d be concerned.

8:30ish
Ana: So [our friend] had his big date last night. Let’s call him and see how it went.
[No answer.]
Ana: Aw crap. It must have gone bad.
WTG: Either that or he’s getting it on with her right now…Ana?
Ana: Sorry, I went blind there for a moment.

9ish
[In relation to Anna Nicole Smith and conspiracy theorizing…]
Ana: I don’t know. That attorney she was dating really gives me the creeps. I don’t trust him.
WTG: Well, it is odd that the son and immediate heir died of an inadvertent mixture of drugs.
Ana: And then, she appears on TV, obviously drugged to the hilt. You would think that as both an attorney and as someone who cares for her that he wouldn’t let her do that.
WTG: He might have been trying to show her regular drug use.
Ana: That’s my theory. And then, she suddenly drops dead of another seemingly wrong mix of drugs. What do you think the will says?
WTG: I don’t know, but if he had her change it after the son’s death, then he looks REALLY bad.

9:30ish
Ana: My wine is gone.
WTG: Hmm, what should we do?
Ana: We could get a bottle of wine at the grocery store and head to my house.
WTG: We would get really drunk if we drank an entire bottle of wine. What about beer?
Ana: Oooh, neither of us like beer that much. We could get a six pack and there’s no doubt that we wouldn’t finish it.
WTG: Exactly. We’d plow through a bottle of wine.

9:45ish at the store
Ana: So check out the new wine section of my grocery store. I know I bitched while they were remodeling, but it’s seriously like twice the size now.
WTG: Well we should peruse the wine.
Ana: But we were going to get beer?
WTG: Yeah, we will, but let’s look at all the cool different wines.
Ana: Okay, fun!
WTG: This one looks good. Let’s get it.
Ana: I thought we were going to get beer?
WTG: It’s a rose’. I bet there’s almost no alcohol in it.
Ana: OKAY!

10:30ish
Ana: So don’t tell anyone, but this rose’ is pretty good. I can’t believe that it’s not sweet.
WTG: [reading aloud from Cosmo] Blah, blah, blah. This is stupid. Tell me again why we got this?
Ana: No clue.
WTG: We should have bought food.

11:30ish
Ana: I’m hungry.
WTG: I’m not. The moment has passed for me.
Ana: Dammit.

11:45ish
Ana: And here’s your copy of the Camus back.
WTG: Oh thanks.
Ana: No, seriously. I don’t think you understand how hard it is for me to give that back to you.
WTG: Even though your mother bought you a hardback copy for Christmas?
Ana: But this book is different. You bought this copy used and read it. Then you passed it to me and I read it. The cover is bent and the corners are worn. This book has its own history and a story beyond the words contained inside. The first time I read The Fall was from this book. It also fits nicely into any book bag.
[Ana now has her fat little hands on the book.]
WTG: If only you could find a guy that you liked as much as that book.
Ana: Won't happen. Truth is beautiful. Fiction is always more truthful than reality. We are allowed to express ourselves more freely. A relationship can't compare.
WTG: [Rolls eyes and sighs.]

12ish
WTG: So we’re at six months. I’m somewhat freaking out.
Ana: Measurements of time are a man-made construct.
WTG: But typically, I nod off at three months.
Ana: You’re missing the point. What’s the difference between six months and five months and five days?
WTG: Nothing, I guess.
Ana: So let it go. It doesn’t mean anything more than you make it.
WTG: But I only have one LONG relationship.
Ana: That’s because of your age. How many people your age have relationships that extend beyond six months? The time factor doesn’t mean that this relationship is a bigger deal. It just means that you’re better at figuring out what suits you and you are maturing.
WTG: I’m still freaking out.
Ana: Well, we all deal with life in different ways.

1ish –(larger time gaps to accommodate for inebriation)
Ana: [Reading aloud from the Hipster Handbook]: “Polits also carry a copy of one of the following: The Stranger by Albert Camus, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand..or an anthology by Sylvia Plath.
WTG: [Frown.]
Ana: Thank god I carry The Fall and not The Stranger.
Ana: [Continuing] “The expatriate lifestyle of Hemingway and Gertrude Stein is the Polit ideal, and they spend most of their time away from home writing and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes in coffee shops.”
WTG: [Frown]
Ana: It’s cool. I don’t hand-roll.
WTG: Didn’t you start an ‘expatriate’ group on Facebook?
Ana: [silence]
Ana: [still reading] “Frequently, Polits, have degrees in English and/or literature and are proud of being able to debate the works of Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Martin Amis.”
WTG: Oooh, Amis is good.
Ana: Thank god there’s no reference to Borges.
Ana: “They generally work jobs affiliated with universities, become freelance writers, work in publishing, or organize events for nonprofit groups.” Oh shit! I’ve done all of those!
WTG: Just stop now.
Ana: “Hipsters believe that irony has more resonance than reason…Underneath their apparent individualism, Hipsters conform just like everyone else.”
WTG: Whoever wrote this is an exploitationist AND a sell-out.
Ana: Right on! [Raises fist in air and tosses book across room.] Or he has a pretty good sense of humor.

1ishish
WTG: The reason that you haven’t met anyone you really like is because you’re beautiful and you’re smart, but you’re a little off.
Ana: Just a little off?
WTG: Well, you’re rather off. I don’t mean that as a bad thing.
Ana: Oh good, because I’d rather be off-off than slightly off.

1:30ish
Ana: Don’t you wish you could be like (person in our section)?
WTG: Yeah, no mens rea whatsoever. You know who’s tortured though? (Different person.)
Ana: Yeah, whenever people refer to that group they usually make an exception and say that they like (different person).
WTG: Oh, I don’t think there’s anything (mainstream) likeable about her. I just think she has depth.
Ana: [Typing]
WTG: Are you transcribing this?
Ana: It’s funny.
WTG: Ana, no! I don’t want (different person) to be upset.
Ana: No one will know. They’ll just speculate.

2ish
Ana: Have I told you the story behind my camel saddle?
WTG: Don’t hate me if this appears in my novel.

2:30ish
WTG: So the general anger, irritation, etc? Do you think there’s actually anything to it?
Ana: Yeah, I just need to get laid.

I can't believe this was the first time...

...I just spilled wine on my keyboard. I spuriously cleaned it up as I shouted obscenities, but once it was over I found myself thinking, "Given the odds, it's really rather amazing that this hasn't happened until now."

Currently my ThinkPad is drop-proof. Maybe the next version will be wine-proof.

Like I have nothing better to do...

So I’m just now getting around to my reading for next week because I’ve been working all day on journal article substantiation. Speaking of, does anyone else ever work on these things and wonder if the author was like, “Oh yeah, this sounds like it could be a good statute.”

In the meantime, you read through the pages of the statute and finally after 20 minutes of scrutinization determine that no, it is not in fact there.

Of course this is better than when the author describes a statute and then when you read the statute feel like, “That is so not what it says AT ALL.”

But anyway, the time is now 10:30 pm and so I open my textbook and look up the reading assignment – only to find that my prof has given us 40 pages, 40 PAGES, for one reading.

And this is a class where half of the time you walk in and the prof says, “If you didn’t read today, it’s okay. It wasn’t that important.”

UGH!

I'm sorry, but it's like 40-something degrees outside..

I realize that other parts of the U.S. were really, really, really cold this week and last, but I'm a wimp. I live in this part of the country because anything below 50 degrees feels like sub-zero. When it gets that cold, I don't want to get out of bed, don't want to go to school, don't want to shower in the COLD wet water.

For the first few weeks of school the days were mostly in the 40's - ie, cold as hell. (Yeah, I said that on purpose - I have a weird sense of humor. My construct of hell is cold.) PLUS, it was rainy. Ugh.

Then! Yesterday the sun came out and guess what? I basked in 74 degree weather. I was so happy, so uplifted, so renewed with life!

And then today...we are back in the 40's again.

I saw a poster washed to the window of an abandoned building today. There was a drawing of a razor blade and the stenciled words 'give up'. I understand the sentiment. Where is my freaking warm weather already? I mean, it's February for crying out loud.

PS - Eastern Seaboard and Chi-town area readers - Don't even think about commenting that you've got it worse than I do. You chose to live in that part of the country. I wanted sunshine and hot rays and I gladly took the mass pollution, Republicans, bible-beaters, SUV's, and teaching of intelligent design in schools so that I could be warm. AND I'M NOT! AND I FEEL RIPPED OFF!!

Being social...

Hey Guys,

I’m so sorry I haven’t written lately. This is probably due to two things. First, I’m taking more classes this semester, and since it is the beginning of the semester, I’m all happy and reading and basking in the hope that this semester I will love my classes! This semester I will get an A in everything! This semester I will…

Law school and I are like the little rat and the buzzer experiment. When the rat touches the red dot, it gets food, but when it touches the black dot, it gets an electric shock. The rat eventually learns to NOT touch the black dot, but for Ana law school is the black dot and she’s soooo certain that this time, THIS TIME, she will not get zapped. This time she will get brownies, or a job or something cool like that. ZAPPP!~

Ow!? That hurts!

Oh well, so it goes…

I will say this, for some reason my new enjoyment this semester is raising my hand in class when I don’t know the answer or haven’t read the information pertinent to the question. I like to see how long I can go on before the prof also figures out that I have no idea what the heck I am talking about. My motivation for doing this is not actually evil. It seems the further you get in law school, the less other people in class seem to read. Profs are constantly asking questions that no one offers to answer. I feel bad and raise my hand because even if I don’t know the answer, at least the prof will know that someone was listening to begin with. Then I babble incoherently for a minute or two and the prof says, “Uh, thanks Ana. Now stop.”

Actually that’s not true. Most of the time I’m right…which makes me wonder how intuitive this whole law thing is.

My other reason for the lack of writing is because I’m going through one of those bizarre periods where I feel like being social. I know, don’t worry. I’m having a doctor check it out tomorrow. Kidding. Suffice to say, I am talking to people other than myself right now. The effects on your psyche are rather amazing. Between class, books, and friends I’ve had little time this week to ponder the meaning of life, wonder why I’m on this earth, whether I’ll ever be happy, blah, blah, blah. Makes for a more-contented Ana, but a bad blog, I suppose.

Don’t worry. I still haven’t found a job yet. As my bank account drains I am sure that my posts will become more and more desperate and morose and maternal issues will begin to pop up at random.

Last weekend I went to an event at the Museum of Fine Arts with a violinist from other-university. The museum takes down their exhibit on the main level and turns the area into a dance floor replete with club lights. The event attracted an assortment of personalities and was ripe for people-watching. The violinist ran into several of her friends and all night I was embarrassed to introduce myself as a law student. Seriously it was like, “I’m a cellist!”

“I play trumpet!”

“I’m a violist! What do you do, Ana?”

“I read statutory supplements!”

Am I an exciting person or what?

God Bless PBS...

Tonight I turned on the television to catch the end of the evening news. On the screen was a minute long segment covering a topic I read about in the New Yorker almost a year ago, going so far as to end the piece with the same note of irony as the article. Speedy. And oh so original. Then my local news came on and spent approximately six minutes discussing the Anna Nicole death, pointing me to the station's website where I could find a slideshow, timeline, and condolence board. The next top story featured newscasters standing outside the house of the female astronaut in the news as of late. I’m sure the world is pleased to know that a case of diet coke has been delivered to her house today as well as a letter of invitation from the Dr. Phil show.

I have no idea what happened next…I switched to the News Hour.

Update: I just heard a professor from Dartmouth use the phrase 'party on' in a NH interview. Man, oh man.

My classroom smells like pizza...

This is making me very hungry...and unable to concentrate on what is going on in regards to class discussion. All I can think about is pepperoni. mmmm....

On the job front...

When I went to law school I wondered if being a little bit older would affect my chances in procuring a job. I didn’t know if certain firms might shy away from me because I was near child-bearing age or possibly beyond the stage in life where I was willing to spend 80 hours a week in the office.

When a friend of mine mentioned that the firm he clerked for was hiring additional law students, I jumped at the opportunity. Hey, a connection to help me get my foot in the door! So I emailed him my resume.

Today I got back this response:

Ana,

[Partner] really was impressed with your resume. He swears he knows you from UT. He claims you dated his old roommate at UT. That could make for a very interesting interview. Good luck. Hope that you come aboard. Have a good one.

Interesting, indeed.