So Far Behind...

In life as in my blog. Another Redish quote to start with (concerning slavery, and the only amendment to the constitution to limit private, rather than state entities): 'Why did they fight the civil war? It was in all the papers...'

Anyway, I'm WAY behind on this, to the point where details have gotten a bit sketchy here and there. So (fortunately, you're probably all thinking), I'll be somewhat less long-winded than usual.

So, Saturday (not this past one, but the week before's) didn't contain much of interest, as I spent the greater part of the day working on my memo. That evening, I met up with Verity, Josh, Kathy and her boyfriend (from out of town) Craig after they got back from going to an NU football game. I got there at the time they had said we'd meet--they didn't arrive for another half-hour ish, so I wandered around and talked to Blair for a while. The bar was fun, a whole bunch of Kathy's friends showed up at some point. We took the El back down, and walked back from the station.

Sunday involved finishing up my memo and studying with Matt. McClurg--despite the minor heat wave we had going on--had turned its AC to heat, so my apartment was ridiculously hot with no way to cool it down. As a result, Sunday night I got two and a half hours of sleep (this including the hour I got for skipping Contracts (and Property, too, as I wasn't about to get called on with so little sleep). On the upside, I figured out how to work my story's title into the story itself.

Monday, I went to the habeas rehearsal, and it was good. Got to Civ Pro, opened up my laptop, and watched the broken LCD screen go Jackson Pollock on me... and then the upper half of the screen reduplicate itself on the lower half all twitchy like . Fortunately, I managed to e-mail my files to myself before the laptop completely fucked itself. It really wasn't a good day. I got out of class, headed straight out to call and see what could be done (my sainted sister volunteered, despite our being in the argument equivalent of a small cold war, to send me hers). Fortunately, Matt picked up my iPod and made damn sure it got returned to me, because that might have been precisely the end of the world. I wandered around until the panel on Trans Rights (it was OUTLaw week), and got some food there, and laughed when people asked me how I was. That night I spent an hour and a half unsuccessfully on the phone with HP, who evidently thought that--due to the newness of my laptop, and something they never told me--I was trying to scam them in some capacity, but they weren't telling me, just saying that my warranty didn't exist.

Tuesday was law school the old fashioned way--pen and legal pad (courtesy of Sidley). It was an interesting experience, but not one that I'm necessarily excited to repeat. I probably took more and better notes for not having the distractions available to me by using a laptop, but... those notes are now somewhere in the morass that is my apartment. After classes, Kathy loaned me her laptop for use until Strump's arrived. There was also an OUTLaw panel, whose topic I cannot immediately recall. Various of my band of lovable idiots got together in the library that evening to go over stuff for property. I got more shit hung on my walls (this could be a never ending process.

Classes. Whee. Used Kathy's laptop. Returned it that evening because Strump's arrived in the mail (I have mentioned that my sister is a saint, right?) That evening, there was the debate in the atrium, which featured excellent food (fortunately I was in the part of the line that got some) and incredible chocolate. I ignored the debate and alternated between studying property and hanging out with Michelle and Dave Van der Laan. After the debate, Matt and Bev and I all headed over to O'Toole's for a while.

Thursday. Classes (I know, right?). There was some minor fun in getting strump's laptop hooked up to the internet at school, but that was accomplished at the cost of being five minutes late to CLR. That was the beginning of the process of my getting screwed for a partner for the open memo in CLR (in the end, a good thing, but galling nevertheless). In the evening, there was the sponsor's meeting for OUTLaw week, which was cool, after which a whole crowd of us went to the Soup Box to eat dinner quickly before heading up to Bar Review (my second), which was at Spin. Michelle and I ducked out around 11, intending to quickly return home for the purpose of work and/or sleep, and we would have done it too (if not for those meddling kids), except that we both of us were focusing more on my eye candy on the bus than on where we were, so we ended up at 400S (rather than 600N, so a mile and a quarter off from our mark). Fortunately there was an El stop right there so we took the El back. We got home at quarter to one-ish.

Friday. Midterm hell. Crim was cake, and I even did well despite thinking it so (of course... it was a group affair, but as secretary I was kinda in charge, and it also wasn't graded). Then there was CLR (which I skipped to do my citation exercises), then the Gender Blender (which was hilarious, including an M1 drag queen performing and a panel that effectively tested people's gaydar--I was 5/7). Then there was the property midterm, which was one of the less pleasant mental experiences of my life. I went home and crashed after that. That week went a good way toward killing me.

Saturday was spent largely lying in bed recovering from the week. I started reading Hal Duncan's Ink, which I'm about halfway through now (having only read bits of it since), and which is as interesting and better written--if still consciously pleased with itself and its writing style--than the prior book, Vellum. I need to read Prometheus Bound at some point, because of these books. Sunday was housecleaning and reading. I have no recollections currently of the monday. Clearly nothing important happened. Tuesday I got my computer sent off to HP to get them to unfuck it.

Wednesday I voted during lunch--it was cool. I walked about 15 minutes west on Chicago and found the building and wandered around inside until I found signage directing me to the polling place. Voted (for all the right people), got my 'DO NOT REPORT TO THE POLLS ON NOV. 4' receipt, and went to Civ Pro afterward. After class the dean held her Conversations with Sue thing, which was entertaining. Chilled with her for a while, then went to the Libe to accomplish the quasi-bullshit research project. We finished that, and it was good.

I have no recollection of Thursday and Friday, so therefore nothing except the research presentations happened. Whee. No. Friday afternoon I took my camera out for a spin after discovering the black and white mode. I had some fun with that (eventually there will be a pic post), and got a good walk in.

Saturday was memo research, and then four hours of dancing. I wasn't /quite/ steaming by the time the El came, but close. Got waltzed by an exceedingly cute guy, and had some excellent swing dances with two of the few women in the place (one of whom teaches classes there). I was multiply encouraged to go to a class on mondays, just to go dancing. I think I'm going to have to at some point. Because dancing is fun. Got home late (early).

Sunday was research and reading of cases. And for classes. And at 12:30 AM monday morning (earlier than their initial estimate of when the drive-by would occurr--3 or 4), my mother and Strump appeared outside McClurg in the van, dropped off my halloween costume, my snake lamp (now known as the Bastard Snake Lamp), as mentioned in my prior non-chronological post.

Monday was more classes, and for whatever reason I was antsy and restless--or upset about something--but whatever it was, I can't recall. So I took a walk. I think I covered about seven miles in a bit less than and hour and a half. It was very nice, and relaxing, and frigid. I managed somehow to keep my hands warm by alternating which held the iPod and which was in my pocket. Michelle and I had agreed that I would call her at a certain point in order to meet up with her for the Diwali Dinner that a couple of groups were holding in the med school. It was fun, and the Indian food was quite damn good, enough that Michelle and I tolerated having our seats stolen by a group of unrepentantly obnoxious med students. Went home afterward, read, slept.

Tuesday, I was fortunate in that I had read thoroughly for property, as I found myself on call for the entire period, excepting one question to Matt, after which he switched back to me. It was a rather hardcore experience, even though it was probably easier for me than it has been for many of my classmates, insofar as the questions directed at me were not based on the cases but rather on abstract theory-type notions (philosophy finally pays off!). There were also about five minutes of questions on amenities in apartments, and twenty minutes of 'Art Day' during which time Cameron had fun drawing all sorts of things. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it wasn't roses and rainbows, either.

Wednesday I went during lunch on a failed attempt to secure portions of my costume (wig, which ended up never happening, and fake beards both for me and for Josh, which I ended up getting and then not using myself), but failed because I misunderstood Josh as far as where the costume store was located). I also made some damn good taco gunk that night for dinner (that's a Kidney family term of art, if you didn't know). That evening, I made a trek down LaSalle to find the actual location of a costume shop, and got the beards that were needed.

Of Thursday, I have no recollection--nothing must have happened. Friday, though, was Halloween. I went to the circus almost immediately after class, down in Daly Plaza. Before I did, however, I made the final purchases necessary for my costume: a cross. I went to a cathedral, and found that due to their renovations, the store was closed and would be open on saturdays. Not helpful. They directed me to the Moody Bible Institute, to which I went and found myself in a quietly fundy-type store with all sorts of very nice, quietly judgmental Christian ladies who looked askance at me in general (iPod and not enough clothing for the cold, they thought). I walked, reveling in the irony of the whole situation, up to the counter and politely asked to see their cheapest cross. I ended up with a nice silver-metal deal, with fleur-de-lys ends and inset red glass in each leg. It looked good and just gaudy enough to work for the costume.

Then I went to the circus. The fountain had orange food coloring in it and was all kinds of special. The Midnight Circus was giving free performances, and the audience was filled with kids. It was a minorly acrobatic, minorly comedic affair--like a poor man's Cirque without fire or water and only limited musical innovation (the DJ was kinda cute, though, as were various of the performers). It was a good time. Then I went back to my apartment and dithered around for a bit (reading, in other words), and got dressed to go up to Adair's Halloween party/belated birthday party for Sue.

The walk to the El was an interesting sociological experience: I was in red robes, a black heavy cape, with a cross around my neck and iPod headphones in my ears. Pretending not to see people's odd looks was entertaining, because there were lots of them. On the El up, I had to repeatedly explain to people who Richelieu was, which was not quite unexpected, but still somewhat disheartening (and proof of how much of a dork I am). It was about a mile from the El to Adair's, and I built in far more time than I needed in terms of getting lost and stuff, so after many children missing the cross and exclaiming 'Wizard!' in my wake (and a few 'bless me father, for I have sinned')--and seeing such costumes as one decent Joker and an incredible Carmen SanDiego. I helped Adair and her friend finish the cake and wait for people to arrive. The party was great fun, and there were pictures taken and cake eaten and my costume proved highly entertaining. Eventually Sue decided we should all go to a dyke bar, and so we proceeded to T's, and passed the remainder of the night there.

Saturday and Sunday, except for a brief dinner and lamp assembly visit by my mother and sister on their way back through Chicago to Dc, were devoted uninterestingly to my CLR open memo. Whee. Now, being only a week behind, I'm going to put this one up and start another post so you all don't drown in words.

"The issue is, what is chicken?" 190 F.Supp. 116 (S.D.N.Y. 1960)