Happy New Year!

Happy 2006, everybody!

In true homebody fashion, I stayed home and watched the fireworks from my building's roof deck.

At the risk of sounding like a five-year-old, I just have to say that something inside of me gets all happy when I see fireworks. I <3 them.

A Return (to the Dark Side)

A short post, but let's just say I am back.

I hope everyone had a relaxing and ab-fab holiday.

New Year's Resolution?
Work out more and lose some of this winter insulation. (I blame it on shocking the California metabolism with the Chicago winter!)

Incentive?
Bridesmaid dress this summer. (yiiiiiikes)

Who's with me???? :)

Home Sweet Home

I know I'm back in San Francisco when I...
1) hear "Jingle Bells" in Chinese on the sound system at the supermarket
2) walk outside in less than full down coat, gloves, scarves, and hat gear
3) eat fresh seafood three times a week
4) am colder inside the house than outside the house (don't ask me to explain this, but I have a feeling it has something to do with a mental association with the outdoors-as-zero-degree-weather territory)
5) can look forward to the following eclectic mix of Christmas buffet offerings: Korean beef, turkey with gravy, baby bok choy, and cheesecake
6) pay $5 in toll money to cross the bridge
7) have to cope with my parents' dial-up :)

Season of Miracles!

In addition to my first miracle of the academic season (Insurance Law paper is complete at 15.7 pages and turned in two days early), today brings another unexpected joy to my life: I passed the MPRE very very comfortably! (Yes, miracle of miracles!)

So, in celebration, here's another haiku:
Oh, MPRE,
You really thought you'd stump me,
But I whooped your ass!

No more pencils...

No more books, no more teachers' dirty looks!

I'M DONE!

(And I'm fairly confident I passed!)

YAY!

Law School Snowglobe

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the [logistics of three-party transactions and substance versus form in tax matters] are so delightful,
And since I've [no desire to fail and] no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Pink & Blue

My hair is now pink and blue.


And, yes, I should be studying.

Quick Note, Part Deux

The fruits of my disgruntled state have paid off. Last night I was on a roll and wrote an angry letter to Bulgari (and, considering how salty I was what with my not lotterying into anything, the letter was pretty long and extensive -- I used the phrase "market mediocrity" when comparing their policy to the policies of Tiffany and Coach). In response to my angry letter (which I dropped off this morning), the manager of the store called me about 30 minutes later and left a deeply apologetic voicemail that said "Of course, we will replace the item. They should have offered to from the start." etc etc. She said she was sorry that I had to write the letter in the first place, and she understands why I am so dissatisfied with the experience. Also, apparently the guy with whom I spoke wasn't even a sales representative and shouldn't have been on the sales floor in the first place.

It's a little comforting to know that letter-writing has not gone out of style/lost its efficacy, and it feels good that they responded so promptly once I made my dissatisfaction known.

What kind of lottery is this?

So the lottery results are in for our seminar classes for next quarter. For the second quarter in a row, I have not lotteried into ANYTHING. How screwed up is that?

And I see that some people who lotteried into the ultra competitive Posner, J.'s class actually won a second seminar, too.

WTF

That means they got both their first and second choices.

Is it just me or does this system make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL??????????

Needless to say, I am pretty starring disgruntled.

(And a tiny part of me is screaming "Bring back E.Pitt! At least with his system I was able to get into a damn class!")

Quick Note

Update: I have 15.2 pages of my paper (miracle) and I finally know what a carryover basis is (baby steps, people!).

Question:
Does anybody have a Wills, Trusts, and Estates book by Dukeminier, et al. (red-colored book publisher) for me to buy?

3L-itis

As I sit here with only 4.6 pages of my 15 page (according to the prof, but 10-15 according to me) paper, I wonder "Can I teach myself Tax in six days?"

Furthermore, as Daddy Pose writes in his away message, "Has anyone ever had a law firm take back an offer because they got all C's their third year?"

Your thoughts.

Edit: By popular demand, the second half of Daddy Pose's away message: ...All D's? (Sub-question: Is it even possible to get all D's in law school these days? Seriously, even if you were to write "Prof. X rapes baby seals with aborted fetuses and I slept with his wife" in purple crayon on every exam, do you think you could get straight D's?)"

Buh-bye, Bulgari

In Rome, I bought a fancy shmancy souvenir -- a key ring from Bulgari. It set me back a pretty penny, and it was a great reminder of a fun week.

Yes, "was."

The clip part broke off about a month ago, so I brought it into the Michigan Avenue store to try to have it repaired.

They told me today that they can't repair it. I asked about some sort of warranty on the item. They said there was no warranty on "leather goods." It seems to me that, with the high price of all of these luxury goods, there should be SOME kind of warranty no matter what the product. Can we say "implied warranty of merchantability?"

Thus, as of right now, I proclaim war on Bulgari and henceforth boycott their products. He wasn't even apologetic about it. How rude.

Stan Berenstain

Today, Stan Berenstain died. He was the author behind the Berenstain Bears.

As a kid, I loved this series. I think my favorite was Berenstain Bears and the Sitter. Or maybe Berenstain Bears in the Dark. Or maybe Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight. Heck, who am I kidding, I loved all of them!


Thanks for the memories, Stan.

Homebody, Examined

So recently I took a quiz thing that said my "ideal relationship" right now would be casual dating. This result makes me wonder: How does a homebody go about casually dating? Or...how does a homebody meet other homebodies? Or...what do two homebodies do on a date? Mutual homebodying?

Also, I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine from high school. Neither of us has had much experience with the relationships side of life. Looking around, we see that many of the long-term relationships people are in are relationships that began in undergrad. This makes me wonder (a second time): Is there some sort of expiration date on, well, date-ability? And...if I haven't jumped on that ship yet, has it set sail already? And...if I look on the back of my diploma, will I find some sort of sell-by date in fine print along the lines of "Has reached her shelf life for relationship-readiness. Do not purchase past 06/2003"...?

Maybe it's just the company I keep and the people I know are a skewed sample, but it seems that dating past undergrad is especially difficult. Sure, going to law school may have opened up a second-time-around door, but the well's pretty dry over here, too. Now that I think I may be curious enough to jump on board, is it possible that I'm already past my expiration date?

Rude Awakening

Normally, I have a lovely, peaceful view of the lake from my window.


This morning, however, around 8:30 AM, I awoke to the sound of a Vietnam war movie in surround sound, with this blight on the view outside my window.


Yes, that is a starring helicopter about 30 feet away. Needless to say, it was loud as all hell and goddamn annoying, too. 8:30 AM on a Sunday morning? So unnecessary.

Mrs. Federline

Britney, time to wake up and smell the divorce papers.

Edit: Wow, considering the flurry of Hollywood matrimony news, that was an especially appropo time to mention Brit-Brit's wedding.

See: Jessica & Nick are separated! (Also, how much grosser can Jessica's dad get?!)
Also see: Christina Aguilera gets married.

Hrmmm...

So maybe it's time to start fishing?

Your Ideal Relationship is Casual Dating

Maybe you're looking for love... But mostly you're looking for fun. You could get serious with the right person. For now, though, you're enjoying playing the field.

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Guten Tag!

Law Fairy tagged me. I am IT. There are rules and all that good stuff.

Here's how you play this one:

1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

The fifth sentence is...*drumroll*:

"Why am I here?"

I think that sums up the story of my life (for now).

My tag? Slater, LAK, and, hrm, Barbie Mike!

*skedaddles*

Just in Time for Christmas

Atari, revisited.

The Atari Flashback, with classic games such as Pong and Centipede, retails for the '80s price of $30. Now you all know what to get your older brothers for Christmas.

Advice Q

A friend has been asking me for advice on his long distance relationship. He wants to break up with his LD girlfriend (of two years), who lives across an ocean. Something to think about: He has tickets to visit her at Christmas already. How best should he do this?

Also, just as a minor rant, I think he is totally off-the-mark when he thinks he can check out other girls/get their numbers, etc. He says that he's "mentally" free now. WTF? I say he can't so much as call this girl (or any other girl, for that matter) before he breaks up with the LD girlfriend. She needs to know. It's only fair to her.

Maybe my mindset against emotional cheating supports the evolutionary psychology theory that men are more upset by sexual infidelity (b/c their interest is in making sure their mates propagate their own genes) while women are more upset by emotional infidelity (b/c their interest lies with keeping their mates around to help raise the offspring)?

Rejoice

Call off the search team -- I have found my bookstand. (And just in the nick of time, Watson!)

32 Candles

Can anyone tell me if the "Sixteen Candles" sequel "32 Candles" ever was released?????

Side note: I found out what Jake Ryan (a.k.a. Michael Schoeffling) is doing now; he's a "successful furniture business owner/furniture maker" in Pennsylvania.

Class Time

Can someone tell me WTF is up with the introduction of this ridiculous 6:10-8:10 class period?!?! What are we, an extension school?

Count me in

I just accepted my NY offer.

HP4

"Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" (or, as I more lovingly refer to it, HP4) was good. I'm still not jumping out of my skin with excitement (but, really, how often does that happen where movies are better than the book), but it was definitely worth the time and anticipation. The movie was surprisingly funny -- funnier than the book -- but in a sort of dorky funny way. Nonetheless, dorky funny was appreciated...I liked it. I didn't like how Cho's dress was all stereotypical Asian cheong-sam dress, though!! What is up with that????? PC Police, where are you?

That aside, overall, a fun and action-packed movie.

P.S.: I really want a mini Hungarian Horntail for Christmas. :)

*** possible spoilers ***

They cut out a BUNCH of stuff in the movie, though! And a lot of the characters. I was a little taken aback from the very beginning b/c, if I remember correctly, the first scene does NOT have anybody other than Wormtail attending to Voldemort. That kind of set the mood for the rest of the movie in an "Okay, so I guess 600+ pages aren't easily adaptable to movie form, so let's see where they've abridged it" sort of way. A lot of the changes/removals were pretty smooth, but a couple made me wonder b/c they seem to make the next directors' jobs more difficult.

They got rid of the back story of Barty Crouch Jr's escape from Azkaban (and his father and mother's aid in doing so). Not only that, but the whole Barty Crouch Jr. background with Winky the house elf (who doesn't appear in the movie!) and and Barty Jr.'s overcoming and eventually using against his own father the Imperius curse.

They cut out Percy, Barty Crouch Sr.'s eager assistant (and soon-to-be estranged Weasley brother), entirely. That suggests any future Weasley family troubles will not be featured and could pose a problem b/c it seems Rowling is setting Percy up for something either evil or glorious by the last book. Hrm.

Also, they cut out the controversy over Madame Maxime's giant blood and the story of the giants in general. This omission seems important considering the peace mission Hagrid and Madame Maxime embark upon in the next books. It seems Dumbledore emphasizes that, in order to overcome Voldemort, the magical world -- not just wizards, but all magical creatures from elves to giants -- must come together and work with each other to defeat Voldemort and the Death Eaters, so why cut out this important tie?

There are a couple others that struck me as distracting, but for the most part, the changes/omissions still maintained the general story and made the movie work as a whole.

So Excited

I just bought my spring break tickets.

Into Berlin, returning from Athens.

Best of all, less than roundtrip to/from either of the cities.

SO EXCITED.

Miscellany

First: Thank GOD the holidays are starting earlier and earlier...because that means more egg nog and peppermint ice cream. Yayayayay!

Second: The newest Miller Lite commercial is awesome.
Lawyer to man on the stand: "... And in your opinion, which has more flavor: Miller Lite or Bud Light?"
Man on the stand: "The Miller Lite, definitely!"
Lawyer: "Let the record show that our taste expert states --"
Opposing counsel: "Objection! He's not a taste expert!"
Judge: "This man's legal name is Flava-Flav. Counselor, I'll allow it."
Lawyer and Flava, pointing at opposing counsel: "Yeeeeeeeahhhhhhhh, boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Um, according to whom?

Estee Lauder dropped Elizabeth Hurley in favor of Gwyneth Paltrow because they wanted to make their company "more sexy."

Uh, yeah...a married new mom whose child is named after a fruit is way more sexy...

More Speechless?

In the spirit of "I like my Bio Data, B-I-O-D-A-T-A!," here are a couple of other videos. 'N Chink was at UCLA when I was there! And Bok Choy Boys come from the student group my friend performs in.

'N Chink -- Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely
'N Chink -- The Last Episode
Bok Choy Boys -- I Want My Chow Mein

And, while I'm posting video links, this video is super cute. Take that, all of you Mac v. PC debaters! (Thanks, Mikey!)

Celeb Lookalike

OH MY GOD.

Carol's date in As Good As It Gets (an actor named Randall Batinkoff) looks EXACTLY LIKE Professor Harcourt. Okay, so Batinkoff's IMDB picture doesn't look like Harcourt, but if you watch the movie, Batinkoff's character is Harcourt even down to the intensity and downright aura!

And, yes, it's a little disconcerting to see Bernie Harcourt getting it on with Carol/Helen Hunt.

Gay Haiku

The most awesome haiku in Gay Haiku by Joel Derfner:

"Your CD rack has
No Barbra, Britney, or Cher.
Are you sure you're gay?"

State of Affairs

odderie: I'm such a supergeek.
odderie: I can't find my little bookstand.
odderie: And it's really upsetting!
odderie: I haven't used it all year.
odderie: Since last quarter's finals...
odderie: :-(
mcm: Does that say something about this years scholarship? ;-)

Coincidence?

This article reminded me of my brother's ChemE car:

MPRE Haiku

Feeling dejected
Just took the MPRE
March test, here I come.

Speechless, Part Deux

Holy crap.

I don't know if I'm being super culturally insensitive (in which case I apologize profusely), but this video is starring HILARIOUS.

Hollaback here. And turn on your sound.
Edit: Do not click on this in class.

Can I get an Eight Clap?

With UCLA ranked number 5, I feel as though I should somehow be rooting like a maniacal fan, obsessively watching every Saturday afternoon. Alas, I am not.

In the spirit of maniacal fans, however, I had a rather interesting Sunday when I drove down to Cincinnati to root on my brother and his team from Cal Berkeley in the National Chemical Engineering Car Competition.

I left at 5:50AM and saw the sun rise around Gary, Indiana.


In a sentence or two: In the competition, Chemical Engineering students build cars that run off of chemical reactions. Immediately before the competition, they are given a certain distance that they must get closest to and a certain weight that they must carry on their cars. There were some pretty cool cars out there.


Cal's car unfortunately...exploded. It was really loud. I know -- it's so sad, and they were so disappointed. The team just did not have the funding to buy extra materials for practice rounds, etc., so the tank was worn through by the time the competition began. They weren't the only ones with troubles, though. Many cars didn't run, and one even caught on fire. Yup. ON FIRE. That smoky stuff? It's from the fire extinguisher.


What was most entertaining and funny, though, was the fans. Holy man are they fanatics. Seriously. The Eight Clap is NOTHING compared to some of these guys. I think the pictures speak for themselves:

Kansas State University:


University of Puerto Rico:

*wallow*

Devastating news.

[My firm]-SF filled their corporate class.

Translation: No offer from my firm's SF office.

A deeper plot for Bush?

Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination for the Supreme Court. Considering the lack of support she's had over the last three weeks, this move is probably less embarrassing than not being confirmed in the end. It makes me wonder, though, whether or not Bush's nomination of Miers was actually part of a deeper plot.

I know how you feel about a "deeper plot" coming from Dubya's direction (deeper plot? the man can't even pronounce nuclear!), but let's indulge ourselves here for a sec. In nominating a woman who (likely) wouldn't have been confirmed and who raised the ire of both conservatives and liberals alike, perhaps he was looking towards his ultimate choice after Miers. Now that he has the option once again to nominate another, can he now point towards Miers and say "Look at Harriet! I nominated a woman, and that didn't work out! Just look how qualified [insert WASP-y male here] is! Confirm him!"...? Now that he's supposedly given a woman a chance, can he now nominate an ultra-conservative, completely non-diverse male with (perhaps not total, but at least more) impunity?

Is this the real reason for Miers's nomination?

Lounging Lizards

In the student lounge, mix papering frenzy with talk of beauty services and hilarity ensues.

Quote of the day:
"I don't like feet. I like armpits better than feet."
Close runner-up:
"I don't think they can just throw you into becoming a bikini waxer, though."

And, finally, my dinner:


Call me crazy, but that isn't a croissant.

Ah...the good ol' Plum. What would we do without you?

Rosa Parks

It's sad, but she had a long, productive, and fulfilling life. Be happy for what she did with it.

Nazis??? In Bakersfield????

Wow, this is so messed up.

"Dirty Dancing"

I love this movie. We had a little Homebody Night and watched "Dirty Dancing" tonight.

A made my night when she said she once had the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack...until some ROTC Navy guys who lived above her borrowed it and never returned it.

How awesome is that?

Gambling Man

I'm in Tax right now, and my professor is talking about getting comps from casinos. Apparently, many conventions are held in Las Vegas because of the inexpensive room rates that casinos offer with the hopes that the convention goers will gamble. No legal conventions are held there, though, because (she claims) the casinos are convinced lawyers/legal convention attendees won't gamble and thus the casinos only offer these potential convention goers high priced rooms.

Casinos should rethink this reasoning. Lawyers are attractive gambling prospects, after all, and accommodating a large number of them will more likely than not benefit casinos and result in more gambling than they are currently allowing for. Lawyers earn high incomes. They also like to drink/abuse substances See: Strung-out-on-coke lawyer stereotypes!. They also get little free time in their everyday lives See: Billables!!, so convention-going would offer a rare opportunity to enjoy themselves, for which opportunity they are likely not to care about spending their high incomes and, indeed, spending said incomes freely. (One need only consider the way lawyers tell themselves their lives are worthwhile by purchasing lots of expensive, high-end items with the idea that "I may not have much free time, but I can still take half an hour to acquire a completely unnecessary Gucci bag, three-digit-priced raw silk tie, etc." I, myself, have fallen victim to this mentality already.)

Call me cynical, but surely this combination of infrequently-spent free time, lots of disposable income, and probable judgment impairedness is a potent gambling cocktail.

B-school?

It's a little late to change courses, huh?

You Should Get a MBA (Masters of Business Administration)

You're a self starter with a drive for success. You'd make a great entrepreneur.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Mean Smile

A little "Mean Girl" to say it, but entertaining people of the moment:

People who say they are "intelligant" or "inteligent" or "[any other way of spelling "intelligent" incorrectly]."

TV Date

In a commercial for "Inside the Actor's Studio," Bravo recently touted its latest episode's guest...Elton John.

Much as I love "Daniel" and the origin of my blog title "Tiny Dancer," call me crazy, but Elton John isn't an actor.

Spending Money Like Water II

Should I be concerned that my new bag cost more than my couch?

Copious Amounts of Free Time

I've signed up for an evening class, which I figured would give me something to do with my copious amounts of free time.

I had my first Introduction to Drawing lesson today!

It was fun. I enjoyed it. Doing non-law-related stuff was awesome.

Fingerpainting, here I come!

Friendst(alk)er

Many people, including Law Fairy, have been scathing in their posts about Friendst(alk)er's latest (and definitely NOT greatest) update of features: you can now see who has viewed your profile. I, too, am less than amused. This change makes the formerly innocuous perusing of other people's profiles a possible 10 on the embarrassment Richter scale.

Fear not, though, worthy citizens of Friendster-land. In case you were not aware, you can turn this feature off (where you end up browsing anonymously) by going into the "My Settings" options page and clicking off the appropriate boxes.

Trust me, people, I was on that shit like white on rice.

Redheads Have More Fun

Woohoo!

Lindsay Lohan is no longer a blonde!

Nightmares as Video Games

I took a nap today after going to cheer on my friend JB at the Chicago Marathon. I had a scary-exciting dream. It made me wonder why nightmares aren't more welcome. Granted, you need to be aware that they are only dreams in order to enjoy them. However, once you do, they really can be like video games in your participation in the chase and fight with the baddies.

My scary-exciting dream:

Three of us are sitting, being held captive after hours at a Marshall Field's-like department store. We are sitting in a circular clearing area with office furniture all around us. By the wall, in a high backed leather executive chair, sits the captor, a tall guy in a navy blue pinstriped suit, crisp white shirt, red power tie...with a goat's head. For some reason, we are all armed and unbound, despite our captivity. (Don't ask me -- it was a dream!) I'm sitting with my back facing the wall, looking out into the open floorplan with the stairs-where-there-would-be-escalators about twenty feet ahead.

I look to my right and make eye contact with one of the others who is being held captive. Somehow he and I communicate that I will distract The Goat so that the guy can attack The Goat. I start (playfully?) shooting at the third captive's feet with my machine gun. As The Goat yells at me, the other guy leaps to his feet and starts shooting at The Goat with his machine gun.

We all leap to our feet in order to scatter to make it more difficult to recapture us. As I run towards the stairs, The Goat's henchmen arrive from the left, one of them pushing the other in a carpet-lined shopping cart and both of them shooting at the three of us. (Seriously -- it was a dream.) As I run with the henchmen chasing me, I turn around and let off spurts of shots in The Goat's and their directions. I get this sense of accomplishment whenever my aim hits them.

As I scramble down the stairs (Seventh floor was heavy appliances (dishwashers, etc.), sixth floor was furniture (sofas, chaises, etc.), and fifth floor was model rooms (in the IKEA style).), I start leaping the last 7 steps...then the last 10 steps...then the whole staircase in a stomach-dropping feat of only-in-dreamdomness. Upon reaching the fifth floor, I hunt for a hiding place to watch for the bad guys. I consider and reject hiding behind country vine-covered curtains in a little IKEA-like sitting room. Running again, I pass by my uncle and parents, who tell me my brother left (and would be returning). I get scared for him, and tell them to warn him and hide themselves. I hadn't found a hiding place by the time I woke up.

Take Heart

For those having difficulties reconciling their chosen profession with their personal morals, please review the following article: "On Being A Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, Unethical Profession." (If you're having difficulties with the link, this is the cite: 52 Vand. L. Rev. 871.)

Mmm...French Fries

While surfing today, I came across this fun, fascinating article. Having always had the negative stigma of being an untenable pollutant and thus bad for the environment, diesel fuel really never struck me as ever possibly being able to emerge as a good thing. If, however, this article is correct, and the only pollution coming out of biodiesel is of the French-Fry-smelling, non-harmful variety, then consider me favorably impressed. The idea of being able to cook up my car's gas in a deep fryer may even merit my own Craigs List, diesel-engined car experiment one day. And, yes, I realize that the fact that I consider this a really cool thing, let alone that I'm considering doing it in the future, reveals me for the born-and-raised San Franciscan that I am. Go ahead and say it. Fine. I'll say it for you. Hippie.

Harriet Miers

Three words: Southern Methodist University?????

OCI Update

Alas, plenty of time has passed, and I have yet to update everyone on the happenings (or, more accurately, the non-happenings) of my second foray into OCI land. Needless to say, no news has become, for the most part, bad news, and I am goddamn sick of it. Out of the 19 interviews I did at OCI, 16 have been converted into dings. Yes, dings. Dammit. Three I have yet to hear from. It's very discouraging, and it makes you wonder for whom these firms were really looking. Actually, it doesn't. Eliminating median grades-holding students, I've come up with the conclusion that they are looking for the bright, shining superstars of the 3L class (um, isn't it likely these superstars went to superstar firms their 2L summers already?), and these firms have to resign themselves to sifting through the median graded students to get to these (unlikely) superstars. I'm still holding out hope for my firm (please please please call soon and say you have room for me in SF!), but this lack of welcoming responses from firms at OCI has been quite an experience.

As a 2L interviewing with 30 or 40+ firms, you feel like the cream of the crop, the top of the list, the ace of spades. As a 3L interviewing with fewer than 20 firms, most of whom aren't even looking for 3Ls in earnest, you feel unwanted, alone, and frustrated. It's a different ballgame altogether. Even coming from a top school does not really help your chances. Receiving ding after ding (did someone say donuts? maybe not...) has really humbled me. On retrospect, I realize I entered this experience with the sense of entitlement that I had developed over the years that I deserved a good job "because, dammit, I go to a goddamn top law school and they should be falling all over themselves to employ me." That really is not the case. For those 2Ls out there who are considering their 2L summer firm choices, I would highly recommend you pick your firms wisely as 3L interviewing is not the cakewalk that your past couple months have been.

WTF

No comment.

World Chocolate Day

To my dismay, I missed celebrating World Chocolate Day on September 23. Let's just say that I've been making up for it ever since.

To all, a happy belated Chocolate Day!

Yes, yes, I should be studying.

Y'all better watch out for this llama-riding chick toting a vibro sling*. *rowr*

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Admiral Nova Your Superpower is Divine intervention Your Weakness is Confined spaces Your Weapon is Your Vibro Sling Your Mode of Transportation is Llama

What's your Superhero Name?

* What's a vibro sling? That's for me to know, and for you to find out...

Shouldn't you be studying?

Procrastination is fun.

I got 107 wpm. I know. What a dork.

MPRE

This week, I signed up for the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination), which tests the "knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct." I've heard that, as long as you have a fairly decent moral compass, you'll do fine.

So maybe I'll be okay, after all, if I exhibit a "very well-developed sense of what is Right and Wrong"...

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (26% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Hippity Hop

Tonight a cute little brown-with-a-white-tail bunny ...ran? ...hopped? ...skittered across the road as I was driving home. No, I did not hit it.

But can anyone tell me when wild bunnies became city dwellers?

Tour-o Tour-o

My friend has been in town for the past week, and I've been squiring him around to all of the "hot spots." Let me just say that being a tourist is exhausting. That being said, I'm happy we got a chance to go to the Art Institute and see the collection of mini rooms. Those were super cute and original. I also was pleasantly surprised by the Museum of Contemporary Art. An especially fun discovery was Chris Uphues, who was their 12 x 12 (12 young Chicago artists over the next 12 months) feature of the month. His paintings are a lot of fun, and the level of detail he puts into each of them is hugely impressive.

That being said, man ALIVE does my friend love American vice foods. In addition to his already-existing love of two-bite brownies, Haagen Dazs Pineapple Coconut ice cream, and macaroni and cheese, he's fallen in love with Original Pancake House omelettes, Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, and Giordano's stuffed pizza. Not that I blame him (for the most part) -- I love Cold Stone as much as the next, but, holy man, I can just feel my arteries clogging. *choke choke* I think I need to detox afterwards. Any suggestions?

Observation

In My Best Friend's Wedding, Julia Roberts's character is a food critic. Her character also smokes cigarettes. Incongruity?

No News

No news is...no news, it seems.

That's okay because I just ordered a set of 800 tc sheets. Ahhh...cheers to drowning the problem in online shopping.

Law Students Gone Wild

...or perhaps...gone native?

itsasony3: Have you done exercises where you were sued for battery?
odderie: Er...no
itsasony3: baah
odderie: Here's a hunch: Has a sheep ever sued you for battery?
odderie: *lifts eyebrow*
itsasony3: Why does everyone think I fuck sheep?!!!

Current State

Upset with the lack of positive responses from OCI. See: boatload of dings that arrived with yesterday's mail.

On the other hand, very excited that Nip/Tuck starts up again on Tuesday. Who doesn't like watching people whose lives are more starred up than their own?

Don't Let The Teacher Catch You

New Age-y approach: Has anyone tried to do a handwriting analysis of this note?

Trader Joe's, what have you done?

Why, oh why, did Trader Joe's stop stocking wasabi soy nuts and organic dried mangoes?

FYI

Just as an FYI, now that I remember yesterday's grocery trip, 4-5pm seems to be prime time for really hot guys to go grocery shopping. I saw at least four. And they were there ALONE. There's something about a hot guy picking out red peppers. Rowr.

No News = Good News?

Is no news good news?

OCI is officially over. All in all, I did 18 total interviews, which is a pretty respectable number. The tally so far is uninspiring, but uninformative:

Total interviews: 18
Dings: 5
Callbacks: 0

Needless to say, any phone call between the hours of 10am and 7pm Chicago time (which would be 8am and 5pm California time) is heart attack-inducing. See: yesterday afternoon. I went for a walk to the grocery store and returned to find that I had a voicemail. Telling myself (1) not to panic despite the blood rushing in my ears and (2) that it would probably be either my father (who has taken to calling to make sure I'm still alive and well, which I'll admit is a little flattering b/c he's so stubbornly independent while being very codependent -- more on that later) or a friend, I listened to the voicemail.

It was blank.

BLANK.

What kind of cruelty is that?

I then checked the call history and was even more perturbed by what I saw. The phone call came from a 415 number (San Francisco area code), which in itself is heart attack-inducing. The weird thing (and I mean WEIRD) is that the 415 was then followed by a phone number of... 000-0000.

Yup, 000-0000, which I have never seen before on my phone.

So now I'm left to wonder what that meant. It probably means nothing. It probably is some blasted turd automated telemarketer thingamabob dialer. It probably means no more than that the fates decided that my heart needed a blood-pumping workout. Bastards.

iPod nano

Wow, just when I was getting used to and feeling pleased as punch with my mini, Apple just has to come out with the nano and inspire covetous feelings within.

Speechless

I'm torn between being impressed and being disturbed that someone would go to the trouble to compile such a list of...well...you'll see (where the person referenced is the one in the numerous pictures).

*wallow*

I've taken to drowning my OCI sorrows in Harlequin Romance novels (the tender, mushy, emotional kind) and Regency romance novels (the ankle-barer, oh-my-god-did-they-just-kiss-how-scandalous kinds) with pistachios, dried mangoes, and a glass of ice cold water within reaching distance.

When, oh when, did I become a middle-aged housewife?

Sassy

Life is not a dress rehearsal, so don't dress like you're an understudy.

Where is the love?

Really not feeling the 3L love here. It's disheartening.

Katrina

It's tragic that Americans are capable of such horrifying behavior in the absence of law and its enforcers. While I understand fear, the emotion does not in any way tie to the desire to commit such atrocious acts against human beings and fellow sufferers. We are not heartless. Why act that way?

OCI - SOS

As expected, I'm a little nervous about interviewing with my sub-par grades.

As unexpected, I'm feeling discouraged because I haven't heard back from any firms yet.

Interviews so far: 8
Interviews to go: 6
Responses of any kind: 0

The San Francisco Post (Work Edition)

Today OCI -- Round Two started up for me. It's quite different to go through it this time around, knowing that there is a job for me to fall back on should nothing pan out. Walking into the interview room with an offer already on the table is a huge relief. That being said, plenty is at stake because (I don't know if you know this, but) I really want to be back in SF. [/snarkiness hehe]

It was quite a fiasco for me to set up a meeting with the San Francisco office over my two week stay in SF. Let's just say I really really really am glad I won't have to deal (much) with the recruiting department any longer. In the end, though, I was able to meet up with my friend for lunch on Friday AND with some people from the corporate department after the lunch. Yay.

Best get to bed so that I can be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for my interviews tomorrow. More later on how those go.

The San Francisco Post (Home Edition)

Home was awesome. I spent two weeks doing pretty much NOTHING, and it felt wonderful.

On the plus side, I gained only 2 pounds or so over the course of the summer. On the minus side, I've gained about 7 pounds *shudder* since 2L year started. Looks like I have a new project for 3L year.

My brother turned 21 during those two weeks. It's hard to believe he's growing -- make that grown -- up. I still remember the times we used to sit in the laundry basket, tie empty paper towel roll-skeletons to the sides, and pretend we were astronauts.

The Firm Post

I stand by my previous statement: I like my firm because of the people there and the work to be had, but I dislike New York. Please let me find something in San Francisco.

The Food Post

It's been a long while since I've posted, and plenty has happened in that time. This is The Food Post.

We went to db bistro moderne on Wednesday. I had the famous $29 foie gras burger, and it was delicious! Wow, what an experience.

My final lunch was at Oceana, which was delicious as far as I can recall. I remember having a fish I could not recognize (which was very good -- I think it was the "loup de mer" now that I look at their online menu). The food was good, but the service left something to be desired. I had to ask them if we would ever receive our menus, and the waiter was a little -- for lack of a better word -- "cheeky."

Random Question

Do you think toilet paper should roll from over the roll or under the roll?

Lunch Home Stretch

Today we went to Aureole, which was incredible. I had the summer tasting menu, which was a fabulous deal that I highly recommend. The menu included a strawberry & ricotta tart, a striped bass dish, and a lamb dish that had lamb so supple, it was like eating butter. Mmmm... We had high expectations for dessert because Zagat had warned to save room for the "show-stopping" desserts. In reality, Aureole definitely delivered. I had the bittersweet and milk chocolate marquise, which was sinfully rich but wonderful. It was an interesting experience, too, because we ordered the creme brulee parade for the table, which included traditional creme brulee, chocolate chipotle creme brulee (pretty good!), and sweet corn creme brulee, which was...in one word...narsty. Oh well. You know me; I'll try anything once!

Just Like Home, But Not

On Saturday, I went OUT-out with a few friends for my last weekend in NYC. We went to Bed, which was pretty cool and filled with Beautiful People. The drink that I had (the "Horny Little Devil") was disgustingly strong and tequila-heavy, but the food was surprisingly good and plentiful. Overall, the night was fun, and it was cool to do exactly what I would do at home (lounge around in bed) while people-watching and feeling like part of the social crowd.

One of the things about being social in NY, though, is the feeling of hierarchy and class. It actually gets pretty depressing to think about how self-important people are and how entitled the Beautiful People act when encountered with the oh-so-fabled Velvet Rope. If I were to stay in NY, I doubt my self-confidence would survive many nights OUT-out.

More my style was the awesome Single Room Occupancy (a.k.a. SRO) that is just around the corner from my sublet. It's this tiny underground wine & beer bar that has an unmarked doorfront and a buzzer you need to ring for entrance. While this might sound more self-important sounding than the huge clubs, it's not. It actually felt intimate and comfortable, and the people there were welcoming. At the point where you know where to go, that's all that matters.

I guess my forays into New York nightlife were fleeting but varied. If anybody can recommend anything that might seem more my style, please do share.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

AHHHHHH!!! I WANT A CAT!!!!!!

Specifically, THIS CAT!!!!

This is Chinese Food?

On Wednesday last week we went to Chin Chin, a "fancy" Chinese place in Midtown. The company was wonderful, but the food itself was, shall I say, uninspired. I'd read many good things about the "Grand Marnier Shrimp" on all of the usual suspects (citysearch.com, menupages.com, etc.), so imagine my surprise when this much-lauded dish arrived and turned out to be (drumroll, please) shrimp-with-walnuts, minus the walnuts.

Yup, you heard me right, it wasn't just something that could easily be had at the local Chinese joint, but it was FAKE Chinese food on top of that! It was good, as shrimp-with-walnuts often is, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Plus, at $20, it was definitely not worth the money when the same amount would have bought at least three dishes in actual Chinatown. Ah well...I guess that's what I get for expecting Chinese food to be good outside of Chinatown.

I miss SF.

Tummy Sticks -- Even I Don't Know

Can someone out there tell me what it means to "play tummy sticks?"

Yes, I saw "Wedding Crashers." And, yes, I've been thinking about it a lot (granted, not too much, but still...), and even my corrupt and pervy mind can't think of a concrete definition. Instinct tells me it has to do with a *ahem* stick that, er, rises to hit one's tummy (in plain language, I think it has to do with erections), but can anyone confirm this? What's the exact definition? Is this its first use? What's the etymological origin, even??? :)

I'm going crazy with this gap in my mental dictionary of depravity!

Beats Me

The cat is sniffing my dirty laundry, specifically zoning in on my underwear. Man I just hope I don't wake up to Shredded Wardrobe with a side of Hairballed Hamper.

I'm at a loss for words.

Ching Ching Goes The Bling Bling

Last Wednesday, we made a trip up to Mohegan Sun for a fun real-life Casino Night event. I played craps for real this time. My friend and I were partners in crime (figuratively speaking, of course). We were major high rollers. Awww yeah. After cashing in a whopping $20, we had our chips in hand and were ready to play. After two and a half hours of majorly fun entertainment, he and I left the tables, running back to catch the party bus on its way back to NYC. Aha. But we did not leave before cashing in our chips. Oh yes indeedy. I cashed in $60 and he cashed in $50. We were rollin' in it! :)

The party bus was fun on the way back. By then, everyone had finished up the beer on the way up, so the more adventurous of us moved on to the mysterious decanters of brown and clear (a.k.a. "white") liquids that came with the party bus. It turns out that brown was tequila and white was GOD-awful vodka (in the style of large-plastic-jug vodka). And yes, there were partners and associates on board, including Hiring Partner. Anyway, (bartenders take note) let's just say that three new drinks came into creation that night: White & Sprite (self-explanatory), Brown & Coke (also self-explanatory), and (drumroll) for the truly adventurous, the Rainbow (brown & white together).

SF Uber-Update

Alas, after popping my head into the Hiring Partner's office to find out FINALLY what the star is going on here, I have my answer. It is apparently "not likely" to happen this summer (for me to go to SF at the end of the summer). It is "logistically difficult." He had the Recruiting Manager "follow up on it," which I find highly curious because the Recruiting Manager has been on vacation (in the middle of the summer program, yes) for the past two weeks. Anyway, at least now I know that they're at the least reluctant and at the most downright opposed to my going to SF...as of now. So I've devised a plan:

1) Lay low on the NY front and just earn my offer at the NY office.
2) Get the hell out of NY the day after the program's over, go back to Chicago, then go straight to SF the very next day, do not pass go, do not collect $200 -- SF here I come!
3) Once I'm in SF, contact the SF lawyer I know at my firm and see if she can get the lay of the land for me with their Recruiting while holding the whole "She has an offer in NY, but she'd rather be in SF near her family, etc." card. Offer to come in, interview at the SF office, the works, etc.
4) Cross my fingers majorly that this will work out.
5) Talk to Awesome Partner who is at Palo Alto Firm that I got an offer from. Mention that NY sucks and SF rocks. Pray to god he'll once again see how awesome I am, go to Recruiting on my behalf, say I can come in and meet people and let them get to meet me, and then get an offer as an incoming Associate for Firm.
6) In the meanwhile, prepare to do OCI because the probability that all will work out is so-so at most.

Yay for reinterviewing with below-median grades. No worries. I will make up for all with my spahhh-kling personality, dahhh-ling. *flips hair* Whee!

Loathsome Late Leute

Warning: Rant Following

I hate late people. I hate them. It is so inconsiderate and disrespectful to be late. I think late guidelines should be instilled into our collective etiquette. Up to five minutes is allowed, then I require excuses. Five to ten minutes and the culprit can get by with a token excuse. (Think "the elevator took forever!" sort of excuses.) Ten to fifteen needs a GOOD excuse. (Think "I was on the phone with my mother.") After fifteen, I'm walking. Harsh? Hell no. Time is money, people! And I hate to waste money.

Edit: Yes, I agree that there is such a thing as "fashionably late," but I think that only applies to parties, at which time a half hour -- even an hour -- is A-okay. When we're talking about situations with reservations involved, you should not arrive at the meeting point -- and I'm NOT talking about the ultimate destination -- at the time of the reservations themselves.

Late Lunch Lowdown

It's been a while since I've updated my restaurant visits. Here's the scoop from last week:

On Monday, we went to Tamarind, an absolutely beautiful Indian restaurant tucked away in Gramercy. Lunch here was delicious! I had an apricot-stuffed lamb, which was pretty good. I filled up on the breads and appetizers beforehand, though. *hides* As an aside, it is getting REALLY starring annoying having to listen to Dieting Summer discuss the ins, outs, and betweens of her strict "I don't eat carbs and I am thus a psycho mean person because of it" diet. Ugh. Anyway, I once again ordered rasmalai for dessert. Yum.

On Tuesday, the bristly-mustached Italian waiters welcomed us with open arms to Nanni's. It was pretty dern fabulous (except for having to eat with Dieting Summer once again -- how can Italian be your favorite type of food when you refuse to eat pasta???). I had the Nanni pasta (on Who Woulda Thunk It Summer's recommendation) and the veal marsala, which were both excellent. For dessert, we all had strawberries with cream.

Le Colonial was our Wednesday destination. It's a French-inspired Vietnamese restaurant. The decor was on the extreme side (think Disneyland's Tiki Room), but the food was very good. I had an entree of lemongrass beef. Dessert was absolutely amazing. I had a banana beignet, which I devoured unabashedly.

Friday found us at Felidia, which was pretty dang good. I do, however, regret not ordering the pasta. Italian is for pasta!! :) I had the Maine diver scallops (which were pretty good, but not nearly as amazing as the pear and pecorino-filled ravioli) for my first course. For my second course, I ordered the grilled salmon, which was also good, but I'm STILL fixating on the ravioli!! Dessert was interesting. It was tiramisu, but it wasn't the traditional tiramisu we were expecting. The tiramisu was citrus-inspired, so there was a lemony flavor to it (which was an interesting twist) and candied kumquats as a garnish (which was kinda weird).

Yesterday, we went to 21 Club, which I was really excited about. Alas, I was sorely disappointed. The inside of the restaurant was dark -- VERY dark. (I told another summer, "I feel like we should be making out here." Yes, that was very red light.) Overall, I was not that enthused about the place or meal at all. The salad I had was very fresh and yummy, but I would much rather have appreciated being able to see what I was eating. I had a freaking $27 burger which ended up being not all that great. The warm cinnamon and vanilla rice pudding dessert was really good, though.

Lunch today was supposed to be a "quick lunch." I wanted a "quick lunch," which I thought meant a Subway run or something. Oh no. No no no. How naive! Apparently, a quick lunch instead means a really excellent lunch at a good restaurant but with no dilly dallying. That is A-okay with me! We went to Dock's Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, which was actually surprisingly good. The chowder was a little tangy, but still plenty chunky for my tastes. The sesame encrusted yellowfin tuna was really crazy good. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the rice (I'm not much of a rice person). It had a delicious ginger and roasted nutty flavor. We didn't dawdle over dessert because this was a "quick lunch." *winks* Instead, I took a veritable vat of chocolate pudding to go for dessert. YUM.

More on lunches and my (must be) expanding waistline to come.

SF Update

I emailed the hiring partner last Monday morning mentioning more firmly my interest in possibly trying out another city *coughs "San Francisco"* if the opportunity arose this summer. I still haven't heard back from him. I'm concerned and just a little *coughs "a lot"* worried. I really don't want to jeopardize my NY offer. Tomorrow my plan is to play the "scared shitless" part with a partner I trust to see if he can get the lay of the land. Let's hope all goes well.

Sad to report that, as of now, it looks like I should prepare for Fall OCI.

FILTH

odderie: I like Jake Ryan.
odderie: :-(
friend: Who's this f*cker Jake Ryan?
odderie: hahahahaa
odderie: He's probably 40 by now.
odderie: He's Molly Ringwald's crush on "Sixteen Candles."
odderie: Yeah, he's 44.
odderie: :-)
friend: I wonder what you call a male MILF?
odderie: FILTH?
odderie: Father I'd Like To Hump?
odderie: C'mon. You know you like it.
friend: Oh that's good, very good!
odderie: hehehe
odderie: I'm not a law student for nothing!

Bug-eyed update

I feel like an AA member every time I wake up.

"My name is odderie, and I have been bug-bite-free for three days."

Yay for bathing in "Off! Deep Woods" every night.

Blub Blub

My pants fit. This is not good. At the beginning of the week (let alone the beginning of the summer), my pants were a little loose. Now, after an indulgent and delectable (and totally worth it) week of yummy food, I have officially blubbered a little this week. This week's culprits really wow-ed me:

On Wednesday, I went to Asia de Cuba for a funky, yummy lunch with some of my favorite summers at the firm. The restaurant was bustling with what apparently was a sorority reunion of some sort. (But don't let that dissuade you from trying the place!) Dishes are served family-style, which worked very well because it gave us all the opportunity to try a lot of different flavors. The star dishes (in my mind) were the calimari salad, the fried plantain (SO GOOD), and the Cuban spiced chicken. For dessert, we had the sorbet selection (delicious and beautifully presented) and the coconut cake (ridiculously coconut-y and super duper rich -- almost too rich for me *gasp*).

On Thursday, in preparation for our meat-fest later that evening, a bunch of us went to Sushi Yasuda for a light sushi lunch. I had been here before during my call-back with this firm, so, having had a delicious meal before, I went expecting great things. I was not disappointed. The sushi here is beyond words wonderful. It is so fresh, I swear all of the fish must have been swimming scant hours before the meal. I had a variety of sushi, including a tuna roll, egg sushi, tuna sushi, squid, and (drumroll) cherrystone clam. I was very excited to try a new sushi, and the clam was very good. I love the texture of clam and the taste is not offensive like oysters. (No offense to oyster lovers out there.) What I was disappointed about this time, though, was the service. It seemed like they wanted to hurry us out of there! Granted, at the time of making the reservation, they mentioned something vague about having something going on where we would need to finish by 1:30, but clearing up quickly and telling us they had run out (or didn't have in the first place?) any of the listed desserts was ridiculous! Anyway, the sushi was fabulous, so we left content.

Thursday night was the Business & Finance group's Meat Fest at Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian meat fest restaurant. In case you haven't been to a Brazilian barbecue place before, let me describe the scene: You sit down, they give you a marker with red on one side (for stop) and green on the other (for go), and then the parade begins. Meat after meat after meat comes by you (as long as you're still green lighting, that is), and the waiters present the various cuts on long skewers. At least ten different cuts of steak, pork, chicken, sausage, etc. passed by, not to mention the salmon option they also offered. My table completely bypassed the (apparently phenomenal) salad bar in favor of getting straight to the good stuff. It was a good thing we did because there was more meat than we could literally chew. What peeved us, though, was that we (by which I mean the people at my table) saved (some) room for dessert in the hopes that they would continue this completely gluttonous feast and offer us multiple desserts. Sadly, disappointingly, frustratingly enough, they did not. No, they did not. "Only one dessert per person." Which makes you wonder...they'll give you unlimited amounts of meat for who knows how long, but they'll only allow you one dessert? Let's all hear it: Hrm.

Yesterday, though, was the incredibly most wonderfully divine lunch ever! Before, I'd stated that Jean-Georges was my favorite lunch. Friday's lunch is right up there with it. We went to Bouley, and it was amazing. It is definitely the best meal for the money that I've had in the city. I had the Chef's tasting menu: sashimi quality tuna with shaved fennel, steamed Chatham halibut, Long Island duckling, and the chocolate souffle. The food was crazy good, and the experience was just flat out really enjoyable. The staff was warm, friendly, and accessible (granted, it helps that the attorney I was with knew the staff), and the restaurant's layout and decor was welcoming and homey. I have to mention the bread. The bread. Is. Amazing. I had soooo much bread, and it was all soooo good. Among them were the garlic bread (AWESOME with little chunks of garlic), fig bread (for those with simpler tastes), black & white pepper bread (muy caliente! bread), and (my absolute favorite) the saffron walnut bread. *drools* They were kind enough to wrap up some saffron walnut bread for me, which I lovingly enjoyed this afternoon while I sat in the shade under a tree in Central Park, alternately reading my book and people watching. Yay for saffron walnut bread and yay for Bouley!

Now that I think about it, those trousers-that-now-fit are TOTALLY worth it.

The Real World: Crayola

Just a quick note to say I saw my first bona fide blue-haired (probable) grandma today.

Her hair was a fluffy cloud of wisteria cotton candy.

Mmm...cotton candy.

Meals^2

The good:

Today I went to Wolfgang's Steakhouse, which is run by the same people over at Peter Luger's (more on Luger's next Friday, a day I have been eagerly anticipating!). We had steak for 9 (and there were still 2 non-beef eaters who ordered fish). The steak was pretty dang tasty in its medium-rare charred goodness. I learned that, on the T-bone, the big side (for lack of a more technical term that probably does exist but of which I'm unaware) is the sirloin steak side and the small side (again, I admit my lack of knowledge here) is the filet mignon side. Isn't that cool?? In addition to hunks of sizzling meat, I of course left room for a horrifyingly rich chocolate mousse cake. The cake/mousse itself was eh-okay, but the crust was really cool (an Oreo cookie-like crust) and the "schlag" (their homemade whipped cream) was REALLY awesome.


The bad:

I am BEING EATEN ALIVE in NYC. (Stop thinking perverted thoughts!) I woke up this morning to EIGHT, count them EIGHT bug bites on me, TWO of which are on my FACE. How nasty is that?????? Trust me, you are not the only one grossed out by this because I am majorly disgusted.

I should explain that bug bites + my skin don't mix, and I end up with bad allergic reactions (think gigantic, really red, puffy, etc.). Anyway, I'd thought I'd been careful after having been spider-bitten earlier this summer (which is an even bigger debacle -- think antibiotics, the works -- than these mosquito bites), and I'd been wearing this really cool-dorky -- "corky?" -- (you know...one of those hybrid things that is awesome to find but that some would totally shun...like a Harry Potter robe or something) bug repellent bracelets that are supposed to keep biting bugs away. It appears that this one (which I'd admittedly been using for about a month -- it would likely wear off by now, I guess) had worn out by last night because man alive am I feeling it.

I've now reached a new level of nighttime bug repellent. In addition to my (NEW, just opened from the package) bug repellent bracelet, I have ceremoniously decorated my room with Bounce fabric softener sheets (placing one on my windowsill, tying one to my doorknob, you name it), and I bought a long sleeved shirt to wear to sleep. Yes, a long sleeved shirt. Those of you not in New York may not appreciate the fact that I will be wearing a long sleeved shirt. Let me just say that it is so hot-humid -- "homid?" -- here you don't even dry off when you step inside the air conditioned building -- the sweat sort of just sits there, nastily hanging out on the back of your neck. Granted, we DO have AC now (thank the LORD), but it's still stickily uncomfortable to be wearing sleeves at a time like this. *sigh*

Does anybody have suggestions for other things I could do? (I've heard garlic consumption is good and makes your blood unsavory...yea? nay? And, yes, I am aware that my voracious dessert consumption likely contributes to the taste of my blood...So sad...)

Strictly platonic, I swear

I love Harry Potter.

A random observation

Tonight I went to a release party for Harry Potter 6 at a little independent bookstore in SoHo. There was a tarot card reader (TRES cool -- she actually talked about my New York/San Francisco problem at work and the important people who will be making the decisions ultimately) and a palm reader (not as cool -- she seemed young and inexperienced with little detail or indications of where she was basing her reading on). Anyway, I have the book now (yay), but a random observation just occurred to me (2 hours later, granted) that I felt compelled to document.

So I bought a new pin/brooch yesterday (okay okay, Thursday), and I wore it today (okay okay, Friday -- you get the picture!!). Mind you, this was a new pin/brooch, tags on and all. I was standing in line for the palm reader when a woman who was in the line for the tarot card reader said my brooch was lovely. I thanked her. She asked if it was from the '40s. I said "No, I actually just bought it yesterday." She asks "Oh, is it old? Like at a vintage store?" I said "No, it was brand new at a little shop near Grand Central." She says "Well, it's very lovely." We chat a bit more about HP6's release.

Then she mentions that she has a new book that was just released, too.

It's called...wait for this...

Small Mediums at Large: The True Tale of a Family of Psychics

Think about that for a sec.

Okay.

Random observation: If she's a psychic, shouldn't she be able to tell that the pin/brooch was brand-spankin' new?

Hrmmmm...

Life & Lunch

Yesterday (well, Thursday anyway...) I saw Altar Boyz, an Off-Broadway musical about a boy band...that preaches the word of God. It was, in short, hilariously awesome. I won't waste your time with the details, but suffice to say that a musical that features songs such as "Something About You (Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait)" ("Girl, you make me wanna wait / At least until our wedding date / So 'till then, I'll mast'r.........my own fate") is bust a gut funny. The critics were right that, if you loved Avenue Q, you'll love Altar Boyz. Highly recommended.

Last week was an Asian round-up of lunches. On Tuesday, at my suggestion, we went for Korean barbecue over at Kum Gang San over in K-town. It was awesome. We ordered a BUNCH of food (Korean beef, jap chae, scallion pancakes, etc.) and it was all delicious. We may have left smelling like we brought the BBQ back with us to the office, but it was well worth it.

Wednesday I went to Boi, a Vietnamese place close to the office. I ordered the sizzling crepes, with which I was not at all impressed. I guess that's what I get for ordering something that sounds very UNauthentic at an ethnic food place. I wouldn't write off the restaurant entirely, though, because the partner who was in our group had a grilled lemongrass pork over noodles that was truly excellent. A lot of complex flavors just rolling around on the tongue. Mmmm... For dessert, I had a toasted sesame sundae, which was nice and refreshing on that humid NYC summer day.

Today we went to the ultra hip and trendy Megu for Japanese food. As seems likely to be the case for ultra hip and swanky new restaurants, I found Megu to be quite spectacular in its decor and interior "finishing touches" while unfortunately lackluster in service and only good in food (as opposed to amazing). I had a toro roll (which was yummy) and the chef's (cooked) tasting menu, which was overall pretty tasty except for the grilled fish (yellowtail, I think), which was just narsty. My dessert was really cool, though. (I had a green tea crepe.) Don't get me wrong -- the presentation and design of the place was amazing, but the execution (service wasn't well-trained and food wasn't all that sparkling, either) could have been better. This is, after all, a restaurant, people. Let's make some good food happen!

Fore!

We had our firm outing today at a swanky country club. It was pretty uneventful for the most part. The most memorable thing about it is a toss-up between 1) the insanely ridiculous heat/humidity combo 2) the cool firm-embossed golf bag towel thingee and 3) the horrendously bad jokes made at the mercifully short dinner speech.

On the last topic, I always wonder what compels the speaker to push forward with the (never ending) jokes. After the first...I don't know...two or three...or even, say, NINE fall flat, doesn't the speaker want to end it? I know I mustn't have been the only one praying for a mercy kill. It may be even worse to consider that somebody actually wrote those jokes. *shudder*

Miscellany

Tuesday's lunch was at Sparks Steak House. I'd been here before when I was checking out firms. It was great then, and it was great on Tuesday. I had a gigantic filet mignon, which was the size of my head. The dessert was delicious. I had a strawberry Romanoff, which was strawberries with a cream that was oh so wonderful.

I got a haircut yesterday at a chichi salon. I went to Ted Gibson Salon, which is the same place (or at least the same guy) that does Angelina Jolie's hair. I was very happy with the cut, which was my first paid-for haircut in about 5 years and my first chichi cut ever. Haircutting has always been a control freak issue for me; some sort of twisted logic always wins me over where I'd rather wield the scissors and be in control than have a $20 stylist work on me. Really, can you really trust a person being paid $20 actually to care about what he/she does to your hair? The chichi place, though, seemed like the perfect solution because, even though I wouldn't be completely in control, at least the person in control would be a super trained stylist who (one would hope) would know what he/she was doing. There's something about cutting my own hair that is very freeing, though. I love the feel of the scissor making its way through the chunk of hair.

Baaaaaa-d Move

File this in the "can't believe it really happened" category. The poor farmers. :( (And sheep.)

Fording the River!

I've been watching the horrifically bad but watchable like a train wreck "Into the West" on TNT lately. After having watched the first episode, I've been sucked in, and I can't get out!

It's inspired me, actually, to hunt down a copy of Oregon Trail. Man alive was that game awesome. I loved hunting the little animals. It was always fun to go for the little squirrels or rabbits (the challenging game), but when supplies were low, a big, slow bison or elk was more than welcome. I think it's funny how the most entertaining animals to hunt (the little squirrels or rabbits) always yielded the least amount of meat ("You bring back 2 lb of meat to your camp.") while the easiest ones to hunt (the big elk and bison) yielded WAY too much food for you to carry home ("You hunt 398 lb of meat, but can only bring back 200 lb of meat to your camp.")

Watching "Into the West" has also made me appreciate that "Daniel [really CAN have] died of a broken arm." I think it was the second episode that showed a woman with a broken leg who ended up dying because it got nastily infected and then they tried to amputate (with no drugs and a saw!!! EW!). Man have we gotten soft in the past hundred years.

Random thought: Were there vegetarians in the West?

Random request: Does anybody know where I can download a free copy of Oregon Trail?

Decisions

So I had my midsummer review yesterday. I am, as expected, AWESOME. (j/k -- but the review did go very well) Anyway, over the past week, I'd been agonizing over whether or not to bring up the subject of San Francisco with the firm. After asking many people (my partner mentor was the one who convinced me it would be a-okay to do), I took the plunge and mentioned it in my review.

No, the world did not come tumbling down.

I wasn't confrontational about it at all; I just mentioned that it was the first time I'd ever lived in NY and that, while I love the firm, I'm not sure yet if I love New York. They seemed to take it pretty well. I didn't commit actually to having made a decision yet, but I figure it's good to have put it on the table.

My partner mentor mentioned that it wasn't unheard of as there have been people who have started in New York who didn't summer here. That is very encouraging. I'd been very worried about jeopardizing my New York offer, and she reassured me it wouldn't do that. *crosses fingers that she was right*

I figure I'll let them marinate on this and then maybe bring up the subject later next week to see if they have any suggestions "if it does come to that [situation where I don't like New York for my permanent position]."

For now, I'm just super happy to have gotten it out in the open.

Man, the Neon Lights are Bright

One thing I do love about New York is the accessibility to AWESOME Broadway shows. I guess you could say I love New York, but I'm not sure if I'd love to live here.

Anyway, the firm took us to see Spamalot, which was hilariously fabulous. I didn't know anything about Monty Python, so I wasn't sure how I'd like it going into it. Coming out of it, though, I had my answer: It's awesome! The songs are so much fun. Along the lines of Avenue Q, the songs in Spamalot are self-aware and VERY clever. I love it!

This past Tuesday, I went to see Wicked, which tells the tale-that-never-was-told of the purported "Wicked" Witch of the West. It was a lot of fun, and the leads had amazing voices. I had very high expectations going into it, though, and I left feeling okay with the show. I can honestly see why Avenue Q won the Tony over Wicked, though.

Wouldn't life be so much more fun if we would all just burst into song? Three cheers for Musicals!

Changes

I've tried to be positive in the past, but it's gotten to the point where I just need to be honest with myself -- I don't think New York is the place for me. It's not my firm -- I really like my firm and the people here. Practically speaking, though, it just isn't financially responsible to come to NY. Personally speaking, I just don't think my homebodiness and I fit in well here. The problem, then, is what to do about it. Do I tell my firm? If so, when? If so, how? I want to avoid doing on-campus interviewing again because my horrendous grades would make it a painful experience. It would also be incredibly cool to stay with the firm I've gotten to know and enjoy. It would be awesome if they could send me over to SF once I graduate. On the other hand, what if my firm refuses to send me over to San Francisco? Will I get an offer from the NY office still? I don't want to be unemployed!!!

On a lighter note, we went to Le Bernardin on Friday. To be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment. I had the lobster first course and the black bass main course. The lobster was tasty enough, but the black bass was a major let down. It didn't have any taste! What's up with that??? For dessert, I had a pretty gosh darn good "Milk Chocolate" dessert, which was milk chocolate mousse and other delectable (tiny) goodies arranged decoratively on a pristinely simple (and obviously expensive in its simplicity) white square plate.

Once again, Jean-Georges was way superior, even more so than it was to Nobu. I'm not surprised; Le Bernardin and Nobu are "only" four star restaurants, after all. *insert hair toss* [/mock snooty heiress tone] As one of my awesome fellow summers said, "I'd been to four star restaurants before, and Jean-Georges was the first five star restaurant I'd ever dined at. You can really taste and feel that fifth star." Surprising, but true.

Homebody

Tonight is a pretty chill night. I admit it; I'm a homebody. It may seem weird, then, that I've chosen NYC as my summer (and likely post-graduate) location. This is, after all, the "city that never sleeps." Why am I here? I guess it's an exercise in extremes. I like being a homebody, but when I go out, I like having the best of choices at my fingertips. There's so much to do/see/feel/experience here that I love knowing that I'll never get bored when I do decide to explore.

I'm loving my firm. Work has been going well, and I'm enjoying the newest assignment that sort of fell into my lap. My assigning attorney for a craptastically bad due diligence contract review assignment left for vacation this week, so she's having me watch over another deal where the client has hired us to form his company. It's pretty awesome.

Yesterday I just about keeled over with foodgasms at Nobu. Since it's Restaurant Week, there was an amazing $20.12 prix fixe menu. Our budget, needless to say, covered that and way way way more. Thus, my meal was an exercise in gluttony. Four of us ordered the Restaurant Week menu and then supplemented up the wazoo in addition to the menu. The menu included, among other traditional dishes like miso soup, this amazingly crazy wonderful black cod with miso. This fish was seriously to die for. In addition to this, I ordered a rock shrimp tempura, which was pretty good. The flavor wasn't quite as complex as I would have expected, and lemon was pretty dominant, which I wasn't expecting. Besides this, though, the meal was fabulous. The dessert included in the Restaurant Week menu was surprisingly delicious. It was a mango and green tea layered sorbet with toasted coconut/crispy cake shavings between layers and a strawberry glaze on top. It was refreshing and wonderful. In addition to this, though, I will admit to super gluttony; I ordered a dessert on top of the included sorbet. I had the Bento Box, which was an oozing chocolate cake with green tea served in a cute little bento box. It was delectable. Overall, I'd say that Nobu is a super close runner up to last week's Jean-Georges. As a comparison, the rock shrimp tempura was good (but not outstanding), and Nobu's decor wasn't as spectacular (it was well-decorated, but not as impressive as Jean-Georges' sweeping windows and calming whites and greens). Note: Since Nobu is Japanese, it's possible its decor is just more simple and understated.

Border's Romance Section = Teenager's Supermarket Equivalent?

You know how the supermarket apparently is the best place to "pick up" people? Well, it seems that bookstores have now become the newest pickup joint -- for high schoolers, anyway.

Yesterday I was in Border's, browsing the "Romance" section. Yes, I read romance novels. No, they will not rot your brain. Why do people mock romance novel readers? It's the most popular genre by far, and more people read them than you'd imagine.

Anyway, I was browsing the Regency romances (which, according to my friend, are"ankle barer" books as opposed to the scandalous porn-quality "bodice rippers") and a kid -- I swear he was probably 18 or so -- interrupts me as I'm reading the back of "The Bath Intrigue." Now, maybe I'm being picky here, but if I'm engrossed in my romance novels, I don't want anybody interrupting my obsession!

This kid tries to pick me up in the middle of the Romance section on the ploy that he's picking out a "gift" and he wants my help. There are so many things wrong with this picture: 1. The romance novel is a very personal choice, and romance novel readers have very particular tastes! I don't want just anybody picking out my romance novels! 2. He's 18!!! 3. In the Romance section of Border's!!! 4. I'm in the middle of a highly rigorous selection process here! 5. The romance novel is a very personal choice!

I couldn't decide if I was annoyed (Hey, don't interrupt me! Very important book selections going on here!) or amused (When it registered in my "The Bath Intrigue"-filled brain that he was in the "Romance" section, he actually said "Hey, don't look at me that way." As in, don't give him the "What are you doing in this section?" look.).

To all you ladies out there, maybe you could test this hypothesis in your respective cities. I look forward to hearing your reports.

Week 3 Restaurant Roundup

On Monday, three of us took our "secretary mentors" to Bryant Park Grill for lunch. We summers have a theory that they are secretary mentors because the firm hopes it will keep us from abusing them. I don't know what's more disturbing: to have a secretary in the first place or to know that a summer in the past must have abused his/her secretary in order for them to try to correct for it with "mentor." I still haven't gotten used to it. Lunch was pretty good, and we had a beautiful spot outdoors. I had a grilled tuna steak and a warm apple crumb pie a la mode for dessert.

Tuesday brought us to Amma, a cute little Indian place tucked away on 51st between 2nd and 3rd. They had awesome lunch specials, so I would recommend this place highly for a bargain lunch package. I had the saag paneer and a wonderfully tasty rasmali for dessert. I want to know how to make rasmali!! It is SO good!

Wednesday was fun. A partner called me up and invited me to lunch. I felt so special! He's such a funny guy; he actually reminds me of the dad from "American Pie." We went to Django along with another summer. I loved the decor, and the food was really good. For my appetizer I had the sea scallops, and they were crazy awesome good. My entree was a beef "Toro" tarjine, a last minute choice that I made upon hearing what a tarjine was. For dessert, I had this incredibly artistic chocolate hazelnut mousse. It looked so amazing I almost didn't want to eat it!

On Thursday, I went to silverleaf tavern with the Real Estate group. I was super excited to get to know more of the Real Estate bunch because they rarely "do lunch." The restaurant was really fun, and their use of textures in decorating was unusual (in a good way!). The roasted salmon was delicious, and I had this amazing creme brulee, which I had them brown over twice (there must be a technical term for this!). Yes, I have a weakness for creme brulee.

Friday was the best. lunch. ever. Friday was my favorite lunch so far. We went to Jean-Georges, and my life changed. It was amazingly incredibly unbelieveable. The portions were perfect, and the service was gracious without being unaccessible. I had two dishes off of the tasting menu that day: a lobster with lychee and the veal, which was crazy awesome good. And, yes, I had veal. After having eaten Thumper my first week, you wouldn't expect me to think twice about Mary's Little Lamb, would you? I chose the "Exotic"dessert option, which was a pineapple cake and a fluffy, meringue-y, sorbet-y, I-have-no-clue-what-it-was-but-it-tasted-good coconut-shapped thing. This was my absolute favorite place so far. We'll see if next week's Nobu or Le Bernardin gives Jean-Georges a run for its money.

Spending Money Like Water

I can't understand how it's possible to spend SO much money in SO little time. As an anonymous airplane pal sagely stated on my flight over here, "every time you step outside, you should just assume you're going to make a $20 deposit somewhere." Frighteningly enough, this is SO true. The only time I don't seem to spend money is when I'm working, and that is really sad. Reeeally sad.

Today I went shopping in SoHo, and I resisted for the most part. Then we stopped into the Kate Spade store, and I couldn't help but indulge my handbag addiction once again. As my friend pointed out, I am buying a new purse at a rate of once per week. Crazy! Anyway, here it is. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.


I'm in loooooove...

More Food (Surprise Surprise)

On Thursday, we went to Sushiden, a little sushi place on East 49th St. Let me start by saying that my previous experience with Sushi Yasuda set a pretty high bar for sushi in the Murray Hill area. We unfortunately weren't able to get a table at Sushi Yasuda, so we headed to Sushiden in search of another local sushi place. While Sushiden wasn't as incredible as Sushi Yasuda, it was still a solid runner-up. I had a spider roll, a spicy tuna roll, a piece of octopus sushi and a piece of toro sashimi. It was really good, and the place was pretty fun because we had a private table (complete with the shoes-left-outside, paper walls, etc.). For dessert I had red bean ice cream. I convinced my fellow summer (who wasn't planning to get dessert) to get the black sesame sorbet (just because it sounded fun...and because I wanted to try it). It was really odd looking on the dish, quickly melting into a puddle of black tar-water. It wasn't odd tasting, though, so I'd definitely recommend it for its novelty factor.

Today we went to Tabla, which was towards the top of my "want to go there" list. After a week of solid American (steaks everywhere!), I've been desperate for some (I hate to say this) "ethnic" foods. At least Tabla was Indian influenced. (And the day before's Sushiden was quite obviously not steak and potatoes, too.) Tabla was delicious and had a very chill atmosphere. I had the Chef's Menu, from which I chose the duck samosa, the nut-crusted halibut, and the pear bread pudding. Mmmmm...

As a work-related side note, my office mate continues to drive me crazy. Newest thing: Using the speakerphone. Who uses the speakerphone in a shared office??

On the way back home from work, as expected, I once again got distracted. I found the perfect present for my cousin, though, which is very very exciting. She, my aunt, and my uncle are arriving Saturday night and will be staying in NYC for a week. They're here as a graduation present for my cousin. My initial impulse was to get something small and cute from Tiffany, but after visiting the GIGANTIC store on Fifth Avenue, I wasn't bowled over by any of the choices. Continuing my way back home, though, I came across the perfect store and the perfect gift! I walked into the Coach store as it was about to close and browsed right up to something that I would have used in undergrad. I bought this very cute wristlet in black. It's perfect for college because you're always on the go around the dorms, and sometimes you just don't want to lug a purse and/or you don't have pockets to carry your keys/student ID/cash/etc. Let's hope she likes it!

Molto bene!

Il Mulino: Upon being greeted by a buoyant "Buon Giorno!," I felt transported immediately to Rome, my Spring Break destination. The setting of this tiny little restaurant was cozy and intimate, but nothing incredibly spectacular. That didn't matter, though, because the incredible creations coming out of the kitchen, along with the warm, accommodating, gracious service, make you forget your own name, let alone that you're in a little West Village restaurant. Even before reading our menus, dish after dish of fabulous breads, sauces, and toppings just appeared magically on our table. We had a tomato and mozzarella appetizer that was delicious. I saved myself a bit for the entree. I ordered a baked fish that was amazingly light and flaky. The dessert we ordered to share (a whopping $30 for this single dessert!) was absolutely divine in its simplicity. A dish of long-stemmed strawberries (absolutely perfect in every way -- they weren't that deep lipstick red color that means the berry's overripe; they were firm and a rosy red but with the same sweet, succulent taste of a deep lipstick red berry...mmmmmmm....) with a creamy sweet thick sauce shot with a hint of some sort of liqueur ("zabaglione" according to those who know better than I), dessert just was heavenly. We nearly doubled our budget (we had to invent another associate who "came to lunch with us" in order to stay close to the budget). Even so, we were still over. Yikes! It was well worth it, though, for the experience of such delectable food. Grazie, Il Mulino!