Monday, December 13, 2004

In Which Our Heroine Has Some of "Those" Experiences

We all have them from time to time. A fully grounded real world experience that is the equivalent of a full on out of body experience. Deep within finishing off this blasted LLM (itself a rather out of body experience) I keep having these sorts of experiences all the time, and find that I quite enjoy them as at least they keep me laughing. They include:
- the look of sheer amazement on my now ex-boyfriend's face when he realized that breaking up means no more of those great kisses hello. You could almost see the gears grinding together to figure out that that was the starting point of what wasn't going to happen any more. What part of "we're through" he was failing to understand, I don't know.
- calling a friend, and listening to her two and a half year old clamber to talk to me on the phone. She didn't quite make it, but within two seconds after Mommy put the phone down, we all discovered that la bebe knows how to hit "redial." The following conversation, of which I understood fully five words, was completely transcendental. I may have promised a kidney.
- having someone attempt to pick me up by saying "You! Come over here!" I kept on walking by, so he gave chase. I turned just as he put his hand out and transfixed him with such a stare that he froze in his tracks.
- Discovering that a 90 page government report is the answer to tomorrow's academic exam fears.

Two more days, and the degree is over. Wherever shall I go? Whatever shall I do? I may even have to get one of them there career things......nah, I'll just apply to divinity school. The next person to make a lawyers and lack of ethics jokes gets one of them there transfixing stares.
Love,]
Anne

Monday, December 06, 2004

In Which Our Heroine Marvels Without Seeing

Apparently, blindness ain't what it used to be. Stevie Wonder has ridiculed Eminem's new video. Now, Stevie's got a right to his criticisms, and the words he's used seem pretty valid, but I just can't get past the fact that he hasn't actually *seen* the video. And he's not going to either. Which is a shame, since of course I definitley prefer Stevie to Eminem. Stevie's got the music thing going on, and Eminem's got the flash in the tawdry gotta create a sensation to sell records thing going on. But for a blind guy to comment on the contents of a music video (which don't relate to the song lyrics) well......there's better advocates.

Which reminds me, I was told a great story over the weekend. Bill Cosby apparently relates going over to Ray Charles' house at some point, and when he goes in, it is pitch dark. Makes sense, as why would Ray Charles turn the lights on? All the same to him. So Bill shouts out "Ray! What are you doing?"
"Shaving."
"In the *dark*?"
Then, of course, when Ray just burst out laughing and couldn't stop, Cos realized what a silly thing he'd said.

Back to papers.
Love,
Anne

Sunday, December 05, 2004

In Which Our Heroine Goofs Up

Dateline: the library. I officially drove myself crazy today while working on my paper and wondering "what the heck is that buzzing sound?" Given that the computer lab has been tropical of late to say the least, and the computers occasionally start whirring for no known reason, apart from the fact the sound wasn't giving up, I just let myself be annoyed but didn't give it much more thought. It was just one of those things that happens in the lab.

Of course, 90 minutes later when I picked up my backpack and discovered that the sound had been the weight of my books pressing on my electic toothbrush to make it whirrrrrrrrrr, I was ready to throw myself out the window.

Yours in insanity, but with exceptionally clean teeth,
Anne xxxooo
In Which Our Heroine Dreams of When the LLM is Over

The LLM is over. Soon. Thankfully. As of December 14, I've got all the post-LLM time I can handle (of course, I have to get ready to leave the country and in the meantime have promised to try to set up lots of funding and sponsorship for a local charity. You know, because you just never can be too busy.)

But first, I have to get through these damn papers. The deadline is midnight Monday. I'll make it, and it won't kill me, but it *is* going to hurt.

And then....a blissed out week of just ordinary work work and getting ready to head to England for two weeks at Christmas and for New Years. Courtesy of the frequent flyer miles on my account, this is costing me next to nothing. As in, half the price of having my tooth pulled. And infinitely more fun. It also lets me set up trying to get myself one of them there job things while I'm in London for those six months.

In the meantime, it involves spending a lot of time in the library. Where I again re-discover that dreaded class of citizen, the day camper, I mean student. Now, Suffolk's night program is filled with all these PhDs from MIT and Harvard. Up there at teh top of the class they were a competitive bunch and kept me on the top of my game. But the night students and the LLM students all have a reason why they're in that particualar program. The night students are there because it is the best night program in the area, and they're over qualified and also holding jobs. The LLM students are here because they want this certain program, which is offered in no other law school in the area, and only very few in the country.

I've said it outloud, I'll say it on line. The day students are here because they couldnt' get into a better law school.

What do I base this assertion on? Simple observation. I've been spending WAY too much time in the library over the last couple of years, and there are way too many day students in my LLM classes. They are noticable at 100 yards. Basically, because even though they've had the same lecturers that I've had, they singularly failed to have learned anything. This becomes obvious when you hear them speak about the law. It turns into "wow. You paid a lot of money for tuition, you turned up and you just failed to learn anything. Anything." I once questioned a presentation by a day student with the opening line of "Are you honestly trying to tell me that....." That was rude of me, but I was just so shocked that anyone failed to grasp such basic concepts. Yes, it was true. He *was* trying to tell me that. I checked results later. He'd flunked the bar. I wasn't suprised.

I remember starting here as a night student, and a day student had written an article in the school paper about not getting a job. It was obvious why she hadn't - she couldn't even write a persuasive article about not getting a job. Grammar errors everywhere. You had to feel for the girl.

Other night students have noticed the same issues. It really is just shocking, and someone ought to give these students a short, sharp shock PRIOR to graduating. Because they're not getting one after!

Anyway, must get back to papers. And trying not to focus on the idiocy and LOUD TALKING that makes it so obvious.

Love to all
Anne xxxooo