It's Already July? Can I Get a Time-turner?

It's apparently July. This came as a bit of surprise to me this morning, although it shouldn't have. It is officially less than a month before I take the California Bar Exam and I am completely unprepared. Well, not completely, but it feels a bit like that. Good thing I still have a couple of weeks to work 12 hours a day to make sure I pass that darn thing. To get me through this, besides the release of Harry Potter mid-July, is a trip to Hawaii for the second weekend of August.

I'm SO excited. My friends and I are staying at Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel and it looks like this:

Are you jealous? Because present me is already jealous of future me. I can't wait to go!

Other than that, my mom moves to Baton Rouge next week and I hope visit her in August after my trip to Hawaii. I also hope to get a job sometime soon. I gotta lot on my plate; here's to hoping I can handle it.

Ch-ch-changes... mostly suck.

Much can change in three weeks, and then again, sometimes nothing changes at all. For me, much has changed. I graduated from Pepperdine Law School on May 20 at a beautiful outdoor ceremony at Alumni Park on the Malibu Campus overlooking the ocean. It was only slightly hazy that day, but otherwise brilliant and the weather was just chilly enough that my massive Harry-Potter-esque robes weren't too oppressively hot.

On a sadder note, four of my good friends here at Pepperdine have moved away from southern California to go back from whence they came. Katie went back to Wisconsin, Brittany to Ohio, and Bethany and Stephanie to Texas. It makes me sad to think that I won't see them again for a while. Especially Stephanie because I was often her partner in crime and there was never a dull moment when she was around. Times like these make me simultaneously curse and praise technology and social media. I am thankful that I have social media and technology to keep in touch with these wonderful people who I miss dearly; however, at the same time, it in some ways keeps the sadness of missing them around. In a way, it reminds me that I won't be able to call them and meet up and go out or just hang out with them at home, and that sucks. I know that with time, however, it won't feel so fresh or sad, but the road to acceptance and tolerance is sometimes long and irritating. Too bad there is not an easy button for that.

In other news, my mom officially retired early from Continental Airlines due to their merger with United Airlines. The significance of that is that I will no longer fly for free. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I will be regulated to paying for flights. No more random trips to France or England or anywhere. In fact, unless you come to SoCal to see me, it's unlikely that I'll see you for quite a while. This fact also makes me sad, but hopefully I'll have a job soon and then I can make enough money to afford a plane ticket and perhaps some time off. We'll see.


Finally, all I'm doing with my life at the moment is study for the bar exam. Most of my waking hours are devoted to this and yes, it sucks. But being a lawyer will be awesome; well, at least it better be.

Finals, Finals, Finals. Oh, listen to some music.

My last finals of my life are two days away and I'm not ready. I'm going to stop procrastinating in a minute...

In the meantime, listen to this. Seriously, this song is good. I love Eisley. I have for a while but I recently started obsessing about them, especially since I realized they have a new album. Anyways, take a listen!

Music Report: The Three Sides of the Coin

School is trudging along at a rapidly slow pace. Time is funny that way, but everyone knows this; it's still surprising how it still manages to surprise us. Anyway, getting down to the nitty-gritty. The other week I downloaded Adele's new album, 21, after a friend reminded me it was out (my friend Amber). After not listening to it for a while, I thought the other day, I'd play it again. After listening to it as background noise, I gave it a proper listening and I was truly blow away. This album is amazing. Her first album, 19, was beautiful and she has impressed me since then, but this album is full of emotion and her soulful voice. It is truly remarkable. Three of my favorite songs from this album are: Rumor Has It, Rolling in the Deep, and Someone Like You.

First, Rumor Has It. This is a soulful, edgy song with some rhythm and blues undertones and a throw-back feel. The catchy, 50s-like chorus and the dirty, southern sound is a infectious as it is empowering (I'm a big fan of the rhythmic clapping). The bridge in the middle is a break from the beat heavy song; it's just Adele sincerely singing out the lyrics accompanied by soft strings and the vibrant piano. It's a true delight and a song I can listen to over and over again.

Next, Rolling in the Deep. This song has been on the radio and was definitely a good first choice for a single. Again, there's the heavy emphasis on the drum and rhythm. You can definitely hear the influences of old country music on her sound, which I don't mind at all. It's fantastic. What's also great about this song are the lyrics. Adele openly talks about how this album is a break up album and this song is the powerful side. Basically telling the ex-lover, look what you could have had. You messed it up. You made a huge mistake. And my favorite (actual lyrics): "You're gonna wish you never had met me...Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep."

Finally, on the opposite side of Rolling in the Deep, there is Someone Like You. Adele talks about what this song means, so watch the video for that. This song is the opposite of both Rolling in the Deep and Rumor Has It. It's slow. The rhythm is stripped. It's just Adele, her beautiful voice and lyrics, and the piano. It's not a catchy or instantly infectious; rather its a song that sticks to your bones. It stays with you, lingering somewhere deeper. It's tragic and beautiful and real. It's probably my favorite on her album thus far.

Well, that's the end of my music report. I hope you enjoyed one of these songs. What are you obsessing about? What do you think of Adele?

Women and the Draft

Yesterday in my constitutional law: individual rights class we discussed gender discrimination and equal protection. My professor then broached the topic of the draft, and specifically whether women should be required to register for selective service. If you are a man between the ages of 18 and 25 in the United States, then you have to register for US Selective Service, but there is no such requirement for women. My gut reaction to this question is paradoxical. First, I am thankful I don't have to register because war scares me, and second, I feel outraged that I'm not required to register. 


That being said, I firmly believe that all women in the United States between the ages a 18-25 should also be required to register for selective service. For any man or woman out there who may disagree on this, evaluate your position. What are your justifications? If you come down to them, I'm sure they're based on generalities or stereotypes of the differences between men and women. I will not deny that there are, generally, differences between men and women in regards to physical attributes and biological differences, but generalities and stereotypes should not carry laws. Jobs in the military are not restricted to only combat roles. There are diverse support roles and other things, other tasks that can be (generally) equally accomplished by both men and women. Furthermore, there are some women who are just as capable any man to perform in a combat situation. Why should the law discriminate against her just because she doesn't fit the "stereotype"? The fact is that I do not believe that there is any actual, rational, or important justification for this blatant gender discrimination. I'll attack some commonly held justifications that I found via google search.


1. Women shouldn't be drafted because they can't fill combat roles.
While I already partially responded to this, I reiterate that there are other roles in the military besides combat roles. Second, this is a stereotype perpetuated by law. Why can't they? Because the men in charge decided they cannot, because society says they cannot, because a stereotype dictates they cannot. Let's face it, combat is not good for anyone. The men who go into combat aren't all hunky dory when they return. It sucks. It's awful. And while I support the southern gentleman attitude and find it (personally) very attractive, it shouldn't control our laws. Men aren't always the saviors, they can't handle everything all the time. War is messy, and men, biologically, mentally, are just as ill-equipped as women (generally speaking) to handle this. We, as a society, should not continue to support an institution, a law that perpetuates the idea that women are weaker in every way. By saying women cannot fill combat roles we are not only saying Men are stronger, faster, and more equipped physically, but that they have the mental capacity to handle the gore, the uncomfortable truths of war. This is offensive and just untrue. Women should share in the burden of war the same as men through the draft and should have to go into combat, if they fit to (which requires individual assessment.


2. Women are physically weaker than men. They naturally have smaller builds...you have to carry a lot of battle-rattle into combat...up to 60-70lbs. 
See above. Stop STEREOTYPING. The law should be neutral. If a particular woman cannot carry the required battle-rattle, then she shouldn't go into combat. Same if a man cannot carry the equipment. Groups should be treated equally under the law. The issue is not individual performance.


3.The maternal instinct may effect decision making in a combat situation. Women are emotionally more fragile than men. 
Stereotype. "More fragile"? Bullshit. Yet again perpetuating the notion that women are the "weaker" sex and that only men can handle these situations.


4. If a woman gets pregnant she is out of commission.
So what? Okay. We'll deal with that when it occurs. It shouldn't influence the law. The law in this situation should be neutral.




5. Women aren't made for war.
No one is made for war. I believe that war is fundamentally against human nature (in the long term). No one likes war except for sociopaths and those with severe dysfunctions. To say only "women" aren't made for war is misunderstand the human person, not just women. That being said, it is the unfortunate reality that we as humans fight wars. And I believe that there are persons (not just men) that have the spirit, the courage and capacity, to be fighters.  I agree with the idea Plato had in The Republic that there are women who capable of being warriors or auxiliaries as well as men. 


Bottom line in all of this. This is about serving your country. Men and women should equally carry the burden when it is mandatory. 


(As a side note, Israeli women must enlist in conscripted service the same as men. And in ancient Ireland, Celtic women were also warriors.)


Let's cut the chauvinistic bs. People can be chauvinistic, but the law shouldn't be.

Weekly Music Roundup: Middle Class Rut and Lady Gaga

I'm gonna try to share some music I'm currently obsessed with every week, but it will probably only end up to be every once in a while. For anyone who knows me, music drives me. I love it. It makes me happy and makes me feels alive, so I like to share it.

First up on Music of the Moment: LADY GAGA
Last night I was unexpectedly treated to Lady Gaga's Monster Ball at the Staples Center. First off. I LOVE Lady Gaga. I have liked her since before she was popular (not that it makes anyone less of a fan for discovering her after she became famous, I just want to be clear that I'm not liking her because others do nor do I think it's cool to stop liking an artist because they become popular), so when the opportunity came to get the tickets, I jumped at the opportunity. I am so glad I did. Her show was amazing. She was amazing, and she can sing (for anyone who may doubt that). And she does not lip sync during her performances; a fact she made perfectly clear on a number of occasions. She is a true performer and so entertaining. Also, she has possibly one of the most positive messages I think an artist can have. She constantly thanked her fans (her little monsters) during her performance and gave some pretty motivational speeches as well. All that being said, I don't think I would have ever seen her in concert if it weren't for the fact that someone else bought the tickets. The seats where I sat were face valued at $88 and going for over $150. Sheesh. That's WAY too much for one concert in my opinion. It was a great, great concert, don't get me wrong. It just was not worth that much; I don't think any artist is worth that much. (Yes, not even Muse).


Moving On. Another song I'm absolutely OBSESSED with is New Low by Middle Class Rut.
Seriously, if you have not heard this song, watch the video below. It's amazing. I love everything about it. The lyrics are fantastic and somehow everytime I listen to it, it's uplifting. I feel empowered. I have listened to this song at least 20 times in the past 5 days and I cannot get enough.

Here are the lyrics, in case you're curious.

I have no space, no room to move around
And this box is getting smaller
I'm trying to get out

How did I get so far from where I was?
When did I decide to lose my way?
Who have I become…

I got a new low, all 52 cards in a row
I see now that I won't let go
No I won't let go

Well who am I, a cold shoulder left to cry
You feel bad, well so do I
Yeah so do I

I've been right, I've been left
I've been wrong, I've been left behind
I've been up, but mostly down (x2)

I cannot help feeling like I have so much at stake
So I lock myself inside my head and I just run in place
So many directions I don't know which way to go
I'm so busy doing nothing I got nothing to show

I got a new low, all 52 cards in a row
I see now that I won't let go
No I won't let go

Well who am I, a cold shoulder used to cry
You feel bad, well so do I
Yeah so do I

I've been right, I've been left
I've been wrong, I've been left behind
I've been up, but mostly down (x2)

I make mistakes just like everybody else
But instead of letting go of it, I can't forgive myself
I did my time in a windowless box
Like it or not
All I got now is today
Tomorrow aint here
Yesterday is gone dead on me anyway

I've been right, I've been left
I've been wrong, I've been left behind
I've been up, but mostly down (x4)


So what have you been obsessed with lately? And do you like New Low as much as me? Do share.

For the Love of Books! (But the Hatred of eBooks)

I recently acquired an iPad. I say acquired because I did not purchase it, but rather it was a bonus for paying the $3,000 that week for the bar review course I was already going to pay for (on a side note, how frustrating is it that I have to pay about $150,000 for my law school education, then $1500 or thereabouts to take the bar exam (including $500 for an FBI criminal background check) and THEN $3,000 for a course to make sure I pass the bar?-- bogus). Back to the point, so I now have an iPad. For the record, I never really wanted one. I have a MacBook and I have an iPhone, so my life was complete. I didn't need an iPad and I didn't want it. Now that I have it though, I have to say, I love it. It's nice, it's convenient, it has a good battery life, and it's fun to play games on, and I've also discovered ebooks. Which brings me to the real meat of this rant--I hate ebooks.

I do not welcome the day we switch over to this newfangled electronic generation where printed books don't exist. And while I openly admit that I have some ebooks on my iPad, I will say I have not paid a dime for any of them (they were free books from the iBooks store) and I will not pay money for ebooks. I don't know how many people out there are like me, but when I say I'm a bibliophile, I mean I love the PRINTED page. Yes, ebooks are convenient. Yes, it's nice to have them all "at the touch of your finger" and if all my books were ebooks, moving would be a more pleasant but still annoying task. However, in my opinion there are few things better than the feeling of a book in my hands. As a kid who coveted the library Beast had (in Beauty and the Beast), I cannot imagine a world where said library wouldn't even be a fantasy.  To this day I still want a huge castle in the French countryside (or maybe English because I don't speak any French) with a huge library just like this:

I can't imagine a better room. I love everything about the printed page. A printed book is glorious. I love the smell of a new book, so crisp and inky; just begging to be read and known. And the way a well worn in book smells, too, is fabulous; musty and full of history. The look and the texture of books, too, is wonderful. Each one is different. Different binding, different cover art, different pages. Smooth cut pages, rough cut pages, tiny compact paperbacks, or big chunky hardback. Printed books are interesting. I also love how tangible it is. There's none of this variety with an eBook. They're all the same, only the "reader" makes any difference. There's no real shelving the books, there's no real turning of the pages, there's no smell, there's no wear. You can't look at an eBook and tell any history. You look at a real book and you can tell a lot about the owners. The well worn spine of a favorite book, read and reread, can't be seen in an ebook reader. The coffee stains, the dog-eared pages, and the ripped corners-all which add character and tell another story all together- can't be seen on an e-Reader. And this is what we lose when we switch to the electronic age. When we only buy books in such a fictitious format, there's no passing the book down. There's no writing a personal message on the inside cover to a loved one, hoping they'd enjoy the book as much as you did. Printed books are communal, meant to be shared, enjoyed, and eventually passed on to the next generation. Can you do any of that with an ebook? No. So while technology pulls us together in unexpected ways through facebook and other social media, with the transition to ebooks, part of our community may be lost. I can't imagine this. I love the printed book and that is why I will not buy an ebook if I can help it. My iPad is for books I already own in real form or books that are free or books I don't care to ever own or pass on. I just hope someday that any children I may have will know the joy of a printed book so that they too may dream of having Beat's library, because I still do.

Girl Talk

So last night I went to see Girl Talk at the Palladium in Hollywood. I've always loved Girl Talk and I was super excited to finally get to see him in person. What made it even better was a ton of my friends wanted to go too! Nothing is better than going to dance concert in a large group.

The two openers (whose names I don't remember) were duds. The first was unremarkable, they played a movie at one point in the background and the singer's voice was grating to say the least. The second opener was a dj who also sang but everything he played sounded like bad 80s synth combined with Michael Jackson falsetto. I was extremely happy when Girl Talk finally took the stage and it was everything I thought it would be. Dancing in a sweaty mass of people was fun, besides all the sweat, that was actually really gross.  But there was an awesome wall of lights and fun novelties like balloons! It was amazing.

At the end of the night, I was covered in sweat, probably smelled a bit like all the weed being pass around, and happy. It was good night.

Just Another Thursday

Before we get started, yes, I know it's Friday, but seeing as this post is about my life yesterday, the title works.

Anyway, so yesterday was Thursday and it was just another Thursday. I got up a bit late, forwent taking a shower because if I did I'd be even more tardy and consequently I would not get a parking spot on campus close to the law school (stupid undergraduates), and hurried out the door before 9 am. I had taken my civil rights book home with me the night before with every intention on being 100% productive in my evening and actually read for class. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Instead, after grocery shopping Wednesday night and coming home and making chicken tikka masala (which was delicious), I did the dishes and then promptly lazed about. Well, in fairness at about 10pm I did start cleaning my room and got pretty darn far with it. But that aside, I still wasn't as productive as I thought I would be.

On the bright side, I survived the class I was ill prepared for. Thank goodness for google. Then, both of my usual afternoon classes were cancelled so I got to go home at noon. Again, I intended on being productive, especially because I had basically six extra hours to be productive. Instead, I sat and I read for five hours. Oh, well reading is productive you might say, but I wasn't reading for class I was reading for fun. Not really what I needed to be doing then, c'est la vie.

The one "productive" thing I did was make coq au vin but not with red wine but a riesling. I have to say it was amazing. Seriously, I think everyone should add coq au vin to their recipe repertoire. It was seriously delicious.

  Other than making that delicious dinner, I was further "productive" by watching NBC's comedy lineup. Oh well. Overall it was typical Thursday. If you're interested in the recipe for the delicious dinner I made, let me know and I forward you the link.

Long Time...yeah, yeah.

I have come to the realization that I am a bad blogger. I just can't make myself regularly update and write about my life. I simply get caught up other things or nothing. Who am I kidding? I usually just fall asleep. Well, here's the thing. I need to keep up with my friends, though I doubt they will actually read this; but if they want to, the option is there to read about my life and keep in touch in a way.

Right now, for instance, I am sitting in a class about civil rights. We are talking about Memphis Schools v. Stachura deciding whether or not juries can consider the subjective value of someone's civil rights when calculating actual damages for a violation. If that sounds interesting to you, then maybe you should check out law school (or not, because it's seriously expensive and kinda difficult). If it sounds confusing or boring, then stay away from law school (you'll be happier that way).

Maybe after class I'll write an actual update and try to be entertaining. Only time will tell.