A Law School Christmas Carol

It's the most terrible time of the year.
With the law students freaking
And 1Ls are shrieking, full of exam fear
It's the most terrible time of the year

It's the sad, saddest season of all
With the sleep deprivation
Manic concentration
From Langdell [the law library], you'll crawl
IT's the sad, saddest season of all

There'll be coffee for chugging
When you get to bugging
O'er outlines and notes and exams
There'll be soft sounds of weeping
'Cause no one is sleeping
For everyone's starting to cram

It's the most terrible time of the year
Competitive urges
Are starting their surges
When gunners are near
It's the most terrible time of the year

Phoenix

Not the city. The mythical bird. I have arised from the ashes of this blog and my busy life to make a post about something I feel particularly strongly about.

Fat shaming.

Like many women, I have had a roller coaster relationship with my weight for. . . well, forever. But particularly the last four years or so. Gain some, lose some. Happy. Sad. You know what I'm talking about. I'd get into a really good trend of going to the gym only to lose interest in the elliptical or the bike or the treadmill or whatever piece of equipment I was using. . . even outdoor running. Snore. As I've gotten older (30 is rapidly approaching and I'm *NOT* excited about it!), I've noticed that my diet doesn't really matter. In the end, my body responds best with exercise. Even if I eat utter crap, I look and feel better (and lose more weight and keep it off more successfully) when I'm exercising.

After watching numerous infomercials about Zumba, I decided to give it a try. For those who aren't familiar, it's a dance fitness program based on Latin American and other international music: some types include merengue, cumbia, salsa, Bollywood, reggaeton, and others. I thought about going somewhere to pay for the class, but my luck improved when the law school gym started offering the class this fall. I've been a regular attendee on Wednesday afternoons and have loved my instructor Kerry, who is super enthusiastic and friendly. Plus, the class has been awesome. I should have known that my competitive and social nature would make group exercise classes what I should be doing. After all, having other people there keeps me in check and makes me accountable when I get tired and I'll be damned if I look like an idiot in front of other people. Plus, I used to take dance when I was younger, so this just reminds me of what I was so good at.

Today my instructor Kerry was on vacation so she had a substitute named Seth. I was running late to class because the person I'm tutoring for the LSAT was late (ugh, the bane of my existence right now, but the extra chunk of money I make weekly is nice) and when I got to the gym, I found out they were out of class passes for the first time I've gone this semester. Fuck. I go up to class anyway and it turns out that Seth is apparently a stickler for the class pass. Double fuck. And he turns me away from class because of the rules, even though part of my plea included the fact that I take the class every week. Fine, whatever, I'm a future lawyer so I guess I'm somewhat rule abiding. I go to leave and a guy who was in the class offered to give up his space because 1) he was the only guy in there anyway, and 2) he knows I take the class weekly and he didn't mind giving it up for me because he respects my hustle. This guy is on my Christmas list.

I put my stuff down and Seth turns off the mic and kind of says to me in a hushed tone, "Umm, have you ever taken this class before?" while looking me up and down like he didn't think I could handle it.

Fat shaming. Awesome. I stood there for a second trying to decide if I was going to cry or punch him in the face. Luckily I did neither and simply offered a frosty "Yes, I have." You know, damned if I do go to the gym (and have skinny, peppy fuckers judge me) and damned if I don't (and have skinny, peppy fuckers judge me).

I Bollywooded and cumbia'd and salsa'd my way through class with probably more gusto and enthusiasm than ever before, simply to prove a point. At the end when I was leaving, he asked me if I had a good time. I could have been passive-aggressive and just complained about him later, but I decided to let him know.

"The class was fine, but to be honest, I'd probably never take a class with you again. You fat shamed when I came into class and I didn't appreciate it." I've never once before called someone out on it, but it needed to be said. I am so sick and tired of people expecting less from me because of my weight. His first excuse was that he turned off the mic when he initially asked me, but as I told him, I'd already explained that I come to this class weekly and so I didn't appreciate him calling me out when, out of everyone in that full room, I was one of only about 5 people who regularly attends that class. In the end he apologized and told me that I did such a great job today (um duh, just because I'm overweight, it doesn't mean I'm lazy, stupid, or lack rhythm, drive, or intensity...just look at my Crimson Law shirt!) and I accepted his apology and left.

For a while I considered not coming back to the class again or just leaving class early because I felt completely degraded, but I decided not to let Seth take away the one thing in my week that I truly look forward to. So yes, this experience inspired me to come to the library and immediately write this blog post instead of editing the article for the journal I'm on or reading for my class tomorrow. I know that you, my friends, would never fat shame someone, but I hope that you would all be sensitive to it and call others out when they do so.

*drops the mic*

Darkest Before the Dawn

Finals are upon me. I have to admit that I was a straight up slacker this semester, mostly because I found the classes to be even more boring than last semester (of course, Contracts with Liz is the shining example to which every class is compared and falls miserably short). I will be a crazy person until May 12. I have reverted to insane nocturnal habits. I stay up until 9am, sleep until 1-2pm, and then wake up and work again. Probably throw in a 2 hour nap at some point in the mid-evening too. This allows me to get in some Saved By the Bell time (appropriately, the Jessie Spano caffeine pill freakout episode was on this morning, just when I was starting to feel a little cracked out) and get work done when the distractions of Gchatting and Facebooking aren't prevalent.



Upside:

1. I've written basically all of a paper for my negotiations class (12 pages, including doing all research) in two nights. It was actually a pleasure to research and write. It's about the effect of reputation in sports agent negotiations where I compare the results of Scott Boras and Ron Shapiro, two baseball agents with very different styles.

2. I created a Torts outline from scratch in about 3 nights





Downside:

1. I drank an entire bottle of Cherry Coke Zero in two nights.

2. I'm in a perpetual state of cracked out feeling.

3. I'm PETRIFIED of finals

4. I'm allowing myself lots of distractions. So, instead of solely buckling down, I have bought lots of "comfy" work shoes (mind you, I don't wear heels like, ever, so these should be interesting given that they're all 3 inch heels): a pair in black, brown, burgundy (these ones should be OK), and RED! Don't worry, the red is 1) not shiny, and 2) the right shade of red, not that orangish-red, and 3) not skankariffic looking.

5. I have allowed myself to get wrapped up in the drama surrounding the idiotic 3L with poor judgment at HLS.


Oh, and while I'm rambling, I went to trivia at a bar in Inman Square with some friends a couple of weeks ago. First prize is the pot of money that people pay in ($5 per team). My team came in third place which meant we got swag from the bar (a bar glass) and swag from the Trivia Guy. The swag we got was a bunch of free crap he got from the US Census Bureau, but I thought ours was pretty awesome.

Looks innocuous enough, right? A robot. But then you pull the head off and it's a flash drive! Best swag ever, IMO!

Finally, for those who didn't see, the inaugural edition of the journal for which I was an editor was finally completed and posted last week. If you're interested in anything related to sports and entertainment law (or know someone who is), go to http://harvardjsel.com/current-issue/.

In the meantime, to keep up with my finals-related pursuits (and distractions), I'll be all over Facebook as per usual!

Birthday Celebration Wrap Up

My love remembered my favorite flowers














One of my friends from school told me that Boston Restaurant Week conveniently started during my birthday week. He also told me there was a great restaurant inside the Charles Hotel in Cambridge - Rialto. As an added bonus, the chef, Jody Adams, will be on this next season of Top Chef Masters! For a normally expensive restaurant by Cambridge standards, a 3-course meal for $33 each sounded like a great deal. The menu looked like Mediterranean cooking but with a lot of local, fresh ingredients and I'm happy to say that's exactly what we got.

The decor on the table reminded me of Weemo.













Appetizers: I got the asparagus risotto with aged gouda and chervil. The Outdoorsman got Quercia cured ham with mozzarella, pickled beets, and candied walnuts.




















I really liked my risotto. Kinda tasted like a grown-up version of the boxed broccoli-cheese rice that they sell in stores. It was creamy and rich without being too heavy. So, so good! The Outdoorsman liked his appetizer and says he would get it again, although he also did say he liked the components separately more than he liked everything together.

Entrees: I got a roasted lemon-thyme chicken with pancetta, radicchio, and croquettes. T.O. got orange-crusted pollock with caper mashed potatoes, eggplant, and olives.






















I loved my chicken! It was very juicy and tender and the skin was crisped nicely. The croquettes were creamy and the sauce was fab. I saved my little pancetta crisp until the very end because I love bacon. T.O. liked his pollock, but his favorite part of the meal was the caper mash. He thought the dish as a whole had good Mediterranean flavor and the orange crust on the fish was a great complement to the rest of the dish.


Dessert: mango sorbet for him, coconut semifreddo with lime-rum syrup and roasted pineapple for me.





















T.O. prefers to end his meal on a light note and the sorbet was that for him. He had planned to get the semifreddo until he heard I was getting it, so the sorbet was his second choice. However, he says he would get it again and thought the mango sorbet had great flavor.

I am ending with the semifreddo because it was OMG unbelievable good! I took one bite and melted into a puddle. It tasted kind of like what one would imagine that Hawaii would taste like, if Hawaii had a flavor. But again, for grown ups. I could probably eat this dessert every night for the rest of my life and be happy. For those who aren't huge coconut fans, you could probably just take the toasted shreds off the top and enjoy the rest. Ahhh, I'm definitely going back to have this again!

Not to be outdone, hubs bought me a beautiful cake for my birthday because he knows how much I love birthday cake. It was a great birthday and a great way to finish out my 20s!











I would definitely go to Rialto again in the future, even at full price. Beyond the delicious food, Chef Adams also contributes to various charitable relief causes for children and hunger issues, both in the greater Boston area as well as abroad. Great food and great causes - what's not to love?!

Here Comes the Sun

The Crimson gods frowned on me this year in legal writing. First, I got an instructor who seemed cool at first, but has turned out to be a major nightmare. Look dude, I respect the whole "I don't give a F*@K" demeanor -- in fact, I feel the same way. However, when you don't give me much feedback and then expect me to just divine what you want, I have a serious problem. Then there's the fact that our brief for the semester (worth our entire grade for spring semester) is a team project...and my partner is in China over spring break. Normally again, I wouldn't care...except this thing is due the day after we come back from break which means that we need to collaborate. But we can't. Because she's in China. As a result of the weightiness of the project (and, ya know, the fact that I've basically blown it off since we submitted a rough draft), I am up to see the sunrise during my spring break and it's because I'm actually working.

The last time I was awake for sunrise was a loooooong time ago. OK, not *too* long ago as I woke up early with The Outdoorsman when we were in Hawaii to see the sunrise. But the last time I was awake throughout the night and then up to see the sunrise was a long time ago. I love my sleep; what can I say? The last time was when I was 20 years old. I used to go see this reggae-funk-soul band that played in the LA area (later, the lead singer for the band went on to play Chuck the security guard on "The Drew Carey Show"). I'd go to their concerts, then of course I'd just have to go to the afterparty! I was hanging out with this guy Pete that I met after the show, took to the party, and we were up until sunrise.

20 year old Violet HATES 29 year old Violet. Fucking loathes.

Of course, 29 year old Violet has realistic job opportunities and hopes, unlike 20 year old Violet...

Back to the Diet Pepsi, Pandora, and paper. I'm starting to tweak a little from the caffeine. Now I know why Jessie had such a problem. I'm...so...scared!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's official: just about three decades of life have passed me by. This was sure to be a depressing birthday...and maybe it's genetic because my uncle emailed me today to let me know he was terrifyingly depressed (followed by raging drunk) when he turned 29. The Outdoorsman was going to get me a fantabulous birthday present. President Obama will be in town doing a dinner event and tickets for students/young professionals are deeply discounted. I was going to get to see the man, himself. I passed because 1) it's at a bad time for me in the semester, and 2) I didn't want him to spend the money. Instead I killed two birds with one stone (I hope!) and got this:





























Elie Tahari "Tara" from 6pm.com, as seen on Corporette today. MSRP $448.00. Purchase price: $149.95.

13 Going on 30

On the eve of my 29th birthday, I've been very reflective about what I've done with my life (and what I want to do) before I turn 30. When I compare the list to what I thought I would have done before I turned 30, I have accomplished a lot of those things:

I got married

I drove cross country (to move to Massachusetts)



I started law school!



I got to sit in the lap of luxury and see what it's like to be a baller in the sports world (via the owner's box at Fenway)




Yet, there are other things I want to do before I turn 30. Since I can't make a list of 30 things I can realistically do this year, I decided to focus on the appropriately titled Jennifer Garner movie of which I just can't seem to get enough.

My list of the 13 things I plan to do in the next year before I hit, *gulp*, 30! You'll note that some are related and some should go together.

13 Going on 30

1. Get a passport
2. Complete the Couch to 5K program
3. Swim in the Atlantic Ocean
4. Drive a super luxury car (think Bentley, Rolls Royce, etc.)
5. Go camping where I'm responsible for everything (like setting up a tent...yikes!)
6. Do at least one performance-related thing
7. Visit a beer brewery
8. Lose 30 pounds
9. Improve my Spanish skills
10. Visit at least 2 countries outside North America
11. Read the Top 10 great books
12. Run an official 5K (last chance is likely to be the St. Patrick's 5K in South Boston which was, at least this year, held the weekend before St. Patrick's Day)
13. Try at least one food that I'd normally resist

Shopping HELP!!!

I have already started to think ahead to interview season that will be occurring in August of this year (yes, I do love to plan ahead). As sort of a joint "Congrats on finishing your first summer at a big law firm!"/anniversary present, I would like to buy a nice handbag. In making sure I select something that is reasonably practical, I have restricted myself to something that I can use during interview season with big firms. This means that it cannot be:

1. Juicy Couture (oh, how my heart aches to say that!)
2. Logo items (Coach, Louis Vuitton...you're auf'd)
3. Be too spangly, sparkly, or otherwise draw a disdainful look from older folks.
4. In a bright color. It should be black.

I am TERRIBLE at this kind of stuff. I have expensive tastes since I routinely drool over the following:


Chloe Paddington




Salvatore Ferragamo Icona Vitello Tamponato Leather Bowler Bag





The forever unhaveable Hermes Kelly



This should give you an idea of my style, I think. My price point is under $1000 (after all, I am still technically a poor student)! But I mean, if I have to be poor and a student, why not look fabulous doing it?

I know I have some awesomely fabulous, stylish friends so what say y'all?

Summertime and the Living's Easy

Long time, no talk. I know, I've been extremely busy with school and interviewing and what not. Law schools are strange in that first year students (1Ls) interview roughly 5-6 months in advance for summer internships. 1Ls are allowed to start applying on December 1 and many positions have rolling deadlines. I didn't sent out resumes until late-December because I couldn't handle putting applications on top of finals, which meant that I didn't start interviewing until mid-January. That was incredibly stressful given that I heard about other law school classmates who already had offers.

Luckily once the interviews started, they didn't really stop. And then when grades came out, it was even better. I decided to stop interviewing when I got a couple of great offers and today I got the offer I was hoping for. Of course, this one offer pre-empted the three offers from New York firms and organizations so in the legal battle for Violet, it's Boston: 2; New York: 0. I'll be working for a firm here in town which means that I get to stay living with The Outdoorsman AND the benefit of getting big firm experience!

Guys, I'm almost like a grown up now!!!

Braggadocious, Y'all

Since I can't talk to my school friends about this, I'll tell y'all here. Grades came out today. I was fully anticipating a low pass in Civil Procedure -- in fact, after that exam, I went home and cried. Then there was a matter of Property, a class that was horrrrrrrrrrrrible to attend. I think I took maybe 10 pages of notes for the entire semester, altogether. I spent each class period in group GChats. I was completely out to lunch in Criminal Law because my professor was a disaster. I actually tuned in during Contracts because of my love for Liz Warren and also because I enjoyed the class. The final, however, was semi-disastrous and I was seriously concerned about my grade.

This worrying was for naught.

I passed three of my classes (Legal Writing, Criminal Law, and Civil Procedure). It's a miracle of God that I got a P in Civ Pro.

I got Honors in Property and Contracts.

I further got the Dean's Scholar award for Contracts which is for the top one or two grades in the entire section. Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?! I must have logged in to the grade system a good three separate times and from different computers just to make sure that was *my* transcript I saw.

I guess I really *am* here for a reason! And, um, so much for the (often unspoken) theory that people of color are at law school without "merit".

Resolutions Revisited

Well, I didn't make a New Year's resolution because I don't think they work for me. Instead I decided to just continue in being successful in the goals I've set for myself. Much like 2 years ago when I was happy that I was ending the year smaller than I started, I was happy that I ended this past year smaller than I started. I didn't make the progress I wanted, but it made me smile when a dear friend noticed my progress at a happy hour event pre-leaving LA. But I needed to get back to the gym. I don't even want to talk about the amazing dinners I made during the holidays, but let's just say that between the gourmet dinners and decadent desserts, combined with the snow on the ground, I was not as active as I'd hoped.

I found out there's a school gym about a block from my apartment so now it's going to be my fall back if I don't use the one on campus. Now there are no excuses because instead of a 20 minute walk from home, this place is a block away. Added bonus: the gym was fairly empty because the undergrads aren't back yet, so instead of trying to package my workout into a stupid half hour time slot, I was able to take my time. That I actually manage to hang on for 45 minutes was a miracle of the iPod. Praise be to Pat Benetar, Britney Spears (Circus album), and Soulja Boy...and to fab people who have previously gifted me iTunes giftcards :)

Ooh, and I bought myself another Christmas present!



I'm trying to make sure I am maximizing my progress, so what better way to help me keep track of calories in and calories out. If it works for the Biggest Loser folks, then it could work for me (notwithstanding the whole, ya know, 8 hours of working out per day).


PS: For the gym rats, don't be assholes to the people who did make resolutions and are in the gym. Yeah, I know it sucks when you have to wait to use a machine, but if they want to make a change, you should be happy for them.