Totally Lawesome

Full Circle

2011-10-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

As a 2L, I interviewed with Important Firm at on campus interviews. It was my first interview of the program and I felt very uncomfortable in my brand new and ill-fitting suit. Needless to say, I wasn't able to show off my full sparkle and shine and ultimately got a rejection letter. No matter, I told myself, because I had plenty of great offers.

As a 3L, I decided I didn't want to go back to Unprofessional, LLP, the firm I worked at the prior summer. Instead, I sought another place to call home. I dropped off my resume to Important Firm's recruiting suite and subsequently received a polite rejection email saying that they were not hiring any 3Ls.

I spoke to the Office of Career Services and my favorite counselor told me that Important Firm was hiring for the LA office. But how could that be?! They told me they weren't hiring! I submitted my materials to the firm again. OCS vouched for me and my awesomeness. This time, I got a call for a telephone screening interview, then was invited to interview in the LA office.

I just got a call with the job offer.

Persistence is key. And now I have the job I wanted the most before I ever went to law school.

A Law School Christmas Carol

2010-12-02T15:25:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

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

2010-04-28T12:56:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-18T02:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-15T11:55:00.001-07:00

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

Get a passport
Complete the Couch to 5K program
Swim in the Atlantic Ocean
Drive a super luxury car (think Bentley, Rolls Royce, etc.)
Go camping where I'm responsible for everything (like setting up a tent...yikes!)
Do at least one performance-related thing
Visit a beer brewery
Lose 30 pounds
Improve my Spanish skills
Visit at least 2 countries outside North America
Read the Top 10 great books
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)
Try at least one food that I'd normally resist

Shopping HELP!!!

2010-02-16T15:25:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-04T19:21:00.001-08:00

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.

Ten Years

2009-12-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

OK, so technically the end of the decade is what, next year? Who knows? I'm never really good at that stuff. However, since everyone had the Y2K hysteria and did the decade lists 10 years ago (and this year), I think it's fair game to talk about it now.

1999: I graduated from high school and had finished my first quarter at UCLA. I was really enjoying myself a lot...well, at least my extracurriculars. I disliked my roommates a LOT and was looking forward to living off-campus. I wanted to go to law school, but knew my grades weren't going to be up to par. My mom and stepdad had just split up and my family had just moved to Vegas (my mom, the twins at 8 months, and my sister). My sister had just finished high school and was pregnant with my nephew Isaac. I had just negotiated with the judge to complete an alcohol diversion class instead of having a suspended license for my MIP (minor in possession). I had finally broken up with my high school boyfriend a couple of months before and was not-so-secretly pining after a guy I hooked up with during the summer. I had no idea if I'd ever meet someone that I could even date long term, much less marry.

2009: Shockingly, I managed to not only finish undergrad, but also a master's degree. I just finished my first semester at Harvard Law School. I really like it a lot, even though I don't get nearly enough sleep. My grades are probably still not up to par, but I try very hard. My roommate now irritates me sometimes but I probably won't move out any time soon because he's my husband :). I've been married for almost two and a half years. I now live on an entirely different coast. My nephew will be 10 in a couple of months and the twins will be 11. But the biggest change? I am happy.

True, it's not all wonderful. I've gained weight in the last 10 years which annoys me (to put it mildly). I don't look as young as I once did. But the last 10 years have been such a roller coaster ride and they've seemingly passed so quickly. The next 10 are going to be filled with so many other wonderful milestones: graduating from law school, beginning my professional career, having children, buying a home. The twins will be on the brink of turning 21 (!!!!!!). I will be officially middle aged (Boo!). But I can't wait for all that life will bring.

Happy New Year, all!

Merry Christmas to Me!

2009-12-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

I decided to buy myself a pre-finals pick-me-up. I mean, it makes The Outdoorsman's life easier because he doesn't have to shop for me or try to keep a secret (at which he is quite terrible). I win because I get exactly what I want at a good price and I get it immediately! Of course, this was a rationalization made after I saw the email from Gilt Group saying that there was a sale on Juicy Couture that day and The Outdoorsman was still sleeping so he couldn't talk me down from the ledge.

Little Juicy Couture crown earrings. I bought another pair for my little sister for Christmas too. She's in 5th grade now and preparing to go to middle school next year. Between the Juicy tote I bought her last Christmas and the earrings this Christmas, she's going to be the coolest little 6th grader ever.

The only difference between this one and mine is that mine is in a dark beige/taupe-ish color.

My Life is Hard

2009-11-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

I really shouldn't be taking the time to blog given that school is blowing up in my face. My life can best be described by the video clip below (at least, roughly the first thirty seconds). When I was younger I'd watch this and scoff thinking school couldn't possibly be that hard. I still maintain that high school is weak shit, but sadly, I feel a bit like Jessie these days.

Just Workin' on My Fitness

2009-11-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

One of the things that many of my classmates have complained about is that in law school, like undergrad, they are starting to put on weight. Maybe it speaks to how sedentary the lifestyle is in LA's car culture, but I haven't had that issue. If anything, I lost a little from always walking around. Even still, I wanted to make a return to the gym. We canceled our gym membership back in LA when money was tight and I was looking forward to going back during the school year when it was "free" (and by "free" I mean, I paid $45 large for it).

Before the semester started, I made a sweet little Excel chart for my week -- on Mondays and Tuesdays when class started at 10, I'd go to the gym in the morning. On Wednesdays, I'd go after my last class. On Thursday and Friday, I'd go between classes. It was a good plan, too...until I stepped foot on campus, got into my first week of classes, and realized I'd underestimated how much time I'd need to read. I kept promising myself that once I got a handle on the reading, I'd go to the gym...next week. Then it was the week after. Then a month passed and I still hadn't gone. Then I started to psych myself out and feel intimidated -- after all, it was halfway through the semester and I was probably the only person who had never set foot in the gym. I would do some pilates at home, but then I realized that I missed doing a cardio routine.

I finally decided this week to nip it in the bud. I texted two of my school friends and told them we had an appointment at the gym after Property class. Incidentally, two was smart because one forgot her gym clothes and by the time she'd go home to get them and come back, we'd be long done. I roped another friend into going today too so there were three of us powerful women in a line on the elliptical. The elliptical is fucking intimidating. I always feel like a clumsy dork when I use it but I think I was a pretty good poseur today. I did a good half hour on the machine (stupid time limits) and felt very refreshed. And, of course, I'm proud of myself because my goal was to go today and I did it. It only gets better from here!

Dinner with Turkey Lurkey

2009-11-10T10:37:00.001-08:00

Monday night marked the last meeting of the Sports Business and Law reading group I had this semester taught by my Crim prof Dersh and co-taught by the CEO and co-owner of the Red Sox, Larry Lucchino. As our final meeting, we got together to have dinner at Dersh's (who, I was quite delighted to find out, was the voice of Turkey Lurkey in a fairytale show. Totally clutch discovery by someone in my section.

The dinner was delightful -- catered by the apparently go-to Chinese restaurant, Chang Sho. Delish desserts followed. I didn't take pictures of that though because the home itself was quite a conversation piece. His home was exactly how I picture Dershowitz's mind running -- eclectic, different, fast paced, brightly colored, etc.

One of the first things you see when you walk in the house

And just a sample of one wall. The entire living room, foyer, and other hallways were EXACTLY like this with historical artifacts and art all mixed up in there

One of my classmates pulled the yawn + stretch here (note, you can see my polka dot coat on the couch)

At the end, he took us on a tour of his home. After walking through his bedroom (awwwwwwwwwwwwwkward), we got to see his private office with tons of memorabilia. This was one of my favorite things

Yes, that's a dartboard with his face on it. Even funnier, it was completely full of holes.

It was a delightful dinner and good time all around. I'm consistently impressed by the hospitality of our professors here.

Isn't It Lovely?

2009-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is here. I spend so much of my time trapped at the law school or in the library or inside my apartment that I start to get sick of the same sights and really don't find many beautiful things to look at (except a select hottie in my section). Today I got to get out of the square just to briefly run an errand and in driving alongside the river, I was reminded how beautiful it is here.

Excuse my pictures. They were taken via iPhone when I was driving. I know the one in particular is quite egregious, but I liked the colors of the fall foliage!

Happy Two-Monthiversary!

2009-11-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

Today (well, yesterday, but who's counting?) is my second monthiversary of being in law school. It's funny because some of the people that I met just that short time ago already seem like close friends. Perhaps it's the fact that we're in the trenches together every day taking grenades from our professors?

Do I like law school? Well, according to Weemo, I loooooooooooooooooooooove law school because I dressed up like a case for Halloween! But to be honest, I enjoy the process. I like school. There are certainly many things I dislike about school or classmates, but on the whole, the process is rather enjoyable.

Would I recommend for someone to go to law school? It really depends on the person. I've wanted to be a lawyer for 20 years now, so I think that was enough time to think about it. I certainly wouldn't recommend this process for someone who isn't sure what they want to do with their life or is doing this as a "fall back" career. It's too life-consuming to be just a fall back.

I miss my friends back on the West Coast like, whoa! It's crazy because this experience tends to overwhelm your life and take it over to where there's nothing you don't do that's not somehow school related. The people you hang out with? People from school. The people you see daily? People from school. The social events you attend? School functions or parties thrown by classmates.

The best things in my life currently:

The absolute CUTEST!

One hour every week that I know I won't be working on law school-related stuff. My life stops and my drooling over Ed Westwick begins!

Since small bottles of Grey Goose are $50 (FIFTY EFFING DOLLARS!!!!), this is the next best thing.

I bought these adorable boots recently from Target. Only $25 and they're the perfect mix of pink and preppy!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, you know you're in law school when you can only think about dressing up like cases or anything else law-related. In undergrad, you dress up as "Slutty [fill in the blank]." Sadly some of my classmates still did the same, but I wanted to break out of that old, tired mold. In my case (rimshot), I had an excuse because our section Halloween party was case/law school-themed. I took some time and came up with this:

Yes, I dressed as one of the major cases from Civil Procedure, International Shoe. Now, don't judge me because that's a Converse which is an American label. At least I properly labeled myself!

How did I do it? Well...last weekend I spent some time putting together small scale models of a shoe with regular paper. The small scale models were pretty tough and I was discouraged from even attempting this project. Luckily I changed my mind. My backup costume was to go as "CambridgeCuti33" based upon our open memo assignment (which was about child pornography which is a whole other story), but I decided to give this one a go.

People asked if I had a pattern or anything. No, I didn't. I just put my own Converse on the table and started sketching it out with a regular old ruler, a pencil, and some creativity. Instead of painting each piece (which would have been a nightmare), I spray painted (and now my apartment has spray paint all over the outside walkway). The entire shoe is made out of posterboard. I layered posterboard pieces as there are layers on a regular Converse, used black Magic Marker to line the shoe as there are lines on a regular Converse. I spiral cut an old undershirt of The Outdoorsman's to make one long shoelace and then threaded that through and tied it around my neck to hold the thing up. I held it together with tape, staples, and rubber cement. All in all, with spray painting and assembling, the costume took roughly 4 hours to make (not counting the time it took to make the small models last weekend).

The funniest part is that people thought I'm naturally crafty. HAH! The same person who always says "I have good ideas, but I'd rather pay someone to put them together for me!" Hilarity.

I went with pink because it's my signature color (I'm the only one I've seen at my school with a pink laptop, to put it in perspective) and really, people wouldn't expect anything different. I had planned to put passport stamps on the shoe or wear a beret or something, but decided at the last minute that I'd invested enough time and money into my costume and scrapped it.

Me with the International Shoe salesmen. We're a hot team!

As for our section's Halloween costume competition, I came in third place. What do y'all think of those who finished ahead of me?

First Place: The Bluebook

as

Second Place: Our property professor

as

How Much Will You Pay Me?

2009-10-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, it's been another eventful few weeks here at the Ivory Tower. I've gotten a couple of grades back. They all put me in the mushy middle of law school life. About two years ago, the school decided to move away from grades (A, B, C, F) to cut down on competition. Now we have Honors, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail. Hmmm, looks suspiciously like ABCF, no? In any event, I'm in the pass range...along with 55% of the rest of my class. You see, about 37% get honors, 55% get a pass, and the remainder generally get a low pass (8%) except for those who are so egregious as to merit a fail (which should really be an Epic Fail on the transcript since it's damn near impossible to get and you really have to try hard to fall that low).

In any event, I had an experience today in Civil Procedure that inspired me to write. The Guy With Two First Names (TGWTFN) is an uber-gunner. I mean, possibly even worse than the woman who inspired my last blog post. He's a chronic hand raiser and, even worse, will raise his hand a minute or less before we're supposed to be out of class. He's also That Guy who takes shit wayyyy too seriously. Just one example is when he told a teammate on our section's flag football team that he was going to "bury him in a shallow grave." Yet another example with flag football is when he told my friend/teammate that he was going to "rip out his ACL." He's the type of guy that I imagine going Michael Rapaport from "Higher Learning." (please Google/IMDB this if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Today in Civ Pro TGWTFN asked another one of his RIDICULOUS hypotheticals and the professor responded with a question and said, "You can either answer this or pass to Ms. Femme." The guy looked at me and, without a hint of humor (per his humorless personality generally) said, "How much are you going to pay me?"

1. As if I'm intimidated by the professor's question?
2. As if you'd pass up a chance to answer the question, attempt to show off, and be irritating to everyone?

I didn't say a word. I just gave him a staredown for no less than 10 seconds. I was really disgusted with his attitude. Apparently I need to work on my facial expressions -- I must have given him a look that would melt his face because he eventually said, "I'll answer it" and took it himself.

It's a good thing there aren't many people here like him, but he truly does suck the life out of a classroom in a hurry.

Rain...feel it on my fingertips, hear it on my windowpane

2009-10-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

I miss the California sun. I'm already cold here and it's only mid-October. It's been roughly 45 degrees each day for the last several days. Oh, and it's going to rain here all weekend, give us a couple of days of sun early next week, and then rain again all weekend. We also have the potential for snow here this weekend. I'm in trouble, friends.

Two things are keeping me going for now.

1. I got a sweet pair of rain boots from LL Bean

2. Law school tunnels

This sweet set-up allows me to stay warm and dry once I'm on campus because it goes everywhere I need to be. I can go from class to the library to the student union for lunch (and everywhere in between) with nary a drop of water to hit my head. The multicolored Punky Brewster lockers are just a bonus!

Luckily I'm done dealing with this

::fist pumps::

In The City That Never Sleeps

2009-10-13T12:21:00.001-07:00

My slavedriving law school decided to give us poor 1Ls an extended break over the Columbus Day holiday so instead of just getting Monday off, we got Monday and Tuesday. Columbus sure did fuck over my people in Puerto Rico, but hey, giving me an extra day off school is one way to make it up to me. I also found out that a friend was having a party in New York for his birthday and, well, we have our first memo due on Wednesday so it was a perfect time to escape the hellish Cambridge bubble and go to New York City. I managed to talk my law school bff TrojanGirl into going with me so I wouldn't be alone and awkward in the city.

Now, TrojanGirl and I were already doing big things...a sectionmate of ours said we could stay with her since she was going home to NYC during the break. Then she told me on Thursday she wasn't going after all, but we could still stay at her family's apartment since she didn't want to flake last minute. And her parents wouldn't be there.

As soon as I opened the front door and saw the foyer, I knew we were in for it.

The living room. Trust me, this pic doesn't do it justice at all.

The library. Yes, I said library.

Did I mention that her family's apartment is on Central Park West? Being in that apartment was like a combination of Home Alone and Home Alone 2.

TrojanGirl and I got changed and then we traveled to the Village to hang out with my NYU friends: Pinky, Opus Dei, and Pike. NOTE: I won't be putting very many pics in here because if you care, they're all on Facebook anyway!

Here we are hanging out at Pinch. Please excuse my shirt that is apparently made out of gauze or something. I might as well have gone shirtless. L to R: Opus Dei, Violet, Pinky, Pike, TrojanGirl.

Pike and I decide to take a picture together.

When I saw this, I was like "Dude, TRY to be normal for the next picture!" and he agreed. This is what came next:

Thanks, Pike! It's less normal than the last. It's like he decided to go Blue Steel, and then Magnum on me.

Saturday: TrojanGirl and I spent the early afternoon working on our memos at the kitchen table with a view overlooking Central Park. That definitely didn't suck too much. That night was Sinatra's birthday party at Slate so we got dolled up and headed over.

Who says law school girls aren't pretty?!

This chick was doing the most. Her outfit looked like a bathing suit and she was wearing C3PO glasses. Don't get me wrong; her legs were AMAZING! But that outfit was really something else!

Opus Dei and Pinky decide to have some fun with a belt that we randomly found laying in the middle of the dance floor. How bizarre. As a friend said, "That's how David Carradine got into trouble."

Me with the gorgeous birthday boy Sinatra.

We left the club around 3:15am and headed back for the subway...but first, we stopped for a kebab. Within a minute of standing at the cart, the kebab man propositioned TrojanGirl -- offered her $100 to have sex with him. Straight up, no lie. But at least we got $2 off our kebabs. Not to be outdone, the guy in the taco truck next door called me over to flirt with me...which was (obviously) quickly nipped in the bud. In all my trips to NYC, it seems to be a standing theme that the guys there are just extra bold and say whatever the hell they want. We made a pact that what happened in NYC stays in NYC...except of course for my faithful readers!

Open Letter

2009-10-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

Dear "Yellow,"

Yes, we're in law school. I know that you probably worked very hard to get here in undergrad. Undoubtedly you constantly visited office hours and built rapport with your professors because you seem like the suck up type. Now that you're in the big leagues (so to speak), you have to take ALL of your required classes with 79 of the same people on a daily basis. So, it shouldn't surprise you when I say to PUT YOUR FUCKING HAND DOWN. IMMEDIATELY. I shouldn't hear a stupid question come out of your nasally-voiced mouth EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS.

I have to let you know though...when you speak out in class, you do provide me with endless entertainment. When we were talking about jurisdiction in Civil Procedure and the professor said that you can't remove a case from state court to federal court when it's "in your own backyard" and you raised your hand just to ask "What do you mean by 'backyard?'" I laughed endlessly. I'm sure you heard me. What, did you think the professor was referring to the grassy space between your picket fences?!

Another funny moment was on Monday when our Crim Law TA was talking about the assignment the professor gave and giving some clarification...you raised your hand to ask "So, if I already turned in the assignment, do I have to do it all over again?" Was that a real question? I really have to know. Because otherwise, you looked like a big, flapping wet douchebag because it just seemed like you were saying "LOOK AT ME; I DID MY WORK!!!!!!" Totes obnox. Again, laughter for days, but it seems like this time the rest of our section has caught on. The audible laughter you hear is not people laughing with you, but laughing at you. I thought you should know.

Besitos,
Violet

PS: When there's torrential rain outside, don't wear a fucking short dress and tall rain boots. You look like an asshole.

Guess Who's Back, Back Again!

2009-09-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

I'm coming up for air just to say that law school is wearing me out, folks. I have studied harder in the last week than I have studied in my entire life, combined. Here are some highlights since the beginning of school:

One of my friends ended up in my section. Score!
I have two superstar professors, but I am truly in love with Warren (or Liz, as I like to call her in my free time. If you don't know who she is, GIYF)
I have 8:20am class three times per week. THREE TIMES PER WEEK! I am not a morning person!
Even worse, I have had double Civil Procedure sections on Wednesday-Friday...which is basically like hell on Earth, but worse. I have kept myself going by thinking that I'm planning on going into transactional work so it's not going to be my whole career/life.

Funny moment with Liz on the second day of school: so, they have us put namecards with our last names up on the table in front of us. This kid gave a wrong answer on the first day. She came back the next day and asked the same kid another question. Again, he gives the wrong answer. Her response? "You're 0 for 2, [name]." Seems innocuous enough, but the sting with which it was delivered made more than a few of us go "DAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!" Of course, under our breath because she would cut us with words if we spoke out. That said, I adore her and her class...and trust me, this is not because I get it (OK, it's not wholly because I get it)!

As for the cross-country trip, that was a hot mess. Those of you who keep up with me on Facebook got a bit of the insane flavor of that trip. Maybe I'll have time to post about it sometime...I just doubt it. It's unfortunate because in between the suckiness, there was actually a decent experience.

I miss having time to catch up on my friends' lives. I'm sorry I've been so MIA. I just need to get my bearings. I've closed down the library a couple of times this week. I've been running on 6 hours of sleep per night which isn't that great when you consider the fact that I need to let all these concepts marinate and give my brain recovery time.

Goodnight my friends. I miss y'all and hope to catch up with you soon!

Goodbye to Everything I Thought I Knew

2009-08-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

I intended to post more pictures of my Quest, but was kind of interrupted by this whole moving thing. So basically, I try to catch up with blogging and now I'm already behind again! Oh, and since I want to blog about the trip and it almost certainly can't come before our western states trip and Hawaii trip, I'm going to be behind atWeeMo -like levels.

I did want to take a minute to recognize some of the fabulous people in my life who have been super supportive of my trek as I march towards law school.

WeeMo: Thank you for your never-ending support. From lending a thoughtful ear to me when I needed advice to proofreading my personal statement to encouraging me to shoot for the moon. Although I made it, I will miss the shit out of you. Thank you for all your help and I look forward to the time when we're not just friends, but also professional colleagues.

Weatherjen: You were also such a rock star in helping me throughout the application process. And really, who can forget the Power of Three plan for my future reproduction! You always had a supportive and friendly word to throw my way about the profession and I admire your enthusiasm for this work and your willingness to always lend a hand to me when needed. As with WeeMo, I'm really looking forward to when we can sit and talk shop and I'm not just a clueless 0L doing so!

The Outdoorsman: I would be remiss if I didn't mention my loving, supportive, amazing, wonderful partner. I mean, even if you didn't know anything else about him, knowing that he's willing to leave everything behind to join me in Cambridge makes him pretty awesome. Thank you for putting up with my moving grumpiness/slavedriver personality, my fit of fancy in changing my mind (and turning YOUR life upside-down too!), and believing in me long before I ever believed in myself. T.O. has been telling me for about 4-5 years that I'd make a great attorney and bought me a book to study LSAT questions all the way back then. I got frustrated and gave up, but he always knew it was the right path for me. I love you, muffin!

There are others who I haven't named individually, but please know that your friendship and words of support have meant a million to me -- anything from quick emails to Facebook comments to random happy hours and everything in between. I don't want to say "Goodbye" but "See ya later!" since I know that you will all be in my life forever.

With that said, I'm going to bed. I have a 9 day cross country drive, moving into the apartment, and the beginning of the rest of my life on which I'm excited to get started. Stay tuned, y'all!

This is No Longer a Vacation; It's a Quest! (Part 1)

2009-08-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

For the first part of my vacation, I went to Sin City to visit my family. After staying there for a week, we went to Lake Powell to go boating for the weekend (my parents and two kids in one car and The Outdoorsman, two kids, and me in our truck). Here are some of my favorite pics from along the way:

I saw this on the road to Sin City and I just cracked up. Can you imagine if I actually had to go to school out here?!

My little brother Kicks and nephew Monkey at Cracker Barrel in St. George. Salt of the earth type shit, huh!

My little sister (Holly Snobby) and my stepsister (Stilts)

I tried to take this picture low-key of Stilts since she spent most of the time talking on the phone to her boyyyyyyyyyyyyfriend.

Colorado City. Home of the crazy fundamentalists. This is what we're "protecting marriage" for?!

Beautiful Arizona

Kicks and Monkey hiking on a small island at Lake Powell. They both adorably kept their little life jackets on!

Sunset after a long day on the lake

Flying Monkey!

Congratulatory cake. My mom surprised me with this at the lake. Red velvet because "red is close enough to Harvard colors." Love her!

Next set: our trip through the mountain states!

Round-Up

2009-08-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

So it's been nearly two months since I've blogged and truly, life is much, much different than since my last post. Here's the quick recap/roundup:

1 - times I changed my mind on which law school I'm attending.
4 - days it took for everything to come together to change from NYU to Harvard Law!
7 - states (besides California) to which I traveled in the last month
6 - states that were a part of one week-long road trip!
2 - years that I've been married (and the anniversary which we most recently celebrated at the end of July/beginning of August)
1 - vicious sunburn I got at Lake Powell that resulted in awful peeling on my shoulders
Countless - number of mai tais I consumed in Hawaii during our anniversary/pre-law school vacay
4 - weird looks I got from people in Idaho Falls, ID.
4 - people in Idaho Falls, ID who had NO ROOM to judge me!
2470875 - number of times I've had to bite my lip in living with my in-laws for the past month and a half to keep from getting major league attitude at the BUTTINSKY-ness of it all.
800 - dollars I need to spend at minimum on law school books. I wanted to do this because...?
7 - times per day that my hubby, The Outdoorsman, referenced his grand master plan to make me governor of Hawaii so we could live there.
3 - bottles of free booze we scored on our Hawaii trip
1 - number of Hep B immunizations I need before I'm not allowed to start at HLS
2 - number of former Supreme Court (SCOTUS) clerks that will be my professor in the fall
1 - head of the Congressional Oversight Panel (formerly known as TARP) that will be my professor
1 - number of OJ's former attorneys that will be my professor
3 - approximate number of days until we leave California
13 - rough number of days until we get to Cambridge
15 - number of states we will drive through during our move

Note: I have a TON of pictures to upload from my trips. I'll put the majority on Facebook, so if we're not already Facebook friends, be sure to 1) friend me, and 2) check them out there. I'll put up some selections from the trip on the blog that don't involve family. Oh, and if you want to hang out before I leave, let me know! I'd love to see you before I go!

WANT: An apartment; DO NOT WANT: Homelessness

2009-06-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

Apartment hunting in NYC is the worst. I've been straight West Coast (insert flashing gang signs here) for my entire life, so I've never had to deal with the insanity of apartments coming up for rent a mere 3-4 weeks before a move date, nor the absolute RIP OFF of brokers. I'm too anal retentive to leave my housing fate in someone else's hands, much less allow them to charge me a full month's rent (which, in NYC, is substantial).

I was checking out apartments on Craigslist trying to avoid paying a broker and found a gem. Mr. VF cautioned me not to get too in love with apartments since we were waiting to hear from NYU about student housing. Long story short on NYU: I got screwed and didn't get family housing. Apparently you're an idiot if you're married or otherwise coupled and then try to go to NYU because you're the only schmucks not guaranteed housing (singles, on the other hand, are living the dream). Also, no advantage for marrieds or domestic partners. You can be a regular ol' bf/gf (or whatever combo you desire) and get family housing. It's a clusterfuck. I digress.

So I found a great apartment (via pictures on CL) and one of my school friends living in the city was gracious enough to go by and look at it, confirming that it is indeed as awesome as advertised. We find out on Monday if we got the place, so cross your fingers, friends!

But wait...it gets better! It's closer to campus by a couple of blocks, will cost the same as family housing (once we pay for all the utilities), and is coming furnished which is what we wanted. Dear 8 lb, 6 oz newborn infant Jesus, please let us get this apartment!!

The Apocalypse is Upon Us

2009-06-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I worked up the nerve to visit the Whole Foods near The Grove. At 5PM. On a Friday. My bravery is boundless. Incidentally, for those familiar with the area, the CVS next door is apparently one of the LA area's biggest sellers of Valtrex. Just a little tidbit shared by a pharmacist one day that skeeved me out.

Anyway, I digress. I meandered through Whole Foods while Mr. VF was on the lookout for good wine for me (aren't I the lucky one!). He finds me and says "I just saw the most disturbing thing ever. Come with me." Given that I'd just found out about the Valtrex, a million things came to mind. What I found was worse. Way worse.

O RLY?! As if the clothes weren't bad enough, now we have wine for the poseurs too?! JFC, I thought I was going to die in the middle of the store. I think I hear the galloping hoofbeats of the Four Horsemen.

Funemployment Cooking

2009-06-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Claire's link from Facebook today, I have come to know and love a new term - funemployment. This is my life now to a tee ever since the layoff. I actually love my life again...at least, until I go to law school and realize how oppressive life as a law student/lawyer is (don't get me wrong, I'm excited about school, but I think I have a healthy dose of cynicism/realism about what the profession is and is not).

As part of my funemployment, I'm starting to cook again...and when I say cook, I mean real effort-taking meals, not the college student method of cooking where you make a pot of spaghetti. I was craving Italian food, so I decided to make chicken parmesan. I've never had it before, but I like chicken and I loves me some cheese, so I went for it. The Mr. adored his and begged me to make it again last night. I refused because I don't like eating the same thing like, nightly. BUT he did say that I made him a believer in chicken parm because the chicken stayed pretty moist (even upon microwave reheating).

Stats on the project:

1- number of pans I used to pound the chicken breasts.

1- number of pans that I destroyed while pounding the chicken breasts

2- number of nights that this fed both the Mr and me.

4- paper plates I used while making this to reduce my clean-up

3- number of times I spilled the egg mixture onto the floor while dipping the gigantor chicken breasts.

assload - amount of cheese I put on each breast

1- number of times I giggled like a schoolgirl while writing the above

Here is a pic I took with my phone of my creation:

The Sauce:
1 28 Ounce Can Imported Diced Italian Tomatoes

4 Cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Decrease To 1 Tablespoon If Wanting To Make A Lower Fat Version)
Salt & Pepper To Taste
3 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Basil [Ed note: I skipped this part]
Dash Of Red Pepper Flakes

The meat:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Flour
Salt & Pepper
1 Egg [Ed note: since I only keep Egg Beaters in the house, that's what I used. It was fine]
2 Tablespoons Milk
2 Cups Italian Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Thin Slices Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Sauce:
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, and add the garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, but before it takes on color, add the tomatoes. Turn the heat to high, and as soon as the sauce begins to bubble, turn back down to medium low. Season with salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes and add the basil. Cook for another minute or two and remove from the heat.

Chicken:

Season the flour with salt and pepper, and place in a plastic bag. Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/2 inch thick. Place each breast into the bag with the flour, and shake until it is well coated. Beat the egg with the milk in a bowl. In a second bowl place the bread crumbs. Dip each chicken breast first into the egg mixture, and then into the crumbs.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a frying pan, heat the butter with the olive oil. Once the butter mixture is sizzling, fry the breasts until golden on each side. Place the chicken breasts side by side in a baking dish. Spoon some of the prepared sauce over the cutlets, and then lay a slice of mzzarella cheese on each. Finally, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Note: if you have a working broiler (I don't), bake the chicken for 15 minutes, then do 5 minutes under the broiler for more bubbly cheese.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!

2009-05-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Back when I was still under the delusion that I was going to be able to take my car to New York, I talked to Mr. VF about driving across the country. There's so much in the middle that I haven't seen since I've stuck mostly to the coasts. I want to see what life's like in flyover country! Sadly we decided to fly when we move and so I thought my summer vacation was a bust. I love when I'm wrong (when it goes right)!

I'm going to...

NASHVILLE!

OK yeah, I know it doesn't sound too thrilling to most West Coasters, but I'm excited to go. I've heard from multiple people that Nashville is a pretty cute town and, of course, I expect to cause some shenanigans in town.

You may be wondering, "Gee Violet, how are you taking this trip when you recently got laid off work?" Good question (although you should be ashamed of yourself for being so nosy. Just kidding. But really). I originally was going to skip it. It's a big meet up of friends who are living all over the country and they picked a place that is "central", though it was mostly inconvenient for me since I'm on the West Coast. The trip is scheduled for 4th of July weekend and it was going to cost me several hundred dollars to make the trip. IN THIS ECONOMY, saving for law school and being jobless, etc, I didn't think it would be smart to make the trip. On a depressed whim, I was inspired by Claire and decided to check American Airlines to see if I had enough frequent flier miles saved up. It was either 50K miles roundtrip in coach or 50K miles roundtrip for business/first. Needless to say I'm scheduled for a trip to Nashville in first class. The best part is that it only cost me $10! They will have to pour me out of the plane in Nashville and back in LA!

In fact, since we're all young and broke, this trip is going to be relatively on the cheap. We're sharing hotel rooms, college-trip style and doing low key activities. Now I get my pre-law school trip without any of the guilt!

Haters: Traitors to the Human Race

2009-05-27T18:18:00.001-07:00

I planned for my first blog post back from the Memorial Day weekend to talk about the fab wedding I attended, complete with (crappy) pictures. Instead, I think that yesterday's events deserve more attention. The California Supreme Court has decided by a pretty large margin that my loved ones are not allowed to get married. I am more than a little surprised and disappointed, but there were some good signs amidst the ruling yesterday. For starters, the dissenting Justice Carlos Moreno said the ruling was "not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution." He then goes on to say, "[I]t places at risk the state constitutional rights of all disfavored minorities."

I haven't sat to read the hundred plus pages of opinions written by the Court, but I intend to do so one day (if law school hasn't killed my will to read cases at some point).

I knew there would be protests and rallies galore last night, so it made me smile a bit when I got an email with links to pictures from a rally in the Bay Area last night, courtesy of my Uncle Rick. I wrote about him on a previous blog, so see if you can pick out which guy he is in two of the pics :)

www.shutterfly.com/pro/jidesign/052609

I'd have put the pics here myself, but they're copyright protected. I loved seeing a community come together, from the common folks to the religious. It seems like religious folks get a really bad rap in all this. Granted, some people do vote for Prop 8 and say it's due to religious reasons (see the moron quoted in the LA Times), but not all religious people are bigoted or zealots and I like that some of the pictures are able to capture that. Enjoy!

Nice To Know You....Goodbye

2009-05-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty evident to everyone and their mama that the economy is for shit right now. Working at a nonprofit, things have been especially tight...especially working at a nonprofit that is predominately funded by corporate America, like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, et. al. The Executive Director of our office told my coworker and me the other day just how much trouble we were in -- at least $100K in the red for our office with only about a month left in the fiscal year.

I got an email last week from one of our VPs from our headquarters in NYC wanting to meet with me today and the email didn't sit well at all. I was agonizing about it since the moment it arrived. Apparently, my Spidey-senses were on point because I was laid off. My boss was also laid off, leaving only 1 person (who is part time to boot!) left working in the LA office. I was shockingly calm. Perhaps it was knowing that I'm leaving for law school shortly? Perhaps it was receiving a severance payout equal to when I was planning to quit anyway? So yeah, now I'm getting paid for the same time frame as I was planning to work, but now I don't have to get up early or deal with bullshit. Sounds like a total win to me! In all, there were something like 10 other people laid off today, in addition to others who have been let go over the last couple of months. It's a lot when we have no more than 50-60 employees! The future of the LA office is in jeopardy -- they'll finish up the end of the school year and then re-evaluate.

The only bummer is that I wish I could have gone out in a blaze of glory. I dream of one day being able to peace out and say, "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, and fuck you, I'm out!" Since I was robbed of the opportunity to do so, there's one person that deserved a special shout out that I'll give here:

Maynard - fuck you. You're an idiot, a terrible teacher, and a pain in my ass. You talk to women as if they were only there for your personal amusement and pleasure and otherwise less than you. You're the worst kind of human being. You might fool people with your BS, but I can see right through you. You do your kids a disservice and if I was a parent, I'd be at the district office every day to complain about you. Pro tip: sitting at your desk and playing on your computer (or whatever you're doing since you're awful about returning business-related emails) and schmoozing with the general public does absolutely NOTHING to teach your kids. Do your fucking job!

Mini Week Review

2009-05-16T18:00:00.001-07:00

Two noteworthy things happened this week:

On Tuesday, I went to the Entrepreneurs Organization meeting to mix and mingle with people and to support some of my workplace associates. It was held at the Andaz West Hollywood (formerly/currently [?] the Hyatt West Hollywood) in their rooftop event space. When I walked out into the pool area, I realized that this would be what I miss about LA.

View from the rooftop pool facing Los Angeles

Maybe one day I'll be a rich and successful attorney and be able to afford one of these homes?

Sadly I was there in a work-related capacity because it was a totes gorgeous facility and super close to home. Oh, and did I mention the open bar?! I limited myself to just a glass of pinot grigio (where I felt like Ramona from RH of NYC) and just one teensy little Cape Cod. The bartender was stereotypically LA -- cute, but blathering some nonsense about trying to make drinks as wholesome as possible. I'm like dude, just give me my Grey Goose and stop trying to be philosophical and homeopathic about the booze.

Unfortunately I was seated next to a guy that I really detest with whom my organization partners. Being near him could have ruined my evening, but I tried my hardest to ignore him. I kept telling myself "two more months" and that was pretty calming!

Last night I went to the UCLA v. Cal State Fullerton baseball game. Normally I couldn't care less about baseball, but it was Mr. VF's friend's (I'll call him Tiger) birthday and that was his pick. Whatevs. Mr. VF and I were standing near the ticket sales booth and waiting for his friend when some guy wearing Bruin clothes walked up to us, asked us if we were going to buy tickets, and then handed us his tickets. Score! Now, random aside: why in the helllllllllllllllllll do people have to pay for college baseball games? I mean honestly, is there that big a market? Tickets were like, $15. Now granted, it's not a lot, but they don't even serve beer at college games, FFS! Where's the redeeming value? But whatever...so Tiger and his wife get to the stadium and as it turns out, these seats were pretty sweet -- located between home plate and first base maybe 4-5 rows back. Score! As I sat talking to Mr. VF, I saw a pretty brunette girl a couple of rows down and told Mr. VF that she looked familiar. Tiger had a similar conversation with his wife apparently because a couple of minutes later, he confirmed who I thought I saw:

Yes, Miss Kara Keough from the Real Housewives of OC in the flesh. Apparently she really did transfer to UCLA and she was in the section rooting for the Bruins. I do like Kara and I really like her mom, but sadly, Jeana was nowhere to be found. I told Mr. VF I was going to blog about her being there and he said "I'm surprised you didn't take a picture." Damn, he knows me too well. Unfortunately I'm still concerned about what people think, so I didn't intrude on her privacy that much. I wanted to though! My team lost, but we had fun with friends. Happy birthday, Tiger!

The Rose Bowl (F*@K $C!)

2009-05-02T19:42:00.001-07:00

On April 25, I had the opportunity to attend the UCLA Spring Football scrimmage at the Rose Bowl. Since this will be the last time I'll really get to go to the Rose Bowl (at least for a couple of years), I decided to make the trek out to Pasadena. This is, I believe, the second year that they've held the event at the Rose Bowl and I generally enjoyed myself. There is something about going to the Rose Bowl in this setting that makes you feel really special -- like you were invited to an exclusive party. The only non-delightful part was the $15 parking charge. Ugh, the City of Pasadena is truly the epitome of greed!

The scrimmage was kind of boring. I mean, it's not like a real game. The real fun for me came after the game. I got to go onto the field. At the Rose Bowl. The freakin' field!!! The other awesome part was seeing two of my former students from my previous life as a high school teacher who are now UCLA student athletes...and trust me when I say that their mothers make sure there is an emphasis on the word "STUDENT!"

By the way, excuse the face. I totally forgot I was going to take pictures and I hadn't done my makeup (obvs) NOR had I straightened my hair, so it's all gross and pulled back.

Rahim was one of my favorite students. I had him in my AP US History class a couple of years ago and he was just such a nice kid, period. He always had a smile and a joke (OK, sometimes way too many jokes!) but he always put in effort in the class and was generally pleasant which is a lot more than I can say for other often hormonal teenagers. I had the pleasure of getting to know him and his mother over the course of that year and I am blessed to continue being friendly with each of them.

Johnathan (better known as Jet Ski by just about everyone, due to his blazingly fast speed) was never technically my student, but he's BFFs with Rahim. I got to know him more during the summer before his senior year. I had worked as one of the senior class advisors for the previous class and had counseled many students on options in terms of moving on to college. One of the negative parts of working at inner city schools with strong sports programs is that many times the kids are seen as vehicles for the coaches success, but no real attention or care is paid to the student's future. Sure they will accommodate coaches who are on campus to recruit the student, but the academic piece is completely missing. I did a lot of work for the high school's graduating student athletes in talking about academics and also counseling students who were perhaps interested in walking on, but weren't recruited athletes. One of the parents from the senior class is friends with Jet Ski's mom and introduced us at a graduation party for her son. We hit it off and started talking a lot, particularly when it became clear that Jet Ski was going to UCLA. Jet Ski might look familiar to people who watch the docudrama Baldwin Hills as he was one of the stars of the second season. Another great kid with a wonderful mom.

As you can tell, I'm totally proud of these boys and wish them so much success.

Dead and Gone

2009-04-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

RIP Buck Fiddy. You will be missed. You were the one place Westwood coeds could count on to be open late after fraternity parties to soak up the liter of Jungle Juice we'd inevitably drink. Sure, you didn't have straight As. No one is perfect! The fact is that when I stumbled from a Sig Ep or Sigma Nu party (or even from Madison's or Cowboy Sushi, fine Westwood establishments that felt age requirements for liquor sales were really only loose guidelines...shockingly, they're both also closed), Buck Fiddy was, well, $1.50. A perfect price point for poor college students.

You had a makeover in the last couple of years to try to class up the joint, but in the hearts of all true Bruins, you were still the same classless, yet lovable, shack with delicious sandwiches. And now you're gone. Westwood is sadder for it.

As Seen in New York

2009-04-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday after my shitload of boring, ridiculous work meetings, I had brunch with my friend Eazy E. She lives in the city and, being the smartypants she is, will be at Yale Law in the fall. After enjoying a gorgeous sunny spring day in the West Village, we walked over to the subway station on W. 4th where I caught sight of this ad, did a double take, and almost vommed all over myself. Fraternity life ftl!

Absolutely vomitrocious. And advertising in a subway station? Desperate much?

***BTW, please note that despite trying to make a strong comeback, my posting has sucked (and will continue to do so for the next week or so). We are going into our busiest time of year at work and as such, I'm going to be running around like a crazy person. I am going to try to pop in from time to time, but consider this a warning!***

Product Review: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

2009-04-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

I am perpetually on the hunt for great mascara. My short, stubby little eyelashes scoff at the efforts of mascaras from the expensive department store brands like Lancome and MAC to drug store types. OK, OK, I can't complain too much because they are naturally curly (thank God because those eye lash curlers look like instruments of torture from Guantanamo). But still...I've been sticking to the drug store types because 1) people tell me that there's basically no difference between the expensive and cheaper, and 2) I'm a poor and soon to be poorer due to law school. However, before my NYU scholarship interview, I decided I wanted something that made my eyes look open and alive. And because I'm a marketing executive's wet dream, I totally fell for the overall aesthetic awesomeness of Lash Stiletto.

The results?

Excuse my crazy eye. I'm not trying to go Runaway Bride on y'all!

You're welcome in advance for helping you create the illusion of bigger, sexier eyes!

And I Want to Thank You

2009-04-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

My weekend(ish) of fun in NYC continued on Thursday. I talked to my friend Diva, an aspiring opera singer, and we decided to meet up for lunch. I've known Diva even longer than Mara -- since high school! We hadn't seen each other in 7-8 years until last September when we met up when I was in town on business. I took the subway all the way to midtown from deep in the Financial District. I felt like such a local! Since she works near Central Park, we decided to get sandwiches and take them into the park to eat. It was a surprisingly sunny day and as we sat and talked and caught up on life, I realized how truly excited I am to move here (yeah, I know I say that a lot!). The funniest moment was when we were in the deli:

VF: Hey, so you know I'm moving here, right?

D: *gasps* WHAT?!?!?!?! WHEN?!?!?!

VF: In less than 4 months!

D: Oh my God, are you kidding? Why didn't you tell me?!?!

VF: Dude, it was on Facebook!

D: Weird. I live on Facebook. How did I miss this?

OK, so it's not classically funny but it's funny to me because it seems that none of my friends who actually live here know I'm moving, once again disproving my theory that I'm the center of the universe.

When we finished, I hopped on the subway again. Maybe I felt overconfident from my great navigation earlier, but this time I failed and ended up walking 6 extra blocks to my location -- the NYU bookstore. I wanted to buy a present for my recommenders and had intended to buy them coffee mugs until I realized that breakables in my suitcase with carelessly rough baggage handlers was probably not the best plan -- after all, the dolts managed to break the zipper on my suitcase on my flight here.

However, I found a decent alternative

I'll slap some candy or maybe some nice coffee or tea in there, write a thankful card, and call it a day. I am pretty thankful to my recommenders though. I'm sure they all played a big hand in my wonderful application cycle.

Walking to the subway, I had the chance to take pictures of my new law school. Too bad I took them with my camera and can't upload them until I get home. Alas. However, this walking around made me obscenely late in getting back to my hotel to get changed and ready for our gala event that evening. I had to go early because I was one of the people in charge of check in. The gala was a nice time to thank our awesome funders, recognize our Students of the Year, as well as pay tribute to our Teachers of the Year from our program offices across the country, as well as with our international partners. Check out the awesome seat I had based on this pic!

Yeah, I'm kidding. I was definitely in the last row of tables (you can tell how thankful they are for the staff, huh!) and there were more than 900 people at this event.

Friends Forever

2009-04-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Through the mystical (yet awesome!) powers of Facebook, I was able to reconnect with my friend Mara. We met freshman year in the residence halls. The best word to describe her is dynamo -- she's small, feisty, bubbly, and just a really good person. She's also outrageous in a good way. One of my most vivid memories of Mara happened in the ~~scariest place on Earth~~ communal bathroom. She came bouncing in there as I was brushing my teeth one day and excitedly blurted out "I got my nipple pierced!" As I started laughing, her response was "Want to see?!" and threw her shirt up. There was nothing sexual about the moment, but that just gives you an idea of the kind of wild card that she is. We were pretty good friends through sophomore year of college and then I moved home and she went to Spain. We rarely talked after that.

It's been 8 years since I've seen Mara. In that time, she's lived in a couple of foreign countries and has been settled in New York City for the last few years. Since I am in town on work business, we made plans to meet up. I might think I'm a big deal because of law school, but Mara is even bigger. Her first book was just released yesterday and unsurprisingly, the title is as risque as the woman. Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman's Quest for an Orgasm is an autobiographical tale, but it also has the full force of Mara humor behind it.

We met up at her boyfriend's apartment and just talked for a couple of hours while sharing wine and lots of laughs. I'm really looking forward to moving here and reconnecting with her even more.

I guess that's really the mark of a true friend. Even though it's been nearly a decade since we've spoken, we were able to pick right up where we left off. There was really no awkwardness, no shyness. No weirdness. It was nice to be with someone who knew me back when I was insane and yet, still loved me. I can't wait to finish her book and I strongly encourage everyone to pick up a copy too!

It's Like Rain on [My] Wedding Day

2009-04-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Pre-application cycle, I was really gung ho about going to school in New York because I wanted to be closer to my sister. Scratch that. I wanted to be closer to my nephews. They are now 2 and 9 and I miss them tremendously. I see the Monkey's blog and pics of LMN and I am envious of the ability to see your loved ones easily. I was excited for the chance.

My sister and I have always had a rather tumultuous relationship. We're either super close or fighting. There's really no middle ground. She's really not a well person. Not to speak ill of her behind her back, but there's always been something a bit off about her. I know she must struggle with some sort of imbalance or disorder, but she's too stubborn to get the help she really needs. Back in June, I decided that I had to cut her from my life. It wasn't too hard with her living a couple thousand miles away. Cut cleanly, like those infomercial knives that can cut through soda cans. Neat. Easy.

It seems as though life isn't without a sense of irony.

Now I'll get my original wish. I'll be in the city that I've dreamed of living in since I was a child. I'll be a short train ride away from my adorable nephews...and I won't be able to see them.

Don't Call it a Comeback (I've Been Here for Years)

2009-04-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

I feel rejuvenated. Refreshed. Little, yellow, and different? Not so much that. I figured it was time for a facelift, but I guess starting anew is rather like a whole body transplant.

I shut down my last blog for a variety of reasons. Primarily, I found that I was too easily searchable and while going through the law school application process, I didn't want all my personal biz out there. I was also getting tired of trying to find the time. Now, I want to make the time because I'm about to embark on an amazing journey and really, what better way to practice becoming an attorney than by being a semi-anonymous blowhard sucking up bandwidth on the internet?

I had a great admissions cycle this past year and was fortunate enough to be choosing from three full tuition scholarships from Top 10 schools, in addition to admission to the Big H. Ultimately I chose NYU, hence VioletFemme (that, and I have a deep love for the alterna-rock band for which I'm loosely named). I'll be taking my ball and going home (or packing my shit and peacing out for the LEast Coast) roughly around August, so this is my chance to live it up in LA prior to departure. Holler!