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!!!