embarrassing factoid about me

I’m just going to shamefully admit again how much I love disaster movies, and how pathetic that makes me.

Still, watching Volcano in HD—even if it’s not the first movie I’d think of watching in HD—is pretty nice.

Back to editing with Tommy Lee in the background.

what do you think?

It’s finally happened.

After nearly three years of regular abuse, my trusty 12″ Powerbook is becoming a bit gimpy. The handrests are pitted all to hell, the case is a little bent in places, and the power supply connection is getting finicky again. I’ve discovered that the angle of my screen can dramatically affect the strength of the wireless signal I get at home (though that might a have non-hardware-related basis), and the little light that’s supposed to show when the computer is asleep (right at the latch) has all but stopped working.

In other words, I’m thinking it might be time to get a new machine.

This one is out of AppleCare in June, so I probably want to get something before then. I don’t necessarily see the need to spring for the Macbook Air (though, gosh, it sure is pretty), and I’m not sure I need the power of a Macbook Pro. But the regular Macbooks are awfully heavy for their size, and I’d rather maximize my screen real estate. I’m also not as concerned with durability as I once was since I won’t be carrying the new computer back and forth to school every day. (Note: if I were buying right now for law school, I’d definitley go with the plastic case of the Macbook rather than the aluminum case of the Macbook Pro, just for the sake of durability.)

The only other limiting factor I have is that I will be getting a Mac. I really don’t want a PC; if I need to use a PC for any reason, there are plenty of those floating around my house, thanks to Mr. Angst; I am deeply comfortable with the Mac interface; and I really, really don’t want a Dell.

With those constraints in mind, what do you think? Should I get a Macbook? Macbook Pro? Throw practicality out the window and get the Air? ((In the meantime, I think I will take my little 12″ into the Apple Store over Spring Break (while I’m out of town, hopefully) and have them do what they can with the fritzy light and the finicky power supply connector. Since I still have a few months of AppleCare, I might as well use it.))

just . . . shhhhh

Dear 1Ls,

Your inane, annoying, and mostly inaccurate conversation about getting jobs, being wined and dined, partying, and how you have no idea how to get to parts of the law school that are parts of the law school make me think even less of you than I already did.

Congrats.

a Monday list

It’s 1 o’clock. What have I done today?

1. Read background materials for a clinic assignment. Wrote up some questions for my conference call with the supervising attorney this afternoon.
2. Finished my bar exam application. Submitted it online (and paid for it). Still have to notarize and mail in one form.
3. Did the Law School Roundup.
4. Did my taxes. Working part of a year for a law firm means my refund is very nice.
5. Walked the dog. I just bathed him yesterday, and now he’s dirty again. I like the slightly warmer weather, and the resulting thaw, but it definitely makes the streets really gross.
6. Discussed the possible purchase of a new TV with Mr. Angst. (Thanks, tax refund!) Not sure about the timing on that.
7. Threw a load of laundry in. Still needs to go in the dryer.
8. Blew my nose approximately four hundred times.

I think that’s a lot for four hours (I didn’t get started on anything till 9 o’clock, and somewhere in there I also took a shower). Let’s see if I can match it this afternoon!

Weekly Law School Roundup #106

Welcome to this week’s Law School Roundup, in which I point to a few posts that caught my eye over the last week or so. Apologies for the lateness (and for the shortness) of this Roundup—I’m struggling with the eighty-seven-millionth cold I’ve had since September, and it’s hard to think through the snot.

On that note, enjoy!

• Grades Law School Dilettante
• Age Mommy on the Floor
• Distractions Knocked Up (and in Law School) ((Methinks someone needs a new blog name!))
• Amusing iansamuel.com: blog
• Trading Places Lag Liv
• More Distractions Peanut Butter Burrito
• Brilliance Thrown for a Loop

Look for next week’s roundup at Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground. It’ll be back here in about two weeks.

minivacay

My schedule this semester (and Mr. Angst’s, while we’re at it) really precludes us from taking a real vacation before I graduate. (Frankly, if things go the way we hope they willl, we won’t be taking any sort of vacation any time soon. Which sucks, but the tradeoff is that things will have gone the way we wanted them to.)

At any rate, we had hoped to do something fun and tropical over spring break, but that’s just not going to happen. But I’ve ensured we’ll still get away for a bit over the break: I just bought plane tickets to New Orleans.

Now, to be fair, I’m the one who will get to spend some time in the Crescent City—we’re going down for an engagement party which will be held in Baton Rouge, not New Orleans—and I’m going down for four days so I can kick around New Orleans with the bride-to-be for a bit, while Mr. Angst can only go for two-and-a-half days, most of which will be spent in Baton Rouge for the party. But it’s still a trip out of town, to a place which has lots of fun stuff to do, where we’ll be hanging out with people we love. It may not be the Bahamas, but it will be warmer than This City in March, and is almost certain to involve a little more debauchery.

what I did today

Today I:

• Spilled my breakfast shake all over the kitchen.
  • I had my stand mixer in the accompanying mixing cup, when I left the two of them, upright, on the counter to grab a little more milk—my shake was too thick. I poured the milk, put it back in the fridge, and heard a thud. I turned around to discover the top-heavy combination of mixer and cup had tumped over, distributing shake-splatter all over the floor and on the wall. AWESOME.
• Roasted a chicken.
  • Verdict: Pretty good. Next time I might do the herb-mixture-under-the-skin thing, since it was just pretty chickeny tasting, without much else going on. Also, I am still trying to figure out how to roast a chicken without ending up with a half-inch of chicken-jelly on the bottom of my roasting pan. None of the recipes ever talk about the collagen in the chicken leaching out, nor about the vast amounts of chicken fat that renders down into the pan. EWWWW. Thank goodness I have a carving board with a channel.

That’s two food-related things I did today. I did some other stuff, too, but none of it seems very interesting compared to those two things.

If someone will remind me later, I’ll post my breakfast shake recipe.

why didn't i go to law school in San Diego?

You konw there’s something wrong with the world when you see the temperature display outside a bank and it says “10°” and you think, “Oh, that’s downright balmy.”

And, compared to yesterday, your observation is true.

Brrrrr.

a good start after all!

The last week has been good. I’m getting settled back into school, adjusting to my new schedule (which I love), eating healthier, taking more breaks from the computer . . . in general, I think I’ve started the year well.

Best of all, I’ve lost 3 pounds by having a homemade fruit-and-yogurt smoothie for breakfast every day, and going to the gym with Mr. Angst three days a week. As for the latter, I always thought I preferred to go to the gym alone—get my stuff done by myself, not see anyone I know in case I did something stupid (like slip off the exercise ball like I did last night)—but going with Mr. Angst has been delightful, and I’m glad it’s working out for us. The former was just an attempt to get more dairy and fruit in my diet, but it appears to be working and I’m not going to knock it.

Meanwhile, I’ve managed to write a couple of interesting pages for The Task (ack, I am just starting to write) as well as started finishing my part of last semester’s journal issue. (This semester’s issue hits my plate in a week, though.) And I’m taking scheduled breaks from my computer (important since I’m at home most days) to sit on my couch and do my reading or just watch a little TV and play with the dog.

If I can keep this up all semester, I’ll be in good shape!

Law School Roundup #104

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Law School Roundup, featuring posts by future and current law students. Enjoy!

• Acceptance Feels really good terra nullius
• Maturation Reorienting oneself after grades 2l wannabe
• Optimism Looking for silver linings PT-LawMom
• Precociousness Out of the mouths of babes Butterflyfish
• Homecoming The second time Knocked Up (and in Law School)
• Kindness It really does make a difference Lag Liv
• Waiting The winning streak has definitely ended, else she’d be born already Peanut Butter Burrito
• Cleanliness Everyone must earn their keep Think Like a Woman. Act Like a Man.
• Coinage Just really funny Thrown for a Loop

And that’s it for this week! Look for the Roundup next week at Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground and back here in two weeks.