I realized that I hadn't posted here in a long while and thought I'd give a little update.
Today is May 14, 2009. In a few days, Katie and I are going to Phoenix to bring the rest of our stuff back East. Well, technically, we'll still have one small storage unit in Phoenix, but the bulk of our stuff is coming out here as we expect to be out here for a while now.
Law schools... I decided, after much consideration, to attend Brooklyn Law School with very generous scholarships. As of today, I am also still on the admissions waitlists at both Georgetown and Fordham. Either of these schools would have been great to attend, but all along I've thought it was completely unlikely that I'd get accepted. Even now, I have to say, if one of them did accept me I'd almost undoubtedly change my plans, but I sure would miss the prospect of free tuition.
So, all else being equal, we're planning to move to NYC, probably to Brooklyn, in early August. I'm really excited for it, and for the start of school. This move date won't give us much time before classes start, but it's OK because we're poor anyhow and probably couldn't afford to capitalize well on a lot of extra time in the city. (Anyhow we got stuck with a full-summer lease when we had to move out of our little Comm Ave studio.) I'm hoping to move to Brooklyn Heights or one of the surrounding neighborhoods in order to be close as possible to school, but we'll see where we land as it's very expensive over there. Prospect Heights is a more reasonable neighborhood and still fairly close, as well as being the neighborhood where our BK friends live, so we very well might end up there.
Guess that's about it for now...
Showing posts with label law school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law school. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Law school update
So, here's the final tally for law school admissions:
ACCEPTED:
Brooklyn Law
Northeastern
American
WAITLISTED:
Fordham
Georgetown (!)
DENIED:
NYU :(
George Washington
So, I'm really trying to decide between the three schools that accepted me, and to ignore the very slim possibility that I'll get an acceptance from the schools that placed me on their waitlists. But it's complicated, and here's why...
So, I love Northeastern. It's a very liberal school, very public-interest and social justice oriented, and it's widely considered the top school for public interest lawyers to attend. It places very well in San Francisco, which is, for now, where I think I'd like to head after graduation. They are known for their one-of-a-kind co-op program, which places students in four 3-month legal internships during the last two years of school; this means that upon graduation, I'll already have a year of experience in my chosen areas. It's here in Boston, which is a city I know fairly well now and really love. There may be a good dual-degree opportunity for me there, but since I didn't apply to the other component this year, there are no guarantees. The atmosphere there is collegial and almost nurturing but still academically and intellectually challenging; learning that law schools could be like that, as opposed to the classical adversarial/competitive idea of law school, is what piqued my renewed interest in law in the first place. Finally, instead of grades they give detailed evaluations, which I think is an interesting and possibly superior means of evaluating student performance. To be honest, I have thought for a long time that this is where I might go.
But then, there's American. It's also liberal and public-interest oriented, with a bit more emphasis on international law. It's in DC, which sketches me out a bit, even though I like DC; I haven't spent much time there, and I'm just not sure how I'll like living there. I'm also not certain how American places on the West Coast and other areas outside of DC, but I aim to figure it out. It's better-known (and better-ranked) than Northeastern, though this isn't necessarily the case in public-interest legal circles. Here's the real clincher: I've also been accepted to the Master of Public Policy program there, so I could do my optimal dual degree program at a great law school and a truly excellent school of Public Affairs.
Finally, there's Brooklyn. This was the friendliest law school I visited back in '05, with great facilities and a surreal location in Brooklyn Heights. The public interest component there is definitely good enough, with plenty of clinical opportunities, courses, and connections. The truth is, whereas I really like this school, it just doesn't quite compare to the opportunity at American. (Up until last year, Brooklyn offered the dual-degree program that I want, but recently stopped offering it. I kept the school on my app list because I liked it so much.) However, I'm going to visit all these schools again in the next few weeks, and standing in the shadow of the Federal Courthouse while looking up at the main law school building sure is something... and so is New York. As they say, if I can make it there....
:/
Any thoughts? I'm not making up my mind until I do visits, but that time is drawing nigh, and I am spending most days obsessing over the choices....
ACCEPTED:
Brooklyn Law
Northeastern
American
WAITLISTED:
Fordham
Georgetown (!)
DENIED:
NYU :(
George Washington
So, I'm really trying to decide between the three schools that accepted me, and to ignore the very slim possibility that I'll get an acceptance from the schools that placed me on their waitlists. But it's complicated, and here's why...
So, I love Northeastern. It's a very liberal school, very public-interest and social justice oriented, and it's widely considered the top school for public interest lawyers to attend. It places very well in San Francisco, which is, for now, where I think I'd like to head after graduation. They are known for their one-of-a-kind co-op program, which places students in four 3-month legal internships during the last two years of school; this means that upon graduation, I'll already have a year of experience in my chosen areas. It's here in Boston, which is a city I know fairly well now and really love. There may be a good dual-degree opportunity for me there, but since I didn't apply to the other component this year, there are no guarantees. The atmosphere there is collegial and almost nurturing but still academically and intellectually challenging; learning that law schools could be like that, as opposed to the classical adversarial/competitive idea of law school, is what piqued my renewed interest in law in the first place. Finally, instead of grades they give detailed evaluations, which I think is an interesting and possibly superior means of evaluating student performance. To be honest, I have thought for a long time that this is where I might go.
But then, there's American. It's also liberal and public-interest oriented, with a bit more emphasis on international law. It's in DC, which sketches me out a bit, even though I like DC; I haven't spent much time there, and I'm just not sure how I'll like living there. I'm also not certain how American places on the West Coast and other areas outside of DC, but I aim to figure it out. It's better-known (and better-ranked) than Northeastern, though this isn't necessarily the case in public-interest legal circles. Here's the real clincher: I've also been accepted to the Master of Public Policy program there, so I could do my optimal dual degree program at a great law school and a truly excellent school of Public Affairs.
Finally, there's Brooklyn. This was the friendliest law school I visited back in '05, with great facilities and a surreal location in Brooklyn Heights. The public interest component there is definitely good enough, with plenty of clinical opportunities, courses, and connections. The truth is, whereas I really like this school, it just doesn't quite compare to the opportunity at American. (Up until last year, Brooklyn offered the dual-degree program that I want, but recently stopped offering it. I kept the school on my app list because I liked it so much.) However, I'm going to visit all these schools again in the next few weeks, and standing in the shadow of the Federal Courthouse while looking up at the main law school building sure is something... and so is New York. As they say, if I can make it there....
:/
Any thoughts? I'm not making up my mind until I do visits, but that time is drawing nigh, and I am spending most days obsessing over the choices....
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Law school update
Got another admission today, from Brooklyn Law. So far that's three admits (from my 'safer' schools), one rejection and one waitlist (these from my top 2 choices). Now I'm just waiting to hear from Fordham and George Washington, which is funny because those are the two schools for which I really have no means to make any prediction!
Gotta say, I'm on pins and needles! 'Course, I set it up to likely get at least one acceptance each in Boston, NYC, and DC, which I have done. So that specific choice hasn't been narrowed at all... gotta wait and see what GW and Fordham decide!
Gotta say, I'm on pins and needles! 'Course, I set it up to likely get at least one acceptance each in Boston, NYC, and DC, which I have done. So that specific choice hasn't been narrowed at all... gotta wait and see what GW and Fordham decide!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
What is up?!?!
That's about it. What's up with you all?
Naw, just kidding. I got some stuff. It's so weird, I was cranking out between 2 and 4 posts per day leading up to the election, and now... nothin'. :) I really think I got so plugged in to the news cycle that nothing seemed new or interesting enough to blog about... although that doesn't explain why I haven't been blogging since I got home. Which I suppose could be due to a whole new set of factors anyways.
Here's a thing... lately I have been reconnecting with a whole cast of random characters from my past on Facebook! There are people with whom I had nothing in common in high school, but with whom I now have tons in common. There are people with whom I was great friends in high school, and whose lives, values and interests are radically different from my own. There are people who I was sorta friends with in high school, and with whom I don't necessarily have tons in common, but who I just think (and often have always thought) are the most interesting people ever, and who make me wish I had known them better all along!
There are people who I knew from work, people I loved, people I had crushes on, people I detested, people who changed my life and people who never made one ounce of a difference, and people who I never thought would ask to be my Facebook friend. I understand that they're not really asking for my friendship, but I do think that they are asking me to take part in their lives in a way, and that makes me happy. It makes the whole "social networking" thing worthwhile despite all the annoying things about it. Importantly, these folks are generally supportive of, or indifferent toward, my sexuality. Despite having formed the thrust of much of my writing so far on this blog, it doesn't come up too often on Facebook, especially since the die-down of the Prop 8 frenzy. However, it is perfectly obvious.
On a completely unrelated note, Obama is a smart guy. That's all. He is really a smart guy. Say what you will.
I have got to get on the ball with my health and health-related goals. I gotta quit smoking, gotta lose weight. I wonder how many other blogs say the same thing, especially right now with the New Year and all. But really.
S'poseta start snowing again tonight, and we're all excited. So far I would say we're adjusting to the weather extremely well. We're well-insulated individuals.
Oh, a law school update: So far I've heard from 4. I got into the two schools I already mentioned, was rejected from NYU (no big surprise there), and got on the waitlist for Georgetown. While it's sort of nice compared to an outright rejection, being waitlisted, especially by a competitive school like that, is pretty much like being rejected. So now I'm waiting to hear back from Fordham, George Washington, and Brooklyn. I think that Brooklyn will accept me, but I'm not sure about Fordham and GW. If I get in to either of those schools, I will be not a little bit surprised!
Naw, just kidding. I got some stuff. It's so weird, I was cranking out between 2 and 4 posts per day leading up to the election, and now... nothin'. :) I really think I got so plugged in to the news cycle that nothing seemed new or interesting enough to blog about... although that doesn't explain why I haven't been blogging since I got home. Which I suppose could be due to a whole new set of factors anyways.
Here's a thing... lately I have been reconnecting with a whole cast of random characters from my past on Facebook! There are people with whom I had nothing in common in high school, but with whom I now have tons in common. There are people with whom I was great friends in high school, and whose lives, values and interests are radically different from my own. There are people who I was sorta friends with in high school, and with whom I don't necessarily have tons in common, but who I just think (and often have always thought) are the most interesting people ever, and who make me wish I had known them better all along!
There are people who I knew from work, people I loved, people I had crushes on, people I detested, people who changed my life and people who never made one ounce of a difference, and people who I never thought would ask to be my Facebook friend. I understand that they're not really asking for my friendship, but I do think that they are asking me to take part in their lives in a way, and that makes me happy. It makes the whole "social networking" thing worthwhile despite all the annoying things about it. Importantly, these folks are generally supportive of, or indifferent toward, my sexuality. Despite having formed the thrust of much of my writing so far on this blog, it doesn't come up too often on Facebook, especially since the die-down of the Prop 8 frenzy. However, it is perfectly obvious.
On a completely unrelated note, Obama is a smart guy. That's all. He is really a smart guy. Say what you will.
I have got to get on the ball with my health and health-related goals. I gotta quit smoking, gotta lose weight. I wonder how many other blogs say the same thing, especially right now with the New Year and all. But really.
S'poseta start snowing again tonight, and we're all excited. So far I would say we're adjusting to the weather extremely well. We're well-insulated individuals.
Oh, a law school update: So far I've heard from 4. I got into the two schools I already mentioned, was rejected from NYU (no big surprise there), and got on the waitlist for Georgetown. While it's sort of nice compared to an outright rejection, being waitlisted, especially by a competitive school like that, is pretty much like being rejected. So now I'm waiting to hear back from Fordham, George Washington, and Brooklyn. I think that Brooklyn will accept me, but I'm not sure about Fordham and GW. If I get in to either of those schools, I will be not a little bit surprised!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Back in business yo
Well, I just noticed my last blog post, and that's ridiculous! December 18th? My apologies to those of you who actually check this blog, I hope you will check it again sometime soon and enjoy finding new updates aplenty.
Soooo... I've heard back from two law schools so far, and each of them has admitted me! They are American in Washington DC, and Northeastern just up the road here in Boston. I have to be honest and say that I did expect to get into both of these schools... but it's nice to know for certain that I definitely will be able to attend a quality school like one of these, and it's also nice to be batting 1.000, at least for the moment!
Katie and I did the drive from Phoenix to here quite nicely... Didn't hit much weather, spent a great night in New Orleans (which we adore), saw some old friends, got to drive by the hotel that Barack Obama's been staying in, slept in some amazing hotel beds (oddly), and even hit decent traffic near rush hour in New York. Basically perfect!
So of course Katie is here with me now, and I'm just really happy. I missed her so. :) We are on the hard-core job hunt and are getting to know our (mostly) new friends who live across Comm Ave from us. I worked with one of them at Progressive in Phoenix and we happened to move to different sides of the same street in Boston! So Katie and I have been hanging out with her and her roomies & their other friends, who have proved to be delightful individuals that we get on really well with. So that's nice.
Other than that... Oh, yeah, inauguration's tomorrow! I gotta say, I'm really excited. Woulda been nice to go down there for it, but dang, there are a lot of people there right now, and apparently a lot of people making kee-raaazy money off of it. The hotels and vacation rentals were insane. And it's just a bit too far for a day trip.
I will stop here for now I suppose... But I'll be back soon!
Soooo... I've heard back from two law schools so far, and each of them has admitted me! They are American in Washington DC, and Northeastern just up the road here in Boston. I have to be honest and say that I did expect to get into both of these schools... but it's nice to know for certain that I definitely will be able to attend a quality school like one of these, and it's also nice to be batting 1.000, at least for the moment!
Katie and I did the drive from Phoenix to here quite nicely... Didn't hit much weather, spent a great night in New Orleans (which we adore), saw some old friends, got to drive by the hotel that Barack Obama's been staying in, slept in some amazing hotel beds (oddly), and even hit decent traffic near rush hour in New York. Basically perfect!
So of course Katie is here with me now, and I'm just really happy. I missed her so. :) We are on the hard-core job hunt and are getting to know our (mostly) new friends who live across Comm Ave from us. I worked with one of them at Progressive in Phoenix and we happened to move to different sides of the same street in Boston! So Katie and I have been hanging out with her and her roomies & their other friends, who have proved to be delightful individuals that we get on really well with. So that's nice.
Other than that... Oh, yeah, inauguration's tomorrow! I gotta say, I'm really excited. Woulda been nice to go down there for it, but dang, there are a lot of people there right now, and apparently a lot of people making kee-raaazy money off of it. The hotels and vacation rentals were insane. And it's just a bit too far for a day trip.
I will stop here for now I suppose... But I'll be back soon!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
What a crazy, wonderful, and very sad day.
Today, November 15th, 2008, was:
The day I sent my first law school applications in for review.
The day I got my components back in working order.
The day I saw hundreds of thousands around the US and the world take to the streets in the hope that people like me will eventually be able to be legally married to the ones we love.
The day I saw up close all the different kinds of people engaged in that fight, and knew two things for certain - there is nothing dividing us, not race, religion, or anything else, that can't be overcome; and yes, it really is just a matter of time, and the clock, history, and now the momentum are all on our side.
Today was the day I felt so proud of Katie for marching alone in Phoenix. I mean, she didn't go by herself, she was with friends. but nobody dragged her there. She got up early and went because she wanted to go and thought it was important, and she marched from the City Hall to the Capitol and back (if you know Phoenix, that's hella far). That's my girl. :)
Today was my good friend's 30th birthday. She's accomplished so much, I hope she's proud of herself, though I know those warm fuzzies are in short supply these days. Anyways, I'm proud of her.
Today was, sadly, also the day I lost my sweet, funny little birdie. She died sometime this evening and Katie just found her a bit ago. I'm still all weepy over it and probably will be for days. If any of you all out there are thinking to yourselves, "What the heck? A bird? Who cares?" let me tell you her story. Try not to get all weepy yourself! :)
Her name was Saavik, (after the Star Trek character. Thanks, mom) and she was a beautiful blue-fronted Amazon parrot. My mom got her when I was 6 or 7 years old, and boy, was she a talker... she had quite the vocabulary in those days. I think the previous owner said she was somewhere between 3 and 5, so, let's say she was a little bit younger than me today, probably close to 30. If you don't know, those sorts of birds can live to be 60 and older if they don't have any health problems.
Unfortunately, Saavik did have health problems. When I was 10, and I'll say she was about 7 or 8, she got lead poisoning from chewing on her cage. She had seizures and was foaming at the mouth, and my mom and I rushed her to the vet, where she was diagnosed as very near death. We were told that she could probably be saved, but the treatment would be extremely expensive. My mom was beside herself and somehow talked my grandparents into coughing up many thousands of dollars for the treatment and medication that she required. She stayed at the vet for two weeks, got a little better (out of the woods anyways) and we were finally allowed to take her home.
She was never the same again, however. The poisoning had crippled her for life, and stripped her of her vocabulary. When we got her back, she was so weak. She couldn't even stand and learned to drag herself forward with her beak. For a long time, she lived in a little kennel in my mom's bedroom, because she was too weak to climb or move her wings or do any of the stuff that permits birds to get around in a cage. For months, we had to give her physical therapy: we would lay her on her little bird back and massage her twisted little feet and work her little bird legs for her. We had to hand feed her, bathe her, do everything for her. In those days, we took her everywhere. Sweet little soul. She took it all in stride.
As time passed, she improved a lot. She could never flap her wings again, but she eventually could sort of shrug them and that was really cute. Her little feet were twisted and gnarled for life from the paralysis, but eventually she stood upright just fine and could walk around on the ugly little things, in time gaining enough balance to stand on a perch. The amazing thing about her was her toughness and brightness, she just kept going, and every single thing that made her weak, she compensated for in some other way. Since her feet didn't really work, she used her beak to climb, to balance, and to steady her movements, and after a while got a nice muscular neck going, so she could do everything pretty much as well as any normal (less special) bird. :)
She never got her vocabulary back, but in time she created a whole new lexicon of sounds and would whistle a whole song for you if you gave her the chance. Her favorite was the wolf whistle, which she was just showing off for Katie's mom the other day. She loved all kinds of music, and more than anything, she loved to dance. Her favorite thing in the whole world was if you'd come up to her cage and whistle or hum, and sway back and forth from side to side. She would just dance and dance, swaying right along with you, doing this crazy thing where she turned her head back at a most improbable angle over and over again, shrugging her little shoulders. Aw hell, I miss her so much already. I'm totally crying now.
Saavik lived with my grandma for a long time after my mom died, until my grandma died in fact, and the two of them just brought each other such joy. Now that is a memory that makes me smile. My grandma loved the crap out of that bird, pretty much everyone did who spent any time around her. Just ask Katie if she was any kind of bird lover before, or would've described a bird as having any kind of bird personality, much less an incredible one. LOL! Katie remarked on how much joy and fun we all had together, and how the bird is probably now reunited with my grandma and my cousin Virginia who just passed away, squawking while they try to play cards.
I have a million memories of the bird that make me want to bawl right now, but that will no doubt make me laugh my head off one day. I won't bore you with all of them, but I will share just one. One night, Katie and I are making dinner, and I start singing the guitar riff from "Wipe-out" to the bird (one of her favorites). The bird loves this stuff and starts to dance like a crazy bird. I get a big kick out of this and go sing to her and dance with her at the edge of the kitchen, where her cage stands. She loves this and starts singing along, and she and I are just singin' and dancin' up a blue streak. Then our fat cat Cecil gets jealous and decides she wants in on the action, jumps up on the table next to me and starts standing on her hind legs and pawing at the air and mewling along with us. The three of us are dancing and singing our asses off, Katie and I are dying laughing, and Katie just says, "I love you guys".
That's the kind of joy she brought into our home. I will probably write more about her later (believe it or not), but for now I'm honestly just exhausted and heartbroken. She was so sweet, so personable and funny, a tough little cookie, and just a bundle of happiness for the cost of a peanut. And that's why she will forever be missed.
In honor of Saavik, who was much loved and made us so happy, here's the close of a poem Percy Shelley wrote in honor of another happy bird:
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
Yet, if we could scorn
Hate and pride and fear,
If we were things born
Not to shed a tear,
I know not how thy joy we ever should come near.
Better than all measures
Of delightful sound,
Better than all treasures
That in books are found,
Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground!
Teach me half the gladness
That thy brain must know;
Such harmonious madness
From my lips would flow,
The world should listen then, as I am listening now.
The day I sent my first law school applications in for review.
The day I got my components back in working order.
The day I saw hundreds of thousands around the US and the world take to the streets in the hope that people like me will eventually be able to be legally married to the ones we love.
The day I saw up close all the different kinds of people engaged in that fight, and knew two things for certain - there is nothing dividing us, not race, religion, or anything else, that can't be overcome; and yes, it really is just a matter of time, and the clock, history, and now the momentum are all on our side.
Today was the day I felt so proud of Katie for marching alone in Phoenix. I mean, she didn't go by herself, she was with friends. but nobody dragged her there. She got up early and went because she wanted to go and thought it was important, and she marched from the City Hall to the Capitol and back (if you know Phoenix, that's hella far). That's my girl. :)
Today was my good friend's 30th birthday. She's accomplished so much, I hope she's proud of herself, though I know those warm fuzzies are in short supply these days. Anyways, I'm proud of her.
Today was, sadly, also the day I lost my sweet, funny little birdie. She died sometime this evening and Katie just found her a bit ago. I'm still all weepy over it and probably will be for days. If any of you all out there are thinking to yourselves, "What the heck? A bird? Who cares?" let me tell you her story. Try not to get all weepy yourself! :)
Her name was Saavik, (after the Star Trek character. Thanks, mom) and she was a beautiful blue-fronted Amazon parrot. My mom got her when I was 6 or 7 years old, and boy, was she a talker... she had quite the vocabulary in those days. I think the previous owner said she was somewhere between 3 and 5, so, let's say she was a little bit younger than me today, probably close to 30. If you don't know, those sorts of birds can live to be 60 and older if they don't have any health problems.
Unfortunately, Saavik did have health problems. When I was 10, and I'll say she was about 7 or 8, she got lead poisoning from chewing on her cage. She had seizures and was foaming at the mouth, and my mom and I rushed her to the vet, where she was diagnosed as very near death. We were told that she could probably be saved, but the treatment would be extremely expensive. My mom was beside herself and somehow talked my grandparents into coughing up many thousands of dollars for the treatment and medication that she required. She stayed at the vet for two weeks, got a little better (out of the woods anyways) and we were finally allowed to take her home.
She was never the same again, however. The poisoning had crippled her for life, and stripped her of her vocabulary. When we got her back, she was so weak. She couldn't even stand and learned to drag herself forward with her beak. For a long time, she lived in a little kennel in my mom's bedroom, because she was too weak to climb or move her wings or do any of the stuff that permits birds to get around in a cage. For months, we had to give her physical therapy: we would lay her on her little bird back and massage her twisted little feet and work her little bird legs for her. We had to hand feed her, bathe her, do everything for her. In those days, we took her everywhere. Sweet little soul. She took it all in stride.
As time passed, she improved a lot. She could never flap her wings again, but she eventually could sort of shrug them and that was really cute. Her little feet were twisted and gnarled for life from the paralysis, but eventually she stood upright just fine and could walk around on the ugly little things, in time gaining enough balance to stand on a perch. The amazing thing about her was her toughness and brightness, she just kept going, and every single thing that made her weak, she compensated for in some other way. Since her feet didn't really work, she used her beak to climb, to balance, and to steady her movements, and after a while got a nice muscular neck going, so she could do everything pretty much as well as any normal (less special) bird. :)
She never got her vocabulary back, but in time she created a whole new lexicon of sounds and would whistle a whole song for you if you gave her the chance. Her favorite was the wolf whistle, which she was just showing off for Katie's mom the other day. She loved all kinds of music, and more than anything, she loved to dance. Her favorite thing in the whole world was if you'd come up to her cage and whistle or hum, and sway back and forth from side to side. She would just dance and dance, swaying right along with you, doing this crazy thing where she turned her head back at a most improbable angle over and over again, shrugging her little shoulders. Aw hell, I miss her so much already. I'm totally crying now.
Saavik lived with my grandma for a long time after my mom died, until my grandma died in fact, and the two of them just brought each other such joy. Now that is a memory that makes me smile. My grandma loved the crap out of that bird, pretty much everyone did who spent any time around her. Just ask Katie if she was any kind of bird lover before, or would've described a bird as having any kind of bird personality, much less an incredible one. LOL! Katie remarked on how much joy and fun we all had together, and how the bird is probably now reunited with my grandma and my cousin Virginia who just passed away, squawking while they try to play cards.
I have a million memories of the bird that make me want to bawl right now, but that will no doubt make me laugh my head off one day. I won't bore you with all of them, but I will share just one. One night, Katie and I are making dinner, and I start singing the guitar riff from "Wipe-out" to the bird (one of her favorites). The bird loves this stuff and starts to dance like a crazy bird. I get a big kick out of this and go sing to her and dance with her at the edge of the kitchen, where her cage stands. She loves this and starts singing along, and she and I are just singin' and dancin' up a blue streak. Then our fat cat Cecil gets jealous and decides she wants in on the action, jumps up on the table next to me and starts standing on her hind legs and pawing at the air and mewling along with us. The three of us are dancing and singing our asses off, Katie and I are dying laughing, and Katie just says, "I love you guys".
That's the kind of joy she brought into our home. I will probably write more about her later (believe it or not), but for now I'm honestly just exhausted and heartbroken. She was so sweet, so personable and funny, a tough little cookie, and just a bundle of happiness for the cost of a peanut. And that's why she will forever be missed.
In honor of Saavik, who was much loved and made us so happy, here's the close of a poem Percy Shelley wrote in honor of another happy bird:
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
Yet, if we could scorn
Hate and pride and fear,
If we were things born
Not to shed a tear,
I know not how thy joy we ever should come near.
Better than all measures
Of delightful sound,
Better than all treasures
That in books are found,
Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground!
Teach me half the gladness
That thy brain must know;
Such harmonious madness
From my lips would flow,
The world should listen then, as I am listening now.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Hootie hoo!
Just sent in my first law school app... to NYU, my dream school, where I'll never get in LOL!
BUT... I sent it first because of all that it represents, and also for the practical reason that every extra minute in front of the reviewers is definitely useful when applying to a top 5 school.
After a bit more work, I have three apps on deck, ready to go, and three more that I anticipate I will be done with by the end of this weekend.
Then, after long last, I'll be done! And then..... I'll have the joy of waiting around for months, to receive what will probably 3 or 4 rejection letters out of 7 schools, and then I'll get to agonize over where I should go out of the winners! :D
Point is, somethin's comin'! I feel happy, and proud, and crazy, exhausted, and weird.
BUT... I sent it first because of all that it represents, and also for the practical reason that every extra minute in front of the reviewers is definitely useful when applying to a top 5 school.
After a bit more work, I have three apps on deck, ready to go, and three more that I anticipate I will be done with by the end of this weekend.
Then, after long last, I'll be done! And then..... I'll have the joy of waiting around for months, to receive what will probably 3 or 4 rejection letters out of 7 schools, and then I'll get to agonize over where I should go out of the winners! :D
Point is, somethin's comin'! I feel happy, and proud, and crazy, exhausted, and weird.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Today....
I'm tired, kind of blah, and need to get out of the house, also clean the house, and definitely focus on my personal statement. I've been waiting for my last recommendation to come in and it gives me an excuse to put off finishing it.... but before I know it, that last rec will come in, and when it does, I need to be ready to send everything out ASAP. So, no more excuses. Tonight, I will take myself on a date; tomorrow, I will clean and finish my PS. Dangit.
:P
:P
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A mixed bag
So. I'm obviously elated about Obama... and frustrated about Prop 8.
But.... I just spent a good little while poring over the petition that was filed today to prevent the enforcement of Prop 8 and, hopefully, to overturn it.
Let me tell you, it's good. It's really, really good. This single petition holds up a whole basketful of different reasons why Prop 8 should not stand. It's really... pretty dope! Not to mention, I have to believe that the Court would be frustrated by the efforts of a group of people, largely comprised of religious organizations and out-of-staters, to subvert its decision and to keep it from doing its job. The point is, even with things up in the air, there is a good deal of hope on the horizon. And it all makes me just gnash my teeth with eagerness to become a lawyer.... if only I could skip law school LOL.
Should anyone else wish to read the petition, it's available here.
Also: a really interesting non-technical legal analysis from Slate.com
But.... I just spent a good little while poring over the petition that was filed today to prevent the enforcement of Prop 8 and, hopefully, to overturn it.
Let me tell you, it's good. It's really, really good. This single petition holds up a whole basketful of different reasons why Prop 8 should not stand. It's really... pretty dope! Not to mention, I have to believe that the Court would be frustrated by the efforts of a group of people, largely comprised of religious organizations and out-of-staters, to subvert its decision and to keep it from doing its job. The point is, even with things up in the air, there is a good deal of hope on the horizon. And it all makes me just gnash my teeth with eagerness to become a lawyer.... if only I could skip law school LOL.
Should anyone else wish to read the petition, it's available here.
Also: a really interesting non-technical legal analysis from Slate.com
Monday, October 27, 2008
Whirlwind!
Wellll....
After staying up for 26 hours and sleeping for 5, I have to pack and clean my apartment in anticipation of my trip home. The good news is I have one of my statements completely done, I am still satisifed with it hours later so I think it will stick this time. One more to go and then the fun of attaching everything electronically and double-and triple-checking everything before it goes out will begin! The bad news is, my body seems unsure what day it is and I keep having tiny panic attacks that I've missed my flight, which is at 6pm tomorrow. :/
My poor friend is really taking it from all sides right now as a Christian and seminary student who supports the right of equal marriage. I am so grateful for his support, and the support of some of my other friends of faith who are crawling out of the woodwork to oppose the cruel CA Prop 8. I'm not so much the praying type but if you are and you read this, pray for my friend. His is obviously a minority viewpoint where he's standing and he seems to be taking a whole lot of flak for it and becoming quite the target. Which is, funnily enough, the perfect example of why majority opinion shoud not automatically be canonized as law.
After staying up for 26 hours and sleeping for 5, I have to pack and clean my apartment in anticipation of my trip home. The good news is I have one of my statements completely done, I am still satisifed with it hours later so I think it will stick this time. One more to go and then the fun of attaching everything electronically and double-and triple-checking everything before it goes out will begin! The bad news is, my body seems unsure what day it is and I keep having tiny panic attacks that I've missed my flight, which is at 6pm tomorrow. :/
My poor friend is really taking it from all sides right now as a Christian and seminary student who supports the right of equal marriage. I am so grateful for his support, and the support of some of my other friends of faith who are crawling out of the woodwork to oppose the cruel CA Prop 8. I'm not so much the praying type but if you are and you read this, pray for my friend. His is obviously a minority viewpoint where he's standing and he seems to be taking a whole lot of flak for it and becoming quite the target. Which is, funnily enough, the perfect example of why majority opinion shoud not automatically be canonized as law.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tonight
I have to get back to work on my statements. They are driving me craaaaazy. I don't usually get this much time to edit and I think it is screwing me over a bit.
Back to square one. Ugh
Back to square one. Ugh
Monday, October 6, 2008
More about law school applications...
I just want to say...
This is really exciting! I've been zeroing in on this very moment for years and now it's all coming together. I'm *almost* looking forward to the insanity of waiting for responses once all these durned things go out. Isn't that kee-razy?
I'ma be juuust like this guy! With the fists of victory and all!
This is really exciting! I've been zeroing in on this very moment for years and now it's all coming together. I'm *almost* looking forward to the insanity of waiting for responses once all these durned things go out. Isn't that kee-razy?
I'ma be juuust like this guy! With the fists of victory and all!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Learning from law school applications
...Specifically, learning how to describe myself aptly and powerfully in 3 pgs, 2 pgs, 500 words, 300 words, and in one case, a single sentence:
"I am an out & proud lesbian who was raised by a psychologically disordered single mother; I bring a singular perspective and a capacity to endure."
Damn.
That is crazy. It almost hurts to read it.
And brief. So much more I could say with 10 more characters?
And it is the truth.
"I am an out & proud lesbian who was raised by a psychologically disordered single mother; I bring a singular perspective and a capacity to endure."
Damn.
That is crazy. It almost hurts to read it.
And brief. So much more I could say with 10 more characters?
And it is the truth.
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