Haven't been writing enough

Writing a blog post was a usual occurrence in order to procrastinate studying Con Law or Fed Courts (which is the procedural side of Con Law for the most part), and since I haven't been doing much of either lately, I haven't blogged. It could also be the fact that I've been spending more time on Facebook or Twitter to make some type of social commentary and share it with friends. Though the sites encourage being witty and concise, the possibly unintended consequence is that attention span is now even less than before.

Not knowing how public this whole blog post is, my usual theme of introspection may be curtailed a little until I figure out how to limit the privacy on this site. Most of the previous blog posts were from my MySpace account, which had at least the check of allowing only my friends to read the post and also the anonymity of probably never meeting any digifriends who were on that account.

As to the purpose of this post . . . well, it's mostly out of boredom since I actually feel unemployed for the first time in years. With law school, there was always the reason/rationalization that I always had school work to do, so I was at least keeping busy (or, the fact that I took a trip to Argentina to pass the time). It's been about six months since I've been unemployed, but it's only effectively been about 6 weeks. The first two months don't really count since I was studying for the Bar exam, which took up 12 hours a day 5 days a week (and 6-8 hours the other 2 days). And, understandably right after the ordeal, the last thing I wanted to do was work. Then there was the time in limbo (from end of February until the results came out end of April), since it would be pretty hard to secure an offer without knowing the results of the exam. Then, even after the results came out, there was two weeks before I was sworn in. Even though it would have been more tangible to get an offer once I received the results, I wasn't technically an attorney until I was sworn in. So, there is sort of a schism of what this unemployment is from a temporal sense and a functional sense.

I knew it would be a horrid market, as even when I was still in school and before the global economy tanked, there was example after example of unemployed attorneys. I vividly remember my 1L year, going to a "networking" event at the Chicago Bar Association, where it was a packed house of attorneys either looking for jobs or looking to change jobs. I swore to myself that I'd take the steps not to be in that boat when I graduated . . . no I don't appreciate the irony.

To my credit, however, some of what's going on is totally out of my control. Yeah, there may have been a culmination of decisions that gave rise to the situation, such as going east of the Mississippi instead of west, then deciding to move to a place where the regional pull of my law school didn't really matter. But I think more importantly, there's a historic re-calibration going on because of this economic meltdown. It's crazy to think how unprecedented this is, so it's hard to get too down about the whole unemployment thing (there's more of us than there's been in decades). This is so far reaching, so I'm just going to limit this particular discussion to the legal field.

As bad as this sucks, it's a needed recalibration. One law school dean said that law schools are similar to the American auto industry--producing a product that no one wants. Though there's some merit in the analogy, it goes a bit too far. The effect of this whole situation will weed out those who don't want to be attorneys. I feel the proper analogy (one that I've always made) is more akin to the Wizard of Oz. There's this thought that law school is like some emerald city with some grand wizard. As a result, people who don't know what to do with their lives after undergrad feel that law school is an automatic route to riches. This is compounded by the sense of entitlement of my generation, which was nourished from childhood by giving trophies for "participation." The reality of the matter is that it's only an old man behind the curtains who makes everyone wear techinicolor glasses. But in the end, if it's really what you want, the old man still can get you to your goal.

The recalibration has started, and hopefully people will realize that it is just an old man behind a curtain and the technicolor glasses; that there are ways to get their goals other than parading through Oz. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. But those still standing woudn't have to rely on hindsight, they were looking for the old man the whole time.

New ink for cover-up

So I have 3 Chinese symbols that I want to cover up and I think this is how I'm going to do it

Finished the migration

So I just moved my blogs from my MySpace account. I guess this is a bit more public because my account was under a pseudonym and through an email account that I don't give out. I'll probably post something later in the upcoming days.

My time in the Chi for law school pt xv

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Lao Tzu, Socrates, and Buddah walk into a bar . . . So I should be reading about standing in federal courts right now, but there's nothing like Constitutional jurisprudence to get the philosophical neurons firing. Besides, I haven't blogged about law school lately (which isn't a bad thing). The penultimate semester is off to a start, and I have more practical courses this semester. But sprinkle a bit of Fed Cts on top, and that's enough academic mastrubation for the semester. Had trial ad tonight, which was interesting. Aside from being unprepared because of a weekend of binge drinking, a couple weeks in the class have illustrated how I have not resolved a conflict I have noticed from the beginning of law school. In my life-long search for truth, I was of course influenced by Western thought and Philosophy. And in those early days, I fell into the destructive trap. I thought that there has to be something deeper. So, I tried to break down everything, trying to find what that deeper was, what "it really meant," what was "truth." And in that mindset, I was more skeptical, always thinking, "that can't be it, there has to be something else." But after stepping out of my myopic self-validation (if there's more than what people think, then I had to be more right than them just by "knowing" that right?) and actually pushing myself, I traveled a path as documented by Persig in "Zen" and "Lila." Of course, I didn't recognize how prophetic those books would be until I was at the end of the same path. Where that path ends is the realization is that there isn't anything more. Things just are. Truth is a verb, not a noun. Of course, this had been known by the ancient Chinese, with Camus and Niezche eventually discovering it on their own centuries later. This truth, that at times, there isn't anything more, that some things just are, is at conflict in an advasarial philosophy. If I'm right, you must be wrong. Or, if you're right, then I must be wrong, and that would be bad.

My time in the Chi for law school pt xiv

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Wait, we were supposed to wear the home uniform? So back in Chicago after a 3 week stint at home. Weird thinking that I'm only gonna be here for a little bit longer, but so it goes. But yeah, went out for a few drinks last night. Quite the contrast when juxtaposed with going out in CO. There's been this weird flip, in the sense of when I was back home I saw things from a Chicago perspective when it came to people out at the bars. People out West seemed to be more playful (shit, I'm sorta playful myself), but acting that way could get you a punch in the teeth in Chicago. Just sorta funny, noticing that after a couple years, there's a bit of a Midwest tint to me these days. Last night was amusing though. I wore the wrong uniform out to the bars, as I was wearing a zip-up hoodie with my skate shoes; the traditional western state look. I forgot that out here, instead of wearing something with a hood and shoes you can ollie in, you have to wear something with buttons and shoes you can see your reflection in. There are things about Chicago that I'll miss, but I definitely won't miss the jersey. P.S. Another thing that was reaffirmed: I like my girls to dress creative-sassy, not stuck-up-bitchy.

My time in the Chi for law school pt xiii

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

How Many Nails? Ah, the blog...haven't had much to say lately...but there's something in the air.... So today it was about 75 deg, not humid and there was not a cloud in the sky, total Colorado weather. Just another reaffirmation of the powermove. There's always been little signs foreshadowing the return (I still have a 303 number) but there have been other things since to seal the deal. The powermove has become more lucid lately. After a break in B.A., the move away was almost all but decided. I've always said that would stay if there was a killer job opportunity, but I think my true intentions permeated while I was going through the interview process. So much of the legal profession depends on manipulating the situation in your favor. Not following baseball (but hellz yeah Rockies!) and cheering for a team in the AFC that runs a West Coast Offense doesn't bode well for turning things in your favor in an inherently Xenophobic profession (ah, the greatness of our Federalist system). Even the first words the president of the Illinois State Bar Association said to me were, "you're not from around here, are you." If this meant outgoing, playful and dressed in colors other than drab, yeah I'm not from around here. At first I thought the fixation my displacement was a result of some right of passage I've been failing. But after the stint in B.A. I realized it was more of the fact that there's nothing here that fundamentally defines me. I found a calm in B.A.--I could actually sleep. I believe in the philosophy that you should never close doors, as you never know what defines you until you give it a chance. However, it's equally important to realize that certain things will never define you. In this process, it's only natural to redefine yourself every once in awhile, but you should only do so by eliminating flaws, not giving up qualities that fundamentally define you. Unfortunately, the redefinition the past few years has been more of the latter, and not the former. So there was a point to this, oh yeah, how many nails does it take to close a coffin? Keeping a 303 number; cheering for an AFC team; preferring a snowboard to a life jacket; having a wardrobe that consists of more than white, grey, black, and navy ... hmm, it may only take the first one for a Xenophobic profession....

From Argentina pt 5

Saturday, July 21, 2007

The Language Barrier So it's my last night in Bariloche, and I should be going out to check out the night scene, but I'm beat from riding. But yeah, hit one of the first gaps in language. Some people speak English out here, but it's far less than in Cosmo B.A. Not too bothersome, but it sorta sucks when rolling solo at a hostel where the kids are cool, but have a hard time communicating. It was funny though when this Spanish (de España) Cat and I joked about this French guy. We're all cool, so it was in good fun. We were drinking, and the French guy had some Vodka and was making drinks. He mixed his with Apple Juice, while the rest used orange juice. When somebody tried it, they made a comment on the taste. Then I said, "Nunca he tomado vodka con manzana." Which I got the reply from the Spanish Cat, "El es Frances." It was pretty funny. I think this would have been a different experience if I would have gone with some kids I know, but so it goes--I made the choice to book my trip in advance to ensure that I could go riding. The kids from school are going next weekend, but they got lucky to find accomidations, as it's peak ski season. Would have been cool to roll with them, but didn't want to gamble on not going at all. Met some cool kids on the slopes, though. It took me a day to run into some kids that could ride, so it was cool finding people who could actually ride. But Bariloche is a cool town. It's like Boulder mixed with Tahoe. The minas are more of my liking...a bit more crunchy than the Porteñas. The problem with Argentina is that the women here are so hot that I fall in love every day. But on the bright side, I do fall in love every day (now I just need to work on the pick up line.) Either way, totally could spend a few more days here. The time would have been enough had I not snowboarded over 60% of the time I was here, but so it goes. I thought I had more to blog about, but guess not. Me Voy.

From Argentina pt 4

Thursday, July 19, 2007

¡Voy a snowboard! So this weekend I'm off to Bariloche for el fin de semana para snowboard (yes, the Castellano word is the same, which makes things easier). I hear the place is like a non-corporate Aspen. Outside of that, I guess there isn't that much to say....I guess I'm starting to get used to the lifestyle here. I have hit an odd point with my Castellano...I've been working on the inflection and trying to acquire the accent, which I've sorta pulled off. I know you can never really get rid of an accent, but at least you can try to acquire the accent. For example, there are a couple people I've met who are fluent, but they speak with the Gringo accent. It's like an Aleman who is fluent in English saying "Das es mine ya" instead of "this is mine right." Anyway, back to my point, I'm at a point where I could potentially get in trouble, since I know some Castellano, and can pull off the accent where people may assume that I know how to speak more than I really do. Not too big of a deal, but some people will slow down when they know you can't really speak the language. Now, however, I'm starting to be at that point where I may be rude by giving a blank stare to people who try and shoot the shit with me...not because I don't want to be friendly, but just because I don't understand them. However, quando vuelvo a Chicago (o EE. UU.), hablaré con un accento Castellano, incluye los "sha's." Me parece que las personas pensarán estoy loco porque no miro como un Porteño. No es importanate, porque las minas acá encantan los hombres son otro paises. Pero, solo tuvo suerte con las minas jovenes. Todos las mujeres son "serio." Pues, no me moleste. Me voy. Leo S.

From Argentina pt 3

Sunday, July 15, 2007

¿It´s been 10 days? Llegé en B.A. 10 dias atras, y no creolo. Yo Me Quedaría si habo el idoma mas mejor y si tendría un trabajo. But yeah, I can't belive it's been 10 days. It doesn't seem like it and I wouldn't leave here unless I had to. But on to the update. Nothing too crazy has been going on. Just started school, which totally salts my game since it starts at nine. I don't know what they're thinking, starting school at such an early time in a city that STARTS eating dinner 10 PM, and there's a hour wait at TGI Fridays (this is how we are viewed) at 12midnight (we went for the novelty, and left after we heard of the wait). The B.A. nightlife is rediculous. Nobody goes out till like 2.30. The other night when we got to Pacha, it was like 1.30 and we thought the club was lame. However, by 4.30, nobody could move since it was so packed. Also, went to Mint this past weekend, and it was rediculous. Again, doesn't start till later, and I thought the DJ sorta sucked at like 2.30. But he was the opening DJ. Whoever was spinning at 3-7 was throwing down. I really think it was somebody world reknown, but not sure. Also, it was pretty sick randomly getting VIP in the club. That was def. a fun time. It was also funny getting offered every type of club drug possible, I guess there's just that vibe....However, I have yet to close down a place, even leaving at 7 am. I've def. been served. My friends and I have made a goal to close down SOME place some night. But other than that, nothing too crazy. There's this mina that I'm sorta trying to throw game at, but the whole language thing is a bit rough. I am getting better at it by sending texts with this mina. We'll see what happens. Leo S.

From Argentina pt 2

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Faux Paus So, I hit my first social faux pau in Argentina. I was at a Brazilian bar with mis amigos, some of whom were brazilian, and we started talking to some girlies when we were in line. Since it was my Brazillian friend talking to the girls, I thought they were Brazilian girls (I should have listened to the language better). One of them was a blonde, another was a bleach blonde, the other was a superhot brunette (I´ll post pics later). Since there were two blondes talking to my brazilian friend, I thought the girls where brazilian. However, when I was talking to some kids who were asking me who I was here with, I happened to call them Brazilian. The real blonde got super-pissed at me. I can understand, a frenchie doesn´t want to be called english. Or call somebody from Whales English and see what happens. However, in my defense, Buenos Aires is very homozygous...very "white" for south america (if you call italian white)--you can tell if someone isn´t from Argentina. So, it's like the jewish gene, the blonde hair, blue eye is recessive, but it exists. So I call this girl braziliana and she gets super pissed. She says to me, "Soy una porteña...I'm white." Or, in English, I´m from Buenos Aires, I'm white. Funny how relative race is. She did look white because of the blonde hair. But from what I have seen, blonde hair is more Brasilian than Argentine. If a sterotypical argentine woman was in the states, people wouldnt call her "white" (as in WASP). Anyways, she was so pissed and would´'t talk to me the rest of the night. Fuck it. I sorta feel bad, because I don't like being an asshole to anyone. however, I'll never see her again. Her email is leticiacangola80@ Fuck, should have looked at her email first.... Leo S.

From Argentina pt 1

Saturday, July 07, 2007

It's On So, He estaba en Buenos Aires por 4 días y me encantalo. Mis amigos y yo fueramos a discotech. No he visto quantas chicas bellisimas en mi vida. Todos tendiran la misma fasion, pero me gusta comos les miraron. Pero los hombres tenienen demasiado italiano, o quandos ellos bilan. Ok, I´m working on my Spanish, and would try to write this whole bolg in Spanish, pero vamos a cenar comida colombiano y neccisito terminar esto mas rapido. Anyway, been in Buenos Aires for four days and I´ve fallen in love with the city. I was a bit apprehensive when I first got here, but it was more of the fact that I was in a city, and I get enough of the City Life in Chicago. However, this city is sweet from what I have encountered so far. I have to keep this short, so this blog will be primarily about last night. Some friends I met at the hostel and I went to a discotech (sort of), and the music was alright. People seemed to like it, but I get enough of Maddona, Bon Jovi, and Journey in Chicago. However, the dancing definitely accented some cultural differences. I´m not much of an 80's fan, so that's not really the beat I dance to. However, there was definitely the Italian showing in the way the Argentine men dance--a fast techno beat threw them off. So, when there was some hard house playing, I was definitely serving them with my dance moves, even though I'm not that good and a bit rusty. However, when there was any type of "Latin Beat" going on, they definitely served me back. So, I guess IT'S ON. But enough of the men. The women here are rediculously fetch. I was talking to a Brazilian friend I met here were talking about the Brazilian women being hotter, which is true in general. However, after last night, we both agreed that there were some smoking Argentine women. Not that there hasn´t been hot women until that poingt, just not jaw-dropping. The night at the club changed that. Though the chicas all looked the same, it was such a hot look. Dark hair with bangs, and a black dress. Though I'm not a fan of bangs, these girls had the look to pull it off. It was like a quasi-italian look, but not really. However, the italian look was enough to make the bangs look pouty. I like pouty hot girls. There was even a girl that looked EXACTLY like Nelly Furtado (yeah, I know, she's Portugese (Candaian)). I didn't have my camera, or I would have totally had my picture taken with her. Ok, I have so much more to blog about, but I´m going to be social and watch a futbol game. A quick aside, my first night here, in my venture to make friends, I played futbol with kids at the hostel. I never played soccer, so I'm not very representative, but I did perpetuate the notion that the US can't play soccer. I definitely got served from Columbians, Argentinians, Brazilians and a guy from Holland. Ok, I'm out. Prof. C.

My time in the Chi for law school pt xii

Friday, June 22, 2007

Kill Whitey So lawyers suck, unless they're on your side. First news story I turn on the TV to is this story on Fox news about the DA in the Duke Lacrosse case. Everything was fine and good until some schiester [sic] lawyer (but probably not a Jewish lawyer because it is Fox news after all, but I don't know the derogatory term for a shady WASP lawyer) was ranting and raving about Nifong [the DA in the Duke case], and talking about all the repercussions he faced. Now, they all seemed legitimate, but one was quite eye-opening. The schiester was talking about using a Section 1983 civil action against Nifong. For those who didn't have LARC III last semester (or for those not in law school), a 1983 action gives people a way to sue government officials (and government agencies) in civil court for using their government power to violate civil rights. In this case, the schiester lawyer correctly pointed out that there could be an argument the Duke players civil rights were violated. Nifong would have violated their civil rights if he abused his governmental power as a DA to prosecute the players to gain favor with the Black community because the players were WASP posterboys. Now, this was subtly startling (yes, oxymoron). The schiester snuck in that the Civil Rights Act was meant to protect abuse of government power based on race. Yes, this is technically correct (Scalia's ideal of a color-blind Constitution, or here, a color blind law). However, the original intent was to remedy discrimination against minorities, not the man. Now, I think the schiester is correct, and that everyone should have recourse under the civil rights laws. As much as I like Scalia and Originalism, this illustrates that even Originalism can conflict with itself. Still, I find it funny that some Republican mouthpiece was talking about what the Civil Rights laws are supposed to protect against without mention of the history or the original intent of the legislation. I guarantee you when a Republican talks about what type of Justice should be on the Supreme Court, he will talk about how the Justice should be look at the history and the original intent of the Constitution. Though Constitutional interpretation and interpretation of Congressional legislation is different, it isn't that different. I know that the Supreme Court doesn't look to Congress' intent in passing laws unless they have to, but that's the same with the Constitution. The text of the Constitution is limited, so some Justices look to original intent. See, not that different. But what I find even more amusing is the fact that this shiester lawyer makes national news (though it is Fox). The Duke players took the high road and settled with the univeristy. They handled the press conference with class, and acknowledged that there are others out there who get prosecuted based on race (though they probably weren't referring to other White people with money). they have moved on. But now, you place some loudmouth on Fox news about how he thinks it's ridiculous that they settled with the University and how the DA should be punsihed because he prosecuted on race. Maybe Republicans and Hippies have more in common than we think: it's okay if something wrong is going on, just as long as it's not in their back yard.

My time in the Chi for law school pt xi

Monday, June 11, 2007

Why don't you cry about it, saddlebags So it's an odd correlation that I've noticed when I'm back home: I always put on some weight back home because I don't have to walk as much. I noticed it when I moved back home from Denver for a month before going to Chicago, and the effect is even augmented by the fact Chicago is a much bigger city and I do that much more walking. The past ten days, I've gotten a little tubby (talk about salting my game...). The presence of Taco Bell value menus allow a person to purchase about 4500 kcal for $4.99 plus tax. This adds to the love in two distinct ways. First, I have a car and Taco Bell's are abundant, so I don't have to worry about trying to find one and hop on the El just to mollify the jones for a Gordita (I'm actually a chicken quesadilla type of guy). Second, there isn't the financial barrier. I'm not sure what type of meal you would get for $4.99, but I don't think you could buy that many kcal for that price in Chicago, except maybe a four-pack of butter. To compound this, staying with the parents (especially Filipino parents) means that I always have food at the house. The $5 I would spend on a pint of beer still goes to a pint of beer, but there's stuff around the house like Ice Cream bars, and and endless supply of mirienda (Tagalog for "snacky-snacks"). So, not only do I have the money to get the 140 kcal from the pint of Guiness ($5 is an expensive pint in this town, so $5 buys a Guiness. Most bars have Fat Tire, or other and better New Belgum beers for $2 a pint), I get the other calories from food I usually sacrifice in order to purchase alcohol. Why this all matters, well, it really doesn't. It is, however, beach season in Chicago. So, I guess all this is is a superficial complaint about how I won't be able to take my shirt off for a week. I guess I'll just have to take off the pants.

My time in the Chi for law school pt x

uesday, June 05, 2007

Salty So, as I'm drinking a Springboard Ale (brewed with Wormwood (yes, Absinthe is brewed with wormwood), Goji berries and schisandra...call me crunchy) I just found, I figured I'd post another blog. I forgot that people actually make eye contact here, even when I'm crusing the opposite way on a bike trail. It's nice to be able to smile at chicas and get a smile back. It's funny, since one of my friends who's in Chicago for business every once in awhile made the same observation I made about Chicago chicas--a particular unwillingness to be friendly. At first I thought it may have been law school chicas (or law school people in general), but it's probably more than coincidence when not only CO kids notice it, but also people who have been to CO notice it. Even one of my first roomies from CA and I discussed how it was a whole different game in Chicago. Can't blame them though, people in CO don't have to deal with the agressive homeless that incessantly chant, "CHANGE...CHANGE SIR." The South Park Episode about the homeless people was not much of a hyperbole. Still, I'm gonna enjoy this week, spending the time trying to unsalt my game. P.S. What's up with Bush rebuilding Star Wars? Is he trying to help out Condie? She messed up Iraq so bad, is Bush trying to re-start the Cold War to play to the expertise of the One Trick Pony we call Condie?

My time in the Chi for law school pt 9

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Separation Anxiety So I'm not using my laptop and using a different computer to blog, and I've noticed some separation anxiety from my laptop. This whole law school thing...I've added a new appendage. But it's not just A computer, it's MY computer.... But yeah, back in the CO for a stint, went out in good ol' Fort Collins; one of my friends from Denver moved up here, so I took him out for a "night on the town." There's some crunchiness in the air that I sorta miss when I'm in Chicago. (The closest feeling I get to that when I'm in Chicago would be when I'm in Bucktown/Wicker Park. Even that's not enough though. One of my buddies called the Pig in Lincoln Park crunchy; I thought it was normal). To my night out though, hung out with some old friends whose conversational flow I missed. Just the type of people where the common conversation over "Skinny Dip" beer by New Belgium (Fat Tire is schwill compared to the rest of the New Belgium beers) is about how food and sex shouldn't necessarily be mixed. Kids who aren't shocked or offended when I said if there was one aspect of "food" I would introduce it would be Sriracha (or as my buddy pointed out, the "Crazy Rooster"). I forgot how common those types of conversations were with those kids. Though these days there are the occasional conversations about how one would rape Dakota Fanning, too often I find myself talking about how judicial activism prevented women from getting a minimum wage because a Justice read a fundamental right to contract into the constitution. So it goes. (The best answer I've heard to the Dakota Fanning question was proffered by the person who asked the question and that is to pull her eyelids over her head to hide her shame). But CO (especially Fort Collins) isn't without its drawbacks. My buddy from Denver correctly observed the hottest girl at the bars last night was this smoking halfie (half Puerto Rican, half black, my buddy and I concluded). The sad part was that nobody out at the bars, here in the grand Vanilla Valley, noticed how smoking she was, as she didn't look like she could be on Laguna Beach, or whatever show on MTV that is currently rotting people's brains. I guess the good part about that was it was easy to hit on her, as nobody else was.

My time in the Chi for law school pt 8

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Rehab So, this is the 2d time I've blogged about an addictive personality.. This semester has proven to be the hardest it has been to get back into the groove of things. At first I thought it was PTSD, but I think there's a better explanation for it: A characteristic of having an addictive personality is when you find something that you like, you can't get enough of it. Eventually, you immerse yourself in it, going hard and fast until you eventually get sick of it. The problem with delving into something so intensely is that you can get sick of what you were addicted to relatively quickly. Or, you are constantly chasing a high that you will never achieve. From what I read in books, why people get addicted to stuff is because they are constantly searching to re-live that first high--that first line of coke, that first pill of ex, that first beer buzz (until you black out). However, after some time, there's the moment of clarity--they realize that they can never re-live that high. How this relates to law school, well, I'd say I was addicted to being a law student the past semester (last semester I was full time, compared to last year, where I worked part time and went to school part time). Something masochistic about the constant work; liking the fact that I was [trying to be] something I wasn't ever before (a serious student). But after being away for 3 weeks (or what I call rehab), I'm not sure if I can attain the high I had last semester. Hopefully wanting to be a lawyer won't become part of the list of my past addictions from which I have been "rehabilitated" (wanting to be a Rock Star, wanting to be a DJ).... Damn addictive personalities, either you get sick of what you were addicted to because you need more to get you that same buzz, or realize that you will never get that same buzz so why try. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to rehab....

My time in the Chi for law school pt 7

Friday, December 29, 2006

Snow I just got done shoveling 2 feet of snow. Now its time to build a ramp so I can acid drop off my roof to a non-flat landing. I'll post pics if I get them. (actually, my roof isn't that tall, so maybe I can do it without the ramp)

My time in the Chi for law school pt 6

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Holiday Weight So being back home has definitely added some levity to life after a crazy semester. Even though "home" is more of a adjective than a noun these days, it is nice to be home (for the time being). The past few weeks were sorta a beat-down. I haven't been that beat up by school in my life, so getting through that was exhausting. Then, the two days post finals were a blur (which added to the physical beat-down, but much better to be beat up by alcohol than by final exams), only to wake up to an email about how I can't watch Garden State anymore...not because there's still some lingering present feelings, but rather because it's a reminder of a feeling in the past that is no longer present (is that an odd sentence, because present could be an adjective and a noun...). Next, I get an early grade back, which only re-affirms me jumping ship from IP law (though one could argue self-fulfilling prophecy). It wasn't a horrible grade, but anything below a B+ lowers my GPA. Then, the delay to get home.... But after getting in, there is a certain levity to being out of the city. All of a sudden, I'm getting creative with my cooking, aggressive about my snowboarding, more serious about fitness, and getting back into a groove I've only found West of the Mississippi. I think I associate Chicago with law school (a very natural association), and "law school" me and "normal" me can't co-exist. I thought I could resolve the dissonance, but fuck it. So, for the next three weeks, it's all about ridin', picking up my guitar, and cooking meals that I haven't even thought about for a long time. Hopefully, after finding this levity, I don't put on any Holiday Weight, or have to deal with some back-log of work for law school that I should be doing when I'm back home. Now off to Midnight Mass (see I'm still a Catholic, I go to church on Christmas Eve) (Oh yeah, don't mock the Mile High Salute when you think you score the game tying touchdown...people lose games that way)

My time in the Chi for law school pt 5

Thursday, November 02, 2006

David v. Goliath So, today I tried to match wits with Judge Kozinski, well known Judge in the 9th Cir. It didn't really work. Well, maybe, but we sorta got in this tautomeric (to use his word) conversation about the right to publicity, and I decided to be polite and not press the argument. After all, I don't want to bring my legal career to a screeching halt. He's not a fan of the right to publicity, and he made that quite clear, and he was asking if anyone wanted to argue for the right to publicity. So, I made the argument that the right to publicity protected a famous person's economic interest against a third party interest. That is, a photographer shouldn't be able to ride on the coat tails of a famous person's image and hard work (case of a famous athlete) just because they were fortuitous to take the pic. Of course, Judge Kozinski argued his side, stating what if the photographer took all this time to make this artsy pic, that, inter alia, it took thousands of shots to get just the right angle; that the photo itself was hard work. Then I rebutted, "well, then you would have to prove that the people are buying the photo for your 'art' and not for the subject matter." His reply, "what if it was part of the artistic process to select the subject matter." I left this alone because I don't think he liked my arguement. Not that it was particularly bad, but he just has a distaste for the right to publicity. But my reply (that i kept to myself): you wouldn't have selected that subject matter if the ball player wasn't so good. This is where the argument becomes tautomeric and could have gone on for awhile. But as my buddy said, nobody would pay for a picture of him in the Jordan "Jumpman" pose. Either way, I was stoked I could get into a conversation with such a Judge.

My time in the Chi for law school pt 4

Monday, October 09, 2006

Bonus Points I. So I was playing this game with a friend in the past (yes, "the past" is ambigous because it can be an adjective or a noun) (yes, law school is turning me lame) when we both moved away to new places for school. We had all these rules about who got points for what, all in good fun of trying to acclamate [sic] to our new cities. One scenario awarded points for somebody asking you for directions, and there was bonus points for actually knowing how to give proper directions (even though wrong directions in the "blind leading the blind" sense were more amusing). Today, however, as I was walking home from "the el" some guy was asking if there was a "subway" in the area. Well, I would say I've acclimated (but I'm still domicile in CO) because I directed him to a Subway restaurant, but I think that he was asking for a train line since he was asking if "it" [the subway] was the Red Line, and I kept saying that the Subway was next to the Brown Line stop. Luckily, the Subway was next to an "el" line. II. I'm gonna voice my issue with the new Hummer commercial with the theme about the world can end tomorrow, so why drive a small electric car. Real responsible, especially when you've changed the Hummer from an off-road truck to a hyped-up SUV, and marketing to soccer moms with the H3. In other words, screw your kids, who cares if they have to pay for your indulgence. Thanks GM, maybe that's why you're losing record amounts of money--the inability to adapt to future trends. Or maybe the commercial is just conceding--we've lost, so let's just do whatever. (Yeah, there's a bit of Boulder still left in me, but those trustafarians probably drive lame-ass H3s) III. I was gonna blog about my addictive personality and comment about a running conversation Jas & I have about the lack of free will b/c after a year, I still feel a certain way about something, which I can't shake. I know every reason why not to think that way, but I can't help it. Damn addictions, it doesn't matter if it's beer, drugs (so I hear), or video games, it's all the same mechanisim and feels the same...just one more _____. But then I realize how public this post is (even though MySpace is so 2006 ) and I'm sure people can put 2+2 together since I've been vocal this particular feeling (Jas knows, and I just emailed A-Train bitching about it), and I think I've procrastinated enough so I'm gonna read Con Law. But before I go DENVER BRONCOS #1 BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My time in the Chi for law school pt 3

Monday, September 18, 2006

Up-South You get some tidbits every once in awhile when unplugged from an iPod. As I was riding the el back home, some ladies were talking about "culture shock," in the context of South New Jersy, North New Jersy, New York, D.C., and so on. I've never heard Chicago described so succinctly. The lady described Chicago geographically Midwest, Economically North Eastern, but culturally Up-South. This floored me as I've been trying to describe to all of you from West of the Mississppi why Chicago has been a culture shock. Maybe i couldn't describe why it is weird because I don't really know what "Up-South" really is, but what I can infer, this describes things perfectly.

My time in the Chi for law school pt 2

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Did I miss something.... Current mood: blah I think I've been reading too long . . . I actually think Scalia made a good point. (Or, I've been reading too long . . . I'm actually blogging about Scalia) (Or, I've been reading too long . . . I actually think people care what I think about Scalia)

My time in the Chi for law school

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Arby's 5 for $5.95 So as I was waiting for rush hour to die down I decided to hop into Arby's. A lady asked me for change as I walked in. She wasn't mollified with the 38 cents I gave her. She told me that it didn't really help her in her attempt to purchase something from the 5 for $5.95 menu that she was camped next to. So, I told her to pick an item and I'd buy it for her. She picked the mozzerella sticks. As I was eating my meal, I was wondering why I've been giving people money more often...just the other day I gave a guy who just got out of prison $5. (I was a bit drunk, so I figured he may as well buy a beer after he just got out of prison (assuming he was being honest), or use the money to get to the mission, like he said). Oddly enough, while walking to the el stop, I saw the person I gave $5 the other day. We had a chat, and he appears to be doing well. He started talking about how he was in a bad spot, and I thought he was going to ask for more money. But alas, all he wanted to say was thank you and tell me that he's been getting back on track. Maybe an email from someone who mentioned personal "evolution" prompted this. She mentioned it in a good manner, but I thought about it and I have been evolving for the worse (from a certain point of view). As law school progresses, I go for the throat more and more. So maybe these acts have been to prove that I am evolving for the better . . . I don't want to end up thinking that I was a better person when I made less money. Or maybe there's something in making "friends" with people who have nothing to lose. Powerful friends are good and all, but being friends with the "proles" have the advantage of that they have nothing to lose by helping you (yes, a bit pretentious to use proles). Or maybe I've just been playing my Starwars video game too much.

My First Blog Post (migrated)

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Will Farrell & George Bush

So,

today was one of those weird days when conicidences sorta coincide, but only in a weird random I (heart) Huckabees sorta way, so I'll try to explain.

Story I
I left my house thinking I should take my camera because maybe someone famous, maybe Will Farrell himself would be at this sneak preview. As I was walking to go see the new Will Farrell movie, some lady asked me if I spoke Spanish. I unplugged myself from my iPod and told her that I didn't really speak spanish (I speak a little, but usually when drunk). Anyways, she was asking for money to help get on a bus; she spoke english well enough to say that she was stuck and she needed money to get to Skokie. She seemed to speak english pretty well. But anyways, it was weird because she was asking if I spoke Spanish because I looked Filipino, and sometimes Filipinos know Spanish. This was sorta weird to me.

My first thought was that whole thing about America being a melting pot, and a big city sorta epitomized the whole thing it was nice to see this type of diversity. This wouldn't happen in CO, or at least the parts about: first knowing that I'm Filipino (asians are asians in the Vanilla Valley I grew up in); and second, knowing that the Filipino language was close to the Spanish language enough that one may be able to make due by some combination of the two (I speak better spanish than tagalog) (good ol' colonialism, like french in hati).

Next I started thinking about something someone said to me about Chicago and how segregated Chicago is, and I agree to an extent. For an illustration, get off the Red Line at the Harrison stop and look at the signs and which trains go where (for those of you that don't live in Chicago, the North Side [predominantly white neighborhoods] train sign is white, and the South Side train sign [predominantly black/minority neighborhoods] is black). It's quite the idea to juxtapose against what happened. Maybe the US isn't a melting pot, but rather a mixing pot.

Story II
On my way to the movie, the stairs I usually decend were blocked for some reason. Super-lame, as I had to go a couple blocks out of my way.

Story III
The Willl Farrell movie about NASCAR was pretty funny. Quite the Sourthern stereotypes. Especially when it came to being "simple." Also, the whole duality of "if you ain't first, you're last."

Story IV
When walking back, my usual path was still blocked. So, walking around again, when I got to where I would usually come up, there was a crowd. I thought Will Farrell may be doing some type of press thing. Low and behold, there were sharp shooters on the roof and men in suits. After asking a few people with a Souther Draw, I figured out the president (GW) was staying at this one hotel and that's why it was blocked off. And I just got out of a movie that made fun of "simple" folk from the South starring someone who used to play GW on SNL. I rubbed some elbows with the conservatives for awhile. Young Republican girls, hot and looking for corruption. . . .

The Tie In
I'm sick of legal writing and spelling out what the conclusion is instead writing in a way to lead someone to the conclusion (that's why Cardozo is "fun" to read). But for those of you who like legal writing, here's the tie-in. Maybe to be a melting pot instead of a mixing pot, there needs to be some "catalyst" that would cause the reaction (yes, sorta a bio geek). And maybe, that catalyst is to make english an official language as GW is proposing. Or maybe language in the US will become amalgamated, sorta like being able to carry a conversation that was a mix of Spanish, Tagalog and English. Oh yeah, I should have brought my camera.