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.
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?[1]
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.
It’s 1 o’clock. What have I done today?
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!
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!
Look for next week’s roundup at Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground. It’ll be back here in about two weeks.
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.
Today I:
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.
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.
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!
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Law School Roundup, featuring posts by future and current law students. Enjoy!
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.
Look, it’s bad enough that I have to report all my addresses since I was 18. But it’s even worse that, in the four years I was in college, I lived in the dorms (i.e., didn’t have a year-round address of my own at college) AND my parents moved pretty much every year.
I currently have something like fourteen addresses listed on my bar application. TEN of those are from college—my address at school for the 9-month academic year, plus a three-month summer address at my parents’ house (and in one summer, TWO addresses from the summer; and in one academic year, TWO addresses because I was studying off campus).
As bad as all that is, at least I have all of those addresses—or can get them pretty easily. I am desperately avoiding dealing with all the employers I worked for between my 18th birthday and starting law school. There was the year I had three jobs . . . the supervisor whose name I never learned to spell . . . the supervisor whose name I don’t remember . . . the college work-study jobs . . . .
Frankly, this is going to be a disaster.
The party was a success, as these things are measured. The salsa was obliterated, almost all of the tamales (that we put out—I saved a dozen for myself and stashed them in the freezer) were eaten, and our guests even made a significant dent in the sausage cheese balls (which did not benefit from being reheated—next time I won’t make those ahead of time). People even drank the nog, which I know from experience is always a questionable thing—some people don’t like the taste or the smell, and some just rebel against anything that eggy and rich. I had just a touch left, which I did not feel at all bad about tossing down the drain at the end of the evening.
Of course, I woke up the next day with no voice and today, two days later, it’s showing no sign of returning any time soon. This is OK, I guess—it might even get me out of participating in (what I think is) an incredibly silly first-day assignment in my Thursday class. Stay away, voice! Just for a week!
Otherwise, Mr. Angst and I are enjoying a relaxing weekend. We ventured out yesterday so I could join his gym. He ran and I used the machines. It was terrific. I admit it—I love gym machines. I particularly love the elliptical machine and a select few of the weight machines. I know how to use them and I even have an old workout plan/routine from the last time I belonged to a gym that I am comfortable with and that works well for me, and now I can get back to following it. It was a great workout and I love the gym and even though it’s not very conveniently located, it’s not so out of the way that I won’t use it regularly.
So the New Year has begun well.
I dashed to the store earlier to get my last minute items—condensed milk, cilantro, rum, bourbon, and some household stuff, like bread.
The cilantro, obviously, was for the salsa I made last night. I rough-chopped it and stirred it in; I hope it’s OK. I’m letting it sit in the fridge for now.
The condensed milk is for a fudge recipe I found in Nigella Express. I guess it’s not technically fudge, since it doesn’t involve the use of a candy thermometer —and thank goodness for that, since I don’t have one! I modified the recipe, which calls for shelled pistachios, which I could not find, and used almonds instead. It’s pretty simple—I hope it’s as good as Nigella claims it is. You toss a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips (or 12 oz. of chopped semisweet chocolate) into a heavy-bottomed pot with a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 tbsp. of butter, and a pinch of salt. Cook over very low heat till everything melts together, then stir in your nuts. (If using pistachios, pecans, or walnuts, I’d break them up into smaller pieces; I did not do that with the almonds. I hope that doesn’t cause people problems. Eeek.) Pour into a 9″ square dish, preferably metal (a disposable one would be great, but I just used a metal cake pan). Cool on the counter, then slide into the fridge (or freezer). Slice into squares and serve. Nigella says to make seven cuts each way—I gues that’s 8 x 8—for 64 pieces total.
The only other thing I’m making is eggnog, and I don’t need to get started on that for a while. I make it by first mixing 3 egg yolks with 1/8 cup sugar until it “forms the ribbon.” That gets blended with 1/8 cup rum and 1/2 cup bourbon. I set that mixture aside and whip the egg whites till stiff (with just a pinch of salt and another 1/8 cup of sugar). The whites get folded into the yolks-and-liquor mixture. Finally, I whip 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and again fold into the egg mixtures. If it’s too thick, I’ll thin with some milk. It’s pretty stout stuff, but absolutely excellent.[1]
I like to work in advance, so I got started on my salsa.
First, I roasted 8 small tomatoes, five seeded and halved jalapeños, one quartered red onion, and five cloves of garlic, at 400° for about 40 minutes. I pulled them out, dropped everything but the tomatoes into the food processor and pulsed a few times till it was roughly chopped. Right about then I realized I didn’t have cilantro—my bad for not checking the recipe before going to the store. What to do? I decided to continue with the recipe, and get cilantro later. So in went the tomatoes, and I turned the food processor on, to process the heck out of it. In went the juice of one lime and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I finished it by seasoning it with salt and pepper, poured it off into a plastic container, and dropped it into the fridge. Mental note: go get cilantro! I guess I’ll just rough chop it, stir it in, and hope for the best. Preliminary verdict: it’s a little sweet from the roasting, but very yummy, and the cilantro will definitely give it the right balance.
Then I got started on sausage cheese balls. These are a childhood staple for me, and I love them a lot. But I’d never made them, and I was also concerned about the food at the party not being very vegetarian friendly. That’s where the Gimme Lean comes in. The stuff tastes pretty much exactly like breakfast sausage, but is made of vegetable protein. (I’m not sure if it’s vegan, but the cheese pretty much makes this a non-vegan recipe anyway, so I don’t think it really matters.)
This recipe is actually not as easy as it sounds, and I am still not sure I did it right. They taste right, but they don’t look right, and they are a little doughy and puffy. So we’ll see what the verdict is with the guests.
Here’s how you make this: mix 4 cups of shredded cheddar, 1 pound of sausage (or sausage substitute), and a scant 3 cups of Bisquick with 1/2 cup or so of milk. I think there’s probably an easier way to do this than just dumping it all in a bowl, and the next time I make these, I’ll start by tossing the cheese with the flour, then cutting the sausage in the way I would cut butter into flour for pastry. Then I’d mix in the milk until it was all just moistened. I might use less Bisquick, too. I will also wait till the sausage is a little closer to room temperature—my hands were freezing!
Anyway, you get everything mixed, and then press the dough into walnut-sized balls. Mine were too big—once you get to ping-pong ball size, you risk them drying out before the sausage is fully cooked. Luckily, I was using Gimme Lean, so I wasn’t as concerned about them being fully cooked. Lay the balls out on a greased or lined baking sheet (I used a Silpat) and bake for about 18 minutes in a 350° oven. You can pump the temperature up a bit at the end to brown the tops if you want.
So that’s what I cooked tonight.
Tomorrow: Last minute shopping! And cooking, part 2.
Mr. Angst and I are having a little last-minute holiday bash tomorrow night (bash might be a strong word, but hey, it’s my party, I’ll call it what I want to) so I have been in full-on prep mode today.[1]
So this will be the first of several food-related posts. This one is about the shopping.
Because this party is a pseudo-New Year’s celebration, I insisted that we must have tamales. Mr. Angst and I always have tamales on New Year’s; this year, however, we didn’t, because we didn’t quite know where to go that was close, the weather was wretched, and we were planning on having them tomorrow. We contemplated ordering some from a place back home, but they wanted to charge me fifty-four dollars for delivery, on three dozen tamales costing approximately $15. So I did some research and figured out where to go here in town for good tamales.
Since I was going to have to get a Zipcar, I just planned to get all of my shopping done at once—go get the tamales; then go to the big supermarket instead of the one a few blocks away, in the hopes that they’d have more of a selection; then go to Target and get a new baking sheet; and then go to Whole Foods for kirsch and cheese.
I started out by driving down to the neighborhood where the tamale place was. I had called earlier to make sure they could accommodate me—I wanted three dozen pork tamales—and they said they had them. But when I got there, they had no pork tamales left, only cheese and chicken. (Who eats cheese tamales??) I went down the street to a little supermarket, thinking they might have some, but no dice; and I went into the taqueria next to the little supermarket, but didn’t see tamales on the menu (and the line was out the door). I was one hour into my three-hour reservation on my Zipcar, and had no tamales to show for it.
Off I went to the supermarket, where I got everything I needed except rum, bourbon, and Gimme Lean vegetarian sausage. (More on that later.) However, the grocery store did have baking sheets, so I picked up one there instead of Target, cutting one stop out of my day. I also wanted to pick up some air filters for our HVAC unit and, back in Texas, always got those at the H.E.B. But they don’t sell air filters at the grocery store here, so I left without those.
Luckily, there’s a Home Depot by the supermarket, so I dashed in there and got air filters. They didn’t have the size I needed in the cheap kind, so I spent $2.75 each on two filters. (Our unit requires two filters.)
Now I had a car full of groceries, two air filters, and no rum, bourbon, or Gimme Lean—or tamales.
I had already decided that I didn’t need kirsch, and the supermarket had good Gruyere, so I wasn’t planning on going to Whole Foods at all. But I still needed Gimme Lean, and the Whole Foods is just up the street, so decided to make the stop anyway. Sure enough, they had Gimme Lean veggie sausage. I grabbed some fresh tortillas while I was there, and looked around fruitlessly for tamales. (Hey—back in Texas the gourmet grocery I preferred had tamales. As did the regular grocery store. Clearly, I am not in Texas.)
I had killed another hour of my reservation, and I still had a car full of (perishable) groceries, so I zipped home (hah, see what I did there?) and unloaded everything. But I still had no tamales!
After unloading, I still had half an hour—probably just enough time to get back down to the neighborhood where tamales can be found, if I could find a place that had them. So I did a quick Google search on my Blackberry. (Days like this are why I have a Blackberry, I tell you.) It gave me the name of two places, one which I knew I’d passed on my way back from the area. So I called and asked if they had three dozen pork tamales for me, and would they hold them. The lady told me they just had them and didn’t need to hold them. I flew down there in record time, ran in—and they looked at me like I was nuts. Turns out crazy lady assumed I asked for corn tortillas instead of pork tamales. I guess the gringa accent doesn’t get you much attention, because when I said, “I just called and you said you had tamales,” she said, “No, you asked for tortillas.” Um, I know the diff between tamales and tortillas, and I definitely did not ask for tortillas.
Sigh. Back in my car, I pulled my Google search back up and called the other place. “Yes, we have pork tamales.” “I’ll be right there!” A quick check of Google Maps (again, on the Blackberry, which really earned its keep today) and I knew how to get there. I pulled up and discovered . . . it was the taqueria I had dashed in and out of two and a half hours earlier. Sigh.
But they had my three dozen pork tamales, were super friendly, and didn’t make fun of my pathetic attempts to revive my college Spanish.
Next: Cooking, part 1.
I just finished chopping up some jalapeños and onions to be roasted for salsa. I was very careful—I scooped all the seeds and leftover bits into a plastic bag for disposal, didn’t touch my eyes at all, and when I was done, I washed my hands.
But apparently not well enough. Because I rubbed my (slightly drippy) nose a few minutes ago and now my whole left nostril is on fire.
Boo.
Today was my first potentially productive day of the new year. (Yesterday was for sleeping in and eating yummy homemade brunch and watching movies.) Turns out, it was a pretty productive day!
I did some journal work and was relieved that it was not as awful as I feared it would be.
I put together my materials to apply to a clerkship that just opened up.
I mopped the bathroom floor and vacuumed the rest of the house except the office.
I did some more journal work.
Oh, and I also put a pot roast on early enough that we’ll be able to eat at a reasonable hour, went to the post office to send my holiday cards (finally!) and send a Christmas gift in for exchange, and did two loads (well, more like a load and a half) of laundry.
It was a good day.
Happy new year, all!
I was reflecting back on the last year and realizing that it was not a terrific year for me. Oh sure, I had some successes, and I am proud of those, but I also had a horribly stressful year as well as some “failures.” Frankly, I’m glad to put 2007 behind me.
This is not to say that 2008 won’t have it’s share of stresses, but I think they are the kinds of stresses that I know how to deal with. The bar exam will be hard, but it’s a test, and I have taken many tests in my life, and I know how to deal with that kind of stress. We may be moving because of career developments, but we’ve moved across the country before, and I know how to handle that. Thankfully, my job situation shouldn’t be a stressor even if we do move, but even if I have to find a new job, well, I’ve looked for jobs before, and I know how to keep my sanity. I’m not saying any of these things will be fun—I know the bar won’t be, and I hate moving, and I hate the mass resume drop—but I know that I can deal with all of it.
And maybe that’s why 2007 was so stressful for me—I was doing a lot of things I’d never done before, and doing them under intense time constraints and while picking up a lot of other people’s slack. I struggled for balance, and I don’t think I ever really achieved it. I regret that. I have a few more months of dealing with those duties and frustrations, but I’ve learned a lot from my experiences in 2007, so I think have a better grasp of how to achieve balance now—and a better sense of when to not to just do it all myself. I wish I’d found that earlier.
So here’s to a good 2008. I have some specific resolutions (for instance, I want to lose a few more pounds before I order the bridesmaid’s dress I have to wear in May) but I also have a more general goal for this year: to achieve balance. That goal has a lot of nuances for me—I need to balance personal with school, journal with non-journal, perfectionism with delegation, and initiative with distraction. But I think it’s also very simple—my life needs to be more balanced. I’m eager to get there.
