Oh geez, my duodenum's acting up!

I love Scrubbing Bubbles' Fresh Brush. I got it this past summer and haven't looked back. I know people who've had the same toilet brush for a decade. That is one stanky brush! Then again, I also know someone who used his toilet brush as a makeshift plunger. That is a stankier brush.

A couple weeks ago, I ran out of my last Fresh Brush refill. This week, I figured it was time to do a big cleanup in the apartment since New Year's Eve is coming up. Lo and behold, the Fresh Brush refills are nowhere to be found. Yesterday, I went to CVS, Duane Reade, and two grocery stores. Only Duane Reade had the starter kit, but I didn't need another one of those! You figure that if you stock the kit, you'd have the refills.

Today, I went to another Duane Reade, which turned up nothing, but after buying some ingredients for dinner, I decided to visit this shady basement discount store. Of course, this place had every kind of cleaner I could ever desire, and my beloved brush refills. I bought two packages just in case I have this problem again.

Maybe the shady discount store stockpiled the refills so no other store would have them...

10 things in my medicine cabinet

1. Philosophy's Hope in a Jar
2. Philosophy's Greatest Love
3. Philosophy's When Hope is Not Enough
4. Lancôme Color ID Foundation
5. Stila Convertible Color
6. Blisslabs Lid & Lash Wash
7. Tony & Tina Color Frequency Eyeshadow
8. Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme
9. Covergirl Perfect Point Plus Eye Liner
10. Origins Brush-on Color

Sparrow is taking off!

I've been keeping busy, but I'm relaxing as well. I was running around on Friday, taking Eli to the vet, shopping, and baking a couple cakes for Josh to take home. On Saturday, Joe visited for the day and we ate lots of good food.

I'm having a good time hanging out with the kitties and working on Josh's CH-anukah gift. I've watched Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement four times. I love it!

Oh hell, why not be honest? I heart you, Lord Nicholas Devereaux!

Careful, you almost lost your hand... formula

My torts final was from 1:00-4:00 p.m. today. I left at 3:15, but I wasn't elated when I got out, like I expected. The exam was anticlimactic. I studied so hard, but only a tenth of the material was tested, and it was on trivial stuff that we'd spent about 10 minutes in class discussing.

Josh and I went down to South Street Seaport this evening and there was a fireworks display going on as we were shopping. He joked that the display was in honor of our finishing our first semester of law school.

In cupcake news: my neighbor, the French photographer, loved the cupcakes I gave him and he gave me a bottle of wine for the holidays. 2 cupcakes, or as he called them, "the best cupcakes I've ever had!", for a bottle of French wine. I don't drink wine, but it was very sweet of him.

Behold... My minions!

My cupcake army

The temptation was too much for me. I couldn't help but try out that recipe because it was too expensive to take a train just to get a bunch of cupcakes that cost almost $2 apiece.

Fast forward three hours...

Mwa ha ha ha... I have amassed a whopping 24 cupcakes that would have cost over $50 if I purchased them. I think I made them for less than $12. The cupcakes also served as impromptu holiday gifts for neighbors and the building's maintenance staff. If I tried to eat them all, I'd be in a sugar coma until Christmas.

On a side note, Morty is now addicted to frosting.

Shouldn't I be studying for my last exam?

Jitters Part 2

I have Civil Procedure tomorrow. I'm not as scared as I was for Contracts, but I'm worried that I didn't study enough and everybody else will do better than me.

I'm deathly afraid of winding up in the bottom 25% of my class because the school places those 40-some students into a "special" remedial class. Talk about a morale buster.

I know I shouldn't be complaining. I've always been the "whatever, suck it up" kind of person. I guess the idea of spending $50,000 for a year of education in a subject I might not be cut out for is the truly scary thing.

Enough! I will suck it up and look forward to Thursday, 5:01 p.m. when my last final is over.

F for presentation

Rockefeller Center

I can say that Contracts was the hardest exam I've ever taken. I wrote my hand off for my short answers and essay. I kept track of the time wrong because I so wisely chose a seat that was in the worst angle for viewing the clock. I thought I had ten more minutes to write than I actually did, so let's say that my last point about equitable remedies was a teensy bit sloppy. After that mind numbing hour and 45 minutes, we had another 75 minutes of the most diabolical, sadistic set of multiple choice questions our contracts professor could have written. I can say that I got 2 of the 25 correct definitely though! After the grueling exam, many of us had a quick word about the test, and the consensus is that we all failed.

The one valuable thing I learned from my Legal Writing class was the importance of separating the exam from the next exam's preparation because your brain can't handle it. I wholeheartedly agree with taking a break! So after lunch, it was time for a nap and then going out to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, followed by cupcakes from Billy's Bakery, and homemade pesto chicken and pasta for dinner. Even though it was raining, it was a great evening because I finished my Contracts exam and didn't get a zero!

On a side note, Billy's Bakery is awesome. Once you walk in the door, your senses are overwhelmed with the sights and smells of this old-fashioned style bakery. Everything looked so good - not fancy like expensive pastry, but good in a sweet, cozy way, and tonight was a night I definitely needed that feeling. I like it more than Magnolia because it's easier to get to and isn't crowded. I got another half dozen super cupcakes, but I swear, it's the last time because I'm going to make a buttload of them when finals are over!

Perhaps for my indefinite New Year's party.

Jitters

I have my first real law school final exam tomorrow - contracts. I'm really scared because I have this fear that everyone studied better and longer than I did. I can't wait until it's over because I will no longer be facing "my first real law school final exam."

I don't think I've ever learned this much material for an exam, in comparison with how much studying I did for my best exam at Rutgers, but I think I'm still woefully inadequate.

Outlining sucks.

Sugar bomb

Ducky and his matching cupcake sitting on my contracts textbook

I went to Magnolia this morning for a wakeup walk. I've heard so much about this bakery by word of mouth and watching "Sex and the City." I got up extra early so I could arrive when it opened (I'd been warned about a line out the door).

I wound up getting lost in the West Village because the streets don't go in number order all the time. After some blundering, I made it there. As I waited, a crowd quickly gathered, also waiting to swoop in and buy some of the most expensive cupcakes I have ever encountered ($1.75). The frosting is PERFECT. I had never seen people go insane over cupcakes like the customers at Magnolia. I think it was nice to experience the bakery, but I won't make another trip to the Village solely to buy cupcakes. I've also got the recipe for the cupcakes, so I'll make them myself next time.

Diabetes, here I come.

Turkey weekend

Thanksgiving with my family was nice... with my cousins. My father went out of his way to ignore me. At least I didn't have to make polite conversation with him. I spent a lot of time worrying about Morty and Eli, since I've never left them alone for so long. I worried about ridiculous stuff, like "what if the sitter doesn't show up?" I was so guilty about leaving them for Thanksgiving that I fed them this super gourmet cat food the morning I left. (They were fine though, and happy to see me when I came home)

Ron and Katie's wedding was beautiful and perfect in every way. It made me a little sad too because Josh's family is so anti-wedding, and I was seeing things that I'd never have, mainly the white dress and a big party. It's still far down the road, so maybe things will change. For now, I'll be satisfied with my memory of Ron brushing a tear from Katie's cheek while they stood at the altar together.

Yes, Kristen and I started crying at that point in the ceremony.

Here and Now

I was back at Rutgers tonight for the first time in a long time. While walking up the hill to Somerset Street, I saw an L bus, and it was strange seeing one again. I guess being back on the Rutgers campus made me see how much has changed since I left that school.

I guess I've hit a really low point in my first semester. I've been having doubts that I've made the correct decision. The problem is, I've made an investment already in going to law school, and it's not a small one, even for one semester. Sometimes I think that I would've been happier finding a job in New York instead. If I did that, I don't think I'd be dealing with 4-5 hours of sleep a night, or be humiliated during contracts two classes in a row. I feel really lost, no matter how much work I put into it. Aren't I supposed to be better at this stuff now that I'm not a newbie anymore?

The school has a policy to remove the bottom 25% of each section after the first semester and put them in a "remedial" lecture to go over those basics that we obviously didn't grasp. That's 40 students from my section alone! A lot of students feel as though the school is trying to make students feel as stupid as possible, such as assigning a paper and then teaching a lesson that was critical to the completion of that assignment right after it was due. I guess hearing about the possibility of being placed into that class right before finals season didn't make any of us feel that good.

I'm scared.

Happy One Month!

They love their donut!

Morty (gray) and Eli (black) have been with us for one month as of today. In case you don't know, Josh got them for me as an early Christmas present. It was a present for himself as well. I was willing to wait until Christmas to get them, but Josh couldn't stand the pressure anymore of those cute furballs at the Petco in Union Square.

I was busy with my midterms when they came into my life, so I didn't get to say much about their first days in the apartment. We adopted them from KittyKind, a no-kill, nonprofit, all volunteer cat rescue and adoption group. You "Apprentice" viewers out there might remember KittyKind's mention in the dog washing episode where Andy thought he triumphed by "closing a deal" with KittyKind to accept the percentage of profits they were offering. I don't need to be a national debate champion to convince a charity to accept money.

In just one month, we've learned so much about Morty and Eli. For example, they like to watch TV and "type" on the laptop. They like swatting their toy mice under the stove and watching me lay down on the dirty floor that I should clean and squint at the unknown wilderness that is the underside of the stove. They have cat toys galore, but they find joy in cardboard boxes and kibble. Really, kibble. They reach into the bowl, pick out one special piece, and bat it around for hours until they lose it under the stove.

Last night, Eli climbed onto the couch where I was reading, curled up next to me, and fell asleep, purring. It was the best. Josh thinks that Eli likes me more. He wakes me up in the morning now, laying on my chest, purring like crazy, and staring at me about an inch away from my face. He's learned that when he does that, I wake up and feed him and Morty. The first morning, he did it at 9:30. The next morning, 8:30, and on the third morning, 7:30. At that point, I said, "No way, it's not time to get out of bed yet!" and refused to get up. Eli proceeded to climb onto my pillow and chew on my hair.

I love them!

Dumplings, anyone?

I love dumplings. I'm fascinated by them. Because of that fascination, I decided to make my own dumplings, or rather, pot stickers. I followed Alton Brown's tip of using wonton wrappers to make pot stickers.

It would've helped if the wrappers that I bought were square and not rectangle. I had to fold them in half so they looked like funny little ravioli.

My other problem was the filling. There was a lot of it, since I used a recipe from somewhere else. I had 52 wrappers and had half my filling left by the time I finished using them. After buying more wrappers this morning (ones that were actually square!), I wound up with 96 pot stickers. I'm trying to figure out if I saved any money by making them myself, but I think I'll tell myself that I did, so I don't feel like a tool.

Last night, I cooked some of the pot stickers to "test them." It was 2:00 a.m., but they still tasted good anyways, especially with the dumpling sauce I made to go with them!

Show me the Fassel!!!

The Baltimore Ravens played the Cleveland Brown tonight. This might be confusing to some of you (of the three readers I have), since I'm not a football fan. The reason I was interested in the game can be summed up in two words.

Jim Fassel.

He was the head coach of the Giants, but got fired at the end of the 2003 season. He's the reason I watched the Giants. At first, it was a joke to play on Josh. I'd annoy him by saying, "Oh, Jim Fassel is so hot. He's the hottest coach in the NFL." He's not bad looking for an older gentleman! The joke reached its high point when I wrote to Jim Fassel and got an autographed picture in return. A lot of Josh's friends can't believe I did that.

Well, I don't get to see much of Jim anymore, since I usually only pay attention to Giants games. Tonight, Josh spotted him on the Ravens sideline, so I watched the last quarter. Yes, I got to see Jim for a brief moment.

And it was good.

Sheep

Take that, Michael Moore. I can't stand you.

Take that, all you actors and music artists, using your celebrity status to sway young people who aren't educated enough to realize that your word isn't the bottom line.

In the end, no matter who won, the entire country would not be happy. Die-hard Kerry or Bush supporters seem to have this mindset that the rest of the country will fall in when they realize how great their man is. Face it! The other side is just as stubborn as the other.

At least the whole process wasn't drawn out like the last election. I felt that if any of the parties wanted to pursue repeated re-counts, the candidates should pay for them.

Well, in Kerry's case, he'd have to ask his wife to pay for him.

Giant douche

This year's election was summed up most eloquently by last week's episode of South Park.

We have a choice between a giant douche and a turd sandwich.

Go turd sandwich!

Harro!

I saw Team America on Friday.

It'll probably be the last movie I watch in Manhattan because it's hideously expensive. Josh and I bought discount tickets from the law school (the kind that you have to wait until 10 days after the movie's release), thinking that we'd scored a great deal. When I handed the passes over to the guy, he says, "That'll be $5.00." I gave him a quizzical look since I figured we wouldn't have to pay anything at all. He says rudely, "You have to pay $2.50 per ticket in New York." There was nothing I could do but hand over the money. We bought the passes to save money since all screenings are over $10. We wound up saving $2 per ticket by going through the school.

Weak... LAME!!! (South Park fans will understand)

However, Team America was worth the price and it lived up to my expectations. I think it was a good movie to end my "work" week. I smile every time I think of the little puppet of Kim Jong Il prancing up to the screen and saying, "Harroooo!" My other favorite part of the movie: Michael Moore being called a "fat socialist weasel." Or should my favorite part be where he blows himself up thinking that he's doing something that'll serve the greater good of America? I'd take that over him making another one of his movies.

Team America... f@*k yeah!

Bo-leen

The day before our legal research final, a number of my legal writing classmates were discussing its supposed difficulty. The general consensus was: "I heard it was really hard."

Josh told me that his classmates were talking about the same thing and that one student said he exam had asked questions about something called "boleen."

Boleen? What's boleen? I thought it was a vaccine for cows! It took me several hours to figure it out.

Did his classmate mean "boolean" as in the searches?

Kitties!

The one on the left is Eli (after Eli Manning) and the one on the right is Mordecai (Morty for short).

Good Eats

I met Alton Brown!!!

Yes, kiddies, I met my culinary hero. He does not refer to himself as a chef, but as "the world's grooviest home ec. teacher." Ever since I found out that he was going to be at the Union Square Barnes and Noble today, I worked my butt off all week so I'd have a few free hours to attend the discussion and book signing. He's awesome and even funnier in real life than he is on the show.

During the Q&A, someone asked him about Iron Chef America (he just finished taping 10 new episodes of it, which will air in January 2005). "Is it rigged?" Alton Brown answered, "No, it's the farthest thing from rigged. We don't stop the clock and we don't unplug people's appliances or give them pots that have holes in the bottoms." It turns out that the chefs aren't completely surprised by the secret ingredients. AB revealed that they're given a list of 5 possible secret ingredients and come up with recipes in advance. That was followed up by, "How do the chefs get the other ingredients?" AB explained that the chefs are given an allowance of $500 to buy supplemental ingredients. He said, "Morimoto had a list of 3000 items, that had stuff like 15 kinds of kelp and one kind of mushroom that grows on only one hillside in Japan that I can't even pronounce and it looks like a 4 year old dead duck." And what does Food Network provide for the chefs always? According to AB, "Salt.... and water."

My meeting with AB? Awesome. I was mad that I didn't bring my camera because they had a Barnes and Noble on the stage who was taking pictures for people. It turns out that the girl sitting next to me was also a first year law school student and we were talking about exams and our experiences so far, and when she found out that I didn't bring my camera, she offered to take a picture for me and e-mail it to me. I don't think I thanked her enough. When I got up to the stage to meet him, he said, "Hi, I'm Alton Brown," and shook my hand. I told him, "I'm a big fan" and he held a hand up over my head to compare my height to his, giving me a puzzled look. I added, "I learned a lot from your show," and he said, "Thanks, that's why I do it."

I realized when I was about to get on the subway that I left my umbrella by my seat in Barnes and Noble. I guess I was so excited about getting to meet Alton Brown that I left my crappy, falling-apart Rutgers umbrella there.

I think it was worth it.

Fortuitous circumstances

Yesterday, I studied all day in the library, and around 6:00, I couldn't go on any longer without food that wasn't 95% sugar. I think I give myself diabetes when I study in the library. Yesterday it was KitKats and today it was crispy M&Ms (one bag was stale though). Josh and I decided to have steak at this rather good find downtown. We had an appetizer of warm potato, black olive, and goat cheese salad followed by a hanger steak with shallot sauce, side salad, and a huge pile of the best fries I've ever had. Josh had a pork tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes, also extremely delicious. The bill came to $36.00. Wow.

I realized after we left the restaurant that they rang our bill up incorrectly. They gave me an entree that was $14.95 as opposed to my $16.95 and didn't charge us for the appetizer. Whoops.

Today, we went to Century 21 so Josh could buy a coffee maker for himself. I guess it's a long overdue purchase. Since he bought a coffee maker, we figured he'd need coffee to use it, so we quickly made our way over to Dunkin Donuts before it closed. We got coffee, but I also succumbed to the temptation of munchkins because they had the jelly ones there. I asked for 25, but the Dunkin Donut guy said that they were going to close soon, so he'd give us everything. I think I got more than 50 munchkins and then he asked us if we wanted any donuts or muffins because he'd be throwing them out anyways. We left the store with a dozen donuts too. I only asked for a couple sugared donuts, but he crammed in a lot more.

Now I know when to buy donuts!

Duds

Recently, I had a friend, let's call him/her "X", say that they were going to visit during the weekend. Me being me, I wanted to clean up my apartment before the arrival (otherwise, the mess would stay until it grew legs and was able to walk out by itself).

Two hours of cleaning go by and a phone call comes around 8:00. Guess what? X's not coming because it's too late and X has to go to work tomorrow. Why doesn't that surprise me (even though I'm mad)? Considering that particular friend's track record, X is performing on par, doing what's best for X and if friends are screwed along the way, it's okay as long as X gets what X wants in the end. Consideration of others (other than perhaps a signficant other) is not an option.

A good friend, no?

Can any of you guess who this dud is?

TMI!!!

This past Friday, I decided to have pad thai for dinner because I was exhausted from the week's classes and didn't feel like cooking. While Josh and I were waiting for our noodles, we overheard the conversation between a man and woman at the bar a couple feet away from us. The woman, in her 40s, was talking loudly about how she used to do crack and heroin. The man made a comment about how unusual it was for someone of her situation to be so vocal about what happened to her.

"What do I care? I can say that I used to shoot up heroin while giving a guy a blowjob! I talk about it because I still want to do it!"

That was a little more than I ever wanted to know while waiting for take-out.

Are we there yet?

Yet again, I think it's been the longest week ever.

On Monday, I had double Civil Procedure from 9:00-12:40, followed by a group meeting for a paper that was due on Wednesday. After my group meeting, which was held in my apartment building, was over, I went to plug my laptop in, and I realized that I'd left my adapter in my Civil Procedure classroom several hours before.

Crap.

I don't think I've ever walked/ran that fast to school before, but then again, when you don't have a bag of about 50 lbs of textbooks and laptop slung over your shoulder, you tend to move a bit faster.

I checked every security desk, the lost and found, and then went up to my classroom. Of course, there was a class in session, probably the third class to take place after mine was over. It figures that I didn't bring anything with me to read when I've got to sit on the floor outside the classroom waiting for an hour. I went to the library to check out one of the textbooks I needed to read from the reserve section, only to realize that I managed to lose my student ID since I'd walked through the doors of the school.

Crap.

Again, I ran through the school only to find that I'd lost my student ID at the Lost and Found office. Way to go, Dora.

As soon as the professor ended the lecture, I rushed into the room, went to my seat, and was disappointed. Of course, my adapter was gone. Why would someone be good and honest and turn it in? Why would my fellow law school student, who knows how important my laptop is to me, wish to return it to me? Or at least the proper authorities.

Asshole.

I wound up buying another adapter that night after my professor e-mailed me back saying that nobody told him about an adapter being left behind.

Yesterday in class, I found an adapter someone left behind in the row in front of mine. However, I was nice and found out who that student was, and returned it to her.

That's what a decent person would do.

Finally!

Another full week has gone by, and it felt like two weeks. I think I'm holding together pretty well and keeping up with the reading and work. Let's see if that's true for next week.

I've also tried Fresh Direct for my groceries and I'm very impressed. Subway fare sucks now and a round trip for errands will cost $4.00. I'm lucky that I'm able to walk to school, since I make a couple round trips per day (I go home for lunch and studying during my break). All in all, I spend 40 minutes walking between my apartment and school every day. Back, to my point, grocery shopping is difficult because it's not like there's a Wegman's around the corner. That's one thing I definitely miss about not living in New York City. I remember when I used to drive to my supermarket when I wanted to. Now, I'm always short on time because I have to study, prepare, and find time for sleep. The option of buying my groceries online is spectacular! I have groceries delivered to my door at a time that I specify (granted, the guy was late by 10 minutes) and I can have pretty much anything I want.

They even deliver tampons!

Meet iPod

I have welcomed iPod into my life.

He arrived on Thursday, September 9, 2004, at 20 gigabytes, 5.6 ounces. He is a beautiful fourth generation. He arrived in lovely packaging that made me feel like I was receiving jewelry from Tiffany's. I found it funny that the instruction manual addresses the iPod as "iPod," not "the iPod," so I read directions telling me, "Plug iPod into the charger."

His nickname is "Mochi." I am forbidden from officially naming him that because Josh said so. He gave iPod to me, so I guess he can have that say-so.

Unfortunately, iPod/Mochi is naked. Having cutting edge technology has its downsides.... there aren't enough good accessories for it. He won't get clothing until the end of the month, I think. I'm waiting to see if something good comes out.

But iPod/Mochi did get a new remote!

Never Forget

Ugliest font... ever!

I'm writing my first assignment for the writing program at my school. There are certain ground rules (I haven't heard the term "ground rules" since elementary school) that I have to follow. One of these rules includes a font restriction to 12 pt. Courier New. I remember how some people used Courier New in college to make their papers seem longer while I used Book Antiqua if I needed some help. I started using Garamond in the past couple years as I grew out of needing to pad my papers.

Now I'm forced to use this hugely ugly font and I think my eyeballs are sore.

Quiz time

I am Pacman. I am an aggressive sort of personality, out to get what I can, when I can. I prefer to avoid confrontation, but sometimes when it's called for, I can be a powerful character. I tend to be afflicted with munchies constantly. What Video Game Character Are You?

You're the loving smile,the one that is entirely
devoted to others,especially that one
person.You really can't get them out of your
head,but then,you don't really want to.


What Kind of Smile are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Exploding toilets

I had class at 9:00 this morning for Contracts. When I got there, the school was a disaster area. Apparently, there was a "leak." However, when I walked in the entire floor was wet and they were still vacuuming it up. The air conditioning was also broken and our class was moved from the third floor to the first floor reading room where there weren't enough seats.

During our class, the fire alarm went off intermittently, the law school supplied us with mini water bottles, and one fan for 138 people. We melted and began dreading our second class of the day considering it was supposed to be 9 floors up and still no air conditioning. Our professor realized that we were too hot and too distracted by the fire alarm to continue and ended the class 15 minutes early. At that time, we were informed that our second class would be held in the same room again, so we didn't have to move.

During our break in between classes, my tablemates and I talked about various things, like our classes and the toilets that started geysering as one of us had just finished doing her business. We said, "The bathroom is a lawsuit waiting to happen!" I stepped out a moment later to get some fresh air and saw the dean of the law school talking with the maintenance guys. As I was walking by, the dean said sorry to me. I just remember how we never saw the president of Rutgers when we were in school.

At the start of our second class, we found out that the other first year section was trapped on the 9th floor because the elevators weren't working. The air conditioning started working while we were taking our grammar and punctuation test, which improved our moods until we marked our tests and found out that a good deal of us who thought we were good at grammar need a little help.

The dean got us pizza and soda after class becase he felt that we deserved it. The line was too long, so Josh and I just went to our lockers, picked up our stuff, and left.

Pizza for lunch on Friday and lockers.... Thousands of dollars spent, and I'm back in high school

Dizzy

I've finally experienced what will henceforth be known as "Hell Day" in my weekly schedule. On Wednesdays, I have Contracts 9:00-10:15 a.m., Civil Procedure 11:00-12:40 p.m., and Applied Analysis 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Yesterday, I went to Contracts and Civil Procedure and I'm not sure if I learned anything. I'm trying to adjust to the 95% class discussion format as opposed to the predominantly lecture format I was accustomed to in college. The night before, I had struggled for a few hours with the reading for CivPro only to find out that we didn't have time for it because the professor decided to discuss The Buffalo Creek Disaster instead!

During the break, I went to the library for a couple hours to finish the reading for my afternoon class. Of course, I didn't finish the reading by about 5 pages, but it didn't matter anyway. Well, perhaps it will because the professor is horrible and teaches straight from the reading. That final class for the day sucked because I don't like my professor and how devious and arrogant she is.

After class, I went to the library again for a few hours until about 8:30 p.m. I don't think I spent that much time in the library during the second half of my career at Rutgers. When I got home, I felt as though an entire week had passed during that one day and could have sworn that it was Friday and I didn't have class the next day.

But here I am again, in the library, during my 3-hour break between classes.

Real school

The first week of law school is over. It's almost shocking how different the experience is from Rutgers. Here, I'm working hard from the get-go and it's hard to break some very bad study habits perpetuated during my time at Rutgers. I've realized that I don't have time to watch my favorite show on TV anymore. I can no longer skim the texts that I need to read.

For example, my initial reading assignment for Torts was only 30 pages long, but it took me 4 1/2 hours to read it because I didn't want to be unprepared in any way. While I was sitting in class, the preparation really helped because I didn't experience that feeling I got when I was in class sometimes in college. I followed along and knew what the professor was talking about.

So this is what real studying - and real school are like.

Friday Five

1. What's the smallest amount of money you've ever had in your checking account? A big fat goose egg, but that's because I have a savings account as well.

2. What's one non-basic-need item (not things like toilet paper and deodorant) that you absolutely must have no matter how broke you are? Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. $35 seems like a lot, but it's the best moisturizer I've ever used.

3. What's your favorite cheap meal to make at home? A Fuji apple and some cheddar cheese

4. What's the first thing you treat yourself to on payday? I like to pay off my credit card debt bit by bit.

5. What are your favorite free activities to do when you're completely broke? Window shopping. . . No, I actually like going into the stores and touching everything I can't buy. Wait a second, I don't know if it's my favorite free activity if I'm tortured by the fact I can't have everything I like.

M&Ms

Is anyone else as disturbed as I am over the commercial for the M&Ms cookie bars? You know, the kid makes it look like the dog ate all the cookie bars and the kid tells his mom it was the dog's fault?

Ugh, it makes me sick! That's one messed up kid!

In other TV news, as I'm catching up on all my couch potato time on my "vacation" before school, I think I've become hooked on Nip/Tuck and VH1's "I Love the..." series. It's a bad thing to get addicted to TV shows when school's about to start. Who knows what'll happen when "South Park" and "The Apprentice" start up again?

Pedicure wanted

The good thing about living in New York City is the fact that you get lots of exercise walking to your destination. (Riding the subway all the time ain't cheap!) I did miss walking everyday like I did when I was still in college when I was working the past year and had to drive everywhere. However, hoofing it in the city in flip flops isn't the best for your feet and now I'm shopping for a pedicure (I normally take care of my toe nails myself, but I think I need professional help this time).

We're planning to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (in search of the best pizza ever at Grimaldi's) soon, so maybe I should wait until after that happens before I invest in a pedicure.

Hey big spender

I bought my textbooks today, and I think I'm depressed as a result of that shopping trip. First, the sheer amount of textbooks is daunting, and second, the total wasn't exactly anything to throw around. I don't think I've ever spent this much money on textbooks in one semester, and I think most years at Rutgers, I didn't spend $516 for my books for Fall and Spring semesters.

My purchase was so big, the store had to call Visa to get approval because I never spend that much money normally.

My wallet is hurtin'.

Friday Five

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not? I think I'm an organized person. I remember I used to enjoy taking out all my syllabi at the beginning of a semester and put all the major assignments on to my calendar (sometimes in different colors) so I could see how screwed I was. I think I have some sort of fascination with organization itself and my soon-to-be former job helped me to hone my skills.

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly? While in college, I always had a planner with me (because I loved to write upcoming events and tasks in it) and a calendar with my upcoming assignments and exams written in color coded inks on my wall. Now I only have a calendar, but I have recently purchased a new daily planner for law school.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now? My desk at work is no longer my desk, as I am training my replacement now. We deleted my name off of the phone extension - it was very sad. I no longer need a desk at home (for now) as I have this new laptop, which I like to use in bed, leaning against two pillows with the laptop resting on a pillow in my lap.

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter? My CDs and DVDs have always been in boxes in no particular order, but when I did have a bookcase in my old house, I had the books in order by author's last name in two sections: fiction and non-fiction.

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize? My job at my soon-to-be former job. The woman who held the position before me was awful despite the fact she was anal and obsessive about everything. I shudder to think of the way she organized her files on the computer and I tried my best to make my files comprehensible for someone NOT from that woman's home planet.

Zoom zoom

Yesterday, I asked my coworker to explain how to make sure a golf cart was ready to go, since I haven't driven one since last year with an experienced person in the cart. I didn't want to be the silly girl who can't figure out how to use a golf cart.

Turns out that cannot be avoided as I heeded my coworker's most important advice, "Don't push too hard on the pedal because you don't want to rocket out of there." I gradually pushed down on the pedal only to find that nothing was happening. I'm sure the outside operations guys got a kick out of the confused expression on my face as I kept pushing the pedal farther down. I wound up pretty much flooring the stupid cart to get it to start moving at a snail's pace.

And then I went off at a blazing 5 miles an hour to walk the head golf pro's dog.

Friday Five

I'm so mad that fridayfive.org shut down just as I discovered it.

1. If the world were to suddenly end right now, what do you wish you would have done?
Tell off the head accountant for my company. In fact, I don't think I can do it when I leave the company in fear of the repercussions my actions may bring upon my coworkers.

2. How many times do you hit the snooze button before getting out of bed?
I don't use the snooze button. I usually get up about 5 minutes before the time my alarm is set to go off. It's kind of annoying since I know I can't go back to sleep for just 5 minutes.

3. What cartoon do you enjoy watching from the present or the past?
Spongebob Squarepants. Come on... "Spongegar! Pagtar!!" If anybody knows how to download that episode, tell me!

4. If you could go to any time and/or place in history, where/when would it be?
I don't think I'd like to leave the time period of indoor plumbing, and the 60s through 80s don't really inspire me. I guess I'd stay where I am. I'm comfortable and I'm moving on to better things anyways.

5. If your life were a movie, what would it be rated and why?
R for coarse language and brief nudity :P I think my life movie would be tastefully done though...

Paperwork

I got another envelope from law school last week asking for a doctor to verify my immunization records. This was not good news. I don't have a doctor or a copy of my immunization records. All of this information was in my parents' house, and they're not speaking with me. The last thing I want to do is go home.

I wound up calling Rutgers last Friday because they were the last people I had to provide records for in that department and surprisingly, they were more than happy to help me. In fact, they told me I didn't have to go to a doctor at all; a copy of my records with a Rutgers seal was acceptable grad schools. They said it would go out in the mail that day and surprisingly, I received it on Tuesday.

Rutgers has never been so helpful to me, even as a paying student.

Busy busy

Despite my lack of posts, I've been quite busy!

I applied for the rest of my school funding through a private educational lender. I had butterflies in my stomach while I was doing it. Hey, it's a lot of money! My credit has been approved and I'm waiting for the paperwork.

I've been very busy at work now that golf season is in full swing (ha ha... nevermind).

I've been obsessed with watching Good Eats and finally got to try some recipes I've been craving. This past weekend, I made banana ice cream. Today, I made french onion soup and I swear, it was the best onion soup I've ever had. It wasn't watery, salty, and weak like a lot of the soups you have in fancy restaurants. This soup was rich and packed with deliciously caramelized onions. It was easy but took three hours to make.

It was so worth it.

A case of the Tuesdays

My coworker and I have determined that Tuesday, not Monday, is the worst day of the week. On Monday, you're refreshed from the weekend, so it's not so bad. Wednesday is hump day, so it's all coasting downhill from there. Thursday is pay day, with the anticipation of Friday. Friday is the end of the week and the beginning of the weekend. Tuesday is just... blah. Nothing special.

Pondering

I was bumming tonight and wound up watching "You've Got Mail" on TBS. I really like that movie because it has this great dialogue, and of course, New York City as a background for everything. It makes me look forward to living there. In fact, it makes me look forward to settling down.

For the past few years, since I started college, I feel as though I haven't really made a place home. The house I grew up in became less and less like home when I started developing into the person I am today. Apparently, who I am today is something terribly shameful to my parents, and I think they are embarrassed by me. When I came home after I graduated from college, I didn't even get to sleep in my own bedroom. I was shifted from bedroom to bedroom and I never unpacked my things from school. I felt very alone when I was in that house... alienated actually.

I've moved twice since I left my parents' house. I don't feel like settling down too deeply since I know I'm leaving in less than two months. Wow, I can't believe it's down to that small amount of time. Although I complain at work that the day is dragging, the week flies by and I find myself preparing for yet another week.

I think I'm ready to move on. I know it will be hard, but I think I'll be happy to have a home I love to be in.

Are you ready?

This week, I found out how much money I'll be taking out in loans for school, and it's not a pretty number. According to some very preliminary math, I'll be paying $2,000.00 per month on a ten year repayment plan when I finish school. I'd better get a damn good job.

Apartment hunting is becoming a very real thing. I'm deciding on whether to live in the city or in Hoboken. Personally, I'd rather be in New York. I've always wanted to live there for some period of time in my life.

Crap

Two weeks ago, some birds took a few huge dumps on my car. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms for half of the week, so I figured, "Why bother taking the car to the car wash when Mother Nature will do the work for me?"

Of course, the weatherman was wrong and it didn't rain a bit, leaving nothing but dried bird crap all over my car.

Finally, my car was washed on Sunday, thanks to Josh, and on Monday, a bird crapped on it. And then another bird crapped on it today as well.

Figures.

Countdown

Work has taken a plunge for the worse as of last Thursday. I really don't understand how a supervisor could get it into their head that they don't have to explain their decisions. Um... can we say dictator?

"I expect you to fall into my plan and I should not have to explain myself."

Throughout the condescending speech, I stared this woman, who is older than my own mother, straight in the eye with the blankest of stares. I did not nod once to agree with her. I just blinked if she said something mean to me.

Apparently, I am the queen of the blank stare.

Addiction

Josh says that I have a gambling problem. He has this opinion because I bought a scratch-off bingo game a couple weeks ago for $2, winning $5. I hadn't bought one since last summer.

I told him that I planned to use my winnings to buy two more bingo games and get $1 back, making it seem as though I paid $1 to play three games.

He tells me this is how gambling addicts begin. But ho ho, I know when to stop! (When my initial $2 runs out!)

Truly, I must be an addict, considering the fact that I haven't even brought in my winning card for two weeks already.

Love Actually

I finally got my copy of "Love Actually" yesterday! I love this movie, which has been called the "ultimate romantic comedy." Surprisingly, even guys like it too. However, one man I work with saw it and said he didn't understand the nudity. (If you've seen the movie, you know what he's talking about) When he said that, I think I got really smart all of a sudden (think Will Ferrell style in the debate portion of "Old School") and said, "No, it's not so irrelevant. Many people today go through the motions of a relationship to have sex, but those two in the movie went through the motions of sex and came out with a relationship."

I was amazed with myself because I didn't know what I could say to defend my beloved movie to this man's question until I was struck with comprehension as I was about to open my mouth and say, "Shut up Mike, I loved the movie, so bugger off."

White as apple pie

Van Helsing is coming out next week. Call me a dork, but I can't wait to see it! Many of my acquaintances find my taste in movies questionable. Josh doesn't understand why I'm anticipating this movie. He just looks at me with this face when I'm bouncing in my seat watching the commercials, saying that it's directed by the same guy who directed The Mummy. (Nobody understands why I like The Mummy so much that I own the DVD).

Bone chilling

Lisa and I were cleaning the apartment today after work and we discovered numerous spider corpses in the spare room, as well as along the walls in my room.

At least they were dead. When they're alive, they seem at least ten times bigger.

Friday Five

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
I had scrambled eggs, sausages, and hash brown potatoes, courtesy of the Conk.

2. What's your favorite cereal?
Lucky Charms. I like to eat the plain cereal first and then save the marshmallows for the end. By then, they're all mushy and have made the milk turn purple.

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?
At most, I eat out once a week, usually on the weekend, unless Scott gets an urge to drag me to Applebee's for some boneless buffalo wings. When Josh and I do go out, we enjoy our food at very tasty places. I don't think I'd change anything about how often I eat out. If I had the money, I'd do it more often.

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?
I believe the only things on the menu tonight have alcohol in them.

5. What's your favorite restaurant? Why?
It's very hard to decide. I love food! In New York, my favorite restaurant is Blue Water Grill. It's got great seafood, awesome service, and a super cool atmosphere. A few episodes of Sex and the City have had scenes shot there. There's also live jazz at night in the dimly lit downstairs dining room. Tres chic, no? In New Jersey, I'd have to say my favorite is Meritage. Hands down, best filet mignon I've ever had - it was like butter melting in my mouth, along with some exceptional desserts.

Friday Five

1. What was the last song you heard?
Siren, Tori Amos

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
X2 and Ever After

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
Half a gallon of 1% milk, Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough, and round cotton wipes

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Go to Sephora and sniff perfume, work on a picture frame/collage, buy an iron (not a golf club), and read One L.

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
Anita (Golf Shop), Pete (Maintenance), Michelle (Asst. Club Manager), Susan (Controller), and Scott (Asst. Golf Pro).

Reality TV

I'll admit that I loved watching "The Apprentice" this season and there is little left on TV to watch anymore (until next Fall). Normally, I don't like watching reality TV shows. Granted, I did watch some "Real World Las Vegas", but that's because I didn't like the people on the show and I wanted to see if they got theirs in the end. Of course, like most things MTV, the ending didn't deliver and was insubstantial at most.

Somehow, Scott and I started watching "The Apprentice" and we got hooked. Then I got a couple other people hooked. Josh doesn't understand why I love watching the show and he claims that all reality TV shows suck. Yes, I will admit that most of them are crap and don't show people doing anything that they'd ever do in real life. Who is going to swim in a pool of spiders?

Josh mocks me for watching the show as though I'm watching people eat mashed up cow brains and testicles and then puke them back up. I think I liked “The Apprentice” because the challenges faced by the contestants were more practical and real than anything on “Fear Factor” or “The Real World.” I mean, he watches football a few times a week for several months out of each year. You might as well count that as reality TV. They’re real people and the producers make the events that occur during the game and in the players' personal lives uber-dramatic. They have dramatic soundtracks to back up the story as well. They even have an entire TV channel dedicated to football!

At least neither of the programs involves people eating bugs.

And that was my reality TV rant.

No complaints

I will never complain again that I am bored while at work. The first time I did it, I was supervising at my old bookstore. There was absolutely nothing to do, and then one of my employees had a fight with his boyfriend. Yes... you read that right. It led to a screaming, crying fight in front of the store and I had to call mall security.

Yesterday, I was bored at work and I complained that I was bored and wished something would happen. After lunch, Michelle told me that Nine West was having a huge sale, so my spirits perked up, figuring I could go to the shoe sale after work, even though I'm not supposed to spend any more money.

But that was not all the excitement to be had...

Josh called me at 3:45 (He was my ride because my car was in the shop having its brakes serviced), telling me that his mom was in the emergency room, so I had to be ready to leave at exactly 4:30 so we could go to the hospital.

No more complaints at work about being bored... I'm afraid of what will happen next time.

Guilt food

I went back to my old home today because my cousins were visiting. It's not my whole family I have a problem with.... just my parents. I talked with my cousins and my aunts and uncles. My mother kept asking me if I wanted food, plying me with leftovers. I didn't really want the food, but it would've been bitchy not to take it. Of course, my father didn't look at me or say a word to me. Status quo.

I think my mother asked me to come home because they'd rather not be embarrassed by the disowning of a daughter in front of the whole family. To them, saving face is more important than anything else.

Crash

I think I've just been disowned.

My father was being so unhelpful with my financial aid requirements. He told me to give me my forms and he'd send the out in the mail with the copy of his tax forms. I asked him why he didn't want me to see them, and he tells me that it's not me, it's the "other people" who'll see them.

What other people? Does he think I'm going to put them on the internet and show them to the world? What does he have to hide? Maybe he's afraid Josh will see them, but what would happen if he saw them? I just love the way he assumes the worst about me. My parents don't know me at all.

In the end, the conversation degraded into an argument with them yelling about my attitude - again. Apparently, they think I think they're dead. Again, they're assuming the worst, painting me uglier than I actually am. I think it's so they'll feel better about themselves when they tell the rest of the family about how I'm a horrible daughter.

They weren't even happy for me when I told them I got into law school and had decided to go! Josh's mother was happier for me than the two of them combined. It makes me sick. I feel so disgusted because my father isn't even a decent human being.

The more I think about it, being disowned from my parents doesn't feel much different than before. I'll take care of myself and I'll make my graduate education possible on my own.

Now go

The waiting is over!

Changing

I have a lot of things to think about. I'm worrying about a lot of things too. Unfortunately, I can't really make any decisions because I'm waiting. It feels as though I've been waiting a long time.

Flying

I can't believe my first week back from vacation is ending so quickly. Apparently, time flies even when you aren't having any fun.

Vacation was nice. It had a dismal start in Miami with the crappy weather, but after that, it was smooth sailing, aside from the excessive rocking. I dont' remember the last cruise I went on being so rocky, but I don't get seasick anyways. After Miami, the weather turned so perfect, the water and sky looked fake - they were that blue.

I climbed a waterfall and swam in the ocean. I didn't think I'd have enough guts, but I surprisingly made it through..

Somebody at work asked me where my tan was and I can't believe I had to argue with him about its presence.

Images in wonderment... wonderment.... wonderment

Things I have learned on my cruise:

1. The only thing to see in Jamaica is Dunn's River Falls. After that, get back on the boat.

2. Sometimes it's better to spend a few extra bucks and take an excursion than get swindled by the natives.

3. Images in wonderment are images of nightmarish horror.

4. It's okay to order 3 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts.

5. Even though it's vacation, wakeup is usually earlier than you would get up for work normally.

6. If your nose sunburns and starts to peel, don't fuss with it or your nose will become a very unflattering shade of red.

7. If there is a dark smudge on your digital camera LCD screen, don't assume that it's just a smudge on the screen. Clean the lens. I learned that lesson a little too late. I'll just pretend that smudge that appears in the light colored pictures is a ghost or something.

8. 830 children on the cruise = 830 hooligans on the cruise

9. Craps is fun.

10. It will be hard to adjust to meals that do not entail five courses.

More to follow when I'm recovered from my vacation.

Finish line

There isn't enough time to finish getting ready!

7 days

No, I haven't gotten a phone call from some creepy girl telling me when I'm going to drop dead.

I'm going on vacation next Sunday!

I bought another bag. I really shouldn't have. But I saw it and I kept walking by it at Macy's. I'm that kind of shopper. I can walk through a whole department three times over, but the first thing that grabs me all the way at the beginning is what I wind up buying. I kept saying to myself, "It'll be great for the airport and can carry all of our paperwork (being that I'll be responsible for all of Josh's things because well.... anyone who knows Josh will understand why it's better I carry his important documents). This is so classy and practical. I can see myself carrying this at law school!"

Rationalizing, I know. At least it was on sale.

On a roll, or any bread for that matter

This weekend's menu consisted of:

Sauteed chicken with shallot-balsamic sauce
Garlic smashed potatoes
Pain perdu (French baguette - French toast style)
Apple spice cake
Sourdough panzanella with grilled flank steak

I was bored, so I cooked.

I'll try the apple spice cake with chocolate chips next weekend when I'm bored again.

Good with the bad

Yesterday I received my cruise documents. Now my vacation suddenly seems like a real thing.

Unfortunately, I also had to get my front tires replaced yesterday. $211.00. Ouch. I'm just a little more broke now.

That was money I could've spent on the cruise.

A delicious weekend

I went on a culinary adventure.

The weekend's menu consisted of:

Chicken breasts stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes
Shallot parmesan rice pilaf
Gingerbread with a lemon glaze
Salad Nicoise (Made by Josh's parents)

I've never felt so accomplished in the kitchen until I made that chicken. I still can't stop thinking about it.

New home

I have moved into my new apartment/condo. It's okay. I think I miss living with my old roommate. At least we knew each other from work.

Maybe things will get better once I have an internet connection again.

And Valentine's Day didn't turn out to be so bad after all (apart from the moving). Josh wound up surprising me with a dozen roses, chocolate, and a huge labrador retriever stuffed animal on Friday the 13th.

True to his word, it wasn't on Valentine's Day.

Depressed or Crazy?

I am at an impasse.

My boyfriend doesn't believe in doing romantic things just because it's Valentine's Day.

Fine.

But now flowers are being delivered to the women I work with and I can't help thinking that it'd be nice to be thought of like that. Then again, anything would brighten up my day at the Conk. It's hard to approach this subject because no matter what, I'll sound needy, but it's hard not to be needy when your boyfriend doesn't seem to care when you have a bad day.

"What do you want me to do about it?!" is the response I get.

I suppose I should start listening to the magazines that tell me this is how men react.

Do you not like having a clean car?

Apparently, I have all of Scotland scattered on my backseat. It's just that messy.

Or my passenger is overly picky.

I'm leaning towards the latter.

In other news, I played with a Shiba-Inu puppy last night. It was so cute. I now know what kind of dog I want when I grow up... if I ever do.

This puppy was so excited to be playing that he was running all over the playroom and wound up running into a wall head-first. Sounds like my kind of dog.

A new home

Sadly, my time here at Jackson is over. I've found a new place to live in Freehold, not too far from my current residence, so I can still keep company with my current roommate. It was fun, but this new place seems nice. My new roommate has a dog too!

I'll be moving President's Weekend.

Got flu?

As usual, my yearly sickness rolled around the end of last week. My nose is red from all the tissues and I sleep half the day away without even knowing it. I think I'm getting better, thanks to Josh's patience, but I don't think eating wasabi did anything special to my germs.

Yahoo.... better just in time for the Superbowl.

Pants

Currently, my living situation is not very definite. It could turn out better than ever if decisions sway certain ways. We'll see.

Worst snow day ever

Yesterday at work, I spent an hour and a half typing up a phone list for the twelve employees who go to work now. The actual typing of the list took five minutes. The rest of the time was spent on protocol. People kept fussing about what order people were being notified. This manager has to go after that manager and that manager has to notify those employees. The managers with the call responsibilities had about two to three calls apiece. I know of at least one manager who thought that was too much.

Fast forward to this morning - I woke up at 7, no phone calls. I look out the window and it's still snowing and I'm saying to myself, "There's no way there's work today." I got ready super slow, giving my supervisor time to call me, but by 7:30, no phone call meant work. I dug my car out and drove the five miles to work on the crappy roads, reaching the club in a half hour and finding NO CARS in the parking lot. I called one of my coworkers and she says, "You didn't get a call? There's no work today. You should've called."

Then what's the point of the bloody call list I spent an hour and a half on yesterday if I should call?! If I didn't get a call, that means there's work! It turns out my supervisor called at 8:15, when I was on my way back from work, fuming the entire half hour back home. She says on the message, "I heard you went to work today and I wanted to make sure you got home okay." Ha ha. While everyone got their calls and rolled over back to sleep, I spent an hour driving about for no reason!

And the worst part is - I couldn't get back to sleep after all that fuming and driving.

Someone's got a case of the Mondays

I know it's not quite Monday, but I'm not looking forward to this week.... especially if it's anywhere as mindnumbing as last week. The weekend was relaxing, but I'm so sad whenever Sunday night rolls around because it's back to the routine. I'm hoping this feeling will go away soon. If it doesn't, the next eight months could be really long. Well, that depends on whether or not I even go to law school. Then maybe I could go to cooking school and become a pastry chef. That's a nice Plan B.

Once you go Jackson, you never go back-son!

Wise words said by a former Marlboro-ite turned Jacksonian such as myself.

It was a lovely new year's weekend, and I finally got to stay the entire time at Ron's. I used to have to ask Josh to take me back home at 11:30 because I'd get in trouble if I stayed out any later while silly girls in high school remained.

Leaving home definitely has its benefits.

Happy new year

Let's hope this year will be better than the last one.

Also, I hope my mail (which includes my bills that are due in one week) will arrive someday to my new address.