A Little Study Break

After being at the library for nine hours yesterday, I came home and decided to spend some well-deserved time with Hubby and Pup, and we decided to watch The Family Stone. I really hadn't heard too much about this movie, but I was excited to see it because there were so many actors that I like in it (Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton and Claire Danes being among them).

I won't spoil it for anyone - it starts out really cute, then kind of gets lost in the middle, and just as I was starting to think that this was another movie with a lot of big names that ends up being dreadful, it really found its way towards the end, and I have to say, almost elicited a tear at the last scene.

It's not the best movie, it's not the worst movie, but I think it might best depict how every family is strange and deranged but unique and wonderful all at the same time.

I definitely recommend this movie, especially during finals time when I think we (students) tend to forget the success that really matters (family, love, closeness) when we get wrapped up in trying to be academically successful.

Ready, Set, Study!

Today is essentially my last day of freedom until the middle of May. My first exam is in exactly [gulp] six days! Tomorrow I'm basically moving myself into the law library to start hardcore studying.

Today, though, although I am finishing up my outlines, I am going to somewhat enjoy myself. I am going to go tanning (gearing up for vaca after finals - woo hoo!), talk Pup for a walk (which will totally make his day - I love making his day!), spend a few precious moments with Hubby before I disappear for two weeks, and maybe even get out to the garden to see what's doing with my tulips. Hopefully this day will keep me going when the going gets rough!

All in all, though, despite all the torture that is finals time, I am happy - I am happy because taking finals this time around means putting my first year of law school in my back pocket; it means that after finals, I will possess exactly 1/3 of the material necessary for me to be a (hopefully successful) attorney; and, no matter how bad it gets sitting in the library, deprived of sunlight and subsisting only on what I can get out of a vending machine, it still beats any day at a dead-end job in Cubicle Hell.

I Heart Chris Moltisanti

Weird little episode of Sopranos last night. No real progress was made with any of the current storylines, so it was more of an amusing episode than anything else. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

The episode started out with a fun Sopranos killing when Rusty gets taken out by the Italians as he and his driver are backing the Benz out of the driveway. This show always has a way of giving you a little detail at the end of a death to make it more genuine - in this scene, the Benz kept rolling down the driveway after the two men were shot. I was hoping that a car would come and side swipe the Benz, but I guess that would have been a little overly-dramatic/overly-Hollywood. I understand.
Artie has troubles at the restaurant with dwindling patrons. To add to his misery, he finds out that Benny has been stealing credit card numbers from the restaurant, causing Artie's Amex privileges to be revoked until the investigation is concluded. Artie goes to Benny's house in the middle of the night and beats him to a bloody pulp. Tony wasn't happy about this, but I say, good for Artie.
Chris goes to LA to see if he can get Ben Kingsley to star in his "Saw meets The Godfather" movie. It's obvious Ben can't believe he got roped into meeting with Chris and Little Carmine, so he goes to the "Luxury Lounge" while Chris and Little Carmine tag along, still trying to get him interested in their "project." Chis is blown away completely by all the free stuff that celebrities get at these things (I was pretty blown away too - and disgusted that celebrities get so much stuff for free when they can totally afford to buy these things. How about they have Luxury Lounges for law students??!! I think Westlaw and/or Lexis Nexis should TOTALLY spring for that). For the rest of the episode Chris haunts Kingsley about getting into the Luxury Lounge for himself. When Kingsley makes it clear that he can't get Chris in, Chris and Little Carmine rob Lauren Bacall of one of those "celebrity" baskets as she's coming back from an awards show. The best part is, they punch Lauren Bacall in the face!!! I mean, the woman is practically a relic and they punch her!! She's a tough cookie though - she drops a couple of F-bombs after the robbery. Classic.
That was pretty much it - one upset with the episode, though. I SERIOUSLY love animals, and I was disturbed when Artie shot the bunny in the yard that was making a little snack of his plants. Bunnies have to eat too; and then he later COOKS UP the bunny for a couple of restaurant customers that came in as the place was closing for the night.

The moral of the story? Don't eat at any restaurant at closing time.

Um....No Thanks

I got a phone call today from a telemarketer. I answered the phone, and after identifying herself as someone from some memorial park, the telemarketer informed me that I had been randomly chosen to receive a "free burial plot." Slightly in disbelief, I said, "WHAT??!!" She again repeated that my telephone number had been randomly chosen to be the recipient of a "free burial plot." I shouted into the phone, "I do NOT NEED a burial plot!" Then she politely said, "Ok, thank you." and hung up the phone. Are you kidding me??!! I mean, I know finals time is rough, but come on!!

WTF?

I just found a long, GRAY hair on my head. Of course I plucked it right out; but does this mean I have to start dyeing my hair???!!!!! GAH!! I'm getting OLD!!!

On the Verge

It's happening again. Finals are coming. I went through my planner today and determined that my first day of being at the law library for at LEAST 12 hours a day is just a little over a week away; and then I will have to remain at said law library for two. entire. weeks. When I realized that, my breath came a little quicker, I felt vaguely light-headed, and black spots appeared before my eyes. That's when I knew. I am, once again, getting very close to a nervous breakdown.

The breakdown will not happen overnight. Today's feelings are just the preamble, if you will, of the nightmarish crap-storm that will descend upon my life in several very (very) short days. The feelings will intensify, and ultimately culminate in one large nervous breakdown, probably right before my first exam, and maybe another before my last. A breakdown that will necessitate the utilization of some sort of anxiolytic, which honestly, I think should be prescribed to every law student in America.

Just thinking about heading into the War Zone that others might know as exam period makes a shudder go down my spine. I just hope I can make it out alive.

I'm It!

I was tagged by Wendy today on this, and despite the nagging feeling that I might horrify everyone into never reading my blog again, I'm going to provide you with:

Six Weird/Interesting Things That You Didn't Know About Me

(although I'm pretty sure they're all weird and not that interesting!!)

1. I am obsessed with The Weather Channel. I downloaded their desktop program so that I am constantly aware of what the temperature and current humidity levels are.

2. In conjunction with my weather obsession, I have a "dressing chart" that I utilize along with the weather, to decide what I am going to wear every day. For example, there are categories, like 70-75 degrees which would call for a short sleeved shirt but jeans, not shorts. That's a simplified example. The actual chart is somewhat more complex.

3. Along with the weather/dressing chart, I keep my clothing in my closet in what I refer to as the "rotation." Whatever shirt I wear today will go at the back of the line, and I will not wear that shirt again until it comes back to the front. Tomorrow's shirt will be one of the first in the line, depending on what matches with what (I will not sacrifice fashion for the sake of my OCD!).

4. On most days, I count calories. I will keep little post-it notes at my desk detailing what I eat. This is so I don't forget how many calories I am taking in and therefore I don't end up looking like a moose. During finals in particular, this calorie-counting becomes vital, and I suppose it's my way of exerting control over at least one aspect of my life.

5. On the topic of food, I love cereal dust. Most people hate that dusty substance at the bottom of the cereal box when all the flakes are gone, but I actually look forward to it. I like the mush that it creates when it's mixed with milk.

6. I brush my teeth in the shower. Every day. Twice a day. I even keep my toothbrush in the shower.

I admit, a few of these things sound rather freakish; but I am NOT crazy!!!! I guess everyone has bizzare things that they do, right??!!

So I'm tagging The BLS and D on this one. I'm not giong to be the only one getting carted away on the crazy train!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has a nice Easter/Passover/Bunny Day - whatever you celebrate! And if you don't celebrate anything, have some chocolate anyway!!

What Would Emily Post Say?

Recently I was invited to a friend's wedding. The invitation was addressed to Hubby and me. However, H., who has lived with his girlfriend for several years now, was invited to the same wedding sans guest. I found this deeply disturbing. Clearly the line was drawn at "marriage" being the status that would require paying for two guests vs. just one at this particular wedding; but is that really what is the correct thing to do? What about same-sex couples? Should it be ok that their respective partners be excluded from social functions such as weddings merely because they "only live together"? While I wholeheartedly respect the institution of marriage, I also respect those who choose to not enter into it, and those who legally cannot. I can't help but think that by excluding "life partners" but including spouses is the bride's way of imposing her social mores on her guests in that she will exclude whom she wants. Obviously, as the bride, she is within her right to do that; but should we, as a society condone this type of couple-ostracism? Am I looking too much into this? I would love to hear what other people think about this topic!

I'm Lovin' It!

I found this GREAT blog, and I just had to share. If you love celebrity stuff, this is the site for you: Pink is the New Blog. Even the title is great. I've been reading it for about a week or so now, and every single day is filled with awesomely funny stuff. Definitely check it out!

It's All About "One"

Yet another fabulous episode of Sopranos tonight. Every Sunday this show just keeps getting better! So here's the rundown: Tony goes back to "work," and hires a Bloomfield meathead to drive him around. Johnny Sack's daughter Allegra (Chris, it's allergy medication, not cold medication) is getting married and Johnny requests a reprieve from his jail cell to attend. The court grudgingly allows it, but makes Johnny foot the bill for the US marshals that have to chaperone him. The Soprano family goes to the wedding, and Tony is feeling a little wistful for grandchildren, which he expresses to a less-than-amused-looking Meadow. Which, by the way, as a sidebar, Meadow is looking absolutely stunning this season. Looks like there might be trouble in paradise with her and Finn though; but I digress.
There is tight security at the $425,000 Sacramoni wedding, and Tony nearly passes out when security makes him take off his shoes. Johnny asks Tony to "take care of some business" for him, using a table of partially senile senior citizens as a ruse for the marshals, and Tony agrees. Just as the wedding is wrapping up, the marshals come and haul a bawling Johnny back to the prison, and Ginny hits the floor. Literally. I liked the shot of the knee highs. Funny how the show can make you pity a cold blooded murder and start making you rationalize the idea that he might be entitled to watch his daughter get married in peace.
Anyway, Tony starts to worry, after talking to Melfi, that his recent health problems might appear as a sign of weakness. As a result, he beats up the meathead and subsequently vomits in the bathroom - but hey, people only see what you want them to see.
Meanwhile, Junior is thrown into a mental facility and tries to argue with his lawyer that he doesn't belong there. Right.
The highlight of the episode, however, comes when Vito tells his wife he has some "collections" to do late in the night. Those collections, however, entail donning a leather outfit and heading to a homosexual club where he's having a hopping good time. That is, until a couple of mob friends drop in for some business, and catch Vito in the act. He tries to play it off as a joke, but of course they're not buying it. A distraught Vito goes home, packs the suicide essentials, and checks into a motel. He makes an erratic call to Silvio, and that's the last we see of poor, repressed, Vito.
I guess we can assume that he, er, lost his head?

Burning the Midnight....Plastic?

It has finally happened. I have had a real, honest to goodness, computer meltdown. Literally. Apparently I have been pasted to my laptop for so long tonight, that the small but powerful reading lamp that I lit over my papers and books (and inadvertently over the edge of my laptop), melted the edge of the laptop, and left a wrinkly, distorted edge. At least the laptop still works; but maybe this is a sign that I need to stop working for the day.

Even When You're Not Having Fun

I really feel like I'm spinning my wheels here. All week long I struggled to work on my paper that's due next week. Somehow, though, between reading for every class, and well, just LIVING, I haven't written down a single word; and the best part was that I had every intention of handing in a DRAFT BEFORE handing in the actual thing!! I don't know how time just gets by us! Oh well. I guess my weekend fun and games are mapped out for me...

For the Love of Money

I am positively disgusted right now. I saw on www.cnn.com today an interview with a writer and a mother of one of the passengers who died on a plane in 9/11 discussing the upcoming movie United 93. This was the first I had heard of such a movie coming out. So I watched the trailer. And I was appalled. Is this really necessary?? Do we really need a movie depicting a studio's rendition of what might have occurred on that day? It's not like anyone has even remotely forgotten about what happened, considering that it was not even five years ago! It seems incredibly distasteful to release a movie about such a horrific event, so recently after it occurred, for the mere sake of making a buck. Let's call a spade a spade, people - this movie is not about educating anyone, it's not about providing historical reference to an event that is fading in the minds of the new generation who did not live through it - it's about cashing in on one of the biggest tragedies in American history. And for that, Universal and everyone else who supported the making of this film should be ashamed of themselves.

They're All Gonna Laugh At You

The last prom I went to was nearly ten years ago...until this weekend. It was time for my school's "prom." You know, that yearly event at the law school where everyone decides to bust out their Sunday best, get drunk and make fools of themselves in front of the people that they will have to see again on Monday and who probably will not forget the fact that they were dancing on chairs in an inebriated stupor.

I'll admit, I was excited to get dressed up for once, since my daily uniform pretty much consists of jeans and sneakers. When I got to the place, though, I couldn't believe that more than a few girls had actually got their hair done. And I mean DONE. As in Cinderella-this-is-my-wedding-day hairdos. Also, it was rather amusing how people that I don't talk to in school and likewise don't talk to me were all of a sudden my long-lost kindergarten pals with the "OhmyGod you look SO pretty, I LOVE your dress!" and the airkisses.

As the night progressed and the alcohol continued to flow, the antics became more amusing. People were literally grinding on what became a very sweaty dance floor. It was great to try to guess who would be shacking up for the night and painfully regretting it in the morning. My underwear-baring classmate was certainly there, thankfully with his pants ON this time, although H. told me that she also spotted him on a separate day again stripping.

All in all, an entertaining evening, providing some much needed down time from the nightmarish piles of work and stress that is law school, and it was nice how all the competition seemed to go out the window as all students were on even ground for one night.