Sunday, May 29, 2005

You have failed me.

And tonight Adult Swim lets me down for the first time ever! I was expecting, anticipating *hoping* for a new episode of Robot Chicken. Heck, the TV guide said I would be getting one! Then I surf over to their website and learn that they've let some winner of a Burker King contest schedule the shows for tonight and write the bumps!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This of course means no new Robot Chicken.

*sob*

Such a cruel world...

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Yay for Rufus!

Congrats to Rufus on his engagement!!!

Although his possible wedding ideas may leave a bit to be desired, I'd go with either the 'Happy Birthday Party' or 'Vegaspalooza.' It's a toss up between Fudgy the Whale(R) and Wayne Newton. Cookie Puss(R)! Not sure why I added that last cake name other than it sounds really funny. Cookie Puss(R). Like an edible dessert cat. Or something. Cookie Puss(R)! Can you believe Carvel registered a trademark for those cake names? I suppose they have become associated with Carvel but really! Cookie Puss(R)!

Too True

A direct quote from a Friends episode. Joey and Chandler at Ross' ex-wife's lesbian wedding:
Joey: It just seems futile. All these women and nothing!

Chandler: Now you know how I feel every day. The world is my lesbian wedding.
Right there with ya, Chandler. That's pretty much my experience in life too.

A Sign of the Apocalypse

Pauly Shore is starring in a new comedy series on TBS.

::shudder::

And So It Begins...

Today was my first session of the NY BarBri Review Course. The course is a total of 32 sessions (1 a day, every weekday), 9 books, theoretically 55-91 hours of studying per week, and a summer of not-fun.

This morning we had a 30 min. introductory video followed by a 3.5 hour video on Criminal Law. I didn't mind today, notwithstanding my running nose and intermittent coughing. The material was moderately interesting and I learned a good deal. I also learned that, as with the 1st year BarBri Review Courses (for things like Civil Procedure, Torts, Contracts, etc.), I am physically unable to take notes, by hand, for more than 3-3.5 hours. My hand just starts hurting and my writing becomes nigh illegible. Tomorrow I'm going to bring my laptop and take notes on that instead.

So, after the morning session we're supposed to spend an additional 5-9 hours that day reviewing materials. Yeah. You read that right, 5-9 HOURS. I'm telling you right now - not gonna happen. 2-4 hours maybe. 5-9? Riiiiiight. I suspect it will vary by subject matter and my familiarity therewith. On weekends we're supposed to spend 10+ hours reviewing. That may happen. I'm going to try my best to keep up with all this studying and keep the tv and computer game off.

From what 'little' I've seen thus far, the BarBri Bar Review looks to be worth every penny! I find it difficult to imagine attempting to study for the Bar without the structure and mere condensing of material that is inherent in this review. There's simply too much to memorize it all. Having someone come along and say "This is what you need to know. This is what you must memorize." makes a world of difference. Even though my life is going to be Hellish for the next 2 months, I'm glad it's going to be like that. (Yes, I have a slight masochistic streak in me. I also have a sadistic one too!) Better to endure 2 months of Hell and pass than have to retake the Bar over and over. (The latter truly would be Hell.)

As for my cold, after an afternoon nap and some good OTC drugs (Tylenol Cold 4tw!), I'm feeling better than this morning. Here's hoping an early bedtime and more drugs get me feeling better!

Another Brick in the Wall...

Tonight's Onyxia Raid was also a failure, though better than last week's. At least we got her down to 38% on our first try. The Main Tank LD'ing (lag disconnect, I think) in the second try didn't do us any good. We try again next week! Thus far we're 1 for 4.

Now I go to make my bed & snag ~6.5 hours of sleep. Nyquil has been taken so hopefully that'll help. If not, tomorrow's gonna be rough. *VERY* rough.

*hack hack cough cough*

*sigh*

Why am I still writing?

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Ugh.

I'm still sick. 'Least my throat is a bit better, though I now feel like complete and utter shite. BarBri NY Bar Review begins tomorrow morning. I'll post how that goes.

Last week's Onyxia Raid was a dysmal failure. Tonight we try again only with a few small modifications and more instructions. We'll see how it goes. I'm hopeful. (Though my head hurts, I'm congested and ready to keel over at a moments notice.)

Sunday, May 22, 2005

*Sniffle*

You ever have a sudden onset of a cold? I have. TODAY. This afternoon, over the course of 4-5 hours, I got sick with a cold. At the moment, my nose is running ("You better go catch it!"), my throat is sore, I'm achey, my head hurts, and I feel like shit.

I hate the beginning stages of a cold. You feel bad and you know you're only gonna get worse before you get better.

*Sigh*

Time for me to go lie down on the couch and wallow in my misery. And watch the end of Family Guy and then Futurama. Or the rest of Mallrats, depending on my mood.

ADDENDUM: No Futurama tonight, American Dad instead. Eh. I prefer Futurama. The good news, though, is that I remembered it's Sunday & a new episode of Robot Chicken is forthcoming (at midnight). Yay!!! [11:46pm]

Happy Graduation to the UConn Law Class of 2005!

Today is Graduation! (Yay!) It is currently wet and rainy outside. (Boo!) I'm up a bit early but what am I gonna do?

Graduation is one of those events that, although intrinsically tied to those graduating, is not for them. Rather it is for the family and friends of the graduates. Given a choice, I'm sure most of the graduates would be happy just having finished their classes. The pomp and circumstance isn't very much fun. The speakers are usually dry and uninteresting. The ceremony is long and boring. But the parents expect it. The students anticipate it. The clouds rain for it. And so we march, like good law students, in about 3 1/2 hours.

My grandparents, aunt and one cousin came down yesterday. It's a moderately big deal for my grandparents, mostly because they're rather up there in years. (My grandfather is 91.) They and my other relatives are probably more excited than me.

After everything is done today, the visiting relatives will get on the road. (Travel can be tough, especially on the grandparents.) I suspect I'll be hanging out with The Girl tonight as I spoke with her briefly yesterday night.

Although it's hard to believe it's over (sort of), 3 years of law school, it's about time. You'd be hard-pressed to find a graduate of the law school today who does not think they've had enough. Law school is very draining. It's like a leech, sucking away at your well-being, your life, your soul. But enough with that. Today is supposed to be a 'happy', joyous day. Yay! In about 5 days, I begin studying for the Bar Exam. Yay!

Quick Observation

I watched the first 30 min. of Saturday Night Live last night. Lindsay Lohan was the host. Apparently she's a blond now. Gotta say, I liked her better has a brunette. The blond just looks too artificial and contrived. Doesn't really work for her imho.

To Clarify.

To wit, I did not fail a class. The failure I tangentially spoke of is a more personal one. More on that when it has been negated. That is all.

Saturday, May 21, 2005

And then...

Tonight, the Graduation Party, was good. About what I expected. No crazy tales, just the usual lack of debauchery and shenanigans.

I will comment on the smoking. Tonight, for the first time in 13-17 months, I had a cigarette. In fact, I smoked 2 cigarettes. I only do so on very rare occasions, when drinking moderately heavily. (For the record, tonight I polished off the majority of a flask-sized bottle of Jack, 200 mLs.) The worst part, as a non-smoker, is that I reek afterwards. Very shortly, I shall be taking a shower in an effort to purge myself of the lingering odor. It stinks. Really. Once, I didn't take a shower and just went to bed instead. My bed smelled of smoke, thus making my entire bedroom smell of smoke. It took me a few weeks to work out what the problem was. Once I changed the sheets, no more lingering odor. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke. Though I smoke on occasion. Rarely.

Friday, May 20, 2005

And So.

In about 30 min., I'm off to the Graduation Party. In preparation, my friends and I snagged some flask-bottles from the liquor store. For me, tonight's liquor of choice shall be Jack Daniel's. I almost went with Bacardi Light Rum until I remembered that I like Jack, I'm still a bit depressed, and if I'm gonna get smashed tonight it's gonna be from Jack damnit. If I can/remember, I'll put up a drunk post later. Usually they're not very entertaining since so little of any entertainment happens. I'll see what I can do tonight. No promises though.

ADDENDUM: I saw Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith this afternoon on an Imax screen at the local movie theater. The movie was good but it felt forced. All of the elements were there, it all worked together and almost all made sense, it just didn't have everything there. It felt hollow. Well worth seeing but obviously not up to par with the original trilogy, as if that were possible. Eh. [5:56pm]

Thursday, May 19, 2005

So.

There's a certain comfort in failing. There's closure. You've reached the end, or a milestone at least - a stopping point, and that's it. It's over. There's nowhere left to go, no farther left to fall.

I debated whether or not to post the literal fact of things. In the end, since I'm not sure who reads this or not, I won't. Not for a while at least. Suffice it to say if you've been following along and remember the condition precedent for my law school wrap up, that post will be a ways off yet. I'll save the revelation, if it could be called that, for then.

In the meantime... Tonight I am *not* hanging with friends and celebrating. Actually I'm rather depressed about things. Tomorrow I will start in on cleaning my apartment. It's rather doubtful whether or not the relatives will actually stop by it this weekend but it needs cleaning quite badly and is rather long overdue. Tomorrow afternoon I plan on catching a showing of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Then, tomorrow night, there's the official/real graduation party. Saturday is an awards thingy where I'm slated to receive my Intellectual Property Certificate. Also, the relatives come down on Saturday. Dinner at a semi-swanky Italian restaurant. Sunday morning is graduation and the departure of said relatives. Early next week I must work on and complete the Connecticut Bar Application, lest that fall by the wayside.

In more metaphysical considerations... I'd like to think that in the past I've had various (damnit, can't think of the word. begins with an "e", as in a sudden idea or flash of insight) ____'s though I've never really followed up on any of them. Never really heeded them or truly and continually acted on them. I don't know that today hit me with any like burst of insight but I do know I have to change. A lot. More so my activities which will then affect what I do and how I do it. Less television, if any. No video games or singificantly less. More doing the things I must rather than those I want.

My brain feels scrambled.

My head is running in circles, going nowhere.

Which serves as a segue to another non-sequitor. I used to read some Piers Anthony long ago, especially his 7-book series Incarnations of Immortality. One of the concepts I picked up in the first book and never forgot involves 4 methods of thinking, described in words and represented by pictures - really diagrams made with 5 matchsticks.

Linear: -----
Like a chain. The elements lead to the next down a chain of thinking and reasoning, leading one to a final conclusion in such a manner.

Parallel: |||||
Like many bridges over a river. There are a number of elements, methods or solutions that all lead to the same outcome, supporting each other.

Schizoid/Circular: (picture a pentagon)
The logic/reasoning goes in circles. If trapped in such a line of thinking, one that goes nowhere you haven't been before, you need to break out of it in order to progress.

Intuitive: -|||-
There is a break in the chain of logic that requires an intuitive leap, a jump to a conclusion that is ill-founded by the evidence but evident, apparent or correct in the end. This is a powerful method of thinking as it is often the hardest to put together.

I'm trapped in the circular one right now, which is why these come to mind.

But to digress from the non-sequitor digression...

I think I'll go read my book a bit and have a drink, to try and relax from today's outcome. I'm angry with myself for failing. Depressed from the same and from the anticipation of this weekend's now-hollow event. I'm worried that I am more my father's son than I ever wanted to be. And I'm also troubled that my long-term future, i.e. that more than 3 months from now, is so unsettling to me. (I'm not positive I want to be a lawyer any more. And if not a lawyer, what then?)

Now for that book and drink.

ADDENDUM: The word I was searching for was 'epiphany.' All I could think yesterday was epitome. Came to mind last night as I tried to go to sleep. [12:25pm 5/20]

ADDENDUM II: DARNIT! I just remembered the FIFTH way of thinking from the book.

Divergent/Creative: (picture a starburst)
When starting from a common place, trying to be creative and come up with new ideas. The elements all lead to separate, new ideas and outcomes.

Man! I knew it was 5, I just couldn't remember that 5th one. I think I'm not-so-slowly losing it. Ugh. [5:53pm 5/20]

Huh.

And the monosyllabic titles continue...

I just woke up. Today I'm writing papers. There's a party tonight somewhere but it's looking like I can't go as I need to write papers. Not good.

I was skimming through my e-mail accounts - 1 from school and 3 on gmail. One of the ones on gmail is one I made specifically for Match.com. I signed up for their newsletter somehow so I had it sent to its own e-mail address. I was trolling through when I noticed something interesting. The Girl, whom I've mentioned briefly elsewhere on this blog, has a listing. The listing doesn't say much that I don't already know about her. I just found it interesting in a 'huh' kind of way. Very rare that I (you) actually know the people who are signed up. Huh.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

And

Not many new posts of late because I'm desperately trying to work myself into a frenzy to finish up my remaining school work. Thus far, I am failing miserably at this frenzy. Miserably. Mis. Er. Ab. Ly. I plead the 5th whenever anyone asks how my work goes. I watch TV. I play my game. I read a book. Anything to avoid doing the things I must. I could claw my eyes out in frustration except it would only prolong the inevitable.

I'm also in the bout of a good session of existential angst. No joking. It's the whole 'school is over but I don't know what I'm going to do' thing. That and I'm not positive the road I saw before me is the one I really want to follow. What do you do if you're unsure that what lies ahead of you is really what you want? Yeah, I don't know either.

But in the meantime I have papers to write. *sigh*

Thursday, May 12, 2005

So There Once Was A Guy From Nantucket...

And I think we all know where that one goes.

Or not. Whatever.

Today I took my Right to Privacy final exam from 9am to Noon. The review session prepared me quite well for half of the exam. The other half, well, we'll see what happens. I am extremely confident that I met my minimum quota, that is I'm sure I at least passed the course. So I am noe 2/6 through my requisite objectives. Tomorrow I begin and (hopefully) complete one of my papers. Ugh.

The rest of today I played World of Warcraft. Ate pizza and garlic bread. (The Breakfast of Champions.) Etc.

Tonight, I met up with some friends at the local watering hole. At some point early on, my friends and I toasted to Onyxia's defeat. Hehe. I had one pint (special - Newcastle) at the Half Door. After that, we moves to the Vegas Blvd., a recently-opened establishment also close by. The special at Vegas as a liter of beer for $5. Needless to say, I polished that off and am now rather drunk. Not quite as randomly bad as Tuesday night when I had 2 1/2 shots of Jack and 3 beers in celebration of my 1st final being over. But still drunk tonight. Heh.

[Pause for Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim]

[and 2 slices of pizza]

Anyways, tonight was fun. 2 friends of mine said go for it with The Girl. We'll see what happens. I'm not entirely sure I'm capable of such mere usage without concomitant emotional attachment as a precedent. But we'll see. Think I'm gonna give her a call in the next day or 2, see if we can hang out sometime this weekend.

So there you go. And knowing is half the battle! (Right?)

Although

Although I have a Right to Privacy exam in less than 3 hours, I thought I'd put up a quick post. And for the record, as with my other exam and all those previous to it throughout my law school "career," I haven't studied nearly enough for it. Blind instinct must prevail! (Or dumb luck. I'm not picky.)

If you recall (or scroll down), last week I mentioned an Onyxia Raid and the results thereof. This is a weekly event, taking place every Wednesday night. Hence, last night we tried again. 'Lo and behold, we were able to slay the vile fiend! (Woohoo! Yay!! Yippee!!!) On our first try of the night, too! 'Twas a lot of fun, not to mention a long, hard-fought battle! In the end, Onyxia was down to 3% of her health and dropping slowly. We ended the battle with *only* 4 players left alive!!! The bad part about this is a loot-bug in the game. If you die and auto-release after 6 minutes, no loot for you. Absolutely horrible bug!!! Other than that, was a great time and a great accomplishment for those who took part! Despite the loot bug, I'm rather proud considering I led this assemblage. Not easy by any stretch. In any case, next week more of the same!

Time to get going. Shower, shave, desperately learn about the Right to Privacy, etc.

Come noon today, both exams of mine will be over and I'll have a mere 4 papers left. Hehe. I think I'm going to the bar tonight. Barring that, I'll just stay in and have some shots of Jack Daniels as when I celebrated after the Fed. Tax exam.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Answer

A: Very little though, if the exam is open book, you don't *need* to know all that much provided you have *excellent* outlines from your friend(s).

I don't think the Fed. Tax exam went too badly. In fact, I think it was alright. So now I'm into prep mode (or I will be later on Wednesday) for my Privacy Exam on Thursday Morning. After that I'll be 2/6th through (2 exams down) with 4 papers to go.

I'm still hopeful. I have to be.

Also, once I finish the 4 papers, you can anticipate a Law School Wrap Up post. I already have some of it in mind but I refuse to pen it until I'm finished.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Question

Q: How much Federal Income Tax can one learn in a day?

A: Hopefully enough to pass the exam. I'll let you know tomorrow night. (That is, if I'm not passed out, drunk, in a gutter somewhere.)

Friday, May 06, 2005

Friday

Things I should be doing *right* now: Working on my Copyright paper.

Things I'm *not* doing right now: Guess.

The Onyxia Raid was fun. Two attempts. We got her down to 54% and 50%, respectively. Took a *long* time to form the raid. Hopefully next Wednesday will go better.

Photo (Screenshot) Album for Onyxia Raid on Wed. 5-04-05.

A Random WoW Photo (Screenshot) Album.

Check those out.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Wednesday

I've been rather busy of late. Not busy as in studying for my two exams next week. Not busy as in working on one of the four papers I have to finish. Not busy as in cleaning up my apartment (though I did take out *some* of the trash). Not busy as in working on the Connecticut Bar Exam Application. Not busy as in hanging out with friends. Not busy as in doing anything that could even remotely be considered productive.

No.

I've been busy playing this stupid, effing game.

And I'm not done yet.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start doing productive things. (Though staying awake until 1am may hamper this lofty goal.) I have a review session for my Right to Privacy class tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I'll begin work on the paper due on Friday. Who knows!

However, there is one thing ocurring tomorrow that I wish to mention. I am leading a raid tomorrow night in an attempt to kill one of the high level monsters in World of Warcraft.

The short version of the explanation goes like this.. Once you reach the highest level in the game, 60, you spend a lot of your time attaining better equipment. The best equipment is on the hardest enemies. The tougher enemies require more players and better tactics to kill to get the better loot. I am in a small guild there, one without a lot of 60's. So, when I go on 5, 10 or 15-man raids, I do so either with people I've met and respect or with random people. The toughest monsters require 30-40 people. One of these tough monsters is called Onyxia. She's a dragon. A *badass* dragon. Not the toughest enemy in the game by far, but certainly a challenge until you learn how to slay her. Tomorrow night, I will attempt to gather 39 other like-minded players (many of whom I have never met before) and lead them in slaughtering her.

Hopefully that sounds as difficult as I anticipate it will be.

I've been trying to do my homework for this, learning about our foe and the strategies needed to bring her down.

Here's a link to The Onyxia Bible, an invaluable resource in this endeavor.

If we succeed, we won't be the first to kill her. We won't have been the first group on our server. We won't have been the first pickup raid to do so. However, it will have been the first raid of *mine* that has done so. And *that* would be awesome!

In the end, I'm planning on making this a weekly event. In the future, we'll probably give raid-membership preference to those who've raided with us before but if we have open spots, we'll pick up who we can and have at it.

It should be quite an experience. I anticipate learning a great deal though I doubt we'll be successful. (Not that that will even come close to stopping us!) No, in the end, I really hope it'll just be a lot of fun!

We now return you to your non-WoW (World of Warcraft) related posts. (Maybe.)