Today is my two-month anniversary of life in Brooklyn-land. I like it. It's really pretty, and for the past two weeks, it's been 70-75 degrees every single day (I'll allow that to make up for the fact that the subway is the most stifling, armpit and fart smelling, drippy ceilinged, pray-for-a-train-to-come-so-there's-a-few-seconds-of-fresh-air hellhole that you would never want to be caught in.) Luckily, for the most part, I can get/do anything I want to within 10 blocks of my house. Brooklyn blocks are also much more manageable than SLC blocks.
A quick comparison:
Number of Middle-eastern restaurants in SLC: Approximately 5
Number of Middle-eastern restaurants within 10 blocks: Probably 20, including a deli with the best, cheapest hummus you'll ever eat and a Middle-eastern bakery; not including delicious smelling, gastrointestinal distress inducing street carts.
Number of independent movie theaters in SLC: 2
Number of independent movie theaters within 10 blocks: 2
I don't have much time to watch movies, but I have plenty of time to eat Middle-eastern food.
Seriously, my neighborhood is the bomb.
School is... school. First-year law school is basically an exercise in perseverance. I don't need to prove myself by running a marathon, I can do it by analyzing case after case after case, many of them not even good/current law! It's fun. The most frustrating thing is that my entire grade in my substantive classes is based on a final. Yes, one exam.Sidenote: if you ever want to sound smart when talking to a lawyer or law student, say substantive. That is a word I hear about 10 times a day.
So, my entire grade's based on an exam, and there's a wicked grading curve. Straight-up required distribution of grades. I'm studying now for tests that are in 2 months. Your class ranking is incredibly important for getting jobs and prestigious opportunities in law school. But it's not getting to me... I promise.
There is one important, ego-boosting exception to the rule. My Legal Writing and Research course actually has graded assignments! Proudly, I've just gotten my first legal memo assignment back, and I got an elementary school-style CHECK PLUS on it! My professor said it himself: those are few and far between. My next memo's due Tuesday, and I'll be getting an actual grade on it. I'll keep you updated.
A few more notes that I promise to write more about, as I have just decided I kind of like this blogging thing:
-I do a substantial amount of my grocery shopping at the farmer's market that's across the street from school. A farmer's market three times a week, year round? AMAZING. I'm still trolling for a community garden though....
-I LOVE Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Public Library is my literary dream, and I could live in Prospect Park.
-You really do see TV crews here! I've seen people filming Gossip Girl (oh, Gossip Girl...) and some CSI-ish show (maybe CSI, I'm not sure). Real World is also filming in Brooklyn right now, although I haven't seen those shining beacons of 20-something light yet.
