The differences between Brooklyn and SLC...

Today my career counselor, who is in her fifties, told me that she'd like to get a beer with me.

I'm constantly amazed by the experiences I'm having here.

Law school has made me into a coffee drinking (never liked it) insomniac with a sailor's mouth, but I love it.

I'm meeting amazing people, and new doors are opening all the time. I have no doubt that this is where I need to be, but that doesn't make me miss home and my family and friends any less.

I just went to New Orleans for a week to do policy work with a FEMA Watchdog organization. If you want to talk about a messed up bureaucracy with no oversight, let's talk about FEMA. I loved the trip for the same reason that I always loved Alternative Spring Break trips at the U. You do things to help people that make you happy, and you make 15 instant friends. It was an amazing time.

The summer job search is ongoing, but I'm optimistic that I'll be doing something I enjoy.

There's a fancy-schmancy school event Saturday night, so I'll FINALLY post some pictures of some of my favorite people here.

Loves to all two of you who read my blog!

Hey, remember that time...

that everyone in America got Rick rolled at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Immigration Court fun times!

One of the extracurricular/ public interest things I'm doing this year is Immigration Court Watch. It's a program that was started by NYU's law school after 9/11 when there was a strong anti-immigrant sentiment and worries that immigration hearings may not have been affording the due process (oh, what a phrase!) rights of detainees. The trials are usually in regards to undocumented immigrants who will either be deported or have a legal option to stay in the US.

So we work with NYU and observe hearings, watching for any indiscretions by judges, lawyers, or guards. It's a really interesting chance to see court first hand and start learning about immigration law, which I'm becoming really interested in.

Did I tell you that I may be living in the middle of nowhere, rural USA this summer if I can find an organization to work with? I want to work with someone who is representing/ advocating for immigrants who have been arrested in the immigration "raids" at meatpacking plants. We'll see!

Did I also tell you that I am waiting to hear about whether or not I got this really prestigious public interest summer fellowship that Brooklyn Law offers? The other really cool thing about it is that there are a lot of opportunities to get to know the other fellows and past fellows, which is awesome because most of my friends and classmates are really geared towards "big law" corporate-type jobs, which can be tempting, even for someone like me who knows that I want to be doing public interest. I mean, I am a simple person, but it would be nice not to be broke/in debt for the rest of my life!

Back to my story. It's a really interesting experience. It reminds me that everyone has a story, you know? Good things and bad things happen in all our lives.

But after this semester of evening classes, and never having been a morning person (I keep thinking that I need to work on that!) it's so hard to wake up early to get to the courthouse on the days I observe!

And I see the detainees, in their prison jumpsuits, a la this guy,

and they're made of the same material that scrubs are made of. They also wear sweet canvas slip-on shoes. It's so bad, but I keep thinking of how COMFORTABLE they look and how much I'd love to put on a comfy prison jumpsuit and go back to bed.

I know, it's horrible!

Reflections on living in "Barack-lyn"

Apparently my fair borough has earned this nickname because 79% of votes last Tuesday went to Obama. It's certainly strange to have moved from Mitt Romney central to a place where so many support our president-elect. I was able to work with a voter registration drive in the beginning of October, and it was awesome to see how many minorities were totally stoked, first-time voters. (Yes, there are a lot of black folk in Brooklyn).

There should be more representative candidates, which is why I am not a big fan of the two-party system. It necessarily fosters only the candidates that Big Money supports, and thus the policies that Big Money wants. People should be able to vote for candidates that they're excited for and supportive of, not just the lesser of two evils.

The other day I saw a girl carrying a bag adorned with:

I













BKLYN.

It made me laugh.

I also stood in line for two hours waiting to vote.

In other news, it's focus group time, baby!

I tried half-heartedly to get a job when I first moved here, but that was superseded by school. Thus, I'm broke. So broke it's not even funny. I applied for some focus groups last week, and on Thursday, I get to spend an hour and a half talking about chewing gum. Yep.

Hopefully it'll be the easiest 150$ I'll ever make. Until the next time I do it. (Hopefully!)

What law school does to one's nerves

So you know that feeling when you're head-over-heels for a new crush?

Like, you know they're going to call you soon, and your stomach is in knots, and you can't think of anything else?

I definitely feel like that right now... is there an awesome new guy in my life? NO. (I wish.)

I'm meeting with my Legal Writing professor in 3 hours to get the grade on my second legal writing memo. And to have a conference, but that's secondary. The thing that really matters is my grade.

This competitiveness is getting to me!

Today I saw Marty Markowitz for the first time.

Dear reader,

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.