A Conspiracy of Dunces
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
quidnuncintx's LiveJournal:
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| Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 | | 10:27 pm |
Am I the only person completely annoyed they didn't kick anyone off AI tonight? It's not like most of them deserve to still be in the running anyway....Between that and ANTM being a midseason recap, tonight was a completely useless TV night. Wait, I forgot...they crowned the next Pussy Cat Doll. Note that they are currently searching to cast Season 2. So what does that mean? Is this Asia chick really in the group? Are they going to keep adding on ad infinitum until the band is the size of a girls' basketball team? I have a feeling we won't be seeing this girl touring with the "band" anytime soon. Of course, I think the Pussy Cat Dolls generally represent all that is wrong with today's "music" -- moreover, they're about the worst advocates for "girl power"...they make the Spice Girls look like feminists. ...Not that I watch that much TV, mind you. Ok, I do. I need a hobby these days. Between working really normal 40-45 hour weeks because I'm at a cilent's and D being in Austin so much, I'm pretty much at loss ends. My book isn't enthralling me: I'm on book 4 of Diana Galbaldon's Outlander series and it's starting to get old. Only so many ways to describe sex scenes and I'm pretty much done with her bad metaphors that she awkwardly sticks in her prose like it were a requirement for a lit class. Work is fine. I'm starting to feel less retarded, but still sometimes incredibly useless. Things get plucked from my hands whenever it looks vaguely complicated (probably because I would admittedly just muck it up) so I end up doing all of the really easy, tedious work and I'm bored a good deal of the time. Still though, it beats the days I had all the time last fall where I would get handed something and just panic from the get-go, quite convinced (rightly) I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. My favorite assignment: "Read this and see if its standard." Dude. I've been a lawyer for 6 months and I'm supposed to know what's "standard"? Hardly. Going to Austin tomorrow night for Kev's wedding. Can't wait -- it's proving to be quite the UT law school reunion. I haven't spent more than 3 hours in Austin since July. I miss it sometimes, but generally find I miss college more. Still though, nothing like walking to campus on a beautiful spring day in Austin listening to suitably "indie" music. Mostly though, I miss my napping ritual. | | Thursday, March 8th, 2007 | | 9:25 pm |
| | Monday, October 30th, 2006 | | 4:23 pm |
Protect us O Lord from things that go bump in the Night
Ah, Halloween. I won't say it's my favorite holiday because Christmas is (and suddenly it's very cool to say that Halloween is your favorite holiday, as if somehow that makes you darker and more interesting), but I do enjoy it greatly. Halloween always reminds me of when I was little and Jane, my mom and I got really into the whole spirit of things. I was pretty much a witch or some derivative thereof ("dark fairy," "witch-queen," enchantress) on a yearly basis. My allegiance to such a costume was not for lack of creativity but rather because I was loyal to the true roots of the Pagan holiday. My Celtic ancestors would have been proud, I think, save for the fact that I was more concerned with getting good chocolate (none of this tootsie roll crap) than banishing the real beasties/spirits. Here's a few shoots of my cousins, Mom and I enjoying some mini-Halloween festival this Saturday: | | Wednesday, October 11th, 2006 | | 3:48 pm |
So I started work on Monday. Work is fine. I won a new video iPod in a raffle, which is pretty cool. My dog died today. Well, to be more precise, she was put to sleep today. Gretel had cancer and at 15 was just far too old to even attempt to remove the tumor(s?). It seems so odd though. Sure she'd been getting old but at her last check-up this summer she was doing pretty well. Hell, she even tracked down and killed a few baby bunnies this summer. We got Gretel when I was in 5th grade. She's seen me through middle school, high school, college and law school. It'll be really odd not having her at my parents' house anymore. As my sister so aptly put it: "I feel like with Gretel gone, my girlhood is gone, too." And so it is. My parents are getting a granite marker for her remains in the backyard. The stone will read: Gretel, 1992-2006, The Noble Dog. My Dad called her that. She was his companion -- the daughter who did't talk back and didn't mind his cigar smoking. He stayed home from work today as I wish I had. I keep running to the bathroom every hour or so to cry and then pull myself back together. It just seems too difficult to beg off on Day 3 because your dog died. But I think, if you've ever had a family pet die, that you know that it's not just a dog (or cat). It's a family member.  | | Thursday, September 28th, 2006 | | 10:24 pm |
I feel like I should have a lot to say. After all, since my last "substantive" (debatable) post, I've taken the Bar, moved, gotten married and spent an inordinate amount of money doing all of the former. And yet, I find myself surprisingly bereft of anything interesting to say. Perhaps in my time off from school/work I've killed entirely too many brain cells.... ...But really, isn't that the hallmark of a vacation well-spent? D is taking the LSAT on Saturday. (Yeah, I know, I thought I successfully averted marrying a lawyer and here goes my husband of not yet a month applying to law school!) Somehow, D contemplating law school makes me feel like I'm mulling over doing the whole thing again myself. The memories are too fresh, too painful to go through it all again so soon. But perhaps UofH is different somehow. Less "law-school." Here's hoping. I'm torn between dissuading him and encouraging him -- after all, if D becomes a lawyer instead of an academic, we both could retire early and THEN become academics. We're leaving for Canada on Sunday. We're staying here:  Pretty swank, huh? D is big into hiking, camping etc. He's all very Paul Bunyan, Lewis & Clark, or the Brawny Paper Towel Guy. Except less hairy and he paints his toenails blue...but I digress. In any case, I'm more from the Troop Beverly Hills school of camping: "Do you call this roughing it?" "One bathroom for nine people? YES!". Thus, our compromise for the honeymoon is hardcore hikes and wilderness by day, lush 500-thread count sheets by night. | | Tuesday, September 12th, 2006 | | 10:21 am |
| | Monday, September 11th, 2006 | | 11:46 am |
| | Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 | | 10:34 am |
And now it's time to prostitute our pets
In case your cat needs a date... http://www.catster.com/
I want to make a profile for Fatty (I mean Subi):
Single voluptuous calico feline looking for similar. Seeking a partner for catnaps, dustball eating contests and tail-chasing. Must be between the ages of 2 and 6. Must be spayed or neutered. Serious inquiries only. I like climbing onto furniture, chatting for hours and giving myself spit baths. Do you???
hehehhehehe... | | Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 | | 1:24 pm |
Debunking the Myth of #1 -- or #3 as the case may be
http://www.yale.edu/about/Aug21Newsweek.pdf
So apparently, in the almost mystical science of college rankings, Yale comes out #3 globally. Yes, globally. The top 50 is full of the usual suspects, Ivies, the Techs (CIT, MIT, etc.) the Elite Publics (Cal, UMich, etc.). Cambrige is the first non-American school at #6 with Oxford -- much to their annoyance, I'm sure -- fell in line two spots below its rival. The only surprise in the top 10 for me was UCSF. I didn't think they had anything beyond a grad school in the sciences and while I knew that was top-notch, I wasn't aware that was sufficient to catapult a school into the top 10 across the world.
For me this article raises the interesting question of whether or not these rankings reflect mere bias on the part of its contributors for American/English-speaking universities or if we do somehow have a strangle-hold on higher education. Given the folks D has met in his studies in EE and Neuroscience who graduated from schools in India and China, I suspect the former is true. I find it outrageous that there are only 3 non-Western schools (and those all Japanese) to make the list. From what I hear, the competition, admit rates and rigorous study at IIT make MIT look like a fucking cake walk.
| | Saturday, August 19th, 2006 | | 10:17 pm |
Showers
So today I attended the third and final wedding shower thrown in my honor. This time around the women from church hosted and in attendance were people that I have known my entire life (or at least that more substantial portion of my sentient life). It's odd to be back. I feel as though I went so very far away only to come back home, more or less full circle. I am where I began and yet not in any way back at the beginning. It's comforting to be surrounded by those who know (and liked!) you way back when you were still awkward, pimply and angsty. At the same time it's rather frightening because there is no opportunity for making any sort of first, second or even tenth impression. Who I am here in Houston is set in stone -- eched into my family and friends' minds so deeply no amount of time or distance can erase the fact that we share this huge collective past. The past forms this unbreakable bond so that when I finally do reunite with friends from high school, middle school or even further back, we pick up much where we left off and I find that I am not so very different from the girl who left 7 years ago. It is as though the journey never happened and I am home again and that is all that matters. I am home again and we push the play button and continue with the story. I do not really mean to be melancholic again. I had a good day -- even a good week. Dave and I are settling in nicely here. Much is unpacked and the townhouse is starting to feel like home. I can't wait to finally be "done" with the place. Of course, I constantly find new things that I'd like to change about the place if I could -- built-in book shelves, crown molding, the list goes on ad infinitum ad nauseum. As for the wedding, we're 14 days out and I'm ready as all get out to be done. I'm not really nervous about the wedding other than the fact that the event means a hell of a lot of attention focused on me and that scares me shitless. Sure, I'm no wallflower but I've never really been the belle of the ball. I've never set out to waltz down an aisle and take center stage. But the big issue -- marrying D -- doesn't scare me a bit. I've known for well over a year that he and I were "it." D has become a part of me. I like to think of us as a two-headed beast: inextricably joined and yet of two distinct minds. Sure, the two heads may disagree over the direction the body is taking, but the one head just wouldn't know what to do without the other. All of this wedding preparation has made me interested in the entire ritual of marriage -- the marriage rite as it were -- throughout history. I recall vaguely some of the bits and pieces of marriage in Greece and Rome, but the finer details escape my memory at this point. I'm unpacking my books tomorrow. Perhaps I will be able to find some source(s) on the subject and report back. Yes, I think that would be rather interesting. D and I have decided to honeymoon in Banff. The idea of 50s-60s weather right now makes my heart sing. I'm sick of my summer clothes anyway. | | Friday, July 28th, 2006 | | 9:51 am |
Coming Home
D and I have moved to Houston. Well, for the most part. Sure, most of our stuff is still in Austin, but for all intents and purposes we're here in the Bayou City for the long haul. I haven't lived in Houston full-time since I was 17. It's been 7 years since I left for Yale and the promises of the East Coast. When I left I didn't think I liked Texas. I disliked the heat, the politics and the parochialism. In fact, when the time came for graduate school, Texas was at the bottom of the list. It was my back-up. I wasn't ready to return. Sure, over the course of four years I'd gained a new appreciation of Texas, Texans and even the heat. Connecticut was cold -- in more ways than one. Moreover, my politics had been modified in the face of "real" Democrats. Outside the Lone Star State, I was a moderate, even a conservative. Despite my growing appreciation for my home state, I wanted to push off what I viewed to be an inevitable return home. Circumstances conspired against me, however, so that when the time came to make my decision regarding law schools, UT was the best option. Duke and UMich didn't seem worth the extra thousands and UVA and SLS had wait-listed me. And so I went to Austin. But, as we all know, Austin isn't really Texas. And it certainly isn't Houston. So the return home was again delayed. And so here I am today, some three years after the decision that in hindsight turned out to be the best choice of my life. Austin is where I met D and I wouldn't trade that for all the private law school degrees in the world. But now thanks to a job, I'm finally home and I can't describe how melancholic it has made me. Home is never really home once you leave it. Home is childhood and a sense of security that at 25 you can't even hope to match. The promises of youth and all that lay before me are mostly gone -- fulfilled or forgotten. I'm not saying I'm old. Hardly, and there is much to anticipate, but in truth I've never really thought past this moment. There was college. Law school. The Bar. That was it. I never really envisioned what came after save the vague dreams of living on my own in the Big City. A working girl. Very Mary Tyler Moore. And now that I'm here, I'm not sure what to expect and I can't help but look backwards and mourn for all that has been and will never be again. As I drive through town memories wash over me and I can't help but feel as though I am going to drown in them. It's odd to think of Houston as a part of my future, rather than merely the repository of my past. Over the past seven years Houston has become a rest stop on my various and sundry journeys. A few weeks stolen in the seclusion of my parents' house (because really it is no longer mine) to catch my breath and ready myself for the next step. It felt like a break from life. Not my life itself. My life, my friends were elsewhere. My high school friends had scattered to the coasts and have yet to return. Now, Houston is merging into my past, present and future -- and yet there is so much missing it feels unnatural. I imagine what I am experiencing is in some respects similar to the way soldiers feel upon returning home. There are so many moments that have irrevocably altered them and changed them in their time away that who they are upon returning bears only the smallest resemblance to the children they were when they left. I left Houston cocky, afraid, immature and above all very, very young. The moments and battles that made me for the most part occurred not in Houston but elsewhere: in New Haven, in Austin. It is though I am trying on a pair of old, much beloved jeans only to find they no longer fit like they used to. It's going to take some time to fit back into this place. | | Thursday, July 20th, 2006 | | 12:53 pm |
I've lost it.
I've lost the will to study anymore. I've lost what calm I had. I want this to be over. Now. I don't care that I haven't studied Consumer Rights yet and that my grasp of Criminal Procedure is based largely on the VERY few Law & Order: SVU episodes I've seen. I don't care that I can't seem to commit to memory the various and sundry rules re guardianship appointments and corporate shareholder rights.
Because you know what? I never cared about any of this law: it's not interesting and it's not useful. I don't need to have the elements of a Holder in Due Course memorized. I could look it up if I needed to -- and you know what? -- I will never need to.
If I ever make a good lawyer, it will certainly not be because I passed the Texas Bar. If...
T-minus 5 days. | | Sunday, July 16th, 2006 | | 12:13 pm |
By the Grace of Stanley Johanson
I think that TX law schools should just go ahead and make Wills & Estates a required course in law schools. They certainly test it (and its corollary subjects) heavily enough. 5 out of 12 essays. Crap. Why weren't we warned? To UT law students: Take Wills and Estates with Stan "the Man" Johanson. Take it as a 3L. Pay attention. It will save you so much time and tears the following summer. I've gotten into the routine of studying. 7-8 hrs a day here in the library. Usually an hour at home at night. I can't do much more than that without losing my grip, which is rather loosely maintained right now as it is. I have begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel though and I am getting more and more excited about moving to Houston, the wedding, the honeymoon in a TBA location and starting work. Only a week more of studying. So we beat on, like boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.* *I find Fitzgerald is great to quote when one wants to be melodramatic and a wee bit self-pitying. The bar makes me a whole lot of both. Also reminds me of beginning of law school where WHP and I sat outside on his porch smoking and reading passages of Gatsby to each other. Ah, memories.
| | Sunday, June 11th, 2006 | | 9:34 pm |
I want a Sunday kind of love...
This weekend has been amazingly, incredibly productive while at the same time amazingly, incredibly relaxing. Of course, after my 10 day BARBRI stretch any sort of break would be welcome -- even if that respite came in the form of chain-gang labor. Instead though, D and I went shopping. We went shopping for tuxedos, for wedding rings, for furniture at the outlet mall. Tasks were accomplished, credit limits were pushed to the breaking point and all is well in the Harrington-Conn household.
On the way back from San Marcos, we had to make an emergency stop for gas at the Chevron off I-35 at 7th Street. A few cop cars were gathered near the entrance. We didn't think much of it -- I was frankly more distracted by the not one but two dudes next to me filling large plastic containers with gas (did I miss some announcement of an impending gas shortage?). As we left the station, the cop cars quickly followed with their lights. Prone to speeding and other assorted bad driver behavior, I immediately thought them to be chasing me down. Perhaps I had unknowingly executed some illegal turn. But no, they zoomed past me and executed a MOST illegal (and unnecessarily dramatic) turn/curb-jump into an unpaved parking lot underneath I-35. Two cops immediately lept out of the car and chased down a rather harmless looking man carrying two bags of ice. After talking to him for less than 30 seconds, they were handcuffing him and reading him his Miranda rights. Though I am not entirely sure why the man was arrested, it appeared to be connected to the ice -- and I mean the cold kind -- he had in his possession. I find it almost absurd that a person would risk life and liberty to abscond with a few dollars worth of ice. But then again, it topped one hundred degrees this weekend and if the man has the misfortune of living sans-A/C, I think he might have a necessity defense come sentencing time.
In any case, I'd never seen an arrest before yesterday. I was hoping for a bit more drama. Didn't even appear to be much in the way of trash talking. | | Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 | | 4:58 pm |
How the Mighty Have Fallen
I hadn't realized QUITE how far Brit-Brit had fallen until now. Curlers. Christ. All that's missing is the housecoat and bootie-slippers and she'd be the posterchild for BWS. Hard to believe Mrs. Federline is a) younger than me and b) a one-time sex icon for guys my age. I used to covet this woman's abs. Now, I just feel vaguely sorry for her.  | | 4:42 pm |
Tuxedo Survey
D and I are both totally clueless on what the smartly dressed groom ought to wear at a wedding. All I know is that you shouldn't wear a tux during the day and tails are waaaaayyy too fancy for my church. So, for those of you who have gotten married or simply enjoy men's fashion (in particular, I wouldn't mind ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2) darkrose55's thoughts on this since he'll be wearing whatever we pick out, too), I'm curious as to your thoughts on the following: 1. Lapel type: notch, peak or shawl? I'm leaning towards peak. 2. Bowtie v. Tie. Hotly debated topic during BARBRI break today. Boys all said bowtie, girls all said tie (except for Lauren, but I don't think that really changes the results) 3. Cummerbund v. Vest and whether or not color is OK here. Everyone said vests except Nick who advocated going without either. 4. Is there anywhere besides Al's Formalwear? Where does one get the best quality for the best price? Danke schon. | | Monday, May 29th, 2006 | | 3:16 pm |
I'm a week into BARBRI. It's quite possibly worse than I could have imagined (though I am enjoying seeing Sarah, Lauren, Brian, Trey et al) on a daily basis. Tomorrow begins what I like to think of as the "trail of tears" -- 10 consecutive days of class without a single day off. Lord help me. At least we're done with Crim Pro. I got a letter on Saturday saying that I have been officially "certified" to graduate from UT and should be receiving my diploma "shortly" (i.e., within the next 3 months). The amount of red tape at this institution is incredible. In college, I received my diploma when I walked and safely carried it home in my suitcase with me from CT. Thankfully, I didn't embarrass myself and managed to graduate with honors. Rather reminds me of high school where NOT getting into NHS was far more noteworthy than getting into it. Hawai'i was amazing. I mean really and truly incredible. D and I had such a wonderful time. We spent 2 days on the eastern coast of Hawai'i where we saw the Volcano and several truly breathtaking waterfalls. We then drove over to the western far more arid coast where we beach-bummed it for a few days. I think my favorite town was Waimea (pop. 7,000) which is in the mountains near the U of H observatory and the 3rd largest ranch in the USA. It vaguely reminded me of Scotland -- green jagged hills ensconced in grey mist. They had several divine restaurants that weren't nearly as overpriced as the ones near the resorts. We went SNUBA diving on our last day (which is pretty much the same as SCUBA except you don't have to get certified and the tanks float on the surface and you're tied to them with a 25' cord). We were both so pumped up after the experience we've decided to get certified to SCUBA and go diving for our honeymoon (which has now been delayed to the first week of Oct which will be after D finishes his first quarter at BCM and immediately preceding my start-date of Oct. 9 at B&G). I will post pics once I download them from my camera and get my water-proofed disposable developed (not quite sure how those underwater pics will turn out since I had issues keeping steady). | | Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 | | 10:15 pm |
Generation Slipknot?!!?
While I try to avoid talking about anything law-related on this journal, I do think this merits an exception to my general rule about looking too dorky. [Source: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0817052slipknot1.html] Basically, the band Slipknot is suing Burger King over a commercial it made sometime back advertising their new chicken fries (ew). Apparently, they think the hardcore "COQ ROQ" (no lie, that's the name of the band in the ad) band is too similar to their own trademark style hardcoreness/wearing of bizarre headgear. To quote the complaint: COQ ROQ (hehe) was created as a "look-alike, sound alike 'band' in order to influence the Slipknot generation to purchase Chicken Fries." That's right, Burger King hijacked Slipknot's image to promote fast food. Because when I saw that the first thing I said was "well gee, that's Slipknot! If they endorse this chicken-fry hybrid, it must be worth sampling!" And by the way, who precisely IS a part of the Slipknot generation? Personally, I think I'm a member of generation Gwar. Another question: what makes Slipknot think they've cornered the market on mask-wearing screaming that passes as music? I seem to recall Marilyn Manson and Gwar doing that more successfully in the 90s. This reminds me of Hooter's attempt to claim an exclusive TM on busty waitresses in small hot-pants ( http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_1_39/ai_n8690463) -- and I anticipate this one ending just as unsuccessfully. Ultimately, WingHouse won on the argument that scantily-clad women could not be trademarked because this tradedress was functional. Perhaps Burger King will argue that masks and head banging are similarly functional for goth rock? I think the strongest argument though is simply that the "Slipknot style" is not sufficiently unique enough to be associated exclusively with the band (i.e., that the style has not acquired any secondary meaning in the market as being exclusively associated with Slipknot). Should such an argument prevail in court, Slipknot would have nothing that could be protected under federal trademark law. So, what do you think? Should Slipknot win this bitch?  Coq Roq v.  Slipknot | | Thursday, April 13th, 2006 | | 10:10 pm |
GrandPa's 90th Birthday
Because photos are fun to share, here are some from my GrandPa's 90th birthday bash two weeks back (complete with margarita machine and keg). ( Click For Pix ) | | Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 | | 1:53 pm |
The ball is rolling...
D and I have an option on a house in Montrose. Inspectors went in today and if we're still interested in purchasing in 10 days, the appraiser comes in for the lender. If after that the bank is still willing to give us the funds, we're set to close August 3rd. We'll move in August 6 or 7th. I find this to be alternately scary and exciting. It keeps me awake at night like the prospect of marriage never has. My heart palpitates at the very thought of ARMs, points and bear (markets) -- oh my! There is nothing more binding than a mortgage. |
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