Legal Quandary

Merry Christmas!

I've been back from the snowy land of Indiana for a couple of days, but have been busy.

More later...

posted by Legal Quandary at 09:40 | 2 comments

Late as Usual

Frequent Citations has a post up wishing her parents a Happy 50th Anniversary. Head on over and leave your congratulations...

Her post reminded me that it is also the Quandary-in-Laws' anniversary today. I believe this makes year 34 for them. All I can say is thank goodness for the 3 hour difference between the East and West Coasts - there's still time for me to wish them many more!

On a sadder note, this week also marked (would have marked?) my parents' 37th anniversary. If I were a good daughter, I would have sent my mom flowers...

posted by Legal Quandary at 22:42 | 2 comments

And Another Thing....

Expect light to no posting in the next couple of days.

I'm jumping on a plane to the frozen tundra Fort Wayne to take care of probate stuff. I'll have my laptop with me, but internet access is bound to be sketchy to non-existent.

posted by Legal Quandary at 20:05 | 0 comments

Fuhhhhhh….

Feel free to provide the rest of that syllable.

A summary of my Labor Law exam:

A 4 hour exam for a 3 credit class.

22 pages, with 4 separate pages of instruction.

18 multiple choice questions - some with more than full page fact patterns. Worth 54% of our grade.

A 3 page fact pattern for one essay question. Broken into 4 parts. Each of them broken into at least 2 subparts.

A word count limit on the essay. Which had to be 1) provided at the bottom and 2) accurate.

I have no more words.

posted by Legal Quandary at 18:24 | 4 comments

Sir, Step AWAY From the Garlic Fries

Mr. Q loves Garlic Fries. I like Garlic Fries too, but I do not like what they do to a person - that person, specifically, being Mr. Q.

Mr. Q's office had a "little" holiday lunchtime get together yesterday at Gordon Biersch. And they have Garlic Fries. I guess I didn't realize that these are more or less a West Coast phenomenon until lunch yesterday - because everyone seemed totally intrigued by them. "Ooooh...these are different. Do you eat them with ketchup?" I know I'd never seen them til attending to my first Oakland A's game, but all the West Coast stadiums I went to seemed to sell them. (Oakland, SF, Seattle, in case you're wondering. I couldn't say if San Diego, or L.A. - either the Dodgers or the Angels, whose name change is, btw, still stupid had them, but I sort of assume they would.) You can even get Garlic Fries at any Kidd Valley in Seattle.

Once again I found myself totally underwhelmed by big-chain-restaurant America. The food was merely ok - definitely not worth $10 for a Cobb salad. Mr. Q and I also split an order of the Southwest Egg Rolls, described as "pulled chicken, black beans, corn, roasted red peppers, and pepperjack cheese." It turned out that there were NO beans in this appetizer, and the texture of the chicken was really odd. I told Mr. Q that it seemed like the chicken had come out of a can - cat food chicken, if you will.

Aside from the mediocre food, the service was abyssmal. I know we stressed them out because they only had one server in our room and the people just kept coming. I guess Mr. Q's office reserved the room for about 20 people, but the number sort of expanded to 34. (Don't look at me - I RSVP'd!) At any rate, this "lunch" turned into 3 1/2 hours of sitting around making small talk because the service was so slow! I would have been more than willing to cut them slack for this if it didn't seem like they were more interested in moving tables around than taking orders. Luckily Mr. Q had a stash of pretzels, which he thoughtfully passed around to keep folks from getting too hangry.

Of course, the bottom line of this story is that because they had Garlic Fries, Mr. Q ordered them. And who is paying for this?

That's right. I am.

posted by Legal Quandary at 13:15 | 2 comments

My Daily Dose of Whine

Can I just complain for a moment about how unfair it is that TVPNU is already done with finals, and I still have one tomorrow?

They started soooo much later than I did - it feels like this semester is never going to end! E.Spat is already home with her parents. I had another friend, whom I'll just call Sparky, phone me from a bar the other night to brag about being done.

Maybe I'll have the last laugh in mid-May when I'm all done and they've still got a month left. But for right now, I'm bitter.

Thanks. I feel better.

Now off to tab my Labor Law outline. Followed by a tylenol PM and a hot bath.

posted by Legal Quandary at 22:38 | 1 comments

When You Care Enough

To send them the very best

"You Might Be Infected with an STD" Greeting Card.

Because you didn't care quite enough to tell them in person.


H/T DC 101's Elliot in the Morning

posted by Legal Quandary at 08:37 | 2 comments

So Check Me Out!

I haven't been doing much timewasting today. Mainly because the kids have been home since early afternoon because the stupid school district cancelled school for what turned out to be rain. This means my Labor Law studying was getting done in 5-10 minute bursts. Between getting dinner on the table, trying to understand Gisselcases, and keeping Lil Q moderately entertained, I didn't *have* any time to waste.

Mr. Q is getting Lil Q to bed, so I allowed myself one game of Sudoku this evening as a break after a solid hour or so of studying.

Congratulations! You solved the Sudoku in 6 minutes, 17 seconds!

Medium puzzles solved: 1
Your average time: 6:17
Your fastest time: 6:17

That's a top 9% score in case you're wondering!

Ok...back to Labor Preemption. Blech.

posted by Legal Quandary at 20:53 | 5 comments

Conspiracy Theory

The wusses at EC's school are at it again.

I looked out the window a few minutes ago and saw that it was snowing! So pretty!

And then I got this email, which quickly changed my attitude.

Due to inclement weather the NOVAtown Public Schools will close two hours early today, Thursday, December 15th.

This also means I need to pick Lil Q up early, which will result in a total inability to get any studying done. Did I mention I have another final to study for?

Look folks, it's true that the weather is supposed to get nasty & icy later. But how 'bout we wait for the weather to actually get bad before we start sending the kids home early? So far we've had several of these weather alerts - and every single one of them has turned out to be a false alarm. Forgive me if I'm losing faith in your ability to accurately predict the weather.

Also, I grew up in the midwest, so snow was not a reason to close school. Unless you could measure it in feet - note the plural form of the word.

Can we work on that, please? My sanity and GPA thank you in advance.

posted by Legal Quandary at 11:30 | 0 comments

Badge of Shame

Weird Al Shares Your Taste in Music

See his whole playlist here (iTunes required)

All the time I spent in San Luis Obispo must have created a psychic link. Or something.

posted by Legal Quandary at 11:17 | 2 comments

"It was a real interesting experience. I'd never been to the ballet. I didn't know they didn't talk."

Mr. Q came across this article last night.

Basically, it talks about how one of the fraternities at the University of Washington who, "until 18 months ago, threw boozy parties every Tuesday and Thursday and had a thick file of indiscretions on record with university officials. Now each of the brothers is part of a program they call 'Balanced Man.'"

I support their turn-around. A couple of years ago, there was a "melee" on UW's Greek Row which resulted in at least one car being overturned and a mattress being set on fire in the street. Surprisingly, there was alcohol involved.

I used to spend a fair amount of time with the SigEp boys in my undergrad days (not at UW) - long before Mr. Q. Before Roundboy, even. One of my good friends was a SigEp and made sure I was invited to all the parties. I did many an "upside-down margarita" shot in the old SigEp house on Harney Street and was even present at another function that got busted by the Vice Squad for suspected underage drinking. (At a frat party...gee, d'ya think?) I didn't get hassled because 1) I had not been drinking (seriously - they only had beer, and I was not and am not a fan), and 2) I was friends with one of the Vice Cops, who ironically, liked to hang out at the bar where I worked.

So I know how these things can get out of hand, and I applaud SigEp's efforts to change their image. I'm not surprised that "the [UW SigEp's] relationship with sororities has also improved." It's amazing what happens when you take the possibility of date rape out of the picture.

I even think it's cool that they're bringing in etiquette coaches, trying to teach their members to cook, and taking them to the ballet. I weep for humanity just a little bit though, when a 20 year old college student admits that he didn't realize there were no words in ballet.

And seriously boys, "Balanced Man" is the best you could do for the name of your program?

posted by Legal Quandary at 09:54 | 1 comments

3 Down. 1 To Go.

Crim Pro, Commercial Trans, and Family Law - all things of my past.

On a positive note, I talked to one of my classmates about my Crim Pro worries. He assured me that Prof. CP was a notoriously liberal grader who never gives out anything below a C+. Let's hope he knows what he's talking about, because my life is gonna S.U.C.K. if I end up having to take 17 credits next semester. 14 sounds so much more manageable, doesn't it?

On another positive note, I feel really, really good about my performance on the Family Law exam. Let's see how my instincts match up with reality.

Time to get Lil Q to bed, watch some TV or a movie, and eat ice cream. Or cookies. Maybe both.

posted by Legal Quandary at 19:44 | 0 comments

I Liked it Better the First Time

When it was just called "Business Class".

Mr. Q and I used to do a lot of flying when we were first dating. One week after we "officially" started dating, he moved to California. I stayed in Nebraska for another year and a half. So it made sense for us to sign up for various frequent flyer programs.* Which means I still get emails from airlines about their "special" deals.

Right now United is trying to sell people memberships to be able to book better seats. More accurately, they're trying to encourage people to give these memberships as Christmas gifts. I guess the idea is for them to get the extra money they would have made selling tickets in Business or First class upfront - before they go belly up.

I'm torn as to whether I like the idea or think it's a total waste of money. I guess if I did a lot of flying these days, or always flew on United, I would think $300 for a seat with more legroom (based on availability, I'm sure) would be totally worth it.

The recipient can reserve a seat in Economy Plus for themselves and a guest at the time of booking – using any fare – on all domestic and international United, United Express®*and TedSM flights. Also a guest traveling on the same itinerary will be seated in Economy Plus. A one year gift membership to Economy Plus Access is available for $299.

You know...I am planning to fly back to TVPNM for graduation in June. And to Europe after the bar. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.

Now...whom can I hit up for a $300 Christmas present?

* On a tangentially related sidenote - did you know that you can demand division of FF Miles upon dissolution of marriage? Just one of the valuable things I learned in Family Law.

posted by Legal Quandary at 20:24 | 0 comments

I'm Considering

Switching to Haloscan for comments.

Here's why I'm thinking about jumping ship: If you click on the trackback link, you'll see that there's a bunch of nonsense there at the bottom. Well...it's probably not technically nonsense. I think it's code that's supposed to be doing something other than sitting at the bottom of my trackback page annoying me, but my extensive cursory non-existent knowledge of HTML is not letting me get rid of it.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on 1) making the switch and/or 2) ways to fix Blogger's comments.

I hate to lose all my existing comments, but I do like that Haloscan lets you rename your comments/trackbacks according to how many there are. Do any of you Haloscan users know of a way to hang onto your old comments while making the switch?

posted by Legal Quandary at 14:11 | 1 comments

I'd Like to Thank

Jeremy for introducing me to this little timewaster.

Thanks a lot.

posted by Legal Quandary at 13:22 | 1 comments

At What Point

Is one drinking too much coffee? (Note: This question is not for those of you who don't like coffee and would always answer "any".)

Two cups? Four? Eight?

Also - how many doughnuts are too many?

What if they're just doughnut holes?

Well....I think I answered my own question.

And 8 cups of coffee is definitely too much. As evidenced by the fact that I was unable to attain sleep until well past 2 a.m. I sat up and read To Kill A Mockingbird for the umpteenth time. I had never read it until about 3 years ago (crazy, I know), but now it's one of those that I just pick up and re-read from time to time. This is the first time I noticed that Jem and Scout always seemed to be in trouble.

Anyway, I'm sluggishly trying to study for my Family Law exam tomorrow. In the interest of sleeping tonight, I've cut back to a mere 6 cups.

posted by Legal Quandary at 11:52 | 9 comments

A Little Marketing Tip for My Grocery Store

You'd probably sell a lot more doughnuts if you didn't display them next to the Sushi Stand.

No one really wants baked goods that smell like fish.

posted by Legal Quandary at 10:16 | 0 comments

Whew.

2 exams and a paper down. 2 exams to go.

I just finished up (I think) my Environmental Law paper. Truth be told, I'd much rather do research papers or memos than take finals. I probably work harder on a paper, but I also feel like the end product is usually much more representative of my abilities.

As I mentioned, the Crim Pro exam was truly craptacular. This does not make me happy.

Commercial Trans went much better, though I'm fairly confident there's one question on Negotiable Instruments I completely flubbed. Also, I don't think I mentioned "Holder in Due Course" at all. That'll probably cost me a few points. But at least I went into that exam with 15% of my grade sitting at an A-.

So...Family Law on Wednesday followed by Labor Law on Saturday.

Just for the record, 2PM finals on a Saturday are just cruel and unusual. But at least they're not as bad as Sunday finals.

Now...off to celebrate with some ice cream.

posted by Legal Quandary at 22:40 | 2 comments

Does Anyone Else...

have friends who feel it necessary to broadcast their annual income to anyone who will listen?

Does anyone else find that 1) singularly annoying and 2) rude?

I mean, why would you go out of your way to tell a law student who is po' ass broke that you're making close to $100K and not working nearly as hard?

That's just cruel.

posted by Legal Quandary at 15:19 | 6 comments

How Scary Is It...

That Professor Commercial Trans has old exams up on the web from before I was born?

For most of you law students, that's not a big deal, but remember that I'm a little older.

posted by Legal Quandary at 12:43 | 2 comments

Yeah.

What she said. Except substitute "Thomas Pham" for "Mishira Whosywhatsis."

C'mon folks, get with the program. We've had this number for 6 months now. AND we're on the Do Not Call list.

Leave. Me. Alone.

posted by Legal Quandary at 22:11 | 1 comments

News Flash

*Sighing* loudly because the person who had one 3-hour final today and has a 4-hour final tomorrow walked in front of the TV you were watching while she was trying to get the 3 year old dressed for bed, is a really, really bad idea.

Be prepared to get your ass handed to you if you do it.

Fair warning.

Because you asked nicely...

The back story really isn't all that interesting. Lil Q wanted me to sit with her while she took her bath, so I hauled my laptop upstairs with me and tried to force the concepts of Wrongful Dishonor and Fraudulent Indorsements* into my poor, tired brain, all the while becoming more anxious about my Commercial Trans exam. Lil Q then had a meltdown because I dared to wash her hair. Which means she was less than cooperative about putting on her pajamas. Mr. Q was all the way downstairs and EC was on the couch watching a video on the Mars Rover. I chased Lil Q downstairs, she walked in front of the TV. EC asked her to move, but she didn't, so I caught up with her and put her clothes on. EC sighed loudly and I lost it. Along the lines of "Oh, I'm sorry, did my pin get in the way of your ass? Do me a favor and lose five pounds immediately or get out of my building like now!" But less rational.

It probably didn't help that I was freaked out about how I did on my Crim Pro exam. I made the dumb 1L mistake of not fully outlining my answer before starting to write, so now I have no idea if I passed. If I don't get a C or better, TVPNU won't accept the grade. If they don't accept the grade, I don't graduate. If I don't graduate...well, you get the idea.

*yes, it's spelled with an "I" in this case. Because the UCC drafters can't spell.

posted by Legal Quandary at 20:15 | 3 comments

Dear Snow God or Gods,

Do you see how dumping snow & ice which results in the kids' school and daycare being closed does not help me cram refine the finer points of the Exclusionary Doctrine?

You Bastard(s).

Love,

LQ

Update:

In other news, the school decision makers here are a bunch of wimps. Or maybe they just really wanted a day off.

Instead of "snow accompanied by sleet," we have maybe two inches of wet, sloppy snow on the ground. I woke up a couple of times during the night, and at no point did it seem like we had ice problems. And now the sun is shining, so even the snow probably won't last much beyond noon.

Oh well. Back to studying - my final starts at 2 PM.

posted by Legal Quandary at 06:43 | 1 comments

The Good News Is...

I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp of 4th Amendment search and seizure requirements.

The Bad News is I'm not quite as confident about the 5th and 6th Amendments. Or bail, discovery, and double jeopardy. And the final is in about 14 hours.

I'm going to bed anyway.

posted by Legal Quandary at 23:52 | 0 comments

Yak Attack

What is it about cats that they feel they need to find a carpeted surface to vomit on?

Is that hardwood floor that's easy to clean just not good enough for him?

Ick.

posted by Legal Quandary at 23:43 | 0 comments

Mandatory Fun

Not that I'll be participating in any Cookie Exchanges anytime soon. Or anything else "fun" for that matter, unless by "fun" you mean "studying for Crim Pro til my brain bleeds."

...still, this is a little over the top.

H/T White Trash Mom

posted by Legal Quandary at 02:52 | 1 comments

Finals By the Numbers

The 2005 edition.

Number of Venti Mochas consumed today?* 1
Number of cups of regular coffee consumed today? 4
Number of pots of tea? 2
Number of trips to the bathroom? Too many to count
Number of green things eaten today? 0 - unless you count the jalepenos & green chilis in my quesadilla
Number of hours I've been awake? 20 some.
Number of things I still don't understand about Articles 3 & 4? Where to start...

On the plus side, I also did AND FOLDED 4 loads of laundry.

* Note that it is 2am. Since I am still awake, I'm counting it as 1 day. A fiscal day, if you will.

posted by Legal Quandary at 02:10 | 0 comments

Tell me Something I Don't Know

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

As seen over at Brian's Place.

But I wonder...how come none of these quizzes ever say that the respondent doesn't really value intelligence? Or totally lacks ambition? You know...results that are actually honest and don't just tell people what they want to hear?

Here's what I think one of those might look like:

Your Personality Is

Superficial Slacker (SS) You're just not all that bright and you've never had an original thought in your life. You seek out people who set equally low standards, but who are slightly less attractive so you'll look better. You think that looks are everything and mock those who don't. It's a good thing your parents were decent, hard-working people because you have no career prospects whatsoever. You do things that make absolutely no sense to anyone. Seriously - you don't even understand them. You don't really have an ideal mate, but you'll go around pretending that your flavor of the week *might* actually work out this time. You might as well save yourself the time because it won't. You have nothing but free time. None of what you do is really all that interesting to begin with.

posted by Legal Quandary at 13:57 | 1 comments

We Don't Like What We Don't Understand...

...in fact it scares us. And this monster is mysterious at least.*

An apt summary of my feelings about Article 9 and his (her?) siblings, Articles 3 and 4.

And that red-headed stepchild, Article 4A? I can't stand that bastard.

* This shows you what studying for finals will do. I'm starting to combine lyrics from Disney songs with my feelings of general hostility toward the Uniform Commercial Code.

Law school is an illness. Truly.

posted by Legal Quandary at 11:14 | 0 comments

"Cuz. I Want To."

Lil Q loves to cut paper. When we get catalogs in the mail, we set them aside so she can cut them up. A Lands End and/or Disney Store catalog will keep her busy for hours. It's totally free and better than letting her watch television! Perfect!

Sometimes she'll cut the pages into long strips, which she might then decorate with markers to make "light sabers". Or, she'll cut hundreds of little triangles. Sometimes she'll take a glue stick and create unique artwork from the mess assorted pieces.

Her teacher at daycare is actually pretty pleased about this, since Lil Q is one of the few 3 year olds who is capable of completing her projects. EC wasn't even this good with scissors by Kindergarten, much to the consternation of her teacher.

Bored with the paper & glue media, Lil Q tried her hand at something new this weekend:

We figure she reached over to the side of her head, lifted up a 6" strand and snipped it right off. Then she carried it into the kitchen and showed Mr. Q. The title of this post is what she told him when he asked why she cut her hair off.

Luckily, she's got quite the head of hair and you can't really tell that she excised a chunk of it. Unless you look for it.

The reverse of the paper says "Lil Q cutting paper and other things". We've got it up on the fridge right now (that's why there's an Ottawa magnet in the photo), but we'll most likely put it into her baby book eventually. It's probably good that we have something to put in there.

posted by Legal Quandary at 16:13 | 0 comments

Things That Are More Fun Than Studying Commercial Transactions

10. Running to Starbucks for a Mocha

9. Running to Whole Foods to get more yummy cheese. What can I say? I'm a food snob even when studying for finals. (This trip was combined w/ dropping Lil Q off at school and getting the mocha, so it's not as big of a waste of time as it could have been.)

8. Reading email.

7. Checking Bloglines.

6. Doing Laundry.

5. Checking my Starbucks card and Credit Card transactions - I could have sworn I reloaded the Starbucks card the other day. Hmmm...maybe not. Perhaps I should do it now...

4. Gathering all the materials to study for Commercial Trans

3. IM'ing with E. McPan.

2. Checking Bloglines again.

1. Cleaning up my email inbox. Starting number of emails - over 1200. Down to 768.

*sigh* Guess it really IS time to study now.

Update: I forgot about checking Technorati, TTLB, and Statcounter. Not to mention getting my Westlaw points for the day.

And don't forget the ultimate time-waster - Sudoku.

posted by Legal Quandary at 09:49 | 2 comments

Because It's Finals and I'm Procrastinating...

A Quiz! Sadly, this one is pretty accurate.

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

posted by Legal Quandary at 16:01 | 0 comments

Query

Am I the only who thinks that Butterfingers have become less peanut buttery of late?

I had 1 3 of the mini ones tonight and they just seem sweet. But not peanutty.

What gives?

posted by Legal Quandary at 19:54 | 2 comments

College Life

We had people surfing porn in the library.

We had people who would come into the law school to play their guitars in the foyer. (Why?)

Sometimes the campus police had to come remove the homeless people from the areas that were supposed to be locked.

But we never had this.

At least not that I ever heard of.

Via Ann Althouse

posted by Legal Quandary at 20:31 | 0 comments

Things I Do Not Understand

Aside from "the law" and "all my classes this semester".*

1) Girls who bring backpacks and purses to school with them. Aren't 60 pounds of books enough for you? Are you begging for back problems?

2) People who only show up in the library during the period right before finals. I've been coming here all semester and sitting in the same little carrel. Why should I have to find a new spot now? Besides, I think the library is really the worst place to be this time of year. Nothing on Earth puts out as much stress as 200 law students studying for finals in close proximity.

3) This is really more of pet peeve. Newlyweds who only refer to their spouse as "my husband" or "my wife". Take note: he had a name before you married him. He's got a name now. Use it.

*This statement is not strictly true. For my friends, family, and potential clients - I've actually got a fairly good grasp on most some of the material I've been learning. I just need the next week or two to firm it up in my brain. Yeah...

Clarification on point 3...

I tend to refer to Mr. Q as "my husband" when speaking to strangers too. Except to you all, of course. Because you're not strangers, right? Noooo...That's why I make up totally fictitious names for my family here. Yessirreee...because we're all friends...from the internet.

I guess I meant more when I hang around the person regularly, have met the aforementioned husband or wife, and am, as Kristine would say, "in the know." And when it's the only way they ever refer to them.

posted by Legal Quandary at 16:15 | 4 comments