Summer Quarter Update

So, I'm back in Boston, back in school and back into my old routine of TV and homework. In fact that is (I guess was) what I'm doing. Watching the finale of the Hills (which is weird because it's been a year since I've watched the show at all) and reading my Communications Law assignment.

My legs, which were severely burnt in Texas are almost completely healed. The blistering is gone and the peeling almost gone too. You have no idea how excited I am about that, especially since the weather is getting nice again!

Texas was a lot of fun. The first day was a disaster. I had to take a shuttle instead of the pre-arranged ride to the airport that I thought I had. On top of that drama, the shuttle was 45 minutes late. Boo that shit. Then my flight from Dallas to Austin was super delayed. Gross. And of course, it was 65 degrees and raining. Not the weather I was promised. The rest of the weekend had great weather and I got to do tourist stuff and hang out with a good friend!
Luckily, if getting a sunburn is ever lucky, I got sunburnt on my last day, so the weekend was affected by my pain. And frankly, the burn wasn't so much painful (I've had worse) as it was gross looking, haha.

Since then, I made it back to Byfield for a couple days in my big bed and then the stress of moving back to boston. I HATE moving. But that's over and school has started. So far I like my classes. I know that Labor Law is going to be horribly boring, but it's one of those classes I need to get through. It's an important part of law that I want to have at least a decent base on.

So far since I've been back, I've gotten to hang out with the important people, which makes me happy. And I'm excited about spending a lot of time this summer with Jen because last summer we failed. Her work hours are super awkward because she works weekends, but we're going to make it work!

And you can't forget, on Memorial day, Syracuse was crowned National Champions in Lacrosse for the second year in a row and 5th (or 6th) time this decade! Go Orange! I already have my back-to-back champs shirt. Lacrosse is not "my" sport, but I'm getting into it after watching the last few years, and I'd love to see a game live, it seems like a great sport to see in person. Can't do it next year because the championship is back in Baltimore (it's been in Foxboro the last two years) but I think it's back in Massachusetts in 2011, and at that time I will be employed and hopefully the proud owner of a car, so count me in!

Wow, it's already June (in a few hours). Life is going fast. I need to get my shit together not just for my next co-op (for which, stuff is due June 15) but I need to start organizing for fall recruitment and applications for post-grad jobs! I can't believe real life is coming on so fast.

Upcoming Events:

June 5 - Graduation party in Byfield
June 16 - Red Sox game with Jen? Not definite
June 17 - Red Sox game with Sharleen
June 19 - NKOTB concert?
June ?? - Amy visits!
June 27? - Graduation party in Shrewsbury

Last Day in DC

It's my last 17 minutes of my job at the National Association of Broadcasters (and by the time I post this, less). Work has been fantastic. My boss is amazing and I will miss his stories about getting drunk on a Tuesday and coming in hungover. What a role model, lol. Seriously though, the people at NAB are awesome. So nice and so willing to chat and give advice. I've had multiple people tell me to let them know where I'm applying next time around so they can put in a good word. I will definitely keep in touch and use my new connections!

I'm sad to leave my DC friends. I have happy hour in 1/2 hour so I can drink, be merry, and say good bye. Such a bittersweet feeling. I'm definitely looking forward to going to Austin and then back to Boston to see all those people that I've missed, but I've gotten into a routine and re-established friendships with people here that I will definitely miss. I've really enjoyed going out with Allison (though I won't miss all the sketchy marines asking me about her and asking me to "put in a good word" -- looooong story).

So, I'm off to write a Thank You e-mail to the legal department -- oh Microsoft Outlook, how I look forward to using you again in 3 months...

Bye DC

Can't wait to see you, Boston (booo school!)

Oh, the Hypocrisy

Everyone is probably getting up in arms over Bristol Palin advocating absitence just months after herself declaring the system "unrealistic". I, on the other hand, find it perfect. It is a great example of the hypocrisy of the abstinence-only position. All these people say abstinence while fully knowing that teens don't stay abstinent (or at least a large number of them). In fact, most of the advocates probably didn't "save" themselves for marriage either -- I would loooove to see those numbers (not that I would expect these people to be honest).

~

With Bristol Palin, you have a clear example of how hypocritical it is. She's not advocating for the use of contraceptives, for practicing safe-sex, like she should have been doing with that prize of a man, Levi. She's advocating not having sex at all, something I'm sure she promised her educators and parents she'd do -- and didn't do! Why does she think teens will listen to her? Because she has a baby? I'm pretty sure that won't work. If the 18-year-old person advocating for abstinence took the same pledge she's asking you to take is walking around with her infant, what sort of confidence does that instill. It's a great way to scare kids straight, but most teens say "it won't happen to me" and "i'm not dumb enough to get pregnant" and shrug off the warning.

~

What the abstinence-only education advocates need is a reality check. Bristol was right the first time: stressing abstinence and only abstinence to teens is unrealistic. Abistinence is a great concept. It is the only way to 100% prevent pregnancy and STDs. But teens are living in a world of competing messages. Boys are being told sex is cool and sex is a status symbol and girls are feeling pressure from the media and boys their own age to conform to an impossible standard.

~

What needs to be taught is that abstinence is ideal, but if you can't make it until marriage, here's how to protect yourself. They need to be taught that sex is a big deal and it changes everything and with sex comes HUGE responsibilities and potentially HUGE repercussions. Sex education needs to be more well-rounded and it makes me sad that Bristol changed her tune. I'm sure it's a result of mommy's political team trying to save face, but I still think Bristol could have actually made a bit of a difference had should stood up to her mom and other abstinence-only advocates and said, loudly, "it doesn't work!"

What I'm Reading Now

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn.

It's a nonfiction book about this guy's seach through geneology and regional history in Poland to find out what happened to his grandfather's brother, brother's wife and four daughters, which he grew up hearing about only as those "killed by the Nazis." So far, it's well written, if a little oddly organized, but I'm only 65 pages in.

This will probably end up being my last book of the quarter, since it's more than 500 pages and I've only got 2 weeks left until school work begins.

This quarter I read:

The Jester by James Patterson --> not the normal James Patterson, a.k.a. not a murder mystery, but I enjoyed it. Takes place during the Crusades.

The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyesvsky (sp?) --> A good book, especially right after taking criminal trial practice. It's about brothers (obvi) and the subsequent murder of their father and the trial of one of the brothers. Of course, it takes until nearly page 700 for the murder and trial to occur, but whatevs. At times it was hard to follow (it is 19th century russian), but worth the trouble.

Manhunt by James Swanson --> about Lincoln's killers and their escape/capture after the assassination. VERY good. I would definitely recommend this, even if you're not normally a nonfiction person because it read like a novel. It always fascinates me when a writer can make something that compelling and suspenseful to a reader even knowing how it ends.

I then attempted A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and couldn't get through the first 20 pages. It's written in Cockney English and it was way too hard. I have the movie on my Netflix queue, so I might make another attempt after seeing the movie and having a basic plot understanding.

The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch by Michael Wolff --> I found this to be very interesting. I've only known Rupert Murdoch as a bad man and the owner of Fox News, but this made him more human. I kind of like him now... I mean, you can't blame him for trying to make money, and once you find out he's ashamed of Fox News and HATES Bill O'Reilly, you realize he can't be that bad.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger --> This is one of my all-time favorite books. I was reading it for the second time and with every turn of the page I remembered why I loved it. It's a love story between a regular woman, Clare, and a man, Henry, who has a time traveling gene and how they handle his constant disappearances. It's a beautiful love story and she does a great job weaving the time periods together to make a clear, touching story. I definitely recommend this book, and you should read it before the movie comes out this summer!

Boo That Shit

I would say today was a bad day, but it wasn't all bad... just the last few hours of it SUCKED

stress = suck

annoying, clueless people = suck

here's the deal. if you take out people's laundry from the dryer to put your own in... make sure the laundry is dry. cuz my laundry was really, really wet. and then, instead of walking up the stairs to the living room to tell me so at least i could fold it, or put it back in the dryer, you just left it in the hamper, wet and wrinkling!

I put the laundry in for 70 minutes, which always dries even heavy loads thoroughly, at 9:30pm. At 11, I checked (admittedly a wopping 20 minutes after it should have been done) and it was sitting there in the basket wet. I'm not saying he necessarily took my clothes out early, but despite his "I didn't notice" explanation, only a retard would have missed the sopping wet sweatshirt and sweater, and damp rest of the load. And frankly, when the thin, button down shirt is wet, on a medium-sized load, there's a good chance that load didn't make it the whole 70 minutes.

I'm very very very annoyed. Not to mention fucking Northeastern telling me to move into my apartment on May 31 when classes start May 26. Sometimes, I'm convinced that I'm the only competent person on this planet! How do you not look at an academic calendar??? An academic calendar that's been set for months????? ISN'T IT YOUR JOB TO SCHEDULE THIS SHIT, NORTHEASTERN HOUSING OFFICE? HAVE YOU NOT DONE THIS BEFORE?

UGH

And to top it off, my throat hurts. I'm exhausted and I can't sleep because I'm too angry/stressed/exhausted/hormonal

My fb status about the laundry "incident" says "dorm flashback" but in reality, this is the first time i've ever had to deal with someone that disrespectful. I was right upstairs. he could have easily got me. This isn't like a dorm where you don't know who's clothes it is. Yes, I've taken clothes out before, but those are clothes that were (1) very dry and (2) no one else was in the house at the time and I'm not going to sit around for hours to wait for someone to claim a bunch of towels.

What is doubly annoying is this is technically his house, so what do I do? Run to his parents?? He's 24 and he acts like a fucking child, but I can't judge, it's not my family. I mean, he has a job, but half the time, his parents help him out with it (works for a park, has to lock the lake at night, half the time his dad does it)... Sorry but my parents refused to do my paper route for me when I was tired at age 12... this kid is 24, with no motivation to move out of mommy and daddy's basement and he can't fucking walk upstairs to tell me my laundry is done and/or sopping wet.

UGH UGH UGH

he's also annoying and short. so there

Congrats to Coach Mac

The revered former Syracuse Orange football coach, Dick Macpherson, is being honored with induction into the Football Hall of Fame.

What a great accomplishment.

Know what he'd probably appreciate more? The football team being less of an embarrassment and maybe winning more than 10 games in the last 4 years.

Here's to the new coach, Doug Marrone, and the long road ahead.

Wow, I Disappeared For a While...

I've been MIA lately, mostly because I've been so busy. Work tires me out, so usually when I get home, I just read and watch TV and then sleep. In the interest of an update, here we go:

Work is great. I love the subject matter, which is great because on my last co-op, I hated the subject matter. It's kind of funny, because the two are very connected, but that goes to show the difference between reading about cable and telephone operation (the business) and broadcasting. Trust me, it's different. I get to read about the Fairness Doctrine and (today) the Supreme Court's decision on fleeting expletives. 6 months ago, I was reading about pole attachment and switch-access fees. What sounds more interesting to you?

Living in the DC area is great too. I miss Boston terribly, but I'm still really enjoying my time in the district. I've done touristy stuff (visited the monuments last weekend in 90 degree weather, gorgeous, if a bit hot; done the Newseum - love! - and the American History Smithsonian). I've also had an amazing time with friends from high school and college that have moved down here. Some of them I hadn't seen in years, some just a few months. It's been an interesting experience getting to know new bars, new people, new scenes. It's been good for me, though I still have that safety net of people I know and trust. I don't know if I could just get up and move somewhere where I don't know anyone. I have a HUGE amount of respect for people who do that. If you're looking for pictures, they're on facebook. My camera has been broken and in NJ getting fixed for a while, but I just got it back, so I need to add what was on there, but there are some courtesy of my lovely cell phone and they are suprisingly not horrible. Check them out.

My birthday was a couple weeks ago, I'm now a whopping 24 years old and a rising 3L (3rd year for you layman) in law school. Almost done, almost half-way through my twenties. In just a short time, I will have to be an official grown up and I don't like that one bit. I will enjoy this last year of student life, trust me. The real world, where I've been practicing these last few months, is a scary concept once it's permanent.

For my birthday party, some lovely ladies from Boston drove down to celebrate along with my DC group and our favorite band. That was a great night/weekend. The band was great, as usual, and they bought me a celebratory shot to start the night... and it was downhill from there. I can't get away with nights like that for much longer!

I only have two more weekends left, so I'm planning on getting the most out of them before I'm back in Massachusetts, moved into Boston and back at school (May 26 is both too soon and too far). This weekend Allison, Liz and I all won free Happy Hours at this bar called McFaddens. There's actually a location in Boston too. So we drink for free from 8-11 pm, and we'll be taking advantage of that. We'll be meeting other people out after that. I'm trying to figure out if, during the day on Saturday, I want to go to the National Portrait Museum, or if I want to hold off on that. I've actually seen most of what I want to, so I might wait.

Next week, on either Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll be meeting with my hometown Congressman. I'm actually pretty excited about that (as dorky as it may be). He's been my Congressman since I was little and it'll be nice to finally meet the man I've been voting for (still haven't changed my voter's registration). I'll be sharing my time, most likely, with one or two other students (probably college age), and I have no idea how much time we'll get, but it's nice that he's taking the time to meet with us. I'm only 24, and the other people are most likely younger, and I wouldn't blame someone that busy for ignoring us (it's not like we have money to donate). I'm coming up with questions - I'll take suggestions. So far, I'm planning on asking him about Plum Island, an island in my town that is literally washing away. I also want to ask about how he got involved in politics and any recommendations for someone interested. That's about it. I need to read his bio more closely this weekend.

Upcoming Dates:

May 2 - out in DC
May 5 or 6 - Meet John Tierney (6th-MA)
May 8 - Ocho de Mayo party in Arlington, VA
May 15 - Last dinner in DC
May 16-19 - Austin, TX (hopefully not getting the swine flu)
May 20 - back in Byfield
May 23ish - Move into Boston
May 26 - First day of summer classes