Inspiration a la Edward Monkton

In keeping with the theme of inspiration for finals, I heart my new iGoogle theme. (It rotates between these...)

A rose by any other name...

When I want to use the best possible phrase to describe a particularly grotesque phenomena, I think German is most appropriate. Something about all of the harsh consonant sounds. When I want to use the best possible phrase to describe polite and sincere well wishes, I think Spanish sounds best. Maybe it's because my former Argentinian roommate always sounded much sweeter and more polite while speaking Spanish. In any case, for those of you who are under the yoke of finals like me, I'm sending you the best well wishes I can come up (straight from the mouth of said Argentinian):

"Suerte, te mando un gran abrazo"

(roughly translated: Good luck, big hugs!)

It made my night, and so I'm sending it out to everyone else who might be as stressed as I.

Buenas noches.

Finals Distraction/Pick Me Up

This finals period, I'm swearing off facebook in an effort to be more productive. In its place, I've found the cutest distraction ever! It's a freeware version of spider solitaire for macs that I'm considering purchasing. The best part is when you win a game, the following image bounces around...



It's a good distraction and a good pick-me-up. (For those of you who don't know, my mom's name is also Kitty, thus adding to the feel-good factor.)

If they could see me now

Today's fiesta (see post below) takes me back to my college days, when I was recruited by Elizabet, Victor, and Angeles to be in charge of decorating their Cinco de Mayo event for the Mexican student society. I can't help but giggle when I remember how shocked they were when I suggested a giant cactus made out of green balloons. If I remember correctly, Victor asked my why I didn't just decorate the whole place with giant cardboard cut outs of Coronas or if I thought all Mexicans are a bunch of sombrero-clad peasants sleeping under cacti. Suffice it to say: I had a lot to learn, as the only white Midwestern girl in the group. And now that I'm back to being a white Midwestern girl and not their honorary Latina, I'm pretty sure Elizabet would give me no end of trouble for being such a gringo, but oh well. When in Rome...

Fiesta Friday

Today I'm throwing a fiesta in the Journal office to try and recruit 1Ls for next year's staff. After picking my editorial staff, this is the first public official thing I've done as Editor in Chief, so I thought I'd take the chance to blog about my experiences so far. I'm learning more and more that the EIC's job, especially on our journal, is made up of about 25% of what I saw the current EIC doing all this year from my perspective as a staff member, and 75% "other crap." So even though I probably don't appear to my staff like I'm doing all that much right now, I'm officially overwhelmed by the job almost all of the time.

I've learned that being an EIC is not something that will come easily or effortlessly any time in the near future for me. Rather, I feel as though the best I can do is periodically catch up on everything that I feel is getting away from me. When I do manage to catch up, I can remind myself that I am doing an okay job and that things are going well for me and for the Journal. It doesn't hurt that the secretary and the current EIC are great at giving me positive reinforcement regularly. However, the rest of the time, it would appear as though my performance anxiety and stress levels are back to where they were 1L year, which is not okay with me.

This obviously has an effect on the rest of my life (sorry I'm such a b*tch to those of you who have to deal with me regularly!), and it has especially started to affect my sleeping habits. I regularly wake up with a feeling that there is something huge I'm forgetting to do and it takes a while for me to remind myself (and my racing heart) that everything is fine. Hence, why I was up at 5 this morning, despite the fact that I have no classes and told myself I could sleep in. And not sleeping well never helps with the b*tch factor.

Looking back on this post, it's less of an update on what I do as EIC and more of an update on how crazed I feel. My narcissistic ramblings are probably more interesting than the technical details anyway. ;) Instead of updating you on the goings-on of my Journal, I suppose I'll use this opportunity to apologize to those of you who have to deal with me and to say that I hope once summer comes and finals are over, I can take a while to reflect on how I could be an effective EIC without being a panicky, heinous friend/sister/daughter/leader/etc. Bear with me, I really think things will get better!

We have to grow up sometime.

(Warning: offensively liberal post!)

One of my hobbies is reading a blog called Above the Law. I like it because it's like trashy celebrity gossip on lawyers and law firms. One of their favorite things to do is to post pictures and to have contests on who can come up with the best caption for the picture. Recently, they posted this picture:



The winning caption? (At least if you go off the write-in votes)

"Things I don't believe in."

Nothing makes me want to go home more...

...than a new addition to the family. Especially one this darned cute:

Meet Lily Margaret Wanser, who is already 2 months old and I still haven't met her. :(

Prom.

It's just like you always remembered. But add legal intoxication.

What's better than Chelsea Clinton coming to ND?

Who says she's no longer a viable candidate?




We waited for hours and hours and hours, but it was worth it!


It's HILLARY!!!!

If you get a new camera, they will come

Lots of visitors to ND today that I would/will post more, but right now my head is throbbing with a migraine, so pictures will have to suffice:

Dinkeneh finally made it into the law school!


He was pretty sleepy, but a trooper nonetheless


Sean Astin, who starred in the movie Rudy, to introduce...


CHELSEA CLINTON!!!!

Have iPod. Will dance.

I blame a number of factors, actually. For starters, Lynn wasn't walking with me, which she has done almost every day since this year started. Additionally, I think the purple patent leather pumps made me a little extra sassy. Could also be that today was one of the sunnier mornings we've had in a while.

Whatever the cause, there is just no excuse, I realize this. But here's what ensued, you be the judge:

Scene: Walk to School
Soundtrack: Janet Jackson, "Together Again" REALLY loud on my iPod

Narrative: Oh, Janet Jackson. I love this song. I've loved this song for as long as I can remember. Although... it has sort of a lame beginning. I don't like the slow, wind-chimy, whispy voice, blah, blah, blah.

Ahhhh, there we go. THIS is the part of the song I like. How can you not like this song? The beat is just so -- WOAH! what was that? where did that hip thrust come from?!?! Ok, don't worry, Bagel. No one can see you from in front of you and if there is anyone behind you, maybe they'll just think you slipped in your purple patent leather - Woah, Woah, WOAH! Bagel! You can't thrust your hips like that. People will think you are weird!!! Well, okay maybe you can thrust your hips a LITTLE bit. I mean, you have a backpack on, most people walking behind you can't see because of the bag. Hopefully.

But, NO! No, Bagel, NO! You cannot be that girl, the one who walks around with the stupid grin on her face when there is no discernible reason the people around her can see for her grin. You hate that girl, you cannot and WILL not be that girl. Bite your lip! Bite it now! I don't care if it hurts! I don't care if your lip is slightly bleeding. No one ever got to be a cool kid by smiling like a fool. Hip thrusts are one thing, unabashed foolish grins are something totally different.

Oh holy F! When did the finger pointing start. I look like I want to be in a disco club, but my arms are paralyzed from my shoulder to my palm and all I can do is dance by pointing my finger. Well, and thrusting my hips, but I'm pretty sure no one else will notice that. I hope.

[Insert total brain fart here. I'm pretty sure I just blacked out, and when I came to, I was crooning and lip syncing to the giant, lumbering old man walking ahead of me. "There are times when I feel your arms around me, babe. I'll never forget my babe." Thank GOD this man is giant and lumbering and walking ahead of me and had no idea I even existed.]

[Insert swell of my music]

Janet Jackson: All my love's FOR YOU!
Narrative: Now THAT. IS. IT! Bagel, you are DONE. Turn that iPod off RIGHT. NOW! I stood idly by while you thrusted your hips like a spastic walking seizure case. I even let you sneak out a tiny little grin or two when I thought no one was looking. Heck, I didn't even stop you when you let your fingers dance like maniacs. But I cannot, WILL NOT, allow you to close your eyes and throw your head back and bob your head to the beat! Who are you?!?!

You are a girl who is going to learn how to use her iPod appropriately, that's who. And until that time, you are going to turn your iPod off and walk the rest of the way in silence. That's what girls like you deserve.



Lynn, please come home! I can't be trusted to even walk to school by myself!!!

Welcome to law school

It's sad how many of these are accurate, and spare the comments about how many are reminiscent of me. ;)

Tagged

Christina got me, so here goes...

10 random things about me:
10. I still don't like stepping on the crack.

9. I always lie when asked, "What do you like to do with your spare time?" People who ask me that question would judge me too harshly if they knew the truth.

8. The honest answer to "What do you like to do with your spare time?" is: gossip; go shopping; watch SVU reruns and Lifetime Movies; color (as in with a coloring book and crayons); sit around a kitchen table with my family and chat; check facebook and read adoption blogs.

7. I'm the only one of my best friends from high school who isn't married.

6. My favorite greeting card of all time read, "Thank you for being." I think that would be the ultimate compliment.

5. I hate butterflies. HATE them. I didn't discover this until I was 14 and took my 18 month old cousin Peggy to a Butterfly Pavilion in Denver, CO. That was the day I realized that butterflies are really unattractive bugs with some pretty wings attached and I haven't liked them since.

4. I take compliments very poorly. They embarrass me and I'd rather hear through the grape vine that someone has a positive opinion of me.

3. If I end up in a big law firm post-graduation, I want to use my signing bonus to travel to Africa. South Africa and Kenya, where Fred & Milty have their clinic, are top on my list of places to go.

2. I want 6 daughters. To beat my dad.

1. The idea of eternity gives me panic attacks. I've been known to start crying while discussing it with others.

Now, I'm supposed to tag five people:
Big Colle - I'm pretty sure she won't do it cuz she's ridiculously busy. In fact I'm pretty sure she hasn't read this post this far down but has already given up to go splice cells or build DNA or do whatever science students do.

Katie - my newest blogging friend! I'm uberjealous that she just went on a cruise to the Bahamas, so I'm punishing her with a silly blog chain. ;)

Kristin - something fun to do during Evidence class on Monday!

Courtney - it's about time you get a blog, little sister

Lauren Cady - who STILL won't tell me where her blog is

Quotes of the Day

Mike: "1 in 4 teenage girls has an S.T.D."
Jenn: "Does pregnancy count? Because I've always considered teenage pregnancy an S.T.D."



Female gunner in class: "I'm hungry for more information."
Lynn, via I.M.: "Then eat a sandwich."

New do!

Thanks so much to Nikki for updating my blog! I highly recommend her if any of you are looking for a good cause to donate to or for a new look for your blog. (See the "Blogs for a Cause" link on the left to check out her stuff)

Time for a new do

I'm giving this blog an overhaul; I found a girl who is raising money for a humanitarian trip by redesigning blogs. As part of my makeover, she asked me what text, if any, I want. Problem is, I can't come up with just one quote. So I'm looking for some help... The options are below, let me know what you think!

And in the meantime, check out this girl's work. It's pretty cute!

Option 1 (the current quote): "Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend" -Ellizabeth Gilbert

Option 2: "Imagine you're a girl, just trying to finally come clean" -Ani Difranco

Option 3: "So much of me is what I have learned from you. And you'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart." -Kristin Chenowith, Wicked

Option 4: "Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things." -Chaim Potok

Option 5: "I'm a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls!" -Funny Girl

Option 6: "Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to. If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you. Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade?" -Funny Girl

Snip, snip!

Poor Hank the Tank is becoming an "un-man" today. I just dropped him off to get neutered. He probably won't be too happy with us, but we are really hoping this gets him to stop acting like a teenage boy.

And as an update to our experiment, there was very little blatant hostility towards me on the Hillary-shirt day (although some people were rude). There were a lot of people who wanted to come up to me and tell me why they hate her. I guess I should have expected this; if I'm going to broadcast to everyone around my opinion on the subject, they feel the right to tell me what they think. They were sorely disappointed, however, when I didn't want to discuss or debate them on it. I'm a Hillary fan through and through, and if (although these days it's looking like "when") she loses, I'll gladly join the Obama camp. Until then, bitches get stuff done.

Experiment Day

Today is the day Lynn and I are going to conduct our experiment. I hope people don't throw rocks. Or Constitutional Law books. Those suckers are big.

I did it!!!!

Hot diggity damn!

**Update: in light of the fact that Michelle's response to me was "Did what?" I probably need to be a little more clear. Carla in the Career Services Office informed me this morning that I need to change my signature block on my emails... her suggestion:

Bagel Hamilton
JD Candidate, 2009
Editor in Chief, Journal of College and University Law
University of Notre Dame Law School

Are you there God? It's me Bagel.

My apologies for not blogging in a while. I've been sick for about a week now with an on-again-off-again fever and congestion, and in the mean time, a lot of things have been up in the air that I felt weird about blogging about until all was resolved. Whenever things are unsettled I can't help but think of the book, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." That's really neither here nor there (especially since most days I fancy myself a borderline atheist), but these are the things that have had me preoccupied as of late...

*Editor in Chief elections are tonight for my law journal. Wish me luck! Apparently elections can be rather intense; the question and answer sessions are open grill-fests where people are prone to say "People say you have X character flaw. Do you think you have that flaw and explain why it wouldn't make you a bad EIC." Ask my sisters - I don't do well with criticism. Like I said... WISH ME LUCK!

*Poopsie (a.k.a. my dad) was in the hospital at the end of last week. About 3 weeks ago, he was sick and worried that he might be having a stroke. One short ambulance trip and a very painful spinal tap later, they sent him home with a prognosis of meningitis and vertigo. For two weeks he was sick, dizzy, and nauseous until finally he went back to the doctor and was properly diagnosed as having had a stroke the first time and another stroke in the period between when the ER first released him and when he went back in. He's out of the hospital now, hopefully for a while.

*Court's boyfriend, Shane, who joined the reserves last year at this time just found out he will be deployed in about year. He doesn't know where he's going yet; he only knows he'll be gone for 12 months. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm going to work on conjuring up some more good news, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I've got to work on my speech.

As Promised!

Mike really does take amazing photos...

Irish Tacos!

So picking up baby Aiden was amazing; he's perfect and adorable and TINY! I don't have the pix yet, but will post them soon.



In the meantime, CONGRATULATIONS to Miss Tacos!!!!!! She got into her Dublin foreign study program, which is a very selective program. After applying, she's been telling me all year that she wasn't going to get in because there were so many kids who applied. But today she told me she got in!!! HOORAY!!!!! I'm so proud and so So SO excited to go visit her in Ireland. I've never been!

*tear* She's so cool.

T-150 minutes!

Baby Dinkeneh comes home in 2.5 hours!!!!!!!!!

Today is a surreal day. Given how much we've talked about this kid, both the actual Dinkeneh and the hypothetical Ethiopian child waiting for Chris and Christina, for so many months, it feels sort of funny today that we'll actually get to meet the living, breathing real deal. Which means I can't even begin to imagine what Christina and Chris were going through two weeks ago as they prepared to go pick him up. And given the little tidbits that we've picked up from them here and there as they've been on the trip, I'm sure he'll be just as amazing as everyone's anticipated for so long.

As always, pictures soon to follow, I'm sure!

My Goodness, My Givner!

Little Miss Sarah Givner comes to visit me today! :) I still have no idea what the allure of middle-of-nowhere Indiana is such that I've had so many Dartmouth visitors since coming to school here, but Hey! I'm not complaining! Stay tuned for pix/stories of our ultimate girls night v-day party. (Also, I have no idea why my head and hair both look 4 times their normal size in that picture, but as it turns out, Givner and I have very few official pix together, so I had to go with this one. We shall try to rectify that travesty this weekend!)

Harry Potter and the Supreme Court

Tonight I was reading a case on whether or not the police have the right to arrest someone for traffic violations when in fact are just using the traffic violation arrest as a pretext to be able to search the alleged perpetrator for evidence of other crimes. (ex: they pulled these defendants over for a "traffic violation" but really it was cuz they suspected the kids of doing drugs)

First sign that the defendants were out of luck: Justice Scalia wrote the opinion.

By way of introduction, for those who don't know, Justice Scalia is one of the most conservative Justices currently on the Supreme Court. In other words, he and I almost always disagree. The problem with Scalia, however, is that while I disagree with his conclusion, it is hard to challenge how he got there. He is one of the best arguers out there.

Tonight for example, I was reading this opinion and he starts out innocuously enough. He was just restating the facts of the case and the arguments that the defendants put forth. But the more I read the opinion, the more I kept thinking: "IT'S A TRAP!" Poor defendants never had a chance. And what's more, the longer I read this opinion, the more I had a mental image of Severus Snape writing the opinion. I'm a nerd, I know, but I personally think the resemblance is just a tad uncanny...




p.s. For those of you who think I have officially gone of the law school deep end, I'm inclined to agree.

Experiment

Lynn and I are going to conduct an experiment: back during football season our friend Lauren wore a USC jersey to the Notre Dame-USC game. The hostility that her jersey provoked was really surprising. People were calling her nasty names and threatening her with acts that I wouldn't dare post on here. When Lauren complained about this, lots of her friends even recounted with a, "Well. What did you expect?"

This comment is a little absurd, given the severity of what she encountered and another friend of ours likened it to saying that a woman who was raped deserved what she got because she dresses provocatively. That issue aside, Lynn and I have decided to conduct a little experiment. We just ordered Hillary shirts and buttons and we are going to see which is worse at Notre Dame: a USC fan or a Hillary fan? Stay tuned for the results...

brrrrrrr!

God is smiting me today because yesterday I was thinking to myself: "well, winter hasn't been that bad this year."

This morning, I woke up and it is 4 degrees and -18 with wind chill. I don't think I'll be leaving my apartment any time soon today.

And speaking of apartments...







I FOUND A PLACE TO LIVE IN CHICAGO THIS SUMMER! :D The place is oh-so-cute, and while it's about 6 miles from work (which means a commute everyday), it is 3 blocks from the lake! Word on the street is that every Saturday night over the summer, Navy Pier has fireworks, and if you walk the short distance to the beach, you can see em. Sweet!

Mark your calendars for my giant birthday blowout in June. It's going to be huge - and living out of town is no excuse for not being there.

(In case you were wondering, all of those pictures are just generic Chicago pictures, with the exception of the bottom one. That's my office building for this summer. Big Law here I come!)

She's so cool, she gets paid to go to school.

My big sister, the Grad Student, went to a Hillary rally in Seattle last night. The blurry poster in the back is her! (The title of the last post was stolen from her, fyi)



this little feminist chicky is shedding a tear of pride this morning. ;)

My Heart Belongs to Hillary.

(Warning: offensively liberal/biased post)

The elections this year have me really fired up, as anyone who has spent any time with me in the last month or so knows. Whenever anyone tries to compare Clinton and Obama, I generally run the other way. I'm not one to easily shy away from debate, but I've found that all too often, a discussion of the differences between Obama and Clinton quickly turns into a Hillary-hating session unless everyone present is a Clinton supporter.

In my experiences, the most benign of Clinton opponents all to frequently say that they "just don't like her," and they can't really say why. The most vehement Hillary-haters frequently level their attacks against her as a person, and yet when I listen to any of them I always feel very threatened, not as a Clinton supporter but as a woman. I will not accuse everyone who opposes Clinton of being a sexist, and indeed, I think that the worst Hillary haters give all Clinton opponents an undeserved bad name because of the sexist way in which they frame the battle. Even so, my sister forwarded me an article this morning that really does get at the heart of this battle: America faults Hillary Clinton for her womanhood in a way that we would never EVER consider faulting Barrack Obama for his race.

Watching Senator Obama give a speech at his results-watching party last night, I found myself very drawn to him. He would make a great candidate, and part of me wonders if someone like Clinton, who inspires so much intense and irrational hatred in so many because of her gender (even if they don't admit it), is a weaker candidate than Obama because she is polarizing in a way that McCain isn't. But as soon as I voice that concern, I double my resolve for Clinton. I hate that I find myself doubting a strong woman who is a MORE than qualified candidate for the sole reason that others hate her for being the strong woman that I admire. And I will be more than happy to support Obama if he is the democratic candidate. However, before the Democrats pick their candidate, I cannot and will not support any candidate other than Clinton unless he acknowledges the damage that Hillary opponents do to women everywhere and unless he can promise me that despite running against her, he is taking an active stand against those Hillary-haters, and the ideologies they represent.

(For reference, HRC = Hillary Rodham Clinton, BO = Barrack Obama)

"Goodbye To All That (#2)" by Robin Morgan

Goodbye to the double standard . . .
When a sexist idiot screamed “Iron my shirt!” at HRC, it was considered amusing; if a racist idiot shouted “Shine my shoes!” at BO, it would’ve inspired hours of airtime and pages of newsprint analyzing our national dishonor.

Goodbye to the toxic viciousness . . .
Carl Bernstein's disgust at Hillary’s “thick ankles.” Nixon-trickster Roger Stone’s new Hillary-hating 527 group, “Citizens United Not Timid” (check the capital letters). John McCain answering “How do we beat the bitch?" with “Excellent question!” Would he have dared reply similarly to “How do we beat the black bastard?” For shame.

Goodbye to the HRC nutcracker with metal spikes between splayed thighs. If it was a tap-dancing blackface doll, we would be righteously outraged—and they would not be selling it in airports. Shame.

Goodbye to the most intimately violent T-shirts in election history, including one with the murderous slogan “If Only Hillary had married O.J. Instead!” Shame.

Goodbye to the sick, malicious idea that this is funny. This is not “Clinton hating,” not “Hillary hating.” This is sociopathic woman-hating. If it were about Jews, we would recognize it instantly as anti-Semitic propaganda; if about race, as KKK poison. Hell, PETA would go ballistic if such vomitous spew were directed at animals. Where is our sense of outrage—as citizens, voters, Americans?

Goodbye to a campaign where he has to pass as white (which whites—especially wealthy ones—adore), while she has to pass as male (which both men and women demanded of her, and then found unforgivable).

Goodbye, goodbye to blaming anything Bill Clinton does on Hillary (even including his womanizing like the Kennedy guys—though unlike them, he got reported on). Let’s get real. If he hadn’t campaigned strongly for her everyone would cluck over what that meant. Enough of Bill and Teddy Kennedy locking their alpha male horns while Hillary pays for it.

Goodbye to some women letting history pass by while wringing their hands, because Hillary isn’t as “likeable” as they’ve been warned they must be, or because she didn’t leave him, couldn’t “control” him, kept her family together and raised a smart, sane daughter. (Think of the blame if Chelsea had ever acted in the alcoholic, neurotic manner of the Bush twins!) Goodbye to some women pouting because she didn’t bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She’s running to be president of the United States.