Happy Halloween!

Halloween is coming up. Unfortunately I didn't have a costume picked out six months in advance this year. I was unsure as to why, but then I looked back at the last six months of my life and figured it out: I might be a little more busy than I used to be.

Anyway, I decided to go as something I could do easily: a greaser! I have some black boots, jeans, t-shirt, $2.00 worth of Murray's pomade and I picked up a motorcycle jacket. Voila! I am Marlon Brando in The Wild One. We have a "bar review" on Thursday. That's where the student government throws a party, despite what it might sound like (it's a pun). Then on Saturday I am going to the UW v. USC football game here in LA with some ol' SAE boys from Cali. I am already mentally preparing myself for the abuse I am going to take from the rabid Trojan fans.

I got my first graded assigment back last week. I am happy with the grade; essentially it's a high B. Bs are not very common in law school, so that's great. Just gotta keep it up!

The Gunner Phenomenon

There are some specialized terms we use in law school to define different types of students.

Podium Trolls, for example, are the people that run up after class to ask the Prof. questions, or whatever. Like in the tale of bridge troll, you can't pass behind the podium area with out answering these little lurker's questions. "Answer me these questions three, lest the other side ye may nev'r see. Question the first...

Gunners are by far the worst. While podium trolls are harmless, Gunners have a tendency to actively annoy you. Here is a youtube video one of my class mates forwarded me:

The Way of the Buffalo... er, Bison.

Well, yesterday I was really excited because I saw a few droplets of rain. I have been waiting for what seems like forever to see just a few drops of that magical liquid sunshine, if not for a reminder of home, just to rinse down the LA grime a little. Today, I had my fingers crossed that we'd get some more rain, like an actual little storm but no such luck. In fact, the opposite. It has got to be one of the hottest days since I moved here. It is 9:00 PM and has not cooled down in any noticeable fashion. I reversed my fan to blow downwards, so that helps a little.

Today we have no school. While other law schools might be Jesuit (like Seattle University) or vaguely non-affiliated (Public Schools), we are apparently Jewish. Not officially, but we are one of the few schools that I know of from speaking with my law school friends around the country that gets the day off for Rosh Hashanah, and other kosher friendly holidays. So that's cool. I spent the day trying to get ahead in school, cleaning, sleep and life in general.

Last week I found out that Southwestern has a mascot: the Bison! I had no idea. We don't have any sports teams, so I assumed we didn't have one. GO BISON!

The Two Most Terrifying Chairs in LA

A couple Saturdays ago, I went to Six Flags with some friends, three who live in the LA area, and three visiting from Washington. I am not the biggest roller coaster guy, and if it were not for the encouraging words of my friends, I would have probably stayed on the ground like god, nature, physics, biology, etc. intended. Anyway, they have some crazy rides at Six Flags. I rode three rollercoasters; one with one of the highest vertical loops, one with the 10^th highest vertical drop in the world, and the X2. It was the craziest ride I’ve ever been on! The chairs rotate forwards and backwards; so at any given point you could be going backwards, hanging upside down, free falling perpendicular to the ground, and basically any conceivable orientation. There are even fire and lightning effects. It was awesome! I am really glad I went on it.

The second chair didn’t rotate. It did, however, manually swivel and adjust height. And it had hair cutting effects. These effects were not impressive. Not in the least. On the plus side, this chair cost me quite a bit less than the ones at Six Flags.

So… I got a haircut. It wasn’t what I hoping for. Heck, it wasn’t even what I asked for! It ended up okay though, it just freaked me out at first. I am used to having it a little longer, but its not such a bad cut.

Before (sorta)

After

"... if, you know, you're not into the whole brevity thing."

After a whole week and a half of class, my scholastic career has pretty much come down to one thing alone: the case brief. Studying the law is typically centered around reading cases that represent the topic at hand out of a case book, a collection of cases read for their pedagogical value. Cases can be anywhere from two pages up, but usually never get past the ten page mark. It is their contents, not their length, which hides their inherent difficulty; to the point of creating and proliferating a term known by legal technicians and those unfortunate souls who must deal with them as "legalese".

The Socratic Method is a teaching style that offers only questions. After one does the reading, it is expected that one will be prepared in such a manner that, when asked said questions, one will be able to stumble through something that suffices as a response (albeit not a correct one, usually). Luckily, we are given an extraordinary tool with which to organize the case in a quickly retrievable way: the case brief.

The brief form is as follows:
Issue: What the court is deciding.
Facts: Relevant facts which determine the outcome of the case.
Rule: Rule or Rules, in the form of statutes, precedents, or other relevant dictum.
Holding: What the court decided.
Reasoning: The logical way in which the court applied the rules, or derived a new rule, from the relevant facts.

Its both a tedious and exciting experience. On the one hand, briefing between five and twelve cases a night can be extremely boring. On the other hand, it is already apparent to me that my skills at reading cases and writing have been sharpened by this experience. In this way, law school is analagous to hitting a rock face with a sledge hammer. Hit it long enough, with the correct amount of tenacity and diligence and it will be just another barrier destroyed in your wake.

Dinner and a Movie #1

...Gone Pear-Shaped Spinach Salad w/ Raspberry Vinaigrette

For Salad:
1 Big Handful Spinach
Two Chicken Breasts, Sliced
1 Pear, Sliced
1-2 Tbsp. Raspberry Vinaigrette

If you've got it (I don't):
1/4 Cup Candied Walnuts, Chopped
1/4 Cup Blue Cheese

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and toss em'. Makes one big portion or two side portions.

For Vinaigrette (Approx.):
1/8 Rounded Cup Frozen Raspberries
1/2 Tbsp. Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 Tbsp. Sweet Chile Sauce
1 Tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup Water
1 Tsp. Pepper
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Blend everything except oil until futile to continue. Turn off blender. Use spatula to get ingredients off the sides, moving them near the blades. Turn blender on low (once you get your hand outta there). Through the little hole in the top of the lid, slowly pour olive oil into the blender. If you are doing this right, i.e. slow enough, the ingredients should combine to make one liquid, rather than oil on top and water-based stuff on bottom. Oil and water do mix, you just gotta have the skills. It's called an emulsion, Bobby Flay. Adjust ingredients to taste. Makes way too much for one salad.

Joe's Apartment (1996)

Plot Summary: The story of Joe, a guy just out of college, who moves to New York from Iowa. Having no money and no future prospects, he attempts to find the cheapest apartment he can possibly find, which ends up being a rent controlled place he luckily (and dishonestly) acquires. Joe is not the only tenant however: he shares his flat with 40,000 or so talking, singing, dancing cockroaches. The rest of the movie has something to do with a girl, gardening, organized crime, etc., etc. Even though humans and cockroaches are more often than not on the opposite sides of the protagonist/antagonist dichotomy in this situation, Joe leads a good example by adopting a live and let live mentality and accepting his new friends for what they are: a helpful, if frustrating, nuisance. After all, they were here before us, and they'll be here when we're gone.

Review: Okay at best. It's a fun movie, not a big thinker. Its kind what you'd expect for MTV's first attempt at the big screen. The songs are annoying; the kind of annoying that sticks in your head. On the plus side, the lead is a Pre-Sliders Jerry O'Connell (Stand By Me, Scream 2). I have always enjoyed this actor, but it could be a nerd thing.

Putting a Face to that Name

Here is my new Southwestern ID card. It gets me into the fitness center, and I think I can check out books with it too. I had a kind of clown hair thing going on, but it was early and normally I fix it pretty quick, so here's to hoping.

The Hand of LAWS Is On Us Now

This first week of school is dedicated specifically to Southwestern's innovative LAWS (Legal Analysis and Writing Skills) class. It functions as a crash course in the skills we need prior to beginning our doctrinal classes next week. The only students here (pretty much) are 1L until Monday, so now's a good chance to get out there and meet some friends. Its kinda tough though, because so many people are from this are and have no vested interest in making new friends. This makes lunch on the awkward side, and although it has been eight years since I was a freshman in high school, I am kinda having flash backs. Its weird how cyclical life can be. The school is so small, smaller than my high school, so I know that as long as I keep chipping away at it I will probably meet and know pretty much everyone on campus, to the point of finding them obnoxious. I can only look forward to that moment.

I did my first case brief, even though I had no instructions on how to do one, and it actually turned out pretty well considering. The little victories are what keep me trudging on to greater glory.

-Ryan

My First Night in the Land of Sunsets

It is awesome to have my own place! It is already a source of pride to have a clean apartment that is decorated to my specifications. I worked on unpacking for most of the night, until I got bored and went out on the balcony near my room where some of my neighbors were hanging out. I introduced myself, and I met my neighbor across the hall, C., and E. from somewhere else in the building, her boyfriend P. and her friend L. The girls were artists and they were generally interesting. They said that everyone in the building is handpicked by the owner based on “good fit” rather than credit rating! I slept well. My bed is not only space efficient, it’s comfortable!

-Ryan

The Home Front

Dad and I arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday morning and immediately began hunting for the ultimate goal of the first two days: a decent apartment. I had about four appointments made via craigslist, but they weren’t until later so we took to the streets as if throwing a dart at a map of koreatown. The results were less than spectacular. Being from the northwest I am not familiar with cockroaches, but by the end of the day I received a crash course in insect behavior and physiology. The prices were right though.

The appointments represented a marked increase in overall quality and cleanliness, but unfortunately price as well. I really wanted hardwood floors, a decent kitchen and bathroom separated from the main room as much as possible. This is asking a lot of a studio.

We found couple clean studios with great views on Rampart Blvd. A less clean and less expensive studio with a used-car-salesman-esque, ex-musician, lawyer, manager who assured us that he was going to plant more roses in already very nice enclosed garden area.

J.: Do you know what I’m doing tomorrow, Ryan?

R.: (Confused/Concerned) No?

J.: I am going to get fifty, count ‘em fifty, roses of all shades and hues and plant them right here in this magnificent garden.

R.: (Relieved) Oh? Oh, um. Cool…

We finally found another place on Rampart that I was immediately excited about, which considering how jaded I felt at this point was really a good sign. I signed the lease about four hours later. It is the first concrete and steel building built west of the Mississippi, circa 1908 as a luxury hotel. The apartment is a studio, with a fold-down Murphy bed, a large kitchen, bizarre old fashioned fixtures and red-painted concrete floors. It is funky to say the least, and I picked out some really cool old pieces of furniture to match. The Swedish’s attempt to take over the world failed again. Take that IKEA. Photos to come.

-Ryan

Even Rockstars Sing Karaoke, or My Last Strange Familiar Days in the NW

Saturday night and it was time to explore a little bit of portland before its too late. Z., B. and M. went with me to one of my favorite P-town places: The Alibi. I had been there once before many years ago on a date, although we had to leave at 8:00pm due to our status as minors. This place is basically world famous due to Chuck Palahnuik's Guide to Portland.

There are always locals crooning away on the microphone over tracks in the style of whomever. Karaoke runs 7 days a week, and on Saturday (apparently) there is a free buffet at midnight.

We got an okay seat but couldn't see the singers, which was fine. Someone sang "Father of Mine" by Everclear, a band fronted by none other than lead singer, local radio DJ, and world record holder for songs with the word 'no' repeated generously, Art Aleksakis. I commented that it would be weird if it actually were Art singing the his own song, when the karaoker started doing a great impression of the famous Aleksakis 'no-oh'. It was too good. I stood up to see, and it was Art himself. In the flesh. I've seen pleenty of celebs, including Ted Nugent, Ben Stein, and Bruce Campbell. Heck, I even rolled burritos for Sheryl Crowe and Lance Armstrong. But this was pretty cool.

It just goes to show that humble beginnings are the same as beginning in any other manner: Every beginning has an end and its the end that counts the most. Who knows. Maybe some day I will be famous enough to sing karaoke in a dive bar.

-Ryan