Quandry

My car's washer fluid is not coming out when I pull the lever to clean the windshield. So I went to a nearby mechanic at the local gas station (yeah I know....what was I thinking) & he told me he thought he knew what the problem was. $95 dollars & 4 hours later, he couldn't find the problem since he ran out of time but told me to bring the car back. So I asked the question that begged to be asked, " . . . are you going to charge me for additional labor to continue trying to figure out the problem?" Yup. Now what's a girl to do? Do I cut my losses & go to the dealer; do I ignore the problem since it doesn't affect the running of my car; or do I take it back to Dufus the mechanic since he said he was close to isolating the problem? Hmmm.

Call-Back Interview

Yesterday: It was about a 3 hour drive to where I was interviewing. Got to the hotel the firm put me up at & it was fabulous. Just lovely. The recruitment coordinator even got me a goodie bag full of little knick knacks about the city that I found sitting in the hotel room. Then had dinner with two attorneys & it was surprisingly nice after which they took me on a brief tour of the city.

Today: Interviewed with 10 attorneys in half hour intervals. I guess it was payback for the really nice hotel room they put me up in. They got their money back in spades. I would be surprised if I got an offer from this firm since the question I got asked constantly is why I was interested in the city. I got the feeling my answer was a little too flimsy for their taste. Firms want the 2L's for the most part to come back & work for them permanently after they graduate. They don't want to pay them beaucoup d'argent for the summer to never see them again. That would be me. The city was nice but I can't see myself there beyond one summer.

Why A's Continue to Elude Me

Bourne Ultimatum: Loved it. Highly recommend but you have to catch it at the theatres to get the full effect of all the non-stop action. It's too bad that's the end of the Bourne trilogy. Finally got to watch "The Lookout" which was good but it didn't quite live up to the hype.

Newport Harbor: Another MTV reality show. Had never seen it before until last Sat when I caught a marathon of past episodes. Good thing the season is just about over because I'm hooked.

Kid Nation: The CBS reality show about kids living unsupervised in the middle of nowhere premiered today. It was interesting to see how much more rational & thoughtful kids are compared to grown-ups. Not must-see tv but catch it if you can. We can all learn a few lessons from these little tykes.

Next Week: Fall season line-up begins! I caught a few episodes of Criminal Minds this summer & does that show take the cake for having the most realistic creeps or what?! Love the story lines but I watch all the murder scenes with my eyes closed. Way to vivid for my taste. But I'm afraid I have to add it to my ever-growing list of must-see tv which is (in no particular order):

-24
-House
-Criminal Minds
-Grey's Anatomy (might boycott since Preston Burke is no more but I've yet to decide)
-All the new dramas - have to watch them at least once. Hopefully I'll hate them all so I can have time to study.

Small Legal World

So I'm riding in the elevator in school today with this girl & we begin to chat. She tells me she's glad her classes are over for the week but she's bummed out that she has to work Thu & Fri. Here's our conversation:

Me: So where do you work?
Her: At XYZ.
Me: What?! (my big mouth continues) I had applied to work there & received an offer but I called & quit on my starting day.
Her: (with her eyes wide open) You must be ...... (insert my name here)!!! They had sent us all these emails about you starting, & to be nice to you, & to show you the ropes, & then they sent us an email saying were no longer coming.
Me: (thinking...why did I have to open my big mouth) OMG...I feel so bad. I didn't know they had made such a big deal about it.
Her: Oh yeah they did....it's a very formal work environment & be glad you quit. The industry is very complicated so the research is very hard & everyone is so proper that you cannot do anything without having to fill out forms, sending out emails..... (she's been working there since May).
Me: .....(we continued to gossip about the place). It's a small legal world indeed.

I digress: I received a call for a call-back interview scheduled for next week! Woo hoo! This is a firm I interviewed with at one of the job fairs I attended. Will share all the gory details after the fact.

6 Years Later....

71,720-78,296 Iraqi Civilians Killed

27,767 American Troops Injured

3,774 American Troops Killed

298 Coalition Troops Killed

2,974 Killed on 9/11

OBL...Still at Large

Raw Deal

As we enjoy the game of football every Sunday, let's not forget what a violent sport this is. Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills will probably never walk again after receiving a catastrophic neck injury due to a head-on collision with another player yesterday. Even though these men assume the risk that comes with playing this sport, it's still saddening when an event such as this happens. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

Things Annoying Me Today

1. Why did Dell install Adobe Reader 7 on my desktop knowing that it did not support Vista? I've been trying to open pdf files for the past two weeks unsuccessfully & it wasn't until I pulled up Adobe on wiki when I found out what the problem was. Had to download Adobe 8 which only took a few minutes but it's the fact that Dell knew (I know they did) but still installed an incompatible version. I'll be shooting them an email of disgust shortly.

2. Why is it that my lights go off or flicker every hour on the hour when it rains? I love my new place but this is driving me nuts!! When I went outside to investigate, I noticed that the power lines sag & seem lower to the ground than they are supposed to be. Why not call the electric company to come fix the problem, you ask? Well, the lights do not stay out long enough for me to call them so until that happens, I'm stuck resetting my radio, stove, & microwave clocks as well as rebooting the cable box everytime it rains. Ugh.

3. Why is it I cannot seem to get going on my appellate brief? A draft is due this Wednesday but it's proving tougher than I thought it would. My group has been given a case that is pending before the Supreme Court. We are to write a brief supporting the petitioner's side, Fedex, which was sued in 2002 by plaintiffs alleging the company was discriminating against them on the basis of age, in violation of the ADEA. The 2nd Circuit Ct of Appeals ruled against them & we are appealing to the Supreme Court to resolve the key issue in this case - whether an "intake questionnaire" (i.q.) suffices as a formal charge of discrimination. I got the raw deal on this one because I have to write a brief supporting Fedex which is arguing that the i.q. does not suffice as a formal charge. I think it does but what do I know?! It's going to be a long week.

On a happier note: Disney on Broadway's "The Lion King" is making a stop right here in Columbus! Finally. So when will Mufasa grace us with his presence: Aug 28-Sep 28, 2008!!!! WTF?!

A couple of years ago, my cousin was killed by a drunk driver who jumped a light at a crossroad. Since then, on Labor Day weekend, the whole family has been getting together for family reunions to celebrate life. So this weekend, I was in Indiana & had a great time. I missed the last reunion & hadn't seen folks for a while so it was great to see them all again. For some reason, there were no crowds at the airport which was surprising. On my way there, I got to the airport a couple of hours early thinking there were going to be massive lines at the security checkpoint but there was hardly anyone. I guess people hit the road this time around.

I've been trying for the past 3 weeks or so to get a copy of "The Lookout" from Blockbuster but my efforts have proven futile. They only have about 6 copies & it seems to be the most popular movie in stock. Even the guys that work there do not understand why such a good movie (from reviews) would have such few copies in stock. I check in about twice a week but so far, nothing. I will try again tomorrow at 2 different locations & if I don't get lucky, then I'll wait for about a month & see if I can get it then.

I start my new job next week & it should be interesting. I actually get to interact with "clients" (who are really just OSU students) & follow their cases through to the end like a "true" lawyer would which is very different from a firm where all you get to do is research for clients whom for the most part you never get to see.

The NFL kicks off the new season tomorrow! My crystal ball predicts a Super Bowl showdown between Chicago Bears v. San Diego Chargers. You heard it here first!!!

I quit...

my work study job before it even began! It was going to be too much of a hassle to dress up & catch the bus to downtown 3 times a week & earn a measly paycheck from the gov't. So bright & early Wed morning, I called one of the attorney's & told them I quit. They were very nice about it but I'm sure they were seething on the inside. Whatever. All I wanted was for them to pay for my parking & allow me to wear jeans to work. But since they weren't having that, hasta la vista baby!

So the search continues. I interviewed this morning for another job but this one's going to be on-campus. Jeans are allowed & it's within walking distance. Now that's more like it.

This & That

My favorite new single is "Be with you" by Elisabeth Withers.

I accepted the work-study offer. I had to fax them an acceptance letter which is just adding to my level of incredulity on how seriously these folks are taking all of this. I was thinking about shooting them a quick email but they called me this past Friday asking me if I'd made a decision (yet their offer letter stated I had until Monday to decide!). So I said I was fixing to accept & that's when they told me to fax them a letter stating so. Seriously. They said it was so they could begin setting up my office....mmhh....I have a sneaky suspicion that they have difficulty getting/retaining law clerks for some reason which I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

I got another paycheck from my summer job this past Friday!!! Based on my calculations, they had paid me in full a couple of weeks ago but I guess I was wrong. I officially forgave them for not making me an offer to come back next summer.

Update: Today, I got a call from my summer job's Accounting department telling me they had mistakenly put money into my account & that they were going to reverse the deposit. sob sob sob.

I was in Kentucky this weekend. It's only a couple of hours away so my friend agreed to drive us there. Had a good time & got back just in time to get caught up in a tornado. Long story short....made it out in one piece. The weather lately has been crazy: flooding, intense heat, & more flooding.

Can the boys on MTV's Making the Band 4 sing or what! The ballad version of their single "Exclusive" was amazing. It aired on the live season finale.

As previously mentioned, I signed up for a Federal Income Tax class & it was quite the experience. The prof was terrible....he would talk & then loose his train of thought....look around the class as if he expected us to jog his memory & then picked up where he left off. Then when he was looking for statutes in the case book, "....uhh....where is that statute?....I know it's around here somewhere....uhh....oh there it is. Now what was I saying....?" Putting up with that for 14 weeks was not gonna happen. Dropped it like a very hot potato. So here are some of the classes I'll be taking: Gender and the Law, Business Associations, Appellate Advocacy.

The Gender & the Law prof is so passionate about the stuff she's talking about it's almost like having a baptist minister at the pulpit. Love it. For App. Ad. we get to write a brief and then argue it in front of a panel of judges, profs, or upper class students. Everyone says it's the most time consuming class ever but it's mandatory so I'll just have to deal. The work study interview went fine. I'm sick & tired of interviewing so for now I'm done. Oh wait....I'll be out of town for a job fair this weekend. Let me rephrase: after this weekend, I am done interviewing. Now that I think about it, doing nothing next summer is sounding more & more appealing. Bumming. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?!

In the midst of all this, I managed to watch "The Shooter." Thoroughly enjoyed it. I found this $5 blockbuster gift card when I was unpacking things into my new apartment. So off I went to Blockbuster & at checkout....bam....I broke out the gift card. Turned out it only had a $.68 balance! I guess I had used it before & since the balance was so little, I had discarded it...but not in the trash. Knew it was too good to be true.

Update: I got an offer from my work study interview. I have until 8/28 to accept or decline it.

Nothingness

School is back in session this Monday. I had to shell out $540 for books today which is rather depressing. I'm still having a hard time trying to decide what classes to take. I want to take Fed Taxation but tax is the most BORING & convoluted topic there is but I remember practically all my projects this summer had some form of tax issue. And since I want to do transactional work, I need to have a clue about tax matters. Then I'd like to take Employment Discrimination but it's offered at the same time as the Tax class so it's going to have to be one or the other. Then I want to take a class which has a take home exam which is proving to be a rather difficult task trying to decipher what type of exam each class has.

I got awarded federal work study money so I have to find a job for the 2007-2008 school year. To that end, I am interviewing this coming week for a job with a state government agency. The contact lady told me that I'll be interviewing with 3 attorneys for about an hour and a half! That's a little excessive. I don't plan on working for more than 10 hours/week & will probably make about $100/week. The job is not that serious!! But I'll humor them.....hit them with my Big Law interview skills & all.

The Windy City

was fab. My cabbie was a great tour guide since it was about a 15 mile ride to where I was going. Pointed out all the sites & sounds & even gave me his cell phone number for the next time I was in town so he could take me around....now that was a little creepy. The interviews went well but more so met alot of really nice people. In one of my interviews, all we spoke about was the Michael Vick dog-fighting situation and whether he should be going to jail or not. Didn't know what to make of that.

I flew Southwest Airlines for the first time & wasn't impressed. Their terminals are so tiny and their gates so close together, it seems like people are standing on top of each other. Not to mention the whole unassigned sitting thing. Wild wild mid-west. Then my flight was cancelled in the morning & trying to get on the next flight took standing in line for a couple of hours. On my return flight, they refused to let me on an earlier flight, even though there were plenty of empty seats, without paying a $60 upgrade fee. It's too bad they have the cheapest ticket prices to Chicago so I'll just have to deal.

756...

I've been following the Barry Bonds home run chase since he hit 754 by watching all the Giants games hoping to see history happen. That was before I moved to my new diggs on Saturday and Time Warner Cable decided their guys couldn't come out before Wed. And sure enough, Barry hit #755 on Sun & #756 on Tue. Ugh!

On to even more devastating news. The firm I worked for this summer has declined to make me an offer to come back next summer. Wah....cry me a river. Something to do with the attorneys felt they didn't get to know me well enough. Nothing I can do about it but I left the partner who called me a very nice voicemail thanking the firm for affording me such an amazing opportunity. The legal world is a very small community so I figured there was no need to go postal. Funny story: my interviewer today worked at my firm for a few years before she quit last year & joined a competitor firm. She didn't sling any mud but she made it clear how much nicer her new firm was. Ha.

Journal orientation was horrendous. The editor-in-chief is an arrogant S.O.B. who spoke to us like we were 5th graders. Why I signed up for this mess is beyond me. Here's the assignment: we all got articles written by professors or students that have been chosen for publication. Each article has about 50-90 footnotes and our job is to get a HARD COPY of every journal, newspaper, book, etc, that has been cited in the footnotes and making sure they have cited accurately and conform to bluebook rules. Traipsing through libraries in Columbus searching for these articles is not not what I had in mind when I signed up to join a journal.

On to better news. My new computer came & it is stupendous (if that's a word). I absolutely love it. Installation was pretty simple & it seems like all my software is compatible with Vista so that's a plus. The cable guys came out today and got the internet up & running so I cannot wait to test out the system.

Dell Purchase

Ordered a new desktop today. J, my technical advisor, is probably thoroughly disgusted wherever she is, because it's unfathomable to her that someone would buy a desktop in 2007. I heard her but I'm a firm believer that desktops have a very long shelf-life compared to their laptop counterparts. Take my current - almost obsolete - desktop. Had it for about 7 years (originally it had Windows ME before installing a bootleg version of XP) & it's still going strong. Then take my 15-month old laptop that had all 4 USB ports go out a few months ago for no apparent reason. Not hardy at all. We all need a trustworthy companion & my desktop is it for me. What's great about this one is that it's going to have a wireless network card so I won't have to run cable wires into my study room. Hook up the modem & the desktop should be able to connect to the internet from anywhere in the house. Love it!

Aug & Sep is when we job hunt for next Summer. Just found out that I'll receive 6 on-campus interviews (OCI). Here's how the process works in a nutshell: All the participating firms are listed on one website so you upload your resume, cover-letter, transcripts, and writing sample & apply to whatever firms you want & then those firms select those they want to interview. While it's great I got the interviews, only about 15% of the people get jobs through OCI so while technically, though unlikely, I could be part of the 15%, I'm just looking at this as an opportunity to polish up my interview skills. Then I'm going to Chicago for a job fair sometime in Aug where I have some more interviews scheduled. I've only applied to big firms thus far (since they have early recruiting dates) so I still have to target the small to medium sized firms & government jobs. It's going to be a long 2-3 months.

S.C.O.O.

Today I filed my first petition with the Supreme Court of Ohio. One of the attorney's sent an email asking if someone had an extra hour to do a project. I responded & it turned out it was to file the petition with the court which was about a 15 minute brisk walk away. After going through an x-ray machine, the security guard scanned my ID, laminated a copy & had me wear it on my lapel. Thought it was a little much but..... The building though was absolutely magnificent. Mostly marble with a Greek type of interior decor.

Journal & Other News

Remember my post about Journals at Moritz, well, I'm going to be on the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution! I am totally stoked about this although I have to be back in school Aug 5 for orientation & 2 weeks of journal assignments.

I signed my new lease today. The landlord will be out of town for the next couple of weeks so he had me sign the lease & get the keys today even though I'm not going to be moving in until Aug. I'm going to love having a washer & dryer since hauling laundry in the middle of winter is no joke. The landlord was nice enough to spray the basement to prevent critters from setting up shop. Since I had mentioned to him my fear of creepy crawly animals, I guess he figured he'd better take care of it now instead of waiting to get frantic calls from your truly.

3 Weeks & Counting....

down till my summer job comes to an end. I'm actually liking it much more than I did at the beginning so I'm not really looking forward to going back to school. But the remaining weeks will be hectic since I bit off more than I could chew. This is how it works: When we (summer clerks) get low on projects to do, we either walk around the office with a legal pad & pen asking attorneys for work to do or send them emails. Response is better if you walk around but lazy ol' me decided to send emails to about 4 attorneys (this was a few weeks ago) and last week they all decided to respond & assigned me projects. So instead of having a lazy few weeks to end the summer, I'm up to my eyeballs in mundane projects that have to get done before I leave. Initiative is overrated!

My BFF has been stalking me. Seriously. She wants to hang out all the time & since she's the only one willing to go with me on my firm outings, I have to be nice & indulge her. So Friday night, she had me bar-hopping even though I was dead tired after a hard week's work & the kicker was I had to drive. Sheesh! Saturday night though, I went out with my other girls & had an AMAZING time that shall not be rehashed - now that this blog is rated.....

Nothingness

I got my first Amazon seller feedback rating from a buyer this week. 5 stars . For some reason, buyers don't leave me any feedback even though I sell stuff all the time on Amazon & my products are always in great condition & I ship priority even when they pay for standard shipping. But try shipping something late & see the negative feedback assail you.

I found out today that I am now an Ohio resident for tuition purposes!!!! The process is tedious since you have to account for your whereabouts for the past 12 months. Leaving Ohio for more than three weeks during the entire school year disqualifies you & the only way to prove you were in the Buckeye state is through a year's worth of bank statements, pay stubs, leases, & other FBI type shenanigans. Well worth it though.

I was on a flight last week & the Columbus Destroyers (arena football) were on board. Didn't know who they were until the flight attendant announced them as we were fixing to land but I knew they had to be on some team since they all had on white polos & were bigger in stature than the average American male. The paparazzi in me almost pulled the camera out but since I didn't want to seem like the local groupie, I held back.

Red White & Boom

Gotta love 4th of July celebrations. Thanks to the festivities going on in downtown, we get to leave work at noon tomorrow so that we don't get caught up in all the fireworks madness. I was leaving work this evening & traffic was already a nightmare since lots of roads have been closed to prepare for the number of folks who'll be milling around. Yours truly is probably going to be joining the fray. My friends want to go out for dinner & drinks and then hike about 2 miles into downtown to watch the fireworks display so it should be good fun. Happy 4th of July!