Friday, June 30, 2006

Hace tres años

We all know what I am really doing with my time. But for today only, I leave the land of stolen towels, excruciatingly boring civil procedure mini-essays, and impossible MBE questions and head to a happier place in a land far, far away in the not so distant past. Three years ago - to this day, to be precise - I was camping out in a refugio in Laguna Colorada in southwest Bolivia.

Laguna Colorada Day 3; Monday, 6/30

Today was great. The morning started off with S* and I antagonizing the annoying Australian girl by defending Starbuck's, dissing anti-globalization protestors, and making comments like, "I'm pro-sweat shop."

The scenery today was once again spectacular and even more remote and desolate. Far fewer plants. The first major stop was Laguna Verde, which is on the Chilean border. The water was very calm, so the reflection of Volcán Licancabur was very clear.

We had lunch at some hot springs, which were wonderful to bathe/sit in.


The Frenchie and the Australian chick didn't get in, even though the Frenchie smells. It was a pleasant experience to sit in 90º + F water in 40º weather amid desolate mountain scenery.

We then stopped at some very interesting geothermal vents, complete w/ bubbling mud and sulphur steam. The vents were some of the coolest things we've seen so far.

We arrived at Laguna Colorada fairly early - 4 PM. Now that we're on the far more common 4-day circuit, we've seen many more tour groups and the competition for lodging has increased. So far, I'm very glad we left from Tupiza.


*Names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

WTF - Gregory Gym towel thieves

I had a great swim at the gym this afternoon. By chlorinating my respiratory system, I hopefully put the last nail in the coffin of my off season flu/cold/please turn off the air conditioning because it is making me sick.

In the locker room, some naked guy walked into the shower and said, "is this your towel with the keys on top?"

Me: Yes, it is. Why, did someone take your towel?

Naked guy: Yes.

Me: That happened to me last week. Someone swiped my towel by the pool.

Naked guy: that is SO annoying.


I mean, if we were in junior high, stealing towels might be kind of funny. But we're not. All the towel thief/thieves are doing is pissing people off and spreading cooties.

Monday, June 26, 2006

I'm sick...

of BarBri. I developed some kind of allergic respiratory reaction to the action-packed weekend of fun in North Austin. Or maybe I'm sick from the super air conditioned indoors of Texas summers. 95 outside, 60 inside. I'm recovering today by (1) skipping BarBri and (2) sweating out the sick in my un-air conditioned apartment. I just pretend like I'm back in Garoua or Belém and the heat feels kind of good.

Speaking of problems from changing climates, I saw An Inconvenient Truth this past weekend. I thought the film was really good, and Gore did a good job of summarizing the science behind the issue. The vignettes of his personal life were a bit hokey, but they provided some comic relief.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

missile defense

So, within a few days North Korea is probably going to test a long-range missile that could reach the US. And I've heard on NPR that the US might try to shoot it down with our fledgling missile defense system. And we'll probably miss. Then we'll look like huge idiots. Maybe we could shoot at it and not tell anyone.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Special secret magic tips

I'm tired of being given the "inside scoop" and "special tips" that will help me on the bar exam. Almost everyone I know is taking BarBri, and the few that aren't being subjected to the daily hell on North Lamar are taking Micromash, which is a subsidiary of Thomson, the same company that owns BarBri.*

So, if basically everyone who takes the bar prepares for it with a bar review course run by Thompson, is there any real advantage to taking a bar review course? The tip Mr. Chemerinsky gave us today that the application of an ex post facto law to a civil case is always a wrong answer? Everyone knows it, so you gain nothing. Also, what is the point of a competitive edge when all you need to do is pass?

Yes, BarBri/Micromash gives you all the material you supposedly need to know, but the vast amount of information is entirely too much for me to process by the end of July, let alone remember. I bet if we all took the bar exam a week after graduation, giving us time to skim subjects we didn't take in law school like commercial paper or family law, our pass rate would be the same.

Speaking of pass rates, that is the source of comfort as well as one of frustration. If 90% of UT students pass the TX bar the first time around, what is the point of the bar exam? I think it is merely hazing. As a corollary, if you can learn everything you need to know to be a lawyer in a two-month period, what is the point of law school? In Brazil, a lawyer I worked with at the Ministry of Environment studied for and eventually passed an examination process to become a federal prosecutor. They had 4 rounds of examinations, and something like 2% of all people who take it pass. Now THAT is a bar exam.**

So, what will I do this afternoon now that I have convinced myself that studying for the bar (and the bar itself) is pointless and that the three days at the end of July are nothing but a frat boy initiation ceremony for professionals to be? Study. Because I really don't want to be part of the 10%.

*And the same company that owns Westlaw. It is all one gigantic scam.
**If we had the same process here, I would be a biologist.

Monday, June 19, 2006

abacaxi

Pineapples are on sale at HEB. They're $3.99 a piece. I really like pineapple, so I caved. The one I bought last week was really good. The one I bought this week isn't so good. I might turn it into a smoothie instead of eating it plain.

$4 seems like a lot because in Cameroon they were around 400 francs, or about 75 cents. I'd have to eat the entire thing in a day because it would rot if I didn't and attract even more ants to my kitchen. Thus, I would have pineapple Sunday. The ones in Brazil were even better. I miss this guy from my 'hood in Belém:

His pineapples were R$ 2 - 3, or about a dollar. And they were awesome and always suitable for eating plain, never needing to be sent to the blender.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Hey, asshole

You took my towel. You know, the big navy blue bath towel that was placed on one of the chairs in front of my lane at the outdoor UT pool this afternoon? I can see how you might have been confused since there were two other navy blue towels out of the 40 or so that were there today, but those two were at the other end of the pool. I'm not sure why you thought my towel was yours, 'cause you weren't sitting there, and when you picked the towel up some keys that weren't yours fell off.

In any case, since you weren't polite enough to return it when you realized that it wasn't yours, I hope that it got your face and hair nice and dry. Only two days ago I used the same towel to wipe off my sweaty balls and dry my ass crack.

After my swim, I was ogled by a certain Texas Supreme Court Justice known to enjoy looking at the scantily clad male form. I was stretching, not performing.

So, all in all a fantastic swim today.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Revolting

The guy in front of me in BarBri this morning was dipping snuff and spitting into a dirty Ruby's BBQ cup that attracted flies. I wanted to puke. I had a hard time concentrating on piercing shareholders or whatever. Apparently he is not alone.

Sad addiction, or acceptance of reality?

The country of Brazil is shutting down in preparation for its first game in the 2006 World Cup.

To understand the extent of the madness, consider that the Senate and House of Deputies will go out of session beginning at 2 PM. Most shops in Brasília will close 30 minutes prior to and won't reopen until after the game. And in São Paulo, the BOVESPA (stock exchange) is closing 2 hours early. And this is just Brazil's first game of the tournament.

Poor, poor Croatia.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

White man bi cheat we

The World Cup is underway. This year holds a little less interest since Cameroon didn't qualify, but Brazil did, as always. I remember watching my first World Cup match, Cameroon v. Chile, with PapaLanga in some ratty off license (bar) in Bamenda, Cameroon in 1998. Cameroon lost. The questionable referee decisions really pissed off the Cameroonians, to the point where there was rioting and random violence in Douala and Yaoundé. Bamenda was quiet apart from the nationwide seething of "white man bi cheat we," or that the white man had won once again. Nevermind that the Indominatable Lions lost to Chile, a South American nation whose people are sort of white but still have a colonial legacy. Details.

Thankfully for Cameroon's national pride, the Indominatable Lions went on to win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000, which resulted in two days of national celebration followed by a national day of hang over. And they won the gold medal at the Sydney olympics in 2000 and another Africa Cup of Nations in 2002. And then someone chopped all the soccer money and the Lions haven't been heard from since.

I watched the 2002 World Cup in Baltimore, Maryland. Brazil crushed Germany. Afterwards, the Brazilian Embassy gave me a free pair of special edition commemorative flip-flops. And then Tom DeLay had to mess everything up by taking a $50,000 golf trip to Scotland with Jack Abramoff.

Friday, June 09, 2006

A Life Between Jobs

This is me. The NYT should have consulted me about the boondoggles Gen X résumé building experiences I have taken over the past decade.

Instead of reading for torts, I spent last night thinking about this August's visit to Macau and Hong Kong. Planning is already in the works for fall 2008.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Changing perceptions

Fall 2003 1L social: Free cup – and there’s beer in it! I’m in law school.

June 2006: I hate you.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

This is a photo of:

a) June and July substitute for the weekly flea market in North Austin

b) my summer of fun

c) $1 million in gross revenue

d) all of the above