You Know It's the End of the Semester When...

...FCLF knocks on my door at 11:45 p.m. and says, "I'm going to the 7-11...you wanna come?" and I reply, "YEAH!" enthusiastically, resulting in a trip that scores Doritos, Fruit & Nut, two bottles of Coke and $2 worth of penny candy (which is now actually worth five pennies).

It's Brain Junk, Autumn 2008 edition. It's interesting to note that my first post about brain junk occurred on December 17, 2006, which was almost entirely through the first set of 1L exams. It's not even December yet, and already I've resorted to the junk.

The situation is clearly serious.

Favourite Things, Part III, Superhero Edition

It's kind of funny that I'm a future lawyer and yet I'm utterly taken with that icon of vigilantism, the superhero. We're a Justice League family. The four of us are relatively obsessed. I can't explain my hypocrisy on this one. I don't like violent TV for kids, but this is one of the exceptions I'm obviously willing to make.

A while back, we quizzed each other on who our top JLers were. Mine follow. Upon reflection, I realized that my favourites are all Leaguers who do not have superpowers, just their wits about them (and cool gadgets). This probably says something about my character. I'll let you decide what.

Absolute #1:

Batman

The rest are tied:

Huntress

Green Arrow

Favourite Things, Part II

Pointy shoes

Fishnet stockings

Fig and cucumber body butter
(in a pinch this is also a very fine-smelling alternative
to hair pomade for messing up my new haircut,
another one of my favourite things)

Palm, v. 0.0

I wrote my to-do list:


And then I synched it with my cell phone:

Postcards from the Edge, Fifth in a Series

Remember

Last night after yoga, I went to the National War Memorial to view RH Thomson's Vigil 1914-1918. It was quite moving.

I went because I thought I should see, and reflect on what my responsibilities are as a human being and what they will be as a lawyer. Law is an extremely important instrument, especially perhaps in times of war. This is a privileged profession and I take that privilege seriously.

I wouldn't say that I'm a pacifist, but it is safe to say that war is never good. I don't know if I support many of the military actions that are currently ongoing, but that doesn't mean that I don't support the people who do the job. What a job it is.

It occurred to me last night that my cousin is in the military. So, I remembered how close this could be to our family.

It's my last year in Ottawa, so I'm going to take this opportunity to go the service today at the Memorial.


Photo by adam is on flickr used under Creative Commons licence

Postcards from the Edge, Third & Fourth in a Series

Today, one for each kid:

I Stood in Mountain Pose

I stood in mountain pose, with my heart open to the dead.

I watched 525 names of men, lost to the war, for most of an hour.

When I was cold, I opened my heart more and breathed though the loss of them.

I bowed to the dead, known and unknown, and then I walked slowly away.

Postcards from the Edge, Second in a Series

I need to work on my bubble letter penmanship. It's been awhile since I've had cause to draw bubble letters, I guess.

Favourite Things, Part I

A random assortment of things that please me:

The plants I have managed not to kill for 2.5 months.
Also, those little white pots.

These socks, because they have polka dots and they come up above my knees.

My Converse All Star Mary Janes.

Postcards from the Edge, First in a Series

When I was living in Europe the first year that AHC and I started dating, we wrote each other a lot of letters. One of the things that he did that I loved (and still love, to this day) was send me postcards on a very regular basis. Like, sometimes daily. It was awesome.

Recently, I decided to return the favour for AHC and the kids. I'm barely going to be home until I write my last exam on April 30, 2009. Life is not going to be any easier from here on it, until that day. But, maybe getting postcards from here will make it a little easier. Everyone loves getting mail!

There's Good News and There's Bad News

The good news is: He Won!

Boy, the law school was excited today. Professor Sheila McIntyre gave quite a moving endorsement in her opening to today's Greenberg Lecture (I swear, being surrounded by that many feminists always makes me want to cry with joy).

Remember:



See here for the bad news.

So listen, I know I didn't post anything when that robot (and I don't mean that as a compliment) Stephen Harper won (sort of) the Canadian election. It might have been despair. I feel quite sad about the state of democracy in Canada. I hope, as the Onion wrote today, that Canada doesn't have to get "shitty enough" to make social progress happen. But it might.

I have a sneaking suspicious that hope (without making a judgment on the validity of said hope) might start to build here. Personally, for an Obama-level change (and it's going to be an uphill battle every single inch), I think we might need to elect an Aboriginal Prime Minister.

This Might Be A Problem

I was doing research for a paper in my Aboriginal Law class and came upon this telling FAQ page:


Is it just me, or is something wrong with that?


(Apparently you have to click on it to get the full effect. I can size it right for some inexplicable reason.)