in the airport, very early.

Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?

This was exactly a year ago today, on New Year's Eve last year in Buffalo.

This was Christmas day this year, driving to Zach's parent's house in Buffalo.

I guess the biggest change aesthetically at least is that I now wear my glasses full time. I used to wear contacts but they were seriously irritating my eyes and making them very uncomfortable and constantly red, so I switched back to my silly specs. I think I look rather fetching in glasses,  and Zach claims that he actually likes me better in glasses, so I suppose it is not so bad. 

As far as other changes, I can't think of anything super major. I'm still with Zach, still at University of Baltimore law, still living in the same apartment building (albeit in a different apartment, thank god). I still have my Winston cat, and I still am not sure what I am going to do with my life. I do have a new camera, though, so that's pretty neat.

the vaguest one so far.

Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.

Seriously? Could this be more vague? I could post a picture of the gas station on Transit that Zach and I went to today to fill up before coming back to Utica. Okay, I'll post something cool, I guess. I studied abroad in Galway, Ireland and it was super rad. I want to go back.

That's me in front of some swans on our last day in Galway. Gosh, I was thin then. Must hit the gym soon. 

challenge.

Day 25 – What’s in your purse?


My wallet. Cell phone. Keys. Six or seven different kinds of lip gloss/stick/balm. Emergency tampon. Hair tie. Lotion of some sort. Camera sometimes. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but oh well. 

another picture one

Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.


my two favorite things in the world :)

should really be doing laundry.

Day 23 – 15 facts about you.


1. I hate wearing socks.
2. I drink, on average, 5-10 cups of tea per day. 
3. I love plain grapefruit without any sugar or anything.
4. I can't wink.
5. I have scoliosis. 
6. I enjoy doing laundry.
7. Almost every time I sneeze, I sneeze twice.
8. I used to figure skate competitively in school. I miss it. 
9. I love argyle.
10. I have to wear my bright green checkered Vans to every exam I take.
11. I adore cooking, and I'm always trying new recipes.
12. I am left handed.
13. I have almost no sense of direction. I get lost in my own hometown.
14. I think diamonds are ugly. 
15. I believe that cats are the superior pet. 

Okay, I skipped a few days. or seven.

Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.


No one has really hurt me recently, so I'll address this to my christmas camera which turned out to be defective and has to be returned.


Dear Nikon Camera That I Thought Was Awesome,


Wow. You really did a number on me. When I opened you on Christmas morning, I thought you were great. I took some pictures with you, and you worked awesome! I took some more pictures once I got to Buffalo, and that worked out well. Later that night I tried to take a picture of Eric in his dad's new Snuggie, and your shutter did not open all the way. I was sad. My mom told me to try to charge you all the way and see if that did anything, so I did. I also reset you to factory settings. Both did nothing. Your shutter appears to be defective. Nikon camera, why did you do this to me? I loved you dearly. You were shiny and new with a good zoom and took great pictures. I am taking you back to Walmart where my mom bought you. You are an utter disappointment. 


No love at all (unless you magically fix yourself),
Sue

That's not vague at all.

Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.


Um..I mean, a lot of things make me happy, but here's my Winston:

so glad I can finally explain this

Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.


Okay, I've actually been waiting to talk about this "Follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness" does, admittedly, sound like one of those idiotic quotes college freshman girls put on their myspace profiles, like "LiVe LaUgH LoVe". I assure you it is nothing of the sort. It's actually a quote by Allen Ginsberg, who wrote possibly one of the most amazing poems of all time, Howl. 

okay.

Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.

This is me a coupla days ago trying out my new lipstick. Pink!

Today's actual challenge

Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.


Pretty much anything salty. Pickles, chips and salsa, etc. 

Forgot to do this yesterday. I blame it on that martini I had at dinner.

Day 17 – A photo of you and your family


Okay, so apparently my computer doesn't actually have a photo of me and my entire family, but here's a few of my immediate family:


Me, my sister, my mom and dad and Zach after graduation from Canisius:

My sisters and I at Mo's wedding:

Hm.

Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.


I've got several:

Simon Pegg. meow.

Michael C. Hall. humina humina. 

David Bowie. I don't care how old he is.

Finals are done. YES.

Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.


Cell phone/keys. Dur. 

This is easy.

Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.




DEXTER Dexter omg Dexter. The season finale is TONIGHT and I can't watch it because of lame-ass Immigration/Civ Pro exams tonight and tomorrow. I shouldn't say much because I know friends of mine who read this are still in the midst of season 3 (get to season 4 I say! It is the BEST so far) but this season has been very good and I am on tenterhooks wondering what is going to happen tonight. Plus, Michael C. Hall is a dreamboat for sure. Look at this hunk of man!

It's amazing. I just heard it was picked up for a sixth season, so that makes what happens tonight REALLY important. Ah, I wish I could give away spoilers but I do value my friendship with these folks still in season 3 so I won't say a word. 

This one is seriously difficult.

Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?


Okay, this is impossible. I don't have a favorite musician and I don't have a favorite music genre, I really do like almost everything...except country. Lately I've been obsessed with Kanye's new album (haters gonna hate) but I think for all-time favorite musician, I'd have to go with David Bowie or John Lennon. I REALIZE it is very cliche' nowadays for youngsters to be obsessed with John Lennon, but recognize, I've loved the Beatles since I was in elementary school. David Bowie is just awesome. Did you know he plays fourteen different instruments? Okay, time to get studying for immigration law. Womp womp. 

Not so much a town.

Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.

Mount Vernon neighborhood, Baltimore. Ah, yes.

oh, i enjoy being a girl.

Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?


1. Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer 
2. Neutrogena Skin Clearing Oil-Free makeup
3. Maybelline Mineral Powder
4. Covergirl Trublend Bronzer
5. Three Maybelline Roller Color Eyeshadows - Purple, Pink and Bronze
6. Sephora eyeshadow in Aspen Summit (white)
7. Covergirl brown eyeliner
8. 2 powder/blush brushes
9. Sephora eyeliner in silver green
10. 4 pack of Covergirl eyeshadow
11. Little tube of Neutrogena face wash
12. Too Faced glitter liquid eyeliner.
13. Maybelline colossal volume mascara


Wow, kinda sounds like this blog is sponsored by makeup brands, right? I wish. 

I wish I could go here right now.

Day 10 – A photo of our favorite place to eat.

It just happens to be food.

Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.

Takeout pad thai. Had a big evidence study session with some friends last night, and we decided to order out. Eating it now for lunch, om nom. 

THIS:

Challenge 8!

Day 8 – A song to match your mood.




I think all law students can relate to this at this point.

Despite being a girl, I don't have much to say about this.

Day 7 – Your dream wedding.


Okay, I'm really not one of those girls who thinks about this kind of crap all the time. Basically what I want is a non-religious, short  ceremony, all my best friends and family (which is a lot of people), in the fall. Preferably September or even possibly October. Open bar, DJ, good food, a good cake. I really haven't thought much about the details. But I am obsessed with this dress:
http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?page=22&style=J135

This is an easy one.

Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.


Well, as much as I love my little cat Winston, my choice for this category is obvious (at least, to me).

Yup, that's a baby three-toed sloth. Why, you ask, would I want a three-toed sloth as a pet? Because they are goddamn adorable. They always look like they are smiling. I assume they just want to chill all the time. They don't move fast, so it would be pretty hard for it to run away. They only poop like once a week, because of their very slow moving digestive systems! I just think they are so cute. This past summer, we went to the Baltimore Aquarium in the Inner Harbor with Zach's family, and the final exhibit is a quasi-rainforest type deal, and I literally gasped with joy when I noticed a SLOTH not ten feet from me, hanging out in a tree. I really love them. 

Challenge 5.

Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.

This is me at a Prop8 protest in Bidwell Park from fall/winter 2008. It was freezing and raining, but a lot of fun. Ah, the social activism of my youth. 

another photo challenge.

Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.


I don't think that I have just one best friend, but this blog is getting a little Zach-centric, so I will post a picture of my best girl friend. I've known Amber since I was in middle school, and I tell her everything. We live in different states now but we are still very close, and I always cherish the time I do get to spend with her in person.


I always loved this photo of us:

three.

Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.


Okay, I'm going to cheat a little on this one and describe one of the best dates Zach and I ever had. It would probably be an appropriate first date, I guess. It was fall of 2008, and we drove to Ellicottville (which is about an hour outside of Buffalo, NY). It is a ski town, and it has a bunch of little shops and restaurants and whatnot. It was a glorious fall day, sunny with just a touch of a nip in the air, and the leaves were midway through turning colorful. The first thing we did was to stop at a coffee shop and got snickerdoodle cappuccinos, with full-fat whipped cream and sugar and everything. Decadent. I think we also got some sort of cookie thing to go with them. The next thing we did was just walk around with all that sugar coursing through our veins, and proceeded to play in the leaves outside of some sort of building. We were 21 and 22 at the time, hahaha. The next thing we did was, upon it becoming evening, was to have dinner and drinks at the Ellicottville Brewing Company. I had a fish fry that was delicious and Zach had a steak that he said was disappointing. The best part was definitely the blueberry lager that I had. Yum. After that, we went over to a candy shop and got sponge candy, which is a Western NY thing. It's hard to describe, so I'll let wikipedia do the job. It is lovely.


That was basically the whole day, and I think it would be a nice first date for someone if it was a bit shortened. I'm not sure if you want to spend the entire full day with a new beau, but we had been together about a year at that point so it was fun for us. 

Challenge day two.

Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.

This is delicious butternut squash soup. I made it from scratch, from this recipe and it was so wonderful. It looks like weird, off-color baby food in this picture, but I promise it was amazing.

Challenge 1.

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

Here's me, chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool in my desk chair.  


My day? Boring. It was the last day of Monday day classes, so I had Civ Pro II, Labor Law and Immigration Law. Came home, and made a truly delicious chicken and veggie stir fry to put over rice. I daresay it was my day's best accomplishment. After that I got going on outlining, which I am still doing (okay, I'm just taking a short break. jeez, cut me some slack, non-existent blog readers!). Time to get back to work. I've had four cups of tea in the last hour, womp womp. 

A challenger appears

Yup, gonna do this. Cool.


Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.
Day 2 – A photo of something you ate today.
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago.
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of our favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in.
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 23 – 15 facts about you.
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – What’s in your purse?
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?
Day 28 – Your favorite movie.
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of youself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

Thanksgiving, and related items.

Despite the fact that finals are looming and outlines are...yet to be outlined, Zach and I traveled home to Western/Central New York for this Thanksgiving weekend. We left Baltimore at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, got to Buffalo at about 1:00 a.m., and promptly went to Mighty Taco for delightful fast food. I drove the entire way from Baltimore to Buffalo, and it was truly awful. The traffic was horrendous around York, PA and Harrisburg, and it was generally just a long, boring trip. It was all worth it, though. Zach's family was so happy to see him (and, I guess, me) and Thanksgiving was a wonderful time. We weren't done with our travels yet, so we left Friday around noon to head to Utica. Zach drove, which was wonderful. My mom, who is the best (in my humble opinion) cook in the world, actually made us our own personal Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, squash, two kinds of pie, and other delicious fixings. Needless to say, she sent us home with lots of leftovers.

A holiday at my parent's house is not complete without Trivial Pursuit, which Zach and I played against my mom. We just barely beat her, which should tell you how good she is at it. It took two law students to juuuuust take her down. We slept there that night and left Utica for Baltimore yesterday at around 2:30 in the afternoon.

We've cleaned the entire apartment today from top to bottom, and it's glorious. There are few things better than a nice clean apartment. I'm in the process of doing our laundry and also trying to study evidence, so that's not so fun. The evidence part, I mean. I actually enjoy doing laundry quite a bit.

After this little visit, we came home to an extremely affectionate cat. He literally has not left our side since we arrived home over 24 hours ago. He also is enamoured with Zach's icy hot wrap that he has on his carpal tunnel syndrome stricken-wrist. The internet has told me that cats love menthol, which should explain why Winston was licking Zach's wrist brace an hour ago. Crazy cat.

yesyesyes.

Undergrad, why do you want more money?

Today, Zach and I both received letters from our undergraduate college, that were basically veiled (not really) attempts at getting the both of us to give them some money. Now, I know that all colleges do this and I know we weren't singled out or anything, but ugh. I'm currently drowning in student loan debt from both undergrad and law school, I (well, the government, my parents and some scholarships- yup, go ahead and hate me) paid a lot of money to go to my college of choice, so I feel like they should wait more than one year before asking me for a donation. Maybe five years? I don't know, but I don't like it.

Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE my undergrad college. I met Zach there, I had some of the best professors I've ever met there, I had a generally amazing time there from the academics to the student life to the fun times outside of school. I miss it a lot, and I genuinely feel as if I got an amazing education there from (some) truly gifted people.

I would not mind giving back to my college if I had money. I know that there is no way for them to know that I have no money, but I feel like they should wait perhaps five years before hitting up their alums for donations. That gives people more time to finish whatever graduate school they decided to attend, or to get a job in this economy, and perhaps they will be more receptive to giving their money to the college. Like I said, if I had a great job and not a ton of student loan debt, I would definitely donate. My undergrad college was amazing, and I'd go back if I could.

On to happier things. I just made a pan of delightful brownies from scratch, and I think I will go enjoy.

Blogging in class, so scandalous

Ugh, so we have a guest speaker in this class today and she is seriously boring me to death. I should be interested, because she's talking about a semi-interesting topic, but blah. Although she did just laugh at the girl who sits three seats down from me. I don't like that girl. She doesn't know how to move her seat in when people are walking by. She's got a grumpy face.


So, I still really don't have eyebrows. I forgot to draw them in today and I hope people don't think I've got alopecia. I look like a white, young Whoopi Goldberg. 


I have so much goddamn work to do over the next week and a half if I even want to attempt going home for Thanksgiving. But that bed is so inviting. The end of the semester is terrible because all I want to do is sit at home and snuggle under a blanket and watch a movie, and all school wants me to do is outline and study and read cases. 


There's a lot of controversy in the news lately about the new TSA body-scan thing and the enhanced pat-down. I'm flying to California over winter break and I'm interested to see how it is all playing out. I really don't want my bits and pieces to be patted by a TSA agent, nor do I want my naked self to be visible to god knows who, so my personal opinion is that it's bull, and all about making a false sense of security. But I don't feel like getting into that right now, because frankly, I'm tired today. I will say this, though, to anyone who believes that "if you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about". That's not what it is about. How about a full strip-search to get on a plane? In front of everyone, or, just a TSA agent? You haven't done anything wrong, what do you care? The Fourth Amendment states : The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." I'm sure I will be back in January with a full report about how it is in practice, so we'll see. I just don't buy the security argument at all. 

Eyebrows, absent.

At some point or another, I have got to start realizing that I am unable to perfectly shape my eyebrows without the help of a professional. Recently, I bought some Veet Wax Strips at the drugstore because I don't know where to go to get them waxed around here and I really don't have the time. Well, I managed to take off almost all of both of my eyebrows. The strips were too big, and I accidentally placed them too high up on my brow bone because I was trying to avoid ripping out my eyelashes as well. I look absolutely ridiculous. I will be drawing on my brows with eyebrow pencil and perhaps wearing bright lipstick as a distraction for the next several weeks.

I have done this before. I need to step away from the at-home wax kits. Don't even get me started on the time I tried to give myself an at-home bikini wax. God, the flashbacks.

I am currently listening to Cee Lo Green's brand new album, The Lady Killer. You might remember him from that big hit song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley from a few years ago. He has a very entertaining and fun to listen to voice and sound. I'm thoroughly enjoying the entire thing, including, of course, the viral internet hit (language NSFW, but somehow not vulgar at all. Catchy, if anything):

Warning, it may stick in your head for days.

That's all for now.

A brief haiku.

Hipster on St. Paul,
Neon and plaid - not so great.
Head back to MICA.

In which I drink too much tea but don't feel like doing homework.

So, I've been browsing my statistics on this thing a bit, just to see if anyone actually reads it, and I am thinking that not many do, and if they do, they got here by mistake. I mean, according to the stats thing, I have page views from Croatia and Turkey. No one in Croatia or Turkey (or the U.S., for that matter) could possibly be interested in anything I have to say on this blog. But I digress. I mean, I have two followers: my sister and my friend Dave who hasn't updated his blog in well over a year. 

I am very, very excited because I actually got my ideal schedule for next semester. I've either had the professor before and loved them, or heard stellar reviews about them. I'm taking Administrative Law with Rochvarg, Professional Responsibility with Rubinson, Constitutional Criminal Procedure with Grossman, Commercial Law with Smalkin and Collective Bargaining Seminar with Hayes. I've had Rubinson and Hayes before, and they are both fabulous. Zach raves about Rochvarg, so I trust his judgment, and Grossman and Smalkin both have outstanding reviews on rate my professor dot com, which is a site that I've used to make my schedules since I was a wee freshman girl at Canisius College.

So, lessee. What can I ramble about while avoiding homework and house chores at the same time? Thursday night was absolutely fantastic. Hung out with great friends, got very drunk, ate a pizza, and proceeded to fall asleep on my futon. Friday was not so fantastic due to being slightly hungover, but it was not so bad. I've had worse hangovers in my life. Today, I've been kind of moseying around at a leisurely pace and not really doing much save a few loads of laundry and some dishes. Zach has been downloading music and rebuilding his Itunes library all day, and he is as happy as a clam. I feel like I really should make some more tea and make the bed, but Winston is sitting on top of the disheveled covers and is looking at me like he will be very angry if I dare to disturb him.

Old Navy is having a 50% off all coats sale and I really want to go. I love outerwear. Speaking of which, I could really use a new pair of boots. 

Best Halloween Weekend Yet?

Okay, so remember the other night when I asserted that yes, I was attending the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear, and I was excited? Well, this is what happened. I awoke Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., raring to go. Shook Zach awake, ate some breakfast, got on the road! We had planned to take the DC metro from the Greenbelt Metro station in Prince George's County, which is about forty-five minutes away. The closer we got to the station, however, the heavier the traffic became. It was bumper-to-bumper about 3 miles from the station. We got to the station, which houses over 3,300 spaces, to find it completely full and having a line that I'm sure was probably longer than any line I've ever seen. Then, it hit us. By the time we wait in the line (surely would take more than an hour, maybe even two) get on the Metro, get to DC (an hour later)... the rally might well be over. Saddened, we got in the car, and drove back to our humble apartment in midtown Baltimore.

We watched the entire rally on TV, however, and it was great. I remain a steadfast fan of Yusuf, and loved Jon's serious speech at the end. "We live in hard times, not end times". So true.

Anyway, with the rally over at three p.m., my thoughts turned to Halloween night. Lindsay texted me and said that our friend Zac (not my Zach, a different Zac!) was going to be Dexter and we were going to be his victims. All we needed was some serious plastic wrap. We traveled out to Parkville and arrived at Home Depot, and with the help of an employee, found a 20 inch by 1000 foot roll of packing plastic. Let's just say our leftovers will be well-contained for the next year or so, either that or we can perform some serious pranks. We mixed up some fake blood and went to town :

All in all, it was a glorious Halloween weekend. Now it's time to get back to work.

Very excited about tomorrow.

I am SO psyched to see these two in person, although it will probably be from very far away. Also, I'm currently watching an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras, and it is completely bizarre.

bleh.

Why this beautiful, talented, tap dancing fashion designer didn't win Project Runway is beyond me. Seriously, Michael Kor(ange)s and Nina "Bitchface" Garcia? You went with the brown, saggy, granny panties collection? Wow. That's all I have to say.

How I know my mom is the best.

Oh, your mom didn't send you a Halloween package filled with assorted delights specifically tailored to your favorite things? Jeez...uh..that must suck. Anyway!

This is a Bacon Bar. This is a rich chocolate bar with bits of applewood smoked bacon in it. It may sound gross to some, or perhaps many, but I am a deep, deep lover of bacon. This candy bar is goddamn delicious, and it'll be all I can do to not eat it all in one sitting.

LION BARS! Okay, I know they look like "Noil" bars in this picture but no matter what they are called, they are the most delicious candy bar. I discovered them when I studied abroad in Ireland and have had severe difficulty finding them stateside. My mom found them, as well as the bacon bar, in a Wegmans. Lucky lady. Anyway, I'll have trouble making these last because they are so tasty.

Beef jerky is one of my favorite things. I know, someone needs to call PETA and alert them to this blog, right? Anyway, this jerky came from California and it is delicious as well. 

That concludes the Halloween/my mom is awesome schpiel.