You know what really grinds my gears

World Cup Recap

2006-07-19T22:16:00.000-05:00

The World Cup has been over now for 10 days. In looking back to the tournament I will list my top 10 things that surprised me about the World Cup

10. The way the teams from Africa performed. They played much better than a lot of people expected. Beware in 2010 when the Cup is played for in South Africa.
9. The amount of yellow and red cards given in the game. Were some of those infractions ones that warranted the giving of a card?
8. The US team that did not even show up to play after being billed as the best team put together for this tournament.
7. Suprised by how Germany performed in the World Cup.
6. Italy winning the World Cup, considering the fact that France was the better side in the match.
5. Disappointment from Brazil and Argentina for their early exits. (I was on the Argentina bandwagon)
4. The temper of Wayne Rooney and the effect it had on the England.
3. The inconsistent officiating at this tournament. Some referrees had control of the game. e.g. the ref from Japan, Argentina and the German ref. Referees that were inconsistent were ones from Russia and Paraguay. I give credit to the English ref who retired midway through the tourney because he made a big mistake in a match, though it had no bearing on the outcome. I give him credit for taking intiative and doing the right thing. Kudos
2. The number of miss penalty kicks. I may be a keeper when I played in leagues, but I am sorry, I have never seen that many kicks missed in one tournament.
1. Zidane headbutting Matterazzi for an alleged slur against his family.

World Cup Soccer

2006-06-14T17:18:00.000-05:00

World Cup Soccer is upon us and it comes once every 4 years. This year the tourney comes from Germany and in 2010 the tournament will be held in South Africa. Maybe I will be able to go then.
Today marked the end of the first round of games. While some teams have yet to show up, some teams that are new were very impressive.
The first of these new teams is the Ivory Coast. They played a very good game against powerhouse Argentina last Saturday. In a very good game, Ivory Coast should have been awarded an penalty shot late in the game, but that was not awarded and as a result came up short 2-1. I have high hopes for this team this weekend against another powerhouse in the Netherlands.
Other teams that looked good and are new to this Tourney were Trinidad and Tobago and Tunisia and Saudi Arabia who played a spectacular game that ended in a 2-2 draw.
Teams that have been disappointing so far were the USA and England. The US team is being advertised as the best team put together for the tournament. They did not show me anything against the Czech Republic and I don't see them doing well against Italy this weekend. England on the other hand, won its game, but the team did not show up at all. They won on an own goal by a Paraguayan player on a fine ball by David Beckham. England is known to start out slow and then pickup the pace. We shall see how they do tomorrow against Trinidad and Tobago, who stunned Sweden in a 0-0 draw.
Who will win the Cup. I am not certain right now. I want to see how the second set of games go before I venture a guess. More to come

A rough Friday Night

2006-06-03T08:41:00.000-05:00

Another week in the books and it was quitting time on Friday. All I could think about was going home to change and going out to NJ to spend time with someone I really like. Getting out there... easier said than done.
First off it was raining pretty hard during the 4 o'clock hour that all trains were f'ed up. Second, I agreed to help a co-worker get home since she does not know her way around NYC to get home. Third, I don't get home til 9:15 after telling this person I would have been over at her place at 7, but called her to let her know what was happening. I did not get to her place until 10:15.
I finally get there and I think that the night is going to be nice and relaxing and ultimately in the end I would fall asleep holding her. Boy was I WRONG!!! We went out to grab dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then went back to her place. I thought things would be nice and relaxing. It started off that way. We thought about going to grab a drink at the jazz club around the corner from her place but we went back to her place and played a game of chess. This was the second time that we were playing and she thought that she was going to beat me fair and square.
We are playing the game and every so often I was nodding off a bit while I was waiting for her to make a move. Without going into great detail, she lost and she was upset about it. This led to a spiraling cascade effect where she talked about how she had a bad day and that she felt as if her confidence was lacking. I tried to comfort her and she did not want it. Tried to calm her down, but she did not have it. In the end, she told me that as much as she liked me there was no spark there and just wanted to be friends. I knew something like this was up for awhile, but got her to just try and see if time would let things build and such. While it hurts to have something end that in my opinion had potential it was nice to have someone be honest and upfront early before things any further. We agreed to still be friends and that is something that can be done, at least from my point of view. Time will tell what happens. If it is meant for this to ever happen then our paths will meet up again. But for now I will take what I can get even though there is an empty void right now for someone who somehow opened me up when I thought it could not be done again. This person I thought was really special with a lot of potential. Alas, right now I am wrong, but all I can say is 2 things: (1) Better to have tried then not to have tried at all; and (2) I will always be there (despite what others may think) and I will be the best friend that I can be and not be bitter. She was open with me and thus she has my respect and I will be grateful that things did not get any further that would have resulted in more difficult heart ache than is currently being felt.

Never give up!!

2006-05-29T07:44:00.000-05:00

I decided that I would share with you one thing that I look to when in a tough situation. This was my mantra in graduate school.

A new Type of Outrage

2006-05-27T07:43:00.000-05:00

I would like to thank my co-worker who posted this on his blog Hipster-Union which could can find to the link to his site to the right of this post. He may be slightly disgruntled at work when the stress level reaches a new high, but he is a great guy. Now to his rant which I can empathise with

"Greetings loyal employee. Your workday is brought to you by Happy Sunny Big Chinese Bank... our Bank will make you Happy. With Happy Sunny Big Chinese Free Checking and Happy Sunny Big Chinese Dollars, Happy Sunny Big Chinese Bank wants to be a part of your modern lifestyle. Together, we will embrace the Happy Sunny Big Chinese world. Come to Happy Sunny Big Chinese Bank. Thank you for your attention. This commercial interruption has been deducted from your paycheck."

As if I'm not outraged enough, I have found yet another level of outrage - a deeper outrage that taps into my Communist-leaning soul. Because of commercial announcements in the workplace.

I just endured a meeting that was, on one level, extraordinarily awkward and, on a whole different level, representative of the level to which America has sunk. Myself and everyone else who, like a good little worker bee, was eating lunch at the desk, were called into the Boss' office for a very special announcement. What could it be? Did we win the big case? Did we sign up a big new account? Was a Very Important Person stopping by to thank the firm for all of its hard work? No, I am now receiving commercials at work. It's come to this.

We received a speech from someone at the Bank, telling us about the Bank's fabulous new free checking deal. Sign up for a free checking account and get a free one-night stay at any Marriott in the country. Then, the Boss proceeded to tell us that we are probably paying for our checking accounts now and we should all switch to that Bank. It's a great deal. You can't beat it with a stick.

This is what I've been reduced to: eating my lunch at my desk only to have it interrupted by a f*cking COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WTF?!? I am getting advertising delivered to me IN PERSON AT WORK WHEN I"M ON LUNCH! This job! this country! this system! is so mother*fcking f*cked that I can't see through all the outrage.

F*cking commercials at work!

On top of that, I'm disgusted at myself and proud of myself for the remarkable restraint I showed. I have a "free" checking account with that Bank. It's not free. And I don't get a free night's stay at any Marriott hotel in the country because I've been a ~~loyal~~ ~~gullible~~ easily appeased ~~customer~~ victim of the Bank for seven years (fifteen if you count the two banks that this Bank bought out). Oh, and in case you're wondering which bank, it's the Chinese bank owned by the House of Saud. I'm extra-special proud of supporting that sh*t.

And don't get me started on the Russian that they have who sells annuities to people who don't need/want annuities in a boiler-room style delivery. How skeevy can it get?

I swear, I think that "he" must be lonely. He called a salesman to come down to deliver a pitch. His new name is Bizarro Burns. In the normal world, people don't welcome salesman into their homes/paces of work. In Bizarro world, our workday is interrupted to hear pitches from salesman. F*cking Bizarro workplace. This place needs a match in a file on a Friday night.

Why am I outraged? A "free checking" account at that Bank is nothing I don't know about. I have that account. So, is it because I'm being offered something that is meaningless to me?

A free night's stay somewhere in the country? My two week's vacation is in North Carolina where I stay with my family at our house. Moreover, my random free days are generally spent at other relative's houses around the country. So, is it because the fabulous prize is unusable by me?

I've sort of given up on raging against the machine. Nevertheless, there was something vaguely wrong about two people then signing up for the "free checking" account. So, is it because of the pervasiveness of our consumer culture?

Yes to all, no to all. Mainly, it's because my time was wasted. So now I am wasting time in revenge. It's all I have left because I don't even have possession of my own time. F*CK AMERICA. F*CK THE WORLD. F*CK THE BANKS. F*CK MY BIZARRO BOSS.

Now then...

...where did I put those matches?

Chemistry

2006-05-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

Is it right for someone that barely knows you and with whom you have had more cancelled dates than actual dates?

Why is it that someone who claims to know what they want and believe in soulmates afraid to commit? Why should I be compared to an ex on the anniversary of her break up? Is it necessary to tell someone that who is interested in you that so and so was so perfect that his only flaw was his use of marijuana? This break up occurred 5 years ago for a relationship that was 6 month old and yet she appears to have not gotten over him.

Is she not over him? Is she a hopeless romantic and there is no spark b/w us or as one of my co-workers put it - She is so fucked in the head that she does not know what the fuck she want and is only using her. Get rid of the bitch! You deserve better!"

The good Dr. is looking for a good opinion.

END OF YEAR ONE OF LAW SCHOOL!!!!

2006-05-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of having completed my first year of law school, I want to just say

"WOOHOO!.!.!.1. WE DID IT!!!! IT IS OVER!!!!!"

But alas I was unable to find a video clip of Homer Simpson running around in joy and happiness. I guess this will suffice

Da Vinci Code

2006-05-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

This upcoming Friday, the Da Vinci code will make it way out into theatres. I read the book last winter and was able to finish it in 2 weeks and am now looking forward to seeing this movie.
The movie has received a lot of publicity and of late from many different denominations in its fictional portrayal of Jesus actual being married and having produced offspring. People are in an uproar about this and to some extent I can see as to why everyone is so upset about this. I can understand why it would keep a lot of bible thumpers such as those in the South from going to the movies.

Howeverm the more fascinating discussion came from a discussion with a friend of mine over the weekend. In the discussion, I expressed how I was looking forward to the release of the movie. She responded by saying how sacreligious it is and how people who go see it will need to be prayed for so that their souls are saved. She followed it up by saying that if I, hypothetically, was her boyfriend, she would forbid me from seeing the movie and that if I saw it and she found out, she would break up with me in a heart beat. Needless to say, that would not stop me from seeing the movie. There is a fine line as to what one person can and cannot be allowed to do. You know where this falls.

And on a final note about this friend, she was unable to get into movies like X-Men, Spiderman and the Matrix..... No further comment to be made by me, but for everyone else feel free to chime in.

The Born Again Christian Faith

2006-05-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

Why do people who claim to have found God, have to be so uptight and to the letter of the Bible?! They read into the Word a little too strict after they led very very sinful lives. I would rather get advice from a minister or priest then get it from a man who found god after he led a life of hardcore drug, booze and whatever else "sinful" he did with his life.

Who ever heard of missionaries that waited til their wedding day for a kiss or where the one wrote letters to a spouse he never met and then shared with her those letters after they were together.... Where is Darwin when you need him.

Looking for comments here.

Hobbies

2006-04-23T11:12:00.000-05:00

Everyone needs something that either distinguishes them from others or to enhibit a commonailty with someone else. For some it is sports and for some it is women. Etc..

I am just like the average guy, I like my sports (watching and playing) and a good movie. I don't consider women to be a hobby because I ain't no playa.

This past month, I went back to an old hobby that I have not picked up in over a year. The Stock Market. People have asked me why the market? I tell them for the fun of it and that I would like to make more money. People have asked, "Are you afraid of losing what you put in?" I respond by saying that you never know and you have to take a risk. My capital venture will start for now with $1k and I will see where it goes. The key to success as well put by money manager Jim Cramer, "You have to Buy and do Homework!" Success is all about timing and all about know where to invest.

Early success, has kept me in the commodoties section of the market. Copper was my big winner this past month giving me a 140% return. Remember the only bad risk is the risk not taken and at almost 30 years of age, there are a lot more risks that will be taken in my life. I have just decided to go back to the market after a 1 year hiatus. Can't be afraid of anything in today's society and you have to make opportunities for yourself by finding your mark in life. This is a story to be continued....

The week that was.....

2006-04-23T10:23:00.000-05:00

This past week at work was probably one of the most tense weeks that I can remember. I walked into work on Monday and wsa given my round of assignments to do at New York County. I was out of the office for 2 hours knowing full well how much had to be done when I returned back into the office. I stroll back into the office to find out at lunch that 1 lawyer was fired. The awkward part to this was the fact that a good bit of the work that I had to do that afternoon dealt with work for her. Even worse, I had to go speak to the boss about this work and I did not know how to approach him because I did not know at this time why this lawyer was fired. I talked to my boss and by the end of the day I knew the reason why this lawyer was fired. Monday is now over

Tuesday was another tense day at the office. Just when I thought that everything was going to be ok, there was another lawyer let go at the firm. Apparently, the higher ups felt it necessary to ask if others were looking for a new job. The lawyer that was let go apparently said yes. Is there more fat to be trimmed from the firm, time will tell. There was a rumor in the office that they would ask more people, but I only heard of one more person going into the boss' office to be asked that very question. Tuesday is done.

On Wednesday, the tension was so great in the office that anything could set anyone off. Another rumor was going around in the work place that a third person was going to be let go. Was it going to be a third lawyer in 3 days or was it going to be someone else. Noone was safe, but the perverbeal axe did not fall on this day nor was there any drama on Thursday.

Friday is here and I am happy that the week is just about over. I stroll into work around 9 and find out that I missed out on the latest victim in the office. Apparently, they let go of this new girl in billing. This person was not the warmest person in the office, but she carried a stench with her that made you want to stay away from her. First off, she could do nothing right in the office, but fall asleep at her computer and take all these breaks to go have a cigarette break. I have never seen someone's hand shake so much when having a cigarette and I live with parents who smoke 1+ pack a day. Was she on other drugs? My guess is probably, but they don't do random drug tests at work. The other beef I had with this person was that she claimed that she was disabled. She said she was bipolar. I have had interactions in the past with people who were bipolar. One was a fellow grad student and the other was a former student that I had. The student was receving treatment and seemed quite normal. She did not ask for any special priveleges, but she dropped the course when she was unable to reschedule doctor's appointments in NYC with her exams in Buffalo. My fellow graduate student said he was bipolar and did not take medication or at least he did not admit to doing so. He just graduated with his Ph.D. Congratulations to him. Now as for this wretch, she comes into to work late, sleeps at her desk, takes breaks every hour, goes to the bathroom to read for how ever long she wants. Can they do anything at work to remedy this? The answer was no because she is disabled. The truth is that this girl is the type that looks for a weakness in any system and will exploit it to whatever degree she can. Not to be a hypocrit, but there are some things in life that I believe are appropriate venues to find a loophole in the system. For example, fighting a parking ticket, finding an easier way to get by in school. These are places where it is ok to find a way to edge by. People who claim to be disabled and take advantage of the system are people that sicken me. There are so many people out there who have problems and either can't get any help or say nothing about it. There is a co-worker of mine that looks as if she has a screw loose but she does not say a thing or complain at work about it. God bless her. Then there is this bitch (had to say it) who cries I am disabled, I don't make enough, I could do my worst here and they can't fire me because I am disabled. Well on Friday, people had enough with your games at work and you were finally let go. The song that comes to mind now is "Hit the Road Jack!!" And one final note on this person who is no longer at work, for someone who claims she is not making enough and yet takes the express bus to work and not the ferry and train which is a cheaper combo, I bet you wish you had that $5 back that you gave that panhandler the other day. (Note: I will at times give to these poor people, judgment call, but in the case of this person I just had to say it.)

Still Alive

2006-03-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive despite my neglecting to keep my blog updated.

I am doing ok especially after this past weekend. I went down to Atlantic City this weekend with 5 friends for the first of two bachelor parties for my one friend. They decided to have this excursion on my behalf since I am unable to attend the Vegas bachelor party. I am scheduled to take a final and go to a wedding in North Carolina during this time. Back to AC, we got down there and started with a simple NL holdem poker tourney (single table game) This was fun since it was my first live table at a casino where the stakes was greater than $20. We had dinner at the Old Homestead where I had a 36 oz. Ribeye Steak. That was the best steak I have had in a while. From there we went to Casbar and then back to the casino to gamble. All this seems very tame and it is. I did not go back to my room til 6:30, but while I was away I missed all of the excitement upstairs in the room. We had two adjoining suites and there were 3 guys to the room. While the one guy was trying to sleep, my buddy took out a condom, filled it with hand lotion and put it next to the guy's face. He woke up with it inches away and threw a major fit. He was screaming, jumping up and down going nuts. He was about to talk to front desk when the guys next door confessed. When I heard this story, I just shook my head at the fact that they would do something that stupid and immature. I could see guys who are 21 doing this but not guys who are almost 30. Do we ever learn and grow up?? That is a darn good question.

More to come soon. (And if you are all interested in knowing how I did, I was down this weekend gambling at Ballys (Don't go there))

Funny Bumper Sticker

2006-01-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

I was talking with a co-worker as we were leaving work. We were walking to the train station and talking about funny bumper stickers that we have seen. Here is one that she shared with me that she has on her car

Practice safe sex, now go f*ck yourself!!!

Happy New Year

2006-01-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Allbeit 2 weeks into the new year. What is in store for all of us? Only time will tell. Happy and healthy new year to all.

Happy Holidays

2005-12-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

To everyone out there, I want to wish you all Happy Holidays!!
Normally, I am very respectful of all faiths. I am Greek Orthodox and every so often I make a couple jokes about some of our traditions especially when they sometimes don't make any sense and when explaining it to someone of a different faith. On my down to visit my old roommate yesterday, I was sitting in traffic on the Belt Parkway. (nothing out of the ordinary on this road. Almost as congested as the Staten Island Expressway) While I was sitting in traffic, there were 3 pickup trucks on the eastbound side with a giant Menorah in the cab of the truck with two lights lit. Again all perfectly fine since Channukah is going on. I am sitting in my car with the music on when I start to hear the middle truck broadcasting loudly to everyone in this traffic jam about Judaism and about Channukah. They were telling people where to go and doing some advertising. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to hear while I am driving in my car and stuck in traffic is hearing about any religion (Greek Orthodox, Judaism, Catholicism, etc) I was happy when traffic opened up to say the least.

Panhandlers and homeless people

2005-12-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

I have been riding the subways for many years. Every so often I come across a homeless person asking for spare change or has a sign posted by him as he is asleep or sitting on the ground. There are times when you heart goes out for these people and times when you wish that they would go an try to do something to get themselves out of their predicament. I understand that it may sound easy but they should at least try. In my humble opinion of course. But then again there people who panhandle for the sake of extra money and may be deceiving the general public
Case and point involves this one woman who is always panhandling for money on the 2 or the 3 train. She comes out and gives her sob story about how she is a widow with 2 kids that does not do drugs etc. I have heard her story countless times. She was once in my car that was stuck in between stops in the tunnel and told her story 3x. She was asked about her kids by one person and all she kept saying was that her one child is very sick. When asked with what she said, "he is very sick." The other thing about her that raised an eyebrow was the one time I saw her on Wall Street and she was listening to her iPOD. I found it wierd that she would have an iPOD and was in need of money for her kids. Any other inferences on this lady I leave to you guys.
Last night, I was on the 1 train heading uptown to Times Square. While this may sound disgusting to the average person and it is, my old roommate and I found this very amusing. There was a homeless person on the train sitting in the corner by the door. As we were pulling out of a stop, he got up, walked to the door the goes between the cars, opened it and urinated in between the cars. My roommate turned to me and said "When you gotta go, you gotta go." For that guy one may feel sorry for him, but then again I would be careful as to where I sit on the train and what I would touch. (at least on the #1 train)
On the way back from Times Square, my roommate and I had the distinct pleasure of listening to a girl start singing on the train. She told everyone that she loved to sing and that any donations would be appreciated as she tries to make it as a singer. Her song to be honest was ok. Not spectacular and certainly not horrible. How serious she was about her dream as a singer remains to be seen, but for someone asking for money she was all decked out in trendy garb. What she would do with the money she received is still unknown.
In all my years of riding the train, it is hard to decide as to whom you want to help out (if you decide to help) because you never know if it really is a con job or someone really in need. Help at your own risk I guess.

4 strikes and you're out??

2005-12-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

Last night was one of those nights where I was in the right place at the right time and where I was unlucky in my efforts to hook up with certain females at a while out at a club last night.
It all started after my classmate's holiday party at his father's law firm. A bunch of my classmates and I went out afterwards to Lotus. I offered to go to Club Quo where I could get us all in for free, but the idea was shot down. I managed to fit 5 good looking girls in the back seat of my car. In route to the club however, they were being bossy as to what they wanted to listen to on the radio. Then as I was looking for parking, they kept asking to be dropped off so that the did not have to walk far because they had heels on. Being the nice guy that I am, I dropped them off and went to search for parking with my buddy M. We find parking at go to the club where we found out that the cover charge was $30 and not whatever number the girls had told us. As we are getting into the club we see our classmate K with his friend B. They were coming from dinner with these two beautful girls J and M. We get in and find the girls downstairs. I walked up to this girl B (who had been giving me a hard time in the car) and put my face over her shoulder right by her face and said "Hey gorgeous. Did you miss me?"
Her response was "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to find parking."
Needless to say strike 1, because after that she hardly spoke to me. Then there is B's Roomie.
She is a cute girl with a good personality. Tried talking to her earlier at the party and even at the club where I was "dancing" with her and B. The funny thing that happened here was that while she and B were dancing this creepy dude started to grind with her and she got freaked out. She wound up pulling herself close to me so that this guy would get the hint. She was telling me how she was creeped out by him and I got jack in return. (oh well should know never to expect anything.) Shortly thereafter she and B left and went home. Right after them M left because he was tired and hammered.
The people now left at Lotus now are myself, K, B, J, M, E, K, B (last two are female classmates that do not factor into the rest of the evening or the high jinx that ensued later on). K and I were watching E and J as they were flirting with various men at the club. On one occasion I witnessed E giving some tongue play to some lucky dude. Later on K and I are watching E and J dance close together. This was alos being observed by two other guys that were hitting on the girls too. While they were dancing all of a sudden you see J make a move to kiss E and they engaged in a long sensous kiss. At this point, K, the 2 other guys and I were amazed by what we were seeing. I could swear I heard 4 jaws hit the floor in shock. Once they were done they went back to dancing but J was a little touchy feely because she started running her hands up E's body starting from her legs all the way upto her chest where she copped a feel a her "boys."
Again, I was standing there amazed. The girls shared another kiss later on that night. Initially, I was going to try to make a move on E, but it wasn't going to happen. (strike 3 if you are keeping count)
My focus now shifts to J. The 411 that I was given was that she was single and K was trying to help me out. I wound up buying her 2 kettle and tonics but was unable to get much information out from her let alone get her to dance. The ironic part to all of this is that after she left to go dance with E and some guys in the back was that I was approached by some short unattractive woman who wanted me to dance with her. At this point I had already consumed 1 jack and coke, 2 "shots" of Soco and lime, and was drinking grey goose and red bull, so I said fuck it and danced with this girl. While dancing with her she opted to grind on my and was rubbing her leg on my crotch. Song finished and she said thanks sweetie; pats my ass and leaves.
Back to J. Nothing much happened at Lotus and we wound up leaving the club shortly there after. J just wanted to leave along with B and M who were off doing whatever at the club most of the night. We get outside and it is snowing outside. E marvels at the snow since it was the first snow she had seen being that California doesn't really get any snow. We all went to Pop's diner to grab a bite. When we got there, B and K (female classmates) left. Inside the diner is K, B, M, J, E, and your truly. K tried to help me out in an effort to get me to talk to J and let me swtich seats with him. I sat down next to J and tried to strike up a conversation. While talking with her I tried to pay her a compliment by telling her that she had a beautiful smile, but that got me nothing but another smile. I was going to comment on her eyes, but before I could she got up and sat next to E where they would be for most of the time that we were there. K and B were taking turns talking to M who was B's ex if I remember correctly. What I do know is that M and J were roommates prior to M moving to Boston. We ate and the guys picked up the tab unbeknowingly to the girls. We each put in $40 towards the bill. (funny thing is what I ate was only $12, I was chipping in to what the girls ate) We are getting ready to leave when I tell everyone that I will drop them off. E said it was unneccesary because she was out of the way. I told her that I have to go by her place on my way home. She would have nothing of it and left to go get a cab.
The 5 of us left to go to my car. The order of the drop off was going to be J, then M, and then K and B. We get to J's apartment and she was telling M along the way that she needed her help for some plan that she had. She gets out of the car and asks K to come upstairs with her. He declined and stayed put in my car. (He would later say that he did not want to go because a. he did not want to and b. I was interested in her). I drive a little further to drop M off who was staying with a friend of hers. As M is getting out of the car, she tells B to get out too. Unlike K, B got out and presumably got some play early this morning. I dropped K off and then went home. On the way to K's apartment, he said that we should have had the after party at his place and maybe I would have had some better luck with J. He told me that he invited her to come to his birthday bash next weekend. Now I just have to wait and see where things go now. All in all, it was a fun time out and completely forgot about the fact that I had to study for a pain in my ass final that was approaching. Where will things go.... I have no clue whatsoever. All I do know, I was in the right place at the right time to see 2 good looking women make out despite going 0-4(?) on the female front. Ah such is the life of this single guy. It is all a game and sometimes you need to be a little lucky to get some success. "Keep at it," is all that I can say.

To be continued ......

Getting Copies of Old Exams

2005-11-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

Why is it sometimes that when you ask a professor for a copy of an old exam that you get the short end of the stick?? Most professors are willing to help students out because they want them to do well. No professor (unless completely sadistic) wants to read a bad exam from one student let alone half the class. My contracts professor isn't up for divluging anything. How a 70+ year old man plans to grade 120 with at the very worst 3 essays is besides me.
One possible approach to circumvent this obstacle is maybe to contact his other place of employment and see if the school is willing to help a poor law student who is just trying to get by the upcoming final. Ideally, the school would be happy to divulge some information, but that is not the case here. After being on the phone with the school for 15 minutes with a person that was trying to help me over the phone, I was told in the end that I have to be a student at the school in order to get copies of previous exams by this professor. Sigh ... and the struggle continues.

Final are right around the corner

2005-11-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the year again. The semster is coming to an end and that means that finals are here. This year will be interesting since I have not had to take a final since my first year of graduate school. I may have a Ph.D, but the majority of my time was spent in the lab doing research and not in a classroom.
All that being said, I am reminded of an experience I had when I was a senior in undergrad. It was the last week of classes and in my one senior level chemistry class, my professor gave us 2 take home finals. The one was a lab final and the other was a final on his portion of the class. We had 1 week to work on these exams and we were warned not to wait until the last minute to get them done. Needless to say a bunch of us did not listen and were pulling all nighters in the end. The smart approach would have been to have taken care of the lab practical first, but hindsight is 20/20.
Since I was not that wise back then, I waited til Wednesday night to start my lab final. The first all nighter wasn't too bad and the exam was turned in at 1 PM when it was due. After that it was straight to the lecture final that required a lot of time to organize the answer properly. For a 10 question exam, a second all nighter was required. That night I was working in my senior advisor's lab with one classmate, another one was down the hall, and a third was around the corner. Prior to commencing work that night, my friend and I went to the supermarket to get supplies. Supplies for me that night were Sour Patch Kids, 1 L of All Sport and 1 L of Jolt Cola (think of it a vivarin laced Coke). At about 4 in the morning, I started to shake a little bit since I had been up for over 2 days. I managed to get the exam done and turn it in under my professor's door at 7:50 am. The exam had to be in by 8 am.
At this point, I had one more class where I had to pick up another take home exam. I was determined to make it to class and I decided to put my head down at my desk. My research advisor at one point came in and told me to go home and that the other grad student in the lab would pick up my exam. That was the last thing I heard until about 10:10 am. I was awakened by a professor, the one whom I had justed turned in the 2 take home to. He called my name and I said, "Where am I."
He replied by telling me that I was in the men's bathroom. I opened my eyes and found myself sitting on a chair with my head against the towel dispenser. I apparently had a sleep walking episode and walked from my lab to the bathroom.
I replied, "I guess I should be happy that I did not walk wind up in the women's bathroom."
He answered, "You should be so fortunate that the right guys did not find you here and move you there."
I chuckled and then left in disbelief over what had just happened. Since then that professor has told the story of what happened to the student who waiting until the last minute to work on a take home without mentioning my name. I went home after that incident and slept for 21 hours after being up for 60+ hours straight. The moral of the story is don't wait until the last minute to cram for exams. That goes double for take homes. I hope that I will not have to resort to an all nighter in getting ready for finals in a few weeks.

Keys to surviving the First semester of law school

2005-11-22T14:20:00.000-05:00

Welcome

2005-11-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

After looking at blogs that some of my law school colleagues have created, I decided to jump on the band wagon to post some of my thoughts based on my experiences too. I hope to entertain everyone and welcome any and all comments