Modern Major General

Just a normal week in terms of classwork. Still like my professors a lot. Example: "so how does this procedure work? Well, when I was defending John Edwards last year, here's what we did...." In Evidence, we are currently discussing hearsay. As a general rule, it seems that everything is hearsay and yet 99% of that hearsay can be admitted due to an exception or reframing of the issue... so that's useful.

In odder news, I had an interview for a summer internship that began with the question: "are you the very model of a modern major general?" I had no choice but to patter through the first stanza. I think it went well.

That's all for right now. Have to go write a test!

FoodTrucktoberFest

As of 10:49AM today, it was Fall. Many things have happened during the transition from Summer to Fall, and one of those things was that Kelsey became a DC expert. She fears no DC driver, follows the blogs of all the neighborhoods, and tweets to every single foodtruck. For all intents and purposes, she belongs in DC much more than I do.

And this is how she knew about FoodTrucktoberFest, a first-day-of-Fall gathering of over 40 food trucks into one location. Alex M and I met Kelsey and her sister Kim there around 3 today, and we were not disappointed. (All photos credited to Alex, for I took none.)

It was very well attended.

We started off at the BBQ Bus, where the secret is in the sauces. If I can't have NC BBQ, then this is a very acceptable substitute. 

Then we got a handmade chicken chorizo sausage with bacon and pineapple. 

Well, that should be pretty self-explanatory. 

For dessert, where else could we go but Captain Cookie and the Milkman? This is my friend Kirk's foodtruck, and, fittingly, he had the longest line out of them all. Ginger-molasses with black cherry ice cream and peanut-butter with chocolate ice cream. You can't really top that.

For an after-meal drink, how about an apple cider float? 

They should do food truck festivals more often. But not that often. Alex and I walked over 2 miles back to our respective places and somehow did not feel any less full at the end of the walk. 

Well, back to lesson planning, or reading for class, or reading for work, or job applications, or journal, or something along those lines. Or maybe I'll just do none of that.

No Escape

So as it turns out I am in another show this semester. The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I had been unsure about whether I should do it, given my workload, but I went in to audition. Then I promptly withdrew myself from the audition process. Then it just so happened that the only role I would have accepted was left conveniently vacant. Then I accepted the role on the condition that I only had to come in one night a week (or two nights, if right after Tuesday/Thursday Evidence classes). I get to come on, be in one scene, sing one song, and be basically done with it (unless the audience votes me to sing more, since this is like a choose-your-own-ending musical). I will post the show dates once I know them. The show stars our dear Emily Goo as the titular Edwin Drood, Noah as Drood's evil-ish uncle, and Jeff as the master of ceremonies (who once again gets to stay on stage the entire time- HA!) This also represents the first time since 2006 that Josh and I have shared the stage together. Who would have thought that would happen?

In other news, I gave my students their first test. They are very bright but really need to work on their critical thinking skills. I suppose that's what my entire class is supposed to be about.


 In other other news, some of you were distraught that I was sitting on a filing cabinet in front of my desk. Well, while I was out running with Kelsey and Alex and Kelly the other day I literally ran into a chair that was on the sidewalk (people in DC often put furniture outside for people to just take- it's a normal thing) so I just grabbed it and kept on running.

So now I have an office chair. I cleaned it and tightened up its bolts so it works as good as new. I'm even sitting on it right now! 

The next day I went running, I came across a box full of classical music CDs. I took some of them. Running in DC in the fall is sort of like a free prize giveaway. 

In other other other news, I installed a new nightlight. It has been met with near universal derision, but I really like it.

It's all part of my technology beta-testing in preparation for Defcon Fun.

Life is a Cabaret

The Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Society hosted its Fall Cabaret (AKA come watch us sing and dance and then audition for our shows) on Friday. The day before, Davia had asked me to be the MC, so of course I agreed because who wouldn't want to run their own personal Cabaret show? You get all the perks of being on stage with none of the responsibility of actually performing! Everyone seemed to have a good time and I think it went very well. As per usual, Goo and Ben and Noah did a medley of songs from SNL that was my very favoritest act. 

Also this week, Jeff and I realized that we own the same pair of gym shorts. Normal people would recognize this fact and move on with their respective lives. Not us.

Not us.

Not. Us.

 You will also notice (I don't remember whether I already posted pictures of this) that there is a refrigerator behind Noah. This is placed into the hollowed out space that used to be a closet in the front room. You can't even tell there WAS a closet in the front room now. Carpentry success! Also, our kitchen has expanded out so we have double the size of kitchen. I am indifferent to this. Noah, predictably, is super psyched. He assures me that I will reap some sort of benefit from his cooking. I look forward to that.

While we are on the topic of the house, I am pleased to say that my room is finally complete! Thanks to a generous amount of furniture lent by Jeff, I have everything that I need: dresser, bookshelf, and...

Desk. (With shelf-seat. It's better for my posture than a normal chair and I don't need a chair because I do 99% of my work in the library anyway.

Okay, to be honest- Kels set up the entire desk and arranged most of my room while I was in another room, so she deserves some credit for the room being finished.

One part of being in law school that I don't enjoy is that I've made a lot of friends who were 3L's last year and who are now leaving us. One such 3L is our dear Dan Snow. We had a party for him (not in our house, but nearby) this weekend. The title was "Dan is Making us Snow Sad." I suggested the title, because that's a good name for a going-away party, right? Anyway, I suppose it is nice that all of my graduated friends are finding lawyer-jobs across the country. I just hope they come back to visit.

And I suppose I can't be down about people leaving while Micah is telling me jokes.

Beyond that, things are going well. Very very busy, but in a good way. Except for Journal. That was a terrible mistake. I feel like I'm going to be glad later on that I did it, but if there were a law school equivalent to eating your vegetables, it's Journal.

Rule 402- All Relevant Evidence is Admissible

This past week was spent doing more moving. I am now a moving expert, and so I was naturally Kelsey's first pick to help her move her things from Virginia to her new apartment in DC. 

Her things and Rupert, who does this whenever you bend down even a little. 

If you accept him, he will jump off after a moment.

If you react with fear, the claws come out.

I learned that today.

When we arrived at the apartment, we found some cupcakes that her landlords had left.

They have a one-year-old who happened to have a birthday party the day she moved in. I don't think we would have gotten cupcakes with sea creatures on them otherwise.

In the meantime, I have continued to move things in to/upgrade my room.

Look! I put up a picture from Curtains.

And I put up a wood engraving I got in China!

And I installed everything in this closet, including bar, shoe shelf, and side shelf.

Kels and I weren't the only ones moving things and remodeling, though. The much-loved Fort at Steph W's place has come back as Fort II. 

And again I only got a picture of it from the outside. There is seating for about ten inside, though. And a TV and food. It is great.

Classes officially started this week, and I think I'm really going to enjoy what I'm taking. Evidence should be good because the two judges teaching it seem like they really know what they're doing, and Professional Responsibility will be fun because Ben and Davia are in the same class. A lot of work, of course, but fun.

Today I'm teaching a class at my high school about the exceptions to the warrant requirement. I feel as though I can do anything after this morning, when I woke up early to go on a run with Kelsey that ended up being an extreme run of doom. The idea was to just run around what we thought was a small gated cemetery and what ended up being an enormous retirement home for veterans that shot us out onto a highway with no sidewalk where we had to off-road for a while. 

Only four miles, but it felt like a LOT more given the off-roading and fear of death. And it was raining. And uphill both ways.