As most of you know, I can’t start my day without my shot of espresso. Regardless if my daily agenda consists of massive studying and class-work or going out to the fields to pick some cucumber-pickles, I need my shot of espresso. I have recently developed another addiction for the morning hour: listening to Britney Spears’ Lucky Radio Remix on my desktop computer. Since I did not bring my conglomerate of .mp3’s on my desktop with me in Ohio for the summer, I have discovered some long lost favorites. Lucky tops the list, and in a close second is FDR’s December 8, 1941 speech to Congress discussing the nation’s urgency in declaring war on the “Empire of Japan." Why do I openly admit these things?
Okay, so one real week of class is over, and I have still yet to find a job. This anxiety better start weaning down soon; somehow I do not think it will. The job search is on everyone’s mind at the law school, even the first years. I had a few students come up to me to discuss interviewing and summer jobs. “Dude, it’s week 1 – you have three years!” I told them all. Similarly, they revert that back to me: “Dude, it’s week 1 – you have two years!” My how quickly they catch on to legal reasoning . . .
I have finally landed a Research Assistant position with the University Law Library. This will be quite the financial relief, as I am planning on now only owing $329,000 after graduation as opposed to $430,000. Do you know how many cucumber-pickles I need to pick to make that? My serious goal is to have a net value of $0 at age 30, which means I have five years after graduation to get out of debt. Plausible? Maybe if my diet consists strictly of cucumber-pickles and tomatoes.
Do you know the maximum number of times I can mention the word “cucumber-pickle” without making it sound annoying? The correct answer is one, and even then it’s questionable.
Saturday night was my one late night allotted for the year. A fellow law student, Ly, threw this cute, small margarita party in her really hip apartment. I really need to learn how to be more artsy. It was a night of great conversation with brief segments of MTV’s Boiling Points – hilarious! After that, K got a call from E, one of my Chicago friends who lives in Iowa City. She was partying it up at the Sigma Pi house in Iowa City, and being an alumnus, I really wanted to stop by. I met some of the members; the sober ones were really cool, the drunk ones were a little out of it. All of the members thought I was this living god; I seriously got asked “Is law school hard?” and “Can I get in?” at least ten times – four of which were asked by the same drunk person who made it a point to constantly remind us that he’s not from Iowa – he’s from Gurnee [Illinois].
The night reached its peak when we were on the outside porch talking with some of the members, and there was this swarm of 18 year old girls stomping out of the house. One girl then goes around to all the guys offering her hand saying, “Hi, I’m [who cares], I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” I seriously thought she was acting as first, but then K reminded me of the 18 year old and first full weekend of school mentality. Yeah, she wasn’t acting. So when she comes around to me and gives her little spiel, I say, “Oh, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the Hoosier State.” She didn’t get it.
I figured she then wouldn’t have gotten the following: Oh, you’re from Milwaukee? Actually it’s pronounced “mill-e-wah-que,” which is Algonquin for “the good land."
I am planning a voter registration drive at the Law School in September. I was walking in downtown Iowa City last week, and there was this huge signup at the stationary store. The stationary store is next to the 84 story sky-scraper on Washington Street. [How out of place would that be?] I inquired to the manager how she set up the whole thing, and she gave me the contact information for the Iowa Chapter for the New Voters Project. I called Friday afternoon, and the person in charge was so excited that I called – they were looking for a law school connection. So this will be my democratic do-gooder activity for the year. What does democracy look like? Chant: This is what democracy looks like! Tell me, what does democracy feel like? Chant: This is what democracy feels like!
I have finally obtained a copy of Microsoft Frontpage from the University. I was unable to download it off-campus over the summer so my e-portfolio project was postponed. I have established my legal e-portfolio site with the University of Iowa at http://myweb.uiowa.edu/mollo/. Check it out! Is anyone having “Testing . . . 1, 2. testing.” flashbacks? I will start updating it for potential employers and professionals as soon as I have time – hopefully before graduation.
“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, December 8, 1941.
