Tada!

Am once again in an in-between. Took the bar exam almost a month ago. Have two more weeks at a civil rights organization. And then a break - a short period of rest and relaxation (and well, a little work) after three months of so of running on sheer willpower and a fear of the embarrassment that goes with failure (and not failure itself, note). And then life as a firm lawyer will begin and perhaps life as a a more-or-less average 25-year-old will end. Que sera sera. Bring it on. Bring it. And I will take it away.

* * *

Have entered the "hip-hop" phase of musical obsession. When people ask me what kind of music I like, it always takes me a while to answer. I dabble in all genres, see, but my genre of the moment always changes. For example, last summer, I was into 80's songs as my then-boyfriend was. And then I got into country music after my spring break trip to Nashville. And now, I'm into hip-hop. Of particular significance is Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" and "Me Love." So addictive, seriously. As regards the former, I actually prefer JoJo's version more. But when I tried to download it from the iTunes store, I found that the store didn't carry it. So the ever-reliable youtube will have to do for now.

* * *

Am shifting around among five books right now. I love reading, and at any one time, I'm always reading something. I used to finish one book before I turned to the next, but in recent times, I've found that it gets harder for a book to sustain my attention. I don't know if that's because of the glasses I refuse to wear or because I've somehow developed ADD. So I'm going back and forth between these books: Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," Ron Jeremy's "The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz," Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories," Jeanne Birdsall's "The Penderwicks," and D.B. Gilles' "The Screenwriter Within."

Three of the five are children's books, one's an instructional book, and one's a porn star's memoir. I got Ron's book along with "Little Women," believe it or not. I was at an Urban Outfitters nearby, presumably shopping for cute tops but really just basking in the aircon for a bit before I had to walk on home, when I caught sight of their sale table. They were selling "Little Women" and Ron's book for $5. That was 1/3 of their retail price. There was no-way-in-the-hey that I was turning down a deal like that. So I got both. I usually don't like memoirs, but a sale is a sale and a book is a book.

I'm still in the first few chapters of the book, and I have to say it's an interesting read. It's definitely not porn, so if you're getting it just for sex, don't bother. There's more action in romance novels, of which I heartily, heartily recommend Susan Elizabeth Phillips who writes the best dialogue in the genre and whose characters are oh-so-familiar but oh-so-lovable still. Nah; Ron talks about his life. He's definitely led an interesting life, but I'm already started to get bored with him, just as I got bored when reading Gilda Radner's memoir. And I find his habit of doing

this for emphasis very annoying. So I'm probably not going to touch his book for a bit.

* * *

Just recently discovered the sundeck in my building. Awesome view. I know where my next hang-out's going to be, then. I hate hate hate that it's Sunday already because that means that Monday is coming soon and I don't feel like I've gotten my weekend's worth. Ah, but the weekend is not over yet. And so I still have both time and opportunity to make something happen.

I've missed blogging. And now I'm back. Tada!

Race

One of the social constructs that I have come to hate the most is race. I don't like being called a minority or a 'person of color' (which is a misnomer, if you think about it). I'm not ashamed of who I am - being who I am, what is there to be ashamed of? Grin. Seriously, if anything, call me Filipino or foreigner or even alien if you like. There's just something insincere and almost ridiculous about me claiming to be a minority or a 'person of color.' I'll try to be clearer about what I mean in a later post - and believe me, I have a lot of thoughts on that matter, thoughts that involve Barack Obama and his race issues and Tiger Woods' discomfort with being called African-American and his preference for being called Cablinasian instead. Just wanted to vent.

Questions for Me and You

Did J.K. Rowling rely on the [clearly non-Christian] Christian Identity ideology for her race theme in the Harry Potter books? Who else thinks that, among all the other characters, James Potter I needs to be redeemed? Who else has liked Sirius Black less and less? Who else thinks that the dialogue between Harry and Voldemort in the final showdown is too long to be believable? Okay, I clearly have to get back into this "legal" frame of mind.

Two units passed a few days ago, btw. Forgot to commemorate that with a post. But as a make-up post, this is surprisingly apt. And I think only one person will get that. All right, back to work now!

5 Down

Imagine me smacking my palm on the table. Full hand slam with enough force to make the earth shake. One finger per credit - five credits down.

Obsession

This is my latest obsession:



I would have loved to be alive during in the 50's and 60's. Talk about good music! I wonder if there is a place centered around this kind of music. Sort of like how Nashville is for country music. Probably not.

Ah, but there is good music in these times too. My latest obsession? "Wait a Minute" by the Pussycat Dolls. It is the catchiest song. The intro kind reminds me of Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl."

In other news, two credits down. Boo-yeah! And thirteen left to go.

Descriptive Quote

Here's a blog post in a quote:

You can drink and talk all you want, you can bask in the afterglow of Rilke and Plath and Neruda and whoever moves you, and quote them till the cows come home; but when it comes to your own work, it’ll still be just you and the blinking cursor, and maybe a tepid cup of coffee or a half-finished cigarette. ... Writing is always a solitary act and solitude can get lonely, but the books get written and suddenly there’s more than you listening to your voice at 2 a.m.

Credit goes to Sir Butch Dalisay of the Philippine Star.

That quote is exactly what I needed to read right now, when I will be shooting off law school credits (the last ones ever) with papers instead of exams. One observation, though - if you type fast enough, the cursor does not blink. It just moves forward.

P.S. Zbi and Sully did get drafted today. And that's it for ND football for a while.

Goin' Out of My Head

I love, love, love, love Little Anthony and the Imperials! They are definitely one of the best musical groups not only of the 50s but also of all-time. Here's a hit medley video. The group is amazing.



Another song I've been quite taken with today is T.A.T.U.'s "All About Us." Very different from "All The Things She Said," which I don't like. Sonic Syndicate, a melodic death metal band from Sweden, did a cover of it. I half-like it and half-don't, and the clincher is the lead singer's electro-screaming.

In other news, two Notre Dame players got picked in the NFL Draft today. Both were second-round picks: John Carlson, TE, was picked 7th in Round 2 (38th overall) by the Seattle Seahawks and Trevor Laws, DT, was picked 16th in Round 2 (47th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles. Hope Zbi (Tom Zbikowski) and Sully (John Sullivan) get picked tomorrow!

A Post in Pictures

This is how I feel right now:



And this is how my bed makes me feel:



Images stolen from the best photographer ever. Thanks, Hans!

Quarterbacks

It was a three-way debate among wasting time, blogging, and putting the laundry away. The laundry put forth the most rational arguments, but blogging tugged at the heart strings and was ultimately more compelling. And wasting time has had her time, so I don't feel too bad about letting her down. And here we are.

Guess who I saw two days ago? Jimmy Clausen. I was on Asphalt, and he was in a black SUV with the music blaring. So jock-y. Can't he be more like Brady Quinn, who constantly and unfailingly talks about his double-degree in Political Science and Finance and his plan to take up law eventually?

I announced this chance meeting to a friend I was walking home with, and he asked me, "who's Jimmy Clausen?" He caught sight of my horrified expression, and he said quickly, "is he a rock star?" I looked even more horrified so he tried again: "is he an actor?" I barely managed to squeak out that Jimmy Clausen is only Notre Dame's quarterback!

I've clearly been bitten by the Irish bug. It's only April, but I am already so excited for the upcoming football season. Unlike last season, we won't be having the four-way quarterback battle among Evan Sharpley, Demetrius Jones, Zach Frazer, and Jimmy Clausen. The drama was so exciting to follow. First there were four. And then Zach Frazer was out. He transferred to the University of Connecticut. Then there were three. And then Demetrius Jones pulled a shocker and transferred first to Northern Illinois and then to the University of Cincinnati, where he's at, currently. Here's a look at all the dramz. And then there were two: just Evan and Jimmy. And then the non-existent season happened.

Flashforward to Fall 2008. Jimmy is the clear starter this season, with Evan kicking ass in baseball and choosing to focus on that instead of football. While Jimmy may have the spot all to himself this year, there might be another quarterback battle next fall between him and Dayne Crist who, though definitely not as highly touted as Jimmy was, was definitely heavily recruited himself. I love competition.

And that's all I'm going to say about ND football. I like talking about it and reading about it, but I honestly don't understand the game that much. For those who just like following like I do, this is the best site out there. Know how I discovered this? I glimpsed it on my classmate's screen one class day. That's also how I discovered Perez's site, by the way.

Before I end this, let's talk about yet another quarterback: Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner - and the first sophomore to win the award too. Dual-threat quarterback, meaning he can both pass and run the ball. Born in the Philippines to missionary parents.



Sizzling.

Rolling

Caution seems to be in order as regards the cool-looking three-wheeled baby stroller, as it seems to have a morbid attraction to lakes and other bodies of water. Last Saturday in the (Really) Windy City, this stroller rolled into the lake along with the two-year-old in its arms. The report suggests that winds of 20-30 mph had something to do with it. That boy is now in critical condition in the hospital. A little more than a year ago, a five-month-old baby drowned when his stroller rolled into the river. This report suggests that the steep paths contributed to the accident.

Wind or steep paths aside, be careful when using that stroller. Or any other rolling thing for that matter.

Should you be careful when talking, though? This is what Colorado Rep. Douglas Brown had to say about a temporary-worker bill: "We don't need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in the state of Colorado." Oh my goodness. While I definitely agree that he could have used more appropriate words to express himself, I am not sure I support an ethics investigation into this matter.

People, lawmakers especially, should be able to say what they want to say however they want to say it without being automatically shut down or dismissed by terms like "bigot" or "racist" or what-not. It's best to have conversation out in the open. And to remember that every side, for better or for worse, has an agenda. Political consultant Alfredo Gutierrez once said "We call things racism just to get attention. We reduce complicated problems to racism, not because it is racism, but because it works." (Got this from a comment in one of the news articles, but here's apparently where it can be found: quoted by Richard de Uriarte, The Phoenix Gazette, March 14, 1992 (quoted in The ProEnglish Advocate, 1st quarter, 2002).

Be open-minded for real and don't fall into the labeling trap. Mindless following is scary. Informed conviction is not.