Catching Up

Ok, yeah, I know... it's been a long time since I posted anything. And this post isn't going to be a big one. Just saying hi, saying I'm alive, and all that.

I have a lot of pictures to post. I'll do that one of these days...

Speaking of pictures, I dropped my camera a few weeks ago and it stopped working. I took it into the repair place and paid 50 bucks for them to send it to Toronto. Excessive? Yeah I think so too.

So I heard back from them yesterday, and apparently it's so broken it's not worth fixing. Lame... I dropped it on a dirt path on the side of a mountain. Ok maybe there were a few rocks... but broken beyone repair? Lame... so I have to buy a new camera.

One major excuse for my long absense is the bar course. I'm going to call it the bar course so everyone who's not a lawyer or tying to become one knows what I'm talking about. It's a lot of work. A lot of work... More on that later.

I'm going to do something with this blog one of these days. I'm not in law school anymore so the heading is dated... but a new heading takes time.... hmm.....

Paris Hilton quote of the week. When she was reporting for her jail time:

"I'm really scared but I'm ready to do this... And I hope that I'm an example to other young people."

I hope she's not. I really really hope she's not.

Hawk Release

Check it out...

Advice for first years

I know I blogged about my exams and all that, but I feel like I need to do one last post about law school before I move on and start blogging about my articling year (starting May 22nd).

So with that in mind, this post is dedicated to things I have learned in law school that aren’t the law. This is for anyone getting ready to go to law school, and more specifically anyone who’s getting ready to go to law school at UBC.

1. Break Situation: Some profs manage their time a lot better than others do. I’m not trying to come down on anybody here: Teaching law students is a hard job. But some of them get behind and then get to urge to catch up by blowing through break time. There is an offer out there you have to watch out for. A prof might say this: “Would you rather have a break now or skip the break and leave a bit early today?” This is a trap. Do not go with the latter option. There are a few people in every class who try to speak for everybody, and these people always seem to like the latter option. Try to resist. Chances are you’ll miss your break and hey, you’re not going anywhere early.

I’m not saying this is always the case, but in my experience that is what usually happens. You have to know the prof. Some can be trusted with this. Most can’t. Beware.


2. Food Situation: As I’ve said before, Candida’s is not a particularly well-stocked eatery. It is possible to find good food there, but there are a few things you need to know. If you’re heading there after 1:30 looking for a sandwich, it’s not gonna happen. All the good stuff is gone by 1:00 most days. Proceed directly to the SUB. Also there is no ATM in the law building. I don’t know why. Although Candida will probably spot you a cup of coffee, it might get awkward asking her to spot you a full meal. Again, proceed to the SUB.

If Candida’s is closed (it closes at 3), there are vending machines in the interaction area. The change machine has been broken for two years. Either that or it’s newly broken every time I’ve tried to use it. So bring change or go to the SUB. And don’t expect to find anything in those machines that resembles healthy eating. If you want healthy, head over to the lower level of the SUB. There’s a good sandwich place and those can be made up all nice and healthy.


3. Bathroom Situation: This one is for the guys. Watch out for the sink furthest to the right in the lower level bathroom (where the lockers are). If you turn the knob what might seem like a reasonable amount, water will shoot out at a very unreasonable rate, and some may or may not hit the front of your pants. If you have to use that sink, use extreme caution.


4. Laptop Situation: I don’t know exactly how many students bring laptops to class these days, but it could be as high as 80 percent. Some classrooms have power at every seat, but a lot don’t. If your battery can’t handle it, either get there early or bring a power cord. I used to bring a power cord in second year before I got my new battery, and it was so so so useful. Power cords are great.

And sometimes a bit scary. I don’t pretend to know a lot about electricity, but I’m fairly certain a standard power outlet wasn’t meant to have four power cords coming out of it with twenty laptops plugged in. But I haven’t seen any fires, so maybe it’s okay.


Ok well that’s my fairly useless advice to new law students. I guess there’s a lot of stuff to be said about grades and jobs and all that, but you’re going to have too many people talking to you about that as it is, so I’ll leave it alone (don’t believe the hype!!).

And what are the chances that any first years are even going to read this? Did I write this for nothing? I probably did.

Seriously though, it’s hard to believe it’s finally over. I still think one of the hardest parts about law school is getting in, but there is a whole lot of studying that needs to be done if you want to survive. And first year really is a trip, but completely doable. Again: Don’t believe the hype.

Thanks to everyone out there who made law school a great experience!! This includes law friends, and profs, as well as non-law friends and family that have supported me over the past three years. And to those profs out there who might have made it a little less great than it could have been, thanks for giving me something to complain about!

I’m not going to miss going out to UBC most days, but I am going to miss three day weekends and the ability to take a personal day whenever it seemed warranted. And it seemed warranted with even the weakest, lamest of excuses (I’m good with myself that way).

Okay, next stop PLTC and the articling year. You think you’ve seen complaining on this blog so far? Just wait...

Back to Vancouver... for a day

I’m on the plane heading back to Vancouver right now, trying to kill time because I tried napping and I couldn’t do it. I don’t mind flying: Although I generally hate heights, I don’t have any problem with airplanes and I even love roller coasters. I guess it’s a highly selective and specialized fear.

Because dams are another story altogether. I met up with Matt for a few days last week in Vegas and we went out to the Hoover Dam. Very cool, but also very terrifying. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a dam, and it kinda reminded me of the last time. My parents took me to the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State when I was about nine and I cried til they took me off of it. I didn’t actually weep uncontrollably this time, but I wasn’t getting close to the edge either.

Ok… two hours of flight time left. What to talk about now…

I also met up with Karen, Megan, Ange, and Clair (who I used to go to law school with) and we hung out a bit. The first night I was there we went to the Folies Bergere, which was a total blast and a great way to get a taste of old Vegas. The next day I didn’t see them during the day, but that night I went over to their hotel room at about 1:30am for a drink or two before heading out to a club in the hotel. Ok well that was the plan. In reality one or two drinks turned into many, many, drinks and I think we finally made it downstairs at 4am or something crazy like that. I didn’t even make the club: Just played some quarter slots and called it a night.

Matt and I went to see Mamma Mia while we were there, which was awesome. His friend Clark is in the show and we had great seats. Really, really great seats. I would highly recommend seeing that show if you’re going to Vegas anytime soon.

As I said before, I forgot my stupid camera cable so I haven’t been able to download any pictures. This really turned out to be a pain in the ass because I’ve had to worry about having enough memory to hold everything. Not too hard with pictures, but I’ve been shooting some videos too and that eats up memory pretty fast.

And SPEAKING of video, I have a really really great one to post as soon as I get off this plane. My friend Alex volunteers at a bird sanctuary and yesterday he took me along to release some birds that were ready to go back into the wild. After spending an hour or so in a couple huge cages full of hawks (and a couple turkey vultures), we drove around releasing nine hawks in different neighborhoods around LA. I got lots of pictures but I also got a video of him releasing a red tailed hawk right under the Hollywood sign. Amazing.

Ok pretty soon this is going to turn into one of those really long posts that people see and think “this post is too long to read.” Do people do that? I think some do. I do. Sometimes… Anyway, I have one more LA story that needs to be told before I finish up.

The first night I got there we were out at a bar having a couple drinks. I was up at the bar ordering a drink and I looked to my right. It was Michelle Stafford. Ordering a drink. Seriously. I had to look at her like three times to confirm because it was just too good to be true. I can’t think of many famous people I’d want to meet more than I wanted to meet Michelle Stafford. In case someone out there reading this doesn’t watch Young and the Restless (crazy to think but apparently some people don’t), she plays Phyllis on the show.

Anyway I was a mess. I could barely order my drink. My friend Jack was a bit more collected – he went right over to her and started talking to her and THEN he introduced me. I don’t even remember what I said but I do remember that she was really cool. Warm, friendly, and all that.

Ok enough. But seriously, Michelle Stafford. She was on my 2006 list of 76 favorite things. Crappily, I did not have my camera.

But I do have a lot of pictures of other stuff, and I’ll post them soon. No promises as to exactly when, but soon.

Stay tuned.

No pictures... but a good excuse

I didn't bring the cable I need to download pictures from my camera. I grabbed a cable that looked like the right one before I left, but it turns out the cable I have is to connect my phone to the computer. And they're slightly different sizes, so...

No pictures. But I'm taking lots, and I'll post some of 'em when I get back.

Vegas has been great. Tomorrow - back to LA.

Life after finals....

I woke up this morning at 7:41. Which pretty much sucks, because I have nothing to do this morning and I stayed up til 1:30 thinking I could sleep in. But I guess I’m getting used to being up at that time, so I woke up early. While sucking badly in the lack of sleep department, waking up early has given me a chance to post something on the ol’ blog. I’m fairly sure I haven’t done that since the day of my last final so it’s probably time for an update.

I think I’ve talked enough about finals. My last one was last Thursday and Friday afternoon I got on a plane and came down to LA. I’ve been hanging out, seeing friends, having some beers, watching the playoffs, and basically doing as little as possible. Yesterday I drove out to Palm Springs to have dinner with some friends and then stayed out here at my parents’ time share. Today I’m going to Vegas to meet my friend Matt and some people from school. I’ll be there til Thursday and then either stay in Palm Springs again Thursday night or go back to LA (depending on someone else’s schedule!). Aaaaand I was supposed to go back to Vancouver Friday but I changed my ticket so now I don’t have to go back til Monday.

It’s so great having nothing to do until May 22nd. This is the last time I’m going to have a big random chunk of time off. I know I complain about school, but there are perks. Definitely perks…

My post-California phone bill is going to be insanity. And by insanity, I mean CRAZY insanity. I’ve been trying to limit my phone time but man, that bill is going to be rough. Not that my phone bill is ever what it’s supposed to be. With the plan and all the extras it should be about 58 bucks a month, and I’m nowhere near that most months. You know trouble’s a brewin’ when they send you the bill in a business size envelope, and that happens a little too often these days.

Okay well it’s time to roll out of bed and grab some food. I’ll try to post some pics in Vegas.