Mackenzie's Weblog

The severely unmotivated Guest Blogger

Have you ever found that when you're leaving a job you just can't find a shred of motivation to get your job done? I am suffering from this in a major way. And it's bad. Because in reality, I don't actually want to screw over these nice people who have agreed to give me money every two weeks. On the other hand, I don't want to do the friggin' job anymore. That's why I went and found another one.

Hey, I like the people. I'm going to miss them, but this pile of magazines to my right, I am not going to miss. If I never see another magazine in my life, I would die a happy woman. It's funny, the job that I absolutely hated as a child is what I've been paid to do for the last two years. You know what I'm talking about, dealing with the newspapers and all those magazines that your parents didn't want to touch after they'd read them. Ugh. I so hated it. And when I was promoted to my current job, I found that it would be one of my major duties. Sometimes I think that Karma or God or whatever force it is that does things like that, is really doing these things to us to get a good laugh. Luckily, after Friday this will not be my problem.

Unluckily, it is my problem right now. And I'm looking at this stack of magazines -- probably about sixty -- thinking, what do I care? Why should I waste three hours of my life dealing with these things?

To be a responsible and respectable human being, I really should do them. And in all reality, I'm sure that as soon as I finish typing here, I will start to deal with them. But for now, I'm having a moment.

A Moment

Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International, has died.

One candle may have gone out, but in his time here, he lit so many more that their light has touched all of us.

Friday Catblogging!

This week we go back to basics, with my two cats in several decent pictures. Sorry about the late posting; there were some hardware issues a little bit earlier.

Sometime this weekend I'll have to post about my harrowing experience with turning in my final brief. It worked out, but it's still too close to talk about.

As always, Sebastian is the black one, Jupiter is the coon cat lookin' thing.







Have a great weekend!

My life just got a whole lot easier

Today was a good day, and it'll be even better soon. I turned in my Torts paper, and just a few minutes ago finished my Appellate Advocacy brief. Now it's off to the printer and dinner at a friend's house.

It's funny, at this point, I don't really care what my grade will be, I'm just glad it's done. Done. That's a beautiful word. Lovely.

Sums up my position nicely

There's a great post up at Crime and Federalism that sums up my opinion on equal marriage rights nicely. I especially love the phrase, "accidents of libido." Check it out.

Legal issues surrounding Adware

According to this article, adware makers are trying a new strategy: sending cease and desist letters to developers of anti-adware and removal programs.

As near as I can figure out from the letter excerpts and the surrounding story, it appears that the developers of spyware are taking issue with other companies calling their 'software' various things, such as 'malware.' One interesting thing is that the letter states that the word 'malware' has a specific meaning, but somehow I doubt that. I find it to mean any undesirable software, but I don't know if that's a universally understood meaning.

I'm far from an expert in defamation, but essentially to successfully sue, the company would have to allege that the anti-adware vendors said something that was not true that injured the adware developers (it's more complicated - see Restatement of Torts (Second) sec. 558). There may be an interesting issue of whether or not those developers are considered 'public figures;' one can say many more things about public figures without being liable.

But aside for these legal things flying around, there's another factor that the adware makers failed to take into account: What jury in the world would find for the people who put all those pop-ups on their computers?

What gay childhood icon are you?

You Are the Very Gay Peppermint Patty!

Softball is the huge tipoff here... As well as a "best friend" who loves to call her "sir"

Somehow I'm not entirely surprised.

Social Security Reform

I wish I knew more about Social Security reform. As it is, I really don't know what to think. My gut tells me that any time risk is introduced into a system, it is the people who are less able to shoulder that risk (i.e. the poor) who will be harmed by such a plan. I've always thought that the culture around Social Security is a big problem. It's not supposed to be a 'retirement,' it's only supposed to be a supplement, something that will help you out if all things fail. It seems like rather than education and cultural change aobut the system, we have an attempt to change it into what people think it is.

Which brings me to another point: it's almost impossible to be a fully educated participant in the political process in today's society. The issues surrounding Socail Security are huge and complicated with long-term and far-reaching implications. And this is only one big issue of the day. And this isn't even suggesting anything about the capabilities of general members of the public; the reality is that no matter what, most people just don't have the time to keep up with and be knowledgeable about all these issues. Hell, even our elected federal representatives can't read the text of all the bills upon which they vote.

If we're agreed that it's a problem, then there are some questions: Is it a big enough problem to worry about? What would a possible solution be? Think big, we can postulate about a complete overhaul of the political system if we like. If we do that, though, let's pare it down to a more realistic possible solution. I'll think about it, and possibly come up with something more definite.

Life is learning

Please allow me to share something I learned recently:

Citrus Listerine is truly the nastiest, most disgusting, foul, abhorrent substance to ever enter my mouth. And that includes the earwig I almost ate that one time. Seriously, if there is a god, S/he will instantly turn it all into urine, because that would improve it. Stay away.

A little recipe

Here's one of my favorite things to make:

Put a stick of butter and melt it in a fairly large saucepan on low to medium heat. Add flour until it is suitably saturated, but not firm. Add milk, but leave some space at the top of the pot. Stir it under the same heat until it thickens. Add your spices, I use thyme, basil and some oregano. Then add some cheese, I like parmesian. mozarella, and maybe some provolone. Add some salt to taste, and maybe some mushrooms and/or onions. If you're feeling really gourmet, throw in a bit of cognac. Then cook for a while. Serve on some pasta.

That's a typical recipe for me; if you're someone who likes measured ingredients, well, you're out of luck. But if you can make it, it's goo-ood.

The Guest Blogger gets a new job

Okay, I have to admit it, I can't deny it any longer. I've been using my work email address for personal use. It's just that the webmail system was so much better than anything offered out there and I didn't have to worry about spyware downloading onto my computer (if you have Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, you might want to download Spybot and get rid of some of the stuff that just checking your email has done to your computer). And then Mackenzie offered up Gmail invites just when I needed one. (And let me tell you, Gmail is pretty awesome.)

Just yesterday I was offered a job at the National Archives Museum in DC. I'm very excited. Though I will tell you that I won't be archiving any time soon. I'll be showing people around the museum and generally just walking up to people and asking them if they like what they're seeing...uh...maybe I should just stick to showing people the museum. It's really cool because I get to get a little closer to my dream job.

The only problem with that is that I have to leave the job I'm in. And as you might have guessed, I have to give up my email address (of course). So let me ask you, why is it that changing your email address with your friends and loved ones is so much harder than anything else? I've tried to do this before and it always amazes me that people persistantly write to an email address you've told them months ago will no longer work. Is it that our friends and relatives refuse to believe that we have moved on to greener epastures? Or could it simply be that, like most of the American public, they don't actually read anything anymore? I think it's the latter.

You can think I'm being overly pessimistic, but I'm not. I've worked in a public library for two and a half years and I see it every day. My favorite are the people who hang out under the "No loittering" signs. (If they bothered to read them at all, they probably thought we meant no littering.) Or the people who are yelling on their cell phones in the middle of the library when there are signs all around telling people not to use cell phones. These are really examples of people doing whatever it is they want to. If you point out to people that they can't do that they always - without a doubt - say "Nobody told me," in some kind of gosh-I'm-just-a-dumb-jock kind of voice (you know the one I mean). When you point out the signs to them, they just shrug.

I'm not the only one who's noticed this. There have been studies done and people have quantified the decline of reading.

I'm not trying to scare the bookworms out there. I'm just trying to figure out why it is that when I write to my family members to tell them I've changed email addresses, why do they continue to write to the old address?

Tuition Increase

It appears that the Law School may get a tuition increase of somewhere in the range of 40% over the next few years. Strangely enough, I'm ok with this.

It's a big change, but these funds will be given directly to the law school, which is the big benefit (otherwise, I'd be up in arms). The school really needs the money, considering our entire budget is about $4 million. And it's not that our tuition will be that expensive relative to other schools. We're already probably the least expensive school in the country. To give non-UWLaw people an idea, my (resident) tuition and fees this year is south of $6k. Yet I feel like we're getting a good education, though part of that comes from my firm conviction that it doesn't matter what school to which one goes, if one doesn't put in the work, one doesn't get the learnin'.

Some have criticized on the basis that the cheap tuition got people there, and now they're hiking it up. As in a bait and switch. Well, there are no guarantees when you start a law school that the tuition will remain the same all three years. Additionally, our cost of attendance will go up, so our financial aid cap will, as well. Granted, we'll still have to pay that off, but even a worst case scenario doesn't calculate that poorly. For example, a 1L non-resident will pay approximately $3845 more than they would have, taking into account a 5% base university increase, which would happen pretty much no matter what.

If we take this extra money and assume that it would come out of loans, over 10 years, that comes to a little over $32 per month. I realize there's an impact in interest payments, so let's round that up a bit to $40. So, to quote Sally Struthers, for less than a cup of coffee a day, you can afford to go to law school.

There was another criticism that I heard which I would like to address. When discussing possible uses for the additional revenue, the Dean mentioned that it may be possible to increase the student scholarship fund. Apparently, an additional $60,000 would increase the fund by 40%. One student objected to this idea on the grounds that it is essentially a redistribution of wealth. His tuition was taken to basically give to others so they could go to law school.

Here's my response to that: I have no way of knowing who in my class could barely afford to go there. It could be Travis. It could be our student bar association representatives. It could be a friend, and it could be someone I don't know very well. But, every one of those people enhances my experience and makes law school a more rich, diverse, and rewarding experience. So there's a tangible benefit that I'm receiving for my money that ends up in the scholarship fund. The school would be just plain worse without those people next to me.

Friday Catblogging!

It's that time again, for Friday Catblogging!! (click on a photo for a larger image)

This is someone-or-other

Here's Gigi, the cat who entertained herself during my visit by leaving the house without permission.

This is, I believe, Gabrielle. The bag she's in is my laptop bag which was mine until this trip. The strap ring came free in the middle of DIA. I bought a new one in New Orleans, but the cats loved the old bag, so I never actually threw it away. For all I know, it's still in service to this day.

Enjoy. Up later today: my tuition may go up!

Gmail

Oh, and I've got about a gazillion Gmail invites available. If you happen to be one of the dozen people in the world who wants an account and doesn't yet have one, email me and you can have it.

Making everybody happy

I had a rather unpleasant experience just now.

I went to the store to get some wine and stuff. The bill at the register was a little high, but I just thought I accidentally picked out a more expensive wine than I had thought. I was prepared to swallow any extra cost and save it for a special occasion, but when I got home I looked at the receipt. I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure there is no place on this planet where it costs $38.97 for eight pints of Guinness.

So I went back to the liquor store (we can't get beer and wine at grocery stores here) and the manager gave me the difference and he remarked on the clerk. He asked if he could keep my receipt. I think my cashier is in a little trouble. I tried to tell him that it wasn't really that big of a deal, but he insisted that it was to him.

But really, it isn't, or at least the part that is her responsibility. It wrung up wrong, which means it was in the computer wrong. She's not responsible for that. Plus, there were other things with the possibility of a wide range of prices. How is she supposed to know the Guinness is wrong when the bottle of wine next to it could have been $10, or it could have been $40? Do we really expect the cashiers to know what's out of range when it comes to what must be a hundred different types of wine? The only thing I can see fault for is that she didn't notice that the huge price was there when the Guinness came up, but neither did I. I would guess that most people wouldn't, so really I think it's a reasonable mistake.

But I didn't push it. On one hand, I'm not sure the manager would have listened to me, even had I made the above case (which I did not). On the other hand, I feel bad that this woman will be punished for something that's a minimal mistake. Should I have spoken up? Does it matter if it wouldn't make a difference; do I have an ethical obligation to say something anyway? To at least make the effort?

I'm going to feel bad about whatever happened to the cashier for a while.

*sigh*

My Weather.com desktop applet tells me it's currently 2 degrees outside. Up from the -6 when I woke up this morning. There's frost in the inside of my windows in my house.

Sometimes I'm not so much a fan of the winter.

The Guest Blogger's Rebuttal

While I usually agree with you on these kinds of topics Mackenzie, today I just can't. I've never understood your "February Blues" and I feel that it's people with perceptions such as yours that perpetuate the presumed problems of the holiday that you are upset about.

My feeling is that if everyone calmed down about it, then Valentine's Day wouldn't be the horrible thing that people outside a relationship make of it or the ultimate thing as some people inside a relationship see it. The truth of the matter is that just like everything else in life, Valentine's Day is what you make of it. If you want to make a big stink and declare it Singles Awareness Day, then it is you who is accentuating that and making it negative. If you want to make a big stink and declare it the most romantic day, that's your perrogative. It's out there for you to do so.

I will acknowledge that I do have a boyfriend and that we tried to celebrate Valentine's Day (we were foiled by his job sending him out of state for a three day long conference). But I will also say that I felt this way all the many years when I didn't have a boyfriend. Unlike the hot librarian (linked below in Mackenzie's entry), this was the very first Valentine's Day I've had with some kind of significant other. I've always liked Valentine's Day because I saw it as a day to simply let the people I love know that I love them (such as my friends...one of which is you, Mackenzie).

I looked forward to the Valentine's Day parties in elementary school when everyone gave out the really cheesey perforated Valentines. Maybe it was because I was the kid no one really liked and I could count on it to be the one day a year that the kids around me would say something nice about me. Maybe it was because I'm a sentimental fool. Maybe I just really liked the idea of a day when you can hug everyone around you like crazy all day. Who knows?

Happy Single Awareness Day!* Not!

Before I dive into the barrel of fun that is Civl Procedure, I thought I would go ahead and mention why I hate the 'holiday' in which we find ourselves today. THL has already done a good job of bringing up the personal heartbreak stuff (of which I have no stories, thank Quantum Mechanics), and Heidi has mentioned some additional personal stuff related to her personal tastes. I agree with her, but there's a little more I've got to say.

I dislike Valentine's Day, and to me it is a little microcosm of our entire culture and how we look at relationships. And I don't think our culture is entirely healthy in this regard. Valentine's Day sort of hilights that.

I won't go into the whole tirade about the influence of gender roles and all, mainly because it's just background and I don't have the time. I will say that in our society, you're a freak if you're not in a relationship. This is reflected in movies, TV, advertising, you name it. Yet, somehow, these same outlets rarely actually show what kind of real struggles take place in a relationship. An entire movie, for example, generally consists of, at least in a subplot, a couple getting together. They finally do, kiss, and the movie ends. This is particularly apparent in 'romantic comedies.'

First of all, this shows the uniformity of relationships and puts pressure on all viewers to follow along. Second, it seldom shows a truly realistic picture of what relationships are all about, how hard they are and how much work it takes to keep one going.

Not that there aren't exceptions, but they're memorable precisely because they're the exceptions.

Another issue was brought up in Heidi's comments, namely that relationships should be valued all year around. Having a specially designated day of love is just plain silly. If you're in a relationship, then I think it means more to have gifts, dinner, and a romantic evening on a random day than one predesignated.

And if that never happens, well, sounds like that relationship has bigger problems - if and only if one/both parties wish that it would.

So that's it. Valentine's Day is a silly holiday, to me, and congratulations to all the people who choose single in spite of all the pressure. You're my peeps.

And I hope that everyone doing something special today has a good time, but how about pulling the same thing out on April 3, or August 10?

* I must give credit to my appellate advocacy partner, AF, for this little nickname; apparently it comes from a friend of hers.

What to enjoy about being a lawyer

Evan wrote a post this morning considering what lawyers like best about being lawyers, and what law students expect they will like. Check it out, he nearly always ends up with a great discussion in the comments. I left a brief comment, but it's extremely simplified, and I figured I'd go ahead and lay out a more complete answer, because the question is extremely important. If one doesn't know what benefits one expects to get from law school, perhaps it's not a good choice.

I did not plan on going to law school when I graduated college. I majored in psychology, and I liked the idea of going into clinical work. For those not in the know, clinical Ph.D. programs in psych are based on the 'Scientist-Practitioner' model. This means that one practices through treating patients and performs research in a more traditional manner. This combination of helping people and furthering scientific knowledge was quite attractive to me.

As I worked at the local Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program, my desire to help people coalesced somewhat, and I even performed some counselor-like duties, such as individual support and running a support group.

But there was a problem.

You see, as valuable as shelter and crisis programs are, they're what kicks in after the traumatic event. If you're partner is abusive, there's a shelter program. If your boyfriend thinks he's entitled to your body, there's someone to talk to, but what's there to stop these people from doing these things in the first place? Some of my prevention work was relevant to this question and producing cultural change, but there's only a certain amount of good that small sessions, convincing people individually, can do.

Part of my job was also to help people get protection orders. We naturally didn't give legal advice, but we could assist clients with protective orders by explaining the forms and how to go about filing. We also often went to court with our clients to support them, though we weren't able to say anything unless directly addressed by the judge, which happened only rarely.

The judge in this court gave me a chance to see other ways that change could be accomplished, this time within the system. First, by enthusiastically following the laws set by the legislature regarding protection orders and putting a human face on the inhuman visage of the 'System.' I had the opportunity to see how he handled other cases as well, misdemeanor criminal violations, and it struck me how important it was to have good people making up the system if the system was to work properly and live up to its potential.

This gave me my initial inspiration to go to law school (along with a couple of occasions of watching lawyers in action and thinking to myself, "I could do a lot better than that,") but there's more.

A couple years ago I went to a conference in San Diego. There I had a chance to see what they had done as a community response to Domestic Violence, and I heard their city attorney, Casey Gwinn, speak. I'm not sure how he did in other areas, but it was quite clear (from others, not just him) that he had been instrumental in the city's efforts and in prompting the development of the Family Justice Center. I won't get into what it is because you can follow the link, but I was floored. In the 11 months prior to this conference, San Diego, a city with 1.2 or 1.3 million people, had exactly one homicide attributable to Domestic Violence. For those in the know, that's astounding.

There were and are, of course, other people instrumental in this effort, but I was quite impressed with the efforts that Casey made in this effort. Plus I had occasion to be frustrated in my own community with the fact that Casey didn't work in Laramie, Wyoming, but that's another story.

So that's the long story of why I want to be a lawyer, and what I expect to enjoy most about practice. I'm fully aware that it's not easy and that things don't flow like butter in the right direction all the time, but the bottom line is that the system needs to be filled up with good people, people who are aware of what can happen in the community when people come together and is willing to be part of that effort. People who are willing to take a few risks and, when they work out, cause an astounding amount of positive change in their community.

UP LATER TODAY: Thoughts on Singles Awareness Day

All Kinds of Fun

Yesterday, we had a total of one class. Other than having a brief due, that was it. Since my partner (sorry, no nickname yet - I'll come up with something soon) and I were basically done on Thursday, we just had to turn it in before class.

This left the day open, so Travis, the Kicker (Horrifically hung over), and the Dancer went for lunch. That was awesome to begin with, but then a few of us (sadly, not Travis or the Kicker) went sledding/inner tubing for a few hours.

It was a fabulous time, despite the slight frostnip I acquired (but easily treated in 10 minutes once I got home). My ankle got knocked around a little, but it was pretty much the opposite direction as the injury, and it feels great this morning. I think all the trudging up the hill really loosened it up.

So, then the sledding crew went to dinner (joined by the Kicker, feeling much better). Despite a few hitches, it was quite pleasant. Then we out to the bar for a while. Some more of the class showed up, and it was a nice little party. Plus, all of this was a little birthday celebration for the Dancer, and I think she had fun.

I got no work done, naturally. That must have been my day off this week. It was quite fun, though, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Now, to Torts!

Cat Moment

Sometimes, a cat will crawl into my lap. Often this appears right when I am about to go to work school. Since I have to go and take a shower and stuff, it's really not a convenient time. But then he looks up at me with his big, soulful eyes as if to say, "Give me my AM Lovin', Bitch!"

How can I refuse?

I hate shoes.

I'm not a big fan of shoes. I don't mean the fashion stuff, accessorizing and all that, but that I have to wear foot-coverings. Life is more comfortable without shoes.

Take yesterday, for instance. I had an important meeting yesteday, so I wore a suit, complete with dress shoes. Given that my ankle still isn't all the way healed, it was not a fun thing. By the end of the day, I was so swollen that it looked like a big sausage going into my shoe.

mmm. sausage...

Anyway, things are much better today, since I can wear more comfortable shoes, but it's still not as good as being shoeless.

The Post Wherein I Pretend I Can Write

Pursuant to my New Year Self Promises, along with the fact that writing more has prompted me, I'm putting up a page with a little of my writing on it.

I had some hesitation to do so once I went back and read my stuff, for a couple reasons. First, even though it has been published, I'm fairly sure that it's not particularly good. Even going back today, I found a few things that I could change, and there are a few things that I didn't know how to fix, but they're clearly not as good as they could be. Second, some of it is a bit personal, and that's always a concern in putting stuff online.

There are reasons I overcame these issues and eventually decided on publishing a couple things, at least the two you will see. The first is that they're already floating around in print form. I'm not sure what the Owen Wister Review circulation is, but I know that The Cracked Mirror was circulated globally, if not extensively. This means that it's already out there, read by tons of people I don't know. What's the difference between that and being online? So if it's that bad, sorry, but someone liked it enough to print it at least once. We'll see about some of the unpublished stuff, I may put it up, I may not.

Second, addressing the personal issue, I'm not presumptuous enough to think that my experiences in life are particularly unique. Chances are, everything that can happen to a person has probably already happened, to borrow an idea from Chasing Amy. There's nothing I could say about my experience that doesn't relate to the overall human experience and that some people, at least, can relate to.

So, there you go. You may access it at the link on the right, or here. The astute reader will also notice that I finally updated my links to include more of the blogs I read on a regular basis.

New Program

I heard about a desktop blogging program, ecto, from ai and thought I'd give it a try. Apparently, it will allow me to do all my blogging stuff from my desktop, including composing posts offline which will then be posted when I have a connection. I could see that being useful, so I'm giving it a try. We'll see how it works. Well, as you can imagine, I have a ton of reading to do for tomorrow (still), so I'd better get to work.

Music

I'm sure some of you have noticed the music feature to the right has been missing for some time. I even got a comment from the Dancer. I've been tearing my hair out a little bit.

You see, I recently expanded my music system by wiring my PC to my living room speakers, however when the sound was much more immediate, I noticed something: The sound quality for Windows Media Player sucks. As it really, really, bad. I never really noticed in my computer room, but I sure noticed when I stretched the system a bit. It's a shame, 'cause it has some features I like, not least of which is the plugin I used for music bit on the page.

So after looking around, I started using Winamp. The sound quality for Winamp is nothing short of perfect. I don't know what the difference is, perhaps the codecs MS uses for WMP are poor or cut corners, but Winamp doesn't have that problem at all.

The problem it does have is that there's no version of the plugin I use for Winamp. Which kind of sucks.

So, at the moment I'm using iTunes, which is sort of a middle of the road solution. The sound quality is far better than WMP, but still far inferior to Winamp. And there are no built in global hotkeys, which makes controlling it via my remote control (I hate having to go into the next room or across the house to do anything) inconvenient.

So, for now, we have iTunes as a compromise solution, but I'm still hoping the author of the cool plugin I use will write a version for Winamp.

UPDATE: I've tweaked a few settings and the equalizer on iTunes, and have managed to make the sound better, but still not great. Ideas are welcome.

UPDATE II: I just saw that I used the word 'suck' a lot in this post. That's because I'm, you know, fourteen years old.

My Precious!!!

Let me share with you a sortid story of rollerskating and credit card fraud.

A couple weeks ago, my friends called me up and invited me to go rollerskating. Keep my age in mind. Rollerskating with small children whizzing by while music booms over the speakers with lyrics like, "Girl, I want to do you all up," and, "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes," is a surreal experience.

Anyway, I went to the ATM to get some cash (for this and the next week or two), and that's the last time I remember seeing my card. I went rollerskating with the peeps and then we got a couple movies and hung out a bit. I also hit my friend's car, while she was riding with me, but that's another story. (And before you call me to find out what the hell happened, rest assured it was a bumper-type incident and there was no damage.)

So then it was gone. I looked for it and didn't find it, so I call my bank and they cancel it and put me in to get sent a new one. 5-7 business days. They gave me the option of just putting a hold on it in case I might find it, but I discarded that option.

The irony is that they called me the next day, some guy found my card and called them, but it was too late because I had cancelled it already, something that the representative on the phone found when she looked more closely at my account.

Anyway, I waited in breathless anticipation of the arrival of my new debit card. I love my debit card. I normally carry no cash and hate checks. A week went by. . . then a couple days. . . and I didn't get it. I figured the mail was a bit slow or something, but it was quite surprising because the last time this happened (the only other time, FYI), it was only a couple days before getting my new card.

Anyway, Wednesday I look at my bank account and see a debit card purchase. That was startling, naturally. I called my bank at about 6:30 am to find out what was going on.

Turns out the bank had sent my card to someone else. This person somehow managed to activate the card and use it (don't ask me, I don't know) before noticing that someone else's name was on it. That's when the bank got the call. This is really weird because banks normally don't make mistakes like this.

Happily, they agreed to expedite my new card. They fed-ex-ed it and it arrived today.

All is good.

Friday Catblogging!

Sorry I missed last week. Craziness.

So, to make up for it, I'll provide double the photos. I hope that does it for you.

These first three are from MackenzieMom's place, and she gets the photo credits. I can't keep the names of all 103,444 cats straight, so I don't know who these are. MackenzieMom can feel free to leave a comment identifying the cats, if she wishes.

The final photo is of my cats, Jupiter and Sebastian. I think they're feeling a little neglected because they haven't been featured in a while.

(I know, I prefer thumbnails to full-size images, but my host is having some issues)

Ankle Report

Well, the ankle is doing ok. Actually, it was remarkably non-painlike for most of today, except when I fell asleep with the icepack on. That wasn't too bright. It has developed this interesting purple color, mostly along the right side of my right foot, but some on the other side of that foot. Oh, and my foot is pretty much swollen from toe to 1/3 calf. It doesn't hurt anywhere near what I thought it would, though, so I'm pretty happy.

On the upside, I and a friend introduced The Kicker to some of the cool peeps in Wyoming we know. Strangely enough, there are quite a few, one just needs to know under what rocks to look. I had an excellent time, and I'm pretty sure she did too. Then we had a couple drinks with some of our classmates because The Dancer's sister was in town.

Overall it was a really fun time, as hanging out with The Kicker, my newest friend (I'm pretty sure that appelation is ok at this point), generally is.

Could have been more fun...

...Barely!

I finally had the much anticipated racquetball session with The Kicker. It was really frickin' fun, until our game came to a rather abrupt end as I literally sacrificed my body. I sprained my ankle. Pretty badly. As in the size of a softball inside of 30 seconds bad.

It's too bad, because I (and I think both of us) was having a really good time. Now I'm gonna have to wait a couple weeks, probably, before I get to play again.

Oh well, I suppose it gives me a little more time to work on my brief. Who am I to waste time on silly things that don't matter, like staying healthy?

Actually, I'm in a pretty good mood. The game was fun while it lasted, the injury won't last too long, it doesn't hurt much (we'll see about tomorrow), and I've got some Groovin' Beatles Music going in the background. What could be better?

Ack!

Came up for air. Will post more sometime, hopefully, but this semester is making last semester look like a tropical dream vacation.

Have a nice day.