Mackenzie's Weblog

Friday Catblogging!

I'm sitting in my law school office burning with the heat of a thousand suns. It is very, very hot in this building today for some reason. I suspect it has to do with the fact that we got everything adjusted for the cooler weather last week (first snow of the year), and now it warmed up again.

In spite of my impending heatstroke, I manage to bring you images of cats.

I've also decided to tack on another little Friday feature: what I'm reading this week. I'm a big reader, and despite the business of law-studenting, I'm on the fifth book of the semester. I don't know that I'll always have a new book each week, but here it is. This one is pretty short, so I'll probably finish it and be on something else for next week.

What I'm Reading:

Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey by Linda Greenhouse

Have a Great Weekend!

Good, hard work.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I did two things: work on a brief and play/hang out with my closest friend. Not only is friend-time good to have from time to time, but I love the work I was doing. I was working on my last brief for the Wyoming AG's office. The brief goes to the Wyoming Supreme Court, and I will almost certainly argue it in a few months. All my cases were/are criminal ones: I worked in the criminal division.

Which brings me to my summer job. I didn't blog about it much this summer because there's not much in terms of daily happenings that I can really discuss. I can, though, speak about my general subjective experiences working there.

At the risk of sounding like this post should be on MySpace, my summer job rocked!

I got there, and the lawyers are all really nice. I'm pretty quiet, especially in a new situation, so I really wanted to buckle down and work. Basically, the people there treated me like I was a brand new lawyer. In other words, it was clear I didn't know much, but I felt like I was pretty much part of the family. The first day, I got my first appellate case. I loved it.

Over the course of the summer, I worked on what is now my third full appellate brief, several post-conviction cases, and the odd research issue here and there. One of the best things about the experience was all the writing. I learned more than I thought I could over such a short period of time. I think I'm making progress toward exorcising some of the more egregious legal writing problems, such as passive voice, nominalization, and repetition. I also think my organization skills improved a great deal. I've got a long way to go to perfection, which I'm on schedule to achieve about 20 minutes after my death, but I think my summer experience gave me a huge leap forward.

Anyway, if anyone has an opportunity for that internship, I highly recommend it. I wrote three briefs, and will probably have three arguments in the Wyoming Supreme Court. You just can't beat that.

Friday Catblogging

I had a little sort of interesting fun post, but my browser ate it. In the mean time, Cats!

You may notice some "baldness" on Jupiter. He was getting a little tangled, so out came the clipper. He wasn't happy, but he seems content now.

Have a Great Weekend!

Advice

This is an advice-seeking post. Please feel free to comment.

I have an interview coming up for a job that's pretty much at the top of my list. I'm really excited, but the most recent email I recieved from this potential employer referred to me as "Ms. Williams." Now, that's a pretty common error when people haven't met or spoken with me. Between my name, my career opposing violence against women, and my general personality, it's a fair mistake and I don't hold it against anyone.

My question is this: given the possibility of embarassment, should I try to somehow make them aware of my gender? I don't want to surprise anyone on the telephone interview and cause embarassment. If they don't pick it up in the phone interview, it could lead to more drastic surprise when if I get a later, in-person interview. My first thought is to send a thank-you email back to the administrator for the small favor and put in a little, "by the way . . . ." Or perhaps I should do nothing?

Thoughts?

Is this my 2 minutes of fame?

I recently was pleased to get a little comment from Kurt of the Real Happy Hour. I'm delighted -- it's one of the funniest podcasts out there. I'm on the radar. It's like Tom Cruise leaving a comment, but a lot less crazy and a lot more gin. That's a trade I'll take anytime.

He suggests I start telling them if they've done anything illegal. It's tough to say, since I'm not familiar with the law in Low Point, Illinois, but I think the time one of them had a little Skype conversation with a thirteen-year-old kid, that might be contributing to the delinquency or something. I'm not allowed to give legal advice, so I dunno.

Of course, there's the affirmative defense of "damn funny," and they did tell the kid to stop listening. I think it's all fair game.

Anyway, maybe I'll send in an mp3 or something. All I need is more shows, guys! And Estry!

I can't think of a clever title about appellate arguments.

In two years and almost a month of school, I've had excellent attendance. Law school is like a job to me, so I'm pretty much there every day. Yesterday, though, I missed two classes for the first time.

But it was for a good reason.

I had my first oral argument before the Wyoming Supreme Court yesterday. I've mentioned before (but I'm too lazy to find the entries and link to them) that the University of Wyoming has a huge benefit for students: if you'd like, there is no reason you can't take a case and argue before the state supreme court. That's a great experience, and very few law students can put that on their resume. I and my classmates, if we choose, can. I don't know of another school where students have such an opportunity, and I can virtually guarantee that if there are any others, they are probably small schools in small states.

It's not just once, either. Yesterday I argued a case in which I didn't write the brief. There will also be two cases in which I did write the brief, meaning I get to take the case from start to finish. As a matter of fact, one is already scheduled for argument in another month.

These are the things that make me happy to be a prospective lawyer, and happy that I chose the school I did.

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig . . .

I love the Farmer's Market. The one here in Laramie is small, but there is some great stuff. I've mentioned the chilis (mmmmmm), but that's not it. Some people bring in some delicious vegetables, locally-raised beef, pasta from scratch, salsa, and much more.

This, though, caught my eye:

Now, I thought to myself, did I see what I thought I saw? How about a closer look:

Yep, that's right.

To be fair, I'm not sure how else to advertise a product for menopausal dryness. You could put it on the back label, but that wouldn't induce anyone to buy it. At most, you'd have someone who gets it for her dry hands, reads the back, and thinks, "I'm in luck!"

Good news and bad news

Bad news: I could not get to sleep last night. I was awake and aware, sitting in bed, until about 3:30 am. This from the person who prefers to get up at 4:30 (though that has been bumped back to 5:00 with the changing weather). I turned on the light from time to time to read, hoping that doing that for a while would help. It didn't, but now I'm 150 pages into a new book. Today is one of my marathon days, too, with class until 6 p.m. My head feels like it's stuffed with newspaper.

Good news: The first thing I saw this morning when I got up (later than usual, and I'm still tired as hell) was my MPRE score. (Incidentally, that's the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.) You'll recall I took it not too long ago. I was a bit nervous going in because I didn't feel I studied as much as I could have. But I've done ok. My score is sufficient to allow me to practice in any jurisdiction that uses the MPRE.

I only hope the bar proper goes as smoothly.

Wierd

I find it very strange that with all the things the "Crocodile Hunter" did, it should be an extremely rare animal occurrence that finally killed him. I feel bad for his family, too. It's never easy to lose someone that early in life.

Practice of Law, here we come!

The job search has begun.

A friend and I were talking about how close we are to being unleashed on the unsuspecting legal world. He commented that it is a little intimidating and scary.

My response: "It'll be just like this summer, but with money."

Friday Catblogging!

'Nuff said.

Have a Great Weekend!

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . .

Today is a most wonderful day. Every year, you see, I go to the Farmer's Market. At the market in Laramie, there is a particular farmer. This farmer brings produce. Among other things, he brings chilis. Every year, I buy a few bushels of chilis.

Oh, yes, I buy chilis. I watch them roast, and I can smell them. Today, I saw the juices drip, sizzling, onto the roaster bed.

I love this time each year, perhaps more than a holiday. I know that for the next many months, I shall have no lack of chilis. I will put them on chicken, and make green chili with pork which will be eaten with tortillas. It's bliss.

Tonight, I had one of my favorite dishes. I cooked a couple chicken breasts, cut them up and put some chopped chilis on the slices. On this pile, I put some delicious cheese. Finally, I wrap it all up in some yummy tortillas. It is wonderful, and it is the dawning of a new age, every year.

Go out, find someone who will roast some chilis for you. Sometimes it may be better than others, but no matter what, the fresh ones are the best. Enjoy.