Monday morning haiku

Monday comes so fast.
Time for another haiku.
But do you read them?

Women's health information

Now, my mom routinely clips and mails to me articles from the paper with safety warnings or info about some health issue. I think it's part of the "worry gene" that mutates in parents -- especially mothers -- when kids come along. She also frequently forwards me "cute" (and annoying) emails with some kind of affirmation or cloying story. I tend to quickly assess and then junk much of what she sends me.

But this was different. She sent this the other day, and it is worth the six minutes it will take to watch. I had never heard about IBC -- inflamatory breast cancer -- before my mother sent me this. So I learned. About IBC. And to take the time to look at everything she sends me because she did send it for a reason, and sometimes even a good reason.

Thanks, ma.

Jeez-us

Every time I see articles like this one, I feel kinda bitter. Just a little. Then I bitch and blog and get over it.

So entry salaries in top DC firms are $140K. Okay... Well, I decided not to go the firm route, so I shouldn't let these numbers get to me. I work a 40-hour week in a relatively casual office doing law I like, so the comparison is apples and oranges.

But still, it's hard to swallow that some grads are pulling $140-160K straight out of law school with no prior experience at all. Granted, for the most part, these are top tier grads who are probably doing transactional work in fields that would cure my insomnia, but me with my 15 years of work experience, 3.51 GPA and honors from a top-20 law school... well, my salary is a mere fraction of those figures. And sometimes I wonder why I'm not as deserving of such a ridiculous salary. Law school was supposed to widen my earning potential, right?

I know I wouldn't trade places with the firm folks. I know that. I like being a government gal -- most of the time -- but my current salary isn't even an increase over the job I had before and during law school (but I still have the potential, right?). And while I'm usually okay with that, when I see articles like this one, I get pissed off all over again. I want that too. But just the salary, not the stress and having to wear suits and the long hours and the icky work that goes with it.

I know... I know... but still.

/rant

GOOD LUCK to those of you sidling up to the bar in the next few days

I remember the day I left my house to drive up to the bar exam testing site. All I wanted to do was puke. I'm sure you recognize that feeling.

Well, with the calm of hindsight, I can say that the bar itself was a grueling exercise of stamina, but the anticipation of it was much worse than the beast itself.

So, good luck everyone who is heading out today for the long haul of the next few days. I'm sending folks my extra brain power, positive mental vibes and good wishes for a quiet seat-mate and a strong bladder.

Don't let the jerk who finishes 20 minutes early and walks noisily out of the testing center throw you off your game (in my case, she was a Yalie with humongous clunky shoes). Hang in there.

Sunshine and happy things are waiting for you on the other side of the misery!

Monday morning haiku, the early afternoon edition

Shock on the metro!
No one was reading the new
Harry Potter book.

(I couldn't believe it, but not a single soul had the new HP book on the commute in this morning. No one. Admittedly, the train was practically empty -- must be vacation season -- but I would have bet money that someone would have had it. Huh.)

Must have been a slow news day...

because this story is absurd, sexist and insulting.

A woman's cleavage isn't a topic for serious public discourse, no matter what Katherine Harris may think. The media never discusses how a male candidate shows his masculine side, so why would anyone think it's appropriate to discuss feminine attributes?

Just plain silly.

My prediction about Harry Potter

Haven't read it yet -- although Michiko Kakutani and a whole bunch of people who got the book in violation of the embago have -- nor have I read any of the books that have come out since I started law school, which makes two books behind. Yes, I've only read the first four.

Nevertheless, I think Harry Potter is Luke Skywalker. Leader of the rebellion, the missing heir, fighting the dark side, all of that.

Yes, that means that Voldemort is his father.

Just wait. You'll see I'm right.

Or I could just be talking out my ass. Either way, we'll see.

Monday morning haiku

So hard to get up.
No energy for the week.
Monday or just old?

(And yeah, that's the problem with Monday morning haiku -- they tend to be monotonously complainy. They'd probably be more cheerful if I wrote them on Friday afternoon. Come to think of it, probably not.)

More local politics -- Boston!

Friends and folks in Boston, lend me your... eyes?

Sam Yoon is a community advocate who was elected to the Boston City Council in 2005 becoming the first Asian American to run for and win such a high profile public office on the East Coast. I am proud to have been one of his supporters in that campaign. He’s now seeking his first reelection at the end of a 2 year term.

As many of you know, it is always most difficult the first time a politician faces reelection. And because Sam is running for one of 4 “at large” seats that represent the entire city of Boston, he has to initially face a total of 9 candidates in the primaries on September 25, and then the general election this November.

If you have never heard of or don't know much about Sam (and my endorsement isn't sufficient, which it shouldn't be!), check out his site at Sam Yoon -- Your voice, your Boston to learn more. And if you like what you see, no matter where you live, please consider sending him a donation of any amount. If nothing else, take the time to inform yourself about local politics, whether you're in Boston or Boise -- because they affect our daily lives more than the high profile, national stuff.

And...

::thump::

That's me getting off of my soapbox. We'll now return to our regularly-scheduled banality.

Another burning question

So SM wears boxers. I've noticed that several pairs of his boxers have pockets. Not small patches of fabric attached to the leg or back but full pockets sewn into the seams of the boxers on the sides, the kind that you could put your hands in. Except that they aren't really deep enough for anything more than maybe a deck of cards. And no, the pockets don't reach around.

So, I just wanna know why? Why would anyone need pockets on their underwear?

News from the weird

I guess it's a lucky thing that these folks had good taste in wine.

I wonder what would have happened if they were serving Pabst Blue Ribbon and Cheetos?

Some scary shit

I'm an apartment-owner who has rented it to many different tenants, and I have been a renter many times. But I have never, never encountered anyone who had first-hand experience with anything that remotely resembled the stories described here.

Oh. my. gawd. Who knew there were career rip-off renters like this?

And what's worse, this article is almost a recipe for nefarious folks to follow. Of course, those who aren't inclined to do this wouldn't be motivated by this article, but still...

Chilling.

Acceptance, respect, tolerance and fairness

I try like hell to practice acceptance and respect for others. And where I can't do that, I try at least to be tolerant and fair. And keep my opinions to myself.

But, here I can't. File this under WTF!?!

I will never understand how people think like that. I will never understand why people spew that kind of bile. I will never understand people who substitute religious teachings for moral introspection -- or any part of the universe that embraces people who use God to condemn others.

There are so many things that I will never understand. And I refuse to try.

I guess I'm just unaccepting, disrespectful, intolerant, bigoted and loud that way.

So be it.

UPDATE: Looks like someone went in and edited the text defining homosexuality on Conservapedia. For those of you who didn't see it, check out this video from The Daily Show.



It's kinda funny.

Not to be Jenny-one-note

...but I guess I am...

My head echoes with
Buster Poindexter's lyrics:
"Feeling hot, hot, hot!"

Yeah, it's another ick day here. And work has been really busy too -- so much so that it's zapped the energy and creativity out of me. I just haven't felt like doing anything but couch potatoeing after work, and it's all but impossible to string together more than a few minutes during the day for surreptious posting.

Maybe by the end of the week?

Monday morning haiku

Hundred-degree heat:
too hot to walk, talk, work, think...
only bitch and moan.

The perfect word

Ever have that lightbulb-goes-off-over-your-head, a-ha-kind-of-moment when someone says something that captures exactly what you're thinking? I did, reading a post by Butterflyfish about her recent run-in with sarchasm.

Sarchasm: The abyss between the creator of witticisms and the intended recipient who does not find the humor in it.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! This word perfectly describes my boss's social skills. In her case, it's not a matter of her not finding humor in the jokes because her sense of humor differs. She just plain doesn't get our ('cuz it's not just me) jokes. While others smirk, guffaw, and shriek, she just stares blankly until someone says, "I'm kidding" whereupon she cracks a painful grin and changes the subject.

Sarchasm. Perfect!

Welcome back, E. Spat!

I, for one, have missed your voice.

'Cuz the 4th is for relaxing

and doing whatever you want. What better celebration of freedom could there be? So Happy Independence Day, all!

And thanks to Blonde Justice ('cuz I'm told that justice is blonde) for the link that led me to this fun and silliness -- my own Simpsons identity. I am now a denizen of Springfield. Kewl.


(in case you're wondering... which I'm sure you are!... the t-shirt is Gidget doing her best Max impersonation)

Monday morning haiku?

Yeah, got no haiku.
Work has been crazy lately.
My brain just plain hurts.

Lazy butt

Yeah, that's me. SM kicked butt over the weekend -- especially today -- and did so much unpacking that the house doesn't resemble at all the mess we had on Friday. We He has uncovered the livingroom and the dining room. There are actually rooms under all of the crap. Who knew? The basement also now looks like a room, even though it's stacked with even more boxes (that's our "swing" space as we unpack and figure out where things go). But now I wouldn't be completely humiliated to have someone come over unannounced. We haven't reached the stage where we'd invite guests, but thankfully, the house is no longer a dangerous obstacle course.

Me? I worked on the kitchen some more and did about four loads in the dishwasher. And also watched TV all day today. I didn't even go outside, even though the weather was fantastic. I'm a lazy butt.

SM did everything else. Everything. He's da' man.