Shippin' Up

Friday to early today (Monday) was spent in Boston. And it was glorious. It was great to see everyone. Erika, Shaked, Robin, Jordan, and lots of other people.

Friday I'm done with class at noon, so I got an early start to my trip. I got to BWI around 2:30 for a flight that began boarding at 4:15. Good thing I brought some work to do. I sat in a restaurant, ordered a beer, and spread out the 12 cases I had printed out earlier that morning. Yes, it was Memo 2 time. I got a lot of work done in that Mexican-themed airport restaurant. But what really made the experience was the guy who sat down next to me. This guy kind of looked like Barney Frank, but he wasn't quite as heavy and didn't have the accent. Also, he wasn't my congressman. He looked like the quintessential business traveler with a ruffled suit and worn briefcase. He sat down next to me and gave me a nod. I kind of nodded back and look at the case I'm reading. I'm pretty sure he was a lawyer and recognized what I was doing because he said, "Make it easier on yourself, get a drink." I laughed and showed him my beer glass, then turned back to my case. The waitress came up and he ordered a Jack Daniels. "Would you like to make it a double for only two dollars more?" "Oh yes." I kept doing my work and peeked over at his drink two minutes after it came. It was gone. The waitress came back over and he ordered another one. When it came he started draining it. I look at him and say, "Friday, huh?" He says, "No. Everyday." Well then. He seems satisfied with life.

Saturday I hung out with Shaked. We went to Natick so that I could procure a birthday gift for my mom. I got her a Snuggie. You know, the blanket with sleeves so you can wear it. Laugh if you'd like, and I admit, I had strong reservations about buying one. But in the middle of winter when my mom is warm and cozy in her Snuggie and you are wrapping yourself in 12 sweatshirts and 3 blankets we'll reexamine the situation. I think my biggest problems with the Snuggie are (1) that it an "As Seen on TV" thing, which immediately makes it suspect to being a scam somehow, and (2) that it comes in 3 colors-blue, pink, and leopard print. The first issue I got over, the second one was a no-brainer. Gotta go with the blue. I think I would die if anyone I know ever wore a leopard print Snuggie. As Shaked pointed out, the woman who posed in that Snuggie ad that comes on the box must have felt like a complete idiot in her leopard print. Grinning from ear to ear like a complete fool.

We eventually ended up at Marshalls in Newton, waiting to meet Ron for lunch at Fresh City. I had just found a Red Sox jersey/shirt that was really cheap when all of the sudden the fire alarm went off. After 3 minutes a manager came and made us all evacuate, along with all the other stores on the row. We met up with Ron in front of Fresh City (also experiencing the fire alarm) and watched about 6 people try to go in while the alarm was still on. Idiots. The best of these was a couple who were the biggest pieces of Eurotrash I've ever seen. The girl looked relatively normal (her jeans were really trendy, but also sparkly in a trashy way), but the guy looked like a cross between a punk rocker and the Wicked Witch of the West. He had longish hair, carefully messed up, a nose piercing, light eye makeup, and boots that got really pointy about 5 inches beyond where his toe could have been (witch boots). Eventually we all got inside the restaurant and ate. But I had an awkward incident with Mr. Eurotrash in the bathroom. It is a single bathroom. There's a lock on the door for your convenience and so that you don't get interrupted. If you are utilizing the facilities, please lock the door. I opened the unlocked door, thinking there was no one in the bathroom, only to find Mr. Eurotrash delicately applying lip gloss in the mirror. What?? Get out of here and let me pee. It was so awkward. I didn't know what to do. Luckily he was finished with his lip gloss by the time I had to wash my hands, so there was no dispute over the sink. But next time close the door when you put on your lip gloss!!

Saw a lot of people Saturday night. Matt "Foxy" Brown, Leah, Keara, Ben, Sam, Erik, Kuss, maybe another person or two. I was declared a Star Wars nerd, reaffirming everything I already knew about myself. Luckily Matt Brown out-nerded me about Lord of the Rings. Also, I got to talk about "Dr. Stevens" and the antidote. It's not really a story for here.

Sunday: A Quick Rundown
Breakfast at Allston Cafe with Erika, Robin, and Jordan: Hot as hell, with (according to the girls) people doing drugs in the bathroom.
French toast: quality.
Harvard Square: Missing from my life.
Starbucks taste test between instant coffee and brewed coffee: Failed
Actually failed?: I think they messed with the taste test
Coffee: Awesome, addictive?
The Informant with Ron, Yael, and Shaked: Not what I was expecting, also not great 6/10
The Green Line: Late due to a "police action" (??)
Bananagrams with Robin and Jordan: I love spelling!
Gone Baby Gone: Only got the first 30 minutes, looking good. Jordan says it was fantastic.
Boston accents in that movie: Aw yeah!
Anna's Taqueria for dinner: All I need in life.
Visit to Boston: Priceless

Then I woke up at 4:30 this morning and took the following methods of transportation back to Washington. Taxi, plane, bus, commuter train, metro, feet. I made it to my 11 am class. Barely. And I am exhausted! So sorry if this isn't the most coherent. That's a lot of transportation for one day.

This afternoon in Civil Procedure, a classmate actually advocated the position that racism might not be bad. My professor asked us if it was ethical to prosecute in a state where there is a lot of jury bias based on race when we have the option of prosecuting in a less bias state. A bunch of people didn't see a problem with it. It's the adversary system after all, and if your case can be helped by racism and it's not illegal to do, then why not? This was a little odd to me - people defending the adversary system without thinking about the moral component. Then this one kid essentially said that some people think racism is a good thing, so who are you (professor) to say that using a racist jury is a bad thing or contrary to the interests of justice. My professor (and I) almost had an aneurysm. For one thing it is unconstitutional. For another, we are all educated people, can't we have a consensus that racism is bad? Apparently not. That was basically my professor's reaction. Mine was more along the lines of "What the hell? Did you just say 'justice' and 'racism isn't that bad' in the same sentence? I think you did. I also think you need to take that foot out of your mouth and start walking that back immediately." Racism is bad. Hatred of certain groups isn't necessarily. For example I hate stupid people, like the person who just told me racism isn't bad.