guess who ate what?

The "appetizer" portion of the Chicken Nachos.
The other plate is the second half of the "half soup and sandwich combo".

I had the soup and sandwich combo, and was only able to finish the giant bowl of clam chowder. The Boy didn't finish his appetizer size nachos either. Both were very yummy when we had the leftovers for dinner.

DONE!

I am officially HALF WAY DONE with law school!

whoop whoop de doo!

Ice Storm 2007

School almost got canceled today because of the ice storm coming our way. Luckily for me (I just wanted to get exams over with), school was not canceled today and I did not have to wait until Friday to take my exam scheduled for today (yes, unfortunate for those who were actually praying for a snow day).

After three hours of agonizing over which choice is the right answer on my product liability exam, I spent about a half hour walking around campus taking pictures of the ice on the trees. It was a pretty sight. Kinda cool too.

Frozen trees from afar, and frozen trees up close.
Flowers on ice.
I think this picture of the frozen leaf is the coolest picture I have ever taken up close (probably because I finally figured out how to use the "macro" option on my new digital camera.
I hope there were no living things inside that bird's nest!
I wonder why this bench isn't being used right now...

first snow of the season

these pictures were taken from my bedroom window, so that's why there are tiny little grid lines in it.





there's a lonely crow sitting in a tree...is that supposed to be some sign of bad omen?

things I learned from watching "The Biggest Loser" on NBC

1. If you drank two beers a week for a year, you're consuming 15,000 calories.

2. If you stood up and walked to the TV to manually change the channel, you could lose up to 95 calories per hour.

you cook rice, puts family to shame

Mom: You put too much water in the rice, it's all soggy.

Me: Sorry. When you said "put just a little bit of water" I didn't think you meant that little.

Mom: I said just little water.

Me: Sorry. I just put half a finger measurement of water in there. To me that's little! Our rice back in Kansas City, I use a whole finger measurement and it's still dry!! What kind of rice did you buy anyway?

Mom: You are going to embarass our family if you cook rice that way for your mother-in-law. Tsk-tsk, a girl who can't even cook rice.

Me: Well, if I don't marry a Vietnamese guy, or if I don't marry an Asian guy at all, we won't have to worry that I can't cook rice.

Mom: What?! The Boy won't be able to speak with me.

Me: Yes, he can. He can say "chào cô khỏe không?" [Hi miss, how are you?]

Mom: Aiyah!

Me: And he likes my rice. And his mother likes my rice.

Mom: Well, I can't eat your rice. Cook it again.

Me: Aiyah!

so deserving

The Boy: Hello! I'm calling from the Habitat for Humanity build site in Argentina!

Me: What did you do today?

The Boy: I dug a hole for 8 hours today. And the hole is still not done. The locals are calling me a gopher.

Me: What's the hole for? Must be really big hole if you've been digging for 8 hours on the same hole.

The Boy: For a septic tank.

Me: Nice.

The Boy: Yep, I've been digging a hole for shit.

happy hour food

Cheeseburger and fries; buffalo spicy wings; beef taquitos; salmon spread on crackers -- all this food for $11 total. There's no better deal than that.

best sushi

Marking off another restaurant off the "Best of Kansas City" resturant guide, we decided to try another resturant tonight. After trying Korean, we decided for some Japanese: Friends Sushi.


I like sushi, but I don't eat the raw stuff. It all has to be cooked sushi for me. So we ordered the Spider Roll, Dragon Roll, Eel maki and a Spicy Tuna Roll because my dinner companion likes the raw stuff. (I tried a piece of the Spicy Tuna Roll and lathered wasabi on it hoping to mask the raw rish smell, but that plan didn't quite mask the raw fish texture and I had to force myself to swallow it.)


The rolls were delicious. And the price was not too bad--it wasn't cheap, but it didn't cost an arm and a leg either. The Dragon rolls were my favorite, because instead of avacodo, they used a slice of mango, which gave it a sweeter taste. The Spider Roll was yummy too, although why do they make Spider Rolls so big that you can't put an entire piece into your mouth? I had to bite each piece in half and then all the contents fell out, making it messy.

And for dessert, we ordered fried ice-cream. What we ate was fried batter with soupy vanilla cream inside. The serving was only a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream which probably wasn't large enough to withstand the heat of the fryer. Still yummy nonetheless.

cookie debate with a chocolate twist

For your recollection, click here for Cookie Debate.

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Today's conversation of the day:

The Boy: If you give up chocolate for a month, I'll talk to you for ten straight hours.

Me: Umm.

The Boy: Ohmygosh, is that not what you wanted? Me to talk to you for longer periods of time?!

Me: Yeah, I want you to talk to me, but not for TEN HOURS STRAIGHT.

The Boy: Okay, I'll talk to you for two hours every night if you give up chocolate for a month.

Me: Okay. Deal.

The Boy: No, no, I got the real deal here.

Me: Yes?

The Boy: If you can give up chocolate and salt*, I'll give you an engagement ring.

Me: Seriously? How long do I have give up chocolate and salt?

The Boy: Let's say a year. If you can give up chocolate and salt for a year, I'll give you an engagement ring.

Me: How do I know if you'll actually keep your word after a year?

The Boy: Well, that's the easy part. How do I know if YOU actually kept YOUR word? It's harder for me to moniter what you're eating when we're thousands of miles apart.

Me: That's easy, I'll be a lot more cranky if I don't have my daily dose of chocolate. So if I'm suddenly happy one day, you'll know I cheated.

The Boy: Well, that's not a fair deal. I don't want to speak to someone who's cranky 24/7.

Me: You made the deal, mister.

The Boy: I'll never win.

Me: Yep, that's about right.

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*In addition to chocolate cravings, I also have salt cravings, which usually leads me to eat tons of tostida chips, potato chips, or just pouring salt into my hands and licking it.

test for smart people

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional.

Scroll down for each answer.

The questions are NOT that difficult. But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
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The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.



2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
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Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.



3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
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Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.



4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
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Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively proves the theory that most professionals do not have the brains of a four-year-old.

best sexy food

There was special section in The Pitch that highlighted all the best food/resturauts/hangouts in Missouri and Kansas. They had a category listed as "Best Sexy Food" and highlighted a Korean BBQ resturant as the place with the best sexy food.
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So we went there for dinner tonight. The resturant is located in middle of nowhere Kansas (well, this is my opinion anyway), but the atmosphere was nice. We had the pork and beef calbi and the waiter actually barbequed the meet for us (usually, it's do it yourself) which was nice but a bit awkward because the waiter always took a bow before he left our table.

Anyways, after filling my guts with sumptuous calbi, I still could not conclude that the food I just ate was sexy food. First of all, garlic was permeating out through my skin, and second, I smelled like barbeque food. I don't know how garlic breath and roasted meat odor makes for sexy anything.

featherless chicken butts

We went to an apple orchard this past weekend to pick apples. Unbeknownst to us, the "April Freeze" resulted in not enough apples for the wannabe farmers to pick. So we spent an hour roaming the orchard and exploring the pumpkin patch. We also came upon a bunch of chickens and this one just had no feathers on its butt. It was weird looking.

Maybe the chicken was being picked on by the others. May it hogged all the worms and so the others would pluck its butt feathers to stop it from eating the worms.

I really don't know why this chicken has no butt feathers. It was just very funny to look at.

bicycles on sidewalks

I'm walking home from school and I hear this lady literally SHOUTING at me, "EXCUSE ME, MOVE OVER, I'M COMING THROUGH!"

I look behind me and find this lady on a bike and wanting to ride pass me on a sidewalk. Hello!! Why are you riding on the sidewalk in the first place lady? It's a side WALK. You're not WALKing. Get off the sideWALK!

Good gosh. Not only was she riding her bike on a sidewalk when there is plenty of space on the street for her, but I'm pretty sure she was speeding too. I had to jump onto the grass just to save myself from being run over by the lady on the bike.

Seriously, if you ride a bike, please try not to run over pedestrians on a sidewalk.

how sweet The Boy is

I was whining to The Boy about what a horrible week I was having. Next thing I get is a knock on the door from the Fed-ex man presenting me with a box.



PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE FROM THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY!!! The Boy never indulges my sweet tooth, so this was a great surprise!

That pumpkin cheesecake was soooo good going down. I should probably tell The Boy that I have a bad week every week. Although I'm not sure he is consistently sweet with his intentions.

new creation -- spiky balls

The roommate was in a creative mood and made these "spiky balls" for dinner. Basically, it's just pork dumpling filling covered in rice. Still yummy in my tummy!

toilet paper wedding dresses

Some people have way too much time on their hands.

notice anything?

Why the heck is there half a banana sticking out of the side of this building?

I have to admit that the first time I saw this, I didn't think it was a banana.

how quickly we spend our money

I started a part-time law clerk position last week that pays $8 an hour. Yeah, totally doing it for the experience, but then again, $8 an hour is a whole lot more than being paid nothing at all.

This part-time job requires me to work on Saturday mornings. So yesterday, I reported for work at 9am and was finished at noon. The bossman paid me in cash for the day -- twenty five whole smackers!

To celebrate my first paycheck since starting law school, I decided to treat a couple of friends to cheesecake. Tiramisu, White Chocolate Coconut and Banana.

It took me 3 hours of work to earn $25. It took me only five seconds to spend it. Cheesecake was so yummy it was worth the hard work.

i've been spoiled

My roommate spoils me. She always asks if I'm hungry or if I've eaten, and if she's already eaten when I have not, she'll offer to make something for me to eat.

I can cook for myself, and I like to cook, but I'm usually too lazy to cook after a long day at school so I just pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave. And with a spread like the one below appearing everyday when I get home from school, how am I ever supposed to go back to eating frozen dinners after she's done with her degree in a year?

funny picture of the day

home cooked food

I love cooking. My new roommate likes cooking too. So we decided to make some food and have a small dinner get-together.**

I made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, with peanut dipping sauce. Apparantly, I made super-size rolls because they were about twice the size a Vietnamese restaurant would serve. Nonetheless, they were yummy. I'm not just tooting my own horn either. I have witnesses!

... ... ...

My new roommate made pork dumplings from scratch. Not just the filling, even the dough! I am the lazy one and would have just gone to the market to buy premade wonton wrappers to make the dumplings, but my roommate prefers homemade dough. She made 150 dumplings. We ate about 90 dumplings for dinner. The rest are in the freezer. I wonder what we're going to have for dinner tomorrow.

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My friend CC made mini-cheesecake. I think that was better than spring rolls and dumplings combined. Of course I filled my gut.

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**To those of you who know me and am currently thinking "Why didn't I get invited to dinner!?" don't blow a gasket. We have a small apartment with limited seating. I promise there will be more dinners to come. And you'll eventually get invited as long as you bring the cheesecake.

$6 eggs

I was at the Irish Fest yesterday and completely gorged on expensive fest food. $5 foot long Italian Sausage, $5 cherry lemonade, $5 funnel cake, and $6 Scotch egg. Yes, you read correctly. Six, 6, dollars for an egg. Not two, not three, just one single egg.

Well, okay. One single egg, split in half. That's like $3 for half an egg.
By now, you must be wondering what is a Scotch egg (or maybe you're wondering why I haven't had any Irish food since I was at an Irish Fest). Well, basically it's a hard boiled egg covered in pork sausage then deep fried.

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There was a really long line in front of this food cart and we were wondering what everyone was in line for. We saw people walk away eating these rounds things, and the menu had "Scotch Egg" on it so we decided to fork over the $6 to try this "Scotch Egg".

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I was expecting three eggs, or at least two eggs. What I got in exchange for my $6 was two halves of an egg. It was yummy, but it was a complete rip off. Come one now, $6 for ONE EGG? Theives!

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When I got home from Irish Fest, I decided to make my own batch of Scotch Eggs for the small dinner party I was hosting the next day. For about $8, I got enough ingredients to make a dozen Scotch Eggs.

It was so yummy! And, the good part was that everyone at dinner was able to eat more than half an egg.

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Scotch Eggs:

Ingredients:

6 boiled eggs

1 lb pork sausage mixed with a little flour

1 raw egg, beaten

bread crumbs

How to:

Mix flour with sausage. Press sausage around the boiled eggs. Brush with raw beaten egg and dip in bread crumbs until covered. Fry until dark, golden brown. Serve on a plate of lettuce.

the runaround

I have this theory that the Cashier's Office, Admissions Office and the Financial Office hate each other and don't want to deal with one another directly. Each office is located on the first floor of the Administration Building and is right next to one another. But, in trying to figure out the school will deduct non-residency fees from my tuition, I get passed from one office to another.

Me at Cashier's Office: Hi, I want to know why I'm still being charged non-resident tuition when I was approved for residency last week.

Cashier's Office Employee: Well, I'm looking at your account and it doesn't look like you were approved for residency. Are you sure you got approved?

Me: Yes, I got the letter last week saying I was approved. How long does it take for the Admissions Office to relay that information to you?

Cashier Office: Well, they don't tell us directly. They just make a change in the system and everything updates automatically.

Me: um..okay...

Cashier Office: So, you should go to the Admissions Office and make sure they actually approved you for residency status.

Me: Alright.

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Me at Admissions Office: Hi, I got a letter from your office approving my residency petition, but I'm still being charged non-resident tuition and I just printed the bill this morning.

Admissions Office Employee: Oh? When did you get approved?

Me: I got the letter last week.

Admissions Office: Well, let me look you up. It says here that you're a resident.

Me: Well then how long does it take for the Cashier's Office to make the changes and deduct the non-resident fees?

Admissions Office: It should have been done already. Are you sure you're being billed for non-residency?

Me: Here's the bill I printed this morning. And if you look at it, I got charged twice for the non-resident fee -- which doesn't make sense at all.

Admissions Office: That really is weird. As soon as we update you in the system as a resident, your fees should have been adjusted accordingly. Maybe the Financial Aid office has a hold on your account?

Me: Why would they that?

Admissions Office: Did you get all of your financial aid already? Because the change in your residency status might deduct your financial aid.

Me: Well, I'm just waiting for them to certify a private loan, and even that is taking forever.

Admissions Office: I'd go talk to the Financial Aid Office.

Me: Um okay.

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Me at Financial Aid Office: Hi, I just got approved for resident status but I'm still being charged for non-resident tuition, charged twice actually, and Cashiers and Admissions Office think you have an answer why.

Financial Aid Office employee: Well, they're wrong. We don't deal with residency. We don't know why you're being charged non-resident fees. You need to go tell Cashiers Office it's their job to figure out the tuition fees.

Me: Do you guys talk to one another? Do the people in Financial Aid just hate the people in Admissions and Cashiers, and vice versa?

Financial Aid Office: Why do you say that?

Me: Because no one can give me an answer and each keeps sending me to another office for the answer.

Financial Aid Office: I don't know. Go ask the Cashier's Office.

At this point I am pounding my head on the counter. And I'm still being charged more than a regular non-resident student is being charged even though I'm now a resident and should be charged much less. Did that make any sense?

a contracts lesson from a fed tax professor

Fed Tax Professor:

"There is this case about a couple of pet companies and the enforcement of a contract. Arizona Pet Store sells all sorts of weird animials for pets, lizard, parrots and the like, and has a couple who wants to buy bald eagles as pets. As you know, bald eagles are on the endangered species list and thus it is illegal to own bald eagles for pets.

Well, being a shady pet store, Arizona Pet Store finds a Mexico Pet Store who has baby bald eagles for sale. So, Arizona Pet Store contracts with Mexico Pet Store to buy a couple of baby bald eagles. Mexico Pet Store puts the baby bald eagles in a box and ships it off to Arizona Pet Store. Upon delivery, Arizona Pet Store opens up the box to find two sickly-looking-disease-infested-feathers-falling-off bald eagles. Two days later, the baby bald eagles die.

Mexico Pet Store then sues Arizona Pet Store for payment of the bald eagle. They made a contract to deliver bald eagles and deserves payment because they delivered the bald eagles.

So, Ms. Student, will the courts force Arizona Pet Store to pay for services provided by Mexico Pet Store?"

Student: "No, because it was an illegal activity."

Fed Tax Professor: "Oh that's right. Courts will not enforce ill-eagle contracts."



The class then responds in a slow (and low) laughter. There was even a small group applauding the professor for his contracts lesson.

what's wrong with this picture?

I see this image on my walk to school everyday. I've been back in KC for almost two weeks and the sign is still in the tree.

notes from first day of classes

Civil Procedure II -- Jurisdiction:

Class starts at 10am. A student walks into class at 10:30am.

Professor: Well hello. Thanks for joining us. There's only one seat left down here in the front row, so come on down and take your seat. Wait, nevermind. You're interrupting my class so just sit right there on the floor. Yep, right where you're standing, just sit on the floor.

Student sits on the floor, in the middle of the aisle. Then after about ten minutes, he gets up, walks outside of the classroom. Two seconds after the door closes, the student walks back into class, picks up his bag from the floor and announces "I think I'm in the wrong class," and proceeds to leave the class permanently.

Professor: I wonder if he think he's in the wrong class because he just heard ten minutes of my lecture or if he just can't stand personal jurisdiction.

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Federal Taxation Joke of the Day

There was an article about a man who went down to hell and came back to tell us all about it. In the article, the man said that when he was down in hell, there were two doors that people were lining up in front of. One door was labeled the "Communist Door" and the other was labeled the "Capitalist Door." There was a significantly long line in front of the Communist Door and absolutely no one in line for the Capitalist Door.

Intrigued with this observation, the man went to the end of the line for the Communist Door and asked the last guy in line, "Hey, what's so popular with the Communist Door? What do they do to you once you go through the door?"

The last guy in line responds: "Oh, they whip you, then boil you in hot oil, then string you up and whip you some more, then skin you alive. The usual."

The man thought to himself "How horrible!" and seriously thought about running to the Capitalist Door and walking right on in. But before he acted upon that thought, he asked the last guy in line to the Communist Door, "Gee, what happens to you when you go through the Capitalist Door?"

The last guy in line replies, "Oh, they do the same thing. The only difference is that the communists always run out of whips, hot oil, string, knives......"

**Get it? Hardy har har?**

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Product Liability:

The professor for product liability began setting up his notes and books on the podium in preparation to start the lecture for the class. He then walks to the back of the class to do something.

The professor I had for Criminal Law last year walks into class, up to the podium and proceeds to close the Product Liability Professor's books and notes, then puts it all in a pile on the corner of the desk. Criminal Law Professor continues to set up his books on the podium.

Okay, at this point in time, half the class (the half that had Criminal Law Professor the first semester of law school) kinda starts freaking out because he was really intimidating in class. At first, I thought it was some set-up for a product liability demonstration. Then I thought it was some practical joke. But it was neither. Criminal Law Professor was just absent minded.

Criminal Law Professor looks up from the podium, probably seeing a bunch of confused looks staring back at him, and sees Product Liability Professor at the back of the room with an equally confused look on his face.

Criminal Law Professor asks Product Liability Professor: "Is this your classroom?"

Product Liability Professor: "Um, yes. It's reserved for product liability."

Criminal Law Professor: "Oh I'm sorry! I must be in the wrong classroom."

As soon as Criminal Law Professor walks out the door, all of his former students, myself included, let out a sigh of relief. We did not want to relive our days in Criminal Law.

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International Law:

Quote of the day from Professor: I don't assign reading for the first day of classes because nobody ever really does first day assignments and I don't really get to to discuss the first day assignments so then we get behind on our reading before we really even started.

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Business Organization Professor's Thoughts on the Attendance Policy:

"I hate the attendance policy and I think it stinks. It shouldn't be applicable whatsoever."

You think this was a good thought, but no, he further explains why he hates the attendance policy.

"It's ridiculously that you can miss eight classes in one semester. I just wanted to allow you guys to miss two classes max, but I was outnumbered so each of you can miss eight classes without penalty."

ps

oh yeah, I did finish reading Harry Potter 7. I finished it in two days with the sacrifice of food and sleep, but it was worth.

It was such a good ending. Ah, what to do now that Harry Potter mania is over?

public art

San Francisco had the giant hearts on display throughout the city. Chicago has giant globes of the Earth on display throughout Navy Pier.

2L here I come

The beginning to 2L starts tomorrow and I think I screwed myself over when I registered for classes last spring.

For starters, I'll be in school from 10am until 5:15pm tomorrow -- that's like ALL day! First, it's Civil Procedure II at 10am, then Fed Tax at 11am (which normally only goes until noon, but for some odd reason, the professor decided to extend the first class until 12:45pm -- grr). I'll have time to swallow some food and take a breather before going to an advanced torts class (Product Liability) at 2:30pm (also a class that is an eighty minutes class instead of the usual fifty minutes). The final class of the day is an international law class that goes from 4:00 to 5:15pm, which afterwards I will probably go home, eat dinner and watch tv until I crash. This schedule repeats itself on Wednesdays.

The good part, I think, is that I only have one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays -- business organizations. Although, the class is at 8am and is two hours long. I think I will become a coffee addict this semester. Well, this will give me time to the reading for the marathon Wednesday classes (or it allows time for me to find a job where people will pay me to work).

I would like to have Fridays free, but I have an 11am class and a 2pm class. At least I can sleep in on Fridays, and then slack off for the rest of the afternoon.

A great plus this semester is that I now have "an office" at school. Okay, I share an office with another classmate, but still, it beats studying in the library with all the first years. Anyway, I can keep all my books in my office, keep my extra laptop power cord in my office, eat in my office, sleep in my office -- which all ensures that I will not have to lug a ton of books back home, my santuary where I just want to veg out in front of the TV.

And since I've been good in getting all of my first day assignments completed this morning, I am now going to watch Big Brother and see who Danielle nominates for eviction.

Go 2L!

magnificent mile of dresses

Hi People! I'm alive! And back in good ole KC. Sorry I've been MIA for a while there -- I had no internet access during my last week in Peoria, and then I had to move and unpack back in KC.

But here I am, trying to update my blog with recent pictures and stories of my weekend in The Windy City.

First up, a series of dresses that decorated the sidewalks of the Magnificent Mile.