6.30.2005

What a DAY.

I had a fascinating day at work for reasons I can't really get in to here. I had an opportunity to watch a couple sets of lawyers at work on a very, very interesting case. Wildly different personality types involved. It got me thinking about the many layers of factors at work in any given case.

There are, of course, the clients. Ultimately, their best interests are the most important thing of all. This is part of how I ended up in law school- I was tired of contributing time to benefit just the CEO of a software startup and the law is real people, real problems, real impacts. This became abundantly clear today.

Then, there are attorneys. A strange breed, indeed. There's a very political aspect to it all- how do you balance being a strong and effective advocate for your client with maintaining working relationships with opposing counsel? Can you be an advocate and a pleasant person to work with all at the same time? Once you're entrenched in advocate mode, whether as counsel for plaintiff or defendant, how do you objectively evaluate what is best for your client? I'd imagine it's hard to think reasonably about your client's situation when you have invested time, money, energy, brainpower in supporting their position.

Then, there's the law, which really is it's own player. Knowing a judge and how they rule on similar cases is huge. And the law changes over time. There's also spin- attorneys on opposite sides of a case can give wildly divergent takes on the exact same law. And frequently, they're relying on totally different cases that say diametrically opposed things about the law. This is a messy, complicated, fascinating business I'm getting in to.

I'm starting to get a feel for some of the contours of the local legal community, and it is fascinating. I LIKE it a lot. It seems that working in a smallish professional community like this has plenty of advantages to counter the drawbacks. Everyone knows everyone- at a minimum they know how to find out about someone- and the camaraderie is cool to watch. For example, everyone knows the guy who currently holds the top jury verdict in the state. Not just know who he is, but generally know him on a personal, I've worked with him, kind of level. You just don't get that in Texas, or anywhere else. On the other hand, my guess is that if you're an a-hole just once, you will NEVER live it down. In fact we were warned about this at the beginning of law school. It's very very interesting.

New Mexico is a strange place in general. It's a smallish state in terms of population, and the state is generally very poor. But there is huge opportunity to do great things and to have a significant imact here. That's very attractive, despite the state's imperfections.

And now for the random crap.... I managed to give myself a black eye last night. Yeah, I'm that graceful. I had turned off the lights and was climbing in to bed when I slammed into the corner post of my 4 poster bed. O.U.C.H. I managed to get through today looking like I am just bad at putting on make up. Hiding behind my glasses helped. I've got a picture, but you have to click to see it. The most horrifying thing about this picture is that, sadly, I got my Dad's nose. (Hi Dad! No offense!) I think my schnoz looks HUGE in this picture.

And to distract your attention from the utter lack of knitting around here, I leave you with a picture of Scooter. He curled up in the clean laundry within 3 minutes of it getting out of the dryer and on to the bed. Kitties. Can't live with 'em, can live with out all of 'em except Scooter.



6.29.2005

Grab bag

I realized I forgot to show a photo of the back of the birthday mittens: here you go....



I also have a picture of my vintage Doctor's Bag! I love it- I think this will be my fall purse...



Does anyone out there know anything about technorati? I'm curious to see what it's all about, so I've started tagging my posts. We'll see how long this lasts....

Have I mentioned recently that eBay is evil???? I've won 2 auctions this week... One for some pencil roving that I just HAD to have after reading this post... AND 14 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in off white- a SMOKING deal. WHEEEEE!

Yeah. Need to back away from eBay.

6.27.2005

Oh Happy Day!

Ok, I am so not over the knitting thing. Look what came in the mail today: (cue the arcangels....)



My sock yarn by Knitterly Things that I got from Knit Pixie.

Isn't it GORGEOUS? The colors in that photo are suprisingly accurate- yes, it's that loud. I love it. It's soft, colorful, and fabulous. Happy Day indeed!

As for progress photos, there's not much to show. Orangina looks the same plus a completed back. I have started my first ever fair isle project: mittens for my Mom's birthday. They aren't perfect, but I love them.



Now I have to get back in the habit of taking and posting pictures on a regular basis...

Restless

I've been feeling really restless recently. Very much not-in-the-moment. I don't want to get in to too much of it here, but it's going on in my head and I wanted to share. It was intense enough yesterday morning that I thought for a minute that I was over knitting- bored with it. Fortunately, I think that's passed. :-) I knew it was bad when my Mom and I were in the book store Sunday morning and I had the urge to buy every book in the travel section and fantasize about going some place really really cool on vacation. I haven't had a real vacation in years. Maybe ever. I'm always visiting family, or friends, or ... oh wait, I went to France in 2003. That was a real vacation, and I met up with my pen pal and we had a blast. But other than that, it has all been family visits or going back to places I've left so that I can catch up with old friends. Nice, but not a good, old fashioned beach-style lay around and get sunburnt from vegging out too much kind of vacation.

So restless.

Some of it is relationship-related. He just doens't like New Mexico- in terms of things that are important to him, New Mexico is definitely lacking. And I wonder what our relationship will look like if he does decide to go back to Austin.

Some of it is school-related. I'm halfway through the summer, starting to think about back to school. This next year is going to be really, really busy. I don't think the work will be harder, I just think the volume is going to increase significantly. My course load for this semester is going to be intense and not a whole lot of fun. Interesting, but not light courses by any stretch of the imagination. I've signed up for an Art Law CLE in August that I hope will help satisfy some of the "fun" I'll be lacking all semester. Spring should be good, though- lots of seminar classes on topics I'm really interested in.

My class rank slipped and I hope to get some of it back, which adds to the pressure. I'm knee deep in the law review application right now, and I really hope I make it. Then there's the specter of job searching- this fall's interview season is where most law students seem to find the job they'll probably take after graduation, and the applications include both firms and judicial clerkships. I thought clerkships didn't happen until 3rd year- guess I was wrong! It's kind of scary that this all happens so early in the law school procees.

Some of it is work related. I love where I'm working now- these are good, ethical attorneys who do interesting work and seem to have a good work-life balance. I'm curious to see what other practices and cultures are like. I'm thinking a lot about what I want my professional life to look like when I graduate from law school. Things like LexThink get me really excited- I think these people are doing some really cool things to help redefine the practice of law.

I had a really interesting conversation about all this with my brother. He told me about working as a used car salesman last summer- that he tried to be friendly, straightforward, and non-pushy with customers who came on to the lot. He felt people reacted by being less trustful of him than they would have been with a stereotypical salesman. It hadn't occcured to me that, as he put it, people expect a certain thing when they buy a used car or hire an attorney. Changing the reality too much might turn off potential customers... Interesting premise. I think there are ways to make a practice much more client-centered and efficient without being too radical. But I have mulled over his comments a lot since our conversation.

Some of the restlessness is also related to the constant change I've experienced in the last, oh, year and a half. I've changed from professional to student, moved 700 miles, started a whole new career path, broken up with the bf, dated someone else, got back together with the bf, moved residences 5.5 times, basically lived with the bf since he moved here 3 weeks ago, and have started work in the new career field. Not to mention all the detail things, like making new friends, figuring out how to get around town, losing then gaining 10 pounds, and just generally tyring to figure out who I am as I move into a new phase of my life.

Speaking of 10 pounds, the old pants are getting a wee bit too tight- time for radical action. As Meg is my witness, I will be at the gym at least 3 mornings this week before work. I will not snack at work (that should be easy- there's nothing to eat there!). I will minimize sugar and maximize water intake until my bottoms fit again. And then some. I think part of the restless feeling comes from focusing on my weight for the last 2.5 years (losing and KEEPING OFF 20 pounds, thank you very much) but also facing another push to get back to where I was when I started school last fall, possibly a bit more. I know KNOW know that if I don't do it now, when my time is pretty structured for 8 hours a day but wide open the rest of the time that exercise is one of the first things to get shoved aside when crunch time hits at school. I need to get in the habit of morning workouts NOW so it's not a big deal when the school year starts.

There may be something to the bored with knitting thing. Perhaps I should read something other than a pattern book for a change- get lost in a really good story. Shake up my routine a little bit and get outside. Go for a light hike. Something. I'm in a rut.

On the other hand, I've come a long way, baby! I was a mess a year ago. I had just quit my job, was leaving my friends, breaking up with my boyfriend. I was afraid I'd hate law school, that my classmates would be jerks, that I'd never make another girlfriend. And here I am a year later, back with the usually fabulous boyfriend, loving law school and doing very well, making friends with my fascinating classmates, and I have two wonderful girlfriends! Hurrah for Meg and Katie!

Anyway, that's what's gonig on with me. I don't think I got too much into the stuff I really didn't get in to. HA! And you thought I laid it all out, bared my soul! I'm sure you're thinking, "Good LORD, what DIDN'T she say???? SPARE me!"

Good news at the end of this tunnel? I got my camera back today and will have pictures tonight or tomorrow! YAY!

6.26.2005

Mmmmmm. Dinner Again.

Meg came over for dinner tonight and we had Nigella Lawson's Golden Jubilee Salad with chicken instead of turkey- fabulous for hot weather. Yummy. I love this salad and have made it so often I just kinda make it up as I go now.

Meg brought wine. I stopped working on Orangina before I screwed it up- I knew it was coming because of the buzz. Friends don't let friends knit drunk.

Remind me to show you, if I EVER GET MY CAMERA BACK FROM MY #@($*%^@ BROTHER, the cool cool cool vintage doctor's bag I got at my Mom's estate sale this weekend!

6.25.2005

Mmmm. Dinner.

I made this salmon salad for dinner tonight and it was FABULOUS. I poached the salmon earlier in the day and threw in a handful of boiled new potatoes and half a cucumber, chopped. It was great- light, fast, easy, and COLD. Perfect for a really hot day, which today surprisingly was not....

I'm scrambling to get my law review application in, so posting *might* be light this week. On the other hand, I'll be looking for ways to procrastinate, so....

Perspective

I imagine that an attorney watching a summer law clerk is very much like an adult watching a child play. We’re pretty naïve about the world at this point in time, and I for one take great delight in playing with new concepts, figuring out how they work. I bet it’s kind of like watching a child have their first taste of ice cream, or a baby discovering it has hands.

Or, it’s just exasperating in that, aw geez, get on with it kind of way.

I hope it’s the former!


I spent Friday researching a set of issues for an attorney in my office. I was pleased with my results and was sitting down to write the memo when I read the complaint. All the rules I had just learned and figured out how to get around? Moot, because the plaintiffs broke all of them in their complaint. Which is kind of cool, because it works out better for us in the long run. But now I get to play with these ideas again on Monday, figuring out how to assemble this new puzzle from the existing pieces... It's pretty cool!



Friday was also a good yarn day! I had lunch with Meg at Crazy Fish, a new sushi join in Nob Hill/University area. It was gooood.

Then my new law school knitting friend splurged on yarn and a pattern book for her first ever project. She chose some pretty high contrast colors for Gloria (the cover pattern). I hope it turns out well! I hope she doesn't have a nervous breakdown! There's a lot going on in this sweater, especially for an uber beginner knitter, but I think she can handle it with some hand holding.

Be proud of me- I bought nothing except the Fall Interweave Knits. I am in luuuuuurv with the cover sweater, but there is NO WAY I am going to make it- almost entirely stockinette stitch on size 3 needles? WHATEVER! I'll just drool. I think. I might need a long term stockinette stitch project to get me through the fall semester. Hmmmmmm......

Hurray for MIT!

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6.23.2005

Hot Damn!

I have been stalking the Vesper Yarns page at Knit Pixie ever since hearing Knit and Tonic rave about it.

Well, today is the day the planets came into alignment because they finally had 1 skein each of 2 out of the 3 colors I'm dying for: sweetwater and bombay. And they are now MINE!!!!!! Mwa ha ha haaaaaa. Fingers crossed that I am this lucky the next time the Knit and Tonic colorway comes up....

6.22.2005

This is getting rediculous.

My brother has had my camera for 5 weeks! He's been back for 2 weeks! I WANT MY CAMERA BACK!

Hmmm. Maybe it would help if I told HIM that, instead of whining about it here.... Hmmm indeed.

6.21.2005

Youth is Wasted on the Young!

I’ve been tagged for my first ever MEME! Yay! Meg tagged me for the “5 Things You Miss About Childhood” Meme, and I’m tagging Jeannie because she’s the only blogger I know in real life (other than Meg and the folks she already tagged!) and I'm curious to know what she has to say! We're both from Northern New Mexico, which is a wacky, fabulous place.

So here’s how this works: If you want to participate the chain-letter part works like this: remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; just check to make sure the links are still attached if you copy n' paste.

1. Kingfisher Cove
2. Ellen's Nest
3. The Farmette Report
4. Nepenthe's Misadventures
5. A Woman Obsessed

Things I miss from my childhood, in no particular order:

1. Summers. I grew up in Santa Fe, NM, and everyone we knew were members at the same swimming pool. We ALL spent EVERY DAY all summer long at the pool, and the days were just fabulous. The kids swam and played Marco Polo while the grown ups played Trivial Pursuit. Every so often the Dads would kick the kids out of the pool while they had a diving contest- usually cannonballs designed to soak the Moms tanning by the side of the pool. The pool stayed open late every Wednesday night, when we’d have potluck dinners and swim in the blue lagoon lighted pool. It was great. Fourth of July was particularly spectacular. We’d climb to the top of the lifeguard stand and watch fireworks over the city….

2. Skiing. My Dad was best friends with the man who owned the Santa Fe Ski Area, so we did LOTS of skiing as kids. Skiing is my all time favorite sport- I love that it makes me feel both graceful and strong at the same time. I love being outside in the mountains, I love the brisk air, I love whooshing down the mountain. In my mind, happiness is a season pass to Santa Fe Ski Area. LOVE LOVE LOVE SKIING.

3. Camp. I went to Hummingbird Music Camp as a kid- started going in 5th grade, and kept going until I finished my second summer as a Head Counselor and then headed off to college. Hummingbird is a dinky little camp in the middle of the Jemez Mountains, and it is just a magical place. Kids play horrible music but learn a lot, do lots of hiking, have a dance, go to waterfalls, sleep out under the stars. I think every kid should go to camp at least once, if not every summer.

4. My 8th Grade Girlfriends. Middle school got off to a rough start for me. My lifelong best friend ended up with the “in” crowd and I was left sort of on the fringe. It was strange and uncomfortable. By the next year, a fantastic group of gals had bonded. We had poets, painters, dancers, singers, athletes, brainiacs… Each girl was incredibly unique but we all meshed really well. It was nice to have such a fantastic group of friends who really, honestly didn’t give a crap what the “cool kids” were doing because we were having so much fun on our own.

5. Active Involvement in the Arts. As a kid, I took lessons for: theater, improvisation, piano, flute, voice, watercolor painting, ballet, jazz… I went to my first chamber music concert at less than one year old, my first opera by age 8. We frequently went to gallery openings, concerts, art exhibits, and I practically grew up in the workshops at the Museum of International Folk Art. I miss having such a close connection to the arts. I miss being in plays, singing, painting. I miss going to galleries, plays, concerts. It’s a part of who I am that has been neglected for a while!!!

6.19.2005

Are you knitting my socks?

Dear Person Who is Knitting My SockaPalTwoZa Socks:

HI! I am so excited I can't see straight! The person I'm knitting for doesn't have a blog, so I thought I'd share with you some things I wish I could ask MY Sock Target....

1. Climate in New Mexico is really COLD in the winter- I'm in the mountains and we get snow and the whole bit. Wool is totally cool and will get a LOT of use.

2. Colors- I tend to go for cooler colors, but that doens't mean dull. I like brights and pastels, especially reds/organges/pinks and blues/greens. I'm not big on browns or dusky/muddy colors, but need to expand my color horizons and would LOVE anything in any color. I promise.

3. Patterns- really, whatever you want to do is fabulous. I love fancy, plain, ankle, regular, anything.

4. I'm pretty new at knitting socks- only 2 pairs for me and 2 gift pairs. Some turned out better than others. :-) I'm just excited about having a handknit pair of socks! WHEEEEE!

5. If you have any questions not covered here, leave an anonymous comment (I think
you can do that) and I'll post an answer here!

YAY! Sockapaltwoza!!!!!

6.17.2005

WHATEVER!

Ick. He's too old for her, she's getting sucked into his slightly weired religious stuff. Why do I care? I mean really, why am I even posting about this?

I'm hoping to get some knitting done this weekend. M and P are coming to with me watch the boy referee a soccer game tomorrow night. I LOVE to knit during soccer games. I can support the boy by half watching the game and make great progress on a project at the same time. YAY!

I've joined the SockaPal2za knitalong and an REALLY EXCITED! My target has really general guidelines, which is nice but intimidating all at the same time. I *THINK* I know what I'm going to make, but I'll have to look in to it this weekend.

Anyway, I AM at work, so I should get back to it. Happy Weekend!

6.16.2005

Amended note to self...

Hurrah! I made Dean's List, but only by a hair. I did REALLY WELL in the classes I cared about, which is GREAT.

No knitting. Moved out of the Corrales Casa today and am glad to be done with the crazy animals. Now I'm back with my Scootie Patootie.

Note to self.

Dear Self,

Remember all that complaining you've done for the last 6 months about two particular law school classes? You might not have shared it all with the blog, but it was bad. And now it is payback time. You will not make Dean's List this semester because you created so much bad karma by griping continually about these 2 classes. How's that for a serving of humble pie? It's obvious that you did well in the classes you liked, and it's equally obvious that you sucked in the classes you hated. Funny how that works.

I hope you have learned the following lesson: never, ever, under any circumstances, take another class from either one of these professors. You hated them and their karmic energy hates you back. So there.

Now get over it, you whiny cow.

Love,
Self.

6.15.2005

Blech

Ok, so apparently "timeless feminine knits" is a euphemism for dowdy, boring things my grandmother wouldn't wear even if she were still alive. I'm returning that book, but the other two are DEFINITE KEEPERS. Loop-D-Loop is spectacular.

Mixed Bag

The owners of the Casa where I am housesitting are coming home early- this week instead of July 1, which is GREAT NEWS. I don't have to deal with their crazy animals any more, my daily commute goes from an hour each way to 10 minutes each way, and I can work out in the mornings again! YAY!

This has been a GREAT mail week. After the glowing review at Knitter's Review, I splurged and bought 15 skeins of the Pakucho Organic Cotton from elann.com for 60% off retail. LOVE THIS YARN. It is soft, gorgeous, and is going to make a perfect every day Hourglass Sweater. I love elann.com, too. You order incredibly cheap yarn and magically, it shows up on your doorstep 3 days later. Hurrah!

I ALSO got 3 books off Amazon- Loop-d-Loop: More than 40 Novel Designs for Knitters, Little Badger Knitwear: Knitted Projects for Babies and Toddlers, and The Pleasures Of Knitting: Timeless Feminine Sweaters. None of these books were at my LYS, so I don't feel too bad for ordering them online. I haven't had a chance to do much browsing, but Loop D Loop looks freaking AMAZING. I'll report more on the books after I have a chance to dig a little deeper.

The next week is going to be bonkers what with me moving AGAIN, but I'll try to post a bit!

I've taught 3 law schoolers how to knit in the past 10 days- I think I'll have company on campus this year! YAY! Not alone at the law school any more!

6.13.2005

Things I learned today at work....

1. The Code of Federal Regulations is a pain in the a$$ to search online unless you know EXACTLY what part you're looking for. I need to spend some time in the Law Library browsing the old fashioned paper version tomorrow....

2. I am never going to understand what this one particular attorney is looking for. I think I find exactly what he's looking for and then WHAM- not even close. It's very disorienting.

3. It takes a special kind of person to be a lobbyist, and an even more special kind to be a good one. You have to be part ADD, part insane, part charming, and just plain smart. And you have to like being around politicians all the time. I'm not cut out for the job..... :-)

6.12.2005

So much for my quiet Sunday....

A dear friend from Austin ended up coming to spend the day with me before she flew back to Texas. It was so nice to hang out with her! I feel horrible for wishing on that I could have had a little more time by myself to sit and knit. OH well. I'm over it. Mostly.

As fabulous as it is having the boy here, this has been a rough week. He's in major culture shock (New Mexico will do that to you.) He hasn't gotten a feel for things at work yet, we're on top of each other all the time after being used to having our own spaces, and we're just trying to figure things out. It's going to be fine, but I think we need to work on communication just a wee bit!!! :-)

Virtually no knitting happening here. In the last three weeks, I have made net progress of ZERO on Orangina. I'm still about an inch away from finishing my first piece, and Nepenthe is almost done with hers. She started at least a week after I did. I've been lapped. Big time. DOH!

But that hasn't stopped me from buying yarn! My camera is back in the country and I should have my hot little hands on it by midweek. Details to follow, WITH PICTURES!

6.08.2005

I'm competent!

Yesterday was a great day at work- got some super positive feedback on a project I did for the managing partner- woot! It felt good to get that reinforcement. I also got my first 2 grades- A in writing (knew that was coming) and my first law school B from the professor who got confused on the rules for multiple choice exams. Ah well. At least it wasn't a class I felt like I understood!

I also did some surgery on Orangina Monday night. Last week I had accidentally yanked the needle out of 7 or 8 stitches in the middle of a row, and the stitches immediately unraveled 4 rows. Grrr. So, when I could finally face it again, I pulled the needle out, ripped back, and carefully got all the stitches back on. Because most of them were facing the wrong way and I had missed a couple yarn overs, I tinked back a row and voila! Repaired! I'm so proud!

Knit night was great last night, as usual. A friend from the law school came to learn how to knit- I think she liked it. We're going to get yarn for her first project this weekend. Mwa ha ha haaaaaa.

Oh yeah, love having the boy here. He's in new hire orientation this week, which stinks, but that's life. I hope he doesn't hate it here. I think it's too soon to tell...

6.02.2005

Life is just a bowl of cherries.....

Since I don't have any photos for you, and I haven't been doing much knitting, here's the last of the pre-Costa Rica pictures. Hopefully my camera will be back in a week...



This is one of my all time favorite projects. It was boring as hell to knit, but I LOVE the end product. It's the cherry scarf from one of the Jaeger baby books. I didn't buy the book (it's a garter stitch rectangle with pom poms, for God's sake), and I improvised the leaves because I wanted something more than is shown in the actual pattern. I'm really please with how it came out!

I made it out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which is wonderful to work with, but the yarn has quickly developed a bit of a fuzzy halo. I love the yarn, but don't know that I'd want to do anything too intricate with it. It does feel like heaven.

I finished this during the winter time and had plenty of opportunity to wear it.

Part of why I'm so excited the boyfriend is moving HERE is that we get real winters here... Wool is good. Instead of Austin, where for the 3 months that it gets down into the upper 50s we all *think* we're freezing to death, but no one ever wears sweaters because there's just no reason to. Seriously, it was in the 80s over New Year's this year. Insane.

Anyway, there's the cherry scarf. YAY cherry scarf!!!