such · stuff · as · dreams · are · made · on

So Hastings was evacuated today.  The FBI came into my afternoon class and informed us that a copycat threat had been directed at Hastings, and they were closing down the campus.  They didn't tell us anything more than that, which obviously leads to a lot of guessing...  But there was no violence, only a threat, though SFPD was everywhere.  Classes are supposed to resume tomorrow - whether or not I go I have yet to decide.  See bytheriver05's most recent post for sentiments about recent tragedies - I second what she said, and she said it better than I ever could.  Anyway, just be careful, everyone.  Now, instead of reading civil procedure, I think I will go watch Pride and Prejudice, where everything is happy and the only thing to fear is that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy won't get together after all. (But of course they do.  Hence my love for Jane Austen.  No, I'm not an escapist.  What are you talking about?)

So, while it took what felt like a bazillion years to register for classes (the online registration system officially sucks), I finally wound up with some classes I'm pretty excited about.  And they are:
Constitutional Law 1
Evidence (these first two are bar courses - but I'm definitely excited about Con Law)
Immigration Law
Labor Law
Legal History: Immigrants in the US (seminar)

Yes, I realize that my course schedule looks like an advertisement for Bleeding-Hearts-R-Us, but I like it that way.  Go me.
:D

Hello, everyone.  It's been forever since I've posted here, and I make no promises regarding future posting regularity.  But I wanted to say "hi," and give everyone a little update.
#1: Chris and Jess are moving, so things in all of our worlds will be changing quite a lot.  I still anticipate many weekends in Santa Cruz, but it won't be as many, and it won't be the same.  Chris is (temporarily) moving into his parents' house, which should be interesting, considering that his mother... well... let's just say that I don't really feel the love.  So that will take a little getting used to.  But (and maybe this is easier for me, considering that I'm not the one moving) I'm sort of looking at this as an adventure - maybe we were all stagnating a little, and we needed a bit of a nasty poke to move forward.  I think it'll be a good thing, in the long run.  And I'm not worried about my friendship with Jess suffering from not-so-frequent contact - we've been friends since freshman year of high school, and our friendship has survived almost 9 (did I count that right?) years of moving, changing, losing touch, and everything in between.  So Jess, I think we're good.  : )  I think Chris and I'll survive this, too - it'll be weird, it'll be hard, it'll be interesting, but, like I said, I'm pretty sure it's a good thing.  (Did you hear that, everyone?  I - me - Ashley - just said Change Is Good.  Pick your jaw up off the floor now.)
#2: School, about which I've been pretty low-key all semester, just got scary again.  I found out this morning that my property exam is closed-book, closed-note, which is TERRIFYING.  For all of you out there who would argue that that's how exams should be, let me remind you that this is law school, and the standard here is to give extremely brutal exams, but allow students to bring in their notes.  And I'm not exactly confident that my property professor will make the exam any easier in exchange for banning notes - he's a great guy, but sort of a stickler.  High expectations.  Harvard Law-professor bowtie.  The works.  So hopefully I'll survive that exam.  I also discovered this morning that my civil procedure exam will be 50% multiple choice, 50% essay, which is pretty much the Worst Thing Ever.  Well, okay, maybe the Absolute Worst Thing Ever would be a 100% multiple choice exam, but this is bad enough.  Again, to those of you who say that multiple choice is easy, I say, with much scorn, "this is law school, and that means NOTHING is easy."  And multiple choice questions, especially those written by this professor, are confusing, misleading, and leave no room for error.  To give you an example, multiple choice was a small part of last semester's civil procedure exam, and the questions were extremely specific - and the highest grade was around a 50%.  Oh, and I should mention that the multiple choice portion is also closed-note.  The essay portion saved my civil procedure-hating ass, but just barely.  So I hardly need mention that increasing the multiple choice portion isn't exactly calculated to make my life easier.
#3: I'm in the market for summer funding.  My summer job, which I expect to be fantastic, is of the non-paying variety, so I have to apply for outside funding to pay my $1,000/month rent.  There's a fair amount out there, but finding the time to apply for it, and actually receiving it, are sort of difficult.  I've applied for one grant of $2,000, so I need all of you out there keeping your fingers crossed/hoping/praying/using voodoo dolls/whatever you will that I get it.  PLEASE. 
#4: My dad and stepmom may have to get rid of one of our cats - they have a brand-new house, and Alani has decided (for the first time in her otherwise extremely well-behaved life) to pee on the carpet.  We're not sure why, and if they can't make her stop, she might need a new home.  I realize that peeing on the carpet isn't a great advertisement for a cat, but really, she's a wonderful cat, and this is entirely out of character.  She's super-affectionate, and never scratches the furniture or anything.  Plus, she's spayed and has had all her shots.  I'd love to take her, but our lease won't allow pets, and plus, Chris is allergic to cats (which sucks).  So... anybody want a kitty?
That's all, for now.  Now, property/contracts/civil procedure/environmental law homework calls.  Yippee.  I love you all!
PS - The upside is that I'll be done with school on May 11!  It's the earliest (by about a month) that I've EVER gotten out for summer vacation!  And my job doesn't start until the first week of June, so I've got three weeks to kick around in (thank GOD).  I thought I'd spend some time in Sac, some time in Santa Cruz, and some time in Ojai - that is, assuming that everyone who lives in those respective locations is willing to have me...

Weekend Knitting kicks so much ass.  It arrived in the mail yesterday, and I've just finished a thorough going-over.  It's totally my style - lots of great projects, plus little indulgent tips, like how to take make decadent French hot cocoa from scratch or how to give yourself a hand massage.  I can't wait to try the pattern for argyle slippers!  I can't say who I'm going to make them for, because I'm never sure exactly who reads this blog, but if you're the lucky person, then congratulations!  I also want to try this gorgeous scarf/hat pattern (Jess and Lil, it's the same thing as that guy's sweater that I was trying to figure out a few weeks ago - it's called brioche stitch) and these super cute finger puppets.  I <3 Weekend Knitting!
In other news, today has been quite productive, and I got to eat Felicity's famous pumpkin risotto and meet a friend I've been hearing a lot about.  And I got to see Felicity and her new apartment, of course.  Her roommate has cats!  And lots of kitchen appliances!  I <3 Felicity's new house.  Plus it's lots easier to get to from my house, which is very nice. :) 
Well, property homework (and sleep) calls, so enough for now.  Oh!  I should remember to give Felicity credit for my user icon picture - it's from an anti-war demonstration in Trafalgar Square, in London.  Isn't it fantastic?

Academic exhilaration gone.  I have an outline of the argument portion of my moot court brief due in 20 minutes, and I have exactly 2 headings.  Which I don't even think are particularly good.  And I've spent the last 4 hours working on this.  I'm so amazingly frustrated.  I know I can write.  I was a freakin' lit major.  I'm articulate, and smart, and I can analyze the pants off of you (tee-hee - funny visual).  But I cannot write for law school.  The formats they want us to use are incredibly counter-intuitive for me, and I can't seem to make my writing conform to them.  I'm basically having to unlearn everything I've learned about writing in the last 8 years.  On top of that, the side I'm supposed to be arguing for has essentially no case law support.  Okay, it's got to be out there somewhere, or they wouldn't have assigned this thing, but I can't find it, and my BS-generator seems to be out of order.  This sucks.  A lot.  Now I have to go suffer humiliation for not understanding how to do this.

So I'm feeling a little better today.  Though I didn't sleep well last night and it took me like 30 minutes to get my butt out of bed this morning.  But I just totally rocked my property class!  I've been too intimidated to talk in here up till now, but this morning I volunteered an answer to a question that a couple of other people had screwed up, and I got it right!  And I asked an intelligent question. : )  Pretty dang excited at this moment, I must say.  Plus, the fact that I volunteered an answer minimizes my chances of getting cold-called - thank god.  I don't mind answering as long as I get to chose the question!
Long day ahead of me, though.  Lots of homework, lots of frantic Moot Court research... And hopefully a Grey's Anatomy viewing this evening.  But I don't know about that one yet.  We'll see.  I miss you, Felicity!!  Crap I just realized I'm going out of town next Thursday night, so I'll miss next week, too!  Bummer.  But I'm leaving to go get a baby fix, so really, I'll sacrifice the Grey's Anatomy.  Anyway.  More later.  Maybe.
Oh!  In the spirit of the magnificent Lily, I'm leaving you with my new favorite dinner recipe. 

So I know I haven't posted in a long time, and some of you have been bugging me (ahem, Christi :P) about it.  So here's something for all of you who just can't get enough Ashley...

My property professor is really entertaining.  Which is good, because apparently I don't care that much about property law.  He's big and tall and white-haired and wears a bow-tie, and looks, I swear, like a Paper Chase-esque figure of intimidation.  But he's really funny.  For example, this very minute, he's staring at the whole class with a humorously incredulous expression on his face, because he's just asked us to begin class after returning from break and no one is listening.  And I think he inspires the rest of us to be pretty funny as well.  Here's a couple of little tidbits from today.

Prof: Can he (Student #1) sell himself to me?
Student #2: Well, yeah, in the right marketplace.
Prof: Where's that marketplace?
Student #2: Maybe Bangkok?

Prof: Are you a physician?
Student: Nooooooooo...
Prof: You say that with some hesitation.
Student: Well, I watch a lot of House.

And now he's talking about being able to make himself a male prostitute in Amsterdam.
Stay tuned for more installments...

Here is the promised "100 Things" list. It was actually a lot of fun to think about some of the random (and not so random) stuff that I love. You should try it. :)

- The people who make me happiest.
- Popcorn with fresh-grated parmesan cheese.
- Meteor showers.
- Laying on a raft in the middle of a swimming pool with a book.
- Fireplaces with crackling fires.
- The yearly unveiling of the mice.
- Colorful socks.
- Understated jewelry… with occasionally something shocking.
- My Nalgene bottle.
- Musical (and other) theater.
- LONDON.
- Flip-flops.
- The smell of redwood bark in the sun.
- Things made of wrought iron.
- Shelves and shelves of books.
- Cuddling.
- My truck.
- The little pink hearts (and the little pink tongue) on Google chat.
- Sushi. And more sushi..
- Bendy straws.
- Ice cream.
- Watching episodes.
- Watching fog move in and out of the treetops.
- Tea.
- My computer.
- Taking pictures.
- Van Gogh. And Cézanne. And Monet.
- Knitting.
- The Victoria and Albert Museum.
- Rainbow-colored envelopes and note pads from Paperchase. Actually, anything from Paperchase.
- Jewel tones. Especially ruby red.
- Baby socks.
- Silence. The kind that only exists far, far away from civilization.
- Really good, really dark chocolate. None of that Hershey’s junk for me.
- Bells.
- Heidelberg at Christmas.
- White wine.
- Bedtime. I’m serious.
- Late-night showers.
- My George Foreman Grill.
- Popcorn jelly bellies.
- Office supplies: multi-colored highlighters, sticky notes, wonderful pens… You get the picture.
- Daffodils.
- Hooded sweatshirts.
- Books-to-read lists.
- Quote collecting.
- Shakespeare. And Tennyson. And Austen. And Dickens. Basically all things written in England.
- Writing and receiving letters.
- Yarn shops.
- Hot chocolate.
- Jeans.
- Salt.
- Scarves.
- Driving a long way down a pretty highway with the window down, singing along loudly to my favorite cheesy music.
- Making my own stationary and cards.
- Glitter. Don’t laugh. I think it’s something I was born with.
- Really big, really perfect words. Like sesquipedalian.
- Cheese.
- California produce and farmer’s markets.
- Incense.
- That feeling when you really, really have to pee and then you finally get to go.
- Yosemite.
- Laying awake talking to someone in the middle of the night.
- Colored glass.
- Baseball movies.
- Painted toenails.
- Pad thai.
- Wineglass charms.
- Watching clouds chase each other across the sky.
- Sunsets.
- Hardwood floors and old, quirky houses.
- Birch trees. And aspens.
- Playing the piano.
- Road trips.
- My comfort zone.
- Board games.
- Historical fiction.
- Dancing.
- Christmas lights. Christmas trees. Actually, anything Christmas.
- Enchiladas.
- Mellow music.
- Navigating around a big city, just me and my map.
- Eating out.
- The first blossoms of spring.
- The first colorful leaves of fall.
- Bubbles.
- Understanding obscure literary references.
- Pasta.
- The smell of old books.
- Herbs, especially sage, basil, and rosemary.
- Lip balm.
- Candlelight.
- The view of San Francisco as you drive over the Bay Bridge. Especially at night.
- Wandering, entangled streets and unexpected cobblestone alleyways.
- Cheesy, happy-ending movies.
- Loaning and borrowing favorite books.
- Historical war movies.
- Camping and backpacking.
- Getting pajamas every year on Christmas Eve.
- A boy who wears glasses.

PS - Felicity made my icon!! She's my new hero. :) Ooo - and ten points for anyone who can tell me what the quote's from - WITHOUT googling it! :)

I'm sort of wondering if anybody else in my class is paying as little attention as I am. I look around and I see pages of notes on about half of the screens in sight, and oo! a personals web page on the screen of the guy in front of me. Nothing else quite as interesting as that - mostly just AIM conversations. I probably should try to pay attention, especially since we're talking about an interesting case--Hansberry v. Lee is about the legality of a racially restrictive covenant in a Chicago neighborhood; plus, the Hansberry's daughter, Lorraine, grew up to write A Raisin in the Sun, which is about the same thing as the case. But that's not going to happen. I CANNOT pay attention to anything important lately. Since Friday, I've probably done about 5 total hours of homework, which is about how much (or less than) I should finish in a day. It just doesn't want to happen. So I've sort of decided that I can't force it. I mean, I'm going to try to do as much work as I can, but I will try not to freak out too much when nothing's goin' on upstairs. Wish me luck with that one. I'm sort of hoping that this weekend will give me a chance to get back on the ball... the trick is going to be keeping myself from falling farther behind before then. I say again, wish me luck with that one. Also, I will try not to tell anybody else about my temporary disability, in order to avoid the silently crushing condemnation that will inevitably ensue. But I think I sound more despondent than I actually am. Mostly I just REALLY don't want to be in class right now. Okay, okay, mostly I just really want it to be winter break. But still. It's a sunny, crisp fall day in San Francisco, and that can't be too bad, can it? Plus, this morning I used the Starbucks giftcard that Sonya stuck in my birthday card and got my first-of-the-season gingerbread latte. Which, by the way, I highly recommend. And my room is CLEAN, for the first time in over a month, and I have a beautiful new bookshelf, and my room is all rearranged. And (thank god) I'm not on-call this week, because I think that would drive me absolutely crazy. So here I am, (trying to be) in the moment. And to continue not paying attention in class, I will take a leaf out of Christi's book and compile a list, in no particular order, of 100 things I love. Stay tuned...