Happy Birthday and Halloween

Well, I'm 23. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be, haha. My birthday was great; my mom came to visit me, went shopping, ate a lot of good food, drank a lot (ok, a ton) of great wine and booze, and generally had a fantastic time with my friends and the boyfriend. I really couldn't have hoped for a better birthday seeing as how it fell right in the middle of the biggest project I've ever had.

Speaking of my project, I got it done early! I actually managed to not do work on my birthday, or at least nothing really depressing and draining. I actually got to relax. It was good times, or at least it didn't suck.

Saturday was Halloween (in-case you missed it) and I was so worn out by the time it got here that it turned into an early evening. My best friends got crazy with their costumes, one in Wonder Woman, the other in Poison Ivy, both of which were either entirely homemade or mostly homemade costumes. They turned out great and it was the source of great amounts of entertainment. All except their makeup, which was comprised of a substantial amount of glitter, and I HATE glitter, so the fact that the drunker they got, the more they wanted to hug me, was not going over well. I was not thrilled to be covered in green and gold glitter. Oh well, I guess that's what lint rollers are for.

We stopped off at a party being thrown by a couple of classmates and that was a lot of fun. Met some new people and got to see others I haven't seen since last year. It was a good time. Lots of crazy in one place, but I suppose that's to be expected when a bunch of law students get together.

I bailed shortly after that. My best friend fell down a flight of stairs, so I had to get her back to safety, and then she decided to rally and continue with the night and I decided I'd head home before I spent the night babysitting. Before I left I made sure to tell the owner of the bar to cut her off, so I felt like I'd done my job. I came home, watched TV, drank some apple cider, curled up and passed out. It was a very long week and it culminated on Halloween and daylight savings time change. I took advantage of the extra hour of sleep.

Today turned out to be an extension of my birthday, but it wasn't really planned that way. Some of my family members sent cash (they're smart people) as gifts, so this afternoon my friend and I decided to spend it. I went on a bit of a DVD/Music shopping spree (spree might be an exaggeration). When I got done with my shopping and walked up to the counter to pay, I realized that my selections would be at home in an eight year old's collection: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the original, not the crap Jim Carey version), Mickey's Christmas Carol (a classic), Snow White Collector's Edition, and the GLEE soundtrack. Of course I had to get all the movies on Blu-Ray, so it ended up being a bit more expensive than I thought at first pass, but no big. Still not breaking the bank. More than I have in a long time, though. I just don't have any money to shop with anymore; I miss it!

When I got home I opened my GLEE soundtrack and immediately transferred the songs to my PC and iPod and found that there were several tracks available on iTunes that aren't on the CD, so I had to buy those too. Should have just bought the whole thing on iTunes, but there's still something about having the actual disc that is appealing. Now I'm sitting here listening to the cast of GLEE belt out some great songs (and some only-great-because-the-GLEE-cast-is-singing-it songs). It's a fun afternoon. Much better than being in class like usual. I'm so very glad my professors are all world-renowned experts in their fields this semester, so they're always traveling and giving conferences that cause classes to be moved. It keeps things interesting. I probably won't be quite as happy next Monday when I have a double class for the one we missed today.

AHHHHHH!!!

I HATE when people cough a phrase under their breath, or giggle, or laugh, or smirk, or give "that" look and then refuse to share what was so funny. Nothing infuriates me more than being someone's inside joke. If you have something to say, just say it. Some people might argue the old childhood adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," or it's simply a means to annoy. Now, when it's people I don't like, or people I don't care about that are doing it, I usually just shrug it off. I find it to be incredibly rude, but since I don't really care what they have to say, it isn't worth it to me. However, when someone I care about, a friend, a relative, a boyfriend, whatever, does it, I become livid.

Okay, so I'm getting ahead of myself. The short version of the story is this:

The boyfriend and I were laying on the couch watching TV, when he starts to laugh. I ask him what and he refuses to tell me. I inquire again, laughing a bit myself, thinking he's going to tell me now because that's what people usually do, but he refuses. Now I'm starting to get frustrated. As his excuse not to tell me, he says, "No, I don't want to. It's mean and I don't want to hurt your feelings." Of course, the only thing I can think is, "hey, moron! You've already hurt my feelings, so just tell me what you were thinking already!" I didn't actually say that, but perhaps I should have. Things just went downhill from there, needless to say.

I don't know; I'm being completely irrational I suppose, but things have not been great lately. Last week he came home and asked me if it would be okay if he was in a modeling shoot, kissing another guy. Not only did I find this to be a completely asinine question, but I thought he had lost his mind. I mean, who says that?! Yes, there are couples who make allowances for on-screen kisses, acting, etc., but I draw the line at a semi-artistic modeling photo where he's kissing another guy. Anyway, that made me not trust him, so the fact that now he won't tell me things he's thinking, isn't helping.

AHHH!

I needed to rant.

Andrew

I need a job!

Ok, so if anyone knows of a law firm in California (anywhere), Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth), or Chicago, that is hiring for summer interns next year, please let me know! Or better yet, if you know of a company who has a lot of intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, patents) to defend and has in-house counsel, I could use an internship there, too!

Thanks!

Birthday, Legal Writing, and the Future, OH MY!

The last couple of weeks have been insane, to say the least. I've been trying to stay ahead of the game in school, but so far, despite best efforts, it seems I never manage to do anymore than barely keep up. I set aside time to do additional reading, I decline invitations to social functions, and I make a concerted effort to start my projects before the "last minute." The problem, especially with the latter mentioned projects, is that "last minute" means any time less than a week prior to the due date. That means that in order to actually be ahead, I have to start the instant I get an assignment; however, when we get an assignment I'm usually still recovering from the last one, including trying to physically/mentally recover, but also catch up on all the reading for the rest of my classes that I neglected while writing the last assignment. It's a vicious cycle that I really don't think I can win; all I can hope is that I don't fuck up so badly I can't recover. Better yet, just get to the end of the semester and collapse.

On a somewhat happier note, my birthday is just around the corner. Unfortunately, one of the aforementioned projects is due the day after my birthday. It's a strong motivation to get done early. Anyway, for anyone who knows me even reasonably well, they will know that I hate celebrating my birthday; it's just another day and you're only one day older than you were the day before. It's completely stupid. That being said, I'm actually looking forward to this one. It's a big birthday in the fact that it's the first birthday in a few years that actually has no external connotations. There's nothing necessarily associated with 23. 17 was graduation, 18 is adulthood, 19 was a welcome to the real world with a real job, 20 is 20, 21 is drinking, and 22 is not being 21 anymore. 23 feels appropriately meaningless, and for that I am happy.

While on the topic of age, I have to ask; what is the appropriate age to realize that the selfish things you used to want may have to give way to new desires, such as having a family? I wouldn't be thinking about this, except being gay creates an entirely different and unique set of problems towards having a family. It takes a lot of time, money, and energy, not to mention self-reflection in deciding when, with whom, where, and how. I don't know; it's just something I find myself thinking about lately. I'm by no means ready now, but it's something I feel I have to consider as I make plans for the next five years. I'm definitely not the type to plan on solely having a career for the next five to ten years and putting everything else on hold. Not gonna happen, but I do need to know where I'm headed, at least a general idea. Even if it changes, it's nice to have something "out there" to pursue.

Stay tuned for coming posts about my birthday, my insane friends, Halloween, and the general frustrations life brings.


All Images Copyright of their respective owners (which I couldn't find).

"Wake up in the morning with a head like 'what ya done?'"

The remorse of drinking. Fortunately my remorse extends only to myself and my now aching body, but at least I didn't offend anyone or do anything too stupid.

Now I'm trying to decide if I should go back to sleep after chugging four glasses of water, or if I should attempt to do research yet. I have a feeling I'll end up doing neither, but at least I can pretend to have attempted to be productive.

Maybe I just need some good music.

It's been forever!

So, time for an update, finally. I keep meaning to write a new blog entry, but every time I sit down to do it, I don't. It's a bit infuriating, actually!

Anyway, so let me catch everyone up real quick. I started the school year, and it's kicking my ass. Thus far I have done two all nighters, both for the same assignment, I've had several dreams regarding remedies and trademarks, and I'm still attempting to work! All that being said, I'm quite enjoying this year. I'm finally getting to take some classes I'm interested in, that are focused on my area of study: intellectual property. I really am beginning to see why this area appeals to me: it's all about protecting expression, and that's something I value in society. Art, literature, computer programs, designs, sculpture, etc., it all needs to be protected, so I'm glad I've found a way to do that.

The world outside of law school does continue to spin, although I'm not sure it's always spinning at the same speed those of us inside the school are spinning, but hey, at least I still catch a glimpse of "reality" occasionally. My boyfriend and I are doing great, I love having him here. He's having a hard time making friends since everyone he works with already has their own life. I hope he finds someone; I love him, but lord knows I am NOT the kind of affectionate, perpetually attentive kind of person.


Speaking of friends, I've spent the last few days helping my friend develop her Halloween costume (yes, I know Halloween isn't for another month, but who knows when in October we'll have time to work on it). She's going as Wonder Woman; so far we have the boots, the skirt (not doing the leotard look; too cold in Chi by the end of October), and the belt figured out, but we're still trying to figure out how to pull of silver bracers, a gold tiara and belt, and the red corset. If anyone has any ideas how to do these, on the cheap, mind you, let me know!

I promise I'll try to do a better job updating!

Andrew

(Hey, there's a copyright in all of this, except the picture, which is someone else's copyright that's being used fairly here! Don't infringe it! (or do; I could use the money from a lawsuit!))

A New Life

So, it's finally happened. The boyfriend/ex/boyfriend/ex/boyfriend again has finally made the leap and moved across the country to give "us" a chance. He moved a couple of weeks ago, and so far, so good! We're happy and enjoying being together. That being said, it's not always perfect. We do have our disagreements and we occasionally get on each others' nerves, but no more than any two people learning to live together. The good thing is that we don't fight, we don't even really argue; we simply talk about what we don't like and move on; it works.

As for the rest of life; I'm bored. I want to go back to school. This whole summer thing just doesn't work for me. Yes, I have a job, but it's not much more interesting than watching paint dry, so I'm constantly finding myself wishing I was back in class. I'm not eager to take more exams, but I do miss learning and seeing my peers every day.

Anyway, I need to get a shower and then make sure the boyfriend is up for work!

School's out for summer!... and I'm not sure what to do...

So, I'm done with my first year of law school! Woot! I'm a 2L!

So that's the extent of my excitement. I'm not really sure what to do with all this free time. I'm supposed to be starting my new "job" this week, but it doesn't seem to require a great deal of time, and I'm not good with a lot of free time. It's been nice for a few days to be just be able to sleep and play video games (World of Warcraft; yes, I'm a loser, but I'm a happy loser.)

My family and I are closer than ever, so that's a good thing, and I'm looking forward to going home in a couple of weeks and spending some time with my sisters and friends. I'm also looking forward to seeing the boyfriend and helping him pack. He's finally moving here! Yay!

I'm really happy that he's finally moving. We've had our ups and downs over the last two years, and more than once I've tried to move on and find someone else, but it's never worked out because I've never given up on him. Fortunately, it's paid off. He's going to be here and we're going to get to make a life together. It won't be easy and it won't always be fun, but overall it's the best thing that could happen. I love him, he loves me, and we enjoy being together. The majority of our disagreements, fights, and conflicts have arisen because of the distance, so being together should eliminate those problems.

Now, I'm not naive enough to think that everything will be perfect. One set of problems will be gone, but another set will replace it, I'm quite sure; however, I just can't see the new ones being anywhere near as bad as the current set. My first semester, during finals, I wasn't ready for him to be here, and he wasn't ready to move yet, so it was a good thing that we waited until the summer, but during this semester, all I could think about was that I wanted him here while I was taking them.

On another note, I've really started to feel like Chicago is home. I went home a few weeks ago, right before finals, and although I was happy to see my family and friends back in Texas, I forgot just how hot it is there! Now I remember why I left. The winter in Chicago is a bitch, but I'd still rather freeze my ass off and get to wear great clothes than roast for five months in Dallas. It's just not fun to me!

Well, that's all I really have to say right now, but I hope to blog more often. I miss writing and venting and stuff, even if no one else reads it, haha.

Alright, time to get ready to go to "work"!

~Andrew

Almost done!

I'm nearing the end of my first year of law school! WOOT!

Ok, so it's not quite time to celebrate yet, but my last day of classes is this coming week and then only a week until finals are over. I'm very nervous, but also excited. I'm really looking forward to next year when I get to start taking classes that pertain to my specific area of interest (Intellectual Property). It will be much easier to care and pay attention when the classes revolve around subjects I have more than a passing interest in.

Other than school, life continues to be a constant string of surprises and stresses, some good and some bad. Nothing is so awful that I can really complain about it being detrimental to my overall happiness, but nothing is great that I feel the need to expound in any great detail. Perhaps this is the reason for my lack of blogging as of late. I don't really have anything to say. Nothing has really changed from the last time.

I continue to struggle with how to handle my past and present relationships, although I care substantially less than I used to, and I continue to try and avail myself of the opportunities presented in my new city. It's an intriguing time in my life and I'm certainly making the most of it.

Anyway, almost summer, yaaaaaaay!!! :)

Andrew

SPRING BREAK!!! No, really this time... promise.

YAY! Spring break!

Ok, so maybe I'm not quite that excited yet, but I will be I'm sure. Right now it hasn't really sunk in that I actually have a week off. Maybe that's because I still have things I have to do, despite the supposed "break." But that's okay. At least I get to see my family starting in just a few hours. It will be nice to see my sisters and friends.

Anyway, I don't really have a lot to say other than "yippee!!" so I'm off to bed. Hope everyone is having a good first couple days of spring!

:)