It's Tough Doing Nothing

It's tough doing nothing. Really tough. I stay up late and sleep in till the sun is high in the sky. It's tough figuring out what to do everyday. Really tough. So far, I've managed to assemble a list of Dim Sum restaurants I want to go to over the summer. Lets just hope my heart can withstand all the greasy sui mais I'm going to eat. I've also been working out again, but I'm still no where near where I was last year.

But what has really helped preoccupy my time has been watching Korean Dramas again. I am currently watching Full House. No, not the Full House with the Olsen twins, but a different Full House. Here's a music video link to Full House. Watching Korean Dramas all over again has given me time to reflect on the dramas that I have watched - and believe me, I've watched plenty.

My very first Korean Drama was a show called All About Eve. This drama had high production values, a story, characters with depth, and the evil girl was hot! What was annoying though was that my mother and a few of my aunts thought I looked like the lead actor, Jang Dong Gun. Yea right. Only if I were about...15 years older and 50 pounds heavier, then MAYBE. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of similarity, I would rate myself a -1.

A few other good dramas that I've watched (in no particular order) have been Winter Sonata, Beautiful Days, Hotelier, All In, Stairway to Heaven, and Dae Jang Geum (or Jewel in the Palace in English). In fact, DJG was perhaps one of the most elaborate and well-written dramas I have ever seen. For the most part, DJG actually broke away from the typical formula you find in most other Korean (or Asian for that matter) Dramas - that of a regular girl being pursued by two men (one usually poor while the other is rich). I would go so far to say that if you have some interest in Korean Dramas, you must have DJG on your list; all of Asia loved this epic, 54 episode drama!

Luckily, by next week, I'll be at work and that will help preoccupy my time. I should iron my shirt, shine my shoes...

Getting Reacquainted with TV

First off, YES! Apolo and Julianne won on Dancing with the Stars. Ok, I admit it, I watched the show when I had time. Apolo probably did the most difficult techniques of all the celebrities and he was very light on his feet. It also doesn't hurt when you have great chemistry with your (amazingly hot) dance partner. My favorite dance of theirs was the second Cha Cha and their first Rumba. Their Samba was pretty cool too.

Speaking of pretty cool things, I must be evil because I cannot stop laughing when I see the breakdancing baby. I'm pretty sure there are a few mash-up/remix videos on ytmnd.com.

And yes, I am back in the City of Millions (formerly known as the Big City in my last post - but that is reserved for New York City and I for sure am not in New York City). I'll only be here for one day though to grab my suits, shoes, and whatever else I need to bring back home. I'll be starting work next week and frankly, I could use an extra week of vacation, just to get further reacquainted with TV.

Real World Experience Here I Come

Ok, to wrap things up from my last post, I still need to get the heck out of this house. Other than the constant chastising, over-parenting, arguing, and ulcer inducing moments that is currently a part of my life, things are...peachy. I can't wait until the rest of the family goes off on a vacation and a friend of mine gets his new house. Knowing him, I am sure he's going to throw an all-nighter!

However, today has been a little different than the usual mundane day of mine. I actually paid a visit to where I will be working for the summer. So I wake up, get dressed in a suit that is too old (note to self: go back to the big city and grab your suits) and a borrowed, oversized, overused, pair of dress shoes (note to self: when back in the big city, grab your shoes too) and headed on over to my summer employment. While driving there, for the first time I noticed how freaking rich this area is. Now I've driven past this area many times before, but this has been the very first time where I've noticed how stinkin well off this entire area is. Could this perhaps be a change for the better? Is yours truly caring more about the world around him? Maybe. But knowing me, don't place your bets yet. I'm very lackadaisical if not pushed.

So I arrive at where I will be working for the summer, and the secretary who I spoke with on the phone for all my interviews is not there. Bummer Number 1. Apparently she's out for a medical reason. I was hoping to meet her and thank her. She was a very nice person while arranging for all my interviews, giving me little bits of advice and such. Very nice lady. So I am escorted to a waiting area and while there, I realize Bummer Number 2 just hit. Specifically, breakfast did not sit well in my stomach. Yea, you can imagine the rest. Just then, the person who hired me came in and proceeded to give me the 10 minute tour of the office. So here I am, trying to stay cool while my stomach was turning inside out AND trying to remember everyone's name. Thank goodness the office has a website with most of their information on it. Apparently, I will be working with someone from the same law school I am at. I can't remember his name because 1) I am bad with names and 2) it was a strange sounding ethnic name. However, I do know he goes to the same school I do and I do know it's a "he".

I look forward to working and meeting the other extern next week. It's a small, cozy office and I will be rotating between attorneys. The person who hired me seems to be really laid back. In fact, the entire office seems to be very laid back. Maybe it has something to do with the city I am working in. Oh, and the biggest perk is that they have a Westlaw account! Yes! Whatever the case is, I hope to like what I am doing and learn a few things from the people I work with. I also hope my breakfast will sit well with me next week. Ugh.

What Was I Thinking?

I would rather spend my time in a city of millions without a soul to share my week of freedom with than spend it with my familiy where I oftentimes feel suffocated, constrained and made to feel worthless. Worthless may be too strong a word but it's all I got right now.

I need to find a good reason to get out of here.

One Week of Nothingness

After spending the better part of the last two days cleaning and rearranging my apartment, I have nothing left to do here in this city. It's a city of a couple of million and not a single soul to spend my week of freedom with. Blah.

While cleaning and rearranging things, I found a note that was buried under a pile of papers. That note should have reminded me to look for the owner of a very large check. This particular owner previously resided in my apartment but does not have a forward address so this very large check made out to him is now in my possession without any way of finding out where its true owner is.

ALL POINTS BULLETIN: IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW USED TO LIVE IN LOS ANGELES AND WENT TO UC RIVERSIDE, COMMENT HERE, LEAVE A FEW IDENTIFYING MARKERS SO I KNOW YOU ARE THE RIGHTFUL OWNER OF THIS CHECK AND WE CAN ARRANGE FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN

I've searched and apparently this guy is not on Facebook. It would be a shame if this guy is not able to cash in this very large check. Here's hoping I find him soon or else this very large check will expire and be worthless.

The Weight of the World is Off My Shoulders

Crim. Con. Torts. Done...almost. The hours and minutes leading up to my torts exam was like a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs. Amazingly, I felt very calm during my torts exam, which in hindsight may not be that great considering that everyone knows that the guy who came out of an exam thinking it wasn't too bad probably missed a couple of big issues. You know what, I probably did and interestingly enough I'm not too worried because I'm just glad I can see the finish line now.

However, in roughly two months time, I may need to pack up my bags. The subheading in my blog says "documenting development for hopefully the next three years". Hopefully I did not turn in a turd of an exam and torpedo any potential law career. I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror knowing I screwed up yet again.

Looking back at the past year, I can see that I've aged. I don't feel as spry as I used to. I smile less often. MY HAIR IS THINNER. The first day of law school was utterly bizarre and foreign. I did not understand many of the concepts nor the mannerisms, politics, and personalities that law school attracts. In fact, I still don't understand much. Maybe its the fact that I'm holed up in the library a lot now. I didn't do that my first semester and I found out that I study better while at the library. Or maybe its the work that one must do in order to just get an average grade in law school. Or maybe its because I don't really "know" any one person here while it seems as if many of my compatriots do at least "know" a few of their classmates. Whatever the case may be, I had some good times but I definitely also had a lot of bad times too.

I guess my first year can be summed up as bittersweet. It will be interesting what will be in store for me next year - assuming my grades get me through this first year. I really don't know what I want to do. I do have a few easily attainable goals for this summer though. 1) I want to get back in shape. 2) I want to reconnect with a few friends - the group of friends who I have known since elementary school. 3) This may be the most ambitious of my summer goals, but after a brief discussion with a study buddy of mine, I'd like to push my comfort zone out a bit more; step out of my bubble every once in a while; try not to seek comfort but to continually do...something. I'm not sure how successful I will be with this third goal, I've thought about similar things in the past but I never really pushed myself to step out of my bubble. At the very least, attempting to reach these goals will give me something to write about.

First year of law school? Au revoir.

T Minus 13 Hours Till Liftoff

So 13 hours from now I will have to take my Crim Law exam. With every letter I type the nervousness builds ever so slightly. To ease the nervousness, I can't help but think about the last few days leading up to this exam.

Last Friday, while working with my study buddy on Crim, lets just say a dental emergency necessitated that she be taken to a dentist immediately. Three hours, four calls, and several transfers along the way, we find out that no dentist is available and she would have to wait a while (read: three weeks) before she can see a dentist to help her. Ridiculous. Suffice to say, I didn't get a lot of studying done that day - although it was a sweet adventure.

Over the course of the last few days, I've gotten to know not only my study buddy but also myself. You know what, maybe I can do this. It may not be a question of if someone at this level can go through this work, but whether this person can persevere. I believe I can persevere. At the very least, by around 5 PM tomorrow, I will be done with Crim.

Oh and by the way, my study buddy will be praying for the both of us to do well on the exam tomorrow. I sure hope she puts me in her prayers. I should do the same for the both of us because it sure can't hurt to have an extra voice up there.