Lost in Boston: Everett Edition

My commute is pretty boring. Drive across Roxbury for 10 minutes. Hop on Rt. 93 for about 100m. Go through a tunnel. Switch to Rt. 90. Go through a tunnel. Drive by the airport. Go up Rt. 1A for 20 minutes with two circles. Make a couple turns onto crappy roads in Lynn.

On the way home, it's basically the same, except for the $3.50 airport tunnel toll and the death merge onto Rt. 93. I come up on the left side and have just about a mile to get across five lanes of rush hour traffic to the right hand exit only lane to Roxbury. Luckily, traffic is usually crawling and people are surprisingly friendly about letting me get all the way over. *Usually.

Anyways, with a few weeks of co-op under my belt, I've tried out a few different routes for the return trip. The most obvious is to take Rt. 1 and the Tobin Bridge instead of the airport tunnel. Tobin is more scenic than the tunnel, and with the E-Z Pass discount it's $2.50. Unfortunately that brings me around the Levitt Circle Connector of Death. Which. Does. Not. Move. after 5:30pm.

Tobin Bridge - old and beautiful

If I survive the Connector, I have two options: (1) right exit ramp onto Storrow Drive, which drops me by Fenway/old apartment/school or (2) continuing straight onto Zakim Bridge and the parking lot that is Rt. 93 passing directly under downtown Boston.

Neither are great options. Storrow moves once you're on it, but I've spent more than 15 minutes sitting on the 3/4 mi long, one lane exit ramp. With option 2, you have four lanes and you think you're moving at first, and as soon as you're past the world's largest suspension bridge, you stop. Being stuck underground is actually worse than being stuck on an exit ramp. After 3 excruciating miles in the tunnel, you emerge to see the black sky (because it's winter, the only time I see daylight is my morning commute) and realize you're in the death merge. You might think there is an advantage since I can start in the right hand lane and will only have to merge once to get to the exit only lane, but it's actually easier to get across five lanes then to come out of the tunnel and make forward progress.

Zakim Bridge - sleek and modern

Soooo...I tried an alternate route. I decided to hop off Rt. 1 before the Tobin Bridge to avoid the fine, and make my way across one of the smaller, free bridges that cross the Charles. I failed. I'm posting belatedly, and I can't even remember how I got so utterly lost, so I drew a picture of what it felt like. Enjoy.

Holiday Giving Guide

Justin and I just finished decorating our first tree together! (pic coming soon) This is a non-official guide of charities I like. Feel free to support any and all of them!

Special Olympics Maryland - After plunging 2003-2010, I will be missing the January Chesapeake Bay plunge again this year :( SOMD is a great org and my cousins have participated in their sports programs.

Girls on the Run DC - I coached the Oyster Bilingual 3rd grade team in 2009 and 2010.

National Zoo - I've been a member for years and have enjoyed discounts to ZooLights and Brew at the Zoo. Always a great place to visit and wander around!

Friendship Place - In the three years I worked here, Friendship Place grew quickly and now provides housing and supportive services to 192 formerly homeless people!

Children's Law Center - where I’m currently working on co-op. We provide direct legal services to children dealing with abuse and neglect, delinquency charges, foster care, and immigration issues. Plus, we have a brand new online donation option that I set up this week.

Hunger Site - I love this site. You perform a few quick clicks and a sponsor will donate every day. I also have a bunch of goats from here.

DC Furies, GWWRFC, Beantown - my rugby teams. The Furies are 501(c)(3). The GW girls are gearing up for a run at Nationals after last year’s trip to the sweet 16. Beantown is a perennial top team and working on getting 501(c)(3) certification.

My New Job!

I'm on co-op at the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, and loving it. Here's the negatives - it's located in Lynn and the supposed 35 minute commute takes more like 55+ minutes plus a toll bridge/tunnel to get home. And the intern office doesn't have any windows and because it's winter that means 0 daylight. That's it.

Otherwise, co-op is awesome. A few attorneys have been there for 10+ years and have a ton of institutional knowledge, something I've learned to value since other places I've worked have lacked it. There are two young attorneys, one from NUSL 2010, that show me exactly the type of work I could be doing in 2 years. I've been able to sit in on client meetings and attend special ed IEP team meetings. I'm learning a ton about Dept. of Youth Services and Dept. of Children and Families and what happens to kids when they're expelled (37H and 37H 1/2). I'll have more updates on what I'm doing on co-op as the quarter continues.

Her Placenta Falls to the Floor...or, 24 hours of driving through the Mid-Atlantic and New England

I spent ALOT of time driving over Thanksgiving break. (See amazing Hyperbole and a Half ALOT story). My supposed to be 7.5 hour drive down took 10. DC and back for the Help the Homeless Walkathon was another 1.5. Visiting KMetkus in Waldorf was another 2.5 roundtrip with rush hour traffic, but the amazing turkey cookies were totally worth it. Then the drive back took another 10 hours. During this time, I was able to get a pretty good assortment of music from Boston, Providence, NY, Philly, Bmore, and DC radio stations. Every once in a while, they did let me down. Here are my own personal music awards for songs played during my TG road trip:

Most awkward lyrics: Live - Lightning Crashes (lyrics). Featuring the placenta line in the title of this post.

Best vocals: Adele - Someone Like You (video)

Awful song that I enjoy, probably because I’ve been hearing it a lot in spinning class: Dev - Dancing in the Dark

Best Rihanna song: We Fell in Love (video)

Worst Artist: Katy Perry

Most overplayed on Boston stations: Sting - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic

Worst song ever: TIE: Maroon 5- Moves like Jagger & Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts

Best parody: Moves like Welker (video)

Best song during the MA-MD drive: Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind. It played while I drove across the top level of the GW bridge in Feb 2011.

Gym Rat v. Couch Potato

I had such high hopes. Every year, I say I’m going to train for the Northern Central Rail Trail relay marathon that I run with my sister. We did it in 2007, 2008, and 2010 (missed getting one of the 40 relay spots in 2009). Every year, I log a few 5-9 mile runs in October and November and then manage to pull out 13.1 miles on raceday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This year, realizing my rugby season would be over October 15th, I committed myself to schoolwork and hitting the gym. I drew up a master plan - I had forty days to get myself in shape for a sub-2 hour half marathon. I’ve consistently run 2:05 with some training, so that was a SMART goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. I miss Liz Dilley and her motivational posters!). I signed up for Northeastern’s group fitness pass, which gives me access to spinning, yoga, and seventy-three other classes per week.

I did great for 3 weeks.



Then a combination of finals and being sick knocked me out. I was exhausted and coughing and had zero workouts for two weeks straight before the race. I desperately tried to resell my race entry on Twitter, to no avail, and the race directors were less than understanding. So, I am now the proud owner of a very overpriced cooler-duffle, the race premuim. Hoping to get back into the gym routine when I start co-op in a few days...

Jury Duty

In May, I finally received a long-awaited summons: Jury Duty!

Go ahead and laugh, but most law students I've talked to agree they would love to see the inner workings of a jury. And I've gotten the impression that most lawyers will dismiss other lawyers from the jury pool for being too familiar with the law. So I figure my best shot is before I graduate.

The original date was in late May after I would be moving to DC, so I postponed it to mid-September, and then bumped it again for a friend's wedding. I finally went on October 21st. Conveniently I don't have Friday classes and I was ready to wait all day in hopes of getting on a trial.

I was at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Gov't Center, which houses civil, criminal, landlord-tenant, and juvenile courts. I was hoping for a crim or juvenile trial.

The court officer was fantastic. Once I checked in at 8am, he gave us instructions, had us watch a short video, and gave us a coffee break from 9-10am. He said the most likely scenario was no trial and we'd be done by 1:30pm, but there was a chance we'd get on a trial and be there til the end of the day and possibly for a few additional days, and there was also a chance of being sent home earlier, or having to sit around all day. He got occasional calls from housing, civil, juvenile, and finally crim all saying they would not have a trial today. We were released at 12:15 pm. I was bummed to miss out on the opportunity to serve, but I appreciated getting out so early. Even though I didn't get to a trial, I cannot be called for Mass. jury duty for another three years.

Fortunately, NUSL has Civil and Criminal Trial practice classes and they need volunteer jurors. The trial stretched from 7:30-10:15 pm on a Thursday night the week before finals, which is less than ideal, but I wanted to help out one of my teammates from intramural soccer who was in the class. The trial was pretty interesting - two defendants were accused of murdering a cop, and each side was permitted three witnesses in an abbreviated trial. It all went down in the NUSL moot court room, which was built in 2008 and is pretty nice. The instructor of the class served as judge and he was tough, denying objections and keeping the trial moving. I was really impressed by my peers as they presented opening arguments, examined witnesses, and addressed the jury.

I will definitely consider taking a trial practice class on a future academic quarter. For now, I just need to get through two exams and two papers and I will be home free to Maryland for a week.

Fall Reading List

I've got plenty of reading for school, but reading for fun provides a nice change of pace. Here's my fall reading list so far. Recommendations welcome! And if anyone can loan me books 2 and 3 for the Hunger Games I would be very grateful!

• Getting to Yes by Fisher, Ury, and Patton - technically this was assigned by my Negotiation professor, but it was a slim book that I enjoyed reading, so I'm counting it on the "fun" list.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I finally checked out the bestselling novel about a post-apocalyptic world where teens have to fight gladiator-style, and I'm hooked. I bought it at a bookstore with Dan around 11pm, and was done by 3am. I'm looking for the next two books, and the waitlist at Boston Public Library is in triple digits.
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - no, I never read this in school, unlike the rest of the world. What a great book, I'm glad I finally understand all the references that have been made to it.

On deck:

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
  
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Little Dorritt by Dickens - started this book in summer 2009 and I'm 2/3 done, but haven't read it regularly in a year. I'll finish it someday.
  

Undefeated again :)

It's been a bumpy rugby season for me. Fortunately, compared to last year when I had back pains all season, I was pretty healthy. Part of the reason I escaped unscathed was how little time I actually spent in contact. I was mentally checked out for a lot of September and rugby just didn't feel the same. Fortunately, the rest of the team kept winning, and I got a little time on the Div 2 B side. We met the also undefeated Portland team yesterday on a puddle-soaked Moakley field. I ran touch for the A side game, and it was a tight match with the teams trading the lead back and forth. Town was down 10-17 with about 15 minutes left, and ran in a beautiful try. Our fullback converted, and suddenly the match was tied. With just a few minutes left, Portland committed a penalty inside their 22, and our fullback slotted a perfect kick through the uprights. Town wins, 20-17! It was a great game and a perfect end to the season.

Unfortunately, because of some sort of administrative rule, Town can't come in, destroy Div3, move up to Div2, destroy Div2, and go to Div2 playoffs. No clue why, but somehow as a new team/part of the larger Beantown program, we can't. So that's the end of our season. I got a run as wing in the B game, which I believe we won 12-7.

Saturday night was Town's 35th Anniversary celebration. We booked a fancy ballroom and had dinner (for those who could pay- not me!), videos from the 1986 National Championship and an awesome 2007 game won in overtime with a drop kick, and lots of rugby singing.

While the season was bumpy, the last two practices were so much fun - the best I've had in years, I felt like I was back at GW. And Saturday was such a great team experience, both the last-minute, come from behind win and then the social with all these amazing women who played and won Nationals throughout the 80s. I'm looking forward to a little more free time in the evenings, and not sure how I'll feel next season, but I am happy with how this fall ended.

Foxes, Raccoons, and Opossums, Oh My!

My new neighborhood, Mission Hill, is pretty great. It's mostly well kept houses that have been divided into three apartments, similar to the triple-deckers in JP but without as many porches. I have just over a mile walk to school, which works out to be a 6 minute bike ride when I'm running late. But the best part is the FIELD.

The field is a baseball field right across the street that is fully fenced. Except for occasional little leaguers, it's a dog park for Izzy and 15 of her new best friends. One of my neighbors is a NUSL 1L and has two German Shepherds! Izzy can chase a tennis ball around the field for hours, and Justin takes her there almost every afternoon after work. There's also a middle field next to it, with a baseball backstop and a soccer goal, and a smaller upper field to walk her around.

Even though we're in a city, these fields and the woods behind them are home to a few wild creatures. In just one month in this neighborhood, Izzy and I have encountered a fox, a raccoon, and even an opossum while walking at night! The fox has made a number of appearances, but we steer clear of it.

We've also discovered Fitzgerald Park, a beautiful spot at the top of Mission Hill and just a few blocks from our apartment. It has a tiny fenced dog park and colorful puddingstones. My favorite way to spend a non-rugby weekend morning is to wander around here with Izzy and enjoy the view of Boston.

Wedding II: Elle and Zach in San Fran

This past weekend in San Francisco was one of the best weekends of my life! First, Elle, one of my college roommates, got married to Zach, a wonderful guy who makes her the happiest I've ever seen her. Second, Justin and I went on our first just-the-two-of-us vacation, which was a lot of fun and hopefully there will be more trips in the future once I have a paying job. Third, we explored a new city for both of us, and we did SO MUCH in four days.


We did almost everything on the map above...and it was amazing. We hit a couple great brewpubs/beer bars:
21st Amendment
Magnolia
Social Kitchen
Thirsty Bear
Toronado
Monk's Kettle


We spent hours wandering around Golden Gate Park and even saw bison! We rented bikes and pedaled across the Golden Gate Bridge, one of my favorite moments. We went to museums: SF Modern Museum of Art (half price tickets on Thursday nights), de Young Museum (20% off coupon online), which had a special Picasso exhibit, and a maritime museum with a free map exhibit. We enjoyed ice cream at the Ghiradelli factory and sampled dim sum and spring rolls at a food truck festival with over 30 vendors. We stayed in a beautiful hotel right next to the church and enjoyed cocktails on the 39th floor lounge overlooking the city. We were able to walk or bus everywhere, saving money for food, beer, and museums.

Published again!

The Law Center just published a blog posted I drafted my last few days at work. It was a great way to wrap up my summer co-op.

The Reason for this All

Children's Law Center of Mass

One of the reasons I chose Northeastern is its co-op program. Here I am, less than halfway through my fall academic quarter, and I'm applying for winter quarter co-ops. It makes time fly by! Thankfully, this application and interview process went off without a hitch. I went through our online list of employers and sorted it by (family law/juveniles) (non-profits) (located in Boston) and came in with a list of about 15 places I was interested in. Northeastern has a resource room with binders full of reviews by students who previously did co-ops with each employer. Most of mine had a bunch of reviews, so I was able to pick places that involve a lot of client contact and other things I am interested in. Once I narrowed it to about 15 places, I met with my co-op advisor. He helped explain which ones had a possibility of funding, and suggested a few places I hadn't considered yet.

Justin helped me narrow it to ten and rank them before I submitted my applications. I'm glad I put so much thought into where I wanted to work, because I was lucky enough to hear from four of my ten places in the first four days.

I was really excited to hear from the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts. It was first on my list and when I interviewed there it felt like a perfect fit. Except for the 30+ minute drive up to Lynn on the North Shore, the position is perfect for what I want to do. I even said at the end of the interview, "Please hire me right away because I have more interviews lined up, and you're my first choice." There's a strict rule that if you are offered a position by a judge, you must take it.

I heard back that afternoon, and accepted immediately! I'll start working for CLC after Thanksgiving - the winter quarter is Dec-Jan-Feb.

Fall Classes

I'm four weeks into my terrifyingly short 11 week quarter, and classes are going pretty well. I am taking:

Negotiation
with Baker
We discuss negotiation tactics, like considering creative third-way solutions that are win-win, and do mini-negotiations in every other class. I am loving this class so far and the skills are useful in real life.

Strategic Litigation
with Daynard, who I wrote about last year
We have done a TON of reading on tobacco litigation and class action cases, and a few cases that have to do with asbestos or faulty medical devices. Instead of an exam, I'm writing a paper and presenting to the class about the possibility of litigation against football/hockey/lacrosse helmet manufacturers. If anyone has any experience or knowledge in this field, let me know!

Family Law
with Pitchal
Family law is pretty interesting, but it doesn't hurt that our professor, who looks remarkably like Buster from Arrested Development, makes references to pop culture to keep everyone awake. We've read Britney Spears' divorce case and Barry Bonds' pre-nup, and the class is confirming my interest in working in family law. Hopefully I will be using some of the things I learn this fall on my winter co-op - I'm considering a bunch of child/family law placements.

Evidence
with Judge Borenstein
The professor worked as an attorney for 15+ years and as a judge for 20 years, so he has a ton of experience to share with us. He gives us real-life examples of evidence that he's permitted or not allowed in his court. Evidence has a lot of rules to memorize, but I'm sure I'll be using it for years to come.

Wedding I: Jud and Lani in DC

Just a few short weeks after moving to Boston, we headed back to DC for Jud and Lani's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and a great chance to see everyone again. There were fifteen guys from the GW men's team, a full side, and a few from the women's team.

POW 8/17

Back to Wednesday Pizza of the Week! Tonight we had bacon, pineapple, and onion with mozzarella cheese. A perfect blend of salty and sweet - no leftovers.

POW 8/11

Pear, bacon, gorgonzola, and maple syrup. A sweeter pizza and one of our favorites.

Published! & Summer Reading List

I wrote a blog post for my co-op about a family where the kids were removed because they lived in a storage unit. Don't worry, there's a happy ending.

BrandonB wrote an in-depth series on commuting, Tales from the Road, which you can relate to even if you don't live in Boston. Make sure to read the Reporter's Notebook and Train Commute Timeline articles for his personal take on being a guinea pig.

Justin and I also submitted a Letter to the Editor of the Boston Globe yesterday in response to the ABCC cracking down on craft brewery licenses. It was really fun to write it together, but it looks like we might not be getting published.

Summer 2011 Reading List:

• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - recommended by Dan, but I found it pretty disappointing
• How to be Good by Nick Hornby - exact same feelings as above. This is modern lit? I just don't get what is great about it.
  
• The Plague by Albert Camus - clearly one of Justin's books, a great, quick read
• The Stranger by Albert Camus* - accidentally left this at the Outer Banks. Hope to finish it sometime soon.
  
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - this book blew me away, I can't believe I hadn't read it before. One of those books where you are totally immersed in the characters' world and when it ends, you try to reconcile it with everything around you.
• The Confession by John Grisham - a typical Grisham legal thriller, read in 1 day at the beach
• The Idiot by Fyodor Dostovesky* - currently in progress, 5 pages at a time on the metro, and I'm really enjoying it.
• ??? - hoping to finish the Idiot and squeeze in 1 more book before I go back to school. Any recommendations?
  

Summer Bucket List

Justin and I made a bucket list to celebrate our last month in D.C. Updated as we cross off each item!

Restaurants - a mix of favorites and using up Groupons before we left town
Mad Fox - a fancy brewpub in Falls Church, and we had a Groupon

Colonel Brooks Tavern - cozy restaurant just one metro stop up at Brookland-CUA. My sister sent a Groupon for my birthday once she heard I would be in NE for the summer. This place offers pitcher deals on craft beers, and we would love to go back with a group.

Chadwicks in Gtown - had a Groupon but still never made it here...


Lauriol Plaza - had an amazing girls' night with MEY/2.5 anniversary dinner with Pink and the pitchers of swirl margaritas were even better with a giftcard

St. Arnold's Mussel Bar - a tiny treasure just south of Dupont Circle that offers delicious mussels at half price weekdays 4-7 and has Kasteel Rouge (awesome fruit beer) on tap

Amsterdam Falafel - picked up a Scoutmob deal and got a free falafel on 18th street

Julia's Empanadas - Scoutmob again! We hit the Dupont Circle location for more free yummy-even-when-you're-not-drunk-at-2am food.

Granville Moore's - didn't make it back to this amazing Belgian restaurant with mussels, frites, and good beers. Hopefully on our next visit, but it would be easier if they took reservations.


IHOP - one more IHOP date with KMetkus and a trashy magazine :) Because some things will never change.

Pho 75 - didn't make it here in August, but when we came back in September for Jud and Lani's wedding, I finally got to try one of Justin's favorite places. Giant bowls of steaming pho, served cafeteria style, for about $7, cash only. It's hard to beat that.

Mangialardo & Sons - awesome family owned deli in SE that's been around for 58 years but is only open for breakfast and lunch. Luckily I had a few days off before the move, and I picked up Gmans and had an indoor picnic (boo rain) with Justin and Steve-Mike.


The Frog - we had about five "last visits" to the Froggy Bottom pub, the dive rugby bar on GW's campus.

Activities
Shirlington Dog Park - oops, never brought Izzy back to her favorite swimming spot

Shakespeare Free For All - after accidentally showing up on Tuesday, a day theatres traditionally take off, Justin and I returned on Wednesday to see an amazing Casear


Bike ride to Gravelly - I did a 20 mile ride to one of my favorite local places for rugby, a field just north of Reagan airport and accessible from the Mt. Vernon bike trail

Civil War Battlefield/VA Brewpubs field trip - was too busy playing rugby or lifeguarding on the weekends



Picnic in Dupont Circle - Justin and I first picnicked in Dupont to play chess in spring 2006, a few months after we starting dating, so we had another dinner under the fountain.


MLK Memorial - I picked a lovely sunny day to visit the new MLK Memorial and go back to the FDR Memorial, one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I went right when an earthquake hit about 80 miles south in VA. I was able to finish my tour through the MLK and get to FDR, but the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument were closed due to damage.

JB in DC: Bar Exam

When I start to think, wow, only 4 more academic quarters - less than 2 years and I'll graduate, I remind myself there's still the BAR EXAM.. I'm not sure what typeface best conveys the gravitas and the soul-aching fear that a two day exam brings, but I could only choose among eight options.

Anyways, my mother, as a state employee of Maryland, found out she could help serve as a proctor for the exam. She did it Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and sent me her thoughts. She had a lot of down time so she broke down gender, race, computer type, etc.:

• proctored in the Armory at UMD. 480 test takers. I had # 1-40. One supervisor for every 2 proctors and then 1 main person - who made all the microphone announcements.
• 2 people / table; all spaces were numbered. Proctors check drivers license with admissions paper with number on desk four different times throughout the day.
• I had 18 females and 21 males...yes that is only 39...no one was assigned #13.. also in larger groups no one is #666.
• 13 African Americans (8m/5f); 1 female w/ a hijab; 25 Caucasian.
• 20 Mac computers, next majority was Dell but unable to get a number, ~ 2 Toshiba's, ~ 2 Sony, 1 Lenovo.
• about 5-7 wore ear plugs.
• at least 3 incident reports were written on day 2: 1) cell phone in a back pack rang today, when it rang the second time the back pack was taken outside of the room; 2) a bee was buzzing around the room; 3) bugs in one area, testers were given the option to move to other seats, but declined.
• the last 15 minutes of the exam no one is allowed to get up to leave or go to the bathroom, nor do the proctors walk the aisles as they don't want anyone disturbed in those final minutes. Proctors can't wear flip flops or other shoes that would make noise while walking around.

So, that's the bar exam. It's interesting to at least know how the room may be set up. I also read a great tip the other day about bringing a pocket flashlight - apparently losing power for a short period of time in the testing room has happened on more than one occasion. I'm going to try to not think about the bar for at least another year and a half, but I figured since I found this email informative I should share it.

JB in DC: July

Bang!
July started off with a bang as my older sister got engaged on the 1st. Wedding planning has begun, and I'm shocked to find it's kind of fun to see what my sister would like to do, and to make fun of Bridezilla-inducing wedding planning books. I've been promised a non-ugly bridesmaid dress, and that's good enough for me.

The bangs continued because of the godforsaken neighborhood I live in. I might have tiptoed around this previously, but the areas immediately north and west of the apt are the projects. I don't have an issue with that for the most part, and many of the people are friendly, even though I get a ton of stares as the white girl with the dog. My problem is the teenage boys (and a few girls) that set off fireworks daily, especially between 9pm-midnight, from mid-June until mid-July. I could have handled a few days around July 4th - but a month of fireworks has been awful. Poor Izzy has taken to hiding under the table, in the bathroom, or even in a box of clothes in the closet. We couldn't even persuade her to go on walks after dark because the explosions were so constant.

Rugby
Playing 7s with the Furies again this summer was awesome. The only thing I would change is having more opportunities to play. Between vacation plans and being a social side (as opposed to competitive side) player, I was only able to go to 3 tournaments. I feel like I got in shape and played pretty well, scoring tries in most of our games, but I definitely have things to work on. Tackling, never my strongest suit, has definitely suffered from not playing since the fall. And my conversion attempts that must be drop-kicked (that's a 7s rule) were just pathetic - I probably went 3/25 for the summer.



Rugby + Beer
A number of GWWRFC alum are in DC: some playing with the Furies, a few in med school at GW, and most working for a nonprofit in some way. We started coordinating happy hours, and it's awesome to see some of my favorite people, spanning from 2006-2011, on a regular basis. Our first HH was at Lucky Bar, and as I realized a few days beforehand, it might have been my first real happy hour. I'm so used to going home to let the dog out first, or running to practice or lifeguarding, that I rarely do HHs that seem customary for everyone else. We had a second get-together at Stoney's a few weeks later, and are planning a third event, complete with kickball and other possible games, in early August. I'm so glad I'm in DC for this summer, even with the triple-digit heat. Last year I created a bucket list and tried to get to most of the places and see most of the people before I left. This summer feels like a bonus opportunity, to do the things I missed out on, and to spend more time with my favorite ruggers.

Biking, Beach, and Beer Part II:
Brew at the Zoo was on July 14 and as usual, was one of the best days of summer. The National Zoo offered 40 breweries on a uncharacteristically pleasant night, and nine of us were happy were happy to sample and support the zoo. We closed out the night in Woodley Park with $3 margaritas and it was an awesome start to vacation part II. The next day, MEY and I, being the super-cool 26 year-olds that we are, went to go see Harry Potter in the middle of the day.

The next day I headed to Ocean City, MD, with my mom and sister and two bikes on the back of the car. It's been our family vacation spot during childhood, but the week-long visits faded away once we went to college. We had an great spot at 138th street, right on the water, with a hammock hanging on the deck. It was the perfect spot to relax, read, tan, swim, eat, and bike.



Vacation for my family always means special food, like trips to Harpoon Hanna's, with a bread girl who delivers fresh muffins and bread to your table throughout the meal and going to Phillips with my grandparents. But I went for a new food record this week: Seven Days of Shrimp. We started off with fresh steamed shrimp from Food Lion, half price, after getting into O.C. around 7pm on Saturday. We went back for a repeat the next night and did shrimp and freshly made guacamole again. I also had coconut shrimp from Harpoon Hanna's, shrimp on my seafood platter at Phillips, and frozen shrimp out of a box. With leftovers, I managed to eat shrimp all seven days!


We also had a ton of peaches on vacation. We discovered the nearby Bennett Orchard pick-your-own farm, and between mid-week and end of the week visits, loaded up on 30 pounds of peaches. I'm a new convert to peach guacamole.


With all this eating, we made sure to get in workouts, too. My sister and I picked a route that would take us north along the shoreline, west into Delaware, and then home. It was 31 miles and my longest rides have been 25, as part of a triathlon, so I was a little worried about the increased distance and the heat. We did the loop 3 times that week (stopping after 22 miles on Wed. to get peaches) and it was a lot of fun. We were on an incredibly flat course so I worked on getting my average speed up from ~12 mph to 15-16 mph, and I'm definitely improving on my road bike.

JB in DC: June

Work
We jumped right into the NLCHP annual forum on June 7-8. There are three other legal interns here, all paired up with different supervisors, so sometimes we are doing separate things and sometimes we work together on group projects. Mostly it is legal research online but I've had a couple visits to the Hill to listen to Senate briefings. After 4 years at GW mocking my fellow classmates and their unpaid internships on the Hill, I feel almost like one of them. Almost. My job definitely involves more policy/advocacy work than I expected. While it's interesting, it's not what I want to do, so I'm re-thinking my plans for future co-ops.

Biking, Beach, and Beer Part I:
Jen, a friend from the Furies, gave me her road bike when she got a new one this spring. Yes, gave. Yes, I am aware how lucky I am to have amazing friends/adoptive moms like Jen & Darcy. I got it all fixed up and adjusted, along with clip-in shoes and a camelbak, and started testing out the Metropolitan Branch Trail that runs near my apt.

After just 3 weeks of work, Justin and I headed to Outer Banks for a cozy, quiet vacation with 17 of his closest relatives. As always, it was an amazingly fun trip with the beach, pool, and lots of cornhole-playing throughout the week. I brought my new road bike and got in a couple rides before my race at the end of the week.

Triathlon
I signed up for the Rock Hall International Length tri on June 25, keeping with my pattern of doing one race a year. It's a combination of laziness in training and the cost of entry fees, but doing one a year is pretty fun for me. This was a brand new race and while small, had awesome volunteers.

The swim unfortunately had issues with diesel gas in the water from the rescue boat, and waves from boats using the supposed-to-be-closed harbor, but I got through okay in 36:16 for 1500 meters. The bike ride was great and where I was looking to make a significant improvement, as this was my first time riding a road bike adjusted for my fit. I came in at 1:27:12 for 24.65 miles, which I am very happy with. The run was okay - I was feeling tired but the friendly neighbors who moved their sprinklers out to soak the runners was fantastic, and I finished the 10k in 1:00:41. My total time was 3:09:38 which I am pretty happy with and if I ever decide to seriously train, I will look to get it under three hours.

JB in DC: May

I've been incredibly remiss in posting, so here's a recap of the Summer of Fun so far:

May
Yay for being back in DC! It's ridiculous hot for late May, but I have a week til my internship starts to settle in. I'm living with Justin (yay!) near the Rhode Island Ave metro stop. Sort of a sketchy area - definitely worse than where I lived in JP/Roxbury this fall, but my building seems secure and the apt has a balcony and laundry, so it's all good.

I started working on May 31 at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty in downtown DC. Working downtown is awesome - I'm scheduling lunch dates with MEY, Haley, and Justin, something I never could do during my three years of working in Tenleytown. My direct supervisor actually works remotely, so I'm getting assignments from him via phone and email as well as helping out around the office. While I've worked on homelessness issues before, we use a human rights framework that is new to me so I'm learning a lot.

A few fun things

I managed to squeeze in a little bit of fun before exams:

• reffing (which ended up going rather terribly, but generally I love it, so it's still making the list)
  
• QC spring BBQ - one of my classmates has an amazing rooftop deck on Mass Ave, just a few blocks from school and I had a great time
  
• fancy Mass LGBTQ Bar Association dinner in a downtown hotel. NUSL QC sponsored a table, and a classmate received the law student award. Unfortunately, the drinks weren't free, but the food was good and it was amazing to hear from the speakers - Hon. Margaret H. Marshall, ret. CJ of the Mass Supreme Judicial Court and Rep. Byron Rushing from the Mass House of Representatives.
  
• studying with Leila in Providence, RI that turned into looking at wedding pictures and telling stories instead of studying
• Dark Side of Chocolate presentation at school - one of my TAs organized a movie event based on her independent research on how chocolate is produced. While I still absolutely love chocolate, it woke me up to the child labor that Nestle and other companies use. I think I should stick to eating local Taza from the amazing factory in Cambridge.
  
• visiting the Chihuly exhibit at the MFA. It's hard to sum up Chihuly - click here for more pictures. It was amazing, and runs through Aug 7 in Boston.

I've got exams Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Next week we have this absurd new co-op training class Mon-Fri, 9-5pm. And then I'm headed to DC!

Beginning of the End...or the End of the Beginning

Classes end April 29. It's also my last day of work at the law firm in Peabody. This has been a really weird, disjointed year, and so this is going to be a weird, disjointed post.

I want to be at Ruggerfest right now, with my Beantown teammates and seeing all my amazing Furies friends. One of my favorite moments from the fall was coming to Sunday of the Beantown-hosted tourney in Amherst, nervous before my first Town game, and getting swarmed by the Furies up for their Premiere League match. This is the reverse weekend, in MD, and I want to be there. Ruggerfest is such an important time for the Furies, and even getting the absurd "stirring the pot" email makes me want to be there.

I'm not ready for exams. I've been studying carefully all spring - it's why I gave up rugby this spring - but I'm not ready for a test. Law school is one of those places where the more you learn, the more you are aware what you still don't know. I feel really good about what I have in front of me, but there's so much still out there.

I was hoping to schedule a few fun breaks during reading week like I did in December, but I don't have much besides study sessions scheduled :(

Social Life ≥ Social Justice project

Yes, I still want to do public interest work. That's a huge part of why I came to Northeastern, and I generally love the atmosphere where everyone is passionate about a variety of causes and trying to make the world a better place.

But sometimes I just want to hang out with a friend and have a beer. Pretty normal, right?

We wrapped up our SJ project on Thursday afternoon with an hour long presentation to about thirty students, and then another hour of meeting with the client to discuss our findings in greater detail. For all the times when I wondered what this project was actually going to turn into (most of November-February), Law Office 1 did pull it all together and provide a thoroughly-researched and well-written policy brief for Public Education Network.

I am so glad it's over.

After a bit of reflection, I've come to the conclusion that this project did very little to advance my learning this year. I wish I could have taken 2 classes of Legal Writing each week, rather than one class each of LW and SJ. I understand in theory that doing pro bono work as a 1L is exciting - it's part of what drew me to NUSL. I just don't believe my project accomplished that goal. Most of the other SJ projects seemed to have gone slightly better, although I'd hesitate to describe the program as a success. It's pretty clear the administration will be keeping the SJ program around, even though a clear majority of 1Ls disagree with it. On a positive note, the administration appears to be open to feedback to improve the program for next year.

Here's hoping they listen, and it does improve :/

A love triangle of the worst kind

I have a special love in my life. Let's refer to this love as RF. Generally, we spent two nights together every week, and usually at least one whole day on the weekend. Often, I brought Izzy along, too. RF has been a constant in my life ever since my first time on February 19, 2005....a day I'll never forget.

Recently, things have changed. I didn't want them to, but they did, and now I'm spending all my time with LL. I hated it at first - in the fall you wouldn't catch me within ten feet of LL, but now I find myself sinking into an easy pattern at lunch time, in the afternoon - sometimes even squeezing in extra sessions in the early morning or late at night.

I try to explain it away, saying LL is good for me right now. But who am I kidding? That's like saying having another slice of pizza and a Diet Cherry Coke is better than going for a run (which is what I've doing anyways).

I finally hit bottom when I emailed (yes, emailed) RF to say things are over. At least for now, until life settles down. The worst part is, I was with LL when I did it.


Thanks to Monica for being the third person, after my mom and boyfriend, who actually reads this blog :)

And if you haven't figured it out, RF = rugby football, and LL = Law Library.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today, I turned 26.

There have been some great moments leading up to this:

• Justin visiting for 4.5 days
  
• celebrating my birthday at his parents' house on Saturday, complete with a very pretty bracelet and an ice cream cake with candles!
• going to my first Celtics game at the Garden, 101-90 win over the Pistons
• yummy dinner and more cake with Justin
  
• getting a box of cocoa rice krispie treats with german shepherd, dachshund, dog house, and bone shaped cookie cutters from my mom
  

But.....

Here's where I'll self-indulge and whine. I'm slammed this week: on top of regular reading for school, there's a small partner project in Contracts Wednesday, I'm giving a huge presentation for the end (finally!) of my SJ project Thursday, and the final draft of my memo is due Saturday. I drove Justin to the airport this morning and since then today has been pretty miserable.

Exploring the South End

Today Izzy and I wandered around the South End neighborhood. It's immediately east of Northeastern, and south of the Back Bay. There are lots of four and five story pretty brick buildings, and the South End is known for excellent dining options.



Izzy and I found a small blacktop playground that has been converted to a dog park along the SW Corridor Parkway between the Back Bay and Mass Ave stations.