Duck Duck Goose

I forgot Iron Chef America's encore airing was on! So I missed the first half of the show and most of the cooking. Oh well. I really wanted to see this one, because I love Ming Tsai.

Favorite comment from one of the judges? About Ming Tsai's foie gras shu mai, "I always think of those little shu mai in all the Japanese restaurants, and foie gras is so different from that." (paraphrased) Mmmhmm. Right.....

I think they should ditch the Vogue guy as a judge and instead make Nina Zagat and Ted Allen the judges that are always there. I like them better.

Why does shu mai woman keep asking the competitors if their recipes would taste different if they had more time? It's Iron Chef. They have a set period of time. What's the difference if it tastes different or has a different texture if cooked in a longer period of time? (And yes, I am aware of how many times I'm using the word different.) You don't need to know that to judge, you only need to look at the food that you actually have and can taste, not what it would be under some other circumstances!

Having a class crisis for tomorrow. Will post and let you know how it turns out. Going to work a little more on putting paper stuff into the outline and then I'm going to bed.

Status Update

Reading lots of Westlaw printouts for my paper makes my head hurt. Ugh. The pile of papers which I have read and inserted into my outline (not the actual paper, just the outline, but hopefully having a comprehensive outline will make the writing go faster) is far less thick than the pile of papers which I still have to go through. And that pile would be higher except for the fact that the way I've stacked them makes them look like less. And the pile would be higher if it included all the papers waiting for me on the printers at school.

What's even more exciting is that I could probably get all this done and done reasonably well if I had all week to do it. But no... I have to stop. It's time to do homework. Blah. I actually have class tomorrow. Can't you hear the joy dripping from my writing? Woo.Hoo.

Off to read.

Quizzing Away

You scored as Ginny Weasley. You definitely share your mother's (Molly Weasley) fiery resolve and slowly but surely people are learning to respect you because of it. Ginny Weasley 70% Remus Lupin 70% Severus Snape 65% Hermione Granger 65% Albus Dumbledore 60% Draco Malfoy 60% Ron Weasley 60% Harry Potter 55% Sirius Black 40% Lord Voldemort 20% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com

Maybe I should re-take this test answering "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree" instead of "somewhat agree" and "somewhat disagree." From the looks of these results, I can't actually figure out who I'm supposed to be!

Numb3rs

Saw Numb3rs for the first time tonight, since I was watching Boston Legal last Sunday when it premiered. I really liked it. I don't know if all the mathematical ideas are right, but the show was quite enjoyable.

Favorite line: "To what end would criminals be playing minesweeper with banks?" - as Charlie sat in front of his laptop playing Minesweeper. Considering Minesweeper is open on my computer while I'm working all day for a quick thinking break, I loved that they were playing Minesweeper on a tv show. Fantastic.

Last week at this time I checked out the new Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi. I'm liking this show more, so I think I've cast my vote. Granted it's Friday night, so I might not always get to see it, but that's what VCRs are for.

So here's my TV lineup for the winter/spring (for the 3 hour primetime period, the ones in brackets I don't always watch, and no, I don't always watch them all live):

Sundays: [Extreme Makeover Home Edition], Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal [if that's not on, Crossing Jordan]
Mondays: nothing, 24, Medium
Tuesdays: American Idol, Amazing Race, L&O: SVU
Wednesdays: Lost, Alias/Jack and Bobby, Law and Order/Wife Swap
Thursdays: The OC/Survivor, Apprentice/Point Pleasant, Without a Trace
Fridays: Stargate SG-1, [Stargate: Atlantis/Hope and Faith], Numb3rs

Poor Saturdays.

Traces

Nice. The writers of Without a Trace brought the snark in the first five minutes of tonight's episode (which is still on).

They were mocking The Swan by having a makeover pageant called American Goddess. It was clearly pointing to The Swan with all the plastic surgery references. It was fantastic.

One of the younger FBI guys asked the main guy (I can't remember their names since I don't watch the show religiously) if he watched the show, and he answered that his wife and kids did.

Response? "Well, that's good if you want them to believe that plastic surgery solves all your problems." (or something close to that)

So good. :)

A Tale of Two Days*

Yesterday it was 41 degrees outside and it felt glorious.

Today the wind chill hovered in the low teens.

Yesterday I wore my sunglasses as I drove to school on a bright sunshine-filled spring-ish day.

Today it snowed and I had to clean my car after a long school day while being pelted with snow and ice.

Yesterday I sauntered to my car around lunchtime to drive home leisurely in the sun.

Today I braved the winds that knocked my breath out just to get to my car in the dark.

Yesterday I did not get called on in class.

Today I did and performed miserably.

Yesterday my school week was just beginning.

Today I am only one day away from the weekend - hallelujah!

* Note: "Yesterday" refers to Tuesday 1/25 and "today" refers to Wednesday 1/26, as I am writing this before going to sleep on my "Wednesday," even though it's technically Thursday. Got it? :)

MIA

Wow, haven't really done much posting in a while.

I'm not sure why. I think it might have to do with the fact that I'm intaking too many words from all this reading and my brain is too tired to be creative enough to spit something out. Big paper due at the start of February and nowhere near where I should be. Bored and burnt out with homework. Really nothing new.

I'll probably start posting at my regular rate (multiple times a day) when the work really heats up and I need my outlet. If you know me, you probably would have guessed that would happen. :)

But in the meantime, I have to mention one of the CNN.com articles I saw this afternoon, "Millions ready for China New Year." China New Year?? Who wrote that headline? (Probably the same person who wrote Tapei instead of Taipei in a headline in late December.) And it's just the headline - it's actually a Reuters article talking about Lunar New Year, but someone decided to call it China New Year over at CNN. And according to Reuters, this is the "world's biggest annual human migration." Human migration? Traveling to see family is migration?

And over on the TV side of the world, kudos to the Amazing Race for handling the leg in Sri Lanka in a very tasteful and classy way. It's really sad thinking about how someplace so lively and beautiful has changed so much in so little time.

Wed on TV --> Lost repeat/American Idol; Alias/Jack & Bobby. Go ABC!

Blowing Snow

That's the graphic from the Weather Channel for the current weather situation. "Blowing snow." I think it's pretty. :)

Of course, it's 18 degrees with a wind chill of zero, and it's been snowing since yesterday. Tonight, we actually get lake effect snow. Wheeeeee. Definitely a wintry weekend.

I was going to take a picture this afternoon as I looked out the window, thinking about how much it looked like a black and white picture, but by the time I got my camera, visibility had decreased and you couldn't even see out the window. Oh well.

Snowing Again

It's snowing right now! They're predicting 6-11 inches. I couldn't get a good picture of the "partially" plowed roadway (they plowed in a curve, so everyone's driving in a curve), but there's a drift on our window, over 30 floors up.


From a few days ago, a view of the lake. As of this morning, the entire lake was covered in white from yesterday's snowfall of a few inches. It's covered in a new layer of white now.


The river and lake, all icy.


How's your winter going?

Spongebob's Saga Continues

Oh puh-leeze. It's not enough that they have a President to try to manipulate, but now they're going after Spongebob Squarepants?

From the New York Times article titled, "Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge" (headline shows how ridiculous this is):

Spongebob "has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.""

"Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron."

My goodness.

Breakaway

The problem with virtually all the 3Ls having class at once is the parking lot is completely full. I almost didn’t get a spot and I got here over 10 minutes before class. I wonder if the problem is that 2Ls are illegally parking in the lot… but yeah, it’s packed at 4:00 on Thursdays. What a sad time to have class.

But there was a great mix of songs playing to help me along on my way to class. (I really didn’t want to go – I’m tired and it’s snowing.) I flipped back and forth between 2 stations, but here was the soundtrack from the garage to the parking lot:

• Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
• Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams
• Ingram Hill – Will I Ever Make It Home
• Meredith Brooks – Bitch
• The Calling – Our Lives
  

On the highway down to school, it was barely snow flurrying. But once I got to Hyde Park, it was full-force snowing, much more than before. Wheee for snow.

Older Than I Look

You Are 27 Years Old

27 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

What Age Do You Act?

Cacciatore

Testing out sending pictures from the new Picasa2 - not that it's very different but why not try it for fun? :)



This photo is of the chicken cacciatore at this Italian restaurant near my house called Buona Pasta. It's one of my favorite Italian places and from Tuesdays to Thursdays, they run a great dinner special. It's an appetizer (mmm, mussels), entree, dessert and glass of wine for less than $15. It's fantastic. Mmm mmm good.

Anyway, this is a useless post just so I can try out the new Picasa. Useless useless useless.

Cold Lesson Learned

When the wind is fiercely blowing around 30 mph and the temperatures with wind chill are at zero or below, when you get the chills in a heated room from being literally chilled to the bone from a hint of cold air, when it's so cold that after 20 minutes in a well-heated car inside fleece gloves your fingers are still frozen and colder than the steering wheel, when the winter wind has whipped your nose into a numb point and you're out of breath from battling the wind on the short walk from the school to the parking lot...

... that's the day you shouldn't forget your hat and scarf at home.

Boiler Rooms

In my securities reading, they're discussing boiler rooms and some examples of high pressure sales tactics. This excerpt from the case Varljen v. H.J. Meyers (1998) is particularly appalling:

"As negative reinforcement, for example, the managers subjected brokers who did not meet target sales to a ritual called the 'walk of shame,' wherein the broker was required to walk around the floor of the brokerage office while other brokers threw objects at him or her. In addition, brokers were subjected to the 'ten or ten' rule, meaning that they were required to make at least ten successful cold calls to sell __ stock, or to stay in the office until ten o'clock at night."

That's horrible! Could you imagine walking around a law firm and being pelted with objects because you didn't meet a billable hours target for the day or something like that? And the case is from 1998 - it's not that long ago! That must have been one toxic work atmosphere. *shudder*

Toilet Paper

You scored as over-dispensing toilet paper. That's right. You're over-dispensing toilet paper, the kind that dangles over the roll and is usually folded into a little triangle, like at hotels. You're generous and hospitable. People admire you for your emotional availability. And you don't mind if your friends need to unload on you every once in a while.

over-dispensing toilet paper		69%
under-dispensing toilet paper		63%
public restroom toilet paper		50%
quilted toilet paper		50%
paper napkins		44%
empty roll		38%
dead leaves		25%

what kind of TOILET PAPER are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Emeralds

You scored as Emerald. Positive yet caring, sensitive and simply divine, emerald-types have the qualities of a perfect friend. They value loyalty and inner contentment, and have time to stand by and listen when someone has a hardship to face. They also seem to have a good memory as well, as it is something the gems themselves promote. See All Results/Comment Emerald 77% Ruby 67% Garnet 60% Peridot 57% Aquamarine 53% Topaz 50% Athemyst 50% Celestite 43% Which Mystic Gem Stone Relates To You? created with QuizFarm.com

Euterpe

You scored as Euterpe. You are Euterpe, the muse of music. You are an inventor, and you constantly come up with new ideas. You are happy when everyone else is happy. Euterpe 69% Calliope 63% Erato 63% Urania 56% Melpomene 56% Polyhymnia 56% Thalia 50% Clio 50% Terpischore 44% Which of the Greek Muses are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Degrees

Here's what happens when you procrastinate on Friendster and have a weird ability for recalling names of people from your past. You randomly search for someone from high school. You realize, after accidentally clicking on one of their friends, that one of the faces in the friend's friend box looks familiar. You realize that this girl went to elementary school with you and goes to law school with this friend of a friend, and that said friend of a friend also has in his friend box someone you worked with over the summer who goes to the same law school. These connections should stop surprising me. Good night. :)

Korean Restaurant

Tonight Alvin and I went to dinner at a place called Korean Restaurant. Yup, that's the name. It was very good. All of the Korean restaurants I've been to in Chicago so far have been BBQ places - they're excellent, but I've never had a table without a charcoal grille on it. So it was time for a change.

We got the seafood pancake and then each got an order of bibimbop. Sooooo full. I'll definitely go back to the restaurant - it's inexpensive, the people are nice, the food is good, parking is available, it's 24 hours ... what's not to love?

Some pictures from dinner:

Hae mool pa-jun (seafood pancake) - it was huge!


Tofu bibimbop in the hot stone bowl and a bunch of panchan (Alvin's has beef)


At our table covered with delicious food!


Mmmmm. So full. :) Someone come visit me so we can go grab Korean food at 3 am. ;-)

Acapulco

My grandfather just left Acapulco, Mexico not too long ago. In Acapulco, it's 81 degrees, but feels like 82.

I'm in Chicago, Illinois. It's 10 degrees and it feels like -2.

I'd so much rather be in Acapulco right now, even reading the stuff for my paper, than suffering in the bitter cold. Brrr.

Nerdiness

Fresco

"Over lunch at Fresco by Scotto in Midtown yesterday, [Brian] Cashman said, he told [Randy] Johnson that he probably cost the Yankees two titles."
- From NYT

Two things came to mind after reading that quote:

• Why is the New York Times reporting where Cashman and Johnson went to lunch? Is that newsworthy? Or is it just to add some "flavor" to the sports piece?
• I've been to Fresco by Scotto and it was good!

I liked Fresco. It was the place that got me hooked on white bean dip. Mmmmm. And overall, just really yummy food. Mmmmm. Want to go back. Yum. :)

Dropping and Falling

Right now, it's 54 degrees. In early January! With a high of 57!

Tomorrow at this time, it's expected to be in the 20s.

And, even better, Friday it's supposed to hover around 0.

This is the type of weather that makes people get sick!

In other news, maybe you get more work done when you do your work not in front of the TV or the internet. What a revelation - you're more productive when you're not distracted! For that reason, I just spent the past 3 hours in my car - either reading or taking a nap (only ~30 minutes for the nap, the rest of the time I was productive). Productivity. Imagine that.

Class in half an hour. Woohoo Wednesdays!

News Stories

CLTV was just talking about sex ed for senior citizens. Now there's an image I'd prefer not to have over breakfast. *shudder*

They're Listening

You need to read this article from the New York Times, titled "Your Call (And Rants on Hold) Will be Monitored." It's so fascinating. I never knew people listened to you when you were on hold for customer service people! Granted, only 2% of calls get listened to, but did you ever know this was possible? I can only imagine the expletives that were spewing out of my mouth when I was on hold all those times with Comcast in the past... and the time they made me cry from sheer frustration and exhaustion...

Anyway, a snippet:

Most callers do not realize that they may be taped even while they are on hold.

It is at these times that monitors hear husbands arguing with their wives, mothers yelling at their children, and dog owners throwing fits at disobedient pets, all when they think no one is listening. Most times, the only way a customer can avoid being recorded is to hang up.

Read it! :)

Screech Stop

Around noon, I had this strange intense desire to rip my ears off from my head.

The law school got these new comfortable swivel chairs as part of the renovations. They're black, they move, and they're made of some mesh or fabric so that your butt doesn't hurt as much as they did on the old hard wooden chairs. Since we've had them since the renovation, that means we've had them for about, say, 4.5 or 5.5 months.

And all of a sudden - they're squeaking.

Loud. Grating. Squeaking. Squealing. Like nails on a chalkboard. Shivers on my spine. Want to tear my ears off. Grinding. Screeching. Disrupting class and making everyone go insane.

All of a sudden!

How did this happen? Was it the snow last week? But how could that make all the chairs go crazy? What happened?

It was the worst when class was over and everyone moved in their chairs at once. Ick.

And now I wonder if I'm hearing things. I'm alone in a classroom. When I swivel in my chair, it does not make noise (thankfully). But I keep hearing the screeching sound. I don't know if it's coming through the walls from the neighboring classrooms or through the ceiling from the room above. All I know is that it's relatively loud and sounds like it's coming from right next to me. But it's not. I know it's not.

They need to make the chairs stop screeching or I'm really going to lose my mind!

Maybe the chairs are making the noises all by themselves. After all, air does move right? Maybe there's some sort of pressure on them and they're making noises. Or maybe they're alive. But really, I hear the noises in this classroom and I'm the only one here. It's creepy!

Please fix the chairs!! The cacophony is really disrupting everyone's learning experience!

OC Escape

In the past 36 hours, I watched 10 hours of last season's The O.C. And last Thursday's episode. So 11 hours of The O.C. in 36 hours time. Not bad...

Except I should have been sleeping. Or doing work. Or something, instead of being jumpy and anxious and unable to sleep and using The O.C. as my anxiety release to make me feel better. But at least it does the trick. Nice happy shows. If that one didn't work, it was going to be on to the Jetsons or Sex and the City, or a happy movie like Clueless or Ferris Bueller.

I was supposed to be finished with my immigration reading by 2. It's 20 minutes late, and I'm not done yet. Boo to me!

Divisional

Woohoo, wild card weekend over and onto the divisional playoffs!

Who am I rooting for?

NFC
Rams-Falcons? Eh, I guess the Falcons, because I can't stand the Rams.
Vikings-Eagles? Vikings, no contest.

AFC
Jets-Steelers? I guess the Steelers. I was pretty impressed with them this year, and I've never been a Jets fan.
Colts-Patriots? Wah! I like both of these teams and wish the AFC title game was between these two instead. Sigh. Not really sure who I'm rooting for here, but whichever team wins this one is most likely the one I'm rooting for to take the whole thing.

I know I'm "supposed to" root for the NFC in the end since I'm a Giants fan, but I can't do that without considering what teams are in it, according to my personal ranking. I haven't worked out the personal rankings in a while (since college, I guess) but here's a vague estimation of where the teams fall by tier.

Tier 1 is for the teams I like, Tier 2 is for the teams I sort of like, Tier 3 is neutral - I don't really care necessarily, Tier 4 I kind of don't like but don't really hate, and Tier 5 is reserved for teams I really just don't like.

So where do the teams fall?

Rams-Falcons? Rams are solidly Tier 5, Falcons are a high 4 (closer to 3 than 5). So it makes sense that I'm rooting for the Falcons.

Vikings-Eagles? Vikings are Tier 1, Eagles are (obviously) Tier 5. Easy easy.

Jets-Steelers? Jets are a low 4... they used to be solidly 5, but my hate has eased for no particular reason. Maybe being back on the East Coast would push them back into 5, but right now they're a low 4. Steelers are 3. So I guess I'm rooting for the Steelers here. They used to be in 4, but like I said, I've been pretty impressed by them this year, so my dislike has lessened significantly.

Colts-Patriots? Both Tier 1. :( What to do, what to do! Just hope for a good game, I guess... but I don't want them to be too tired for the next week. So I guess maybe I should hope that Jets-Steelers is an even harder-fought game. ;-)

Within Tier 1, I like the Colts and Patriots better than the Vikings, so that game will determine who I root for from here on. May the best team win (it all)!

Vermilion

Tonight, Alvin and I went to an excellent dinner for our anniversary at a restaurant called Vermilion. The food was excellent. The concept draws on both Indian and Latin American recipes, and there are both tapas and entrees. There were so many good things to try - my only regret was that I couldn't try more! There's a more detailed entry with more pictures on my photoblog, so if you want to see more, go there.



Five spice scallops appetizer - it was so yummy:


Tandoori tilapia filets - also really really good:


Lobster Portuguese entree:


Rajastan (sp?) chicken curry entree - this was really good!




Vermilion Hedonism dessert - the molten chocolate cake was perfect and the fruit was so good:


Orange bread pudding:


Photoblog has more pictures - this is just a sampling. Food was excellent, and I highly recommend the restaurant. There was so much more I wanted to try! Like the empanadas or the ceviche or the tuna.... mmmmm. Our server was also excellent. Alvin made a good choice. :)

Mad Mad World

Yum. We're having a really healthy dinner tonight - Italian baked salmon, stirfried Asian vegetables and couscous. Yay for healthy food!

Haven't done much today. A little bit of reading, but my efforts at getting any work done all weekend have largely been futile. I think I'm so exhausted from this first week of school, and that doesn't make any sense! I can't be tired already - the marathon's only just beginning.

So what have I done? The ballet workout this morning. Then watched the second half of Back to the Future: Part II on TBS. Lunch was Lean Cuisine, so that was simple in the microwave. Then I did some reading while watching It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, since there was nothing on TV and I was getting frustrated with channel surfing (I can't stand it). But I fell asleep after the intermission despite my best efforts to stay up - it wasn't that the movie was boring, it was actually pretty amusing... I just couldn't keep my eyes open for anything and then I got underneath a down blanket and I think we can all figure out what happened next.

I'm in the mood to bake a cake and watch a(nother) movie, but I don't think it's going to happen. For one, we have no eggs. So I think no baking will be done. Boohoo! :(

Oh well. Off to do ... something...

Upcoming

Wow, going through all the trailers on Apple that I haven't seen took awhile. But here's a list of the movies that I might want to see or that I currently think are interesting (from IMDB and Apple trailers). Let me know what you think of any of them!

Out now (in no particular order): Merchant of Venice, The Aviator, Closer, Finding Neverland, Sideways, Phantom of the Opera, House of Flying Daggers, Kinsey, Meet the Fockers

1/14: Elektra (action movies are good + Jennifer Garner), The Chorus (looks like a good movie)

1/21: Are We There Yet (maybe)

1/28: Aliens of the Deep (trailer looks interesting)

2/4: The Wedding Date (cute), Assisted Living (interesting, not sure what I think of it yet)

2/11: Hitch (funny), Ong-bak (yay martial arts), Imaginary Heroes (description sounds good but don't know what it is? Haven't seen a trailer), Bride and Prejudice (cute), Schultze Gets the Blues (looks sweet and amusing)

2/18: Because of Winn-Dixie (awwww)

3/4: The Pacifier (trailer amused me)

3/11: Robots (yay!), The Upside to Anger (looks like it could be heartwarming)

3/18: Ice Princess (doesn't look like a really great movie but I like ice skating and always end up watching teen movies)

3/25: Miss Congeniality 2 (sequel looks like it might have some promise and I love the original), Guess Who (looks amusing)

4/1: Sin City (I have no idea what to think of the movie based on the trailer)

4/8: Unleashed (looks intriguing)

4/22: The Interpreter (also looks intriguing)

4/29: XXX-State of the Union (looks like it could be decent)

5/6: Kingdom of Heaven (looks good + has Orlando Bloom), Monster-in-law (Michael Vartan haha), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (wonder if it's any good)

5/13: Kicking and Screaming (looks very amusing)

5/20: Star Wars Episode III (sort of a "have to see" movie, but I'm not going to camp out like some Seattle guy is now)

6/10: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (interesting, action movies are good)

6/17: Batman Begins (of course, it's Batman!)

Sometime during the summer: Madagascar (looks good)

7/1: War of the Worlds (to be expected), Fantastic Four (haven't seen a trailer, didn't think it would be done by July, but IMDB has it listed)

7/8: Bewitched (I don't know how I feel about this being a movie since I love the TV show, but we'll see)

7/15: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the story + Johnny Depp = yes)

7/22: Wedding Crashers (amusing but probably really bad)

7/29: Elizabethtown (Orlando Bloom - otherwise I know nothing else about the movie except what I've read in US Weekly's gossip pages)

8/23: Pink Panther (I love Steve Martin)

11/4: Chicken Little (hee!)

6/9/06: Cars (I watch all Pixar movies)

Leave your opinions!

Panorama

Uh oh. I've had my camera for almost 8 months and I just figured out program mode. (Although I still haven't fully figured out panorama...) I've been distracted for the past half hour or so practicing instead of getting the day started. Oops. This is what I get for noticing where my camera manual has been hiding, while I was doing tae bo.

Anyway, because of this new development, I need to be a little more disciplined than I am right now! It's 1:30. Here's how I want the rest of the afternoon to play out:

1:30-2:30: Shower and lunch
2:30-3:30: Read cases for paper
3:30-4:00: Read for class
4:00-5:00: Read for class, watch Angel
5:00-6:00: Read for class, watch Charmed
6:00-7:00: Read for class, watch Law and Order

Yeah, as disciplined as someone like me can be. :) Someone who was getting tired last night and should have gone to sleep but then got a second wind and watched Mean Girls and most of House Arrest. Oh well. Off to take a shower!

Icy Tracks

I dreaded the commute to school this morning.

I figured that the highway and the downtown streets would be clear, but based on past experience, I had my doubts about whether the Hyde Park streets and walkways around the school would be cleared of the snow.

The Hyde Park streets were pretty clear. But as soon as you hit school property? Nope.

The radio said that this winter storm was the worst Chicago has had in 2 years. You would think that a law school of all places would know better than to leave the walkways and parking lots covered with ice and snow.

Nah.

They plowed part of the parking lot. The aisles, namely. So if you wanted to drive into and out of, and around the parking lot, you would have no problem whatsoever. If you wanted to park, have fun driving over the 4-5 inch layer of snow covering all the parking spots. Really smart.

This post sounded more interesting when I was thinking about it during the school day. But now that it's late and I'm getting sleepy and watching Mean Girls, it sounds not so interesting. Oh well. Getting sleepy. Time to sign off!

O'Hare Mania

O'Hare delays are SO much worse than Midway. From FlightArrivals.com:

Due to snow, Midway delays are 16-30 minutes and increasing.

With greater visibility, similar winds, similar temperature, and similar "light snow" (yeah, right), O'Hare delays for some arriving flights are averaging 6 hours and 33 minutes.

O'Hare's traffic management program sucks. ;-)

I know, I know, it's airport size. But still. That's a 6 hour difference! Maybe I should only fly from Midway from now on...

Snow Forecasts and Raisinets

When I woke up this morning, the DJ on the radio said that the forecast was for snow. Flurries in the morning, stopping during the work day, and then towards the end of the work day, heavy snow.

I was not happy with the forecast. I have class until 6, which means I'd be leaving right about the time that "heavy snow" is expected.

Well, forecast was wrong.

It's snowing pretty heavily right now. So heavily that between the time I went to my car to get lunch and the time I went back into the school building 40 minutes later, all the footsteps that were in the snow had been completely covered with snow. So heavily that all the cars that were parked in the lot for the 9:45 class period were thoroughly covered in snow by the time I pulled into the lot around 10:50. I'm dreading walking back out into the snow at 6. I'm sure it won't have stopped by then, but I just hope it hasn't gotten too much worse.

It hasn't stopped snowing since 9 or 10 last night! Winter storm for sure this is.

Just checked the Weather Channel. No longer under a heavy snow advisory, we are under a heavy snow warning until 6 am tomorrow. The heaviest snow is supposed to be from 6 until midnight, expected accumulation around 6-10 inches, and "snow should taper off to snow showers" early Thursday morning.

Umm... someone smart, please tell me the difference between snow and snow showers? Is it big flakes as opposed to the ones that land like rain? Help! I'm distracted from dealers and market makers because I'm pondering big questions of meteorology!

Back to reading and my Raisinets. I suppose there's no sense in dwelling on the weather since it's going to be "heavy snow" until sometime tomorrow. Heavy heavy heavy snow.

My First Snow

In the span of less than a week, it has gone from above-average temperatures and April-like weather on the cusp of spring (last Thursday) to a dark and snowy night (now). Let it snow, let it snow.

I was in the school today from 10:45 am to 10:15 pm. That has got to be the record for the most consecutive hours I have spent in the school building my entire third year. Now, I know that may not be a lot for some people that choose to spend more waking hours there, but this is me we're talking about here. I go to school for my classes and leave. No lingering around. Unfortunately this quarter it seems like I'll be putting in solid 11-6 days Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Now I know that also doesn't seem like much to you working people, but 11-6 in the school building and I'm three times more tired that I ever would be from being at work from 11-6. I don't get it. Maybe it's something in the air. Or maybe a chemical in the wall or something that causes mental exhaustion.

Off to tackle a crazy large amount of reading for tomorrow. I'd rather go take pictures of the night's snowfall, but alas. I don't even have time to watch my tape of the Amazing Race. :(

* PLUG: WATCH ALIAS TOMORROW!! *

Back to securities. :)

Drizzle Drizzle

How is a freezing drizzle advisory different from a freezing rain advisory? I know drizzle and rain vary in intensity, but if they're both frozen, what's the difference? Isn't drizzle just a type of rain? Can someone smarter help me understand this?

Anyway, we're supposedly under a frozen drizzle advisory right now. Whatever that means. I think I just like typing the word drizzle. Drizzle drizzle drizzle. It sounds funny. And for whatever reason, it's making me think of artificial grape scent. My brain is wired strangely.

Okay, my frozen drizzle advised brain will now go back to scienter and manipulation. Wheee.

Slick Seventy

This is probably the expected effect, but I've noticed that since I've gotten back to Chicago my hair has less flyaways and is not as staticky as it was in NY where I did not have a humidifier. I guess it does work. I'll put up with its noisiness in exchange for not batting at my face every 5 seconds because there's hair stuck to it.

But since it's kind of loud, I think I might shut it off on Wednesday during Lost and Alias. No interruptions... well, except making dinner, I suppose.

Wow, snow shut down I-5? Southern California getting tons of rain? The Southwest keeps getting forecasts for snow? The Weather Channel guy is so funny - he was standing in front of the map and put his hands to his head in sort of a "what is the world coming to" expression. I was amused.

Haha. And they have the interstate numbers bounce off each other before they land on the corresponding road on the map under the title "Slick Seventy." I wonder if they only do this during the nighttime show.

Yeah, I know. WORK. I'm going back to it now.

Peru

I don't know why I think it's interesting, but I do. There's apparently a Peru, Illinois on the Weather Channel map of the state on the TV right now, somewhere near Peoria. This isn't anything earth-shattering, that there's some town named Peru, but I just never knew before and thought I would share. This is coming from someone who used to watch the Weather Channel a lot because it's calming and easy to work to when you have stuff to do. I've never noticed a Peru, Illinois before. It must be a relatively new addition. (To the map, not the state, silly!)

I am not looking forward to the upcoming weather. 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow night when I have a late meeting (and then still have to do work, *sniff*), snow to wintry mix on Wednesday (long day of classes, *sniff*), and then snow showers on Thursday (late classes again, *sniff*). Why did the snow showers have to be predicted for all the days I'm stuck in Hyde Park when it's dark? It couldn't snow instead on the days in which I spend the day in my toasty downtown apartment and don't have to drive anywhere and clean my car? Just kidding. About the cleaning the car thing, not about the snow showers only coming on the days I have class. Oh well, that's winter. Cold cold cold and snow snow snow.

Wednesdays

My midweek break point this quarter will be Wednesday nights. I love how that aligns perfectly with Lost and Alias to give me a perfect break. Once things get into full swing in February, I'll have 1 class on Monday (but not till Feb.), 4 classes on Tuesday, and 2 on Wednesday (but one is like a double time session). I think I have 3 classes on Thursday, but still... Wednesday nights, I will be a happy girl.

That was a confusing paragraph. Short version: Wednesday night = good. Tuesday and Wednesday class days = hard. Thursday night = extra good.

And me = needs to go back to work.

Sort Selling

Oops. In the section on short selling, the book wrote "sort selling" at the start of one paragraph. I could genuinely be confused by this! Bad book!

And with the start of the new school quarter comes the return of short, useless and constant blog posts. Didn't you miss them?

Problems

The problem with homework is that I don't know when I'm ever going to find the time to write my paper. And this time - I really have to get it done. By the beginning of February. It's going to be a dreary dreary January...

Adding On

Doing homework for school tomorrow. Already too much to do, too little time.

But it's time to add on to the TV schedule! There are new midseason shows this week and season premieres of (long-awaited) returning shows. So here's the line-up for the week, either being taped or watched:

Today (Mon 1/3)
8:30: Two and a Half Men
9:00: Medium (series premiere/pilot)

Tues 1/4
8:00: Amazing Race

Wed 1/5
7:00: Lost
8:00: Alias (2 hr season premiere)

Thurs 1/6
7:00: The O.C.
8:00: CSI? Something...
9:00: Medium (another new episode)

Sun 1/9
7:00: 24 (2 hour season premiere)
8:00: Desperate Housewives
9:00: Boston Legal (Candice Bergen!)/Crossing Jordan (someone gets shot!)

Mon 1/10
7:00: 24 (another new 2 hours!)
9:00: Medium

Please please please check out Alias and 24... If you didn't watch Alias before and are worried about jumping into a new show, don't be. They're redoing it to make it accessible to new viewers and since they're hoping to pick up a lot of Lost viewers, you won't be behind or anything. And if you've never watched 24, it's just 4 hours over 2 days. If you don't like it, stop watching, but a 4 hour "mini-series" is such an easy way to give it a chance.

Anyway :)

Back to manipulation and securities and all that good stuff.

For Jerry

I thought it was a really nice touch to just simply say "For Jerry" at the end of tonight's new episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

In other TV news, I watched about 4 episodes of TNT's Law and Order marathon, then CI and Crossing Jordan (I really liked it today). Tomorrow is the debut of Medium. Let's see what it's really like, since the NBC promos suck.

Back to work. I can't believe it's January 2nd and I'm doing homework. Too soon, too soon.

Happy New Year!