college: the three year try

What words make you giggle (no matter how old you are)? 
Submitted by Margurette.  

Words referencing sex in casual conversation even though though they shouldn't (I'm certainly no longer a blushing virgin).  Also, the Spanish words for luggage and unfortunately: equipaje and desafortunadamente.  They're not funny words, but I just love the way they sound and always end up smiling when I say them even though luggage and 'unfortunately' aren't funny topics.  They get me every time and I always end up giggling and having someone roll their eyes at me.

Oh Spanish, I miss you.  I wish I hadn't been pushed into Spanish 309 starting college.  Maybe we would have continued our long, tumultuous relationship if only I could have dropped down to 209.  No one really needs to know your 14 verb tenses.  Only 2-3 are really required to live/travel in a Spanish speaking country.  Maybe I'll brush up on you once I no longer have to worry about my GPA and transfer credits.

What item(s) do you have to prevent yourself from buying at the grocery store? 
Submitted by Places Unknown.

1. Doritos Spicier Nacho Chips
2. Italian Sub from the Publix Deli
3. Chocolate Candy from the candy aisle (there's far too much and it goes far too quickly)
4. Cookies
5. Sweet Tea

I've been well...not unable...but more like unwilling to blog for the past two months.  The semester geared up after spring break and then LSAT classes kicked in and I just haven't had time for anything.  Finals just ended though, so I'll have more time on my hands.  I take the LSAT June 11th and start a history internship for the summer here in Columbia on the 4th (I'm going to see if I can ease in that first week until I've taken the test and no longer have to worry about it).  I'm planning a fitness and weight loss program for the summer as I've been taking my body for granted for about the same time I haven't been blogging.  It's time to get back on track.  I just went outlet shopping yesterday for some nice business clothes and I plan to be fit and trim when I arrive in Scotland in September.  I'm going to be hiking all over Edinburgh between classes, pub hopping, and the parliamentary internship so I might as well gear up now and get in shape.  It'll save me a lot of pain in the fall.

It's good to be able to breathe again now that the stress of the semester is over.  I'll know by the end of the week if I managed to keep my GPA pristine.  It looks good so far so I'm hoping.

If money were no object, which five luxury items would you rush right out and buy? 
Submitted by lorilyn.

1. A Tiffany Charm Bracelet in gold with a palm tree, cupcake, shopping bag, and tiffany charm.
2. Marc Jacobs shoes.
3. A day-long spa treatment appointment for the day after I take my LSATs
4. A personal trainer to get my ass into gear in terms of working out.
5. I don't know if I can think of another.  Maybe something for my roommate, she's really into this luxury stuff.

When do you file your taxes?  Do you do it yourself or get outside help?

Turbo Tax is fantastic.  I filed my taxes about a month ago and got $800 back from the government because I make very little money when I do work and I only worked last summer.  I love that pretty much everything withheld from my paycheck comes back to me at this stage, although I'm sure that when I actually graduate and have a career I'll be annoyed by owing so much in taxes.  Eh.

What's one family recipe that you wish you knew how to cook?

My mom's potato salad.  It supposedly comes from Europe and has bacon, potatoes (obviously), egg, and mayo in it.  That's all that I know about, but there is definitely more.  If I had to live off of one food for the rest of my life, this would be it and for it to beat chocolate, you know it has to be good.  Yum.  I really, desperately want some now.

What's the best way to get on your good side?
Submitted by Manon-It-All.

Be smart, but not an ass.  Offer food, but not terrible stuff, and buy me a drink, but don't be the skeeze at the bar.  Pretty much in that order.

So, I did volunteer with team Hillary yesterday (and had tests in a class that afternoon and one this morning, which is why I'm only updating now).  They were nice and I got to do fun stuff like crowd control and be a mike runner (she did questions after her speech, so if she pointed at someone near me then I had to run the mike to them so that they could be heard for TV).  I liked her stump speech, and it covered the normal Hillary Clinton themes; health care, education, and getting the hell out of Iraq.  Hers was actually more interesting than Obama's because he's forced to introduce himself everywhere he goes on the campaign trail.  His name recognition and ideas aren't near universal like Hillary's are, so he spends a lot more time telling his life story than he can really talking about policy.  Also, apparently, according to Slate's other article about his trip through SC, we was much better on day two in Orangeburg, which is good.  I agree with the article that he should end his speeches with the "Yes we can" chant and then depart like a rockstar.  I think he's phenomenal at speaking in general, and really engaging a room, but I also think Hillary's speaking skills are underestimated.  I expected her to be terrible based on all the bad press she's gotten about them, but she was pretty savvy herself. 

I'm impressed with them both and am definitely looking forward to Edwards visiting soon so that I can have a comparison of the the only three democrats with a shot at the nomination.  Honestly though, if I had to vote right now, I'd vote for Obama.  I just feel like Hillary won't do enough to get us out of the mess we're in with Iraq while he will do a lot more.  I'm also a little worried about the fact that she's being stubborn about her Iraq vote.  I know she doesn't want to be accused of being a flip-flopper, but honestly, if the dems are smart, they'll stick that label on whatever Republican wins the nomination.  They can hit McCain for suddenly courting the Christian coalition after so harshly calling them out in 2000 and Romney because he's completely changed his social positions in less than a decade.  Honestly, I'm not sure Giuliani will make it out of the nomination fight alive because he's a social liberal, supporting civil unions and abortion, which is not going to go over well with the conservatives in SC.  I also don't know if he has a chance, especially as McCain has brought on the same advertising team Bush had when the attack ads came out in SC in 2000 alleging that McCain had a half-black, illegitimate child with a hooker (or something along those lines) and cost McCain the state (and consequently, the nomination).

For a reaction to Hillary's speech, read The Fix, from the Washington Post.  I'm also in a good mood/coming down off of a political high because I met the guy who blogs it (well, went looking for him at the end because I knew he'd be at the speech), Chris Cillizza.  I'm addicted to The Fix, so I was thrilled.

I'm also really excited about this summer.  I'm hoping to either intern on capitol hill or with someone's campaign headquarters down here.  It should be great.  Well, I won't wait for the summer to intern if it's down here, just until the campaign office opens in Columbia.

I'm kind of tired of my family endlessly comparing me to my sister and thinking that we're somehow the same when we're really not.  Yes, I am very close with Kate and I visit her monthly, have a great time, and consider her my best friend.  She's the one I call with break-ups and horrible experiences.  However, I don't know of anyone who is a carbon copy of their sibling.  We clearly have different interests as she's in med school and I'm hoping to go to law school.  Yet, while this is obvious to the rest of my family, the clear differences in our personalities seem to escape their grasps.

Well, I guess to get specific, that I'm referring to my father's grasp.  Kate is very altruistic.  She's perfectly willing to do family medicine with immigrants and live a happy, decent, middle class life where she's satisfied and doesn't need money.  I don't work that way.  I am inherently a selfish bitch.  I want a great lifestyle.  I was raised upper-middle class and I won't lie, I don't want to lose that life style, if anything, I want to move further up the class ladder.  I want to be able to earn money, spend money, and basically just be a shallow individual.  Of course, I will take cases pro bono or work for constituents and pass laws for them in whatever way possible (I have no idea what I'm going to do with my law degree), but I want to live well.  I don't want to penny-pinch and be that nice.  In fact, I don't think I can be.  I have recognized this major personality flaw within myself, yet no one else seems to in my family.  Kate is encouraging me to go to Columbia and try and get into law school for free there because if you pledge yourself to public service and indigent defense, you can.  I'm sorry, but I am not that good of a person.  I couldn't handle it.  I would go nuts, knowing that I have a fancy, prestigious law degree and I'm not earning bundles of money with it.

I'm bring this up now because I just talked with my dad.  I'm hoping that maybe I can intern on Capitol Hill this summer, but he's telling me that I shouldn't commit because maybe some 4th cousin he knows will come through with a possible job opportunity where I can volunteer with a group that does indigent defense.  He's telling me that working with them will look better on my law school application than working on Capitol Hill, because everyone works on the Hill and politicians aren't known as good people.  I DON'T CARE.  Politics is my passion.  My sister has pointed out before that I just light up when I start talking about political tactics and current events in a way I don't at any other time.  This is my point.  I'm sorry family, world, whoever else is a good person and will now condescend to me, but I'm not my sister and not willing to work for the greater good through my own self-sacrifice as a way of scrimping out a living.   Honestly, I think most people that will probably condescend to me because of this viewpoint aren't truly willing to either.  I just wish people would stop assuming I'm that kind of person and inevitably end up disappointed when they realize that I too am only human, and am very happy to be so.

Ok, maybe now I won't call my dad back and yell at him like I desperately want to.  The urge is still there, though.

So, a new look for the blog because I'm bored and DESPERATELY want to go to the beach.  I can't wait for Spring Break because we're going to go, but honestly, I want to go right now.  I'm craving palm trees, sun, and sand.  Ahhh!  Come on Carolina, warm up.  I seriously think I'm going to spend like a week at the beach following my LSATs (they're on June 11th, which means I won't even be able to enjoy my birthday, ugh).  I think I'll just take a warm Friday in April and go then too, because I really want me some beach.  No classes (LSAT or regular ones), and hopefully I can take Laura and we can just chill.  Seriously, I really want to go to the beach.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to own a condo near Charleston/Hilton Head when I'm older.  It'll be fantastic!