Well the week after Selection Sunday was terribly busy. Let's get a recap!
Early in the week I pored over brackets and lounged around...NOT! As usual I made my first impression picks before I heard all the pundits talking for 3 days about the bracket and those picks are up on southerncollegesports.com. (Of course that bracket is doing far better than the 2 I pored over Wednesday night, proves impulse better than over-thinking things). Also as expected, Kelley is doing far better than any of my brackets, and if the "chalk" keeps winning for her then she has a big shot at winning big money in the law school pool. More on that later.
I finished up a couple last final reads for Issue 3, and I think the JDR year is about over. I also had the joy of getting car insurance...yay! But now we are covered for anothe 3 or 6 months...and it is much cheaper for me than insuring myself without Kelley. Also in the mail this week was an official state notice requiring me to prove I had insurance on March 12. My insurance changed companies six months from my birthday on 3/15. If I do not send them a copy of my old Progressive insurance card (now with Nationwide), my license or my truck registration gets suspended. Now I'm not one to throw away paperwork, so all I have to do is go to Kinko's and make a copy. But still, is this "random verification" process necessary when people get busted all the time for no insurance when they are pulled over? More needless paperwork and a waste of my time. Thanks to you Ohio, thanks to you.
We are currently 2 weeks behind on Lost (which we will be able to catch online as usual) and we missed this week's 24 for the first time ever. I hope to find it online somewhere as I do not want to read the summary alone. I have to see if Charles Logan died in person damnit! What a beautiful episode 2 weeks ago, even if they brought back the AWFUL Logan family background noise from Season 5...it sounds like a violin screeching quietly in the background, makes me want to scream. I really think this season is finally looking up, but last week's episode might have been a stinker. Anyone know where I can find 24? Lost on the other hand may be good or may be terrible. At least the storyline is going somewhere with Kate, Locke, and Sayid tromping through the woods to get Jack back. We shall see.
The end of last week was strange, as I guess I was not really done with the semester rush until spring break. I worked endlessly and late nights all that week on my JDR Note final draft and grading final ME exams. I got all the work done around 5 PM Friday and sent grades in and dropped off the JDR Note (8 copies of 36 page paper equals way too much money printing the stupid paper). I actually think I have a decent chance to get published because my footnotes are much better than most on journal (I'm guessing but final reads make you a little good at FN'ing) and I have a great topic. It is recent, it is relevant, and JDR has shown a tendency to publish articles on patent law in the past. No big deal if it is not, but after all that effort it would be nice. Guess we'll see in 3 weeks at the JDR banquet. Exams were blah as usual, but it's money.
One final note before spring break began. The March Madness of law school bowling had its Sweet 16 last week, and here's how it all played out:
(1) Pin Pals LOST TO (16) Bring Clovis Back [Bill Browne's team, 5-1 against us this season]
(2) Enlightening Strikes [professors] DEF. (15) The Kittens [Brandon Middleton et al]
(3) She Said She Was 18 [Spangler's team] LOST TO (14) Pinning the Blame [Will Collins, Derek Heyman, etc]
(4) MFR Minus Judas [US!] DEF (13) Alley Cats [Krystle Myers and 3L girls]
(5) Penal Servitude [Bart, Avonte, Christie] DEF (12) Team 13
(6) Split Happens LOST TO (11) Jim and the Holograms
(7) Bubb Rubb Law LOST TO (10) Elvis Lives
(8) Motion to Strike LOST TO (9) Imwinklereids [Larry Lanham et al]
This leaves us with an interesting mix of teams. The (2) seed is the professors, always a strong bet. Our division has three teams left after losing Spangler's team to random upset as is the norm in law school bowling playoffs. The champions of the league since we joined law school have been:
1. 1L autumn: Life in the Slow Lane - Shariq, Rich, etc. from our 1L class (2008).
2. 1L spring: Bring Clovis Back - Bill Browne from the 2007 class.
3. 2L autumn: She Said She Was 18 - Phil Spangler's team from class of 2008.
So our class seems pretty dominant in bowling and we again have quite a few contenders to keep the crown. The class of 2008 will make it 3 for 4 if any of the following teams win: MFR Minus Judas, Penal Servitude, Imwinkelreids, Pinning The Blame. That's half the teams left. I like our chances.
We personally bowled a good game and a mediocre game, but we won both games by about 30. Daniel carried us with a 110 game one, so props to him for carrying us to the Elite 8. The bowling playoffs are usually re-seeded every round, so we should be playing against (14) Pinning the Blame, Derek and Will Collins' team. If they keep the original bracket then we will bowl against (5) Penal Servitude, Bart/Avonte/Christie's team. I'm hoping for the former as I do not think Will and Derek will have another amazing week (they needed it to knock out Spangler's team last week). At least if we bowl against our division rival, Bart's average is up to 175 now which is his realistic average...the first time we played them he had a 140 average. Always tough to play the good teams, so looking to avoid the professors and Penal Servitude as long as possible.
We always lose in the Elite 8 though, so maybe all this jibber-jabber is irrelevant. I still think the class of 2008 is taking aboth title though. We dominate bowling.
Finally, spring break arrives and I have nothing law school related to do! Hoo-ray! But still absurdly busy until today. Friday night was Tom and Heather's wedding rehersal. Heather refused to walk down the aisle or take part in the rehersal because he aunt told her it was bad luck, so Tom was saying his vows to Craig's girlfriend instead (Craig is Heather's brother). Very weird and her aunt must be psycho because nobody at the rehersal including the pastor had ever heard of such a thing. IT'S A DAMN REHERSAL...which by definition means YOU GET UP THERE AND WALK THROUGH IT. What a farce. Kelley and I were running 5 minutes late due to traffic because they started at 6 PM across town, and Tom called 4 times during the 20 minute trip to find out where we were. Jeez, LOL! We got through the rehersal and dinner was at Don Pablo's. Kelley and I had never been there before and it's pretty good Mexican eats. Any time you get a fully paid meal (margaritas and all) from someone else it's a good time. My only complaint was at the beginning. We were the first carload there and the hostess directs us into the party room where we are having the rehersal dinner. Everything is set up so we get ready to sit down and a couple of servers come in and shoo us out of the room because "it's not ready yet." So everyone else shows up and we are all jammed into the waiting area for 15 minutes...and for what you ask? To put salsa and chips on the table. That's it. It took them 15 minutes to do that one thing because everything else was set to go. Why in the world it was so important to shoo us into a cramped waiting room for 15 minutes to do something all other mexican restaurants do after you get to the table....it just baffles me.
Friday night the groomsmen staying at my place played Castle Risk and watched NCAA basketball. I was knocked out by Shep in an interesting gambit and then inexplicably Chris Owen handed Tom the game by suicide attacking Shep down right before Tom's turn so that Tom could take them both out easily. Craziness. The next morning each of them showered and got ready before we all headed out to the Mariott where the whole thing was held. We got into our tuxedos while I listened to the OSU-Xavier game on my personal radio (we had no TV and the closest one was in the hotel bar). OSU was doing terrible and I kept giving the guys updates. They finally call us for pictures right in the last 3-4 minutes of the OSU game, which was irritating because that's when the OSU comeback happened. I had the earbud in right up until I had to take it out to take pictures (which by the way happened while Xavier was at the free throw line trying to ice the game after Oden's hard foul with 10 seconds left). I just presumed we were done but I put the earbud back into my ear just in time to hear the call of the ridiculous 3 to send it to overtime after Xavier choked on the free throw. The pictures wrapped up and all the guys went to the bar to watch overtime (which OSU dominated). Then it was back into wedding mode as it was about half an hour to showtime. No big surprises in the wedding and reception, except that now that I've met Allison (Heather and Craig's sister who was maid of honor and is pregnant w/o boyfriend)...she is such a trip :-) Their families are pretty redneck, so some relative showed up in a Hoodie and jeans and apparently this was dressed up to him. Whatever. I just like Tom did not give the best toast ever and was surprisingly a little nervous because the DJ decided to do the toast RIGHT AFTER WE SAT DOWN after coming in the room for the reception. So much for thinking it over a little bit. Oh well. The DJ was the worst wedding DJ I've ever met, and the photographer was a joke. Thankfully Kelley wore multiple hats during the day to save the day: photographer (I'm guessing she gets more good shots than the photographer), musician (played piano for ceremony), seamstress (Chris's tux had pants legs about 4 inches different from each other and she fixed that last minute), and Dr. Phil (she talked to Connie who was about the dump Chris and his stuff on the street and apparently saved their relationship somehow). Amazing work Kelley, amazing work. I hope they have a LONG RELAXING honeymoon because they need it.
Kelley hosted two of her piano lesson families for a recital at our apartment Sunday afternoon. Busy times preparing for and cleaning afterwards (as well as entertaining the three young boys by playing Wii Sports with them while the "adults" chatted upstairs). So we finally get on the road to Philadelphia at 8:30, 2 and a half hours later than plan. I only made it to about 1 AM and somewhere in Pennsylvania before I had to give up the wheel to Sarah. A few uncomfortable hours of sleep/non-sleep later, we arrive in Philly. Monday we packed up a lot of the smaller stuff in her 1 bedroom apartment and went out to IKEA and an Irish Pub for dinner. IKEA is a great store, we need one in C-bus. We had set the TV to tape 24, but the odd daylight savings time switch wrecked that plan and we missed it as said above. Sadness! Tuesday we picked up the Uhaul downtown, had to drive to another Uhaul place to pick up a dolly we did not want or need, and then back to the apartment. We loaded the major furniture and got all that done by around 3. We then went downtown to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Nice to see these things live and the place where the US Supreme Court first began doing "justice" 200 years ago. We then grabbed a Cheesesteak from Jim's (famous place in Philly) and it wasn't bad with a good Cheese Whiz instead of crappy swiss/provolone. We for some unthinkable reason walked all the way back to Sarah's apartment, stopping in the middle of the University of Penn and Drexel U area to get Auntie Anne's pretzels. Based on city blocks, I think we walked 5 miles. So Sore! Wednesday we woek up early, got the Uhaul packed up the rest of the way, and finally hit the road around 3. We stopped for gas at the last exit before the Penn turnpike and decided to eat in the biggest mall I've seen since the Mall of America (this is the King of Prussia mall). We had to walk to the other end of the mall which does not sound like much but it was like a mile from one end to the other. We could've went to the Lone Star steakhouse outside the mall and wasted less time. But oh well. So we get on the road again around 6 and do not get into Columbus till around 1 AM. I was pretty beat after driving the Uhaul and 3 days of moving/walking long distances. Kelley gets rewarded with 3 full days of work Thursday-Saturday, so I helped Sarah unload the Uhaul and get all the major furniture where it is going in the apartment. We really are stretching to fit a third person in, but it's a good thing financially. I just hate moving (who doesn't) but at least it gave me something to do for 4 days of spring break not-law related.
Met with the moot court team last night. We will probably do OK, but I'm not too confident. Hoping that if we make Saturday's playoffs (16 teams out of 32), we lose early enough to wander into a sports bar somewhere in time to see the OSU game, that is if they make the Final 4. You have to wonder after winning 2 games in a row we had no business winning (Xavier in OT after being down by 9 with 4 minutes left, Tennessee last night after bring down by 20 at halftime). Of course our Elite 8 opponent also was lucky to win last night against the "home" team Texas A&M in San Antonio. I'm happy we don't have to play the Aggies, but Memphis is pretty much exactly like OSU with a little less talent (both 33-3, both of us on 20+ game winning streaks). Saturday at 4:40 PM should be interesting!
If we do not make Saturday playoffs next week in NYC at all, I think we are going to Ground Zero and maybe something else in the city. I just want to see OSU play in the Final 4 if at all possible, as that does not happen very often.
So a short week this week as we leave Thursday for Seton Hall U and the competition. We'll see if I manage to update sometime before then. If not, have a good week and GO BUCKS!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Happy Selection Sunday!
Well I promised some of my 3 readers that I would blog last Wednesday to catch up, but sigh...having time to dick off was just too much to resist. But now that I'm back to doing some work, I now have time to blog :-)
I'll get to basketball in a minute, but let's cover the important changes from February and early March. School was so damn busy, between JDR note draft #2; doing final reads (training myself for Executive Editor next year); regular class loads; two seminar papers and a presentation on one of them; our first Evidence paper; Moot Court Brief; Tom's bachelor party; taxes and financial aid BS; and of course the fun activity of pushing my truck out during snowstorms! Literally four weeks of craziness, hell even Valentine's Day was in that mess (but that seems so long ago now).
Well let's cover it all in quick style: classes have been good, although I really pay little attention in Evidence right now. Simmons is entertaining but reading his slides after class is just as effective as Oesterle's class. Oesterle has been ripping them up the past few weeks and one memorable moment that stand sout more than the others was him slamming PILF the day before their big Auction. He refuses to go to the PILF auction and support that organization because PILF funds scholarships for public interest student workers, and almost invariably one or two of these people every summer works for the ACLU. Oesterle is opposed in every way to the ACLU and avoids association with them at all costs, so I give him credit for sticking to his guns. It pisses the PILF people off though because they cannot handle one dissenter, bunch of damn liberals. Anyways I have many good friends running PILF this year and they broke serious records at the auction this year, raising over $50,000 (last year was around $30,000 and their goal was a lofty 40K...but they blew thatr away). Good for them. State Con Law is good when we meet (snow on two straight Tuesdays has us playing catch up) and I've done my two papers for that class as of this week. I'll find out how I did on the second paper this week and I should have a good read on how I did in the class then. Got a 94 on the first one, so I'm pretty confident even though my second topic and paper were not quite as good as the first in my opinion. Also got a 10 out of 10 on our first evidence paper, which proves that patent law goes a long way in law school (any time I write about it in a non-patent law context I seem to do well). Maybe that trend will hold for JDR publishing. I don't really care about it as I have what I need out of journal (executive editor position), but it would be sweet to be published on top of all that...and it would make all that work on the Note worth the time. Speaking of, that is this week's big challenge. Final Notes are due Friday morning. Between that, grading Mech E. final exams, and "Bracketology" I'll be plenty busy this week going into spring break.
Taxes and FAFSA and Financial Aid in 2 nights was a blast. An absolute blast. But it was well-worth it to get the $2000+ refunds from the feds and state. Finally will have a little nest egg or rainy-day fund again, which makes me infinitely happy. I cannot wait not just for this summer but after school when we can start paying bills with non-loan money. Ugh to law school finances. But this was a momentous year for two reasons. 1. This is the last of 7 FAFSA's I have to file, and I'll probably miss the March 1 rush next year. 2. I did our taxes by myself instead of taking them to a professional, and it's not too bad...but then again I did do pretty well last semester in personal Federal Income Tax class. Enough money...just hope to make the ends meet for another handful of months.
JDR stuff has been in the background until this week. I've gotten incredibly quick at final reads and would be ridiculously fast at acc-checks now. Good thing too, as that's my primary job next year. The Note will be picked up one final time, as it has been ignored largely since the second draft went in. The patent law reform symposium a couple weeks back gave me a lot more ammunition for the paper, and hopefully will put it over the 35 page minimum. I hate page minimums on things like this, as they serve no purpose other than academic credit requirements (and do we seriously need 35 pages to get one ungraded credit?)
Moving to more recent things, Tom's bachelor party was last weekend. There are some days (like New Year's Eve with the pickup from the airport and Wii-mote thing) when he can be so self-centered and other days when he's the guy you'd want beside you at war. He's been so busy at work because they of course dislike the time he has to take off for wedding stuff, and it was nice to see him relax. After a last minute audible from my place to Dan's place (which originally had me pissed because Tom would not talk to me and was changing things 3 days before the party), everything went smoothly surpirsingly. Highlights: The Lube Tube is 3.5 L of beer and Tom and I can indeed drink one with enough Wings to soak it up, who waits two hours to go bowling honestly, and wow am I happy we audibled to Dan's. It allowed Tom to have his kind of last dance (he was a college partier whereas I was not), so we could do beer pong or vodka pong and heavy drinking in the campus area. The real reason I'm happy we audibled: Chris Owen cannot hold his liquor. So we took care of him the remainder of the evening, but it was fun before all that. Villa and Burton proved it's not quite a bachelor's world every time by busting Tom out of poker first and me third...then it was easy for them to pick off the rest of the field inculding Shep, the only other respectable player at the table. Overall a very good time, and my only minor complaint was having to take all the beer home that Tom did not drink. I'll enjoy the beer, but it will take FOREVER for me to get through it. Maybe I should host another poker party...I've got people at law school bugging me to before we get busy with finals, so perhaps.
Moot Court brief was this week, even though it shouldn't have been. I stayed up most of the night the night before Tom's bachelor party getting my part done so Brian had a week to put it together and do his part (Dustin also stayed up most of that night doing his half of the argument so I wasn't alone). Brian apparently is the busiest person ever which I do not believe because law school keeps you busy but careful planning does wonders for your time. Anyways, he did not get his few pages done until the day before it was due in NJ. Then I had to fix all the formatting, and in wordperfect no less because apparently he's too good for MS Word. Whatever. He overnight Fedex-ed it to NJ on Thursday so hopefully it made it on time so we do not lose major points. We'll practice a handful of times in the latter half of spring break and the week of the competition, then it's off to NJ! Should be a good time, even though I'm still pissed about it coming at the expense of spending Kelley's b-day with her at the Barrister's Ball. Oh well.
That brings us up to now, and there is one more thing to cover before NCAA. We now have a roommate, Kelley's maid of honor Sarah has moved in. She went to college in Boston and wanted to settle in Columbus but jobs forced her to Philadelphia instead. That job went sour 2 weeks ago though so she is moving in with us and getting a job in Columbus. This also gives Kelley someone to stay with during the summer when I'm in Cincy and Chip a new friend. Well friend if they ever get along (the cat has established his dominance over scardy-dog already). It'll be a little crowded but I'm happy to have some help with the bills temporarily.
So now at long last we are caught up. And today is Selection Sunday. I cannot help but give a little insight from all the basketball I watched this season.
1. Women's basketball: You know your sport is in trouble when the most exciting story is a split between the Tennessee coaches doing stupid things at each other's games (Bruce Pearl the men's coach painted hairy chest and all pulled a frat boy at a women's game, then Pat Summit topped that by topping a cheerleader pyramid at a men's game), or the LSU coach (90-14 in three seasons) being forced to resign after the school finds out about an "inappropriate" relationship with a former player. For those that cannot read between the lines, yes that means lesbian sex. So that's all in women's basketball. My big insight: don't pick the Buckeyes to go far as injuries have decimated us. We barely got by Penn State in the tournament and got HAMMERED by Purdue.
2. Big Conference Tournaments: I've taken in my fair share of these this week and now I'm watching the final four games of the season today. The Pac-10 tournament finished yesterday afternoon with 4-seed Oregon slamming 3-seed USC like a rag doll. Oregon looks impressive, but what do we make of the top 3 teams of this overrated league? UCLA just drops random games and does not look like the best team in the country (but who does?), everyone seems so high on Washington State but what exactly have they done recently, and USC is just not that talented. You want a sleeper out of the Pac-10? Oregon or Arizona.
The Big East also finished up last night with Georgetown crushing Pittsburgh. Both teams played epic semifinals against Notre Dame and Louisville, and it is nice to see a conference tournament go to form. Unfortunately it appears with all the upsets in minor conference tournaments that WVU is definitely out, but no Pittsnogle means no tournament victories even if they made it. The Big East is hands-down the most impressive league, but that happens when you have 16 teams. Syracuse is going to be a popular sleeper in this league, but I'm liking how Louisville and Notre Dame finished. Also Georgetown like last year is a beast to face. They are one of the 2 teams I do not want the Buckeyes to face at all this year (Florida is the other). Note that in last year's tournament, Ohio State lost to Georgetown in the second round who lost to Florida in the Sweet 16. What a ridiculously powerful bracket last year, and could be a final four bracket this year. Pick Georgetown. Be successful. Go with the legacy: John Thompson III, Patrick Ewing Jr., another 7'2" dominant center. I really hope the buckeyes could play this team for a title...it would be such a good matchup.
Today's got four major conference finals. The ACC has a cinderella story, as NC State the 10 seed has run the gauntlet of Duke (yes a 7-seed Duke, don't pick them in the tournament), the 2-seed Virginia Tech, and the 3-seed Virginia. Now they get UNC, the 1 seed in the final. I'm guessing UNC still wants that one seed in the East and will play tough against a tired Wolfpack team. No real surprises out of this conference, as everyone's so mediocre. UNC could go far, but after that who knows. I guess if I have to pick a sleeper I'll take Maryland, who uncerimoniously got dumped in the first round somehow.
The SEC has been the haves and the have-nots by division this season, with 5 possible bids for east teams (Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and maybe Georgia) and none for the West. But the west has made a statement in the tournament, putting three of the four teams in the semifinals. There's an outside shot one of these teams (Arkansas, Miss St, Ole Miss, LSU) would get an at-large, but I think Arkansas has to win if any teams are to go in today. Unfortunately The Gators have regained championship form and look sharp again. Funny how Florida holds national titles in football and basketball and they are facing Arkansas just like in the football SEC title game. Arkansas = Gator Bait. Sleeper from this conference is definitely Vanderbilt. Kentucky is underrated as well but they are so inconsistent and young. Go with Vandy, black and gold is in style.
The Big XII is a joke. Thankfully no terrible teams such as OK State are in the final, and Kansas vs. Texas is a great final. Kansas has been very good recently and may actually represent the conference well (they always underachieve though, so don't put them in the final four). Texas has Kevin Durant who just can go off and win games by himself. Texas A&M is a quality team, but I hope they are in OSU's bracket as they are nothing special after you stop Acie Law III. If the conference gets in both Texas Tech AND Kansas State that is a joke. This conference should be lucky to get four bids the way they played. Sleeper: I guess Texas Tech as they are the only under the radar team, but I just don't feel good about any team from the Big Roman Numerals this season.
And finally my passion. The Big Ten has actually went to form in the tournament (how rare) and there has only been one upset all tournament (Illinois over Indiana in overtime). OSU and Wisconsin play round three today and I am so pumped about that because the first two have been classics. The way Oden and Conley are playing, I want OSU to send a definitive message to the country that they are for real by beating the Badgers again today more convincingly than a last second shot one-point win at home. I will be super irked if Wisconsin wins and OSU drops to a 2-seed because OSU is CLEARLY one of the top 4 teams in the country either way. I don't know how you can put Wisconsin up to a 1 even with a win today because without injured Brian Butch they are not the same dominant team. They are good, but not a one-seed. The Big Ten has interest at the top (OSU and Wisconsin fighting for the most open 1-seeds in the tournament perhaps forever with UNC, Florida, UCLA, Kansas, and to a lesser extent Georgetown), quality locks in the middle (Michigan State and Indiana), and a couple of teams sweating on the bubble today (Purdue and Illinois). Illinois is just not good this year, so if they get in over Purdue I will flip a gasket. Purdue is playing so well right now and would be a nice sleeper pick in the tournament assuming they make it. Makes for a very entertaining 3 hours today with the OSU-WISC game followed by the selection show. Go Bucks!
So now it's time to fill out the brackets. I'll probably report in with some analysis once I see the brackets and ge tto think about them a while.
One more thing before I forget: bowling finally moves into the playoffs this week, the Sweet 16 of our March Madness this Wednesday. Our team has made the Elite 8 twice but lost both times and did not make the playoffs (17th place) once, so hopefully things go well. We split our division crown with Spangler's team just like last semester at 17-7. They beat the 1L team we lost to in the Quarters on their way to winning the whole thing last semester. Also qualifying from our division are Bill Browne's team (who gave us 5 of our 7 losses) and Bart's team (best bowler in the league hands down). Happy to have a chance in the random thing known as our law school bowling playoffs.
Until later in the week (hopefully), good luck filling out those brackets that will inevitably be busted by Middle (Insert random state name) State Vocational College. No George Mason which is disappointing because people always repeat pick cinderellas and that never happens. Too bad, we'll have to gain points elsewhere. Doesn't matter as my wife will inevitably have a better bracket than me. And she'll be beat by the chick who picks by color. Or Dominick Brook, who won last year's law school pool after somehow picking Florida and UCLA in the final despite knowing nothing about basketball. How infintely frustrating and beautiful. Won't you "bracketology" with me?
Have a great week.
I'll get to basketball in a minute, but let's cover the important changes from February and early March. School was so damn busy, between JDR note draft #2; doing final reads (training myself for Executive Editor next year); regular class loads; two seminar papers and a presentation on one of them; our first Evidence paper; Moot Court Brief; Tom's bachelor party; taxes and financial aid BS; and of course the fun activity of pushing my truck out during snowstorms! Literally four weeks of craziness, hell even Valentine's Day was in that mess (but that seems so long ago now).
Well let's cover it all in quick style: classes have been good, although I really pay little attention in Evidence right now. Simmons is entertaining but reading his slides after class is just as effective as Oesterle's class. Oesterle has been ripping them up the past few weeks and one memorable moment that stand sout more than the others was him slamming PILF the day before their big Auction. He refuses to go to the PILF auction and support that organization because PILF funds scholarships for public interest student workers, and almost invariably one or two of these people every summer works for the ACLU. Oesterle is opposed in every way to the ACLU and avoids association with them at all costs, so I give him credit for sticking to his guns. It pisses the PILF people off though because they cannot handle one dissenter, bunch of damn liberals. Anyways I have many good friends running PILF this year and they broke serious records at the auction this year, raising over $50,000 (last year was around $30,000 and their goal was a lofty 40K...but they blew thatr away). Good for them. State Con Law is good when we meet (snow on two straight Tuesdays has us playing catch up) and I've done my two papers for that class as of this week. I'll find out how I did on the second paper this week and I should have a good read on how I did in the class then. Got a 94 on the first one, so I'm pretty confident even though my second topic and paper were not quite as good as the first in my opinion. Also got a 10 out of 10 on our first evidence paper, which proves that patent law goes a long way in law school (any time I write about it in a non-patent law context I seem to do well). Maybe that trend will hold for JDR publishing. I don't really care about it as I have what I need out of journal (executive editor position), but it would be sweet to be published on top of all that...and it would make all that work on the Note worth the time. Speaking of, that is this week's big challenge. Final Notes are due Friday morning. Between that, grading Mech E. final exams, and "Bracketology" I'll be plenty busy this week going into spring break.
Taxes and FAFSA and Financial Aid in 2 nights was a blast. An absolute blast. But it was well-worth it to get the $2000+ refunds from the feds and state. Finally will have a little nest egg or rainy-day fund again, which makes me infinitely happy. I cannot wait not just for this summer but after school when we can start paying bills with non-loan money. Ugh to law school finances. But this was a momentous year for two reasons. 1. This is the last of 7 FAFSA's I have to file, and I'll probably miss the March 1 rush next year. 2. I did our taxes by myself instead of taking them to a professional, and it's not too bad...but then again I did do pretty well last semester in personal Federal Income Tax class. Enough money...just hope to make the ends meet for another handful of months.
JDR stuff has been in the background until this week. I've gotten incredibly quick at final reads and would be ridiculously fast at acc-checks now. Good thing too, as that's my primary job next year. The Note will be picked up one final time, as it has been ignored largely since the second draft went in. The patent law reform symposium a couple weeks back gave me a lot more ammunition for the paper, and hopefully will put it over the 35 page minimum. I hate page minimums on things like this, as they serve no purpose other than academic credit requirements (and do we seriously need 35 pages to get one ungraded credit?)
Moving to more recent things, Tom's bachelor party was last weekend. There are some days (like New Year's Eve with the pickup from the airport and Wii-mote thing) when he can be so self-centered and other days when he's the guy you'd want beside you at war. He's been so busy at work because they of course dislike the time he has to take off for wedding stuff, and it was nice to see him relax. After a last minute audible from my place to Dan's place (which originally had me pissed because Tom would not talk to me and was changing things 3 days before the party), everything went smoothly surpirsingly. Highlights: The Lube Tube is 3.5 L of beer and Tom and I can indeed drink one with enough Wings to soak it up, who waits two hours to go bowling honestly, and wow am I happy we audibled to Dan's. It allowed Tom to have his kind of last dance (he was a college partier whereas I was not), so we could do beer pong or vodka pong and heavy drinking in the campus area. The real reason I'm happy we audibled: Chris Owen cannot hold his liquor. So we took care of him the remainder of the evening, but it was fun before all that. Villa and Burton proved it's not quite a bachelor's world every time by busting Tom out of poker first and me third...then it was easy for them to pick off the rest of the field inculding Shep, the only other respectable player at the table. Overall a very good time, and my only minor complaint was having to take all the beer home that Tom did not drink. I'll enjoy the beer, but it will take FOREVER for me to get through it. Maybe I should host another poker party...I've got people at law school bugging me to before we get busy with finals, so perhaps.
Moot Court brief was this week, even though it shouldn't have been. I stayed up most of the night the night before Tom's bachelor party getting my part done so Brian had a week to put it together and do his part (Dustin also stayed up most of that night doing his half of the argument so I wasn't alone). Brian apparently is the busiest person ever which I do not believe because law school keeps you busy but careful planning does wonders for your time. Anyways, he did not get his few pages done until the day before it was due in NJ. Then I had to fix all the formatting, and in wordperfect no less because apparently he's too good for MS Word. Whatever. He overnight Fedex-ed it to NJ on Thursday so hopefully it made it on time so we do not lose major points. We'll practice a handful of times in the latter half of spring break and the week of the competition, then it's off to NJ! Should be a good time, even though I'm still pissed about it coming at the expense of spending Kelley's b-day with her at the Barrister's Ball. Oh well.
That brings us up to now, and there is one more thing to cover before NCAA. We now have a roommate, Kelley's maid of honor Sarah has moved in. She went to college in Boston and wanted to settle in Columbus but jobs forced her to Philadelphia instead. That job went sour 2 weeks ago though so she is moving in with us and getting a job in Columbus. This also gives Kelley someone to stay with during the summer when I'm in Cincy and Chip a new friend. Well friend if they ever get along (the cat has established his dominance over scardy-dog already). It'll be a little crowded but I'm happy to have some help with the bills temporarily.
So now at long last we are caught up. And today is Selection Sunday. I cannot help but give a little insight from all the basketball I watched this season.
1. Women's basketball: You know your sport is in trouble when the most exciting story is a split between the Tennessee coaches doing stupid things at each other's games (Bruce Pearl the men's coach painted hairy chest and all pulled a frat boy at a women's game, then Pat Summit topped that by topping a cheerleader pyramid at a men's game), or the LSU coach (90-14 in three seasons) being forced to resign after the school finds out about an "inappropriate" relationship with a former player. For those that cannot read between the lines, yes that means lesbian sex. So that's all in women's basketball. My big insight: don't pick the Buckeyes to go far as injuries have decimated us. We barely got by Penn State in the tournament and got HAMMERED by Purdue.
2. Big Conference Tournaments: I've taken in my fair share of these this week and now I'm watching the final four games of the season today. The Pac-10 tournament finished yesterday afternoon with 4-seed Oregon slamming 3-seed USC like a rag doll. Oregon looks impressive, but what do we make of the top 3 teams of this overrated league? UCLA just drops random games and does not look like the best team in the country (but who does?), everyone seems so high on Washington State but what exactly have they done recently, and USC is just not that talented. You want a sleeper out of the Pac-10? Oregon or Arizona.
The Big East also finished up last night with Georgetown crushing Pittsburgh. Both teams played epic semifinals against Notre Dame and Louisville, and it is nice to see a conference tournament go to form. Unfortunately it appears with all the upsets in minor conference tournaments that WVU is definitely out, but no Pittsnogle means no tournament victories even if they made it. The Big East is hands-down the most impressive league, but that happens when you have 16 teams. Syracuse is going to be a popular sleeper in this league, but I'm liking how Louisville and Notre Dame finished. Also Georgetown like last year is a beast to face. They are one of the 2 teams I do not want the Buckeyes to face at all this year (Florida is the other). Note that in last year's tournament, Ohio State lost to Georgetown in the second round who lost to Florida in the Sweet 16. What a ridiculously powerful bracket last year, and could be a final four bracket this year. Pick Georgetown. Be successful. Go with the legacy: John Thompson III, Patrick Ewing Jr., another 7'2" dominant center. I really hope the buckeyes could play this team for a title...it would be such a good matchup.
Today's got four major conference finals. The ACC has a cinderella story, as NC State the 10 seed has run the gauntlet of Duke (yes a 7-seed Duke, don't pick them in the tournament), the 2-seed Virginia Tech, and the 3-seed Virginia. Now they get UNC, the 1 seed in the final. I'm guessing UNC still wants that one seed in the East and will play tough against a tired Wolfpack team. No real surprises out of this conference, as everyone's so mediocre. UNC could go far, but after that who knows. I guess if I have to pick a sleeper I'll take Maryland, who uncerimoniously got dumped in the first round somehow.
The SEC has been the haves and the have-nots by division this season, with 5 possible bids for east teams (Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and maybe Georgia) and none for the West. But the west has made a statement in the tournament, putting three of the four teams in the semifinals. There's an outside shot one of these teams (Arkansas, Miss St, Ole Miss, LSU) would get an at-large, but I think Arkansas has to win if any teams are to go in today. Unfortunately The Gators have regained championship form and look sharp again. Funny how Florida holds national titles in football and basketball and they are facing Arkansas just like in the football SEC title game. Arkansas = Gator Bait. Sleeper from this conference is definitely Vanderbilt. Kentucky is underrated as well but they are so inconsistent and young. Go with Vandy, black and gold is in style.
The Big XII is a joke. Thankfully no terrible teams such as OK State are in the final, and Kansas vs. Texas is a great final. Kansas has been very good recently and may actually represent the conference well (they always underachieve though, so don't put them in the final four). Texas has Kevin Durant who just can go off and win games by himself. Texas A&M is a quality team, but I hope they are in OSU's bracket as they are nothing special after you stop Acie Law III. If the conference gets in both Texas Tech AND Kansas State that is a joke. This conference should be lucky to get four bids the way they played. Sleeper: I guess Texas Tech as they are the only under the radar team, but I just don't feel good about any team from the Big Roman Numerals this season.
And finally my passion. The Big Ten has actually went to form in the tournament (how rare) and there has only been one upset all tournament (Illinois over Indiana in overtime). OSU and Wisconsin play round three today and I am so pumped about that because the first two have been classics. The way Oden and Conley are playing, I want OSU to send a definitive message to the country that they are for real by beating the Badgers again today more convincingly than a last second shot one-point win at home. I will be super irked if Wisconsin wins and OSU drops to a 2-seed because OSU is CLEARLY one of the top 4 teams in the country either way. I don't know how you can put Wisconsin up to a 1 even with a win today because without injured Brian Butch they are not the same dominant team. They are good, but not a one-seed. The Big Ten has interest at the top (OSU and Wisconsin fighting for the most open 1-seeds in the tournament perhaps forever with UNC, Florida, UCLA, Kansas, and to a lesser extent Georgetown), quality locks in the middle (Michigan State and Indiana), and a couple of teams sweating on the bubble today (Purdue and Illinois). Illinois is just not good this year, so if they get in over Purdue I will flip a gasket. Purdue is playing so well right now and would be a nice sleeper pick in the tournament assuming they make it. Makes for a very entertaining 3 hours today with the OSU-WISC game followed by the selection show. Go Bucks!
So now it's time to fill out the brackets. I'll probably report in with some analysis once I see the brackets and ge tto think about them a while.
One more thing before I forget: bowling finally moves into the playoffs this week, the Sweet 16 of our March Madness this Wednesday. Our team has made the Elite 8 twice but lost both times and did not make the playoffs (17th place) once, so hopefully things go well. We split our division crown with Spangler's team just like last semester at 17-7. They beat the 1L team we lost to in the Quarters on their way to winning the whole thing last semester. Also qualifying from our division are Bill Browne's team (who gave us 5 of our 7 losses) and Bart's team (best bowler in the league hands down). Happy to have a chance in the random thing known as our law school bowling playoffs.
Until later in the week (hopefully), good luck filling out those brackets that will inevitably be busted by Middle (Insert random state name) State Vocational College. No George Mason which is disappointing because people always repeat pick cinderellas and that never happens. Too bad, we'll have to gain points elsewhere. Doesn't matter as my wife will inevitably have a better bracket than me. And she'll be beat by the chick who picks by color. Or Dominick Brook, who won last year's law school pool after somehow picking Florida and UCLA in the final despite knowing nothing about basketball. How infintely frustrating and beautiful. Won't you "bracketology" with me?
Have a great week.
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