Somewhat belated semi obligatory 4th of July Post

Living in DC it really felt obligatory to go out and do something all celebratory for Independence day. There's really no excuse not to. And I had an all too clear vision of inevitable conversations:

"So what did you do for Independence Day?"

"Oh nothing special, just stayed home and watched a movie. It's not like we live close to various monuments, a big fireworks show, free concert or anything cool like that. Besides, everyone knows that liberals secretly hate America."

Well I'd rather not deal with that and the ensuing feelings of loserdom that would result from such an exchange. Besides, at the last liberal conspiracy meeting in between plotting the downfall of the family and creating a government run dystopia, we promised to do a better job of keeping the Anti-Americanism under wraps. (Of course I kidd, liberals aren't anywhere near organized enough for any meaningful conspiracy. Oh, organized liberals, I crack myself up). Anyways, we had sufficient motivation to escape from our hermitage and hit the town for one day. After a few minutes of google searching we found that there was a concert at the south lawn of the Capital building right before the fireworks began, and as two things are better than one we decided that was the destination for us.

But, before undertaking such a great journey we had to be all prepared with a giant duffel bag of very important things we could not survive a few hours without. It all seemed very essential. Of course knowing that Zach would have to haul the giant bag from our shoebox apartment to the metro (about a mile and a half) and then from Union station to the Capital building may have influenced my decision making. And uh, I may possibly have added to his burden a little bit as I felt inclined to take the "scenic route" up to the metro. But even with the heavy load and the heat and the humidity we managed to make it up to the metro in decent time. Enough time to stop off at Whole Foods and gather a lovely picnic. I had visions of lovely baguettes with bits of cheese, fresh grapes and strawberries and other elements for a picture perfect picnic. Of course, other people must have had the same idea as whole foods was very much picked over. So Subway was substituted. Much less picturesque, but still quite tasty.

A quick metro ride and we were downtown. I don't think we've been downtown since Zach's birthday in the beginning of June, and up in our pretentious, suburbanesque corner of DC we tend to forget how cool this city really is. Seriously, everything is covered in marble and trying so hard to masquerade as a classic 500+ year old building. Not to mention the seemingly endless statues of men on horseback or dramatically holding an iron piece of paper. Also, as an added bonus, finding our way to the Capital building was rather easy. Being the biggest thing around all we really had to do was look up, and walk in the direction of the giant dome.

Finding the Capital was easy, but actually getting inside was a little more challenging. Zach and I thought we had left plenty early. The fireworks were set to start at 9:15pm, with the concert beginning at 8pm, and gates opened at 3pm. We arrived a little after 4pm, and were greeted with a long line which we shuffled forward in for about an hour. Once we arrived the end of the line the slow movement made a little more sense as every person was being scanned by mettle detectors and each bad was being hand searched. Not that the bag check was particularly thorough, I'm sure I could have hid some C4 or something in a hidden pocket if I was so inclined. But hey, the appearance of safety is all that really matters, and we were just happy to be out of that line and ready to lounge about for a few hours until the show started.

After the long wait in line I was less that thrilled to find that the lawn was already quite stuffed, especially any area that had a view of the stage. I didn't quite believe that the prime seating could really and truly be all full, and so I dragged the tired Zach and the giant bag around for a while, before ultimately ending up in the very same place we had first tried. It was still a decent spot and wasn't too crowded (yet). So we proceeded to settle in for the next 3 hours. Reading material and people watching more than provided enough entertainment.

Of course, as entertaining as books and people can be, we were quite happy when the concert started. Especially since they had raised up a big old jumbo tron on a crane, so we could actually kind of sort of see what was going on. And oh we were so glad we got to see what was going on. You see, like most free community concerts, and especially for ones in our nations capital, the concert had to be absolutely unoffensive to just about everyone. And so the headliners of the night were the great Barry Manilow and the Sesame Street Muppets. And as slightly ashamed as I am to admit it, I really enjoyed both of them. Manilow is just so infectious and happy to be there, that you kind of get swept up with him. And he is especially awesome when he's trying to be sexy, and you see this old, white guy shaking his hips with a touch of bedroom eyes. Oh Manilow, you try so hard.

But as awesome as the Manilow was, the best part of his performance was this little kid a few feet away from us who was seriously rocking out. He was shaking and grooving with everything he had and even threw in some classic disco moves. As a close second was an adorable Hispanic couple next to up who got all snuggly and cute during the slow songs. They also apparently own a hotel in Mexico. I know this because before they left early the husband introduced himself, pitched the hotel (which apparently makes really good fish?) and gave us his business card. It was loud and he had a bit of an accent so I only understood about half of what he said, and mostly just smiled and nodded. I really hope I didn't promise or agree to anything crazy. A little random, but still fun. And hey, a Caribbean Mexican vacation could always be fun. And the hotel really does look gorgeous. However, cute as they were, the award for best PDA of the night goes to the middle aged couple who totally started making out, complete with a sitting dip and the accompaniment of their preteens moans and complaints. Ah, old people love/lust.

Much fun as people had rocking out to Manilow (well, as much as you can rock out to Manilow) the Muppets were the real stars of the night. I mean they even got introduced by the President. And everyone loves Sesame Street and will happily cheer and sing along. Sesame Street really should be involved in more parts of life, it just makes everyone smile and teaches valuable lessons about how C is for cookies, and we should all love trash (reduce, reuse and recycle anyone?). Some other people sang and did a very nice job (well not so much Aretha Franklin, but shes so old and iconic that it doesn't really matter), but really Manilow and Sesame Street were the highlights.

With the genuine and somewhat unexpected fun of the show, I was rather excited to just lay back and watch the fireworks explode in blaze of beautifulness all over the sky. Yah, not so much. Not only is the Capital lawn at a funky angle from the fireworks, there were also many trees that worked wonderfully at providing some much appreciated shade earlier in the day but were less appreciated for their fireworks blocking. We tried to join the crowd struggling for a decent view between the trees, but we only got a few colorful glimpes. Very pretty glimpses, but not quite what I had hoped for.

I suppose all's well that ends well. Since we couldn't really see the fireworks Zach and I wormed our way through the crowd and headed back towards Union Station in the hopes of beating the crowds. It actually worked fairly well. The station filled up quickly, but as it was one of the first stops in DC that woudl be used by the fireworks viewers the train was mostly empty when we boarded so we actually managed to get a seat. a seat for which we were very grateful for everytime we pulled into a station packed to the gills and saw people struggling to fit into a car that I wouldn't have beleived could possibly hold anyone else. Even from the relative comfort of our seat cocoon, we were quite glad to get out of there, go home and collapse into a happy pile of goo. All in all it was a good day. And now for the obligatory pictures!

The closest I've come to getting arrested

In the spirit of full disclosure this entry isn't anywhere near as exciting as the title may have suggested.

Earlier today I was just sitting all alone in my apartment, diligently studying (aka facebook), when I was startled out of my innocent complacency by a loud, insistent banging on the front door. I assumed it was just someone from the building, as no one else ever randomly knocks on our door.

I was not expecting a big, burly police officer. I was certainly not expecting him to glare at me and say, "Well, come on."

Fortunately, my very confused look proved effective. He countered it with a skeptical look and asked if I was Hannah. Not being Hannah, I responded accordingly. After dragging out my ID and having it thoroughly inspected complete with multiple glances between me and my picture, it was firmly decided that I was in fact not Hannah.

However, the nefarious Hannah could still have been lurking in the apartment. I'm not sure where she could have hidden in the shoebox, but that Hannah is a tricky sort. Fortunately, proving that I was not Hannah seemed to have established some credibility, so I only had to assure the officer that Zach was the only other person who lived here, and no he was not home, no, no one else was here either, and yes, I was very sure.

After proving my non-Hannahness and asserting my awareness of who does and does not live in the shoebox with me, he grudgingly admitted that this might be the wrong apartment. And with that he was off to find the true Hannah. One other officer stopped by a few minutes later, but she was more immediately trusting of my nonHannahnimity.

So, I suppose today I am very grateful to my parents for not naming me Hannah. One, I'm glad to not share a name with the latest release from Disney's tween star factory. Secondly, and most importantly, being arrested or whatever they plan to do to Hannah would have been slightly inconvenient. Thanks folks!

The street where we live

While it is still hotter than it has any right to be (as evidenced by my continual habit of sticking my head in the freezer), today was just so lovely and alive that I suppose I may be inclined to forgive it. Management's promise to turn the lovely, cold air on tomorrow may also have helped to facilitate the forgiving spirit.

The hot weather also gave Zach and I a good excuse to go grab some gelato, and since it was so lovely I figured I may as well take the opportunity to present this neighborhood I reside in in a flattering fashion.

I love all the big trees that line the street where we live. Now that they're back to being all leafy again, I love them even more.


This is the building we live in. Its very, solidly mediocre. So lets focus on the trees, ok?


I didn't get any good pictures during cherry blossom season, and by now they've mostly turned into leaves. But let me assure you, they were quite lovely. I'm sure you can google a picture, if it makes you feel better, you can just pretend I took it.


Look! It's Zach next to a tree.

I'm also a huge fan of the many awesome old houses in our neighborhood. Old houses just have this great vibe to them, they're so fun and unique and awesomely quirky. A lot of the houses around here have some amazing stonework and kind of have this European cottage vibe. This house is one of my favorites - I love the big wood door, the beautiful stone and the funky swiss top.


Unfortunately, once we discovered all the cool houses, our pilgrimages to Whole Foods have become increasingly common. I know its expensive and a little pretentious, but the food is just so much better than our sad local Giant. They're produce section is just so shiny and smells nice. I've been thoroughly seduced.


That's pretty much it. Big trees, cool houses, and seductive fruit. All in all, its not a half bad place.

Hot stuff

It is hot. Very hot. And uncomfortable. And sticky. Did I mention the hot?

And oh look, a perfectly nice air conditioner. Just sitting there three feet away from me. The problem? It's. Just. Sitting. No cold air, absolutely nothing. Mocking me. It's not broken, it has no good excuse for not relieving the hotness. The building people just haven't deemed it necessary to turn it on yet, and we measly residents have no power. We just get to sit here being hot and mocked.

I really, really hate this shoebox furnace apartment.

Suicidal ipod Curse

My steady i-pod appears to have given up to ghost. Sure, its been a little persnickety for a while now, but all I had to do was reset and it would happily let me create a little personal music bubble, allowing me to further isolate myself from those around me. But now, no matter what I do, it just stares back at me with its sad little ipod face with the morbid x's instead of eyes.

My best explanation is some sort of a technology curse, or possibly the ghost of my old laptop, luring the sweet, innocent ipod to the other side. Or possibly the time I meant to put my i-pod in my purse, but instead dropped it, where it then met up with my walking foot, which drop kicked it onto the sidewalk. But as that was over a year ago, and its been working fine lately, I'm going with the curse theory. It's really the only logical option.

However, this really shouldn't be a big deal. Not to long ago Zach made a much needed upgrade to a new mac, which came with a lovely free ipod touch. I immediately laid claim to Zach's old i-pod, reveling in the idea of an i-pod that could do such magical things as hold all of my music, work, and even had the added bonus of color!

This i-pod didn't just slowly fade away in a dignified fashion, like my old ipod. No this one committed suicide and tried to take my computer along with it. As Zach had been the previous user, it was formatted for use on a Mac. So, I reset it to the original factory settings, and plugged it in to upload my music. A few minutes after plugging it in, my computer blue screened. So I tried again, and once again the i-pod lashed out and blue screened my computer. I've tried everything I can think of, but that thing just sits there, all empty and lifeless until I plug it in and it tries to kill my computer. Leaving me the proud owner of two useless ipods.

Yup, its definitely a curse.

Throw out the baby

"Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater"

Probably the worst metaphor to use when discussing abortion. EVER

Oh Con Law, I will miss your inappropriate, awkward, hilariousness.

(Also funny, but probably just to me. I just read a case where Scalia cites a painting. A freakin' painting. Clearly the best source for legal values. very strictly construed. Oh Scalia, if only I could give you a hug and a vicodin)

Make the most out of your criminal endeavors

Today is yet another fun conspiracy day in criminal law, which yes is a horrible thing to say, but lets move past that.

Really, if nothing else comes out of this legal adventure, I have learned some valuable information of how to do very bad, nasty, criminal things. Sadly, most of the time my reaction in criminal law is less of a practical "oh, so thats how I would defend my client" and more of a "so if I ever decide to kill someone, I should..." It's actually sad how often an example will come up in class, and my immediate reaction is "what a great idea!". Even worse is the fact that if the case is being used in law school, it couldn't have been that great as they obviously got caught, which is why we're looking at they're trial.

Anyways, here are a few handy hints for your future criminal endeavors. Odds are you'll get caught, so lets try and limit your sentence, ok?

• If planning to rob banks with friends (or acquaintances, or random people you met in a bar, or your church leaders, it really doesn't matter), be ambitious upfront - conspire for robbing lots and lots of banks, that way you can only be charged with one conspiracy
• If you would like to kill someone, don't think to much about it before hand, just do it right away in a fit of rage. That way its only manslaughter.
• If you do plan your killing, be sure an choose the right state to do it in - sentencing laws vary greatly.
• if you get your whole criminal group to tell consistent lies on the stand, make them at least somewhat varied. everyone testifying that someone "lithely and suppely jumped onto the truck, like a tiger" it may raise suspicions
• Don't graze against, touch, or even so much as sneeze at a federal officer while commiting a crime. Sentences for anything goes up when a Fed is involved - and pretty much anything can be interpreted as assault.
  

I'm firmly entrenched in law school land, so those may only be fun for those in the system, but at least I'm posting something.

I'm not sure I'll ever be that great of a lawyer, but I think I could be a halfway decent criminal. Thanks law school!