So I already gained the Freshman 15

What I ate last semester as a junior in college was pretty inexcusable. The stress of colds, chemistry involving math proofs, and the LSAT made me gravitate toward whatever made its way quickest into my mouth toward the end of the semester. Healthy was the salad bowl on half-price Qdoba Mondays and the piece of avocado in my California chicken sandwich. My life-raft during the last two weeks before D-day was a plate of eggs risen from powder (cafeteria fare), a glass of orange juice, oatmeal, and Tums (for my stress) every morning. It was really bad. I had Odwalla with my dinner, though.

After recovering for three days at home and eating like a normal person, I decided that something about how I eat (and exercise regularly) has to change for good, especially since I'll be spending the semester abroad in Scotland and I'll have to readjust slightly in terms of my daily habits. I looked up the US government. No, not the CIA kids site. The Department of Agriculture at http://www.mypyramid.gov. Somehow, I missed the link that led you directly to the recommended portions (by age & sex) and the foods that would fulfill those portions. I missed it and went to the 1000+ page 2010 "Report of the Dietary Guidelines, Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans" [here]. I read through to the section on Fatty Acids and Cholesterol before I realized I was on Christmas break and was probably a lameface for reading through it for hours.

Nonetheless, worthwhile. For, did you know that gin and tonic or a Cosmo or a martini will add up to approximately 150 calories per serving, but a pina colada will be around 450 calories? This chart's toward the end of the Energy Balance and Weight Management section. And avoiding "solid fats" means avoiding things like pizza? Picturing pizza as a stick of butter deters me from craving it. Even the baked ziti Long Island type--that's refined grains on top of solid fat mixed with added sugar on top of more refined grains.

Lessons learned: more fruits and veggies, less refined grains. If I'm having a hard time getting fresh fruits and vegetables in my dorm every day, because the nearest supermarket is always a mile plus distance away from me, then it's safe to say it becomes a problem when there are Pop-eyes and pizza places on every block, but there are only two supermarkets on the main road over the course of ten miles in many urban areas.

Bench or Jury Trial?

A question I have always been curious about is under what circumstances do parties take a bench trial (in which questions of fact and questions of law in the case are decided solely by the judge) and under what circumstances do parties take a jury trial (the jury generally decides the facts of the case, but the judge still determines the law relevant in the case)?

There is a division between how the federal courts and how the state courts deal with bench and jury trials, and also between civil and criminal cases. The federal courts follow the sixth and seventh amendments of the US Constitution, which respectively say,

Sixth: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Seventh:In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

The federal rules for right to a trial by jury, however, do not apply to the state courts. State constitutions do not necessarily have to provide parties with the same right to trial by jury as the US Constitution provides, but many do so.

Criminal courts give the right to trial by jury to the defendant, who may waive that right. Civil courts can provide the right to both the defendant and the plaintiff in the trial. In civil trials where the parties are entitled to a jury, the defendant and plaintiff must both waive the right to trial by jury; otherwise, if one party still favors to have a jury trial, then a jury trial is given.

There are plenty of cases that are not entitled to a trial by jury. For example, in one case, a defendant in a landlord-tenant case claimed the right to a jury trial because "some facts were disputed." Mr. X, the defendant, claimed that he should be able to live in an apartment promised to him by his girlfriend/wife (wasn't clear if they were married). However, the plaintiff, Ms. Y, is the daughter of the defendant's partner, and she says the apartment was given to her by her mother, that she has the deed to the apartment, and because she wants to sell the apartment and can no longer afford to pay for it, she needs Mr. X evicted. What the judge considered in this motion hearing was whether or not this case merited a jury trial---were there facts in dispute? The judge told the attorney that it was a creative try, but since the plaintiff actually had the deed to the apartment, no facts remained disputed. Only issues of law (NY housing law) remained, and this case would go back to housing court, instead of being trial under a jury in civil court.

If the right to trial by jury applies to a case, it is also up to the lawyer's discretion whether a jury or bench trial would be better for her client. The cons of a bench trial cited by attorneys is that judges have seen many similar cases and are less easily persuaded and are less apt to see the nuances pertaining to each case. The cons of a jury trial include a hastily selected jury (a summary jury trial can restrict jury selection to 30 minutes per side, or even 30 minutes for both sides) and a jury that is swayed by prejudicial factors that do not necessarily pertain to the case at hand (ex. prior unrelated offenses or bad habits that a party admits to).

Sometimes pro se cases end up with a jury trial. Pro se means a party represents him or herself, and is not represented by an attorney. While the right to a jury trial remains even if a party does not have an attorney, this party is at a disadvantage because he may be less experienced at picking a jury than an attorney would be. Before jury selection, the judge generally does advise the pro se on what to do. What usually has happened in these cases is that the party had elected to do a jury trial while he was represented by an attorney, but he had either dismissed the attorney or the attorney had left the case before the trial.

Judges know pretty well how a case will go when attorneys present the vital facts, and in terms of civil cases, judges can roughly estimate how much the injury is worth, and how much the jury will give (if the jury has already been selected and the trial is underway). Judges encourage parties to settle, whether during pre-trial conferences, or even as the jury has gone in for deliberations. Depending in the circumstances, a judge can even recommend a settlement amount for the attorneys, and these suggested monetary amounts can be the tipping point for clients who have refused the opposing side's offers before.

I had asked that question early on in my internship and the answer I had received, which I think was as accurate as a non-long-winded answer could be, was that everyone has a right to a jury trial. But short question, long answer. And only one of many questions to be determined when looking to litigate a case.

I Want to Write a Picture

When I think of what I most want to do with my writing, I think of Sofia Coppola's movies. Think Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation, and The Virgin Suicides (watch them if you haven't, especially the latter two). Her movies are often called "mood pieces" and I agree with the term---I remember the movies and scenes not so much for the plotlines and characters as I do for being swallowed up in the scenes. They spit me out nostalgic, or wistful. One of my favorites is a scene in Marie Antoinette, when Kirsten Dunst is the young queen playing with her four year old daughter in the tall grass in front of a cottage (at this particular moment, forget that the actual Marie Antoinette squandered taxpayer money in order to hire artists to paint cracks onto the cottage to simulate homeyness). The sun is soft, and you simultaneously think of all of the times you may have lay on your back in fair weather, looking up at clouds and not having to think beyond the moment. What I would love to do with my writing is not to "provide an escape" but to "provide a picture". Share moments that I think are beautiful.

Here is my analogous picture-mood to strolling around in tall grass with sheep nibbling dandelions from my fingers:

Bees + sun in my garden.

Jury Duty

Most of the trials I observed this summer do not resemble Law and Order. There were no battles between Big Brother and corporate giants where I worked. The claims generally fell under $25,000, and the dress was casual for the parties and some of the attorneys. Credit card debts were collected, offending parties in car accidents were sued, and doctors met insurance companies in court to claim $200 a pop for medical procedures that the insurance companies had deemed unnecessary. Daily life goings ons. The “characters”, more like you and your next door neighbor than Jerry Springer. This is what you see when you sit in for jury duty.

There was a case the other day, where a couple in a sedan--the husband driving, the wife, very pregnant, nomming on snacks in the passenger seat--got into an accident with a commercial van. Both parties were suing each other for damages, and their stories didn’t line up. The couple claimed they were making a legal left turn and that all was clear until the van sped up to make the light, and hit them. The men in the van claimed that they were already in the middle of the intersection when the sedan came out of nowhere and hit them. The photos of the damaged vehicles showed damage on the right passenger side of the sedan and on the front bumper of the van. When facts are contested between the two parties, the jury comes in.

Song Lineup #1

The first couple of times I saw the TV spots for Charlie St. Cloud, I dismissed it as sappy and refocused all of my energies back into figuring out what just happened in Lost before the commercial break. And then they hit me with the commercial featuring "Airplanes" by B.o.B and Hayley Williams. I didn't know the name of the song at the time, so I wrote the movie name on a post-it along with the note "look up song on trailer". Two months later, I find the post-it again, look it up on youtube, sift through several trailers to find out what I was referring to, find the song, and develop an urge to see the movie when it comes out later this summer.

That 25 second trailer was powerful stuff. Good. Job.

Below is the playlist I'm working with right now. "Airplanes" is in the final running for summer theme song, as is "Shake Me Like a Monkey" by Dave Matthews Band. Yes, there is a disproportionate representation of Dave Matthews/Dave Matthews Band songs ;) I'm always looking for more musix, I'd love más suggestions.

Jean Piaget

So Piaget said that all the world's a stage, and we have a face that we wear onstage and a face that we have offstage. The problem that a lot of people have with his theory is: if we're playing the "daughter", the "employee", or the "husband", then who are we when we're done playing those characters? Are none of those people the real you?

I think the world is a little kid who likes fish, and you are the aquarium. The face you put on is the filter. You are always the aquarium, but if your filter sucks, the kid gets grossed out by the muck that builds up inside the tank. The trouble is to filter well, and to let people see what's most essential about you. The nasty habits, the laziness, jealousy, selfishness, insecurity, etc. that might be taken as "well that's who I am"--it's what's blocking the kid from seeing the fish because there is so much algae and grossness.

A filter that doesn't function is useless. A filter that overdoes what it's supposed to do is also terrible. Imagine a filter that also deposits chlorine and bleach into a tank periodically. It kills the fish, makes it an uninhabitable sort of place to be in.

Functioning filters are important.

Request for employers: interviewing etiquette?

I understand that as an employer, you have the superpower of assigning internships and jobs to any candidate at your discretion. I also understand that in recession-times/in the aftermath of a recession, unfavorable circumstances exist for job candidates--the entry level jobs offered to recent college graduates may be rescinded. Not only does it negatively impact that class--the class of 2009, for example, but it also has unfavorable outcomes for the following class, which must compete with the graduates from last year. Twice as many candidates competing for the same number of jobs, assuming that these entry level jobs are now being reinstated, now that the recession looks like it is drawing back. With so many qualified college graduates competing for these paid and unpaid jobs--and willing to work full-time--undergraduates looking for paying jobs and internships are also left to deal with a difficult situation.

But that's not the complaint. These circumstances are not under anyone's control. What the employer can do, however, is treat each candidate courteously and understand that time is incredibly important for these job-seekers. If you are not looking to hire a student, let them know as soon as this is apparent to you. The student can then move on and look at other places of employment instead of waiting idly. If you are looking to rescind an offer, please do it ASAP as well--I can imagine how painful it would be to have been offered a job in January, and find out in May, as you are graduating, that the offer no longer holds. Five months that could have been spent sending out cover letters and resumes are no longer there and he/she graduates unemployed.

My story isn't too bad but I'm feeling tinges of annoyance. I already have a terrific internship, but I saw an opportunity to intern at a terrific organization in the city and I applied last minute on the off chance that I would end up spending one or two days a week working there. The managing director of the program emailed me and asked to schedule an interview. After a week of back and forth emails, she finally agrees to do a phone interview with me. I do the usual prep, read all of the reports and whatnot written on the website, imagine what I could do for the place if I worked there, etc. I set aside a good hour and half block of time for the thing, and ask that another phone call that I had to take to be moved to later time that day. I forgo lunch. I get psyched. I wait at my desk. Five minutes go by... she's a little late. That's to be expected. Another ten minutes go by... okay, she may be preoccupied with other business. Twenty minutes. Alright? Am I sure I got the time right? It was ridiculous. I waited an hour for the call (she specifically told me that she would call me when I asked her how I could reach her) and finally stopped waiting for the call. I took my other call, ate lunch, went running, ran some errands, and obvi wrote a blog entry, and let me tell you I have not gotten an email or a call from the director yet.

If the director had emailed me directly and said that she already filled the position, however abruptly and rudely done, I would have preferred it to this. I wasted a good amount of time and rearranged my schedule to fit hers and if she had no intention whatsoever of hiring me/calling me, the "easy way out" shouldn't be faking an interview date with me. I may only be a college student, but this epitomizes a complete lack of consideration for others. I hate how there never seems to be a solution to the situations when the candidate is put in a disagreeable position. I browsed google to see if anyone else had faced this problem--and sure enough, a good number of anecdotes showed me that this situation was common enough and nothing worth fuming over for too long. But as for revenge/relief, there doesn't seem to be much. Who knows where an angry letter will end up? Those hours are gone, might as well move on and do something else. Eff professionalism and all of its boundaries.

What Is The Ceiling Made Out Of?

The Court Life #1

Women attorneys are a minority presence in the courts. It was particularly noticeable when I watched the judge conference with attorneys handling 325Ds (cases with suits >$25,000 that are referred to the civil courts by the Supreme Court). Out of the 30 sets of cases that came up, each with one or two attorneys on each plaintiff/defendant side, I only saw one female lawyer.

While many female lawyers may decide to focus on their families after spending several years working at a law firm, this decision does not account for the huge disparity in numbers of women who are partners and men who are partners. Instead, the policies and general atmosphere that law firms have in place discourage many women from keeping their jobs at the firm. That only 20% of partners are females, while the number of males and females graduating from law school are 50/50, is upsetting.

Maternity leave: Law firms are incredibly strict with time allotted for maternity leave--because what are you going to do? sue the law firm if you don't the time off they will allot to you? Here's a story I heard from a law student: a female lawyer came in and told her boss that she was pregnant. He looked at her in utter confusion, as if to say, "Why on earth would you choose to be pregnant?" She quickly says, "I only want one week maternity leave. I will work up until the day that I am in labor, I will take one week off after I give birth, and then I will be back on my Blackberry and laptop at the end of that week, working from home for a week or two." Her boss looks at her hard. Fortunately, he decides to agree to this plan of action.

Interaction with other attorneys: While males who speak candidly and take drinks with their co-workers are simple having a good time, a female attorney who does the same may be perceived as flirtatious. A female attorney who does not interact with her male coworkers and bosses in a frank way misses out on a great number of opportunities. Catch-22. Regardless of how she acts, her male counterparts have developed an annoying habit of winking at her. If she does make it and break through a couple of ceilings and floors, she will find that it lonely at the top. The number of women in her rank drops steadily as she ascends. There are few female mentors/role models/female leaders in place to advise her as she climbs.

One floor, two ceilings: The Vance Center's report, "Best Practices for the Hiring, Training, Retention and Advancement of Women Attorneys", says that women of color have an even harder time rising to partner status in firms. Discouraged by all of the factors that prevent women from rising, as well as all of the factors that work against a person of color from advancing, the report says that most women of color will leave the law firm after seven years. Almost all will leave after eight years.

What can a woman do? Without changing the institution itself, there are two options. One, mentioned above, is to settle down after a few years and leave the firm. The other is to sacrifice, endure, and keep organized. Female attorneys have headed families--it can be done. However, recent literature holds up Sonia Sotomayor, who is divorced and has no children, and Elena Kagen, who has never married, as the types of women who will be able to rise to the top.

How can the institution be changed? Law firms do not benefit from losing their employees-when an attorney resigns, their clients, cases, etc. disappear as well. The report by the Vance Center estimated that firms lose $500,000 when an attorney resigns.

In light of that fact, I asked a few female law students casually if they thought things might change over the next thirty years for women, just as things have changed dramatically for female attorneys over the last thirty years (not necessarily for the better). They smile and shake their heads, resigned to what's ahead. "Probably not."

Certified Orgo

To keep myself from going insane in times of extreme work, I have a good number of de-stress activities. When I am not pulling all-nighters and am eating regularly, I run a mile or two daily. I read some non-fiction fun before going to sleep. I watch television on Hulu, the guilt of procrastination alleviated by the reflection in my mirror that tells me my roommate is doing the same thing behind me.

I also find that taking some time to nurture something each day diverts me from the path to overworked-depression. Since we're not allowed to have pets in the dorms, and I had not handled the deaths of my last two fish-companions very well, I keep a potted plant with me instead. I grow a lot of my herbs and flowers out of seed babies and the joy of stumbling back into the room after a long day of classes + work and finding little leaflets popping out of the soil is insurmountable. When deprived of live baby animals to cuddle with, I hover over and adore my plants. I think Japan may have gotten it right when it started building cat cafes because I might be turning into the crazy-plant-lady. Not an improvement over cats.

Today, I bought a couple of plants to add to the organic garden collection in my backyard. We have a single strawberry plant, grown from a miniscule strawberry seed baby. It has five leaves right now. I adore it so much even though it's puny.

I started up another pumpkin patch this year. The roots look weak though, I need to do something about that.

Cucumber plant.

Just bought two potted eggplant plants today.

And a pepper plant.

Fabrics of a Suburban June

At the end of my run today, I tipped my head up toward the sky and saw gorgeous pinks and purples, like a painter's revenge swipe on an otherwise gray sky. I ran to get my camera and try to capture the sunset to the best of my ability, but the image quality hasn't been so great ever since I spilled some 'punch' on the thing.

Look up.



Made of red velvet.



These were raised from seed babies.



Mirages.



I see you every day.





In the middle of nowhere.

Fabulous Prizes

Georgetown folk, remember to comment on Vox over the summer. A recent post by Chris Heller says the 10,000 commenter will receive a fully flexible Georgetown Barbie. Do it. I know I want it.

Nation of Wimps

Check out this article:

The Way We Live Now: The Why Worry Generation

-Do you think the criticisms of Gen Y are spot on, or inaccurate, from personal experience?

-Do you think that the ability to keep "deep discouragement" at bay is worthwhile if this ability is also accompanied by a tendency to overestimate one's own abilities?

-Will you turn down a job if you do not think it matches your potential?

-Do you think you have an accurate idea of your own abilities?

-Do you think overconfidence is something that spans different socioeconomic statuses, different ethnic communities, different religions/cultures in the US? Or has this type of upbringing been limited to certain groups?

-What other countries do you know of where the popular childraising technique is to praise at all times? Is the same problem prevalent there?

Call me Jascha and self-censorship

A couple of years ago, I wrote an editorial as an EIC that received a lot of praise from similarly minded (liberal) faculty at my high school, but a good amount of finger-shaking from the administration. How I interpreted the situation in its aftermath, however, is formative in how I write pieces that I intend to put out publicly.

I think that precisely conveying your thoughts is a challenging thing, and an interesting pursuit. I have always loved playing around with words, putting odd combinations together to form a more stimulating description. Recently, as I write mostly non-fiction pieces, I feel like I'm riding on a hyperbola: each edit brings me to a sentence that is closer to the thought in my head, but the sentence never matches the thought completely.

Because I haven't learned how to write as accurately as I think is necessary, I do not trust myself to editorialize, at least not yet. Outside-imposed censorship is bad and sharing opinions is vital, but I think that recognizing the limitations of your own knowledge and your own arguments is just as important. There will always be people who disagree with you and who will argue against your arguments and who will chastise you and demonize you, especially as the writing gets more interesting and relevant.

But what if someone who doesn't know the subject well internalizes your ideas? What if someone misinterprets what you are saying because of faulty language, and internalizes something you never meant to say? What then? How do you feel as an "author"? And how do you feel when readers find out that you haven't done as much research and thinking as you should? Blogs have such a bad rep--a good number of blog authors write as I did in high school--they want to be heard, but take too little time to edit and fact-check what they are transmitting. Take this psychological phenomena--false information is released and people dismiss it at that time. The false information is repeated a couple of months later, and the same people believe it because they heard it before. I don't want to be the author of false information. I don't want to sensationalize anything. I see writing as permanent, and I personally don't want to look back ten years later and cringe at the generalizations and factual screw-ups I made. I think that having the medium to self-publish gives authors an extra responsibility (if they want to be taken seriously) that used to be attributed to editors of formal institutions--and blog authors should remember that.

I have thought for a long time whether or not to discuss the more serious topics on this blog. I think it would be worthwhile, but I think that if I ever do so, it would be 95% factual, 5% interpretation of the facts--I will never pound out several paragraphs of straight out admonishment or praise, but do expect a compilation of facts and opinions by better-versed authors. "Write about what you know" is good advice.

Onto the topic of web monikers. I want one. I think it jazzes things up. I'm going to try out Frites. I thought myself really clever as I came up with this at 3 in the morning (all my ideas seem terrific at 3 in the morning). Frites-->Hi Frites-->Heifetz Get it?

Image by wikipedia user Rainer Zenz used under a Creative Commons license.

Summer theme song competition

Lately, I've picked a different theme song for each season/semester. Fall semester was "I've Got a Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas (I know I'm too original and scene to be handled, don't be hatin') and spring sem was "Zero" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Now I need a summa theme song, and I need one badly. It will probably be one of the busiest summers I have ever had and if I am going to pull myself into the wake up at 7 go to sleep at 11 sched, instead of the usual go to sleep wheneva wake up at 11 sched, I need something catchy. Something good. Something inspiring. I need a song that inspires a personal mission.

Candidate!

All for you I give it all/Cause when I'm thinking of you/When I'm flying above the world/How I wish I was drowning in you

In regards to a personal mission, this could be taken in several ways. The interpretations get creepier along the line. The first interpretation is kind of nice--it is me lovelorn and pining. I would wear many romantic dresses, get dramatic bangs, and read Wuthering Heights all the time. The second interpretation would probs pertain to hobbies/former "passions", before I lost them to orgo. This would probs be violin and writing. The third is kind of strange: applying these lyrics to long term goals. Say my long term goal was to obtain a flamingo as a pet. "All for all, I give it all"--I'll do anything to get that flamingo. I will work 60 hour weeks to obtain the funds to build a suitable habitat in my backyard. I will work hard. I will spend sleepless nights reading about flamingos, and when I finally pass out, I will dream about flamingos and how I will build this bond with said flamingo. When I finally get this flamingo, I will also get it a male/female flamingo companion so it can have little flamingolettes. I will read my flamingos bedtime stories and the morning news, everyday, just because.

Do I even need to go through the rest of the lyrics? It's creepy. I'll be continuing my comprehensive search lata.

I live in a house made out of ticky tacky

For a relatively grassy and leafy place next to miles of white sand and beach, Long Island gets a lot of trash from 20 somethings for its suburban stereotypes. I live in Nassau, so from personal experience, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions.

1) Did you have Sweet Sixteens?

Yes, we did. Ranging from the spectacles you saw on MTV’s Super Sweet Sixteen to just renting out a room in a restaurant for close friends and family, it happened for most of the girls I knew. The tiaras, limos, and barechested-men-carrying-the-birthday-girl happened, as did the more sentimental moments, like sixteen candles for sixteen important people. Aw. We were mocktail connoisseurs by seventeen.

2) What are the locals generally up to?

Mall, beach, concerts, and carnivals. I hate carnival rides, so I just go to eat zeppolis. We also go to the city (NYC) and pretend to be natives there quite often.

3) Are zeppolis really delicious?

Yes.

4) Do the people from Supa Sweet Sixteen actually exist?

Now what are you really asking me, sir? Are Long Islanders materialistic? Answering in absolutes always means answering falsely. There is a pretty distinct Long Island style, and in junior high and high school, we went through phases. There was the Hot Topic stage, the Juicy Couture phase, the phase in which everyone wore Abercrombie and Hollister, the Tiffany’s phase, the phase in which everyone made bracelets out of the plastic ring that came out of the cap of Coke bottles, etc. I would label it a problem of conformity rather than a problem of spoiled materialism. Most people I knew worked part-time after school (tutoring, cashier jobs, etc.) to pay for what they wanted to buy, even if their families were affluent. If what we want to battle is conformity, pls look to San Antonio teens.

Do it Long Island teens! Neva congregate in front of Hollister again!

5) Was the Long Island Iced Tea really made in Long Island?

The Briad Group claims that T.G.I. Friday’s invented the Long Island Iced Tea, although wiki entries generally attribute the drink to a mysterious bartender working in the Hamptons. Well, since T.G.I. Friday’s was launched in New York City in 1965, and the Long Island Iced Tea supposedly originated sometime around the early 1970s, it’s very likely it was Long Island inspired. But those over twenty one beware: the Long Island Iced Tea doesn’t actually have any tea in it. It is named an iced tea simply for its appearance, and it is actually one part tequila, four parts more-liquor, mixed with coke, ice, and lots of something sour.

Why the FAQ? I’m staying in the suburbs for the summer, but no FMLs. I plan to keep myself busy.