Spring Semester Round Up

OK, I know I said I would be updating this more regularly. And it's not for sheer laziness that I have failed in that mission. The sad truth is that there has just not been a lot to report over the past few months. Allow me to illustrate:

Day-to-day: pretty much the same routine
Afternoon-evening: First, it was spent with Parody, which I couldn't talk about because of the Code of Silence. Then, once Parody began, I was clearly too busy partying (again, about things I can't talk about. Let's just say some of the stories involved undergrads, Teddy Roosevelt, and a cat).

So what has there been to talk about? Well, two things, one of which I will address in this post

Restaurant Week(s):
Yay! Who doesn't love gorging on $33.08 dinners? I know I do. Granted, two of my dinners were from the same restaurant, Gargoyle, in Davis Square. I don't know what it was about Gargoyle, but I was sick both nights, from two totally separate meals. Nobody else was sick, just me. Weird. I think I have a delicate system or an allergy or something. Either way, it was still good, if kind of hit-or-miss. The only particularly remarkable restaurant week outing was at the Chart House, where I ordered off the regular menu: prime rib, coconut shrimp, baked potato, and a volcanic mountain of chocolatey goodness. Toss in a few bottles of syrah and it was a great night, and I ended up digesting for the next week.

Next up: Spring Break!

"Congress Page," I think I shall miss you most of all...

If we had curtains, I'm sure the final curtain would have been a powerful moment. After countless hours of rehearsals and "cast bonding," Parody has finally come to an end.

The show had a very successful run, with only a few minor mishaps (a poorly-endowed streaker, a broken blacklight, an injured dancer, and mad ad libs). I had an absolute blast. I would have done it just for the Mark Foley solo in "Scandals Back." Sigh. Is there anything better than having friends and professors see you sing about being an "elected pedophile" or dance around in mesh? I argue that no, no there is not.

Arguably just as fun as the show itself were all of the fantastic cast parties (one of which was hosted chez moi. Well, two if you count the post Tommy Doyle's after-party. Which I do.). I would divulge the secrets of HLS Drama Society, but what happens at cast parties stays at cast parties. (False, but oh well, no reason for me to be the source of gossip). Suffice it to say, there was much eating, drinking, dancing, and Kelly's mouth turned green.

The cherry on top of the experience was the post-strike trip to Chipotle. Brandon drove Pam, Trevor, Ken, Lauren Schreiber, Caroline, and me to Chipotle. Pam had acquired the directions. Unfortunately, Google Maps suck worse than MyPlan. What should have been a 7 minute drive to Medford, turned into about 40 minutes of driving, backtracking, round-abouts, and ducking in the overloaded car whenever we passed one of several police stations. Of course, all was made better when we arrived at Burrito Mecca. Especially when we realized that if you were wearing green, you got your burrito for free (St. Patrick's weekend!). Luckily, I was wearing my Marquette "Smart. Safe. Sober." St. Patrick's Day shirt. Between the anticipation and it being free, this was the best damn burrito. Ever.

I think the burrito was a wonderful metaphor for the show itself. It felt like it took forever to get to it, but when we did, it was well-worth the effort. Plus, good stories and great friends came out of the bonding that such an experience entails. Lastly, it ended with a sense of great fulfillment. And a coma.

Then there were some more gaping holes in the plot...

So, Parody was pretty awesome. However, that doesn't stop it from not having made sense. Discuss.

The Da Vinci Model Penal Code
HLS Parody 2007

Well, it's almost here! The chance to crack the greatest mystery of all time, while laughing at law school, politics, pop culture, and yours truly. Tickets are $12 each (assigned seating) and are available in the Hark from 12:00-2:00 weekdays until March 16. Shows are at 8:00 on Tuesday, March 13 - Friday, March 16, and 7:00 on Saturday, March 17. So come get your Parody on and crack the code! (Say crack again!)

The Common Cold: Cure for Common Motivation

As if it weren't hard enough, being a dreary winter and second semester, I was recently hit by a nasty cold. Rather than be smart and really try and take things easy, what do I do? Enjoy a Friday evening of margaritas and drinking games! Go to 4 hour long dance rehearsal! Boy, were my knees sore in the morning. (Not the first time I've had to say that one. Wiiiiink). Of course, I would much rather spend my time at Parody rehearsal than, oh, I don't know, do reading, work on my Ames brief, clean my apartment... the list is pretty indefinite. Of course, that might all change when costumes are introduced into the mix. Would that I could reveal the details (although, I shall say it's not just women that are scantily clad - Parody parity?). Oh, whom am I kidding? Anything is better than working on the Ames brief.

Luckily, things are on the upswing now. However, some of the damage has already been done. After all, nothing gets rid of motivation to do anything worthwhile/productive like the cold. Well, maybe receiving a job offer.

Cast Bonding
After a week of fun and demanding Parody rehearsals, the end of the Thursday night review called for two things: board games and booze! We celebrated a fantastic first week, as we ate pizza, drank Sodexho wine, and got our Apples to Apples on. (Well, some of us got our Taboo on or Egyptian Rat Screw). I came out the winner of the Apples to Apples game. What put me over was the "Supreme Court" for the dual clues "cold" and "weird." I mean, you just know that's going to be a winner in a group of law students. Of course, you do have to be careful when you play any game with law students, as the evening might dangerously drift towards "Now, what's the standard for review to contest an outcome?" Damn, we're such losers. It was a pretty fun night, even if I did come to realize that my reputation preceded me. How did I develop such a reputation in only a semester? Well, spooning helps. (Friends spoon all the time!). Oh, but it's all in good, clean fun. Ok, not clean. But still fun, and that's what matters.

Midnight rolled around and it was time for us to be kicked out of the Hark South (aka "The Fishbowl"). However, this was hardly to be the end of the evening. Trevor invited anyone remaining back to his place. So, with bottles, cups, and booze, we trekked out in the cold, and got to his place. There, we soon found out that his roommate was home and wasn't feeling well. This was when I offered to continue the festivities at my place. Let the record show that I had offered before, back at the Hark, but I don't think anyone heard me. I mean, my apartment being just across the street from the Hark, it would have been the most attractive choice. So we did.

Most of the rest of an evening is a blur, but the 80 pictures that wound up on my camera sort of helped to piece it together. When we arrived, I was talking with Theresa about my ties (no clue why), and then she tried one on. Which then required that everyone else put on a tie or other Andrew-Accessory as well. So, from there, we partied pretty consistently for a few hours, which included me having to explain a lot of things. Such as "Andrew, why do you have so many ponies?" or "Andrew, are you sure that's a Hello Kitty microphone?" etc. There was a lot of explaining that night. We also had two blackouts (not my fault! they were building-wide) which proceeded into ghost stories and a game of Truth (we were too lazy for Dare at this point). Eventually it was 5:00 AM, and people wandered off home, minus anyone crashing on my futon.

The following morning and day proved to be somewhat brutal, but honestly not my worst. The theme of the day was The Powers That Be did not want me to sleep. I was amazed that I was able to make it to my 8:50 AM Property class. Which really wasn't all that worth it. Almost the entire class was taken up by an exercise discussing a hypo involving lateral support and interpreting the Massachusetts Building Code to see if it provides a private right of action. Fun times! After class, I proceeded to go back to my apartment, where I discover that my lock is broken on the door, and all I wanted was to be able to get in and go to bed. After a few very frustrating minutes, the lock gave way to my rugged masculinity, and I was able to sleep. For about one hour. Then, I heard a very loud pounding on the door as the maintenance people had arrived to paint my bedroom ceiling. There had been a leak that had stained it, and they were here to make it look pretty again. I would have appreciated some kind of heads up, but hey, so it goes. So, I stay awake as they paint my bedroom, and then they finally leave. Now, I can go back to sleep. Except for the fact that my bedroom is filled with paint fumes. Which is not a good combination. Anyway, I get back to sleep for another half hour, before I'm awakened by yet another loud knock on the door. More maintenance people. They came to check on the work. I really do appreciate the maintenance workers and their enthusiasm and thoroughness. But for the love of God, at that moment I just wanted sleep! Soon enough, though, there wasn't any more nap time, as I had to go to dance class. It was quite productive, and I'm amazed that I didn't get sick, considering my combination of lack of sleep, fried eggs, paint fumes, and much spinning.

Finally, after all of this, I was able to go home and have peace and quiet to myself and just crash. Right after I watched Gilmore Girls, of course.

Get Your Parody On!

Ah, the great Harvard Law School tradition of the Parody. The annual show where students make fun of life at HLS, other students, professors, pop culture ... you name it. And it's scathing (So, not for the easily offended). But most importantly, it's hilarious! I would share the details, but then it just wouldn't be as funny, now would it? So, you'll just have to come see it (March 13-17)! I will however, share my take on the process...

Auditions were last week, and they went pretty well. I even received a dance call back, meaning that I would be some kind of featured dancer. I like to think this says something about my awesome dance-moves, and not the talent pool at HLS. Leave me with my delusions. So, this pretty much means that I will be very busy over the next 5-6 weeks. So, just assume that the default answer to any question like "what are you doing later tonight?" will be "I have rehearsal."

Of course, rehearsals are going to be a blast. Even more fun people than the fall show! Even if I already made a fool of myself (what else is new?). To demonstrate, read the following statement of mine out loud:

Andrew: "Wow, Giselle. You're Fergilicious. In fact, you're more than that. You're Gisellicious!"

I did not think that one through. (If you didn't get it, I suggest you repeat it several times. Then maybe it's time for us to have "the talk").

Along with looking forward to the fun and games of Parody, the dancing rehearsals have reminded me of the fact that I am terribly out of shape. Other than the shape of "string bean." So, hopefully, a few trips to the gym will make that a little better.

All in all, fun times are ahead!