An Early Merry, MERRY, Christmas!

We send you and your's happy jigging! ENJOY!

The O Carols

My roommate (hereafter, Em) is in the midst of preparing for her upcoming concerts. She's been singing Greensleeves on and off these past few weeks. Needless to say, I adore the festive atmosphere of our humble abode. It diverts me from the tension of school and this city.

While listening to Em, I thought about the Christmas Carols I most enjoyed and noticed that all my favorites begin with "O":

O Come all Ye Faithful
O Holy Night
O Come O Come Emmanuel
O Little Town of Bethlehem (this isn't a favorite, I figured a 4th carol rounds off the category nicely)

There's something so peaceful about these songs. They not only capture the spirit of the season and why we celebrate Christmas but they also embody a powerful yet simple proclamation of faith that ought to be sung year round. I'm not going to lie, I've gotten teary-eyed when hearing O Holy Night and O Come Emmanuel. Isn't it amazing how music can heighten every emotion?

Time to return to the books. O bugger.

My Favorite Things

Yesterday the big O had her notoriously frenetic "Favorite Things" episode. Women were wailing, there was dancing in the streets, old ladies were doing cartwheels - it was total chaos. I felt like slapping everyone silly.

Fortunately, I wasn't so absorbed by the madness that I veered away from exactly what O was recommending for the holidays. One of the things she suggested put me off: UGG boots. Isn't that just a clever euphemism for an Ugly Boot? I will never understand why people would spend money (in this case over a $100) for ugly boots. Those must be some COMFORTABLE shoes.

O's big prize giveaway was an LG refrigerator with a built-in HD television and other gadgets like a stored database of over 100 recipes. I thought that was pretty cool, except I couldn't help thinking that the food could get spoiled or someone could get electrocuted if any beverage spilled on the panel.

So what are my favorite things? Being with friends and family! This past weekend was most excellent because I got to share it with my wonderful friends. I also realized that I need to practice my poker skills, my skills being none at this point. Monday was awesome as well, as Nan, Su and I spent time with Ms. U at her lovely Queens residence. I like Queens. I understand why its considered one of the most diverse places in America, I recognized that when I first set foot into Elmhurst. Sigh...if only we could say the same about Shaolin.

Tonight T and I are going to do our annual viewing of the Muppet Christmas Carol. If you haven't watched it, you're missing out. Its seriously one of the best adaptations of Dickens I've seen. Speaking of which, I think I may be on a Dickens wave right now. I just finished watching the BBC miniseries "Bleak House" and let me tell you, it is VERY, VERY good. You should check that out, too. I think O should add a Netflix subscription to her favorite things list because that is certainly something I'd love this Christmas!

The Mac is Back

So my computer has been restored!

After a nightmarish week that included my hard drive dying, I'm off to celebrate the start of the holidays.

Tonight's mission: Enjoying Jen's pre-T day party!!

Pause

Why am I here again?

Beautiful Lyrics from a Fugee

"Turn Your Lights Down Low"..

Loving you is a like a song I replay
Every three minutes and thirty seconds of every day
And every chorus was written for us to recite
Every beautiful melody of devotion every night
It's potion like this ocean that might carry me
In a wave of emotion to ask you to marry me
And every word, every second, and every third
Expresses the happiness more clearly than ever heard
And when I play them, every chord is a poem
Telling the Lord how grateful I am cause I know him
The harmonies possess a sensation similar to your caress
If you asking then I'm telling you it's yes
Stand in love, take my hand in love, God bless...

~L.Boogie

The Morning Traffic Report

Its amazing how a few hip-hop beats can transform a generic radio traffic report into a jamming newsbeat. The station that our shuttle driver listens to always plays funky old-school. It makes a lazy early morning ride to school a little more worthwhile.

Anyhoo.

Its crunch time here in Philly. Basketball season has started, Eagles fans (or should I say VULTURES) are already gearing up for the NFL playoffs, and my law school finals are so close that I'm dreaming about scantrons and number two pencils. Weird thing is, we don't even use them for exams.

The quarter has flown by. In Criminal Procedure today, we were going over material that seems so fresh in my mind yet so overwhelming. Studying three Constitutional amendments in the course of nine weeks doesn't sound like much but my goodness is it heavy! Learning about our "rights" has been fun but so confusing! I walked into class believing I understood how the rules worked and walked out with an almost totally different analytical approach to the fourth amendment. Thank goodness we don't have to learn this stuff on our own...which brings me to this question...

When will I GET IT? I fear being the perpetual newbie - always learning, never instructing. I don't mind learning, I'm just frustrated with not absorbing information and nuances of legal rules fast enough. I remember feeling so mature (intellectually and emotionally) when I was younger - it was like I was five steps ahead of others my age. Now I am the small fish in the big pond and its a bugger. The passage of a year of this MADNESS has surely made me grow to new depths and heights, yet that nagging sensation of anxiety coupled with a wavering self-confidence never goes away. A failure-cloud looms over my head and I wish I could just blow it off like a bubble.

Sigh.