Autumn fades into winter

The puff coat has come out!

It's been below freezing and we had our first hail-snow yesterday. The first frost was on my car this morning and I had to pull out the scraper. Que loco! I do love fall, and there are still hints of leaves changing, but it looks like winter is coming. It's shocking how after even just the first flurries or overnight frost, fall somehow fades away. The trees look sparse, the leaves are no longer vibrant colors. No more frozen yogurt stops on the way home from school. Now I just want a cup of hot tea with a splash of milk.

I'm excited for scarves, mittens, and hats. I can't wait for anonymous runs in the crisp, dark night and that feeling of fresh legs during a brisk winter run. Then, with rosy cheeks, I get to make (and eat!) thick, creamy soups like pumpkin or butternut squash.

Ooo, and it's almost time for those festive balls of light in Rittenhouse Square (Philly) -- that, to me, is the epitome of winter. I even get to see them this year when I'm back east in December!


It's true my favorite season is ending, but my second favorite seasons is arriving!

London + back again

Ahhh, London was so wonderful! I had never been there before and just adored it. Yes, yes, I know vacation and visiting with friends and all of this is makes it a different experience from actually living there. But it was a good experience! What didn't we do!?

I arrived Friday, picked up my friend's keys from the restaurant below his flat. After shower and "topping up" the Skype phone I borrowed from Diana, I walked around West London for the afternoon. My friend got off work and we went to a gastropub in Angel for dinner. Delicious food: notably, the "chips" (fries). Walked past a hip bar and decided to go in for a shi-shi drink. The bar was warm refuge, bustling, small, crowded, dark, looked nondescript from the outside. Good fun. Reminded me of a bigger/older Boston.

Saturday we headed to Portabello Market to browse the food, antiques, and people watch. From there, we hoped on the tube to get to Embanquement (spelling?) where we walked along the Thames, crossed bridges, heard a classical music afternoon concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, saw the Tate Modern and the Gauguin Exhibit going on right now. What next? We went toward Central London to see the sights, walk through Chinatown, Regents Park, Hyde Park, etc. We stopped when we got hungry as we were passing Iraqi food. YUM. After that we picked up ice cream on the way home.

Sunday we went to Brick Lane. So cool! Hipster market type. Young crowd, awesome stands of independent artists with graphic tees, jewelry, scarves, clothes, trinkets, cards, bags, food, etc. I loved the bustling crowd, diversity of look, style, language. From there we went to afternoon tea and hustled to a fringe theater show that was hilarious. I looooved it. Walked home, past this beautiful, empty street with all the embassies. Watched part of Woody Allen movie and crashed hard.

Monday morning I got to meet Diana's musician friends for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. Yay! So nice to meet them and talk about our little Diana. I caught a flight at about 4 p.m. and watched the sunset for about 8 hours as we raced the sun toward the West. I was exceedingly proud of myself for doing homework and not sleeping during the flight. Picked up my car, exhausted, drove back to Denver and got to bed at 11 p.m. Denver time/6 a.m. London time.

I am very lucky to have such good friends all around the world. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend!

Since then, back to the ol' routine. Gym in the morning, work and meetings and class all day. I wrote and handed in a 3,000 word midterm yesterday (due at 7 p.m.). Glad that's over with! On to the next paper, er. um. I mean updating the neglected little bloggie. Sorry bloggie and kind readers!

Also of note, I have now gone running 2 days in a row! YAaaay! The first day I did:

walk 5 min
run 10 min
walk 5 min
run 10 min

Then yesterday I did:

walk 5 min
Run 10 min
walk 5 min
run 10 min
walk 5 min
run 17 min
walk 10 min

And when I say "run," let's be honest, I was barely jogging. But, hey, it's fall. It's beautiful and leaves are falling. I felt great and felt pretty lucky and happy about it all! Who cares about all that law school work waiting for me. :)

the month we've been waiting for

October is my favorite month. It's not quite the same out here in Colorado where the highs are still upper 80s or even lower 90s, and the leaves are sort of a pale brown, tan color before they fall off the trees. I miss New England fall. We used to have such beautiful runs for cross country. I'm going to try to make the most of it out here. I went to Vail and western Colorado to see the yellow aspens change colors. I've been going for bike rides outside and walks at night. We're already 4 days in, so I'd better get going on making October great!

Last weekend:

went to symphony (heard Beethoven)
went to a "Progressive Potluck"
took naps
went for 2 bike rides
went for 3 walks

Fake fall

Just as there is no spring on Cape Cod, there is no fall here in Denver. The mornings are starting to get a bit chilly (low 50s?), but every afternoon is over 80 degrees. It's too hot, people. Mom said the leaves are changing back home. Here, I am still sweating just running errands around town. I am going out to western Colorado in a couple weeks to hang out there for a weekend, and I hope the leaves will be nice.

The weeks trudge on - is this week 5 of class? - and I am starting to feel that there is more work to be done. I also feel like I'm just biding my time here, waiting out the semester. I think I'm supposed to look forward to graduating, but it doesn't feel that way. Things are looming ahead: where do I take the bar? Passing the bar. Getting a job. Paying off loans. It's all very daunting.

Yesterday I got dim sum at a pretty good place with my friend, Viv. We picked up some groceries, too, from the Asian grocery store. I got a huuuge bag of brown rice (5 lbs?) for $4.50 and some curry paste for $1.99. So cheap. After, she also helped me buy and move a $24.99 used comfy chair from the fancy-shmancy Goodwill on Broadway. It's pretty great and it fits perfectly. I positioned it to look out the window so I can't wait for late fall or winter to have my cup of tea or morning oatmeal and watch the fountain out in the courtyard. She also confirmed that my place smells like gas, mildly. I haven't closed my window since I moved in.

Happy Monday, or something like that.

First week of school

Things have been busy busy busy since I got back to Denver. I've seen friends, gone for bike rides, started up yoga and swimming. I changed my course schedule and I am about to cinch a 9 month least at a great apartment.

The classes:

International Comparative Petroleum Oil Law and Policy
International Mining Law and Policy
Legal Profession: Women in the Law
International Trade

The Apartment:

In an old historic brick mansion, the studio has 12 ft ceilings, a walk in closet, huge windows, wood floor and black/white checker kitchen tile, old fashioned tub, garden courtyard, loft bed with a desk underneath. I love it! If all goes well, I sign the lease Thursday and move in in a week.

The Internship:

No internship yet. I am considering (1) trying to do some higher-level policy work on economic development and international trade policy for the Colorado state government or (2) interning for the legal department of LaraBar. My most favorite-est exercise snack bar that is gluten free and started by women, based locally here in Denver. Can we say, free samples?

Other:

The weather is fabulous. I'm thinking of doing a sprint triathlon. I want a windowsill garden with rosemary, aloe, and basil plants. I have no internet at home and am holding out as long as I can. I'm reading for pleasure.

Twenty-six

Happy Birthday Dinta Bint and Bouie!

:)

Swine flu-y November

Poor Dinta Bint is sick. She has swine flu. Even worse, she had it over her two auditions in Toronto. A week with swine flu, alone in Toronto. She said the B&B she was staying at didn't even give her breakfast. bed and BREAKFAST, people! Couldn't they bring it to her? She said they finally agreed to give her a banana. Sigh. Hope she feels better

Otherwise - it's November. Crazy. The end of the semester is coming, the marathon is coming...Thanksgiving is coming! I signed up for classes for Winter Quarter at the grad school. Here is what I'm taking:

Intro to Human Rights Lecture & Lab (What is Human Rights lab??)
Politics of Development
International Law and Human Rights
International Development with a Cross Cultural Perspective

and, I might audit Ancient Political Theory. Can't wait!

sunday, fun day

Ohhh, I had such high hopes for getting a lot of work done today. Nope.

Watched my friends kick butt in the Denver Marathon today - 2nd and 3rd (okay, chip time 4th by 1 second!) women overall in stellar times for an altitude marathon. Pretty fun zooming around the city on my bike. Another friend ran a smart race in the Half, so I am happy for her. There were all of thousands and thousands of people hanging around Civic Park and I just *happened* to walk by her as she was chilling after her race. Crazy. AND, back East three other friends ran well during a Nor'easter at the Bay State Marathon in Lowell. Congrats to all! Gulp. That means I'm next. :O

Wasted time for awhile and did easy homework I didn't have to do.

Then, I got dressed up and with to Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Student tickets are $5. I heard one of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and Isle of the Dead. And, then a little prelude or something as the encore. As Dad says after concerts where they play from the romantic era (Chopin, Rach., etc.), "Well, that was lush." What a treat.

Then it was necessary for me to roast pumpkin seeds and, of course, go for my easy recovery run around Wash Park.

A good day, but pathetic work-wise. Going to bed now so I can have solid work in the morning at school before it gets loud/crowded/busy. Wish me luck! Here's to a GREAT week ahead...

Average Friday

Fridays are my "I'm exhausted" day. But, they are also my calming, centering day. I go to my internship all day, sit in a nice chair, on the 27th floor of the WTC with a fabulous view of Denver and the entire Front Range. I love my coworkers and my work is interesting/teaches me a lot. I really enjoy going there and look forward to Fridays.

So, just my average Friday: wake up, get to work around 8:15. Call Dad on the way to the bus, then proceed to ignore creepy men staring at me on the bus. Be excited when Jinhong gets in (late, usually). Work until Noon. Lunch break - noodles at XO with Jinhong. So fun! And, lunch special is a huge bowl that we usually split for only $8. I looove having a friend to split big meals with. Restaurants always serve too much - and then you don't want to pay, or eat them old, or carry around a box/bag all day.

Then, tee hee hee, a trip to Nike store on the way back to work. I actually went to get two items. They didn't have one, but I got the other (and a clearance sports bra. Now I can throw away the oldest one I have, which has lasted me these last ELEVEN years.). I got some arm warmers! I've thought these things were great for a long time now. I don't like the restriction of teeshirts, especially long-sleeve. I also tend to be a *ahem* New England runner, who likes to race/run in a little clothing as possible (well, I am modest). AND, club racing shirts are usually just tank tops, so your arms get chilly all flapping out in those February races. Anyway, I think they are great, so I got 'em. If the marathon is cold I will wear them. Last year, Philly Marathon was in the 30s! Good thing Colorado was about 23-25 degress last weekend. Good practice. Here is a picture of the clearance sports bra and the arm warmers I got. That's right, I can only hope they look as hardcore on me as they do on Kara Goucher.



Anyway, stayed at work until 5:15, got home around 5:45 and called Grandma. Then, out for a run. Truth be told, the run was just "eh." It's been one of those weeks were I have to remind myself that I just do my best with the training plan and realize that I have a lot of other things going on. Shower, grocery store, cook dinner while listening to the news and finally ate dinner around 10 p.m. I'm pooped.

Sigh. I did no work.

Off to bed - car appointment at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow in Aurora. Bon soir.

October!

The month I've been waiting for all year - it's October! I love October! Even though there is fake fall here, I still love it. It's cooler, less humid, days aren't too short, leaves change. A few things coming up:

Hardest 4 weeks of marathon training
Pumpkin carving/apple-crisp cook-off
Pumpkin scones at Starbucks (I admit, I love them)
Daylight savings
My Jewish Law event
Last month of being 25
Two great concerts at Colorado Symphony Orchestra -- Shostakovitch and Rachmaninoff.
A workshop at work on International Law and Intellectual Property. In-ter-est-ING!

(Rabbit Rabbit!)

odds and ends update

Yom Kippur yesterday - fast was hard! I was doing fine through about noon. Then I started to get a headache. Then I started to feel reeeaally bad. Then I broke, went to a quirky little break fast. Ate. Then my stomach just hurt. Ow. I knew it was coming. I don't even think I ate that much. I think the whole thing about going to temple the whole day isn't the best way to spend it. You don't actually get time to think! I don't think I reflected enough :/ but I feel like life is already moving on (without me!). You should have seen the scene at Temple Emanuel, though. Everyone all done up. Moms who are all put together with the fancy suit, the bleached/blow-fried hair, bright power-red nail polish, skinny-as-anything. I seriously wondered if some of them actually were sick and that was why they were so thin.

I got a call from Ms. Ariel and am very excited to be one of her bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding in Nashville. Hurrah! It will be so fun.

I am desperately trying to work on a first draft but it's not going so well. I have a meeting tomorrow at 11 so I am getting up at 5 (ha, a mere 7ish hours) to get working on it. Sigh. It shouldn't be this hard. Grad school is so much more fun than law school, I hate to admit.

Oh yeah, can you believe (1) it's almost October and (2) it stays dark so long! Almost until 7 a.m. Sigh, and it's dark when I get out of class at 7:15 p.m. Fall is here; winter is coming. The amount of people working out/running/biking in Wash Park is diminishing considerably. Soon, I will be able to bike the wrong way around the park and see the sun rise from my favorite angle. I had to stop doing that once spring hit because people (ahem, who had NOT been out biking through the winter as I had) decided to come out and tell me what not to do. It's not like I hadn't biked the wrong way through the park, in the dark, early morning all winter long! Sigh. A slave to society.

g'night!

Ask and thou shall receive

Good news! As Vice President of the Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA) this year I am in charge of planning and running the Fall Speaker Event. Yikes! We wanted someone to give a talk who would appeal to a lot of people: Jewish law students, non-Jewish law students, DU students at large, and Jewish people in the community generally. So, we heard that a Colorado State Court of Appeals Judge is a practicing Orthodox Jew and thought that was a perfect match. We hope that he can talk about the overlap of American law and Jewish law; and, how does he live as a modern practicing Jew, while balancing the demands of a highly public, morality-related professional career?

One thing: I, the lowly law student, had to ask this important, highly-respected, and high-up Judge if he wanted to come speak at DU. What if I sound like an idiot? Or he laughs and says No Way Jose? After exercising expert Google skills, I cold called him this morning. Nerve-wrecking!! I was sweating. I introduced myself and asked the woman who answered the phone if I might leave a message or speak with the Honorable Judge Richman. The woman who answered the phone (Clerk? Administrative Assistant?) said something like, "Well, you can probably leave a message, what is it about?" I told her and she put the Judge on the phone - Success! Once he was on the phone, it was much easier. I explained who I am and what I wanted. He was friendly, pleasant and said Yes, he'd be happy to come and speak in October. Perfect! It was so easy!

We have an awesome Fall Speaker and I can now go on with the rest of the plans like booking the room, getting food, making posters, advertising in the community...

Honorable Colorado Court of Appeals Judge David Richman
Title: TBD
7:00 p.m., October 14, 2009
Sturm College of Law, Room 165
Refreshments served.

Goodbye August

I can't believe tomorrow is September 1. Of 2009. I don't have much to say about it, except that I just can't believe how the months are slipping by. We're coming into my favorite season - fall! It's not quite the same here without foliage, cool and crisp fall days with strong breeze off the ocean, apple-picking and (soon after) apple cobbler-baking. I'm still excited, though. It's already chilly in the mornings and there's just something invigorating about fall. I love it.

Here are some things I'm working on these next few months:

- taking my daily vitamin
- sleeping more (and not feeling guilty about it)
- read a little of a novel before sleeping each night
- keep focus and efficiency in studying
- make it to trails or the mountains at least 1x every other week
- re-do my resume and begin the internship summer 2010 search.
- cook dinner and make my own coffee (I've been pretty good about this since July)

(fun list)
- pick a pumpkin and carve it
- roast the pumpkin seeds
- make soups and delicious bread to go with it
- go to the Alliance Francaise happy hour French wine and cheese nights
- go to Symphony (The Colorado Symphony Orchestra is starting up soon!)
- do art (find an art class?)
- go to Buddhist meetings (for clarity, simplicity, wisdom and self-awareness)
- drive my car less

See? Won't fall be fun? More to come ... Rabbit rabbit!