Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 | Law School

I need more sleep. Now that it gets dark in the afternoon, I’m finding it harder and harder to stay awake during the day. Naps are out of the question. No nap. I don’t really have much to say. I’m just typing in order to stay awake for dinner. I think I’ve written about 500 pages of notes so far in law school. As far as reading, I think I usually read around 150 pages a week. I guess that’s not too bad. Well, sometimes it can be. Each page can take as much as ten minutes to read. They all sound as if they were written by guys wearing white ponytail wigs. That’s not to say the subject matter is dull–just the writing. Also, pictures would be nice. I don’t care if it’s a law text, I want a picture. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Black and white will do just fine. Even a sketch, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the gold lettering on the cover and the simulation leather feel. But I just feel it’s missing that little extra *pop!* Does the exclamation point go in between the asterisks? I hope so.

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | Recipes

When I visited Seattle a year ago, I stopped into a little shop downtown and had the best corn soup ever. Ever since then, I’ve been hunting for the perfect recipe and dun dun dun dunnnnn (do do do sol…triplet followed by a dotted half, if you’re into music), I’ve found it! The following is my adaptation of a recipe I found here:

Yummiest Corn Soup Ever

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups milk (I use skim and it’s incredibly rich and creamy)
4 cups corn kernels (Fresh is best, but amazingly, frozen is almost as good)
3ish cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion (I process this down with the garlic so it’s practically pulp, but I don’t think that’s really necessary since it will be blended later. I’m just weird about pieces of onion.)
2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup cream (you almost don’t even need this…or, you can substitute nonfat yogurt mixed with a little milk for a healthier version)
1tbs salt, plus some more for seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
Boil the water in a large saucepan, then add in the milk and corn until the corn gets tender. I let it sit simmer and just ignore the lovely milk skin that develops. It all gets blended anyway. No one has to know. Once the corn is tender, drain it but preserve the water/milk mixture for later.

Next it’s time to make the roux. Throw the butter in the original saucepan and cook the onion/garlic mixture until soft and then add in the flour. You’re going to want to whisk it all quickly for a few minutes, just to remove the floury taste. It should bubble and darken slightly. Now, add in the water/milk mixture and simmer it for fifteen minutes or so. I stir it occasionally…again, just ignore the milk skin.

Now it’s blender time. You likely won’t be able to fit all of the corn and liquid in a blender, so take half the corn and half the liquid and blend together until smooth. Put it back into the sauce pan and blend the remaining stuff together. Once blended, add it to the rest and add the cream, pepper, and salt to taste. Reheat and serve. This is one of those soups where I can’t stop licking the bowl/spoon/counter drippings/blender blade. Be careful with the blade.

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | Law School

Can I use law school as an excuse? I’m not really sure who reads this, aside from Ashley and the occasional etsy clicker, so please excuse this rather mundane post.

I suppose I’ll first start off with a general conversation starter-the weather. The current weather is very similar to the coldest weather that Tucson experiences. Oddly enough, I’m handling it alright. See, in Tucson, I would typically forgo a jacket and just make a run for the car, knowing that the afternoons would warm up to a point where I wouldn’t need a jacket. Here, however, it remains chilly all day, so I wear a jacket. So, I’m actually warmer in Seattle. It’s crazy. Oh yeah, it’s not raining much here. I’m pretty annoyed. I left Arizona at the start of its rainy season, only to come to Seattle and experience minimal rainfall. At this point, I think that anyone who claims Seattle is rainy is a big liar. Nevertheless, I have bought myself a pair of boots. These boots are my first real pair ever, which is ironic considering I hail from a state full of Cowboys.

Now, onto law school. But first, someone in the building is playing Hey Jude, but all I can hear is the “Na na na naaaa…” It’s really annoying. So yes, law school. I think it’s going well. Unlike my undergrad, I’m taking notes, doing the readings, making outlines, and studying. And I even enjoy it. I’m not even that freaked out about getting called on. Ok, I’ll admit, it is a bit nerve-wracking watching my professor draw a random index card out of the stack and call on the person whose card it is. However, most of the time I’m not spacing out so it goes well.

My favorite classes are still property and contracts, although I still have no idea what I want to do for a living. Someone suggested copyright law, specifically in the entertainment field. That might use my music undergrad degree which would be a plus. I wonder if I’d have to start listening to music. I don’t really like doing that.

Wow, this post is dull.

I have a recipe I’ll be posting soon for the most wonderful corn soup ever. The best part is that it can be made using frozen kernels. I know, blasphemy! Er, should that be blasphemous? Whatever, I’m not going to grad school for English. I’m a gonna be a lawyer! Yar.

I suppose I should be ending this post. I have class shortly in which I will be arguing that an easement should be interpreted as it was originally agreed upon. Woo!