Justice O'Connor

I got to attend a Q & A session at the law school today with former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She is a really funny woman and tells great stories, and I thought I'd share this one with you, not because it's funny, but because it's so unbelievable:
She went to Stanford Law School in the early 1950's and graduated near the top of her class. At that time, all of the big city law firms would put flyers up in the law school hallways telling students to call for an interview. She said she called all of the firms but couldn't get a single interview. Finally, she talked to one of her classmates whose dad was a partner at a big L.A. law firm (I've heard it was Gibson Dunn, but she didn't name it while she told us the story). The classmate got her dad to interview Justice O'Connor. During the interview, he praised her resume, but then said "Ms. Day, our firm has never hired a woman and I don't see that changing any time soon. Our clients just wouldn't stand for it." He continued, "but how fast can you type?" She replied she typed so-so. To this, he answered, "Well, if you type well enough, I might be able to get you a position as a legal secretary." She declined the offer. She graduated at the top of her class at Stanford and she couldn't get a job! She ended up working for the San Mateo County D.A. WITHOUT PAY for a few months until the D.A. became judge and her supervisor was made D.A., which opened up a slot for her to actually get money. Wow, times have changed.

Another Celebrity Sighting -- if you can call her a celebrity

Chris and I were at the Century City mall yesterday and I saw Janice Dickinson! You know, from the tv shows "America's Next Top Model" and "Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency." Quality shows. Chris and I walk in A-list circles. She was walking in front of us and turned around to glare at some people who had just walked by and said something to her -- apparently she's as nice in real life as on her shows. Chris didn't see her face because he was looking at the mall directory, but I'd recognize that plastic surgery anywhere!

The bike era has ended 2

So, I was talking to Josh Erickson and he said he rides his bike to school. I told him I just returned my bike because I was too scared to ride it anymore. He told me he's been hit by a car twice! And both times he was in the bike lane! Then Cameron said everybody he knows that rides his/her bike to school has been hit at least once. Obviously that's an exaggeration, but I still feel it vindicates my decision to wuss out and return my bike.

Presidents' Day in Phoenix

We spent Presidents' Day weekend in Phoenix for the J. Reuben Clark Law Society National Conference, as well as to visit Renee and the kids. Well, we were actually just needing a place to stay, so we were forced to visit them. The weekend was a lot of fun despite its inauspicious beginning. We left L.A. at 8 and were still fighting traffic 45 minutes later. It's almost 9 o'clock and we're still in traffic?! I think a lot of it had to do with Valentine's though -- all those people going out to eat. But back to my narrative. For some reason, I had it stuck in my head that it only took 4 hours to get to Phoenix. After driving for over 2 hours, though, I saw a road sign saying "Phoenix 250 miles". That was still 3 1/2 hours away! I kept hoping it was wrong. I was only mentally prepared for a 4 hour trip, and now it was going to be almost 6 hours. How was I going to stay awake? Luckily, I had Lorein there to keep me company. Oh wait, she went to sleep at 9 -- before we were even out of the greater L.A. area! I spent the rest of the trip trying to sing along to songs I didn't know in order to stay awake. Around 1:30, it struck me that Arizona's in a different time zone. So, we ended up getting to Renee's house at 3 am, when I had told her we'd be there around midnight. Needless to say, we slept in until around 10 Friday morning.
The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun, although I'm not going into detail because this is a blog, not a travelogue. We enjoyed the conference a lot -- Sandra Day O'Connor gave a great speech on ethics and I also really liked the breakout sessions we attended ("How to survive as young associate", and info on judicial clerkships). Saturday, we did a lot of shopping and went to the Titanic exhibit. That night, we went to dinner. One of the menu items was "jerk chicken". I said, "Renee, you should get the jerk chicken." Everyone laughed. Like I said, a great weekend.

The bike era has ended

I returned my bike. No, it's not entirely because I'm a wuss. First, it was a good chunk of dough that we could use elsewhere -- like in buying Lorein maternity stuff! Second, and most importantly, every time I rode to and from school, I felt like I was challenging death. You think driving in L.A. is heinous while in a car, try it on a bike! While it was really, really good exercise, it was so stressful that I always felt incredibly relieved to finally reach my destination. So, I have chosen peace of mind over a sculptured body (yet again).

My new bike 2

I rode my bike to school today and made it the whole way without stopping! I've still got a ways to go though -- at one of the stoplights, I joined a little Asian girl who was also riding her bike to UCLA. When the light turned green, she kicked my butt up the hill.

My new bike

I bought a bike at Costco last night. I've been thinking about getting a bike for awhile now because I figured it would be good exercise commuting to and from school. Since it was Saturday, I decided to test how long it would take me to get to UCLA. It's just over 4 mi. away, so I was thinking it would take about a half an hour. Boy was I wrong. That ride kicked my butt. I really hope it gets me in shape fast. There were two main problems. The first is that there's a really steep hill right by our apartment, so the very beginning of my ride was brutal. That basically drained me immediately. Second, I had to ride on the sidewalk -- I didn't ride on the street because, well, I didn't want to die -- and the sidewalks here aren't exactly the best maintained. So many cracks and bumps. I spent the whole ride bumping up and down on that teeny little narrow seat. My butt hurts so bad I can barely walk. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but there were a couple of times during my ride where I thought about turning right around and returning the bike to Costco. Looking at the big picture though, it was good exercise. I'll just have to find a new route to school. And really, it's just the ride up that's hard; the ride back was great. If I could only figure out a way to get the bike to school so I would only have to ride it downhill! Don't worry, I'll post a pic of my new bike shortly.

Carmen vs. Carson

Since Chris claims one of the reasons I don’t post to the blog is because I don’t see people like Carson Daly at the driving range (see Wicked post below), I thought I'd better clear my name and my exciting job. Of course the thought never crossed his mind that I may be too sick, tired, and cranky from growing a human being inside me to post to our blog . . . of course not=)

So, here’s my claim to fame -- and I dare say it’s cooler than Carson Daly. One day at work, right outside my office window, there was a filming crew for Icebreakers gum. "Who was the star of this commercial?" you ask. None other than Carmen Electra—American glamour model, television personality, dancer, singer, and actress. Yep, much cooler than a washed up VJ.

Here’s a picture of the filming taken from my office window. I sit about 10 feet from that window. Carmen Electra is in the red dress. Ok, I know it's small but she's there.

I’ve also posted the end result….a commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLII. This baby cost millions! The building behind Carmen Electra is where I work, and I’m sure if you look really closely you can see me through the one of the windows. I’m practically famous! I’m considering hiring an agent.

We Voted!

Just voted. No, I'm not going to tell you who I voted for. I'm only going to tell you this funny little vignette: we went to the polling place and told them we were Republican. They directed us toward the Republican booth. We walked down the line, passing a Democratic booth . . . and another Democratic booth . . . and another Democratic booth . . . and another Democratic booth . . . and another Democratic booth . . . and then finally we found the two Republican booths in the corner. Amazingly, they were immediately available! I have a feeling we don't live in a conservative district.

Wicked: The Musical

I'm sorry I'm the only one who posts. I try to get Lorein to, but she just says her life is too boring. She assumes you don't want to read about sitting in an office all day. I tell her there's a whole tv show about that and we watch it faithfully! Plus, it's not like my life is any more exciting, yet I can still find stuff to write about! Although I guess it is true she didn't see Carson Daly at the driving range.
Anyway, Lorein and I headed over to the Pantages Theater in glorious (and by "glorious" I mean "somewhat trashy") Hollywood to see Wicked. You know, the musical. We've been wanting to go for awhile, but it was out of our price range until we got tickets for Christmas. It was a very entertaining and funny musical, although the scene where the Wizard releases the flying monkeys is one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life. Those crazy monkeys are creepy enough in the movie -- I didn't need to see them live and in spooky costumes! The acting and music were great, but I was a little put off by the story line. I was fine suspending my disbelief that the Wicked Witch was actually the nice, warm-hearted, conscientious one and Galinda the do-anything-for-fame one, but they lost me when they tried to explain the origins of the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow. That was a bit too far-fetched. The big question, though, is would I go see it again? Absolutely. If somebody gave me tickets.

Lorein and I in the fabulous lobby of the theater. It's too bad the photo came out too dark. We need a new camera. Hey! Hint, hint, for my b-day coming up in approximately 15 days.

Here's my mom, Shari, and Lorein pointing at a scary looking statue dude that is, once again, obscured by the darkness of the photo.

The lady attendees of the show: Lorein, Shari, and my Grandma Ginny.