Waitlisted ASU

Well, that's it, all of my decisions are in. Arizona State University finally waitlisted me. This leaves me with a waitlist at George Mason University and ASU and a bunch of expired acceptances (4) alongside my stack of rejections (5). Unless something drastic happens I think that I will be trying to find a job wherever it is we decide to live and then studying the heck out of the LSAT to make sure I get in there. In many senses it makes more sense to move once I get into a school rather than risk moving beforehand, but in state tuition in Arizona or Washington makes a 10k a year difference. We might want to just commit to a location. Also, this will give hubby a year longer to find a job he likes rather than having maybe only 2 months notice to do a long distance search.

Ostranenie

As I posted previously, Law Geek while quite descriptive was not a unique name for this blog. So, thanks to Josephine Blogs I was inspired to rename my blog Ostranenie (Остранение). It is a Russian term which I had all but forgotten that describes literature or ideas which take a familiar concept and make it seem less familiar or strange. Another way of thinking about it is that Ostranenie is the temporary estrangement of objects and relationships in order to make them freshly visible. This to me describes my feelings towards law school and this stage of my life in particular. I still am a law geek, but to be fair I am not the first or the only "Law Geek" blogger. So in my attempt to be more unique I am changing my bloggy name. I still remain Lise as that is after all my own name. I won't be changing the bloggy address, because I now have 6 wonderful people who have linked to me from their blogs and I wouldn't want to break their links. Thanks to: Paragon to Pieces, Running with Scissors, TechChris, Legal Andrew, David @ Journey to Law School and Mary Tu.

Where Have I Been?

Thanks to Paragon to Pieces:

Angel Rocks

For many reasons I went hiking this weekend. The 1st was my promise to hubby to try and become more outdoorsy. To this end he first had me do an outdoors activity where I was sitting down the whole time, so we went canoeing on Earth Day. (photos forthcoming) Now we are are working up the outdoorsy scale by doing a day-hike. The 3.5 mile Angel Rocks hiking path is pretty challenging as it mostly a climb and then a scramble down. I was really wishing that I had hiking boots by the end. On the way down I was really paranoid that I would turn an ankle. But 2 hrs later I was really happy with having spent the time outdoors. The view was great and a light breeze kept the mosquitoes off. The picture to the right is a beaver dam that we passed on the way. The 461 calories burned was just a bonus.

We still need to play around with settings on our new digital camera. The color saturation is off on these photos. The actual view was far greener. Instead these photos look a little washed out. Trust me, the actual view was much better.

Flak jacket not Flack Jacket

*laugh* Ok, somehow I made it onto Senator McCain's mailing list. I haven't bothered unsubscribing because sometimes I get little e-mails like this which just make me smile:

"U.S. Senator John McCain has issued the following in response to a statement by Sen. Barack Obama: 'While Senator Obama's two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation's security.

'By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket.'"

Addicted to School

I graduated on Mother's Day. Yay me! I'll have to post a photo or something. I walked and was the first female of the day to walk across that stage. I was also the only girl to graduate with a Electrical Engineering degree in the 007 class. So why oh why am I signed up for 5 summer sessions courses? I am addicted to school. I also want to get a taste for this law thing before I commit 100%. I've also convinced myself that A) I must be busy so as to avoid thinking about hubby off doing dangerous Army stuff and B) So that I don't get lazy and forget what it's like to be in "school mode" before I actually finally finish with school. To this end I am taking:

Ethics & Justice
Mass Media Law and Regulation
Taste Magic of the Middle East
Back Home German Cooking
Old World Italian

Hopefully by the end of the summer I will be able to cook more interesting foods and possibly find that the law is as exciting as I hoped. Other choices which I passed on include:

Real Estate Law
Introduction to Linguistics
Alfred Hitchcock Films
Russian & Soviet Cinema
The Best of Biscotti
and other tasty treats

Thankfully I get free tuition so my summer time of academic pursuits will only cost me fees of $200.00. Can't beat that.

They Make a Movie out of Everything!

A documentary about former Russian secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned in London at the end of last year, will have its premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend, the film director said Wednesday.

Female Penguins Don't Have Hips!

We watched Happy Feet last night. I confess to being completely oblivious of the plot of this movie prior to watching it. I assumed from the previews that it was a movie about a tone deaf penguin who gets his groove on by tap dancing instead. In essence I guess, that's still the plot of the movie. There are also several other subplots that are for more mature audiences, one of which was the theme of preserving our oceans so that cute little penguins and others can survive. The movie ended happily with the aliens/humans in the film realizing the error of their ways and banning the fishing which was causing the penguins to starve. Didn't really give me the vibe that I needed to run out and do something to help the penguins though as the movie ended quite happily for them. One of the things that did bother me in the movie was the way that they animated the penguins. They gave the females hips! An hourglass figure on a penguin? And of course the big daddy penguin had a big chest. Still, all in all the movie had both me and hubby laughing out loud at parts which is always a good thing. The penguin hips still bother me though.

UK's Russian Spy Poisoning Case

Courtesy of CNN: Story Highlights

• Russian prosecutors say they will refuse to extradite Andrei Lugovoi
• Ex-KGB agent charged with murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko
• Litvinenko died in London after being poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210
• He blamed President Putin for his poisoning -- an allegation the Kremlin denied

"Russian prosecutors say they will refuse to extradite Andrei Lugovoi, charged by Britain in the poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko, to London because of a constitutional ban.
Earlier Tuesday British officials said they wanted to bring Lugovoi before a British court and charge him with the 'extraordinarily grave crime' of murdering Litvinenko in London last November.

'I have today concluded that the evidence sent to us by the police is sufficient to charge Andrei Lugovoi with the murder of Mr. Litvinenko by deliberate poisoning,' Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald said in London.

Litvinenko, who was a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin and had been granted political asylum in the UK, died in a London hospital last November, several weeks after he was poisoned with polonium-210."

Having read the Russian constitution for my government and politics in Russia class, I think this is all a show to protect Lugovoi. The Russian constitution grants the executive with large sweeping powers and if Putin approved of the extradiction nobody would be hiding behind the constitution. Also Russia and the UK are both signers of the European convention on mutual legal assistance which should allow the UK to prosecute a Russian citizen who commits a crime on their territory. Interesting, I wonder how this will pan out.

Couch to 5k Running Plan (2)

Week two has rolled around and while I can't say that I've noticed any changes I'm definitely more confident that I will be able to run 5k by the end of the two month programs. I am really sore right now as a result of all of the gardening and mowing that I did this weekend. Thankfully when I looked it up on my conversion table I found out that my 5 hours of yard work translates to 5 aerobic miles, so it's kind of like I went running this weekend except for my arms and shoulders are the things doing the hurting. I also am kind of proud of myself for biking to work last Friday for the first time. I would have done so again today, but um...I woke up 6 minutes before I had to be at work, not a good thing. Tonight I'll be doing the prescribed 5 minute brisk walk to warm up followed by 15 minutes of alternating 90s of running and 120s of walking, wish me luck.

For those of you still sitting in your cube cabanas day after day and then flopping on your sofas at night I would encourage you to find something fun to do outdoors, then it won't feel like exercise! Bike, fish, hike, shop at your local farmer's market for fresh produce. Your body will thank you for it.

So, http://paragontopieces.blogspot.com/ are you still my running buddy?

Legally Blonde the Musical (2)

Laura Bell Bundy nominated for a Tony for Legally Blonde the Musical. Now I'll definitely have to go see it.

Digital Paperbacks

Combine an E Ink display and innovative design and what do you get? "Plastic Logic's 'take anyway, read anywhere' flexible display for text and images is intended as a lightweight alternative to paper and to current laptop, phone and PDA screens. The company, which attracted $100 million in a new round of venture capital funding, has developed displays designed to allow users a more comfortable way to view printed material. Plastic Logic plans to begin construction of manufacturing facilities as soon as possible, and plans to release its first products in 2009."

I am really looking forward to the day when I can browse through 1500 hundred page PDF documents, CTRL+F them, and still view them in broad daylight on a flexible reader. Forget roll-up laptop screens, I want this baby as a document reader. 2009 couldn't come soon enough.

Thanks to Popgadget for the heads up.
Credit: Plastic Logic

I am turoquoise

you are turquoise #40E0D0

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is higher than average - You know what you want, but sometimes know not to tell everyone. You value accomplishments and know you can get the job done, so don't be afraid to run out and make things happen. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

The Army Weight Loss Plan

The Army is so succinct in their weight management program. I thought that the following from the Army Regulation 600-9: The Army Weight Control Program was interesting. Maybe something good would have come out of it if I'd stayed in ROTC. Their two part plan sounds easy, but trust me, there is more to this process than a couple of bullet points.

a. Invest in yourself.
(1) Make a decision to lose weight and shape up.
(2) Get motivated.
(3) Develop a strategy (diet, exercise routine, lifestyle changes, and so on).
(4) Carry out the strategy.

b. Enjoy the payoffs:.
(1) A healthy appearance.
(2) An improved self-image.
(3) A sense of accomplishment.
(4) A feeling of pride.

I also enjoyed their comparison between sound nutrition and crash diets as summarized in the following table:

Table C–1
Sound Nutrition: Provides all required nutrients
Crash Diets: Most often lack some nutrients

Sound Nutrition: Gradual loss of body fat (1 to 2 pounds per week)
Crash Diets: Rapid loss of body water and muscle mass—not body fat

Sound Nutrition: Reinforces a good mental outlook
Crash Diets: Symptoms of grumpiness, headaches, anxiety and fatigue

Sound Nutrition: Improves health
Crash Diets: Can cause depression, dehydration, potential serious illness and a slowdown in your body’s metabolism (the rate your body burns calories)

Sound Nutrition: Gives a sense of accomplishment
Crash Diets: End in eventual weight loss and failure

Sound Nutrition: Develops permanent good eating habits
Crash Diets: Encourage unhealthy eating habits of temporary duration

Then we come to making an actual plan:

C–4. Basic strategy checklist—a plan for making the right connection
a. Good attitude. Having a good mental attitude is necessary to succeed in any program. To lose weight, a good mental attitude helps self-discipline—an important ingredient.

b. Sensible nutrition. A diet of adequate essential nutrients is necessary to prevent mental and physical fatigue. Crash diets don’t work in a permanent weight control program.

c. Regular exercise. Exercise promotes physical fitness. It improves flexibility, strength, endurance and weight loss by speeding up the body’s metabolism. It has also been proven to help supress the appetite.

d. Diet and exercise master plan. Create your own daily food intake and exercise plan. Keep a record. Make adjustments. You are in control.

e. Rest. Adequate rest improves attitude, posture, and appearance. Lack of rest and sleep can weaken resistance and will power.

f. A set goal. See a long range objective, then get going by setting easier-to-reach short-term goals. After the first few goals are met, the objective will be in plain view.

C–5. Balance check
If you need to lose weight, it’s time to check your energy balance to see what’s tilting the scale. When your energy input (calories) is greater than your energy output (activity), you store the extra calories as body fat. To stay in balance:
a. Increase exercise (frequency and intensity).
b. Decrease calorie intake.
c. Combine exercise with calorie reduction for best results.

See it's that easy. And yet millions of Americans pay billions of dollars on diet books. Just Google "AR 600-9" for the Army's weight loss plan.

Couch to 5k Running Plan

Thanks to Paragon to Pieces for the inspiration. I am going to attempt to join her and do the Couch to 5k Running Plan. I have never been a runner, but I have always admired them. Anybody who puts running down as one of their hobbies has always intimidated me. It is also a very portable hobby. You don't need to use a slimy hotel gym elliptical trainer if you're a runner. Assuming good weather you just pack your shoes and clothes and hit the pavement. A cool way to see a new city and maintain your fitness regimen. With the amount of travelling I do that is ideal.

As much as I love my new bike, I know that I need to do more. I always say that I'm at my winter high this time of year and it's about time that I work on getting back down to my summer low while I still have some of the summer to enjoy fitting into my summer clothes. Wish me luck!

LSAT Tips (1)

To contribute back to the Internets I've decided to begin posting my LSAT tips given to me by friends, family and random bloggers and websites. All of the Pre-L's out there studying for the June and October LSATs, here ya go, part 1:

Tip #1: Be realistic with your expectations. Yes, it is possible to get a 180 on the LSAT. But studying constantly isn't a guarantee that this will happen. There is a reason that this score is called the 99.9%, only a few people score this high. It isn't because thousands of stupid people take the test and the smart ones get 180s. There are plenty of smart people who study and don't get above the 160s.

This isn't to say you shouldn't study. This leads me to Tip #2: Study I took my LSAT in December 2006 having studied maybe 3 days when you add up all of the time that I glanced at my prep books over the fall semester. I also made the fatal error of not taking a fully-timed "real" simulated LSAT. I just leisurely worked questions at my own pace. I ended up with a decent 150, which puts me in the 82%, but that isn't going to get any scholarships or make up for a less than stellar GPA.

Tip #3: Don't Study Too Much. This isn't to contradict Tip#2, but it is possible to study too much. Don't drag out your studying over many months. Within the last month before the actual test concentrate. A lot of websites and books quote the 50 hr. figure. It takes about 50 hours of quality preparation to study for this test. You need to understand the question types, develop strategies and feel prepared enough to not stress out when it comes time for the real test. Work on your timing and questions types separately, not at once. I would work on the questions types first, then your speed. This is not a proven strategy as I have yet to retake the LSAT, but I can vouch for the not dragging out your studying too long tip.

More later, but that's a start. I'll have to get some others to contribute to this thread at some point. Hint hint...

Russian Ambassador held hostage in Costa Rica

For any of you out there who like to keep up with all things related to Russia:
Захват заложников в посольстве России в Коста-Рике
Вооруженный человек захватил, по разным сообщениям, восемь или девять человек в здании российского посольства в Коста-Рике.

Ambassador, others held hostage in Costa Rica
An armed Uzbek man took eight hostages Friday at the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica, but released four hostages amid intense negotiations, the country's security minister said. He still holds the Russian ambassador and several others, including his mother hostage.

For those of you who couldn't care about minor news events that involve Russia or Costa Rica, keep in mind that Russia is seeking membership to the WTO this year. Russia signed a trade agreement with Costa Rica in January, one of series of bilateral deals it had to conclude on its path to membership in the World Trade Organization. Russia is now the only major economy outside the WTO. Currently they only have to reach agreement with their ex-Soviet neighbor Georgia and Moldova to meet requirements for membership in the 150-member group, which sets global trade rules. Any member can demand a bilateral deal with an applicant. Georgia withdrew its signature from an earlier deal after Russia imposed a ban on its wine and mineral water last spring. Relations between Moscow and Georgia worsened in the fall as Moscow slapped a sweeping transport and postal blockade on the country in retaliation for the brief arrest of four Russian officers in Tbilisi accused of spying. Unfortunately Russia can't afford to lose Costa Rica's support and still hope to join the WTO this year so they might have to be a little less heavy handed when dealing with the current matter.

UPDATE: Two men walked out of the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica on Friday under police escort, ending a three-hour standoff with police and the ambassador.

So, no dramatic Russian response will happen after-all.

Life's Short. Get a divorce.

There is an old saying that "99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name." This sign is an example of an advertising tactic that makes me realize why such sayings exist. Apparently their sign was working before it was torn down for permitting reasons. The law firm in question received a record number of phone calls from interested clients.

June LSAT Registration Deadline

Alert all of those planning on taking the June LSAT. Today is the last day of regular registration. Starting tonight at midnight EST you'll have to pay an additional $62.00 for your procrastination. So, am I signing up? No. This may come as a surprise to some as I've talked about it for some time. Hubby has Army duty for all of June so I don't want to spend our last weeks together before he is activated cramming for the LSAT, better to wait and do it in Aug. I'll still do my applications early decision. And you'll get to hear my detailed study woes. Yay!

Instead I think I should really get my act in gear and figure out how I want to study for the patent bar. Online prep or at home being my only options as classroom courses are rarely if ever taught in Alaska. Any suggestions?

I must also come up with something to do with our one remaining weekend together. This weekend I graduate...finally! Family is coming into town to watch and visit which will take up the whole weekend. Next weekend is free and then boom, he's gone off to be a Lieutenant for awhile. He'll come back skin-and-bones with not an ounce of fat on him and with a very peculiarly shaped tan on his neck and hands, the only parts not covered by his ACU uniform. The joys of being an Army wife. I'm trying to stay positive about this, but I really hate it.

Queen Elizabeth Goes Carbon Neutral

I find it ironic that this visit is Queen Elizabeth's first carbon-offset state visit and she's here to visit the Texas oil man Bush. Carbon neutral or carbon-offset travel, where a donation is made to an environmental charity to offset a plane journey's impact is gaining popularity. Some popular travel websites allow you to by carbon credits as an add-on feature, kind of like travel insurance. Only you're insuring the quality of the environment rather than your luggage.

Total air miles - 13,317 km or 8,275 miles Amount of CO2 emitted based on scheduled flights - 1. 5 tonnes Estimated offset cost per person - £13.20 to £14.18 ($26.22-$28.17) depending on type of offset package.

Go QE2! I'll join you in decreasing my impact by biking to work...um...when it's a little warmer. I promise! Ok, now I feel guilt.