The Iraqi "Withdrawl" and Continued Occupation

On a spring day in 2003, the day before my birthday, I awoke to another gorgeous Florida morning, got some breakfast together and sat down in front of the news. The U.S. had been in Iraq for less than a month and I was surprised to be greeted to the sight of a dozen or more Iraqi men, pulling down a statute of Saddam Hussein and beating it with their shoes in a public square. A few weeks earlier, I had mornfully watched the U.S. drop bombs on Baghdad and wondered aloud how my country could be so eager to rush into war. Didn't we know first hand the desvastation of loss of life? But now, watching these men's joy at berating their deposed leader, I wondered if maybe I was wrong--that indeed this war was a different kind of war, a war of principle, quick and necessary.

Six years later, as U.S. troops wearily make their way out of Iraqi's major cities and towns and al Maliki calls for an Iraqi independence day of sorts, I know better. Too many horrible things have happened between the Iraqi sandals-on-statute and sandals-at-President for me to feel even a little bit smug. This war was entirely our own, our rich have profited from it the same as any war. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the devastation we have caused in so many lives. There was no moral, no lesson. We have built nothing but greed and resentment.

At the time, I wondered how my Floridian town (the very same one from which the war was run, as a matter of fact) could be so casual in its endorsement of war, but now I know: I know that war brings politicans easy power and prestige, but most of all, easy money through no-bid contracts. I know that the lives of individuals in a foreign land will never register as the slightest bit important if our own people's lives are so casually thrown away through poor planning and poor budgeting. I know that democracy requires constant vigilance against arrogant and cruel leadership, and I wonder if human beings even posssess this ability.

And now, as the U.S. prepares to move its troops to the outliers of Iraq and beef up forces in Afghanistan, I know there is no such thing as responsible goverment. It is the people that must be responsible and press their leaders towards the same. If we fail in that duty, we have failed in everything.

Sophie's Cosmic Cafe

Last night, as I tried to will myself to sleep over the rumba-est musings of a house party across the street, I developed an intense hankering for eggs benedict. Since it was nearly midnight and my husband, oblivious to the rumbling obnoxiousness, was already asleep, I knew the earliest opportunity for eggs benny would come in the morning. So, as we got up and ready the next morning, I prepared to go to Sunday brunch all by myself. Monster usually has to work on the weekends and that means we rarely get to indulge in a leisurely, special breakfast together.

But this morning, he end up with an hour to spare we headed up to Sophie's Cosmic Cafe, one of our favorite breakfast spots. Located on Forth and Burrard, full of kitch and framed action figures and really cool food, is Sophie's. I had my new "Julie/Julia" book and read as I stood waiting for the doors to open. Soon, there was a line behind me of hearty breakfast-lovers. First in the door when they finally creaked the door open, we sat in a cherry red booth and I ordered Santa Fe Eggs Benedict.

It came out in five minutes, seemingly, and it was amazing: homemade soft toasted cornbread on the bottom, followed by avacado creme, topped with a perfectly soft-boiled egg and fresh hollendaise, surrounded by homemade hash browns and black beans. It was heaven. There are many other cool breakfast places Monster and I have scouted in our trips downtown and I am sure we will eventually visit many of them, but they will have to work in order to beat the amazing benny I had this morning.

Reading--And It's Not For School

I saw a promo for the movie "Julie & Julia" about a woman who cooks every one of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and changes her life in the process. True story! Anyway, the promo--by Nora Ephron--so completely charmed me that when I ended up in a bookstore downtown and saw a copy of the book (I didn't even know there was a book), I decided to get it.

It is the first for-pleasure book I have read since I started law school, so, yes, I am enjoying every pity word.

In other news, I attended a dinner with my new firm last night and it went really well. I think I am going to like these people. Whew!

SCOTUS Surprises Me--In a Good Way

I think I mentioned somewhere on this blog how angry last month with some of the SCOTUS Justices questions during deliberations regarding the strip search of a 13 year-old Arizona girl at her junion high school. But today, the Supreme Court ruled that the strip search of a 13-year-old schoolgirl violated the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

The Court ruled 8-1 that Arizona school officials violated student Savana Redding's Fourth Amendment rights when they searched her down to her bra and underpants-even asking her to lift the waistband and shake out her underwear. Officials were looking for pain relievers, which they didn't find.

Justice David Souter, the outgoing Justice who Sotomayor may replace in September, wrote the judgment and determined that "The content of the suspicion failed to match the degree of intrusion."

And guess who the lone hold out was on the court? Clarence Thomas. Gah!

Justice Clarence Thomas was the only member of the court to decide that the search of Redding was reasonable. And he seemed to be under the impression this young girl really did have "countraband" ibuprofin in her panties. The fact that she didn't have any pills and was the victim of a prank didn't quite seem to register with him.
However, only three justices agreed that school officials could be subject to lawsuits for this invasive search.

As today is the day Michael Jackson passed, I will end this post with a tribute to MJ, a video of one of my favorite Jackson song. When I was nine, my grandmother sent me Michael Jackson's "Thriller" cassette tape for Christmas, which my mother promptly took away from me and destroyed. Years later, I tore up the dance floor at my sister wedding with this song and my mother danced right alongside me. Some times, people really do remember to think twice!

Here's the Big Annoucement

Last week, after putting out a measly two resumes, I got a call back to interview at a labour and employment law firm. To say I was surprised is an understatement--I was blown away. But I knew I had no shot at this position and so I resolved to look at the interview as great practice for later. Later, in a few months, when I had put out fifty or so resumes and done tons of groundwork. But not now, not this quickly. I think you can see where this is going...

After a wacky, wonderful, perplexing interview, I now have a post-law school job! Better still, its just the most sublime combination of all the elements of law I most wanted to pursue (human rights, women's equality) to the forums I most want to pursue (a mix of court appearances and mediation/arbitration) in the location I most wanted to work in (downtown, close to the water). And now, it's set. I have a job lined up! I just cannot believe my good fortune! I have been feeling "in flux" as of late and its helped me to embrace the change.

So, Tales of Law and Love takes a turn towards real law soon! I think it will be interesting to look back and see the progression from "civilian" to law student to lawyer. But first, my third and final year of law school awaits.

Big Announcement Coming Soon

And no, the announcement has nothing to do with pregnancy or babies or any variety thereof. Whenever I tell my mother I have some news, pregnancy is always her first guess. Bah!

"Street" Clothes

I left the house yesterday morning with my new white sweater. This morning, I looked for it but couldn't find it. So, I put on another one and was off. About an hour ago, while walking home after completing an errand, I look down and what do I see but my sweater! It was laying against a lampost, full of leaves. How cool! I didn't even know I lost it.

Based on the time I came home yesterday, my sweater lay on a busy sidewalk for a full twenty-four hours before I just randomly happened across it again. What remarkable luck!

The Little Things Give You Away

My generation has very little political music. The turmulous decade of the 1960's and '70's resulted in many amazing protest songs. The Bush years, not so much. Which is why I was so surprised to run across this Linkin Park song on my iphone (note: my husband fills my phone with music, so I am constantly stumbling across new songs.)

I first heard it at work, while only half paying attention. Linkin Park is known for their punk metal songs, and I am not complaining, I like their "punkier" music and heard them play live when I lived in South Florida. I have loved their music since I first heard it nine years ago. But this song was different than the music they are known for. This song was haunting and melodic. When it ended, I immediately put it on repeat as I kept working. Slowly, the lyrics seeped into my brain, displacing my work stupor.

"Wait a minute," I thought, "this song is about Hurricane Katrina." I listened more carefully and came to the conclusion it is a song addressed to President Bush from the victims of this horrific event.

"Don't want to reach for me, do you?/I mean nothing to you/the little things give you away."

I think about the "little things" that President Bush chose to tend to that week in late August 2005: the Crawford ranch vacation, birthday cake with John McCain in Arizona strumming a guitar, the impotent fly-over a drowned city on Air Force One, and finally, the empty words and staged press conference in the French Quarter.

Man, that guy was an a**hole!


"The Little Things Give You Away" is a song powerful and honest in its simplicity. If you get a few minutes, please take a listen.

Ziplining

This past weekend marked me and Monster's third anniversary of wedded bliss. We knocked around a few ideas of what to do and decided to give ziplining a try. Ziplining is where you are strapped to a cable suspended hundred of feet above the ground and then left to, well, zip down the line.


It was a lot of fun but first, we had the pleasure of taking a gondola up Grouse mountain on what later turned out to be a beautiful day. (Gondolas forever remind me of Space City Park. Those of you who know what I'm talking about, know.)


Here is Monster on the gondola, still working. Grrr!





















And here are some pictures I snapped on the way up with my iphone. Eventually, we'll get a better quality camera but getting quality pics was hard because the gondola was PACKED!

























Here is where we had what was supposed to be dinner but ended up being lunch. From our spot, we could see all the way downtown, the ocean, the mountains and beyond--we could even see the campus!





















Ziplining!

Bad Week

Dr. Tiller has been murdered, his clinic has shut down permanently, the Vancouver legal community is cutting back on hiring and I have a cold from the air conditioning at work. Also, a New York Times asshat wants to "democratize" the contents of my womb ("Who votes yes that Carpedia gets to control her body?") and a fifteen year old girl who was raped by six men (who also videotaped themselves vaginally and orally raping the girl) cannot ger her rapists prosecuted 'cause she has a "bad attitude."

I am going to bed.

Under the Weather

I wanted to post pictures of the zip-lining we did this weekend to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, I am beginning to feel ill and I have a budgetary meeting at 7 tonight, so I am cuddling under my snuggly blanket, sipping wine and feeling sorry for myself.

I will post something interesting soon. Maybe.

The Beauty and Grace of Perspective

It is time for me to find my first post-law school job. In the States, this is known as "a law job" and in Canada, it is called "articles," a carry-over from the British tradition that has etched itself onto our American-eque law degree. In every culture, it means finding a job. And I don't have one, yet.

Now, neither do most of my friends. It is interesting, though, when talking to them, how little perspective is shown in the process. It's all zero sum, with you getting a position that I don't get and, ZOMG, how will this affect your legal career in the future???


For awhile (and maybe still sometimes today, depending on my state of mind) I got caught up in the panic, the negativity of trying to wrestle away a law job in today's economy. I get caught up in the "Grades! It's only and all about grades" phenomena of how to distinguish oneself.

But the good thing about being in your mid-thirties when you start law school (and there are less good things than you would think) is that you have, well, lived a little. In the back of your mind, you remember the soul-crushing events which you have gone though. These disappointments and set backs, in the scheme of things, were so much worse than having to hunt for a law job. And so, you remember. You have perpective.

The legal field is a demanding master, requiring concentration and excellence the likes you have never known before. It attracts a lot of people who, for one reason or another, live in the extremes. It attracts those with mental disorders and there is a touch of maniac throughout the process. And thus, the blessing of perspective.