why!?

why does he have to touch the homeland?!

"Bush is expected to plant a tree next to the mango tree planted by his father George W Bush, then the American vice-president, at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi in 1984."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

now I'm just depressed - the one place that is sacred to me is being tainted. couldn't they just video conference?

Healthy debate ...

A conversation between Khalid Bendib (arab cartoonist) and Michael Parenti (sp?) ... am listening to it right now ... it brings out some of the more important arguments on both sides.

Ihsan Podcast

P.O.R.

"Pile O'Research" - it looks harmless and organized, but no ... it is evil.

you're kidding me right ...

A round trip ticket from Pittsburgh to Hagerstown, MD costs LESS than a ticket from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC (IAD, DCA AND BWI!). Not only less, but less by $100.

UN-BE-LIEVABLE.

un-flippin-believable.

ok, disclaimer - I'm usually not this hostile. Especially with wireless, I tend to be pretty forgiving - but this is just RIDICULOUS! I am sitting inside the law-school ... in fact RIGHT in front of the "Information Technology Services" office - which by the way places very little emphasis on "service" ... these clowns aren't even around half the time.

Um, I went off on a tangent - yes, I'm sitting in a place that one would reasonably assume to have wireless connectivity ... and um, no, I get a better wireless connection from across the street. If it was free, I'd use it and quit trying to access it in here.

Why do I care about wireless when I should be writing my brief? WELL, because every time I need to look something up - I wait about 10 minutes before the little icon on my desktop announces that I have "limited or no connectivity" to the wireless ... while the wireless strength is "excellent" - I just don't get it. Anyone have an explanation?!?!?!?

REDEMPTION? BOOYEAH!

I had the opportunity to sit in on a "discussion" about the cartoon incident and issues of journalistic freedom. I say "discussion" because it didn't seem like there was much discussing going on ... its really sad, but I feel like people showed up just to air their views about why they thought that the uproar about the cartoons was absurd. It bothers me when people come to events with their minds made up about how they feel, and use the forum to say how they feel - potentially influencing people that may have come to form an impression about the issue. There were two speakers, on was a student of Human Rights Law of Middle Eastern descent from NY, and the other was a local political cartoonist. What annoyed me a little (MT got VERY annoyed) was that the man passed around print outs of the cartoons ... which I thought was in VERY poor taste. But when I heard what he had to say, and the positive responses that he was getting ... I just felt incredibly beaten down. The number of people in the world that just refuse to allow different perspectives to enter their minds just BLOWS my MIND. I truly believe, that if people just took a little bit of time to figure out WHY people respond to certain stimuli - they will gain a better understanding of the issue.

I'm not going to go off on another rant about freedom of speech, and my naive theories of responsibility - if you so choose, you may read it here - MY purpose in this particular post is to point out that even the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes that there are certain limitations on free speech ... check THIS out!

Excerpted from Justice, Steven's opinion -

"The right to free speech, of course, includes the right to attempt to persuade others to change their views, and may not be curtailed simply because the speaker's message may be offensive to his audience. But the protection afforded to offensive messages does not always embrace offensive speech that is so intrusive that the unwilling audience cannot avoid it.

Frisby v. Schultz, 487 U.S. 474, 487 (1988). Indeed, "it may not be the content of the speech, as much as the deliberate 'verbal or visual assault,' that justifies proscription." Erznoznik v. Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205, 210-211, n. 6 (1975) (citation and brackets omitted). "

-- Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703, 716

"Self BID!"

I just returned from the Annual PLISF auction which was pretty darn fun! My favorite auctioneer, Prof. H., was on his fee for about 20 lots, and it was hilarious ... talk about peer pressure. He attempted to get everyone that bid to raise their bid with a self bid ... you had to be there. He walked the room, went up to people that weren't even bidding ... tried to con his students into bidding in exchange for a photograph (no grade increases ;-)), and by the end of it students were running away from him - HILARIOUS! (I'm also easily amused!)

Highlights -

• Z got a sweet deal on the 1L gift basket - course outlines and supplements for all my courses this semester, $$$ at the bookstore, subway gift card (mm subway) AND excedrin! Now if only they threw in a brief that I could submit I'd be in good shape.
  
• PL outbid EVERYONE for tickets to the Penguins game on 3/19 ... and guess who's goin' with her ... uhhhhhhuh!
  
• BH went nuts over the IPOD nano and almost took someone out ... again, you had to be there!
• Dinner w/Prof. H (initially for 6, upped to 12 people!) went for $1100!! A little insane if you ask me, but for a good cause I suppose - supporting 1L summers!

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

Classical Islam - 2002

I was rummaging through the boxes in my room - as usual, procrastinating when I should be working on my brief. Being the pack rat that I am, I have transported various pieces of my life from UVA to Pittsburgh. I found my notes from Classical Islam, back in the Fall of 2002 - and in thumbing through them, I'm taken back to the days when I was exploring Islam through academia ... my two classes with Prof. Sachedina (Classical and Modern Islam) in the Fall and the Spring were vital in getting me through the year with my sanity intact. Now, I find myself constantly reaching back into the realm of Classical Islam to rationalize whats going on today, in my life and in the world at large. It may be a stretch, but those two classes taught me more than most of my other education combined. *Sigh, I wish Prof. Sachedina was in the 'burgh - at least for a lecture of some sort. :0(

Here are some of Prof. Sachedina's selected quotes. These are thoughts and practices that I need to remind myself of all the time - hence, this post.

• Religion creates a responsibility to build our lives as human beings in peace
• Any religion that speaks of justice is no longer a private religion, and cannot be confined to places of worship or homes
• A journey in the wilderness all by herself is an experience thru which all human beings have to go through in order to search for inner peace
  
• If you're not willing to make sacrifices, you will not gain in your religious search.*
  
• Human beings need one another, faith translates into human relationships
• We are finite beings; we have free will - but it is finite
• The literal meaning of "Shari'ah" (Islamic jurisprudence) is "A path in the desert that leads to a watering place."
  
• We are all born with fitra, which is the inherent ability to distinguish right from wrong.
  

*or any search for that matter!

blast from the past

wow. this has been a crazy week so far, and its only Tuesday! HOWEVER, its been great because I've gotten back in touch with three old buddies from the Bangalore days!

Shabs actually called me a couple of weeks ago, which was a surprise in itself, but I called her back over the weekend as I trekked to Barco. Shabs and I played basketball together in the glory days of Mount Carmel Basketball (1997-1999) ... we had some really awesome times! She's been in RI for about four years now. Over the past couple of years I've been terrible about keeping in touch, and especially with this whirlwind year - I've barely spoken to people, and when I have it amounts to little besides venting, unfortunately! Anyhoo, we caught up a little - life, work, school, etc. She just got back from India, so she told me all about that trip - which is always awesome!

Next, out of the clear blue sky ... I get a call from Sgt. Z. OMG! I had all but lost hope of ever getting back in touch with him! Sgt.Z was in Bangalore back in 2000-2001, and was a visiting lecturer at CAE (now ICMIS) , where I did my first two years of undergrad. Sgt. Z taught Mass Comm. and Int'l Relations - and then a World Religions class over the summer. I took his IR class ... which was awesome because it really introduced me to the outside world in a more relevant sense. I have over the years developed a view of the world that conflicts with Sgt.Z's - but thats ok.

The best part of Sgt.Z's year in India was Spring Break in Goa ... about 20 unruly students, and Sgt.Z was our "voice of reason" - I can honestly say, if Sgt.Z wasn't there - we would not have done half of the cool things that we did. Becuase of his interest in world religions, he wanted to visit some of the key religious sites in Goa. Since it was until recently (maybe 50 years?) a Portuguese colony - there was a very strong European Christian influence. So, there was a group of about 7 of us that would take off every day to visit churches built by Vasco DeGama and St. Francis Xavier ... driving around in the jeep, looking off the cliffs to the blue water below ... it was absolutely fabulous. One day I'll go back to Goa ... aaaah! Anyhoo - Sgt.Z is preparing to return to India to work back at ICMIS in March, and will HOPEFULLY get started on his book about his Indian adventures back in 2000.

LAST, but not least ... I get a random call from a Virginia phone number. Lo and behold - its BOPS! I was floored! Turns out Bops is in the US, from Bangalore, on a three week recruiting trip. Wow, thats my dream job. Bops and I ALSO go way back - we've known each other from middle school, and she's seen me through my best and my worst pretty much! We were two of the original members of the Baldwins Basketball team that created waves in Bangalore in the 1995-96 season, and carried on to Mounts.

What I love most about my Bangalore friends is that because they know me so well - their comments really just hit it home.

Case in point - talking to Bops -

Bops - "So, are you a lawyer yet?"
me - "Nope, another two years!",
Bops-"Good Lord!"
me - "I dunno - I sometimes want to quit!"
Bops - "Don't be stupid, you've studied for this long - you can't quit when you're so close!! Just finish damnit!"

Not the most profound conversation - but it means alot to me. Especially coming from Bops, she's seen this educational saga from the lows of highschool, to the struggles of college and now ... closer to the end?

9 days till Spring break
76 days till the end of 1L

but who's counting!

words of wisdom from the man ... Bob Dylan

In 1991, when Rolling Stone interviewed Dylan on the occasion of his 50th birthday, he gave a curious response when the interviewer asked him if he was happy. He fell silent for a few moments and stared at his hands. 'You know,' he said, 'these are yuppie words, happiness and unhappiness. It's not happiness or unhappiness, it's either blessed or unblessed.'

There comes a time when the best thing you can do for yourself is count your blessings. They are infinite, so there's no excuse to stop. Missed opportunities are just that ... missed. Here's a resolution for 2006, albeit a little late - I'm going to charge forward. Its an interesting balance. There is much we can change in the future, but nothing we can change in the past. But, at this very moment, there is nothing we can learn about the future, but so much that we can learn from the past.

I should start by looking forward to finishing this brief instead of looking back to the amount of time that I've lost worrying about it!!!

Connecting the dots ...

Someone emailed this to me, and I thought I'd share ... key points from Steve Jobs' speech at Stanford's 2005 commencement ...

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle."

"Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever."

The full text and audio of Steve Jobs' speech is available at http://www.wiredatom.com/jobs_stanford_speech/

frustrated.

its been a while since I've posted anything personal ... I've TOTALLY taken advantage of this as my own private soapbox to rant and rave about the absurdities of the world, but I think that time has come to pass.

School has been good ... at least relatively speaking. There was a period of about three weeks that it just sucked. One week it was just school work, and random stuff that got me down, and the next week was the really tough one, and last week ... just when things started to go ok, my computer died on me. Well, not quite - but it did almost take off in class. 9am, Con Law - and suddenly my computer starts to buzz, and then the fan just begins to roar. It was so loud that people on the other side of the room looked up and were like, "what the ...?" Thankfully I was able to ship it off to HP for them to fix ... and WOW - they sent it back within the week. It was pretty dang awesome. So now it kinda hums, but its a comforting kinda hum ... like - "don't worry ... as much as you flip you, I'm not gonna flip out on you again. Maybe."

The weekend was very relaxing, oddly enough because I'm not quite up w/the reading and I've got monster-legal-writing-project breathing down my neck. But it was nice ... went over to Jeff and Allison's for game night ... which ROCKED! A totally low key event, but it was so nice to just chill with some cool people. I must say, I'm really lucky that I've got some fun, and somewhat normal (as normal as law students can get I suppose!) people to hang out with - I've heard horror stories from the other sections. The rest of the weekend was nothing really to write about, except I got to talk to a couple of my favorite people for significant amounts of time ... and catch up with them.

So, if all is going so well ... whats the frustration? Well, its this brief. Its not due until March 18, but its SO far from being anything worth submitting that I'm definately worried. A draft is due tomorrow, and I spent about 4 hours at the Carnegie just trying to figure out how I'm supposed to structure this thing ... everytime I looked at it, I changed something. Its really frustrating to not know what you're doing ... I just wish that I could figure out how to visualize this entire thing ... like a jigsaw puzzle. Thats all it is really ... but I've always had issues w/jigsaws. To add to it, I'm still trying to secure summer employment ... for someoene who dislikes cold calling as much as I do, I've been getting a heck of a lot of practice. WHHHHHEWWWWIE!

Anyhoo - enough of this journal like entry ... but I just thought I'd bring the blog back a little ... um, back to ME! hehe. It is all about me! oooh yeah.

Pointless? Yes, but isnt that what its all about?

Btw, shout out to Amina, Mariam and Abdul Hadi ... and their new arrival, Ibrahim! Mabrook!

I heart CAIR

CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations) has just announced that it has dedicated 2006 to an educational campaign in response to the controversial Danish cartoons … I know that in the past CAIR has been criticized, but I give huge kudos to this organization. As the most predominate Muslim organization in the United States – CAIR, in recent years especially, has responded to negative attacks on Islam by pushing forward, looking to educate, and motivate people to change their views of Islam through education, striving in the way of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him).

I urge anyone who reads this blog to go the CAIR website (link) and take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. CAIR is making two resources available to the American public … at NO cost to you - you have the choice between two highly acclaimed works about the Prophet, the PBS special, “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet” or Yahya Emerick's Muhammad … Guys – this is ABSOLULTEY free … just go to this website and fill in the form – you’ll get either the book or the DVD as soon as they can get ‘em out.

And for all ya’ll Muslims – contribute to this campaign. This is the way to go … forward this link to your friends, coworkers … lets get this campaign going. Even if you don’t necessarily support CAIR – support this campaign. We all know how important it is.

Here's an excerpt from their press release:

CAIR DECLARES 2006 'YEAR OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD'

Year-long educational effort prompted by Danish cartoon controversy

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/14/06) - Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), CAIR today called on Muslims to support a major educational effort, called "Explore the Life of Muhammad," as a positive response to the worldwide controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The year-long initiative will begin by offering people of all faiths a free book or DVD about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad. CAIR's campaign will also feature grass-roots educational activities in Muslim communities throughout North America. (The campaign was announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and at CAIR's affiliated offices nationwide and in Canada by CAIR-CAN, an independent sister organization.)

Visitors to CAIR's campaign website, www.cair.com/Muhammad, will be able to choose either a DVD of the PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" or the book "Muhammad" by Yahiya Emerick. The website will also feature a 13-minute online clip from the DVD and excerpts from the book. (NOTE: Requests for free materials will initially be limited to the United States and Canada, but the campaign is designed to expand to Europe through cooperation with local Muslim communities.) Along with the DVD and the book, CAIR's website will also offer basic information about the Prophet Muhammad and a database of his sayings (hadith).

In the campaign, CAIR will offer materials to help local Muslim communities hold public screenings of the DVD, mosque open houses, panel discussions, essay contests, interfaith events, and other educational grass-roots activities focused on the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad. CAIR will also coordinate a speaker's bureau of its staff, board members and volunteers nationwide.

CAIR is suggesting that communities hold the first educational outreach activities on A "National Open House Day" February 24 at mosques and Islamic centers in the U.S. and Canada. A calendar of local activities will be available on CAIR's website. (Send notification of local events to: events@cair.com

Video from Superbowl Sunday!

This is awesome, a fellow-law-school-blogger posted this on his site! I didn't get to actually see any of this mayhem so I REALLY APPRECIATE this video! Enjoy the Steeler music that goes with it!

ShadyLaw

passing the buck?

Interesting article in the New York Times, on Michael Brown's (ex-FEMA Chief) testimony yesterday ...

Ex-FEMA Leader Faults Response by White House

This quote caught my eye ...

"It is my belief," Mr. Brown told the senators, that if "we've confirmed that a terrorist has blown up the 17th Street Canal levee, then everybody would have jumped all over that and been trying to do everything they could."


Hmm ... I'm sure that Mr. Brown's observation is more true than false - but I'm a little skeptical of this dude.

Also, I'm not really surprised, but it still bothers me that the spotlight on New Orleans was so short lived. While everyone in D.C. is fighting out who's going to take the heat, New Orleans is still struggling to get back on its feet.

Observations from the field. Also, check out The Student Hurricane Network

Clash of the Uncivilized

Imam Zaid Shakir, a well known and respected American-Muslim scholar, has written a superb piece about the cartoons, and the response. Here is the link, and I've excerpted the last section of his article here for its immediate relevance is too important to let slide.

"There are certainly more constructive and productive ways to defend the honor of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God upon him. Why are we calling for a “Day of Outrage” when our Prophet has instructed us repeatedly not to become angry? There are surely times when we should become angry for the sake of God. However, under the current circumstances, are anger and outrage appropriate responses? Why not a “Day of Familiarization,” where we teach people who the Prophet was and what he really represents, peace and blessings of God upon him? Why not a “Day of Sunnah,” where we all vow to revive a Sunnah we have allowed to slip away from our religious life. Such a day could also include the Sunnah of showing concern for ones neighbors? We could visit them and tell them about Islam and our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of God upon him.

Whatever we do, as Muslims in the West, we may be approaching the day when we will have to "go it alone." If our coreligionists in the East cannot respect the fact that we are trying to accomplish things here in the West, and that their oftentimes ill-considered actions undermine that work in many instances, then it will be hard for us to consider them allies. How can one be an ally when he fails to consult you concerning actions whose negative consequences you will suffer? No one from the Muslim east consults us before launching these campaigns. No one seeks to find out as to how their actions are going to affect our lives and families. The confused incompetence of the Muslim countries around the issue of moon-sighting, a situation that has painful consequences for Muslims here in America is bad enough, the added pressure generated by these reoccurring crises is becoming unbearable for many.

We have a generation of Muslim children here who have to go to schools where most of them are small minorities facing severe peer pressure. During these crises they do not have the luxury of losing themselves in a frenzied mob. Their faith is challenged and many decide to simply stop identifying with Islam. Is that what they deserve? If they are largely lost to Islam, what is the future of our religion here? We have obedient, pious Hijab wearing women, who out of necessity must work, usually in places where they are the only Muslims. Should their safety, dignity, and honor be jeopardized by the actions of Muslims halfway around the world?

I reiterate that I am not saying these cartoons, and other denigrations of our religion and our Prophet, peace and blessings of God upon him, should be totally ignored. Imam Shafi’i stated that anyone who is angered and does not respond; he is a jackass. However, our responses should be weighed on the basis of a strategic calculus we construct. Their timing should be determined by that calculus, not by media sensationalizing. They should be undertaken in consultation with those who will be directly affected by the responses they generate. And their long-range implications should be deeply considered. "

- excerpted from Imam Zaid Shakir, Clash of the Uncivilized: Insights on the Cartoon Controversy, at http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=92

With freedom comes responsibility

My monster legal writing assignment is to prepare a Supreme Court brief by March 18,2006. I'm representing the Dean of a University, in a case that deals alot with the First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Its actually really interesting, which is good because its gonna take alot for it to keep my attention. Altough I'm concerned about the other freedom of speech issue out there that has already distracted me significantly. Yep, I'm gonna add to endless commentary floating around the blogosphere ... not because I know anything more than anyone else, in fact, I'll put up the general disclaimer that I know ABSOLUTELY nothing! But, I do feel the need to comment on it.

I'm absolutely appalled at the entire situation. I'm disappointed in both sides, the press in the nations that have chosen to go down this route, and the protesters/rioters that are reacting with hostility.

I'm all for freedom of the press and freedom of speech - take this blog as proof. I appreciate the freedom of speech, and try very hard to maintain that position even when I'm offended. I do feel that freedoms can't be limitless, and that boundary should be where the action would result in harm. We all talk about freedom of speech, but I think that all freedoms need to be balanced. They can't be freedoms in isolated. Freedom does come with responsibility. Isn't that one of the foundations of civilized society - responsible citizenry?

Anyhoo, one might argue that cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed (May peace and blessings be upon him) don't infringe upon any other freedoms, but in fact they do. The very fact that your faith, and beliefs are being attacked in public creates a feeling of unease, and concern - potentially restricting your freedom of expression, and the right to practice your religion. Additionally, while it obviously isn't common knowledge, Muslims hold all the Prophets in very high esteem. I didn't know this, but someone pointed out that Jesus (Alaih Assalaam) is the brunt of jokes on the Family guy ... and that as Muslims, we should be enraged about that too ... which I agree with completely!

Its a dumb analogy, but its like if your local newspaper published a cartoon about your mom, or your dad, that was highly offensive and completely off base. Wouldn't it get you mad? or would you brush it off with a "whatever, freedom of the press - they can say what they want!" Is that too close a relationship? Its not the same thing? Actually - it isn't that different, while in general practice it may not seem this way, but the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is beloved to every Muslim. The very fact that every time a Muslim says his name, it is immediately followed by "May peace and blessings be upon him" - the constant consciousness of his role in Islam, asking for peace and blessings for him and his family demonstrate his closeness, his importance. Unfortunately parents may no longer have such an esteemed role in our lives, but ideally - they should be elevated in our minds and hearts as well. At the very least, it would seem to me that people would get mad at a personal attack on their parents ("Yo mama" jokes aside, which btw, I find highly offensive) - and while most of us wouldn't gather up our siblings and take to the streets, that doens't neccessarily hold true for all.

Which brings me to the flip side - the reactions.

It angers me that Islam is so poorly represented when something like this happens. No, rioting, and burning efigies of political leaders or embassies is not justifiable. Its just not right. Its not within the teachings of Islam or the Prophet to have such hostile reactions. Islam does encourage the mu'min to be active, and frowns upon complacency ... but it does not in anyway advocate violence, or aggressive reactions to taunting. Islam did away with vengeance and retribution 1400 years ago - and the example of the Prophet advocated compassion in the face of hate and enmity. How far back have we regressed?

In the past, I've always tried to bring a perspective to these types of issues - is this the result of consistent antagonism? Yes, I'll say that ... and also that this type of reaction/behavior does stem from decades of oppressive policies, maybe not specifically to European muslims, but to some limb of the world-wide muslim community. But honestly, we have got to move forward. We can live in the past for only so long. Our activism needs to be progressive ... what can we do to make ourselves better, our societies better - how can we be better citizens? When the offensive cartoons come out - we need to be out on the streets, not rioting, but acting as the Prophet would have, demonstrating the compassion and mercy of Islam, not the anger of individuals.

I don't think anyone really knows how to diffuse the current situation, and inshaAllah it'll wind down in time. But I really hope that people don't forget about it. My naivity comes out full force at times like these ... we all just need to respect each other, take responsibility for our actions, and just be compassionate human beings. As usual, easier said than done. Ah, but we can always hope right?

(Z steps down from soap box)

SUPERBOWL CHAMPS!

Yeppers - they won it all on Sunday, and I chilled w/the C2 crew at Yoch's casa - cheerin' on the Steelers, although none of us could put a dent in Nay's enthusiasm! WHEWIE!!!! :-) But it was fun, and we had a good time - chillin', chattin' and cheerin'! And while I'm thankful that we all got home safe and sound, and well before bedtime - I was slightly disappointed that I missed out on the rioting, erm celebrating!





However, I was happy that Post-Gazzette got some good coverage of the the Steelers diverse fan base :-)

spiderman, spiderman...

eh-hem, shout out to the biggest spiderman fan that I know ... um, probably the only spiderman fan I know ... who is also lucky enough to share her birthday with the SUPERBOWL!!!!
[and a Steelers win perhaps?!]

HAPPY BURDAY SPIDEY!

If nothing else, I'll teach you how to fight.

I feel beaten today. I'm emotionally exhausted. It's been a rough day.

I haven't done very much work, because I haven't felt up to it - and honestly, I can't do it right now.

But, its Thursdy, and I usually take the night off to watch ER. I made sure to watch ER tonight. I don't know what it is - but ER just ROCKS. I don't care if people say that its not like the real ER, and I know this sounds really cheesy, but its drama. And who couldn't use a little drama once in a while.

Tonight, James Woods played Prof. Lennox - the ER doctors' former med school Professor, who is suffering from Lou Gherig's Disease. Flash back to when Abby started med school (1999), and she was in Prof. Lennox's first year Bio-Chem class, and she needs his signature to drop the course. He refuses to let her quit, and persuades her to keep going.

Closing scene:

Abby: "I don't think I can do this."

Prof. Lennox: " I know you can do this - don't give up. If nothing else - I'll teach you how to fight."


This is gonna take a while, but the fight's just begun.

Tough day ...

I've written and re-written this post at least five times, and while I wish I didn't feel the compelling need to write it - I have to.

I believe, very strongly, that everything and everyone has a purpose in life, and no two paths cross without a reason. There are moments that define us, and people who contribute to who we are, and who we become... they each have a purpose, and whether their impact is felt immediately, or in a decade ... they each touch us, and make a mark on our lives.

As law students, we are surrounded by people that are very intelligent, hard working, driven, determined and unfortunately sometimes we forget that while we all think we're adults, alot of us are still just kids. And this experience isn't easy, and sometimes we don't care to make it easier. Law school isn't everything, and I'm ashamed that I often allow it to become everything.

It saddens me that the class of 2008 lost a treasured colleague and friend yesterday. He could have taught us much in the years to come, but we were blessed to have had him in our lives for even a short while.


Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un
To God we belong, and to Him is our return [al-Baqaraah 2:156]