I know, I suck. I really did plan on updating this more often than once a week, but my goodness, time does get away from me.

However, after getting so many new people on my notify list in the past couple of weeks (hello new people!), I went and checked my total and found 94 people on my list. 94!! I was very surprised, and then I felt all guilty for having abandoned you for so long, especially the new people who might be wondering why on earth they bothered signing up.

In my defense, it's not like I don't have anything else going on. By the time I get home from class, do some random errands, and play with my cat, it's 4:00 before I can sit down to work, which only leaves me 6 good hours, because by 10:00 I'm wiped out.

Plus my mother is in town, which has been a distraction, even though she doesn't mean to be and tries not to be and the truth is I really haven't seen her except once since the day she got here (last Thursday), but having to keep track of her is kind of a stress. And tomorrow is her birthday, so we're going out to dinner, which is another two or three hours I can't study.

And because my mother's birthday is tomorrow, it means that Elise's birthday is today! Hi Elise! Happy Birthday! You're old!! A-HEE-hee!

(She's not that old, really. Her age still starts with a 2. But barely.)

        

The lectures are alternately halfway interesting and completely boring. It really does all depend on the professor, and how animated he or she is. They don't necessarily have to be funny, they just have to be awake, and keep a good pace, and it's tolerable.

We did have one guy, on tape, who was hilarious. He was doing Torts, and was constantly causing us to laugh out loud. With every element, he would give us the most outrageous examples, and he always kept a straight face, which somehow made him even funnier. The best bit was when he was explaining defamation, particularly slander, which is spoken defamation (as opposed to libel, which is written.)

Anyway, if you're suing for slander, you have to prove that you suffered some kind of monetary loss, except in four special cases, and one of those cases is being accused of having a loathsome disease. The only loathsome diseases on the books right now are leprosy and venereal disease.

And then the professor launched into a tangential discussion about whether AIDS was considered a loathsome disease, because although not technically a venereal disease, it is primarily sexually transmitted. But he pointed out that we as a society try to destigmatize it so it isn't seen as loathsome. He pointed out that "we have all kinds of fundraisers and awareness talks and ribbon-wearing in support of AIDS. But there's no March on Washington for Gonorrhea, right? There's no 10K Run for Clap!"

A 10K Run for Clap. That will be the day.

        

As of Thursday, I will have acquired that necessity of the 21st century, a wireless phone.

I've had a cell phone before, but it was funded by my parents, with strict rules as to its use, because they were on the super-limited 30 minute emergency type plan. Not this one, baby. This one's all mine, a swanky Nokia digital phone with voice-mail and caller ID and 225 anytime minutes including free long distance from my calling area, all for the low low price of $27.95 a month with no activation fee and no charge for the phone.

My local phone company totally suckered me into it, but I do need one and it is a fairly straightforward deal. I called just to make sure that my internet dial-up number was local (Kansas City just recently had to start using area codes to dial across the state line, which runs down the middle of the metropolitan area, and my dial-up number is in Missouri, so I just wanted to be sure it wasn't a local toll call) and the guy's like, "While I have you on the phone..."

Actually, the reason I jumped on it is that they told me I was pre-approved. I know most companies put you through a credit check and I'm still not sure I'd pass one, and I hate to try just because I'd look like an idiot if they rejected me, and I couldn't afford to do one of those pre-paid deals.

        

I highly recommend that you all graduate from law school, because the gifts just keep on rolling in.

Yesterday I got a package from my cousin and his wife. Now, I have to admit that when the wife called and said she needed my address because they wanted to send me something, I was a bit wary. These are down-home folks from Georgia, a limo driver and a hairdresser, and I wasn't really sure what to expect.

Well, I was absolutely floored to open it and find a beautiful Mont Blanc pen, black with gold trim, and my monogram engraved on the barrel. It really is beautiful. I'm almost afraid to use it, although I did test it out and it writes beautifully, but I don't want to mess it up.

And my dad called from Scotland right after I had opened it, and told me that the Nazis kept making them while they occupied Germany, having no idea that the signature star on the top of each pen was the Star of David. (Like I can tell you a story without adding some random piece of trivia.)

And I do have graduation pictures scanned in on my computer, but they're way too big and I need to fuzz out some people's faces. I'll let you know when they're up.

C'est tout, mes amis. À bientôt.