:(

I'm starting to have serious doubts about my ability to pass this bar exam :(

like and dislikes

I really like Freaks and Geeks. I just finished Disc 3 of the series, and my feelings are mixed. I'm happy because I really like the series, but sad because I know it'll be ending soon. Too soon. If you haven't watched it yet, I suggest you go and check it out. Especially if you're a cheesy romantic nerd at heart (which I am).

I really hate studying for the bar. I was feeling prepared and up for it, up until last week, when I started feeling some slight pangs of stress. I think it may have been caused by my lack of studying while I was in New York though, as I'm feeling slightly better now that I am back in the mix of studying everyday (including have class Saturday and Sunday this weekend!).

photo project

I've been wanting to start my own photo project ever since reading about the 1000 Portraits project on Flickr. Here's what I've decided on: I will photograph all food that I consume for the next week. Basically, any non-liquid that goes in my mouth will be photographed.

I think this has a few consequences. First, I think I'll probably be less inclined to eat really crappy junk food since I know it'll be kept in the photo records (likely). Second, this may drive me to eat food that will be more fancy, since I know it'll get photographed (less likely). I have a feeling that it'll be a pretty boring set of photos of just the same old food I eat all of the time. Sadly, I don't eat at places like Per Se all of the time (or even infrequently).

glowing rectangles

For the 4th of July, my friends Andy and Andy hosted a little BBQ, which unfortunately got rained out (rain on the 4th!! What's up with that Chicago?!!). Anyways, we had a great time inside Andy's apartment and while I was there (feasting on bacon-wrapped, cheese-filled hotdogs and Korean BBQ tacos), I got to check out Andy's 23" widescreen LCD monitor. I'd been thinking about getting one ever since I first saw the deal on CNET's Cheapskate blog for a $179 24" new monitor.

I decided to pull the trigger yesterday (only $139 with the eBillme rebate!) and it got me to thinking about an Onion article about staring at glowing rectangles. In addition to the LCD monitor, there's definitely a part of me that really wants a Kindle as well. That got me to thinking about all of the glowing rectangular screens I own and use:

- TV

- Lenovo Ideapad

- Macbook

- PSP 2000

- Nikon D40

- Casio Exilim Z850

- Canon SD1000

- Blackberry Pearl

- iPod Nano

I wouldn't say that 90% of my time is spent staring at these, but I'd say a good 25% minimum, and maybe even more...

per se

I finally made it! In my opinion, Per Se was my best dining experience so far! Other near comparable dining experiences are probably Alinea, Gary Danko and Michael Mina. Of course, while I was in NY, I also visited some old favorites, plus another new place that had been on my list for a long time - Burger Joint.

thursday

Nothing too exciting yesterday. I stuffed myself during lunch at David Burke's Primehouse, with their three course $20.09 lunch. I opted for their gazpacho, dry-aged burger and some delicious dessert I forget the name of. In the evening I met up with some of the rugby grads at Northside Grill out in Wicker Park. We were thinking about going to Violet Hour, but it got vetoed as too expensive and too romantic for a bunch of dudes.

dodgers vs. white sox

Thanks to LSU's stellar performance in the College World Series, I was lucky enough to get a fabulous pair of tickets to the Chicago White Sox game last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sadly, the Dodgers didn't show up the last time I saw them at Wrigley Field, but the team had a great game last night, with the hitting and pitching both showing up - finishing with a 5 - 2 win.

In anticipation of receiving my wide-angle lens, Sigma 10-20mm, this week (it came in today!), I borrowed a friend's wide angle, a Tamron 11-17mm that didn't autofocus with my Nikon D40. Even without the autofocus, I think the pictures came out pretty well.

With my 18-55mm lens:

Two shots with the 11-17mm manual focus lens:

busy thursday

For the first time, I'm falling behind with my BarBri homework, mainly because of grad week and other obligations this week. It's been a great fun-filled week though, and definitely worth falling behind a bit in my studies. Last night, I made three stops:

Joanna's surprise party - Joanna's husband, Mike, organized an awesome surprise birthday party for Joanna. Happy birthday Joanna!

Avec - Lauren's friend Ed is in town, so we decided to take him out to a favorite Chicago late night restaraunt. As usual, the dates were awesome, and I love their focaccia.

The Violet Hour - After dinner, we made our way to Wicker Park to The Violet Hour, a hidden Chicago speakeasy. Although the drinks were pricy at $12 each, the ambience was great and the drinks themselves excellent.

dress-for-weather

This product kills me. I kind of want to get it.

La Crosse Technology WS-9740U-IT-NL Wireless Temperature Station with Remote Sensor and Dress-for-Weather Icons

summer catchup

Looking back after five post-graduation weeks, I've actually had a pretty good summer so far. Given all the catchup, I'll just try to list what I've done so far.

Sun Wah
I've been meaning to check out their Beijing Duck special - $30 for duck served three ways: with buns, as a soup, and as a fried rice. It was actually pretty legit with huge portions, but probably not as good as anything in CA.

Charlie Rose interviewing Karl Rove and James Carville
Even more protesters than the Gore event, but at least there were way fewer annoying hecklers interrupting.


Deepak Chopra @ Kellogg
I haven't read any of his books, but his speech about the role of leadership in building global prosperity was pretty interesting.

Dillo Day 2009
The Decemberists play a free concert in the Northwestern campus.


Cubs vs. Dodgers
Dodgers lose this game, and leave with a 2-2 split with the Cubs.


Rugby Banquet
End-of-year banquet at Timmy O'Tooles for the KFRC - greatest club at Kellogg!


Rugby USA vs. Wales
Over 6,000 in attendance at Toyota Park to see the Eagles play Wales (and unfortunately lose).


Urban Belly
No pictures, but this place was tasty, albeit a bit pricy.

Printer's Row Lit Fest
No purchases this year at the book fest. I'm saving it for SF's Big Book Sale.

Kellogg Korean BBQ - Boo-il Galbi
This was part VI of a recurring Kellogg event, each more wild than the last. Unfortunately, I drove to the dinner and had to leave early before the craziness commenced.


Ribfest
I didn't eat as many ribs as the first time I went, but this time a group of us camped out in the middle of Lincoln Ave. with some cheap store bought beer and just enjoyed the evening.


Wells Street Art Festival
Although I wasn't planning on making any big art purchases, it was still nice to take advantage of some relatively nicer weather to walk around and then stroll back home via Lakeshore.


Whirlyball with the Turkeys

They need to bring this to the Bay Area - it's awesome! Plus, the Jive Turkeys (my Kellogg section) are awesome!


Grad Ball at the Nature Museum
The last Kellogg hurrah before graduation. It's finally starting to sink in that school is over...

Ok, so I'm now caught up and will be back with more summer updates!