the night has a thousand saxaphones

Jane Fonda just bought me dinner. She thinks the story of how my husband and I met is very sweet.
Sometime in the last two years, my life got weird.

I did it. It is done and I have done it. Dear God please let me not have to do that again.

I wouldn't wish the entire process on my worst enemy.

Studying for the bar not only makes you crazy, it also makes you really really boring to talk to or be around. I apologize.

Five thousand bar takers in New York City. Have never felt so much like a head of cattle in my life.

You'd think a convention center in Manhattan would be better at crowd control.

Five thousand people taking a six-hour long test with one very short, strictly enforced lunch break... is like an illustration of potty parity. I know a couple girls who spent their entire lunch breaks in line.

On much the same note, the cab stand basically looked like the Hunger Games.

On day two, when I finished the morning a bit early, I actually had a really good lunch. I walked up to the Empire State Building, and got cart hotdogs, and walked back down to the Hudson River Park and wandered around, and sat and ate watching the water. And then walked to the subway afterward and went past my favorite subway art. I know other people love their cities- really, I do, I know I'm not the only person in the world who loves her city- but sometimes it just blows me away that I'm lucky enough to live here.

Perhaps the oddest thing about the entire damn experience is how NICE people are to you. Everybody taking the bar is identified by a bright green wristband. You see anybody you recognize in a wristband? "Hey! Good luck! You're doing great!" Anybody recognizes you in a line? "Hey! Almost over, hang in there!" The proctor, walking down the row and getting us all to sign in? "You guys are doing so good, you're almost done!" The guy behind me in line at Subway? "Hey, you're taking the bar? My aunt took it a couple years ago. My aunt's kind of a moron, so if she can pass you definitely will. Good luck!" Random people on the street? "Hey, you're one of the bar people- chin up! You can do it!" A woman in a flight attendant uniform going to the airport shuttle stopped when we were in line to tell us her son was taking it in California right now, and then she went down the line pointing at each person individually yelling "You're going to pass! And you're doing to pass! And you're going to pass!" until the shuttle honked. Seriously, I had no idea this was such a cultural Thing. Probably never again in my life will so many random strangers be so nice to me on one day.

And yet, despite everybody being REALLY nice, and the fact that I had wine and cake waiting for me at home, I still don't want to do it again.

Nest up: major medical shit, giant fights about money, job I am in no way prepared for. This couple month stretch is shaping up extraordinarily unpleasant.

Because I would be remiss if I didn't pass it on, The Periodic Table of Storytelling. There should totally be some kind of random-element-generator prompt meme, Y/N?

Via cofax7, the Guardian is doing some kind of SF thing.

Calvin & Hobbes futurefic gets me right where I live. Have Hobbes and Bacon part one and two.

( Aliens, zombies, and plauges, oh my )

( And the life update )

Christmas! I got fantastic cards from sid and stultiloquentia and jenrose, and erda, who sent me a magnet, and squirelawrence, whose card is Classy, and hilarytamar, who I forgot to thank like a week ago.

I love this time of year! Thank you everybody!

School: The semester went astonishingly well. The exams... not so much. My procrastination is still a Problem (I'm doing it right now, in fact). It's all my own fault, and I will do better in Spring.

New York: ( Ooops, that got long )

Fail in the News: I love Sady Doyle.

Narnia: I don't have much to say about the movie (this is a lie: I have a MILLION things to say about the movie, but they're all very predictable and I said them all to watersword in person). Sure, much of the movie Did It Wrong, and having Caspian aged up so dramatically changes things, but. But they got Reepicheep right, and that's all I cared about.

But I did manage to find two of my old fic recs for watersword- the one about the magician's book, and the one that is so much more than just a threesome. (And if you ever feel the need for Problem Of Susan fic- and who doesn't?- I reccd four of those over at crack_van too)

Misc Fannish Other: ( Inception, mostly )

My procrastination is becoming a Problem in my life. I remember I had techniques, back in undergrad, but I can't seem to remember what they are. There must be practical anti-procrastination advice on the internet, but if I spend hours reading it... I'm pretty sure that sort of thing is part of the problem.

The law school workload kept me away from NY Comic-Con this year, and I just realized I missed the signups for Muskrat Jamboree. And I barely knew about the jd_ficathon until stuff had already posted. Dammit, I refuse to let law school take my hobbies. Partly because, you know, hobbies keep you sane, but partly because I've met so many of the people I value most this way, and I just can't lose that. So... I'll have to figure something out.

Edited for linkspam: I realize that I am in danger of just linking to everything Abigail Nussbaum ever writes, but I wanted to point out her really amazing articulation of just what is wrong with SGU and, now, her take on what exactly is the difference between Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. It's a compelling argument that the difference is not, in fact, maturity or complexity. Very good read.

Plus, she tosses off the observation that Bilbo Baggins and Arthur Dent have more in common than is apparent at first glance, which made me giggle. Oh, so true!

( Life- irrelevant to all you )

Everybody in the world has already seen SG-1 The Movie. Fantastic pick-me-up.

Glam rec: The Good Times Are Killing Me, which is a month old but just surpassed Drive-By Devotion as my favorite Tommy characterization ever. I adore when he's all dudely and inarticulate and dirty-talking and has the gender politics of a caveman but is secretly pleased as punch at the idea of being the girl.

1: Go Log Cabin Republicans!

2: Was delayed 15 minutes today because my subway entrance was roped off to film a scene of Gossip Girl. Got to see somebody putatively famous, with very shiny hair, walk up a set of stairs and check her phone in dismay about seven times in a row. (I assume this hardly counts as a spoiler?)

Possibly I live in New York.

3: I have missed swing dancing. Easy to forget just how fun it is.

I have a schedule, and a book list, and a reading assignment, and a locker (and, entertainingly, an assigned seat- ah, professors trying to learn 100 names. Good times), and a big check supposedly in the mail. *dies and is dead*

Fannishly: so where are all the VVC vid recs? I could hardly find any! Vids would be awesome right now.

As of tomorrow morning, I will have no internet save by phone. The idea of putting everything I own into the hands of some random guy in brown shorts is nervous-making at best.

Still kissing many frogs at Kradam Big Bang, but Simon's is cute cute cute cute cute, almost debilitatingly cute. And Ready Now is... *flails* It's, like, romantic and plotty and gripping and mesmerizing and the ending! The ending of this fic! Is like the ending of every romantic comedy I've ever rolled my eyes through times a million, except for being totally awesome.

Apparently I have a ticket to see Zachary Quinto in Angels in America in November. Because I am moving to NEW YORK and apparently this is what I do now- hook up with awesome fangirls to see Zachary fucking Quinto in a well respected off-Broadway play revival and then go party just because I can. How is this my life?

This almost makes up for the complete and total panic.