Gas Shortage

Apparently 1/4 of the nation's oil and natural gas comes from the Gulf, whether it is actually drilled in the gulf or comes by boat is unimportant. Also, I thought gasoline was shipped in those tanker trucks but apparently there is some sort of pipeline that runs from Louisiana up the east coast and that pipeline has been shut off. Not only has our oil been shut off but the oil refineries have no electricity so no oil is being refined.

I watched the six o'clock news where we were informed of a possible gas shortage and they said Atlanta has reported that it will run out of gas shortly. Brad said that Hartsfield (Atlanta) airport might have to cancel flights because of lack of fuel and that planes are flying emergency jet fuel to Charlotte and Atlanta. Brad has spent the last two weeks in Wisconsin for training and he is supposed to fly home this Saturday but he may end up stuck in Wisconsin.

Later on the eleven o'clock news they warned that North Carolina might run out of gas. The governor has asked that people not drive unless they have to. The state is limiting the number and type of vehicle that responds to emergency calls and the governor has asked that no one make Labor Day travel plans. The eleven o'clock news further reported the enormous gas price increases.

OK, now you have my attention. I have a little less than half a tank of gas in my car and like most people I fill up when the gas light comes on but I decided that the longer I wait the more it will cost me to fill up my car and the less likely there will be any gas to put in it. So I told Penny to behave, grabbed my keys and headed down to the Shell station. The price for regular 87 is 2.99. It was 2.29 two days ago. It cost me $30.00 to fill up a little more than half a tank of gas. This is crazy.

I think the news stations are not helping matters. Of course a gas shortage is news but they also reported that there are reserves that should last a few weeks. I don't believe that anymore. I think all of their reporting is going to create a panic and there is going to be a run on gas stations a la the run on banks during the depression. It's gonna get ugly. Brad sent me an email stating that there was a riot up north when a gas station boosted the gas price by .50 cents while people were pumping gas.

Week Two

Well, the novelty of the new semester has worn off and I find myself asking questions such as, "Is it December yet?"

On a related note: Should I be worried that the class reading that I find most interesting is for Federal Income Tax? I don't mind reading ten page opinions in Tax. Two page opinions in Evidence, on the other hand, are about one and a half pages too long. Maybe I should be a tax lawyer....

Day 5

Fridays are my most relaxed days. I have one class at 12pm and then I'm out for the weekend. I had tax class today. Tax is actually turning out to be pretty interesting and useful.

I came home from school and had lunch and then I invited over a foreign business student and his girlfriend to see Penny. William is a graduate student in the business school and he lives in my apartment complex. He saw me walking Penny one day and asked if she was a corgi. I was surprised he knew what kind of dog she was but he explained to me that his girlfriend has a corgi in Taiwan. His girlfriend was visiting him this week and next week and she wanted to come over to see Penny. I think she misses her corgi named Bean. They told me that corgis are very popular in Japan. I told them corgis are not very popular here. Penny acted as crazy as usual and I apologized for her antics but they just laughed and said that Bean acts crazy too. William said corgis must all act the same. She had such a good time with them that she is taking a long nap right now.

Later tonight I am going to a luau thrown by my apartment complex. Each year the manager of my apartment complex throws a luau/barbecue to welcome the new residents and to welcome back the old. Most tenants are students and if they keep their apartment they usually go away for the summer.

Day 4

I don't have class on Thursday until 3pm but I was at school earlier yesterday to help with the Women in Law table at the 1L organization fair. All of the student organizations had tables and shared information with the new 1L class.

Yesterday I had Evidence at 3pm and then I had two new classes. Debtor/Creditor Law at 4pm and Banking Law at 6pm.

Debtor/Creditor law is going to be really interesting. The professor is probably one of the funniest, most quirky professors I've ever had, not just in law school. Banking law should also be really interesting and hopefully not too hard since I already know a lot about mortgage banking law.

Thursdays are late nights. I get out at 7:50. I guess that's the trade off for starting school so late. I won't have to look for a parking space at 3pm either so that will be nice.

Day 3

Today I had Tax again but I was a few minutes late because I drove around for 10 minutes looking for a parking space, argghhh... Hopefully that will change when everyone's free parking pass expires on August 31st.

Tax was slightly more interesting today and I answered some questions which made me think of more questions which made me realize that the tax code doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

After Tax I went to a Career Services presentation on interviewing and resumes, etc.... They kept giving advice like:

• Be able to recite your resume or any part of your resume at will.
• Learn all about the firm that you will be interviewing with and be able to discuss different aspects of the firm at will
• Learn all about the person that you will be intervieiwing with and be able to discuss different aspects of that person's life at will
• Before you leave, take a look in the mirror and make sure your hem is straight and no buttons are loose

All of this kind of made me think that the whole interview process is a bit of a joke. You are there to perform like a circus elephant and they are there to be entertained with your antics. It reminded me of a royal court fool. Pretty much everyone they interview will be the same; a young man or woman who goes to law school who has taken almost all of the same classes with similar grades who is looking for a summer job. The difference is going to be how entertaining you are. If I go through all of that trouble, I think memorizing inane facts about things that I can promtly forget within minutes after they are needed should be listed under "skills" on my resume. Oh well, there was free pizza at the presentation so that made it worth it.

Day 2 - What Can Brown do for You?

For the two weeks before school started I stayed up until 1 or 2 am, sometimes even later. I guess I'm a night person. It's been hard waking up this week but the dog makes a good alarm. Yesterday I had my first day of Federal Income Tax. The book is actually funny; the first line on page one says, "Congratulations, you've taken the first step, you've opened the book, " or something like that. The professor, on the other hand, talks slowly and has a very soothing voice which could put you to sleep. This is not good since I am sleepy already. I also had my second day of Evidence. The professor is really funny. We watched a short movie in which he starred as a detective telling a story about a crime and showing all of the evidence that he collected. Then he picked students to submit the evidence to the court and other students to object to the evidence. I think that class is going to turn out to be really fun.

On a different note, I ordered my textbooks online and they were supposed to be delivered yesterday so I was surprised when I went home and didn't find any books. I looked up the UPS tracking information online and found that the address had been wrong or the apartment number missing and they were investigating the proper address. So I called UPS and gave them the proper address. Somewhere between the publisher (the place I bought the books from) and the UPS the address got mixed up. They said they would send the package out again and it would be delivered Wednesday. I was a little angry but what can you do so I went home, read a little and fell asleep on the couch. Hey, remember I said I was tired. I was woken up to the dog barking and the door knocking. I looked through the peep hole and saw a UPS man. "How long had I been asleep!?" I opened the door and signed for the box.

"It's not Wednesday is it?, " I asked.

"Huh?" said the UPS man.

"I called earlier and they said they would redeliver the package on Wednesday."

"Oh....no, I redelivered it tonight."

"Thanks," I said.

Getting a box full of text books is a little like Christmas, but not.

First Day of Classes cont'd...

I had two classes today: Real Propety Security and Evidence. Both classes were actually pretty straightforward; the profs pretty much just lectured. They both seem like they aren't going to be that bad. I was actually supposed to have 3 classes today but the last one was cancelled by the professor. Not too much to say about the classes but the good news is that I could answer nearly all of each profs' questions, which means I read pretty thouroughly. I didn't raise my hand to answer all of the questions though, because nobody likes a know-it-all.

I've completed all of my reading through Wednesday so I don't have any reading that I have to do. I'm just going to organize my class notes and then fix dinner and watch TV.

First Day of Classes

Today is the first day of classes. I actually don't have class until 2pm on Mondays but I went to school this morning to sign up for a locker. First floor lockers are in a prime location and I wanted to make sure that I got one of those lockers and not something on the third floor. Unfortunately two parking lots were blocked off and nearly all of the 1Ls (first year students) were already at school when I got there so I had to park way over in the Undergrad campus. Oh well, the walk was good for me I guess, and I did get a first floor locker. I came home to have breakfast and read a little before school. More on my first day to come....

Lefty

Do people who are left-handed "left click" the mouse button?

Butterfly

Penny is protecting me from a very dangerous butterfly that landed on my balcony. She is barking and barking but the butterfly won't move. It is just ignoring the dog. I don't think butterflies have ears.

Penny Attacks (a ball)

Right now Penny is playing with her bouncy ball. It's one of those plastic air filled balls that you can get from Walmart for 2 bucks. Anyway, she is having a blast, she is tearing through the house making the funniest little yipping sounds and I finally figured out what she sounds like. If you have ever seen the movie Mars Attacks, Penny sounds like the Martians when they get angry and start yelling in those short sort of barks. I wonder if they recorded a corgi for those sounds.

On an unrelated note, earlier today Penny saved us from the garbage truck in the parking lot. She stood up on the balcony and barked making sure that it would not come into the house to get us. Penny is a constant source of amusement. She's a little clown.

And all that Jazz

Penny and I went for a long walk around my apartment complex today. Penny stopped every two feet to sniff everything and at one point we paused by one of the dumpsters. There was some kind of noise coming from the dumpster so I got closer. There was music coming from the dumpster! Jazz music to be exact. Apparently we have some very classy dumpsters.

10 Reasons Why I'm Happy to Leave Atlanta

10. Noisy upstairs neighbors
9. 1 hour drive to and from work
8. Heat (Hotlanta)
7. Brad's crazy work schedule ruining my sleep pattern
6. Tornadoes heading toward our apartment
5. Traffic, Traffic, Traffic
4. Stupid drivers, specifically those who block intersections
3. Taking 45 minutes to drive a 4 mile round trip because of construction
2. Construction on the interstate
1. Construction right next to our apartment complex

10 Things I'll miss about Atlanta

10. All the things in Atlanta that we planned on going to but never did
9. Atlanta FM Radio
8. Atlanta Talk Radio
7. No School
6. Our new comfy bed
5. Window's 98 PC for old games
4. Cable TV
3. Having a job
2. Friends in Atlanta
1. Brad

Oh the Humidity!

Well I'm back in Winston-Salem. Brad came up with me to help carry all of my stuff back. I don't know what I was thinking. I probably only wore half of the clothes and shoes that I brought and I watched and read even less of the DVD's and books that I brought. Oh well, live and learn right? I won't pack so much stuff next summer.

On a similar note, a friend of mine kept his stuff in my apartment this summer rather than put it in storage and the timing worked out well for Brad and I to come back last weekend because that was the weekend that his girlfriend planned on getting all of his stuff out of my apartment. He is still in Boston but his girlfriend and another friend were going to try to move everything themselves. They didn't realize that Brad and I were here. And Brad's Jeep really came in handy.

The move wasn't so bad but the humidity was. I don't know why, but I thought I was going to get away from some of that heat and humidity when I moved up from Atlanta. It was so humid in Atlanta at times it felt like I was breathing water. 90's and humidity is awful and so is 80's humidity and moving. But it was a more pleasant experience than when Brad and I moved from Virginia. That was excruciating. We are definitely hiring movers, if just to load and unload, when we move again.