HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Okay, so I know I am late, but not that late if you take into account Chinese New Year, which was only a week ago.

I celebrated each of the New Years as in true Bay Area fashion, while I stuck close to my roots on both occasions the evenings couldn't have been more different.
I was lucky to spend the Georgian New Year with friends in the Marina. While we did spend a little time out dancing and we watched the city's fireworks from the bay most of the evening was spent in preparation for going out. I don't know how we do this, but some how the production of hair, clothes and makeup takes longer than you spend actually dancing; and what is it for your in a dark room with strange lighting, it is probably 100 degrees with the humidity of the tropics. No one looks good five minutes after you walk in the door. In college it made a little more sense, before going out there was usually a parade of photos that were taken, not to mention a less sauna like location for the ubiquitous "pre-gaming." For some reason I still do it, which isn't even the crazy part.
The crazy part is that I like it. Far and away the most fun I had was getting ready and drinking Martini's with the girlfriend I was with. We have been friends since junior high, and while we were always close she was never my dearest friend. But in a strange "isn't it funny how things change" way we are living surrprisingly relatable lives. While she is married (something that still freaks me out to think about- it doesn't feel real to me. Contrary to every father everywhere in my head she and her husband are simply living in sin, this makes much more sense to me.) But other than the fact that she has a husband (and I SO don't) our lives are on similar tracts. She is a PhD student on the east coast, and while her program is only mildly related to law we share a common language. I is a wonderful treat to be able to talk to someone who knows your past but can also get where you are in the moment. It is a rare thing. My family is terribly supportive; thinking I am brilliant and capable. This is great, but when something that is exciting happens they don't understand the significance of it. It feels like "of course you did it because you are amazing!" So it was wonderful to talk to someone who got it. We could both talk about our accomplishments without feeling like we were gloating or competing (which is what it feels like with law school friends) and we still understood the magnitude of what we had been able to accomplish.

Plus it is really great to gossip about High School with a drink in your hand and a Diploma on the wall. 

I had much less fun on Chinese New Year...

My first year of college one of my roommates was Chinese and she still sends me updates every year at the lunar new year telling me how to best prepare myself for the year ahead (you can basically insert a slew of Berkeley stereotypes into the quad I lived in as a freshman- I know, I am sure I have mentioned others, but Berkeley has a stereotype for a reason.) This is the year of the Dragon, and I (along with much of the rest of of my graduating class) was born under the sign of the Dragon. While we are supposed to be the luckiest sign this isn't going to be a great year for us, my friend (through her grandmother) tells me that I need to be behave conservatively (spending another 40 grand on law school, voting for Obama, traveling to South East Asia- I think I have already failed that one.) Guard my head (she wasn't to clear on this one, but suggested with my tendency to fall down I might want to start wearing a helmet all the time.)

Okay so those aren't looking so good, so she advised what she advises every year (and I sometimes follow) to clean. You are supposed to clean you house and remove all of the bad luck from the previous year so that the good luck can flow in. I am not sure if it works, but it is nice to have an excuse to have a sparkly clean house. We actually moved the oven to get the grime out from under and around it. Also, because the entryway is the most important area because that is where luck enters, I was able to get my roommate to move some of her shoes to her bedroom- a major victory. 

So here is to a new year, hopefully eating beans and scrubbing floors will pay off and it will be a good one, (because I would be really pissed if the Mayans were right and the world ends a semester before I finish law school. )

Monday on Friday

It has been a tough week, and I know that it is only going to get more difficult. At least I am comforted by the fact that much of my frustration has been over the fact that my computer is dying and I plan on buying a new one this weekend.
Monday I spent all day with DC dad getting my room set up. After some frustration and a lot of maneuvering we were able to get all of the large pieces assembled. So there are no longer boxes in my room. We didn't get to the side tables or my curtain rods, but hopefully I can get the side tables together on my own and the rest can wait for another time.

Gotta love restaurant week!

Later on Monday I went to dinner with Dip Girl and some other friends. The restaurant, Zengo, was incredibly good, it was an Asian Latin fusion place that funnily enough is right under the building I lived in three years ago. I had wanted to try it then but it never worked out, which is really what restaurant week is for. I had soft shell crabs, which I love and are amazing, scallops, and a chili chocolate cake. I love it when places offer their whole menu as an option and don't pare it down too far.

After dinner I went to the Bed Bath and Beyond which is right next door to pick up a dust buster. I love the thing! It is an amazing tool, especially when you have a dog and hardwood floors.

you should meet my family...

So in an effort to keep from repeating myself and making sure that everyone receives the same gems of snarky wit many of you appreciate from me, I have given in and started a blog...we will see how frequently I actually post.
School hasn't actually started yet, so I guess calling myself a law student is a bit presumptuous but hopefully it can be excused. I am in the process of getting my house set up, it is a great place about a block from metro and for the rent I am still waiting to see what the catch is, the place is too great. I have one roommate but we have three bedrooms between us, it is amazing how much more personal space I have compared to undergraduate collective living.
The one catch... when we moved in it hadn't been cleaned. Well it had been, because the cleaners charged our landlord but it wasn't up to my standard of new tenant move in clean. Now  it wasn't fraternity house dirty or (heaven forbid) Argentina house mom dirty, but it needed a little TLC. The floors needed to be mopped, appliances scrubbed, bathroom given a good bleaching and mirrors shined, nothing I couldn't handle. I start scrubbing, and dusting and sweeping and eventually get to the point where I want to move our fridge, oven, and washer/dryer (did I mention we have a washer dryer in the house!) so that I could get to the floor under them. At this point I ask my roommate for help moving them and she looks at me as if I am crazy and says "is that really necessary."
Mollified, I finished what I was doing and went to to my room and called mum. She was supportive and I think happy that after years of enabling me (she had a standard that could only easily met by her own hands) I hadn't become some sort of lazy festering bum unable to clean up after herself. (I promise mum, I will not wallow in my filth, you taught me well.) Anyway after a conversation on the merits of brushes versus sponges when cleaning grout and toilet bowls as well as our mop solution of choice (yes seriously- it seemed less nerdy at the time) I felt redeemed.
Later in the evening however I got a call from a friend from boarding school who is also in DC. Deciding to relate my story, and vindicate myself further I explained what happened. Her response was "Yea Kate you are like the most type A person I know. It can be a little scary at times." Then she reminded me of a school nickname I received for my fastidiousness.
After hanging up I had the nagging desire to explain myself; or at least give her a 'not ugh' listing the members of my family who are considerably more type A than I. As such I have titled my blog "If you think I am type A."
I promise that there will be more information on the house, my attempt to set it up (Yea Ikea, I have my furniture, now I just have to wait for surrogate father Jim to help me set it up) and school, when it finally starts.

The only thing to know is how to use your neurosis.
 Arthur Adamov