Pics Coming Soon

When Taylor sends them out, I'll post pics of Taylor, Chris, Debbie, Gary, and me. Last Saturday was a great day. We went swimming at Gary's folk's house, ate at My Tomato Pie, hung out at Gary's apartment, then headed to Chris's apartment to chill some more.

Summertime and the livin's easy

I've seen my friends a lot these past couple of weeks.

Things we've done:

Driving range
Swimming
Dinner
Sex and the City night
Filling out employment forms
Worked on the Volvo
Watched movies on my small-screen TV

Yet to do:

4th of July BBQ (work party - they like me, they really do!)

I have to say I really enjoy Buffalo summers. Even if it's hot, it's not as humid as Florida. Everyone's out and about, and everything's laid back. Though there's work and classes, it's not as hectic as during Spring and Fall semesters.

Those to leave:

Ren - Today
Debbie - This week or early next
Chris - end of July
Inna - end of July

Sheesh.

Departing Friends

Ren is leaving next Thursday to begin working at a dental practice in Toronto. I'm going to miss hanging out w/ him. Over the past few months, he's become a great neighbor and good friend. And (to the best of my knowledge) it's a sweet, platonic thing. We hang out a few times a week, sitting around watching Daily Show

Deb is leaving mid-July to teach English in Japan. Chris is leaving in mid-July to clerk for the 3rd Appellate Division in NY. They have become my closest friends in Buffalo and I'm going to miss them tremendously. I honestly hope that we keep in touch.

I've never taken leaving friends or friends leaving so hard as now. It's just always happened w/ every move to a new city, a new school, a new country, and it was no big deal. I know a couple of my friends will always be a part of my life, but I'm so close to them, it's not even a question. In undergrad, I had a ton of friends, but only talk to a couple of them online occasionally. In Taiwan, I was as extroverted as I'll ever be, made a lot of friends too, and don't talk to any of them now. In law school, I settled down a little more and made not as many friends, but a few very good friends, and now it's a little hard to see them leave not knowing for sure if we'll stay in touch.

To the Universe for review (Chronicle of Time and the Universe of the Universe in the Universe circa the Universe: beg. Chpt. 82: DAWN OF MAN - DRAFT)

To the Universe for review (Chronicle of Time and the Universe of the Universe in the Universe circa the Universe: beg. Chpt. 82: DAWN OF MAN - DRAFT):

The dawn of man was a dubious event for the Universe. The Universe had been awake since the dawn of time and now this minutiae rock in an air pocket stood still. Don’t you realize the significance of that? A still rock gathers moss. When this skuzzy little pebble began to sprout its own organisms, the Universe was rather pissed. Not only did the rock lodge itself in It's trachea, but microbial crap of all kind started to form as well.

P.S. As your trusted biographer, I believe the title is too short. Ibid.

i'd take a non-fatal, minimal scarring bullet (as long as it's not in the face) for a couple of my friends

i have such good friends. they come see me in buffalo, they give great advice, they're so friggin' good to me, they offer me their girlfriends... oh, did i say that out loud? i don't know what i'd do w/o my friends.

the guy next door and i had an interesting conversation. he's in the military and was talking about some of the traumatic things he did and witnessed. i fessed up and said though i believe in the democratic ideals our country was founded on, i wouldn't die for them. and he said he absolutely would. it was moving to hear someone unequivocally declare that they were willing to die for their convictions. there really isn't much i'm willing to die for... if anything at all. maybe that means i'm selfish, but i don't think it makes me a bad person.

Orphan Works

I ran across a great article about copyright law and orphan works. Orphan works are basically works for which the creator cannot be found. In many cases, the issue arises when an author, filmmaker, etc. wishes to incorporate original works into his/her subsequent work, but cannot find the original creator from whom to obtain permission. It's reasonable to assume that under some of these circumstances the copyright has expired (e.g., a 100 year old book). These original works cannot be preserved, archived, or have any value to anyone - in academia or otherwise - without the permission of the creator, who cannot be found and is likely dead. So, these works basically disintegrate like they never existed - even if someone would like to revive them. For example, currently, we have the technology to enable us to archive every literary work that's ever been found (See Kahle v. Ashcroft), but are caught in a tenuous position where copyright holders' rights must be protected even if the copyright holder never comes forward to claim the work as his own. When copyright expires, the work is supposed to fall into the public domain to be used and owned by everyone. But w/ the change in the nature of copyright law since 1976, and subsequent changes such as the Copyright Extension Act of 1998, nothing falls into the public domain, copyright is extended indefinitely, and the work loses any sort of value as it is rendered unusable by anyone without the creator's permission. Once a work is lost to the physical effects of time, we are denied access to invaluable information and will lose forever a part of our creative history.

How to Hustle without Conning Anyone

After class, I'm calling the financial advisor at the University to see if he can give me some advice about reducing my debt. Also, I'm going to register for Amazon or EBay and type in all the ISBN numbers of most of my law books to see if anyone bites. I've been considering kind of an unusual option for paying off debt. After I apply for jobs later on in the summer, if nothing looks that good or no one is willing to pay me more than $40k, I may teach for a year or two in Japan. The JET program pays around $40k and living expenses will be so much less than in America. Plus, I really enjoyed teaching English in Taiwan, and I'll be a few hundred miles away from Taiwan so I can visit my mom every couple of months. For now, I've got my two jobs, but I may add another for the summer - 16 hrs a week (maybe more once summer classes end in early July) wiping ass for $12 an hour. My roommate is a nurse and told me about nurses' aides. Not a glamourous job, but sick people need help and I need money.

How to Hustle without Conning Anyone:
1. Wipe a lot of ass as a nurses' aide
2. Sell books and other furniture and possessions (e.g., DVD player, dressers, etc.) I don't need
3. Freelance edit (this is more difficult over the summer w/ less students on campus)
4. CONSOLIDATE
5. Sell a foot of hair (almost there)
6. Someone's got to want my plasma

So, after school, there are a few options:
1. Find a job in editing/publishing
2. Teach English in Japan (it would be awesome if I can find a company that wants to teach their employees English - could probably get $50k or more for that)

It would be nice if I only had to worry about school, rather than school and money. But, it is what it is.

Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

Apparently, I'm a pretty hard worker. Who knew? Val (boss) is taking Jason (tech writer) and I (editor) out to lunch for putting in so much work on the Tech Tools project just before and during exam week.

Things to do with Christian when he visits that won't break anyone's bank account:
1. Thursday in the Square
2. Going to that bar w/ a rainbow flag waving in the entrance
3. Niagara Falls - again
4. Free movie - Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Brad and Angelina... eye candy for both of us)
5. Toronto! - window shopping and Chinatown
6. Lots of hanging out w/ friends (Deb, Chris, etc.)
7. Maybe wine tasting in Niagara County - if it doesn't require highway driving to get there; there's still that wobbling-wheel-at-high-speeds issue w/ the Volvo
8. Etcetera