Fortuitous Scheduling

3:52 AM

Thank goodness I don't have class on Fridays. This is just a tremendous, high-quality tennis match between the two lefty Spaniards, with some of the best rallies I can remember. They won't let me sleep!

Three hours in, and they're only 4-4 in the third, one set apiece. Already four service breaks this set! Gina's going to wake up before it's over (and probably roll her eyes at me).

Nice Verdasco profile on ESPN. This guy is easy to root for, and I think he's going to be in the mix for a couple of years. But I want Nadal/Federer VII. They're long overdue for a Grand Slam final on the hard stuff.

6:08 AM

Nadal wins the longest Australian Open match ever, at 5 hours and 14 minutes. I was emotional for Verdasco at the end. The guy played like a champ. It's a shame it had to end, and since there are no fifth-set tie-breakers, I was hoping for an extended, 15-13 conclusion. Instead, Verdasco fell behind love-40, fought off two break points with swinging volleys, then finally double-faulted to lose 4-6.

Here are two of the best points of the match, and they're representative of how the whole thing went:

Dr. Giggles

That's my Sawyer nickname. What's yours?

TGIW

Let the weekend begin!

I'm taking five classes this semester, but nothing on Thursday or Friday, so it's four-day weekends until the summer!

My classes, in order of interest:

1. Entrepreneurship for Lawyers - Mondays at 9am. We learn about business plans and investment screens, with projects centered around those topics. And no final exam!

One of my partners for the first project is Gina's second cousin's husband's son-in-law. Any creative business ideas for us out there?

2. Information Privacy Law - Mon-Wed at 11am. I've been interested in this topic since my Google days. After all, who's in the center of practically every information privacy controversy?

Two medium papers, and no final exam! The first is on a topic of our choice, and I'm thinking about doing it on Google's use and storage of user data, or Google's street view on Maps. Something Google. :)

3. California Environmental Law - Wednesdays at 3pm. Meets every other week with guest speakers, and one short paper. No final exam! What a dream.

4. Regulation of Land Use - Mondays at 3pm. A good topic with which to be familiar if Gina and I end up in Hawaii. In fact, the book was written by a prof at UH Law. Maybe I can go work for Kerry's dad. Take-home final.

5. Estates and Trusts - Tuesdays at 6pm. Ends at 9pm, which means I get home after ten on Tuesdays. :( Not at all ideal, but I feel like it's a class I should take. I currently know nothing about the topic. It's a 24-hour take-home final, but the prof says it should only take about three, so that's easy enough.

6. Finishing up the paper from last semester. Gigantic pain in the ass, but hopefully with a published paper to show for it in the end. We'll see!

So a pretty interesting slate, and plenty to keep me busy, but hopefully I'll be able to get most of my work done during my long BART rides and time between classes, allowing me to fully enjoy my four-day weekends. Looks like I'll be able to make all the Stanford hoops games after all!

I Love You, Harry!

Gerald accuses me of being dead inside, à la Chandler.

Joey: You didn't cry when Bambi's mom died?
Chandler: Yes, it was so sad when the guy stopped drawing the deer.
...
Look, I don't cry, it's not a big deal, okay?
Joey: No, it's not okay, it's not okay at all. You're dead inside!

Gerald's litmus test? Armageddon, specifically the scene where AJ draws the short straw, but Harry saves him by taking his place:

poll by twiigs.com

Gerald refuses to believe that I didn't cry during that scene, says I'm afraid to admit it and ruin my macho image. He even bought me the DVD, presumably to remind me of the emotional punch that scene packs. But compelling as Ben Affleck's performance was, it failed to bring me to tears. It failed to bring me to mist.

But no, I am not dead inside. I'm not like Gina, who turned on the waterworks during Lauren and Heidi's reconciliation, but I can think of a few movies that made me cry. Following are my top five crying scenes (aside from Ace discovering that Einhorn is a man):

5. The Shawshank Redemption - Red's monologue, Thomas Newman's score, and the fadeout from the beach.

4. Glory - Trip's devastating whipping (Denzel is freakin' amazing), and the parade march, both with vintage James Horner.

3. Terminator 2 - The thumbs up into the molten steel with Brad Fiedel's awesome synth score.

2. The Sound of Music - Right after the captain fires Maria, when he hears the children singing, then finishes the song himself.

1. Dead Poets Society - When Todd steps up on his desk at the end, just as Maurice Jarre's score builds.

Hmm, maybe if Armageddon had a better score...

So I guess that makes Dead Poets my litmus test. Are you dead inside?