Day 3 Part 2

I’m kind of nervous that the TLC dude is coming to poke around my apartment today. I hope he doesn’t disturb or take anything. I put a lock on my closet door and although a truly determined person could get through it, I think it conveys the point.

I was all excited in Contracts this morning because I figured out how to modify Microsoft Word to make symbols whenever I want them without having to fish around under the “Insert Symbol” menu. In this course we reference the Second Restatement of Contracts regularly, and its hallmark is a little symbol comprised of two capital S’s in a merged squiggle. I programmed Word to automatically replace the typed text of a capital S followed immediately by a small s and insert the § symbol. It sounds like a really stupid thing but (a) it makes notetaking infinitely easier, (b) I love tinkering with computer programs and modifying them to suit, and (c) this kind of thing fascinates me. Just think of the possibilities. I wish I had known about this modification when I was typing Organic Chemistry labs on a nightly basis and needed a Celsius or degree symbol every couple of numbers.

I caught bits of the first three episodes of Tommy Lee’s college experience last night, and it was quite entertaining. I really abhor reality shows, but this one is a certain exception. It really accurately conveyed college life as I experience it – everyone harboring the delusion that their portion of the university was of the utmost importance (the band) and taking everything (tryouts) wayyyyyy too seriously. And then the professors that expected you to dive into chem. Labs without explaining them (I was having major chem. Flashbacks here, with my Hindu TA who only knew about six English words, two of which were “wrong” and “stupid”). And then the hard-knock dean who was absolutely no help and offered no comfort at all – that was like Marquette all the way.

Classes for everyone else started today, and campus is absolutely bustling. It looks like someone let out a Rolling Stones concert on the Quad – people everywhere. As such, it has become increasingly apparent why I cannot manage to speak to an Insight Cable representative – I saw about sixteen Insight trucks on the way to class today. That’s okay, though, because I have a DVD player. I fell asleep last night to Tuck Everlasting, a Disney movie about a family who drinks from a magic spring of water and lives forever. Peaceful… quiet… milquetoast. Perfect background material.

I stopped home today to get some water and take last-minute photos of my apartment lest someone from TLC abscond with something of mine, but as I was rummaging around for my newly-acquired closet keys there was a rap on the door… it was the TLC dude! I couldn’t believe my luck! He was a little twentysomething with the hard edge of a hardware worker like Stuart or Butch, a guy ruffled around by the world whilst puttering about on the lower rungs of the latter. He asked me if I’d had any pest problems (negative), zpritzed the floor in my kitchen with his handy-dandy high-tech weed sprayer, and bid me a good day. Yet another example of me freaking over nothing. But I’m glad I was there. I’ll have to remember that for next month – 12:30, give or take.

“Before we begin, I have to tell you that this course has a reputation for being the most difficult, least intuitive, most dreaded, and least enjoyed of all law school courses. I have to add that, as much as students run from this class, teachers run even faster. They run from it like rats run from an exterminator.” He’s a tall gray slate of an early fortysomething, with a charcoal gray pinstripe suit, deep periwinkle silk shirt and checkered tie, the first well-dressed male I’ve encountered at law school. He has glasses and a bright manner, quick to smile but with a stern hawk’s nose and that rumbly, dry metal voice, and his mannerisms are eerily reminiscent of Mr. Lawry (I think that was his name?) from A League of their Own, the guy hired by Mr. Harvey to find an audience for the league. He has really unique handwriting – giant, thin capital letters and tiny, meticulous little letters thereafter, with a splashy up and down appearance like he held the chalk in two fingers and snapped his wrist to create them. He also has a crisp, clean way of mouthing words. And I would just like to announce that I ADORE the guy – he just referenced MONTY PYTHON! “A John Cleese type character shuffling about in the woods…” Yeah!

As for the realm of other local worthlessness, my favorite telly show is on in reruns tonight: Lost! I think it’s even the season finale, which would be nice for a background soundtrack.