post-blah.

wow, i can't believe i am up right now. lately when i get home, i can't be bothered to turn on the computer, or the tv (except for the beeb). generally in favor of talking to the roommate and reading. at any rate, i have been getting to bed consistently early. i think i have actually been getting the prescribed eight hours a night! insane.

these weeks are starting to speed up, and i can feel the noose tightening as far as school is concerned. but it's good. clearly i need the pressure to keep me interested. and it's not unenjoyable either. i mean, today in trial ad i conducted two direct examinations, a cross, and was a witness, and, momentarily, a judge. (while being decidedly not on my a-game.) but i also laughed out loud at several points during the evening. norgle, he's a funny dude.

although it started with me being bored and writing overcaffeinated record reviews into the void, last thursday ended up being a great day. and a housing-law-centric one. in the afternoon, my predatory lending class went out to, like, 63rd and kedzie for an orientation with the greater southwest development corporation and neighborhood housing services. great people, and it was nice to get to know a neighborhood with which i wasn't that familiar. was fortunate to get a ride back from professor seng, who astounds me more every day, and hustled over to jenner for the lawyers' committee awards ceremony/fundraiser. every year i attend, and every year i write something effusively sentimental. and this year is not going to be any different. the organization is just growing so well and the event is always such a bighearted gathering. the keynote speaker/winner this year was alex polikoff (he litigated that gautreaux case, maybe you've heard of it?), who was utterly sobering. on the eve of the 4oth anniversary of martin luther king's arrival in chicago, he reflected on the progress of king's objectives since then...or the lack thereof. in contrast, the kid who won the "attorney of the day" award, an IP attorney at some big firm, was funny and heartfelt and almost made me cry. his speech totally went on too long, oscars-long, but nobody could be mad at him: he won a giant award for this family who was locked out of its apartment and had much of its property destroyed. $70,000, that's almost unheard of in the universe of eviction law.

i spoke at length with chief judge evans, who seems like he genuinely cares about his work, and the larger system he's a part of. and saw joe, and ceci, and professor stark, and professor hammond (who's surprisingly lucid when she's not teaching property). even better, i got to meet some of the members of the better housing action network and their families. these are former clients of the organization, who on top of managing their housing and jobs and families, have gone to springfield to participate in advocacy for laws that support safe and decent housing. and i got an lcbh t-shirt: so hot right now.

the quote of the night, or maybe the year, came from this guy from the uptown people's law center: "i don't think eviction court is any different from iraq or guantanamo bay. i think it all comes down to the same issue--the rule of law, and whether we decide to honor it." say word, son.

speaking of which, what are you doing october 5? me too.

(related: casey kasem?????!!! omg.)