Posts
Something really incredibly messed up happened last night. I witnessed it, and kind of took part, in the end. It was on the Long Island bus. I was attempting to go one place and boy how life took me in another direction. Let's just say the incident ended with an arrest that turned violent, and I lost faith I may have had or been willing to implicitly grant to Nassau County's police department...no, I was not arrested. I will try to post about it soon. I am very short on time right now.
I really just stopped by to say, hey, I need to post here more!
And I would also like to point out that in my classes we read cases. Lots and lots of cases. Every day, cases. Civil Procedure--cases. Criminal Law--cases. Contracts--horrifyingly mind-numbing cases. Torts (my favorite!)--lots and lots of cases. Even in Legal Writing we read some cases. And you know who has appeared in more cases than any other entity? Wal-Mart! That's right. Those fools/epitome of all that is evil have got themselves in more trouble, as far as I can see, than just about anyone else. Well, and is anyone surprised?
Man, I hate Wal-Mart. They are just. So. Wrong.
I will try to share more law school thoughts soon. Or even just life thoughts.
Yes, there IS ALWAYS an alternative place to shop. Boycott the W!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Doubt it
Another toss-off line in a class set me thinking. This time it was Torts, with my brilliant teacher from Omaha! (oh, Omaha! *sigh*) He mentioned a "reasonable doubt: one that can be reasoned, not a speculative doubt." Suddenly -- ding! The light bulb went on for me.
I must admit I'd never really thought about it that way. We've all heard for years that the prosecution in a criminal case must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt." And, even if we never paid attention to these things before O.J., we probably could recite after that the burden of proof was less in a civil case: "a preponderance of the evidence." But I'd always thought about a "reasonable doubt" as sort of an "acceptable level of doubt" or an understandable doubt, you know. Reasonable. Not outlandish. Behave reasonably.
And in civil cases, and all the intentional tort cases we discuss in class, the standard of negligence asks what a reasonable person would do in those circumstances, how a member of society can reasonably be asked to behave. We often hear that, though, as "how would a normal person behave?"
It's important for us to remember that the law asks us to be reasonable, to be logical. That is to say, our actions should not be unfounded. There should be discernible reasoning behind them. As for proving the prosecution's case against the defendant, sure, you could always come up with some far-fetched speculative doubt ("well, what IF the REAL killer just HAPPENED to throw the bloody knife in my bag...." or whatever) but the courts ask only to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, to make a case that withstands logical probing and analysis.
I love logic. I love the law. I might add that I've always hated when in emotionally volatile situations people try to get out of facing consequences or owning up to their actions or answering the question "Why?" by saying they can't explain it, it just happened, they can't help what they feel, there's no logical reason for it, and so on.
Here's to being reasonable!
I must admit I'd never really thought about it that way. We've all heard for years that the prosecution in a criminal case must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt." And, even if we never paid attention to these things before O.J., we probably could recite after that the burden of proof was less in a civil case: "a preponderance of the evidence." But I'd always thought about a "reasonable doubt" as sort of an "acceptable level of doubt" or an understandable doubt, you know. Reasonable. Not outlandish. Behave reasonably.
And in civil cases, and all the intentional tort cases we discuss in class, the standard of negligence asks what a reasonable person would do in those circumstances, how a member of society can reasonably be asked to behave. We often hear that, though, as "how would a normal person behave?"
It's important for us to remember that the law asks us to be reasonable, to be logical. That is to say, our actions should not be unfounded. There should be discernible reasoning behind them. As for proving the prosecution's case against the defendant, sure, you could always come up with some far-fetched speculative doubt ("well, what IF the REAL killer just HAPPENED to throw the bloody knife in my bag...." or whatever) but the courts ask only to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, to make a case that withstands logical probing and analysis.
I love logic. I love the law. I might add that I've always hated when in emotionally volatile situations people try to get out of facing consequences or owning up to their actions or answering the question "Why?" by saying they can't explain it, it just happened, they can't help what they feel, there's no logical reason for it, and so on.
Here's to being reasonable!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Light
This year I was in New York for the commemoration of September 11.
After class on Monday -- well, class and some other things -- I headed into The City to look at the Twin Towers of Light. You know, the blue lights that shine up into the sky where the World Trade towers once stood. (Although it turned out they were actually not on the actual actual spot of the where the towers stood, but it looks like it in the skyline from a distance.)
There were of course various things happening all day noting the event. In the morning, after my clock radio alarm woke me, I actually just lay there listening to the reading of the names for quite a while. Survivors, mostly widows, would read a group of 5 or 10 names and then end with their husband/fiance/father before passing it on to the next reader...I'm sure you've seen this on TV over the past four years, but maybe you've blown it off just like I did.
Hofstra Law School had a noontime remembrance ceremony; three law school alumni lost their lives at the World Trade Center that day. At night I ventured into Manhattan. We wandered around the area -- I don't really know what to call it these days; it's not 'Ground Zero' anymore -- noting the flowers, pictures, poems, gathered throng, firefighter tributes, protester with a sign calling for investigation (I hear ya brother!), people taking pictures, U.S. flags, peace sign in a window across the street...
The thing that struck me the most were the little kids. Earlier in the evening I had spoken briefly with my sister on the phone, which of course meant my nigh on 3-year-old nephew was in the background, and my sister was telling him, "Aunt Linda's in a place called New York!" I was like, put on your TV tonight and you can show him where I am. That got me started thinking. Then, as I looked at the children wandering around the sidewalk and displays I just kept thinking, "They weren't born." I don't know why it hit me so strongly in that moment, or why it hadn't before, but suddenly it seemed totally bizarre that there could be functioning little human beings in the world with thoughts and ideas and sentences and personalities who did not exist on that September 11.
The tall blue beams of light go so far up into the sky you can't see the end of them. When they hit the clouds, so bright, it looks like the moon is behind the clouds. I love blue things anyway, but it looked amazing.
In my Torts class, we study all sorts of cases of negligence, battery, false imprisonment, and other wrongs that people do each other. A tort is a harm. A lot of people in the so-called general public have in mind torts when they think about "frivolous law suits" and our "overly litigious society." It's not criminal court. The torts system is about compensation for injury, not punishment. What's it not, or I should say what's it not necessarily, is about getting ridiculous revenge. You have to prove a harm, and damages are awarded to compensate for the harm. A line in my text really struck me, that the torts system offers a non-violent alternative to fighting back when someone hits you, assaults you, or commits some other intentional or negligent wrongdoing.
I was thinking what a nicer world it would be if instead of terrorism and war people always turned to the common law of torts to be justly compensated for harms and wrongs done to them.
After class on Monday -- well, class and some other things -- I headed into The City to look at the Twin Towers of Light. You know, the blue lights that shine up into the sky where the World Trade towers once stood. (Although it turned out they were actually not on the actual actual spot of the where the towers stood, but it looks like it in the skyline from a distance.)
There were of course various things happening all day noting the event. In the morning, after my clock radio alarm woke me, I actually just lay there listening to the reading of the names for quite a while. Survivors, mostly widows, would read a group of 5 or 10 names and then end with their husband/fiance/father before passing it on to the next reader...I'm sure you've seen this on TV over the past four years, but maybe you've blown it off just like I did.
Hofstra Law School had a noontime remembrance ceremony; three law school alumni lost their lives at the World Trade Center that day. At night I ventured into Manhattan. We wandered around the area -- I don't really know what to call it these days; it's not 'Ground Zero' anymore -- noting the flowers, pictures, poems, gathered throng, firefighter tributes, protester with a sign calling for investigation (I hear ya brother!), people taking pictures, U.S. flags, peace sign in a window across the street...
The thing that struck me the most were the little kids. Earlier in the evening I had spoken briefly with my sister on the phone, which of course meant my nigh on 3-year-old nephew was in the background, and my sister was telling him, "Aunt Linda's in a place called New York!" I was like, put on your TV tonight and you can show him where I am. That got me started thinking. Then, as I looked at the children wandering around the sidewalk and displays I just kept thinking, "They weren't born." I don't know why it hit me so strongly in that moment, or why it hadn't before, but suddenly it seemed totally bizarre that there could be functioning little human beings in the world with thoughts and ideas and sentences and personalities who did not exist on that September 11.
The tall blue beams of light go so far up into the sky you can't see the end of them. When they hit the clouds, so bright, it looks like the moon is behind the clouds. I love blue things anyway, but it looked amazing.
In my Torts class, we study all sorts of cases of negligence, battery, false imprisonment, and other wrongs that people do each other. A tort is a harm. A lot of people in the so-called general public have in mind torts when they think about "frivolous law suits" and our "overly litigious society." It's not criminal court. The torts system is about compensation for injury, not punishment. What's it not, or I should say what's it not necessarily, is about getting ridiculous revenge. You have to prove a harm, and damages are awarded to compensate for the harm. A line in my text really struck me, that the torts system offers a non-violent alternative to fighting back when someone hits you, assaults you, or commits some other intentional or negligent wrongdoing.
I was thinking what a nicer world it would be if instead of terrorism and war people always turned to the common law of torts to be justly compensated for harms and wrongs done to them.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Nashville
Amy Ray no longer plays her song "Nashville." She wrote it 20+ years ago, at a time when, the story goes, she felt a lot of animosity toward the city, Vanderbilt University, their oppressive racism and sexism, and the hoops musicians and songwriters must jump through there. She left and transferred to another school. The song on one level indicts Nashville and its ruinous effects on musicians. On another level, of course, it can be interpreted to be about much more than the games the music business plays...but by all accounts, Indigo Girls will never play the song in concert again because she is older and wiser and has let go of her bitterness toward the city. There are a couple other songs from their earliest albums they have also declared we fans will never again have the pleasure of hearing live.
That sucks for me about "Nashville" in particular because it's one of my absolute favorites of theirs. And not just because I, too, left my first choice university in a conservative city with its own special rules, singing as I went: "As I drive from your pearly gates I realize that I just can't stay, all those mountains, they kept you locked inside and hid the truth from my slighted eyes. I came to you with a half-open heart, dreams upon my back, illusions of a brand new start..."
I have found a recurring theme in my life of breaking up with places as if they were people.
I've never heard the Girls do "Nashville" live, but I've worn out multiple copies of the cassette and/or CD on which it is found, Rites of Passage. But for the first time this morning, I found myself singing it about a person, not a place.
"But I'll be walking proud, I'm saving what I still own
I fell on my knees to kiss your land
but you are so far down I can't even see to stand
In Nashville...
I'm leaving
I got all these debts to pay
You know we all have our dues, I'll pay 'em some other place
I never asked that you pay me back
We all arrive with more, I left with less than I had
Your town is made for people passing through
Last chance for a cause I thought I knew
Nashville
You tell me what you are gonna do with all your southern style
It'll never pull you through
Nashville
I can't place no blame but if you forget my face
I'll never call your name again, no, never again, no never again
I fell on my knees to kiss your land
but you are so far down I can't even see to stand
Nashville
I'd like to know your fate, I'd like to stay a while
But I've seen your lowered state today
I'm running away, I'm running away
I'm running running running away."
--amy ray, 'nashville'
That sucks for me about "Nashville" in particular because it's one of my absolute favorites of theirs. And not just because I, too, left my first choice university in a conservative city with its own special rules, singing as I went: "As I drive from your pearly gates I realize that I just can't stay, all those mountains, they kept you locked inside and hid the truth from my slighted eyes. I came to you with a half-open heart, dreams upon my back, illusions of a brand new start..."
I have found a recurring theme in my life of breaking up with places as if they were people.
I've never heard the Girls do "Nashville" live, but I've worn out multiple copies of the cassette and/or CD on which it is found, Rites of Passage. But for the first time this morning, I found myself singing it about a person, not a place.
"But I'll be walking proud, I'm saving what I still own
I fell on my knees to kiss your land
but you are so far down I can't even see to stand
In Nashville...
I'm leaving
I got all these debts to pay
You know we all have our dues, I'll pay 'em some other place
I never asked that you pay me back
We all arrive with more, I left with less than I had
Your town is made for people passing through
Last chance for a cause I thought I knew
Nashville
You tell me what you are gonna do with all your southern style
It'll never pull you through
Nashville
I can't place no blame but if you forget my face
I'll never call your name again, no, never again, no never again
I fell on my knees to kiss your land
but you are so far down I can't even see to stand
Nashville
I'd like to know your fate, I'd like to stay a while
But I've seen your lowered state today
I'm running away, I'm running away
I'm running running running away."
--amy ray, 'nashville'
Thursday, August 31, 2006
If you ever want to fly Mulholland Drive...
So this crossing guard got hit by a car while working for the Nassau County (that's where I live now!) Police Department and is now disabled and unable to work.
After the accident she sued, retaining the law firm of Mulholland, Minion & Roe, and the agreement was that they would get a contingency fee of one-third of any money she recovered. (That is often how it goes for plaintiffs bringing civil suits.)
Well, the law firm settled the claim against the Other Guy's insurance, which had a policy limit of $10,000. They urged Crossing Guard to accept the settlement, so she got a little more than $6000, after deducting attorneys' fees. Turns out, Crossing Guard had her own insurance through GEICO, and she had underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage that would have given her a $100,000 benefit. The condidtion was the insured must cooperate with GEICO and inform them and obtain their consent before any other settlement or release on a particular claim.
In Campagnola v. Mulholland, Minion & Roe she sues her lawyers for malpractice because she says they were negligent in handling her claim and not talking to GEICO. Now, the issue in my Contracts class, where we are studying the case, is about this malpractice suit. The question is not whether she wins. The court has affirmed that "the unique relationship between an attorney and client, foundedin principle upon the elements of trust and confidence..." blah blah blah...basically that her lawyers screwed up. The question is, does she get damages of $100,000, which is what she "lost" out on from GEICO, or does she get $66,000, which is what she would have ACTUALLY received because her attorneys would have received a one-third fee had they handled the claim.
The first court said the "hypothetical" fee was canceled out because she had to pay a NEW attorney to bring the malpractice suit. The appeals court affirmed, but because they felt she should receive the full $100,000 settlement amount since Mulholland & friends didn't perform the $100,000 service. We study the case in the highest court, the next level up on appeal. They affirm that she should get the full $100,000 because if she had learned of the "malpractice" during the case and fired them they wouldn't get a fee anyway. To me, all this begs the question:
Why didn't she read her own insurance policy?!
Seriously--why didn't she know she had underinsured/uninsured coverage? Why do people waste time hiring lawyers after a car accident? What do you think you've been paying your insurance company for all this time? I think the whole thing is a colossal waste and totally stupid. None of it would have happened if she had known she had $100,000 flat out coming to her, with no fees deducted.
So that's what I learned in law school today: read your auto insurance policy!
"If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don't be scared, you are alive
You are alive..."
--- R.E.M., 'Electrolite'
After the accident she sued, retaining the law firm of Mulholland, Minion & Roe, and the agreement was that they would get a contingency fee of one-third of any money she recovered. (That is often how it goes for plaintiffs bringing civil suits.)
Well, the law firm settled the claim against the Other Guy's insurance, which had a policy limit of $10,000. They urged Crossing Guard to accept the settlement, so she got a little more than $6000, after deducting attorneys' fees. Turns out, Crossing Guard had her own insurance through GEICO, and she had underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage that would have given her a $100,000 benefit. The condidtion was the insured must cooperate with GEICO and inform them and obtain their consent before any other settlement or release on a particular claim.
In Campagnola v. Mulholland, Minion & Roe she sues her lawyers for malpractice because she says they were negligent in handling her claim and not talking to GEICO. Now, the issue in my Contracts class, where we are studying the case, is about this malpractice suit. The question is not whether she wins. The court has affirmed that "the unique relationship between an attorney and client, foundedin principle upon the elements of trust and confidence..." blah blah blah...basically that her lawyers screwed up. The question is, does she get damages of $100,000, which is what she "lost" out on from GEICO, or does she get $66,000, which is what she would have ACTUALLY received because her attorneys would have received a one-third fee had they handled the claim.
The first court said the "hypothetical" fee was canceled out because she had to pay a NEW attorney to bring the malpractice suit. The appeals court affirmed, but because they felt she should receive the full $100,000 settlement amount since Mulholland & friends didn't perform the $100,000 service. We study the case in the highest court, the next level up on appeal. They affirm that she should get the full $100,000 because if she had learned of the "malpractice" during the case and fired them they wouldn't get a fee anyway. To me, all this begs the question:
Why didn't she read her own insurance policy?!
Seriously--why didn't she know she had underinsured/uninsured coverage? Why do people waste time hiring lawyers after a car accident? What do you think you've been paying your insurance company for all this time? I think the whole thing is a colossal waste and totally stupid. None of it would have happened if she had known she had $100,000 flat out coming to her, with no fees deducted.
So that's what I learned in law school today: read your auto insurance policy!
"If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don't be scared, you are alive
You are alive..."
--- R.E.M., 'Electrolite'
Monday, August 28, 2006
Religious things on our heads
Dude I am ABSOLUTELY FASCINATED, as I have mentioned before, with the way religion makes people put things on their heads. (Or shave their heads. Always something with the head.)
It was all I could do not to reach over and touch the black velvety yarmulke of the dude sitting next to me in class today. It looked so soft! And they're so small and cute!
I really think this is why I so adored Ernie's story on the Sesame Street Fairy Tale Album about the fairy princess with tennis shoes and a pancake on her head. Bert was all, fairy princesses don't look like that. They are sparkly with magic wands and Ernie was like, why not? It's *my* story too and I say she has a pancake on her head.
Why not, indeed?
It was all I could do not to reach over and touch the black velvety yarmulke of the dude sitting next to me in class today. It looked so soft! And they're so small and cute!
I really think this is why I so adored Ernie's story on the Sesame Street Fairy Tale Album about the fairy princess with tennis shoes and a pancake on her head. Bert was all, fairy princesses don't look like that. They are sparkly with magic wands and Ernie was like, why not? It's *my* story too and I say she has a pancake on her head.
Why not, indeed?
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Calling all extremists
This will be quick! Here I am at law school. It's amazing and strange and wonderful and true. I am quite busy being orientated and whatnot. We also had our first class meeting today, "Intro to Legal Methods," as part of orientation. I am officially studying, doing homework and reading assignments, and learning about the law. And I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
I'll have a lot to say when I have more time to post again but I'll just share three thoughts from the welcome session this morning.
First, our law school dean spoke and he said, "Who are you 327 people anyway?" He then talked about the variety of the class by telling us we came from 36 states and 15 foreign countries...that among us were a school board trustee, a marine, a former Martha Stewart Living intern, and so on...including "someone who taught English as a second language in Korea." So, hey! I made the dean's welcoming address.
Side note, speaking of Korea, I may FINALLY be done with Ding Ding Dang forever. Rejoice! When teachers leave the school keeps a "utilities deposit" of approximately $300 to cover final bills. Fine. Well, my remaining deposit money has been wired into my U.S. bank account this week, but not before in addition to $100 for May and June phone, Internet, gas, and electricity--that's all well and good--they took an additonal 40,000 won or approximately $40 for a cleaning fee for the apartment. I did point out via e-mail to Betty that that is clearly insane--remember the hours I spent scraping the freezer mold?! and the dead bugs from the walls? Go on, relive my horrifying move-in adventure--but I knew they wouldn't change their minds. I'm just so glad to be done with them and on to law school.
SO, back to Hofstra.
Second thought, in the dean's speech he talked about the law and his view that it's not a job, it's a calling. "You want a job, go sell shoes or tennis rackets," he said. "As lawyers people will be coming to you in their hour of need..." I liked all the things he said very much.
Third, another professor spoke and she compared examining a legal issue to peeling an onion. She even brought an onion and knife and peeled it to illustrate her analogy. She also added, "I didn't realize there was going to be someone here who'd worked for Martha Stewart!" Anyway, her point was well taken, that you must uncover all the layers and might end up with something that looks very different from what you started with. She said the study of law means "taking logical and analytical thought to its most extreme."
Well, I've certainly been accused of that enough times before! Anyone else think I'm in the right place?
I'll have a lot to say when I have more time to post again but I'll just share three thoughts from the welcome session this morning.
First, our law school dean spoke and he said, "Who are you 327 people anyway?" He then talked about the variety of the class by telling us we came from 36 states and 15 foreign countries...that among us were a school board trustee, a marine, a former Martha Stewart Living intern, and so on...including "someone who taught English as a second language in Korea." So, hey! I made the dean's welcoming address.
Side note, speaking of Korea, I may FINALLY be done with Ding Ding Dang forever. Rejoice! When teachers leave the school keeps a "utilities deposit" of approximately $300 to cover final bills. Fine. Well, my remaining deposit money has been wired into my U.S. bank account this week, but not before in addition to $100 for May and June phone, Internet, gas, and electricity--that's all well and good--they took an additonal 40,000 won or approximately $40 for a cleaning fee for the apartment. I did point out via e-mail to Betty that that is clearly insane--remember the hours I spent scraping the freezer mold?! and the dead bugs from the walls? Go on, relive my horrifying move-in adventure--but I knew they wouldn't change their minds. I'm just so glad to be done with them and on to law school.
SO, back to Hofstra.
Second thought, in the dean's speech he talked about the law and his view that it's not a job, it's a calling. "You want a job, go sell shoes or tennis rackets," he said. "As lawyers people will be coming to you in their hour of need..." I liked all the things he said very much.
Third, another professor spoke and she compared examining a legal issue to peeling an onion. She even brought an onion and knife and peeled it to illustrate her analogy. She also added, "I didn't realize there was going to be someone here who'd worked for Martha Stewart!" Anyway, her point was well taken, that you must uncover all the layers and might end up with something that looks very different from what you started with. She said the study of law means "taking logical and analytical thought to its most extreme."
Well, I've certainly been accused of that enough times before! Anyone else think I'm in the right place?
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Imagine no possessions!
"Everybody's movin'
if they ain't already there.
Everybody got to move
somewhere
Stick with me baby
Stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting
right about now."
--- bob dylan, 'mississippi'
I would like to state for the record that it took me only 2 1/2 hours to pack.
That's right. I waited until the last minute (hello) and although I am leaving for New York tomorrow and I started packing around 9 p.m. tonight, I will still get a full night's sleep. That, my friends, is the glorious result of shedding extraneous crap.
I have really been enjoying my new hobby of selling my books on Half.com. I love seeing what people will buy, and what they will pay for it. I really love getting rid of some of my books. So far I have sold about 10-15% of my books through that site. I even like sitting here at the computer packaging them up to ship while listening to music and chatting with friends on-line. At first I used padded envelopes, but I quickly realized that the cost of those bubble envelopes almost erased any profit I'd make. (Half.com reimburses for shipping, a flat rate, but those envelopes are like $1.40, so when you're selling books for $2 you don't want to spend $1.40 just on the envelope!)
Then I remembered when we used to have to cover our textbooks in elementary school, particularly in SAGE (the gifted education program). Those who were there, remember how obsessed Mrs. Muscato was with making us cover our books at the beginning of the year? We had to take them home and cover them with a brown paper grocery bag. But it totally worked. Brilliant, thought I, I will wrap my Half.com books in grocery bags to send them out, thus recycling the bags and packaging for free. So far, no complaints, and buyers have reported that the books arrived in good condition. Excellent!
As for what I haven't sold, I am bequeathing my remaining possessions to my friend Liza's production's garage sale fundraiser or else to my roommates here at the house (the futon, for example). The entirety of what I am moving can fit into a compact car, and so it shall when I drive it down to Long Island.
And speaking of that, Hofstra has placed me in housing! I have received my official housing assignment in one of the grad student/professional on-campus complexes.
I haven't started my homework yet, though.
I was so productive today! I did laundry, talked to friends, sold some books for quick cash in hand at used bookstores in Cambridge, watched the end of the Red Sox loss, etc...not to mention packing in under three hours!
A parting thought, from one of the books I sent out today, If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino:
"Renouncing things is less difficult than people believe: it's all a matter of getting started. Once you've succeeded in dispensing with something you thought essential, you realize you can also do without something else, then without many other things. So here I am walking along this empty surface that is the world."
if they ain't already there.
Everybody got to move
somewhere
Stick with me baby
Stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting
right about now."
--- bob dylan, 'mississippi'
I would like to state for the record that it took me only 2 1/2 hours to pack.
That's right. I waited until the last minute (hello) and although I am leaving for New York tomorrow and I started packing around 9 p.m. tonight, I will still get a full night's sleep. That, my friends, is the glorious result of shedding extraneous crap.
I have really been enjoying my new hobby of selling my books on Half.com. I love seeing what people will buy, and what they will pay for it. I really love getting rid of some of my books. So far I have sold about 10-15% of my books through that site. I even like sitting here at the computer packaging them up to ship while listening to music and chatting with friends on-line. At first I used padded envelopes, but I quickly realized that the cost of those bubble envelopes almost erased any profit I'd make. (Half.com reimburses for shipping, a flat rate, but those envelopes are like $1.40, so when you're selling books for $2 you don't want to spend $1.40 just on the envelope!)
Then I remembered when we used to have to cover our textbooks in elementary school, particularly in SAGE (the gifted education program). Those who were there, remember how obsessed Mrs. Muscato was with making us cover our books at the beginning of the year? We had to take them home and cover them with a brown paper grocery bag. But it totally worked. Brilliant, thought I, I will wrap my Half.com books in grocery bags to send them out, thus recycling the bags and packaging for free. So far, no complaints, and buyers have reported that the books arrived in good condition. Excellent!
As for what I haven't sold, I am bequeathing my remaining possessions to my friend Liza's production's garage sale fundraiser or else to my roommates here at the house (the futon, for example). The entirety of what I am moving can fit into a compact car, and so it shall when I drive it down to Long Island.
And speaking of that, Hofstra has placed me in housing! I have received my official housing assignment in one of the grad student/professional on-campus complexes.
I haven't started my homework yet, though.
I was so productive today! I did laundry, talked to friends, sold some books for quick cash in hand at used bookstores in Cambridge, watched the end of the Red Sox loss, etc...not to mention packing in under three hours!
A parting thought, from one of the books I sent out today, If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino:
"Renouncing things is less difficult than people believe: it's all a matter of getting started. Once you've succeeded in dispensing with something you thought essential, you realize you can also do without something else, then without many other things. So here I am walking along this empty surface that is the world."
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