Unfortunately, the pictures I took didn’t turn out great – and you should never try to edit photos on your phone while intoxicated – but I like how this one of me came out:

Anyway, keeping busy otherwise. I start training for my TA/mentoring end-of-summer job this week. I accepted a position on the staff of the Fordham Urban Law Journal. I have my flight and hotel booked for Lavender Law, so I have 6 weeks to get down to my birth weight for Miami Beach (I also need a new swimsuit, my current one is about 6 years out of style). It’s also, apparently, time to start updating my resume and beginning the job hunt for next summer.

I’ve found that most cities I’ve lived in, I tend to find a bar I’m relatively comfortable at and return there often, at least for for a while. In New York, that bar appears to be The Ritz. My friends and I have been there on various nights of the week and always seem to have a decent time. While the drinks aren’t the most (or least) expensive you’ll find, we typically pregame somewhere else before heading out, because the point of The Ritz isn’t drinking, it’s dancing.

In the middle of the summer, the dance floor is a sweaty, humid, uncomfortable, crowded mess. I love it. I was out dancing until around 3am last night and even ran in to Garrett, my buddy from San Francisco. I flirted with a guy named Juan for while out on the front porch area, and generally had a great time.

Anyway, I’m not really writing this blog to advertize for the Ritz, I wanted to point to one more example of how I’ve given up on any notions of privacy in the internet age. I signed up for foursquare a few weeks ago and I’m having fun with it. For those who don’t know, foursquare is a social media platform that allows you to “check in” to various venues using your phone’s GPS. It’s basically a way of telling your friends where you’re at, as well as meeting new people who are in the neighborhood.

So, if you want/need to find me, check out my foursquare profile. Better yet, sign up yourself and friend me so that I can more easily stalk you, too.

P. to the S.: A propos of nothing, new Scissor Sisters album, Night Work, is pure joy and “Whole New Way” is my pick for song of the summer. I’m totally willing to fight you over that.

Anyway, got to see a bunch of friends, meet new people, and generally have a great time. The photos and video clips have been uploaded to Flickr.

After Pride I fell into a K-hole all week (and by “K-hole” I’m referring to watching gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings), but I have a long weekend starting tomorrow. If I had money for it, I’d totally head off to Fire Island or whatever people do. Instead, I’ll probably watch television in my room for several days and end up at the bar with my friends.

Still, a good time was had in the sun, money was raised for a good cause, and I spent a morning pretending I didn’t have to study for Torts. The video is 5 minutes of footage I shot on my fancy new camcorder, but to get the best HD use out of the camera, I discovered I’ll need to buy some better video editing software soon.

In other news, today is my first no-smoke-iversary. Technically, I think it might be tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter, it’s been a full year since I quit smoking. I celebrated by pushing myself for a really fast run in the park this morning. I was on track to do 5 miles in under 40 minutes, but about halfway through I ran headlong into about 5000 marathoners going in the opposite direction and I was forced to take a break and figure out how to get around them.

I also looked at some apartments today. There’s one in Harlem that I really, really like, although the guy who is moving out just said this morning that he doesn’t plan to leave until June 1 and I have to be out of the dorm May 28 at the very latest, so it might be impossible.

I started reading Changeless by Gail Carriger yesterday. It’s the second book in the series after Soulless, which I read over Spring Break. A few lines had me laughing out loud in Sheep’s Meadow this afternoon.

I also took myself to see Clash of the Titans last night. I was a great date, but I did get a little handsy later. Anyway, I thought the movie was fine summer popcorn fare. They did exactly what they promised to do – update the original film with modern special effects. Same plot. Same characters. Same opportunities for respectable actors to chew the scenery as mythical gods and monsters and warriors.

Otherwise, school is school. It’s not as stressful as last semester, but it’s not as new and exciting, either. We had a rather intense Constitutional Law week, covering 3 weeks of material in 3 days. Even though it was interesting material (14th Amendment Equal Protection stuff), it was rough. Interestingly, we had more classroom resistance to heightened scrutiny of gender-based laws than we did to applying a higher standard of review for laws that negatively impact gays, lesbians and bisexuals (again, not an especially trans-aware discussion). Whatever, I mostly keep my mouth shut in class these days and listen, especially on issues where I feel passionate.

Anyway, I’m soaking up some sun and having some fun because once school starts up again, it’s all downhill to finals, then the writing competition for law review and journals, then summer interning, then registering for classes… aside from Memorial Day (when I will likely be settling into a new apartment), I don’t anticipate a long weekend again until the 4th of July.

Anyway, the definite highlight of the week was the Scissor Sisters concert. The last time I saw them in concert they were still mostly unknown and it was a much more intimate concert space. Five years later, at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan rather than a Park City nightclub during Sundance, they’re still making music that just fills me with joy and makes me want to dance (new album apparently coming out in July).

Prior to the concert, I did some shopping. Nothing special, I just needed to pick up a black t-shirt for Follies and ended up browsing through a couple stores. I found a really nice white v-neck that is super comfortable and looks good. I wore it jogging this morning and got a couple flirty glances. I may have to go back to pick up a few more.

The weather in Manhattan has been utterly lovely. I’ve spent hours in the park reading (yes, Soulless was as good as Rob said it would be) or walking dogs or jogging or simply soaking up the sun. Once Follies tech week is over, I’ll have to plan frequent outdoor study breaks if it stays like this through finals.

Congrats to Jennifer and Jacob, who finally got hitched this morning. Wish I could have been there.

I decided that I would take the money I could have spent on a cheap Spring Break trip and instead do things in New York I haven’t had time for. My week-long goal includes: a museum, a movie, a show, a concert. I’ve already got tickets to Thursday night’s Scissor Sisters concert (still need a date, though).

Yesterday I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I tried to take pictures, but I forgot to charge my Droid before leaving, so the battery started running low almost immediately. I got a few, though.

The first wing I visited was the Egyptian collections. The things that really struck me: I’m so used to seeing hieroglyphs in movies or cartoons that it never occurred to me exactly how detailed they were until I was looking at them up close. Also, seeing pieces of jewelry that were 4000 years old but could rival today’s collections in craftsmanship and creativity.

From there I moved into the American Wing and explored the period rooms. Honestly, I was a little bored, but every so often I’d step into a room that blew me away and made it worth it. This is definitely a part of the museum where the audio tour for some context might have helped.

After that I ended up in the European painters then the Modern Art wings of the building. I could have easily spent my entire time in this part of the museum. It’s hard to remember a lot of specifics, but I recall being impressed with a some of the Rembrandt, Matisse, O’Keefe, Warhol, and Dali works on display (as well as a few artists whose names I now forget).

From there I wandered through the Greco-Roman wings and the Oceania wings. The marble statues were impressive and I was struck by how much of Western concepts of beauty is still much the same as when these busts were carved. The bis poles and masks and other art associated with Oceanic islands surprised me. Again, I’m used to seeing these things depicted in movies or theme parks to create a sense of “headhunter menace,” but to see them up close… well, I get it. They are intimidating and would certainly have me on edge if I encountered them in an unfamiliar context.

Anyway, after that I was pretty much exhausted and my feet hurt (plus, they were closing in about 20 minutes), so I tracked down a pizza place in the Upper East Side for a slice then headed home.

I think I’ll stay in tonight (Broadway shows are mostly dark on Monday and I’m not in the mood for a movie night yet). Maybe I’ll just watch TV and start reading the 200 pages of Con Law I’ll be expected to know when we get back from break.

I’m making my way home after an alumni party in Tribeca. It’s snowing again, gently. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to test my new phone’s blogging app. This city looks so magical tonight.

* just kidding, I needed a break – I can only study effectively for so many hours at a time. Please don’t yell at me again, Enrico.

The last one is a statue right in front of the main entrance to Fordham at Lincoln Center which I almost never even notice anymore, but tonight, he looked really cool in the snow.

In the meanwhile, there are three more tracks that are must-haves for any holiday playlist:
I’ve Got a Boner for Christmas – Nerf Herder
Christmas in the Stars – Star Wars
Sleigh Ride – Star Wars

You’re welcome.

And a quick story… on my last holiday playlist post, I included an MP3 of Michael Arden singing the Joni Mitchell classic “River,” earning me the scorn of someone who wondered why I’d even bother with a cover when the Joni version exists… Anyway, I had to run to Starbucks last night to get some late-night study coffee and who should I see waiting on a drink? Yup. Michael Arden. (If I’m just crazy and it wasn’t actually him, it was his long-lost twin brother) And can you guess what was playing on my iPod at that very moment? Yup. “River” as sung by Michael Arden. So, of course, I got painfully shy, stared at him awkwardly, got my coffee and practically ran back to school. Since I so rarely get to venture off campus, this was my first random New York celebrity sighting (unless you count the Puntabugang).

Well, I should get some sleep so I can do a morning jog before the exam.

Happy Saturnalia!