"Management, it smells like a family of skunks died in the sewer"

Yesterday construction started on the lateral sewer drainage system for our apartment complex, and let me tell you, it suuuuuuuuuure smells nice!

There, that's all I have to say about that, now onto bigger and better things!

How about that them there softball, you may be wondering. Well, let me tell you! Last game we actually were winning after one inning and things were looking good. Them I took ball off the shin bone and that was fun! A nice little hematoma formed and that was pretty much it for my playing that day... The other team was polite enough to stop while I was crouched over and ask if I was okay, to which I replied "ya, in Canada we play hockey, this ain't no thing...". Well, it appears that the softball league got the last laugh after my quip with the following comment posted on this weeks power rankings:

The Deportables flashed some brilliance in their first at bat against J-Woww, belting a home run. Things quickly went downhill from there with the LLM pitcher taking a line drive off the shin. Fortunately, he was Canadian so no one felt bad.


We have another game tomorrow, and that team is not highly ranked either, so maybe it will be a different result for us!

In other sports news, the hockey season is about 2 weeks from starting, eh! Right on! I will admit that I am already suffering some Montreal Canadiens withdrawal... not good. RDS has an online live feed option that I thought I might be able to take advantage of but it looks like that is locked down outside of Canada. One of my Peer Advisors allowed me to chip in so that we could get NHL Center Ice which plays almost every game, and I am hoping that I can at least watch all of the Montreal games that are on Hockey Night in Canada!

I will get a bit of my hockey fix this weekend when me and pops visit Boston, since a good friend there got us tickets to BU season opener! Should be fun!

Hard to believe that the semester is almost one-third over!

Well, off to read!

So that's what all fuss is about!

Today some of us went to the UVa football game against VMI (Virginia Military Institute). I have been told that UVa is not known for it's football (I mean come on, Mr. Jefferson, or TJ for short, was an architect, President, lawyer, vegetable-grower-extraordinaire, etc. but I don't think he could claim QB was amongst one of his many talents).

(*As an educational aside note that the first professional football game in America was not played until approximately 1890. I mean, I guess this explains why TJ wasn't all over it considering it was well after his time.)

The game was actually a really good time! All the navy dudes came out to support VIM, as evidenced by the sea of white in the picture below...

Fortunately for UVa fans the result was great--48-7 win. And, for all of you back in Edmonton, I think the temp. reached 35 Degrees in the stadium. So, all told it wasn't as good as a Habs game, but it was pretty great.

The other exciting news of the day is that I think I have found the topic that I am going to pursue for my independent research paper next semester. Since I have been down here there has been considerable activity up in Alberta about the Oil Sands. From the Dr. Schindler study regarding mercury and toxic releases into the Athabasca River to the deformed white fish and the visit from James Cameron (ya, the Titanic director) it really is heating up a bit. I think this is the perfect opportunity to tackle this issue from an American perspective, hopefully bringing some international attention to the issue along the way. I will definitely keep everyone posted on this as it progresses.

This is going to be a busy week with fall break just ahead so not too sure about the next time I will be able to blog, but hopefully soon.

Until then, take 'er easy.

Oh hi, it how are you? It has been a while, I know...

So!

Where to begin?

The semester is definitely in full swing now. I handed in my first paper today (oh dear American Constitutional Law... ugh), and every other course has started with the deadlines and the heavy readings. But the challenge is a good thing, and the learning curve challenges me for sure... and that is why I came to the U.S. of A. to study!

On a lighter note, the update that you all have been waiting for--The Deportables!

So far this is our record:

O wins, 3 Losses, and an A for effort

The law school softball league has the following to say about us:

"Don't worry LLMs, softball is a lot like cricket. Minus the wickets... and the pads... and with a different scoring system... On second thought, you guys might be in trouble."


"Some of the LLMs thought that reaching first base got you a point. An intriguing thought. But what they lack in softball prowess, they make up for in spirit. Making them # 12 on the power rankings, but # 1 in our hearts."

"We've got faith in this year's LLMs. We think they have the potential to be the winningest LLM team ever. Sure, they're already the winningest LLM team with 0 wins, but we've got a feeling."


I would say that this is showing some pretty steady improvement! They even have faith that we might win a game...

Today our team got a boost when our custom made Jersey T's arrived in the mail... and here is what they look like:

Pretty good, I'd say! We also obtained some sponsorship from a cafe here in C-ville called Cafe Europa, which is suitable in my opinion!

In other news the Corolla goes into the shop tomorrow to get some minor bodywork done after having an incident in the parking lot (don't worry, no biggie, I definitely was not in the car at the time it happened)!

Tomorrow is another big game for The Deportables, and I am counting on a win! Here's hoping!

Anyway, off to watch a movie and do a bit of reading for tomorrow's classes!

Until we meet again...

When the goin' gets tough

What's that old saying?

When the goin gets tough (i.e. a Canadian law student has to learn key American constitutional law clauses and apply them in a novel way to a paper which they have to write on one weeks notice...)

The tough get goin?

Nah, I'm pretty sure the tough, they go to the pool!?!?!

Well, at least that's what this guy did today. After slogging through approximately 300 pages on wetlands protection and the U.S. Constitutional Congressional power over regulating Interstate Commerce. I know, I know, I am making all 7 of my devoted readers and all 20 of my total readership really excited with this post... but hey, that', my life right now down here in C-Ville! All I can say is that I do not envy the position of my fellow LL.M.s who are trying to pick up English on the go as they grapple with some of these heady legal concepts which are undoubtedly just as foreign to them as they are to me!

As an aside, I found out two very exciting pieces of news today...

1) I will let Miss Autumn properly announce this news item on her blog, so I suggest you check it out some time in the near future...

2) Which really pales in comparison to the first item, but is still kind of exciting to a transplanted Canadian hippie... I found out today that one of our Peer Advisors has pretty much unlimited cable, and at a small cost to me I will be able to access NHL Centre Ice any time I want, meaning that the Montreal Canadians are within my reach once again. Ahhhhhh the forecast for what was looking like a dark dreary winter without Les Habitant has just become somewhat brighter (it takes a true Habs fan to know the relief that I felt today...)

Well, time for some sleep since tomorrow I start the unenviable task of actually trying to formulate some original thought on this whole Constitution thing as it relates to wetland protection!

Wish me luck!

Jumpin' for Joy

Why you might ask?

1) The weather has temporarily cooled down a little bit. This week hovered somewhere around 25 degrees and it was not as humid as it has been. A nice respite for a Canadian kid;

2) We have wireless in our apartment. This might seem trivial. It might seem simple. But, when your DVD player is broken, you are too cheap to order cable, and your ethernet cable is 3 feet long, being able to blog whilst sitting on the sofa two rooms away is awesome!

3) My man-crush (Johnny Flynn) is coming to do a tour of the southeast sea board in late October, and I am definitely driving to see that show. Also, Titus Andronicus will be bringing their act to the Jefferson Theatre on the 22nd, and I think that is worth checkin' out!

4) I have a destination for fall break! We have a reading-week equivalent in the fall, and I will be meeting Pops in Boston for some sightseeing, Sam Adams drinking, and relaxation!

5) I found an awesome library to study in (Note: this is where the blog gets even nerdier than usual, and if you are adverse to such things stop reading now)! But really, it is excellent... right on old campus, old wooden chairs (Miss Autumn, maybe we could borrow them for our wedding??), big old tables, that excellent old book smell, and a cafe right in the library for a mid-morning pick me up! Supreme.

6) Hockey season is right around the corner, and one of our Peer Advisors is a big hockey fan who said he will help hook me up with some Habs games!

7) Wedding planning has kicked into high gear back in Edmonton, and I am starting to get really really excited!!!!!!!

Life is good!

Swinging for the fences...

So today was the first softball game for the LL.M. softball team, aptly named "The Deportables". The final score was 18-8 I believe in favour of the other team, but it was just awesome, and here is why:

1) For me this was the first time that I felt we all were really together as a team, and I don't mean as a rag-tag softball team, but rather as a group of people that are all really over our heads a little bit in one way or another (exemplified by our excellent play on the field and at bat aha) that are all supporting each other and working towards a common goal;

2) Once again our Peer Advisors were excellent! Not only did all of them that were available come out to support us, they also took an active role playing with us and directing traffic as it were as the game progressed;

3) In the 4th inning when push came to shove and the umpires told us that we either had to score of the game would end prematurely because of the "Mercy Rule" (which mandates that if one team fails to score by the end of the 4th inning and the other team has at least 15 runs the game will be called), we came out swinging for the fences and scored 8 runs! My very excellent German roommate hit an elusive in the park home run which had the entire team cheering!

All and all this was an excellent experience and I think we are all looking forward to the season ahead!

Pow!  

And What a Wonderful Wedding Weekend it Was!

Yo yo yo!

Sorry for the delay since my last post, but it has been hectic times as of late. Last Thursday I flew out of my home away from home to my real home, had a lovely whirlwind dinner with my family and Miss Autumn's family, and drove down to Canmore for a good friend's wonderful mountain wedding!

What can I say? 

There was wine! 

There were mountains!

There was GREAT food, awesome friend's, a beautiful bride and groom, and MISS AUTUMN! I mean, really, could you ask for any more in a wedding?

The whirlwind tour continued as I am back in Charlottesville and hitting the books once again! Things are starting to get into full swing here, but this weekend was a lovely reminder that our big day is just over a year away!!!

I should have some more funny stories to tell a bit later this week since our first softball game goes down this Friday, and it should be a bit of a disaster! Also, this weekend should be somewhat relaxing as we are planning to go see some classical music at the amphitheater in old downtown!

Until we speak again!

 

Charlottesville: Socializing Civility and Civilizing Sociality

Law school is High School. Actually... strike that. Law school is Junior High School. This I already knew.

And now, without further ado, tonight's anecdote:

My first year of law school at the University of Alberta consisted of 3 student sections with 60 students per section. Here at UVa here are many more sections, I believe 12 in total, labeled A to L. The experience of being in a small section, I assume, is much the same as it is in Canada. This is where you meet some of your closest friends that remain as friends long after law school ends. Perhaps this is because you have a shared experience (which is sometimes no fun fun at all), perhaps this is because you have the exact schedule for 1 year making it convenient to study together and party together, or perhaps life just happens like that. Who knows.

After 1 week of classes here, UVa is all abuzz with news that in addition to sections A to L, 2 additional sections were create impromptu by students who wanted to only socialize with the 'cool kids'--one for dudes (section 'M') and one for chicks (section 'S' for 'sweethearts' apparently). This has been received quite poorly by the upper years and by the other first year students.

What is the point of my little story?

UVa and Charlottesville generally appears to be frown upon social barriers. This might be a consequence of the fact that the town has 3 night clubs and is small enough that you run into the same people everywhere you go, or it might be a product of something awesome. I hope its the latter.      

Apparently learning to get along and socialize with civility and all together is a something UVa students promote and guard quite zealously. I like!

I will be up in Canada for the weekend attending a friend's wedding!

See you soon Canada!