She was the first person besides my father who said I should become a writer.  I didn’t believe her, but it’s a nagging thought that has remained in the back of my mind.  She did not have children of her own, and I think she wanted to adopt me, and my two goofy male friends in her class as her pseudo children.  She was so interested in my relationship with one of those boys that I was embarrassed when she caught me talking to another boy.  She saw me and then looked disappointed.  I was cheating on her pseudo child!

I’m not so crafty, but after my venture into ATCs, I’m feeling brave.  I was recently inspired by this bottlecap shrine created by Eon’s Momma:

I think this item is a fantastic work of art and would like to try creating maybe some magnets, pins, or necklaces out of bottlecaps.  But my subjects might be a bit more lowbrow.

After trying several cases before the Honorable Judge Jeffrey Levenson, I’ve learned a few things to expect.  Judge Levenson wants you to stand at the podium without too much walking around, he wants you to call your client by his or her last name, and he wants you to yield gracefully to the Court’s rulings.  However, I never expected that Judge Levenson would give a criminal defendant the shoes off his feet. 

In a recent news article, it was reported that Michael Fernandez, on trial for trafficking in cocaine, was brought from jail in his uniform and without clothes for trial.  Some time later his clothes arrived, but his shoes did not.  He was wearing flip flops provided by the jail.  When it came time for Fernandez to testify, Judge Levinson took off his size 11 loafers and gave them to the defendant, so that he could wear them to walk to the witness stand without the jury knowing he was in jail. 

I must say, after reading the article, I was very impressed.  It appears that Judge Levenson was very careful not to share the defendant’s custody status with the jury in order to assure that the defendant’s case was judged only on the evidence.  We need more judges like this that are willing to do what it takes to make sure defendants get fair trials.  Go Judge Levenson!

Yes, Blawgalicious might take Washington DC by storm.  I’ve been looking at jobs in the area for attorneys, and I am applying for at least two of them this week.  I love DC and plan to go there on vacation, even if I don’t get a job there.  But hopefully my stay (if I do go and stay) will be less controversial than Washingtonienne’s  Conveniently, there are a lot of jobs there for government lawyers, meaning you only have to be admitted to a state bar, not necessarily the DC Bar. We’ll see what happens.  I am just so tired of being poor and working at my current job. 

I’ve learned he died about a month and a half ago from cancer.  The university’s website posted comments made by one of his adoring students at his “celebration of life”.  However, the posting had the worst grammar I have seen from a university.  I dreaded trusts and estates, and he taught it.  We were not the best of friends.  But upon reading that he died, I thought back to when he had to miss a few days of class to have surgery.  He seemed so strong, but I see now that his strength was feigned only to mask the disappointment.