Welp, April is over. It’s officially May, and I’m supposed to be officially back to blogging my daily outfits. And I will be, I promise! Just not until Tuesday, most likely, or possibly Wednesday, when I’ll have my post up at HeaveMedia.
I have a monster Sex Crimes paper due Monday. It’s about prison rape and how the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 has no teeth, and it proposes a bunch of solutions to combat this epidemic that, unfortunately, forms the basis of so many jokes in popular culture. I was struggling to come up with a paper topic for this class and Andy suggested prison rape right off the top of his head (he’s looking at the different tiers of prostitution, from, like, street-walkers all the way up to high-class escorts, and his paper sounded really interesting from his presentation).
And I was like, yeah, okay, maybe, and then I was watching like five Family Guy episodes in a row the next day and there was one with like 4 prison rape jokes in the span of two minutes and that pretty much settled it.
Click to watch the episode I'm talking about.
Besides, learning about prisons and prison reform is kind of my new thing. I have a bunch of books from BetterWorldBooks about those topics sitting on my desk and I can’t WAIT until I have the free time to read them.
My Animal Law paper is due tomorrow, but I turned it in last week because I’ve been done with it for a month (YAY for planning ahead! Otherwise I’d have to shoot myself in the face right now). My prof said it was the best paper she’d read in six years of teaching the course. It was about the disposition of pet custody issues, and basically discussed how the present method of treating pets as mere property for purposes of division of assets, like in divorce cases, was inadequate and a remnant of the past when animals were valued mostly for their functional use.
I mean, really, those of you that own dogs, for example – can you honestly say that Fido is worth his fair market value and not a cent more? That he’s no different than a dishwasher, or a pair of shoes? That rule, established in 1897, struck me as hideously antiquated and not at all a sensible way of deciding who got custody of a family pet in a divorce case. So I proposed carving out a new category of property called “living property,” to include companion animals (of any species legally zoned for the parties’ respective domiciles – so … no tigers or alligators, but a pet pig or some other less traditional pet would be covered) and even plants. Because some people are crazy and have tremendous attachment to and affection for their plants.
Personally, I can’t relate. All my plants die just to spite me. 😡
Living property would be treated as an intermediate kind of property, somewhere between chattel, where it’s just property and nothing more, and real property, where every piece of real estate is considered unique. There would be property concerns that would factor into disposition of custody issues – who bought the dog? Who pays its bills? etc – and concerns that are more associated with family heirlooms – that is, which party spends the most time with the dog? Which party has the greatest sentimental attachment to it? This way, animals will be treated a bit better than, say, a dishwasher or a car, and will be on par with, say, that antique ring that great-grandma smuggled with her through the Holocaust or the Partition or pick-your-genocide.
I put up this picture of a kid and a pit bull mainly because I hate the misconceptions about the breed. Pit bulls are not somehow inherently dangerous killing machines. More often than not, an overly aggressive and dangerous pit bull is the fault of the owner - either through very poor training, or abuse. Any dog would be dangerous and bite-y if it was constantly abused by people. Some of the pit bulls I've trained at the shelter are aggressive, yes, but with kindness and gentle treatment - and by just being calm around them - I've seen them all let their guard down and go back to being the sweet, smart, loyal, and very affectionate dogs that they are. They're my absolute favorite breed ever, along with German Sheps.
(Wow, that caption looks absurdly long due to the width of the picture, but whatever, it’s a valid point and I’m keeping it.)
Anyway, my prof loved it and wants it to be published and also presented to a bunch of Chicago judges who handle divorce cases, so that’s exciting. Totally getting an A in that class.
Plus, I have a final sometime in May. I don’t really know when. I’ll deal with that later. And also, I really hope I didn’t fail the final for my 1-credit class that I took in late April, because I need that 1 credit, damn it. I probably didn’t though. InshaAllah. 😐 Ugh.
And then, of course, graduation crap. We have to pick up our cap and gown on the 20th, and I’m planning to bro it up with Andy that day, I think. Burgers, cigars, toasting to industry, all that.
I will not be drinking cognac, I promise. Only Andy will. I don't like to drink anything with my cigars. I know that, as a teetotaler, I have the option of espresso, but I just don't like drinking anything with them, period.
And then Sunday is graduation, and my BFF and her mom are coming down from Iron Mountain, MI, for the ceremony. And to see me and hang with my family. 🙂 So that will be LOVELY.
This is from the last time she was in Chicago. February or March?
And then we’ll see what happens. I’m optimistic.
But yes. I will be back to blogging soon. Very, very soon. And regularly! And with more cartoons!
Basically, here’s what I have planned.
- More posts about sales and local deals. Beyond the Rack, Gilt Groupe, Rue La La, if they’re selling something business-casual-y, you’re going to hear about it. And if you want an invite, all you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email field filled out, and you will get one. If you do not leave me your email, I CANNOT HELP YOU. I’ve said that 80 times and I still get comments with no emails that are like Ooh, I can haz invite? And I’m like, no, moron, you can’t, because you can’t follow directions and have left me no way with which to invite you BECAUSE I NEED AN EMAIL ADDRESS. 😐 And local deals will, predictably, be Chicago-based. Because that’s where I live.
- Shopping trip posts. I hate shopping, you guys. Nothing ever fits me. So I will occasionally do posts about my misadventures while shopping – showing you clothes that look darling, but then turn out to be ill-fitting and ill-conceived and not at all flattering. Basically, I’ll just be showing you things that most likely won’t work, and why, so that you can learn to quickly spot them and move on without wasting time in the fitting room or, worse, money at the register. I got a request to do more personal posts like these, so, what the heck. This is all for fun, anyway. I’m certainly not srs bzns about anything on here, and have no problem sharing my shopping horror stories. GOD I HATE SHOPPING.
- On the scene One-Stop-Shops. As a little challenge, I’ll wind up at a random clothing store in my area and try to put together an outfit using only things in that store, for under the $100. It’s harder than it sounds. And Amanda is making me do it.
- Kate Middleton-inspired outfits. We’ve been seeing lots of pre-wedding candids of her out and about, and I’ve loved most of her outfits. And she’s kind of super popular right now, and I know for a fact that a lot of you love reading about her, if my site stats are any indication, so I’ll be supplying you with plenty of many more Duchess of Cambridge-y outfits.
- How To Dress Like A French Woman. This is going to be my new mini-series-thing for MyShingle, but I’ll be linking to it here. Basically, I’ll show you with about a week’s worth of outfits how to dress like a French woman.
- Minimalism. I’m going to put together about 20 outfits, an entire month’s worth of posts here, using the same few pieces. Maybe the same ten pieces? Who knows. My point is to show you that you can buy some basic AND trendy/stand-out things and then just keep mixing and matching them for completely different looks. It’ll save you closet space AND money AND some stress that comes with being bombarded with too many choices.
- Cartoons. OMG. I have cartoons planned, you guys. About me and Andy doing stupid things, about my new obsession with baths and essential oils, about my Gma and how everyone in my family is CRAZY, and more.
- Book posts. Yes. I have a book journal. And I usually keep my posts about books there. But occasionally I’ll read a book that is just so awesome that I have to cross-post my GoodReads review with it here. Gah. I have too many blogs. And I haven’t even linked you to my sekrit rishta (marriage/proposal/whatever) blog where I just complain about my parents’ attempts to get me married and present me with suitors for my hand. Sigh. Oddly, I manage to have a life. I swear I do, guys. I have an actual social life, and I do things removed from the computer, like read and paint and build birdhouses. Okay, I only built one. But still. I’m counting it.
- Other random stuff, I’m sure. You guys know me. You know I have the attention span of a gnat. I’ll probably think of something else to post about here and run with it. It will probably be insane. You will probably scour the Interwebz trying to find my address so you can tell the nice men with the white jackets where to find me. It will be a normal Wednesday for everyone.
So, yeah, thanks for sticking around during my month-long hiatus because law school is terrible. 🙂 And if you ever have any requests or comments or suggestions, or if you just want to harass me, feel free to drop me an email at hrashid24@gmail.com.
I actually don’t mind being harassed. That’s why I find myself in scary situations so often. 
