Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T07:43:00.000-06:00

For the third year in a row, my costume will be a stressed law student.

Quick question: what's the appropriate number of goodies to hand out tonight? A hand full of candies, three pieces, let the 'lil buggers reach into the bowl and get their own, a beer for each??

Heart Attack

2006-10-28T22:07:00.000-05:00

So yeah, I had five heart attacks tonight. I'll take it, though.

Hey, is anyone still here?

2006-10-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

Like Han Solo, I was on the receiving end of a deep freezing.

But now I'm thawed...

So, what's new in y'all's world?

ps- anyone know how I can fix my comment stuff?

back in the saddle again

2006-04-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

Well, we're back in town--finally.

Getting back the Republic was a mess: mechanical problems on the original plane, nasty weather, crowded airports, etc. We eventually had to be switched over to another airline to get home. And guess what--our luggage was not lost by the airlines.

Remember me?

2006-03-30T12:19:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posting. Been pretty busy with school stuff (ha!).

Mrs. Coob and I are heading out town manana. If y'all need to reach me, I can be found here on Saturday, here on Sunday, and here on Monday. We'll return to The Republic Monday night. Maybe posting will resume on regular basis at that time.

In the meantime, scheduling begins for the Fall on Monday. Here's a list of classes. What do y'all recommend I take? I'm thinking Admiralty, Oil & Gas, Wills & Estates, Mediation, and a one or two hour class. I expect full participation.

Still hangin' 'round

2006-03-23T16:43:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm still around...just in another blogger funk--not much to say or contribute.

Spring Break was fine. Didn't do much other than play golf, watch tv, and read non school stuff.

That's about it.

Snakes

2006-03-14T17:33:00.000-06:00

Well, I checked in earlier to write about some stuff, but Blogger was acting like a little bitch. So now I'll just write about snakes.

While playing golf yesterday, Astrosfan and I came upon a snake as we search for my, er, his ball. What kind? A Titleist. Oh, the snake. It was a rattle/asp/anaconda/boa hybrid. It was huge. And fast. And it made me soil my britches.

Seeing that snake got me to thinking about two things: one was the Rattlesnake Round-up held every year in Sweetwater, Texas, and the other was the time my brother got bit by a rattlesnake and had to be flown by LifeFlight from Laredo to San Antonio.

The Round-up
The Rattlesnake Round-up is much fun and I highly recommend it. I base this on the time I attended the festivities when I was about twelve years old. We lived just down the interstate (IH-20) back then, and one year we made the trip to Sweetwater. We saw the huge pens with all the rattlers in them. We ate rattlesnake. And then we went home.

Stupid Brother Coob
A few years ago my brother and his crew were driving to a work site "out in the country" in South Texas. After running over a rattlesnake, my brother decided he wanted to keep the rattler as a souvenir. So he put the truck in Reverse and backed over the snake. His thinking was that this second drive-over would surely kill the thing. So, he gets out of the truck, walks over to the immobile body of the snake, and reaches down to claim his prize (the rattle). Little did he know that the snake was still alive and not yet willing to part ways with its rattler. Predictably it struck him, hitting him on his hand. The venom quickly began to affect him and he was rushed to the ER at a hospital in Laredo. They didn't have the proper antidote and couldn't wait for someone to drive it down from San Antonio, so they called for the helicopter. He got the antidote, fixed his hand, and all was well.

That Christmas I gave my brother a shirt. I folded it nicely and put it in one of those clothes boxes that are tailor made (no pun intended) for articles of clothing and gift giving. Anyhow, I neatly folded the tissue paper to cover the shirt with one flap which was then covered by the other flap of tissue paper. Now, in between the flaps of tissue paper I placed a rubber snake and covered it with the outer most flap of tissue paper, so that it (the snake) could not be seen until the flap was unfolded. He screamed and jumped like a little girl when he opened that flap. It was great.

And on his next birthday I placed a baby's rattle in a box and wrapped the box. When he shook the box he heard the sound of the rattle and dropped the box (and screamed). Classic. Good times.

and yet another quick update

2006-03-12T16:15:00.000-06:00

- I decided not to take the MPRE on Saturday. I just didn't feel like I was ready for it. And as easy as everyone makes it out to be, I have plenty of time to adequately prepare for it. There's no fire that needed to be put out, so I don't know what my hurry was in attempting to take it now.

- I won the Texas Hold 'Em tourney yesterday. Boy, was I lucky!!

- I picked this up yesterday. Milbarge (sic) (of BTQ fame) speaks/writes highly of it. I trust his judgment.

- Mrs. Coob and I saw Failure to Launch this afternoon. I wasn't really in the mood for a romantic comedy, but there's little to no real alternative(s) at the box office right now. Anyhow, this movie was surprisingly funny. It far surpassed my expectations, which admittedly were pretty low. But still, it's a good movie. There are some hilarious scenes. And there are some dreadful scenes--like seeing Terry Bradshaw's nature's crack.

- Spring Break's here. No trip to Maui this year (unlike last year). But I will play lots of golf (in fact, if anys(ies?) of yous needs me, I can be found here tomorrow morning (Monday)). And maybe work on my seminar paper.

Sup?

2006-03-07T17:54:00.000-06:00

- Went to Dallas this past weekend to catch the Stars in action. Great game. They beat Colorado 5-3.

- Went to an Oscar watching party Sunday night. Good time. Still don't understand why everyone thinks Crash is such a great movie, but whatev.

- "Studying" for the MPRE this week. And I use the term 'studying' loosely.

- Got a Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament this weekend. Need to shake off the rust. I didn't play any THE in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Mainly stuck to Blackjack until I discovered Pai Gow. Anyhow, I should be ok--I'll just watch Rounders Friday night to get my game back.

Karma*

2006-03-03T17:33:00.000-06:00

I'm about to open up and get real personal up in here. I'm about to shed some light on a very personal matter. And y'all know I don't normally open up like this.

Remember that scene in Caddyshack when Judge Smails got hit in the nads with a golf ball?

Well, today that happened to me.

No kidding.

My group was on the 16th. I was on the fairway about to take my shot when this wayward Titleist lasered in from the 17th. Bullseye. Right on the family jewels. Not above, below, to the left, or to the right, but right on. It sucked. Still does.

I had to be carted away by the marshall, and I didn't finish my round.

I skipped class (Evidence) to play golf today and I figure this was Karma telling me not to skip class to play golf.

Message received.

* Alternate title: I shoulda yelled 'two'!

God Bless Texas!!

2006-03-02T07:02:00.000-06:00

Today is the day we Texans celebrate Texas Independence Day.

What's that? You don't know what this means? Well, then click here and learn something useful.

You also might want to check out my post from last year.

So, today if you see a Texan who for whatever reason has left the Republic, slap him/her on the back, wish him/her a good day, and buy him/her a cold Shiner Bock or Lone Star.

God Bless and Happy Texas Independence Day.

Recap

2006-02-27T16:26:00.000-06:00

- Back from Vegas. Great time. Picked up a new game--Pai Gow Poker. Effin' awesome.

- While flipping through channels last night Mrs. Coob and I caught the redneck version of Pimp My Ride and it's called Trick My Truck. It airs on CMT. Instead of overhauling vehicles of college kids (who request the treatments themselves) like on PMR, this show customizes rigs of truck drivers who are down on their luck and need a helping hand. For example, there was a marine whose 18 month old daughter was diagnosed with cancer and his rig kept breaking down, so the guys tricked out his truck. Anyhow, just like PMR, these guys paint, install awesome electronics, and stuff.

- Got an email asking if I've downloaded any other awesomely great songs lately. Sure did. Here's a sampling: Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam, Just Like Heaven by The Cure, St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion), End of the Road by Boyz II Men, and Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms.

Stuff

2006-02-22T17:37:00.000-06:00

Not a whole lot's going on here. But here's the 411:

- Mrs. Coob is back from the Islands. She got to go diving while I sat in FIT a few time zones away. Life's fair. Real fair.

- Classes are chugging along. No real complaints. Except for FIT. We recently learned we'll need a financial calculator for the final exam. WTF? Advanced math in law school?

- Still looking for a job for part of the summer. I have something nailed down for the second half--I'll again be leaving The Republic, but this time instead of heading to our nation's capital I'll be heading to a state in the southeast-ish. I have a couple of leads for the first half, but we'll see what happens. Maybe in the future I can tell y'all how I originally accepted an offer only to be cut loose a couple weeks later.

- Someone gets to go to Vegas this weekend. Vegas, baby, Vegas!!!! It's been a few years since I was last there. Should be fun.

- Winter Olympics. Uh, yeah. Ok.

And that's about it. Exciting huh?

Anything particular you folks wanna hear about? (TP, I still owe you a post on my cancer days...which I've been meaning to write, especially since I had a check-up last week and it got me thinking about that wonderful time in my life)

Takin' a stroll down Memory Lane

2006-02-13T17:55:00.000-06:00

I redeemed a few Lexis points and downloaded several songs from iTunes. What did I download? Classics. All of them.

- Posse On Broadway by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Takes me back to junior high. We'd listen to this song over and over again on the bus during road trips for out of town football games (Fall of 8th grade year, I guess that was 1988). Sometimes we didn't even need the boom box and we'd all just shout the lyrics. It was our theme song, I guess. Good times.

- Thinking of 8th grade got me to thinking about other songs from junior high, so I indulged in a guilty pleasure and downloaded a couple of Debbie Gibson songs- No More Rhyme and Foolish Beat. Sugary pop sung by a hottie. Good times.

- Assorted songs by Poison, including Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Talk Dirty To Me, and Fallen Angel. Since I was in a nostalgic mood, I had to get some hair band tunes. I was big into many hair 'metal' bands back in the day, including Poison.

- And to satisfy the country boy in me, I downloaded a couple of Eddie Rabbitt songs- Drivin' My Life Away and I Love a Rainy Night. These songs are just timeless. Period.

Laugh all y'all want. I'm having a great time listening to these soon-to-be Goldie Oldies.

What would YOU download if you were given 10 free downloads?

Two utes

2006-02-03T14:54:00.000-06:00

When my partner and I did our first round of the mock trial competition we represented the defendants. In my opening statement I wanted so badly to start with, "Everything that guy just said? It's bullshit." But I didn't.

And last night when we represented the plaintiffs I wanted so badly to start with, "You're probably asking yourselves- who am I and what am I doing here?" But I didn't.

Maybe if I had done either we would've advanced.

Oh well, we got out of the competition what we wanted. I learned a ton of stuff. It was a great experience and I highly recommend all you 1Ls (assuming there are any lurking) to give it a shot at some point during law school. I also recommend you give Moot Court a shot, too. I really enjoyed that competition even though, like Mock Trial, I didn't advance very far.

Trial and Error

2006-01-31T06:17:00.000-06:00

Well, the practice/educational round of the novice mock trial competition went well last night. We were far from perfect, but we learned a lot-- not only procedure-wise, but about holes in our case that need patching before the scored round tonight.

With regards to grades, I'm still missing two final grades...what gives?

UPDATE: My partner and I won our first round in the mock trial competition. Now we flip sides and go again tomorrow night (against a different team). We'll know on Friday whether we advance or not.

Grades, part MMCXVIII

2006-01-30T13:05:00.000-06:00

Am pissed.

Grades were due this past Friday. As of two minutes ago, my grades for three classes have not yet been posted. WTF!?

Of course, I'm sure this will ultimately be an example of being careful what I wish for, because I imagine when I DO get my grades I'll be pissed for different reasons altogether.

UPDATE: Secured Credit's in. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Objection!

2006-01-30T10:46:00.000-06:00

A friend and I are participating in a novice mock trial competition this week. I know zero evidence (taking it now) and even less about most other trial things. There's an educational round tonight and tomorrow night is Round I. I just hope I don't begin my opening statement by using last year's moot court opening...

I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'

2006-01-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

I gots nuthin', folks.

School
Classes are chugging along. FIT prof is rather entertaining. BA's awesome. Evidence is about what I expected (same prof from Torts last Spring). My seminar's looking like it's going to be great. Am really excited about this class.

Grades
Still gots nuthin'. Actually, I've had one grade since late December. Another class was Pass/Fail and I've got my 'pass'. So, I'm still waiting on three grades. They're due on Friday. Something tells me I'll get them during or after the weekend.

Misc.
A group of friends/classmates and I have decided to start playing at least one round of golf a week. We originally wanted to do this last semester, but OCI and stuff prevented us from ever getting around to playing. This semester there's really no excuse. So, we're playing Friday afternoon. Should be lots of fun.

Vegas. Just learned I'll be in Vegas at the end of February for a bachelor party. The guy getting married is a great friend of mine. When I lost my hair during my chemo treatment he shaved his head to show his support. And to get the chicks. We learned that chicks dig bald heads that year. Anyhow, he's finally gittin' hitched so we're taking him to Vegas for his last hurrah. Rumor has it that I had my bachelor party in Vegas. I can neither confirm nor deny that rumor. Actually, I can confirm it.

And because I'm going to Vegas with the boys, Mrs. Coob is heading to Hawaii with her sister and the girls. They'll be heading out to the islands in a couple of weeks.

Well, by the looks of the above text it appears I did have something afterall. Go figure.

Pyrates

2006-01-22T11:36:00.000-06:00

Shiver me timbers!

The U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill captured a pirate ship. How cool is that?

I wonder if the Black Pearl is next?

Back to school

2006-01-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

Classes started this past Tuesday. Here's the line up for this semester: Business Associations, Federal Income Tax, Evidence, and a Seminar class on Legal Problems of the Border. So far I like 'em all. Even the profs.

The Break ended at just about the right time. I remember last year I was ready to get to school...the break was way too long. This time around, because our final exam period ran a week longer (last final exam day was the 23rd of December), our break was shorter.

The Break itself was fine. I slept. I read. Did some driving around Texas. And I watched movies.

What did I read? Well, I finished Under the Black Flag and The World Is Flat. I also started and finished Journey by Michener. And just before classes started I began Team of Rivals.

Where did I drive to? I drove up to the Big Country to see my grandfather who's not doing too well. I went back home to the B.C. for a graduation party of my sister and her friends (she has two close friends who also graduated a semester early from college, so they threw a big party back home). I also went up to the Metroplex to see G, a friend. We did some boat shopping. Tis the season for boat shows down here in The Republic.

I also got my money's worth from Netflix. Of course, during the semester I would watch movies every week, so the break was really no different than the semester. A friend of mine recommended a while back that I might like Rumpole of the Bailey. So I watched each season through Netflix. BTW, I did like Rumpole. Mrs. Coob did not.

Mrs. Coob, Astros fan, another friend, and I went to a minor league hockey game last weekend. That was loads of fun. Mrs. Coob and I are talking about heading up to Buffalo, NY to catch a Sabres game in February.

Let's see. What else? Oh yeah, I also accepted a summer job offer and declined an offer. The one I declined hurt me to do so. Big firm, yes, but it was in D.C. Unfortunately, they don't allow for split summers and I had already accepted an offer from another firm.

I think that about sums up my break.

All in all, the break was needed and I had fun. And I got some rest. Time to get back into the groove of things.

Friday Night

2006-01-13T20:35:00.000-06:00

Mrs. Coob's outta town tonight so it's just me and Pero de Coob. We're watching Top Gun. I don't think she's ever seen it. I think--because of her rapid tail wagging--she likes it. Why don't they make great movies like this anymore?

I have to take defensive driving tomorrow (9-3 pm, free meal, and it's a comedy course). Why do I have to take defensive driving? Because I got caught speeding returning to Austin from a World Series game in Houston (Game Four) back in October. 75 in a 60. What can I say- I felt the need for speed.

Life's good

2006-01-12T12:14:00.000-06:00

Buffalo wings, cold beer, and the Alito hearings on C-Span. What more could a Coob ask for?

wassup?

2006-01-03T16:45:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the absence, but not much is going on.

NYE
New Year's Eve was just peachy. Mrs. Coob had an event to attend for work, so I tagged along. The invite said the dress was 'formal' so I wore my tux. Little did I know that 'formal' attire to this group meant jeans and a shirt. To be fair, there were several suits. But no other tuxes. Except for the waitstaff. I hate it when that happens. I just know that at least one person was wondering why the waiter was sitting down and eating.

Rose Bowl
Mrs. Coob and I were supposed to board a plane in about an hour to fly to California for the Rose Bowl. We were going to fly into and stay in San Diego. We were going to drive up for the game and then drive back afterwards. We were looking forward to cheering on the Horns and spending a couple of days in San Diego.

But what's that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men? Yeah, well, turns out that we was scammed!! The seller of our "tickets" jacked us around. We have no tickets, so we cancelled our flight, hotel, and rental car reservations. I'm working with my credit card company to try and get my money back.

So instead of being at the game in person, we're going over to a friend's house to watch the game.

School
Still no grades. I think I'm going to drop my Texas Civil Procedure- Survey class and add Federal Income Tax. Any thoughts on this move? There's at least a 50-50 chance I won't be in Texas after I graduate so I figure I should stay away from Texas specific classes. Plus, I can always learn the material in BarBri, right?

MPRE
I've registered to take the MPRE on March 11. Any tips?

Christmas wrap-up

2005-12-26T16:29:00.000-06:00

Hope y'all had a good Christmas weekend. Mine wasn't too bad. Here's how it went down:

Christmas Eve- saw the Lions and Saints game. Two bad teams, but a great finish- last second field goal by the Lions to win it all.
Later that night, closed down a couple of bars on the Riverwalk. Speaking of the Riverwalk, if you haven't seen it during Christmas time, you really should. All the lights and Christmas decorations really make it a beautiful place.
Speaking of bars, we ran into the dude who drove down the Nebraska Cornhusker's equipment truck. Nebraska's playing Michigan later this week in the Alamo Bowl and are already in town practicing and whatnot.
Speaking of that truck, the driver gave us directions to find and see it (on the campus of Trinity University), which we did on Christmas morning.
The Ringer. Don't waste your time. Trust me.
Grades. Most aren't posted, 'cept my P/F Advanced LRW class- I passed. And there was much rejoicing.