Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
10/31/2003
Okay, okay. The pictures aren't working. Yahoo is having issues; it's not me. I'll fix it when I have time.
Tonight is Halloween. A buddy of mine is having a big party up north, with law and med school kids. I am dressing as the Hulk. I will wear a sleeveless shirt and cut-offs and paint myself green. Can't go wrong. Only concern will be hitting on girls. But trying to run game painted green will just be more of a challenge. And you know how I love challenges!
Tomorrow is All Saints Day and Bedlam. I'm looking forward to it like none other. I'll be blogging live during Game Day. Check in often.
In other news, I won my election to be one of five 1L representatives to the Law Student Association. My inevitable rise to absolute power begins...
And finally, I am working on a new music section where I will make available for download mp3's from my two former bands, The Johnson Project and Twelve Fluid Ounces. So stop bugging me for CD's. No, not really, keep it up, I like the attention.
10/28/2003 04:05:00 PM
10/27/2003
Another week of Hate.
The vaunted Oklahoma Sooners, men amongst boys, meet the OSUcks Cowgirls this Saturday, 2:30pm, Owen Field. We will destroy them. There are many, many reasons the Sooners will emerge victorious, but I defer to my father here. He said on the phone yesterday, "For the Cowboys to win three years in a row would violate the laws of space-time, causing a tear in the cosmic fabric of existence. God himself will not allow them to do this." My dad is a religious man.
10/26/2003
Last night some of us went to a sports bar with a cover band playing. But we didn't get the memo that it was costume night. So we were Those Guys, the non-costumed in a group of people in costume. Oh well. The band was awesome. They played anything from Rolling Stones to Tom Petty. I was impressed by their rendition of Cheap Trick, "Surrender." I love that song.
A buddy and I have decided that, since law school is so much like high school anyway, we're taking it the rest of the way. In Civil Procedure the other day I tried passing him a note. I folded it linto a triangle ike a paper football and wrote "VERY IMPORTANT - PLEASE PASS TO STEPHEN COWEN, FIRST ROW" on the outside. The funny thing about getting it to the first row is that I am way back in the ninth row. Apparently some folks were not amused by the joke, and it only made it to the fifth row. Ashley Litwin stopped it, and I guarantee that she used to pass notes in school. Hypocrite. Maybe I'll get the note back and scan it in and post it. The text was really funny. Anyway, Stephen and I found the whole thing very funny, even if others did not. We have more in store, including locker pranks and shouting "Loser!" at each other as we pass. Maybe we can even have a rumble after school in the parking lot, or shoe polish somebody's car.
I decided to continue my political career and run for office. Twenty of my classmates and I are competing for five slots as class representatives to the Law Student Association. I hope that I get it so that I can wield awesome power over the U of C Law community. And plan some killer mixers too!
I have some new pictures coming, one from a show Ted, Jen and I played last February at Brother's in Norman, and others (maybe even a movie!) from the Cubs game I tried to go to but was rained out.
10/26/2003 03:08:00 PM
10/23/2003
Today's Minutiae:
It's very interesting to watch people as they become bored during class. Most people (not me) bring their computers to take notes on, but these laptops double as distracting toys. A lot of people play solitaire or freecell. I like it when they win because then I can watch the cards bounce. There's a guy in front of me that doodles on some art program. Mostly he draws faces. Some people pick up the wireless internet signal in class and surf. One girl is constantly on newyorktimes.com. The other day I was tempted to read someone's Instant Messenger conversation.
I've been leaving the law school for lunch. There are a lot of little places to eat around campus that I'm exploring. For instance, the Divinity School has a cafe in the basement that caters in food from local vendors. I had tasty shrimp fried rice the other day. And today I went to the bookstore cafe and had a turkey sandwich. I need to start brownbagging it, though, because it's cheaper.
Thank you to those who have suggested books. But I need more, people. If you are reading this site you are at least literate, and if you are my friend the chances are that you are literary. So lemme know what you're reading right now, or have read recently, or plan on reading. I was thinking about picking up some Gore Vidal. Anybody know any good ones?
10/23/2003 03:30:00 PM
10/20/2003
Sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend. I was kind of sick, and I had an assignment due that I turned in this morning.
So, starting my fourth week of class, some of the excitement of reading the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure has worn off. I am ready to start reading real books again. Unfortunately, I had to leave my collection of books in Oklahoma, either at home in Tulsa or in Norman in Angie, Danielle, and Lindsey's study in Norman. Thanks for the free storage, ladies. Point is, about one out of five of the books I own are books I haven't read yet. This provided a nice reading list. I would go to my shelf and pick one out. Without my books, I am at a loss for what to read.
This is where you come in. If you're my friend, chances are good that you also like to read. I need suggestions. What are you reading right now? What have you read lately? What have you heard is good? There are several used bookstores around Hyde Park as well as Borders, Barnes & Noble, and, of course, the several UofC libraries. If you put a book down, chances are good that I'll find it and read it (or at least plan on doing so) in the next six months.
10/16/2003
Today we had a seminar on ethics and professionalism. I wanted to skip it, but that wouldn't have been very ethical or professional.
Some of the dilemmas posed in our small group discussions were very interesting. I think I'll share. Feel free to comment, and I'll post my own responses. I especially expect responses from the pre-law and law students who watch the site (Body, Deano, Douglas, T. Matt, RaNas, Jonesy, Lopez, etc.), but encourage all to throw in their $0.02.
Problem #1 Late one evening while you are drinking a cup of coffee at Caribou you overhear Lance and Sybil, two of your classmates, talking about class. You learn that Lance helped Sybil with the answeres to a take-home examination contrary to the professor's instructions. You also learn from that conversation that Sybil has been having trouble in school because she is an habitual user of marijuana, and she is financing her education in part by selling marijuana. No one else has heard this conversation.
SYNOPSIS: A law student overhears a conversation about classmates cheating on an examination and about one who is using and selling marijuana.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS: 1. Do you have a duty to report the cheating? Would you report it ?
2. Would it matter to you if the students involved were in their last semester of law school?
3. What, if anything, would you do about Sybil's drug use and sales? What would you do if you were ahead of her in law school and, after you were admitted to the bar, you learned that she had applied to become a member?
4. What if, instead of marijuana, Sybil was using and selling methamphetamine? Cocaine?
10/16/2003 01:30:00 PM
10/14/2003
So my least favorite class, at least to prepare for, is Civil Procedure. It's all about the little mundane details that have to do with civil filings, or bringing an action in court. You've got pleadings, motions, rules; it's all very, well, procedural. But now, reading Sports Illustrated, I finally see a slight bit of light. We're studying motions to dismiss right now, and how they can be useful in that they stop a lawsuit before it ever gets going, particularly if the original pleading has a problem on, say, jurisdictional grounds. Just so happens that the Big East is suing the ACC over this whole conference expansion thing, and I actually slightly understand the ins and outs of this particular case.
I guess my tuition is worth something, after all. I can now follow the world of sports that much more closely.
10/14/2003 07:30:00 AM
10/13/2003
Today was perfect weather. 72 and sunny. I hope it lasts, but I don't think it will. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to take your time walking to class. You actually don't even want to go to class. But I had a nice stroll today, and read outside for a while. So at least I'm doing what I can to soak it up before the feared Chicago winter sets in. I hate the cold.
10/13/2003 07:36:00 PM
10/11/2003
Well, all the Gameday guys took Oklahoma. They really are in awe of our team. It's nice to be dominant. Now, if we can just back it up. Of course, against Texas, I expect so.
By the way, does anybody else feel like Corso must drink heavily before each show?
10/11/2003 08:39:00 AM
Awesome Cubs game last night, awesome. I watched it at the Cubby Bear, across the street from Wrigley Stadium. Now that's atmosphere. They treat baseball like college football here. Almost.
Speaking of...
TEXAS SUCKS
TEXAS SUCKS
TEXASSSSSSSSS
SUCKS
10/11/2003 08:33:00 AM
10/10/2003
Oh, you want reflections? Observations? Ruminations?
Here you go.
Law school is more fun that I ever expected. Ever. Like I said, class starts at 9:45. I'm up around 7 to run, review for class, eat breakfast. Class ends by 4pm. Then it's home for reading, dinner, whatever. Property and Elements of the Law are good classes, Crimimal Law and Civil Procedure are okay. But here's the great part:
If you do it right, you've got about 4 hours of free time every evening. That is Fun Time. Wednesday was a birthday dinner at Baba Reba's, a Spanish Tapas place, for Dallas Liz. Then we watched Cubs/Marlins and Red Sox/Yankees. Baseball is huge here, and I love it. Last night was Bar Review, this time at Sheffield's. Today is up to Wrigleyville for more playoff games, if I can get some laundry done. Tomorrow, of course, is the Big Game between Oklahoma and Texass. I have converted several to my cause, and they will be honorary Sooners tomorrow at the OU room at Joe's Sport's Bar. Sunday will be a day of rest, but you never know with the MLB league championships in town.
I know what you're thinking. "Gosh, Charlie, don't forget to focus on school." No sweat. By default, law school is my life. I can't help but focus on school. If I'm out enjoying myself in Chicago, 90% of the time it's with fellow students. We keep each other in check, as far as that goes. And there's a normalizing factor here...if we all take time and enjoy ourselves, the curve stays the same as if we were all staying in and killing ourselves. It's a non-zero sum game. There is a certain profit to the socialization--that is, we get to know each other and form a community, so when crunch time rolls around, forming cooperative study groups is much easier.
Man. That last paragraph really sound like Sunstein in Elements. Damn theories of law and economics. They're addling my brain. Well, it's Friday. Time to relax. No worries about rationalization or otherwise. I'm out.
10/10/2003 01:42:00 PM
Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated prognosticates:
"Oklahoma has yet to be touched. Texas suffered an early-season loss it wasn't expecting and is dealing with a quarterback controversy. The last time these were the circumstances, the result was Oklahoma 63, Texas 14.
Oklahoma 34, Texas 19"
10/09/2003
I'm sitting in the law school library right now. I just connected to the wireless network here for the first time. It's pretty cool to be on a computer that doesn't have any cords at all. You just pick a spot and lounge, with battery power and high-speed internet. I mean, it is 2003. It's supposed to be like this. Now where the hell are the flying cars?
10/09/2003 12:09:00 PM
10/06/2003
I have some other really funny Texas stuff that I shouldn't post here. Leave a comment if you want to see it. I may put it up for a little while, or I may email it.
EDIT: If you aren't easily offended and you hate Texas, or if your curiosity simply gets the better of you, go here. It's gut-busting. Link credit goes to David Bassity. Yer mah boy, Bass, yer mah boy!
10/06/2003 09:52:00 PM
It's been fun to be a sports fan in Chicago lately. The Cubs just won their first postseason series since 1908. The Bears won yesterday too. And the Sooners are men amongst boys on the college football landscape. I know, that has nothing to do with Chicago, execpt that I live here.
It kills me not to be around for the football games, but there is an OU Alumni Club of Chicago that meets at Joe's Sports Bar to watch the game. I went Saturday and really enjoyed myself. They have good cheap pizza, and I ran into a couple of people I went to school with. It's a great group. Next week for the OU/TX match they have free beer and a halftime buffet. I am looking forward to this drubbing. I mean, Stoops owns Mack Brown anyway, but Texas just looks weak right now.
10/03/2003
I woke up this morning and felt hungover. Must be because I went to Bar Review, where U of C law students meet at a different bar every Thursday evening. But wait...I was the DD (desig. driver) and didn't drink. Strange...
I think my body is just pissed off at me. Between working out yesterday morning and shorting myself on hours of sleep, not to mention four straight full days of law school and evenings with hours of reading, I think the corpus is starting to be rebellious. This particular soul-sack is used to slow days in the sun and evenings on the couch.
This act of revolt, however, will not stand. The compromise will be that I offer will be 7-8 hours of sleep per night, in exchange for feeling decent when I wake up. To achieve such, it looks like I'm going to have to actually create a daily and weekly schedule and [gasp!] stick to it. If you know me from college, you're laughing. Well, I can't grant myself anymore extensions on things to do, so I'll just have to do everything when I'm supposed to and go to bed on time.
10/02/2003
Okay, morning thing was nice until I realized I was sleepy before lunch. Luckily I had a two-hour break after lunch, so I went home and snoozed. I'm not giving up on this thing yet, though.
10/02/2003 02:27:00 PM
I declare myself a morning person.
Class is at 9:45. In undergrad, for the same classtime, I would plan on getting up around 9:15, running a comb through the hair, brushing the teeth, picking up some pants off the floor, and getting to class no more than 2-3 minutes late.
No more.
Look, it may not be comfortable. But I'm going to do it. It just makes sense. I woke up at 7am and was at the gym by 7:30. I ran and lifted, then came back, ate breakfast, and looked over my assignments. It's 9:20 now, and I'm dressed, showered, awake and alert. In fact, I may look at waking even earlier... maybe even 6:30.
Now, now, quiet yourselves. I know it sounds crazy. But millions of people do this. I just want to see if it actually works. If it doesn't, well, I hear Letterman's got Jennifer Garner on tonight, with musical guest Coldplay...
10/02/2003 07:19:00 AM
10/01/2003
Well, the Cubbies lost tonight. That's a bummer. But at least they're in it! Last night, they won their first road playoff game since 1945. Yes, this team historically stinks. But, as they're saying around here, the temperature of Hell is dropping fast. Now, if the Cubs and the Red Sox were to meet in this year's series, it might be the final sign of the apocalypse. It's fun to watch.
10/01/2003 08:25:00 PM
