Anything but the laptop!

As I get ready to spend my weekend taking an exam (for which 72 hours are allotted) in professional responsibility/legal ethics, I can’t help but laugh and identify with the law student in the following story. Courtesy of the ABA Journal –

Surprised to find an intruder with a softball bat demanding his wallet when he awakened one night earlier this month at his Tempe, Ariz., apartment, 23-year-old Alex Botsios reportedly did his best to find his money.

But when the intruder tried to take the laptop computer containing all of Botsios’ work as a first-year law student at Arizona State University, Botsios protested … and then decided to make a fight of it, according to the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog.

“I was like, ‘Dude, no—please, no!’ ” Botsios tells KPHO 5, a local CBS affiliate in Arizona. “I have all my case notes … that’s four months of work!”

Botsios, who hails from Keller, Texas, says he was initially frightened, but rushed the intruder and eventually realized he was armed only with the bat, the newspaper blog reports.

The alleged intruder was Gabriel Saucedo, 23, who was overpowered by the angry law student.

Saucedo needed stitches before he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, reports KPHO. “Other than a bruised knuckle and a few scratches, Botsios was unharmed.”

Sometimes it really feels that serious. You could work around money. You could even get another laptop. But those notes… all of that work? Man, I’d be depressed for sure. You can’t make up for that. You can’t go back and it doesn’t even help if you get someone else’s notes. All the work that I did 1L year just lost? I guess if he felt like he could take the guy, more power to him.

Pretty silly thief to ROB someone’s HOME armed with nothing but a baseball bat.

Star Jones

I think it totally sucks how bad of a reputation Star Jones has today. People hear her name and they think about her battle with weight (and subsequently lying about gastric bypass surgery), her weird marriage and divorce to an obviously gay man, Al Reynolds, and her departure from The View. Star is basically tabloid and E! News fodder right now and it’s terrible because she really had a promising career. A career path I might want to emulate, without all of the TMZ-ready drama, of course.

Star Jones came from No Where, NC, moved to Jersey, got her BA from American University, and graduated from the Univ of Houston school of law. She passed one of the hardest Bar exams in the country, New York State, and went to work for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office in NYC. Soon, she was promoted to Senior Assistant DA because she commanded the courtroom, amassing 31 out of 33 convictions. That’s amazing. However, Star wasn’t content with just being a powerhouse prosecutor. She had aspirations to live up to her name so she headed over to CourtTV’s NY studios and basically strong armed her way into a show. Just like she moved up the ranks at the DA’s office, she moved up on CourtTV. After getting her feet wet as a commentator, she relocated to LA and got her own show called Jones and Jury, kind of similar to the Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown shows you see everyday. Although the show only lasted one season, her work there caught the eye of NBC who tapped her as a legal correspondent for the Today Show and eventually as the senior correspondent and chief legal analyst for NBC Nightly News. Her biggest break on television came when she was the only person granted an exclusive interview with OJ Simpson during his infamous trial. After that, she caught the eye of Barbara Walters and was asked to be on The View. Everyone pretty much knows the story after that.

I think it’s sad how Star’s accomplishments before The View have been eclipsed by all of the tomfoolery that followed. Of course Star has to take on a lot of the blame for choices that she made. I’m going to be through with law school soon (praise baby jeebus) and while I want to put my legal skills to work, I would love to take a similar route as a legal correspondent or even have my own show. Trust, I’d be perfect. I don’t think I’d follow a Star-like path exactly because every woman must set out on her own, ya know?

I wonder if Star will ever go back to being Star The Lawyer. I’m sure it’d be odd for her to show up in court one day, now that she has such a big profile. But I think she could do some consulting or maybe go back to doing legal television shows. I blame her mom a little bit though. You kind of set the bar super high for your kid when you name them Starlet.

What About Us?

The title of this blog will make sense later. You know how this works by now. 1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it sounds. Yep, I’m bored/tired.

1. How does the world see me? No Greater Love – Blu *& Exile
2. How is my life going? 2 Become 1 – Spice Girls
3. What do my friends really think of me? Free Yourself – Fantasia
4. Do People Secretly Lust After Me? Just Wanna Cut – Trey Songz  Ha! how apropos!
5. How can I make myself happy? My World – Jay Electronica
6. What should I do with my life? Child of the Soil – Spec Boogie f. Elucid
7. Will I ever have children? Whenever, Wherever – Maxwell
8. What is good advice for me? Open Your Eyes – Dwele
9. How will I be remembered? Love U 4 Life – Jodeci
10. What is my signature dance song? Work It – Missy Elliot
11. What do I think my current theme song is? Gettin’ Up – Q-Tip I DO like that jam
12. What do my friends think my current theme song is? 3121 – Prince
13. What song will play at my funeral? I Get So Lonely – Janet Jackson
14. What kind of men do I like? Steppin’ Out 2008 – Zo! & Tigallo
15. What is my day going to be like? Fly Like a Bird – Mariah Carey
16. If someone asks you “Is this okay?” I say… I Found Myself – Ciara
17. How would you describe yourself? Mama Knew Love – Anthony Hamilton
18. What do I often think about? Domestic Violence – RZA  I did do work in the area of DV and it’s something I’m still interested in. Let me say that I never knew there was a vid to that song until today. While I’ve been jamming to it for years, I found the video with is visual portrayals of violence disturbing.
19. What I hear when I think of my last heartbreak. Slow Like Honey – Fiona Apple
20. What is your biggest fear? Never Scared Rmx – Bone Crusher  Yup, that’s what came up on the shuffle!
21. What is your nickname? Maxine – John Legend  I don’t see why anyone would call me Maxine!

Bonus: What will I repost this as? What About Us – Total

I obviously listen to mad R&B.