the choices in life

It's still nice out, but the weather is supposed to get worse this weekend. Someday it'll be fall in DC. Probably when I leave. In December. Yesterday morning, I sat in court. There was a surprising amount of drug cases. Well, incidental drug cases. There was one gentleman who was having a status hearing for his probation sentence as the result of his DVM (the criminal side of what we do). He'd missed some dates for drug testing and had tested positive for methamphetamines and cocaine. The meth, he explained as the Adderall he was taking for a multitude of psychological problems (which he was good enough to list). The cocaine was "only that one time, I don't even like cocaine." He was desperate because he was trying to deal with the fact that he had HIV. As I sat in the courtroom, listening to this guy expound on all of the problems of his life, and why they really weren't his fault, I found I didn't feel badly for him at all. Yes, it really sucks to have HIV. But look at his behavior. It sucks that he has to live with such horrible consequences, but that's the path he chose.

After court I went upstairs to the Intake Center and did some filing. A woman who was trying to file a motion came in to use the phone. She looked a little harried, holding her baby and trying to talk, so we volunteered to take the baby off her hands. She was so cute! She didn't cry at all, just kept looking around, taking everything in. Her silence was a nice respite from the majority of other children who are brought into the center. We have kid-friendly stuff in the waiting room, but it never fails that every few days there's a screamer. After lunch, I went back across the street to do some work on the cases I'm helping on. I'm amazed at how much I've changed, professionally. I used to be apprehensive about making cold calls, and even sometimes talking on the phone at all. But now it doesn't bother me. During a lull in activity, I was online, looking at tips for writing my personal statement for law school. I got inspired and just cranked it out. I even stayed until almost 5 to finish it, so I could do it in one sitting. I think it's really good, possibly the best draft I've written yet. I'm starting to feel a lot better about the application process. I'm not as nervous about the LSAT. I'm still shooting to get into Cornell, but I'm confident I'll get into a law school in Chicago.

Today, our field trip is a briefing at the State Department. I expect it to be some doom and gloom about terrorism, and the end is nigh. But we'll see. Maybe it'll be interesting.