Taking a Break!
I needed a breather from pouring through the law texts and doing an infinite number of database searches for relevant cases. I wish I hadn't put my tort law essay off until the last minute, but that's just me. Mentally I've been writing the thing for weeks, but it's getting all the relevant info I need in one place that takes me so long.
What makes it worse isn't the fact that I want to do my Christmas decorating, shopping and celebrating, but the appearance of a project that I want to sink my teeth into. I have a chance to take part in a program aimed at death row appeals in the US. Growing up in Texas, you would think that I would balk at the idea. After all, Texas executes more prisoners than anyone else in the country, and they're proud of the fact. I'm proud to be a Texan, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything they stand for. I was once a death penalty supporter, back in my younger years when I was brainwashed by the Republican ideals of those around me. Fortunately my parents, while not liberal in the purest since, are more liberal than a lot of Texans, so when I came into contact with liberal Democrats (notice the small "l" liberal and big "D" Democrats, as opposed to both big letters as in the Liberal Democrats, which is a political party here in the UK) during my first incarnation as a university student, I was open-minded enough to listen. It didn't take me long to realise that I actually agreed with them.
I can remember, after becoming the secretary of the College Democrats of ETSU (now Texas A&M University -- Commerce), my father saying, "I hope your grandfather doesn't find out." He never did. Unfortunately he died a few months later, never knowing I had turned my back on his beloved Republican party in the same way he had rejected the Democratic party his own father adored.
People who meet me here in England automatically assume that 1) I love George Bush Jnr (or Shrub, as I like to call him), 2) that I am an ardent gun lover, and 3) that I am pro-death penalty. Wrong on all three counts. I actually campaigned against George W. when he ran for governor of Texas. I have never shot a gun in my life and believe in strict gun control. And I can't wait to get started on this death penalty project.
I know, so what am I doing writing this when I should just get on with the tort law essay. Come on, a girl has to have a bit of a break from "duty of care", "proximity", and "volenti non fit injuria".
What makes it worse isn't the fact that I want to do my Christmas decorating, shopping and celebrating, but the appearance of a project that I want to sink my teeth into. I have a chance to take part in a program aimed at death row appeals in the US. Growing up in Texas, you would think that I would balk at the idea. After all, Texas executes more prisoners than anyone else in the country, and they're proud of the fact. I'm proud to be a Texan, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything they stand for. I was once a death penalty supporter, back in my younger years when I was brainwashed by the Republican ideals of those around me. Fortunately my parents, while not liberal in the purest since, are more liberal than a lot of Texans, so when I came into contact with liberal Democrats (notice the small "l" liberal and big "D" Democrats, as opposed to both big letters as in the Liberal Democrats, which is a political party here in the UK) during my first incarnation as a university student, I was open-minded enough to listen. It didn't take me long to realise that I actually agreed with them.
I can remember, after becoming the secretary of the College Democrats of ETSU (now Texas A&M University -- Commerce), my father saying, "I hope your grandfather doesn't find out." He never did. Unfortunately he died a few months later, never knowing I had turned my back on his beloved Republican party in the same way he had rejected the Democratic party his own father adored.
People who meet me here in England automatically assume that 1) I love George Bush Jnr (or Shrub, as I like to call him), 2) that I am an ardent gun lover, and 3) that I am pro-death penalty. Wrong on all three counts. I actually campaigned against George W. when he ran for governor of Texas. I have never shot a gun in my life and believe in strict gun control. And I can't wait to get started on this death penalty project.
I know, so what am I doing writing this when I should just get on with the tort law essay. Come on, a girl has to have a bit of a break from "duty of care", "proximity", and "volenti non fit injuria".
posted by Melinda at 12/12/2004 04:34:00 pm
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