NINA FARINA

Last Post of the Year

John is going to get mushrooms so I can make tonights dinner and, in the meanwhile, my brain is going over the last year. While it sometimes feels like the most awful year ever there were so many times when I felt sublimly blessed.

When I handed in my last law school paper tears were streaming down my face. Sometimes I can't believe I made it through and I really feel I have both my family and my acentos family to thank. I really wouldn't have made it without you guys. Graduation was overated and studying for the bar was awesome. Finding out I passed the bar just few days after losing another uncle was such a strange sensation.

I am finally feeling completely at home in Tallahassee and I have an amazing new group of friends to thank for that. My future mother in law and my adopted new mom are such a blessing. In between all the loss this year God has continuously given me things to smile about and for that I am truly thankful.

Still I pray that 2006 will be a ton better.

Only in a household of two lawyers

Disagreements in my house

Me: You didn't put up the lights. Whenever you tell me you'll do something later you don't do it.

John: You started doing it though.

Me: I gave up and asked you to do it.

John: Well, we had a novation because you started doing it

Me: ???!!!!!

I know

that the world really isn't completely full of sick fucks but the past week I have cried almost every day. You see I am co-authoring an article on the legal remedies thatare available to students that have been sexually abused/harassed by their teachers. And more importantly, the remedies that SHOULD be availabl to those students. I've read a ton of fact patterns that would make your stomach turn. Cases that involve school district cover ups and sadistic emotional abuse on top of the physical/sexual abuse the child undergoes.

Then when I wrap up a day of work on that topic I switch to preparing for next semester when I will be teaching my class on genocide (and international criminal laws). You can't really teach about the trials unless you study the crimes so I get to read chapters and chapters of the precise way one group goes about slaughtering another group of people. I read about how if you have enough sheep, and scare them enough, you can get them to act like wolves. I try to come up with arguments for how we can help end or at least deter this problem but the process of solving I cry often and I try not to become jaded. If I become jaded I'll stop trying so in the meanwhile I'll just cry.

Holiday/Tax Donations

As the holidays get closer I know some of you readers are of the type that donate money to your favorite causes. As the tax season draws to an end I know some of you want write offs. I just want to remind my dear readers that even though Katrina hit almost four months ago the gulf coast is still very jacked up. There are still lots of needs not being met. So, even though the gulf coast is no longer in your daily news please please don't forget it when it comes to donation time.

Also, for an interesting read on one life in current New Orleans please click on my link to Poppy Z. Brite's page (if it is not showing scroll down a bit, she is listed under people I wish I knew). Poppy Z. Brite is one of my favorite authors and the writing on her blog is extremely candid.

A Day in the Life of My Kitties
Click on the pics to see them full size

Watching mom work all day is rather exhausting














And the printer makes way too much noise















But it sure is interesing to watch

A meme taken from Jesse's page (see link on the right), here is the first sentence of the first post of every month for the past year:

I've been having recurring dreams about my friend Kevin, who is serving in the Middle East. I haven't heard from him in a few weeks.

Being a Latina and a future lawyer a lot of people are asking me if I think it is a good thing that a Latino is the nominee for Attorney General.

Within the last week my uncle has passed away and I have also found out that a very good friend is dying (the doctors are giving him till Saturday).

Is there something in the Y chromosome that makes drunken phone calls seem like a good idea?

When I take my place as queen of the universe I am sure all the shit I have gone through this semester won't seem so damn.....there just really aren't words for it.

Budget Permitting--I will be teaching a class on Genocide and Adjudicating Genocide (just one class haven't thought of what to call it) at FSU in the Spring.

Me: It's not what you put into your mouth but what comes out of it that makes you unclean

New York was fine

I don't have a driver's license.

I am a lawyer spoken word artist and spoken word is not as compelling.

I've been very busy the past few days moving from our tiny one bedroom one bath to a three bedroom 2.5 bath apartment.

And here are the ladies.

If you could have three living poets write a blurb for your first book who would it be?

1. Marjorie Agosin
2. Martin Espada
3. Nikki Giovanni

Pass it on...

And speaking of poetry I feel a surge coming on, I am very excited for it. It's kinda like when you KNOW you are about to orgasm. God I hope it is good

And here are the ladies. In the foreground is Annabelle Lee and guarding the books is Domino (funny that my favorite set of dominoes are right behind her).