Long-Weekend Edition of the Chronicles de la Chicanita Trying to Make It

As the majority of Americans take a three-day weekend to Remember/Celebrate our Indigenous Roots, I will be in class for seven hours (my longest day of the week). As the year begins to wind down, these Chronicles will be a point of reflection going into the last quarter of 2004.

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East Coast vs. West Coast
Check it, check it… it was all dream, to think that this chicanita could be a law student is DC. My present reality hit me on Week 7 of 15, during a workshop on outlining for final exams… wait, what, I have law school exams in two months, but, but…

The temptation to get involved in 101 activities for una metiche chismosa (gossiping busy-body) like me is great but I am not here for the no cover charge clubs, free concerts, museums, conferences, or dinners. I am here to kick bootie in law school. This is what I must tell myself on a regular basis being in DC, the city de free loaders. As far as school is concerned, I finally found an onda for studying that has given me more confidence and has relieved some of the stress off the shoulders, where are my momma’s massages when I need them, oh yeah, back in Cali. I’ve been able to get one study-free day each week by maximizing my 9-5 schedule, taking a three to four hour break and then hitting the library for another four hours. Once you learn law school and the practice of law is about time management, dedication, and reverting back to a three-year old who asks “WHY?” every five minutes, it’s all good.

With 7 weeks of law school under my belt, I can honestly say that our legal system tends to be unfair more often than not. The very foundation of many of our institutions come from notions of justice based on injustice, super subjective ideas of objectivity, and lots o’ exclusion and discrimination that have carried over into modern day. I may find some relief to my current sense of confusion as the year progresses but take the standard of the reasonable man… first and foremost, it’s called the reasonable MAN standard, aahhheeeemmmm, and it points to “logical” behavior that reasonable people should undertake in society but it accounts little for cultural, religious, or class differences.

Informal Chicanita SURVEY: What do YOU think… would a reasonable man save a drowning person? Should we as a society hold people responsible for other human life? Is that reasonable?

We read an article about a photographer who published a book of drowning victims, never stopping his flash to save the person whose death he was profiting from. Is that reasonable? Should he face any legal repercussions for letting someone die when he could’ve saved them? How does that play into the idea of community? Is our legal system guided by economic principle more than anything else? How does that work in with capital punishment?

Here’s a shovel, can you dig it?

I have so many questions and I am giving the FBI and CIA so many reasons to put me on a no-fly list and raid my house (Hi FBI/Patriot Act/Homeland Security email readers). Share your thoughts, what do you think about this issue? And for the lawyers out there, what can I do to begin working it all out?

I digressed somewhat… so there’s a ton of free activities and networking opportunities in DC, especially during Latino/Hispanic History Month (Sept. 15- Oct. 15). As tempted as I have been to represent ya’ll at each one of these, I have limited my outings. But two events I could not pass up were a free concert de Olga Tañon, a super merenguera from Puerto Rico and the grand opening of the Museum for the American Indian, where Lila Downs performed but I wasn’t there b/c I was (all together now) studying. Both are must sees.

Coming from LA, where only the smoggy air is free, it’s nice to go to an event and only spend for the metro fare. Some other points of difference between LA and DC include accident clean up and celebrities. I don’t usually get star struck, even though I am always up on celebrity gossip while I wait in line at the supermarket, yes I am the girl that goes to the longest line just to read People and US. I also must admit that the only time I was super star struck was when I ran into pre-American Idol Paula Abdul who I loved as a shortly, I almost peed my pants. Ok, back to the mission at hand, we spotted Condi Rice (yes, the real First Lady, well in her mind anyways, according to Boondocks) exiting the building in front of the law school. It brought some of us to standstill, and that was that, what was the point of this comment? So the other day there was a car accident right in front of mi casa, and NO, I was not involved in causing it. But I was one of the first people out there trying to find contributory negligence, law school does change the way you look at the world. There were no serious injuries but the accident took more than 5 hours to clear up. Ambulances must have taken over an hour to show up… another hour to check the victims… and then the tow trucks, all in all, it was the slowest accident response ever. They would get lynched if they tried to pull a movida like that in Cali. Having been in an accident, I do appreciate the efficiency of highway patrol and tow trucks in Cali, my accident state of choice.

DC is also known as the murder capitol of the U.S. and by watching the news, you could swear the population will be extinct in a few months. Funny for a place where guns are outlawed. Maybe it’s the outlaw of guns. Makes a girl feel like she can’t trust anyone in this place and essentially that is the advice that I have received from many DC veterans, hmmm, what if they’re the ones I can’t trust? But I have found some great people.

I received an email about Las Comadres de América, a national networking group for Latinas, which provides great resources for getting situated in your city and access to more FREE social activities. I recommend it to all the mujeres out there, especially if you are an out of towner wherever you live. I’ve also joined a jogging group called Running against Bush. Imagine, thirty to forty people running down the street with t-shirts that say Run against Bush, what a great visual, no? It impacted me as soon as I say it. También hay some cool cats in the law school but I’ve had moments where I think to myself,

“What am I doing here? I am a non-smoking, tea drinking Latina in a Caucasian, smoking, coffee drinker’s world, how do I reconcile these differences?”

VOTE or DIE
If P. Diddy is able to vote, y’all have no excuses to get off your booties and vote.
#1 REGISTER to vote in person or get absentee ballots that you can fill out in the privacy of your own home. But with absentee ballots, I don’t think you get the cool “I voted” stickers or the free cookies. For more information and to register, visit Southwest Voter Registration at www.svrep.org, call 1 800 404 VOTE, and for Cali folks visit www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm This week is the last opportunity to register in many places. Remember that if you missed the deadline to vote at a polling place, you may be in time to vote via absentee ballot. Make sure to REGISTER!

#2 BE INFORMED. Ya’ll know who I am not voting for but it’s important to know why you vote for who you vote for… Turn to alternative media, don’t base your decisions on mainstream media alone, and make an informed decision. Ask “WHY?” Do we really have a democracy? Does a two-party system really give us options for true representation? Why is the current U.S. President a billionaire when most of us will work harder but will never reach a substantial fraction of his wealth? What does a billionaire know about growing up in a society that treats you like an inferior being, on welfare, in a single parent home, as a third world refugee in the third world community in a first world country? Why do we support programs called Food for Oil? How does all of this political drama even matter in the big picture? The questions are endless but action is important.

#3 VOTE on November 2nd of THIS year. It’s a Tuesday. It’s el día de los muertos.

HOME
I am currently looking for sponsorship from the makers of Hot Flaming Cheetos, anybody got a contact there? Like anyone living 3,000 away from home, I miss my loved ones and the little things that make my life enjoyable. Things like playing with the wind while driving down the freeway, the drum circle at sunset in Venice, familiar faces, and hot flaming cheetos. I’ve never been a huge fan of this tangy treat but lately I’ve been craving them like no other. And sadly enough, I had to visit three different stores and ask all sorts of people before I found them at 7-11, next to the slurpees, hhhmm. Funny how I felt less homesick while I was licking my fingers and slurping away at blue ice. I must say it was a good day!

The things I appreciate the most are being able to wash my clothes in the middle of the week (I’ve never had a free washer in my house before); having my own room but also being able to be silly with my housemates in our living room; getting random, lil’ “hello, watcha’ doing?” emails; making time to write in my journal; cooking every meal; knowing my family is armed with a smile and that’s all they need; and being able to roll out of bed, go to class, come home, eat, take a shower, go back to class, study at the library… the routine.

HOW TO BE THE BEST YOU?
I really liked the Motorcycle Diaries, go see it tonight (it’s a holiday weekend, support Latino cine). I watched the movie with a group of friends from across Latin América, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Atlán, Perú, Colombia, and even France, and Moldova. That was way cool!

I also finished reading Republic of East LA by Luis Rodríguez. Buy it at Cultura Latina Bookstore, support independent bookstores) and read it. I tried to start a book club once upon a time and it didn’t seem to work. Anyone interested now? I will need more time than usual though, k, unless ya’ll wanna read 800 page law books with me J

Lately, I’ve been attending a series of workshops about how to be the best you. It deals mostly with time management, study skills, and stress management. The best workshop has been about tuning into yourself and working on your strengths. Asking questions like, What inspires me? What makes me happy? When do I make time for myself? What are my strengths? It’s all very interesting. If you’re interested, visit www.authentichappiness.com to do a strengths evaluation (some of you may remember this from CBOP/Education Class at UCLA with that one Prof with the funny beer belly)

Feedback is great. What’s going through your head right now… three weeks before the 2004 presidential election, as the Fall sets in, as Wal-Mart moves to build a superstore in Teotihuacan, as those of you in my generation savor adulthood, as Halloween is right around the corner (who’s dressing up? I think I am gonna go with Chilindrina this year. Carri, you wanna be las dos chilindrinas?) Holla’ back ya’ll!

I leave you with a quote, by Anne Lammott, that I received on a random email about voting but the quote is not about voting,

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen, widen and expand our sense of life; they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again.”

Un abrazo (Hugs),
La Chicanita esq, Lucero :)