I don't know why I just remembered pumadispatch. But since it is my last week of law school (finally!) I thought it might be worth writing a couple of words on how this whole process has panned out. Well, for one thing, the last five years have gone by really quickly! I've spent a great deal of time in three different countries during this time and will formally finish law school in about 4 weeks (provided I can finish three papers and write an exam). It's been a great journey. I can't say I've loved every step of the way, but I can say that I don't regret having taken the chances. And a legal education is definitely been worth it (even though some big law folks are getting laid off these days, in the long run I'm sure these overpriced degrees and JD knowledge will pay for itself many times over). From the first day in Vanderbilt Hall to my current days buried in Bora Laskin library, I've become a different person and a little bit of the rosy tint with which I viewed the world has gone away. In its place I have a little more cynicism, great friends, and a love for a city that I hope I will go back to on a regular basis. 

It's been almost two years since I last updated this blog and a great deal has happened. I can't say that I ever posted anything in any great detail here, but it was a point of contact (perhaps its been replaced by facebook, but that's another story... do ppl even have blogs anymore?). But the good experiences of the last two years have opened even more doors and options making it all the more difficult to decide what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. It's a wonderful predicament to have and I really can't complain too much.

As I procrastinate over the next few weeks, I might write about some of the adventures of the past few years here (I anticipate quite a few more hours in the library before they'll let me out with a diploma). So consider this the beginning of the end!

i have no idea where the past two weeks have gone. nyc was amazing for so many reasons. i didn't get the chance to write abt it here or for the magazine, but it was just the break that i needed. good friends, good food, good weather, and a great city. and lets not forget the art.

it was strange being back around nyu and knowing that had i chosen a different path i would be graduating as well. which reminds me, i must congratulate those darling classmates who finished off their three year stints at law schools. it blows my mind to think of the amazing accomplishments that you will all have and one day i'll be able to say that i knew you from back when!

so in short, i miss nyc (and everything it entails) terribly. sigh.

the other reason the last two weeks are a blur is work. while in the first week we were lulled into a false sense of security, the work has really picked up this week. one of the partners even emailed me today to work on a project but there was no way to take it on. i feel a little guilty but it's a busy summer for the Firm so we have to ride this thing out. the potentially bad news is that i may have to work on a statutory holiday for the first time in my life!!!!!!

knowledge has left the house

i've spent a good portion of the last week colouring in and tabbing my notes. i don't know if tabbing is a word, but it a time consuming and enjoyable activity for perfectionists. unfortunately no amount of colouring in and tabbing could help me today as the securities law exam set me straight. i'm just taking solace in the fact that i'm not a slave to law school (or any kind of school) and while it's nice to do well at things, the effort should really be put in where you actually enjoy things. law and economics, while intriguing, is really not my reason d'etre. but then again, i am to be employed by a corporate firm for the summer and i shall champion markets and the like with the best of them. let it not be said that law school has taught me nothing.

i'm actually just aiming for wisdom. i'll take it where ever i find it and however it comes.

a late april fools joke. i woke up this morning to snow! a nice layer covering everything in sight. may be the weather is as confused as i am these days:)

the professional superhighway

the path is relatively clear. you step into a good school and work hard. you get into a good professional school and work even harder. you get hired at a great firm/hospital/company and work harder than you thought possible. you make a lot of money. you buy lots of things but can never take time off. at best you take short, expensive getaways from the city. you eat at the best restaurants. you move up the ranks. you develop a taste for the most expensive italian suits. you make partner/open your own clinic, receive professional accolades, discover things, write stuff, etc. if you’re lucky/unlucky you have a couple of kids in the process. you put them through school by writing cheques. you hardly ever see them, and even then for an hour or two before either one of you has to rush off. you might enjoy your work but the hours take their toll. your investment profile grows and grows. you sit on boards and make contributions to charity. you give speeches and give political support.

but some days, when you see the other half, you wonder if this is what you wanted. did you come so far for so very, very little?

wow, this is what i call a real debate.
there is so much content and so little time. i'm like a kid in a candy store... when will we ever figure out how to add more hours to our day.

they're onto something with the lad walking out of the lake scene. who needs prince charming when we have mr. darcy!

here's a snippet of real class discussion regarding taxation of income generated from illegal activities, specifically drug traficking:
"s* would know all abt that... because he's in the jd/mba program...... umm, i don't mean the drugs part, i mean the business part..."

there may have been some drugs involved at some point. i can't totally rule that out.
but the prof is prone to making comments like that. he'll make wise-crack jokes followed by a good 10 secs of silence as he searches the room for a sniker or even a smile. goofy times.

um, tehran was beautiful. there's been lots of rain and snow this year. the air was relatively cleam. the weather was balmy! it was a joyous time!!

i really should upload pictures. especially the shots of the city city rolling out from the foots of the alborz mountains for as far as the eye can see. or the illuminated skys. or one of the many fabulous restaurants?

toronto, remains good. i've been neglecting email writing for a while, but i'm slowly easing back into contact with ppl (that's the hope:) i'm also drastically behind having essentially skipped out on two whole weeks plus a silly intensive class on intl development. gosh, such wishy washy bs.

anyway, currently poring over the details of intl commercial arbitration, which for some reason i find very interesting. there is a lot of academic literature on the subject, but the explosion in the practice over the last decade or two, especially in north america, has certianly outgrown the literature. so many interesting questions remain: should we be preserving the traditional private nature of arbitration that allows it to be flexible, expedient and less expensive even though it is now used in a much broader range of disputes? should we care abt procedural fairness in an inherently private settlement process? what is the standard of review for arbitral decisions in a court of law? if one court system annuls an arbitral decision should another jurisdiction be allowed to implement it? should we allow arbitral decisions to remain private and confidential or should the public interest in the monitoring of the justice system take precendent? SHOULD WE CARE ABT THIS STUFF AT ALL: i think so :)

speaking the truth

my mentor last year told me that only khayyam speaks the truth. curious, i finally found a book of his poems. and he was right. no one has so succicntly summed up the transient nature of human existence.

اسرار ازل را نه تو دانی و نه من
وین حرف معما نه تو دانی و نه من
هست از پس پرده گفتگوی من و تو
چون پرده برافت نه تو مانی و نه من

---

خیام اگر ز باد مستی خوشباش
با ماه روخی اگر نشستی خوشباش
چون عاقبت کار جهان نیستی است
انگار که نیستی چو هستی خوشباش

---

squirrel suicide

i have a habit of looking out for little animals while i'm sitting in the car (as driver or passenger). mostly in toronto it's squirrels. i’m usually amazed to see them running around in the snow, leaving cute little footprints in their wake. i know some people argue that they are just rodents with glorified tails but i think they’re rather cute (despite first hand experience of their destructive powers once they make it into one’s house … that’s another story for another time).

so yesterday, sitting in the car and chatting away merrily with my mum, all of a sudden i see a squirrel on the curb contemplating its next move. basically, to make a long story short, it hoped into the road, changed its mind, then got hit by the car in front. i saw it take its final breath. it’s been more than 24 hours now but it keeps coming back into my mind. it’s silly, but i was in shock and had a good cry about it too.

in totally unrelated life happenings i have my ticket for la! i can’t wait to get out there next month for g’s wedding. it should be fun. it’ll be my first time in california and given the recent terrible weather here i’ve been seriously craving moving to a warm climate and cali is a good option. it’s also the holyland of the majority of iranians who seem to end up there somehow. ironic? i think it’s the love of sunshine.

reveling

just as a bit of harmless fun i get short little horoscope things in my email everyday. this one was just too good so i felt obliged to share it:

"Flowers draw bees just by standing there, and you draw attention just by existing. Revel in the attention."

who writes this stuff? sometimes its somewhat accurate but that's only b/c it is adequately general/flattering that every few days you'd feel some connection to it.

in other news: i have way too much work on my plate right now. i can't believe that it's feb and that i only have 2 weeks to do all this work. so it was probably not a good time to sign up for facebook... while it's an interesting social/anthropological/psychological experiment, it's mostly just a blackhole for productive time. on the plus side i've found friends from back in high school! from another continent! can't wait to catch up with them and see what they're all up to.

and the too much work pain is made slightly better by the fact that the work is all interesting. even the tax professor is fun/funny. and as for the papers i have to write, i'm mentally engaged with the topics which should make the process rather more enjoyable than usual. even the law review articles i'm reviewing this semester are far more interesting (NAFTA's chapter xi and environmental protection, labour standards and tackling workplace violance, ...:)

so for now, i'm riding the wave, trying to stay awake.

the king is 65!

still stinging with his legacy.

faith in fate

breathing a sigh of relief. i'm back in toronto. and it's finally snowing today. bizarre weather has meant that there has been no snow over the new year break here. not to say that it wasn't cold, but not as cold as it usually gets. i can only imagine the kind of havoc this causes for the local wild life. and since the bizarre winter temperatures are not a unique occurance in toronto, i wonder what disasters are brewing thanks to our fossil habit.

but somehow, in spite of the ongoing mayhem human life goes on. my time over the last three weeks was spent acting in the role of "sister-of-the-bride". a role for which i was really not prepared, certainly not emotionally. but she's happy. and he couldn't be more happy. it changes everything. but i keep faith. there was a reason why fate brought them together at this point. two lost halves reunited. a new beginning.

i guess my faith in fate has been strengthened somewhat. and while it's hard, i'm trying to keep myself focused on the task at hand: finishing law school. adjusting to life after nyc has been rough. i don’t think adjusting is even the right term for it. coming to terms with? whatever. but at least now i feel certain that it was all meant to be. there must be a higher purpose.

i don’t usually make new year resolutions. but here’s a belated one: 2007 will be the year of de-cluttering my life. paring down to life's basics. need to streamline my existence.

and may be reduce the melodramatic tone of these blog postings.