“saving sanity’s a trick when your livin’ in a room the size of a shoebox”

I was late leaving Detroit because I just couldn’t tear myself away from my girlfriend, she’s amazing by the way, so I was already worried that I wouldn’t get to spend much time with my sister and mom. On the way I hit major traffic three times, the second of which was the worse. I’m already running late, so after a brief period of deliberation I decide to just smash out one of the small windows in the back. I borrowed a broom to sweep up the glass, got directions back to the interstate and I was on my way. The people at the gas station were really nice, but they gave me awful directions and I wound up lost in subdivision full of cul-de-sacs for over a half hour. Throw in some more traffic in Pennsylvania caused by what I can only assume was some sort of freak inland tropical storm, and I didn’t get home until 1 am after everyone was asleep.

The basic rule of American constitutionalism is this: Before the government can forbid you from doing anything, it has to provide a reason. “Because we say so” does not count as a reason. To limit ordinary liberties (like selling eyeglasses), most any reason is good enough. To restrict fundamental liberties (like using birth control while having sex), however, the government must have a really important reason. (Getting to decide which liberties are “fundamental” is one of the cooler parts of being a justice.) Under the equal protection clause, even if the government has a plausible reason for putting a burden on you, it also has to explain why it treats other people better. If the justices suspect that the government may simply dislike people like you, they will demand an especially convincing explanation for the different treatment. And if the government wants to interfere with your liberty by actually taking your house or property, it has to pay you “just compensation”; and even if it’s ready to fork over compensation, the town can’t take your stuff at all unless it’s going to use it for a “public purpose.” (Current hot topic: Is forcibly taking old people’s homes to make way for a spiffy new Wal-Mart really a “public” purpose?)

I’d really like to keep my GPA up, and I’m going to need a decent grade on this test. Maybe by admitting my impotence I’ll be able to buckle down and study my ass off for the next few days.

And as soon as the semester is officially over, I need to fully devote myself to the task of finding employment, preferably of both the full-time and law-related nature. I slept on this process all semester and now I’m relegated to personally soliciting as many law firms as I can just hoping that they’re in the market for an immensely intelligent and talented law student to help draft motions and research case law and sweep floors or whatever else they want me to do.

On an even more personal note, tomorrow is a very important day. It’s the day that our first full month’s rent is due for the apartment. It’s hard to believe that Brittany and I have only been together for 5 months and 27 days, and we already know that we’ll be together forever.