let's talk about rape

so before i get my ass kicked for the title, let me just say that i know rape is a very serious topic and very serious crime and being a woman it is a serious concern. but this is a legal discussion about the crime, not a social discussion.

so for my Criminal class today we had to discuss the crime of rape. due to the touchy subject i imagined a very heated discussion, and i guess my professor did too b/c before commencing the class she advised us that we should be mature about our discussion, relate it only to legal concepts, and refrain from calling anyone a "neanderthal" (she said previous classes had ended w/such).

so we discussed various cases, all in that gray area of rape, where there's no physical force/injury and very conflicting perspectives from the victim and the defendant, which obviously results in various discussions. and b/c it is a class the professor would often push us to try and create thresholds that we believed would legally constitute rape. of course, still being people w/in the range of 21-28 years of age, we would all giggle when someone discussed "genitalia" and "hooking up". someone even used the word "pump" (my eyes bugged out when the guy said that). when discussing sexual assault terms like "S&M" and "tying up" and "some ppl like rought sex". it seemed so out of place in the classroom.

there was one moment of serious levity tho. a very attractive boy in the class had come up w/a hard fast rule that an affirmative yes must be given in order for any act to not be rape (which is a little ridiculous in real-life scenarios). another boy in the class wanted to counter that argument. while he was doing that he mentioned, "for those of us not fortunate enough to be as goodlooking as Mr. _____, an affirmative yes may be difficult to obtain". i can't really remember the rest of his argument b/c the whole class, including the professor, erupted in laugther for a good minute.

one of the most interesting and funny classes for Criminal so far.

sometimes hard work pays off...

so the past week was a giant nightmare of work what w/my criminal midterm and first graded legal memo due. however, for the work wary, the small rewards are sometimes the best.
i took my midterm on thursday, 2 questions w/in an hour and 50 minutes, closed book. i breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and then went home to start my work for this week. what made it all worth it was my 4-month anniversary dinner w/Gohm at L'Impero, which, considerate bf he is, he picked b/c i always crave carb-y italian food. my night was already made when he greeted me by saying "you look nice". woo-hoo! that almost never happens. we headed towards the restaurant, which is hidden away on Tudor City Place, a suburb tucked away in midtown east. we did the prix-fixed menu, totally worth it for $64 (4 courses, choice of anything on the menu). best thing i got was the appetizer, fricaseed mushrooms w/creamy polenta. OMG, i would eat this everyday if i could. and this is where my night got better. i actually ordered the better app than Gohm, which also never happens. whenever we go places to eat, i am almost always secretly envying what he ordered b/c it tastes better than mine. shhh. interesting was also the vermont capretto i got as an entree. capretto is goat by the way, in case you didn't know (which we didn't). they braise it and it was so good, maybe a little salty but very tender. i got the rabbit ragu w/parpadelle (they make all their own pasta) but if given another chance, i would love to try their linguini w/pumpkin and oxtail. p.s., the setting at L'Impero is nice, very romantic but also a great place to have a fun and hearty dinner w/friends. only thing you might notice is that the crowd tends to middle-aged and above, so not very young and trendy. overall it was great dinner and a lovely date.

spent friday and saturday working on the legal memo but went out for Bubby's belated bday party at Naked Lunch on saturday night. Kiks tricked me into going (tho i would've gone anway) by telling me there was a cover only when i got off the subway. tricky tricky. don't think the place is really worth a $7 cover (no drink comps) but there was always a line and it was packed like sardines in there. got to meet Kiks' Maine squeeze (heehee play on words) but didn't get to meet Bubby's before i left. i guess i drank enough b/c the next morning i was told by Tina i reeked of alcohol. oops my bad.

my reward for working on my legal memo? i had a great sunDAY w/Gohm. we went to brunch w/Chow & Tina (amazing challah french toast, which yes, Gohm ordered, not me). poor Chow was salivating at the eggs benedict but was dissuaded from ordering it by Tina. turns out eggs benedict was listed Forbes' top 10 best worst foods for you. poor Chow just kept staring at the orders at other people's tables. after brunch Gohm and i went to get his glasses fixed (who knew indestructible glasses could break?) and then he accompanied me while i went cellphone shopping and then we popped into Barnes & Noble to buy some books after which we went home and took a nap. such a nice sunday.

my Guitar Hero

so i'm studying for my Criminal midterm (which is Thursday. nightmare) and take a break to watch Veronica Mars. and lo and behold, they make a reference to Guitar Hero, my new favorite PS2 video game.
this feels just like the time Sonders started using "ridonkulous" and we all picked it up only to have Seth from O.C. say it the next week. weird.

dry night at Camel

so for Gohm's real birthday we went to Camel in k-town (of course). 5 bottles flew pretty fast and i barely got a taste, but Gohm was pretty "happy" which is all that matters. have tons of pics but once again, no wire, so everyone has to wait.

Debs was there which was a good thing cause Gohm as host was nowhere to be found (there were door issues b/c the space was so small). this was prob one of the few asian events she'd gone to so she was hilarious (her eyes bugged out at the fruit plates they set out) and everyone kept reminding her of Dustin. at the end of the night everyone got ready to go to Gahmee Oak and everyone was standing outside, just in time to catch a fight (always w/o fail at a korean bar/club! love it...) and Debs' eyes got even wider. she, like me, just wanted to watch and find out what happened even tho it had nothing to do w/us. she was also pretty excited about getting food at k-town after drinking. it was a night of many firsts for her. so cute!

Gohm's friend Paul was visiting from Boston so we went out for lunner the next day at Wasabi Lobby (eh, ok japanese food. but i was on a feeding frenzy so i ate a lot last weekend). on sunday Chow, Tina, Gohm & i went to a concert at Roseland Ballroom. OMG, i haven't felt that old in a while.

the concert was for Hawthorne Heights (sort of headbang-y screamy music-not really my taste) although (and yes i'm such a teeny bopper) i liked Reliant K who played before them. i knew i was gonna feel old as soon as i walked in. there were lines of adults (moms & dads) waiting outside to take their kids home. i saw at least 2 underage girls overkilling on beer in plastic cups (i totally giggled when one of them was drunkenly dancing around w/her beer b/c i knew she was gonna fall and pour that beer all over herself. which she did). and tons of crowd surfing and condoms on the floor (there must've been some promoter giving them out cause they were all trojans).

after the concert we went back to Gohm's and celebrated w/cupcakes and candles from two little red hens (great bakery, little pricey): carrot cake (for the fobby asians), brooklyn blackout cake (Gohm claimed to be craving chocolate cupcakes), pumpkin for me and plain vanilla for Chow (if there'd been some korean type i would've gotten that for him instead).

A new port in Newport

Yea it's fall! right now it's getting to that time where it gets windy and chilly at night, but the daytime is still pretty pleasant, that perfect sunny day without being too hot/cold. just to show how commercial contemporary times have become, the biggest indication of fall for me has always been the appearance of the pumpkin spice latter at Starbucks. i always have to get one when i go in. i just noticed they now have a maple americano (hmm, intriguing).

i got a great look of fall when Gohm and i went to Newport, RI for his pre b-day weekend (i would upload pics but don't have the wires right now). Debs let me borrow her Prius which i love. that car rocks. we got to Newport and back and some small driving in between w/just 1 tank of gas. and the whole tank is something like 11 gallons! love it. and that's not even getting into the GPS system (which is a big lifesaver when you don't know the way).
i booked us a room in a beautiful bed & breakfast for the weekend. it was close to Thames Street (walkable distance) and included complimentary bottle of wine. i'm usually pretty scared about B&Bs b/c i get creeped out about staying in a room that looks like somebody's bedroom, but this place was nice.

On our 100 day anniversary we ate some great seafood at Scales & Shells. their menu seems to change daily so it's written on a giant chalkboard when you walk in, no set menu to give you when you sit. i found out that Gohm doesn't eat oysters (total shocker b/c he's a purveyor of fine foods) but i had plenty over the weekend. we ate so much food that night and then set out for gelato which was unfortunately closed. instead we got dessert at the Red Parrot (this monster sized sundae w/pistachio, chocolate and strawberry ice cream and sliced bananas, strawberry sauce and oreo cookie crumble).

we spent time walking around Thames street and the wharf, shopping (really, me shopping and Gohm disapproving of things i like). we got gelato at Cold Fusion Cafe (Gohm got this amazing pear gelato, it actually had the texture of pears!) and had amazing breakfast at Ocean Breeze Cafe. Gohm (the eggs benedict lover) got the special of eggs benedict w/corn beef hash and i got a portugese omelette which was good (but i now wish i'd gotten the pumpkin pancakes special. i mean when are you gonna get another chance to have pumpkin pancakes?). however, the most amazing thing about this place was they made their own bread for toast and these things were huge and fluffly. i was so impressed. and they had this amazing banana hazelnut coffee. yum yum.

we went to Greenvale Vineyard for a tasting and sat outside the vineyard enjoying the weather. it was so nice, and my first time at a vineyard. for our last night there we had dinner at the famous Black Pearl (2 bowls of their new england clam chowder. so good)

Newport is definitely for couples tho. i would never go there w/just friends. but i'd definitely recommend it for a weekend getaway.

Goblin Market

so around the middle of September i got an invite from my old boss to check out his new restaurant, Goblin Market. never been asked to a restaurant opening so of course i said yes and asked Gohm to be my date (who else would i ask?)

my old boss has impeccable taste in wine (refer to previous entry regarding Divine Bar if you doubt me) and they had a pretty well-stocked bar. the space is small but nice, particularly when the weather was so fall and lovely plus the location is pretty key smack dab in Soho. i pretty much drank the night away but the few pieces of food i did try were all good. i have to remember to head there and have a proper dinner.

as all you Smithies know, Goblin Market is a Christina Rossetti poem, which is a poet i actually liked studying back in the day. anyways, i had a great time at the opening and prob had one of my better dates w/Gohm.