Life and Times in SIU Law

I am in the law School and wishing that my break was longer. I really should get motivated but I would rather eat. I did go grocery shopping in my break and that was productive, plus I have gotten enough of my homework done that I will not have a late night tonight. I do need to do something with job search. I am going to make that my first goal of the weekend.

Birthday Wishes

Hello all, You have asked what I want for my Birthday. Here is an example of a desk that I want. I really like the style on the first one. Maybe you all can get together and get me this.

http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22Level=2-3pageid=1656

I am not saying that I necessary like this one in particular. I like the drawer and the style.

The Post Midterm Time

The time has come where the pressure of school is less than it normaly is. Mid-terms are done, I have nothing major due till finals. I have a good deal of ILS International Law Society work that needs to be done. What I should be doing, (1) applying for jobs, (2) cleaning my apartment, (3) Outlining, (4) finding about prerequsites for the legal clinic. I find that this is harder to acomplish because the goals are longer term. Well, that is my plan for now.

Professor Buys Blog

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/international_law/

Check out My International Law Professors Blog.

The long awaited update

It has been a long time since I have written on the blog so it is good to get back to letting you into my head. This set of classes is a lot more interesting than last year’s because I can take classes that I enjoy. I am unfortunately still stuck in Civil Procedure but I think there is a lot to be learned from that class. I am really enjoying seeing those that I missed over the summer. It is nice to spend some time with my classmates and catch up on life with them. There really is a big gap in what everyone did this summer. As you know I went to Ireland, but most of my classmates did a law clerkship this summer. I really think that they got a lot out of the experience. I hope that I can get a good legal clerkship this summer and obtain some practical experience.
Things at home seem to be going ok; I am just trying to get back into the swing of things. Between the cleaning and cooking, and handling the household chores, I don’t have a lot of extra time. In my personal life, I am experiencing a little bit of personal angst because one of my best friends is getting married next week. I am well aware that life comes to you at its own pace, so you have to keep driving down the road until you arrive at your destination. But, I wonder how far I will have to drive and if I have enough gas in the tank to get there. I know for sure that I refuse to pick up a random hitchhiker just to have some company in the car. I am growing to an age now where I don’t mind driving alone. There is so much to see outside that company isn’t needed yet. Plus I have the radio. But I wonder how long I will still be satisfied with an empty seat next to me. One thing that eases my drive is my stage in life.

More Ireland Posts

These include Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. Also included are pics from t

he bike trip. On top of the mountian that we hiked in Dingle. The River in Galway with the boat and a swan. I hope you are enjoying the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Ireland was a Blast

This trip was a blast. ThePictures from the previous post are from Conner Pass. These are from both the pass, harbor, and the Infamous Bike Trip.

Home at last

Well, I made it home from Europe. I am now working on my paper and everything is going ok. Life at home is never quiet. I have a boat load of people living here. I am hoping to write a little more when I get situated. Hopefully, I can get better and set up for the rest of the summer by the end of the week.

Hello From Spain

Hello Everyone,

I am writing for two reasons. First to tell you that I am here and everything is ok. Second, there is no visible effect from the strike. Si we are safe and having a good time. We are having a little bit of a hard time navagating the city because the streets are really narrow and dificult to know. Additionally, it is not a gridded city. Plus none of the streets are labeled, Sometimes there is a sign on a building but there names are so messed up it is difficult to find what you are looking for. We are having a good time here. I am pretty sick. I am congested and having a hard time shaking it. I went to the pharmacy and got some product by vics that you ingest. I have been taking it but it is about as helpful as a glass of water. The city is really nice but it is also really dirty. I miss you all a whole bunch and can't wait to get home ot see you. I will see you all next friday. I will NOT be writing again because we are paying 12 euro's a night for the internet and as a moral principal we will not do this again. We walked tonight to look for a McDonalds becasue they have free internet there. 1.5 hours later, no McDonalds. Plus we have seen pickpockets galore. In fact we helped identify one to the police who was trying to take the wallet out of a womans purse. So we don't plan on taking out laptops with in the day to send emails. Also, they are heavy to carry around and it is warm here. So please don't think I am trying to be rude but I am just being practical and a smart traveller. If there is a problem we will write again. Plus, an Internet cafe is perhaps far and wide between. We found one, but it looked pretty shady, there was 2 terminals, and each had an interesting man looking up stuff. So we have been avoiding those types of places. Well, I am gunna try to get some sleep as we have a bug day tommorow. Hope all is well, and Lorri, I got you email. I am glad to hear you are doing well and sorry about your window. Love you all. Hope you are as safe as I am.

Jonathan

The End is Near

Hello Family,
I am on the last day here in Ireland. I am a little sad that I have to leave. I have 3.5 hours of class today and then I have a test this late afternoon. I then have to pack because I have to be moved out by 10:00A.M. tommorow morning. My flight leaves at 6:00 tommorow night. So Naila and I plan to leave our luggage at reception and do a little shopping during the day. I am really looking forward to coming home and seeing you all. There is only 7 days left on my trip now. It seems as if the employees in the trucking industry in Spain are getting a good deal of hassle from the police but now there is another group. The taxi drivers. Apperhently, they aren't coming in to work today. Well, I can only imagine that this is gunna be a wild trip. I plan on having to walk a good deal for the Spanish part of the trip, my gym shoes have been giving me blisters though so I hope that they can get me through. I also am haveing some major weight issues. I have no Idea if I have lost weight or not. I think I am becomeing dehydrated and rehydrated. I think that is what I am actually lossing but it does seem as is my pants are fitting a little looser. Liquid is really expensive here so I find myself drinking less. So, that is my life here in Ireland. I haven't heard any updates on Linnea's trip lately, I hope she is enjoying Texas. I can only imagine that she is experiencing the same things that I did when I went on my first band trip. Hopefully she is letting her hair down and enjoying herself. I also know that my little man is enjoying his baseball summer. Especially since our cubbies are doing so well. I am sure that he has done a little cheering for the cubs for me since I am not there to see the games. Logan, I will be checking to make sure you are. Grandma will tell me. Mom, hopefully work gets a little more like back to normal. Wendy and Steve, any updates on the house? I have heard that there are some big flooding problems in the Midwest, hopefully that isn't hindering the progress. I still haven't heard much from Lorri, are there any updates about her? Well, I guess I should pay attention in class. The problem is that what we are tested on we don't have to use on the test. Our test is 2 hours and we must write on two major articles of the EU. I have my two articles well planned out. I am going to write on Internal Taxation and Customs Duties. Hopefully I do well. The test yesterday was brutal. But I am sure that I did well enough. I will perhaps not talk to you all till I get home becasue I don't know the state of the Internet in Spain and the hotel. SO if I can't talk to you, know I love you and miss you all. Can't wait to see you when I get home. Love, Jonathan

Spain Update

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7NcbRiXnL74sd6BGfxBXB5HdLgA

We are thinking about changing the plans, there are now injuries in Spain.. I don't think it is as big of a deal as it is being made out but who knows. Naila is kind of freaked but I think it will be OK. SHe wants to cancel. I think I am going to try to do it. I will check the news reports tommorow and see where we are at. I love you lots and will try to keep you updated. Now it seems as if the Police are stepping in.
Jonathan

Big Test Today

I am in class and Have a Big Test in 4 hours. You will be just waking up when I am taking it. Last night we went to the courts here in Dublin and then a Dinner at the Dublin Law Societ. I can't talk no but want you to know I am ok. I love you lots. I have another test tommorow so I proably wont write much till I get home. Love Ya.

Trouble in Barca City

I don't know if you have heard the news, but Spain is in the Middle of a Major Strike. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7444121.stm There could be no gas by the end of the week and some people are worried about the stores running out of food. So I am a little cocerned about going on that leg of the trip. Apperiantly, the striking truckdrivers are circling up around the major cities to ensure that non-striking drivers can't get through either. They even are confiscating goods in cars if they are loaded up. So that is the world news from here. Last night I went on a literary pub crawl. It was quite an adventure. I enjoyed it a lot and had a great oppertunity to talk to some people. So I am really glad I went. Tommorow I am going to the courts and then to a dinner at the law society. I am looking forward to it but I will need to be in a suit all day and downtown. SO hopefully it is a little cooler day than today. It is weird that it is warmer here than in Barca. Well, I need to study becasue I have a test on Thurs, and a Test on Fri. SO I plan on studying all evening. I bought a sweatshirt and a Tie from the collage bookstore. 74.00 Euros. WHich is like 110.00 dollars. So i am feeling a little taken advantage of but I will only study here once. So i better do it now.Well, that is all the major news from here. Hopefully, I can spend more time talking to you all later. Love, Jonathan

Class In Dublin

SO the classroom facilities are the best here in Dublin. That is no suprise though. The class room isn't too warm and there is an outlet at every spot. So I am pleased with the way that things are set up. Additionally, the class doesn't seem to be that bad but the reading for today was atrocious. 70 pages. I really can't retain all of the material so hopefully I don't get called on too much. Tonight, there are a few of us going on a literary pub crawl. This should be fun but it will leave absolutly no time for reading. I am a little concerned with class tommorow. But thats life. Tommorow night and afternoon I plan on going to the collage bookstore and buying myself a few items with the schools name on it. I think that would be fun. Then later I might do some laundry to last me through the end of Spain? At least that is the hope. Then the next night we have the courts and the dinner and then Thursday I need to study for my last final and pack up a little. I leave out of Dublin on Sat. So Fri, a good deal of people are planning to go out. I hope to have everything done to join them. Well, that is the scoop from here. I miss you all very much. The time in Ireland is really winding down. Hopefully, I can enjoy whats left of it. Love, Jonathan

Well, The Inner Thoughts of Jon?

I have two things to say tonight before I go to bed. It is not almost 11:30 here. I have been reading like a mad man and thought I would share with you my feelings. First, I have to say that a little part of me is home sick and I feel really fortunate to know that I have people at home who have me in there thoughts. That sure makes living on the other side of the planet much easier. Second, I now know that I could do this professionally. I know that I don't ever want to live abroad but I could go abroad for a month and set up a company or litigate a problem without any feelings of mortification. I think that I am not so much of a free sprit but I am certianly not afraid of leaving my comfort zone. I know now that I am a different person than who I was as a child. One who was timid, and quiet. I have been awarder the Best Leader by the Director of the Trip and I know that I have the highest esteem of my collegues. This is a satisfying feeling. SOmetomes when you are the farthest from youself you can see yourself the best. I like what I see. Well, before my ego takes over the rest of the page I should share the day with you. Today I went and say the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Very Neat. I was impresssed with the craftsmenship and "Penmanship" of those monks. I certianly could not handle that position. I can barely read my own writing. Next we went to the Jameson Factory and got a tour. How awesome. This tour was excellent. Plus, I got selected as one of the 6 testers and got to try 6 whiskeys and compare and learn about the taste of them. Naila and Sarah took pictures that they said they will send me. This was a real treat to be selected for this part. Plus we all got a free shot of Jameson. So needless to say the tour was absoutly fantastic. There really is a big difference between whiskeys. I even have a certificate to prove that I was taught the differences. We then went to the Guiness factory and learned how guiness was made. At the end of the tour we had the oppertunity to either drink lots of Guiness or take a seminar on how to properly pour a Guiness. We chose the seminar and so I am not certified to pour Guiness as well. Not quite as cool but I am glad we did this tour. I think some of the lack luster was spoiled for Guiness becasue I did my MBA at Spaten Brau. The german brewery. We then caught a cab to a Bank...yes Bank which was converted to a restraunt. Man was dinner good. I had a Breakfast for dinner. They basically brought me a mountian of meats. Evey type of sausage, and bacon you can imagine. Then I finished all of that and still found a little room for some cheesecake to slide in the cracks. Great Grandma was right. Always room. Well My roomates are ling asleep and I probably should finish the reading and go to bed as well. I guess they are planning not to read. I am just too afraid to do that. So I love you all, btw these room mates are much better. We have two who are not so great but they are just annoying, not partiers or dirty. There are six of us here in a sweet. Thanks for all of your writing and everything. It is a nice comfort to hear what is going on at home. I am sure Linnea will have a great time, Logan will fire that ball to the catcher, Mom's work will get better, Wendy and Steve's lives will get a routine and the permit passed, and Lorri will be having fun now that school is over. I am really looking forward to the days ahead. I just hope I can keep my head of Steam for a little while longer. We have a Court here in Doublin to go to and a dinner at the Dublin Law Society. Plus I want to go to the ift shop and buy a shirt that says UCD. The students here don't wear there school shirts much though. Hopefully there are some to buy.
I miss you all and can't wait to fill you in on a month of activities. For you all, I am usually away, for me this was an Adventure. One which has some crazy stories that need telling. Can't wait to share. Love, Jonathan

Live From Dublin

It is past midnight and I am safe in Dublin. Grandma, I am still waiting for that address if you can get it to me. I am again tired and I haven't gone out that late recently. I think the trip is just catching up with me. I am going to bed and will fill you all in later. I love you much. Cant wait to be back in the land of family and White Castle.

Moving On

Wendy and Coutures, sorry to hear about the setback with the house. Everyone else, I am assuming you are all doing fine. Grandma, if you can't seem to work the comments, you can always email me at soloman17@yahoo.com I am off to Dublin after class today. It will be a long ride. I have 10 min. to pack when we get back but luckly I have most packing done. I just have to put my toilitries in my backpack. I had a full 6 hours of sleep last night so I feel a little recharged. The professors are piling on the work load again. SO I read until midnight and called it quits. Nothing else here is new. I saw the Cliffs yesterday and it was nice to see. Unfortunatly, they wouldn't let you go too far becasue so many people have fallen off. I don't have much to add for today but have you all in my thoughts. I guess I will be in Dublin around 6 tonight, so hopefully, I will be able to have some dinner tonight.

The Big Dance and Music

Good Morning family and other readers. I am so Dissapointed in the Cubs. You have let me down. No 10 game streak. Well, we are still in first. On to yesterday. We had class and then came home for some homework. I ate dinner at home yesterday and had soup and a sandwich. It wasn't the worst dinner ever. Then we went to a pub that plays local music. That was a blast. We listened to music till 12 and went on to a club. Supposedly, it was gunna be an 80's music place but Justin Timberlake was played. I think he was 8 in the end of the 80's. We had a good time anyway. It was really neat becasue there was like 20 of us who went including 4 professors. It is nice to see their awkward dancing both at the pub and the 80's club. It was like watching them shadowbox. So now we are in class and the class is DBI doing business in Ireland. The professor is attempting to teach a combination of Law and Business and is being a jack of all trades and a master of none to put it nicely. He has said so many wrong business terms and concepts it is disgusting. I am so glad I have my International MBA becasue I would look like a fool if I listened to him. Well, I am getting a kick out of the class. He really should stick to the reading material. The professor yesterday was saying incorrect things as well. So I know I am really learning the material. I don't think I am getitng a big head but I feel like I know more about this field than they do. They really should have brough along a business professor for the business secions and they could have taught the law sections. In any case, I am feeling pretty good for getting in at 3 in the morning.
2 Days ago I bought a small Picture from a local Photographer of the cliffs of Moher. I am Thinking I will get it framed and put it im my bathroom down at school It was a little expensive (10 euro) for a picture but I really liked it. I am really excited about moving on to Dublin. Unfortunatlly I have forgotten to buy Pins here for Ireland so I will have to buy pins in Dublin. Don't want to leave my hat out. When I get home you will have to ask me about the Irish Guy in my class. He is a real trip. Today we are going to the cliffs after class. Then we leave tommorow after class. Well that is all from here for today. I don't know what my situation will be in Dublin so we will have to see. Talk to you tommorow.
P.S. I might be able to SKYPE tonight, or this afternoon for you. 2-3 your time. Love ya.

Almost done with Galway

So here I am in class. DBI and my eyes are almost closed. We went to the court here this morning and heard some evdienciary hearing. The case was about an employee who stole about 2,000 gallons of Gas from his company and was being prosecuted for theft. It was interesting but similar to court in the US. Tonight I have no idea what I am doing, but tommorow we are going to the cliffs of moore. I think it should be a fun time. Nice to look at cliffs in a different region. I have to do Laundry tonight so who knows what else I will be able to get in. I am looking forward to the end of the program and getting off to Spain. I can't wait to get on our own and finally not rely on the disorganized group. I have to go becasue I am in class. Love you all and tlak to you tommorow.

The next location

These classroom facilities are great, Unfortunatly, the room is 100 degrees. All of the laptops are like a sauna. Yesterday I got to Skype with some of you, hopefully that trend can continue. I am sorry to hear about logans team. Proud of both of the kids grades and looking forward to the driving experience. I am happy to see that the big league cubs are doing so well. Maybe I need to stay in europe. Professor Buys is finally here. I am so Glad to see her. I am between classes here so I can't write much more but it was nice to finally talk to you. I miss you all much and hope you guys are all still doing well. I am strangly looking forward to the end of the trip becasue the workload is way...way more than normal law school and I never read what is assigned. There just is not enough hours. Well, Prof Buys said I should spend more time partying, I am too serious. So that is what I am doing this afternoon. I hear this is a neat place that is 800 years old that I am going to. I also want to get a little shopping done. Love you all

Update

Becasue the school is so poorly run, the court system has booted out date and rescheduled. What a fiasco. We might miss visiting the court

Class in Galway

I am so tired, I hope to be on skype tonight around 9-11. I am making no promises but my goal is to try. It is six hours later here. So that would be 3-5 in the afternoon by you. If you happen to be on, maybe I will see you. I miss you all very much and am becoming frustrated now that I am back with the program. I am shocked that these people can dress themselves. They don't even know who is on the trip. I have never seen a more disorganized group. BTW, they still haven't managed the payments for everyone yet. They don't know where some of the money went. It is a large fiasco. Now they are having money issues. I think monkeys took over the program and have spent the money on Bananas. Love you all a lot

Home again in Ireland

Well I missed writing to all of you lately. I miss hearing from you all as well. Thanks for the comments lately, they were a nice thing to come back to. So I have a good deal to tell you. First of all London was nice and very expensive. Especially for Naila. We were well aware of the crime problem here but for her it hit home. She was pickpocketed. They didn't get a lot of money but they took all of her ID's except for her passport. So what about the break. It was a really fun time. The first night we got to London, we went to a dinner at a Lebonese restraunt which was excellent. The food was really good and the atmosphere was definatly different. I was glad we got to eat there. Becasue we got in so late that was all we really had time to do. So we went to bed and planned for an early start the next day. The next day we took the subway over to Buckingham palace and was really early. The changing of the Guard didn't start untill 11:30. So we walked the queens park and enjoyed what the area has to offer. We ended up getting back to the pallace at 9:45 and were glad we did. So we had a great spot for the changing and could really see everything. There is 2 sets of girls from SIU that went to London too and one set couldn't see becasue they didn't get there early enough and the other never got to see it. So I feeel luck to have had the oppertunity. I thought it was really cool. I slipped my camera into movie mode and got a LOT of great footage. Unfortunatlly, my camera can only record for 30 seconds at a time and becasue I was so wrapped up in the show I might have missed some of the show on the camera. But I think I did get a lot of good footage. Also, I must be taking pictures like a bandit. I went through a whole memory card and 3/4th of another one. I only have one card left with me so I will have to see how many more pictures I take. I might need to get another card. SO....after that, well really during the show, we spoke to a LOT of Americans and they had a lot of advice on what we should do. It was cool because they were all blue hairs and Naila and I were some of the only ons watching the changing of the Guard. Well, we knew we wanted to take a tour bus but there are a number of different cocmpanies and we didn't know which was the best. But we could count on our new friends to tell us and were lucky for the advice. We ended up with the company with the most busses and so we never had to spend any time waiting for a bus and there were a lot of employees from Canada working for the line. This was really good becasue they went out of there way to help us find what we were looking for and were especially nice to us. So we did all of the big tourist sites going from place to place in the bus. This was a really good way to go. I feel like the city is not as big as it is becasue we got our bearings really quick. All of the bus companies shut down at 6:00 and when we first got here we got an Oyster card. This is the locals card for the subway and all city public transportation. We were in and out like nobodies business. In fact we seemed so confident we had people asking us for directions. So that night we went to a really great local Italian place for dinner and it was good as well. Then we got a dessert that was like a cheesecake, apple, carmel, yumminess, thingy that was really good. It was this day that she got pickpocketed, we got a free"yeah right" ferry tour down the river and when we got off there was a really cute "tourist" shop that had trademark London stuff. As we went in three big guys knocked into her and then dissaperred, next thing she did was check her purse and her wallet was gone. When we spoke to the police, I guess this is a cronic london problem and unfortunatly she was the one they chose to hit. Lucky for her there were no physical injuies becasue London has been having a really bad stabbing problem as well. So we feel like if this is the worst that has happened we could have been a lot worse.
Well, enough of the depressing stuff. We were told by our blue hair friends not to skip on the Tower so we wanted to designate it to the next day. Which is exactly what we did. Yet another smart decision. I feel like London pro's becasue everything we did was just a smart decision. So, the way the bus passes worked we could use them untill noon the next day, so we walked through the righ neighborhoods to get to where the bus could pick us up and caught the bus to the tower. Here we met a really cool guy. He was probably from Germany or Switzerland, and he was a retering International Corporate Lawyer. We met him by asking him to take our picture on the bus and we then got to alking with him. He had his family with him but he was doing baiscially what I hope to be doing. So i felt really good knowing that people are doing really well in that feild here. He looked like he was only in his early 40's but he was 58. He woke up early before his family and went to a 15 mile run through London to keep in shape. Well, in any case, I am sure now that I can do it becasue he said that as long as your open and willing to work hard, you can make it here. I also am learing a lot about Internatinal Law from the classes and am begining to fell really prepared to practice over here. Well, enough about him, on to the tower. We got there and had a Really Good tour guide. He really made the experience. the tower was neat to see and the history was fun to hear about. What about the Jewels, yes they are huge and rediculous. She really needs to tone it down becasue she is blinging more than a rapper. The part of the Tower that I really appreciated was not the jewels though. I liked the armenant. Which I must say costed one pound extra, always trying for an extra 2 bucks. Well, I will say it was worth it, they has some neat WWI and WWII artifacts and an Unusal spin on the revolutionary war. Let's just say that they don't feel like they lost, just wanted us to have our freedom. What wonderful liberators. There biggest complaint is us recieving help from the French. In fact... are there any French reading this, yes, raise your hands....yes both of them so we can identify you. Hopefully you got the joke.
Enough of the tower. There are 2 things I really wanted to see, but we had to make a choice. Really push on and see them or take it easy and enjoy the city. We chose to take it easy. We are so tired at this point. The two places we still wanted to see was the british museum and the Wax museum. But I have the biggest blisters on my feet and need to get some new shoes. I have walked and walked and walked. So I am ready to not have my feet hurt anymore. My pinky toes are swollen to double their normal size from the big blisters on them. I have another pair of shoes in my Galway bag but of course, I won't have access to them till tommorow. I almost bought a pair of shoes, but the place where I like the shoes was closed. So in any case, we then went to a pub for lunch and had some decent food. Then it was time to head back to the hotel and freshen up. We got back and only had an hour before we had to be back downtown to the theatre district. Yes, the theater in London. So you ask, what did we see, the Lion King. Yep, this Guy saw the Lion King. Stephenie met us up there and we all 3 saw it together. It was awesome and the stage was amazing. It was an incredible ending to the time in London. Man this was the best theater I have ever seen. I can't say enough. The production was awesome, the venue was awesome, and the company was awesome. It was a great night. It also was an unusual night. This is the last night that Alcohol can be brough on the Subway trains forever, so every 10-30 year old was drinking on the trains. It was crazy, like the worlds biggest party. It made the news all over Europe and I was on the train at that time. The police were closing down stations and coming through drunk rioters and it was an amazing scene. Luckly we have gotton the jiist of the system down and snuck in as the last group alloed to leave the station by our hotel. Lines were closed down and what not, we had to hop on 3 different lines, really quick to get to the staion before the police could close it. It was really fun to do. Anyway, I feel like I was here for a little history. Nothing monumental, but it was an experience no one will ever have the oppertuniy to say again. So I feel lucky again. I am really pleased with this trip. The only thing that could have make the UK better is if everything didn't cost 2:1 becasue of the poor exchange of the Dollar. Well what can you do. I am now in Galway at the Best Western Flannery's. I will be staying here tonight and we start class at 10:00 tommorow. So I know it seems like it is still early here, but I have reading to do and need to get some sleep so I have any energy for tommorow. I am making the most of the time here though, not a min. wasted. I love you all and am so happy when you write to catch me up with the news from home. Talk to you later. Enjoy your Sunday.

The last day in DIngle

I haven't heard from you all in a while so hopefully you all are doing well. I have still to find anything good in dingle to buy. We have a party tonight at our Irish hosts pub. Then it is off to bed becasue it is a 7:30 bus ride to the airport. Off to London. This trip is like a whirlwind of stuff. I am hoping that things are quiet in London, but they probably won't since I only have a short time there. I won't be writing until Classes again so don't worry about me. I will talk to you all again in Galway.

Small Sample of Class Notes

Here is a sampling of 30 min. of class notes.

Customs Duties
· Arts 23-25 (formerly 9-17)
· EEC prohibited customs duties (CDs) or charges of equivalent effect (CEEs)
· Major limitation of national sovereignty
o Internal Taxation is presumed Legal
§ Unless they overstep their bounds
Know the difference between a customs duty and internal taxation?
· Free Trade Area
o Like NAFTA
· Customs Union
o The EU
§ Member states cannot make tariffs on good that come from non member states

· Common Market
o = Customs Union + the 4 Freedoms
· Internal Market
o Common Market changed its name to the internal market
§ I.e. Same set of forms used for each counrty
· Economic and Monetary Union
o Euro

Van Gend en Loos
· Art 23 (12) prohibited imposition of customs duties on imports
· Art 23 “directly effective”
· EEC is a new order in international law
o States limit their sovereign rights in certain fields upon joining EEC
o Community Law imposes rights and obligations on Citizens and M/Ss
o National courts therefore obliged to ensure Art 23(12) is respected
o New in that EU can strike down domestic law

Commission V. Italy (Art Treasures)
· levy on art exports
o Wants to inhibit Italian Artifacts from leaving the country
· “goods” defined (widely)
· CDs / CEEs objectionable because they hinder trade (benign purpose irrelevant)
o The purpose that Italy is tariff the art leaving the country is benign doesn’t matter

S.F.D.B. v SA Ch. Brachfeld (Diamondworkers)
· Levy on diamond imports into Belgium not protectionist or discriminatory
· CDs/CEEs are prohibited independently of purpose…any pecuniary charge (however small) imposed on goods by virtue of crossing border is prohibited
o It doesn’t matter what the charge is called, if it is a charge it is not applicable only to external countries
o Purpose doesn’t matter
§ Customs duties are always Banned

Commission v. Italy (Statistical Levy)
· Levy imposed by Italy in order to collect statistics on flows of imports/exports
· levy is a CEE because goods cross border
· irrelevant that it is not for benefit of the State, not discriminatory, not protective
o Even though you are not being discriminatory, makes no difference
o If a levy is created by goods crossing the border, it is illegal

Exceptions
· Exception 1 - CEEs necessitated by mandatory EC requirements
o “Live cattle imports” (Commission v Germany)
o inspection charges did not violate Treaty prohibition provided several criteria are satisfied………
§ (a) fee does not exceed actual cost of inspection
§ (b) inspection is obligatory in EC area
§ (c)inspection is prescribed by EC legislation
§ (d) inspection promotes Free Movement of Goods

· Exception 2 - fees for service which confers specific benefit on importer “Statistical Levy”
1. M/S would have to demonstrate that a specific benefit was conferred on individual importer rather than on general body of importers, and
2. the fee must not exceed actual cost of inspection
§ Bresciani v Italy
· The carrying out of public health inspections are not a specific benefit to the importer, but to the general public…hence any fee imposed for such inspections constitute a CEE

· Exception 3 - fees imposed in furtherance of International Conventions
o Clash between EC & International law?
o Netherlands v Bakker Hillegom
§ fees will be CEEs if they are not related to actual costs of inspection
§ EU law is superior to International Law, but...
· It the Intl Convention allows the member states to charge a customs duty is allowed as long as the fee does not exceed the cost of inspection

· Exception 4 - where fee is really an Art 90(95) measure (Internal Taxation)
o Where a charge or fee is imposed as part of a “general system of internal dues”, i.e.,
§ applied systematically, in accordance with the same criteria, to domestic and imported products alike, at the same stage of marketing or production
§ then it falls outside CDs / CEEs regime

The Break

There is a short break between classes today so I am writing twice. Everything is begining to wind down here. There is the Comparative Health Law final tommorow. This final shoud be an hour and fifteen minutes. Our cottages washing machine is broken so I carried my laundy up to Naila's cottage and did some laundy today. There is still more to do but it is a good start. The cottage is still a mess so if I get some time tonight I plan on doing a little cleaning. I am begining to look forward to London. I don't know how much time we will be spending with the others from SIU but hopefully we will see them there. I still would like to get something from Dingle but I haven't found anything that tickles my fancy. Life is ok here. Time is just flying by. Between studying and adjusting to life in Europe there is not much time to catch yourself. I feel like life is a constant sprint. There is no down time. I am constantly walking up and down hills so I am tired from that. But I think I am just begining to grow accustomed to them. I miss the food at home. I am very tired of eating Ramen Noodles and Eggs. That is a staple diet of Law Students abroad. I am begining to wonder how much of the things we do the best option. I feel like we never have a chance to be normal. Plus a month long trip is too long to be always on the go. We need some down time. This is not like a normal trip. So hopefully that time comes soon. But I doubt it. We have 3 days left here, then 3 days in London, Then 5 or so days in Galway, Then 5 or so Days in Dublin, Then 6 Days in Barcelona. The time never is found to relax. I don't have much more to say about today. Hopefully tommorow will be less eventful.

Hello

I had a final today, another tommorow. All is well but exhausting. Will talk to you later

Monday

School is back in Session, The weekend was great and things are back to their unorginized self. There is a final tommorow and the next day. For most of the rest of the week we have class all day. So there is no chance that I will get anything other than the domestic stuff done. The cottage is a mess, like always and it needs to be cleaned before we leave. Therefore, I will either be studying or cleaning until I go to london. The internet here is getting really sketchy so I don't know when I will be able to write again. I love you all, and can't wait to see you.

The Weekend

Hello,
I know I haven’t written in a while but the only internet is in the classroom. Since our classroom here in Dingle is in the main church, I haven’t been there this weekend. I am doing well tonight. It is Saturday and I went to Conner’s Pass today. The view was absolutely beautiful. This is how it worked. Nicole, Naila, Carrie, and I got a cab ride 2-3 miles out of town up this mountain. Then he dropped us off in the middle of the road and we took pictures and he went on his way. So Conner’s pass is an old pass that Irishman used to take and we were fortunate to have the same opportunity. I have now found out that there were a number of groups from the different schools who attempted it but only a very few made it through. The reason for this is that there is no trail. You must blaze your own way through the mountain and through the sheep fields. Basically, trespassing through farmers lands. We were fortunate to know our way. Not only that but we decided to take an excursion around the mountain because we still had some extra energy. Up till now this is the best day that I have had. I am now learning that SIU is a far superior school to other schools that are on this trip and know for sure that I have made the right choice. Then when we got back we went for dinner and it was excellent as well.

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Today was the day. Wow ...wow. I have never or rarely been so proud of myself. I have done something no one, my trip mate, the bike shop rental guy. Or the locals or the tourists said I could do. I have successfully biked around the dingle peninsula. You might say, big deal ...right. This is a very difficult bike for even experienced riders and I haven’t been on a bike for 9 years. Naila and I said that we would go for a bike ride today around town because we have done everything else we the town has to offer. Instead, we later decided to do the bike tour. Never imagining that we would get anywhere near doing it. I am really sore and am in immense pain but I really feel like I have accomplished something. When we brought the bikes back to the rental place the guy couldn’t believe us. This is a 30 mile bike ride through the mountains, 50 kilometers. It took us from 9:00 in the morning until 6:30 this evening. In some sense I could feel Grandpa pushing me on. Saying you can do it. At one point we almost stopped and called for a cab, but the lady was VERY rude and wouldn’t let us use her phone. I think it was fate. So we continued on. My chain even broke loose from the gears and I managed to get it back on with only my hands and carried on full of grease.
There is a store that has been converted into a compilation of newspaper clippings where tourists have been stranded, fallen from cliffs, gotten lost for over one day, and a few have even died. I am so proud of myself I can’t begin to describe it to you. I am so sore, I am sun burned, I am wind burned. This is one of the windiest days of the season so far. The bike man said that he was sure that we would return the bike within the half an hour and couldn’t believe we did it. He said there is no way an American could do it. Much less a fat American like me. I also have to give Naila credit, she was great moral support. She kept pushing me on. Wow...Wow. Some things in life make you realize just what you can do. As you can imagine, I have lost a great deal of weight so far. I walk at least 7-8 miles a day up and down hills. I am tired, but I am feeling so proud of myself. I know I am only 25 but I never believed I could do what it is I am doing. I feel like I am doing really well in class. I have gotten my grades back in some classes from SIU and I have done even better this semester. Law school is teaching me to push myself to the limit and I am meeting the challenge head on. I sometimes like to compare myself to Grandpa and know that I haven’t even begin to accomplish what he has but I know that if he could see me know he would be really proud of me. I feel like his spirit is alive in me. I am really proud to come from his line. Today I have pushed my body in a way I can barely remember and the self gratification and scenery has rewarded me well.
On a personal note. My rooming situation is getting frustrating because my roommates are kind of slobs and there is stuff everywhere. One smokes and both chew tobacco. There is spit everywhere. There is dirty dishes and food laying out and I am tired of cleaning. I hopefully will have a new rooming situation when I move to the next town. I am too tired to give you the London stuff today but I have tickets there and back and a hotel for one night in Galway as we don’t get our cottages until after class. The hotel is the Best Western Flannery’s and we are taking “Aer Lingus” To England, and “Aer Aern” back here to Ireland, right into Galway. It is 10:00 now and I need some sleep. I look forward to seeing all of you soon. Also, because of the Euro, buying gifts will be very hard as even a home cooked meal costs 10- 12 Euros per person. 16-23 Dollars per person. SO because of that I need to be careful what I spend money on. I have thought about what I want to bring home to each of you and have been on the lookout. I still am having trouble wrapping my head around the expense of living here. I have grown to hate the dollar.

I don’t want to leave you with the person note so I will leave you with this. Ireland is a country of great history where nothing is ever finished. The homes, the construction, the roads, or the service. It is a land of quitters. But in this land of quitters, where nobody though Naila and I could do the trip, we fought back. I feel like I have conquered the mountain.

The Dingle Saga Continues

Well, last night I got an amazing 6 hours of sleep. Now I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is the most I got so far. We only have class until 1:00 today so my plan is to do a little shopping and a load of laundry. The machine is both a washer and dryer. Therefore you can't do much at a time. Additionally, it seems like it only holds 4 articles of clothing at a time. Yesterday, I walked deep into the mountians. I meen deep. No path, no trail, just me and the sheep. I have some great pictures that I can't wait to share. I really hope that they came out. Also, I am still frustrated with my roomate situation. I think something new is growing on the bathroom. Yuck. The cottages are nice, but the roomates are really dirty. I have class starting now. Love you all and am looking forward to your comments.

Dingle

Still tired. I only got four hours of sleep last night. It seems to rain here all the time and it is very cold. Unfortunatly, I haven't seen Dingle hardly at all. The high point of yesterday was eating pan fried sole. I can't wait for the weekend, hopefully I will be able to catch up on my sleep and see a little of the town. I finally booked the trip to London. I don't have time to send you the information but when I hhave the chance I will let you know the details. Hopefully these professors get tired of assigning so much work. We could really use the break.

Angry in DIngle

Hello all,
Life in Dingle is really rough. So far the program has been very disorganized and poorly run. No one knows when classes are or what the schedule is. Someone walks into the room and says that there is an event tonight. There is huge favoritism toward the home university students. Additionally, I have been up till 3 A.M. reading all the nights so far. Of course Basanta is teaching very well. But he have an Irish professor who is a complete shmuck. I know this trip should be fun too, but so far all I have had time for is class, eating, and homework. I am so tired. And Crabby. I only get 3 hours of sleep a night at maximum. Also it is constantly raining. Hopefully my next message will be more up beat.

Life in DIngle

Hello,

I am soooooo tired. I haven't had any chance to see Dingle becasue there is soo much class and sooooo much homework. Last night I ate with Nicole becasue her mom cooked. Money is so bad over here. It is almost 5 dollars for a glass of OJ. Nicole's husband bought a round of Pints for the 6 of us. It ended up being 50 dollars for him. Life is so expensive. I also have no idea what time I am in. Ireland is like Alaska in that it is light untill 11:00 at night. So that is all from here. I am having a good time, but I really need to get some sleep. I know if I don't I am gunna get sick. Hopefully there isn't too much homework tonight. Love you all, Jonathan.

I've Made It

Hello All,

I am here in DIngle and sitting before my first class, I don't havve much time to write but wanted to let you know I am doing well. The cottages we are staying in are wonderful and spacious. I am with one SIU guy and another from University of Miami. He was a Monmouth College Grad. That is kind of cool. DIngle is beautiful and hopefully I will have a chance to explore tonight. Love you all.

Jonathan

Trip Information

UMKC Police – 001 (816)235-1515
· Call for After Hours emergencies

FOR all calls use the (011) Prefix

May 18-28
Dingle Harbour Cottages
353 12 018440

June 2-6
Corrib Village
National University of Ireland, Galway
353 91 750394

June 6-14
UCD Village
University College Dublin
353 1 269 7111

US Embassy
353 1 668 8777

(For emergency use only)
Dermot Cahill
353 86 818 5654

(Potential Hotel in London)
Hotel London Heathrow
Millennium/Copthorne Hotels
44-020-7937-7211
(If we switch, we will probably move to the Kensington)

Hotel in Barcelona
Silken St. Gervasi Hotel

Coming Home
Friday June 20th.
Aer Lingus Flt: 563
11:10 A.M. – 12:50 P.M. Barcelona to Dublin

Aer Lingus Flt: 125
2:30-4:40 P.M. Dublin to O’Hare

Travel Agent
Janet Donahue
618-549-737

Crunch Time

It is finals crunch time and what did I do today. Went to a study group for the class, went to lunch, outlined, fell asleep with the lap top on my chest, woke up and resumed studying. The rest of the evening will be studying and a group sesison tonight if everything goes as planned. If there is any hope for me I need to find a way to make it past this Thursday evening. It feels like the body doesn't want to keep up with the books. Perhaps that is the lesson I need to learn, you can never outpace a book, just hope to enjoy the run. If everything goes well, in one week I will 1/3 done. But this week I suspect will go very slow, and very fast.

Finals Crunch

I really should be studying for finals at this moment but I am stricken to write. I don't have much to say but this, free time is a luxery that I can't afford but cant afford not to spend. Hopefully that makes sense to some of you because I want to make sure I am not living in an alternate reality.

How do you know?

Life is a giant mystery where you just don't know? How do you ever know what someone else is thinking? How do you know what you should do in any given circumstance. How do you know anything? Well, the simple answer for a number of problems is simply look it up. For whatever reason though this isn't as easy as it seems. For instance, how long can you use a word, without ever really truly knowing it's meaning before you get called out and have to look it up. You may well have thought the word meant one thing, but it could mean something completely different. Don't be a chump, look it up. On the other hand, there are a lot of circumstances in life when the solution is not a simple as looking the answer up. For instance, how do you know how someone feels about you? Is it through the words they express, the actions they take, or some other way. A persons feelings are so complex and ever changing there may be no way to ever know what they feel. I know that when I came home now for break. There was an overwhelming feeling of joy that I have finally arrived after all of this time. Before I left for home, I was getting calls and having plans made in anticipation of my arrival. These actions clearly express how those around me feel for me. The express conditional statements and actions leave no room for ambiguity. But what about those who don't give express signals. How do we know what the people who give implied signals really mean. This implied signal is both frustrating and confusing. The weekend visit may mean that you are enjoyable company or it may mean your company is something that makes the other person tick. I only get to see my friend when I am in town, I only call when a visit is looming, and our friendship is on a convenience basis. But this doesn't express how I feel. When I see friends from home, I am truly happy to see them and need to be better at expressing my content expressly. I am coming to a point in my life when, (good or bad), I really don't have space in my life for the implied emotions. I really think it is just better to know and define the terms of a relationship with another than grope around in the dark being too afraid to jump in. When you get into a pool, you can either be the one slipping their big toe into the water or the one jumping into the pool. If you only have a toe in the water, you only get a little wet but never really swim. If you just jump, you can either really enjoy the pool or you will know the water isn't right. Life is too short for dipping toes.

Wow what a week!

Holy Cow, I have been through an entirely to stressful week. I have thought that I would be kicked out of law school and at the same time thought that by some miracle, I might just be getting it. It is crazy what kind of roller coaster life takes you on. The emotion of a person can go from high to low almost immediately and change back just as fast. On the bright side I have found a good stress reliever. Dinner with friends is some cool water on a blistering sunburn. It just feels so good. I can't believe that the semester is already half over but I am looking forward to finishing off the first year of law school and saying that I did it. Strange how we are always told to hide our pride but in this case, you may call me boastful. I came into the school thinking that there was no way that I could ever compete with law students and now I know that I am capable of competing with anyone. Please don't misconstrue this shameless bragging with the naivety to believe that I somehow think I am as smart as a good deal of my peers. I do know though, everyone has their strengths and mine is preservation and ingenuity. I don't know how I get things done but when the chips are down, I am learning that I can count on myself. Sorry to get off topic here but I am really excited about the start of the Cubs Season. We only have 29 days to go until opening day and I think this year is going to be a blast. We look like we might have some real offensive threats and the pitching could not turn out to be as horrible as in years past. I just hope that a little bit of speed develops and we can have a true running team. How funny is it that a grown man, one who reads legal mumbo jumbo for fun can find such pleasure in a child's game. I think that might be one of the great secretes of life though. Diversity of interests keeps us young. I appreciate you being patient with me during this busy time but I will begin blogging again a little more frequently now that everything has calmed down. In the mean time, enjoy the day for this one will never come upon you again. Who knows how long any of us will live so savor the days you have.

Paralyzed

This day is one of no productivity. When adversity arises it reminds me of just how human I am. I have recently been filled with pride in the amount of work that can be acomplished in one day. When emotion hits, I become paralyzed and can't accomplish anything. Relationships are wonderful to have but when those you care about face adversity you also feel the sting of shock. What is nice is the resiliance that I have been finding in myself. By tommorow I am determined to be back as my same old happy self. I wish all of my readers the same.

It's been awhile

I know that there is pain, but if you hold on for one more day, break free right from the chains. This is the chorus from the song "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips. I have listened to this song over 50 times in the last two days. I don't quite know why? But this song seems to speak to me lately. If you have not heard it before enjoy the clip. I think it might be time to let go though. Nevertheless, I will hold on I'm sure. I don't let go very quickly. I still need to figure out why this song has spoken to me so much but I thought it would be a good time to let you in on where I have been. Christmas break was good, my new classes are good as well. I don't feel like I am drowning like last semester. Consequently, I feel like I am in control and that is a nice feeling. I do know that Civil Procedure will be a very difficult class so I am taking advantage of my situation and looking to supplementary resources early. I am signing out for now, but a new post is coming soon.

Happy New Year

The New Year brings to many new beginnings. Many people make resolutions, while others look to change their lives all together. This brings one critical question to mind. The question rests on the behavior of humans in general. How can we either 1) be so unhappy with ourselves that we use this date to completely revamp what and who we are, or 2) begin today to alter something that we find so materially defective in ourselves that we publicly declare that we are changing this about ourselves. This leads me to two questions. Why today, what is so special about January 1st? Also, Why if these are such critical flaws that we find in ourselves are we so likely to break our resolution and fall back into our old habits? The history of January 1st is just an arbitrary date that was decided upon when the Christian world took on the Gregorian Calender. This date or day in the "solstice" means nothing then. There is no objective reason that is apparent for choosing this date. But if we hypothetically accept this date why would this be important. Well, many people look to this date as a birth of a new year and therefore with a new birth we wipe the slate clean of our past transgressions that we are less than proud of. With the slate wiped clean we are free to behave in whatever behavior we state for ourselves. Of course, this is utterly absurd because nothing changes on this day, your Friends are still your friends, family still looks at you the same way so this means nothing. When looked at objectively this is not only intellectually unfulfilled but a clear set up for failure. If we enter with the false belief that everything is wiped clean we do not adequately prepare to the challenges that will lie ahead in our quest to change whatever it is about ourselves that we are not happy with. Additionally, this date of January 1st is abhor ed on a physcological level. In the winter months, those in the northern hemisphere receive less sunlight and consequently have lower serotonin levels. This causes mood swings and depression which further contribute to the already challenging mental battle to alter our behavior. As basic physics shows, an object at rest tends to stay at rest without adequate energy to set it in motion. Additionally, if further energy is not expended to continue the motion, that object will return to rest. That is why (the wonderful program) alcoholics anonymous made the statement that you have never recovered from alcoholism but are a constant recovering patient. With this mindset, those recovering still have to expend energy to not return to our proverbial rest. This is why I would encourage those who are changing themselves have them mindset to always expend energy, and take advantage of the surrounding you have in front of you.
For the second part of the question, why wait until January 1st? If this is something that we find so deplorable that in order to change ourselves we need to publically declare it on a day for resolutions, why in the world would we not change it immediately. Unfortunately, I have now reason not to. So if there is something you don't like about yourself, change today. You are only changing for yourself anyway, ,why wait. Good luck with your resolutions and have a Happy 2008.