America TIME!

1. I’m Bacccckkkkkkk – That’s right, the Peace Corps adventure is over and I’m back in the good old US of A. It’s still a little strange being back in New York City and it’s definitely going to be awhile before I get my head around the fact that my life in Cambodia is over, but it’s great to be home and it’s great to have the whole family back together again.

2. Summer Schedule - I’m in America so I’m technically home, but that doesn’t mean there will be any unpacking or settling down anytime soon. It will be at least another month and a half until I can do any of that. Here’s what the next six weeks are going to look like…

• New York/Atlantic City – July 18 – July 29
• Amherst – July 29 -30
• Denver – August 1-4
• Jackson Hole, Wyoming – August 4 – 14
• Denver – August 14 – 21
• Ann Arbor – August 22

3. China – My trip to Beijing was way too short, but that city definitely left a big impression on me. I would love to figure out a way to get back to China and to see more of the country. I would also love to figure out a way to learn Mandarin, but that is probably not the type of challenge I should take up during my first year of law school. Maybe in a couple of years…

4. The iPhone 4 – After two years rocking the old school Nokia, I’m almost overwhelmed by the iPhone 4. The whole world of App’s is completely new to me and I pretty much had to have my brother set up the entire thing. I also don’t have any of your numbers, so shoot me an e-mail so I can add you to my fancy list of contacts.

5. Welcome Home – It doesn’t get much more American than Harry Potter in Times Square. The crying baby and the women who yelled, “SHUT your FU*KING baby up,” really made it the perfect reintroduction to America.

6. Law School Economics – How many articles can the NYT possibly run on law school economics and the terrible job prospects for new lawyers? After reading Law School Economics: Ka-Ching! and talking to my friend Mike yesterday about his job search, I’m starting to realize that even if things improve, three years from now finding a job is still going to be tough.

7. Asian Pride – I admit it, I was rooting for Japan on Sunday. Maybe I would have felt differently if I had been in the country and seen some of the games, but I only watched the last half hour of the finals and I couldn’t have been happier to see the Japanese women come away with the win. After the year that country has had and the comeback that that team put together, I don’t see how anyone could root against them.

8. Elizabeth Warren for Senate – I still don’t understand why Obama didn’t pick Elizabeth Warren to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The Republicans are going to try to block whoever Obama nominates so why not pick the best person for the job? That being said, if Warren decides to run for the Massachusetts Senate and she manages to knock off Scott Brown, Obama will have made a brilliant move. I guess we will have to wait and see.

9. Bachmann’s Headache - ”The Minnesota Republican frequently suffers from stress-induced medical episodes that she has characterized as severe headaches. These episodes, say witnesses, occur once a week on average and can ‘incapacitate’ her for days at time. On at least three occasions, Bachmann has landed in the hospital as a result. … ‘When she gets ‘em, frankly, she can’t function at all. It’s not like a little thing with a couple Advils. It’s bad,’ the adviser says. ‘The migraines are so bad and so intense, she carries and takes all sorts of pills. Prevention pills. Pills during the migraine. Pills after the migraine, to keep them under control. She has to take these pills wherever she goes.” (Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use allege) I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have this person in charge of our Nukes.

10. Best News of the Week - And finally for all the nostalgic children of the 90′s, this morning the NYT has some good news: “Starting next Monday, TeenNick, part of the Nickelodeon family of cable channels for children, will start rebroadcasting old series from the 1990s that are considered classics by young adults. That’s right: classics from the 1990s…he repeats will run between midnight and 4 a.m. under the title “The ’90s Are All That,” a reference to one of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows in that decade, “All That.” That sketch comedy show (1994 to 2005) is one of the first to be featured in the block, along with the sitcoms “Clarissa Explains It All” (1991 to 1994) and “Kenan & Kel” (1996 to 2001) and the cartoon “Doug” (1991 to 1994).”