All comics by arbi

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by arbi
2-15-16
somebody even made a comment! i usually think no one reads these, i just do them for me.
I felt like I got a lot done today. Much of the snow melted. My did list has 10 items: I got my ear cleaned at minuteclinic. $85 Joined AAA. $70. Ordered a duplicate title for the wrecked volvo. $8.
Paid the water bill $100. Bought bus ticket $72. So around $350 for the day. Signed a repair order for #53 at the ferrari repair shop. Stopped by the old house and picked up a few things. Came home.
it's kinda like my blogs. some days my private "laundry list" blog gets more hits than my election law blog.
Washed dishes. wrote to two civil rights lawyers. took out trash. Got car #54 running but it's still in "limp home" mode. Made a list. Made a comic. Watched episode 6 of shameless. Used my coffeepot
Still to do tonight: Pack. Start next memo outline. Back exercises. Make better list. clean a spot of floor. laundry? unpack car. this list is too long already.
dinner: green beans in jerk sauce, rutabagas with dill sauce, decaf.
i think i have 4 or 5 projects to work on at the study, which is only 8 days long.
oh and i made a call to a guy in texas who "urgently needed my help" but he hung up. he wouldn;t have been able to afford me anyway and i don't practice in texas.

 

by arbi
2-16-16
tuesday i didnt get a whole lot done, but i had a short list. i ordered a dumpster for $150/month, should be here tomorrow. i havent finished unloading the car. i need to go turn off my l rutabagas
which will be dinner. i sent some emails. i watched better call saul. i gave steve the address of a computer repair shop, his walmart tablet died of overheating.
i havent packed yet. i made a list of what to pack. i havent started or even outlined my next memo. it's fresh in my head and i should get writing.
i bagged up a bag of stuff to throw away and sorted a box to donate. i didnt clean the yard. so i have 3 competing things to do next, unload car, start memo pack, but i can get all three done today
then tomorrow night all i have to do is catch a bus. they are expecting me for 4 pm check inthursday, which will leave me all day to hang out in columbia missouri; i'll probably go to the law school.
i could even work on my memo there. visit the placement office, see some old professors.

 

by arbi
2-17-16
tuesday night was interesting. helen and boyfriend came over and we had a nice visit, but i know she really came over because i owed her $50. then a lawyer friend of mine responded to an email by
maybe offering me some work. so that's exciting. Freedom of information act stuff for his immigration cases. So I didn't start the memo or unload the car but i did pack and i'm ready to go.
email geoff feiger sometime, whatever his name is
Today was frustrating. Didn't sleep well. Spent the day on hold, trying to pay my health insurance bill. Took all day, Messed up system. Haggling between two dumpster companies right now. Called a
clinic but i can't make the screening date. Called another left a message about trying to get off a do not recruit list. Emailed some lawyers about mississippi. Might be able to do a michigan case.
so i havent gotten out of bed, but i've been working hard. now i should outline that memo before i forget. need to make a new list.
i'm not sure if i'm working off the items on my list, or if the list keeps growing every day. at 9 i catch a bus to catch a bus, so i wont sleep tonight.

 

by arbi
2-18-16
my day started on a bus, rolling through illinois. got into town at 5 am, walked a mile to campus, past jefferson's tombstone to a starbucks to kill time then the law school, ddi some research and
made a 50 item list. it's warm and beautiful downtown. I'm loving this vegan cafe.
i stopped in for a small bowl of tofu and rice, then i splurged on the $7 ginger-mary ann carrot juice.
from here another long walk to go check in an hour and a half, so i still have time, as long as i dont go on reddit.
i wouldn't be shocked if this place is this town's secret lesbian hideout. there are a few clues.

 

by arbi
2-19-16
i just took the pill, which means i'm officially in the study. nobody got sent home except the alternate
now we sit here for 4 hours, but i have my headphones and can work on a memo.
until more cohorts check in, i got a bottom bunk and just one roommate, who is cool. the food was ok, the usual rubber chicken, plastic fork set up.
the clinic is small, personal, the wifi works ok. this should be a doable quick week.
my blood pressure was a normal 120/80 instead of running high like at the last clinic that was so noisy. here they just play the same nic cage movie over and over.
i made good progress on some memos today. and now andre and ian have checked in.

 

by arbi
2-21-16
day 4 of 8. this morning i did my 2014 taxes, the ones i did last year but lost the forms for before i sent them in. the numbers came out about the same.
i did them by going back through my comics for 2-14 to figure out where i'd been and what i'd spent. next i'll need to do that that for 2013, etc.
also yesterday i agreed with ian i'd buy his brother's geo metro for $500. so that's the plan instead of greyhound home. i should work on confirming that plan before i book a hotel.
so i sent out a few couchsurfing requests. now to start the 2013 taxes. the 2013 taxes are going slower, i've plateaued for the day.
the group after us has gotten twice as much of the drug, and some of them are going home or having bad side effects. no problems in our group.
there's a large overlap from our last study. we all pretend to not know each other. except the two friends i came with.

 

by arbi
2-22-16
today has not been very productive. the drugs are getting to us. i'm not having a lot of side effects, tingly feet and a bit tired. the place is small.
the food is bad and monotonous. the cute nurse is working today. i lined up a screening in kalamazoo next month, maybe for a study in april.
didnt call soon enough to get in one in baltimore. got in one in omaho that i'll cancel., it's a wild goose chase.
no legal research today, gave some tax advice, didnt finish my 2013s, did work on my revised 2015s. got some fresh air outside. talked to mom last night.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/20/personal-campaign-spending/80400584/
i made some progress on a background memo for a disclaimer brief, and i wrote to a guy i was in 3rd grade with who is a a harvard doctor who then became an expert on fraud investigations, because one
of the guys i want to sue in mississippi might be skimming big bucks from his campaign account.

 

by arbi
2-23-16
today felt slightly productive. i wrote a short memo and a long blog post. i have a single room now. the first group went home tonight so it's less crowded and the end is in sight.
i watched shameless and better call saul so it wasn't all work. consulted with a guy who got sued for half a mill and couldn't afford a lawyer. sent him a list of legal clinics for small businesses.
i wrote up part of my insurance paperwork today which was on my to do list for this week, but there's more to do, and i better pay that illinois ticket.
tomorrow the werle memo, do more of the quotes memo, wash some more clothes.
7 of 8: got a little more done. hard to explain even to myself exactly what. letters to and from doctors and lawyers. a phone call. some deals made.

 

by arbi
2-26-16
it turns out that the gay bar in columbia closed a year ago, so it's a good thing i didnt try to walk there in the cold. there's another one, but it's always empty except a couple nice old guys.
i stayed over last night because i'm waiting on a ride. i cashed my check at walmart for $6 and bought snacks and got a bus downtown. i'm at a trendy coffeeshop across from the possibly lesbian juice
bar, main squeeze. i can't tell how great the coffee is because the atmosphere is so good. i will kill time at the law library and then a strip club or gay bar until my ride is ready late tonight
i'll stop by since it's friday night and it's near the strip club. first, there's a nerd bar i want to check out.
i am still tingly from side effects although i havent had the drug since yesterday morning, and my driver had twice as much, this morning, and is feeling it worse.
so it may not be safe for him to drive. i'd drive, but i'm not great with a stick. i'll email him now and offer to drive. hmm. he's under time pressure where everything has to come together at once.
plus he has a broken tooth. the boy has problems. i'm one of those people who is drawn to broken people, as long as they are willing to be fixed.
i don't know yet if ian is willing to be fixed. he's in a pretty disfunctional place with his family.

 

by arbi
2-27-16
i guess the day 10 of 8 comic didnt post, or maybe i forgot to make one. it's been a day of adventures and no sleep.it started at mcdonalds, no that's not right, before
that there was a strip club and a gay bar. then we drove to st charles, dropped off andre at dawn, then to illinois, got lost at silver lake from lack of sleep and drug induced hallucination, tried to
buy, number 55, a belt is loose and we dont know where it goes, we bought a battery, andre backed out of buying ian's car for $1000, lots of drama, because now how will ian buy the car he put $1300
bought oil, a fiilter, antifreeze, etc.
that's just the tip of the iceberg.
down on? i loaned ian $690 so he could get his guitar and amp out of hock. i know i already made that comic, where is it?
he dropped me off @ the bus station. i fed the koi and am waiting for the bus. $20 to change my ticket.

 

by arbi
2-28-16
the tingly side effects have finally gone away
around midnight of study day 11 of 8 i finally made it home. nice conversation with the taxi driver. i asked him if he was somali, but he was eritrian. 4 kids in college. i showed him my house and
we talked about how immigrants and the middle class share values not like the ghetto i live in.
today i slept and rested then got up before dark. booked two studies in texas then cancelled them. i will stay home and do chores instead of chase wild geese this week.
i filled my dumpster. my one responsible roommate cleaned the yard while i was gone, did a great job. my slacker roommate didn't even clean his cat's litter box so i yelled at him, but has started
his new city job so there's that. i did laundry and cleaning and yardwork and called mom and made coffee and cleaned the fridge.
the cat is pulling his/her weight chasing a mouse on the back porch.

 

by arbi
2-29-16
monday i got up late and didnt do the important thing which was to tow the car, but i went to the post office and the bank, paid 4 bills, $800. still have to pay the cable bill, the $800 texas taxes,
open the letters from the zoning thugs. my amazon package came with the power cord and bug powder. i took out trash twice, cleaned a cabinet, threw away a boxload of books,
lunch: vegan curried hamburger helper, sweet potato crisps, onion snacks. decaf. did not find food today.
took pictures of the now clean yard and emailed them to my insurance guy, who is also a client so i updated him on a lawsuit that was lost and has been found.
so the general idea for the month is i will try make sure my bills are caught up while i clean the house and work on paperwork. it won't all get done but there will be progress.
bought gas $16. fixed a heater and my computer camera. it rained and the basement is damp. snow is expected tonight. in like a lion.
roar.

 

by arbi
3-01-16
I didnt make a list for today. I rented a car for 2 days and I'll drive to milwaukee tonight, very tired, and screen tomorrow. Maybe I should have left already and gotten a hotel room, too late now.
I moved the dumpster to a better spot, sent some emails, both work and personal, drove by the old house but forgot my keys, unloaded the volvo, took out the trash, put a bucket under the hole in the
roof, ian's going to bring my new car in a week or so if he gets the belts fixed.
so maybe i didnt do as much today as i thought, but if i can stay awake for tonight's road trip that counts for something. 600 mile round trip. i may need to stop and sleep somewhere.
not sure i've thunk this through. i usually nap at a rest stop, depends how cold it gets.
it's raining here but probably snowing up there.

 

by arbi
3-02-16
i'm at a starbucks on rt 41 outside chicago. the screening went pretty well, just really slowly, so now i'm stuck in traffic. really need this coffee. i rested 3 hours at a rest stop this morning.
who did i run into at the screening but my former roommate jake, who was there with his stepfather/best friend ron. they are broke so it's time to do studies. they have ron's land sold but the deal
hasn't closed yet. almost nobody showed up for the screening so it's possible both jake and i will get in. or they could cancel it, or have another screening day.
i missed an exit and drove right past trader joe's. it's too early to go to the lucky horseshoe unless the traffic takes an hour to get that far.
i will probably get home and sleep instead of having any time to use the car i paid for. but the expense was worth it based on the real possibility of getting in the study.
i ended up hitting the trader joes but not the lucky horseshoe. made it home around 2 am, slept, now i need to go take the car back, through the snow.

 

by arbi
3-02-16
a wretched hive
of scum
and villiany

 

by arbi
3-02-16
an hour down the road i have to decide whether to drive straight thru town, or stop into the lucky horseshoe, a strip club at halstead and belmont in boystown
is the bar tender here?
i go in about once a year hoping the guys will look like this, but usually
they look more like this

 

by arbi
3-03-16
i made it home and slept. and i was making a 12 item list, only ian called with the inside scoop on a $4k study in missouri, so i'm going to go screen for that tomorrow, so i kept the rent a car for2
more days, and i didnt get much done on my list. i collected rent and put away the food i found last night and set the alarm for 4 am. the trouble is i won't be able to get to sleep,
i got a couple lawyer type emails sent, i drank lots of water, i need to have dinner and check my list in case i'm forgetting something major.
and i'm too old to be pulling all nighters every other day. i already have a cold. i should probably get some life insurance. all this driving is the most dangerous part of doing studies.
if i get into both studies, i'll face a tough choice. the quick study at a place i like doesnt pay much, the other is longer at a place i hate and pays double.
# 13. make a will. so many lawyers don't have wills.
i think i'd take the quick one because there seems to be a lot of studies around right now. but that could backfire.
so i'll keep it as a backup plan for now. anyway, i'm going to miss first friday, where i was going to go to a gallery show with some friends.

 

by arbi
3-04-16
So I got 3 hours sleep, got up at 4 am, drove to st charles, had my screening, came back in time to drop off the rent a car by 4 pm so i didnt get charged for a 4th day. city bus home. too much coffee
not enough sleep. the screening went ok, it would be a cough syrup study, 10 days 2 times at a place i kind of hate, $4k. i think i was the first person to screen and that's usually a good sign.
3 days 1300 miles $200 + gas and coffee
[the zombie character today because i am feeling a bit undead. long drive, no rest breaks.]
also i am back in time to go to the first friday thing tonight, which might be zombie themed, i forget.
https://www.facebook.com/events/197257647303935/
email from a client giving me the go ahead to proceed with an old case that was lost for years, so that's good news, and gives me a project to work on.
and i dropped off helen's key to our old landlord. time to make a new list and see what i need to work on. go to the thing tonight, clean the front porch, bath, dinner, make a better list, etc.

 

by arbi
3-05-16
http://www.stuttererfilm.com/
it's saturday, i was going to say morning but i guess i spent the morning on reddit.
i should make an easy list for today and a longer list of stuff to do. i think i'll 1) start cleaning the front porch (and unload the car) 2) work on the insurance paperwork 3) outline what i need
to do next for each lawsuit project. 4) make a list. 5) laundry 6) clean room 20 minutes. so that's enough for today.
last night i was tired but dragged mysself out to the gallery thing sean invited me to, talked to 5 people i knew, 6 if i count the baby - it's going to be a boy. went to another gallery, saw a movie
about a guy who is lonely because he stutters. it has a happy ending when he gets up the nerve to go meet the girl. it won an oscar last week, so the movie has its own happy ending. so it was an
allegory for my night. then i went to a strip club and did not have a happy ending but got home ok. one glass of wine all night; i'm drinking less than i used to. i drove 550 miles so today i'll relax

 

by arbi
3-05-16
today, saturday, was a day of rest. i cleaned for 20 minutes maybe and did a load of laundry but otherwise i spent the day in bed on reddiit
i have a cold so that's my flimsy excuse, bed rest and fluids. but i should have been sorting these papers, going over my tax records, being productive, but instead i just lie here and watch judy
garland videos. i had one glass of wine so i can't blame this on being hung over. it's probably the driving and lack of sleep earlier in the week.
sunday i cleaned my room for a couple hours. it does,t look better, but the process is started anyway.set mousetraps, taped up my headphones, ordered a power cord from amazon because i got the wrong
one last time. still need a bath, call mom, sort mail, work on a memo.
didn't do any of that.

 

by arbi
3-08-16
Monday went badly. I barely got out of bed all day. Not much of what I did online was useful, mostly just killing time.
Tuesday went a little better. Lots of phone calls, started sorting the box of mail, took a bath, unpacked the car, blogged a rant, went and watched a movie with xander and helen at the worker justice
it's gone from too cold to too hot. in like a lion i guess.
center, a 2007 movie about the 14 female senators. On monday mark paid $181 of his $200 rent, close enough for government work,and today steve paid the last $100 he still owed me. I should do a cash
count. Ian is supposed to come tomorrow with my new old car, if he doesn't get pulled over and jailed on the way.
Bought stuff at the dollar store. I stopped by the old house. They have a big roll off dumpster there. I'm supposed to get up early and go to a free 1 hour CLE.
I cancelled my screening in Omaha and they are going to look into why my last paycheck from there never came.

 

by arbi
3-09-16
well this is unexpected. it seems i've won a comic contest, for the first time in a few years, so i have to try to remember how they work.
i (the aardvark continued) wasn't here at the very beginning. stripcreator was something i heard about from wil wheaton, back when i used to spend time on his forum. maybe 12 years ago.
wil's motto is get excited and make something, so he liked this place. so, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is tell me stories about the old days,
especially featuring evil D. gossip, innuendo, make it up if you have to.
it's not like he's going to hold a grudge and stalk you or anything.
judging in a week, 10 days, who knows. bribes welcome.

 

by arbi
3-09-16
a local zine wants to do a story on me and electionlawblog linked to one of my rants. and i won some contest.
today went ok i guess. i drove downtown and was only a little late to my noon cle, which was both free and informative, but added an item to my to do list, which is distracting.
i cashed a check, i had to try 3 different banks. my car barely runs. i just headed home instead of stopping for coffee. i took out the trash, spent 20 minutes cleaning the front porch, received 3
phone calls. lincoln won't pay me the disputed amount from the september study, but they did give me back a priority spot to get into a study so the call was worthwhile, plus they are sending some
$45 check they had forgotten to send. i got an appointment with an ear doctor for next week, and ian won't be here with the car till tomorrow soonest.
i still didn't tow the car or call mom or fill out the insurance paperwork or make any progress on lawsuits or even clean my room or take a bath yet.
i found some flower seeds and might plant soon, it's that time of year. gardening relaxes me. today my back hurt enough to notice; it's been mostly better recently.

 

by arbi
3-10-16
i had three big things on my list for today, i'm doing one, putting off another for later today, blowing off the important one i've been putting off. i'm not sure why i'm so resistant to getting my
car towed and repaired. so i bought a bus ticket and i'm going to st louis where i'll pick up the car from ian and bring it home.
i called the place i was hoping to do a study this month and thery put if off till next month and never called me, so my back up plan is to go to the place i hate in st charles.
i called another place that will have a study open tomorrow but there's not much chance of getting in, even if i take a bunch of iron pills (daily until screening.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFQA998WiA
i answered a couple emails and looked up some stuff. it's raining so i didnt go out much. i made some noodles for lunch.
i'm watching a youtube video on procrastination. not sure i'm learning anything. i caught the bus on time.

 

by arbi
3-11-16
i made it home around 6 am, slept to 11, did stuff online, got out the door around 4, errands till 7:30, i might rest up now, or ,maybe go out later.
i read the argument the state of mississippi made against allowing my amicus briief to be filed, and blogged a little. i went to the bmv but will have to try again tomorrow.
i was very temped last night to hit up a certain bar outside east st louis, but i felt the safer thing to do would be just get home so i did that. the geo prism, 1990, $600, is basically a toyota
corolla and gets decent mpg and is pretty reliable so i have wheels again so i went to the post office and walmart to make a spare key and picked up groceries and unpacked them when i got home, just
enough to make my back hurt as though i'd been working hard. i made an appointment with a mexican garage to tow my car there tomorrow, the volvo that is still at the other house. i left a message for
the kalamazoo clinic to call me. so a good start to the day. i should try to do 3 more things before i crash.

 

by arbi
3-12-16
saturday i went to the bmv to get plates for my geo, but their computers were down so they threw everybody out, and they are closed tomorrow and monday. but i'm not upset or frustrated because i have
low expectations of them. i did laundry and got triple AAA to tow my car from the old house which i should have done a month ago. i started getting my seeds and planters out so i can start some seeds
water bill $75. bar dues $50. credit card $1200 to pay monday.
email from chris, the baby's daddy, wants to help me clean my house so i said yes, but we aren't in town at the same time so it's tricky.
i bought ten cents of ginger from the corner store to check it out, it's an ok low budget store in walking distance but i don't really buy food. i think i left the ginger outside have to run get it.
now i'm too tired to go out to a club. this happens every saturday.
i'm working on some memos in response to the brief from mississippi that i got yesterday. the guy made the mistake of upping the ante, so now i want to come back harder.
i cleaned the coffee maker, took out trash, did dishes, time to make a new list. easy but productive day. i feel good. my tulips are coming up and the hollyhocks and daffodils.

 

by arbi
3-13-16
http://www.stripcreator.com/forums/ showthread.php?postnum=293745
may we have a moment of your time, to discuss our lord and savior, brad? did you know that as a stripcreator donor, you can feed a hungry brad for a little as 30 cents a day.
but wait here's more! you also get top billing up in the donor comics section, nobody ever reads those other ones.
plus you get to save your comics rendered as .png files!
well that hasn't really worked since 2008.
why should i care?

 

by arbi
3-14-16
i'm going to go heat up a pizza pie for pi day. nice to have a working oven.
I didnt get much done today. I'm an alternate for the st charles study, so if I don't get in that, no work this month. I shoulda gone to nebraska after all. But i booked a screening in kalamazoo, and
wisconsin might come through in a week or two. I went to the ear doctor, $150,and I'm fine and it'll clear up. I have a normal amount of hearing loss for a 55 year old and the wax is gone, it' just
that my ears always feel stuffed up like when you're on a plane or have a cold for 2 months.
i got nothing done online or around the house today. watched shameless. it's midnight. i need to make a better list, work on memos.
tomorrow i try the bmv again and maybe plant seeds, unload the car. oh yeah i went to the bank and paid $1000 on my credit card. i like to stay debt free.
and i have to call the cute gay doctor on my insurance plan to get an appointment for a month from now so i'd actually have a doctor of my own for once.

 

by arbi
3-15-16
Title and plates $67. stuff at ollies discount store $65.
Today I got title and plates for the new car,and a new registration for the volvo wagon where they never sent the sticker or they sent it and I lost it. That was at the top of my list for today.
I worked about 3 hours on the mississippi case, and need to get back to that; it's why I came back home. I got some seed flats ready to plant, with a compost-vermiculite-potting soil mix.
Did some minor chores, and bought noise-cancelling headphones to take to studies. Bought this and that at a discount store.Talked to my lawyer about the status of my case, which I am not supposed to
discuss on social media so that's all I'll say about that.
I am going to put the lonnie story in the comments section. It came up on reddit so I wrote it down. Coffee, a bath, then I'll get back to the Mississippi case, or maybe make a new list.
Tomorrow I tow my car home from the shop - passed on the $1200 estimate - and pack for st charles trip thursday.

 

by arbi
3-16-16
last night i couldn't sleep so i spent most of today in bed like a zombie, too tired to do anything. 20 minutes cleaning the porch.
the shop was closed when i was going to tow my car back home. so that was a failure and a hassle, should have just done it yesterday.
i booked two screenings as a plan for if i don't dose at the study i'm headed to. one is for $7500 which would be nice. the other's a $3k in ohio. i unloaded the car. i still have to pack for tomorrow
and move some cars around. and maybe plant seeds. i sent two emails about my MS case, and need to keep better track.
i might still have soup simmering from lunch.
My main event today was watching Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. It took hours to buffer but i finished it.
so now, bath, pack, move car, plant seeds, make a better list... oh and put the new plate on the car.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss49euDqwHA
This just in! president obama has nominated Judy Garland to fill the late nino scalia's seat on the high court.
!?
by arbi, 3-16-16

 

by arbi
3-19-16
i spent the last couple days at a clinic in st charles, or driving there and back. It paid $100 and I spent $150ish, but I did get priority for their next $5K study,and came home with groceries.
I went to a couple of clubs last night, met a dancer I like. Checked out some asian supermarkets in st louis and had lunch at a vegetarian indian buffet i've been to before on Delmar. The new car runs
fine. I'm home in bed now, making lists but not really up and at 'em yet. Maybe I'll finally go to the gay dance club tonight instead of passing out like usual.
I have two screenings this next week,and one to cancel, so I should be able to work next month, and it's ok that i'm taking this month off, because there's plenty to do around here.
This bedroom is only marginally cleaner than when i moved back in in january. Lots of boxes to go thru and stuff to put away.
I want to dig the garden and get some plants going. It seems warm enough to plant outside but that's probably just a trick, we'll get more cold weather, maybe. I guess the electric bill will be lower.

 

by arbi
3-20-16
today i didnt get out of bed. i watched better call saul and it was my cake day on reddit - happy vernal equinox.
i wrote an article on being a lab rat for a local zine. it's dark now, so i should get up, take a bath, have breakfast, plan the rest of my day.
tomorrow i have to do the stuff i didnt get done today, because tuesday i have another road trip.
monday i got my car from the mechanic, blogged about a georgia ballot access case the green party won, transplanted the hollyhocks, nothing else yet. off to check mail.
watched shameless.

 

by arbi
3-23-16
on monday i got very little sleep and screened in st charles missouri for a $5K study that would take 2 months off and on.
it seemed to go ok
1300 miles and 1 day away from home means i can write off $700 from my taxes for this trip, which will help if i get in either of these studies.
on tuesday i got very little sleep and screened for a $7.5K study in nebrasksa
it seemed to go ok. i need to be awake at noon tomorrow to call and find out if i got in.
i've been here an hour and the traffic jam doesn't look better.
i'm in a mcdonalds outside kansas city near the airport because there was a traffic jam so i pulled off here. i hope to make it to at least columbia by tonight, and look up some stuff @ the law school
i might make it as far as the male strip club in east st louis before passing out from fatigue.

 

by arbi
3-24-16
so i made it back home to indy around noon, the same time as i call and find out i got in the study. so i only have a couple days here before i have to turn around and head back. so i have to pack
and do whatever i need to get done around here so i'll be set for a couple of months away.
i better make a list. and check it twice. and get going. i didnt do much else today, unpacked the car, watched better call saul took a bath.
i need to get plates for my car, not just a temp tag, and deal with the hole in the roof, and get ian and chris set up with some chores i want them to do when i'm gone. and fill the dumpster tonight,
and check my mail, pay bills, get a haircut. that would be a good start.
sure, they'll probably make me an alternate and send me home. it's not like i trust that place. but we'll see.

 

by arbi
3-25-16
friday i drug myself out of bed after noon, bmv was closed afer google said it would be open, paid electric water internet and credit card bills, mailed my volvo title to the insurance company, have 3
more bills to pay online and have to sort this box of mail. want to plant seeds, but i'm lying in bed wasting time online instead.
tonight there are various festival downtown and a few clubs i'd like to stop at, so it depends if i get my chores done first.
i forgot i had a comic contest going! porter/vegandad won cc 638.
saturday helen and chris came over and we got the porch half cleaned up and the dumpster filled, and i went over a month of chores chris can do while i'm away.
had an interesting interaction with my downstairs tenant that's i'm not going to tell the world about via stripcreator. hurt my back moving a tv off the porch so resting, like i need an excuse.

 

by arbi
3-27-16
today of course is the first sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, 41 days after mardi gras, so easter.
sunday i didnt get out of bed to go to the church across the street for easter, but did go downtown for food not bombs. they werent there yet so i went to an ethiopian restaurant, had the usual scoops
of veggies on a pancake then hung out with food not bombs folks and worked on a memo at starbucks.
i gave up lent for lent this year.
10 minutes cleaning the porch, took out trash, called mom, need to pack for the trip and finish paying bills. the club is closed today so i will just work on the memos. or reddit.
tomorrow i start a 700 mile road trip after i check the mail. i think i've done the things i need to do before i go, most of them.
it's monday around dusk. i've come 450 miles so far and starting to get tired. iowa rest stops have wifi.
i;m ahead if schedule but i cant have coffee to keep going,and it's going to be too cold tonight to sleep in the car,and i dont want to just drop in on my cousins in des moine, so i'll drive some more

 

by arbi
3-29-16
i made to lincoln before dawn and took a nap in the parking lot of a mall.
wifi in the parking lot of a fedex shop, then at a couple coffeehouses. it's getting closet to time to go check in.
day 2 of 40. I dosed! That means I'm really in the study. Right now I'm on my chromebook, for the first time since september. My blue walmart computer can't get online here for some reason.
While I was offline I looked over my memos and to do lists, so I can make plans for what to do with my time while i'm here.
first up, look for a room to rent. buy minutes for my phone. write down the to do list stuff onto paper. change socks.
i sent messages about a room, bought fone minutes wrote to-do list changed socks

 

by arbi
3-31-16
books: tibetan folk tales. hey rube by hunter thompson, lbj bio by doris kearns goodwin. a book by art spiegelman who wrote Maus. then a teen manga.
today was a good day. up at 6, checked out at 7, walked around town. breakfast at cultivas, wrote a memo for 3 hours.
found a second floor coffee shop in the walkways above the city streets, got a bagel. found a ramen shop. dumpster dived a bakery.
cultiva's is the place i first bought secret aardvark sauce. they no longer carry it. i had a johnnycake w maple syrup and an americano decaf
checked out two libraries, read parts of 4 books. checked back in a 5, after a ginger ale at the Hot Mess. I wanted to go to amateur strip night at The Alley but i stayed here to nap and watch better
call saul and take a shower.
I got a message from the court in Mississippi saying the case i've been working on is stayed. I'm not sure what that means yet.

 

by arbi
4-01-16
sent emails and made calls to try to find out whats going on in mississippi, now reply yet.
today's going ok. morning blood draw and blood pressure, out around 7 am. i checked the common roots calendar after driving by - no event till sunday noonish movie.
bought some groceries. greateful bread wasn't open yet. drove up to look at a basement i want to rent, it looks ok. waiting for the landlord to call or email.
march went out like a lion. sleet today. finally got the blue computer online at the clinic.
at a mcdonalds right now - i won free fries! i'll pretend i don't know they aren't vegan. earlier i had black bean soup and coffee at the north branch of cultiva.
i was loading 3 bags of found groceries into the trunk when i found an envelope of cash i'd hidden, so i dont have to drive to the bank in omaha today.
TJ's was a worthwhile stop. I picked up about 50 pounds of candy and a similar volume of coffee from the office depot dumpster.
i'm bored. hard to focus on my online work. i think i'll go check out the lincoln trader joe's. i know where the omaha one is.
it's possibly, but unlikely, that i'll go to this big gay bar in omaha tonight. especially if i rent the basement apartment. - she never called.

 

by arbi
4-04-16
saturday i rented the basement apartment and unpacked. $425/mo, wrong side of town for work, but it's 4 rooms in the suburbs and suits me fine.
i went to a kite flying event out at farmer bill's. they weren't burners like i expected, but farmer bill's a hemp activist so we knew some of the same people, and many kites were flown.
sunday there was some drama because the people upstairs think they rented the whole house, including the basement, so i might be trespassing, but we agreed to get along.
landlady dropped off a microwave and minifridge and i dumpsterdived a slowcooker that works as a coffeepot. i watched casablanca at common roots, the local hippie center.
it's monday morning. today i need to go to the internet office and maybe the bike kitchen. i'm hanging out at the coffeeshop next to the coop grocery, which i will start dumpsterdiving.
as usual, work this morning went quickly. we run in, blood pressure, take a pill, leave. i started writing an article/chapter/book/ thing about my mississippi free speech project. maybe make it a blog

 

the internet went down for a second here atr the coffeeshop and i lost my comic.
maybe i'll try again tomorrow. internet should be on at the apartment tomorrow afternoon.
by arbi, 4-05-16

 

by arbi
4-06-16
today i went to work, took out the trash, did a load of laundry, and spent about an hour and a half on the phone with tech support, but now i have internet. they turned on the upstairs but not the
basement, so right now the modem is plugged in upstairs,and they won't be back to fix that till the 18th.
today is wednesday, tomorrow i check in for a 3 days stay, then i have 4 days off to run home to indiana if i want to.
today i transplanted some flowers and traded another email with the nebraska state political speech police.
now that i have internet, aside from going to work, i won't have to leave the house.
i found a club i like, and i know about 10 dumpsters to check,and lincoln seems to have at least 7 oriental grocery stores. i found a bike i like for $120 which seems like a lot of money so waffling.

 

by arbi
4-07-16
last night i woke up at 2 something and couldn't get back to sleep. went to work, did legal research at the state capitol library for two hours.
now i'm home vegged out, getting ready to check back in tonight for a three day stay.
so i feel a bit like a zombie right now from lack of sleep. i don't actually have a bed, i mean i have one but i haven't inflated it yet. i have time for a bath and a decaf before i go in.
then we have 4 days off and i will probably run back to indiana for a couple days, long drive, not sure if i should go or stay.
i will post more from my cubicle-bunk tomorrow. i'm expecting many blood draws.
one thing that's changed is i watch my blood draws now, because i'm thinking of taking a phlebotomy class. i used to always look away or close my eyes.

 

by arbi
4-09-16
we checked in thursday night. had blood draws all days friday, checked out this morning with our first $1400 check.
i don't know yet for sure if i'll make it through the whole $7500 study - i have a toothache flaring up. i'm not going home for the 3 1/2 days break, too much driving.
yesterday was exciting. i wrote a complaint, found nebraska cocounsel, and as expected the state is refusing to stop enforcing its unconstitutional statute.
so either i win and get some fees, or i lose and get to take it to the supreme court. unless i screw up along the way. billed 5 hours.
already worked two hours this morning, but will probably go back to bed, didn't sleep well at the clinic.

 

by arbi
4-11-16
sunday morning we went into work as usual now we have 3 days off. no big plans. maybe i'll check out the zoo or the art museum or go to omaha or plant a garden.
today i bought a space heater $24 and found a mattress. did dishes, straightened up,
i want to do some laundry, go to a bank. might show the apartment today but they already sounded like deadbeats who won't have the rent or good references.
the cute guy never came back and the responsible sounding guy didnt show up yesterday. found a coffeehouse in walking distance, and a stuffed otter, and dishes and food and clothes, the usual end of
semester stuff. i got up at dawn and wrote up a representation agreement for my client, one of many documents on the list that add up to a litigation package.
I put up a big poster on one wall of my "war room" and wrote down all the memos i need to write to put the package together. took 10 minutes, otherwise haven't done anything all afternoon. now 4 pm,

 

by arbi
4-13-16
yesterday, tuesday, i billed 4 hours and worked 7, lots of emails and a couple phone calls.
today so far i did laundry, put away laundry, made ramen, planted seeds, cleaned up the apartment a little because i'm showing it shortly.
called the cable company so the new guy upstairs can get tv. added up what i spent on gas and it comes to 7 cents a mile unless i forgot a few entries.
the deadbeat but very interested potential renters r on their way here by bus, so i don't have time to run to the bank yet,and i didnt get to the dentist during this time off, but i'm working hard.
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81865
tonight i'll make another try to get out to a club instead of staying home all the time. but it's nice to have a home to stay home at.
opened wells fargo account with $1650. bought yellow curry, found sushi and pan au chocolate

 

by arbi
4-14-16
sushi for breakfast, for lunch i went to a panel on nebraska press association v stuart at the local law school
had to fast all day. dumpster dived a microwave and jumper cables
picked up a cable box from time warner for the man upstairs since my name is on the account.
packed and checked in at 6 pm, so i'm back inthe clinic.
found good cases today, 2 hours of research. pissed in a cup, vital signs good, ekg ok, weight 171 with clothes on so 168. tomorrow we dose and get stabbed often.
i have a bad cold, so apparently i snore loudly. there's one in every study, this time it's me.

 

by arbi
4-17-16
friday we got stabbed 10 times. my vein was a little raw and puffed up, but it's better now.
saturday we checked out. i got home in time to unpack, bath, go back at 6:30.
went to a few clubs, the hot mess, the alley, shakers, but it wasn't fun,and then i had to get up early,
so sunday i napped all day and now i'm up at night, waiting for monday morning to go back in.
i'm a litle blocked at trying to get further inthe brief i'm writing. good progress this morning on research while at the coffee shop, but can't get it written down.
binge watching horace and pete.

 

by arbi
4-18-16
We are here this morning, april 18th, awaiting news from the supreme court.
It was april 18th of 75,and hardly a mouse is now alive, who remembers that famous day and year, of the midnight ride of paul revere.
we never read the johnson case so no clue what this is about
Why the long fellow, said the horse..
ok, today's decision says the johnson case is retroactive, so certain prisoners can now appeal, 7-1 decision.
also obama's immigration plan didnt go over well at oral arguments today
johnson struck down the Armed Career Criminal Act's residual clause
so maybe not such a big decision today after all. back to jimmy with sports and weather

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