WonL
The random thoughts of an architect-turned- lawyer from the deep south living in Washington, DC...
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Not the mini...
Over the past few years, with everything that has changed in my family and my life, there is one thing I can always count on. One thing, that will NEVER change is my mother's sense of humor. I knew something would come this year especially when I told her "no, Mom, don't get me the MINI-IPod, go for the MAXI." So, I have for you a photo of my first Christmas gift:
Thanks Mom!
The dreaded New Years Eve
I say dreaded, because over the past two years, New Years Eve has not been so steller for me. In fact, it is working it's way to being my least favorite holiday. (Note: The award for my least favorite formerly went to Valentines day...more to come in February:-) This holiday tends to bring out the best in me and being the drama queen that I am, there is never a dull moment. For some reason, I have left NYE parties the past two years in tears. Of course, I now know it was because I spent my valuable time with COMPLETELY the wrong person.In 2002/3, I spent NYE with the boyfriend who was moving overseas in January. We both knew the relationship would not work beyond that, but figured we would enjoy the time we had left together. One small problem...he annoyed me. (Okay, maybe we annoyed each other.) Furthermore, the night really consisted of all our mutual friends watching to see how we acted. I could hear the "aw, poor thing, I wonder how she is handling it" all night. Regardless, emotions between the two of us were pretty high and things were tense and this lead to a fight shortly after midnight. Did I mention that the fight sprung out of the fact that he had left the party to go pick someone up, forgetting to tell me, and was not even there to kiss me at midnight. Amazingly, that NYE wasn't TOO bad.
2003/4 makes for a much better story. I was going to a party with many of the same people at the same house as the year before. I found out through the grapevine that one of my friends had gone against my wishes and invited EX who was in town from overseas. (Mind you, the hostess of the party specifically said she had no intention of inviting him to avoid any awkwardness.) This should be interesting. It was okay, though, because I had a new boyfriend (BF) and wasn't worried about the ex. This new boyfriend was a lawyer who had just gotten his LLM from G-town...ooo. He was the cutest little Texas guy who was polite, social, could hold his own in any conversation and could really work a room. We walk in and BF knew most of the people in the room. I had been trying to figure out how exactly one is supposed to introduce the BF to the EX...luckily, BF was social enough to introduce himself to the people he didn't know. I'm mingling and he's mingling and at this point there are only about 15 people there, so of course, everyone is watching to see how this will pan out. I decide that's all I can do as well, so I grabbed a drink and decided to watch along. This is a small apartment and they are bound to meet. BF makes his way over to EX and starts a conversation. At that point, it was much like that part of Weird Science where they walk into the Jazz bar and everything gets silent. The chatter eventually started again. Apparently, in the ten or so minutes that they talked, EX did not mention his name. BF approaches me and we get drinks and are chatting when he asked who that guy was. I said "um, that's EX". That was the last I heard from BF for hours. In fact, I saw smoke coming from his shoes as he raced back in EX's direction. For some reason, he felt the need to plant his ass on the sofa next to EX and become best friends. They talked for almost the rest of the night. I stayed at the drink table. Over the next few hours, every single person that I knew at that party (which had now gotten fairly large) just had to say "wow...that's strange, doesn't that make you feel uncomfortable?" And those that I didn't know would approach me, introduce themselves, and say "yeah, I heard that's your ex and your current, what is up with that?" So, me and a few other girls tried diversion tactics to split the boys up before things got bad. (Not that things would get "bad"...it's just weird.) We tried everything. The last straw was when I went and sat on BF's lap saying "oh, I see you two have met." At which point, BF says "yeah, so can you go get us some drinks?" AAAAAAAAAAA...are you kidding me? When the clock struck midnight, BF actually would not kiss me because EX was standing next to us and it was awkward. WHAT???? Let me tell you about awkward!
So, to recap, last two years:
same party, same people, boyfriend (of some sort) present, no kiss at midnight, fight or fight and break-up...fun times:-)
This year, I'm going to do it right... First off, I have no intention of leaving my house, everyone will have to come to me (which is okay, because we are having a party.) Second, no boyfriend to muck up my night. Third, probably still no kiss at midnight. But most importantly, no drama!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Filing
Back in DC, back at work, back in the swing of things.On Work:
Being back at work with no school means that I get to catch up on things I need to do like my resume, balancing my checkbook, etc. I have a lot of free time at work. On the day after my last exam, NB took me to lunch and said "now that school is out for a while, I'm going to need you to, um, do some work." My job really isn't difficult. I come in at 10am and turn all the lights on. I check the messages and write them on those little pink slips. (Usually about one message per week.) I change the date on the postage meter, then I grab myself a cup of coffee (already made by co-worker who gets in earlier) and sit to read the paper. If something is faxed, I put it into the corresponding persons folder. (Don't actually have to leave the chair for that one.) Perhaps once a week, I have to FedEx something. Oh, and when the mailman comes, I take the mail out of his hand and bring it to NB, since he likes to sort it. That being said...not to much to do, so I was intrigued by NB's request. I said "Sure thing...what do you have in mind?" He told me of the once yearly filing switch-over. (Take everything out of their folders, put them in a box, and put the folders back into the file cabinet.) I think I can handle that, um, in about an hour.
Upon arriving back at work today, NB tells me he has some bad news. JB wants to hire his daughter (the one I replaced as receptionist) back over the break to do the filing. He says "I know how forward you were looking to doing the filing, but you will just have to continue to play on the internet." Hence the time I have for this post! (What a joke of a job:-)
Saturday, December 25, 2004
I stand corrected
I was wrong when I said Christmas would not fit into my relaxing time. This year, I got left alone for Christmas. Wait...not in a bad way like the time my family accidentally left me at McDonalds in New Mexico***. This was a good left alone. I did all the family stuff last weekend and we had Christmas morning here at my brother's in Houston. (By the way, it SNOWED in Houston last night...that's crazy!) Anyway, after we watched niece open all her Santa gifts this morning, everyone split to do their own thing. Due to circumstances including the weather and my immense need for down time, I stayed here. I stayed here ALL BY MYSELF (singing Bridget Jones:-) First, I gained five pounds by digging into the leftovers. Then, I played online poker which has become my new obsession. (I also learned how to say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian from the guy who thought the hand was his until he saw my flush ace high!) Then I took a nice long bath in one of those gigantic bathtubs with a heater and a glass of Shiraz. Now, I am going to spend the next few hours of my life loading all of my brother's good music onto my new Ipod. I feel like life does not get much better than this. So, to anyone reading this on Christmas, I hope y0ur day is as relaxing as mine and Mele Kalikamaka!***note to mom...see, I didn't even use the time you left me in the driveway when I was two:-)
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Three week breakdown
I don't have time for Christmas this year. A law school friend broke it down for me: between semesters, we have 1) a week to catch up on things we haven't done in a while; 2) a week to relax; 3) a week to start prepping for next semester. Where does Christmas fit into this?1) I guess buying presents can fit into the "catching up" part. I'm usually pretty good with gifts...until this year. First off, I have no money to spend here. With every gift I buy, comes the guilt of knowing that money is coming out of savings (which leads directly to the fear of knowing I will have less to live on next semester - and this semester wasn't too easy.) Aside from that, I just really didn't have time to be creative and think up really thoughtful things this Christmas. In fact, I really didn't have the time to browse around a store at all. Have no fear, being the ultra-responsible person that I am, I thought this all through in advance. I knew I would have no time or energy when this week rolled around, so I have been "spot gift buying" all semester. Everytime I noticed something cute and cheap, I bought it thinking I could give it to SOMEONE for Christmas. The problem came in last night, when I laid it all out to make sure I was covered. Well, I hope Mom enjoys the tie and my grandparents enjoy the Pocket Karma Sutra, because I am out of time - my flight leaves tomorrow and I have dinner plans tonight.
2) You must be kidding! Christmas in no way shape or form fits into "relaxing" in my world. Between the stress of buying gifts, figuring out how to fit everything in my luggage, flying across the country (thank God for airport bars) and of course the ultimate stress of family time...this is not relaxing for me. Although, the two bottles of red wine did help to relax my brother and I this past weekend at Christmas with Mom's side of the family. I must think of something much stronger for Dad's side. We are doing Christmas in Texas at older brother's house and going to be fitting more people in that house than should possibly fit including a toddler and four dogs under 10 pounds each. There ain't a damn thing relaxing about that. (I must say, that at least it won't be 14 degrees, cause DC is freaking cold right now!!!)
3) The last category is intriguing. Christmas does not actually fit into school prep time, but school prep time is finding it's way into the other two categories. To all of my classmates who are emailing me about "have you bought your books yet" or about student loan crap or "did you get your schedule for next semester". Please give me this week not to think about any of it! Bought my books? I have not even taken my other books out of my car from this past semester. Perhaps it is important for me to find out when I have classes next semester for the whole "job" thing...nah.
So, depsite my lack of time, energy, creativity, or anything else, I will now go make a Happy Holiday's card for the constituents in my section. Because with all the whining I do and dread I have building up for my Christmas, I really hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmakah!!!
Common Sense
Back to my theory that the more I studied, the less room I had for common sense during exams. I offer you some proof throughout my weeks:1) Ever seen Dude Where's My Car? The premise is that the guy got so drunk the night before, he couldn't find his car the next morning. Well, one day of exams, I got ready for work (this means pack the bookbag, load computer, grab notes, oh yeah, get dressed, etc.) Anyway, I walked outside, turned to lock the door, turned around to find my car was not there. I drive to the Metro every day and apparently, had forgotten to pick my car up the night before. This had nothing to do with drinking and everything to do with a long study group.
2) When dealing with the dicovery phase of a trial, there are many tactics you can use to get information from the other party. You can DE-POSE parties, witnesses, etc. and ask them a bunch of questions trying to make your case. You can also force the other side to DIS-CLOSE certain information that should be made available to all. However, (contrary to what my notes say), you can never DIS-POSE of witnesses. I guess it all just starts to run together at some point. (So, perhaps I am the only one that thinks this is funny. In fact, I laughed about it for a good ten minutes:-)
3) On the day of my last exam, boss told me he'd order me food. Nice gesture, except this really means I have to go around and get orders and place the phone call to actually order the food. Really don't have time for this...would rather starve. Anyway, I pick up the phone and call. It starts ringing, just as someone calls in on our other line. Being the receptionist and all, I am supposed to answer that. However, I am busy and figure if I don't answer maybe they will go away. Nope, the second line is still ringing. And why the hell isn't Cafe Asia picking up? Perhaps because I have used the main line to call myself. Who said you can't be in two places at once? I was actually pissed at the person on the other line who wouldn't hang up and pissed at the person who wouldn't answer my call.
If I think of any more, I'll add them...just can't really remember exam week.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Done (and sober)
Upon prodding by a friend, I shall leave last night's post up. If anything, it's just funny. Okay, so, I have pretty much no coherent thoughts left. Or maybe I have plenty, but no energy to organize them. I LOVED that CivPro exam. (And yes, I do realize that makes me certifiably insane.) The exam was a situation in which I knew pretty much every single possible thing and it was merely a test to see if I could get it all out. Anyone who knows me knows what a pro I am at spewing information in every direction (whether it matters or not). Seriously, 3 hours of rambling via typing-AWESOME!I feel really good today. Things are a lot brighter. Partially because the sun is shining and the temperature in DC doubled since yesterday (from 20 to 40). But, there are other reasons for my brightened attitude:
a) I have "successfully" completed my first semester of law school.
b) To quote a study group friend "for the first time this semester, I am not behind".
c) I did not have to bring a book sack (or back pack or whatever you yankees call it) with me today.
d) I can do the WashingtonPost crossword puzzle.
e) I don't have to read a case for weeks!
Everyone keeps saying, I bet you feel this HUGE weight has been lifted. Um, sorta. I still have a running things to do list. In fact, I have a "things to catch up on before I even get to the things to do" list. This inicludes the normal daily functions I have missed out on lately...namely:
1) sleeping
2) going to the gym (gotta lose the 5 pounds I gained these 2 weeks)
3) vaccumming the hair off the floor in my room (and don't say gross...girls shed, it's inevitable!),
4) washing clothes
5) spending time with friends I miss
6)Best of Craigslist
7) Christmas shopping
With all that I do have to do, there are two things I am NOT going to do...
First, stress about what grades I made in my classes. Second, I will not think about the fact that I have my first assignment of my second semester due in 25 days.
Looking at the format of this post, I realize I have been outlining WAY too much.
done:-)
I have no idea how to feel right now excetp...drunk!~ Oka,, I will ty to prrofread this when I 'm done, but not promises:-) I just finished my first semseter of law school!!!!!!!!!!! This is sthe most surreal feeling ever. FIrst off...I feel like I totally rocked that test. Then again, everyone I spok with felt the same way. Sobering up (tHANKS Wendy's:-) Okay, I am going to tell you about thetest tomorrow. Now, let me tell you this...there is a whole lot going throught my head right now, but before I foreget...there are some people I want to thank right now:-the very nice guys who let me have their cab cause I didn't fell like wiathing 18minutes for the orange line and some dude in my class gave me $125 cash tonight and so I had money to spare, so got a cab
-I wanna thank Prof. Smith (totally not a code name). I took a HUGE chance. Folkes in my study group were really worried about "Discovery". For some reasn, I felt he wasn't going to put it on the test, so i didn't worry about it. TO TALLY NOT ON THE TEST!@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-third, I wanna thank anyone who actually come hoem tonight and read this. Feel special, I have every intention of deleting this tomorrow. Therfore, you should feel special for having the oopportunity to read it in the first place.
I'M GOING TO BED NOW! Someday I hpe yu get the cahnce to live like you were dying! Man,/i love Tim:-)
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Don't ever let me pay for BarBri again (sorry Alex:-)
Sample in test prep...True or False Question:
Plaintiff (P) has sued Wholesaler (W). W files an impleader against a new party, Manufacturer (M), alleging that M as the tire manufacturer, should indemnify W if W is in any way held liable for P's injuries. W's motion to strike the impleader should be granted.
Answer: False, a claim of indemnity can be brought even against an outsider.
Overlooked by BarBri: Why in the hell would W move to strike an impleader that they filed for in the first place???
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Convo with NB
This is an actual conversation I had with my boss today...Him: Will you be in tomorrow?
Me: Yes, but tomorrow night is my last exam. I will be here physically, but not sure about mentally.
Him: So you WILL be coming in?
Me: um...yes. However, I will not be able to do any work, as I will need to study.
Him: That's fine, I just have one thing I will need you to do.
Me: hmm...then perhaps I will NOT be coming in tomorrow.
Him: I promise, it's small.
Me: How small? This will determine whether or not I will be here tomorrow.
Him: Well, I need you to take a few documents and attach them to an email so I can send them to someone.
Me: I will be here tomorrow.
Lesson #1: It's a miracle I have not gotten fired.
Lesson #2: Some people really are computer illiterate.
Lesson #3: Damn, my job is easy!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Good CivPro Question
There is something I was wondering last Thursday. On The OC, Sandy had deposed Caleb's former secretary Renee Wheeler in hopes of finding out this big secret his own client is hiding. Sandy was upset because Ms. Wheeler was no help because she wouldn't answer his questions. I think that is wrong. I think she generally HAS TO answer all the questions at the depositions unless they are privileged or asked in bad faith. There are two questions that come to my mind. First, is having an affair, and subsequently a child, with your boss considered "privileged"? If not, could it be that Hollywood was just b*llsh*tting us and they assumed no one out there would know that the scene was all wrong, because Ms. Wheeler would've had to answer Sandy's questions?Hmmm....
Tabbing
I decided something yesterday. Okay, I actually decided AGAINST something. Well, maybe I just came to a relization. TABBING sucks! I have decided not to tab for CivPro. (Tabbing is taking those cute colorful little pieces of sticky plastic and putting them protruding out of the side of the book for a quick way of turning to the "important stuff.") Why I hate tabbing:1) First is act of finding the perfect tabs. Now, I have seen some people use post-it notes. They do that little curly thing where you can't actually read what you wrote. So, post-it came up with tabs to alleviate the crinkling problem. These are some tough tabs. So tough in fact, that they will not give way and when the book gets shoved into the book-bag, the pages of the book bear the brunt of the damage. So, my tough durable tabs are still in tact, but the pages of the book I actually need to read are all bent up.
2) Tabs are made up of such a material composition that it is extremely difficult to find a pen that will not run or smear. In fact, for Contracts, I think I spent 30 minutes testing out different pens and markers for that perfect consistancy. This is where my obsession (#11) came in handy. However, it probably would've been more valuable to use that time studying.
3) I had some issues trying to figure out what to write on the tabs. They are small (even though I went with the wide ones). But still, I cannot fit the word "unconscionability" on a tab. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I would know that 2-302 is the UCC rule dealing with unconscionability, so writing 2-302 would do me no good. Hmm, do I abbreviate? If so, to what degree? Uncon...uncons...unconscion...getting back to the whole word here!
4) The perfection of tab-applying got to me. (Keep in mind, my undergrad trained me that everthing is about presentation. When we hung our drawings on the wall for critiques, if they were not tacked in a straight line, we'd have to take them down and try again.) Being the perfectionist myself (okay, anal retentive is more like it)...when applying the tabs, I did it extremely methodically. I made sure that the edge of each tab lined perfectly with the one before it, even if it was 30 pages prior. My time was not well spent here either. As explained in 1) that perfect line of tabs is gone the minute the book gets shoved somewhere.
5) There is such thing as "over tabbing". In fact, if you are finding yourself putting 2-3 tabs on one page, you have probably gone too far. It's a lot like the inevitable over-highlighting. There is always someone who opens their book in class and you look to see that they have actually highlighted every word on the page. I digress, they skipped over some "the"s. Seriously, there is no need to highlight the citation to the Federal Supplement. I assure you that will not be on the test. (I say this, but it wasn't until halfway through the semester that I quit highlighting the citations!)
6) During my contracts exam, the tabs physically got in my way. The three hour exam is extremely intense and FAST. I do not have time to deal with a bunch of colorful little pieces of plasticy stuff. I was so annoyed by those stupid tabs being in my way, that I decided I'm not using the stupid tabs anymore.
I found a new use. My roommate was in my room the other night and thought it was really cute the way I used the colurful tabs to make faces out of the light switches.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Exam learning...summed up
1) you should really read instructions. I skipped right over the note from the professor that said that the example questions he gave us were for a semester in which he did not cover the same material. Just wasted 20 minutes analyzing which case had a relational adjustment that was hazardous...only to find we did not actually read that case (after 20 minutes I cheated and peaked at the answer)2) the "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich becomes less perfect if you forget to take the paper off the cheese
3) a diet of coffee and blow pops makes your stomach hurt
4) my roommate really doesn't care about UCC 2-207..but found Williams v. Walker Thomas extremely interesting (could've been due to my theatrical performance of replevin...perhaps as an encore, I will throw large pieces of lumber off of the 2nd floor at my other roommate below)
5) as of study group today, there are more people that are going to do better than me than will do worse (uh-oh)
6) candle wax burns
7) some people do not like to be told when they do something wrong
8) I have a lot of split ends9) there are 30 hours (and 6 minutes) until my first exam
10) sometimes, people are on your mind whether you want them there, or not
11) I think I have an unhealthy obsession with collecting pens, markers and highlighters
12) Gourmet peaches from Oregon are extremely messy if you try to eat only the inside with a spoon not getting any of the peelings. (Unlike the photograph at the bottom, they do not hold their shape.)
13) The more law stuff I cram into my head, the less room there is for common sense.
14) If you purposely lock the door to the office so intruders cannot enter in your abscense, you should make sure to take your key with you.
15) A good friend will get you out of the house to eat sushi the night before your exam when he knows you are reading too much lawyer stuff and turning into a not fun person.
16) After 27 years, it is possible to forget how to spell your own last name.
17) It IS POSSIBLE to memorize 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in one night.
18) When a boy calls you on a Friday night at 12:30am, he is not calling to see how your studying is going...jerk!
19) If you have one plaintiff with numerous claims joined under rule 18(a), you CAN in fact add the claims together to reach the minimum amount of $75,000.01 in order to claim diversity jurisdiction in a federal court under 28 Sec. 1332. It's called aggregation:-)
20) DO NOT listen to this website right before attempting to go to bed!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
#20
I had an extremely productive study group this evening. We hashed out personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, the oh so tricky supplemental jurisdiction with joinder and much much more! Then, we all went and grabbed a bite to eat. Afterwards, I headed back to school and into the basement of the library for a good THREE hours worth of CivPro practice exams. But, I must tell you, the absolute most important thing I learned this evening:20) DO NOT listen to this website right before attempting to go to bed!
Saturday, December 11, 2004
My light at the end of the tunnel...
You know what is getting me through all this studying? Knowing that when this week is over, I get to see my favorite person in the whole wide world.
The learning goes on...
this is a continuation of the pre-contracts exam list of things I learned:17) It IS POSSIBLE to memorize 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in one night.
18) When a boy calls you on a Friday night at 12:30am, he is not calling to see how your studying is going...jerk!
19) If you have one plaintiff with numerous claims joined under rule 18(a), you CAN in fact add the claims together to reach the minimum amount of $75,000.01 in order to claim diversity jurisdiction in a federal court under 28 Sec. 1332. It's called aggregation:-)
Friday, December 10, 2004
Contracts exam dissected
Even if I don't get the highest grade in the class (which is pretty doubtful anyway), I am pretty proud for getting through that Contracts Exam. The more people I speak with and read, the more I think that it was pretty damn hard. Now that I have had a bit of time to let it all sink in, I realize I sure have come a long way to be able to answer some of those questions and furthermore, to be able to understand most of it.The low-down on the test...six questions (three "hypos" and three "policy") three pages, three hours. I love the hypotheticals. Prof. gives you about 45 minutes for each and it takes pretty much that entire time to answer. Actually, it takes about 5 whole minutes just to read the long questions. During the semester, we read cases as a means of teaching the law of Contracts. Each case has it's own reason for being in the case book and each case deals with and explains one aspect of the law (for example: what constitutes an offer, how reliant must a person be to envoke promissory estoppel, how do courts look at intrafamilial promises, etc.) The hypos on the test are about 10-12 cases rolled into one. Basically, Prof. takes a whole lot of legal concepts and makes up ficticious clients and scenarios that go through all of it. Those are the questions that you just talk yourself through. Fun Stuff.
The policy questions, on the other hand kill me! He only gives us 20 minutes on these. (I am hoping the less time means they count for less in the end.) I find that these are extremely thought provoking and after being so mentally exhausted from the hypos, I really struggled through these questions. I studied right before the test with a group of guys who had formed a list of possibly policy questions. In that discussion, one of the guys listed the cases he thought fell into certain policy categories. I jotted down what he said "just in case". Luckily, ALL THREE policy questions were ones the guys had come up with. The questions dealt with the underlying process of the mind of the courts when deciding whether or not to enforce a promise. Basically, Prof. comes up with some sort of hypothesis as to why courts do what they do and I am supposed to discuss which cases (of the million we learned) fit into his hypothesis and which ones don't. Prof. is extremely economics focussed, so the questions dealt with "recognizing opportunistic behavior in parties and deciding against the opportunistic party", "deciding based on the lowest cost avoider" and "cases in which proponents of fairness and proponents of efficiency in contracting would agree to the outcome". Seriously, if you would've asked me any of those at the beginning of the semester, I may very well have dropped out of law school just in time to get my money back. It wasn't so bad...I think I was able to b.s. my way through most of it.
I must tell you, I came across another synopsis for a Contracts exam and realized I surely don't take the easy road. I don't know what the norm is with regards to these tests, but I am seeing both ends of the spectrum here. While it would've been nice to go into an exam that actually had "no brainer" questions...at least I can be proud that I accomplished a much more difficult feat. (Who am I kidding...I would've much rather taken a multiple choice! Jackal, you are so lucky:-)
Thursday, December 09, 2004
The morning after
WOW! For many reasons, everything is spinning. Last night is a blur. Seriously, from the minute it began, I barely had time to breathe...just typed. I had a few minutes to pause to just sit there and think DAMN. It wasn't too bad. On the other hand, it wasn't so good either. I think the most difficult part for me is the lack of organization and definite answer. When you answer the questions in Contracts, you are supposed to analyze everything from every angle and argue all possibilities. So, my answers were pretty much "it could be this, or it could be this, or maybe this, I'm done, wait it also may be this". Not having a definite right and wrong kills me! I have a hard time gauging what he wants. At least there weren't any questions I couldn't answer (or least come up with some extravagent form of b*llsh*t).Afterwards, a large number of folks in the class attended our section-wide happy hour. I have to tell you, there was no one I would rather unwind with than my new law school friends. I really got to meet a lot of people and more importantly, got to REALLY know a lot of people. Of course, in the end, I made an *ss of myself, but this is inevitble when people buy me shots. It was nice to get free drinks because I'm the senator...that's cool. The best part is the people who approached me to tell me how lucky they are to have me in their class and as the one who "brings everyone together." It wasn't the best part of my evening because I am being cocky...it was the best part because for the first time since this all started, I was less lonely. I wasn't going through this alone, there were supportive classmates all around me. Also, I am happy that I can make a difference in people's lives. Even if it is as simple as enabling a forum in which people can communicate and make friends, I feel like it's worth my job. I don't do the things I do for the thank you's. I do them so that on an evening like last night, I can look around and know that good things are coming out of something I did.
My brain is slowly returning to it's normal functioning mode. After an evening of heavy drinking, calling in sick to work, and an entire morning of dwarf lovers in Jerry Springer, I am ready to take a shower and start this process all over again...this time on the more difficult class.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
The stress of performing...
Everyone handles stress differently. In fact, I think we each handle differently at different times in our life. I promised myself that I would not let stress overcome me this time. I think so far, I am doing pretty well. Granted...I look like hell, haven't worn make-up in days, I think I showered yesterday (not positive), I have eaten nothing but crap for 10 days, haven't been sleeping a full night, and as of yesterday, I think I reached a "loopiness" I didn't know to be possible. When I stress, I clean and my room looks pretty damn good right now! Considering right before the LSAT, I got put in the emergency room due to stress...I would say I'm a little better off now. (And, I have not had a cigarette - haven't even really wanted one!)Today is different anyway. I am pretty excited about tonight. I have been learning and studying all semester. This is a great way for me to gague how well (or poorly) ...nah, how well I have done. It's kind of sick, but I am so curious to see those six questions. For weeks now, I have been trying to figure out what he will ask on the test to ensure that I prepare for it. Now, I will actually find out! I am viewing this as my final performance. I spent all this time learning the lines and getting into character. Now, is time to walk across that stage and strut my stuff.
Okay, all of this is really a front for a more important reason why I am not TOO stressed out. We have a freaking B+ curve! This means that the majority of our class will get a 3.33 GPA this semester. Now, for the select few that will go home crying with that...I don't like you. For the rest of us, I am MORE than content with that. In fact, that's higher than my undergrad GPA and I still got into a damn good school. In a normal setting, one would say "what's the worse that can happen" and an answer would be "you fail." Here...the answer is "a B". HAHAHA...I can so deal with that. Plus, I am booking on Prof. bumping my grade up a 1/2 letter due to class participation. (Okay, maybe not booking on it, but praying for it.)
All this considered, I got a pretty good night's sleep last night (aside from a 2:30am phone call from high school boyfriend), had a good breakfast, polished and re-printed my outline, cleaned my room again, and will now shower before heading to school. Hope I can keep this up through the exam:-) I will let ya know how it turns out.
To any of my classmates reading this: BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!
Offbeat mom
This Article was on CNN's Offbeat News today, but I gotta tell ya...that is OLD NEWS!My mother did this to us YEARS AGO. It was confusing to get home from the bus-stop one day to find all your belongings thrown in the yard. Unlike the above article, my mom kept herself and her stuff cozy inside. Also unlike the article, Dad was on the "opposite side of the V" in that his stuff was outside with ours. Furthermore, mom never moved into a tent. She stayed inside but made us well aware of the fact that she was cooking meals (but only for herself) washing clothes (but only her own) and only cleaning up after herself. Lesson learned, mom!
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Learning continued...
12) Gourmet peaches from Oregon are extremely messy if you try to eat only the inside with a spoon not getting any of the peelings. (Unlike the photograph at the bottom, they do not hold their shape.)13) The more law stuff I cram into my head, the less room there is for common sense.
14) If you purposely lock the door to the office so intruders cannot enter in your abscense, you should make sure to take your key with you.
15) A good friend will get you out of the house to eat sushi the night before your exam when he knows you are reading too much lawyer stuff and turning into a not fun person.
16) After 27 years, it is possible to forget how to spell your own last name.
Today, I learnt...
I hate when people use that word!7) some people do not like to be told when they do something wrong
8) I have a lot of split ends
9) there are 30 hours (and 6 minutes) until my first exam
10) sometimes, people are on your mind whether you want them there, or not
11) I think I have an unhealthy obsession with collecting pens, markers and highlighters
Bad Idea
This morning, I thought in an effort to save time, I would drive to work. If I take the Metro, it's 30 minutes door to door. Driving is about 8 minutes. COMPLETELY FORGOT people in Washington DC do not know how to drive when there is a drizzle (not to be mistaken with actual rain.)Total time = 49 minutes
Total people flipped off on the way = I would estimate 1 per minute upon reaching Constitution Ave.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
more things I learned
3) a diet of coffee and blow pops makes your stomach hurt4) my roommate really doesn't care about UCC 2-207..but found Williams v. Walker Thomas extremely interesting (could've been due to my theatrical performance of replevin...perhaps as an encore, I will throw large pieces of lumber off of the 2nd floor at my other roommate below)
5) as of study group today, there are more people that are going to do better than me than will do worse (uh-oh)
6) candle wax burns
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Things I learned today (so far)...
1) you should really read instructions. I skipped right over the note from the professor that said that the example questions he gave us were for a semester in which he did not cover the same material. Just wasted 20 minutes analyzing which case had a relational adjustment that was hazardous...only to find we did not actually read that case (after 20 minutes I cheated and peaked at the answer)2) the "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich becomes less perfect if you forget to take the paper off the cheese
Oddities of law school
This week marked my last week of my first semester of three years of Law School and the one thing I will take away from this: people do weird things in law school.On Tues. night (our last day of Contracts)...when Prof. finished speaking, people clapped. I joined in, mostly because I was just confused. Someone in the back of the room started it and everyone just started clapping. The stranger part, is that Prof. stood there with a smug smile as if he knew it was coming. How strange! As if paying them $32,000 a year to go to school here isn't reward enough, we clap for the teachers too. Not that I don't think the man is brilliant, but this was not the end of a dramatic performance or anything. (Not to mention, we have same prof. for next semester's continuation of the class.) I don't know why we clapped. Apparently, this is some sort of strange law school ritual practiced by my kind all over the country. As Buffalo Wings & Vodka notes, no one can really figure it out. Hmm.
Another strange ritual is the accumulation of as many OUTLINES as one can get their hands on. See my previous post for explanation on outlining. So, everyone is hellbent on getting as many old outlines as possible. I must say that I fell prey to this one before school even started. I actually purchased some dudes outlines on E-bay. (hangs head in shame). I have no idea why I did this, other than it was $2. Could've been to get a jump start on the reading and organizing before all of my classmates. (Nope, opened them and didn't understand a word.) Could've been to help understand things during the semester. (Nope, as I have already alluded to, I barely had time to do the reading, much less sort through someone else's thoughts on the cases.) Could've been to take up space in my binder and give me more opportunity to bitch about how heavy my bookbag is. (ding ding ding...I think that's it.) Anyway, it's funny to listen to people. "So, did you get the BarBri outline?" "You know, Lexis Nexis has a great one" The funniest is when you get someone that says "I have a 2L friend who gave me her stuff. Sorry, I don't know if she wants me to share." He lets you glance at it and you notice it is not for your professor, nor for the same book. (This is important, as each case book contains different cases. It really is all about the teacher's style. It's a bit worthless to have synopses of all the cases your prof. did NOT talk about:-) IDIOT...how much good is this going to do you. Since I, myself, have done this, allow me to answer: it takes more time to sort through and try to find information within the outline that your Prof. actually touched on...then it would to just do the damn outline yourself. I don't think I won the game, as I only have about 8 outlines per class.
Forgot what I was talking about. Oh yeah, strange Law School rituals. My new favorite oddity is the "study group." There are a few categories of insanity on this one. (1) There is the person that is so nervous about not being picked for anyone's team, that they pick their study group during orientation. Mind you, at this point, you don't know who the dumb folks are. Then, you find yourself feeling all cool with a study group, but no one in the group knows what's going on. (2) Then, there is the anti-early picker. This is the person who is too laid back for their own good. They frantically decide the day before the test that perhaps that whole study group thing is a good idea. Then, they email their senator for the phone #'s of everyone in the class so they can find someone to study with. (3) My favorite is the 'it will all fall into place' study group facilitator. This is the one who reserves a coveted room at school in an effort to have people flock to her to be in her study group. One girl in my class has reserved the same room every day through finals. When I asked who she was studying with, she said she didn't have anyone yet. Jeremy Blachman has a few funny posts about study groups. I especially like his application!
I am sure as exam week presses on, I will come across many many more eccentric law school rituals. For now, I am going to turn on Extegrity (which will freeze up my entire computer) and do a Contracts practice exam.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Week before exams of a law student
I love math...let's play with some numbers# of cups of coffee per day = hmm...how many are in 3 pots?
# of times used restroom per day = directly proportional to # of cups of coffee
# of hours until first exam = 123.5
# of pages in outlines = 25; 29
# of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure left to memorize = 68 (I was fairly selective)
# of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure already memorized = 1 (I got #4 down!)
# of times I logged on to procrastinate by reading other BLAWGs today = lost count
# of times I yelled at people in my car on my way home from work = 3 (sad since I park my car 4/10 mile from my house)
# of people who invited me to dinner this weekend "forgetting" I had exams = 4
# of people I snapped at for forgetting I had exams = 4
# of trips to the grocery store for study snack food = 3 so far this week
# of trips to the gym = hahaha
# of crunches done last night before falling asleep on my floor = 24?
# of minutes left in my study break = 4
Yikes!
So, I guess when people are finished with a website, anyone can buy it!http://www.inauguration-2001.org/
(wouldn't click on this one at work)
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Pet Peeve # 947
It takes talent to get to work an hour late when I don't even have to get there until 10am!I get in today and NB tells me I screwed up...I booked a train for him for the wrong day. Um, no, I think you told me the wrong day, but whatever. I knew I was going to have to place a phone call to sort all of it out. Of course, in this day and age, you cannot pick up a telephone, call CUSTOMER SERVICE and actually reach a representative. I try to avoid, at all costs, placing those dreaded phone calls, because I know I am going to get frustrated the minute a stupid recording comes on. (I went as far as to NOT purchase a Dell for this reason.) At least there is progress in the world of transferring/on-hold phone ettiquite. These days, you don't have to wait until all of the options have been read to you to press a button. Plus, you can actually speak what you want, and as long as the recording can understand your accent, you will eventually get to the right person. I call Amtrak and get the really sweet sounding lady recording. I wasn't listening to her because I think she was talking about the holidays or special fares, or trouble at home, or something. I had it on speaker so I didn't have to waste my hands holding the phone. I was SO not in the mood for this. I grunted and said (alound) "Shut up! I really don't care, just put an f-ing person on the phone." At which point, nice recording lady paused, said "I think you said you wanted to speak to a representative. If this is correct say yes or press 1." I actually couldn't say anything...just dumbfounded. R and I laughed so hard we cried. To think, they train their recordings for rude, disgruntled customers!