WonL
The random thoughts of an architect-turned- lawyer from the deep south living in Washington, DC...
Friday, April 29, 2005
Date with Crim
My anxiety got the better of me this morning. I could not really understand why, considering I went into my Contracts exam with such force. For about two hours before Crim this morning, I paced around nervous as all hell. For some reason, this test brought along swarms of butterflies to fill my stomach. I don't really know why or how to explain it except to compare taking this test to a blind date.I sat anticipating the approaching hour not really knowing how to feel. This was all so new. I mean, I had fully accepted the invitation to partake in this. On the other hand, I wanted to run like hell. I had never met this guy before. Granted, I saw him around in the form of past exams on the portal, but this was different. This was just going to be me and him. No study group to supplement my knowledge. I wonder if he looks the same. I wonder what he expects of me. What if I get so nervous? What if I choke up and don't have the opportunity to let my true colors shine? It is hard to know where to begin when something is so new and foreign to my world.
It was so much easier with Contracts. He was like the "ex" that came back into the picture. I knew his quirks and he knew mine. He accepted mine in the form of an okay grade last semester. I know if I am just the same as before, I will do fine. It will be nothing spectacular, but I can settle for acceptable. I know what he expects of me. Granted, we have been apart for a while. But, come on, how much can someone really change? If anything else, I can feel safe. And I did. I felt like we just picked up where we left off, only this time, I brought a little more knowledge to the table.
No such comfort level with Crim since this would be our first meeting. (And meeting at 9:30am under Extegrity conditions doesn't make me feel anymore at ease.) Well, it's time...the stranger awaits.
UPDATE:
Well, Crim was exactly like the pictures I had in the form of practice tests. We had a lovely, yet mentally exhausting three hours together. I think we hit it off, but will not be seeing each other again. I admit that I had pre-emptively decided I didn't want to take the relationship any further. C'est la vie!
Life today...
I am awake at 6 in the morning prepping for my Crim. Law Final in few hours. In listening to random songs an 80's "oldie" comes on. As Asia is belting out "Heat of the Moment", I am thinking...yeah, but was it adequate provocation? THAT is the key. (Someone please make it stop!)Thursday, April 28, 2005
Contracts...DONE
"kËü7…sEe(…A°üÛYa¡Û3xœE×çÔ'
X²¤u4˜YTåø¢Ä™2
Ís±Š\W¸ež°zåsòG:1/$-kÏ"
Yep, that is the first line of my Contracts exam last night. Well, at least that's what Extegrity says. I hate that software. So, one final down...three to go. I have no intention of disecting the contracts exam like I did last semester. I will say, however, I feel better than I did last semester. On the other hand, due to the forced curve...if everyone felt better than last semester, that leaves me...well, still average. Oh well. At least I answered questions like I understood the material as opposed to last semester's frantic typing of anything that came into my head. Must admit that made going over the exam with my professor quite interesting as he pointed the times I stopped thoughts in mid-sentence.
For the most part, there were no huge surprises. (As Prof Contracts likes to say "look for the friendly faces on the exam.") There were a few things I thought he would emphasize more, but were tiny questions in a bigger picture. There were also one or two "I didn't see that coming"s. (Like the fact that there were four questions and one fact pattern was two freaking pages.) Overall, though, pretty standard for him. Being such a policy-driven man, he managed to squeeze in amorphous good faith, vertical integration by ownership as opposed to by contract, consumer protection practices and their ability to retain autonomy in contracting, lowest cost avoider and any other thing you could think of policy rationales for.
I will admit to doing a lot of things differently this semester re: Contracts. First off, I found the most laid back guy in the class to go eat with before the exam, you know...the kind you really can't be stressed around. It was good to not be at school when all the people were arriving in their various flip out modes.
I also did that whole IRAC thing everyone keeps talking about. Yep, I'm the moron that thought that only pertained to LRW. I didn't know it was a real way of setting up legal thinking/writing. Hmmm...it actually did clarify a lot.
Most important thing I did is pay attention the supplement which contained all of the Restatement and UCC provisions. As someone at the bar said last night "hmm...I always wondered what that little blue book was for." That is how I took last semester...figured anything of importance in there would surely be mentioned in the casebook. Well, this time, I actually cracked it open and read some of the pertinant provisions and comments. WOW! They say things in there that I just assumed Prof. was making up this whole time. It really IS a restatement of the rules of contracting. If only
Well, off to learn Criminal Law in a day!
Monday, April 25, 2005
Ouch...
Hey now, I take personal offense to this!Update: While I aspire to be number one in many facets of my life...I don't think this is one of them.
Another: Apparently, Yahoo! thinks you should go to Grasshopper before me if you want to know about finals.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Letters to my body and my mind
Dear Body,First off, allow me to apologize for the way in which I have been treating you lately. I realize I have not spent the time and effort I usually do to ensure your happiness, but things have been a little stressful. I would also like to apologize in advance for not being able to rectify the situation any time soon. My last exam is in 13 days and hopefully, things will get back to normal soon after that.
That being said, I do not appreciate some of your actions lately. I realize that you are telling me that blow pops and coffee are not enough to satisfy the new Food Pyramid. For the most part, I agree. However, I do know for a fact that some lady survived for 9 days in her trunk with no food or water, so you should feel lucky. Dude, I even gave you Ben & Jerry's last night. I am trying my best here. In fact, as compared to some people in my situation, I think I am doing a good job. You are getting bathed daily, a moderate amount of sleep each night, and also a little exercise walking to and from the car. Plus, although the wardrobe I have provided you with lately may not match or be fashionable...at least it's clean! Considering all I have tried to do for you lately, I do not think you are justified in the way that you have been treating me. I do not appreciate the gargantuan bags you have decided to display under my eyes. I would also love to have some of the color back in my face. I will not even get started on the grey hair you have decided to grow. I would also like to ask that you quit making me trip over my own feet and run into doors. That is not very nice. And please tell the eyes to quit making everything go blurry after 16 hours of staring at the computer screen.
Okay, so, let's call a truce here. Let us work together to get through this, because I need you right now! I would also ask that you work a little harder to get along with the mind. You two usually get along very well. Lately, though, I have noticed you completely ignoring her. One example of this is when you insist on falling asleep when she is still working on her notes. Again, that is not too nice. So, I plan to feed you healthy stuff like strawberries and apples (in addition to blow-pops) today...as long as you promise to bear with me!
Thanks so much,
Law-Rah
Dear Mind,
I have given up on you.
Sincerely,
Law-Rah
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Don't attempt to communicate with me...it's for your own good
Here's proof that I have gone off the deep end...I was reading my Georgetown friend's post about exam time mental breakdowns and got to this paragraph:
"Just the thought of getting up from my chair and walking to the kitchen inspires apprehension: "It will take so much energy! I can barely move - how can I make it all the way to the kitchen?! And once I get there, how will I find the power to get back? It's too much of a gamble; the cost would be too dear. I must not risk it." (emphasis added by me)
You are probably thinking "wow, Law-Rah must relate to that." In some ways, I relate. In some ways, I analyze. All I could think of is Torts! His use of the term "apprehension" immediately directs me to the tort of assault, however with his discussion of the "cost" and the "risk", I feel he is leaning more toward the balancing test of an unintentional tort such as negligence.
Oh my gosh, this is why I cannot have a normal conversation these days!
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Never stop learning
*******I shall add to the list daily...maybe*******
(To follow suit from last semester...I invite you to watch the downward spiral of my sanity) This is what I have learned so far...
1) I do not fit into the "reasonable" person standard.
2) I don't know about snakes
3) It is real easy for a midnight "power nap" to end at 8am if you are not careful when setting the alarm.
4) I am going to be the Godmother to my newest niece, Jessie. That makes me happy:-)
5) I am NEVER in the right place at the right time! I want to be Alysia Brown.
6) I decided to add the word "knowledgeful" to the dictionary...although it is hard to type, there are less words to think of. (PS...I have already added succinctify, so please don't fight it!)
7) In attempting to sort through my Contracts notes and make some semblance of an outline, I realized why it is so difficult: daily reading assignments looking something like this...883-96, 904-14, 921-36, 938-45, 951-57, 962-68...can take things WAY out of context and make them hard to put back in. Sadly, I actually would have rathered just read the whole chapter.
8) Interesting...I would have thought the word semblance would be derived from symbol and therefore spelled symblance. However, it is derived from resemble. I guess that makes more sense.
9) Not having time to wash clothes can make for interesting wardrobe choices. I have been walking around my house for days in American flag pants and a plaid flannel shirt. I look like a Mexican rap star. If only I had a do-rag, I could pose for the cover of the newest album "Crossin' the Border".
New Day...
10)Teenage smoking statutes were enacted in the WWII era to keep kids out of "cheesy dens of iniquity".
11) Professors do, in fact, read their students' blogs...and they also pass them on to their professor friends.
12) Old Navy should be banned from advertising on television. They have ruined every last song from the 80's!
13) There was a drunk cowboy at school today.
14) It's lonely at the top. By "the top", I mean of my house. I have been up here studying for days, with brief breaks to attend class. Now that we have no class, I am really going to get sick of this room. I guess now I know how THEY feel. (except for that part about the incest)
15) I was going to sit in front of the TV and eat dinner before hitting the books tonight. The new television show Stacked was on. Wow, after watching for only five minutes, I feel a significant amount dumber than I did when I woke up this morning.
16) I cannot find Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" on ITunes and it annoys me. It's my "pump me up song" and I wanna listen to it right now!
17) At the risk of pissing of my male readers, I have some advice to gals: if you are of a certain age (pubescent or beyond) and you have a certain breast size and you spend your day at the law school, wear a damn bra!
Another New Day...
18) I have been invited to a Dean's reception today to honor students (apparently including me) for "achievements and hard work with your student organizations and skills boards." HAHA...do you think they know I did not actually make a skills board? I mean, granted, I did TRY for all of them, just did not actually make any. I assume my recognition will be due to involvement with the SBA, which is one big drunk tank. I think it's great that my school recognizes the drunks right next to the "esteemed" journal folks. We are just one big happy family.
19) Best way to teach yourself Contracts overnight: set up a meeting at 11am with your professor to discuss questions. Make sure it is a professor that you hold in high esteem and who is utterly brilliant. You will find yourself still up at 2am working one of his practice tests so you don't look stupid or unprepared.
20) Hmm...very soon, I will not be a 1L anymore. Does this mean I need to change the name of this blog? If so, do I keep the theme of mis-spelling the first word? I am not sure I want my blog in my second year to be "TooL".
21) Things currently being discussed in my study group: mexican coke uses real sugar, eating only matza for three days gives you diarreah, the Declaration of Independance, surfing in the washing machine, Dewey Beach, and my favorite...does wearing a bra really make a difference for a girl.
Yet another day...
22) I know a little about snakes now.
23) I am proud that I can now say I have used the wireless internet connection at school to view porn. The distrubing part is the porn that I happened upon. Thanks a lot E.Spat!
24) I really got nothing today. I have been sitting in a classroom at school with the same people for almost 10 hours now only a short sushi break to keep me sane. I got nothing.
25) I love spending a Friday night in Stockton 304! Really, I do.
26) WonL has been getting a lot of traffic today. Some from Grasshopper, some leftover from Jack, some is from Ambimb whining at my lack of technological expertise...but mostly, I think it is exam study procrastinators (like myself). Yay! Welcome my new friends:-)
This day will be different...
27) In an effort to re-gain a bit of sanity, I am starting my day by going into Georgetown to a country/western store to purchase some cowboy boots to go with my had for the Battle of San Jacinto party I am attending this evening. Did I say "re-gain" my sanity???
28) ...I ended my day in my new boots, a cowboy hat, and a huge belt buckle with an "L" on it. Good times.
Another day...
29) I got up early to get started today. By get started, I mean catch up on blogs and procrastinating. I recently threw darts with a friend and he told me I sucked. So, this morning, I practiced on sheep.
30) The whole drama of the "study group" can make a grown man act like a 12 year old.
31) I somehow ended up in the really smart people study group. Granted, I am the dumb one in the room, but I sure am learning a lot of stuff.
32) I learned something very important today: that little dinging noise that alerts you that you have left your lights on when you open your car door does not work in my car.
Completely lost all track of days...
33) People say that GW bolts the windows shut so we can't open them and let bugs in. Nope...it's so we don't jump out during finals.
34) I had a five minute conversation with my best friend on the phone tonight and she was not actually on the phone.
35) "Good faith" in contracting is an amorphous concept that courts apply in an arbitrary fashion.
One for the books...
How to learn to watch what you say on your semi-anonymous blawg:Have your cold-calling professor save calling on you until the very last Civil Procedure class saying "Mr. X...you have been sitting back there all year idle in the grass..."
PRICELESS!
Monday, April 18, 2005
Entering the zone...
Exams are nine days away and already, the life has been sucked out of me!I read my last post and realized I have ABSOLUTELY no sense of humor left.
I went to dinner with a friend last night and realized I have no vocabulary left for casual discussion. Seriously, I cannot put words together to form a sentence if it does not involve bifurcation, repudiation, preclusion or duty.
And I couldn't even begin to tell you about my attention span these days. I lost that one somewhere between Moot Court and Mock Trial.
Yep, I am burnt. Plus, I am almost out of Community Coffee and that makes me want to cry.
I pity anyone around me for the next few weeks:-)
Update: I went back to title this post and immediately thought of the Palsgraf zone of danger, so I guess I am learning something. IS there a duty?
Purposeless Thoughts #3
Okay, I have been reading Fuggin it Up for quite some time and I love their take on the esteemed Mrs. Spears/Federline. Now I have a confession to make: I actually went to Britney's site the other day to read her little exerpt about her baby news. (Yes, I am hanging my head in shame as I type.) Anyway, I noticed something. Brit's ramblings on her site sound a whole lot like the girls at Fuggin. I now think that Brit's site isn't real and it's just the FIUp girls:-)To the guy that I WAS sitting across from at the library a few moments ago: dude, you just stuck your finger in your nose, then in your ear, then you smelled it. Please do not look so shocked when I pack up my stuff and move a few tables over.
In prepping for mock trial, we pretty much had to teach ourselves the Federal Rules of Evidence (since I am not taking that class as a 1L) We decided there are some missing objections:
Objection, damaging to our case.
Objection, unanticipated answer.
Objection, Your Honor, that's just not fair.
Yes, I am a tad disturbed that at 3:00 this morning, someone found my site by googling for "whitey tighties". However, I find it more disturbing that someone not only was searching for that, but persistantly enough that they waded through well over 200 results!
FYI...the content here will probably remain pretty 'lacking' until after exams, sorry:-(
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Party Study Party
Looking at my calendar...apparently, it is not only the time for impending exams, but also time for end of the year law school parties! We had our end of the year SBA Luau on Monday. I actually had to skip class to drink. It was justified...girls vs. guys in flip cup and we were winning.Yesterday, the Deans of the Law Schol put on a BBQ/Luau for us students as well. It was great that they filled the quad with"free" beer and food. Gotta tell ya, that was the best damn $32,000 hamburger I have ever had!
Tonight, our Dean's Fellow is taking our LRW section out for drinks to celebrate the end of the year. This should be 'interesting' to say the least.
I promise, mom, I do actually attend law school to learn and not ONLY to drink. After this, it seriously is time to hit the books. The thoughts of post-exam celebrating will get me through the next three weeks. Happy thoughts of a crawfish boil, a section-wide BBQ, an all 1L end of the year party, and a 30 year aged whiskey tasting shin-dig. (So much happier than Crim. Law:-)
Congrats to the OC boys who seem to be rocking their exams! They both went MIA, so I assume they are done.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Moot Court
So, I got bumped from the moot court competition after round two. This means I am 0 for 2 on the skillz boards:-) After Mock Trial this weekend, I may very well be 0 for 3. I would say I am losing faith in the system here, but wait...I have no faith in this system. For more in the "do I suck because I didn't make moot court or does moot court just suck" world, check out some of my classmates thoughts. What an aura of accomplishment at school these days!Sunday, April 10, 2005
Gaming the system
Be proud of me. Today, I went to Starbucks and ordered my usual (Grande Skim No Whip Mocha) and the lady behind the counter said "wow, that was great...where did you learn to order that so well?" I told her I have been corrected by many-a-starbucks workers over the years.What an accomplishment, I can rest easy tonight:-)
Friday, April 08, 2005
The Numbers Game...a team I decline to join
Disclaimer for this post: If it comes of conceited or self-centered, that is not my intent. I admit to being in a very good place right now. However, I don't think it is because I am smarter or funnier or prettier than anyone else. Perhaps I am a bit moreThis is the time of the year that brings a lot of talk of LSAT, GPA, rankings, law review and other skills boards, summer jobs, etc. One thing I noticed pretty quickly in my career transition is that the world of law (be it getting into law school, holding your own in law school, landing a job, or being a lawyer) seems to want to put a number on everything. What makes matters even worse are all of these people that swear by the importance of those numbers. I don't care for those people. Furthermore, I don't believe those people and have set out, in life, to prove them wrong. I think that these people are only feeding this viscous cycle. The cycle starts on the administrative side when you get the "you will be measured by your numbers" talk from admissions people, law school pamphlets, career development office, etc. This seemingly convinces everyone else that we are all a bunch of numbers. The cycle is fed by the students, blogs, and chit chat that the admin. must be right. People automatically refrain from applying or trying for something if they do not fit into that block of the "you have a shot" chart. This is about where I got off the Merry-Go-Round. I advise you to do the same:-)
When I was going through the law school application process, I approached the GW table and said "you tell me what I need to do to get into your school." The man automatically opened up to the handy chart that had all the numbers and said "well, last year, we only took x/y from your category." I closed the book. "Sir, let's try again. I am going to be a great law student and an even better lawyer one day. I promise that I DO NOT fit into your number chart. Once again, you tell me what I need to do to go to school at GW." He took me aside and we discussed my options. I was accepted within two weeks of mailing off my application. Gee, that's interesting, because statistically I should not have really had a shot.
More recently has been this whole summer job thing. When I began the application process, boy was I surrounded by the number nazis. I went to the CDO to polish my resume and discuss my options. She had yet to look at my resume when I mentioned my summer associate goal. She didn't burst into laughter immediately, but rather did the symbolic pat on the head: "oh, that's so cute. Um, you are a 1L and you have no shot. Why don't we look in this big book of government agencies that will hire you?" This goes beyond the CDO here. It was mentioned at orientation that only 1/100 get summer associate jobs as 1Ls. The cycle begins...the beginners convince the rest.
I sat on a five person panel last week at preview day. One Pre-L candidly asked us "how hard is it REALLY to get summer paid work as a 1L?" My four co-panelists immediately began laughing and said "not really hard, more like impossible." I sheepishly interrupted their 'it will never happen' talk with "actually, I got a summer associate position and I am a 1L." I sure can shut a room up fast. Shocked co-panelist to my left said "well, Law-Rah is the exception to the rule, she's brilliant." HA! I am actually closer to average, thank you very much. Furthermore, while I appreciate the vote of confidence, it has much less to do with me being an exception to a rule and much more to do with the fact that everyone blindly accepts that it is 'the rule.' Don't get me wrong, this was actually good for me because everyone else getting caught up in that cycle affords more opportunities for me. On the other hand, I hate seeing my friends and classmates not living up to a potential I KNOW they can merely because it has been engrained in their heads that it just isn't probable. I would estimate over 90% of my classmates did not even apply to law firms because "we all know 1Ls don't get those jobs and even if they do, it's because they are in the top 10% of the class." Really? Is that so? Then my "Congrats you are a GW Scholar" letter must have gotten lost in the mail.
I was speaking about my summer job with a classmate the other day and I think his question to me says it all. He asked "wow, what made you think you could get that?" Not 'how did you do it?', but "what made you think you could"? Hmmm...well, why don't you tell me what makes you think I couldn't? And don't come back to me with any crap about the numbers. It's interesting to me that we just accept this numbers game as the rule without any basis. As lawyers we are taught how to look deeper than the surface rule or custom. We spend all of our time and all of our case reading learning WHY and HOW a rule is what it is. Very few classes focus just on the rules...hell, law school would be a lot easier if they did. Instead, we are forced to understand the background and basis for the rule. How else could we learn to
A note with regards to summer jobs: don't get me wrong, there are definitely people who are doing exactly what they want to be doing this summer and it does NOT involve a law firm. This post is meant to be more of a general nature and I can only offer examples from my own experience.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Healthy eatin' gun totin' soccer mom
Okay, perhaps my hiatus did not last all that long. My mind somehow cleared this evening and I figured I would jot down some stuff. This has really been a week of people saying strange things. I offer you some of the funny/scary/annoying things that people have said to me recently:I was sitting around this past weekend at school eating and chatting with a few friends. One of the guys at the table looked at me and said "you are always eating so healthy." Bwaaahahaha. ME??? My GWorld card alone could re-stock the vending machines! I have never really been a healthy eater, I guess until lately. (As he said this, I looked down at my pineapples, banana and yogurt I had brought for lunch.) I think I just hit my breaking point and realized there is only so long that Snickers really can satisfy you.
The big auction is at school tomorrow and I am going in with a group for some shooting lessons. Yep, me with a gun! (Contrary to apparently popular belief, not all Southerners have guns.) Anyway, we were standing around trying to decide which person would be the one to do the actual bidding, at which point, a classmate offers "I should be the one to do it, I AM a man." Pray tell, oh classmate, what the hell does that have to do with anything? Oh, and please stand next to me at the shooting range while I am armed:-)
A couple of Sundays ago, we had a little Easter/Spring lunch at my house. A few law school people came over and we cooked and sat around and chatted. It was really nice. As I was turning around with the next item to be served, one of my male classmates said I looked like a "soccer mom". (Keep in mind, I do not cook, so this entire day was an experiment for me.) Since I was wearing a button-down pink shirt with khaki overalls with a pony-tail carrying a casserole dish, I couldn't really say much. I did immediately laugh though because that is sooooo not me and I would rather DIE than own a mini-van.
Oh, and my absolute favorite (said with extreme sarcasm):
This evening was my last night of LRW...see the tears in my eyes? Well, our LRW Adjunct decided to give out class awards. The minute she said this, I immediately thought I would be a shoe-in for the "mouthy" award. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I received the Oral Advocacy Award. She gave one for each side of this semester's argument: me for appellant and male classmate for appellee. I was really honored until she decided to divulge to the entire class that once we had all left the courthouse, the judges decided that me and the other award winner should make babies together. Yeah, that's not even funny.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Absence
Since some of you are such loyal readers and have been logging on even in my absence, I feel I owe you an explanation. Well, there are actually a few.1) I am not a real big fan of posting through Blogger and therefore use a separate interface called W.Bloggar. (This enables me to write my posts during class even when the internet connection is down:-) Anyway, I un-installed W.bloggar (long story) and when I went to the website to download it again, I was crushed to find it was gone! Well, it's sort of back up now.
2) In my lack of sleep, I accidentally deleted my entire blog template. THAT SUX. I brought back what I could, but still have a little work. I was so frustrated with myself, I had to step away.
3) Competing in Moot Court this weekend, Mock Trial next weekend, apparently in charge of planning the SBA Transition BBQ next week and also volunteering as a waitress for the EJF Auction this Thursday has left little time for anything else.
4) I got so physically ill this week, I actually skipped class. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't miss class. I find it much more beneficial to my education to attend class and play solitare than to sit at home and watch Jerry Springer.
5) Most importantly, the Catholic period of mourning for Pope John Paul II is 9 days. I intend to use this time to deal with things in my own private way.
That being said, I will resume posting later. Until then, feel free to read old posts or leave comments on posts you have always wanted to. (Jack, stay away from my Bugs!)
Saturday, April 02, 2005
RIP
"The undulating wood slopes downto the rhythm of mountain streams....
If you want to find the source,
you have to go up, against the current,
tear through, seek, don't give up,
you know it must be somewhere here.
Where are you, source? Where are you, source?!"
An excerpt from The Stream,
composed by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II, 1920-2005)
May he rest in a Peace greater than that which he spread over our world.
RIP
Friday, April 01, 2005
Note to self:
Please refrain from going out and consuming numerous Yeunglings the night before Preview Day, where you are expected to be at school with a smile on from 8:15am to 5pm to welcome prospective students.