Happy Holidays

Hope you enjoy.

Catch Up

So it's been quite a while since my last post. I would cite the craziness of finals, but other bloggers seem to be capable of blogging during finals so the conclusion is I am a bad blogger. Or diary writer. This always happens, I start, but get bored, but it won't be happening here.

So since I last wrote I encountered and survived reading week and finals. Now my reading week was very productive. I finished my torts outline and made flash cards for civ pro and then it just sort of dwindled. I discovered the problem. I can not work at home. There are far too many distractions and I have S.O.S. (shiny object syndrome: diagnosed by my leadership professor in undergrad ;-D). So I found a new place to study, a coffeehouse with $2.50 bottomless coffee and it's really good coffee. I got there, posted up, and studied. One day I made a flowchart for torts (Negligence) and another I did flowcharts for contracts (Common Law and UCC) Contract Creation, SOF, and Damages). The act of making them really helped (I'm a partially visually learner). All flowcharts are in 2007 Excel.

I did a little group work leading up to finals, but the one session we had before I had a grasp on everything felt useless to me. After I finished my outlines and flowcharts group was more productive because I knew what questions I wanted to ask, what I needed clarification on, and was able to do hypos. Now we have bar hypos on our school's website, but all they did for me was highlight what I hadn't learned so I had to gravitate away from them and ended up using a mixture of past exams (from my and other professors) and hypos that group created. It was hard to keep the same level of motivation throughout the entire three week period, but I feel that I did well.

And then came the actual tests. First up was torts. I should have been nervous because it was my first law school final and this was the typical law school test (first and only grade of the semester). So our professor told us that it would be between 1 and 3 fact patterns, but based on his past exams I was ready for one long fact pattern...and that's exactly what we got. After learning everything and all of the cases I expected something exciting and I got...negligence. 90% of the test was negligence and there were 2 intentional torts and respondeat superior. I felt cheated. I could have said "f learning anything past negligence" and would have been okay. I was robbed.

Next up was Civ Pro and since we had two other tests during the semester, we only had about 40% of the material to remember. And after the midterm that had everyone in our section on pins and needles, this was a walk in the park. 18 short answer questions and we were out of there. It was what I expected and I am happy with my performance.

Finally, contracts. This was the one that caused my stomach to do the jumpy thing because it was open book. Open book tests are the devils in disguise because you want to have everything you possibly could, but the most important thing is not the quantity of your materials, but how well you know them and can get to the information you need. But this one we knew that there were going to be four questions and two of them would be damages (hence the flowcharts). Now once I got in there, I did the panicked "holy hell I don't see any issues," but once I took a breath, I saw what I needed to see. The test was going smoothly and I was issue spotting like a pro and then I got to question number three. I was doing my first read through and jotting down some issues that I saw and because it dealt with cell phones, my head was in the UCC. And then I got to the last line "use common law to analyze this question." That threw me off for a minute, but I shook it off and went back through the question replacing my UCC cites with common law stuff. I thought it was sneaky, but nothing I couldn't handle. But apparently some of my section mates decided that because the contract involved a good common law would never apply and they told the professor that and applied the UCC. WTF?! The professor told you to use common law, so USE COMMON LAW. It's not that difficult.

The final thing that arose because of finals was people wanting to spend hours deconstructing an exam that we just spent four hours on. I am not one of those people and made that known, but it's hard when there are 85 people in your section and 80 of them want to talk about the test. I mean everywhere I went there were my sectionmates ready with congratulations and questions. I tried to avoid them, but it was impossible especially since I was in a group with three of those people. I was so tired and just wanted to go home. So I did. And it was the best decision I think I made all semester. And my sanity thanks me for it. Well that's the catch-up post. I'm off to write essays and prepare my resume so I can get a summer job. I'll probably be MIA until the new semester starts, but there will be blogs!

So It's Been Awhile...

So it's been awhile since my last posting. The reason is the bane of every students existence. Finals. I have three civ pro, contracts, and torts. Now Professor Civ Pro makes the tests super easy in the sense that all she wants is the answer, no IRAC (issue, rule, application, conclusion), no fluff; just give her the answer and move on. And we've had two other tests this semester so our "final" only covers 40% of the material we've learned this year. Contracts is in the average law school exam style. Contracts will have four short answer questions (I am practicing hypos for 15 minute planning 45 minute typing) to answer in four hours with a 350 word limit/question. Crazy huh? But Professor Contracts says he does it because he wants people to stop and plan, so plan I shall. Finally, torts is the first and only grade that we're getting this semester. Anywhere from 1-3 questions with around a 5,000 (total) word limit. This is the one I am most freakd out about because it turns out that the way Professor Torts taught the class (BIG emphasis on public policy) is NOT what he wants on the exam. Great huh?

And to add insult to injury I had an "interesting" Thanksgiving* and I am having little mini freak outs as a result. But you just gotta roll with the punches right? So back to the dungeon I go. If I am still alive after finals, I'll give you a holler. Good luck to all those in the same boat.

* My boyfriend's ex showed up for dinner at his mom's house and acted like they hadn't broken up in a very messy, very horrible way. And when she was leaving (I was sitting next to his mom) she made sure to sit on his mom's lap to say good-bye. I sensed an ulterior motive but left it alone out of respect to his mom and her guest, but she'd better not show up on Christmas.

Help Me Sell....

I have Seasons 1-4 of Angel for sale. I removed the shrink wrap and then placed them on my shelf, so they're basically brand new. I would like to sell them together for $50, but will sell separately for $15/season. I am in Denver, but will ship anywhere using USPS flat rate shipping boxes. Please help me get the word out and get these sold. Thanks!

It's My Birthday...

And just because I'm in the law school doesn't mean that I can make my brain do ANYTHING productive. But, what the hey.

Weekly Recap #12

So I'm late...and this is going to be short. So sue me. Finals are quickly approaching, I have a revised memo due, and I have to do an oral presentation in front of my mentor (a municipal court judge). And it's going to be my birthday/anniversary weekend so I am totally cutting into possible study time by going out to celebrate. I don't know how I'm going to do it. There may be some extremely late nights pulled on Friday and Sunday, but that's a little counterproductive for me since I don't function well if I'm not in bed by midnight. Just ask my boyfriend. So I found a fellow blogger who is a 1L at the same school as me. Shout out to Cowgirl in the City! But I think that's all I have time for right now. Good luck to all those out there who are starting the finals free-for-all. I've been told that at some point the madness ends, but I'm not sure I believe it.

Epic Fail...

Is this why people think women are such bad drivers?

Weekly Recap #11

So, interesting week. Two and a half days of class. Snow day. And first made from scratch memo due. Now that was crazy hard. This memo project started out as a group project and let me tell you I HATE group work. I was that person in undergrad who would seek out the weak willed and lazy to be my partners or just work on my own. My understanding was my grade is on the line. I didn't want to put my grade in the hands of others, so I'd rather do all the work on my own. And I never got anything lower than a B+.

But there was no wriggling out of this one and to be honest the amount of work required and the time frame that it needed to be done in required group work. But anyway...once the group work was done, we were supposed to take the work we compiled together and create our own memo. You wouldn't think this would be hard...but damn! It took two hours of staring, typing, reading, thinking what I created was crap, and deleting. I tell you, I've never had so much trouble beginning a paper. This made me feel like a complete and total idiot. But the best part was the fact that once I created something, it was waaaaay easier to edit. And to be honest, I was pretty happy with what I created (after five revisions) and handed in.

So I knew that my final memo would build off of this one, but I was not aware that there was an included oral portion. I have to go back to the memo that I am sick of looking at and create an oral presentation that properly explains my ideas and position in ten minutes. All I can say is thank goodness I only have to do it in front of my mentor and not the whole class. I still have to work on that whole public speaking thing. I'm getting there, but it's hard. So that's LP.

Now the other difficult thing is I have realized (and now completely understand) that I have three weeks until reading week and 45 days until the end of the semester. Jeez! I have NO TIME. I mean, I've started my outlines, but I have so much I need to add and then I need to start boiling it down. Where am I supposed to find this time I mean we got an hour today, but really what is an hour, maybe three torts cases and briefs. Plus I have to sleep sometime right? Right?! Okay so maybe sleep is a luxury I can't afford anymore, but I have to eat right? Right?! Okay scratch that too. But I HAVE to see people outside of law school right? Damn, what have I done with myself? Law school was supposed to be good for me. I'm not really feeling good right now. I feel like I have no time. And I don't. Until next time...unless I've gone crazy.

SNOW DAY!

So today we had a partial snow day. This means we got to school, got to go to one class, and then got sent home. Yea! But boo. Now the makeup day that we were probably not going to have is definitely happening. And school is closed tomorrow. Most of my classmates are ecstatic, but I asked around and if it gets to the point that we have to make up more days than already allocated rather than push exams back a day, they'll take time out of reading week. I don't know about anyone else, but at this point I need all the time I can get to study. But don't get me wrong, I love that I was able to take a half day off and recharge.

But on a side note, I figured that a snow day was as good a day as ever to be Suzy Homemaker. So I cooked goulash (basic half beef half sausage mixture) and made my first attempt at making pumpkin bread from scratch. And although the bread is still baking I think it turned out pretty damn pumpkin bread like. Once it's done, I'll post pictures and the recipe.

Well, I'm gonna go and eat dinner with my man and to all my classmates, enjoy your snow day to the fullest!

FLIGHT SALE!!!

Southwest is having a sale for the next three days. Not applicable for all days or all times and these prices are for one way, ,but I just got a roundtrip crosscountry (1500 miles each way)ticket for $242.40! Go get 'em!

• $25 for trips 374 miles or less
• $50 375-549 miles
• $75 550-999 miles
• $100 for 1000+ miles

Weekly Recap #10

So another week gone. After some careful examination of a calendar I realized that including this week I have four weeks of class left. Looking at the syllabi for each class, the only class we're on track in is our Lawyering Process. So what does that mean, you ask. It means that every single professor is going to speed up saying to hell (well not really) with your understanding. I need to get this out and you're gonna take it. Now that just doesn't seem fair to me because theoretically we wouldn't be in this position if you didn't take so many "what if's" or tell us that fiftieth war story during our precious class time. I don't think it's fair that as a result of your actions, I must suffer, but that's the way of the world I guess. Some things are coming easier, but it will be that much more difficult when we start learning about damages in two different classes that are worlds apart (torts and contracts) and try to keep them separated.

So another good thing that I learned from looking at the calendar is that in exactly (ok well maybe not exactly cause of the time and everything) one week from now we will get our hour back ladies and gents. That's right! Daylight savings time, otherwise known as the bane of law students existence (how dare you take away an hour when I already don't have enough time to do my work now?!) will come to an end. You'll get that hour back and for a week (if you're lucky) you'll actually feel like you've gotten a good night's sleep...and then it's back to that crammed "can we make a 28 hour day" feeling. But I sure am going to make the most of that week.

So other than the thirteen hour study day I pulled, nothing really to report. Four weeks of class. Six weeks til finals. Eight weeks til winter break. And did I mention that winter break is a whole month?! For me that's amazing because my entire undergrad career I was on a trimester schedule and as a result we got out around the 21st of December and went back around the 3rd of January. Oh I am going to treasure winter break and take that time to do...absolutely nothing (for the first couple of days until I get bored with myself and find something, anything to do). So keep on truckin' fellow 1L's. I can see the beginning of the end of the tunnel and it's a beautiful thing.

HELP!!!

I have a friend's wedding to go to in about two weeks. I have purchased this dress in black. The dress itself is a little more form fitting on me than on the model and stops right in the middle of my knee with a modest slit in the back. My dilemma is how to accessorize? I was thinking maybe adding a patterned tight, black heels (on the higher side) and a red clutch, but I'm feeling that I need something more. What do you think? Please help me!

Weekly Recap #9

So once again I am late with my recap, but better late than never right? I don't know what's been going on with me this week. Scratch that I do. In the first two and a half weeks of October I had midterms and an LP assignment due and I could look forward to something being handed in and getting that feeling of relief of it being done, but now I have nothing. Nothing to look forward to being over until finals start and gosh darn it I am on Apathy Rd. and it's looking like a loooooooooooong stretch of highway to me. Now I'm just looking at it like all I have to do is go to class? You mean, I don't have anything else to look forward to? ow don't worry because I am basically running on autopilot going to class, taking notes, doing my outline, but it's not fun right now. It used to be fun. I want my fun back. GIVE IT BACK! 2L's 3L's BeyondL's how do I get my fun back? (It doesn't help that I sat and thought about it and this is my 18th year in school having had no breaks other than summer and winter and I'm tired.) So I guess that's all for this week. Hopefully next week I'll have a cheerier outlook on everything. I'm not going to quit or anything I just need some help because the relationship between law school and me (I?) is starting to fizzle.

So You've Gotten Your LSAT Score...

So apparently people who took the most recent LSAT are (or already have) getting their scores back. Some people are going to be ecstatic (exceed expectations), some people are going to be happy (got what they expected), and some people are going to be like me. I got the email, opened it, looked, and cried. Not just cried, I bawled. I scared the crap out of my boyfriend and he really didn't know what to do. I got a score that was below the median and I was convinced that my legal career was over before it had even begun. I moped and I complained and then I got over it. I went and signed up for the December test date and I went and got one-on-one tutoring for the section that I was sure had tanked my score-the dreaded games section. I put my best foot forward and I went and took it again and you know what, I was more prepared, I wasn't as scared as I was the first time around (and it helped that I wasn't schlepped around like cattle with 200 others for an hour and a half) and the night before I had people over for dinner watched a movie with my boyfriend, and went to bed on time.

And you know what, I did better. Not a whole lot, but I did better. And you know what the LSAT isn't the end all be all deciding factor of law school admissions. I had an okay score, a 3.76 GPA, and a good admission essay (pretty good if I do say so myself) and I am sitting here procrastinating on making my torts outline during the first semester of my first year in law school.

So my advice is if you exceed your expectations congratulations. Pat yourself on the back just be careful about flaunting it around others. If you reached your goal congratulations, flaunt it as well but be careful just the same. And if you are not happy with your score go ahead and mope, but realize that it's not the end of the line and get over it. You can take it again (and if you take the December test your scores will still get to your schools on time) and how well you do on the LSAT has not been proven to be an indicator of how well you'll do in law school. You can do it.

Product Review-Levi's 512's, 580's and 590's

So I am what would have been classified as a brick house if I lived in my mom's time and I probably would have had an easier time finding clothes, specifically jeans. But I live in this day and age and my generous hips and smaller (well smaller than my hips) waist make it very difficult to find pants that fit me in both places. More often than not I would go into a store for pants and come out with lots of nice shirts. And if I found a type of pant that fit me correctly I would simply buy multiple pairs and be done with the whole thing until they fell apart (which is often less than a year now because of the crappy quality of materials used nowadays). But somehow whenever I found pants that fit in stores, they would never be jeans. Honestly I haven't had a pair of jeans for about two years now. And up until now I have just accepted the fact that most jeans that are in stores today are not made for people with hips. But not anymore.

Two weeks ago, I got one of my all time fav magazines in the mail (Marie Claire) and I was innocently flipping through admiring all of the pretty clothes I came across this article. It's written by Ashley Falcon. She's an intern at the magazine, but the best part? She's a size 18 with curves galore and damn proud of it. In her inaugural article she discusses how difficult it is for her to find clothes in actual brick and mortar stores, but she doesn't give up, and neither will I. So armed with her suggestions of the best jeans that have worked for her I went out into the world wide web and prepared to do battle. I started at Levi's website and lo and behold, it was my lucky day. Not only were the plus jeans on sale (from $48 to $35), but there was free shipping on every purchase (no minimum purchase). With that type of sign I realized that I was meant to get over my fears and order jeans. So order I did. I ordered one pair (I had to guess my size) of the 512's, 580's, and 590's. So, I received them today and tried each pair on and will now give product reviews for anyone who needs them.

Just as a note I have a 10" difference between my waist and hips with a very large rear end and a semi-defined waist. Also I am 5'8 1/2".

Levi's 512: Perfectly Shaping Boot
99% Cotton, 1% Spandex
I was a little hesitant to order these because of the pocket's. Any girl with a healthy rear end knows that pockets that don't lie flat can make it look bigger (in a bad way). So I tried them on and I could barely get them up. But I shimmied and I shook and up they came, but they were not closing. So I would say that these have a tendency to run true (if not a little smaller) to size. That plus the fact that there is only 1% spandex means that these are not for me. Also, I ordered the regular length because Levi's does not carry the plus jeans in long and I would have been able to wear flats, but not heels. Also, the color that is available is a very dark rinse (basically black) with lots of white undertones. They look good.

Levi's 580 : Defined Waist Bootcut
99% Cotton, 1% Spandex
The pockets lie flat, which is a good thing so already these are better than the 512's. So I ordered these because I did not know if my waist would qualify as a defined waist according to Levi's. So I try them on and realize that this is a good idea in theory. The first problem I had was getting them past my hips. When they say defined, they mean defined and to hell with the fact that in order to get the wonderful waistband to a defined waist, a person would have to get past their generous hips first. So I got them up and these were able to close and then I realized how defined Levi's believes a defined waist is. And I honestly think that if the jeans came up to where they came on the model, my waist would have been defined enough, but since the jeans stopped right where my legs meet the rest of my body (which is NOT the waist) they just created a very unsightly muffin top which no woman wants. So that's another pair nixed. The color is a darker wash (dark blue) with very little white undertone and I would have been able to wear flats, but not heels.

Levi's 590: Fuller Waist Bootcut
99% Cotton, 1% Spandex
So once again, the pockets lie flat. Next I tried them on and they went up very smoothly, no shimmying needed. And once I got them up they closed with no problem and created no muffin top whatsoever. These are great because they stop in the same place as the 580's, but the waist is the same width as the hips. The one problem that I had with these when I first put them on is instead of getting wider at the knee they seemed to get a little slimmer and caress my calves more than I liked, but as I sit here in my normal computer position I can feel them loosening so problem averted. The color is a very dark wash (but dark blue, not black) with no white undertones and I tried on my highest heels (4 1/2") and they were almost completely covered.

So that's it. Three pairs tried, one pair found and a coupon for 30% off all regular and sale priced jeans for their friend's and family days that are coming up so I think I will return the two pairs that don't work to a Levi's store in my area and then go back to the website and get some more 590's. I hope this helps anyone who is in the same predicament that I was for a while and good luck in your search.

Tip: When you go to try pairs to see how they fit like I did here, sign up for the mailing list and get a code for free shipping first, that way if you need to return any you can do it at a store (if you send them back through the mail they will deduct $7 from your refund) and get a full refund because you didn't pay shipping in the first place (they won't refund shipping in the stores, but they also won't take money away from your refund).

Don't Be Surprised...

If you get eight weeks into law school and feel like you know less than your first day.

Weekly Recap #8

So...it's Wednesday morning and I am just now getting the recap for the week in. Sad you say? Well I say midterms. I had one on Thursday and one on Monday and they were both in their own special way brutal and amazing all in one. First the one on Thursday was my first knock down, drag out IRAC exam. Open book, open notes. I had the information down, but I didn't trust myself so I spent too much time outlining my answer and could only get the minimum information on my actual test paper. Oh I started shaking, I was crying after it was over (yes I was that person who brokedown in front of my entire section), but I dealt (had some ice cream), cried more, slept, and woke up and got over it. I mean I had another midterm to think about plus that particular one is only worth 20%. Every test counts, but I realized that even if I bomb that one my next one (worth 70%) is weighed far more and as long as I do well I will balance out and come out with a decent grade.

Now the next midterm, 60+ cases, over a month of classes, F.R.C.P., parts of Article III of the Constitution, all wrapped up in one 14 question (28 once you factored in the multi-part questions) short answer (an oxymoron really because you have to explain so it's sort of hard to keep things short) test that needed to be completed in 1 hour and 15 minutes. One person finished with 8 minutes to spare, one with five, and the rest were furiously writing until the proctor called time. Not such a good sign, but we knew it was going to be hard. There was a lot of material and very little time. So I complained for a minute, but now I'm like get over it, move on. Everyone had some issues so we'll just have to wait until we get the tests back to see how that curve affects us. But we knew it was coming. Listening to other people I'm getting a little frustrated because it feels like they don't want to take responsibility. They want to blame everything on the professor, but she was just doing her job.

One thing that was pointed out to me by a friend is although law school tests are supposed to test how we work under pressure, when, as an actually attorney, will we ever be given that breadth of information and told we have an hour to do as much as we can? If you have some war stories that can answer that please let me know. Well now I have to get back to the work for the classes that I have been neglecting for the past week so until next week...

P.S.

And how sad is this story?

Weekly Recap #7

So these recaps are getting later and later in the weekend each week. It's an amazing thing to look at because I think it's a direct correlation to (a) how much work I'm receiving and (b) my ultimate comprehension. The primary reason that the recap is so drastically late this week is because I have midterms coming up and I have been pulling eight hour days this entire weekend. It's crazy for me because I have never had to study like this. School (except for math) has always come fairly easy to me. All through undergrad my best papers have come from all-nighters, but luckily I realized before I got here that I can't do that anymore. But to be spending eight hours a day just studying is bananas to me. But I do it because I have to. Now understand I don't study for eight hours straight because I would at some point burn out and stop retaining what I'm reading and that would be so counterproductive. So what I do is I take little breaks and watch some shows that I want to watch during the week, but can't. The list includes:

• FlashForward
• The View
• Bones
• Dollhouse
• Smallville

I figured that if I take two one hour breaks for each eight hour study period, I can stay up on my shows and my schoolwork. Cause law school is all about compromise. So I'm compromising by not watching my shows until the weekend. It was a hard decision, but it had to be made. :-D

Now before I wrap things up I have a question for those who have been in my position. I have my outlines started and they are coming along, but when it comes to the actual application it's harder. I want to do hypos and I have received some from the professor, but they are section specific meaning they just focus on one thing say offer and acceptance so I don't have to look to any other part of my outline to make sure that it's good. Now my first thought would be to go to the professors old exams, but there are none available. So what do I do? Please help me.

Well that's it for the week and all you other 1L's keep on truckin'.

Weekly Recap #6

So...not really much to report on the home front here. I got the damn H1N1 virus, so I was completely down for the count for basically the entire week. Lucky for me though, I could not have picked a better week to get sick because we only did new stuff in one class and I had something due, but the full draft was already done so all I had to do were some corrections (which is really hard to do your deathbed) and I didn't have to ask for extra time. Well now I have to go because I will be playing catch up for the rest of the evening and all day tomorrow (no classes!). This includes lots of reading and mucho outlining. If I have any Jewish readers, well I don't really think Yom Kippur is supposed to be a happy day, so...well I don't really know what to say without potentially insulting people.

Weekly Recap #5

So, what to talk about. Nothing super interesting happened this week. Got up, went to class, did homework, came home. I started making flashcards and working on my other outline because my midterms are three weeks away. To those not in law school it seems like a lot of time, but you have no idea. Every Friday I wake up and am amazed that it's Friday already. Law school and I are still in our honeymoon phase, but ask me after midterms what I think. Well I am going to go and get back to work so that I can go out on my walk before it gets dark and cold here.

My study environment would probably be more conducive if I turned off Bridezillas, but it's like a train wreck. You want to look away, but you know it's not possible. Speaking of wedding shows I just read in the October Cosmo that there's going to be a television station that plays all wedding shows all the time. My boyfriends response? "Well it was nice to have cable, but that's gotta go." I have lived through over two years of NBA TV. I don't think that having a wedding show station (that I will never have time to watch until after finals) will be so bad. He should worry more about the actual wedding that we're going to.

And one last thing, you know that the law has taken over your life when your boyfriend tells you that you woke up in the middle of the night, began to explain a case involving fake money, and warned him to stay away. Yeah, I'm just that screwed up.

Dress for Sale

I purchased this dress from a UK based store called Dorthoy Perkins. I received it today (9/15) and I tried it on, but the fabric does not lay well on my hips. I would like to sell it if possible. Once all the conversions occurred, I paid $57.77, so please keep that in mind when making an offer. I will keep this until 9/21 and if no one has purchased it, I will be sending it back. If you know anyone who would like or you yourself would like to purchase this, please contact me ASAP. It's a size 20.

Recipe of the Week

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
4.5 lbs Chicken Drumsticks
4.5 quarts of water (1 cup=.25 quarts)
Carrots (Sliced)
White Onions (Diced)
Green Onions (Cut)
Celery (Sliced)
Minced Garlic
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Seasoned Salt
2 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
Egg Noodles (1 16 oz package)
Butter
Big Soup Pot

Directions:
Season the chicken at least two hours before starting. (Overnight is preferred; Use whatever seasonings you plan to use in the soup)
Make sure all of you vegetables are cut up. You can add any other veggies that you'd like.
Turn the burner on high under your pot.
Put 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the pot.
When the butter starts to sizzle add your veggies in this order (garlic, green onions, stir, onions, celery, carrots, etc.)
Add your seasonings (I used pepper, garlic powder, chicken seasoning, seasoned salt, and a rosemary garlic seasoning)
Add your chicken drumsticks.
Add your water (if you need more to make sure that everything is covered, add away).
Let your mixture simmer on med-high for approximately 50 minutes (or until chicken is done) stirring occasionally. Add your bouillon cubes halfway through and stir.
Once your chicken is done take it out and let it cool (approximately ten minutes) and then cut it from the bone and roughly chop it.
Return the chicken to the pot, add the soup and noodles.
Let simmer for another five minutes and enjoy.

I cook for the week, so this is a big recipe, you can cut it down accordingly just remember that you need the water to cover everything. I didn't add quantities for the veggies because some people like more and some less. Add what you feel. This is not the healthiest recipe, but it's much better than my mac and cheese (I'll post that in the coming weeks).

Weekly Recap #4

So the end of the fourth week brought the first outlining effort. I thought it went well until one of my mentors informed me that my group and I spent three hours basically seperating eggs. Apparently the topic that we thought was so important because the professor was spending so much time on is not even a truly significant part of the recipe. The good part? I was able to get a good topic outline done so I can go back and simplify everything. Something not so good happened this week that I won't talk about, mostly because I don't handle rejection well, but I've moved on thanks to another one of my amazing mentors. So that's pretty much it for this week. My whole body is so tired that I can't motivate myself to get up and do anything, but I have to so I'm going to go attack the laundry that has piled up during the week, cook so there is food in the house for the week, finish my Civ Pro, and fix my outline. Joy. I need another Labor Day weekend.

You Know It Sucks...

You know it sucks when you're a plaintiff who was injured as a result of not being fully informed, you lose at trial, appeal, and the highest court in your state says "yeah you were right and we'll change the law, but since you sued under the old laws they have to apply. Even though they were wrong."

Unbelieveable #2

So I came across a story today that compelled me to write an extra post for this week. This story involves Shanelle Walker a (from my understanding) a former Kentucky State University (KSU) student. During her time at KSU, Ms. Walker was elected student body president and during her tenure she (apparently) proved to be a controversial president by taking a "strong stand against the heads of Student Affairs and Residential Life." According to the article, Ms. Walker's largest gripe was the fact that at one point the school was not prepared for the students to enter the residence halls and asked the students to stay in a hotel for a few weeks. Ms. Walker claimed that these hotels were in neighborhoods that she perceived as dangerous. Now, I understand that living in a hotel for the first couple of weeks can be very disruptive to the educational process, but at least the school was doing something and footing the bill. I believe that there are some schools, if faced with the same situation, would inform the students that they needed to find an alternate place to live, provide some options, and prorate room and board (which would probably not cover the costs incurred). And I completely understand that Ms. Walker was doing what she believed was part of her duty, to protect the interests of the student body, but I think I am correct in inferring that that neighborhoods were not dangerous according to the reasonable man. I cannot speak for other's parents, but if I informed my mother that I was in a dangerous area she would have done everything in her power to make it know and get me out of there. The school would not have been able to keep any students there.

But sadly, this is not the end of the story. At some point in Ms. Walker's time at KSU she realized that she needed a retroactive withdrawl. She was intially awarded this withdrawl, but the decision was challenged by the Student Affars office. When the decision was challenged Ms. Walker was asked to provide further information that would support her missing so many classes. Ms. Walker provided a doctor's note that was later determined to be false and her retroactive withdrawl was rescinded. And she is upset why? Because (1) as far as her knowledge goes, this was the first time that Student Affairs intervened in a decision concerning a student's grades, (2) after being caught she was removed as student body president, suspended, and her withdrawls converted to F's, (3) other student's have committed far worse infractions than she and received lesser punishments, and (4) a male student requested retroactive withdrawl and it was granted. Does anyone see a problem with her reasoning?

1. So the problem here, I worked in the Student Affairs office at my undergraduate school and as much as students liked to believe that they knew everything that went on behind the scenes, they didn't. Schools have a responsibility to keep student's private records well...private. They don't broadcast everytime they discovered some form of academic dishonesty and I'm pretty sure the student accused didn't either. And Student Affairs is usually where the Academic Dean is so that is the part of the school that takes care of those matters.
2. She was the student body president for goodness sake. And she is upset because she got caught forging a doctor's note and was suspended and the decisions made based on the lie reversed? I am not saying that she should be held to a higher standard, but it is common knowledge that people in positions of power usually are. If she didn't want the additional scrutiny, then she should have remained a plain old student.
3. Once again, she's student body president. However, she may have a valid argument here because in her interview she stated that there were athletes arrested for first degree robbery (that was later reduced to theft) and they only incurred a $100 fine and some community service. I would be outraged, if I could believe her. She's lied once already so her creadibility is moot with me.
4. Does she know all of the circumstances surrounding that student's retroactive withdrawl? Maybe he could produce a note from an actual doctor. Hey, you enver know.

This story and her reasoning and actions (speaking out very publicly against the school administration) disgusts me. As an African American woman, I am very disappointed in her actions and the fact that she does not seem to realize what she did wrong. However, I realize that is just my opinion, now I want to know what is yours? Have I only seen part of the story? Is there something I'm missing? Or do you think I'm just plain wrong? Let me know. I promise to publish all comments unless they include derogatory language including, but not limited to curse words.

Sadly, this is not a joke.

Do you remember Kid from the infamous duo Kid n Play (for those of you who don't know he's the one on the left with a good six inches of hair on his head)



Well apparently he's all grow up now and getting ladies because of his suits. And apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to use him to market said suits.



Now I don't know about you, but for some reason seeing Kid doesn't really inspire me to go out and purchase a suit. I do however get the urge to do the kick step (see the first video at 1:20)

Weekly Recap #3

So the end of week three. This week was a little more hectic because I hung out after class on Thursday and didn't get home until eleven and I still did some work. Crazy, I know, but there was some stuff that had to be done by Friday at certain times and I knew that I would be in no shape to get up on Friday and do both assignments. Jeez. So I picked my one group that I want to be a part of, but there's an interview process, so even though I picked them they might not pick me.

So one thing that I am in the process of re-learning is that you can't judge a book by its cover. Hard because as humans we're hard wired to make snap judgments, I'm simply trying to make sure my snaps don't become permanent. One thing I have heard is that people in high stress careers (doctors, lawyers, etc.) have a higher chance of abusing alcohol (let me know if I'm wrong) but I can see how that can be. I had one drink after class on Thursday and it did make me feel a little better about well...everything. I have to make sure that it doesn't become a regular thing. My goal is to find something else that can help me unwind. Biking perhaps? Don't really know.

So this question is for anyone who is/has been in law school. Do you find it hard to read anything other than cases? I love to read for pleasure, but when I've been finding time (which is rare) to do something for me I try to read one of the many books that I acquired over the summer for this very purpose, but I can't concetrate. The entire time I'm reading I'm looking for something deeper (a rule basically) and when I can't find one I get frustrated. Has this happened to you and if so how did you overcome it?

Two first happened this week. The first is that I had a law school exam. Now I understand that it's not a typical exam because the prof. basically told us exactly what to study and tested us on exactly that. (I wish all the law was that concrete.) The second was my first legal writing assignment. Now it wasn't an entire memo, but it was something. So when I started writing it was very intimidating. I mean it was the first legal analysis I had ever done. And...I did it wrong. Well not all of it, but I thought we were supposed to be putting everything into our own words and that wasn't the case. But I did a draft, went to one of the TA's and found out what I was doing wrong, and fixed it. And I was pretty darn proud of what I handed in. We'll see what happenes when I get everything back though.

So that was pretty much the highs from my week. I haven't really had any lows yet, but when I do I'll let you know. If there's anything in particular you would like to know about from my limited experiences just let me know.

Weekly Recap #2

So the end of week two. And honestly this one was a little harder. We jumped further into substantive law and it's just going to get harder from here. I know. I'm ready. Another part of my life that has started this week are the group sessions. Each of our classes has TA's handpicked by the professors based on their grades and overall performance in the same class with the same professor. That's great for me because it helps me focus especially in Contracts where I cannot for the life of me figure out what I should be taking notes on. Now I understand that I should let it come to me and I am, but it's hard. People get to law school with a primarily or majority Type A personality. I'm a partial Type A and it manifests itself when I feel I have no control over my surroundings. When this happens I take control in whatever way I can and in this situation it comes in the form of collecting supplements. Luckily I found a recent grad whose moving clear across country who was nice enough to give me some books and flash cards. Yes!

Now another thing that happened this week, and I had been properly forewarned about, was the question of "how much do you study?" And I'll be honest, I almost got sucked in, but I managed to wiggle out with an "it depends" and it really does. I have Civ Pro and I love the way Prof. Civ Pro teaches. We're told exactly what to look for and exactly what to study. So I look for what I need and no more so it really cuts down on any "well do I need to study that? I don't know so I guess I do." But on the other hand Contracts is...well Contracts. Prof. Contracts is really very nice, but Contacts itself...not so nice. And even here I'm not going to tell you how long I study, but works best for me, on the weekend, is to take one class per day and once I'm done with the tasks for that class, I'm done for the day. It works because I can fully focus on that particular subject and not cram anything else into my head after I'm done. Works for me, find out what works for you.

So that's it for the week. I'm going to keep you updated on anything special that happens and I hope to start a healthy recipe of the week on Sunday nights. So good luck for now.

I'm Listed!

So when I first started my blog I was interested in finding out who was reading, where they are from, etc. (you know back when I had time to keep track) so I added a sitemeter reader. (It's free if you want to put one on your page.) So hello to all readers including those from India, Iceland, and Malaysia (I would love to hear how your legal education experiences differ from mine).

But one of the best parts of the (free) sitemeter subscription is that you can see (for the most part) how people get to your blog and through this I found out that someone got to my blog because I am on a 100 Blog Posts You Should Read Before Going to Law School list (#73 thank you very much) for the post that I wrote utilizing advice I gleaned from Penelope. So that's all I wanted to say today. Look for the weekly update later on this week. Thanks so much for reading.

Weekly Recap #1

So I've officially completed my first week of law school. So how was it? Well I'll tell you what I told my mom, "it feels like I'm learning how to tread water, but I've always known how." Now you're probably thinking, "what the hell is she talking about!" Well I've always wanted to do this and I know that sounds horribly cliched, but it's true and I think that this is what I've been put on Earth to do. This is my Personal Destiny and it's something I really want and "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." (That quote is from The Alchemist by Paulo Coleho and if you never do anything else in life, you should read this book.)

So you probably don't want to hear about that, you want to hear about my first week. So I have Civil Procedure, Contracts, LP (which is the traditional lawyer skills class everyone eventually takes), and Torts. So as far as Contracts goes I have no earthly idea what is going on, but I will continue to take notes and wait as the "big picture" reveals itself. (Everyone tells me that this will happen so I'm gonna wait and see). In Civil Procedure and Torts I'm not lost and I'm even having fun. I mean did you know that the United States can sue property (money, treasure, etc.)? I mean that just flabbergasts me, but after speaking with an upperclassperson I understand why it would be done (in some cases). And in LP, well we haven't really done much.

So my advice from my experiences so far:

• Get the locker. I did and it's saving my life. I mean if I wanted to I could leave my bookbag alone until it's time to go home.
• For the basic things (such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) look to the Westlaw and LexisNexis tables. I got two free copies (one for school, one for home). How greedy you say? Not really because these companies will eventually bleed me dry to allow me to use their search engines. Save some for the others you say? These companies are currently bleeding hundreds of thousands of attorneys dry to use their precious search engines so they have an excess of these things (just think everytime one is taken, the rep wil lsimply replace them with two more).
• Don't join everything right away. I am sitting back and just observing and I haven't "joined" any student organizations yet, but I've applied for a mentor (which requires mandatory meetings) and signed up for small group sessions (which meet every other week) so I've got some stuff filling my plate. I've singled out one group that I may like to join and I'm going to go to an informational meeting (and get free lunch) soon and make a decision.
• Use Google Calendar. I use it and have a widget on my desktop and that will show anything I've put into my calendar for the next seven days. So it's always there.
• Enjoy the time that you have to yourself. Learn to relax and decompress during that time because other people will be super high strung and if you're not careful it will rub off on you.
• Listen to those who have already jumped in the water when they tell you the water's fine (and believe them when they tell you there are no sharks).
• Have fun. You're not paying $150,000+ to come out with some sort of depression or anxiety. Relax and accept things as they come and you will be fine.

So that's it. Now I'm going to start my one post per week rule and if something exciting or important happens I may have more than one per week. But in closing I want to say good luck to all the other 1L's out there, hang in there to all the 2L's and 3L's, and congrats to all those who just took the bar.

First Two Days

So as of today I have completed two days of law school and had all of my classes once. And...it's actually not that bad, but ask me again in a week when our professors have decided that they don't want to hold our clammy little hands anymore and push us off a cliff. One of my biggest obstacles that I am seeing already is I am going to have four different classes and have to take notes four different ways. The way I write things down in Civ Pro will not work in Contracts (add that to the fact that I can't figure out what the hell to do in Contracts) and I'm a little behind. But what seems to be helping is I have gotten permission in 3 out of 4 of my classes to tape the classes so (if necessary) I can go back and fill in my skeleton notes.

Another thing that I knew was coming (but is still a shock) is the reading load. Mine is not so bad on Sunday and Tuesday because I only have two classes the next day, but my Monday and Wednesday reading load will be hell because I will have 3 and 4 classes on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Take last night for example. I was up until midnight reading and I STILL had reading to do during my three hour break today (thank goodness for that break).But today after class I stayed a little longer (partially because I was NOT getting in rush hour traffic) mainly to go over and organize my notes and do a little reading so I didn't have to take so many books home today.

I am debating (and leaning towards not) taking part in any student orgs this semester. I want to have something that's law school related, but fun, to do, but I don't want my grades to suffer. I want to do well (survive, succeed, excel is my motto for this semester) and I'm not sure how well I'll do if I am treating my time like Voldermort treated his soul. So if you have any advice feel free to chime in. Well I'm going to go and get back to reading with the hopes of getting to bed at a decent hour. Hopefully I'll post more this week and then my once per week (at minimum) rule will kick in. Good luck to all who started this week (or will start next week).

"I'm Gonna Need You to Breathe"

That's what my boyfriend, best friend, and mother have all said to me at some point today. Why? Because tomorrow is my FIRST DAY OF LAW SCHOOL. I am an excited bundle of nerves and I am just wondering WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?! So I need to divert my attention, so I have a couple of questions for anyone who happens to read this:

1. What is the best way to convert a .mp4 to something a little more useable such as an .mp3 or a .wma.
2. Do you think that the general public would allow Aladdin to be made? I was watching today and the whole movie is Allah this and praise Allah that. Would that be acceptable in today's politcal climate? (I personally don't have a problem with it mostly because I LOVE Aladdin.)

So I am going to go and pack my bag and get it by the front door. And hope that I can get some sleep tonight. Oh and by the way this past weekend I got the best advice from an upperclassman, "Don't ask others on the boat how deep the water is. Look to the people who have already jumped in."

Would You Take Her Back?

I bet this guy is thanking his lucky stars. What if he'd gotten married to her and then found out that she was certifiable? (Sorry it's a tad longer than clips I've posted in the past.)



On a completly unrelated note I am addicted to the UNO BETA of Facebook. If you have some time, come be an addict with me.

Summer Preview Day Five

So yesterday was the final day of the preview week and I can honestly say that I had fun. In the morning we used almost all of the stuff we learned to begin learning how to formulate practice exam answers and learn how to outline. For the most part outlining was exactly what I thought it would be, but it was good to get a professor to guide us and show us what should be there.

In the afternoon we had a sample law school exam, but according to the people there part of the test wasn't that typical. The essay part was what I am going to have to work on, heck all legal writing, I still write like an undergrad.

So, that was it, all in all it was a very good program and in spite of the price tag I would recommend it (or any prep program CLEO etc.). I may not feel absolutely ready for law school (because, honestly, who could be fully prepared), but I am better. Technically, I've had my first taste of the Socratic Method, had lectures, taken notes, created an outline, and did a "law school exam" so I won't be flying blind. That's good to know. Another perk I discovered is that I just spent that last week in one of my classrooms, so I already know where I want to sit. Now I wonder how early I'll have to get there to stake out my chosen seat? Ahhh law school. Here I come.

Summer Preview Day Four

So...Thursday. We went over how to properly do legal analysis and writing. It was all really good information, but I think I've reached my point. Thank goodness that tomorrow is Friday because I just want everything to get started. So in conclusion today was good, but I was just not feeling it today.

Summer Preview Day Three

So today included two class sessions. Okay so one was discussion style and one was lecture, but they were delivered at the speed and efficency that I believe I will encounter in my classes. My weakness that I noticed today was getting so caught up in what was going on around me that I forgot I was supposed to be taking notes. Luckily none of the stuff I forgot to jot down will be on the final.

In the first part of the day we were lectured to and then provided with a statute and told to change it. That was amazing. Looking at it and finding what we thought was wrong and then actually having other people listen. Amazing. In the second half of the day we received another lecture and then went over some important Constitutional cases including the case the was responsible for creating the infamous Lemon test. Not the easiest to read, but once I got into it, I was in there. What I think will be best for me will be to read the case first; not worrying about taking notes and finding certain things the first time through really helped with my comprehension. And when we were told what to find I could go right to it. Now understand the professor did underline it, but there was six pages to read, so even with that boost I think I did well.

The best part of the day? Finding out that none of the orientation activities (except for a couple of diagnostic things) are required. This means I don't have to go all day, every day. That's a good way to make up for losing what I thought would be the last week of my summer to go to school everyday. As of right now, to be quite honest, I will probably only go on one day. I don't need to do any more of my administrative tasks so why should I go?

The other thing that was different from the other days was the fact that we were inundated
with so many notes that I had to go back and review and organize. That's really going to be important because even though I understood the material, everything was reinforced and I was able to get excited about it again. I even (tried) to explain it to my boyfriend (he didn't quite share my level of excitement and I have no clue why :-D). Until tomorrow...

Summer Preview Day Two

So today we have a "practice" round of the Socratic method and my goodness it is so intimidating. You sit there and listen to the professor ask questions to other students and you can't truly understand why it seems like they are flubbing up these questions that are right there in black and white. Until you get called on. And you have eighty eyes just staring at you. And they're all waiting to hear what you have to say and all you want is for whatever comes out of your mouth to be somewhat coherant. Your heart is pounding (and as a result your pulse is racing), your mouth becomes dry, and everything you read the night before just flies out of your head. But then you say something, it's right or it's wrong, and (as long as you don't have that professor) you won't be berated within an inch of your sanity and then you'll move on. You'll be okay.

Now the one thing I realized I have to figure out before the first day is how I am going to take notes. I know I am going to use OneNote because it's infintely better than Word, but I found out that I don't want my briefs on the same page as my regular notes, but I also don't want to have to click back and forth and try to keep track of where the notes go. If anyone has any tips, feel free...

One good thing about this is meeting new people and reinforcing the fact that some first impressions of people may not always be correct. I am learning that some people act differently when in smaller groups and they may not be so bad. Also (if you don't understand this, you weren't meant to) I am to only one. But it's not such a bad thing. So today was pretty intense, but simultaneously laid back. Until tomorrow...

Summer Preview Day One

So today was the first day of my two week law school induction. Today's focus was on class preparation and boy did it show me that I needed this. So the first half of the day largely focused on the Court system and how cases move and who is bound by the decisions. Now most of it I had known from A.P. U.S. History, but some of it I had either forgotten or just never knew. (Now in my defense it was mostly common sense stuff that I had never had to really think about before now and I would have figured it out eventually.)

Now as you must realize I met quite a few of my classmates and we were even divided up by sections so that I also got to see some of my section mates. Everyone seems to be in the same boat despite some having Master's and other advanced degrees, but there is one guy who, every single time I thought "okay I have this down", would ask a question and I would be like "whoa, where'd he get that?" This happened the first time (and a mild migraine started to form), but really by the fifth time he did it I was beginning to think maybe he'll just be "that guy" and if so, good for him. Everyone needs to find the best way to learn for themselves and if that is his way then who am I to stop him. I might tune him out from time to time... But sometimes it wasn't just the questions he asked, but the way he phrased them. I mean I am not saying that the law is in any way easy to understand, but some things do not need to be made even more confusing.

The afternoon was spent discussing reading effectively and briefing cases. Holy s***! So, really, really hard. I understood putting down the facts...and that was pretty much it. But lucky us they gave us some more cases to practice. Wonderful huh? Well all in all it was a good day. The only complaint I have is the chairs. Very comfortable when you first sit down, but by the fifth hour I was definitely fidgeting; and I wasn't the only one. Well that's it for today, but believe there will more to come. Until tomorrow...

So This is It...

My last day before I start law school related things. I mean technically I am going to an amusement park next Monday and then Cheesecake Factory with the boy's family, but really this is it. Tomorrow I start a "preview week" which is essentially the same thing as the CLEO summer program, but I didn't have to go anywhere. Then next week is orientation (with me not having to go on the 10th or the 14th). And then...it begins. For my first ever law school classes I have Civil Procedure, Contracts, Lawyering Process, and Torts. I have also been told that two of the professors the I have are some of the hardest professors that I could have been given. Really? Well, great because I am here to learn and I am ready to be pushed to my absolute limit. Every teacher that I have walked away from thinking wow s/he was amazing has done this to me. I know that this will not be easy, but I have my support system around me to help me during those tough times.

So my goals for this blog during my first years are:

• I want to try and post at minimum once per week.
• I want to be honest and open.
• Any questions that come my way about my experiences, I want to respond to in a timely manner.

So good luck to all those starting this journey with me. I hope to see you all at the finish line.

Unbelieveable

So a major story right now is everything that is happening with Dr. Gates. I believe that it is a travesty and shows how people can react when their authority is tested. For those of you who are not aware of the situation Dr. Henry Louis Gates was arrested for "disorderly conduct" after the police were called because neighbors were concerned that two balck men were trying to break into Dr. Gates' home. Now I appreciate a good Neighborhood Watch as much as the next person, but if these people are as nosey as I am assuming they are, shouldn't they have been able to recognize Dr. Gates?

So once the police arrived they claim that Dr. Gates refused to show any kind of identification despite the fact that they identified themselves immediately. Now I have not had much personal contact with the police, but I have been around police interactions and they are not always as forthcoming as they believe they are. Next the officer states that Dr. Gates became irate and was yelling obsenities and the acoustics in the foyer were preventing them from providing information to other units that were responding. Now let's think. An American man who has been accused of attempting to break into HIS OWN HOUSE has become upset. I wonder why? Also you have two men and I am assuming two police officers there already and one man MAY be yelling, but he is an older gentleman who would, presumably, lose in a fight against these two well trained officers. Are more units truly necessary?

Now, of course, Dr. Gates must tell his side of the story which seems plausible. He states that he presented identification and that when he requested the names and badge numbers he was met with resistance. And when the officers were departing his home, he followed them, requesting the same information and was subsequently arrested. Now as I said I have not had much personal contact with police, but I have had enough to know that some, not all, but some believe they ARE the law and do not like when their authority is questioned. Especially when they know the person is correct, so more often than not when the authority of this type of officer is question they, like the alpha male/female that they are, make attempts to regain their idea of control (i.e. striking fear into the hearts) and they can do this by fabricating information and making an arrest to show people who's boss. Now I am not saying that these officers were like this, but there are some things is their story that do not mesh well for me.

So I want to know what you think about all of this. I want comments. I want someone to discuss this with me. I want people's opinions, all of them. I want to know what people who believe the officer's side of the story to help me fill in my blanks. Maybe I am missing something, but I won't know unless you help me. I promise to post all comments unless they attack or use obscene language. I want to know what you think, but first I want you to think about what you know.

Update

So it's been a while since my last post. In part because I didn't really have any law related things to talk about, but also because I had to send my laptop back to HP so that it could be fixed. I had gone on a trip and managed to crack my screen right in Mr. Brady's spot and then because of the heat it spread. This was very distracting and unsightly, but thanks to HP's amazing customer service and their Accidental Damage Warranty what would have normally cost me >$400 cost me NOTHING! Amazing. I am a HP'er for life.

But as far as law school related updates go:

1. I got my first advance assignment. It's not that long, but the fact that the professor says that we probably won't understand it is not as comforting as one might think.
2. I have my complete orientation schedule. Thanks to my craziness I have already completed most of my tasks I can leave by three almost every day.
3. I have gotten 7/10 of my books. Now, some of them were very heavy so I took some advice that I found on another blog and had them ripped from their bindings and punched holes in them. Now I love books. I mean love to the point that even if I hate a book with a passion (Three Billion New Capitalists) I will not destroy or sell it. Ever. So when I got my books in the mail I forced myself not to peruse them so as not to get attached to them, but it still hurt to see them cut up and have the pages forcibly removed (at my request I know, but still). Then when the nice Kinko's lady was done she handed my the covers and I nearly cried, but think about how nice my back will feel. As a result of this (devastating) tip I will be able to carry only the pages I need rather than the whole book. Now of course the downside is I won't be able to sell them back to the bookstore, but it shouldn't be too hard to find a 1L next year with the same classes looking to take a few shortcuts.
4. I got all of my supplies (except for a chair and backpack) and I came in under budget which is good. I also came in under budget on my books too.

Really?

Ummm...Taboo did it first. And better.

One More Thing...

Kel over at A Woman in Law School is being kind enough to help out all of us lowly 0L's with weekly giveaways on the supplements that she used (obviously successfully) during her 1L year. As with anything there are rules:

1. You must (preferably) be a 1L starting August 2009. 2L's and 3L's you should no longer care about using supplements so please don't be greedy.
2. In order to enter you must leave a comment on her blog (and while you're there you might want to check out some of her earlier posts. Very insightful.)
3. When you leave your comment follow-up with a shout out on your blog so that Kel can reach as many people as possible.
4. You cannot win two consecutive weeks. (Please let Kel help as many people as she can. Don't be greedy)

As If There Is Not Enough To Be Ashamed Of.

In the beginning I would assume that Marion Barry seemed so promising to the people of Washington D.C. A good Black man who looked like he was in it for the people and not the promotion of himself. But then he got caught in a police sting in a hotel room with a prostitute SNORTING COCAINE! I mean I don't know that much about drugs but it seems that cocaine is like the king of drugs (correct me if I'm wrong). So a reasonable person would believe that his political career is over, but sadly (apparently) the reasonable minds of the American public went on a vacation; hopefully somewhere warm.

So after a six-month federal prison term Barry went on to run for a City Council seat with the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C." Now is it me or is that an underhanded insult? But I digress, the most perplexing thing about this is that HE WON. Now in the words of Chris Rock "if you get caught smoking crack at McDonald's you can't get your job back. They not gonna trust you around the Happy Meals...How you gonna tell little kids to not get high when the Man is on crack. 'Don't get high, you won't be nothing.' 'I could be mayor!' " Really, I mean does it get any truer than that?

That is bad, but what is worse is that Barry went on to ANOTHER term as mayor and then announced his intention to challenge Council Member At-Large Phil Mendelson for the Democratic Primary, but had to withdraw due to the fact that the U.S. Park Police found traces of marijuana and cocaine IN HIS CAR! That was in 2002 and in 2004 was RE-ELECTED for his former City Council seat. Now I think we need to sit back and think about this for a moment. The man is an admitted drug user and people continue to re-elect him to make important decisions about their lives?! I mean his decisions obviously can't be any worse than our last president, but c'mon people. Now the man has be arrested for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend. I think someone's rights to make decisions for himself (and the people of D.C.) permanently revoked because it is obviously too much responsibility.

Book and Supply Post

So I have always vehemently chosen Borders over Barnes & Noble for a couple of personal reasons, but also I despise the fact that they lump all the fiction into one big section. I like the way Borders breaks them down into sections such as African American literature etc. because sometimes I don't know what I am looking for, but I know I don't want to look all over the damn store to find it. But I digress. So I recently read that the $25 B&N membership was worth it because they give almost a 40% discount on textbooks.

So as I was searching I discovered that this was correct and it resulted in cheaper prices on all the books I could find on their website. So I went and bought the membership and then found a coupon for an additional 15% off (for members only; expires August 1, 2009) so I ended up getting six books for $507. Seems like a lot, but comparatively whoo I'm rich! Anyone who has ever had to buy these five to seven pound casebooks and then carry them on their backs for 18+ weeks, please help. I need recommendations for good book bags. I had an Eastpak for the past eight years and went to try and find another one, but the website is not exactly American friendly.

Now my next mountain to tackle is school supplies. I have a list and I would appreciate any feedback on the things I already have or if you think I am missing anything. And I would like to thank all the bloggers who have given such positive feedback.

Supply List

• Bookstand
• Highlighters (Retractable)
• Post-It Notes and Tabs
• Hanging and File Folders
• Zip Drive(s) (This one is on sale at Target this week. 8GB for $19)
• Earplugs
• Index Cards and (possible) Holder
• White Out
• Paper Clips
• Envelopes and Glue Stick for Envelopes (I have been in an office with this and it is amazing!)
• Office Chair (I need a good, inexpensive, supportive one. Any suggestions in the $50-$75 range?)

So what am I missing? Is there anything (such as the Post-Its) that I should get the name brand rather than the knockoff? I am having too much fun here; the time before school starts is the best time ever. a completely new reason to spend money. Woo-hoo!

Guess What I Got!

So today my boyfriend and I went out to get my graduation gift from him. And may I say it is AMAZING! Now I just have to learn how to make all the espresso based drinks that I love (and consequently spend far too much money on) and I think I may have found the perfect article. It details the primary drinks I get in a way that someone who is not as well versed in espresso can understand, but doesn't make me feel like an idiot for not knowing.

So I got my schedule (finally) and was able to get my book list. It's amazing because I have four classes, but TEN required books. Now I knew that law school would be a transition from undergrad (where I purchased books for maybe ten classes over four years), but ten required books?! Isn't that considered overkill? So being the overzealous person that I am I have made a spreadsheet that has all of my necessary books so that I can do a price comparison of all the places I could find that sell books for law students. I found quite a few and I began to look around. Now one thing that was making me upset is that in order for some of the websites to comprehend what I was looking for I not only had to enter the 13 number ISBN, but I needed to include the dashes. Now you may be thinking "really how hard can this be?" But when you're looking at a piece of paper and working on a laptop (so no easily accessible number pad available) it becomes a little difficult. Don't believe me, try it.

So I have found most of my books and it's amazing; the lowest I can get them for is $690.13 on Amazon. Amazing you say? Why aren't sending your credit card info as we speak you ask? Well A) I don't have the money at this very moment, and B) there were a significant amount of books that were on back order so I could buy them now, but there is no guarantee that I would get my books by the time I start school. Now I though that was just a problem with Amazon, but as I am continue my research I am seeing a definite pattern. Now I know I am not the only person who needs these particular books. Wouldn't they want them in stock so they can charge their exorbitant fees for books they know I can't make it through school without? Frustrating. Now I may be wrong, but it seems like they don't want my money or something.

Now the other thing that I am not so sure about is the following. The very day after (most) schedules hit the system there were posts on Facebook and in the admitted student portal requesting that people display their schedules for all to see so that sections can be figured out. Now I can't figure this out, but this does not seem appealing to me. I am more than certain that I am going to enjoy meeting most of my new classmates, but I want the first time I do so to be during a law school event, That way everyone's in the same boat and we'll be able to bond over the new situation. I don't know. I guess I am weird. Also I want to be able to rant from time to time so I'd like to keep the people who can connect me to this down to a minimum.

So as of today I have thirty days before the Preview Week thing that I paid to go to. Now from what I've heard there are going to be assignments for that, then orientation is a week long so I am pretty sure there will be something for that, and then first day assignements. That's a lot of work and we haven't even started, but do we have any of it? No. Why give people enough time to do something throughly? Would they really be law school assignments if we had adequate time though?

Well this has been quite a lengthy post. I hate reading super long posts so I will try and keep these to a minimum. But for all you 0L's out there how is your book situation looking? New or used? Bookstore or online? Hornbooks? Commercial outlines? What's you flavor?

Finally!

So after weeks of nothing I was teased with nothing other than reminders from financial aid about things like "remember to do your FAFSA." But really if your FAFSA isn't done now shouldn't you just let it die? Well anyway, so today I was bored and was wandering around in the main students webpage and I clicked on the 'courses' tab and lo and behold there are my classes. I have my classes! And it's a good schedule. The earliest I have to be in is 9:00 am and I am out of class every day by 4:00 pm. And no classes on Friday! If you remember from an earlier post that I was most worried about the fact that I haven't had classes on Friday for the past four years. But I am happy. And it's my very special boy's birthday week!

Will Someone Please Remind Me Why I Thought This Was A Good Idea

So today I ran across this article by Joshua Auriemma on the blog Legal Geekery and I thought it was pretty good and should be shared. So we know why other people are not going to law school, but why are you going?

So This is What Happens When You Deprive 0L's

So today I went into the web portal thing that my soon-to-be school has to centralize information and in the message area there was a message titled "Class Schedules". So really what would you think? Probably the same thing that I thought "Yes I know what classes I'm in. I can get my books online and they'll get here in time." But alas, no. It was a message simply reiterating that we would get our schedules in early August, but they would send us messages telling us how to get out schedules onling mid-July. Arrugh!

But even crazier than this is the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Now I have a friend from NJ but she doesn't act anything like this. I knew it would be just as trashy as all the other seasons and that translates into good, mind-numbing television for me. And out of all the seasons I really enjoy Caroline's personality (or the personality that they have edited into the show). She's quiet except when you mess with her family and then you've unleashed a tiger from the cage. Now I am sitting here watching the director's cut of their season finale and it's nuts.

For those who are out of the loop this season the protaganist was Danielle because it was discovered that her ex-husband wrote a book that claimed that Danielle was a prostitue, slept with over 1,000 guys, did coke, and was arrested for kidnapping and extortion. I know extreme. Danielle claims that out of all the things in the book there were two things that were true: 1) She had a name change and 2) She was arrested because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now in the show everyone's running around like chicken's with their heads cut off showing the book and spreading gossip, but really. C'mon. She was arrested and charged as an accessory which to me means that the DA didn't have enough evidence to prove that she was actually involved. (If I am wrong let me know). So yes she was arrested, but it probably didn't warrant these women acting like she would steal their children. Jeez the way these women act I wouldn't want to come within a ten foot radius of them or their children. But this has been building all season culminating in the season finale. There was yelling, screaming, and table flipping all of which, apparently, are normal for an Italian Jersey dinner. But, even though the women are nuttier than fruitcakes, it's a good show for a laugh and I enjoy laughing.

Cool

So as I was reading other law blogs I stumbled upon Saramel's Reasonable Expectations and in one of her posts she mentioned a site called Library Thing. It's a beta, but I looked around (and subsequently signed up) and it's really cool. The basic premise of the site is that you can keep your own personal library listed, see other users who have similar books in their library and chat with them (if you want), and get suggestions from the site and other users. I have been wanting to catalog my books forever, mostly because I lend them to people and then forget and (more often than I'd like) never get them back, I just wanted something more sophisticated than Excel. And now I think I've found it.

Computer Troubles

So after laying my computer in some awkward positions during my last year of undergrad the part of my adapter that plugs into my computer has become bent to the point that when plugged in on its own it doesn't live up to the best of its potential. So at first I discovered that with some gentle nudging I could get the adapter to charge the computer, unfortunately this solution did not last long. So I tried to ride out the charge, alter the battery suckiness that my computer does and see how long I could get. To my dismay I learned that a fully charged battery on my computer only lasts at max 1 1/2 hours!

So I spent some of my precious battery life trying to get an HP rep to send me a new adapter since the thing is still under warranty. You think talking to someone whose first language is not English is hard, try typing to one. Now the first guy I got was trying to troubleshoot with me. Now under normal circumstances I would have been happy to do this, but since I already knew what was wrong I didn't understand why he couldn't just trust me. But then he made a mistake by telling me "that without verifying all the scenarios it is difficult to replace the adapter."

Now I went through this period in high school that I LIVED to argue semantics so I replied with "Difficult, but not impossible. Now how do I go about doing it. If it is not the adapter that is messed up then I will deal with that when the time comes, but I as the consumer (who according to tales is always right) need to replace my adapter." I know not so nice, but I really needed my adapter. So after this I guess the guy was advised to try and terminate the conversation because I got things like "Are you with me? Please tell me if you are able to view my messages?" and "Are you with me? Please respond as a delay may cause a disconnection in our chat session." Now this is after twenty minutes of steady conversation am I really supposed to believe that you can't read my messages NOW?!

So I got out of that conversation and started another one. This time I knew what to do and I soon had the guy filling out an incident report and getting a new adapter in the mail. Or so I thought. Fast forward four days I am starting to go crazy with no Internet, so crazy that I am making surprise visits to my boyfriend's moms house. But I get home to a ginormous box from HP. "A little overkill for an adapter, but whatever works." So I run downstairs to be closer to my computer when I open the box. I open the box...and it's empty. I confused the damn rep by asking another question AFTER he said he was finished with my report and he sent me a box to send back my computer!

Arrugh! And I still have no power for my laptop. Now I am starting to go crazy and I became McGuyver. I created an amazing setup with a string cut from one of my pajama pants and subsequently tied to the offending adapter and my ethernet cord. I realized that as long as it is taut enough it keeps the adapter in the position to perform it's duties. So I got back on with ANOTHER HP agent and this guy really seemed to know what he was doing and after some "this is a real incovenience to me as a customer who had hoped to buy from you again in the future" the guy overnighted me a new adapter. Great you think. A story with a happy ending. Sort of. I am so proud of my setup that I don't wanna undo it. I mean I know I can't go to law school with it like this, but would it be so bad if I kept it like this for the summer?

Not Law School Related

Dear Special Boy of Mine-
All I ask is for you to take out the garbage. I have really come to the understanding that you didn't do housework when you were growing up therefore it is foreign to you now. All I want is for you to do one thing and YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT! I am frustrated and I am writing this letter so I don't go upstairs and be very bitchy and wake you up. I will not do thins again. I will not cook and clean and keep you happy and do your ONLY job again. This is my only warning. Thank you.
-LawGurl

Best Law School Advice Ever!

So I have had a lot of time on my hands lately. I am done with school for the summer and I have no job so I have to find a lot of things to keep myself occupied. One of the things that I have began doing is looking for all things law school related. I have been finding law blogs, reading books, watching movies; anything that I can find to give me some sort of insight into how my first year will go.

I have read plenty of books and (I know it's a little late) I just borrowed The Paper Chase from the public library. But today after I finished watching The Paper Chase I turned my television back to the t.v. mode and did something out of the ordinary for me. I began to watch a movie that was already in progress. (I hate getting that feeling that I have missed something so I usually don't watch a movie unless I catch it from the beginning.)

The movie that I dropped into was Penelope. This is a movie starring Christina Ricci and she has been "cursed" with the nose of a pig. As a result of this "curse" Penelope's mother and father make the decision to keep her locked up on the family's estate to "protect" her from the harsh reality and criticisms of others. Now I know at this point you're probably saying, "And what does this have to do with law school?" Well this story was written as a fable and every fable has to have a moral and I believe that this one is applicable to everyone, but it really hit home. "It's not the power of the curse, it's the power that you give the curse."

I think that quote just satisfied what I have been blindly searching for these past weeks. I wanted something to quell my fears of everything that I have heard about the first year. It's amazing that what I needed was to not do what I had been doing. By looking for any and all information that I could find I was simply feeding into the idea that law school will be hard. I mean I know it will be hard, but as long as I try my best and make sure that I keep a balance it will be bearable. I will be able to do my best (my personal best, not my best compared to 299 others). I will get through this with what little sanity that I have left intact (I did go to an all girls Catholic high school so the mere fact that I have any sanity left is a miracle).

At the Red House...

So I try and stay up on a good majority of the stupid things that happen in today's world because you never know when you're going to have the ability to bond with someone over your hate for Dealin' Doug commercials (which are HORRIBLE by the way). But I have found one that just causes me to be tickled pink. At the Red House they have furniture for Black people and White people (and "Hispanick" people too). I know I should probably be offended and it is probably not the most politically correct way to get their point across, but they honestly don't seem to have any ill intentions.

Best Line: I like pumping iron and pumping furniture...into people's homes.

GRADUATION!

So I graduate today. I am nervous and I don't even know why.I did my speaking piece yesterday and all I have to do today is walk across a stage (in 3 1/2 inch heels, but I spent all day including running around DIA in four inch heels and trust me when I say that that floor is not the best for stilettos) and not trip. I don't get my diploma today which sucks, but I guess they have to tabulate grades and make sure I've actually graduated and am not missing a class or something, but whatever. After today I WILL BE A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

Book Post

So being the crazy, neurotic type of person that I am I have been doing some researching and have come up with some books and stuff that I want to read or have read. So if anyone is reading this blog feel free to chime in about the usefuleness or effectiveness of the books or any suggestions for future reading (I do have an entire summer).

Books I've Read*

• One L by Scott Turow
• Law School Confidential by Robert Miller
• The Insider's Guide to your First Year at Law School by Justin Spizman
• Planet Law School by Atticus Falcon
• Planet Law School II by Atticus Falcon
• Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School by Ruta Stropus
• Staring Off Right in Law School by Carolyn Nygren

Books I Want To Read

• Getting to Maybe by Richard Fischl
• The Legal Experience: Law, Legal Reasoning, and Lawyering by Lissa Griffin
• May It Please the Court! by Leonard Rivkin
• A Woman's Guide to Law School by Linda Hirshman
• The African American Law School Survival Guide: Information, Advice and Strategies to Prepare You for the Challenges of the Law School Experience by Evangeline Mitchell
• Acing Your First Year of Law School: The Ten Steps to Success You Won't Learn in Class by Shana Noyes
• Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School by Richard Kalenberg
• Black's Law: A Criminal Lawyer Reveals His Defense Strategies in Four Cliffhanger Cases by Roy Black
• Brush with the Law: The True Story of Law School at Harvard and Princeton by Jaime Marquart
• Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student by Martha Kimes

*Okay so there were some that I got, thumbed through, and decided not to waste my time (Planet Law School I and II I am talking about you!)