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...