Wild West Law Student

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

Easy Canvas Prints

2011-09-22T14:37:00.001-07:00

So I was recently offered a chance to get a canvas print in exchange for reviewing the company, Easy Canvas Prints, which will put your pictures on canvas. I have to say, I love my print! I decided to use my favorite picture of my dad and it came out beautifully! I was worried because the original print wasn't digital, so I had to scan it in, but the quality and the colors look amazing!

This photo doesn't really do justice to the colors. They are so vivid. Also, getting in my order was crazy easy. You just pick your size, then upload your photo, and then choose what side you want - mirror sides, wrap around, or a color. I went with the wrap around on size 11x14.

They aren't terribly cheap, but I think it's a really nice way to make a special photo a little more special. And the company is often running specials and give-aways on their facebook page. Go check them out!

I'm sorry, what firm are you with and why am I wearing nylons???

2011-09-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

So it's interview season. Which sucks and makes you feel sad and inadequate about yourself. Hey 1Ls out there, anyone who tells you grades don't matter is full of shit. Lying, stinking shit. They are all that matter. In every interview, I sat down, and the only mark on my resume was where they had circled (or highlighted) my GPA. That was it. They didn't care about my extracurriuclar activities, my past job history or my graduate degree. No. They only cared about my GPA from one year of law school. Welcome to the legal field. You are no longer a multi-dimensional human being, you are a number to be judged against other numbers. Out of all my OCI interviews, I scored one single callback - yahoo!!! I'll let you all know if I made it, but I'm not hopeful.
Since caring is sharing, I thought I'd relay some of the questions I was asked over the last couple weeks:

What are you proudest of on your resume?
I haven't read your writing sample yet, can you explain it to me?

Follow-up: Which circuit do you think has the best approach? What do you think lead to such different approaches by the circuits? [Seriously?! WTF kinds of questions are these?]

How do you think [insert job here] has prepared you to be a successful lawyer?
What do you think it means when a law firm represents a corporation? Are you okay with that? [Again, WTF?]
Why did you decide to leave your previous field and go to law school? (especially if it seems like a strange jump, which apparently is anything other than going straight through from undergrad)
Tell me about [everything and anything on your resume].
What kind of work environment do you like and thrive in? Why type of work culture?
Why do you want to live in XYZ-ville?
If you could build your perfect team, why type of people would you include?

Follow-up: Which type do you consider yourself?

Surprisingly, no one has asked me about the withdrawal on my transcript, which is both a blessing and a curse. I would like to be able to explain it, even though I don't really want to talk about it. Overall, I feel like I learned a lot from the interview process. But that doesn't really do me much good now that interviews are over. For the love of god someone please hire me!!!!!!

Good Morning Starshine, The Earth Says Hello

2011-09-02T09:40:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. I promised I would post more. But then...well, I sort of disappeared. Not just from here, but from life in general. I worked, I came home...and that was about it. I didn't want to see anyone from school. I didn't want to see anyone, really. I think I had some serious shit I put off dealing with and it all came out. I just needed some time to myself to not think about anything.

Here's what I had written and meant to post at the end of May:

Wow, I'm not a 1L anymore. It's weird. And exciting. And tingling...wait, that might be the rash I picked up while camping. Either way, there's a lot of emotions and sensations going on right now. They say your first year of law school is the worst, and I can see why. It's terrifying, everything is new. Not only are you learning legal concepts, but you have to learn an entirely new vocabulary and you get introduced to the Socratic Method. Which sucks. A lot.

I was looking at my post from last May. It was just me bitching about my job, and how excited I was for law school. I can't believe that was only 12 months ago. I realize now I was totally unprepared for law school in every way. The people, the classes, the stress. The last 8 months have been the worst of my life. First, even if I hadn't been in law school they would have been the worst. I watched my dad waste away and die. Second, the first year of law could have been the worst year without my family problems. It's stressful, busy, terryfiying. There were days I questioned why on earth I wanted to be there and days I just couldn't deal with the drama of my classmates.

So far my life as a non-1L/2L has been fairly uneventful. I spent my summer interning at a public interest firm this week and I loved it. I also realized I learned nothing useful in law school.

Okay, back to stuff that's happening right now:

It's really strange being back. I'm a TA in a contracts and 1L writing class, and it's bizarre to have people look at you like you actually know what's going on with total fear in their eyes. Asking about outlines and case briefs, I totally remember eating all that up when I first started. Though I'm starting to get sick of hearing the other 2L's advice to them, which tends to take a more "OMG 1L is sooooo awful! It was soooo hard!" which doesn't really sound like advice. Maybe that's just me. My advice tended to be "You'll be fine. Don't forget to write the doctrine you were studying on your case briefs because you'll probably forget by finals time. Carry on."

So I looked back at some postings from a year ago and found a couple goals I had: To do the family law clinic and get on Law Review. I'm happy to announce I've definitely done one, and sort of did the other. I somehow managed to weasel my way onto Law Review, and I'm running a clinic, but it isn't the family law. I still plan on doing that, but you can't participate until next semester. Instead I'm involved in a health law clinic helping people fill out advanced directives. I know, I know. So uplifting. I'm considering it a win. Go me!

Crazy story time!! Alright, first day of classes and I go into the Law Review office to claim my locker. Mind you, I already had a post-it with my name on it, and had given the locker number to the editor in chief, per instructions, like a good little soldier. I open my locker, and, hey, there's a binder and a poster in there! "Alright," I say to myself, "maybe whoever had this locker last year just forget to grab their stuff. I'll just wait until later in the day and check again." You know, like a rationale and naive person would do. I proceed to go about my business. What happens next is now legendary among 2Ls and Law Review folks:

A weasly-looking 3L walks up to my locker, opens it and says, with a sneer, "what the hell is this?" My friend who was nearby was a little confused, and replies "That's WWLS's locker, but there was someone's stuff in it. We didn't really know whose it was." So far, so good. Then shit gets real! Weasly 3L takes the stuff out of my locker, puts his books in my locker, puts a lock on it, and moves my post-it to another locker on the floor! Whaaaaaat?! And in full view of about seven other 2L classmates. WHO DOES THAT? Weasly 3L, that's who. The real lesson of the story is this:

You're damn straight this is war! I've had several people, including Wyatt Earp, offer to bring in bolt cutters. I'm considering it. I've also taken to crowding him whenever he is at my locker, since mine is now right below it on the floor. I'm not above passive-aggressive tactics.

Okay, I still have to write about on-campus interviews, and I will follow-up as the Weasly 3L Locker Thief saga continues. Untill next time, like sands through the hourglass,these are the days of our lives.

What with the rapture and all, you'd better be ready for this.

2011-05-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Even the CDC says so. And the Boston Police are on the lookout.

Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

Who needs a vacation?

2011-05-18T19:37:00.001-07:00

Such is my luck. I finally start to relax and I get a cold. I've done nothing for the last 48 hours but sleep, watch Netflix and dope up on cold medicine. In the meantime, play some Angry Birds for free!!

Courtesy of this guy

Is anybody out there? Just nod if you can here me.

2011-05-13T14:06:00.002-07:00

Or leave a comment since I can't see you nod. Bonus Points if you can finish that title.

I didn't forget about my blog, I just haven't had any time or inkling to write. The last couple months have been filled with trying to deal with the fallout from my dad's death, and not completely lose my mind trying to finish this semester. I finished finals yesterday.

Here's the lowdown over the past two weeks:

Final 1: 8-hour writing final. (Yes, if there are any future 1Ls reading this - 8 hours)

Final 2: Con Law. The Commerce Clause can suffer a slow and painful death and I would celebrate.

Final 3: Crim Law. This one left me traumatized. Traumatized I tell you! I couldn't function the rest of the day, I just sort of stumbled around bumping into things. For starters, I spend 45 minutes on the first question only to realize 20 minutes later I had applied the wrong doctrine!! Noooooooo!! I spent a few minutes coming to terms with failure during the exam, and I think I'm okay with it now.

Final 4: Closed-book property exam. Double-crap. I hate property, I really do. It's all about grouchy neighbors who can't get along. My plan of attack in case of complete amnesia was to ask myself "What would the rule be to make two crotchety assholes who have infinite legal resources get along when they live next to each other?" and go from there. I'll let you know how that worked out in a few weeks. And guess what I just learned? That pesky rule of perpetuities - it is a real thing! Perpetuities Rule Finally Ends $100M Waiting Game for Lumber Baron’s Heirs, 92 Years After His Death

Final 5: Didn't happen. My heart goes out to my fellow classmates who still have to take it. Back in March I dropped the class.

I can handle a lot, but I'm not Superwoman. In the 3 weeks after returning after my dad passed away, I had a paper in Con Law, 2 giant research projects, the Write On Competition, my closed-research memo, and a mid-term. Plus normal class work (which I didn't actually start doing until April) and trying to catch up on what I missed. And that was just school stuff. I was also helping my mom deal with my dad's estate. The world makes it really hard to move on after someone passes away. You have to just keep reliving what just happened to every government agency, credit bureaus, Netflix, ESPN, magazine subscriptions, and so on. Not only that, but exactly one week after the funeral the bank notified my mom they were going to start foreclosure proceedings. Hey, Wells Fargo, are you out there? FUCK YOU! So I had to help her search for a rental she could afford on her teacher's salary, which isn't easy. Then the fun task of going through a 4-bedroom home that was lived in for 17 years, and trying to condense it to a 2-bedroom townhouse in a week and a half. Needless to say, it's been a pretty crappy time. Wyatt Earp is my savior and I don't think I would have lasted this long if it weren't for him.

The first couple weeks after I came back I tried to pretend like everything was normal, which was not as hard as it sounds because I was basically a walking zombie. I wasn't sleeping or eating, and I was completely numb inside. So I just kept myself busy with the research project and my memo. The thing I couldn't do was normal class reading. My brain just couldn't process reading cases, trying to figure out the rule, trying to reconcile the different decisions - it wasn't happening.

It was the week after the Write On and my complete exhaustion just pushed me over the edge. I had a little breakdown to the Student Services Dean and she recommended lightening my course load. Best decision ever. I'll have to make up the class next year, and I'll probably have to explain to law firms why I have a Withdraw on my transcript, but that's a small price to pay.

On a happy note - did you all get sucked into the royal wedding? I was taking my writing final that day, and was suddenly overcome with the urge to watch the whole damn thing. Funny what procrastination will do to you. Anyways, was her dress not the most beautiful thing, ever! And the trees in the church? Brilliant! I can honestly say I never wanted to be a "princess," but I'll jump on the Princess Kate bandwagon any day.

I really plan on having more posts over the summer. Really. I mean it. Seriously. Scouts honor.

In the meantime, and in honor of the royal wedding...

or....

Really, the choice is yours.

How do you adjust to a new normal?

2011-03-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

So I haven't completely disappeared. In fact, I have about 3 unfinished posts from the last month. I just couldn't figure out how to finish any of them. The Spring semester was rolling along, same old-same old: more work, less fun, etc. I was under a larger amount of stress and I was having trouble handling it. Mostly stemming from my family and trying to balance time with them and the increased workload. Then my semester came to a screeching halt a week a half ago. I didn't go to school all week (although I returned on Monday), I haven't looked at my readings, I haven't even thought about law school. My father passed away. He bravely fought cancer for two years, and had just been told he had another year by the doctors. The last few months had turned into a weird family reunion, and I almost felt like a kid again. My dad had spent the last several years travelling around the country working as an independent contractor., my brother moved to another city. I would see my dad every few months when he came to visit, I almost never spoke to my brother and we kept up to date on each other's lives through our parents. My dad became very ill after Thanksgiving and has been here since. My brother moved down in January to help out our mom take care of him. So our whole family was back together. In a strange way, it was comforting. It was comforting to know after everything our family had been through - all the distance, the fights, the resentments and the blame - we could still come together and be a family.

I was lucky to have been able to spend some time alone with my dad the night before he passed away. My mother was at a conference in a nearby city, and my brother was working, so I went to keep my dad company. It wasn't anything special, I worked on my laptop while he watched TV. We talked about whatever was on the TV, or about school, or his treatments, nothing special. But if my brother wasn't working, or my mom had been there, I'd probably either have not stopped by at all, or I would have come by for an hour or so, then headed home. It was just an ordinary night, nothing that would have let us know my dad would go to bed and not wake up the next day.

The shock of losing my father has started to fade away. For a while I just didn't feel anything. My brain just thought he was out of town again, and he'd be back in a week or two. But now the finality of it all is setting in. I'm not completely sure how I'll make it to the end of the semester. May will come whether I want it to or not, but I doubt I'll be ready for it. I'll have to listen to people comfort me by saying "But you have a pretty good excuse" as if characterizing my dad's death as an excuse is supposed to make me feel better. I'll have to listen to people bitch about their parents, or how daddy was late with the rent check, or how overbearing his is. And when I make the slightest peep about how inappropriate that is, or how people avoid me now like I'm a parasite, I'll have to be lectured about how some people just don't "deal" with death well, and they're not trying to upset me, they just don't know what to do. So not only do I have to try and cope with my father's death, I also have to make accommodations for people who are just 'uncomfortable.' Gee, how terribly awkward for them.

Everyone else's life is going back to normal, but mine will never be the same. I wasn't ready to lose my dad. There are still so many things I need him for, and so many things he needs to be here for. And I hate that.

And we're back!

2011-01-21T20:38:00.001-07:00

Winter break was fun while it lasted. At least, that's what I'm told. Sounds like everyone at school had a blast, meanwhile I've been avoiding awkward conversations by just saying mine was "fine..so tell me all about skiing/snowboarding/surfing/(fun activity here)." I spent the last 2 weeks of my break visiting my dad in the hospital, being saddened by the awful shooting in Tucson, and then my cat of 16 years had to be put down over the weekend. In short, it sucked. A lot. Oh, and my brother is crashing with me and Wyatt Earp indefinitely while not contributing in the slightest. His girlfriend stayed with us for a while, too. They don't even bring soap or shampoo with them. Animals, I say, Animals! Wyatt Earp and I live in a very, very small, old house. So having a giant inflatable mattress in the room with my dresser and all my clothes is making the mornings a little more difficult than usual and adding to my already melancholy/pissy/grumpy/all-around-irritable mood.

But law school stops for no man, and the Spring semester is starting out even crazier than last semester, but in all kinds of new ways. We're being bombarded by career services and sign-ups for job fairs, mock-interviews, resume reviews, soul-crushing job statistics, and so on. All the while taking on an extra core class with professors who don't even pretend to be nice the first day. And my property professor doesn't wear a bra....so there's that. But Con Law seems totally awesome and amazing, the professor is crazy smart. So I guess they average each other out.

Oh! And I can use my laptop in all but one class! Woohoo! So far I've resisted the urge to surf and have turned off my wifi while in class, we'll see how long that lasts.

Remember the 2010 World Cup?

2010-12-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Wasn't is wonderful?

And so, 2010 is at a close. I, for one, am ready for 2011. And now, for your viewing pleasure:

2010 through the eyes of a 1L

January: Started cramming like crazy for the LSAT.
February: Took the damn LSAT and then proceeded to send off applications like it was going out of style.
March: Acted like a sad teenager on a Friday night waiting for the phone to ring.
April: Began getting acceptance letters - hurray!
May: More acceptance letters - hurray! Oh, yeah, and rejection letters - booooo!
June: Skin began to crawl waiting to leave my job and the semester to start.
July: Skin continued crawling; gave my notice at work followed by dancing, celebration and awkward interactions with coworkers.
August: STARTED LAW SCHOOL!!!! Terrifying, exciting, anxious, relieved all rolled into one giant, hyperactive ball.
September: Law school is hard. Really hard.
October: Law school isn't just really hard. It's really fucking hard.
November: Wait, I'm not ready for finals yet! It can't be November!
December: Said goodbye to the world for three weeks; then re-emerged like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, up was up again, black was black and white was white. The world was a beautiful place. Cue Christmas, endless family obligations and resume revisions.

And now here we are. Unfortunately, 2010 was an overall shitty year because my dad is very, very sick and in October things started going downhill. So it's overshadowed everything else for the last year and a half. He recently started a new treatment, so here's to 2011 being a much better year. Other than the things outside of my control, it's been a really exciting year and I can't believe it's over.

From the Wild West, Happy New Year!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2010-12-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

Whew. I can't believe the first semester is over! It was insane, to say the least. It's kind of nice to have Christmas right around the corner, because it's certainly distracted me from obsessing over my exams. After finals we all went and partied, made some bad decisions, and spent Saturday totally hung over - hurray! Nothing says vacation like killing a bunch of brain cells you just spent 4 months creating.

Congratulations to all the other students (especially my fellow 1Ls) who are finished with their semester! Woohoo!!

To review, I'm pretty sure I failed Torts, maybe scraped by in Contracts and am clueless about Civ Pro. That was the hardest test I've ever seen. In my life. The thing that makes me clueless is that everyone was stunned at its difficulty, and we only had a few days to prepare after Torts. What happens if you fail a class your first semester?

And now I get to cram months worth of socializing into a few weeks! I'm off to a trivia night later with my good friend, the Craftster. She's insanely artistic and talented, and recently began sewing her own clothes - I know! Right?! Then tomorrow begins the challenge of repairing the relationships I woefully neglected over the semester. Beginning with my friend from high school. I spoke with her before the semester and we were supposed to get together one weekend to see a movie and get dinner. But then I totally dropped the ball. I even forgot to write her back after she wished me a happy birthday. I suck as a friend. At least law school makes a really nice sounding excuse. Much better than "I was gonna call, but then my shows came on, and I had to go to bed early for work and the next thing I knew it was November." Even though it's totally true - working sucks the life out of you. Luckily, most of my good friends are like me and really independent. So we'll talk every few months, or sometimes longer, catch up like no time has passed at all, and then go off and do whatever is we're doing at the moment. I can count on them to not feel ignored or get upset, because I know I wouldn't be if the roles were reversed. It's good to have good people in your life. This leads me to my next problem...

Okay, I have a dilemma. Maybe someone can help. A girl in my section and I became friends this semester. It started as one of those intense friendships that springs from being thrown into the deep end together and figuring out how to swim. Thing is, as time has gone on, I'm sort of realizing we're not all that compatible. She's, shall we say, high-maintenance, in the sense that she's in constant need of reassurance. She'll ask me if I've been talking about her behind her back, and then want to talk about what good friends we are. I'm not a terribly sentimental or touchy-feel-y person, and I feel like I'm trapped in a bad Lifetime movie. And you can't even tease her in a friendly sort of way, or she gets really pout-y and makes little side remarks about how nobody likes her until someone apologizes. If you ever disagree, or don't like something she does, she takes it really, really personally. I'm not a huge Sex in the City person, and she spent an hour defending, not explaining, defending her enjoyment show after all I said was "Yeah, I never really watched it." She is a nice person, albeit very insecure, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I really can't stand the constant phone calls, and wanting to do *everything* together. Like, getting Christmas trees, or registering for classes, or doing all our Christmas shopping. Its freaking me out. Today we met for lunch and exchanged gifts, but then it turned out my gift was "A day with Beth!"Crazy Friend!" And when I couldn't drop all my plans to go hang out at the mall and watch movies, she was really hurt and then tried to make me feel really, really bad. I was hoping that it was just when it came to school she was out of control - she's got stress like you've never seen. I couldn't even be in the same room with her in the weeks leading up to finals, and eventually stopped taking her phone calls. How do you distance yourself from that kind of personality without making things worse? She wasn't so bad when she was at arms length and didn't think we were the bestest of friends in the whole wide world. Any ideas?

Eye of the Tiger

2010-12-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I did it! I took my first law school exam! And I didn't explode, or cry, or pee my pants, or turn into stone - hurray! It did however suck more than anything else on the face of the planet. It was Torts, which already sucks, and the professor puts a word-limit on his exams. It was impossible! But I'm so, so, so glad it's over. Now to prepare for contracts and civ pro. Sigh.

I think I can honestly say there is no where else I'd rather not be than the law school or the library right now. My time there yesterday getting ready for the final was more than I could handle. It is oozing with stress and anxiety. Oozing! There's one girl who has moved in, I think. She even has a little plug-in Christmas tree. Everybody has a freaked out look in their eye, they're twitching more than usual, and people have either stopped eating completely or have decided that Doritos are an acceptable nutritional substitute. It's freaky.

The exam itself was a normal torts issue spotter, with some ridiculous question about tort reform thrown in and what we thought about it. I brought ear plugs at the advice of several 2 and 3Ls (which, by the way, was brilliant advice!), and at one point took them out to pull on my sweatshirt - holy crap. Just 30 computer keyboards clicking away as fast as humanly possible. It sounded somewhere in between a graphic battle scene with guns firing left and right, and rain falling on a tin roof. So strange. After the exam was finally over (and I freaked because my answer wasn't within the word limit - ahh!), we all bemoaned the word limit, so at least I wasn't the only one who couldn't keep it under, and then proceeded to bitch about the professor - what else are you to do? Then, me and a few other section-mates broke the cardinal rule: We talked about the exam. I know! It was the worse idea ever! It was like a horror movie, somewhere my brain was screaming "Don't open the door! Turn and run!" but then words just came tumbling out 'what did get for the last one? Did you see assault, too? No, uhhh..." So then, because I hadn't made enough bad decisions already, a friend and I went to get some happy hour drinks, which then turned into happy hour drinks, and two bottles of wine back home. Bad, bad idea. And I rarely drink, very rarely. Not for any particular reason, I just don't. So when I do, the next day is especially bad. I suppose the logical think is to just start drinking more often, let my body get used to it. Yeah, that's the best approach. Law school is teaching me valuable problem-solving skills.

Now I'm just trying to get motivated to outline contracts. I mean, I've already taken one exam, do I really need to take another? So instead I've written this, heated up leftover pasta for lunch, and generally moaned about being hungover. I'm a go-getter.

Here's a question: What should I do with my supplements (E&Esm Crunchtimes, etc.)? Are they worth keeping around for the Bar, or should I just sell them and hope to put a teeny-tiny dent in my Spring semester book costs? Thoughts anyone out there in cyber-world?

OMG I suck at this

2010-12-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Finals! Ah! Scary! Stressful! Whaaaaaaa!

So...yeah, I'll see you all in a couple weeks....I hope...

Oh, here's some advice for how to properly study for a law school final:

Preachin' to the choir, sister!

2010-11-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

Read it. Love it. This pretty well sums up every thought I've been trying to get across and have failed. I just turn into a pile of screaming rage that no one is willing to listen to. Thank you, Law School Ninja, for being kick-ass and able to articulate the problems with the new TSA guidelines in a non-foaming-at-the-mouth sort of way. Rock on.

as for me, I will remain outraged

Welcome to the end of the world

2010-11-19T22:52:00.003-07:00

At least my little corner of the world...sort of...Long story short, actually it's not a long story, it's the totally typical story of every law student: it's approaching finals. There is a feeling of light panic setting in. They try to hide it, put on a brave face and solider through. But there's not getting around it - people are starting to freak out. Instead of mildly tolerating the loudmouth with a placating head nod, classmates are more confrontational. More prone to be pushed over the edge. If you learn nothing else, don't go near a law school starting now. If you're still not convinced by my clearly authoritative stance, try this on: A 1L at Arizona State University (what is up with that state by the way? They love their guns, they hate mexicans, breed tea party figures like rabbits, but then they just legalized medical pot - if you're gonna be crazy, then at least be consistent) sorry, A 1L at Arizona State just went apeshit on a burglar who tried to steal his laptop. I mean, not only is it a 1L who clearly lost his blankie this semester and is having trouble coping, but it's in Arizona. They do crazy shit there.

So, there's always a LOT of talk about the curve. The awful, heart-wrenching, soul-killing, self-esteem annihilating curve. Now, I haven't actually taken a law school exam. But that obviously isn't going to stop me from telling you what's what anyways. Here's the thing: the curve can be your friend. Seriously, it can. All that talk about how a 93% is a B are bullshit. You know what the average score on my professor's contracts exam has been since the dawn of time? 35%. Yes, you read that correctly, 35%. Not 95% or 85%. So don't think of it as being better than your classmates, just think of it as not sucking as much. It's all relative.

Onto another topic - is it seriously almost Thanksgiving? Where is time going? I've gotten through intentional torts on my torts outline. My contracts outline is somewhere out in the ether hanging out with my Civ Pro outline. But I got a Thanksgiving week off, so outline kick-assing here I come! Ka-Pow!

Lets talk about some non-law school topics, shall we?

WTF is going on with Fringe?! I can't handle it! Please tell me there is someone else in the universe that watches that show and can commiserate with me. I hate Fauxlivia. How can it really have taken everyone this long to figure it out? Damn you JJ Abrams and you're insanely gripping shows. Now I understand the people who watched Lost and then went insane. Literally insane. You know who you are and I understand. This is a safe zone to talk about JJ Abrams' slow takeover of America.

Did anyone watch Pushing Daisies? It's on Netflix Watch Instantly so I've been catching up on some of the episodes I missed before it went off the air. A sad, sad victim of the Great Writer's Strike of 2007-2008. If you haven't watched it, please do. It's a wonderfully whimsical show that involves solving mysteries, the sweetest love story ever, pie, and the most amazing fashion sense on the planet. If only I could pull off Anna Friel or Kristin Chenoweth's style!

Have a treat!

2010-10-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

Most of you have probably heard of Groupon, but if you haven't, or don't actually use it, here's the rundown: Using group rates, you can get crazy deals on ...lots of things. Sometimes they are for large chains, but a lot of times it's local businesses promoting their services, like massages or restaurants. Check it out, sign up, and you never know when you'll get a crazy good deal! It changes daily, or almost daily, so they are lots of chances for something you'll like. Being a broke-ass law student, you can feel like you're living the high life, while you're slowly being smothered by overwhelming student loan debt!

And yeah, if you use this link I get a referral credit. So, as one law student to another, help a sister out.

Heads will roll...

2010-10-27T17:18:00.002-07:00

So we've had 2 major hubabaloos at school recently. The first news was the faculty has decided to embrace the movement sparked by Harvard, Georgetown, and Tulane. Yup, they're widening the grade curve! Hurray! Thankfully it's not retroactive like Loyola, so we won't be making any news in Above the Law. The downside is that next year the entire university is switching to the plus/minus system. So now I have even more ways to feel totally inadequate - yipee!

The second controversy literally began a mutiny among a portion of the 1L class. Our professor announced that he may give us a graded exam in 10 days. Ok, let's work this one out. May?! You don't even know?! So, I have to wait 4 days before I find out that there will be a graded exam. Perfect. Let's go through my options. 1) I can totally panic for 4 days, and find out it was for no good reason. 2) I can totally panic for 4 days, and then really turn on the crazy for the next 6 days. 3) I can only sort-of panic, hoping it won't be graded and trying to do my work for other classes, then go absolutely f-ing crazy when you tell us it is graded. 4) Only sort-of panic, and then be really, really relieved when it's not graded. No, don't worry, Prof, I had nothing better to do than whip out an outline and study the crap out of over half a semesters worth of information. I'm sure our other professors won't mind that no one will be doing any readings for their classes. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but we did get an e-mail that night saying there would be no graded mid-term, and some snarky remark about ruining our day. Score one for the students - awwww yeah!

I'm not totally sure what happened to the last few weeks. Wyatt Earp got really sick and had to miss work for a week, so my plans to get started on my contracts outline didn't really pan out since I was taking care of him everyday when I got home. And even when he is sick I'm too tempted to not do work when he's around since we see so little of each other normally. And now I'm sick - yay! I've definitely been doing the bare-minimum this week and that's about all I got in me. But, our contracts professor is giving us a practice exam in 2 weeks, so I seriously need to start an outline so I have something to work with and it's not a total waste of a practice exam.

OK, here's a little advice for soon-to-be (well, in another 10 months) 1Ls: Find non-law school people to hang out with. If your staying in the same city this is easier - but make sure you make time for your friends outside of law school. Trust me, you will get sick and tired of the people in your section, sick and tired of bitching about your Civ Pro professor, sick and tired of hearing how 'easy' it all is for some people (you can't avoid it, they naturally talk way louder than everyone else), and sick and tired of talking about all the potential tort actions you saw over the weekend. That's just to name a few. Keep doing whatever it is that makes you happy, whether it's yoga, scrapbooking, knitting, cooking, vegging out in front of the TV, underwater welding - keep doing it. Otherwise you will literally go crazy. Trust me, I'm currently watching otherwise sane, happy individuals turn into anxious, stressed, exhausted, twitchy shells of their former selves. At orientation, there was a lot of talk about 'mental health,' keeping yourself balanced, seeking help when you need it, yadda yadda yadda. Since I know everything I thought those people were just lame and probably cried when the store was out of their favorite soda. I was an arrogant asshole. You future 1Ls out there probably won't listen to this, just like I didn't listen to it, but I'm gonna say it anyways: Don't let law school take over your life! You'll be tempted, especially since everyone tells you that is exactly what is going to happen, but don't let it. It turns good people bad, and bad people into...well, way worse than before. Of course, there is also the other side of the equation. When non-law school issues are so overwhelming that concentrating on law school seems impossible and the least important thing in the world. Unfortunately I don't have any words of advice for that except to take a deep breath and take it one day at a time. That's the side I'm currently on and it's not easy, and if I figure it out I'll let you know. Promise.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the funny :)

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'

2010-10-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, free time. Where have you gone? I have vague recollections of times when I wished I had something to do, when I watched marathons of TV shows I didn't even like just because it was on. Why have you disappeared? I know I said I was bored, but it was just words. Really, I promise! Come back, please, please come back!

In all seriousness, law school takes your free time and punches it in the face. You'll feel guilty for not seeing your non-law school friends, and then feel annoyed because, hey, your in law school, dammit! But then feel guilty again, because you should make time, and so on, and so on. It's a vicious cycle.

To make matters worse, all my shows are back! I got addicted to certain shows when I was just working and didn't have anything to do at night. Glee!! Fringe!! House!! Bones!! 30 Rock! To much TV, too little time! Is anyone else thoroughly disturbed about Olivia's brainwashing and how awful other-Olivia and Walter-nate are? Why hasn't Peter caught on yet? And Glee, always wonderful, always happy. I want to know where Thirteen went. And, seriously, when are Bones and Booth gonna get it on? So many questions, so little time.

Law school, especially Contracts, is making me realize how screwed over I've been. How does anyone get through life without learning this stuff? Screw you Best Buy! I should have revoked acceptance! Argh!

We have a first draft of our second memo due this weekend, plus I'm going to the pumpkin patch (!) with Wyatt Earp's nephews. I also desperately want to get started on my Contracts outline. We just wrapped up remedies and I'm hoping to somehow synthesis all the information. Civ Pro is ticking along, and I'm convinced our professor truly enjoys toying with us, like teasing a cat with a ball of yarn "C'mon kitty, you're almost there, you can get it, almost there, c'mon" and then DENIED! Torts is torts. We're well into negligence and on contributory negligence. My class seems to love that topic ("but shouldn't she have expected to have railroad shingles to fall on her head?"), so it's nice to rein in the victim-blaming a little bit.

Ciao!

Res Ipsa Whaa?

2010-10-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

Res Ipsa Loquitor AKA "the third nipple of the law." Poor lady justice, who knew she was hiding such a secret under that toga?

It's barely October and I'm already starting to feel burnt out...I hope that's normal...

Grumpy is as grumpy does

2010-09-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since my last post. But I just haven't been sure what to write about, and, quite frankly, I just haven't been in the mood to write about anything. Law school is hard. Life is even harder. Because I've been in a rather snarky mood lately, and I know how much people adore unsolicited advice, here's a little for my fellow 1-Ls:

Yes, when you whisper in class we can all hear you. The incessant giggling doesn't help your case. Nor does your decision to sit in the front row. If you insist on talking about whatever it is that is so important, please do so at an actual whisper, or write notes, or anything that prevents those of us all the way on the other side of the classroom from hearing you. It's distracting. And after having talked to you a few times, I'm sure it isn't anything worth bothering the rest of us for. Due to this ridiculous behavior, it should be no surprise to you that many people want nothing to do with you the rest of the day. They way you anxiously look around after your bouts of giggling to see who is staring in awe at your obvious awesome-ness makes you even more irritating. I know many people in law school lack social grace, and this is not how to make friends. We just think your assholes. On behalf of your Torts and Civ Pro class, please cease and desist. Immediately.

To the other kids, who are just clearly too cool for school. Going on and on about how you never brief your cases, don't plan on outlining, and are just gonna, you know, 'wing it' on the final is equally irritating. No one appreciates the 'I got this %*!@ down' attitude when the rest of us are losing sleep and scrambling just to keep up. And, on top of it, I don't believe you. No, I don't. I think you're just as worried as the rest of us, but feel compelled to make us all believe your as cool as the other side of the pillow. Please refrain from further bouts of arrogant jackassery.

Sorry for the negativity. It's been a really rough few weeks, and my nerves have been officially frayed.

Baby's got a brand new bag

2010-09-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

As much as I loved my scotch-sipping theme before, I decided something brighter was in order. If anyone just absolutely cannot stand it, and actually cares enough to say something, by all means, please do. I'm not saying I'll change anything, and I reserve the right to mock you, but feel free to comment.

Ciao!

And for my next act, I will eat my words

2010-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Ok. So remember how I was all doom and gloom about my class? Like, really doom and gloom? Well, I take it back. I really like my section, and I've already made 2 truly awesome friends who I adore. To clarify, the people I was wary of in the beginning, well, I'm still wary of them. BUT, they are totally outnumbered by very chill, cool people. And so far, my section seems like the most "close-knit" of the sections. We just genuinely get along, which is great. There seems to be two distinct groups that have formed. The more serious student group, and the young 'uns. They would include the fraternity/sorority boys and girls looking to extend their undergrad fun. If you're willing to dump tens of thousands of dollars a year into extending that part of your life, more power to you.

~~Fight~~ Pay for your right to paaaaaaarty!

In other news, classes are still chugging along. I am starting to see the world in terms of contract breaches, battery and assault cases, and violations of due process (the Lassiter decision Supreme Court - really?!). The work load hasn't become too overbearing yet. Mostly because I still have no idea what's going on, and just blindly do the readings and brief cases and hope it all comes together eventually. Fingers crossed!

Summer fling don't mean a thing

2010-08-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Let the games begin. The gossip mill is already up and running! I thought this wouldn't kick in until at least Week 4 or 5, but no! My group is on the hunt! We have the 'playa' who is slowly working his way through the ladies, as it were, but mostly what's started are various awkward couplings which tend to start with something like this:

Class ends, student slowly trickle out and wonder if they'll be the one who has to eat lunch alone like a loser, so instead anxiously looks around to see what everyone else is doing, which means, as a group, we move at the pace of an injured turtle. Two particular students go out of their way to fuss with their bags until they are the last ones out. And.....scene!

Student 1: Hey, how about that class? crazy, huh?

Student 2: Yeah, totally crazy....so...what are you up to!? (trying to contain her anxiety)

Student 1: Um.....I dunno....I hadn't thought about it (the less dorky way of saying 'I dunno, what are you doing?')

Student 2: Oh, yeah, well I think I'm gonna eat some lunch...(no whammies no whammies no whammies. Oh, and if you (reader) hadn't noticed, everything ends in an award trail-off, it's just a part of the dance)

Student 1: Hey! Me, too! (Win! what a crazy coincidence!)

Student 2: Cool, are you headed to the lockers.....? (again trying to hide the anxiety. I mean, what if he sits down while she's at the locker and another girl happens to look at him, and then they start dating, and then they fall in love, and then they get married, but then they'll have ugly babies, because the girl is probably a stupid whore and he's a asshole who doesn't know what he's missing, and ....oh, wait, he's talking now)

Student 1: Ummm...yeah, I was gonna do that too... (what if she goes to the locker, and some dude looks at her, and then they start dating, and then they fall in love, and then they get married, but then he'll sleep with his secretary because he's a d-bag and she'll realize what she missed out on, and...oh, we're walking)

Student 2: Awesome....

Students silently follow each other to lockers. While eying each other, they move slowly so as not to finish with their locker needs before they other is done to avoid obviously waiting for that person to finish - how embarrassing would that be! Conveniently they are now leaving the locker area together. Thankfully, Student 1 maneuvers the conversation back to the 'safe zone' - class.

Student 1: So....did you read that torts stuff? I was pretty confused...(did we even have readings for torts?)

Student 2: oh yeah, me too, totally confused (whatever you say, dreamy-eyes)

Student 1: I think I'm gonna go over those notes again (ooh, bold move)

Student 2: Really? I was going to do the same thing! (I know!) Um...mind if I sit with you, I mean, since, you know, we're both reading the same thing and we could talk about the cases.... (Uh-oh, that was quite a gamble)

Student 1: Uh....no, I mean, yeah, that's cool....(we have a winner!)

The only other question is will you be Sandy and Danny, or Sid and Nancy?

On a related note: Why on earth isn't Grease on Netflix Watch Instantly?!

Like sands through the hourglass

2010-08-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

1 week (almost) down. Many, many more to go. Luckily, some of my classmates have calmed down quite a bit, and everyone is 'normalling' out, which is great. There is still a strangely high amount of over-excited volunteers in all my classes and those who get really giddy about outings with professors "I want to sign up early, so he has more time to get to know me over the semester, ya know?" No, I don't. Lesson #1: No one likes a gunner. No, not even a little. And where are these evil, devious law professors I heard so much about? I haven't heard one good smack down yet, I'm getting a little impatient over here.

Torts is definitely my fave class so far. You do have to read about jacked up things happening to people, which sucks, but, a lot of the time, they actually win something! I'm sure this is my casebook editors' way to making me feel all happy and giddy inside that the little guy can win against Wal-Mart (why is it always Wal-Mart?) until I have my soul crushed by the "real world," but I appreciate the effort. And the professor is cool and funny, and does awesome 'wrap ups' about what we covered, which is soooo helpful since I'm usually totally confused about what just happened over the last hour and what I was supposed to have remembered and what was useless babble. But she also loves to point out weird little 'squib' cases that I only skimmed because, hey, I got this *&#@ down and I don't need no squib brief! Oh, wait, apparently I kinda do.

Civ Pro is a whole 'nother beast. I like the cases, but the class is a total mind @#!*. We just go round and round and round til someone gets dizzy, throws up, and ruins the day for everyone. Don't eat cotton candy before Civ Pro. Just...don't.

Contracts sucks. There is no way around that. The first couple cases were simple, intuitive even. But then the UCC was unleashed. Can someone please point out the sadistic student-hater who put that thing together? I mean, really? No wonder those guys are getting paid so much, they're the only ones who understand wtf they are saying! My other classes don't scare me as much to get called on, but just contemplating getting called out in Contracts makes my stomach hurt.

This pretty accurately depicts how I feel about Contracts.
Except I'm missing the horse, armor and sword, so, basically I'm screwed.

And I love, love, love my writing professor! Super funny, crazy smart, and a former commercial litigator with awesome advice to give.

So far, so good. Watch for this post's follow-up: When 1Ls collide! (In the romantic sense, not because we're all too socially awkward to avoid one another in the halls)

Confused...and slightly disappointed

2010-08-18T14:59:00.002-07:00

Not with law school, mind you. No, no. I'm more excited than ever to start classes. Like, literally bouncing off the walls excited. No, what I'm talking about is confusion towards my fellow classmates.

I had assumed law school would be an amazing place, with lots of highly intelligent people with lofty goals who were all equally excited to be starting this journey. And, while I'm sure there are those people (after all, I didn't meet all 160 of them), I'm left feeling confused and slightly disappointed with many of those I did meet. Let me just start by saying there was a lot of griping and complaining. Like, an absurd amount. And about everything. Laptop use, student ID fees, orientation schedules, 'why do we have to go to the juvenile court and not the superior court?', etc. On the last day of orientation we went on tours of a courthouse. I gave a girl a ride since she didn't have a car, and immediately upon getting into my car said 'ugh, I almost called and told you not to get me. I'm just so over this." Ummm, what? Why are you even here? Is it so hard to get through a few days of talks and meetings? I mean, I'm not saying that everything at orientation was the most enthralling thing in the world, but going to a courthouse? Are you aware that courthouses are an important part of being a lawyer? I understand being cynical, and I can bitch and moan with the best of them. But we haven't even started yet. And already some people treat the whole thing as one giant inconvenience to their life. Very, very confusing, and very disappointing.

Next point. Many, many of my fellow classmates seem to have the desire to 'stand out' in some way or another. I know I said I would give people the benefit of the doubt, but it's getting really hard. When you tell the class you're anxious about law school because you never, ever did your reading or homework as an undergrad, and, OMG, like, totally still got awesome grades, and now you might actually have to read once in a while....yeah, not an endearing trait. Or, you like to make really loud remarks during a presentation (and unintelligent ones at that, like shouting "dammit" and nervously laughing like a hyena), and then looking around to see who heard you and get their reactions...again, please refrain. Personally, I took the friendly-but-I'm-not-your-bff-just-because-we-sat-next-to-each-other approach, which seemed the most practical. After all, we do have the whole year to get to know each other, let's not ruin it in a few days. Surprisingly, this same tactic didn't occur to many in my class, or it did occur to them, but because they are so awesome and brilliant it didn't apply, 'cause, you know, who doesn't want to know them?!

My next problem is that I resent these perpetrators making me feel old. I'm not old, older than most of them, but not by much. And their ridiculousness makes me feel like an old lady shaking her fist telling some kids to get off my lawn. Am I silly for feeling like this process deserves a little respect? And assuming that we had all moved on from crazy college days? I cannot tell you how many of these kids (yeah, Wyatt Earp totally called me out for referring to them as 'kids' and I didn't ever realize it!) have whined that there haven't been any good parties, and how lame everyone is for not wanting to party every night, and wondering where all the good bars are and how we should all go get drunk once a week together... I remember being 22, and I'm sure I was dumb and annoyed people as well. But I also remember having a sense of place and self-awareness. I didn't automatically assume that kids being tried at court were terrible kids with terrible parents. Or that organizations with political causes were "dumb and stupid" (yes, that's a direct quote). Sigh. Oh well, I guess they'll either grow up or won't, and that's their problem, not mine.

Get off my lawn you disrespectful 1Ls!

Moving on, all this has made me come to a sort of self-satisfaction epiphany. Over the years, mostly in the last few, I would occasionally get really down on myself for not having made anything of myself yet as I watched my high school classmates soar in their amazing jobs and lead exciting careers and generally seeming happy about everything (damn you facebook!) while I drudged through classes and jobs I hated and that paid less than waiting tables. I had experimented and failed more often than not. It's taken a long time to find my way to somewhere I feel like I finally belong. But you know what? All that wandering, and experimenting, and being in a terrible place in life at one point or another, and struggling with what I really wanted and what would make me happy - all that made me who I am now. Which is wiser, more mature, more sure of myself and confident, and much more focused and dedicated. I think that is what I see missing in my younger classmates. The ones who are on the 'right' track. High School, College, Grad School, job, marriage, kids, etc. This is just the next step. They haven't had a chance to fail. I'm sure they are all very smart, which is why undergrad was probably a breeze for them, so they don't know what it is like to make bad decisions, or to fall flat on your face and worry about how you'll ever get back up. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe they're more willing to take on huge challenges since they fully believe they can succeed, rather than be hesitant because of the consequences of failure. In the end, I can't speak for anyone else. Maybe they are just putting on a show and have their own personal reasons for being here. All I know is that for me, I have never felt more sure about being in the right place, at the right time. And it feels awesome.

Let the games begin!

2010-08-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

So, we had our first day of orientation today and it went really well. I got to meet my section, and (almost) everyone seems really cool and chill. A couple people seem a little high maintenance and annoying, but I'm sure they'll get put in their place once classes start, and, besides, everyone was nervous, so I don't think I can put too much emphasis on these first impressions. Awww, look at me! Being all sweet and giving people the benefit of the doubt - this is probably the last time it will happen, so it's a freebie for my fellow classmates. The best part about today was that it made me totally excited to start school!! I can't wait to be back in a truly academic environment. This semester I'll be taking Contracts, Civ Pro, Torts, Legal Research and Legal Writing. Oh, and I already have homework for Writing. And so it begins...

Remember my dilemma about whether or not to use a laptop? No? Why aren't you hanging on my every word?? Well, anyways, I did have that dilemma, and it has been partially solved for me. My Contracts professor doesn't allow laptops, and my Civ Pro teacher 'strongly discourages' them. So that's that. Which is alright with me, since I always hand-wrote my notes before anyways. And I get to go notebook shopping! I've gotten this down to a science over the years. There is a very specific brand I like, which I can only find at the school bookstore, that comes with neat little pockets for each section. Wow I'm such a nerd. In slightly annoying news, I'm taking my computer back this weekend because it sucks, and needs a new motherboard which Best Buy claims will take up to 20 days. Yeah, you read that right - 20 days! And the touchpad is all wonky and crazy sensitive. So while I type the mouse jumps around and clicks on random things. Not conducive to typing long papers. If anyone has any laptop recommendations - please let me know!

Ciao!

Onwards and upwards

2010-08-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

It's my last day of work! The weird thing is, I'm not nearly as excited and bouncing off the walls as I expected. I'm already so over it, and focused on the upcoming semester that today just seems like some tedious chore I have to get out of the way before the good stuff starts. Though, Wyatt Earp surprised me this morning with flowers, coffee and super yummy pastries from an amazing French bakery, which made me pretty excited. He also planned to get me a giant #1 foam hand to wear around today, but, sadly, they don't sell those at your average grocery store. *gush* I'm a lucky girl!

So, I was at Best Buy the other night because my laptop was acting really strange, and turned out that one of the "Geek Squad" guys was getting ready to take the LSAT in October, and an older woman getting help with her laptop has been a lawyer for 32 years! She re-iterated that the beginning of law school is totally insane, but she really liked being an attorney and all it's challenges. She said she graduated Cum Laude from a top-12 school, and did Law Review and Moot Court, and then I felt very, very intimidated. The younger guy wants to go to California for school - booooo. He asked how I did on my LSAT and it was so strange because I really couldn't remember my exact score. Just a few months ago it was all I could think about and obsess over, and now it seems so long ago and trivial. I guess it's all part of the process.

Next Thursday we start our orientation, and then classes start soon after. Crazy! It seems like yesterday I was moaning and groaning that this day would just never come and I'll be stuck here forever and things will never get better and the sun will die and we'll be forced to go live underground like moles and....ahem, I mean, here it is! I can't wait to start this next chapter in my life and put this part behind me. I think that will start with a good bender at the bars tonight. You know, to help kick start the process. On a side note, my arch nemesis at work was asked to put together my going away party - mwa hahaha!!!

One last thing: Hurray for Prop 8 being overturned! Gays and lesbians should be given every right that a heterosexual person or couple has and it's amazing to see acceptance, tolerance and equal rights triumph over hate and fear!!

Pacey-Con

2010-07-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Because everyone needs a little Pacey in their lives. Oh, and Joshua Jackson is the coolest!

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

Relaxin' and Mojitos

2010-07-22T12:16:00.001-07:00

We're back! And despite totally crummy weather and food poisoning, the trip was awesome. Just getting out of town for a while was great, and Wyatt Earp and I still have another week and a half off! There are times I feel guilty for bailing on work like this, but then I realized a) I don't owe that place anything, and b) I really only have half a days worth of work left, so it's not like anything isn't happening on my account.

While I was gone I bunch of my books arrived. It's...intimidating, to say the least. Between most of the textbooks I need, and supplements I bought (true, I may have gone a little overboard, but what if I need all of them!?) the stack is now teetering near 2 feet high. I did manage to get a couple supplements through the university library on inter-library loan (yeah! Go Master's in Library Science!). That should save some cash, and I managed to get some really good deals on my books through Amazon and Half.com.

WWLS just can't get over her stack of books

So having gotten back from vacation, received most of my books, accepted my loans and registered for classes, now I can just...relax? I guess...I'm not really sure what to do with myself. I've started a new knitting project, and Wyatt Earp and I are going to do a little summer, pre-school cleaning, but that's about it. I guess I finally have time to make some pretzels I've been wanting to try. In the last few months I've gotten really baking breads. I can bake ciabatta and focaccia with the best of 'em! Lately I've eased back for the sake of our waistlines. I can only give away so much bread until people don't want any more. But I found a recipe for basil pretzels, and our basil plant has gone completely crazy and I can't find enough ways to use the stuff. The mint plant has also gone crazy but Wyatt Earp and I have discovered the magic that is the Mojito - ooooh yeah.

Because I'm awesome, I'll share this best-every mojito recipe. It's good for several reasons: 1) It's not too lime-y, 2) it's not too mint-y, 3) you strain the leaves out so you don't choke on muddled mint leaves - no bueno. Note: This recipe makes a fairly large quantity, so maybe cut it in half if it's just one or two people. Or don't, and have a totally awesome evening - the choice is yours.

Best mojito recipe evah!

3 cups packed fresh mint leaves
9 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups light rum
1/2 cup lime juice
6 cups club soda
6 cups crushed ice
6 lime wedges

Place mint leaves in medium bowl (leave a few out to make the glasses look pretty at the end). Add sugar. Mash with wooden spoon until mint is aromatic and oils are released. Add rum and lime juice and stir until sugar dissolves. Strain mixture into pitcher (if you are making this ahead of time, put this in the fridge now before adding the club soda). Add club soda to pitcher and stir. Fill glasses with ice and pour mojitos. Garnish with lime wedges and mint leaves.

Enjoy!

Oh boy

2010-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just dropped nearly a paycheck's worth of cash on books and supplements. And I didn't even buy all of them yet. Holy moly.

In other news, only 2.5 days of work left until vacation! The road trip was swapped for the beach - can't wait! I want to write more, but I'm so excited about getting out of work on Friday and starting my vacation that it is all-consuming and all I can think about right now.

Arizona's Immigration Law

2010-07-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

Out here in the wild west, it's been hard to avoid what's happening in Arizona. It's everywhere. Politics aside, I like Arizona. Yes, it's hotter than anything imaginable and will melt your skin, but it's an extremely scenic state with a dizzying array of ecosystems. Low desert, high desert, mountains, whatever the Sedona area is called. All gorgeous. I don't really want to discuss politics here, but I'm pretty sure this topic will be unavoidable in my upcoming law classes. And I think that's great. There are lots of different angles to those both opposed to and supportive of the new law. Racial profiling is a big, glaring red flag, and the Justice Department is trying to block the law because they say it hinders law enforcement's ability to do their job. On the other hand, the Governor of Arizona seems to believe that most illegal immigrants, or at least those in Arizona, are drug smugglers (which is a pretty dubious claim), and, unfortunately, Arizona is a breeding ground for wingnuts. For an interesting read of the whole ordeal, check out Meghan McCain's piece for the Daily Beast.

Personally, I think this law seems like a totally misguided and a desperate attempt by Arizona to gain some attention for a legitimate immigration problem. Sadly, extreme laws like this bring out the worst in everybody and most debates are reduced to name-calling and hair pulling. I'm hopeful we can have some interesting, rational and logical debates about this law in class. Or maybe we can have a shoot-out OK Corral-style. I mean, this is the wild west, after all.

One Step Closer

2010-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Registration materials were sent out today! They didn't forget about us!

This also means ohmigodthisisreallyhappening! Maybe I should stop using exclamation marks?! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Things To Do Before Classes Start, Or, I Could Have Told You That, Dummy

2010-07-05T11:28:00.017-07:00

I recently purchased a copy of Law School Confidential so as to feel somewhat proactive in getting ready for classes to start. Chapter 6 starts out with "The Ten Things You Must Do Before Classes Begin," which sounded promising. A to-do list to guide the rest of my summer. Well...it was not as helpful as advertised. Lets to through the list, shall we?

1. Buy this book
Ok, those aren't the exact words, but that is the idea. So far, check.

2. Find somewhere to live
Again, paraphrasing. But, if you haven't figured out where you are going to sleep, eat, sob uncontrollably, and have your nervous breakdowns...maybe law school isn't for you after all. And another thing, I didn't buy a book about law school so it could tell me something about housing. At this point, I'm pretty sure we're all adults here...I hope.

3. Work out
Thanks, Mom.

4. "Read now, sign up later"
This is a very strange section about all the 'mailing, pamphlets and brochures' that are supposedly overflowing my mailbox. Apparently I'm supposed to be receiving offers for laundry service, linen services, "exclusive" dining clubs (like the Student Union?) and a valet service consisting of 4 shirtless men in grass skirts who will carry me from class to class while fanning me with a giant paddle fan. While I do like the last one, I have no idea what they are talking about. I have yet to receive any sort of special offers, or even acknowledgment that I'm attending law school in the August. Except a bunch of annoying California schools that seem to think I'm willing to back out of a Tier 1 school and sign up for their online program. Sorry Cali, not gonna happen.

5. Buy a computer
Check. This section did have something I found mildly useful. I've been contemplating how to take notes in class. I've always preferred hand-writing notes, mainly because I hate people who tap-tap-tap on their keys all through class and I don't want to be one of those people (I'd rather be snarky than a hypocrite). But, it seems that everyone uses their laptops in class in law school. And I am attracted to the idea of Ctrl+f - ing (ha, that sounds dirty) my way through my notes, instead of flipping through pages trying to remember what we talked about on which day. I think I'll show up with both, and go with whatever is in the majority. Yes, I am a sheep, thank you very much.

6. Hang out with the registrar
Apparently I'm supposed to just to chill with the registration lady, and, I dunno, buy her coffee? Oh, and get a neon orange folder with important papers because, you know, they're important and stuff. And I should keep my passport up to date, because of all the international flying I'll be doing for Torts.

7. Create a fortress
They call it 'headquarters,' but I prefer fortress. This book is really into war analogies. I'm a General and I need a fortress! This section also scares the *@!$ out of you by talking about all the 18 hour days, and no weekends, I have to look forward to. That's why you need a fortress where no boys are allowed and me and Super Dog can chill while quietly rocking back and forth together.

The plans for my backyard fortress

8. Figure out where you are
As in, get a map. Thanks for that one, guys.

9. Update your resume
This is one I certainly hadn't thought of, and I'm not totally sure if I'll follow up on it. My resume is pretty recent. Before I decided on law school I was bombarding places with resumes to escape my job. I think the career people actually start dealing with 1Ls in the spring regarding resumes. I'm curious to see how previous experience matters for legal jobs, or if it does at all.

And last, but not least,*drum roll please*........

10. Buy supplies!
Well, that was anti-climactic, wasn't it? This book is a little strange. It's talking about our sections and classes being posts on a bulletin board on campus. When did these people go to school and were they just lurking around the summer before classes staring at bulletin boards? Haha, and they want me to buy 30 highlighters, literally - 6 green 6 blue, 6 yellow, 6 red (who uses red highlighters?), and 6 orange. Yeah, I'm not going to do that no matter how much I covet office supplies.

And then a list of commercial outlines (aha! something useful!).

Actually, this book has been pretty useful, despite a pretty lame chapter. I guess they thought they needed some sort of "to-do" list for overzealous 0Ls who are obsessing over the upcoming semester and this was the best they could come up with. Most of the advice seems to be to just take it easy before classes start, because you will never see the sun again. Ever. Can't wait!

Ciao.

It's On Like Donkey Kong

2010-06-28T12:05:00.002-07:00

It's official. There's no going back. On Thursday I gave my resignation notice at work. It was exhilarating, liberating, and terrifying. I spent most of that night awake, tossing and turning in bed, stressing about law school. Am I smart enough? What if I don't get along with the people in my section? Or they hate me? What if I'm terrible at law school? Or hate it? What if I get struck by lightning? And I become super smart, but the government wants to experiment on me? But then I run away and die under a tree? Or... Yeah, it was getting a little out of control, and apparently Phenomenon is not a good pre-bedtime movie when you're worried about your future. Who knew?

I guess during the past six or seven months it hasn't been 'real' yet. It was just talk. Just applications. Just an seat deposit. But my day to day life was the same. I'm not moving anywhere. I didn't really have to change my life for this process. I did get a new laptop. But it's just a laptop. I needed a new one anyways, and it really just sits there on my desk. I don't use the computer much when I'm not in school. But now, now it's real. Now I'm on a timeline. The option to back out has been taken away. Not that I wanted to take that option, but it was there. Now it's gone.

But that's a good thing. My mood has taken a dramatic turn for the better. After telling my boss I felt this huge weight being taken off my shoulders. It was amazing. I won't go into how my boss took the news, it was pretty insulting to be quite honest. But that's what I expected. I'm anticipating my registration materials any day now. It still feels surreal. This is something I've talked about since I was 16 and I always put off. There was always a reason to not apply, or something else to try first. Looking back, I think I was just scared I couldn't do it. That I would fail and be humiliated. But then I ran out of excuses. There wasn't anything else to try. So I studied, took the LSAT, filled out endless applications and wrote essays about how awesome I was, without actually saying I was awesome, while simultaneously displaying wit and intelligence (I mean really admission boards? Can someone show me one example of the 'perfect' application essay? It doesn't exist!). I've been overwhelmed by the support I've received from my family, which helped overcome the countless scenarios that went like this:

me: I think I'm going to go to law school.

unsupportive asshole: (with a sneer) why?
or
unsupportive asshole: lawyers are terrible, bloodsucking people who eat babies for lunch, puppies for dinner and snack on kittens. What's wrong with you?
or
unsupportive asshole: do you know how expensive that is? you'll never pay it back and you won't be able to find a job.

EDIT: I thought of a fourth unsupportive asshole: *pauses* well, I've known lots of people who never really work and just go to school forever...so if that's what you want.... (sidenote: this happened on a 3-hour car trip. Fun times!)

Thanks friends and collegues - you can be so helpful. Please, tell me your dreams so I can stomp on them right in front of you and watch you slink off to a corner and cry to yourself. Tell me!

Then there was one girl who kept insisting I didn't need to go to law school. There are states you can just take the bar exam - it's like a giant loophole nobody knows about! Save your money! It's sooooo easy! Um, yeah, sure, I'll think about it....

But here I am. About to be a law student, in the flesh. It's sort of mind boggling. But totally awesome and exciting, and terrifying and nerve-racking, all at the same time. Wow.

In even more exciting news: in an amazing act of awesomeness, my parents pitched in and I got me a brand spanking new iPad! Man did I hate on those when they first came out - sorry Apple. It is the coolest thing ever! And I'm hoping I can get my textbooks on it and save some cash. It's the gift that keeps giving!

Ciao.

Pretty new layout

2010-06-17T10:21:00.002-07:00

Oh so pretty. It makes me feel worldly, like I should be sitting in a mahogany office, filled with fancy leather-bound books and a globe that opens up into a bar with a crystal bottle of scotch. I don't like scotch, but I think worldly fancy me would sit in my office, sipping on scotch and thinking about how effing awesome my life was.

Alas, I'm at work with not much to do. My boss is not yet aware that I will be gone in about 6 weeks. She's on a work trip and I'll tell her when she gets back at the end of the month. Then I'm out for 2 weeks on awesome roadtrip, then adios! So, I'm pacing myself so that these last three projects are indeed my last three projects. Of course, by pacing I mean playing FreeCell, reading Jane Austen novels and visiting the five internet sites not blocked by a government firewall. Oddly, this is one of them.

So, like I said, I'm currently on a Jane Austen kick. It started after watching Lost in Austen, which is a BBC movie about a modern day Austen lover (like me! I can relate!) who inexplicably finds herself having switched places with Elizabeth Bennett and trying to salvage the plot of Pride and Prejudice (which she screwed up, because she is not Elizabeth and Pride and Prejudice doesn't work without Elizabeth - duh!). Anyways, it's just awesome fantasy land for anyone who has dreamed about being in the book, and who hasn't? I highly recommend it, oh, and it's on Instant Watch on Netflix - so what's the hold up? Go watch it! I realized after that, that although I love the movies, I hadn't actually read any of Austen's novels the whole ways through. So, to date, I've finished Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion and am now on Emma. Although I adore Pride and Prejudice, I think Persuasion has been my favorite so far. Emma is a bit of beast, and I don't really care for the main character, which I read was the point when Austen wrote it, and I can't stop figuring out which characters correspond to the Clueless movie, which is fairly distracting. But I'm on a mission and I'll get through it. It is one of the easiest to read yet. I think because many of the main characters are super familiar, so they don't use the frustratingly formal, passive aggressive dialogue a lot of the books have where it takes three pages to figure out that Character A thinks Character B is a little annoying.

Enough about Jane Austen. I need to finish her books because I think I won't have any time once classes start in August.

Twiddling my thumbs

2010-06-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

Alright, so we're down to 5 weeks until road trip. I'm using that as my new official countdown, mostly because it's closer than when school will actually start. I've read some law student blogs who discuss taking it easy the summer before law school. They travel, go to exotic beaches, save third-world kittens from terrible third-world kitten diseases. Generally, they relax and have fun. But is that my experience? Oh no. While there off saving kittens, I'm losing sleep and getting terrible breakouts (apparently my skin has reverted to it's 16-year-old self) wondering how I'll get through another day at my terrible job and how we'll pay the bills at the end of the day.

Enough whining. I'm tired of it, if anyone read this, I'm sure they'd be tired of it. Lets focus on the positive, shall we? In the fall, both Wyatt Earp and I will be starting school full-time. Me in law school, and him on his engineering degree. Wyatt Earp was a chef in a former life, but, despite what Food Network would have you believe, it's a completely under appreciated and overworked job. So after 10 years he's decided he's done working nights, weekends, holidays and every other time that everyone else is having fun. I couldn't be happier. I hate our schedule now because we almost never see each other. He doesn't get home until 10:30 usually, and I have to be at work by 8 the next morning. He has gotten extremely lucky lately and has been scoring weekends off, which is HUGE! But during the week I miss him terribly, which doesn't help the hating-my-life-from-8-5:30-everyday situation, but at least we have the whole weekend together. For a long time he had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, so we never actually had an entire day to spend together, this is much better. So in the fall, he'll continue to work nights and go to school, while I just go to school. I'm anxious to get my class schedule so I'll know what to expect, hopefully we can see each other a bit more in the morning at least.

He's been trying to pull me out of my funk and asked me to think of some goals for law school. So far, I have 2. 1) To get into the family law clinic; and 2) get on the Law Review journal. I'm debating about whether to also shoot for the environmental or the international journal as well. I guess I'll figure that out later. So, hopefully next summer I'll be blogging about my upcoming clinic sessions and congratulating myself on getting onto the Law Review journal. Goals are good.

3 months is too long

2010-05-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to be patient until school starts, but it's getting impossible. Let me start by saying part of what prompted me to apply for this Fall and not Fall 2011 was that I hated my job. I didn't make this decision until last November, where I began cramming to take the February LSAT and getting in applications. Also, LSAC granted me a fee waiver, which I then made me go crazy with applications. 'Oh, this one has a pretty webpage - I'll apply there' 'Hawaii? I like Hawaii.' Which then led to huge amounts of stress trying to manage a lot of applications. At any rate, that's behind me, and I'll be starting at a great school and even managed to grab a small scholarship.

I graduated from library school last May, and began working at my current job as an intern the previous August, and my boss offered me some contract jobs in the Spring until my graduation. I thought the place was weird from the get-go, but I figured once I became a 'real' employee the people would open up a little and be not so...strange. Library school attracts a lot of, shall we say, socially awkward people. Those who would rather organize books by an archaic numbering system than do anything else in the whole wide world. Not everyone is like this (and I do think librarians are awesome and serve a great purpose), but it's hard to make friends in library school. The folks I work with are pretty on-par with the industry. And very, very passive-aggressive. My boss is even worse. She'll scream about how stupid someone is while she is well aware they are on the otherside of the room and can hear everything she's saying. And then when you see her, she is all smiles. I've had to listen to the second-in-command call my coworkers 'f-ing retards' and then make fun of their physical appearance. Of course, it's only a small handful that are like this, and they've made their little 'clique.' I once defended someone who was being attacked for no particular reason, and was looked at as if I had 2 heads. Then I got the cold shoulder for weeks. When there's less than 10 employees, it's almost impossible to avoid people you don't get along with.

Sorry for the rant. I just really hate this job I have, and now that I have something a gazillion times better to look forward to everyday feels like a lifetime.

Oh well, only 8 weeks until an awesome roadtrip, 10 weeks til I'm done with my job, and 12 weeks until orientation! Not that I'm counting or anything.

Welcome to a strange new world

2010-04-23T20:05:00.002-07:00

Hello out there,

I'm not totally sure how to start this blog off...so, hello again! I'll be starting law school in the fall, and using this blog to document the highs, lows and everything in between.

I don't think I'm a "non-traditional" student, but I didn't take the highschool-undergrad-lawschool track either. But, I'm here now, doing what I've wanted to do for the last 10 years and should have done after my undergrad degree anyways. I'm a little tentative to say it, but here goes: I'm going to save the world through law!