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Went to a criminal law review session today, and for once, it was actually worthwhile. The review portion took 1 hour and 15 minutes, and unbelievably we actually covered the material from the semester in that time. This means one of two things: (1) he's really that good, or (2) we really didn't cover that much. The jury is still out on this...but at least I have some confidence in this subject. However, it's our last exam, so I need to forget what I learned today for a while, and pick it back up in time for the exam on the 16th. Here's hoping the Property and Con Law reviews go nearly as well.
Ah...it's nearly over. The last class of the semester was today. Of course, if it weren't for finals I'd be truly excited, but it's just a matter of time until that's done too. We have review sessions interspersed throughout the week, but it's time to get a clue and put it together. I'll admit, I'm a bit freaked out, and will probably be ill before it's over, but I need to do well, it's not an option. I won't be posting much until this is done, as I'm sure many of you won't, but keep your heads up and get plenty of sleep.
I've formally accepted my job offer, after trying to get a hold of the person who offered it to me for 3 business days. Seems the person was ill and out of the office. I felt immediately guilty. I'm recovering nicely from the weekend, the foot is healing nicely. I did feel sort of stuffy and cold-like this morning...but I think it may be a combination of every flowering plant and tree being in bloom right now and having walked around Saturday in the rain and wind, and not some sort of injured foot related disease. Can you imagine if I were a hypochondriac? I would have come up with that I had some foreign variant of foot SARS. Tomorrow is my very last class of the semester, so I can start panicking now. Oh, and I need to choose classes. Evidence is a given, and I'm thinking of Trusts and Estates, or Biz Orgs. Too many choice, too much stress, bad timing...such is life.
Sorry I haven't written...but we just got back from a family event over the weekend. For the highlights...the best sushi I ever had, got to meet family members that I had never met before, and got to dance like a crazy person for quite a while. Lowlights...picked up a sliver in my foot from dancing barefoot on a wooden dance floor. But what a story that will make, "I remember back to when we went dancing at the UN, but I got a sliver in my foot..." Also got a chance to get into Chinatown and have an order of soup dumplings. And no, my life does not revolve around asian food, but I take my opportunities where I get them. We'll be talking about the weekend for years to come, and it was a great break before finals. Hope your weekends went nearly as well.
Just so you don't think I whine incessantly...and we all know how we hate the whiney law students, I share this story. On my way home this evening, I was in a bad mood. The one thing that lightened my mood was on a major thoroughfare that I travel each day, I met a Toys 'R Us cart which had gone awol from the nearby lot, making a break for it, causing havoc in the oncoming lanes. It was pretty windy, so it added an air of the unknown as to what the cart would do next. For some reason, it made me laugh.
And oh, I finally got a job...a real live law job that isn't being a secretary. That made me smile too.
Yes, I argued...orally. The highlight? I was told that I have presence and that this was obviously my thing. Lowlight? In the same breath, my argument was shredded before my eyes. Normally, I would have taken this and accepted the comment for what it was worth, however, since I was the only one of four people who was treated suchly, I'm majorly miffed. I watched my argument partner nearly have a nervous breakdown in the last 15 seconds of her argument, but since the professor didn't think she had the gumption to do the oral argument, she got her ego massaged. Once, again, I'm held to a totally different standard in Lawyering. Ahhh...that's what I love about this school, no matter what I do, I'm meant to feel like an idiot.
I think these few lines from 311 sufficiently explains my situtation...
I’ll be here awhile ain’t going nowhere
I’ll be here awhile ain’t going nowhere
I’ll be here awhile ain’t going nowhere
I’ll be here awhile
Far is solace in the maddening pace
Sad state written on my face
Not a tight rope walk but dance
Uncertain game of chance
But I’ll see it through in time
After reading Sua Sponte's lovely experience at her Moot Court induction reception, I've come to the conclusion that I'll just have to live vicariously through the great experiences of others. I survived another round of "I really shouldn't be here"-itis, which has been rearing it's head every Tuesday this semester. It occurs between the "I don't understand what's going on" and "This is boring me to tears" mood swings. Of course, the exam cloud that is hanging over me is not improving my mood, and even getting another interview for a fall semester gig didn't do it. I keep seeing a future in which I do actually get into Witness Examination Skills class, but seemingly fail out of school...leaving a slot open for some other high achiever who is not me. Knowing the fate of 30 of my ex-classmates, how do I know this won't happen to me? I have no confidence in my abilities, or in anything I learned this semester...it did not serve me well last semester to think I knew anything...so perhaps if I go in thinking I'm an idiot, my luck will change?
In response to Open and Notorious's ongoing haiku slam, I feel compelled to make this poetic statement.
Techno music rocks
It makes me want to boogie
I need a new drug
Well, the audition is complete. Can't say it was my shining hour...heck it wasn't even 10 minutes long. I did get to go early, since other people had failed to show up. Perhaps that will get me bonus points. And, I dressed up. Y'know...clothes make the law student. I think I looked at my notes too much, and stumbled a bit, but the biggest concern was I spoke too quickly. Ah well...perhaps this will be a good prep for oral arguments Wednesday afternoon. AAAAGH!
After checking out Paul's Boutique I spent a great deal of time looking at the Peeps website. They are 50 years old this year. Their easter basket contest was pretty cool, but honestly, I think Indiana was robbed. What's really strange though is if you put in www.peeps.com, you get redirected to Rolling Stone Magazine. How weird is that? Is there some odd connection between soft marshmallow bunnies and rock music?
So how does one go about writing a closing argument? I have to try out to get into a "Witness Examination Skills" class, and the audition is to create a 10 minute closing argument based on a fact pattern that was given to us. Seeing as how I have no real life experience or skills set for such an argument, I will have to wing it in the hopes that I will wow them with my presence and sparkling repartee. And monkeys could fly out of my butt.
Today was not a nice day, so I will instead regale you all with a tale of yesterday afternoon. Our Property professor has inflicted a number of makeup classes on us in the last couple weeks due a good deal of cancelled classes. There are only a finite number of slots in which these classes can take place, so instead we were scheduled for a 2 hour makeup in the afternoon. To get students to show up, she offered to buy soda and beer for us. And as we all know, free alcohol and food will bring out most law students. And so it was...a keg of beer, chips and soda. Other sections were jealous, jealous of a makeup class! My highlight was in that one of my fellow students brought in a gallon of homemade wine. I was bold enough to try it, and damn, he missed his calling. 3 glasses later, I became a Property goddess...I could answer anything, including the obscure questions about vertical privity of estate and privity of contract. I want more classes like this...my mind wasn't wandering, and things were making sense. Consensus is we may all need to bring flasks to the final.
Had another interview today...and got the standard questions, plus "What are your hobbies?" And of course, you first say, "Well, before school I had hobbies..." and then you realize that you've not only been doing nothing but school, but you've ceased to have hobbies. Drinking heavily does not count...and I wasn't going to explain blogging, not to mention that I believe that I may be the only blogger at this school and I like that. The job was interesting in that you'd effectively be a hired gun for research. It was implied heavily that there would not be any job beyond this summer, and being a 1L I really don't mind. I was even told, "If you can go back to your old firm for the summer, I'd do that." (I made the point that if I were to go back to the previous job for the summer I'd only be a legal secretary, not a law clerk, as they do not hire 1L clerks.) This implies two things...one, this job might really suck, and two, this won't look good on your resume. I find that terribly hard to believe...it's a publicly held multinational corporation. Being a law clerk for an in-house counsel at a group like that can't be a bad thing, can it?
In place of the auction, we decided to enjoy the fabulous summer weather before it changes its mind again and went out for ice cream. Mmm...with sprinkles! Too bad it's only going to be half as warm tomorrow. I'll pretend I hallucinated today.
Well, I made it through the day and home in one piece. I was even able to set up an appointment with one of my professors to discuss class choices for next year. Being free of the requirements is a lovely idea, but it also implies I have the presence of mind to make the correct choices to not only graduate in the appropriate number of semesters but also to be in some semblance of order for the bar exam. Of course if I don't do well this semester these choices will be moot, but I can dream. Of course, it is assumed that you have an advisor with whom you have some sort of rapport, and my assigned advisor couldn't pick me out of a lineup if his life was depending on it. Ah, can you tell how much I love my school?
Oh, and our public interest auction is tonight...and unlike some other schools, we actually have to pay to attend. $5 for students and $25 for non-students, so my spouse and I decided to not attend. Might have been fun...but do I need to pay money to spend money? Not when we're looking at a $1500 tuition increase. I need to count the pennies where I can. Can I have an auction for my own fund?
My morning started with a bang...literally. Seems in my sleep-addled mind I failed to notice the angle at which I placed my vehicle in the garage, and upon backing out of said garage, the right side mirror left the vehicle with a crack, and hit the ground, shattering the mirror. Had it not been Tuesday (and as such being a day of 4 classes), I would have pulled back into the garage and gone back to bed. I fear for my sanity today. Usually Wednesday is my mid-week crisis day, but it seems Tuesday has definite possibilities.
Ah, no rest for the weary...though I did actually get some sleep. Today was our last "Lawyering" class, and it was a oral argument example by the Moot Court board. I've already given some thought to this argument, and I would love to say the following..."May it please the court, take your turtle and shove it up your butt." Two problems with this...one, I'm the government/plaintiff, and am supposed to be protecting the turtles, and two, well...it just isn't done. The problem we've been writing all these briefs on involves a turtle! Do I care about the turtle? At this stage I'd like to knowingly take, trap, possess, and transport the threatened turtle, just to piss people off. And, if had given any thought to going into environmental law, any enjoyment I may have derived from the subject matter has been burned from me in the cruicible of this class. Maybe that's the point...since she's an environmental attorney by training, she's trying to prevent competition in the field.
And with a half a dozen screaming fits, a lost stapler, and a minor printer issue, the brief is done. I'm not proud of it, I'm not even happy about it. I hope for mediocrity...quite an aspiration, if I do say so myself. The only thing keeping me from just calling it a career before it even starts is the hope that the oral argument may allow me to redeem myself. I've always been one to give a speech instead of writing a paper, and I hope I can hit one out of the park. What a ego-crushing weekend this has been. So, how was your weekend?
NY Times discusses the possibility of tougher NYS Bar Exam - Case for a Tougher Bar Exam Prompts a Forceful Rebuttal
(registration required)
Procrastination Central...
Listening to Iron Maiden's "Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter" really gives a whole new spin to a criminal appellate brief. Couch dancing (where one sits on a couch, typing on a laptop, while listening to odd eclectic music mixes, wiggling as only a law student can) really can improve one's mood, as well as possibly fighting the effects of numb butt.
Another thing that improved my mood, I got a mention on Tom Mighell's Internet Legal Research Weekly! I've subscribed to that newsletter for quite a long time, certainly before I was a law student, back in the day when I was a paralegal, and actually doing real research. I am a "so-far unidentified law student." I like that cloud of mystery. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men....the Screaming Bean knows!
Now that I've recovered from the milky haze invoked by my experience with the Vanilla Creme, I will work diligently until the Appellate Brief is done...or your money back! I do have to say though the fake court decision that has brought about this Appellate Brief irks me...it's purposely vague, does not explain why cases were named in the brief, and also sets the bar for intent at a nearly impossible level. Anyone want to argue specific intent for the Endangered Species Act? Do you do you doyoudoyou???
I'm going to admit up front and say I don't drink coffee...I know, that is heresy in most circles, especially among law students, but I've never developed the taste for it. As a result, I never used to frequent coffee shops like Starbucks. However, in my search for somewhere to sit and study that wasn't home or the library I popped into one of the local ones, and had to find something to drink (and not hot chocolate, I've had theirs before, and thought it sucked). I settled on this thing called a Vanilla Creme. A "non-coffee" drink, I figured, why not? All I have to say is...where have you been all my life? It's like drinking pudding. And I feel mellow, and happy, and warm...without imbibing heavily.
Ah, spring is here...thong chick's thongs have reappeared. Though I believe they lurked all winter long, it's just that she's wearing that fewer clothes given the season. I will not be enjoying my weekend, I need to finish this post trial brief. And I'll tell you right now, it's going to be a struggle to the last. The best part of it is that I've had 5 or 6 people in my class asking about the issues I'm addressing in the paper, and being a nice person, I discussed them at length with each. My husband reinforced to me last night is that I am competing with all these people on the curve for this paper, and as such should not have shown my hand at all. I'm now depressed about my niceness. Though, in defense I believe that even if I had a 20 year litigator drafting this paper I would not beat the curve, but that's just me. Nothing like a non-law student to snap you back to reality.
Wow, did you know that if you stay up late enough reading your Contracts textbook, you think you can read Latin? That somehow, in the midst of all this, you have picked up a supernatural skill of reading a dead language. Is this the part before I start hearing voices? Or should I have been hearing them right along now? I was just winging along through a case, when all of a sudden the opinion started quoting the Justinian Codes...and I actually think I understood them. *cues the Twilight Zone music* I wonder if I turned on Univision right now I could also understand Spanish. No time...more Contracts.
Today I was indoctrinated with the idea that moot court competition could be a good thing. Turns out in order to be part of the competitions you have to take a course in witness examinations, but to take the course you need to audition. And the auditions are in the midst of our oral arguments and a week before the last day of classes. Do I thrive under pressure...we shall see. If I had a mentor or even an advisor, I would speak to him/her and seek some divine wisdom in this time of crisis, but I have neither. So I will maintain my sanity and muddle through. Ah yes, and this is supposed to be a familial concerned school. I say BAH! (I also say a number of expletives, but it's neither fair to your eyes or my fingers to type them out here.)
In the "...and the wheels of progress grind increasingly fine..." department:
Well, I can honestly say the paper is underway...and I can cease cringing each time my Outlook popup reminder tells me to work on it. Here's hoping that this time I beat the curve! One needs dreams....because you know, at this stage of the semester, I'm actually supposed to be good at this. Okay, now that you've stopped laughing, I'm supposed to be actually lawyerly on this one, instead of just typing keys at random. But as I've always said, if you give enough monkeys enough typewriters, one of us will actually produce Shakespeare. Maybe I'll be the lucky monkey! I like monkeys.
And if we weren't freaking enough, we were told today that the Oral Argument signups are now available. Luckily, I've gotten my partner, and I will actually get us a slot tomorrow morning...not too early, not too late, not two days after the paper is due...what am I, a masochist??? Oh, that's right, I'm in law school, that's a given!
Always entertaining when one of your fellow students decides to riff at length on 2-609 of the UCC, and the professor cutting them off by saying, "And your ultimate conclusion is?" Ultimate conclusion of the class is, "You're a weenie!" I always have reasonable grounds for feeling insecure, but I don't bore my friends and neighbors with my discussion of such grounds, nor do I seek adequate assurances. It's not part of the contract...so Bah!
Better day! Mom's power came on about 11pm last night, so she headed home. However, my husband's plant did not have power so he stayed home. Out of morbid curiosity he tagged along to school with me, and sat in on my criminal law class. And irony of ironies, I got called on. And no, it wasn't because he came, the prof had no idea he was there or who I was before he read my name. I think I acquitted myself pretty well, though I fear that it may only be the beginning of a very long week. If nothing else, my husband definitely has a better feel for what law school is really like...and even scarier, thinks he could actually do this. Not scary that he could do it, because I know he'd be really good at it, but rather that he'd even think he want to do it after watching me slowly drown this year. Maybe it's like the Stockholm syndrome...though I hate to think I'm the one who brainwashed him.
Odd day today...my mother's power is still out and it's not looking like it'll be on before Tuesday at the earliest, due to the fact that we have another storm hitting tomorrow. She's become a fixture at my house. Can't say I blame her, since it's 50 degrees at hers. Part that cracks me up is that she doesn't live out in the boonies somewhere, she lives less than a mile from the city line of the capital of New York. And there are approximately 15,000 more people in her position around the Capital District. In her neighborhood, only her street is out. And if you only have 30 homes affected, they are much lower on the list, since they're currently working on the "boonies" first.
On another note, it was shocking and saddening to hear of the death of NBC correspondent David Bloom. He was in Iraq on assignment, but died of a pulmonary embolism. He was only 39 and left three children and a wife.
On a totally unrelated note, I think it's awful that Giancarlo Fisichella was given 2nd in the Grand Prix of Brazil, even after passing Kimi Raikkonen to take the lead. The race was red flagged and ended after a couple horrific crashes, and the rule book in all it's arcane glory declares in the event of a red flag being thrown to end a race, the results are declared two laps prior to the Red Flag being shown. As Fisichella had crossed the line to complete his 55th lap, the result is declared at 53 laps and so victory goes to Raikkonen with Fisichella second, Alonso third. Fisi was screwed, and seemed terribly depressed at the awarding of the trophies. I would have been too.
Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas...for this and other lovely disclaimers, check this out. Oh and yes..have I mentioned we're coated in ice? My mother's power has been out for nearly a day, and as a result is spending the evening at our humble abode. Last check on the news, she might get it back early in the week. What pray tell does that mean? Last time we had an ice storm of this magnitude, I lived with my parents, and we had no power for a week. I'm not holding out alot of hope. At least we salvaged all her frozen food. And I'd like to thank everyone who has their lovely underground easements on our property, since our utilities are underground, we're happy happy people. Hot soup anyone?
Information you should know...
Someone disseminated this information through our school's email system, and after checking it out myself, thought you might want to know.
A new feature of a Google search allows anyone to access your home address, get a road map, and a satellite photo of your neighborhood area by searching on your phone number. This feature makes it possible to type a telephone number into Google's search bar, click the search button, and have a MapQuest page returned as a result. Any person wishing to discover the physical location of a phone number, be it a home or business address, could use this feature to locate a physical street address, and receive explicit directions on how to get there from anywhere in the country. It only works for publicly listed numbers.
You can have your information deleted by following the directions below.
You will first need to check if your number is listed in this manner by attempting a search - entering your full telephone number separated by dashes (e.g., xxx-xxx-xxxx). If the number appears in the mapping database, an icon resembling a telephone will appear next to the first or second entry on the results page. Clicking on this icon will take you to a page containing a description of the service, and a link to request your number be removed from the database.
Ambition? We don't need no steeeenking ambition!
Today has been not nearly as productive as I would like. School didn't close this morning. There was freezing rain all night last night and everything is covered in a sheen of ice that continues tonight. It never made it above 28 today. But that's okay, 1Ls can risk life and limb for a couple classes, right? Since we're the only ones with classes on a Friday, I feel particularly appreciated and loved by our Dean. Each little piece of grass has its own 1/2 inch of ice coating it. So, you would think I would get tons done being stuck at home. I did not, unless you count laundry. However, if you would like to build an Enterprise model out of a 3.5" disk, I have the directions for you.
Meanwhile in Oklahoma...
While it may be illegal in ND, Oklahoma is happening! Seems a couple has been living together for 77 years, and finally decided to make the leap and actually get married. Of course, this begs the question "weren't they common law married?" I'm currently fighting the urge to look it up...I really don't need to know if Oklahoma recognizes common law marriages, really I don't.
Let's go to the way back machine...
Seems in North Dakota it is illegal for non married couples to cohabitate. Not only is it illegal, its categorized as a sex crime, with a max of 30 days in jail and a $1000 fine. And to top it off, the State Senate has decided to keep the law. "It stands as a reminder that there is right, and there is wrong," said Sen. John Andrist, a Republican. Wow...deep.
Things I've learned since I started this a wee few hours ago...this is a time sink unseen since my undergrad days mudding. Continued exposure to HTML makes me want to start talking in an odd stilted computer science way. That the combination of blogging and DirecTV is bad bad bad. That leaving the law school early tonight saved me a possible accident since the ramps in this area all glazed over in ice this evening, causing numerous chain reaction accidents. And that this is a really bad time of the semester to get caught up doing this. I must be strong. Heeeeelp.
Well, seems that the death penalty won't be overturned anytime soon...they went 5-4 again, with the usual suspects.
Wow. Okay. After what seems forever, and a semi-crash course in HTML, I was able to edit the page the way I wanted to. There was much screaming, and at one point I swore my head might just explode. HTML and law school nonsense is a nasty combination, sort of like vivarin and nodoz. This definitely qualifies as a Bah moment.
In a vain attempt to procrastinate even more I have succumbed and created my very own blog. It's not usenet, but it definitely has possibilities. While I have little to no time to actually do this, being in school and all, I hope it improves my mood. So here I am, and here we go. Whatever you do, don't let the idiots get you down. When all else fails, do what Dogbert would do and say, "Bah!"
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