Finals

They are soul crushing.

I still hurt from my K one. That I took on Friday. I think I'll still ache into next week.

Law school will kill me.

What to say...

Sorry for the absence! I don't really have a good excuse for not posting, just got busy, I guess. I was still reading other people's blawgs, but not updating my own.

A few weeks ago I went to the negotiation regionals. Didn't get to advance, but it was a good experience.

Also a few weeks ago, I started dating someone. I like him. It's kind of strange, because I don't usually like people. I don't even know if you can really even say we're dating, but I like him and he says that he likes me, so yeah. We've been taking it day by day.

The timing is shit though. Because *cue scary music* finals are approaching! And considering the fact that he is in the law school too (he's a 3L) we're both all kinds of busy. Not like I've really seen him much in the past three weeks anyway, but finals are definitely not going to help this.

Finals scare me. Lots. All I have been craving for the past month is comfort, in forms of hugging, cuddling, and food. Mostly I've been craving comfort food, like mashed potatoes, pasta, sweets, that kind of stuff. It's bad. I'm going to gain 300 lbs in a month.

Also, speaking of stress, turned in my memo for Legal R & W. At least that class is over with. The memo though, what an insane project. I think it's a stamina test more than a skills one and I'm not sure how I measure up.

Well, with that said, I ought to go study...

Law School is tiring

So tired all the time! It's ridiculous. And I'm not just physically tired, but mentally exerted as well. I'm a workhorse, but I'd like just one day, just a one day break where there is no law school and just naps, tv, and good food/wine.

I took my contracts midterm a couple of weeks ago, but he hasn't returned it yet. I'm getting pretty anxious about it. I did well on my torts midterm, my score on that was in the top 10% of the class and I'd like to keep that going.

My Memo 3 is due in a couple of weeks. I finally started on it, doing some research on WestLaw last night. I don't mind the memos, I don't think they take long when you just sit down and do them, but I have trouble doing just that. Plus I'm nervous about this one, because the Prof. Legal R & W pretty much held our hand through the first two and those aren't for grades. This one is and there hasn't been near as much guidelines with it either, so it just makes me nervous because I'm not sure if I'm looking at the correct jurisdictions, if I am understanding the issues presented, and just all that.

Finals are almost a month away now. My torts outlines is pretty caught up, but needs some massive editing. Contracts hasn't been updated in a while, not since the midterm. I haven't started my civil procedure outline, but I'm going to... soon. Hopefully. Maybe tomorrow night? Yeah, well, probably not, but a girl can dream.

This weekend is regionals for the negotiation competition. I'm looking forward to it, actually. Kind of nervous about it as well. I'd like to do well. No, I'd like to kick ass and go to nationals, that's what I'd really like. That would be fabulous.

And finally, probably the most exciting news... we got a puppy for my Dad for his birthday (it's on the 11th).

Birthday

Today is my birthday and I'm going to spend it writing my second memo. Whoo! Maybe I'll read some Torts later on, but I don't know, don't want to get too crazy and all.

I'm going to make a Public Service Announcement though.

DO NOT DISCUSS THE TEST AFTER YOU TAKE IT.

I didn't discuss my Torts midterm after I took it a couple of weeks ago. However, I just took a Contract midterm on Friday and after wards, though I tried to avoid it, got sucked in to discussing it with a few people after the exam. Now I feel extremely nauseous and anxious and basically like crap, because oh em gee! I didn't cite that case or oh hey, I didn't make that argument and now there is NOTHING I can do about it except wait and hope that Professor Contracts has mercy on my poor, pitiful soul.

And that's all I've got. Hope it helps.

School, School, School

Lots going on right now.

Client counseling competition tonight. I have no idea how it went. I knew the client in it, so that was kind of awkward. Plus, as the client, he had to say some things that he would never do in real life and that made me laugh at parts, so, yeah. Interesting experience, that much I know right now.

Regional competition for negotiation is coming up. We're going to start having meetings to prepare for that. Whoo.

Torts midterm is graded, according to the Professor that is, but haven't received any emails or the like about being able to look at the exam, so... yeah. When I find something more concrete, I'll let you know.

Contracts midterm is Friday. *cue scary music*

Another Memo due next week. Got the first one back... did about as well as everyone else, but fortunately it wasn't for a grade. Neither is this one. The final memo is the entire grade for the class.

Oh law school. So much fun!

October!

I love October and not just because my birthday is this month.

I love the weather, that chill in the air and I love how scenic it is.



My roommate got me a small pumpkin when she was at the farmer's market last weekend. Isn't it adorable? It makes studying at my desk just a small iota bit better. Makes torts that much more...enjoyable or something along those lines.



This is the mug I've been drinking my tea and/or coffee out of. Oh fall...

Unfortunately I have two midterms - one in torts and one in contracts to ruin my holiday spirit. Such is life.

A New Week Begins!

Last week I wrote about being in the negotiation competition. My team got 2nd. We're pretty excited about it. I think we get to go on to Regionals, but I'm not sure. It's also exciting because we were the only 1L team in the finals. There is a weird thing at the law school where the 2L's seem to be angry at the 1L's just in general, for whatever reason, so it was pretty exciting, as a 1L, to beat some of the 2Ls. Plus I like winning anyway, haha. I'm way too competitive for my own good, but oh well.

As for the boy, I think that's over before it began, thank goodness. He's nice, but I don't know. I don't know him, that's the problem. I like to know people, to be comfortable with them before I can even consider anything else. It's a slow process with me. Plus, I'm really independent. I like being on my own.

Classes are alright. The day after I found out that my team (it's just me and another 1L) got 2nd, I of course, got called on by Prof. Civ Pro and Prof. Torts. I wish I could say that I knew all the right answers in those classes, but I didn't. I got Prof. Civ Pro's last question, but mucked up the first two and I was fine in Prof. Torts because he just wanted the facts of the case and so on. Oh well though. It's not the end of world, like you think, when you get the answer wrong in class. No one points at you and laughs and the professor doesn't yell that you don't belong there. The sky doesn't fall. Prof. Civ Pro just lectured a bit, asked again until I gave her answer that was close to what she wanted. At least on the last question I got it right, of course it was the easiest question too, but hey, I'll take it.

Hopefully this week will be less crazy than last. I need to be studying torts this week... my first law midterm (torts) is next week!

Competition

I just competed in my first law school competition ever and it was a lot of fun. I was terrified when I first walked in, but as it went on, it got better and I really enjoyed it. I lucked out and got a terrific partner too, but still it was definitely a worthwhile experience, I feel.

So, do competitions, they are fun. Of course I'm a highly competitive individual. When I was 1-2 years old, I was in daycare and another little girl, who was a year or so older than me, was being potty trained, so of course I had to be potty trained too and I beat her. I was potty trained first! So... yeah, competition, I like it.

Which is probably why I still like law school...thus far.

Into week 5

Week 5 is here! Tomorrow, I'm participating in my first law school competition - it's not a mock trial, but negotiation. I'm looking forward to it. Very nervous, of course, but I'm just hoping I won't make an ass of myself and that it'll be a good experience. I like my partner for it and I think we'll work well together so that kind of makes me less apprehensive over the whole thing.

Classes are okay. Currently, I like civ pro and torts the best. It's kind of ironic because I used to like contracts because it's ambiguous and left up to the circumstances, but now I dislike it because it's ambiguous and left up to the circumstances of the case. It's like a penduluum. Next week, it'll probably swing back into favor.

Also, I may or may not be entering into a gray area where I would be committing a cardinal sin of law school: getting involved with a classmate. But I don't want to, I don't. I can't be involved with anyone right now, it's distracting and stresses me out. He keeps texting me, which is nice and all, but it just is just... somewhat distracting. Maybe at a later date, maybe when we're good friends or something along those lines, I'll contemplate something more, but not now. Then again, it's also very likely that I'm blowing this whole thing out of proportion and that there is nothing to even be bothered with and he's just being a nice guy. Maybe it's been so long since I've had contact with a nice guy that I don't know what they are anymore, so I'm just suspicious of every male who even says hi. Who knows really.

Off to study civ pro!

On the up and up

Things are improving. That's all that matters. Admittedly, one of the parties involved offered to let me punch him, and oddly enough, that made me feel better (I didn't punch him) but I appreciated the offer.

Law school is destroying my sleep schedule. It's getting all caddywhompus on me. I took an accidental four hour nap today when I got home. I just laid on my bed, just to close my eyes, listen to some tv and next thing I know, it's 9 o'clock. And now it's 2 am and I'm just heading back to bed. Oh well.

Law school work is starting to pile up, but I like that. I like feeling busy, having things to do, feeling pressure of having to get things done, of having to be productive. It's my ideal state.

Additionally, pandora makes case reading so much better.

I don't want to talk about it.

Oh Rod Stewart, you're speaking to my heart.

This was an awful, bad, terrible, no good weekend. Really bad, bad, bad. "Friends" made me feel like trash and worse.

And I don't want to talk about it, how you broke me heart.

It was such a bad weekend, that going to the law school library to work on a group project assignment was actually a comfort than an annoyance. Hell, I'd be lying if I sad I hadn't been looking forward, just to do something routine and not be around my roomie (who I do love, but who was a main instigator in this awful, bad, terrible, no good weekend.)

And now I'm going to work on a Memo for my Legal R & W class and outline for Torts. Joy, for real.

Santa does exist!

I have class this morning at 8:30 am. I don't naturally wake up early. I wake up gradually. I set multiple alarms, so that I am awake by whenever I need to wake up.

Apparently, last night I forgot to set any of my alarms. And yet, I woke up at 8:10 am. Not a lot of time, but still plenty of time for me to get to class on time.

All I can conclude is that there is a Santa Claus. Awesome. I'm still amazed that I woke up in time for the 8:30 am class all on my own. Given that I didn't get to sleep last night until 2:30 am as well. Sometimes, I do love my body, my mind. Like on mornings like this one that could have made for a really terrible day, but instead, the day was saved.

I also took a two hour nap when I got out of class at 4 and now I'm trying to talk my brother into walking to Starbucks with me. And later, of course, there will be homework.

And this is the song of the moment.

But all is good in the world because there is a Santa Claus, he does exist!

On to Week Three...

Law school is tiring. It wears me out. I wish I had more to say, but that basically sums up the experience thus far.

I should be starting my outlines. We've finished a section in Torts, gone through two chapters in Contracts, and two sections of civil procedure. Granted one of those sections and one of those chapters was just introductory stuff, but still. I don't like not feeling as if I am on top of things as much as I can be. I want to be queen of the mountain, damn it.

Saturday was a fantastic football day. I love this season. I love fall. Just need tv shows to start back up again.

Bah, I had so many things to say when I first sat down to write, but now my head is empty. Story of my life.

One week down...

One week down and many many more to go. It was not so bad, but tiring. I felt so exhausted by Wednesday. Just completely out of it. Like my mind had been running a marathon.

The professors are good. None of them are too scary, yet. There had been some stories about Professor Contracts, but he was nice the whole first week. Apparently he'll be kind of...moody sometimes and will snap at everyone. Hopefully that's not the day I'll be on call.

Professor Civ Pro is great, but Civ Pro, the subject, isn't. It's complex and confusing and I don't know. I spend today reading the about the federal civil rules, specifically rule 12, and reading the International Shoe Co. v. Washington case. Oh what joy that was. At least it was better than Pennoyer v. Neff.

Professor Lawyering talks extremely fast and the class is basically just ADR 101, which is fine by me. I haven't been working as hard to prepare for it and I know that needs to change. Fortunately it's only been one week and I'm not realizing this half way through the semester.

Today was my brother's birthday. It's so nice that he's so close to my apartment. I love it.

Also, last night there was a law school happy hour social thing. I went. I didn't notice anyone making too big of a fool of themselves, but I was mostly just focused on taking care of myself. One of the kids in the other section doesn't seem to understand the concept of tact, but I think it's more amusing than annoying. Though I seem to be in the minority...

Should be a fun, exhausting, scary year.

First day!

Today was my first day of law school.

Fortunately, this day didn't start until 3 pm. I had Torts and Legal Research and Writing. Professor Torts spoke with a good pace. A bit soft spoken, but I sit fairly close to the front, so that shouldn't be a problem. Professor Legal R & W is fairly young and has a day time job outside of the law school, but is nice and included their cell phone on the syllabus... Whoo. Not that I'll probably ever call it, but it is there on the syllabus to be called.

All in all I survived the first day and brother survived his first day of college! Yay. So a successful day thus far.

Surely tomorrow will go just as smoothly.

Also, tomorrow will be my one year anniversary on blogspot. Exciting stuff, my friends.

Orientation: A review

Day 1: It was such a long day. I started the morning by participating in the community service project. I like volunteering, so it was fun to me, but getting up at 7 for it? Not so much.

After that there was a picnic at the law school with other students and the faculty and for the rest of the day we just had people talking to us. Various "welcomes" and a student organization fair. I would have liked to have signed up for everything, but I picked three organizations that interested me most and signed up for those.

The law school gave us packets when we first arrived and registered. In these packets was a myriad of information, including our homework for the rest of orientation. Joy. The case and the chapters I read altogether took me around 3 hours, which I was okay with.

Day 2: We were divided into our two sections for this day. My section had an analysis section in the morning to go over our homework. Basically the instructor just told us how to write a case brief and gave us an extremely helpful handout for it. Yay! So, that session was particularly helpful.

Later that afternoon, we were divided further into our legal r & w sections and went on various law library tours and were talked to about research and the like.

At the end of the day I had a terrible headache and still had to brief a new case, but it also took me about 2 hours. Would have taken less time if I hadn't been checking facebook off and on...

Day 3 (Today): We started this morning by being introduced to our professors for the year.

Then we were gave a speech about the honor code and basically just scared shitless. Then after that we received a speech from a Bar employee about taking the bar and registering for that. Once again, we were scared shitless.

Then appropriately enough, we were presented with a counseling presentation.

We had a luncheon with professionals in the law field and that was really enjoyable. Also very informative.

The afternoon was spent with other presentations, like "How to succeed in law school" and the like and another analysis session. This one was more entertaining than the last and still quite helpful, so it was a good way to end the day and the session.

Admittedly by the end of the three days I was tired of hearing this question:

"Any questions?"

A Letter to Myself

Dear Self,

Tomorrow is my first orientation day to Law School. There will be another orientation on Wednesday and the last one on Thursday before classes start on Monday, the 24th.

I know you're nervous. Tomorrow you'll be thrust into this new environment with all these new people, people who will be your colleagues in three short years. It's scary and you're shy and quiet, especially around new people, so these next couple of weeks are going to be difficult, but don't let that get you down.

Have courage, self. Be bold. Be friendly, but of course, professional. Remember to smile, maybe now and again. Also, don't be judgmental. I know it's a defense mechanism, but work to give people second chances. Yes, people will say things that will make them come off as incredibly pretentious, but give them a chance. It might be something you misconstrued, or even if not, there is still more to them. People (well, most) are like onions (ala Shrek). Just keep that in mind.

Have some fun too. Don't be the girl that gets wasted and makes a fool of herself, but do talk to people, enjoy yourself. Just don't do anything stupid. I know, easier said than done. Spend some time with the people that have been there for you through the years. Don't blow them off for your new law school friends, but don't blow your law school friends off for the friends that haven't been there and probably never will. But given that I haven't hung out with too many people this summer and that this usually isn't too much of a problem anyway, I don't think this is anything to really be preoccupied with right now. All of this usually ends up working out for the best anyway.

Study, self. Work hard. Don't be lazy. If you're are stressed out, by all means, take a break, but don't just watch tv because you don't feel like doing the readings right now. Just work through those feelings. Don't make excuses either. Just do the homework, like you're supposed to. Be excited about the material too. I know you're excited now, I heard the little squeal of joy you gave out when you were looking through those outlines you received... Hold on to that. Hold on to that interest, that passions. Don't let it slip away from you. Remember that the law is a new language, and you're learning it. Have fun and don't let yourself get to frustrated. Persevere.

Study. Make friends. Be good. These are the three things that I want most for the new school year. Yes, some other things as well, but those are three big main ideas.

Love,

Me.

P.S. Don't go overboard on joining organizations. Join a couple and be active in them. Really commit, don't just attend meetings (for the free food and drink).

The End of Summer

I feel like this is the end of summer, for me that is. I'm home until Wednesday, then I head to my Aunt's house where I will likely be until Monday, the 17th. Then Law School's orientation is the 18 - 20th. So, today is pretty much it. I'm home. I came home yesterday. I love it here.





Those are pictures of my backyard. I love being home. I wish that I had just stayed here this whole summer instead of in Undergrad town working.

I bought three of my books for Law School on Friday. The three of them ended up being almost $400. And two of those I bought used, though I made sure that they were the ones with the least amount of writing/highlighting. One of them was completely empty, I think it must have been bought by someone who either dropped out immediately or didn't believe in writing in their book. The other one, the writing is pretty light and they wrote in pencil, so I think I made a pretty good choice. I still have 8! books left to get. 4 for my legal research class, 2 for my lawyering class, 1 more for civ pro, and one more for contracts. Whoooo...

This is going to be a fun year.

New

I moved into my new apartment on Saturday. It's very nice. Hard wood floors, a very slow internet connection, and window air conditioning units, but those are my only complaints. Actually, the window units work a lot better than the central air conditioning system did at my last apartment. My new bedroom is huge too. I didn't realize how crappy my old apartment was. One of my friends came over yesterday and was completely enamored with my new place. Even said she was jealous. In remarking about my old apartment and how crappy it was, she was in total agreement. Admitted that she didn't like going over there that much last year because she was afraid it would collapse (the floors were very uneven). Haha, oh well. I don't live there anymore, thankfully, and I'm not ever going to live in another hell hole with a slum lord ever again (as long as I can avoid it, that is).

My law school finally put up orientation information. My orientation is August 18-20. We have an optional public service opportunity the morning of the 18th before the actual orientation begins. I signed up for it. Figured I might as well and it's at the food bank where I have volunteered before. They didn't say anything about dress for it, but I figured I would probably this advice though I probably won't be wearing any dresses, just some nice trousers and nice shirts - not jeans and t-shirts. That's the plan right now.

Also, my school posted my book lists. Good grief they are expensive. I'm planning on getting them this week at the bookstore. There is going to be a sale at the law school by the law students of their own books and other supplements on some of the days leading up to orientation, but I figured I would just check out the supplemental materials that they have instead of books. Besides I was thinking of buying most of my books new (I can hear my wallet weeping as I type...) that way I'll be able to make sure there is plenty of space in the book for me to make my own notes and highlight what I feel is important. I've noticed with books I got in the past that were used and people had highlighted in them that often times I would just read what people had highlighted. I don't think this is a good habit for law school. Especially with the earlier cases that we'll be covering.

It's already August 3rd and will shortly be August 4th. Hard to believe that law school is just three weeks away. The times they are a-changing.

Landlord, cont.

So, we (my roommate and I) moved out of our apartment on Saturday. None of the back up plans came through. We just loaded our things into her uncle's moving truck and there they will remain until this Saturday when we move into our new apartment with a NEW landlord.

Speaking of the old landlord my roommate did a walk through our old apartment with him yesterday. She said that he could have been described as rude at best. He didn't comment on the plant growing up through the carpet in the living room, rather he obsessed and tried to blame us for the bright orange carpet stains. Stains that were there when we moved in, that we complained about, wrote about on the comment sheet when we moved in, and that my roommate took pictures of the day she moved in. So obviously not stains we made while living in the apartment... I don't know if we're going to get our deposit back but I'm getting to the point where I don't care. I just don't want to deal with him anymore, but then again... the whole situation just pisses me off. I feel powerless, frustrated and like I'm being taken advantage of because of my age or something like that. It's ridiculous. And they are going to do this to other college age tenants as well because they can obviously get away with ripping people off.

Also, those with Mac's, do you know how to make it so the font stops changing sizes when you move the mouse? Cause, ummm, I'm having a problem with that.

To the new apartment, I'm thinking of putting this for my new bedroom. My bed spread is a black damask pattern with some gold in it, so I figure the Klimt art pattern on the wall would be a nice complement. Then again, I want to get a cream and light blue rug for the room... Eh. It'll all work together, some way.

Good luck to bar takers!

Landlord

Chances are, if you see someone blogging about their landlord then you probably know that it isn't going to be a happy post.

This is not a happy post.

The lease for my current apartment ends on July 27th. However, my roommate and I can't move into our new apartment until August 1st. So, she signed a lease with the current landlord for us to extend our lease until August 1st. That way we could move out of the old and in to the new apartment on the same day. However, a few days ago we got a letter from the current landlord saying that our move out day is July 27th. My roommate and I thought this must have just been some fluke, but no. She called them and the lady working said no such lease existed and called my roommate a liar. This didn't go over well. At this point, I'm in my room. I only actually know what is going on because I hear her on the phone. Then at some point I hear her crying. So I stay in my room. I did venture out to see if she needed a hug or something or to see if there was anything to be done. I called the current landlord myself, but of course that didn't make a difference. Since she didn't get a copy of this lease and we didn't pay anything to stay the extra days yet, we have no standing. Which sucks. This landlord has been pretty sketchy the whole year and the apartment is a piece of crap.



Yeah, that's growing into the apartment.

It's just a frustrating situation. The nice thing is we have plenty of friends here who are willing to house us and our stuff for that week. Also, when my roommate finally did get a hold of our landlord, he seemed willing to believe that she didn't make the whole thing up, didn't call her a liar, and said that he'd call the tenants that are supposed to move in after us and see if they would move in a few days later (their lease starts July 30th).

Hopefully things will be worked out soon. It's been a stressful day.

And so on

I may regret saying this later but I feel like the summer is just dragging on. Listen - I want it to speed up. It would be nice if there was a way for it to speed up for me, but keep at the same pace or hell, even slow down for others. Alas, that is not possible...yet.

I feel like the above paragraph is gibberish. I don't know what I mean. I'm tired. Last night I couldn't get to sleep. I had all the lights off and the tv off in my room, but couldn't sleep. At one point I looked at my phone to see what time it was - 3:33 AM. I actually thought of Sonia Sotomayor, wondering how she was sleeping. Given this comment one could say things went well, regardless of how well she slept last night. It didn't matter much at work how well I slept either. I showed up, did my part, and left the same time as everyone else. Woo! One big cheer for monotony!

The boredom. It's driving me crazy and I don't know how to make it go away. I finished a book today. I liked it. It was crazy and interesting and almost bittersweet. I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. I have some books lying around, so that's not a problem.

Nothing new on the law school front. Orientation in a month. I haven't got my laptop yet, but I will hopefully soon. The bookstore on campus said they were ordering more of the one I like. It's just a matter of time now until it comes in.

The day is almost over and I'm beginning to nod off.

Goodbye, Blue Monday.

Facebook

I've decided to make my facebook page uninteresting, so I'm getting rid of all the information on my info page except my school information.

I like my quotes though. So here they are -

"We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cheshire Cat: If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter.
Alice: The Mad Hatter? Oh, no no no...
Cheshire Cat: Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction.
Alice: Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him...
Cheshire Cat: Of course, he's mad, too.
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here.
[Laughs maniacally; starts to disappear]
Cheshire Cat: You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself.
- Alice in Wonderland

"Ordinary life does not interest me. I seek only the high moments. I am in accord with the surrealists, searching for the marvelous. " - Anais Nin

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." - Judy Garland

"She wonders, while she pushes a cart through the supermarket or has her hair done, if the other women aren't all thinking, to some degree or other, the same thing: here is the brilliant spirit, the woman of sorrows, the woman of transcendent joys, who would rather be elsewhere, who has consented to perform simple and essentially foolish tasks, to examine tomatoes, to sit under a hair dryer, because it is her art and her duty." - The Hours

"Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Now

I'm feeling more anxious about law school. Which is quite natural, since it is a huge endeavor I'll be taking on in about a month and large energy, time, and financial investment. Thank you those that tried to ease my nerves in the last post's comments! It was much appreciated.

Like I said, I know it's ridiculous to be worrying over the bar before starting law school, but it's just a concern I have. I mean, the three years of law school basically come down to that test. If you don't pass the bar, then what good is your legal degree if you want to practice law?

Additionally, I have NO desire to work in BIGlaw. None whatsoever. What am I interested in? I'm interested in dispute resolution-type jobs, public interest work like public defender, prosecution, government legal jobs, and environmental work. Though I am making a conscious effort to not rule anything out. Best to keep an open mind.

In other news, I went home for the weekend. Joy! I love home. It makes me happy. Also, I named two of the kittens (the friendly ones, not the wild ones).

Wendy

Anabelle

They are very sweet. They purr as soon as you touch them, which I love. Some of the other cats and kittens are wild...which is no good. Can't get within a foot of them. Oh well, there is always Hercules.

About 50 more days...

until law school starts.

I don't think it has hit me yet that I'm starting law school in about a month and a half. I've just more or less have accepted it as a fact. Haven't really thought much about it.

Though, I was reading something, I think this startled me more than anything. Because what if I don't do well in law school or well enough? And then I don't pass the bar! And if you don't pass the bar, then those three years were kind of a waste, right? And I'm not talking like, failing the bar the first time or second, I'm talking about taking the thing 20 times and still failing! Ugh. I don't even want to think of it. The whole thing just scares me. Though I am trying to keep things in perspective. It seems very silly to be scared of failing the bar when I haven't even started law school yet! So obviously, I'm being a bit ridiculous.

I'm blaming my silliness on one of my best friends from childhood who is also starting the same law school with me in the fall. She and I talked last night and she sounded...frantic. Which is strange to me because this is a girl who graduated valedictorian from high school, was the only Honors Scholar in her college and graduated college with a 4.0. She also works at the capital in my state and recently got a call from the President of the state's school system to prep her about a press conference she was giving that afternoon. She's obviously a high achiever. It's strange to hear her be worried about something like law school already, because I figure if any one will succeed there, she will.

I think once I buy my new laptop and books for class in the fall, everything will begin to feel more real.

Wedding!

One of my close friends from high school/college (she was my roommate for three semesters and I loved living with her) got married on Saturday, the 20th. Though she and her (now) husband are my age (21) they have been together for almost 5 years now. They are both adorable and love each other so much. I know it's sappy, but for them, it's true. And for them, though I usually can't stand sappy, mushy, lovey-dovey stuff, I make my exception for them.

I was her maid of honor. It was a lot of funny and fortunately, since this wedding has been in the work for almost four years now, there wasn't too much that I had to do. Although, the only thing they had professionally done were the flowers and those turned out to be Pepto Bismol pink which was not at all what she asked for and they were all carnations, not the white roses she wanted either. So about two hours before the wedding, I and one of her sister-in-law's took apart the flower bouquets that the florist put together and re-did the arraingements with the white roses that her fiance bought. The new bouquets turned out beautiful and in plenty of time before the wedding.

It was a great weekend. I'm kind of surprised I had so much fun at the wedding, but maybe since it was people that I cared about I had more fun.

Friends

So, my last post was more or less about a friendship that is, or maybe isn't, falling apart.

What I would like is to have a friendship like House's and Wilson's.



Yeah, House is a jerk and Wilson is inhumanely patient with him, these exaggerations of character seem to concrete that it's just a tv show, but still! I want a friendship like that, just where two people honestly care about one another.

I want to be Wilson though.

I want a friendship like Denny and Alan's too (on Boston Legal). I love them together. As individuals, they are okay, for the most part I prefer Shirley. But together, they are wonderful. To me, the end where Denny and Alan are sitting on the balcony reflecting on the day and smoking their big cigars is the best part of the show. Sure, the grandiose speeches are nice at times, but it's the friendship that I love.



When you search "denny and alan" a better picture shows up with them dressed as flamingos, but I didn't feel up to explaining that.

Nothing new on the law school front. I walked over to the administrative building on campus to have them send my transcript to the law school and there is probably less than 100 feet between the two. Lots of time and energy wasted with bureaucracy bullshit but oh well. I guess it must be done....

Blogging

When I first created this blog, my intent was for it be a 'blawg.' I only wanted to talk about applying to law school, the application process, acceptances, denials, classes, the bar, and my future (hopefully) law career. I made the decision to not talk about other aspects of my life. I figured that I may occasionally talk about dating, my family and friends, but I didn't want to dig any deeper than that. I only intended to skim that surface. I have other online journals where I discuss my friends and my own issues, I didn't want this blog to be that outlet. I didn't think I needed this blog to be that for me, but then I deleted a blog that I used as that outlet and my friends used to serve as an outlet for me to voice some of my frustrations and problems, well, that has kind of gone sour in some ways. Which is what I want to discuss now.

I still intend for this blog to only discuss law school and the other areas connected to that realm. But this post will be a detour.

Tonight I have been working on some worksheets for my psychologist appointment in the morning. I go to a psychologist because I have some depression, sexual abuse, self-esteem, and body image problems. The body image problems could be considered, severe, I suppose. So, most of the time, that is what my psychologist and I discuss. That is what my worksheets tonight are on. One of the worksheets has me imagining a day where I am totally at peace with my body and appearance. One of the questions on this worksheet is: How would the people in your life be different? I wasn't sure how to answer this question. For the most part I figured my friendships would be the same. I didn't think my friends would be any different, I didn't think I would have any more or any less friends, I figured that I would still be single as well. I asked my friend Amelia for more input though.

Amelia and I hit a particularly rough patch a few months ago. Basically, I was having a very rough time and I felt like she wasn't there for me. She has a boyfriend and this fact is important because she is one of those people who automatically puts her significant other first, even if she has only been with them for a week, they come before everyone else. Since I was feeling particularly bad, I thought she might make an exception for me. After all, I'm usually always there for her when she's feeling depressed or having boyfriend problems. I didn't feel like I was asking that much, but she basically told me that she didn't want to deal with me and my issues. I got angry. I told her I couldn't talk to her for a week because she was making me feel worse about myself. Needless to say, she didn't take that very well. She got angry at me. My roommate felt I was in the right. Amelia hadn't been there for me when I was needing her the most and my roommate saw how I would drop anything I was doing to be there for Amelia. For a while I didn't want to be friends with Amelia any longer. However, Amelia still wanted to be friends, so I didn't put up a fight. Besides, I felt like I had to take what I could get.

Fast forward to tonight, things between me and Amelia have been okay. We're not as close as we used to be at all, but we are okay. I asked her what she thought I should put for the answer. She said something along the lines of what I thought - that things would be the same. I made the mistake of replying that I thought friendships wouldn't be improved either. That opened a can of worms that I had been carefully monitoring myself to be sure to not open it again. Her reply was that "Ugh when you say it like that I don't like it. Weight and body image almost made us not be friends. It is influential. You've just stopped letting it control our friendship because you knew I didn't like it." I just conceded that she was right. How I feel about my body is significant. She replied something like, don't worry, be happy and that settled the issue.

But, I'm still a bit irritated. Should I be? I don't know, but I am. I want to say that we never would have had problems if she could have just been there for me at the beginning. My problems with my body and my appearance were only a distraction, the real problem was her treatment of her friends. How I felt like she was treating. And now, or still, I feel like she thinks all of our problems were my fault, in some way. The whole tensions and problems from month ago settled nothing. I know that. I have known that. It just still...bothers me at times. I don't like having to monitor myself so carefully around someone that I once used to be completely open with. Someone I used to consider my best friend, the person I thought would always be there for me. Friends have always been such a top priority to me, I have trouble understanding sometimes that it isn't the same for other people.

Maybe I've been in the wrong the whole time. I don't know. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore, anyways. Nothing changed. I just wanted to voice my frustration. So, thanks for that.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

This weekend

Friday was pay day at work. I can almost afford this. I just want a laptop that is small, light, and has a long battery life. Supposedly this laptop's battery life lasts for seven hours. Sounds good to me. I don't want to have to buy another battery for law school exams. A friend of mine (she is now a 2L) told me that some of her 1L exams lasted up to 5 hours and that she had to buy extra batteries for her laptop so that she could finish her exams since she wasn't able to actually plug in her laptop to keep it charged (my law school building is a bit behind with technology in the classrooms). I actually can now afford this laptop, but I can't afford to put Microsoft Word on it, so might as well wait until I have enough money for that too.

On Saturday, my brother came up. I had him drive all around town and tried to point out restaurants and shops to him and his girlfriend. I also showed them the trails and caves that are around as well. It was fun. I like having him down here. I'm really beginning to look forward to August.

He left today. We went here for lunch and it was delicious. I'm kind of sad to see him go. He said he'll be up on Thursday though.

Work tomorrow. It's not so bad, just monotonous. I like having somewhere to go and something to do and to be paid for it as well. Just, my brain is so inactive. Oh well, that'll likely change in August.

Class Schedule

Class schedules have been posted. I have Civil Procedure on Tuesday and Thursday, though I start my Tuesdays and Thursdays with Lawyering (a "how to be a lawyer" type class) at 8:30. Could be earlier, I guess. Since I'm only about walking distance of five minutes from my apartment to the law school... I'm not too concerned about the time. I have Contracts three days a week and Torts four days a week. My friend, Connie, is jealous because her Civil Procedure class is three days a week, while mine is only two. Oh! I'm kind of bummed. I wanted to be in the same section as Connie. But, of course, since there are only two sections, she's in section one, while I'm in section two. Figures. Oh well, we did compare our schedules and find that we have class at most of the same time in the building, so it's not like our schedules completely mismatch or something like that. It just would have been nice to know that I have someone completely in my corner and I in her's.

I only have one class on Fridays though, thus far. One of my classes (Legal Research and Writing) has yet to be scheduled. So that class could ruin things. Meh.

My brother and mom were up yesterday and today. He was visiting Undergrad school for his schedule and summer welcome stuff for the fall. He has his class schedule in order now too. As a nerd, I'm super excited about this. Plus, he's majoring in engineering, which is amazing to me. I only thought briefly about majoring in engineering. I had such a tough time in physics that it seemed like a ridiculous idea to me. So, I'm excited for him. I hope he sticks with it.

I'm thinking of putting this design on my wall in my new apartment, but maybe in a different color. Then again, the price is a bit high to me. Hmmm, something to consider I think.

It is Lola's birthday today! She's 6 (or 42 in human years).



Isn't she pretty? Well, I think she is...

Blog Award!

So Chere, over at Teasingly Diverse tagged me for a blog award.



Pretty cool, huh?

Though I have to do the following:

Firstly you have to tell your readers 10 things about you they may not know, but that are true. Secondly you have to tag 10 people with the award.

1.) I started college at 16...well, sort of. I transferred to a high school where my junior and senior classes were all college classes and when I graduated, I transferred about 80 credits.

2.) That high school was math and science based. I've taken up to Calculus 2 and have taken University Physics 1 and 2.

3.) I used to be on the golf team in high school.

4.) I desperately want a dog, but can't have one at my current apartment or at my future apartment either.

5.) I love Washington D.C., and hope to live there someday, if only for a year or two.

6.) I have never been to Europe. I have been to Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and the Turks and Caicos.

7.) I sunburn really badly and really easily. I have blistered many times, so I try to avoid the sun as much as possible.

8.) I tend to be apart of a trio. In middle and high school, I had two best friends. At the high school/college, I had two best friends. In the college I just graduated from, I had two close best friends. All of my close friends have been female too. I typically have one male friend. I guess I just don't easily relate to guys...

9.) When I get nervous, I become intensely focused on my watch and get shaky.

10.) I am addicted to Starbucks. I should quit, I know, but... I don't know. The grande non-fat chai tea lattes are so good!

Okay, the hard part for me is to tag 10 other bloggers.

1.) Preaching to the Choir
2.) no634
3.) K
4.) NoReins Girl
5.) Jamie
6.) i don't wear skinny jeans
7.) Thanks, but no thanks
8.) Daisy
9.) Legal Aims
10.) delicious torts

So, a lot of these blogs I've only commented on once or twice, but they are all blogs I like and like to read! Sorry to be a bit of a creeper... but yay award! Does that make up for it? Let's hope so.

Right now

I am deeply saddened over the murder of Dr. George Tiller.

I can still smell the blueberry muffins I baked this morning.

I am missing the below little guy.



I am anxious for law school! Should I buy 1000 Days to the Bar and Getting to Maybe?

Currently I'm reading The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D., but I haven't gotten to far.

Yuck, work tomorrow...

Summer of Sacrifice

On Sunday, my baby brother graduated from high school!

He, his girlfriend, and I had our graduation reception altogether. It was really great to see the family. My great Aunt and Uncle from Florida even came up. That really meant a lot to me.

Then today was my first day of work. I mainly just scan documents all day, but it isn't too bad, once you get into the rhythm. Plus I can come and go as I please and I can listen to my ipod and drink diet cokes. I also put in a couple of job applications for the evenings and the weekends. Mostly because... well two of my good friends are home for the summer, I don't really talk to Clementine much anymore, and Amelia spends her free time with her boyfriend or her other friends, because in her words "we see each other all the time anyway" which translates to be maybe one or two lunch dates a week, but oh well. I already brought this up with her and that did not go well at all.

I think this will just be a summer of all work and no play. Which is fine as long as I make enough money to buy a new laptop, my books, and have money left over for the school year by the end of summer.

Graduation Day Extravaganza!

Today I graduated from college. Well, provided I passed all my classes... I walked in two of the ceremonies - the Honors one (at 9:00 am) and the Arts and Sciences ceremony (at 1:00 pm). Both ceremonies lasted about two hours, though one would have expected the Arts and Sciences ceremony to last two to three times as long. Though there was probably only 1/3 of the seniors there. I know I was the only Honors graduate in my major. All the other graduates who received honors in my major (about four of them...) skipped the Arts and Sciences ceremony. My parents wanted me to go though. So, I did. After all, without them, who knows if I would have made it this far? If I would have been as successful as I am so far? The graduation ceremony is as much as a celebration for them as it is for me. So, if they want an all day affair, then so be it. I'll happily oblige.

Next week is my baby brother's graduation! I have a feeling that my parents, or my mom at least, will be more emotional at this one. I think my college graduation got downplayed a bit as a big symbolic step into the "real" world since I'll be going to law school in August, but my brother is the baby. Once he moves into his dorm in August, my parents will be...childless. I mean, of course they'll still have us, but I guess, well, we're gone.

Anyway, I'm excited to go to my brother's graduation next week. It feels a bit unreal, that everything is happening so fast, yet so slow too. I like it all though. No complaints, yet.

List of 10

Mostly because I wanted to, here is a list of 10 random things about me.

1.) I love to make lists. It is the easiest way I have found to organize my mind and everything that needs to get done. I'm constantly making to-do lists and if you ever see me in person, you'll see these lists on my left hand.

2.) I used to watch the news (MSNBC and CNN) almost every day. I craved the information, I like to know what's going on in the world. But, anymore, I have found that the biases in the talking heads has began to bug me. I just want to know what is going on, not everyone's opinion about it!

3.) I don't kill insects. Even when I see one walking in my house, I'll just let it go. A few years ago, I stepped on a bug in front of my Dad and he asked me why I stepped on it. I didn't really have a response, truthfully, I just killed it because it was a bug. It wasn't even a spider, I just assumed that is what you do to bugs. Now, I just let them go. If they're not attacking me, I'm not going to attack them.

4.) I could eat cheese and peanut butter (not together) every single day. Happily I would do this too.

5.) I have never seen The 40 Year Old Virgin . Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who hasn't.

6.) I love love love animals. I want a puppy more than anything else in the world.

7.) I have never met anyone famous, but my parents once rode an elevator with Tom Brokaw and saw the Reverend Al Sharpton when they got off the elevator, all in the same day. That is the closest brush with celebrity that my family has experienced.

8.) I am an economics major. Many of my friends are business majors, but almost all of them wish they were engineering majors now. I like my major, my only wish is that I would have double majored with sociology. Either way, I'd still be going to law school now. I just really liked my sociology classes.

9.) My friends say that the best quality of mine is my loyalty. I'm intensely loyal to my friends. You can say whatever you want to me to hurt my feelings and I'll be fine, but insult my friends? Bad, bad idea. That's all I'm going to say.

10.) I hate mushrooms, onions, and eggs. Though I will eat eggs smothered in cheese and salsa. I wish I liked mushrooms and onions though. I feel like a pain in restaurants when I'm always asking the waiter/waitress for 'no onions and no mushrooms' on my food.

Oh, and final count: 3 rejections, 2 waitlists, and 9 acceptances. The highest ranked school I got into is at 55 on the US News and World Report list (if you want to take that as your guide). So I'm pretty pleased. I have no desire to practice in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago. I'd like to stay in the region I'm in (I'd like to stay close to my family) and I do not dream of BIGlaw. The school I will be attending in the fall won't cost me much. I'll graduate without any loans in my name and I'll be graduating from a respected low tier 1/high tier 2 school in the region I want to practice in.

And, in even better news, I graduate in 5 days!

The Future

Yesterday I went to an end of the year celebration/food thing for an organization I'm in. One of the members asked me if I'm ready or excited for law school. It's a question I've been asked before by friends and friends of parents and so on and so forth. As for my answer, I don't know. I'm ready to graduate, that's most definitely for sure. I can't wait for May 16th to get here. I think after that, it'll hit me more that in the fall I won't be an undergrad anymore, but a law school student instead. It'll be weird too. All my friends will still be undergrads, because I'm the one that is graduating in three years, but it'll be nice for them to still be around. Hopefully, it'll be comforting and supportive too. Also, my brother starts Undergrad school in the fall and his dorm is maybe one minute from my apartment and since my apartment doesn't have a washer and dryer, I'll so be using his dorm and that's exciting. I'm really looking forward to living so close to him. Also, he and his girlfriend won prom queen and king last night! I'm happy for them. It feels so...American or something. I feel like I should be eating some apple pie and watching baseball.

I don't know what the future holds, but I'm looking forward to it.

Exhausted

Capstone paper is done. At 22 pages. Submitted it for final grading on Wednesday.

Wrote my philosophy paper on Voltaire's satire "Candide" criticism of Leibniz's philosophy. It's a 3000 word paper, which is 10 pages. Wrote that in two days. Wrote 800 of the words in 40 minutes.

Now tonight I need to write a paltry 3 page paper, so I can start on the 8 page take home final papers that my History professor passed out today.

So freaking tired. Though there's that part of me telling me that I just have to keep going and to be honest? I like being busy. I like working. I like being challenged.

So, yeah, law school? I'm ready. (Okay, I want summer break, then when that ends, I'll be ready. Well, probably not, but I'm tired of Undergrad so might as well move on to bigger and ... better (?) things. )

Privacy Breach!

Crap. One of my friends from high school found me on twitter under the username I found for this blog. I don't know if she knows about the blog (not that it would be too big of a deal, thankfully this blog has remained pretty anonymous so far) but still. Oh well. Just had to change a couple of things on my twitter account and it's all good.

I hope.

Lawyer Jokes and Metaphors

I have found 4 somewhat bad lawyer jokes in my Law & Economics textbook in Chapter 10: An Economic History of the Legal Process. They are:

- A businessman receives a bill from his lawyer that reads: "Crossed street to see client. Thought it was you. $50."

- A sociologist studying longevity found that the average lawyer lives twice as long as the average doctor and three times as long as the average school teacher. Life span for lawyers was computed using billing hours.

- Q; Why don't sharks attack lawyers? A. Professional courtesy.

- "It was so cold last winter, that I saw a lawyer with his hands in his own pockets."

Now for the metaphors:

- "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

- "If you think justice is expensive, try injustice."

I like the metaphors better than the jokes. Though both, admittedly, make the reading more interesting. Don't know how much context they add, but oh well.

Also, finished editing capstone paper and I made a powerpoint presentation for it. Yay! and the presentation for it isn't until Tuesday. It's done and ahead of time.

I like being productive like this, while also watching House and Law & Order today as well and eating Ben & Jerry ice cream.

All in all, a pretty decent day.

Capstone

Capstone paper is done...enough that I could turn it in/present it next week.

Does some tweaking and maybe adding a paragraph or two NEED to be done? Yes, I think. However, it is done enough that I am relieved and content with it. It's a good feeling. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. All that is left is editing. Thank goodness.

Now, all that is between me and graduation is: presenting aforementioned Capstone paper, 32 days, Law & Economics test (no final in the class, last test is on May 7th), and Ancient Greek History take home final. Doesn't even matter if I pass Early Modern Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Psychology, though I do expect myself to pass these classes and hopefully ace them as well.

Just so so so glad to have finished capstone (though it is a very rough draft.) Good enough for me right now.

A few things

First off, I must stop procrastinating. Seriously, that capstone paper isn't going to write itself, no matter how much I wish it would. Plus, the sad thing is I have 11 pages so far and have a list of what all I need to finish for the paper to be considered 'finished.' All I have to do is the work. Easier said than done, I guess. Well, obviously.

Secondly, I'm getting more excited about law school since I paid the seat deposit. It kind of drives me crazy that I don't have my class schedule yet, but oh well, not much can be done about that. Must. have. patience.

Also, about 35 days left until graduation! Thank goodness is all I have to say about that.

I'm so tired of this semester and I need summer employment. I have taken some steps to fix the latter part of the previous sentence. Like talked to my current employers about tutoring this summer and filled out an application to help with freshman stuff this summer (for the Undergrads). Hopefully, one of those will come through, if not both.

Additionally, I have 3 friends that are currently engaged. One of which, I am the Maid of Honor. I love her (the bride), so it's a huge honor to me to be up there with her when she gets married. Plus, I can pick my own dress, as long as it's black. Good deal, I think. And since this wedding has been in the works for about five years, I don't have to do much as Maid of Honor, since everything has been taken care of for a while. Basically, I just have to show up, appropriately attired and be supportive. This I can totally do. I'm so happy for her, that this wedding is finally happening.

Fourthly (or Fifthly) well, I don't really know what else I have. Oh! I have no motivation or incentives right now. I'm already accepted and paid the seat deposit for my law school. I have an A in one of the classes I need to graduate in and a B in the other class. As for the other two classes I'm in, I have an A in one and a B in the other. I'm a-okay with these grades. As far as showing up to class and doing the homework for said classes, just yeah. Where's my motivation? I should probably find it...eventually...some day. Yeah, I'll get on that... and the capstone paper as well.

Seat Deposit

I paid my seat deposit this week. $500 that I'll never see again... oh well. It had to go, I guess. Kind of amusing fact, I changed my facebook status to "Paid my seat deposit today." My friend asked me on facebook chat if that meant I was getting butt implants. Um, no, but then I asked him if I need butt implants and I got more of an ambiguous response there. Hmmm.

Moving on....

I'm beginning to really look forward to law school. 41 days left until I graduate! I have an A and a B in the two classes I actually NEED to graduate and an A and a B in the other two classes I'm in. As far as the capstone goes, I present my paper presentation on the 21st this month. And then, I don't know what else I have left. Commencement? Finals? We'll see. I'm getting excited though!

Admitted Students Reception

I went to the Law School's Admitted Students' Reception. It was okay - a meet and greet thing. I'm not so good at mingling. I mainly just talked to the people I know. Besides, I didn't have many questions because I've been bombarding a 1L I know at the Law School with questions for a couple of weeks now. I'm questioned out.

I'm fairly sure that's where I'm going in the fall. So sure, in fact, that I'm going to pay my seat deposit this week. As soon as I get the money in my bank account.

As for my friends.... I just don't know. They don't care and that sucks. It really sucks to want to hang out with them and miss them like I do and know that they don't feel the same about me. That they are fine without talking or hanging out or any type of communication whatsoever. I guess it's good I'm starting law school in the fall. Kind of a chance at a new beginning. Maybe make some new friends there? Let's hope so.

Rambling

My Spring Break is coming to an end. It's been a nice week of laying around, being lazy, watching tv, rubbing Lola's (the miniature poodle) belly, telling Bruno (the yorkie) what a handsome boy he is, petting Hercules (the cat), and sleeping. I'm sad to see it end.

In strange news, well I think it's strange, I have a lawschoolnumbers.com account. I tried to update it regularly, because I think they are helpful, or at least other people's accounts were helpful for me when applying to law schools. However, I got an anonymous comment on mine that was like, "Congrats on your acceptances. You should be withdrawing from schools so other people can have your spot." A part of me agreed. I do know where I'm going in August, 95% certain of it at least, but another part of me... wants to wait. Some of those schools I really like, just don't have the money to go, didn't get the scholarship offers. I kind of want to wait a bit and see if I do get some offers, or at least wait until I'm 99% sure I'll be staying at Undergrad for Law School. Afterall, it was my hard work that got me into those schools in the first place. Aren't I entitled to wait until I'm sure, nearly 100%, until I start withdrawing? So I appreaciate the congrats from the person (the anonymous person, seriously, who makes that comment anonymously?), but kind of feel it was a bit rude to tell me to withdraw. Maybe that's just me though. People are strange.

Maybe I'll write about this more on another day, but my roommate and I are having trouble with our friends (different set of friends). As far as mine go, I think I overrated them. I thought Clementine and Amelia were fantastic, the best friends some one could have, but... they're not. It's sad. To me, they are my top priority usually, up there with family. If they need something, I'll drop what I'm doing. I make compromises, concessions for them, but they can't do the same for me, the thought doesn't even enter their mind. Sure, if it's convenient for them, then maybe. Oh well, what can you do. Sometimes you have to take what you can get.

I don't want to go back to school.

Spring Break

doesn't actually start for me until Monday (the 23rd) but I just took my Law and Economics test, so in my head, break begins now.

The test wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I couldn't remember well the probabilities associated with expected performance damages and restitution/reliance damages when the buyer is risk averse and seller is risk neutral, and vice versa, and vice versa, and so on and so forth. I could remember what the definitions of liquidated damages, expectation damages, reliance damages were, what are formulation based defenses and performance based defenses for voiding a contract are, the advantages and disadvantages of specific performances, gap-filling by the courts, and using subjective valuations are, and what the economic rationale of enforcing unilateral contracts are. (why did I write this all down? so I can look back and remember that I did learn this at some period in time...)

I can't wait for break. Sure I'll likely have to write three papers over it, one of them being the all important capstone paper, but I just am so looking forward to no classes and no work for one week. Thank goodness. I'll take what I can get.

Also, I withdrew from 2 law schools the other day. One of them was the first school that accepted me... but it had to be done. Still haven't heard from 3 schools. I just want to know! I don't even care about the result so much anymore...good grief.

Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law ?

Oh hey, it's March...

I've been meaning to post, just haven't had anything to post about. Still haven't heard from 2 of my law schools. Still accepted into 9 and rejected at 2. Still deferred at 1 and still have only withdrawn from 1 (I really need to get on that!).

However, after my spring break, I'll be attending an open house, so yay! That'll be something to write about, of course it isn't until March 31st. Figures.

I'm supposed to be in my Law and Economics class, but alarm didn't go off (or rather it did, but was on silent) and my body alarm didn't wake me up until 8:03 am. But! since I feel guilty about missing class I did some capstone research. And I did actually do the reading for class, so I figured I'll email my professor in 30 or so minutes and make an appointment to meet with him to go over some of the questions I had over the articles.

And on a related note, can someone explain to me what 'bargaining in the shadow of the law' means? Much appreciated.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

I just heard her speak at my Undergrad's law school. She was funny, gracious, and eloquent. Needless to say, I enjoyed her speech a lot. She was here to speak about my state's judicial selection plan. I guess it's not just my state's plan, since approximately 30 other states have adopted it or have made their own judicial selection plans that are very similar to it. I'm writing my capstone paper on this judicial selection plan, so I thought it would be good to listen to her speak.

She spoke mostly in praise of the plan. Used many quote from various people, like Roscoe Pound and Aristotle and some judges from my state. Obviously, she is very well informed on judicial selection and was able to articulate her position well. She spoke of highly of her own state, Arizona's judicial selection process. And to end, she thanked my state - the show-me state, for 'showing us' (the rest of the states) a proper and improved method for selecting judges.

In other news, I am now 9 in, 2 out, 1 deferred, and 2 still out in the wild as far as law schools go. I'm still 90% sure I'm staying at Undergrad school and I am more excited about the prospect each day. I think it will be a good thing.

Hypothyroidism

Yes, I has it.

I suspected as much since I can't seem to peel off my pea coat without freezing, am always sleepy, and oh yeah, don't seem to have a functioning metabolism.

So my doctor did some blood work and TA-DA! turns out I have amounts of TSH because my thyroid is all like, 'i'm just chilling, gonna watch some Dexter' instead of working and processing the TSH like it should be. Figures.

At least on the brightside I know what's up with my body. I mean, seriously, you can't eat bananas and spinach salads, walk/run/jog five miles each day and be GAINING weight.

Ridiculous.

Deferredddddddddd

Being deferred sucks. It's basically the school saying that they at the bare minimum like you. Like you just enough to keep you around for more months, but not enough to actually put you on a waiting list. Oh no, they're keeping your file around just to maybe, eventually, put you on a waiting list, or hell, maybe reject you. Yeah, they can just keep you waiting and then reject you.

Deferrals are frustrating. Thankfully, I've only been deferred from one school so far. The count is 8 acceptances, 2 rejections, 1 deferral, 1 withdrawal and 3 still out in the wild.

I'm glad to have a good idea of where I'm going to be in August, but I wish it was a done deal. I have zero patience. Argh.

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons list to going to Undergrad law school.

Pros:

I know current 1 and 2 L's, which will help I expect, adjusting to the demands of law school.
I already have an apartment a little more than a block from the law school building.
It's a well respected law school in the region - ranked 59th.
It has nationally ranked dispute resolution program.
Has an environmental law journal.
My friends are here.
My family is about 90 minutes away.
My brother is attending here for his Undergrad.
I've met some of the faculty and they seem really nice.
My roommate is fantastic - she feeds me, gives me chocolate when I need it, cuts me slack on the dishes, brings me 7Up when I'm sick... she's really fantastic.
Tuition for me is way cheap, since it's a public school and I'm in-state residency.

Cons:

Ideally, I don't want to practice law in this state...but I can get over it. I guess.
Don't seem to offer much in way of environmental law classes, which is my primary interest.
I'll be here for 3 more years. I'd like a change, a new environment, I think it'd be good for me, help me to grow as a person.


Well I guess that's all I have thus far on way of pros and cons. Obviously more pros, which has a lot to do with why I'm 90% sure I'll be attending Undergrad for Law school.

Still have that 10% unaccounted for though... Just saying.

Twitter

I just started a twitter account. I still don't completely understand it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out, sooner or later.

My username is redonrust.

I kind of thought I would check it out after I read this article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18316.html

I mean if guys that are my Dad's age and older (or a bit younger) are using this, then I guess it's about time I started...

Sick

I hate being sick. I'm an awful sick person too. I whine, cry, sulk, pout...whine some more. I hate it. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that my mind is well, but my body isn't cooperating. Like today, I've been up since 6 am, when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm vomiting (lovely, I know) and sleepy, but not tired, right? Like my body is tired, but my mind is awake. I'm at least going to make sure I do homework today, so I'll feel somewhat productive.

I'd better be feeling better tomorrow... :(

Stupid school...

Got a rejection from a school today. It's ranked 59th. It's fine though, cause another school ranked 59th DOES want me, so there. Stupid school.

In other news, I looked at an apartment today with my roommate today. It's really nice and really close to the law school. Only downside is the A/C units in the windows, but it's big and the kitchen has... counterspace! Which my current apartment is completely devoid of. So, needless to say, I like this new apartment much better than the current one.. but we'll see.

Applying Early...

is such a fantastic idea.

Today, I got into a school that according to chiashu.com (which is not the authority on law school admissions, but is given a lot of credence it seems) gave me a 45% of being accepted to. Granted, my LSAT was slightly (like a point) below the reported 25th percentile score and my gpa was above the 75th percentile score. Also I wrote a "Why us?" essay.

Its just exciting because this was the first law school I applied to as well and they want me. Yay!

Now if only they will give me money....

I dropped my terrorism class today. Though it's probably my most interesting class and the professor is fantastic, the students in the class are... well, to put it politely, they express themselves rather poorly and needlessly. I think they speak just to hear their own voice. Plus, a project in the class that is worth 50% of the grade is due at the same time as my senior capstone project, which is necessary to graduate. And you know what? I've gotten attached to the idea of graduating in May...so, yeah.

Capstone wins!

Status Checkers

I have a love/hate relationship with status checkers. I love them because they let me know what's going on with my application - whether it's complete, in-review, decision rendered... I hate them because they only give so much information, they tease you, just please you enough so that you keep coming back for more, yet you're rarely satisfied...

I have six schools still to hear from. Three of them have status checkers. One of those has now gone to 'Decision made' Yikes. It's a school I'm about 99.9% sure that I'm going to be rejected from.

Bah! Even though I'm about 80% sure on my school, I still want more acceptances. Then again, I have gotten into the schools I am more interested in and most likely to attend, so I am grateful for that.

Long Day

I started the day at 7:00 a.m.

I am not a morning person, but honestly it wasn't so bad getting up. Probably because I've been having nightmares about missing class... which didn't happen today. Though I did miss now President Obama's inaugural speech, which really really bummed me out. Oh well.

My professors assigned a lot of reading, but my classes don't seem so bad. I started the day with Law & Economics and I like the professor (he's also my capstone advisor). The material doesn't seem to difficult and he's fairly funny for 8 a.m.

Then I have History of the Ancient Greek World. The professor obviously knows the material, but he's a bit intimidating, especially when he goes on the whole time about how he very rarely gives out A's.

At 2, I have an honors class - Terrorism and Conflict Resolution. The material is interesting so far.

After that I have my Modern Philosophy class with one of my favorite professors in the University, so it's a good way to end the day. Well, class wise that is. I'm not looking forward to next week when my day goes from 8 am to 7 pm, instead of 8 am to 5 pm like it is now. Ugh.

Could be worse, I guess.

I had more things to say about law school websites (like lawschooldiscussion.org and lawschoolnumbers.com) and about financing a legal education, but maybe next time. I'm sleepy.

Nightmares

Recently I've been having some awful nightmares. For the past few days, I've been dreaming that I've missed classes. Not skipped them, but like I completely forgot about the classes in the first place. And in my dreams, this went on for weeks. Weeks where, apparently, I would just completely forget about going to class. I don't know what I did instead, but I guess I wasn't going to class. The strange thing is I've had multiple dreams of this type. Dreams where I only miss one week of classes, or specific classes, and the worst dream was when I skipped about half a semester's worth and received midterm grades where I got 2 A's, 2 B's and 1 C. All of these dreams have been incredibly upsetting too.

I think partly the issue is everyone I know has gone back to school, except me (and my friends at my Undergrad school). We don't start until Jan. 20th. I guess that just has been throwing me off.

The other part I think that has contributed to these dreams is that - I'm a nerd, obviously. I mean, dreaming about freaking out about missing classes. Seriously, who does that? Especially since I've already been accepted to some great law schools and really, this next semester, doesn't matter so much, grades-wise that is. Of course, I won't slack off...much. Just, yeah. Long story short, I'm a nerd. Could be worse I suppose. And by worse, I mean I went to a club last night with some friends and saw an erotic hypnotist (umm, yeah...a story for another time) but just listening to the people in line... good grief. I'm a little surprised that natural selection hasn't gotten to them yet. A couple of tidbits I remember:

A girl: "OMG those lasers are making me trip balls." wtf and oh, there were NO lasers...

A guy talking to his friends: "Yeah, just have sex with her. Then it's done. You don't have to talk to her again..."

A little later he uttered these gems, "It (sex) doesn't count if it's consensual. It says so in the bible. It only counts as a sin if it's not (consensual), then it's just sex." Again, wtf.

Oh...wow. That's all I've got.

Busy past 2 days...

In the past two days, I've been accepted to two law schools. One of which I would LOVE to go to...except tuition is a little high, so we'll see.

Today I received my first rejection. It was from a school that I kind of, sort of expected to be rejected from, but it still sucks. Even though I probably wasn't going to go to this school (it's in Boston and Boston is way too expensive to live in) it still...sucks. I feel like a door has been slammed shut in my face. I suspect I was rejected because of my LSAT score.

I'm so ordering pizza now...though in all fairness, everything is covered in snow and Little Car hates snow, so yeah, no other options really... (I'll just keep telling myself that).

Oh well though. I have 7 other law schools that want me. Ha.

I withdrew from a school yesterday too. Just sent a little email. It was a 3rd Tier school in my state and since I already got into a school ranked in the top 60 and would way rather go there, I withdrew. So now I have 6 more schools to hear from. Ugh. I expect at least four of these will likely reject me too. Oh well. I would rather go to the schools that I've already been accepted to anyway.

For if we don't find the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die

I'm in love with that song. I get like that, with things. I just keep listening to that fantastic Doors song over and over and over again. I can't get it out of my head. I think I'm about to drive my mother and brother crazy because I keep replaying the song over and over again in their presence. But really, that wasn't what I was going to write this blog post about, at all.

I had intended to write about law school choices. And here's the thing kids... well, there are a few things actually. In choosing the schools I applied to, I applied to safeties in which they were the only school in their city, and preferably, their area. Why? because I thought that would mean better job prospects. For example, I didn't apply to any 3rd Tier schools in New York City because my rationale is that I'd have to compete against all the 1st and 2nd Tier schools already there. Instead I picked 3rd Tier schools in states I could practice in, like Michigan and other states. Also, I only applied to a couple of safety schools. Mostly because, here's a big piece of advice,

I applied early.

I truly believe that makes a difference. I've already been accepted into a couple of schools where my LSAT is below the median score. I honestly believe that by applying in late October/early November, that helped me be accepted into these schools. Had I be applying now, maybe I'd still be accepted into them, maybe not. Mind you, these were target/slight reach schools as well. I applied to many of those. I followed the same rule with them too - meaning I applied to schools that were the only one in their city or region, and if not the only school, at least one of the top ones. It's important to go to a school that has a good reputation and try to discover that as best as you can. I was fortunate, my dad knows a lot of attorneys and talked to them about some of the schools I was more serious about to discover their reputations. That's important, I believe, in terms of job prospects after graduation. Why would you go to a school with a poor reputation? That doesn't make a lot of sense, so try and discover a school's reputation if you can. Honestly, the ranking of the school is probably, at least, somewhat indicative of the reputation...

Also, I applied to schools that had strong specialties in areas that I am interested in. Like I applied to a few schools that have nationally ranked and recognized environmental law programs and dispute resolution programs. To me, it seemed to make sense to at least apply and consider schools that are nationally known for something, if anything, that gets the school's name out and probably enhances their recognition and reputation.

Of course, I am only a 0L, so if you're a future 0L and stumbled upon my blog, take this advice with a grain of salt. A big grain. Investigate as much as you can. Research, research, research. It is so important in your law school quest (yes, quest). Know as much as you can about the schools you are intending on applying and perhaps, even attending. Afterall, you'll be investing a bunch of money and three years of your time in these schools.

So, yeah, if a 0L or future 0L is reading this, I hope my advice has helped some and good luck!

Decision-ish

So, I've made a preliminary (read: subject to change) decision concerning where I will be going to law school this! fall. As of right now, it's Undergrad school. Mostly because it is in-state for me and it's public, making it by far the cheapest school. I have received two scholarships from other schools...but I would rather go to Undergrad school over those. However, if a school I would like to go to more (and there are a couple) offer me scholarships, all bets are off.

You see, the thing is...with going to Undergrad school, I'll graduate with no debt. If I choose one of the private schools, I'll have debt and with an uncertain and unsteady economy looming in the future, it just seems a better idea for me to attend a school that I know and could/would be potentially happy at. And if I get more scholarship offers, I'll consider those of course. Afterall, it is only January, I have only heard from 5 of the 15 schools I applied to so far, so there is plenty of time for me to hear from more schools about money/acceptances.

I'm content with the decision.

I'm not going to tell my Dad about it though. He's been pushing Undergrad school for months now and he hasn't really been talking to me since December 31st when I told him I liked and would rather go to another school more (another school whose tuition is twice that of Undergrad's tution per year... eek!). So yeah, I'm going to wait for him to stop being silly and then I'll let him know what I've decided-ish.

My Mother

Sometimes I think my mom was born in the wrong decade. She has no desire to clean or cook and obviously hates doing either, especially the cooking. She would much rather be working, she's very independent. If my dad asks her to do something (like an errand or something) my mom is just like, 'meh whatever' if she wants to do it, she will, but otherwise, not a chance. She has no problem going to movies and running errands and taking trips on her own, she doesn't have to have my dad with her, in fact I think most of the time she prefers to be on her own. Also she has to fix things on her own. She's the one that maintains the vehicles and the computers (well my brother helps with that). And this is a women who turns up the radio to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Who discusses Vonnegut with me and was so excited when she saw that Barnes and Noble had a copy of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

I think that because my mom was born in the 50's in a Midwestern farmhouse to Baptists, she felt compelled to major in education in college (though she hated it when she was a teacher) and get married then have a couple of kids. I think if my mom was born now she'd have a career and forget the marriage and kids part, but I don't know if she'd be any happier. Who knows.

Also, happy new year. I don't really have any resolutions, except I'd like to be healthier (eat better) and I'm going to work on becoming a morning person. I just think that would work to my advantage in the long run.