Can someone please explain why it is that:

• I had to pay almost $100 for a cap and gown set and the gown is essentially a miniskirt? Made of material that I'm not certain will make it through a ceremony?
  
  
• I had to argue with the administration to put a lousy initial into my full name for my diploma... an initial that I included on my initial application to this fine institution; other folks around here have initials... just not me. Weird. Mostly a PITA
  
  
• I am expected to send out announcements? I mean, really, isn't that just politely begging for money? If you're important to me, you're invited to the ceremony. If I didn't call you, well, read into that what you will
  
  
• Barbri thinks it's cute to send books so that they arrive the last day of classes... so totally a downer
  
  
• My local bar hasn't acknowledged even receipt of my application? My only indication that they are working on it is that my check was cashed.

I will never again attend another law school class (at least not one that counts toward my JD)

So I'm a little late on this... it was last Wednesday--my last class of law school ever. And we convinced the prof to let us do just the project instead of a project and a final. So Sometime last semester was my last law school final ever. Whew.

It's kind of weird. Very exciting. Very rewarding/fulfilling/satisfying, but still weird. Up until the beginning of March or so, I still LOVED law school. And I mean LOVED it. There was the usual crap one bitches about that make you crazy, but overall. I loved learning the law. Finding out the land mines in each area I studied, discovering that the UCC is a work of art :), challenging my own way of thinking about many areas of my life. It was a great run. And that part I think that I will miss.

But I won't miss the bureaucracy. The ridiculous steps to get things accomplished that are so pervasive in academia. The dickering over the stuff that doesn't matter. The half-hearted, half-assed decisions made about things that do matter.

It's time for it to be over. Now all I have to do (although from where I am sitting with the sun warming my face on am incredibly gorgeous spring day--it's a herculean task) is do my project. And do it well. My goal is to buckle down and get it down by Friday. Sleep on it over the weekend. Check it on Sunday and email it away.

Then get ready for my bar trip :) Find your fork, it's about time to stick it in--'cause I'm almost done.

Frickin' Frackin $%&(*ng COmputer!

Sigh. I just got my computer back today. 15 days after it died a sudden death. That would be 14 days beyond my "next day, on site service" warranty. I have no words to rehash the event now. But I am alive and kicking; and my data for the semester happily is still in tact. And I got to brush up on my remedies and contractual parsing to yell at IBM nightly for several days. Sigh.

The Need To Terrorize Others with Your Bar Story and Barbri vs. PMBR deathmatch

What is with people who try to tell you that the sky actually fell while they were taking the bar exam? Roughly 1.5 hours of the time I spent at court earlier this week was me listening to the psychotic clerk and his experience taking my state's bar (since he took a different one last summer--sucks to be him). Now, I don't live anywhere high-falutin'. But that doesn't mean that his little East Coast self should presume that our bar is provincial and a piece of cake.

I so totally know his type too: the guy in law school who came out of the exam and whined and bitched about all of the things that they know they got wrong... two days later when you see him, he tells you that he figured out what he didn't get right on the 4th question (dummy, always start with whether the transaction is even governed by Article 9!). And then he gets and A in the class. You know the type.

So, in addition to feeling my stomach drop at the very thought of disgustingly difficult bar in store for me this summer, I also got a lecture on the finer points of how to study for the bar. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all about advice from those who have gone before. But. There's just something less palatable about being lectured to about how to do it all by someone who just told me that is NOT what they did.

Incidently, evidently he was a Barbri rep at his school, and even he says the PMBR questions are much, much more like the real MBE than Barbri ever gets. I've heard this from many folks. Enough to make me wonder if it's true. He said that what he and his friends did was substitute PMBR questions into his study plan wherever the Barbri study plan said do x number of our lame questions.

And, something beyond irritating, evidently, you have to shell out an extra $200-300 to take the Barbri intensive "essay" course. You don't just learn how to nail the essays from the other $2100-$3000 they gouge out of you for the damn course. WTF?

Even so, I've already paid for Barbri. Sigh. I'm afraid to go it alone. And I bought the complete PMBR stuff from last summer on ebay for $150. If it helps me sleep at night, I guess it's worth it.

3L-itis, and boy have I got it bad

I think something magical, and sort of counter-productive (down-right evil actually) happened to me on March 1. For starters, it was nearly 60 degrees that day. Nothing like a little spring fever to kick the 3L-itis into overdrive. I have officially had the "one foot in the alumni door and one foot stuck to the floor of my law review office" moment.

We've had notices about 3L luncheon's for "what's next", graduation caps and gowns, 3L graduation pictures being taken next week, forms to fill out if we want our name to appear a certain way on our diploma (note to self: must get on that!), graduation day details, graduation dinner details, and the announcement of our commencement speaker--and this was all since March 1. So I think it's their way of saying, it's okay to check out now--why else would they remind me at every moment that I'm ALMOST DONE.

The problem comes when I awaken in the mornings and think: kill me now, I have to go to my clerkship; or kill me now, I've got an edit for law review due today--let the idiot professor get sued for his sloppy work; or kill me now, I actually have to read for a class. I drag through the days, getting markedly happier by Thursdays. When I work on stuff for the judge, I remind myself that this is actually related to real life and if I fuck it up, he will certainly remember me. And when I work for law review, well, I try to remind myself that personal integrity used to be a something that I strove to maintain. But that reminder now has to be verbal to have any effect, and I have to say it to myself about every 15 minutes that I work on some rubbish article. Reading for class is actually the easiest because 1) I like it and am interested and 2) it's a 5-person class--there is no hiding that you didn't read.

Any ideas for staying motivated for another 5-6 weeks?

Westlaw vs. Lexis Rewards

Until Westlaw gets something as cool and diverse as Amazon into it's bag 'o tricks, it just isn't ever going to be as good as Lexis's rewards. At the end of my first year, I bought a Lost season and a cookbook for dear hubby as a father's day and birthday gift with lexis points using the Amazon store. I just redeemed all but 83 points to get the complete BBC sitcom series of As Time Goes By (aren't you learning a lot about my tastes now??!!). I love this series, and I love watching it again and again, but for that much $$, I wasn't likely to get it for myself. Sigh. It's fabulous, and I can't help but think: Lexis--you done me right, even if your overall product is less wonderful than Westlaw's.

I've got about 17,000 Westlaw points and virtually nothing to do with them. The brands for house stuff are all sub par for a foodie like my husband. The DVD selection is seriously wanting. You can't get CDs or normal books (read: non--How to Succeed even more as a lawyer...). I don't want a tent. And the jewelry is meh. I ask you: what's a girl to select? Suggestions welcome.

And three years culminates into . . .

So I had a lunch today with an associate and partner from my firm. They were on a re-con mission trying to ascertain what I wanted to be when I grow up to be a lawyer after the bar. They also wanted to know if I was available to work over the summer.

The summer part was easy to answer. I'm going on a couple of trips, studying for the bar, and spending lots of time with my family. Not negotiable. The firm doesn't require anyone to start until the 2nd week in September, when the entire "class" gets orientation at HQ. I was a little nervous stating my plans, but I was completely unwilling to scrap them just because I was afraid of what they would think. And it was fine. Easier, than I thought it would be. They both thought that was well-planned, because frankly, they will own me starting in september and for quite a long while thereafter. I don't need the money since hubby works (at least I won't if they send me that stipend). Why not take one final time to rest? And I know studying for the bar sucks, but I meant August and part of September.

The harder part of the conversation was "committing" to where I wanted to practice. And I'm fully irritated with myself because there I weenie'd out. I am getting my first choice but something not even on my radar is evidently now on my lap, and I'm not sure how to extricate myself from it. Sigh. I think it's something to just wait and see and tackle when I get there. There are at least 3 other areas that I would much rather do than that one.

Aside from that kerfuffle, now that it's all over, I'm wondering if I will really love being a UCC goddess?? I mean, I know, what's not to love??? But seriously, it all seems so final. And I know that isn't true; people change practice groups all the time after they've tried something for a few years. It's odd to think that from a smattering of classes though, that you are supposed to have an idea of how what you learned and liked actually translates into as a practicing attorney.

I feel stupid that I'm even pondering on this. I know it's not final. And I know that making the wrong choice isn't permanent or career-damaging. It's just so, well, momentous. Maybe it's the whole graduating and looking at what you have at the end of three years. It isn't unreasonable to want to feel like you can point at a particular thing and say "yes, in three years of effort, I set myself up to become a UCC goddess." Anything less sounds, well, like floundering for three years. I should not attempt to wax philosophical when I'm tired. I guess my point is that I'm a goal-oriented girl. I take steps towards achieving a particular goal and when I get close to accomplishing it, it's time for a new goal--further in the future. so that's what this is really all about for me--what's the next thing to work to? And knowing what I want to be when I grow up sure seems like a pre-req for setting that goal.

I know. I have issues. Love me anyway?

The Law I Lurve; or, How Do I Heart Thee U.C.C., Let Me Count the Ways

So while I was buried in this last year, I managed to take a few U.C.C. classes. Now, you might not recall that I actually became rather enamored of the UCC in my first year. My Contracts prof had a sort of orgasmic relationship with the UCC and brought Article 2 into the class anywhere it was remotely appropriate. I liked it. It was pretty, generally really clear and it all tied together so very nicely.

Since then, I've taken a Secured Transactions class (Article 9) and am currently taking a Payment Systems class (Art 3, 4, 4A, 5 & 7). And the more I read the more, I just simply *heart* the UCC. Obviously, not all of the articles are written with what can only be described as insight into legal code nirvana (I'm talking about you article 4!--what were they thinking?). But when you run across a true winner like Article 9, sigh, my heart begins to pitter patter a little faster.

But the coolest thing about it, is that the whole thing is such a lovely package. I love, love, love sitting in my Payments class and having the prof rattle something off about some default rules on letters of credit (article 5) and how the code assumes they were smart enough to protect themselves with an article 9 transaction. And I really love how I really understand how it all works together. Now, I don't have the orgasmic relationship with the UCC that my K prof did, but damn, it's pretty satisfying.

All silliness aside, it's a damn cool area of the law to be involved in from a private sector point of view. My firm has a developing practice in it that is always hopping--partly because those attorneys are allowed to breach the litigation/transactional barrier and follow deal from inception to bankruptcy or work-out if needs be. So everything is different everyday, but it's a lot of the same players, which is nice for building good relationships.

And my back-up plan these days is to do private securities if the UCC thing doesn't come to fruition (how many of you know there is an article (hardly at all adopted :( ) in the UCC covering investment securities? In any case, it was another of the classes that I fell in love with, and is practiced widely in my firm. Yea! I love options.

Law Review Woes

Since I identified my board position as the root of all evil in my "I'm alive" post, I thought that I might expound a bit on the ridiculousness that is Law Review.

As a 2L doing copywork/cite checking, I hated Law Review. I hated the inanity of editing someone else's very clearly shit work. I thought it ridiculous that a professor would submit such a piece of shit and expect, as their due, little armies of law review plebes to fix all of their gross errors. And I'm not just talking about sloppy blue-booking. I'm talking about border-lined (or just over the line) plagiarism. Incorrect citations. General extreme laziness in citing anything. Do law profs have original thoughts? My conclusion was that, no, no they don't. All articles are merely regurgiations of other author's thoughts... and more often than not, while copyworking, i would discover it wasn't even the person my author cite's thoughts. It was some other egghead's long before.

So I came to the conclusion that

1. Employers like law review on resumes because it shows that you are detail-oriented, know how to find needle in hay-stacks, know how to save your future senior partner's ass from looking stupid, and you are willing to do completely pointless, mind-numbingly dull tasks just because someone in authority asked (told) you to. So you do it to get a job.
2. It makes you feel good about your research and writing skills, which are clearly superior to most of the stuff that you work on. If you only had their "connections," you could be just as cool as the authors think they are.
3. It is a right of passage and simply must be endured.

What I don't like about being on the board, specifically being an editor, is that it is all of the things that I hated before and more because our lame 2Ls won't do their jobs properly. And because I'm just an editor, I don't have any carrot to take away from them. Most of my law review life these days is trying to patch together the half-assed job of my copyworkers and the author who wrote the damn article. I get nothing out of this process other than high blood-pressure.

And the part that makes me just sick about it: I RAN FOR THE STUPID THING! I asked for it. And I got it. Utter, total fucking moron.

Tales from the Crypt--or a 3L comes up from the rubble

Very nearly. I hadn't realized that it had been that long since I blogged on here. For a moment, as I stared at my last post and its corresponding date, I thought: "but you'll never remember all that you've done in the last year. It's gone." And then I thought, "are you crazy? you'll never remember all of the million things that you've done because it's a blur, and moreover, it was a blur when you were in it.

I intend to start blogging regularly again. Now that I can remember my name, and I see my daughter everyday, you know, when she's NOT just sleeping.

By way of catch up: I had just found out that my note was selected for publication and that I got onto the executive board of my law review. yeah, i can't believe that I was excited about that. That position alone has been the reason that I felt pushed over the edge this year. I had to start last March because our 3Ls crapped out on us. Then I had to work on it all bloody summer in addition to my firm job. I was freaking exhausted. Then last semester, I took the wrong combination of classes and was dramatically over-taxed, leading to really, truly almost getting divorced. No joke. Happily, we have a great counselor and are working through it. I can say with utmost confidence that just being an associate will be so so much easier than this.

I say that with utmost confidence because my summer associate experience was, uh, different than most folks. We worked. A lot. I personally billed as much as 1st and 2nd year associates do. And the firm wants it that way because they want you to know what you are getting yourself into. Now, don't get me wrong, I did go on a fantabulous trip paid for by the firm and won some neato prizes and got the nice moula to reward my hard work, but it was WORK not play. So to have to do that all bloody day and part of the night and THEN work on law review bullshit. Well, let's just say that my summer was non-existent.

That said, I really did like the folks that I worked with and the level of responsibility that they dole out to the younger associates. I really got my hands dirty and was able to decide that I would like to become a UCC-goddess when I grow up. Love it. But then, I know you're all shocked given that you know I'm such a code-girl. So in the end, they offered, I accepted, and I'm waiting for my summer stipend for consideration to be made :)

I tried the clerkship circuit, more than half-heartedly. And I almost got something with my state supremes. BUT I'm a total fucking moron. That's why I didn't get it. Honestly, true confession of a total fucking moron: on the cover letters to two of the Justices, I put the address label to one judge and in the same letter, I said "dear other judge." It's true. See, total fucking moron. And of course, the worst part of that for me is that I just don't make mistakes like that. I really don't. So it was sort of a poor time to decide to do so. In hindsight it's okay because the one hag from my class got a clerkship with one of the state supremes, and honestly, 3 years with her is plenty. I still have one app outstanding on something that I see as a long shot, but you never know.

What else? My note was finally published. It only took a freaking year. Let's just say that our law review board isn't as, urm, harmonious? as one might wish. And there were evidently several folks who ran for the title with no itnentions of actually doing the work.

Because of that, I learned about 3 months ago to say "no." I always felt like if things didn't get done, things that weren't my tasks, that it was somehow still my responsibility to fix it. No longer--at least not for the leaches of law review.

I suppose i sound far more cynical than I once did. Maybe I am moreso now. It's tough to say, I've always been fairly bent toward cynicism.

My wonderful daughter is doing really well. She had a second surgery over my fall break last semester, and has been really very healthy since. It's honestly like a miracle. She's learning to ice skate and ski this winter--total snow bunny. And she is reading now. I had a couple of pictures out a few nights ago from about the time I started school and little one in it. My oh, my. She was really just a toddler then, and now she is starting kindergarten in the fall.

Oh, and just to make it all so shockingly real: I've turned in my bar application, paid my barbri fees (so I don't get screwed and have to take the night class), and signed my "intent to graduate" form. hot damn, I'll be an at er ny soon.

I suppose that's all for now. I'll post a bit about classes and so forth soon. I'm working for a judge right now, who has a psychotic clerk, so that should be some fodder for entertainment. I'll also go through ye olde blogroll soon and update that. it's good to be back

On being organized, even when you speak

So maybe it is the left over tech writer in me. Or maybe it's just the OCD nature I have for organization that made me a good tech writer that manifested itself tonight. Or maybe the lady was just a numbskull. Really the possibilities are endless.

I'm an organizer. I think all jumbled up and don't rest until my head is nice and tidy. Even when I speak--when I'm trying to be clear or efficient--I'm organized. And by and large, I think folks I interact with appreciate that.

For example, when I go to say, Subway, right next to campus to grab a quick dinner, when I order I start with what is logical and group things that are like. Bread first--that's what they have to grab first, then meat then cheese. Then veggies in order of reach for the sandwich artist (snigger) then vinegar and s&p. That makes sense. Really, does it help the artist to say "a hot ham and cheese on uh, uh, italian (read: white, at subway anyway)." The artist might forget that you want it hot since that instruction is so far removed from when the artist would actually toast it. And for sure, the artist will have to ask you "what kind of cheese?"

So tonight, I walk to my favorite sandwich shop. And I am delighted to discover that the only line is a woman and her teenaged son and then me. My sandwich artists are speedy guys. We are in and out of there pronto. There's no fooling around. No slouching. Just fast, fast, fast. But, alas, alack, they can go only as fast as the orderers can process and communicate their desires. SIgh. Double sigh. So tonight. There are two artists and as far as I can tell, two paying persons (the son doesn't count). So the lady tells the son to order and he does, and the sandwich artist makes it to completion--even so far as putting the sandwich into a bag. At which point, they come to take my order and the mean bitty lady gives them a crusty "excuse me, I'm making a rather large order of sandwiches." Um, ok. Sure. So both artists go to help her. She doesn't know what she wants. Can't remember who wanted cheese, was it the BLT? or the BMT? and did johny want his heated? 3 cell calls later, we have meat and cheese on 3 sandwiches (6 inches). Yup. that was her "rather large order of sandwiches." Then she was equally dingdongish on the toppings. But what do you expect from someone who bought combos for the whole family. I shouldn't judge that part; maybe they were having a picnic in the 30 degree snowy weather, so being economical and buying a bag of chips and a 12 pack of soda wouldn't make sense.

My point being: how much time could she have saved 5 people? (me, her, the son, and the two artists). A lot. Here's how it should have gone--or at least what I would have done.

Enter store. Hi. I'm ordering 5 six inch sandwiches, all on italian except one on honey oat. The honey oat is a BMT. The others are BLT, ham, turkey, and meatball. All have swiss cheese. Please heat the BLT and meatball. When the artist is ready, the meatball is all done. The other sandwiches all have lettuce and tomatoe and mayo. The turkey has jalapenos. That's all for toppings. I would like each of them in a combo please.

The freaking end. See. Right away, the artists can decide if it is a two man job or whether one should continue to help others in line or ring the lady up to move things along.

Sigh. Organization. Now, back to my shareholder's derivative table :)

Almost overwhelmed--and just how many laws are there for corps anyway?

Geez mon! I swear we've been doing corps in BusAss for the last month, and there is no end in sight! Blergh. I'm just feeling overwhelmed at all the detail. This prof's final sounds relatively straightforward though: Facts, what does P argue, what does D argue, what will the court say. So in that spirit I think that I will organize my outline something like:

II. Corps
B. Shareholder's Derivative suits
1. When can you bring it -- blah blah
2. Filing a Demand
A. what P args; or defends for not bringing the demand (futility)
B. what D args-BJR or defense to futility (are disinterested members etc)
C. Bottom line, Ps usually lose because xyz

I might get all fancy and make a table instead. Tricky that. I'm a totally visual person--well not really. I don't like pictures and flowcharts. But I do like visually organized charts. So, tables generally work well for me.

My final version of my note is due to our managing editor this coming weekend. So far, I have zero atty or prof feedback. I need to send a gentle reminder tomorrow. I'm less worked up about my note these days. I went through it with a fine-toothed comb last week and found that my arguments, in my humble opinion, were not as bad as I remembered them to be. There is one fly in the ointment and I'm still debating whether to address it. All that's left is to incorporate any recommendations I receive this week, update some of the cases I use to reflect some of the more recent cases that address my issue, and give it a thorough blue-booking. Our law review editing process is not particularly transparent, so I have no idea when they are done copyworking and editing if I am supposed to be the enterer of those changes or not. So for all I know after I turn it in next weekend, I won't touch it again until the executive edit. I really hope that is the case :)

My drafting class is getting kind of intense now. Bigger, regular, graded assignments. So that just equals more stress in my life. And that's fine. It's just another reason that I need my note to be really off my plate.

Ooh, in other happy law review news, we are coming to the end of the copywork for the year. We should only have a few smaller articles trickle through. And cheers were heard around the world! Our board for next year was selected and I did not end up as EIC, and to that I say praise everything that is holy! I got executive editor instead, and that is going to keep me plenty busy. I'm very happy with the result.

This is why I am only almost overwhelmed. I've got all of the balls up in the air right now. None of them have fallen so far, and all I can see ahead of me is someone kindly removing a few of the balls. This is doable.

I'm kind of a weenie

It's true. And there really isn't any kind of about it. Before I declare my note entirely done, I want a reality check from some practitioners, especially where I'm writing about a circuit split and essentially saying that one circuit got it wrong. So, now I need to send a note to several attys in the field and ask them to read and critique my note. That shouldn't be so hard. But I am so paralyzed at the thought of someone reading it and thinking that I am indeed a total moron. See--I'm a weenie. Plain and simple. And with much more cringing and complaining, I'm sure that I will get it sent out in the next few hours.

I've fallen and I can't get up--and I HATE hearsay

Good grief. I've got to start paying attention to the invisible memos that surely must be passed around telling you that second semester is infinitely more crazy than firsts... and that's applicable all years of law school, or at least, in my experience, the first two years.

So all is happy and so forth with my note being published, but man that's a lot of extra work to pile onto my daily plate. So I am trying to implement some strategery (thank you, Bush). I've got all my busass read for the week, unless of course she does one of her random "let's cover about 40 pages each day for a couple of days" spurts.

I've read the bloody 100 pages of evidence plus the E&E chapters on Hearsay. Unfortunately, I took a little quiz last night to see how I was coming along. Um, yeah. Hearsay is the current bane of my existence. I only got 9 of 25 questions right. And of those 9, 5 I had marked with a ? mark to indicate that I really had no clue and just guessed. Which basically means: I only actually knew the answer to 4 of the 25. Should I just take myself out behind the shed now and shoot? or will this get better? The part that is tripping me up is just identifying the intended assertion of fact (mostly whether it's really an assertion) and then whether the purpose of the testimony is to determine the truth of the matter asserted. Yeah, I like saying it that way. I mean, now it seems like I am just confused about 2 parts of hearsay... and if you are reading this and have taken evidence, then you know that those are the only 2 parts that are difficult. Sigh. Hopefully, I will have an epiphany on it soon.

So back to my strategery: it's just to get the day to day work done this weekend, so I can spend all my free time on my note this week. I really need to send it to a prof who specializes in this field by the end of this week, so hopefully, I will have feedback on it by the last week of this month. The managing editor wants it ready for copyworking in early March. Realistically, I think I need to work on three areas to make it less embarrassing: 1) throw the new cases relying on the circuit holdings into the note because for whatever odd reason it's coming up much more now (probably because of the way the 10th circuit held last year; it's quite a boon for plaintiffs), 2) take a very critical look at my analysis and ultimate conclusion--I'm just not sure about it and because of that I think my whole note is weaker, and 3) this is all based on a statute that has two mutually exclusive pieces but I've mushed the cases together--it's because both pieces of the statute define something the same way, which is the focus of my note. Hmmm. are you confused by my vagueness yet?

In any case. Long ass week ahead.

Gobsmacked by Law Review

My note is being published. Yes, jaws around the world are smacking the concrete in disbelief, including mine. I'm not sure whether to be excited (which I am) or mortified at the thought of anyone reading it because I sure didn't feel like I made any point that was all that earth-shattering. Thank heavens for editors, right?

In any case. Cheers!

A mommy law student time out

I took my daughter on a mommy/daughter date yesterday afternoon. Over all, disaster. No, really. Just so bad. The only kid appropriate movie showing in our neck of the woods is Charlotte's Web (because the whole flushed away thing is just too far over the line that I refuse to cross). And it was playing either 1) through lunch or 2) through dinner. Movie theater scheduling morons. In any case, I brought snacks galore and planned to do lunch afterward.

Sigh. Did you know that a G-rated kids movie is almost 3 flipping hours long? Blergh! They could have made it a good 5-10 minutes shorter by getting rid of the whole unbelievable 10 year olds in love story line that kept popping back up. I could have done entirely without Dakota Fanning. But the animals were great. So dauhter is bored and I almost leave with her when there is about a half an hour left, and I totally should have. The end was fabulous, so fabulous, so well-done that my poor sweet-hearted daughter bawled her little eyes out for about 10 minutes after Charlotte dies. Sigh. I totally forgot that she dies. I haven't read the book since I was about10. In any case, I got to spend the next half hour or so telling her why Charlotte died and why it's ok, and how it's not real. "But mommy, do real spiders die when they have babies?" Can I just say that deep discussions about the cycle of life was not on my agenda for our date yesterday.

SO now she is an emotional disaster in addition to being starved and tired at the Chinese Restaurant. I ended up taking all of our food home in containers and cutting our lunch super short. The best part of our date, I think in both of our opinions, was taking a nap together in my bed.

An embarrassed investor

Seriously. Every day I go to BusAss, I learn stuff that I think I ought to have known before I became an investor. Like cumulative voting... mind you I don't have enough shares in a company small enough to make that kind of thing work, but still. It's good to know.

I do have a lot of shiny shares from my old Big Corporate Monolith. I'm making it a goal to go to an annual shareholder's meeting sometime in the next 2-3 years. I just think it would be educational (and possibly tasty).

When I really sit back and reflect, it's great that I've been a regular investor since my early twenties. Up until law school, I've always invested the full amount possible in a 401K and I still contribute to an IRA. I didn't sell all my stock after I got it from BCM. I'm actually in a good place. But what doesn't work for me is that I have really no idea what my mutual funds represent or how i would go about selling my BCM stock if I wanted to. Or how about how to sell off my investment in a crappy mutual fund in my rollover IRA and re-invest in something that is better. I am placing an inordinate amount of trust in people that I don't know. To an unacceptable degree.

Any suggestions on how to better educate myself in investing and investment management.

whistle-blowing, general partnerships, dissolution & professional conduct

So far most of the puzzlers that I am getting out of my BusAss (yes, I am immature enough to giggle at that every time) are legal ethics questions. We read a case (977 SW 2d 543) for last week where a partner warns senior partners that the billing looks really screwy for a client. There's a whole lot of smelly subterfuge and then she gets fired for crappy work. Crappy work that the firm had never told her was crappy before. The court held that partnerships are based on trust and you don't have to keep someone on that you don't trust anymore. The dissent was much more in line with the "whoa nelly, aren't we a self-policed group of idiots? and therefore shouldn't we protect her job." But no.

The next case that leaves me confused is Haymond v. Lundy (2002 WL 1972101) where the partners have dissolve the partnership and there is an outstanding referral fee owed to another firm that is in dispute. The long and the short of it is that one of the 3 partners agreed to pay a referral fee (150K) to this other firm upon successful completion of the case. The other partners said that per their p-ship agreement, they had to consent to something like that and they didn't. Fine, all well and good. And the judge said "yup" it's all on the idiot who made the agreement. But the lasting question is: Aren't straight up referral fees a professional no-no? I thought that you couldn't do that kind of thing unless you were compensating the prior firm/atty for their actual work on the case. Maybe my state is different.

Self-policing. Hmmmm.

A thought on grades and a glimpse at my deranged day dreams

I actually saw my Bankruptcy prof last night and was able to smile politely and make the required small talk for the event we were at. As he walked away though, I couldn't help but wish that I had something to throw at his head. Sigh. This is the first semester that I have had more than one grade that requires curves to make the letter. I like letters without curves. They are pretty those As and A-s. Damn.

And then I sit back and think, wow I am super greedy because one curvy grade (fine it was a B+) was in a class where the whole test was multiple choice, and honestly I don't ever expect to do better than that. And then my bankruptcy class, where there were only about 22-ish kids and of those only 2 or 3 were NOT in the top say 15% of their respective classes. So getting a B+ in there, really, truly, after the horrible experience that was that test . . . it was actually pretty damn lucky.

Sigh. I'll keep my on track status for coif, if just barely. And I will kick it in high gear and find some way to break through the B+ ceiling on my exam that will be once again, all multiple choice. I hate MC tests. Really, truly, what does that indicate about my future abilities as an atty. Is the nice judge going to stop the opposing atty in the middle of the trial and say

"counselor yaya, there is a possible objection to raise here: do you think it is a) irrelevant because we have other photos that provide the same evidence in a less gruesome manner, b) relevant but not probative because this the third similar testimony offered to the court and is a waste of time, c) an objection becaues that information was obtained through statements your client made in negotiation or d) there is no objection because you weren't listening carefully and have no idea to what this witness just testified?"

Counselor yaya: "well Judge, you should know that I've always sucked at multiple choice, so I'm going to have to call in co-counsel to answer this one, in the best interests of my client."

yeah, I might be a little bitter. And I am so not going to be a litigator.

slow and steady wins the race

Well, week 2 of this semester is now past, and I really really think it's going to be great. I'm still interested in all of my classes and my first TA session went reasonably well (btw--if anyone has any suggestions of where I can get multiple choice property questions, please do tell). My evidence class is taught by stories. It's awesome. I am so muhc more likely to remember what a rule is when I have some crazy story to go with it. And I was so proud of myself for shouting "Rule 410" at my TV last night while watching Shark. Hooray.

My note is back in. I'm 98% certain that I will not be published again and that I will have to redo my note again in March. Sigh. So it is.

One of our 1L class assholes wants to work at my firm. Um, no. But now I don't have to worry about anyone at the firm asking me about him because he froze on exams. Actually, I don't think he froze, I think he really thought SO much of himself that he just didn't study. I don't understand people like that. I mean one would think that by the time you get to law school at least a handful of people have to have let you know in some persuasive way that you are in fact NOT the most brilliant person on the planet.

I have all but one grade back, and it was the one that I have absolutely no clue what the prof wanted. So who knows how the semester ultimately shook out. So far I'm giving it a "not quite as bad as I thought, but woah nelly, still not so good"

Which is why, I'm back to reading bus assocations.

I hate my note

Blerg. Blech. Blah. Yuck. Yick. Ugh. Phooey.

that about sums up my feelings of redoing my note for law review. Our board has the 2Ls keep re-writing the same note all year until either it is selected for publishing or the year ends. The next drop is in the next few weeks, and I so don't want to work on it. I told myself that I would do it over break and never found the motivation to do it. I've got to get most of it redone today. Boo.

And to add insult to injury, not only is it colder than ass outside, but my fingernails are actually purple because of how bloody cold it is inside the damn library. Sigh. Not my day.

And another 2L semester begins

I am back and mostly refreshed. When asked if I had a good break my standard reply is yes... because I slept and did almost nothing productive. Lots of sleeping, reading trashy novels, watching girly movies, and playing with my daughter. I knew I accomplished my goal to get lots of sleep when my daughter asked me why I was awake so early on Monday. :)

I've been through all of my classes now, and I think I am in love. Seriously, this could be the best semester ever. I've got an advanced drafting class with an adjunct who is all about practicality. If it's not real world-related, then let's not bother doing it. :) :) I'm in Business Associations and the prof is really great at explaining things and drawings and all of the other types of teaching techniques that my brain typically responds well to. And then I'm in an Evidence class that is pretty entertaining. And let's face it: I need to be entertained. Last and for whatever reason most frightening: I'm a TA for a 1L property section. I've got mixed feelings on it. I love property--lots. But I admit that I am totally intimidated by the responsibilty of teaching it. But then, I know it's not really teaching it--just filling in holes etc. But for whatever reason, I am little nervous about my first group session next week.

What else? Law review elections are coming up next month, and I've decided to be a glutton for punishment and run for editor-in-chief. Who knows if it will happen, but here's to trying.

Slow month, a mile stone, and things to look forward to

I think this is only my third post of the month. Between finals and some unexpected family issues (which only seem to pop up during finals or holidays or both), I have been horribly absent... and not just from this blog. Seriously, I feel like I am going through life in some sort of haze. Since Christmas is over now, hopefully the family drama will die down shortly as well.

Finals sucked, ass. There's no nicer way to put it... there are of course many less nice ways to put it. It was just plain awful. I really honestly think that my GPA is going to take a serious nose dive. So it is. Nothing to do now. And realistically, I'm not so sure that there was anything that I could have done differently during reading days or the semester to make the utter annihilation I experienced any different.

But the silver lining of course is the fact that I AM HALF WAY THROUGH! Hot damn! Seriously. I like law school a lot. And I will probably go back to loving law school this coming semester because I won't have OCI torture. and next year even better because I SO will not make the mistake of running for SBA office. I enjoy law school much more when I am focused on the classes and learning the law or how to think like a lawyer. It's the peripheral crap that I've discovered I hate. Speaking of, I've got to get tons of law review stuff done this week. But I won't complain about that, at least not directly. And I do plan on running for a board position for that group.

I think my classes will be interesting next semester. I've got Evidence and Bus Ass as my two doctrinal courses. Then I've got Law Rev, my seminar, and being a 1L TA for fillers. It'll be a busy schedule but it's almost all academic. So I am embracing that. Ohh and my schedule is kind of bizarre, but I think that I will like it. I've got class for 1.5 hours m-w in the morning and then at night for a few hours m, t, th. We'll see how that works.

A rant on code-based class tests

Here's the schtick: exams for code-based classes, for example, bankruptcy, should NEVER be closed everything. At the very least you should get to have the frigging code. For Pete's sake, there is no possible way to remember all of the exceptions to the exceptions and whether the qualifying debt limit for secured debt is 900K in change for chapter 13 filings. Seriously. The people who win are the numbskulls who are good at memorizing, not the ones who can find wht they want with the actual language of the code.

Snarl! I'm tired, damnit

No more con law rants!

Wahoodillyhoo! I took my blastes 8 hour take home final for that ruddy course a few days ago. It was, well, typical of the sort of inanity that particular prof comes up with. Some straightforward and then wham some stuff out of the twilight zone. I have no freaking clue how I did. I am concerned about the number of super bright kids in that class... we'll see where it all comes out in the end.

But the POINT here is that while I might not have written an A test, I sure as hell didn't fail it outright. And that means *drumroll* no more freaking Con Law classes for me!!!!!!!!!!! Wheeee!!!!!!!!! I do realize for those of you who insist on peeing in my wheaties that con law topics will likley come up in various and sundry other classes. But I don't have to endure a whole painful, horrific torturous semester of it again.

And for anyone else who hates con law and is looking for help. Get Erwin Chemerinsky's hornbook. I love you Erwin! *smooch*

Another con law rant

So while I don't like Con Law, I'd like to know that there is a point to my taking the damn class. This semester's prof and book are almost as bad as con law 1's from last year. I can barely use supplements this semester because it keeps talking about elements, factors, and tests that my prof never mentioned, nor did the sad book that we use. Normally I embrace the notion of reading a paragrph or two of a case and being done with it. But I am finding that the exerpts are so painfully short and so heavily edited that I honestly couldn't tell you why or how the court came to the conclusion that it did. I can however tell you want a bunch of namby pamby con law scholars said about the holding in about 47 articles. Sigh.

I really hate con law--even more so now that I understand I will have to teach the real deal to myself before the bar. Suck.

Rodger, Dodger, only 1.5 weeks left of school

There is a god and he is going end my suffering, through con law 2 that is. And after this semester, I am bloodythehell well done with my con law requirements for law school. *loud cheers and applause heard throughout the land*.

I've finally caught up with all of my class reading. My outlines are still in sucko shape. I love how I write outlines implying that there are many. Really I have one wiht some stuff in it and 2 that have the words "class name--outline" up at the top... and that's all. Poop. So it is. What will be will be. And all of the other cliche let the river flow stuff you can think of.

At some point, and I predict it will be on the plane this week, I will have a horrible epiphany of how real and close exams are in my future. Then I will have a sick stomach and want to die. It's all part of the process. Embrace it.

Hey you, poser, wannabe in the library

Just so you know, proudly displaying your copy of The Economist to the side of your study table while you take a practice LSAT exam does nothing for you. You are not intimidating. You are not smart looking. Or whatever it is that you are trying to achieve. You are, however, a lerp.

I so want it to be over

I have finally succumbed to my undergraduate cyclical boredom. Like clockwork around the 8th week of a semester, I would start struggling to pay attention to my classes and homework. By about week 10, I was struggling to find the will to go to class, and by week 12, I just wanted it to be over. Take the final right then and be done with it. I liked the classes (for the most part) that I was in, but I had about an 8-week positive attention span for class on whatever the topic was.

I love 2 of my three classes this semester. But I just want them to all be over. I don't want to read anything new about the class topic. I just want to pull some concentration out of my butt and do my outlines and take the finals and be done.

Blech. At least I have next semester's classes hammered out, and it's not looking so bad. I'm sure that I will thoroughly enjoy those classes for 8 weeks too.

Dear Losing Minority Party Senate Candidate

I just wanted to thank you for running this past election even though you didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of actually winning. I am saddened that you live in a state where you and your party will never get a federal seat representing this state. Mostly, I am saddened because I thought that you were truly an amazing candidate that would have been great for both sides of the political aisle, who understood the real issues and had the nerve to say so.

Thank you for being wonderful enough to push me out of my comfort zone and not vote for my usual federal-election party. It was a freeing experience to me, and I hope to do so in the future should another steller candidate come along.

Finally, thank you for sacrificing a year of your life and career and income to run a losing race--one that even your own national party refused to help finance because of the political demographic of our state. You are truly a great man.

Somewhat back on track and wanting to smooch professors who

Embrace and accept the fact that they will never cover all of the material on their syllabus and just remove certain lectures rather than attempting to smush 3 days of lecture into every class from here until the end of the semester. Bless you Con Law 2 prof!

I'm trying to get excited about switching gears to consumer bankruptcy later today, but I'm just not feeling the love.

Last night hubby and I watched a documentary together and sniggered far more often than we felt thoughtful. Could it be that we a re a touch too cynical? too likely to strongly question where you got your statistics from? just what the entire context was around the soundbite that sounded so outrageous? Snigger. Snort.

Confessions

I've screwed around a lot this week--reading fun books, watching movies, and generally zoning out. Bad me! Shame on me! I am supposed to be working on my lovely con law 2 outline. Sigh.

You know it's bad (your lack of concentration and general grip on reality) when you are reviewing the outline on your computer and think, wow, that's pretty good--ooh and complete. This is great. And then you realize, um, yeah, that's some kid's outline from last year that you were looking at to make sure you didn't miss anything... then you switch to your outline and the only thing that makes it look NOT like someone on kindergarten wrote it is that it is typed and not in crayon.

Eek.

Yeah! I'm jobbed.

It's official folks. The offer has been given and it has been accepted. And thank the heavens for that. So now, with somewhat less mememe drama, back to our regularly scheduled program. Con law 2.

The absent blogger

Hello, friends, family, fellow tortured 2Ls. Anyone else feel like they are being slammed? I suppose feeling like I've only attended a small handful of classes and then discovering that we have FIVE weeks of school left is part of my trauma. No fears though. I have a plan. It's painful, ugly, and downright absobloodylutely no ruddy fun. But it will hopefully see me through the next 7 to 8 weeks of my life without significant damage.

Today I learned that I in fact learned little to nothing at all my 1L year either in torts or contracts about damages. But thank heavens my real estate transfer book took pity on me and assumed that I had forgotten. Cwap! Have I mentioned how much fun that class is lately. Even if I never practive anything remotely related to real estate, I will never walk into buying a house without an atty representing ONLY me. I will understand that I need to specify that the seller MUST maintain insurance on the house until closing and that if it is destroyed before then, I'm out with all my money. Seriously, could the law surrounding buying and selling a house 1) be more friendly to sellers (I think not) and 2) be more counterintuitive?

The rest of this week will be all Con Law 2 all week. Look forward to more reasons why I still hate con law.

The best part of this week will be taking my daughter trick or treating... it's my one play fun thing planned. oof.

OCI and it's long painfully drawn out process is over

five million interviews--check
one million callbacks--check
telling about 150 attorneys the same answer to the same question about 150 times--check
flyouts done--check
eating way too much food--check
diet started to fight the call back expansion in my ass--check
really fabulous decisions to make--check
total inability to concentrate on anything--check check

Which brings me to utter and sheer panic on the thought that not only am I GROSSLY behind in the reading for all of my classes, but here it is the freaking END of October and I have started diddly doo dah on my outlines. Cwap! At least constantly missing class for other appointments is done, so I have a shot in hell of learning something.

Time flies when you are crazy

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. I think mostly I was "present" last week, but I'm not sure that I got anything out of it. I'm still in callback heaven/trauma/hell--pick your poison. For what it's worth, in some very superficial way, I really am able to tell a difference between the firms just by talking with folks for 30-40 minutes for a whole morning at their firm. And happily, the firm I thought that I would love best is still far and away my first choice (please, let them give me an offer!). I say happily, because I kind of thought that I had this whole "impressions" thing with firms going on. You know, some sort of conglomeration of impressions of meeting them at a firm crawl, or on campus brown bag, or even first interviews. So far, my thougths really haven't changed. the only really positive thing that I've gotten out of some of the interviews is that there seem to be a lot of really incredible women attorneys in this town. And that's kind of fun.

My note is due tomorrow. dum da dum DA dum! I have officially met the minimum page count :) which is really what it is all about. OK not really. But seriously, I am so sick of the darn thing. I did want to be published, but honestly, turning it in tomorrow is nothing more than a ticky mark on my gigantic list of things to do. I've got about 5-8 more pages of stuff that I need to put into it this afternoon to solidify the whole thing. But it ain't pretty. And I'm honestly not all that particularly sure that it is useful to anyone. Gotta love going through this process only to discover that it was really a big fat waste of time.

Sigh, and at the end of classes last week, I tried to talk to a guest lecturer we've had for almost three weeks while our real prof is off galivanting somewhere and discoverd that guest lecturer dude really doesn't like me and rightfully so. I didn't know who he was the first day of class and he attended our lecture. i went to ask the real prof something and basically ignored this guy (I thought he was another student waiting a turn to talk to the prof). At some point during my conversation with the prof I realized this dude was in fact not a student and I did the chicken out thing and just finished my conversation and left. No apology, no backpeddling no nothing. And I've never apologized. And I feel kind of bad about that. Especially now that I know he really can't stand me. I don't like that. And I really don't like that realizing that is the only thing that has lit a fire under me to apologize. guh. ew. I'm a tiny little person. being a big person sucks.

To top my week off, my kid is sick yet again and now *drum roll please* she's got pneumonia. Lovely. That about makes my week. Thank heavens that our fall break is around the corner. Or I might have to step in front of a bus just to get some rest.

*raspberry*

Big Firm Attraction

I admit it: there is something sexy about working in a gorgeous downtown skyscraper. There is.

And there is also something really sexy about making some serious cash in the summer, and for the rest of my life.

I admit it, and I won't apologize for feeling that way.

Doggy paddling

Yup, that's about all I can do at the moment. Being sick really set me back this last week. And while I am digging the oci love I have received, it sure makes getting my law review note and regular course work done in time. I'm living for fall break. Or for next Monday when the note is due. Just to have something off of my plate even for just a few days, would be astronomically helpful.

Woof.

Oh and a quick follow up to my sickie interview... about 15 minutes into it, the interviewer busts into French. Cwap. Yes, I speak French. Yes, I lived in France for a few years. And yes, I am reasonably comfortable with it. However, I was having a difficult enough time with English that day. Le sigh. I held my own, but seriously. It's not like his firm had an office in Paris.

I'b sick. Dabbit

Well it had to happen sooner or later the juicy, gooey, ooey crud that my daughter and husband have been passing back and forth finally attacked me. And won. I don't have time to be sick right now. Damn.

3 pages of law review note finished... just 42 pages shy of the minimum. woot.

On another note. I have an interview in 10 minutes. It's 30 minutes long. I have no idea what I am going to talk to this guy about. The usual only takes 15-20 minutes. Maybe I'll just take a nap under the interviewing table, think he'd mind?

Goal for interview: try not to sound as snotalucious as I actually am.

I am entertained

I just took the city that matches you quiz linked from Think like a Man. Act like a woman and had to snigger a wee bit when the #1 city it had for me was the one that I moved from before law school. Nice to know that I have no where to go but down. Generally, I hate quizes like that. They're usually so wrong, so I was surprised. Of course, it had Miami down as a close second. Um. No. Just no.

I have succumbed

to the temptation of watching my shiny new Grey's Anatomy Season 2 set. 3 pages of my note down... and 24 more episodes.

I'm so weak.

Must concentrate, but I so can't.

I'm tired. I'm borderlined cranky. I'm stressed and in some cloud of "did I nail it? was i an idiot, I don't know." I'm painfully aware of the fact that my note is due in 2 weeks folks... and I've read a tiny little bit that I might be able to squeeze 5 pages out of... that leaves me, uh, rather short of the minimum page count. I can't concentrate. I haven't done my law review copywork yet; I haven't started on my assignments yet. In short, I'm not doing. I'm floating, smiling, researching, obsessing, but I am most assuredly not doing.

To put the icing on the cake: yesterday was the 4-year anniversary of my stepfather's tragic death. I feel very Scarlett O'Hara about it... I won't think about it today; I'll think about it tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day. Unfortunately my mom needs me to think about it yesterday and today, and as long as she needs to get refills on her lovely medications. God I miss him. You'd think after 4 years that it wouldn't feel like a punch to the gut anymore. But I am transported to that week and then that day and then that horrible phone call that I hope Inever get again. I miss you Wayne. God bless.

Interviewing starts and other fun

I had my first few interviews today. I was much more relaxed this year than last year, so that in itself is a great thing, but now the trick is figuring out if that made me seem more personable. And I just have no idea. The bottom line for me is that I did not apply anywhere that I think that I would hate to work, but I did, out of desparation, apply to a couple of places that I think would not be as much fun or suited to what kind of practice and lifestyle that I want to pursue. So, as long as I get one offer which means then, at least one callback, I'm fine. But of course I have preferences. A top 5 if you will. i had firsts with 2 of my top five this morning. Now I guess there is nothing to do but wait.

On another somewhat related note: on occasion, I read a work/life blog for attorneys called Up to Par. They've pointed to another related blog (JD Bliss) with an fun billable hours calculator. It's always comforting to me to see that it isn't really that hard to hit targets for firms that I've applied to. Good thought.

May God bless them all

I will never forget where I was or how I felt on that day. I will never forget frantically trying to get through to my dearest college friend who's spouse worked in the twin towers. I will never forget how vulnerable I felt that day nor the horrific images burned into my mind.

I will never forget.

The new law school back pack

I finally broke down and bought a new backpack for school. My old one was almost 10 years old, lacking in padding and the zippers were becoming tempermental. So I got this one from LLBean. And I'm in love. The padded straps mean no more backaches for Joey. And there are so many useful pockets. Sigh. It's great. The best part is that I can fit most of my books in it without squishing my laptop. Happy happy joy joy.

I'm loving the new blogger beta!

Yeah! Love the template features. I am totally a drag and drop kind of gal. Thanks to Zuska for the heads up or I would never have noticed the tiny little blogger beta announcement.

Also, I think you can still make comments on other people's blogs with the beta. Just log out of blogger and log back in under your old account. Annoying. but at least it is possible.

Edited to add: no, it's not. thanks for pointing that out to me Z.

Hooray, yet another way to push off the hell that is writing a law review note

job update

I thought about posting just the title and letting the blank space speak for itself. But then I realized that while there are no fruits of my labors, I have been laboring. I've started hearing the usual vicious rumors that many of the local firms ocming to OCI are not actually hiring, and instead, they are resume perusing. So on the tail of that, I went into a three day panic and applied far and wide. I'm not really in the mood to move... ever again, but I am not in the mood to not have a job either.

Here's a kick in the pants: I actually already got a response back from an out of town firm, but the line was something like "Next time you are in x city, let us know. We would like for you to come in and have a series of interviews." Now, maybe it was different in tech, and maybe I was spoiled, but um, don't firms fly you out? tech jobs certainly did. So is this code from the firm for "sure, you aren't a bad candidate, but meh. We'll interview you if it doesn't cost us anything." Because that is what is smacks of to me.

Other than attend class (where I surfed and looked for jobs), I have done nothing law related this week except job stuff. It sucks. So here's looking forward to a weekend filled with catching up on homework, and oh yeah, that law review note that I am supposedly writing.

I pass legal ethics muster

It's a wonder isn't it? But I passed the MPRE. The test where I walked out of it knowing that I answered only 3 questions with a certainty correctly. I guess I didn't do too bad of a job guessing on all the rest. None the less, I am one step closer to being a lawyer. Frightening, isn't it?

So, so, so tired

This was the week that never ends, and next week there is extraneous non-law school class poo filling up my entire week. But while I am exhausted tonight, it's a happy exhaust. My daughter's school was out today, so since I didn't have class, I took her to school for the OCI drop, then the zoo, then nice lunch (followed by a well deserved nap), then to see a movie. Oy! What a day! It's been a long time since I had a mommy/daughter day though, and it felt really great.

It's a gorgeous day here in yaya-land

And I am sitting on my couch avoiding writing myriad cover letters. But if I have to do it then by all means let it be on this gorgeous 78-ish degree day with all my windows open and lots of sun. I love this time of year. My favorite season is Fall. It always has been. I like the crisp air and snuggly jammies and blankets, spiced cider. All wonderful things.

This is my first Thurs of this semester where I feel like I am in fact taking a light load. Love it. Love it. Highly recommend it.

That's it. I'm done

being paranoid about grades that is. I worked myself into a right tizzy over my summer grades: one because the prof is a notoriously hard grader and the other because I still to this day didn't know what she wanted. And I whined. And I worried. And I worked damn freaking hard. And it wasn't a big deal after all.

Unless, of course, the reason they weren't a big deal was because I freaked and worked so damn hard. Hmm. I see a place with white, padded walls in my future.

How to identify out of state firms to apply to?

There's the obvious list of firms who come to OCI. I am not applying to all of them, like the ones who are only litigation or who have only men and I've heard unpleasant things about their attitude toward women. But after those firms... who else? There's really only one, possibly two, major firms in town who do not come to OCI, so I am going to apply to those separately.

But when I reach the state borders, i am a little less sure of who to apply to. Nalp Directory is a good tool as is infirmation, but you still don't get the bigger picture you could get by talking to people who summered there last year. My school is a regional school with the odd alum working in a big city or city far, far away. So I don't have the alum out of state connection thing so much. My husband has changed his position from definatlely wanting to move out of state to mostly wanting to stay here, unless we can do somethign really cool like move to London. I think that is part of my problem with wanting to apply in the "major" midwest cities like Kansas City or St. Louis or even Chicago; hubby is no longer really down with that. But I have confidence questions about being able to get not only a first interview, but then a second interview and finally a bona fide offer from a local firm. We are a teeny tiny, itty bitty market.

This is why my throat and ears hurt.

A law-mommy moment

Tonight I took my daughter to the school that she will be starting next week. It's just a new location for her current preschool, and some of the teachers and a very few of her classmates are moving with her. As I stood in her new classroom watching her buzz around the room and check all the new toys, books etc out, I realized that she is growing up so quickly. Soon she will be in regular school, and I'm not ready for that . . . ready for her to get up in the morning and get her own cereal, but not ready for her to be a "big girl."

She's so independant now. She's starting to try to read. She's so damn tall. It's stupid, but I am having my first mommy-nostalgia moment.

A sense of entitlement?

So I've had the first "good" consequences of OCI come my way--a lovely gift in my mailbox from a firm. It wasn't a bad gift, but the letter that accompanied it kind of made my teeth hurt. Hooray for you, your shit doesn't stink. Congratulations on making law review. Ok, so perhaps that is not what is actually said, but that was pretty much the sentiment. I went home and showed my spouse the gift and we were both amazed that just because I made law review some lawyers think i should have a gift. it's an odd world here in the tiny law community.

After the "gift-day", I had an opportunity (read not mandatory but mostly) to hang out with some of the law review board people. First, they were all very nice. Sincerely nice. Which was great. Second, it was surreal. None of them would ever say that they were entitled to anything, but there is already this aura of "I'm going to be rolling in money" around a lot of them. And I think they all know that they are dripping with "smarts." It wasn't unpleasant per se, but it was odd. And I think that what made it seem odd to me was that I was supposed to be a grub-level member of this club. And I'm not sure if I really fit in with that, or if I really want to. I'm sticking with my first thought: it's just odd. Thank heavens they are nice. Otherwise, well I just don't want to think about it.

The second year, they work you to death

I'm not sure that it really is SO much more work than second semester of 1L, but they do schedule things so that your life has to suck. Period.

Before I harp on the negative, I should say that I am in love with my classes this semester, even Con Law II, which I thought I would hate based on my Con Law I experience. So far all the reading is interesting, class time is interesting, discussions in class are awesome and truly discussions with lots of people providing input. I love it.

What I am not loving is the out of class stuff. SBA is still the bane of my existence. It's taking up too much time becuase our pres is a nimrod. Seriously. Law review. Well, I'm not complaining about it exactly. I just wish that the note deadline was a little more realistic. It's like some sick hazing that the note and OCI are all at the same freaking time. I feel like I am not doing either of them well. Not enough time to put into either of them, and things are getting overlooked. I'm still not sure that I should stick with the topic that got approved. And we got our first copy work this week. sigh. The author was a the cow prof that I hated before... the one who is loosey goosey and detail schmetail-oriented. So far of the 6 footnotes that I have tried to check, um, only 2 have anything to do with anything. 2 are wrong and 2 are something the prof pulled out of its a$$. I'm looking at about 10-15 hours just on that this week. Eek!

Finally, the spouse has been working psycho hours, so I have had significantly less study time than I really need. I think I am going to have to consciously decide to blow off some class assignments over the next few weeks and hunker down on my note and apps. If I can get one thing off my plate, then I think that I will come out alright.

And now for the wind up to Fall OCI and our OCI process

The list of firms coming has been out for a few weeks, and I spent last weekend carefully looking at each firm and yea'ing or nay'ing them. (important interuption, should I be concerned that it smells like something is burning? I'm in the library?) Anyway, I've got a good pile that I want to apply to. And just to make things fun and interesting, there are a couple of firms with offices in London that will take law grads straight out of school.

I've lived overseas slightly longer than a 1/3 of my life and loved it. In fact, my first major live over seas moment was when I was my daughter's age now. I've always thought that raising my daughter for several years overseas would be a good thing. it helps to give a person perspective. And in London, she would have it easy with the language. The only serious drawback is how bloody (practicing, just in case) expensive it is to live there. Still, it won't hurt to apply.

So back to the normal jobs. I was actually surprised by a couple of the firms in my current city. They sound rather progressive and are focused on areas of the law that I salivate over. Happy happy. Joy joy. I also want to do some nalp searches for a couple of specific cities and see what I can find to apply to the old-fashioned way.

I am not looking forward to the time that it takes to interview or even just write cover letters to all of the firms. But I am looking forward to getting a job. Hopefully.

From Kristine's post, it seems like not all schools do OCI the same way? I don't know why this surprises me. At our school, you get a list of employers coming. You make a package for each of them and turn them into the career office on the appointed day. Just for funsies and to make sure they drive you all the way to the looney bin. They give you 4 "preference" stickers. You can attach them to any 4 packages. This is so that firms know you really are serious about them. However, you only get 4. And you've got a bazillion packages. It's kind of obnoxious really. And the most fun interview question is "so why didn't you preference us?" Then you get notified if the firm picked you for an interview and you have to dash to the online scheduler and make your appointment before everyone else or you end up interviewing at 7 am or the last interview of the day. The firms come to school for about 3 weeks. So you might have 4 interviews Wed, none Thurs, one Fri, none next week, and so on. It sounds like at Kristine's school they try to compact it all and get it done before school starts. Would that it

Because it wouldn't be the first week of school without...

My daughter being sick today. Tomorrow is the first day of class, tuesdays are my longest day, and my husband has presentations and important crap all this week and can't help out.

Poor bunny has the stomach flu and did the barf - o - rama thing at the dr.'s today. I love getting chunky barf in my hair and down my shirt into my bra. Squishy is great. Poor thing though. She's positively green. Sigh.

I love the first week of school.

People think I know stuff

It's frightening, isn't it? how one little year of law school starts brother in law asking about his property problem or mom's contract problem or uncle's tort problem. It's also frightening that the school thinks I'm a model "law school mom". Yeah, I participated (as the voice of wisdom *snigger*) in a few 2L panels for the 1l orientation this last week. For the most part, it was a good experience. I do have some strategy for dealing with sick kids etc, but overall, I was a little concerned about the incoming class. They're so freaking quiet, except for their 2 class jerks. Seriously dude, don't ask in front of your whole class how to get yourself "hooked up" with a study group of the top students that were admitted. At least in my world, there are no "top" students once you start law school... not until your law school grades come out. LSAT and GPA mean crap. And some small, tiny, little person seriously is fixated on this? Gimme a break.

None of the questions were surprising. I think Law and Mommyhood had it about right when she said that the answer to all of the questions at these kinds of panels is "whatever works for you." I honestly don't think that I used any of the info or tips the 2Ls gave us last year, but I did have piece of mind after the panels. Just knowing that everyone does it differently and still survives was a nice security blanket.

I order the book that they forgot to tell us about from Barristerbooks.com. I'm the rep for them at my school, so I was able to use my rewards points that I earned to offset the cost of the book admirably well and have super fast shipping. So hopefully I will have it by Wednesday.

I'm about half way through my real estate transfer homework for the week, and so far it is really interesting. It's got my brain turning around why people use buyer's brokers at all. It would be tons cheaper for everyone in the long run if buyers just used an attorney. But that's a whole other topic.

Your lack of planning, unfortunately, is my emergency

Frustration with the administration once again. We've had our class book lists for about 2-3 weeks now. Which is why i was able to purchase all but one class's books online. The last book was no where to be found. So fine, I will buy it at the bookstore, but they don't have it yet. Lovely. Then I realized, wait just a sec, how can my class really have only one book that is only $25? Impossible. And of course I was right. I just saw the reading list for next week and shock of all shocks, there is an actual $100-ish case book for the class after all. And no, the bookstore did not order it all.

So I discover this at 5 something Friday night before the first week of class and am now scrambling to find it online. And I have, but the soonest I can get it is likely next Friday. Sigh. I hate stuff like this. it drives me batty.

Just call me June... Cleaver that is

I can't believe I just vacuumed my house while wearing heels. Wonders never cease.

So is half.com a rip off for selling text books?

I thought it seemed pretty great until I sold a couple of case books. Both were requested to have expidited shipping (how do I turn this option off?). So I sent off a torts book and the shipping cost me $10.80. What?? Half.com only reimburses $5.40 for expedited hard binding books. So this seems like not so good of a deal. Am I missing something? How does everyone else sell their books?

Joey's travel adventure, part I

The French have a great phrase they use when somthing is tiring, a bother, or just generally icky and they don't want to deal with it: "je n'ai pas le courage." That is how I feel about re-living my travels from last week and weekend.

Overall, I am really happy that I went on my mini vacation. All by my self (which was glorious), I went to a small harbor town in Maryland to visit a rather pregnant best friend of mine. I've known her nearly forever. She's on her own, recently returned from overseas duty (military girl) and in an old family house. The house is wonderful, on the water etc, but rather dated and in want of a serious scrub.

So I start my adventure on Thursday morning at o'dark butt-early. Imagine my chagrin upon arrival at the airport to see a major line in security and everything backed up. I asked around about what was going on and people looked at me like i was pathetically uninformed. Well, sorry but when I have to wake up in the a.m. and the little hand is still pointing at "4", I don't usually take time to sip a cup of tea in front of the telly. In any case, it soon became clear that whatever the reason, I had to chug my water and put my lotions in my checked bag. Fine. No biggie. I'd rather not blow up.

Fast forward 35 minutes, where I am starting to sweat it, hoping that I will make my plane. Security announces over the PA that no chapstick or lipstick will be permitted either. Um, OK. The security dudes apparently can't believe that women would not automatically think of lipsticks and chapsticks when told no LIQUIDS or GELS. So here's the problem. I've got 30 minutes of line ahead of me and at least that long behind me. My flight is in 45 minutes. Clearly getting out of line to take my makeup sachet back to my checked bag (which would no longer have been there anyway) is not an option. I sighed and said a sad farewell to my sachet of clinique lipsticks... that would be $15+ a stick times many sticks (I love lipstick). So as I get to an end in the switchback line, I ask a lady not in the line to put the sachet into the garbage. Whereupon, this wonderful angelic saintly woman asks why i am throwing something so pretty away. i explain the no lipstick thing and she asks ifI buy good lipstick. I said yes and she said "me too, and I would cry if I had to throw them all away." In short order she has my address and promises to send it to me. Hooray! I finally get through secutiry and get to the plane and get on. We leave with about half the seats empty. They are not waiting. Fine.

Then the flight attendant accidentally dumps orange juice all over me. I love it. You can't bring liquids, but you can wear them. Change planes, lather rinse repeat. I will say that the flight crew were very pleasant the second leg. I took United for the first time in a long time and thought, I might take them again. (not anymore)

Anyway, I arrived on time, shockingly. I was rather spent and it looked like security was a bugger everywhere.

Point of part I. I don't mind if I can't take regular stuff with me, but let's not be chumps about informing flyers what you can and can't take when you are checking bags. A little more effort on the check person's part would have alleviated many a person's stress level. And I am totally greatful that my daughter was not with me. She could not have handled the chaos and very random method the security dudes were using for determining which families could take liquids. Sigh. I hate traveling anymore.

Look for part II soon. And why I won't fly United again (unless they are at least $100 cheaper than everyone else, yes, I can be bought).

Advice needed--keep commercial paper?

So, one of the blessigns of taking summer school is that I can slack off thereafter in terms of credits. One way to do this is just take 12 credits a semester. Another way is to take a really light fall, 10 credits-ish, and then take 13 or 14 to make up for it. After totally reorganizing my fall and spring schedule (and now I am MUCH more excited about my classes), I am taking (for sure) con law 2, real estate finance, and bankrupcty in the fall. I am currently signed up for commercial paper too. it's only two credits and it meets just once a week. My faculty advisor thinks that I should drop it. He pointed out that I will have a lot more going on with law review and interviews and that all of those classes are relatively challenging to really understand.

In my heart, I know he's right. And I am SO freaking tired right now. And my LR note has to be written by October 1. And it always takes me 2-3 weeks at the beginning of a semester to be able to read my cases quickly (there's just a huge upcurve on the lingo in a subject and deciphering what your prof thinks is imporant). The only reasons I want to take it are 1) I'm actually interested (I know, I'm a sicko), 2) I'm not sure if it will be offered next year, and 3) there are SO many interesting classes that I want to take and not enough time to take them in.

So what do you think?

One final down, one paper down, the MPRE, down and one paper to go . . . and it's killing me I tell you

So last week pretty much sucked. Bad. Big. Ugly. Honestly, I don't recall being this tired after finals (or during) for Fall or Spring last year. Maybe it is the cumulative effect of going full time 3 semesters in a row. Whatever it is, I'm so tired I could cry.

This is also the first semester where I actually got to a point where I calculated what the minimum grades were that I had to get to keep my percentile. Sigh. It's that bad.

One class is totally done. I turned in my paper for that on Wednesday. There are only 16 people in the class, and I think that all but 2 are in the top 20%. What does that mean... the curve is going to be a bitch. We missed not having a curve by one person. And where does that leave me: I have no idea if the paper that I turned in was a total piece of shit. I would give myself and A for research and an E for effort for the writing part. heaven only knows what will come out of that.

Another class has a final and a paper. I had the final Wednesday too (yes, Wednesday was a really great day). It sucked. I can't explain exactly how it sucked. Well, yes I could. And I think that I will. My professor is on crack. That's the only explanation for it. Actually, there is another explanation for it: she's just plain evil. I hate her. A lot. So heaven only knows how I did on the test. And her paper is the one I am supposed to be working on as I type. Sigh. I still don't know exactly what the woman wants from me. And I still need to do quite a bit of research. So the goal is that I will finish the research (finding and reading) today, and write the little POS tomorrow. Edit monday. Re-edit and blue book Tuesday and turn it in. That's the plan anyway. Cute little plan, isn't it? Yeah, we'll see how that goes.

Oh and of course, just to add more fun to the mix, my law review topic is due now. So I spent last night and the better part of the morning trying to find something 1) novel and therefore not overdone and 2) interesting enough so that I wouldn't want to throw myself off a cliff in the next month or two while I research it and write it.

At least I only have this damn paper staring me in the face. When I am done with that, I have 4.5 lovely days of fun in the sun wiht my best friend in another state. No hubby, no kid, no law school. And I'm living for it I tell you.

Lovely, lovely

I just had a lovely lunch with two alums who work at one of my top 3 firms in town. It was awesome. I love it when the school sets stuff like this up because it is such a relaxing atmosphere, and I feel relaxed like I can be myself. The food was great. The conversation better. And they were both really candid about their jobs. Hurrah. I love it when i do something "extra" and it is totally worth my while.

Update: Zuska asked for more details, and instead of burying it in the comments, I thought that I would put it up here:

they were both litigators and newly christened partners. One of them works under a partner who is reputed to be the best litigator in town. For whatever that is worth. I asked them both about family lifestyles and if it is possible with litigation. The woman, who has one child, an 11 month old, said that it is hectic sometimes and the hours can be long, but she does a lot of it at home in the evenings when her daughter is asleep. The man, who has a 3 and a 6 year old, felt the same--it's demanding, but exciting. It is hard to plan for long term big things, like europe vacation etc, but they both enjoyed what they did so much that it didn't seem to bother them all that much.

I thought that it was interesting and significant that both of their spouses have more of a 8-5 job gig. And it seems like that really give the partners more peace of mind.

Notably, they said the people with permanent smiles on their faces at their firm are the trusts and estates people. They envy the real relationship that develops with T&E attys and their clients. They said that some clients seem to look at them as family advisors. In litigation they felt that you really don't get to know the client as well because they aren't in a "get to know you" mood. They have a problem, 99.9% of the time dramatically affecting their wallet and they want it fixed, yesterday.

One last comment they had was that litigation can be tough because you never have win/win situations. it's you win or you lose. period. and that can be heartbreaking and hard to pull through.

hindsight and procrastination

hindsight:
I think (know) I am really going to regret doing the SBA thing. I really don't see eye to eye with the pres, who I am reasonably certain lives in outer space because he sure isn't a part of this world. Sigh. He's a leap before you look kind of guy... but in an odd way. He considers leaping off of three different cliffs, then picks one and goes. Sounds like looking first, but he doesn't and this is what is so frustrating. He's not a long term planner/thinker/dealer with consequences person. Double sigh. If I were not in an elected position, I would quit. Truly I would. Because the amount of mental pain I'm going to have to go through is just not worth it. Alas, I was a sucker and ran for soemthing. And now I'm stuck with it. And it's practically against my religion to just be a flake. I wish I didn't have such scruples. Oh well. I won't think about that today. i will think about it tomorrow.

Which brings us to procrastination.
I had family in town this weekend, so that means that since Wed last I have done practically zip, zero, doodah. Where to find inspiration to get on it? Threat of failing doesn't make me do, it just makes me freak out. Sigh. Quadruple sigh.

Still, it could be worse. I could have the bar tomorrow. good luck all you bar takers.

Drowning

I don't know when my summer got completely psycho, bit it is, and I tell you: It's killing me. Seriously I have slightly less than two weeks for 2 papers, one of which is awhole grade, the other is half my grade... the other half of that grade is multi-choice. and we all know how I feel about that and then I have the MPRE.

And to put a little icing on that ulcer, I've found out that my Law Review topic is due the first week in august and the first required submission (not first draft, read: publishable draft) is the first week in October.

Someone please come and shoot me now.

BTW--is anyone else having problems getting to volokh.com?

Do I really want to graduate when...

I see the shellshocked looking recent grads as they come into their last week or so of studying for the bar. Seriously, these people look spent, most look like they could use a shower, and the tension in the library is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Poor souls. Oh, the things to look forward to.

Spring schedule and networking

We have to register for both semesters at the same time at my school, which I suppose is a good thing because it forces you to focus on more trees. When I initially registered, I did NOT sign up for moot court. I just thought: 1) it's one piddly credit that destroys my entire winter break, 2) based on my experience this year, I think that I will suck at it, and 3) meh.

But now I'm starting to think about OCI and fall interviewing in general. And for whatever odd reason most of the attorneys that firms send to our school are litigators. I'm thinking that even if I don't ultimately take moot court, it might be helpful to register for it (since the transcript shows what you sign up for) just so I can play both sides: sure I want to try litigation; sure I want to try transactional.

Next week, I am going to call the wife of one of the clerks i worked with for my externship. She's at a firm in town that I love for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is they expect people to want and have lives outside of work. They are hurting for good women associates ... even more for good women partners. It seems like almost all of their women have babies and call it good. In any case, they also have a really really rocking real estate department, and I am so into property. So what's the trauma you ask, networking. Oh, I hate it. I feel so awkward and uncomfortable. The only trick that I've learned so far is that I relax if I force myself to smile. Relaxing makes me seem more personable, I think anywy. So, point: wish me luck. It's just a call to see if we can do lunch, but I think it will really be the key to getting interviews at that firm to start with.

What are your networking secrets?

Holy Cats! Only three more weeks until...

• The MPRE
• finals are over, which means I owe 2 papers and a MC test

Suck. I'm in deep doodoo. Breathe.


____________________________________


Update: A fire is officially lit under my tush. I've just ploughed through 2 of the books I thought would help me on one of my papers. I'm hitting 2 more today and some law review articles.

I will survive.

Wow, it finally happened, the post that I didn't post

I've just spent that last 10 minutes writing a post about a conflict I have with a prof. I tried to be as vague as possible, but ultimately, I think if the right person were reading, they'd have me. And so, this is the first time I will not be putting down my real thoughts about a law school issue because of fear of discovery. No one is ever anonymous on the web. Sigh. I could have used the catharsis that comes from bitching too.

Do you like your SBA?

Do you think that they are useful? What do they do? What do you think they should do?

I went through my first year with the SBA being largely our cruise directors. There were a couple of more academic issues that they settled, but by and large they were the party committee. Well USNews rankings came out around the time that we had elections for this coming school year. Let's say that our school was not delighted with the rankings. So most students felt that the SBA failed them. That maybe we should be less concerned about cruise directing and more concerned about increasing our reputation. Well and good, and I ran for office (a minor office) on that theory... as did the guy who won pres.

now that we are in it, we are finding that we have a conflict because we only have so many monetary and people resources and we don't think the cruise directing was that good either. So now we are trying to decide how party the SBA should be and what we can realistically do as student reps to increase our rankings.

In the meantime, I'm dealing with our account being overdrawn, the board members not seeing eye to eye on what we are supposed to be doing, and deadlines looming for orienation cruise directing. Sigh.

So it's time to figure out 2L classes

So my school does an odd thing (at least i think so): you have to register for fall and spring cases at the same time. It's a good thing/bad thing. I like it because if something doesn't work out on your fall schedule you know to fix it for spring right away and vice versa, But i don't like it because I don't know how I am going to feel or still be interested in come spring.

So right now, I've signed up for fall:

• Bankruptcy
• Business Organizations
• Real Estate Finance
• Appellate Practice

I will now also have one credit of law review. I only need to take 12 credits a semester to graduate, thank you summer school. now I'm nt sure which substatnitve class to drop. Originally, it was appellate practice. Now I don't know.

Spring is:

• evidence
• con law 2
• and something i can't remember

I'll also have 2 credits of law review and two credits of TAing for a 1L class.

yeah so that's it. I'm not as excited about it as I was when i signed up.

So if you are a prospective law student mom, and you ask a law student mom what it's like, do you want to hear the truth?

I've been pondering this lately. Our admissions folks routinely send me emails of moms who are interested in law school and want the low down on feasibility. And i've been giving it to them. There are lots of factors, not the least of which is what is your goal and how does that relate to grades. Because frankly, if you want to do a federal clerkship and work for a schmancy firm etc, then being a mom in law school is a whole lot tougher because you really need to be at least in the top 10%. If you don't need top 10%, then no sweat. I generally give a run down of what my 1l schedule was like, how I studied and when and realistically how that affected my family time. I also tell them that without my husbands support with my daughter, I would be dead in the water. Shoudl I not be sharing this? Should I be more encouraging. I mean, I don't feel like I am discouraging; I say repeatedly that a mom can be successful, but it does mean some sacrifice and you have to have your head screwed on straight.

What do you think? Too much honesty is bad? good? I hate to ever think that someone didn't go to law school because I made it seem too hard. But it isn't easy, and while I have enjoyed success, it's been a crap load of work. I would have wanted someone to be honest with me.

Wah-freaking-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!! I made law review!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy cats! I am so excited that I could bounce off the ceiling. Wow. And really, this news could NOT have come at a better time. I really needed this shot in my arm.

Remind me that I was this excited come fall and I am hating my life at 3 am doing cite checks.

*smooch* everyone have a great fourth weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Worst day of my life

Ok, so that was rather hyperbolic, but I am definately having a downer day. I feel like i have faield at my externship. I know that I am over-reacting, but I can't help but feel it's partly true. In the last 5 or so weeks I've written three things for the court. One that is polished and pretty... which the judge has yet to see. And two things that were drafts that the fulltime clerk wanted to see after I finished a draft. And that was it... a draft. I gave it to them and said... the citations need cleaning, and I need to do a serious organizational and grammatical edit. You know, this is a first draft. Sigh. So imagine my utter horror at THAT VERSION being given to the judge. Shit.

And I feel like the clerk I gave this stuff to now no longer thinks I can do anything. It was a first freaking draft. Lesson learned: when they say draft... they mean pretty damn close to finished. Sigh. Damnit. From a networking way, I just feel like these weeks were totally wasted. Shit.

Writing lessons:

• The passive voice is loved by me... i know this but I usually clean that up on edit. I need to write in active voice to start with.
• My transactional phrases at the sentence level suck. I usually forget the phrases and just go with the single word transition like rather or however or moreover... and those are lovely but there are lovely transitional phrases that read well too.
• i need to outline a wee bit more before I write... so i realize when two different claims have the same element ahead of time, so i don't write like an idiot.
• And i need ot spend less time researching and just start writing already.
  

Not a happy day for Joey. But hey, it's almost over, right?

trying to put a good face on it: I really have learned tons and tons about what good writing is and nuances on pleadings that i don't think i would have learned before.

still... it's going to be awkward to say why i don't have a letter of recommendation from this judge when it's interviewing time. At least I still have an "A" in my writing class to try and talk around.

I'm already in research hell... and this is a good thing

So I realized that between my two classes that end in early aug and taking the MPRE on the 4th of Aug. i've got 2 papers (of the research variety) and 2 tests to do in a 7 day period of time. Yowza!

For whatever reason, that lit a fire under my butt and I am happily, OK maybe contentedly, researching my first topic. Oddly enough, I have found only books that are on the direction I want to go and one web site. Sigh. I need a meaty law review article. Hmmm. I guess I will find that later.

Is anyone confused yet as to what the heck I am talking about? Good, so am I. All this summertime anonymity kind of blows when it comes to comprehendible posts. Sorry bout that.

I am cursed

Why why why!? I ask you again. Why? How is it possible that the one psychotic grade/rank gossiper in my school is the only person I see at campus tonight. She kidnapped me for almost an hour about the finer points of whether she would be number 3 or number 4. I don't give a rats ass. Don't tell me who got what. Don't tell me your ambitions... just don't talk to me.


On a happy note, I had a better grade than her in a class and I could see her visibly deflate at that. :) There is a god.

The best part about family weekends is the ending

At least on either side of my family. there is no such thing as our family events going out like a lamb. They always go out like a lion. Sigh. Arguments. Pettiness. General declarations of woe is me but I'm too lazy to help myself. Lovely. Inspiring. Cheers to the fact that we won't have to do that again until at least Christmas.

So begins another week. And a long one at that. I've got 2-3 weeks to do the summary judgment order. Which is probably too much time. Blergh.