Friday night... What better thing to do than subciting? Boyfriend and I drove back to N-Town as usual, and I have spent the past 3 hours finishing up my 6 citations. Once you get the hang of the Blue Book, it's really not that hard. Yes, I realize how pathetic I sound.
So here I am, sitting in my study, facing a table covered with law papers and notebooks and such, drinking red wine straight out of the bottle (how much of an alcoholic am I, really?), surfing the Internet, and planning vaguely to go to sleep in the next 30 minutes or so.
Life is pretty good. (Other than the fact that I'm subciting on a Friday night, that is.) So, more about last night. I was invited to go to a bar about half a block from my apartment and drink with a section mate, S, who is becoming a good friend.
S is from Texas. He is Indian and came to law school straight from college, which means he's about 5 years younger than me. (This makes me feel old and depressed; the fact that there are people who could barely drink in law school). We began chatting on IM and really hit it off. I was reminded a bit of the beginning of my friendship with another close friend of mine whose name also begins with an "S". S is quirky and funny, prone to deadpan humor, and has an adorable earnestness that could only really be charming in a guy his age. S is like the little brother that I've never had.
So S and I and another guy from our section, A, whom I don't know too well, hung out at the bar. I vowed that I would only stay for 30 minutes, but ended up staying for an hour and a half, while A and S rapidly downed 3-4 beers and I sipped down 2 cosmos. It was shortly before midnight when I got home, and any further plans of subciting were foiled, as were plans of reading for Torts and Civ Pro. Apparently, A and S stayed at the bar 'til about 2.
This morning, I miraculously got up and went to Torts. To my surprise, both A and S were there as well. Very impressive! About 10 people missed class again though, and DK, this guy who is vaguely part of my "group" at law school (yes, 3 weeks into law school and little cliques are already forming) never bothered showing for the entire day.
For someone who haven't read half the cases that we were supposed to have read, class was surprisingly comprehensible. The prof never calls on me, I think because he is afraid to pronounce my Chinese last name. (Either that, or he hates my guts.)
Then went to office hours with J for this student practice org that we joined. Then went to lunch. Then went to Civ Pro.
Civ Pro was as boring as it ever was, and fatigue hit right in the middle of it. S, (damn him!) took to sending me jokes through IM in the middle of the class. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing in the middle of the lecture. That would have been disastrous. Even the prof, as in love as she is with civ pro, would have realized that it wasn't on account of her wit that I was cracking up. So, trying to control my giggles (which is very hard when you are tired; try it sometime) made civ pro a lot more interesting, but it also meant that I did not hear a single word from the prof for the last 15 minutes of the class.
Tuesday is Rosh Hashanah and my Jewish crim law professor has cancelled class. So Boyfriend and I are going to stay in N-Town until then. I have grand plans for this weekend. My memo is due Monday. Then there is an entire week worth of reading to do (as well as today's reading to make up for).
9/29/2005
Balancing Work and Play
Just came back from a nearby bar, where I met two of my section mates. It was a very fun time. I had two cranberry cosmos and we gossiped about our other section mates.
Unfortunately, I had to leave after "only" an hour and a half, despite the best efforts of my drinking mate, because I have to "subcite". Yep, got my assigment (10 citations) last night. Have spent 2 hours so far and did 3. Seven to go!
Unfortunately, I had to leave after "only" an hour and a half, despite the best efforts of my drinking mate, because I have to "subcite". Yep, got my assigment (10 citations) last night. Have spent 2 hours so far and did 3. Seven to go!
9/28/2005
My Day
So people have begun not coming to class. This morning in my (admitted brutally early) 8:50 class about 10-15 people didn't show up.
Around 40 people (half the class) didn't show up for the second class, because two Supreme Court Justices are giving a talk at the law school that conflicted with the class, and the prof wouldn't reschedule the class.
Being a good girl, I attended class rather than went to watch the legal deities. I heard later from others that they were really entertaining. Our class was entertaining too. We talked about how entertainingly incoherent the concept of felony murder is.
Civ Pro was still soporific. I surfed the Internet and the guy behind me looked on. Some people in class, apparently, shop or even gamble online to pass the time. My friend J told me that a guy who sits in front of her incessantly plays online poker and this other girl is always shopping on the Coach and cosmetic websites. However, I don't think the wireless network at my school is that secure, so I would never send any personal info at school.
Went to a talk at the Fed Soc tonight, after sneaking into an anti-domestic violence meeting to get their free thai food. Yum...
Around 40 people (half the class) didn't show up for the second class, because two Supreme Court Justices are giving a talk at the law school that conflicted with the class, and the prof wouldn't reschedule the class.
Being a good girl, I attended class rather than went to watch the legal deities. I heard later from others that they were really entertaining. Our class was entertaining too. We talked about how entertainingly incoherent the concept of felony murder is.
Civ Pro was still soporific. I surfed the Internet and the guy behind me looked on. Some people in class, apparently, shop or even gamble online to pass the time. My friend J told me that a guy who sits in front of her incessantly plays online poker and this other girl is always shopping on the Coach and cosmetic websites. However, I don't think the wireless network at my school is that secure, so I would never send any personal info at school.
Went to a talk at the Fed Soc tonight, after sneaking into an anti-domestic violence meeting to get their free thai food. Yum...
9/27/2005
Fun (Not)
Went to the mandatory training session for one of the journals I signed up for in the frenzies of last week. About 30-40 people attended, several from my section. The session featured ice cream sundaes. After everyone got the sundaes, it all went down hill from there. We were each handed a thick packet of instructions, and one of the editors went over specifically what "subciting" really means.
I had thought that "subciting" just meant checking to see whether a footnote is written in the correct format. Boy was I wrong.
Apparently, authors are very sloppy when it comes to footnotes. Some write them in the wrong format. Those would be the least of your problems. (Although, whether something should be classified as a press release or an Internet article is apparently really important.)
For those technical problems, we use the Blue Book, which is this thick book with nothing but arbitrary rules of how to cite cases, books, law journal articles, internet websites, television shows, you name it. It covers everything in excruciating minutae, from typeface to spacing, down to whether a comma or a period should be italicized. I'm not kidding.
Fun fun fun.
What surprised me, however, is that apparently, while subciting, we are expected to look at the entire footnote critically and decide whether it is appropriate as well as correct. When the author cites a case, for example, we are supposed to make sure the case is still current and hasn't been overruled. When the author summarizes a journal article, we are supposed to make sure he is correct about the main point of the article. When the author cites an entire article rather than lines from the article, we are supposed to make sure a "pinpoint citation" is not more appropriate.
When an author says "see Blah Blah Blah", we are supposed to make sure he doesn't mean "See also Blah Blah Blah" or "Cf Blah Blah Blah", which apparently has slightly different shades of meaning and therefore requires you to both understand HIS point and the point of the Blah Blah Blah he is citing.
Sometimes an author is mistaken about the relevance of a source to his central point. Sometimes authors exaggerates the level of support a source lends to his argument. Sometimes it's clear that an author has never read the source at all and just did a Google keyword search and listed whatever he found there. So apparently it's our job to read the source and then decide whether it should be used the way the author used it in his article.
This sucks when the source itself is a book.
For every citation, we are supposed to fill out an entire form, and address each of these concerns separately. This means that subciting is about 100 times more involved and time-consuming than I thought it was.
All this, when we haven't even gone through citations in our Legal Writing classes yet.
Time to rethink working for a journal? :(
I had thought that "subciting" just meant checking to see whether a footnote is written in the correct format. Boy was I wrong.
Apparently, authors are very sloppy when it comes to footnotes. Some write them in the wrong format. Those would be the least of your problems. (Although, whether something should be classified as a press release or an Internet article is apparently really important.)
For those technical problems, we use the Blue Book, which is this thick book with nothing but arbitrary rules of how to cite cases, books, law journal articles, internet websites, television shows, you name it. It covers everything in excruciating minutae, from typeface to spacing, down to whether a comma or a period should be italicized. I'm not kidding.
Fun fun fun.
What surprised me, however, is that apparently, while subciting, we are expected to look at the entire footnote critically and decide whether it is appropriate as well as correct. When the author cites a case, for example, we are supposed to make sure the case is still current and hasn't been overruled. When the author summarizes a journal article, we are supposed to make sure he is correct about the main point of the article. When the author cites an entire article rather than lines from the article, we are supposed to make sure a "pinpoint citation" is not more appropriate.
When an author says "see Blah Blah Blah", we are supposed to make sure he doesn't mean "See also Blah Blah Blah" or "Cf Blah Blah Blah", which apparently has slightly different shades of meaning and therefore requires you to both understand HIS point and the point of the Blah Blah Blah he is citing.
Sometimes an author is mistaken about the relevance of a source to his central point. Sometimes authors exaggerates the level of support a source lends to his argument. Sometimes it's clear that an author has never read the source at all and just did a Google keyword search and listed whatever he found there. So apparently it's our job to read the source and then decide whether it should be used the way the author used it in his article.
This sucks when the source itself is a book.
For every citation, we are supposed to fill out an entire form, and address each of these concerns separately. This means that subciting is about 100 times more involved and time-consuming than I thought it was.
All this, when we haven't even gone through citations in our Legal Writing classes yet.
Time to rethink working for a journal? :(
9/26/2005
Budding Alcoholic?
Boyfriend commented this morning (affectionately, of course) that I am "not that far from being an alcoholic". I of course protested. But secretly, I had to agree with him.
Just had another glass of wine. Plan to go to sleep... right... now...
Just had another glass of wine. Plan to go to sleep... right... now...
Budding Conservative?
Since arriving at law school, I have found with some dismay that although I have always considered myself a liberal, compared to some of my classmates, my views are actually seem much more conservative. For instance, I don't have the knee-jerk reaction that conservatives are IDIOTS for holding the views they do on abortion, the Iraq war, George W., or policy towards business. Having worked at a start-up, I'm actually quite sympathetic to the interests of business.
I believe the study that shows that liberal and conservatives may differ most in temperament, that the difference in liberals and conservatives is the way they react emotionally to different arguments. This is basically a skeptical stance. I guess what I realized is that I'm not as committed to my liberal ideals as I thought I was.
So anyway, I signed up for the Federalist Society last week, out of curiosity. Let's see how long I can stand it.
I believe the study that shows that liberal and conservatives may differ most in temperament, that the difference in liberals and conservatives is the way they react emotionally to different arguments. This is basically a skeptical stance. I guess what I realized is that I'm not as committed to my liberal ideals as I thought I was.
So anyway, I signed up for the Federalist Society last week, out of curiosity. Let's see how long I can stand it.
9/25/2005
My Sunday Night Thoughts
Can only write very briefly, because tomorrow I have to get up insanely early to go to C-town again and so need to go to sleep now. Drove back to N-town again for the weekend, which is becoming somewhat of a ritual for me and Boyfriend. I'm finding the drive somewhat irritating because there is always traffic, and also because it is now becoming disruptive (I had to miss both a section get-together AND training for some student practice organizations on Saturday). The good side of it is: I have a whole room to myself for studying. Not that this prevents me from slacking off or playing Resident Evil at alarming frequency.
Yesterday I spent much of the day writing our first memo. The memo was on a rather boring topic concerning a civil procedure question of relating back amended pleadings beyond the statute of limitation. This is way too much information for you, I know. Today I spent working on outlining what we went through in both crim law and torts for the past 3 weeks and then reading for crim law for tomorrow.
I know it sounds like a really boring weekend, but I actually really liked it. The materials that we are doing is really interesting and thought-provoking. In spite of my preparations and readings this summer, I still don't think I'm that good at thinking about this stuff. The philosophical questions whirl around my head and most of the time I really don't have an answer or even an intuition. But still, it's really interesting to think about, and I really tend to enjoy my readings (except for civ pro :) ).
I like being a student again, and I'm really happy to see that so far my classmates don't seem as competitive or aggressive as I had expected them to be. (Maybe I should wait around exam time...?) I enjoy going to classes, although I wish civ pro weren't at 1:15 in the afternoon when my energy level is at its lowest. I'm excited about the student orgs that I joined and I really hope that I can find my "cause" while in law school -- something that even a skeptic like me could believe in and strive for.
Wow, this turned out not to be the short post that I thougth I'd write. Just to continue on the sentimental route a bit (only possible after a big glass of wine): I am finding that I like and respect the law, much more so than I thought I would before coming to law school. The practice of law is not (yet) a skeptical exercise, nor is it just mechanical memorization of rules. There is a lot of analysis and thinking involved, and a lot of this material is much harder and deeper than I thought it would be. I am glad -- even proud -- that I am being inducted into the profession. Perhaps this is sounding too idealistic, but every case, every opinion I read, is someone taking these moral and legal issues seriously and struggling with his conscience.
I like the law. Now I just hope that law also likes me.
Yesterday I spent much of the day writing our first memo. The memo was on a rather boring topic concerning a civil procedure question of relating back amended pleadings beyond the statute of limitation. This is way too much information for you, I know. Today I spent working on outlining what we went through in both crim law and torts for the past 3 weeks and then reading for crim law for tomorrow.
I know it sounds like a really boring weekend, but I actually really liked it. The materials that we are doing is really interesting and thought-provoking. In spite of my preparations and readings this summer, I still don't think I'm that good at thinking about this stuff. The philosophical questions whirl around my head and most of the time I really don't have an answer or even an intuition. But still, it's really interesting to think about, and I really tend to enjoy my readings (except for civ pro :) ).
I like being a student again, and I'm really happy to see that so far my classmates don't seem as competitive or aggressive as I had expected them to be. (Maybe I should wait around exam time...?) I enjoy going to classes, although I wish civ pro weren't at 1:15 in the afternoon when my energy level is at its lowest. I'm excited about the student orgs that I joined and I really hope that I can find my "cause" while in law school -- something that even a skeptic like me could believe in and strive for.
Wow, this turned out not to be the short post that I thougth I'd write. Just to continue on the sentimental route a bit (only possible after a big glass of wine): I am finding that I like and respect the law, much more so than I thought I would before coming to law school. The practice of law is not (yet) a skeptical exercise, nor is it just mechanical memorization of rules. There is a lot of analysis and thinking involved, and a lot of this material is much harder and deeper than I thought it would be. I am glad -- even proud -- that I am being inducted into the profession. Perhaps this is sounding too idealistic, but every case, every opinion I read, is someone taking these moral and legal issues seriously and struggling with his conscience.
I like the law. Now I just hope that law also likes me.
9/22/2005
Busy, and It's My Fault
I really have to start prioritizing better, and to be less easily distracted. I have so far signed up for way too many journals and organizations than I can handle, and so I need to quickly narrow it down to 2-3. Also, now that I know the screenname of many of my classmates I have begun chatting online with some of them at night. Tonight I chatted with S for about 2 hours while trying to read crim law. It didn't work so well.
Driving back to N-Town, as usual, tomorrow evening.
Driving back to N-Town, as usual, tomorrow evening.
Genes or Nepotism?
This Brian Leiter blog entry is from a few months ago, but I only discovered it today. The comments section lists the astounding number of law prof "families": law profs who are fathers and mothers and husbands and wives and sons and daughters of other law profs. I have gone to school with some members of these families, and am currently being taught by certain people mentioned here.
I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions from the raw data.
I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions from the raw data.
9/21/2005
Rita
Another hurricane! Is this really the result of global warming, as some have suggested? I hope not...
Let's hope and pray those people down south are going to be all right in the next few days...
Let's hope and pray those people down south are going to be all right in the next few days...
9/20/2005
Choices, Choices.
Last night was the Journal Fair at the law school. The twelve journals of the law school set up booths in the room named after a very prominent law firm in the area.
(I was amused when I found out about the name of this room -- they certainly know the best way to raise their profile... Come to think of it, I am surprised that no other firm has thought of this.)
The Fair was extremely well attended. I had to hang around for nearly 15 minutes before I could sign up for the Human Rights Journal. Am I really interested in human rights issues? Not sure. Also, journals that deal with technology law, international law, and civil rights law sound quite interesting as well. For all of them, I followed a policy of "sign up now, ask questions later".
The dean came and spoke at the Journal Fair. Her theme was "you don't have to do this. You should only do things you feel like doing at the law school. Don't let peer pressure and myths about what law firms want dictate what you do with your time. If you realize that you are not interested, feel free to leave now."
Everyone stayed where they were.
Tonight was the "practice organization fair", where clinical programs and student practice organizations present on a panel about their work and encourage people to sign up. There are organizations that deal with prisoner issues. There are organizatiosn that represent the accused at preliminary hearings. There are tenant advocacy organizations. There are organizations that research and present panels on human rights issues.
I am going to sign up for a few of them as well, though on the whole, as strange as it sounds, the people who presented at the panel for these organizations don't seem as interesting as the people who work on journals. Clearly they are passionate about their cause, but... what is it? I can't quite put my finger on it. I came away feeling slightly depressed.
Perhaps it's a feeling that unlike me, who am yet to make up my mind about a lot of issues about the criminal justice system (or the legal system in general), these people have definitely made up their minds and know which side of the fence they stand on.
They have very definite views. They believe that the criminal justice system is unfair, the prisons don't treat prisoners fairly, that DAs and the government are corrupt, that people don't get fair representation. No doubt, much of these criticisms are true. But I feel a little claustrophobic when I hang out with people with such settled world view.
When I was an undergrad, I felt very depressed and upset about my skeptical outlook. But I am realizing increasingly that it is what makes me feel safe and open to the world. As long as I don't settle into any single ideologies or opinions, the world is filled with possibilities. As soon as I have to choose, the world seems to narrow.
Well, I suppose I have to choose sometime. And perhaps I will give one of these practice organizations a try.
(I was amused when I found out about the name of this room -- they certainly know the best way to raise their profile... Come to think of it, I am surprised that no other firm has thought of this.)
The Fair was extremely well attended. I had to hang around for nearly 15 minutes before I could sign up for the Human Rights Journal. Am I really interested in human rights issues? Not sure. Also, journals that deal with technology law, international law, and civil rights law sound quite interesting as well. For all of them, I followed a policy of "sign up now, ask questions later".
The dean came and spoke at the Journal Fair. Her theme was "you don't have to do this. You should only do things you feel like doing at the law school. Don't let peer pressure and myths about what law firms want dictate what you do with your time. If you realize that you are not interested, feel free to leave now."
Everyone stayed where they were.
Tonight was the "practice organization fair", where clinical programs and student practice organizations present on a panel about their work and encourage people to sign up. There are organizations that deal with prisoner issues. There are organizatiosn that represent the accused at preliminary hearings. There are tenant advocacy organizations. There are organizations that research and present panels on human rights issues.
I am going to sign up for a few of them as well, though on the whole, as strange as it sounds, the people who presented at the panel for these organizations don't seem as interesting as the people who work on journals. Clearly they are passionate about their cause, but... what is it? I can't quite put my finger on it. I came away feeling slightly depressed.
Perhaps it's a feeling that unlike me, who am yet to make up my mind about a lot of issues about the criminal justice system (or the legal system in general), these people have definitely made up their minds and know which side of the fence they stand on.
They have very definite views. They believe that the criminal justice system is unfair, the prisons don't treat prisoners fairly, that DAs and the government are corrupt, that people don't get fair representation. No doubt, much of these criticisms are true. But I feel a little claustrophobic when I hang out with people with such settled world view.
When I was an undergrad, I felt very depressed and upset about my skeptical outlook. But I am realizing increasingly that it is what makes me feel safe and open to the world. As long as I don't settle into any single ideologies or opinions, the world is filled with possibilities. As soon as I have to choose, the world seems to narrow.
Well, I suppose I have to choose sometime. And perhaps I will give one of these practice organizations a try.
9/18/2005
Insomnia Strikes Again, So Here I Am
Driving back to C-Town early tomorrow morning. My first class is at 10:30, so need to leave around 6:30 to make sure I get there on time.
Well, this has been a successful weekend, if not exactly fun. I basically spent the entire time reading and taking notes for my classes. Even then, I only had time to do work for two of my classes, so I will have to do work for the other two during the week.
Yikes, I have a memo to write for Lawyering class already. This won't be fun. However, learning about how Lexis and Westlaw work has been really eye-opening. I can't imagine how lawyers did research before the computer age. How could they possibly have shepardized all those cases manually?!? Or searched for cases relevant to a particular topic?!? On the other hand, I suppose back then cases and statutes were not as technical and complex as they are now. Our legal system has definitely evolved in response to technological advances.
I'm actually kind of excited to start next week. The stuff we are learning and discussing is interesting in most cases. Our classmates are on the whole relaxed and nice. The few vocal people in our class are not annoying, though some of them could be less wordy.
I'm still figuring out what "niche" I belong to in law school. This is my mission in the coming week, to figure out which organizatiosn and/or journals I'm interested in. So far, I've gone to the meetings and open houses for a few organizations, but mostly just to get their free food. I feel like I'm ready to take on some more substantive stuff.
Well, this has been a successful weekend, if not exactly fun. I basically spent the entire time reading and taking notes for my classes. Even then, I only had time to do work for two of my classes, so I will have to do work for the other two during the week.
Yikes, I have a memo to write for Lawyering class already. This won't be fun. However, learning about how Lexis and Westlaw work has been really eye-opening. I can't imagine how lawyers did research before the computer age. How could they possibly have shepardized all those cases manually?!? Or searched for cases relevant to a particular topic?!? On the other hand, I suppose back then cases and statutes were not as technical and complex as they are now. Our legal system has definitely evolved in response to technological advances.
I'm actually kind of excited to start next week. The stuff we are learning and discussing is interesting in most cases. Our classmates are on the whole relaxed and nice. The few vocal people in our class are not annoying, though some of them could be less wordy.
I'm still figuring out what "niche" I belong to in law school. This is my mission in the coming week, to figure out which organizatiosn and/or journals I'm interested in. So far, I've gone to the meetings and open houses for a few organizations, but mostly just to get their free food. I feel like I'm ready to take on some more substantive stuff.
9/17/2005
Impressive
Got up at 12:45 today, after driving back to N-Town last night and going to sleep around 1:30.
Reading for (what else?) crim law. I am going to make a real effort to finish all my reading assignments for next week over the weekend.
Am very amused by an opinion that I am reading (United States v. Bergman) where both the defense counsel and the judge who wrote the opinion invokes Kant...
Who said that knowledge of German philosophy is not useful?
Reading for (what else?) crim law. I am going to make a real effort to finish all my reading assignments for next week over the weekend.
Am very amused by an opinion that I am reading (United States v. Bergman) where both the defense counsel and the judge who wrote the opinion invokes Kant...
Who said that knowledge of German philosophy is not useful?
9/14/2005
Save Me From Civ Pro
Before I arrived in law school, I had read through Glannon's Civil Procedure hornbook AND listened to Arthur Miller's lecture (10.5 hours!) in its entirety. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the material, and couldn't understand why Civ Pro is reputedly the Most Dreaded Class of One L.
Now I do. Maybe it's because the profs who are attracted to Civ Pro all tend to have dry personalities or else they wouldn't have been interested in pleadings, pre-trial motions, and in rem jurisdiction questions. OR, maybe they all have inferiority complexes and really want to be Con Law profs, but for one reason or another have to make do with teaching civ pro.
Anyway, the past few classes of Civ Pro have been profoundly boring. Perhaps my hay fever / allergy contributes to my general grogginess, but I have been finding it hard to keep my eyes open. It's also hard to figure out what the prof's point is. She's a very nice woman, don't get me wrong, just a bit on the dry side. But seriously, do we really need to start with the mother of all big question in the FIRST WEEK OF CLASS -- "What is the meaning of due process?!?" Is she trying to make up for the fact that we don't have Con Law as a required course?!?
So anyway, I still have no idea what the standards of due process are. Most of the class "discussion" goes straight over my head. All the historical background reading is dry as hell. And as a result, I am very, very, very bored.
Now I do. Maybe it's because the profs who are attracted to Civ Pro all tend to have dry personalities or else they wouldn't have been interested in pleadings, pre-trial motions, and in rem jurisdiction questions. OR, maybe they all have inferiority complexes and really want to be Con Law profs, but for one reason or another have to make do with teaching civ pro.
Anyway, the past few classes of Civ Pro have been profoundly boring. Perhaps my hay fever / allergy contributes to my general grogginess, but I have been finding it hard to keep my eyes open. It's also hard to figure out what the prof's point is. She's a very nice woman, don't get me wrong, just a bit on the dry side. But seriously, do we really need to start with the mother of all big question in the FIRST WEEK OF CLASS -- "What is the meaning of due process?!?" Is she trying to make up for the fact that we don't have Con Law as a required course?!?
So anyway, I still have no idea what the standards of due process are. Most of the class "discussion" goes straight over my head. All the historical background reading is dry as hell. And as a result, I am very, very, very bored.
9/13/2005
Formal Dinner
Formal dinner with the dean tonight. Actually, the invitation said "business casual", but since no one knew what that meant we took it conservatively.
The flamingly gay guy in our class wore a emboidered white shirt, white pants, and white shoes.
Had a lot of readings tonight. Three classes tomorrow!
The flamingly gay guy in our class wore a emboidered white shirt, white pants, and white shoes.
Had a lot of readings tonight. Three classes tomorrow!
9/12/2005
2nd Week of Law School
Classes are going well, although some people have started chatting on their laptops during class. Reading is still manageable. I have finished my readings up til Wednesday so far, and am trying to finish the week's reading by tomorrow.
Went with two guys to the large mall on the other side of town today. I was able to control my shopaholic impulses until I got to H&M, but upon seeing soft and inexpensive sweaters and cute lingerie-styled tanks, I simply could not help myself. The three of us ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!
Boyfriend is still away, so by myself tonight. Kind of enjoying the quiet, actually. Will go back to the readings now!
Went with two guys to the large mall on the other side of town today. I was able to control my shopaholic impulses until I got to H&M, but upon seeing soft and inexpensive sweaters and cute lingerie-styled tanks, I simply could not help myself. The three of us ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!
Boyfriend is still away, so by myself tonight. Kind of enjoying the quiet, actually. Will go back to the readings now!
9/11/2005
Exhausted
Just came back from a whole bunch of events that the Law School kindly planned for us 1Ls. It was a lot of fun and I got to talk to quite a few people that I didn't know very well in my classes. They were interesting.
Exhausted though. It's past midnight and I really need to go to sleep. Also just had a long conversation with my parents, who are visiting me in my new apartment for the weekend.
They are now sleeping on my beautiful foam bed. I am sleeping on the air mattress in the livingroom, which is surprisingly comfortable. Boyfriend went back to N-Town for the weekend. Sniff.
Exhausted though. It's past midnight and I really need to go to sleep. Also just had a long conversation with my parents, who are visiting me in my new apartment for the weekend.
They are now sleeping on my beautiful foam bed. I am sleeping on the air mattress in the livingroom, which is surprisingly comfortable. Boyfriend went back to N-Town for the weekend. Sniff.
9/09/2005
Inspired
It's Friday night. I'm staying home, listening to Enya, drinking red wine... and reading my criminal law casebook for next week.
Sounds nerdy, huh? In reality, this is basically what I did on Friday nights when I was working, too. It wasn't like Boyfriend and I went to parties or bars all that much. Sometimes we went out to dinner, but that's mainly just because our kitchen was usually too dirty or messy (or being renovated) for us to really properly cook.
We are both kind of anti-social, and find it much more enjoyable to stay home, have some wine, and watch TV. I sometimes read. Sometimes we talked about work. Sometimes I really did work, and on weekends too.
In college I worked much less hard, and slacked off a lot. I think this is why it is good to work for a few years before you go to law school. I would have been shocked at the amount of work involved in law school had I gone straight from undergrad to here. But so far I'm finding the workload surprisingly manageable and even enjoyable. It's certainly not more than working for the little start-up.
If anything, reading about interesting legal theories and rules is more fun than drafting a diplomatic yet firm email to a bothersome client.
Also reading a Guide on searching for public interest jobs published by my law school. The first-person accounts published in the guide are very informative, and I am feeling quite inspired.
This is probably the first day that I really feel that there is a wide range of opportunities open to me after I graduate law school. Perhaps I really can find something that interests me, even something I really believe in.
Looking forward to this weekend. My parents are visiting me in my new apartment, and I am eager to show them my new life. This means, however, that I'm going to read for a while longer tonight because I probably won't get any work done while they are here.
Sounds nerdy, huh? In reality, this is basically what I did on Friday nights when I was working, too. It wasn't like Boyfriend and I went to parties or bars all that much. Sometimes we went out to dinner, but that's mainly just because our kitchen was usually too dirty or messy (or being renovated) for us to really properly cook.
We are both kind of anti-social, and find it much more enjoyable to stay home, have some wine, and watch TV. I sometimes read. Sometimes we talked about work. Sometimes I really did work, and on weekends too.
In college I worked much less hard, and slacked off a lot. I think this is why it is good to work for a few years before you go to law school. I would have been shocked at the amount of work involved in law school had I gone straight from undergrad to here. But so far I'm finding the workload surprisingly manageable and even enjoyable. It's certainly not more than working for the little start-up.
If anything, reading about interesting legal theories and rules is more fun than drafting a diplomatic yet firm email to a bothersome client.
Also reading a Guide on searching for public interest jobs published by my law school. The first-person accounts published in the guide are very informative, and I am feeling quite inspired.
This is probably the first day that I really feel that there is a wide range of opportunities open to me after I graduate law school. Perhaps I really can find something that interests me, even something I really believe in.
Looking forward to this weekend. My parents are visiting me in my new apartment, and I am eager to show them my new life. This means, however, that I'm going to read for a while longer tonight because I probably won't get any work done while they are here.
9/07/2005
Things Are Going Well
So far, the workload is manageable. I do spend a fair amount of time each night reading, but the cases are interesting so time passes by very quickly.
Class discussion, thoug, has been disappointing so far. Many comments made by my classmates are non-sequiturs or only tangentially related to what has been discussed before. A typical scenario is this:
Professor: So, is X really an element of Y, or should some other standards be used?
Student: Well, this has nothing to do with whether X is an element of Y, but I just noticed that A is kind of similar to B.
Professor: Well... um... this is an interesting point...
He then either gets really side-tracked and spends 20 minutes talking about A and B, OR he makes a heroic effort to relate the problem of A and B back to X and Y.
This drives me crazy, and it happens half a dozen times during each class.
Hopefully, this is just people getting warmed up. But having a class discussion with 70+ people is like herding cats sometimes. It's nearly impossible to follow a theme through or to talk about anything in an in-depth, focused way.
But other than that, I'm having a much better time than I thougth I would.
Class discussion, thoug, has been disappointing so far. Many comments made by my classmates are non-sequiturs or only tangentially related to what has been discussed before. A typical scenario is this:
Professor: So, is X really an element of Y, or should some other standards be used?
Student: Well, this has nothing to do with whether X is an element of Y, but I just noticed that A is kind of similar to B.
Professor: Well... um... this is an interesting point...
He then either gets really side-tracked and spends 20 minutes talking about A and B, OR he makes a heroic effort to relate the problem of A and B back to X and Y.
This drives me crazy, and it happens half a dozen times during each class.
Hopefully, this is just people getting warmed up. But having a class discussion with 70+ people is like herding cats sometimes. It's nearly impossible to follow a theme through or to talk about anything in an in-depth, focused way.
But other than that, I'm having a much better time than I thougth I would.
9/06/2005
Impressions on First Day of Class
Had our first class today! The professor was nice, but class moved more slowly than I thought it would, and nothing anyone said, including the professor, gave me a "wow!" moment.
Lots of people volunteered to answer questions. Class dynamics was very good -- much better than I imagined. Questions the prof asked weren't that hard though, and at times it was a little boring. No one in the first class, though, dared to play Solitaire or surf the Internet. I predict that it will be at least the third week before people begin to do that.
The cases seemed a lot more interesting when we read them than when we discussed them. I actually kind of enjoyed reading the cases, but class was still a bit mundane. Don't know, perhaps it was just a weird dynamic the first day.
Seats they assigned us were absurdly small -- couldn't fit my laptop, the casebook, and my binder all on there. Kept on bumping into people next to me.
Lots of people volunteered to answer questions. Class dynamics was very good -- much better than I imagined. Questions the prof asked weren't that hard though, and at times it was a little boring. No one in the first class, though, dared to play Solitaire or surf the Internet. I predict that it will be at least the third week before people begin to do that.
The cases seemed a lot more interesting when we read them than when we discussed them. I actually kind of enjoyed reading the cases, but class was still a bit mundane. Don't know, perhaps it was just a weird dynamic the first day.
Seats they assigned us were absurdly small -- couldn't fit my laptop, the casebook, and my binder all on there. Kept on bumping into people next to me.
9/05/2005
This Made Me Laugh Out Loud
And from an opinion in my crim law casebook, no less! :D
"Pope [the defendant] moved that we strike from the State's brief and appendix a selection from the Year Book of 1484 written in Medieval Latin and references thereto. The State provided no translation and conceded a total lack of knowledge of what it meant. The motion is granted."
(Pope v. State, Maryland Court of Appeals 1979) (Sorry I don't really know how to cite cases yet.)
"Pope [the defendant] moved that we strike from the State's brief and appendix a selection from the Year Book of 1484 written in Medieval Latin and references thereto. The State provided no translation and conceded a total lack of knowledge of what it meant. The motion is granted."
(Pope v. State, Maryland Court of Appeals 1979) (Sorry I don't really know how to cite cases yet.)
Today
Driving up again later today with some more furnitures and supplies that Boyfriend and I bought over the weekend. I am bringing up my easel and paint because I have been fantasizing about painting in between studying.
Also read for Torts and Crim Law, which were surprisingly enjoyable. Civ pro reading was substantially more dry and less exciting.
First "real" class tomorrow! I'm a little nervous.
Also read for Torts and Crim Law, which were surprisingly enjoyable. Civ pro reading was substantially more dry and less exciting.
First "real" class tomorrow! I'm a little nervous.
9/03/2005
A Few Things I Learned Today
Back "home" for the long weekend, so I can recuperate and feel a bit of normalcy after two very stressful and overwhelming days. My three years of working for the little start-up has made me used to a lot of solitary work, and the constant interaction with strangers was very exhausting and not altogether pleasant.
Had dinner on Friday at my prof's very large and very gorgeous house. The entire day on Friday, in fact, was filled with a lot of free food and (not always good) alcohol. The girl from California whom I met on Thursday, J, and I hung out most of the time. Nearly everything reminded me of my first few days at my undergraduate college.
Today I had dinner / coffee with friend J, who is also in law school and a 3L. Talked about law school culture, strategies, and clerkships (J is applying for clerkships). Here are some pearls of wisdom from him:
- Even though people in law school may be nice to your face, people are often secretly very competitive and will do very morally dubious things to get ahead.
- When choosing friends in law school, it's very important (in fact, most important) to find people who are stable, self-assured, and not insecure. Whether or not they are smart or like the law or like law school etc., is all secondary or unimportant.
- Practice taking old exams, as early as possible.
- There will always be people who despise other people who appear to be enjoying or thriving in law school more than them. You need to decide early on how you are going to relate to these people and/or this practice.
(J., being very self-confident and assertive, decided that he would ignore these people and just do what he would always do. I'm not sure I'm quite so brave.)
- The clerkship process is INSANE. (Glad that I don't have to worry about that for a couple of years -- though even then it's not entirely a bad problem to have.)
Have been reading on and off my reading assigments for Tuesday (and slacking off a lot, sadly). Perhaps tomorrow I will work out a schedule for myself.
Had dinner on Friday at my prof's very large and very gorgeous house. The entire day on Friday, in fact, was filled with a lot of free food and (not always good) alcohol. The girl from California whom I met on Thursday, J, and I hung out most of the time. Nearly everything reminded me of my first few days at my undergraduate college.
Today I had dinner / coffee with friend J, who is also in law school and a 3L. Talked about law school culture, strategies, and clerkships (J is applying for clerkships). Here are some pearls of wisdom from him:
- Even though people in law school may be nice to your face, people are often secretly very competitive and will do very morally dubious things to get ahead.
- When choosing friends in law school, it's very important (in fact, most important) to find people who are stable, self-assured, and not insecure. Whether or not they are smart or like the law or like law school etc., is all secondary or unimportant.
- Practice taking old exams, as early as possible.
- There will always be people who despise other people who appear to be enjoying or thriving in law school more than them. You need to decide early on how you are going to relate to these people and/or this practice.
(J., being very self-confident and assertive, decided that he would ignore these people and just do what he would always do. I'm not sure I'm quite so brave.)
- The clerkship process is INSANE. (Glad that I don't have to worry about that for a couple of years -- though even then it's not entirely a bad problem to have.)
Have been reading on and off my reading assigments for Tuesday (and slacking off a lot, sadly). Perhaps tomorrow I will work out a schedule for myself.
9/01/2005
New Beginning
Sorry that I have been away for a while. Things has been really crazy, as I'm sure you can imagine. In the past week, Boyfriend and I moved into our new apartment, organized everything, found our favorite Starbucks, half worked out parking and other everyday living issues, had countless emotional discussions about my experience in law school, all of which took my energy away from posting an update of my life.
Today was the first day of orientation.
I met my classmates. They were really fine -- less diverse than I thought (but perhaps I just ended up with a particularly un-diverse group). Lots of people from California. There was one other girl from my undergraduate school, who graduated in the same year. After talking for a while we even identified a couple of people that we both knew.
Quite a few older students, too. It seems like everyone was 25 or 26. I thought I would feel old in law school. I didn't.
I have always disliked the self-conscious and awkward chit-chats of orientation -- "Where are you from?" "Where did you go undergrad?" "What did you do since graduation?" Everyone knows that real friendship only begins after classes begin, since that's when people buckle down and those differences in personality and lifestyle really begin to matter. So what's the point of asking everyone these questions anyway, when you know that your brain can't possibly hold all this info and you would forget 10 seconds after walking away from the person?
So I tried my best to avoid this kind of talk, and perhaps to some I was a little too non-committal. Ah well, they have 3 years to change that impression of me.
I did get into an in-depth conversation with a girl from a famous California school who has moved across the country with her husband and who has already done most, if not all, of the readings for our criminal law class for the entire year. Really liked her, actually. She seemed genuine and grounded and smart.
Orientation also involved a lot of being herded around. The prof gave a long speech in the beginning of the day about how great law school is and how we shouldn't be afraid to be subjected to the Socratic Method. Some people actually pulled out a notebook and took notes, while I just sat around feeling slightly bored, and then caught myself and surprised that I was bored. Was I always this jaded? I remember that in college, I may well have been one of those people who pulled out a notebook and took notes. Did 4 years of being out of college changed me and made me jaded? But everything the profs said sounded really obvious. I am still waiting for the real class to begin.
At certain points the orientation seemed a little disorganized. Like the "tour" we took around the campus was a joke, and our leader clearly didn't plan this very well.
Then we sat down and had a picnic. It was a beautiful day, and I looked around and felt amazed that this day has arrived so quickly. I'm really a law student! I will come to call this institution home. I will know these people around me well. I will be familiar with this city, navigate it with authority, and perhaps come to feel affection for it.
I am going to be here for the next three years.
Today was the first day of orientation.
I met my classmates. They were really fine -- less diverse than I thought (but perhaps I just ended up with a particularly un-diverse group). Lots of people from California. There was one other girl from my undergraduate school, who graduated in the same year. After talking for a while we even identified a couple of people that we both knew.
Quite a few older students, too. It seems like everyone was 25 or 26. I thought I would feel old in law school. I didn't.
I have always disliked the self-conscious and awkward chit-chats of orientation -- "Where are you from?" "Where did you go undergrad?" "What did you do since graduation?" Everyone knows that real friendship only begins after classes begin, since that's when people buckle down and those differences in personality and lifestyle really begin to matter. So what's the point of asking everyone these questions anyway, when you know that your brain can't possibly hold all this info and you would forget 10 seconds after walking away from the person?
So I tried my best to avoid this kind of talk, and perhaps to some I was a little too non-committal. Ah well, they have 3 years to change that impression of me.
I did get into an in-depth conversation with a girl from a famous California school who has moved across the country with her husband and who has already done most, if not all, of the readings for our criminal law class for the entire year. Really liked her, actually. She seemed genuine and grounded and smart.
Orientation also involved a lot of being herded around. The prof gave a long speech in the beginning of the day about how great law school is and how we shouldn't be afraid to be subjected to the Socratic Method. Some people actually pulled out a notebook and took notes, while I just sat around feeling slightly bored, and then caught myself and surprised that I was bored. Was I always this jaded? I remember that in college, I may well have been one of those people who pulled out a notebook and took notes. Did 4 years of being out of college changed me and made me jaded? But everything the profs said sounded really obvious. I am still waiting for the real class to begin.
At certain points the orientation seemed a little disorganized. Like the "tour" we took around the campus was a joke, and our leader clearly didn't plan this very well.
Then we sat down and had a picnic. It was a beautiful day, and I looked around and felt amazed that this day has arrived so quickly. I'm really a law student! I will come to call this institution home. I will know these people around me well. I will be familiar with this city, navigate it with authority, and perhaps come to feel affection for it.
I am going to be here for the next three years.
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