how blogging can actually prevent distraction

I was e-mailing classmates a couple of questions I had about property reading. See, I'm productive! Then an e-mail came from a friend whose wedding pictures are now available online. Oh, the temptation! So, I figured that a quick blog entry would make me fee guilty and get back to the Rule Against Perpetuities (the RAP).

Happy Halloween!

day off

I took the entire day off today. It was great. Nothing exciting -- returned a pair of pants for the husband, drooled over Marc Jacobs at Macy's, talked to my mom, who was X-Mas shopping for the husband, approximately 15 times (okay, so this looks like this, but there are 47 other ones that look like....which one should I get?), ran errands, played with my dog, cleaned out my closet and cleaned my house. I even had a glass of wine before 6pm. Now I kind of remember what life was like before law school.

Hopefully when I get back to it tomorrow, the break will have done me good.

On the dog front...

While playing with the dog, I realized that the homeless encampment across the street (in the panhandle, if you're familiar with SF) has a horid effect on me and the pooch --they leave a bunch of dangerous chicken bones behind and teach their pitbulls to fight using a tire in the park. If only I had the guts to tell them off. I love pitbulls and hate that jerks like that are the reason they have a bad name.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I get to take care of my 2nd favorite dog in the world -- my neighbor's deaf, HUGE great dane. She weighs almost as much as me and is pure white with blue eyes. Maybe I should have run off to Willits to work for the milo foundation when I had the chance.

Woof woof...week 12. BTW, my pooch is currently sitting "prince style," meaning he has both front paws on my leg while he sits upright. Awwww.

Resumes and interests

Currently working on my resume. I have an appointment with career services next week and am going to bring a draft with me. It's somewhat disheartening to have no legal experience, but whatever. I'm having fun playing with the "interests" section.

Possibility 1:

"Yoga, rescue dogs, Beat Generation literature"

Note: I plan on applying to District Attorney's offices throughout the Bay Area and in my hometown. This is how I think they would translate the above:

"Liberal, furry liberal, and she smokes pot."

Possibility 2:

"Bikram Yoga, American literature, snorkeling"

Translation by DAs: "Good, she likes to sweat. She's patriotic. But, she'd want too much vacation time."

Maybe I should just skip the generalizations and the interests section.

It's that time...

...when classmates start to say things things like, "really, you're going out? You know, there are only 40 days until finals."

...when we have to start applying for summer jobs.

...when "Memo 3" is a term expressing frustration, fear, and hate.

...when realizing that I actually know that buyers remedies start at UCC section 2-711 is almost enough to bring me to tears.

Shit is hitting the fan, and pretty much every classmate I've talked to started feeling that way this week. But, I'm proud of us. We're going to be okay, at least, I hope.

This goodwill does not extend to the person quoted above. I only overheard him make that statement. If he was serious, he's an ass.

funny

At the bus stop this am:

Random guy: Cute outfit
Me: Thanks (It was a cute one, way better than usual)
Random guy: Do you need any weed this morning?
Me: No (laughs and checks watch. it is 8:15)
Random guy: Can I have your phone number?
Me: No (still laughing, but getting a little weireded out)
Random guy: Well, you gotta try. (Walks off before I think of smart ass remark)

naughty, naughty

I am blogging from LWR. It is our last official full length class. We have individual conferences next week and a party the following (yay margaritas!).

Prof. LWR is going over general comments on memo 2. Of course, we aren't getting our grades until the end of the class. I'm interested to see the result of my first graded law school product.

Today was a firing squad attack. Between my first and second class, I went to a career services orientation which was utterly depressing. First, the career counselor starts off by talking about suicide, really. I mean it. Next subject? Grades. We already know that 50% of us will be in the bottom 50% of the class. Even first year law students can do simple math. BUT, we did not need to hear, in excrutiating detail the statistical breakdown of our post-finals situation: "Frankly, 90% of you won't be in the top 10% of your class. 75% of you won't be in the top 25%. 67% of you won't be in the top third. And, 50% of you won't be in the top half." Wow, that makes me want to go to you for help finding a job.

This uplifting experience was followed by Professor property who must have taken nondrowsy cold medication or drank a 5 gallon pot of coffee this morning. She was slamming through hypotheticals at a totally unprecedented pace. And now I'm here and we're getting to something important...

grr.

That about sums it up, but I'll say more, although I am realizing that I have no energy for comic wit and this blog may not be much longer lived. Or, I could have some self control and only blog when good things, or at least things of significant interest happen.

I got a lot of comments back on my memo draft. They weren't pretty. When I say I am drowning in memo hell, I mean it literally.

I almost skipped torts today -- for a good reason. There was a clinical demonstration and I thought my time would be better used studying. Then guilt got the best of me and I went. I should have trusted my first instinct because it was a complete waste of time and the 2 hours could have been put to much better use.

So, random piece of advice # 2: Trust your instincts. Avoid the guilt. I think someone smart told me about that around the 2nd week of law school (thanks A!). But, now I believe it more.

Memo Shmemo

Today royally sucks. I've got papers spread all over my bedroom and I am try, try, trying to get a draft of my third memo finished. But, my aversion to corporate contract issues, the intense fact pattern, 4 statutes, and 6 plus cases are forces to be reckoned with. What happened to the undergrad days of writing a ten page paper in 2 hours? I've been working since 9am and am on page 5 and I have to say it's not that great yet either.

I'm glad that when I talked to a prospective law student at a BBQ yesterday this was not on the forefront of my law school brain.

But, I will finish a draft today. And then I will eat a good dinner and watch Dodgeball. Heh.

It's Friday America

Woke up feeling extra groggy this am. Overcompensated by drinking a large coffee. I am not one of those caffeine sensitive types. I've been drinking the stuff practically since birth and worked at Starbucks for over 4 years. But, for some reason today's large really hit me. And helped me hit my stride, albeit done whild jittery and having an upset stomach. Went to class, managed to copy 1800 pages of cases for LWR (with the help of my awesome classmates), read through a dreadful section of property re: estates and future interests. Even took organized notes on it.

Now I am sipping some Pomegranite juice and about to tackle my torts outline. Query: any recommendations for essential classical music? I have none. I tried to outline to jazz, but was overwhelmed with the urge to run to north beach, buy a novel at City Lights and read it with a bottle of chianti in Washington Square park

The power power nap

A power nap used to mean 20 minutes. Today, I realized that a 5 minute doze on the couch will do the trick. Awesome, because that is about my limit for doing anything guilt free.

I chatted with two classmates today and was glad to learn that I'm not the only one who feels hopelessly uninteresting these days. And, it is also a shared feeling that stress is actually reduced by being at school. At least that is where a 1L is supposed to be. After having nothing to talk about with the normal people in your life, it is actually refreshing to be back at school and be able to talk about it again.

A mighty mighty good wine...

I know nothing about wine. But, I like it and I like to try new wines, and I especially like to hang out with friends who know a lot more about it than I do and who always seem to pick the perfect bottle.

As a side note, at the wine and cheese pairing I went to with A and B last week, we had sparkling wine that was described as a “summer afternoon gallivanting through a country side picking pippins." I don't know what a pippin is, and I must say that the bubbly, while great and crisp, did not at all conjure up images of any sort of gallivant. It would be a really fun job to write descriptions for $13/ glass wines. Unfortunately I never pick up on that soft hint of melon kissed sunshine etc. that people who really know a lot about wine seem to.

Anyway, at Trader Joe's yesterday I picked up Bonny Doon's Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. Only in part because the bottle was beautiful, witty, and cork less. I'm sipping it now and it is proving to be a good blind date.

Hooray for double digit week 10.

And the days go so slow...

Man, I forgot how long a day can be when you aren't doing homework. I planned to do some reading today. But instead, my day went something like this...

8am - 2:30: Baby sit. I got this great idea to bake with the kids -- a 4 year old and 2 year old. BTW, I don't generally cook. But, I'd found a great leaf cookie cutter and thought we'd try sugar cookies. I had to call my fried E to get a recipe because the 37 cookbooks they had (including two cookie cook books) didn't have a recipe for sugar cookies. Unfortunately, I realized too late that you can't soften the butter after you've added the eggs. If you're a visual person, imagine me, wearing all black, covered in flour with a sweet 4 year old girl asking "why does that look like cottage cheese babysitter SKH??" and a two year old also covered in flour screeching "POOOOOP" and running circles around me. So, I started over again and we made "fall chocolate chip cookies." I've made chocolate chip cookies quite a few times in my life and they turned out very well. We added orange and yellow sprinkles -- ta da, fall. I must say though, I've never seen a dirtier kitchen.

2:30: Pick up husband, go downtown to CHP office to get sign off on a fix it ticket. This is our 4th fix it ticket for the Volvo.

After that : Trader Joe's. AAAAHHHH. Too crowded. Not enough parking. So-so wine selection. Too much money spent.

Next: Unload groceries. Go look for parking. This takes over 45 minutes. Park over 10 blocks away from house. Get quarters for laundry on way home.

Then: And by this time it's around 5 or so...Husband brings dog back from the park. And he's angry. And the dog is COVERED in the grossest mud ever. Probably because he's been peeing in this particular mud puddle for the past 6 trips to the park. The puddle is a rare combo of San Francisco park mud, dog piss, and God knows what else. We've been able to keep him from laying down in it until today.

At the point when I was thinking, okay, I'm going to do work for a couple of hours before dinner, I insteand plunge into the shower with my dog. And then clean the bathroom while the husband is blow drying him. There is mud splatter ON THE CEILING LIGHT. I am so never having children. Until I forget this day.

I have to say, it was a much better Saturday than I've had in a while.

Happy Yom Kippur

Another Jewish holiday that meant no class!

Finished a small LWR assignment - a client opinion letter, read for property, and got my property outline up to date. Sweet. Now, I could be really good and start reading some more. Or, and I think I'll go with or, I can watch some syndicated Law and Order and eat dried apricots.

And why am I actually in a good mood for once? Okay, no class is a good reason. But, really, it's because we just booked a vacation to Kauai for August. I know, I know. August is a looong way off. But, we got a great deal and we both really need some snorkeling and beachy weather to look forward to.

Already? part 2

This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Warning: this post may be more whiny than usual. But, I do counter it with some positivity at the end. Swear.

I was just complaining about having to register with the bar already ($80). Now it seems that I have to register for the bar prep course early as well. For a mere $100 as a 1L, I get to lock in the price of $3,050. I'm sorry, this is nuts. But, of course I'll do it. If I ever have children and if they ever want to go to law school, I predeict they will end up paying close to a half a million dollars, all inclusive.

As 1Ls at my school, we get to take one elective in spring. We got our registration assignments today -- they're done by the first initial of your last name, but not in order. In some sense, I know that's fair so the people with Z aren't consistently screwed. BUT, who knew that H could put you close to last? Now I'll probably get stuck taking tax (a perfectly great class for some, but NOT for me as a 1L) and having Moot Court at like 10pm on Friday.

Okay, self pity and annoyance aside, I just finished my first graded memo for LWR. Woo -hoo! Going to a wine and cheese event with A and B tonight.

::

So, this is how seven am feels. It's been a while since I've been up before 8. Deciding I need to exercise and put myself on a better, more productive schedule, I got up at 6 (!!) and went for a sort of run/ mostly walk. Hated to leave while husband and dog were cozy in bed, but all was made up when I realized that, at least today, I belonged to the class of people who wake up and jog. It was also pretty hilarious to see a group of crazy runners with miner's lights strapped on their heads. Now I'm craving bed, but, I'm going to make a pot of coffee and get to work.

Bring on week nine.

Already?

I just registered for the CA bar exam. For some really annoying reason, you have to sign up (AND PAY $80) within 45 days of starting law school. Yes, at some point within the next 3 years I am going to take the CA bar exam. That's not scary or anything.

Dog socks

Just got back from taking the dog to the park. It was a perfect park day -- sunny with a breeze, lots of falling leaves. Very fall. Being the running ball freak that he is, Mr. M has sore paws from time to time, like now. We doctor these by applying "Perfect Paws" cream and covering his feet with baby socks. He hates it, but we find it pretty amusing to watch him trying to walk around looking shamefully at his paws and shaking his little feet. Hopefully he will crash out so that I can work on my memo...

The husband is out with friends, and the stage is set with a full pot of coffee, a burning candle (our house is unexplainably stinky today), and a Tortoise CD ready to go.

Wish me peace, luck, and productivity -- my hippie law student mantra.

Must get used to rejection

A mixed bag today...

Got my hair cut for the 2nd time this week. Hated the first cut, love the one I got today. Came home from the salon happy and feeling productive. Read some property and decided to check my e-mail. Found out that I did not get a spot on the journal that I applied for. Stings and I can't even have a drink because I'm babysitting tonight. But, in my fridge is a bottle of Chandon labeled with my name and "tomorrow."

The grunge

One thing I am sharply missing about pre law school life is the ability to be sick without feeling guilty. I could spend all day hacking away while lying in bed reading through a fever induced haze. Or, I could sneeze on the couch watching movies or endless Law and Order reruns, no second thought. I have to admit that there were times when I welcomed the obligatory rest period gifted to me by some virus or bug.

But, the bugger that slipped by my hopped-up-on-multi-vitamins-and-airborne line of defense this time is ENEMY NUMBER ONE. I couldn't stay home and sleep it off early like I wanted to because I was afraid to miss class. Then it seemed to be getting better. So, 2 glasses of wine on Friday night didn't seem like a bad idea. Aaaarrrggg. I compromised today and only did 2 hours of work opting for tea and sleep around the rest of the clock. In addition to feeling like microwaved pooch poo, I was a raving cranky maniac, alternately crying and complaining to my husband that he was being too loud while he vacuumed. (Shaking my head in shame.)

Maybe the hot shower and good dinner and insane amount of lemon and honey and tea and juice will make a difference and I'll wake up able to breath and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

...blah blah...week 8.