Merry Christmas Everyone!

So...Close....

Last final is tomorrow!! Then I must gather up the tattered remains of my apartment (right now, looks like there was an explosion in a paper factory), pack them into my car, force the cat into her carrier, and drive home (with a brief sojourn in NYC - SO EXCITED). I am also taking (1) classmate to meet her French filmmaker boyfriend, and (2) another classmate to meet her New Jersian boyfriend and (3) New Jersian's skis. Should be a HILARIOUS ride!!

I promise my blog will go back to being interesting and funny (if it ever was) as soon as finals are over and I recover my sanity/multi-facetedpersonness.

Aaaaand check!

Property final = done. As done as Martha Stewart's turkey on thanksgiving. As done as Richard Nixon stepping onto the helicopter. As done as... Ok, I ran out of analogies, but I think you get the idea. I'm FINISHED with the most intensive and difficult course I have ever taken (with the possible, slight exception of Animal Behavior Ecology and that is a relative not an objective comparison).

Now I just have to learn torts again, then contracts. I can taste the freedom, my friends, and it tastes like sugar. Like hot chocolate with marshmallows. Like pure, unadulterated happy. I hear bells, pealing in the distance. I feel a breeze (might be the leaky windows). I smell honeysuckle. I see RAINBOWS.

(Disclaimer: I have not been drinking, smoking, or doing anything mind-altering; this is pure law school mania, my friends, better than any drug {not that I would know - seriously})

I can't stop the feeling

Nor can I figure out why the little clock on my blog is always wrong, so I'll just tell you what time it is: 2:22 a.m.

Now, I swear, people, I wouldn't write two blogs in one day if I didn't have something really important to say.

I have discovered that once the body reaches a critical mass of caffeine (2 lattes, a coffee, 2 diet cokes and some sort of Red Mountain Dew brew) and property outlining (9 a.m to 1 a.m., with breaks for changing study locations and funfetti cake), even though you are technically not asleep, your brain ceases to function. It's like being awake without actually being conscious. It's probably not advisable to drive, operate heavy machinery, accept or decline proposals of marriage, speak with strangers who might form judgments (anyone not a law student) or blog.

Luckily, my only mistake is blogging, at least thus far, and attempting to communicate with "outsiders". I asked a woman at Starbucks if her role model was Elle Woods (to be fair, this lady had an actual chihuahua wearing a PINK parka a with fur-trimmed hood). She was not amused. (I wasn't trying to be mean, it was a JOKE!)

Also, a law school buddy of mine told me she bought galoshes that were too small, paced around a T stop for 15 minutes asking people "Are galoshes supposed to hurt?" and then tried to return them (in full muddy-slushy-wintry-in-Boston form) and was refused. She then proceeded to give the salesman a lecture about "injustice."

These are all true stories.

Property

Is kicking my rear end.

I'm beginning to understand why all lawyers are crazy.

Study Week

From today through Sunday I have nothing on my plate but studying! Crazy!

So, I may be posting on my blog more regularly in order to interrupt the monotony of outlining, practice exams, outlining and more practice exams.

It snowed in Boston yesterday and now we've reached the frozen-slush point, which is fun for walking and driving. I spent the last 10 minutes trying to decide if it would be safer to drive to school or walk, and as I'm still sitting in my pjs at home, I think my decision is clear. At least the snow is pretty! And the kids next door have undertaken a snow-person which is so large it requires them to come borrow our snow. They came to the door to make sure we didn't mind! So cute!

So, I know you're all desperate to know what I'm doing so I'll reprint my post-it schedule for your enjoyment here (also if it's published on the internet then I HAVE to do it:

Tuesday: Finish Torts outline, do review questions
Wednesday: Work on Contracts outline, read "the Ship book" per HPC's advice
Thursday: Re-read property outline, do practice q's and issue spotters
Friday: Practice Test Day! - Property
Saturday: Property review
Sunday: Final Property questions, relax
Monday: Property FINAL!
Tuesday: Re-read Torts outline, do any leftover CALI problems, listen to audio summaries
Wednesday: Practice Test Day! - Torts
Thursday: Torts FINAL!
Friday: Finish Contracts outline
Saturday: Practice Test Day! - Contracts
Sunday: Re-read Contracts outline, do Ajax/Beta hypos, relaaaaax
Monday: Contracts FINAL! - then pack, then CELEBRATE MY FREEDOM!!!!
Tuesday: NYC!!
Wednesday: More NYC!!
Wednesday Night: HOME!!

Sorry to bore you! =)

Marriage

I'm kind of annoyed with whole idea, and not just because I am currently completing the section of my property outline that consists of all of the things married people can do that single people can't.

Really, why is it necessary for the government to sanction it? Can't we just all make contracts with whomever we want to give them rights like sharing a house, insurance benefits, (kids!) etc. Why do politicians who claim to be small-government want to decide who I get to fight with over toilet paper replacement-issues and whether or not that person can inherit my estate without taxes?

If I ever get married, I'm tempted to just have a huge wedding ceremony that's completely invalid in the eyes of the law. Then I can live in sin until I've adversely possessed my partner's marital interest and become his/her common law wife.

(If you're in law school, please don't point out how absurdly wrong that is. My property outline is only half done!)

Schwag

So, apparently our law school has the tradition of giving 1Ls a "care package" before finals; most of consists of different donations from local law firms, plus some coupons for coffee and homemade baked goods by upper levels. It's a really sweet thing to do, but the fact that 15 law firms donated those highlighters that come with embedded post-its for easy flagging is slightly depressing (a view of my future?).

Also, do you think it would be an unwise job search strategy to make a list of each firm that donated a highlighter and send them all my resumes (as opposed to actually researching and finding good options for next summer)?

The Study Bunker

Law School Tip: Turn your room into a study bunker, replete with processed foods (like drinkable soup and little tubs of apple sauce) and devoid of anything interesting (hide magazines, non-law books, DVDs and any writing utensil that isn't color-coded to your outline). Sweep, dust, and do the dishes. Tape pictures of the people you're going to see after finals are over on the wall, in order to remember that yes, the outside world does exist, and no, life does not revolve around law school. Make sure you have ample supplies of paper, pens, highlighters, staples and caffeine, preferably Dunkin Donuts brand coffee.

The study bunker is complete!

Happy Turkey Day!!

Today

So, I'm up ridiculously early, mostly because I never went to bed! I had to finish a memo that is due at 10am, and instead of responsibly finishing it early, I spent the night with coffee, pancakes and some of my law school buddies. Yes, I might have gotten more sleep if we hadn't also watched Legally Blonde (1 AND 2) and about 15 repetitions of the law school video (see post below), but it was a bonding experience.

Luckily, it's almost Thanksgiving break, so I'll have a chance to catch up on my sleep deficit soon enough...

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Quotes

Again, from the Californian. And I have had so much coffee, this may only be funny to me:

"I don't know if it's complicated so much as multi-faceted..."

Summing it up....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZP5DCXD8vc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA

Alert alert!

Grad school anomaly = I have showered and am leaving the house on a Friday evening, for a purpose not related to law school, law books, law papers, or...law.

(Probably the last time before Christmas. I'm not totally kidding!)

Also, I discovered how much fun it is to blast country music while living in New England. I'm pretty sure it's my new weapon against Mr. Snoretastic.

Funny things about my friend from California:

She bought three different kinds of ice scrapers, including one that plugs into the cigarette lighter and heats up.

She bought "traction" plates to put under her tires in case she runs off the road. (I lived in Minnesota and never saw these things!)

I commented that makeup made me feel like Barbie. She said "There's a reason Barbie is an icon," and she was serious about it.

She thinks men should get their chests waxed.

I have had more "cultural differences" with her than with anyone I ever met in Germany or Austria!

Just to Clarify

I WAS paying attention when the woman ran over my foot. She was stopped, the light had turned red, and there was a big "No Right On Red" sign. I had a walk light, but she just started going, and ran over my foot. Therefore, TOTALLY HER FAULT. EVIL BAD BOSTON DRIVERS.

Just thought I'd clarify that. EVIL. BAD. BOSTON. DRIVERS.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned how I feel about them before.

Good News, Bad News

*Yes, I stole this from Lindsay*

Bad news: I was standing on the corner, waiting for the light to change so I could cross, and began to think about negligence; yes, law school has taken over my brain. If you are negligent (crossing against the light) and someone hits you with their car, you might get fewer damages from them in a lawsuit. So, I was considering all of this, and wondering if I would ever see jaywalking the same way, when the light changed. Lost in thought, I stepped into the crosswalk and a woman drove right over my foot. I'm fine, but I have lovely matching black stripes on my foot and my shoe. It was NO RIGHT ON RED. I think I've mentioned before how much I don't like Boston drivers?

Good news: Only about five weeks until Christmas break! Also, I got elected to the board of students that runs the competitions (like Negotiations, Mock Trial, etc.) which should be fun!

Tasks left before break:

Outlines for: Torts, Property, Contracts
Resume, Cover Letter
Apply for summer jobs
Get a tetanus shot
Christmas shopping *yeah, you're all getting Red Sox gear....
Keeping list of all of the movies/magazines/books I plan to enjoy over break
Dishes?

B is less than PL

When I came for an admitted student's weekend, a former student spoke, and said that we wouldn't really be stressed out until Halloween, at which point we'd have to start working for real. He was right! It's gotten quite busy the last few weeks!

I'm ready for Thanksgiving break, for the very sad reason that it will give me four, beautiful, uninterrupted days of study time. I'm not going home (I was way too late looking at plane tickets, and they were WAY too expensive!), so I plan to use the deserted campus as my playground (and Boston, a little, I hope) and firm up a lot of the outlines and readings I might have "skimmed" over the past few weeks.

I know, it sounds really, really fun, right? Well, law school has made me realize I may be a little more type-A than I think, because the prospect of having my notes outlined, organized and color-coded in the notebooks and dividers I have waiting for them has made me more than a little bit excited. In fact, I think it's the highlight of my day!

I went to Rhode Island yesterday to a mall, and I didn't know it was Rhode Island until after I got home. That is New England.

I also know own these:

http://www.southmoonunder.com/bvc/white-mountain-scrunch-boot-dark-brown-127890db.html

Because I decided every good law student needs boots. Preferably soft, warm boots that make you happy it's 30 degrees outside.

Would it be considered rude....

to offer my upstairs neighbor some of those BreatheRight strips? I mean, I don't know how his wife is able to sleep. Maybe she wears earplugs? Because if I can hear it through the CEILING, I cannot imagine how that must be in person.

Now that I'm done ranting, I should actually tell you (the 4 of you who read this) some exciting new news. Unfortunately, we've arrived at the point in the semester that I was warned about; after Halloween, you realize how close finals are and begin a downward spiral into the abyss of outlining, outlining, stressing, writing a resume (!!), looking for a summer job (are these people insane??), outlining, getting that dang tetanus shot the school has been bugging me about, and basically just having nothing interesting to talk about with anyone who isn't also ensconced in the "world of torts."

I guess, interesting note of the week: in most states, you don't have a legal duty to come to the aid of a stranger who is in trouble (with some exceptions). So, legally, if someone were drowning, depending on the circumstances, it might be legal for you to just walk on by. This raises a lot of political and philosophical questions, but what do you think? Should there be a Good Samaritan law? Or is personal autonomy and limitation on the power of the state more important?

Now that I've fulfilled my duty of due care to my blog, I should go to bed. If only the snoring would stop...

Boston Is On Fire

Seriously folks, could I have picked a better time to be in Boston? Aside from the obvious sports-related excitement, I've also positioned myself dangerously close to New Hampshire, which means frequent visits from exciting (or lackluster) politicians and the chance to go see what those nuts actually do when they're deciding the fate of our presidential candidates.

Which, if I had an hour or two to spare, would be a really exciting thing to do!

I've decided that it's all right to be excited about things that I could do, even if I don't do them. The possibility exists, and that is enough.

Others things I have the opportunity, if not the means or time, to do:

• Sample fine Italian cuisine in the North End.
• Take a carriage ride in the public gardens.
• Watch the Celtics play.
• Decide which Irish pub I like best and become a regular there.
• Tour the galleries on Newbury Street, even though I can't afford the art.
• Paint my studio a different color.
• Learn Russian from my neighbors and taste their delicious-smelling homemade bread.
• Learn about plumbing out of necessity while repairing my toilet (I am actually doing this) on a daily basis.
• Go swimming in the Charles (apparently safe, as long as you don't kick up the toxic silt on the bottom).

See, life is good.

Game 4...

Watching (potential) final game of the World Series.

Turned my heat on for the first time today!

Discovered that buses sometimes turn into trains and vice versa in downtown Boston.

Thinking it should be illegal to assign this much contracts homework during the World Series.

Constructive Friday

I'm heading home for the weekend tomorrow, both to see the new baby and to visit the rest of the family and friends in lieu of Thanksgiving. Which means that for me, today is Friday!

In other news, it's Game 2 of the World Series tonight, so Boston is aglow with flushed Irish cheeks (I am not even joking! You can feel the warmth!). My lovely academic institution also happens to host the #2 college football team in the country, and they have a game tonight, too. I have a feeling I won't be missing much tomorrow in class, since we apparently get a free pass on Socratic method when the Sox are in the Series.

We had one of those discussions in class today that reminded me of the bad parts of my undergraduate experience; a room full of 99% white people talking about race and privilege and getting extremely righteous without making any sense whatsoever, while the professor tries to get us to sing Kumbaya. The extremely insightful kernel we got out of a 30-minute discussion: Posner is a racist! No, Posner is not a racist! The jury was racist! We are racist! You are racist! This is not to say that I don't think racism and other forms of discrimination should be ignored or not discussed when we read cases, and of course doesn't mean I don't think there is a huge problem with institutional racism in the law (I do!), but it was one of those self-flagellating, politically-correct and utterly meaningless strings of posturing that made me want to get up and leave. Blargh. I know that's not a very eloquent response, but it's the best I can come up with!

But enough about that, it's Friday!!! And I'm off to a Sox-party. I better go find my red sox.

Lobster and Boston, or What I Do When I Can't Study Anymore

Stranger Things Have Happened

Living in Boston, you pretty much just have to be a Red Sox fan. If you're not, you're in danger.

Therefore, I am weirdly invested in their progress and thus spending my Thursday night reading Torts and watching a baseball game.

Law school is weird, have I mentioned that?

Listing

I realize my blogs of late have been rather cryptic; sorry! The workload is blooming like a beautiful flower (see how I'm being positive there?) and I've had visitors and excitement recently. Thus, another list (I promise I'll write more soon!):

- official name of new nephew? Eli Henry LegalEagle

- official number of days until I see him? 10.5

- official number of cases I printed out today? 17 (or, to put it another way, at least half a tree)

- officially awesome discovery of the weekend? the North End (or, to put it another way, CANNOLI)

- new resolution: go to Boston at least once per week and discover a new area of town

- second resolution: limit number of cannoli consumed so as to still fit into pants/car/seat at school

- third resolution: paint apartment. very depressing blechy/dirty cream color with many marks on it. hopeful about improved mental state with crisp white walls and no spider guts at eye level.

TTFN.

HDGDL.

ROTFLMAO.

IAROOSABICSM (I am running out of silly acronyms, but I can't stop myself)

Baby is here!

As yet unnamed, but mom and baby are doing well!

30-second update!

The baby is coming! The baby is coming! Aly's in the hospital right now! Yaaay!

Other, way less exciting news:

- Tonight is my belated birthday party at a Real. Live. Bar. I feel so old.

- We were knocked out in the finals at negotiations on Tuesday, but we're pretty psyched we got that far! And now we get our evenings back!

- It's raining!

- I never realized how annoying laundrymats are until I had to use them. And that is where I am now headed; have a great weekend! I will post baby news soon!

Finally Fall?

After a lovely weekend, I am back to Boston and real life, and it seems to be finally turning autumn! It's been so hot recently, I had almost forgotten that it was fall; now the leaves appear to be turning a little and it's gray and rainy. Strangely this makes me really happy! I kind of dig putting on sweaters and having foggy glasses every morning, especially when I'm spending a lot of time indoors anyway. This way, I can enjoy snuggling up in the library with lots of wool and coffee, instead of wishing I could be outside enjoying the sunlight. One less reason to procrastinate is always a good thing.

Tomorrow is also the first day of a new exercise class AND the negotiations final, so I'm a little pumped and a little nervous about both. But enough rambling, back to my mocha and contracts reading I must go!

I hope you all had a great long weekend!

C'est le weekend!

(I love that the French don't feel the need to capitalize every noun. That has always made me nuts about German.)

Anyway, linguistics aside, I just thought I'd write a quick post to update you all on my interesting life (haha), which I have described to various people as "reading, reading, negotiating, reading, imbibing in one beer, reading some more and regretting said beer, reading, researching!, and then reading.

But this weekend, I have Grand Plans, which include all sorts of fun non-reading activities like "apple picking" and "getting lots of hugs." I am heading down to upstate New York (heehee) to meet up with my friends from college (most of whom lived on the same dorm floor I did) who are on the East Coast. It will be so great to see them, especially the ones I haven't seen since graduation! I am basically jittering with excitement and unable to concentrate in class today, because in a few short hours, I will be in the presence of the most awesome people I know for 2.5 days!!!

Also, I'm jittering with nervousness about the negotiations finals, which are on Tuesday afternoon IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE. You know I don't like public speaking, and my face will be red as a beet! But I've gone this far, I have to go through with it. So at 4 pm on Tuesday, please be thinking of me and wishing me calmness and non-red-facedness.

Hugs and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Die behaarte Deutschen

The Hairy Germans advance to the finals. Stay tuned for further updates.

PS: Check out this great Boston radio station (they have online feeds); I'm currently in love with it.

Sunday, Coffee Sunday.

Sitting at Panera with two law school buddies, partaking of the free wireless and ample table space:

"Ok, so if the wife dies, and then the husband remarries a woman who was born after the wife died, and then they have a baby, and then the husband dies, and then the baby dies, who gets the house?"

"I think I need another croissant."

"Can I have a future possessory interest in your croissant?"

"Is that an offer?"

"There's no consideration! Even if you accepted, it wouldn't be binding."

"This conversation is intentionally inflicting emotional distress on me right now."

"I think I need another croissant."

Semi-Finals, Baby!

Oh yeah! Down to 8 teams out of 90! This is nuts!

Excuse me while I start my homework at 11:32 p.m.

PS: My partner and I have dubbed ourselves "The Hairy Germans" Please root for us on Tuesday.

PPS: There is a backstory, I am not going to put it on the internet. =)

Negotiatrix.

For the past few weeks, I've been participating in a negotiation competition; basically, it's like debate or moot court, but simulates various negotiating scenarios that lawyers face (forming contracts, out-of-court settlements, divorces). My partner and I made it through to the third round tonight! We were up against some really good people and were pleasantly surprised. I am also shocked at how much I enjoy using my "killer instinct" to go after the opposition's weak points. The best part is I do it all in my friendly LegalEagle voice and smile like a banshee. It seems to work! It's all about being prepared and reading between the lines to infer your opponent's secrets, and it's really really fun!

Anyway, just thought I'd share a non-aggravating experience!

Driving in Boston

Driving here is an art form, and not a nice one. I have always been one of those rather annoying, mostly law-abiding people who tried to drive according to the rules. In Boston, the rules are that there are no rules other than "Go faster" and "Merge or die." Sometimes it's almost fun, but most of the time it's exhausting and pretty scary. I really don't understand why otherwise sane people get in their cars and lose all (or most) reason and logic. Ex., if there are two lanes of traffic merging into one, neither having the right of way, logically you'd take turns, one by one, merging into the lane. Here? Whoever pushes the nose of their car far enough out in front of you that you'd hit them if you continued - they win. And if you don't follow this strategy, but instead wait for someone to let you out, or a light to change, a break in the traffic, etc., you get honked at! And not just "tap, tap" kind of honking. A driver in front of me actually honked his horn for almost half a mile because the driver in front of him didn't react quickly enough to a light change for his tastes.

Word of the day: HARRUMPH.

I though DanceFest deserved its own post.

Because I don't think I make a fool of myself in public enough...

Random weekend tidbits.

Things I did this weekend that I haven't done for a long time/ever and that make me happy:

Tailgating at a football game.

Dressing up in matching dorky fan t-shirts with 3 new friends.

Getting a little sunburn on my nose.

Walking almost all the way around main campus and discovering several new and ever-uglier Eagle statues.

Having an argument in which I ended up defending Jews for Jesus and the existence of Santa Claus, all in one car ride.

Eating popsicles and getting sticky and disgusting and not really caring.

Enjoying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (This is officially the weirdest item on my list.)

Deciding that I should always refer to the Federal Rules of Evidence as "Fred" in my notes.

Spending a significant chunk of time in which I should have been doing homework dancing around my teensy apartment in my sports bra, while enjoying the sounds of Ricky Martin. (And realizing DanceFests should probably include closing the curtains.)

Considering the mixture of 4 kinds dried fruits into one large ziploc bag "cooking."

Considering moving my pile of dirty clothes from one side of the room to another "cleaning."

Considering said DanceFest "exercise."

Realizing when you can take you pants off without unbuttoning, it's definitely time to get new pants.

I shall be...

persistently optimistic.

Do you think you can choose to be a glass-half-full person, or are you just born that way?

And if you ARE born that way, then life beats it out of you, can you get it back?

This asketh the girl who is apparently enjoying law school way too much.

I lied. Grammar is dead.

Sentence from my to-be-turned-in-tomorrow Memorandum:

The Garrett court held that those activities were not typically done in the home, and thus the parking garage did not function as a room in the home; the basement is clearly used for activities typically done in a home, and thus functions as a room in the home, and a court would likely conclude that the facts in this case meet the requirement for this element of establishing a dwelling house.

Excuse me while I take my writing style out back and shoot it. And eat some peanut butter from a jar while I weep over the loss of FLAVA* in my life.

FLAVA: writing that catches your imagination. Example: from my poem, Fried, about the ambience in Mac's cafeteria: "Taste the easy, breezy, fried up air"

That's right. A poet AND a law student.

You can't have heirs until you die.

So tomorrow is the big negotiation competition, first round, and then Friday our first paper (Memorandum) is due for legal writing. Saturday is the BC football game, which I plan to attend in true SuperFan style with my friends and I in matching gold and maroon t-shirts.

I got a spot at a Public Interest Retreat next weekend, where alumni come back to tell us, no, you don't HAVE to work at a firm and sell your soul (yay!) and we get free food and drink and nature-communing time (more yay!).

The weekend after that I am heading to NY for a big college friend reunion!

The weekend after that some friends from home may visit!

Notice how I'm focusing on the weekends here?

The semester is going so fast! It's slipping away!

Pictures from Boston...

Check out some pictures from Boston

FiOS!

WARNING: This post has a high dork factor.

I got my internet installed this morning! I've been testing it out by running streaming videos, music, AIM, etc., all at once; so far it's pretty awesome!

Luckily, the person who lived here before me already had Verizon, so it took all of 20 minutes for the guy to get it set up (they had warned it might take 4 hours, so I was pleasantly surprised!)

Time for me to stop playing, and get back to work (today is Rosh Hashana, so we have the day off, and I'm trying to get some big chunks of work done before Susan gets here tomorrow).

Happy New Year!

Mobile blog post: from the library!

Before I get kicked off this carrel, which is supposedly for people using the CD-ROM COLLECTION SYSTEM (??), I wanted to quickly post for today.

This is for my parents: that land on the other side of the fence that is technically within your property line? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Tom's land now. Sorry about that. Adverse possession*, baby!

So this weekend while the mother is visiting, we have two goals. One, eat yummy Boston food and do fun city things. Two, buy Emma a suit. I am officially a law school tool already, and it's only the first month!

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

*In common law, adverse possession is the process by which title to another's real property is acquired without compensation, by, as the name suggests, holding the property in a manner that conflicts with the true owner's rights for a specified period of time. (from Wikipedia - pretty accurate I think!)

The British are coming!!

Ok, not the British. And according to my duck tour guide, that poem is inaccurate, since Paul Revere WAS British, he would have said "The Redcoats are coming!" But I digress.

My mom is coming to visit this weekend! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! Surprise mom visit + FiOS internet = BEST. WEEKEND. EVER.

That's the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it.

Realized I'm 75 pages ahead in Civil Procedure, due to my obsessive tendencies and fear of being unprepared. Booyah!

Also, realized that I signed up for a negotiation competition, meaning I have to start negotiating before judges, oh, on WEDNESDAY.

Eeeeek.

Sunday, part deux

First, I thought it was very rhythmic traffic. Then, perhaps, a subwoofer. Only after careful listening have I discerned that my upstairs neighbor, we'll call him Pierre, has an incredibly loud, incredibly persistent snoring problem. It's not that tragic for me, but I do feel bad for his roommate; I can't imagine what it sounds like from the same apartment!

Note: there is something wrong with the timing on this blog. It's actually 1:06 a.m., but when I post, it gives the impression that I'm blogging at a much earlier, more civilized time. Do not be fooled. I have bad sleep habits, just like all the other law students.

Dunkin Donuts

There is a Dunkin Donuts on just about every block here, including mine. It has become my Sunday morning tradition (I know it's only been three weeks!) to go to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee (and maybe a donut or bagel) before I settle into homework for the day. This morning, as I was picking out my bagel, a police officer came into the store, walked behind the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. It startled me, so I looked at him, and when he noticed me staring he said "How ahh ya?" to which I responded (in my pre-coffee state, remember) "Uh, fine... you?" He then said "How about the Sox, eh?" and turned around to leave.

I officially live in Boston.

Socrates, squared.

I think I've officially passed the "you're not going to fail out/have a nervous breakdown in the first week" test, which is a big relief. What my grades will be remains to be seen of course (and my awesome 2L mentor has suggested some study tips which I plan to spend the weekend implementing), but I've gotten over the hump of learning how to brief a case and answer the Socratic method-type questions. In fact, I got called on not once, but twice this week in two separate classes!! What that means is basically the professor randomly chooses a student to talk about a certain case, and then comes back to that student again and again with questions about the facts, hypothetical scenarios and analyses. In my case (both times!) we pretty much only covered one case in the class, which meant I spent an hour plus on call and answering questions both today and yesterday. The chances of randomly getting chosen are only 1/90, so I really didn't count on it happening twice within two weeks, but it was honestly nice to get it over with (and kind of exhilarating!). Now I know I can do it! And I know I probably won't get called on again in those two classes! It takes a lot of pressure off.

Still, there are grades to think about (based on exams mainly), homework, student groups (I've already joined three, I know it's a bit much!) and of course the utterly important social life. Tonight I actually dragged my antisocial self to a party of the first year class, only to have it broken up by the POLICE within an hour! Imagine the scene: 100 law students, five cops and a keg. I don't think I need say any more.

So, I'm a bit busy and my studio is a bit messy, but it's the weekend! The perfect time to rectify that and also get my self organized so NEXT time I get called on I'll have an even better answer!

Pictures, part II

My kitty asleep in a sea of law books. Note the tv antenna in the upper-right (free tv!!).



Where's Waldo? I miss Waldo!

Some pics, part I

My first gourmet meal in the tiny kitchen (I'm the new Rachel Ray!):
How I spent Labor Day:

tempora mutantur, nos et mutamu in illis

That means (roughly) the times are changing, and we are changing with them. A judge (who later became a Supreme Court justice), argued in 1805 in a dissenting opinion, that despite the lack of precedent, a rule/law should be established that addressed a particular problem (in this case a fox hunting dispute!).

POLL:

Do you think that critics would call this judicial activism?

Did you ever think a fox hunting case from 1805 could immediately make you think of Bob Dylan?

Do you think the fact that I'm tempted to pull a Wayne's World and do the "Foxy Lady" in property class for emphasis of points I raise about said fox hunting dispute means I should really not be in law school?

Do you think my blog will be getting more and more cryptic as the semester progresses?

Discuss.

Labor Day

I get the feeling I will spend the next 9 months without the satisfying feeling of being "done." Every time I finish my homework, I skim back over it and realize there are about ten levels of deeper analysis I'm missing. And then I realize it's 11:30 and time for this old lady to go to bed!

Byegones, it will all come out ok in the end. (I hope!)

One down, fifteen to go...

..or as my torts professor put it 38 individual sessions of each class. Yes, I counted (and so did she, apparently!) but not because I'm not enjoying myself. Quite the opposite; my brain is slowly turning back on after a year of typing, shredding and typing again, and it's a great feeling! So far, I LOVE being in school! The first few days have been stressful, especially the logistics of my 50 pounds of books traveling to and from class when I'm still under orders not to lift anything. Despite the stress, it's really gratifying to be sitting in class after a year of LSATs, applications, financial aid paperwork and decision-making. I think it just hit me today; I'm really here!

And to top off that wonderful realization, it's also the Friday of a three-day weekend! Suffice it to say, my somewhat frazzled mood has suddenly lifted and I can see the light. And the light involves(-ed) me going to a movie (The Nanny Diaries - eh.. not so great), having my first official cleaning frenzy (extremely satisfying when there are only 250 sq. feet to clean!), going to a beach (tomorrow, I hope!), and dinner plans with my new, real, live, law school buddies! Oh yeah, and maybe a little tiny bit of homework somewhere in there. AND the Red Sox are winning, which means my profs will probably be in a good mood when we come back to school on Tuesday. It's amazing, but I think every single professor has independently mentioned the Red Sox and found some way to use a Yankees fan as the victim or loser in a legal scenario, this within the first week of class!

Legal word of the day: Tortfeasor ('tort-fee-zur) : someone who commits a tort; a wrong-doer.

PS - This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but my internet was down. And by 'my' internet, I mean that of my mysterious neighbor Doug, which I've been ::cough:: borrowing. But today it was back up and I managed to put in an order for Verizon FiOS, which is supposed to be superduper fast and amazing. Also, it's the only Verizon internet available in my area other than dial-up, so that made the decision pretty easy. I had to wait to schedule the installation until I have a day off (Rosh Hashana) because the installation supposedly takes FOUR HOURS!!!

Contracts and Property and Torts, oh my!

Today was my first day, and it wasn't bad at all! I actually only had two classes (and an interminably boring Westlaw/Lexis training in which I determined that if my post-JD job is ever to teach law students how to use a database, I'd definitely be better in any of the other professions I considered before I chose law). Both of my classes seem interesting, but the professors have completely different styles; apparently they try to put the sections together so no one group of poor 1Ls gets ALL of the Socratic/sadistic professors! Also, I discovered that I may have to register with the Bar of whatever state I want to practice in within 60 days of starting law school! If you know me, you know that making even a preliminary decision about what STATE I want to live in in three years has thrown me into fits of panic. I'm looking into whether you can register for as many states as you might possibly be moving to!

Other than bureaucratic manners, I also discovered that the two main things you can buy in my neighborhood are coffee/donuts/pastries and salon services. There is literally beauty shop or spa on every corner! I guess that's what happens when you live in the "Safest City in America" (Newton, not Boston); people have nothing to worry about, so they spend their time frosting tips and peeling facial skin.

Anyway, tomorrow is a packed day with four (count em!) classes plus a legal ethics orientation, followed by a "Bar Review". And I mean that quite literally, as in, the entire school is invited to a bar, where they proceed to "mingle." It seems to be a theme! If my gallbladder had cooperated, it's one I would probably enjoy, but alas...

The New Apartment!

Sorry for my long absence. I've been busy trying to get back up to speed to start school and also moving up to Boston. Since I'm banned from lifting anything heavy for another couple of weeks, my dad helped me move in and buy furniture, etc. I could not have done it without him!! We snapped a few picture of my luxurious loft for your entertainment.

Above, the living room and kitchen (use your imagination, people!).

Below, reading in the office/dining area (read, table) and the 'bedroom'.

Tomorrow is the first day of orientation, so I'm trying to get organized. And by organized, of course I mean I'm reading magazines and watching Margaret Cho. Law school, here I come!

I'm alive!

I'm alive and well after my ectomy on Tuesday. Now, I'm back to the daily grind of Lifetime Movies, etc. I hope to be up and around soon!

Paging Dr. Freud!

The medicine I've been taking until I can have my surgery has one very odd side effect: weird, vivid dreams!

So far, I've crashed into the Boston harbor in a giant jet, visited my Latvian family (?) and been convinced that many of my family members are experiencing health crises of their own... Oh! And I broke my leg! My dad called them the "I am the most pathetic person in the world" dreams.

I don't think I need more proof that my subconcious should really stay that way!

Missing the beach was making me pretty down, so I decided to turn my life into a Visa commercial. (I'm also really bored - the only times I've left the house in about a week have been to the hospital or to buy more trashy magazines with which to rot my slowly atrophying brain.) Please imagine the sexy, commercial voice-over dude saying this over a sunset background with frolicking tourists (who all have tiny laproscopic scars on their belly buttons)...

Diseases which the U.S. Customs has at times suspected me of carrying: hoof and mouth, mad cow, bird flu.

Diseases which WebMD, Lindsay J., and Alyson have at one point or another convinced me I have: brain tumor, malaria, premature menopause (really! Ask Lindsay), and bird flu.

Actually contracting a simple and easily fixed problem WHILE I have health insurance: PRICELESS.

See, I'm actually feeling pretty lucky!

Chop chop!

Well, next Tuesday is the big day. My ****ectomy (I can't remember the name of it at the moment) is scheduled for that day, giving me exactly 13 days from operating table to TORTS. I hope I'll be peppy and ready for school, but if not, I plan to use this as a sneaky way to make new friends ("I'm sorry, I can't quite lift that heavy law book, want to carry it for me? And be my friend? And cook me dinner? Thanks!"). I'm crafty like that!

Unfortunately, that means our beach vacation has to be canceled and my grandiose plans for nesting in Boston curtailed. (Boo.)

To make myself feel better, I have been spending time online looking at pictures of kittens. Yes, this is the brain of a future lawyer I'm rigorously training here.

I hope you are all enjoying your August!

Edit: Cholecystectomy.

L'end

Sadly, this is my last day at work. My quitting has turned out to be very well-timed, though, since I will be radioactive tomorrow.

That's right - radioactive! I'm having a test done to see if I need my gallbladder taken out (I'm scared of surgery, but would like to be able to eat again before law school starts). After this test, I'll be radioactive for a day, and should avoid contact with small children. I probably shouldn't find this as funny as I do, but we all know I have a rather weird sense of humor!

Anyway, I'm finishing up some last projects at work and trying to organize and clean off my desk for my replacement (as yet unnamed; the woman who was supposed to take my job failed to show up!). As a farewell, my coworkers brought in lunch and a going-away cake, which was super sweet. I will really miss parts of this job, but I'm SUPER excited to be heading to Boston soon (barring unforeseen nuclear events in my intestinal tract).

Summer Sweets

This is the sweetest song I've heard in a while: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtYqBYCV8

I caught it on the radio driving back from Berkeley Springs, and thought I'd made a quirky little musical discovery, which is funny, considering this: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/07/19/plain_white_ts_unseats_rihanna_at_no_1/3767/ . I guess you could say I'm a bit out of the loop, musically speaking!

So, in the spirit of (real) quirky musical discoveries, check out this awesomely funkylicious band that I love: http://www.thedittybops.com/

Testing...testing...

Hello, Internet! I am testing out this newfangled "blog" as a way to communicate with my far-flung friends while I'm off in Boston, doing this thing called law school. It should be fun! (Naysayers beware, I am endlessly optimistic about how much fun I'm going to have in law school.) Anyway, I'm still at home, but I'm super pumped to go to Boston soon, so I'm getting everything ready; I've already made an Excel spreadsheet of things to pack and things to buy at IKEA.

As part of my preparations, I've created this lovely blog, so the lovely people I love (can I say love any more in one sentence) can satisfy that burning desire I know they all have to keep up on my travails. But this is just a test.

Here is a picture of some of those people I love, to test out this whole picture posting apparatus: