Category — law school

During the course of my enthusiastic avoidance of all things law-school related this evening, I came across this blog post about US soldiers signing up for, studying for, and taking the LSAT.

IN IRAQ.

Thought maybe we could all use a little perspective.

I started out studying in my room, but that was problematic because my roommate works the day shift and I work the night shift so I was studying in the dark balancing books on my knees with a tiny light and trying not to make any noise.  So that really didn’t work.  Instead, I started coming into the trailers where my Tactical Operations Center (TOC) is and working there all night, but a lot of people come in and out so I eventually moved out of there as well.

…

The testing center itself was alright.  It was a little noisy at times and the room we tested in was somewhat cramped with shaky squeaking tables and my chair had a broken back.  The proctor, a U.S. civilian, was very kind and helpful.

…

Regardless of our different situations, all soldiers in combat who are trying to accomplish something like this face many small detractors that add up: constant stress of direct or indirect fire, heat (120-140 degrees), irregular sleep patterns, no personal living or work space, unreliable internet, supervisors who may be unsupportive, no real time off, and of course the demands of the mission – whatever it may be for that individual.  The mission always comes first, regardless of your personal endeavors.  You have to split your focus between the mission and possibly the biggest test of your immediate future, which is difficult, especially when your life or the life of your fellow soldiers is at risk.

…I’ve just been in law school. So actually, it kindof is like falling off the face of the earth. Anyway, I have a few updates to my 101 goals in 1001 days, and then a major announcement!

1.  Had another mother-daughter dinner with Molly at Pei Wei. We’re still running behind by one month but will hopefully get that remedied soon.

7.  It’s with a sad heart (okay, not really so sad, but don’t tell Molly) that I must report that Allie is no longer a Propst. Allie’s philosophy in life apparently was “The World is My Toilet.” Accordingly, she stubbornly refused to use the litterbox at least half the time. I’ve never had a cat who wouldn’t use the litterbox. The final straw was when she peed on my Torts notebook. END OF PROPST-HOOD. I’m happy to report that Allie has found a new home in the country, where she can pee and poop wherever and whenever the spirit moves her.

38.  Manicures have become the first casualty of law school. I just don’t have the time, and I really don’t need to spend the money. I will not give up my pedicures, though. Just try to make me.

64 & 66: Done!!! My car is paid off and the orthodontist is paid off. WOOT! This will save me a hunk of change every month. YAY!

82.  Done!!! I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to use an external hard drive with backups once a week or some online method of backup that would be done more frequently (and without my having to remember), so I ended up doing both. I bought an external hard drive and I have scheduled backups for Saturday afternoons, and I also got a Dropbox account for my law school related documents so they remain constantly updated and accessible via any computer in the world, just in case the Blue Screen of Death ever pays me a visit at an inopportune time. Shameless plug: If you think you may be interested in a Dropbox account for yourself (it’s free!), please let me email you a link to use so I can get credit for the referral.

**********

So in case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been updating this blog much lately. I blame George Bush, Barack Obama, and law school. I started this blog as a way for my friends and family (especially the ones who aren’t on Facebook) to be able to keep up with me, and I still want to do that. I’ve also had another blog for a few months now, and I originally thought I wanted to keep it anonymous, but I’ve since decided that that’s too stressful and there’s really no good reason for it.

drum roll please…

If you want to read about my otherwise mundane existence, my 101 goals in 1001 days, and my kid and my pets, by all means, please keep reading this blog. I plan to keep its focus on my personal stuff, and if that doesn’t interest you, I certainly don’t blame you.

If you want to read about my law school experience, my rants about current events and politics (warning: you will probably disagree with me at least half the time), and the general hilarity that seems to follow me around wherever I go, you belong here. All I ask is that you not use my real name if you choose to comment on that blog, as it has quite a few more readers than this one does, from all around the globe (yay!!), and I’d like to try to avoid attracting crazy weirdo stalker people if possible.

You can read both blogs if you want to, you can read one or the other, or you can read neither.

I hope you’ll read both.

Orientation at Texas Tech School of Law starts (for me) on Tuesday, August 18, with a library tour and a laptop configuration session, followed by two full days of listening, questions and answers, small group breakout sessions, free food and drink (!), and generally shuffling about in groups of people who — fingers crossed here — will be just as confused and disoriented as I will be. Hence the name: orientation.

Just in case you don’t have your calendar handy and you’re feeling a little bit disoriented yourself, that’s less than a week away. Where in the world did the summer go? In the last few days, I’ve been trying to get totally organized in time for school to start. Just in case a future law-school hopeful ever stumbles upon this blog in a frantic search for helpful information, I present Eight Steps to Law School Preparation.

1. I read parts of Law School Confidential, and I plan to read Getting to Maybe. The beginning of Law School Confidential is about the LSAT and the application process, and probably the entire second half is about your 2L and 3L years, the bar exam, and finding a job, so I only read the parts in between that had to do with the 1L year. I thought it was useful and I particularly liked the whole color-coded-book-briefing-with-highlighters idea. Getting to Maybe deals specifically with succeeding on law school exams, and from everything I’ve heard it’s most useful if you read it during the semester, finishing up around Thanksgiving. That’s the plan.
2. Inspired in part by Law School Confidential, I made an epic trip to the office supply store. Not that this was difficult for me; I do LOVE me some office supplies. I stocked up on highlighters, pens, pencils, binders, dividers, and Post-It flag thingies. I don’t really know if I’ll use the binders and dividers, but they were just so cute! Anyway, Molly can use them if I don’t.
3. The orientation info packet we were sent specifically said not to buy any books until orientation, just in case they have to change your section assignment, but there’s no way I was gonna wait that long. Waiting that long to get books would mean that your only option would be to buy the books at the local bookstores, unless you ordered books and then had them shipped overnight. Of course, the increased shipping cost would defeat the purpose of ordering the books online at a lower cost, now wouldn’t it? I knew I wanted brand-new casebooks because I didn’t want anyone else’s notes and/or highlighting to interfere with mine, so I ordered those from Barnes & Noble. If you have a membership card there, which I believe is $25 a year, you get 10% off all your purchases. This saved me probably around $60, which is almost like getting a small book for free. I also got some used books from the local bookstore, as I was able to find some that weren’t marked in at all.
4. I went ahead and got a few supplements even though I think you’re supposed to wait and see which ones you’ll need, if any. I got Examples & Explanations (E&E’s) for each of my classes except one — Torts, Contracts, and Civil Procedure — and I got a commercial Contracts outline (Emanuel’s). The E&E’s were recommended to me by my brother, who recently graduated from Tech Law, so I’m confident they’ll come in handy. The commercial outline was recommended in Law School Confidential. We’ll see if it was a good investment or not. The one class I didn’t get supplements for is Legal Practice and I don’t think any will be needed, if they even make any.
5. I decided to use Microsoft OneNote for notes, briefs, and outlines. The consensus is that it’s the best PC application for law school, so I’m going to give it a whirl. I set up a notebook for each of my four classes, with sections in each for keeping track of readings and assignments, reading notes, lecture notes, case briefs, and outlines. I have no idea if I’ll even use all those categories, but they’re there if I need them.
6. I’ve spent some quality time this summer with books and movies. Books that I read for pleasure, that is. I figure I won’t have much of a chance to indulge for at least the next year.
7. I set up this blog because I want to have a record of this whole adventure for myself. This is going to be a fun/scary/enlightening/challenging/unique experience.
8. I shopped for some new clothes so that I’ll look less like a hobo and more like a future lawyer, or at least a respectable citizen. After working from home for the last eleven years, my wardrobe has devolved into not much more than an assortment of T-shirts and capri pants. My brother and my sister-in-law have both told me that they wished they had realized sooner that the people you go to law school with today will be your colleagues tomorrow, and the impressions you make in law school will matter.

And here are some things I haven’t done, whether I should have or not.

1. I haven’t read one single word in any of my law school books or supplements. I was in such a hurry to buy them, and yet I can’t make myself start reading them. Rationale: My understanding is that different professors will highlight different cases, and I’m not interested in doing unnecessary reading/studying.
2. I didn’t buy a Mac. But oh, how desperately I want one. Alas, it’s just not in the budget for this semester. As soon as I can, though, I’m getting a 13-inch MacBook Pro, and don’t try to talk me out of it.
3. I haven’t come to terms with the fact that I’ll have four — FOUR — 8:00 classes a week. That is to say, I’m still staying up until 2:00 in the morning and waking up around 9:30. This. Has. To. Stop. When school starts up, I’ll be waking up at 5:30 every morning. Yep, I said 5:30. That’s a.m., as in morning. Please hold for a panic attack.
4. I haven’t canceled my cable subscription, complete with HBO. I refuse to believe that I won’t have time to watch my favorite shows: So You Think You Can Dance, True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Cleaner, Intervention, and maybe others. I won’t likely be able to watch them live, but I’ll DVR the heck out of them and watch them on my terms. Take that, busy schedule.

So there you have it. At this point I have no idea if I’ve been brilliant or not, but I’ll let you know as the year progresses.

It’s just a little over 3 months until law school starts and I feel clueless. I have some books that are supposed to help prepare me, but I haven’t started reading them yet. Here are some of the questions that simply must be answered in time for me to start school: [Read more →]