Subjective Negligence

Background.

2006-12-30T05:43:00.000-05:00

When I was in college, and I came home for the holidays/summers, I had a habit of driving around my home town at night. I've always been a night owl, and I usually didn't feel like going to bed when everyone else did, so I'd just drive around. I think I did it out of restlessness. Sometimes I felt like getting on I-90 and driving east until I found something interesting. When I drove past the freeway at night I always thought it would be kind of cool to just get on it and drive until morning... call my family from some pay phone in a tiny town in Montana and tell them where I was and that I didn't know when I'd be back. I always thought that would be kind of liberating.

One day, I got my wish. My LSAT score wasn't good enough to get me into the public school here, but I figured I had a decent shot at another really good public school. This school wait-listed me in the winter of 2003, so it seemed like they were interested. I found out they gave preference to state residents, so I looked up the residency statutes. I figured out how to get residency in a year, then I got on the freeway and I drove east.

I was able to transfer there with my job (which wasn't hard... retail workers are completely fungible), get an apartment, meet the girlfriend, fall in love, and get myself wait-listed and rejected by the public school in my new state of residency. This of course, was soul-crushing. Rejection meant telling the girlfriend's family, my coworkers, my family, my friends, and most of all, the girlfriend, that I had invested a year of my life trying to accomplish something, and failed miserably. It meant that I was basically in the same position I was a year earlier, except now I had an awesome girlfriend and had to leave her. This was pretty much the low-water mark of my adult life. Luckily, my safety school still admitted me, and gave me the same small scholarship they had offered me the year before. So reluctantly, I got on the freeway, and I drove east.

When I got there, I figured I'd already sacrificed a year of my life, signed on for six figures worth of student loans, and left an amazing woman to give myself a shot at this law school thing, so I'd best make the most of it. This seems to have lit a fire under my ass, because I did well. Well enough to transfer. The school that wait-listed me twice? The FINALLY admitted me... as a transfer. But by then another school had admitted me, one which I would've gnawed off my own hand to attend. So I got on the freeway and I drove west! And to top it all off, girlfriend and I decided we could handle a long distance relationship until I was done with school (especially since we were now only three hours apart).

After this year, I'll be driving west again... but not very far. As of this June, it'll have been 4 years since I first drove east... and it looks like I won't ever be coming back for any length of time. Now when I come home I still drive around my old home town late at night. For some reason driving by all of my friend's old houses and the places I used to hang out at comforts me. It's weird. I get all nostalgic. This is the place where I grew up, and pretty much every street triggers some kind of very fond memory of my adolescence. Tonight I drove past the house where I grew up, the houses of about 5 of my really good friends from high school, my old middle school, my favorite curvy road (it's really fun to drive on it), and a couple of my old places of employment.

Until tonight, my nostalgia was always sort of heavy and sad. I accepted the fact that I'll never work or live around my home town a long, long time ago, but that doesn't mean I don't miss it. Tonight's drive was different though. This was the first time I've been home since I accepted my job offer. Tonight I drove around knowing that I'll have a definite home to go back to after this school year. I'm no longer a transient who's lived in 5 different cities in the last 5 years, I'm a guy who knows where he'll be living for the next 5 years, maybe even 10, hell maybe even 50, and I'm pretty sure I know who I'll be living with. I think that colored tonight's drive. I think I missed the idea of having a home more than I missed living in the home town itself. Tonight I drove around my old home town and I was able to simply appreciate it for what it is, for what it was, for what it did, for how it shaped me, and for the memories I have of it. I just smiled as I drove around and felt the memories ebb and flow through and around me. I didn't feel the sense of loss that I usually feel when I think about the good ole' days... I think it's because I finally know where my new home is now. I don't feel like the center has dropped out of me every 12 months when my lease is up and I have to move to a new state.

In 2003 I set out to scratch that itch that had been bugging me since roughly 1998, and I drove east... the goal of course was to attend law school, but I also just wanted to find out what was out there. And I drove east... and I found it:

It's home.

Wind!

2006-12-17T22:01:00.000-05:00

Hurricane force winds: Not just for Florida anymore!

We haven't had a storm this bad since January of '93... when I was stuck in my middle school classroom for 6 hours without power and a tree fell on our school, then we were stuck in the dark at my house for about a week without power.

We got lucky this time, my mom's place didn't lose power at all. About half my friends are still in the dark though.

Other than that... break has been kind of weird. This is the first time coming home has felt "temporary." My move to the midwest has always seemed sort of like a temporary phase, and for some reason the move now feels permanent, and I feel kind of like a visitor in my old home. I think it's because I accepted an offer with the firm. Now I there are no more maybes or ifs about my future. I know where I'm going to be after school, and it isn't here. It's kind of sad actually. It will probably be a lot harder to keep in touch with friends once I start working, and it will be damn near impossible to come out to visit for extended periods of time.

So I guess I'm officially a transplant now. I wonder if I need to renounce my citizenship or anything...

Mama I'm Coming Home

2006-12-13T05:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the title. I'm in an Ozzie kind of mood.

Back in the great rainy north.

I'd like to say that I'm not doing anything school related for the next 3 weeks. Unfortunately I've got two papers that need writing, and if I don't finish them at some point, I won't be graduating.

Who the hell am I kidding? I'll be writing these damn things in May.

I've also come to the conclusion that I use too many ellipses in my non-legal writing.

That is all...

And we're done.

2006-12-11T17:28:00.000-05:00

Took my last exam today. Thank God that's over... so It wasn't pretty, but it's done, and tomorrow I go back to my homeland... the great rainy north (as opposed to the frozen north, which is my adopted homeland).

I found this guy's blog, and I was absolutely convinced that this was just elaborately constructed flame... nobody can be this dumb. Then I saw this. Now I'm pretty sure a bunch of guys at Stanford decided to genetically engineer the perfect douchebag, but part of my still wants to believe that people this cannot possibly be this idiotic. I actually feel dumber for having read his story. It's like he's incapable of comprehending his own incompetence. It's like if the "Dude Where's my Car" guys somehow managed to find a $2 million line of credit.

Maybe he's the smartest guy on the Internet though... maybe he's just fooling everyone and that he isn't actually the dumbest human being alive. I actually feel more comfortable with that proposition than I do with the one where he's real.

Fun with exams.

2006-12-08T04:17:00.000-05:00

First of all, I passed the MPRE, so that's good.

Second of all, I took a final today, and that's not so good. At the beginning of the quarter the professor said "this is a difficult class," because "there is a right answer in this course." He said that unlike constitutional law, "you can't fake it" in here. And you know what? He's right. As I moved from issue to issue in the exam I thought "Damn, the code really does provide a single right answer for everything. I have no business taking this class."

I think I dealt with it well though. We all remember that I had a friend who went to my 1L school and then transferred here as well? Well, after the final I offhandedly told her that it was "pretty straightforward" and that I "went home and studied [the last issue on the exam] for about 3 solid hours last night, and I think I really nailed it." No my friend is neurotic as all hell (she didn't get the memo: we're 3Ls with jobs at a top school... it's ok to start phoning this in), and she got a real panicked look, so I told her I was kidding. Then we went and got breakfast.

After that I dicked around on the Internet for about 4 hours while pretending to study, then I slept for 2 hours. Then I ate dinner, then I came home. Then I spent about 2 hours looking through the archives of this blog, now I'm going to bed.

I have two more finals. One on Saturday, one on Monday. I haven't studied at all for either of them. I'm starting to think the reason I did half-way decent as a 2L is because there were lazy jackass 3Ls like me who were content to do nothing and fill out the bottom end of the curve. I'm really taking dead aim at the median and hoping to get there, though that may not happen given my near total lack of preparation and ability to motivate myself.

I feel like I spent 1L clawing my way to the top, then I spent 2L proving to myself that I belonged here. Now I'm spending 3L playing video games and enjoying the fruits of my labor. When I got here my goal was to graduate with a gpa that put me over the hypothetical median here. So far that's happening. If I'm in danger of losing that... then I guess I'll start working harder. Right now I just don't have the motivation to do what is necessary to achiev excellence. Last Spring I busted ass after getting trounced in the Winter... maybe this Winter I'll get mad as hell at the grades I made this Fall and bust ass. Meh. Maybe. I dunno.

Not MPREssed.

2006-11-06T03:05:00.000-05:00

Please forgive the title, I couldn't help myself.

The MPRE sucks. Hard. Maybe I don't have ethical instincts. Maybe I had ethical instincts at one point and my school beat them out of me. The entire time I kept thinking "Damn, I don't know what the rule is, but I can tell you d) *should* be right, because parties should be allowed to contract around this." There were also a couple of questions where I thought "I'm pretty sure the *right* answer is a), but man, it really doesn't seem to produce the proper incentive alignment, that can't be the right default..."

I felt like the exam was actually a lot harder than the practice tests were. Due to my somewhat tardy registration, I also had a horrible testing center. It was located at the corner of "69th and Don't Shoot Me." I don't even understand why it's a testing center. It's a horribly inconvenient location for pretty much every law student in the city.

At least I get to spend tomorrow morning with Article 9. Article 9 understands efficiency. Article 9 isn't all caught up in this "what's right and fair" business. Screw you MPRE.

Month of Silence

2006-11-01T20:07:00.000-05:00

Wow. It's been a month. I certainly have been lazy.

So what's been going on?

Well, I was deathly ill last week. I had a cough so bad they actually tested me for TB. Thankfully the antibiotics cleared it right up though.

The MPRE is Saturday. This should be fun. I haven't studied at all, and I'm banking on two days being sufficient.

I'm sick of school, and finding the whole "third year they bore you to death" adage to be very, very true.

The show "Jericho" is pretty good.

That is all.

It's a sign.

2006-10-01T15:49:00.000-04:00

So I sat down to start working, but I wanted to leave the tv on in the background so I could watch a little football.

I turned the tv on just in time to see the opening credits of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

I'm treating this as a sign.

Sweet Concert

2006-09-30T17:45:00.000-04:00

I saw Roger Waters last night.

It was a pretty sweet concert. I actually went with the girlfriend and her PARENTS. Which I guess makes them pretty cool parents.

It was a really weird mix of people. Among the older people there were the yuppy types who looked all clean cut and sat in the nice seats, there were the grungy older people who never really left the 60's. The younger fans were also similarly divided between fratty-clean cut looking people, and filthy hippies.

I'm not sure where I would fall on the spectrum. Ten years ago it would definitely be in the filthy disgusting hippy camp. However, I'm no longer the same person I was then. And of course I have way too much hair on my head and face to be considered "clean cut."

Oh man, also my alternator belt went on my car. I JUST had the thing replaced like two and a half months ago. The thing is, I had it replaced in a city that's about 500 miles and two states away from here. The alternator belt was like $100. I know it's not that much, but I shouldn't have to pay for it... but I can't take it back to the same place because it's too far away. Bah. I can't wait until I can buy a car that wasn't made in the 80's.

The life cycle of the 3L

2006-09-27T21:40:00.001-04:00

I have a pretty sweet schedule this quarter.

No class on Thursday or Friday.

So this is the beginning of my 4 day weekend.

After work this Summer, school is a joke. Sure I'm in class like 4-5 hours a day, but man, I always have at least 1 hour (usually 4) in which I can screw around during the day.

It's good to be a 3L.

Bleh.

2006-09-27T21:40:00.000-04:00

Finally.

2006-09-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

Monday marks the end of this ridiculously long period of idleness.

Bad news: I had to leave the girlfriend's house and go back to my own apartment.

Good news: I will no longer be hanging out at my girlfriend's house, waking up at 1:30 and doing absolutely nothing all day.

Better news: I will be seeing Roger Waters at the end of the week with the girlfriends, and her parents. This obviously means that the girlfriend has some pretty cool parents. Supposedly Dark Side of the Moon will be performed. I'm quite excited.

And the winner is...

2006-09-23T03:40:00.000-04:00

The Lutherans.

After much soul searching, reading, and praying... I think I've found my church.

I appreciate the German heritage of the place. Not a lot of "waving hands" or "clapping and shouting," which I am not comfortable with. Lots of "looking at your feet while stoically singing hymns."

The Summer Gravy Train Rolls On.

2006-09-07T14:39:00.000-04:00

So I'm staying with girlfriend for a month before school starts. Fortunately, girlfriend's undergrad also has a law school that my firm recruits from. Even more fortunately the people who came to do OCI took myself and another summer who happened to be in town out to the nicest restaurant in the city.

Five courses of deliciousness. Plus lunch today.

My firm rules.

Sweet, Sassy Reality Kickin' Snubs in the Face

2006-09-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

So I'm working for Prof. X again. I decided I couldn't actually "co-write" an article because I have no freaking idea what's going on, and I've only got about 3 weeks before school starts. But I did offer my services as a research assistant... free of charge of course.

However Prof. X wouldn't take no for an answer, and informed me that I would be paid if I did research for the article. I'm no longer a student at Prof. X's school. In order to pay me, an outside employment agency has to hire me. I'm not sure why, but some bureaucratic nonsense is at work.

So I go down to the employment agency's local office today... and, wow. The people in there definitely aren't working at large law firms. It was an ugly, disgusting, frightening, and depressing look at the way life actually pans out for a lot of people.

I remember going to those places once or twice when I was hard up for a job after undergrad, and grasping at straws. I hated it. They reek of desparation, and the people who staff them feel so predatory. When I graduated from college, it was the middle of the tech burst, and I lived in one of the hardest hit places in the country. I went to a couple of these places based on a friend's recommendation. They always had the shittiest jobs you can possibly imagine, and no shortage of downtrodden human beings waiting to staff them. I decided pretty quickly that I'd rather eat a pistol, or go work the night shift at the local copy store than work collections for some third rate auto financing company, or do mind-numbing data entry work.
So, I busted my hump for $9.18 an hour for two years before law school, wearing a nametag and an apron. But you know what? I felt more honest doing that than I would've at any bullshit clerical job that I would've hated twice as much. Hell, at least I got to listen to my own music and nobody ever told me to cut my hair or shave.

It all worked out in the end. I have the job I want, I enjoy doing it, and they pay me so much I don't mind haircuts or razors. Hell, I'll even wear a tie.

But life doesn't work out for everyone. I imagine for every me, there's someone still walking into an employment agency somewhere, hoping to score a receptionist gig for 3 months while the permanent employee takes her maternity leave, or hoping that the next assignment will be "the one" that leads to permanent employment. It's horrible. There were three other people in the place with me today. I was the youngest one there, by a wide margin, and I felt like an asshole. I felt like an asshole because I already HAVE a job... this is just a side project that I would actually be doing for free if it weren't for Prof. X's insistence that I be paid. I felt like an asshole because these people came into the agency dressed in suits and skirts, hoping to make a good impression on their new handlers; I showed up in jeans, unshaven, in a t-shirt with a cheese stain on it, and I haven't had a haircut since June. I felt like an asshole because I make more than any three people in that building put together, and I turned down a job that would've paid more than any 4 of them combined. Most of all, I felt like an asshole because these people seemed to actually be trying. I'm used to writing off the homeless, the panhandlers, and the beggars. I feel little sympathy for drunks, drug addicts, or fuckups. But these people were different. These people were working, or at least trying to, and that made me feel like a real bastard for taking what I've got for granted.

I've never felt "rich" before. Today I did. I found it to be very uncomfortable.

Churchin'

2006-08-27T12:52:00.000-04:00

One of my goals this Summer was to find a church. I haven't had much in the way of good experiences with organized religion. There are two kinds of churches I've found. The "modern" variety are fun and welcoming, but they seem to have sucked all the religion out of "religion." The "traditional" churches still care for doctrine, but they are not fun, nor are they welcoming, and a lot of their members seem to be more interested in condemning others than they are in saving themselves.

There's a great quote from the movie "Saved!" (which is actually a hilarious movie, and does a good job at showing the kind of religious hypocrisy I loathe). One of the characters throws a bible at someone, and the girl picks it up and says "This is not a weapon... idiot."

So, as part of my continued quest to find a place of worship to call my own, I went to my girlfriend's church today. It was interesting. The service itself is modern. I really don't like modern services. They play contemporary Christian music, which... just sucks. I'm sorry, but modern Christian music utterly blows. Don't believe me? Turn on a Christian rock station and see how long you can stand it. It's horrible. There was about 20 minutes of that, and then the sermon. The sermon was actually pretty good. The pastor is from Jamaica, so he had a cool accent (halfway between British and Jamaican), and he offered multiple interpretations (including of course, his own) of the passages we looked at. The fact that he was open to multiple viewpoints, and not chained to orthodoxy was good. Against the backdrop of the service though, the sermon lost a lot of its power. Plus I won't be living in this city after graduation. Bah.

The search continues.

And I'm employed.

2006-08-24T14:13:00.000-04:00

I have a job. Not in the "hey come work for us this Summer and we'll see how it goes" way, but the "Hey, we like you, we want you to come back here and work for us permanently" way.

This is, by all accounts, totally sweet while at the same time being pretty awesome.

I loved my firm. I loved the people, I loved the city, I loved the 15 pounds I gained because they wouldn't let me go for more than 2 hours in any day without eating... I liked all of it. Best of all, I liked the fact that the vast majority of the attorneys on any given floor were gone by 6pm every day, and most of them didn't come in until 8am. I also LOVE the fact that they're family friendly. It's a place where you work really hard, but they don't ask for every minute of your life. The pay's a little lower than the major markets (especially after the first few years). But I'm really glad I made this choice, instead of the other one. I know now that I would've hated the other place with a fiery passion.

Man that went by fast.

2006-08-12T02:32:00.000-04:00

I can't believe Summer is almost over. I seriously feel like I've only been at my firm for a month. I'm going to miss the free food and ridiculously large paychecks. Also the people there are really cool. I'll miss them as well.

After I wrap things up next week, I'll be moving in with the girlfriend for a month before school starts.

I've got big plans for that month.

Remember Prof. X from 1L? Well, we're going to write an article together. Hopefully I'll be a published author by this time next year.

Huzzah!

Lines of Communication

2006-07-23T16:17:00.000-04:00

The good people whose wireless signal I was able to leech have turned off their network.

Awful. Absolutely awful. Now I have to walk to the coffee shop to blog (since I can't very well do it from work). This is a tragedy.

Summer is moving along at a very fast clip. I only have 4 more weeks left at work. This is bad, because I need the money. However, this is also good because it gives me roughly six weeks of vacation between work and school.

Prof. X (the one I was working for last Summer) emailed me and asked me if I would like to coauthor an article with her!!! This will likely take care of my 6 week vacation, but if I can get an article published with Prof. X it will be absolutely amazing. Here's hoping everything works out.

THE HEAT

2006-07-15T13:13:00.000-04:00

Good God is it hot out. I walked over to the store to get some ice cream and came back drenched in sweat. Walking through the air is sort of like swimming today.

I found out a couple of months ago that an old friend (one who I don't keep in contact with) moved to Beirut last spring. I hope she and her family managed to get the hell out.

The North

2006-07-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

This weekend was spent deep in the wilderness, near our hostile border with Canada.

I went canoeing, portaging, and fishing all weekend. To get to our campsite, we had to drive to a town of 3,000 people, then drive for another hour on dirt roads to get to a drop-off point. From there we took the canoes and paddled/portaged them (which is a fancy word for "carried them on over our heads") for 4 more hours. We truly were in the middle of nowhere. It was totally worth it though. Girlfriend got to come along with us, and we both caught a big fish (and some little ones), and we saw a huge beaver, mice, hawks, eagles, one very large turtle, a couple of deer, a red squirrel, herons, cranes, a strange looking wood duck, a couple of families of ducklings, and some misquitos the size of fruit bats.

The really cool part is that the nature was pretty close. I fed the turtle a fish carcass (or at least the bits left over when we were done filleting it) by hand. Of course this was probably dumb, because that turtle could've taken off one of my fingers, but it was fun. The thing was enormous. It's tail was probably 8" and it had moss growing on its shell and snails on its head.

There was a small marsh below our campsite and we watched a monstrous beaver swim through, chewing plants and reeds. The thing was the size of a medium breed dog, and it was so close you could hear him chewing.

The trip was fantastic. I can't wait to go back.

Bad Snubs!

2006-07-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

I've been neglecting my blog. Boo to that.

Work is going well. I don't much care for the transactional work. I'm really liking the litigation stuff though.

Girlfriend and I are going to go on the firm retreat tomorrow. Also I had Monday and Tuesday off, so I've basically got a 1 day work week. My first paycheck was just deposited.

I make more money in a week now than I did in a month before law school. This is going to take some getting used to. I'm still eating dinner on a card table with folding chairs. I'm such a dumbass though... I think I'll end up spending it all on personal electronics, and I'll be broke again.

Work... is work.

2006-06-10T16:05:00.000-04:00

I started work this week. So far it seems alright. I just feel utterly incompetent. I think I messed up both of my assignments pretty badly this week. Hopefully next week will go better.

We're getting a new summer associate in my group next week as well, which is good, because I'll no longer be "the new guy."

What Happened to Common Decency?

2006-06-10T16:02:00.000-04:00

Seriously, this makes me happy.

I hate the fact that there are people like this in the world. But I like the fact that someone is vindictive enough to stick it to them on the Internet.

Finished.

2006-06-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm a 3L now.

I went out and bought new clothes today with the girlfriend. New clothes for my new life as a law firm foot soldier.

While I was at the mall, I found myself searching for the "perfect" pair of flat front khakis (I don't like pleats), and agonizing over what brand of collared shirt to wear that would go with my charcoal gray pinstripe pants... and I thought "How in the hell did it come to this???" Seriously. In high school I was the kid with the black NIN t-shirt, the combat boots, and the field jacket. I wore a bullet necklace and had long hair.

Now I'm sitting in the Men's section of a department store, attempting to figure out if a paisley tie would be "too seditious," and whether or not the belt I've chosen matches the reddish tone of my brown shoes.

I guess whatever vestiges of youthful rebellion that existed in my soul are now dead. Maybe they weren't even there... maybe it was just an act the entire time. Maybe the disaffected, disillusioned youth has become so institutionalized that it's just another facet of mainstream society... just a childish cry that, far from bringing fear into the hearts of those associated with the establishment, simply inspires a sense of nostalgia for their own misguided youths.

However, as I look down the barrel of a very profitable Summer, I can say one thing, one of the dead heroes is right: Teenage angst has paid off well.

That was just... wrong.

2006-05-30T18:14:00.000-04:00

So you know how the proctor always reads the standard law school exam instructions, and you zone out like it's a pre-takeoff aircraft safety demonstration because you've heard them about 22 times before?

I did that today at the test.

And then she got to the part you have to listen to: the professor's instructions. These can vary somewhat, so you have to pay attention. The proctor read them, and the last thing on the list:

"6) Enjoy the exam, it's a doozy!"

The crappy part is, he wasn't lying.

Serenity.

2006-05-28T21:06:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow's the big day. I try to study, really I do. However Internet distractions are many, and time, my immortal and unstoppable enemy, continues marching on. That evil juggernaut seems to pay no attention to this mortal's needs.

I'm oddly ok with this. First quarter I proved to myself that I can do well here. Second quarter I proved to myself that I can do poorly here, and third quarter I think I'm proving to myself that I don't care anymore.

I think I may have reached law school nirvana: Perspective.

Scandalous! gasp... swoon

2006-05-24T04:39:00.000-04:00

I've decided... NOT to make an evidence outline. Why? Because I have NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL I'M DOING.

Seriously, the "casebook" was a hornbook, and we were reading 35-50 pages per class. There is no conceivable way I'm going to be able to plow through all that in the next few days. Especially considering I have two other finals and the nice weather to contend with.

In addition, the good people at our local BLSA seem to have posted, what appears to *me* to be an incredibly sweet outline from someone who had my professor, on their website.

In 7 days and 12 hours I will be a 3L, I will be making gobs and gobs of money, and I won't be outlining.

Internet Radio

2006-05-22T04:37:00.000-04:00

I just discovered Internet radio... so now I can listen to my favorite stations from back home. I can’t describe how fraggin' sweet this is.

In other news, the outline train chugs onward. I think I'm going to go back to briefing. I seriously can't stand re-reading all the cases, and I don't/can't pay attention in class, so my notes are crappy. Ugh. So much easier to cut and paste from briefs.

Most of my friends are taking early finals, which means they'll be starting tomorrow (actually today) at 2pm. I'm way too smart for that. I'm taking regular finals, which gives me an extra week to study. I can't fathom how my friends can possibly be ready for exams tomorrow. Our last day of classes was Friday for God's sake.

Yacht Rock!

2006-05-14T17:07:00.000-04:00

A friend from my old school sent me a link to this. Apparently one of his brother's friends is involved with it. I was expecting to find some piece of horribly made crap, but I am utterly astonished by how GOOD Yacht Rock is.

Maybe it helps that I love really smoothe music... I don't know. All I know right now is that school continues to suck, and jokes about Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins make me laugh.

Radio Silence

2006-05-14T02:05:00.000-04:00

Not a lot to report. I'm two thirds done with one of my outlines, which is good, because I have 2 weeks until finals. I have 110 pages of reading for my class on Monday, which is bad, because our "casebook" is a hornbook. A triple-digit reading assignment in a hornbook is just out of line.

There is no way I will be ready for class. This may actually be an interesting exercise in game theory:

He allows us to email him in advance if we don't want to be called on, and he's broken the class up into 3 panels, so 1/3 of the class is "on call" for Monday.

I'm betting that a lot of people will not be ready, and will email him.

This makes the odds of me getting called even higher.

This makes marginally prepared students (like myself) want to email him as well, which increases the chances of the remaining panel members getting called on....

The least prepared among them will have to reassess their position in light of the increased chance they'll be called on and may decide to email the professor as well...

And the Cascade effect continues until there's one gunner who's ready to roll on Monday.

God I'm tired.

Compulsive Behavior

2006-05-06T05:17:00.000-04:00

Here's to another night wasted on video games. God forbid I do something productive. At least it's only 4:15 this time.

My Culinary Powers Grow

2006-05-04T22:05:00.000-04:00

So I've been watching the burrito guys make my burritos, and tonight I decided to try on my own. The results: Pretty good. Placing the entire burrtito on the stove and grilling it until the tortilla is light brown really makes a difference.

I picked up that trick watching the pros.

Congratulations To Eveyrone!

2006-05-01T03:05:00.000-04:00

Everyone but those of us languishing on the south side. While everyone at all normal law schools are a week away from being done (or in some cases, actually ARE done), I have another month of suffering in this inferno of hellish reading/outlining/paper writing.

I know a guy from my high school class who just graduated. Man. I feel like the kid who got left back a grade because of my little "break" after college.

Happy Anniversary

2006-04-28T17:36:00.000-04:00

Well, kind of. I didn't realize this, but I started this blog a year ago April 15th. So happy b-day Subjective Negligence.

I have been a bad, bad blogger for the past 2 weeks. I've been pretty lazy. Here's a recap:

1)I went to the frozen north (which is now the thawed out, fairly green north) and saw the girlfriend, which so far has been the highlight of my month.

2) I'm going to see Roger Waters with my girlfriend and her family. This should be totally AWESOME.

3) Finals are coming up AGAIN. Good GOD I FINISHED MY LAST ROUND OF FINALS SIX WEEKS AGO. Now is the time to panic, crack each others' skulls open, and feast upon the goo inside.

4) I received my rotation schedule from my firm a while ago. This has made the summer seem sooooo close.

5) The weather... how can I possibly be expected to study for finals on a day like this?

Dirty South

2006-04-10T01:08:00.000-04:00

Dammit. A whole weekend "wasted" in Virginia on a softball tournament.

Actually it was really fun. My team was the super recreational team... not a lot of "talent" on our squad, but I like to think we made up for it with a little something called "heart..." that and mad flip-cup skillz.

Our team was 0-3. We lost our last one 13-0. Honestly I think the umps took that one away from us, we really got hosed on a couple of close calls. Well, that and let the other team cycle through their line-up twice in the first inning.

Now that the fun's over, I have to face the academic ruin I've brought upon myself. We have what? Five weeks until finals? I'm now officially a week behind in reading for one class, I have a 30 page paper due in a month that I haven't even started researching for yet, and I'm not going to get 8 hours of sleep tonight.

I really can't wait for this to be over.

Day Sleeper

2006-04-03T02:44:00.000-04:00

If I could pick one song to define my law school experience, it would have to be R.E.M.'s Daysleeper.

"I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache grey
Don't wake me with so much
Daysleeper

They cried the other night
I can't even say why
Fluorescent flat caffeine lights
Its furious balancing

I'm the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night..."

Burritos

2006-04-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

Oh sweet burrito. I've found you at last. And your home is in Lincoln Park.

It's sad that the only reason I ever go north is to get burritos.

The Other Foot...

2006-04-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

The other foot finally came down all over my grades this quarter. It seems as though I got my first "C" in law school. And a low one at that.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm glad it came in the class it did though... supposedly he is (or was rather), the most sadistic grader in the law school (gave a lot of C's and a lot of A's... not much in the middle). I don't know if that's true, but the rumor was repeated enough times last quarter to make me think that it is. Even if it isn't, I deserved to get spanked for my laziness last quarter.

In even more exciting news, last night some friends took me to what seemed like an adult Chuck E Cheese... Basically a place that had skeeball, pool, video games, and a bar. Best of all, they had a Galaga Class of 1981 machine, which, for those of you keeping score at home, is my favorite arcade video game of all time.

So I played. And I TROUNCED my old personal high score. 186,000 and change is my new best!!! Woot.

Home

2006-03-23T05:03:00.000-05:00

I drove around my home town last night with an old friend.

It changes so fast I barely recognize it. When I moved in there were trees everywhere, now there's just acre after acre of new subdivision. The old parts still feel familiar though. It's good being here.

I was out at the bar tonight, and I had friends there from three different groups I used to hang out with in high school... three stages of my life if you will, and it was great seeing all of them in one place. I guess that's what makes me feel at home here... I can drive around town and peel apart the layers of my life, reliving each phase in the places in which they occurred. I can go to the bar and sit next to 5 different people from 3 distinct social groups, all of whom I've known since I was 12, and we talk with the kind of familiarity only a group of old friends can pull off.

On the ride home, I drop my best friend off at his house. He rents his dad's old condo. I used to spend the night there sometimes when my friend was visiting his dad. I remember watching "The Predator" there when I was 13. I remember the day at the condo when friend convinced me to let him cut my hair. He did a fantastic job, and he continued cutting it throughout high school.

I turn away from the memories and go back to my car. I sigh, and start the engine. I turn on the radio and turn it to the same station I listened to when I was in the 7th grade, the same station that introduced me to Nirvana and Pearl Jam when I was a young, and discovering music for the first time. They play No Rain, by Blind Melon, and I smile, it was the first CD I ever owned.

The song ends, and I am happy. I'm home.

Portland

2006-03-20T04:05:00.000-05:00

For any of you mofos living in Portland *ahem* Dagny... There's a really cool bar called The Kennedy School. It' s awesome. They took an old elementary school and turned it into a big hotel/bar... each classroom is a different themed bar, like one classroom is the whiskey bar, another is the cigar bar, and there was a big stage in the gym with music. It was a really cool place.

Spring Break

2006-03-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

Attention: SPRING BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!!

Woot. I'm going back to the north. I'm not going to my usual "frozen north," I'm going to my "native north," which isn't so much "frozen" as it is "rainy."

The girlfriend is coming with me, which is good. I look forward to showing her my native land.

Scratch Two!!!

2006-03-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

Two down, one to go. Tomorrow I go do holy battle against a hypothetical SEC armed only with an outline, my laptop, and a tattered statute book.

Wish me luck.

Scratch One!

2006-03-10T01:07:00.000-05:00

I can now set fire to my administrative law book. Thank God.

You know, this morning was the first time I've ever taken a law school exam and NOT felt a gnawing sense of urgency in the back of my mind. Having been through this FOUR times now, I guess I'm either getting used to it, or I stopped caring. Probably a little of both.

When got to the exam room I was seriously more annoyed about having to be at school at 9am than I was about having to take the test. Anyway, here's hoping for the median.

Also Citations, Good luck tomorrow on Contracts.

Woot

2006-03-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

Securities is the fun that never ends.

Having finals 3 times a year totally blows.

I want to play video games with my new toy but I can't because I have to study for exams.

That is all.

Damn this statute book

2006-03-05T15:35:00.000-05:00

FYI - Securities is the new Civ Pro.

The Rebirth

2006-03-03T20:17:00.000-05:00

My new toy arrived in the mail today.

It's like a laptop, but it's monstrous, and it plays video games like a desktop. The Ultimate Notebook Experience is here, and a new era in personal computing has begun. I spent my summer money a little early :)

BYOC

2006-03-03T03:10:00.000-05:00

It's finals time... and we all know what that means! Bring. Your. Own. Caffeine.

I saw the pepsi guy refilling the machine earlier this week, and they're already sold out of most of the diet caffeinated beverages. DAMN.

I was thinking, since I'm at this particular school, I should exploit the situation financially. Maybe hoard diet Pepsis and sell them out of my locker at grossly inflated prices. "Oh really, how much do you value this Pepsi???" The administration here would probably give me a medal for "Excellence in Free Marketeering."

Turn it off, take it outside, or cram it in your ass.

2006-03-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

There is a woman who, for two of the past three days, has left her phone on IN THE LIBRARY, had it ring, answered it while still IN THE LIBRARY, and proceeded to have a conversation at normal volume, all while IN THE LIBRARY.

TURN YOUR PHONE OFF YOU FUCKER. TURN IT OFF. TURN IT FUCKING OFF YOU INCONSIDERATE PRICK.

Planning

2006-02-25T00:37:00.000-05:00

To do list:

Tomorrow wake up, go running.

Go to library. Outline Federal Jurisdiction for 12 hours.

Go home at 1:30.

Wake up. Outline Federal Jurisdiction for 8 hours.

Read for Monday classes.

Contemplate crappiness of life around finals.

2006-02-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

Also, my arms still hurt. But I went to the gym again yesterday.

I'm running 4 miles at a time now! Of course it takes me about 38 minutes to do this, and I'm rapidly approaching the 45 minute time limit on our gym equipment... so it looks like I'll have to start running faster if I want to go farther.

Technical Difficulties

2006-02-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

Damn this laptop. Apparently it's nearing the end of its lifespan. Imagine if you took a newspaper article, cut a quarter inch strip out of the middle, and glued the two halves back together again (so that a line and a half of text was missing). That's what my screen looks like.

Now I have to figure out what kind of laptop I want to get. I can either get a cheap-o one that will do what I need it to for school, and purchase a desktop this summer... this will cost me about the same as a really NICE laptop (one that is nice enough to play games on). The advantage is that I can defer paying the extra $1400 until the summer if I get the cheap laptop/desktop combo. I could also buy on credit. But I have an irrational aversion to consumer debt. The disadvantage is that I will no longer be able to fit all my earthly possessions into my car (those desktops are big, and need even bigger monitors). In any event, a decision must be made soon.

So... Sore

2006-02-22T01:10:00.000-05:00

Holy God my arms feel like they're going to fall off.

More Eats

2006-02-21T01:07:00.000-05:00

I found a really good place tonight. It's a middle eastern joint not too far from here. Very good lamb. I lifted weights today in a most XTREME fashion (afterwards I chugged some Mountain Dew and shouted at traffic). It turns out that you become very very weak if you don't exercise for a prolonged period of time. Yeah, who'd have thought?

Food n' Fun

2006-02-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

I ate at a fantastic little place tonight. It serves Fried Chicken/Soul food, and Indian food. It was the most bizarre combination of delicious I've had in a long time.

I told my friend about it afterwards. She told me she ate there once and found mealworms in her rice.

Damn. I thought I'd found a new takeout place. Guess not.

In other crushing news, finals season is once more upon us. This zany quarter system has been screwing with me hardcore. I started class Jan. 2nd, my first final is on March 9th. Yippee!

Halfway There

2006-02-08T22:23:00.000-05:00

Tonight our school had a dinner for the 2Ls commemorating the halfway mark of our legal education. We're halfway through the second quarter of our second year... We're halfway home.

Though faint, the light at the end is there. I know I'll be swimming in it soon enough. The worst is behind us. After the crucible of 1L it is apparent that the end is not only in sight, it is inevitable. There is no more time for second thoughts. We're past the point of no return.

Oh Thank God...

2006-02-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

What is that season that we were supposed to be having for the last 3 months but haven't been? Winter. Right.

Well, thank God, old man winter finally remembered us, and it's really snowing for the SECOND time this year. I'm also driving to the real frozen north after class tomorrow! So I'll be getting the real thing. Wow... it's almost blizzarding out now!

Eff you Holmgren

2006-02-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

That was some real nice clock management. Usually when you're down by 11 with 7 minutes to go you display some sense of urgency, but not you! Yeah, we got screwed on a couple of calls, but between Hasselbeck squandering the last minute of the first half with his tomfoolery, and you dicking around for the last half of the 4th quarter, I think it's fair to say we lost that one on our own.

Ah well. It's probably better that we lost. People living in Pittsburgh have so little going for them already.

Don't Let Me Down

2006-02-05T16:41:00.000-05:00

Dear Seattle:

I grew up with your crappy sports teams. It's ok. Really. You were such an awesome city that I didn't mind the fact that the Mariners were perennial cellar-dwellers, except for that one season they actually made it to the ALCS and were shelled by the Yankees... of course I was abroad for the last half of the season, and couldn't watch any of it, and you ultimately lost, but that's ok. I forgave you. I remember the Seahawks... well actually I don't remember the Seahawks winning a playoff game, because I think I was like 9 the last time it happened... That's ok, I forgive you again.

I remember when the Mariners rammed that goddamned stadium down our throats, even though it failed miserably as a referendum (twice if memory serves), and is the reason we now have like a 9% sales tax in King County. I remember the Seahawks showing up not to far behind the Mariners, sticking their hands out for some new stadium action as well. I remember the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars we poured into your new home.

I grew up there. I paid taxes. My family still lives there. I want results. Just win baby.

Procrastinatory Seminar Blues

2006-02-01T05:01:00.000-05:00

So I'm taking a seminar, and it's incredible. The class is pretty easy, the subject matter is pretty interesting, and it's taught by a person who is a truly incredible legal mind (think 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judges whose names start with "P"). The drawbacks are that the class has weekly papers... nothing big, 2-3 pages double-spaced. However this becomes a montrous burden on me because of my uncanny ability to waste time. God I've become so good at squandering my evenings IMing friends, watching TV, and... well that's pretty much it. Well, it's a little after 4am, and I FINALLY finished this week's paper. Good God man.

I think this must be a post 1L thing. I busted ass all last year, then slowly regressed into my natural state. So basically I dedicated one year of my life to being responsible, did well on 7 exams and a couple of papers, and now I can slack off and command a salary so high it feels like extortion... God Bless America.

Hey CRAZY LADY!

2006-01-30T13:24:00.001-05:00

It seems as though life has turned into a bad Jerry Lewis movie for one unlucky man.

What do you say after something like that? I wonder what his reaction was... If that had been me, assuming I wasn't harmed by the fall, and that security hadn't already detained me, I'd have picked myself up, and bolted out of there like a bat out of hell.

Best Blog Ever!!!!!!

2006-01-28T03:57:00.000-05:00

Oh my God.

CM once said that the two words she associated with my blog were "Girlfriend" and "burrito." I'm not going to lie. I am a relatively simple man, and I'm actually quite flattered to have those two words associated with what is, in essence, my online diary.

Now, in keeping with my blog's proud traditions, I will now link you to the single greatest site in the history of the Internet... Burrito Blog.

This is so fraggin' awesome. It combines everything good and pure in life (minus the girlfriend). It's useful, it's relevant, and it's making my hungry.

I don't really order my links. I've usually just added them as I find them. However, I'm making an exception today.

Burrito Blog, thou hast dethroned The Onion. You are now my number one non-law school link.

The Piper.

2006-01-27T00:38:00.000-05:00

I've spent the past couple of days trying to figure out how much money this whole law school thing is costing me.

Conclusion: This is going to hurt. Bad.

I am going to be owned by the man for a very, very long time. By the time I'm done here, I'll almost owe a damn mortgage. Heather's post really freaks me out.

I figured out that taxes and loan payments are going to consume about 60% of my income when I'm done here... which really makes me wonder whether or not I'd have been better off taking the hellish well-paying job.

Fears.

2006-01-24T01:32:00.000-05:00

This place keeps a pretty grueling schedule. We're a third of the way through the quarter, which means daddy exam and me are gonna tangle in a little over 6 weeks.

My grades are... satisfactory. Obviously not as good as they were at my former school, but... damn, the two that I have are both above the median. One almost passes for what's considered an "A" at this school. I think back to the time I spent slacking last quarter... the week I missed when I was interviewing, the weekends that evaporated in a haze of video games and sleep, and the trips to see the girlfriend... I think of the motivational issues I had, and the intense feeling of dread in the weeks leading up to exams. I *knew* that I wasn't putting enough effort into this.

I honestly thought I was going to completely wipe out on exams because of my less than stellar work ethic. Now here I sit, one quarter later, having miraculously passed through the fire unscathed (at least so far). Again I *know* I'm not doing enough work, and the creeping sense of dread is slowly rising to the top of my stomach.

Sitting here I just realized a simple truth about myself: no matter how many times I win, I am always going to assume I've failed until reality proves me wrong. I spent a year getting straight A's at my old school, and a quarter getting damn good grades here, and all I can think about is when the other shoe is going to drop.

Oddly, I think I'm ok with this built-in expectation of failure. Truth be told, this one characteristic is probably responsible for the bulk of my success so far. An intense, irrational fear of a particular stimulus can lead to a powerful avoidance response. In other words, to the extent that one fears failure, one will work to avoid it.

The most important positive aspect of this trait, however, is that it keeps me primed for reality. I will fall flat on my ass eventually. Nobody wins all the time, and when life kicks your ass, it really is better if you see it coming

The Good, the Bad, and the Socratic.

2006-01-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

Finally! After a month and a half of waiting for my grades, I am rewarded with results. With two out of three districts reporting, the consensus is that I did pretty well. I don't expect the third to be a major outlier, but you never know.

This is such a major relief, because I really needed some kind of validation, something to let me know that I belonged here. Today, I got it.

The only downer today was a horrendous Socratic performance this afternoon. It was one of those situations where I'd read the material for the day, but the Prof called on me first, and asked questions about material from the previous class. I hadn't looked at it for a few days, and I had nothing to respond with when he asked me questions, because I had no idea what he was talking about. Turns out it was one of the note cases, which I always read, but never bother retaining. I sort of had that one coming. It's alright though. I wasn't even all that upset about looking like an idiot. I was actually feeling pretty damn good.

OUTTED!

2006-01-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

So Opionionista has outted herself. Apparently she graduated in 2004 and has been working at Littler Mendelson.

This is kind of disappointing. I thought she said she worked at two different firms... if this is true she worked at each one for less than a year. Also, her blog made it seem as though she worked at a large law firm. The office she worked in only had 17 attorneys, and 6 associates total. I always envisioned a vast, anonymous corporate corporate machine like Skadden when I read her posts.

Unless she worked at Cravath or somewhere equally hellish before Littler, she just lost a lot of street cred.

Hmmm.... Interesting. I am Intrgued by Your Ideas and Would Like to Subcsribe to Your Newsletter; or "The Longest Blog Post Title Ever."

2006-01-16T14:28:00.000-05:00

When I was younger I was a pretty skinny kid, which I guess is better than being a pretty fat kid. But my size and total lack of athletic ability prevented me from playing most of the normal sports, so I joined the track team in middle school. I don't know why, but I can't sprint. Well I can, but I really suck at it. One thing that I *was* pretty good at was running the mile, so I did that. That and the 800 meter. I kind of hated the 800 though. Actually I really fucking hated the 800. It's like the most painful race ever, but I digress.

So I enjoyed the mile, I was relatively decent at it even (I hesitate to say "good" because I wasn't... but still, better than average). So I figured, what the hell... let's do cross-country.

Cross-country is hard. I was never good at running more than 4-5 miles, which made training for 3 mile races really difficult. I only did it for 2 years, then I started smoking, which made it impossible. So I quit running. Now I haven't had a cigarette in almost 16 months, and I've been pretty good about running. I can run 3 miles again without gasping for breath, and I can even do it in a little under half an hour .

So my friend who wants to run as well has this idea: We should run a marathon.

In my head this sounds like a great plan. I can start running a little farther each week, maybe get myself up to 4-5 mile runs in a month or two. Kind of build off of that... I would have ten months to get ready, and I've deluded myself into thinking I can do it.

Of course when I snap back to reality I realize how utterly insane this plan is. The longest I've ever run was 10 miles, and that was when I was in peak physical condition, which, for those of you counting at home, was over a DECADE ago. In addition to this, I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't even know what a respectable time for a marathon is. I'm only half certain that it's 26.2 miles for God's sake.

However, this is something that I've always wanted to do. If I had a list of things to do before I died, this would definitely be on it. Also, I've always kind of regretted giving up running in high school... maybe I could've been good if I stuck with it. I don't know. I think it may be worth finding out though.

The not-so-frozen North

2006-01-14T01:43:00.000-05:00

I'm back in the "frozen" north. It has been an unbearably hot winter so far. Yesterday it was in the mid 50's, and if it gets one degree hotter I'm going to personally torch a Hummer dealership, and maybe a coal-fired power plant.

This weekend is a) MLK weekend, which is awesome, because I get three days off, and b) the weekend my girlfriend celebrates her birthday. So I get to spend a long weekend with her. Tomorrow I'm so getting burritos with her.

There is nothing else to report as GradeWATCH 2K6 drags stubbornly onward.

Show me the Money

2006-01-12T01:36:00.000-05:00

I'm still waiting on my grades.

It wouldn't be so bad, except I'm the only non-1L I know who still has NO grades. One of my finals consisted of nothing more than a 40 question multiple choice test. I took it over a month ago. Come on man, how long does it take to grade that? There were only about 50 people in the class.

I paid $12,000 for those numbers. I want them.

In other news, this quarter is shaping up to be quite hard. I don't quite understand what's going on in Administrative Law. Securities seems like it's going to be very VERY fun though.

Oh Christ.

2006-01-07T05:13:00.000-05:00

HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO FINDS THIS DISTURBING?

First Week

2006-01-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

I don't like starting over. Towards finals I begin to feel like I have *some* mastery of the material. Then along come "new classes," which make me feel like an idiot again. So now I get to teach myself a whole new bag of tricks. Hopefully grades will start to trickle in soon. I took the extraordinary step of e-mailing a professor to see if grades would be back before the drop date... I need to know if I have to nurse my GPA back to health with some small, uncurved classes.

In happy news, I get to see the girlfriend next week, as she will be celebrating her birthday, AND I am going to see Munich tomorrow.

Procrastination

2006-01-02T00:47:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow it begins again.

Break was... short. Very short. My school's schedule does kind of suck. Basically you can either spend New Year's with your family and friends, and be woefully unprepared for school, OR you can spend the weekend of New Year's at your law school home and be ready for class.

I chose the former. This means I need to wake up tomorrow at 7:30, go buy books (the bookstore was closed today), and read before classes start. I guess I'll hit the ground running.

Usually I wait until 2-3 weeks into the term to start putting off work until the last minute. Buying books three hours before class officially starts will be a new low for me.

P.S. I want my damn grades.

Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

2005-12-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

It is truly effing Baltic up here, which is good. I love the cold, I love the snow, and I love Christmas. So I'm with the family, where the laundry is free and so is the food!

Also, I'd like to welcome my girlfriend to the blog. Now there are two people I know in real life who read this damn thing... I'll have to start watching what I say.

Damn these Hands!

2005-12-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

Why is it that I suck so badly at all things requiring a modicum of artistic ability? I just wrapped my girlfriend's present and it looks like a 4 year old tore up some wrapping paper and taped the scraps around the gift. I must've used half a damn roll of scotch tape.

The Long, Cold Break.

2005-12-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

It's been snowing for two solid days in the great white north. Of course the good news coming out of all of this is that I got to go sledding last night. The bad news is, a slow drive over sloppy backwoods roads to my dad's house up in the great great white north.

So I hate the time between exams and grades more than anything. Waiting for grades over Christmas break casts a pall over an otherwise happy time. In a few weeks I'll forget all about it, then start chewing my fingernails again when grades are about to be released.

As for now, It's time to go buy my girlfriend her Christmas present. I can't say what it is, because I'm blogging on her computer... and she checks her history bar :)

Happy.

2005-12-13T00:50:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up at 4 in the afternoon and didn't put pants on until 9 o'clock. I spent 5 hours playing video games and 3 hours watching a movie at my friend's apartment.

I truly lead a purpose driven life.

Finally... Peace

2005-12-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

Took the last final today. What kind of a sick sadistic school has finals on Sunday mornings you may ask? Mine does.

The Torment Continues

2005-12-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

So that's what "not finishing a law school exam feels like."

Ok. I think I can handle that. The thing is, I could've been more prepared for that test. I could've internalized concepts. I could've memorized the case holdings or "relevant strains of law" before the exam. I could've actually taken the practice test. I could've...

And here is where I stop myself, because the exam is over, and the past cannot be changed.

However, I will allow myself to worry about the future, so for the next 6 weeks (or however long it takes them to get grades back at this place), I will fret... over that which I cannot change. I'm a man full of contradictions.

One more on Sunday (godless heathen), and then, sweet release.

Delusions of Grandeur

2005-11-23T02:12:00.000-05:00

I sit in class sometimes, and I listen to the professor drone one about something law related, and I can't help but think to myself "Damn, I can't believe things worked out the way they did... I can't believe I'm at this school." Then I become overwhelmed by the magnitude of the opportunity I've been given, and the prestige of the school I'm at. Usually at this point I realize that the guy in front of me has been playing poker for the entire lecture, the girl sitting across from me only comes to class on Thursdays, and I can still smell the booze from bar review on the guy to my left. The illusion is quickly shattered, and this becomes just another law school. It's easy to forget that the institution is still comprised of humans... no matter how invincible the name seems to be.

2 Days, 6 Miles.

2005-11-22T10:54:00.000-05:00

I actually dragged myself out of bed in the morning and went running... AGAIN. And I've already made plans to go tomorrow with one of the other transfer students (or as we call ourselves "trannies").

I wonder how long I'll keep this up... I'm usually pretty good about running for 2 weeks. Then everything goes to hell.

My Fatness is Disturbing

2005-11-21T19:23:00.000-05:00

For a while I've been noticing a little extra air in the spare tire... I decided to go to the gym today. A classmate and I are going to run I guess. Blah. I weighed myself in the locker room here... I'm pushing 200 pounds... which is, well, frankly, totally disgusting. I used to run cross-country, I have a very slender frame, and I could probably stand to lose, oh, about 20 pounds (I'm about six feet tall).

Getting old sucks. I guess I can no longer eat whatever I want and rely on my youthful metabolism to keep me slim. Looks like I'm going to have to restrict my cheese intake.

Once more into the breach...

2005-11-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

It begins again.

I'm at the library. I've got my pepsi. I have my hornbook. The Metallica is blasting through my headphones. And I am a quarter of the way through a 14 hour long outline bender.

The adrenaline has kicked in.

Let's do this.

Trip to the Girlfriend's

2005-11-14T05:37:00.000-05:00

So, the Packers are no longer the worst team in football. Way to go guys.

In other news, I couldn't stand another weekend sans girlfriend, so I drove up to her house Friday night, and got home at about 11:00 Sunday. Of course this means I got absolutely nothing done over the weekend, which is simply par for the course.

I think this is my week though. Seriously. I hope the adrenaline kicks in soon and I can motivate. At the moment I feel kind of like I'm drowning, but this is a crisis of my own making, so I really can't complain.

Thanks Green Bay

2005-11-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

You never fail to disappoint.

Visits from the Past

2005-11-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

An old friend came to visit this last week. She's working on her master's degree in some kind of therapy and had to spend a week working with patients in the hospital here. I hadn't seen this person since I was 17 (which for those of you counting at home, is about 8 years). It was fun having her here, but I felt bad because we were both really busy and didn't have a lot of time to do stuff. She was working all day during the week, and doing homework at night. I made sure she had some good pizza, and at least saw the downtown area (if only for an hour or two). She only lives 5 hours away now, so hopefully we can see each other more than once a decade.

In other news, the Packers game shall begin shortly. Here's to another heartbreaking loss.

In-Fucking-tegrity

2005-11-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

That's what I've got. So I turned down the job that paid an obscene amount of money, and I officially accepted an offer at the job that pays less. I think I'll be a lot happier there, and you know what? I'm proud of myself for doing the right thing.

Celebrations, etc.

2005-10-27T13:39:00.000-04:00

Congrats to my college roommate. His wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy last night.

I'm really happy for him, but man, this is kind of weird. Nothing really changed when my friends started getting married, my friends would go to the bar and drink a little too much on occasion... maybe they'd stay home a little more often to be with each other, but you know, it wasn't a huge change of pace. This seems like it's going to be different. I think my buddy's days of getting wasted and thrown off the stage at the karaoke bar are over. Goodbye old chum.

Do you see???

2005-10-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

Do you see what happens when you let me into your school? Your team wins the world series. That's what happens.

Dinner with an Elephant

2005-10-26T18:50:00.000-04:00

I think conservatives really get a bad rap. I don't mean their policies, I mean them as people. A lot of liberals seem to assume that right-leaning folk are bitter, greedy, angry, religious nutjobs who hate humanity. However, in my personal experience, I've met about as many bitter, humanity hating liberals as I have conservatives. Conversely, I've met about as many warm friendly conservatives who genuinely care about their fellow man as I have liberals who do the same.

For some reason, I can actually tolerate bitter a-hole conservatives a lot more than I can tolerate bitter a-hole liberals. At least with conservatives the stereotype is that you're a bastard who doesn't care about the earth, old people, or the poor. So when you oblige, it isn't that big a deal... however it's really hard to be a liberal and treat people like crap without coming off as a total hypocrite.

Deal With the Devil

2005-10-25T02:28:00.000-04:00

Is your soul worth $125,000 plus bonus? What if it's $150,000 plus bonus after three years? What are the last years of your 20's worth to you?

What if you made two thirds as much, but worked 20% less?

What if everyone else took the first option... but you were pretty sure you liked the second?

Would you have the guts to turn down the money? Or would you flinch?

Stay tuned for the gripping series finale of OCI.

Dear Packers:

2005-10-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

I hate you.

Conversation Awkardness

2005-10-22T13:56:00.000-04:00

There are very few questions that can bring a conversation to a screeching halt amongst law students who are only casually acquainted. Chief among these questions: What was your LSAT score?

Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem telling my friends in the privacy of one-on-one conversations, but last night was different. There were 6 law students, from 5 different law schools present, and we didn't really know each other well enough to delve into the whole LSAT quagmire.

The other awkward element to the conversation was the perceived difference in quality between our different schools. Thanks to US News, I can no longer have a conversation with another law student without both of us knowing exactly where we sit on the law school food chain. My friend who was present, and attends the same school I do made a few comments about how all schools were the same, and so forth, the tone was almost apologetic, which I found troublesome.

I just kept my mouth shut during the few minutes we were speaking about our schools. I don't want to make other people feel bad about the school they're at, and I won't brag about the one I'm at, but I'm also not going to apologize for attending mine, and I certainly won't denigrate something I'm so proud to be a part of to make other people feel better about theirs.

The Wasted Weekend

2005-10-20T17:47:00.000-04:00

I am living a dream that I have chased throughout my entire educational career. I have no classes on Friday. As if this were't enough, I only have one class on Monday, and it's in the afternoon.

This is essentially a 3 and a half day weekend... which sounds like a great deal right? Unfortunately due to my motivational "issues" I've been slacking like crazy on the weekend, so the weekdays are pure hell.

This weekend I've decided to get hold of the situation, and read ahead for the week. That's going to have to wait until after my nap though... I'm beat.

Motivational Issues

2005-10-19T00:23:00.000-04:00

I'm having a tough time keeping my head in the game. I'm at a better school than I ever dreamed I'd be at, and I have a better job than I ever dreamed I'd have lined up for the summer.

What's the point?

What comes next? I feel like I've secured all the gains to be made from working hard in law school, and have no incentive to keep running at breakneck speed. The fact that I know how much money I'll be making this summer really brings home the opportunity costs associated with sitting in school. I just want to finish this and get on with it.

I keep telling myself this. But I feel like there's some switch in my head that will get thrown in a week or so, like I can't consciously choose not to compete, that the same part of me that carried the day last year will show up at the 11th hour and by sheer force of will I'll be ok.

I doubt it. At some point my old tricks will fail me.

Enough with the Sports

2005-10-09T20:13:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm alright with football on Sunday afternoons, but Fox really owes it to us to can this Sunday night baseball crap. The station that brings us The Simpsons has a moral obligation to make sure that their regularly scheduled Sunday night programming is available.

Go Pack Go

2005-10-09T16:02:00.000-04:00

Look who finally learned how to play football? I guess Brett realized it wasn't the preseason anymore.

Also, word verification ON. Comment spam is annoying.

Useful Career Information?

2005-10-05T01:05:00.000-04:00

Someone sent me the American Lawyer Mid-level Associate Survey last weekend. It seems pretty useful for those of us trying to distinguish firm A from firm B. I'm kind of curious to see if anyone has any opinion about it... The sample size at a lot of firms is small (thirty associates or so at most of these places), and the hours worked vs. hours billed ratio seems kind of crazy. If this survey is right, most associates end up working 50-60 hours a week and billing 40-50 of them. This runs contrary to everything I've heard about the billable hour... anyone have any comments? I know not everyone reading this is a 1L... come on...

Links to the surveys are at the bottom. You have to register to see it, but it's free. Make yourself a bogus e-mail address and have fun.

XOXO

2005-10-04T20:46:00.000-04:00

For some time I've debated adding a link to the xoxo board. The board is full of racist, anti-semetic, homophobic, sexist, and elitist filth. However, if you sift through the trash you can find useful information about law school. I can honestly say I probably would not be at the school I am at right now if it weren't for my lurking at xoxo. Despite being total a-holes, they do know quite a bit about getting into top law schools, and doing well once you get there.

I don't condone most of the stuff that goes on over there, but I have decided to add the link, because some of you may find it useful.

I've come down with some kind of sickness.

2005-10-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

'Tis the season. A new school year and changing seasons have brought my body into contact with a host of bastardly germs. I've had a really bad sinus infection all weekend. I think I'm starting to turn the corner on this thing though. The girlfriend gave me some dynamite pills.

In other girlfriend news, she took me to see my first college football game this weekend. She lives about a block away from the stadium, and we got tickets in the students' section, so the atmosphere was "lively." Fun was had by all and I got a mild sunburn. I've got an assignment for corporations due this week. I know I should do some work tonight, but I've only got one class tomorrow, and I've already read for it. Maybe I should just go to bed and sleep this off.

First Day of Classes!

2005-09-27T23:57:00.000-04:00

Wow. Yesterday was my first day of classes. After two days I'm already beat. I think this year is going to involve a lot more work, and it's tough to motivate. I feel like the race is over. I'm at a better law school than I ever could've hoped to be at a year ago, my resume looks more or less how I want it to, and perhaps most importantly...

I HAVE A JOB.