A Woman in Law School

Lawful Lady tagged me! But as my Tuesdays really are torturous, I'm glad to have take this blogging break.

Here are the instructions:
I list 5 non-law blogs that I like and think you should check out. Then, I list five law blogs with which you should also check out.

1. Feministing: As a woman I like to keep up on womanly things. As a feminist I like to see who's trying to screw me over as a woman. This site keeps me abreast of both and has plenty of humor scattered between the comments and the posts.

2. Prettier than Napoleon: I like her. I like that she survived law school, knits and cooks. She also reads and reading is very sexy.

3. Go Fug Yourself: No explanation is needed. However if you need one, IMNobody does an excellent job explaining this gem of a blog.

4. Marginal Revolution: It's where I go for market news. I'm a total nerd. And J is always talking about something he read there and what my thoughts are so I've got to keep up on it. I learn interesting things there.

5. Tequila Red: A blog that is no more. I loved this blog! She is hilarious!


Now for the tagging: And since I hate choosing people I tag the last five people who commented on this blog.

1. Fox Law: A place for sarcasm and tunes.
2. J.D. Maybe: A woman who always has an interesting story.
3. Politely Obscene: A new blog for me to read! Yeah! I'm pickled!
4. A (Non) Token Minority Law Student: Another woman with quirky tales about law school.
5. Law Ingenue: I love her tips!

and extra bonus tag!
6: Taking the law into my own hands: I'm just curious as to what he reads!

It forces me to cut back on my blog reading and thus not participate in this!

Oh, how much better my Friday would have been!

Apologies to anyone sensitive to the title of this. I just haven't had a date in a long time and can honestly say that I haven't done a lot of it.

I just spent an hour on the phone talking to a guy friend of mine who wants to ask out one of my favorite people in the whole world! I was excited because I think every single nice guy should ask her out. So my guy friend has decided that he wants to take her out HOWEVER I am not allowed to sneakily set them up NOR am I allowed to tell her that I have any role in this, and I don't. In fact I think it was merely the alcohol in J's system that suggested her to him, as J is very aware of the pure awesomeness that radiates from her. And she reads this so now there can really be no sneakiness. DRATS!

So what I'd like my friend to do is just go out with him. Have a nice dinner, a nice conversation and be done with it. Then she wouldn't be able to say that no one ever asks her out and she would be flattered by the thought that a guy thought enough of her to treat her to dinner. But knowing my dear, glorious friend I'm betting she won't do it. But why?

Why is it that some women out there just aren't interested in casual dating? And notice that I said dating and not sex. Isn't dating a way of meeting and weeding out potential mates? Has dating been replaced by e-mailing and text conversations?

My guy friend insisted that she know ahead of time that he would like to ask her out. He is tired of having friends suggest women to him only to find they aren't even interested in dating. Why do friends suggest other single friends if they know they'll turn dates down?! And he isn't crazy...he's sexy brilliant.

So dear fabulous favorite friend--go for it! If a man wants to buy you a nice meal and all you have to do is be your fabulous quirky self just do it! Isn't this what Sex and the City taught us? To enjoy life through friends and food? I'm sure you won't regret it. In fact you could love it. But I seriously doubt you would hate it.

I envy you. Seriously. I'll even let you take J as a chaperon if you want too. And here's the thing readers! He is interested in her intelligence, he wants a woman who can hold her own opinion and think for herself. I'd be sold in a heartbeat and it was the exact same thing that sold me on J, knowing that he found my intelligence attractive above all else.

In other news, my classmates are starting to hook up...and it is odd. Trust me, it's strange since it's difficult to keep straight at times. I'm also learning too much information such as who has given who mono thus far...eww...

I am curious about what you find annoying during class.

Here are a few annoyances of mine:

• LEG SHAKERS! Please stop! The noise and sight distract me.
• Texting, can't you wait an hour and a half?
• Watching your YouTube playlist. As mentioned previously I am totally sick of watching UFC clips during Torts!
• Asking questions to the professor as if no one else is in the room! SPEAK UP! USE OFFICE HOURS! The world does not revolve around you!
• Eating foods with noisy wrappers AND eating with your mouth open.

So, how 'bout you?

I was cold called today in Property and I hated it! Why? Because my professor doesn't call on students unless no one volunteers to present the case. I was pissed because she chose to call on people who don't speak up often. Well, yes I fall into that category HOWEVER I can count AT LEAST, fifteen other students who also don't speak up. And I have asked her questions on more than one occasion. It was a difficult case with difficult questions. Ugh...

I'm still trying to get that icky feeling out of my stomach...

My weekend was spent trying to get caught up and working on my office memo. I'm still not quite there but at least I am somewhere. The past couple of weeks have left many impressions in my already full noggin. One of which was a comment I overheard regarding non-traditional students. The comment, or myth as I like to call it, is that straight from undergraduate students have a better advantage in law school over those who took time off to work and are returning after a couple of years off from school. The advantage is that they somehow know how to study better...

WHAT?! WTF!

I forgot that working over 40 hours a week didn't mean anything. Working hard for my money was obviously something I failed to learn. I also really appreciate the fact that I DID NOT use any writing or analysis skills I actually learned as an undergraduate.* Further, this makes no sense what so ever for those of us who "worked" as graduate students.

So to hear that a small group of students seem to think they have an advantage over someone like me just makes me work harder. Sometimes I wonder where in the hell these people are coming from and where they get these crazy notions.



*Sarcasm intended

I found this funny so I thought I'd share it:

See what Sarah Palin would have named you!

Today I wished the following things would have happened:

• my property prof not skip the long case that I meticulously briefed. May I suggest just removing it from the syllabus reading?
• my legal writing and research prof to sit down with me and tell me like it is. I'm tired of his southern charm. I am not however tired of looking at him...so dreamy....
• my memo outline would have perfected itself instead of me looking at it with contempt
• have the guy in front of me actually take notes instead of watching boxing You Tube videos during the entire class.
• my kitchen visited by cleaning gnomes,
• my dinner prepared by Bobby Flay, and
• my insanity restored to pre-law school levels.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday and that I have exciting plans for the weekend...

Anyone noticing how fast time flies by when you're in law school?

How many of you have started outlining already?

It seems to me that everybody keeps reminding me that on top of all the reading, briefing, reviewing, synthesizing, that I should also be outlining? WHAT?!

I've started the process however I'm just curious as to what some of you think or are choosing to focus on right now...

Tuesdays are my hell days. I have three classes with no significant breaks in between. Add to this the fact that I'm up before dawn so that I can get to class on time. And I'm usually not on time because my bus route has been running behind lately.

So I thought I'd tell you a torturous moment that happened last week. There is a girl in my class who drives me up the wall. She interjects into my conversations in a manner that is not polite or humorous. Instead she interjects with the purpose of telling me I'm wrong...well kind of.

Take any subject, it could even be a subject you're an expert in, and she will not only tell you you're wrong but she will also do it in a manner that is so defensive that I have to step back and remind myself that I: didn't ask for her opinion, do know the subject matter, and am not arguing with her.

The stupidest example was over weather! She told me I didn't know cold weather and that I would be cold this winter. Now, I know some of you don't know where I live but let me tell you that I moved from a place that is FAR COLDER THAN HERE IN THE WINTER! But she INSISTED that I didn't "know" cold weather. She didn't even give me time, nor ask, where I had lived prior to this city. It was stupid! But I was a little upset.

Why? Because we're in law school, a place where many people are coming from many backgrounds with a plethora of opinions. To interject and condescendingly tell someone else that they're wrong is just lame. She is lame.

When I approached her about her defensiveness, because there was more than one instance where she did this to me--with the last one utterly pissing me off, she told me that she can agree to disagree. I disagree that she can agree to disagree, because she was still defensive about it.

So, all in all I just have to laugh, shake my head, and remind myself that she is stupid for not taking the time to listen to someone's opinion and experiences. She is devoiding herself of learning. Just because I'm not a professor doesn't mean that I lack knowledge.

I get on the bus and sit down to start reading for class. Minutes later I'm tapped on the shoulder by a woman who gives me an ad for a beauty salon. It lists the prices of services. I place it on the seat next to me and go back to my reading. A minute later the ad is rudely swiped away from me by her boyfriend. She scoffs and wonders out loud why I wouldn't take the card. Then she starts getting pissy to the back of my head. She proclaims that I must have nasty feet, shame on me for not taking care of my feet, tells me how stupid I am for turning such great deals down, and points out other women who took the ad.

At this point I just wanted to reach my hand up to motion for the card back, but I didn't. Instead I kept reading which angered her more. She then went on a tirade in English and Spanish about how stupid I was and what a dumb bitch I was. I found this humorous since I could understand everything she was saying, it's not like Spanish is a foreign language to me.

They get off and the back of my head feels better. Next time I'll take the card and bombard her with questions regarding the services. Then I'll make an appointment only to cancel later on. Yes, it's rude. But it's also rude to try to peddle your services and then torment those who turn you down. And I didn't even turn her down. All I did was place the card on the seat next to me.

• felt lost in Torts
• felt lost in Civil Procedure
• got called on in Torts for the first time and struggled my way through a difficult case. My torts prof likes to ask challenging questions and is not sensitive to those of us who are confused. But I made it, didn't cry, and have all my limbs intact.
  
• office hours turned out to be great and I feel much better about my understanding of Property.
• procrastinated way too long on Legal Research and Writing assignment but feel ok about it. Not too concerned since it's not graded.
• coming down with either sinus issues or a mild cold, either way my netipot has been getting some good use.
• played Word Twist with another law student and lost. I'll get you next time!
• played my first game of solitaire during class and am trying to resist the internet. Sometimes I wish we could just move on instead of going over other classmates' hypos.
  
• am realizing who is full of themselves, who really has no clue about law but likes to think they do, and who is genuinely nice.
  
• have identified and labeled the Mean Girls
• have been utterly exhausted.

Now for a fun weekend of work! I've been trying to get all my reading and briefing for the week 2/3s done on the weekends so I can just review at night. It hasn't been the greatest way to do things but so far it is working. I'm wondering when I'll ever have time to fit outlining and practice questions into my schedule?!

So tired...must brief...would rather sleep...

Things you get when plugging exhaustion into YouTube:

The Urban Chef's kind of exhaustion

Mad TV Celebrity Exhaustion 1

Mad TV Celebrity Exhaustion 2

I don't get why this is uploaded, but it has exhaustion in the title so it works!

Wish I had the energy to dance exhaustion style.

A cure for exhaustion? eh...not my cup of tea...

Don't hate me because I found this one funny...I'm that tired! (J will at least appreciate it!)

Today I will do something I have not done as a law student. I will visit a professor during office hours!

I'll admit that I'm a tad bit nervous since my school makes it sound like office hours are for serious matters only and should only be done via appointment.

So I made one and I'll be there with an agenda in my hand! (oh, crap...I still have to do that)

Wish me luck!

First of all, I don't know how law students find the time to read and brief each case, AND review them well enough to speak in class.

I have yet to really speak up in class. Why? Because I'm intimidated as hell! I feel like I'm not grasping the concepts as well as others and I know that the policy aspects of law don't come to me easily either. This makes for intimidating conversation. A question will be asked and by the time I think of my answer another question has already been posed.

So...I've been frustrated.

It also doesn't help that some of the cases used to illustrate ideas aren't the easiest to understand. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one in this boat.

So I've been rethinking my approach to briefing. After all, it is supposed to help me, not any other potential reader, just me--in figuring out what is going on in the case. I came across another fellow 1L's method and used it today. At first I thought it looked like a lot of work however I found that it's really not. I like how broken down everything is and how easy I can find things. It also works well with the manner some of my profs ask their questions. So I've adopted it and have been using it this weekend.

I'm still having trouble "pulling" out the rules from the cases. And, in general, my outlines kinda suck right now because of it. I'm at least glad that I'm trying to outline since there are some in my class that don't even brief...and openly admit it...hmmm.....

How about you? Any tips on briefing you'd like to share? Things that work or don't work?

I'm contemplating the whole different colored highlighting, but I'm worried that if I do that I'll end up not briefing. And for me briefing is synthesizing, just don't ask me what I'm synthesizing yet...

• when sitting at a table where students are having a causal conversation with an Associate Dean DO NOT interupt us, change the subject and start schmoozing. Bad form.
• when responding in class do not reverse the student/professor roles and say "Exactly!" when the professor clearly knows their material. They don't need your affirmations.
• when volunteering in class do not talk so loud that others are cringing from your voice. We can hear you! SHUT UP!
• do not leave class just to talk on your phone unless it's an emergency. Putting your phone down your pants and leaving class, EVERY CLASS, EVERY DAY, does not send a good impression and I don't care how smart you think you are.

As you can see the annoyances are starting to catch up with me. It's been a long day...

Because law students need to unite sometimes!

This also goes well with the letter I wrote myself.


Hair color: anonymously gorgeous

Every now and then I have these "what the hell was I thinking" moments. Usually it's due to my big mouth, poor taste in fashion (what do you mean leggings are sooo passe?) or bad perms.

Today my moment came when I looked at "added pictures" from maintenance man's Facebook profile. Maintenance man used to be my best friend in high school. It wasn't the best friendship for me. Take the plot of "Some Kind of Wonderful" and alter it so she doesn't get him in the end and you have something that resembles our strange journey.

Anyhoo, so he became my "friend." We don't really talk to each other, have nothing in common and I'm tempted to unfriend him but then I wouldn't be able to "watch" him. That sounds bad. I should clarify this. Specifically, I wouldn't be able to look at his pictures and think to myself "what the eff were you thinking!"

Seriously. You know you've done this. Thought someone was hot to only see them years later and just laugh at yourself. The funniest aspect of it for me is that he thinks he's a gift to women. Seriously. Think of all the skanky female MySpace and Facebook profiles you've seen and insert a man. It's just bad and yet each time I see that he's updated something I have a good laugh and remember how lucky I am to have J. (Even though his randomness drives me up the wall sometimes.)

One of the things about law school I'm not enjoying is how there is this "other" section. Who are they? Are they friendly? Do they have gunners and unfriendlies like my section? When do I get to meet them?

So far I haven't seen much intermixing of the two groups. In fact I think the administration is pitting us against each other...

However I was told by the only "other" I know that all the hot chicks are in my section.

Thanks...I think?

My weekend?

• Paid bills, did laundry, remembered to put soap in with laundry this time, cooked food.
• Bathed itchy dog, entered organic warfare with bugs of all kinds.
• Went to see a movie that I will not name because you would seriously lose any respect you have for me.
• Got locked out of the house due to shitty door knob and had to bust in using a credit card.
• Got new door locks.
• Went to bar to watch sports with J. Didn't watch sports but read torts! Yes, I'm cheating on J with my torts book at a bar...I know...I'm lame.
• Studied all day Monday.
  
• Now caught up for the week!
  

Dear Classmates,

Hi there. To those of you who are my new found friends, thanks. It's been nice to laugh with you thus far. But this post isn't for those of you who have been friendly, it's for the rest of the group.

Some of you may have noticed that I know and use your names even though we haven't met. Why? Because I'm friendly and we use name cards in every class so it's been super easy to know it. Yeah, imagine that! You see, I'm here to dispel the notion that you can go through law school without talking to your classmates.

So here is some advice. If I or someone else comes up to you and says "Hi, how are you?" try responding back. If I ask how your weekend was then respond. Say something! Say anything, just don't stand there all quiet and blank! Do you realize how hard and awkward it is to try and have a conversation with someone who clearly doesn't want to? Furthermore, do you realize that you're responding to me in a very not-so-professional way and we happen to be in a professional program!! Develop those skillz!

Also, if there is one bench outside of our classroom try not to hog it! If I politely ask if I may sit there don't scoff. I'm in every one of your classes and something as small as asking to sit is a ridiculous reason for getting annoyed. Especially this soon in the semester.

We will soon be starting week two so I'd like to remind all you Debbie Downers out there that pessimistic commentary regarding our orientation is no longer acceptable. MOVE ON! I also don't care to hear about your parking woes since I don't drive!

One last thing, I, unlike some of you, have a sense of humor. Maybe it comes with my refined age. Or it could come from the fact that I like to be relaxed and enjoy life. Who knows, it doesn't matter. Just try to understand that if I feel too much tension in the air I feel obliged to relax the mood. It's not a sign of stupidity, but if you'd like to think that way then by all means please do. I'd rather surround myself with laughter and enjoy studying law. I don't want to come out of this place and learn how dull I really am.

I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend. I hope you didn't study all weekend. I hope this week y'all relax a tinsy bit.

Love,

Me