So I am currently consumed with my Appellate Brief. I wake up thinking about it and go to bed (if I go to bed) thinking about it. It is my everything right now. Sorry Fiance, I promise I'll call you after it's submitted tomorrow. Our professors are laughing at us, I haven't showered in three days and half the men in our class have just given up on shaving. The other half of the men already had a beard. Don't even ask about the ladies' legs. You don't want to know.
This brief is no joke.
But right in the middle of a major freak out, I got an email.
Congratulations on your placement with the _____ Judicial Circuit internship program.
Oh my God! I did it. I got the summer internship I wanted!! It's with a general magistrate in charge of the Elder Justice Department. It's obviously low level in the Judicial scheme but I'll get a lot more elder law and probate experience than I would with a regular Judge or Justice. I am so ridiculously excited!!
More than that, I feel like I'm actually doing this whole law school thing right. Which is amazing considering how very many times I screwed up this semester. Oh, and as a matter of fact, when I first called to ask about this internship, the second the call connected, the sprinkler system went off and hit me right across the backside. So the very first thing the hiring coordinator heard out of my mouth was "wuugaaaackkk!" and then I was so rattled as I tried to dodge the sprinklers that I gave my email address wrong. It's amazing I even got the application sent to me, much less actually got the internship!
Plus I'll be working part time at the Elder Law Center at my school so I'll actually have a little money to pay my bills. Okay, not all of my bills so I'll have to put the rest on my credit cards and play catch up later but still, some money coming in is better than no money coming in.
Now the only things I have left to worry about is this brief, finals and my upcoming surgery. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Law School does not have a finals week
Law school has a finals MONTH. And I'm stuck in the middle of it.
My brief is due on Sunday, my final oral argument is next Thursday, the next week is the last week of classes, and then BOOM. Two weeks of final exams.
Needless to say, I have been horrible about writing blog posts. I promise that I will try to come back and cover all the important things I'm skipping over once summer starts. Or at least, I will do my best.
But to catch you up for now:
Barrister's Ball was amazing! I think I've heard that at some schools, the professor's are invited for the first hour or so. Not here. Which meant we drank too much wine and danced a little more freely than we would have otherwise. We had an open bar, dinner, a live band, fortune tellers, belly dancers, free henna tattoos, and a photo box with silly accessories. How could we not have an awesome night? I know some people didn't see the point is shelling out the cash for the tickets and having to buy a pretty gown just for dinner and some wine and I can see their point. However, I feel that it was worth it just for the experience. Could I have had a dinner and wine night for much less? Sure. But it was so much more than that. Plus, I bought my gown second hand and can probably sell it back for more than I paid for it. :P
This brief is killing me! I thought the various memo's were bad. No, this appellate brief has more sections, more words, more complex issues. More everything. UGH. It's open universe which means they don't limit the cases for you like they did for the first memo's. Which mean I have spent more time researching than I have writing and I still don't have quite enough cases. We are supposed to have between 12 and 18. So if you know me in real life, don't expect to see me in the next few days.
If you have been paying attention to me at all, you know that I can't stand public speaking. Yes, I want to be an attorney anyway. I'm stubborn like that. I also wanted to be a part of the executive board in the Elder Law group on campus. And if the position you are running for is contested, you have to give a mini speech on why you should win. I almost changed my mind and was like nope, nope, nope. But I decided to man up so to speak and do it anyway. I didn't die AND I won. So I must have done something right! Now if only I could remember what I said. I can't remember because all I could focus on was the fact that I couldn't feel my hands (they went completely numb) and trying not to throw up. I had to speak for 30 seconds. Good Lord, I'm ridiculous.
And that leads me to my next bit of news. My school has us give a practice oral argument in front of the moot court board the week before our final one. In a fit of panic, I signed up for the very first spot on Monday morning. I think I was just wanting to get it over with before my brief was due but it just led to a massive amount of fear once I realized what I had just done to myself. I managed to get 3 whole hours of sleep the night before and I threw up three times that morning. But you know what? I actually did pretty well. I read too much instead of being more conversational but I didn't throw up behind the podium, I didn't cry and I didn't sound stupid. Will I panic again over the final? ABSOLUTELY. But at least I know I can do it, even if I don't want to.
I think that pretty much catches you all up and I'll try to post at least once more before final exams hit but I can't make any promises. Wish me luck!!
My brief is due on Sunday, my final oral argument is next Thursday, the next week is the last week of classes, and then BOOM. Two weeks of final exams.
Needless to say, I have been horrible about writing blog posts. I promise that I will try to come back and cover all the important things I'm skipping over once summer starts. Or at least, I will do my best.
But to catch you up for now:
Barrister's Ball was amazing! I think I've heard that at some schools, the professor's are invited for the first hour or so. Not here. Which meant we drank too much wine and danced a little more freely than we would have otherwise. We had an open bar, dinner, a live band, fortune tellers, belly dancers, free henna tattoos, and a photo box with silly accessories. How could we not have an awesome night? I know some people didn't see the point is shelling out the cash for the tickets and having to buy a pretty gown just for dinner and some wine and I can see their point. However, I feel that it was worth it just for the experience. Could I have had a dinner and wine night for much less? Sure. But it was so much more than that. Plus, I bought my gown second hand and can probably sell it back for more than I paid for it. :P
This brief is killing me! I thought the various memo's were bad. No, this appellate brief has more sections, more words, more complex issues. More everything. UGH. It's open universe which means they don't limit the cases for you like they did for the first memo's. Which mean I have spent more time researching than I have writing and I still don't have quite enough cases. We are supposed to have between 12 and 18. So if you know me in real life, don't expect to see me in the next few days.
If you have been paying attention to me at all, you know that I can't stand public speaking. Yes, I want to be an attorney anyway. I'm stubborn like that. I also wanted to be a part of the executive board in the Elder Law group on campus. And if the position you are running for is contested, you have to give a mini speech on why you should win. I almost changed my mind and was like nope, nope, nope. But I decided to man up so to speak and do it anyway. I didn't die AND I won. So I must have done something right! Now if only I could remember what I said. I can't remember because all I could focus on was the fact that I couldn't feel my hands (they went completely numb) and trying not to throw up. I had to speak for 30 seconds. Good Lord, I'm ridiculous.
And that leads me to my next bit of news. My school has us give a practice oral argument in front of the moot court board the week before our final one. In a fit of panic, I signed up for the very first spot on Monday morning. I think I was just wanting to get it over with before my brief was due but it just led to a massive amount of fear once I realized what I had just done to myself. I managed to get 3 whole hours of sleep the night before and I threw up three times that morning. But you know what? I actually did pretty well. I read too much instead of being more conversational but I didn't throw up behind the podium, I didn't cry and I didn't sound stupid. Will I panic again over the final? ABSOLUTELY. But at least I know I can do it, even if I don't want to.
I think that pretty much catches you all up and I'll try to post at least once more before final exams hit but I can't make any promises. Wish me luck!!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Guess what day it is??!!!
Barrister Ball is tonight! Also known as Law School Prom. It's like high school but so much better.
Fancy dress? Check.
Fancy food? Check
Open bar? Double Check.
Music and dancing? Check and Check.
I never went to my high school prom (Boyfriend broke up with me three days before the dance, that jerk!) so I'm looking at tonight as my chance to make up for it. Plus, it has an open bar so no one even needs to spike the punch.
Me being me, I still hate shopping. I swear I really am a female. I promise! So where did I get my fancy dress? On the Vinted App for $30 bucks. It fits perfect and I don't need to feel bad for buying a dress I'll only wear once because it's used and I can sell it back on the App as well. Boom.
Of course, to make up for the fact that I'm going to be out dancing all night, I had to wake up at six am to work on my brief. Oh law school problems.
My brief is fighting me every step of the way. It's due in two weeks from today and I'm still stuck on researching. I do have a working outline so I don't feel completely incompetent but I feel like I could research ten hours a day for the next two weeks and still not have a handle on the issues. To make it worse, my first oral argument on it is in a week and I'm terrified. The first one is ungraded but I am the very first one. And to make it even worse, I'm representing the Petitioner so I really am the first one to go. Why oh why can't I be one of those aspiring attorneys who like public speaking? I keep thinking that eventually I'll get better at it but it hasn't happened yet. I tried to practice just the opening bit, "May it please the court, my name is _____ and I represent the Petitioner ______." I was in my own home, in my pj's, sitting down and I still started shaking and felt sick. And then I felt ridiculous.
I kinda think that this is why the Barrister's Ball is scheduled when it is. It's after the crazy push to the end begins but not so far into it that we can't take a few hours off to get our minds off of it all.
I'll let you know how it goes!
Fancy dress? Check.
Fancy food? Check
Open bar? Double Check.
Music and dancing? Check and Check.
I never went to my high school prom (Boyfriend broke up with me three days before the dance, that jerk!) so I'm looking at tonight as my chance to make up for it. Plus, it has an open bar so no one even needs to spike the punch.
Me being me, I still hate shopping. I swear I really am a female. I promise! So where did I get my fancy dress? On the Vinted App for $30 bucks. It fits perfect and I don't need to feel bad for buying a dress I'll only wear once because it's used and I can sell it back on the App as well. Boom.
Of course, to make up for the fact that I'm going to be out dancing all night, I had to wake up at six am to work on my brief. Oh law school problems.
My brief is fighting me every step of the way. It's due in two weeks from today and I'm still stuck on researching. I do have a working outline so I don't feel completely incompetent but I feel like I could research ten hours a day for the next two weeks and still not have a handle on the issues. To make it worse, my first oral argument on it is in a week and I'm terrified. The first one is ungraded but I am the very first one. And to make it even worse, I'm representing the Petitioner so I really am the first one to go. Why oh why can't I be one of those aspiring attorneys who like public speaking? I keep thinking that eventually I'll get better at it but it hasn't happened yet. I tried to practice just the opening bit, "May it please the court, my name is _____ and I represent the Petitioner ______." I was in my own home, in my pj's, sitting down and I still started shaking and felt sick. And then I felt ridiculous.
I kinda think that this is why the Barrister's Ball is scheduled when it is. It's after the crazy push to the end begins but not so far into it that we can't take a few hours off to get our minds off of it all.
I'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Zzzzzzzzzzz
How is it that just when I need to sleep the most, my brain has decided that I AM NEVER GOING TO SLEEP AGAIN. This would be fine if I could actually function but no. I'm basically a zombie shuffling from one class to another. I go home and start on my reading but am so tired that I just beg for a nap. Lie down and . . . . nothing. So I get up and go back to my reading, only to be hit by exhaustion again. Lie down and poof. Awake. This happens over and over again.
Last night (day four of less than 4 hours a night) I crawled into bed at 11:30 and tried everything I could think of. Deep breathing meditation, stretching, counting sheep, doing something else, not doing something else and just laying there in the dark. Nada. I didn't fall asleep until after 6am and had to wake up at 8. GAH!
I mean it could be worse. I am somehow keeping up with my readings and have started to work on my appellate brief. (Thanks Redbull!) But it does make me want to punch myself in the brain.
Last night (day four of less than 4 hours a night) I crawled into bed at 11:30 and tried everything I could think of. Deep breathing meditation, stretching, counting sheep, doing something else, not doing something else and just laying there in the dark. Nada. I didn't fall asleep until after 6am and had to wake up at 8. GAH!
I mean it could be worse. I am somehow keeping up with my readings and have started to work on my appellate brief. (Thanks Redbull!) But it does make me want to punch myself in the brain.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Spring Break!!!
Also known as saving my sanity! Fiancé and I went to Miami to visit a friend from Undergrad and oh my God. You could not possibly understand how amazing it is to hang out with someone who is not in law school. Seriously, it brought my life a much needed perspective change. Now mind you, this perspective change kept me from getting very much school work done. But it was worth it. Plus I did manage to finish my Con Law reading FOR THE REST OF THE SEMESTER!! And all without having to give up fun time with my friends. I mostly read in the car while we were traveling place to place and a couple times I woke up an hour or so early and read before everyone else got up. I do have a research assignment due next week that I'd hoped to get done by now but eh. I have a couple more days. It was worth it!
One reason why I haven't been writing much this month (besides being ridiculously busy) is that my allergies have been kicking my butt. I've always had them but as long as I took my meds, I could still function. Not this year. I actually missed class numerous times because of how bad it was. My eyes were always swollen, my nose ran continuously and I actually sneezed so many times in a row (think 12 to 15 times within 20 seconds) that I ended up choking and inhaling saliva into my lungs. And it stayed that bad for over a month. Understandably, it did not help me focus on law school at all. I remember one particularly bad night where it took me over two hours to read one nine page case. And I had six more cases to read that night. I could barely read the words through my swollen eyes and I went through an entire box of kleenex. It came to the point where I was putting way too much effort in without getting enough out of it. So I put down my casebook and went to bed. It was the only time I've ever gone to class without all or at least most of the reading done and it still amazes me that it somehow worked out because my professor ended up doing a review class. WHEW!
Anyway, I noticed in Miami that my allergies seemed much more manageable. And the pollen count was the same as home. Hmmmm. The second I walked into my house though, I sneezed a dozen times and all my symptoms came right back. So the last couple days I have been focusing on keeping the allergens in my house at bay. I bought an allergen reliever filter for my central ac, used a spray that's supposed to neutralize pet dander, dust mites, mold and pollen and bought two hepa air filters/purifiers. One for my bedroom and one for the living room. Within 24 hours, I was a new woman. I could breathe and concentrate and basically could enjoy life again. With my allergy pill, I feel almost normal. I'd forgotten how much more I can do and how much more fun I am. Trust me, Fiancé is just as glad as I am. No more cranky law student. Well, at least until finals!
We even went out on St Patricks Day. I love the fact that I can bring my dog to the bar because one, she loves it and two, she got to show off her green light up leash. She looked so festive. :P
Finally saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!
Coral Rock Museum. This guy was probably certifiably insane but he created amazing sculptures so hopefully he found it worth it.
Saw a wild alligator for the first time! I'm pretty sure my entire family expected me to see them every time I walked outdoors because just about every conversation starts with them asking me if I'd seen one yet. I can finally say yes, I have seen an alligator. Whew. Oh Washingtonians.
One reason why I haven't been writing much this month (besides being ridiculously busy) is that my allergies have been kicking my butt. I've always had them but as long as I took my meds, I could still function. Not this year. I actually missed class numerous times because of how bad it was. My eyes were always swollen, my nose ran continuously and I actually sneezed so many times in a row (think 12 to 15 times within 20 seconds) that I ended up choking and inhaling saliva into my lungs. And it stayed that bad for over a month. Understandably, it did not help me focus on law school at all. I remember one particularly bad night where it took me over two hours to read one nine page case. And I had six more cases to read that night. I could barely read the words through my swollen eyes and I went through an entire box of kleenex. It came to the point where I was putting way too much effort in without getting enough out of it. So I put down my casebook and went to bed. It was the only time I've ever gone to class without all or at least most of the reading done and it still amazes me that it somehow worked out because my professor ended up doing a review class. WHEW!
Anyway, I noticed in Miami that my allergies seemed much more manageable. And the pollen count was the same as home. Hmmmm. The second I walked into my house though, I sneezed a dozen times and all my symptoms came right back. So the last couple days I have been focusing on keeping the allergens in my house at bay. I bought an allergen reliever filter for my central ac, used a spray that's supposed to neutralize pet dander, dust mites, mold and pollen and bought two hepa air filters/purifiers. One for my bedroom and one for the living room. Within 24 hours, I was a new woman. I could breathe and concentrate and basically could enjoy life again. With my allergy pill, I feel almost normal. I'd forgotten how much more I can do and how much more fun I am. Trust me, Fiancé is just as glad as I am. No more cranky law student. Well, at least until finals!
We even went out on St Patricks Day. I love the fact that I can bring my dog to the bar because one, she loves it and two, she got to show off her green light up leash. She looked so festive. :P
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Best Laid Plans and All
I tried to get caught up this weekend. I really did. And I didn't fail miserably but I didn't really succeed either. Assuming I study until midnight tonight, I should no longer be behind. But I'll have to work my butt off this week to stay that way. It could be worse though! Plus, next week is Spring Break and you would not believe how relieved I am. It could not come at a better time! Of course, I'll have to work on my Appellate Brief the entire time but I should have SOME me time to relax! Whoooooo.
Until then, here's to Redbull and McDonalds.
Until then, here's to Redbull and McDonalds.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Told you I'd drop off the face of the earth
It's that part of the semester where I have more and more things to do and have less and less motivation to do ANYTHING. That works about as well as you'd expect it to. Basically, everything ends up taking me three times as long because I keep getting distracted or can't seem to start anything until I literally have no other choice. Even keeping up with the reading is a struggle.
But that stops today. I am putting my foot down.
Today, I am going to class and then I am going to get my outlines caught up. Then I am going to figure out my clerks volunteer assignment and then I'm going to review the tax training because I start tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I am going to man the free tax clinic until one, work on researching for my Appellate brief and hopefully go to a SBA social on the beach. That last one might get cut but I really hope not.
Sunday I will do all the reading for the week for Property and Con law so that next week I can catch up on my clerks assignment.
Boom. I've got a plan. No more stressing which leads to slacking which leads to stressing which leads to . . . well you see where I'm going with this.
I got this. Ready. Set. GO!
But that stops today. I am putting my foot down.
Today, I am going to class and then I am going to get my outlines caught up. Then I am going to figure out my clerks volunteer assignment and then I'm going to review the tax training because I start tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I am going to man the free tax clinic until one, work on researching for my Appellate brief and hopefully go to a SBA social on the beach. That last one might get cut but I really hope not.
Sunday I will do all the reading for the week for Property and Con law so that next week I can catch up on my clerks assignment.
Boom. I've got a plan. No more stressing which leads to slacking which leads to stressing which leads to . . . well you see where I'm going with this.
I got this. Ready. Set. GO!
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