Oh what a week. Why do I always feel like I need 48 hours in every day but it feels like there are only 12? Does this mean I'm finally grown up? Because if it does, I don't think I like it.
I got the flu this week, so point to Mother Nature for worst timing ever. This Thursday I had my evidence midterm and a preparation for deposition in my fact investigation class. So I took the day off (from both of my jobs, I felt like such a slacker) on Wednesday and rested in the hopes I would feel better for the next day. It worked, mostly. I did feel much better the next day, but apparently not well enough...
On Thursday morning I got up early to go over my notes for fact investigation and evidence. I kept an eye on the clock to make sure I got in the shower at 930 so I would be able to make it to class by 11. Great plan except for one small problem. My class starts at 10. I have no idea why half way through the semester I suddenly felt like class started an hour later than usual. At about 948 it clicked and I started freaking out. I sent an email to my professor that I figured she wouldn't get but better safe than sorry, threw some clothes on, and ran out the door. I managed to make it to class only 15 minutes late. Not too shabby, I'd say. I'm sure my teacher thought I had both of my screws loose when I told her why I was late, but whatevs. I did manage to make it and prep my client for deposition. Sort of.
I really like that we get to do interviews and depositions and the like in that class. I think it's really helpful. It's also a serious dose of humility when you finish and Prof. Shanks rips you to shreds. In a good way, but it still leaves you thinking "Wow. I have no idea what I'm doing." I think that all the time though, so it's not too bad. Anyway, I've learned I have to stop being so polite and start being much more direct. Grow a pair, in other words. Being a law student is always an adventure.
In any event, now it's the weekend, and I'm feeling much better. Taking Wednesday off has caused me to be ridiculously behind, but really when am I ever not behind? So all is well and I will try to not forget what time my classes start.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Now where did it say that on the eighth day He dusteth?
This week has been insane. I started my job on Monday, after much confusion (mostly my own). I think it'll be good. I'm still trying to figure out all the office protocol; hopefully they don't fire me before I figure it out!
This year I'm on the moot court board. Because I'm on the board, I can't do any of the competitions at the school. I was pretty bummed out about that because I am a complete nerd and was most excited about 2L year because it means we get to do moot court. However, we do have travel teams. So a couple of weeks ago I tried out for the trial team. We had to do a 5-8 minute closing argument on a one page fact pattern. It kind of felt like auditioning for a play, only I had to write my own monologue. Anyway, it was totally terrifying, but I'm glad I tried out. All the judges were really nice, which makes things better. I found out this week that I made the team!! Yay!!! I am so excited. The competition is in March, and it's Boston. That's basically all I know about it. We're supposed to be meeting up in a couple of weeks to talk things over, so I'll know more soon. In any event, I am really very exceedingly excited. And I don't care how nerdy that is.
In other news, last Sunday I went to a pentecostal church. It was quite an experience; I rather enjoyed myself. I don't think I'll be joining anytime soon, but I'm glad I got to go. They sang this fun kind of pop gospel number for like twenty minutes (seriously). I thought that was super cool. I got to sing as loud as I wanted and sway to the music. It was great.
It was a really interesting experience though. My only churchy experiences are Mormons and Catholics, so it was interesting to experience the more, uh, exuberant style of preaching. Some of it I really loved. And it was cool to see how different people expressed their feeling the spirit in different ways. Some people got down and prayed, some people swayed, some people called out; it was really a very eclectic crowd. I also road an Albany City bus for the first time. It was pretty much like every other cities bus system.
So, in sum, I am enjoying work but have no idea what I'm doing, I'm very excited about being on the moot court team but have no idea what I'm doing, and I went to a church where no one knew what they were doing. Are you seeing a trend here? Sigh. I wonder if I'll ever know what I'm doing?
On a more hopeful note, it's been a crazy, sometimes frustrating, semester thus far, but I've been given some pretty amazing opportunities too. I have a job, I have an internship, I made the moot court team, and they haven't kicked me out of my classes yet (which is always a relief). Also, I've just realized I'm obsessed with semi-colons, but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway, all things considered it's been an adventurous week and a pretty damn good one too. I hope all of you have also had a pretty damn good week and that you are enjoying the fall weather! My apartment is a total disaster, so I must now go and clean.
This year I'm on the moot court board. Because I'm on the board, I can't do any of the competitions at the school. I was pretty bummed out about that because I am a complete nerd and was most excited about 2L year because it means we get to do moot court. However, we do have travel teams. So a couple of weeks ago I tried out for the trial team. We had to do a 5-8 minute closing argument on a one page fact pattern. It kind of felt like auditioning for a play, only I had to write my own monologue. Anyway, it was totally terrifying, but I'm glad I tried out. All the judges were really nice, which makes things better. I found out this week that I made the team!! Yay!!! I am so excited. The competition is in March, and it's Boston. That's basically all I know about it. We're supposed to be meeting up in a couple of weeks to talk things over, so I'll know more soon. In any event, I am really very exceedingly excited. And I don't care how nerdy that is.
In other news, last Sunday I went to a pentecostal church. It was quite an experience; I rather enjoyed myself. I don't think I'll be joining anytime soon, but I'm glad I got to go. They sang this fun kind of pop gospel number for like twenty minutes (seriously). I thought that was super cool. I got to sing as loud as I wanted and sway to the music. It was great.
It was a really interesting experience though. My only churchy experiences are Mormons and Catholics, so it was interesting to experience the more, uh, exuberant style of preaching. Some of it I really loved. And it was cool to see how different people expressed their feeling the spirit in different ways. Some people got down and prayed, some people swayed, some people called out; it was really a very eclectic crowd. I also road an Albany City bus for the first time. It was pretty much like every other cities bus system.
So, in sum, I am enjoying work but have no idea what I'm doing, I'm very excited about being on the moot court team but have no idea what I'm doing, and I went to a church where no one knew what they were doing. Are you seeing a trend here? Sigh. I wonder if I'll ever know what I'm doing?
On a more hopeful note, it's been a crazy, sometimes frustrating, semester thus far, but I've been given some pretty amazing opportunities too. I have a job, I have an internship, I made the moot court team, and they haven't kicked me out of my classes yet (which is always a relief). Also, I've just realized I'm obsessed with semi-colons, but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway, all things considered it's been an adventurous week and a pretty damn good one too. I hope all of you have also had a pretty damn good week and that you are enjoying the fall weather! My apartment is a total disaster, so I must now go and clean.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Second shelf is mine. That's where I keep my rootbeers and my double-thick Oreo cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me.
Woo! This week has been one giant shitshow. And it's not over yet. :( Any warm fuzzies sent my way would be much appreciated!
The week was going fairly well until Tuesday night when my computer decided to snap in half. Literally. The screen un-attached itself from the keyboard. So... that seemed like it wasn't supposed to happen. The computer itself works fine, so I figured I could just take it to Best Buy and they could screw it back together or something. Apparently they don't carry Dell parts. So the geek squad fellow recommended some computer store in Latham, so I went there. The guy told me it probably was fixable but it was going to cost, best case scenario, like $300. Oh, and he also informed me I probably wouldn't get my computer back, if they could fix it, for a week and a half. I'm a damn law student. I basically don't exist without my computer. Sigh. Plus, I needed a new battery for my computer (you're supposed to replace them every 2 years. It's been 3...) and one of the USB ports is broken, so you know, kill me now.
Anyway, my dear parental units offered to help me purchase a new computer as it seemed to be the more sensible route (someday when I'm 82 and finally have my student loans paid off, I'll send them on like a dream vacation or something). So I bought the new computer (and an external hard drive. Now if my computer has to be parted from me for more than a few hours, I can plug in my hard drive in a different computer and all will be well) and took it home to try and figure out how to transfer all my shit over. I have a lot of shit, but, with the help of a friend, I think I managed to get it all transferred over. Phew!
Thus far my new lil computer seems to be working pretty well. At any rate, the screen is still attached...
In other news, I got a job! Yay!! I'm very excited about it. I should be able to start on Monday, which is even better. It's quite the story how I managed to get the job (Dean Salkin is going to get twinkled, I'm pretty sure), but the important thing is that I got it. I even have my first project, and I'm pretty excited about it. It should be an interesting job which is always good. I got to meet a few of the people in the office on Friday, and everyone was really nice and friendly, so I think it'll be a good place to work.
So this week started off a little like wishing I was dead, but it's turning out much better. I got a job, and life is good. However, I did fall ridiculously behind on my work (by ridiculously I mean like insanely ridiculously. I had to start a 3rd to do list yesterday because my other 2 were getting to long. 3 to do lists!! Sigh) due to the death of my computer, so I must now go slave away (on my 3 to do lists) in an attempt to get caught up. I hope all of you are well with happy healthy computers and only 1 to do list!
One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires.
Happy October! I can't believe how fast this semester is going. Before I know it, finals will be here, and then I will get to go home!! Yay. :)
I've had a couple of very lawyer-y experiences the last few days. A couple of weeks ago I got an email saying there was a group putting together an effort to offer pro bono legal services to the victims of Hurricane Irene. I decided that would be a good way to be useful to society, so I've been trying to help out. This last Wednesday I was able to go out and help do intake and that sort of thing. It was interesting. For one thing, it was raining. I don't think it will ever stop raining here! The people that were there while I was there were, for the most part, quiet. Filled out the forms and then waited silently for an attorney to be available. I had an opportunity to read through some of the information packets that are given to Hurricane victims. Ridiculous. The hoops these people have to jump through just to get a real human being on the phone is unconscionable. Seriously, I struggle to understand how, as a society, we think it's ok to let these people languish. FEMA is woefully underfunded. I think currently the max these people can get from FEMA, assuming they can even get that far, is like $30,000. That is definitely better than nothing, but if your house has floated down the river, $30,000 won't build you a new one. One woman, who was lucky enough to have her house not float down the river, needed to have the floors in her house replaced. Her house had flooded and the floors were beyond repair. FEMA gave her $272. And because FEMA helped her, the insurance company won't.
And the insurance companies are even worse. That woman probably got more money from FEMA than her insurance company would have given her, if she had insurance. The older I get, the more I think insurance is just a giant ponzi scheme. You pay in your whole life and then when you need it they don't want to give you the money. Ass holes.
So, anyway, I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to help a bit. I'm basically useless at this point because I don't know very much, but every little bit of help counts I guess. And I think it's really cool that there are attorneys willing to take a day or two off to come and help these people. We're not all bad, you know.
I did notice something I thought was interesting though. There were two attorneys working that day. Both times they came in and were introduced to me, they went straight to me (the woman in the suit) before even acknowledging the client (who wasn't wearing a suit). It made me very uncomfortable. I was grateful to meet these two attorneys, but it seemed strange to me that their first priority was to meet the law student rather than to meet the person there for much needed legal advice. I may have just perceived the entire thing wrong, but I still thought it was interesting, and it still made me a little uncomfortable.
In any event, they're doing a lot of good for these people, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help!
I've had a couple of very lawyer-y experiences the last few days. A couple of weeks ago I got an email saying there was a group putting together an effort to offer pro bono legal services to the victims of Hurricane Irene. I decided that would be a good way to be useful to society, so I've been trying to help out. This last Wednesday I was able to go out and help do intake and that sort of thing. It was interesting. For one thing, it was raining. I don't think it will ever stop raining here! The people that were there while I was there were, for the most part, quiet. Filled out the forms and then waited silently for an attorney to be available. I had an opportunity to read through some of the information packets that are given to Hurricane victims. Ridiculous. The hoops these people have to jump through just to get a real human being on the phone is unconscionable. Seriously, I struggle to understand how, as a society, we think it's ok to let these people languish. FEMA is woefully underfunded. I think currently the max these people can get from FEMA, assuming they can even get that far, is like $30,000. That is definitely better than nothing, but if your house has floated down the river, $30,000 won't build you a new one. One woman, who was lucky enough to have her house not float down the river, needed to have the floors in her house replaced. Her house had flooded and the floors were beyond repair. FEMA gave her $272. And because FEMA helped her, the insurance company won't.
And the insurance companies are even worse. That woman probably got more money from FEMA than her insurance company would have given her, if she had insurance. The older I get, the more I think insurance is just a giant ponzi scheme. You pay in your whole life and then when you need it they don't want to give you the money. Ass holes.
So, anyway, I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to help a bit. I'm basically useless at this point because I don't know very much, but every little bit of help counts I guess. And I think it's really cool that there are attorneys willing to take a day or two off to come and help these people. We're not all bad, you know.
I did notice something I thought was interesting though. There were two attorneys working that day. Both times they came in and were introduced to me, they went straight to me (the woman in the suit) before even acknowledging the client (who wasn't wearing a suit). It made me very uncomfortable. I was grateful to meet these two attorneys, but it seemed strange to me that their first priority was to meet the law student rather than to meet the person there for much needed legal advice. I may have just perceived the entire thing wrong, but I still thought it was interesting, and it still made me a little uncomfortable.
In any event, they're doing a lot of good for these people, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help!
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