The Separation of Powers final was this afternoon. It was pretty rough. The issue spotter had so many constitutional problems it was hard not to get them mixed up. And I think I threw in a completely superfluous Appointments Clause analysis - let's hope that was actually an issue and I don't get docked points for wasting the professor's time when reading. The policy question was about recess appointments, which we talked about for maybe half of one class period. So, there it is. On one hand, what's done is done. On the other hand, I really wanted to do well in that class so there's plenty of ways to do meaningless worrying. Can't wait. In perspective, I like hard exams - they are hard for everyone and I seem to do better on them. Any moron can do well on an easy exam; the hard exams weed out the less prepared and place them appropriately on the curve. Let's hope. Knock on wood. Knock on internet. Ok, I'm done worrying about it.
The comedown from this exam is sort of harsh. I was so hyped up on adrenaline and aggrandizement that I like don't know what to do with myself. What will I study?? Oh right, Computer Crime. My last final. Dun dun dun. If you mess with this post it could, like, totally be a computer crime. I'm not really sure. I'll get back to you after I do some studying. Somehow I am just not as into this final. My final final. Ever. I'm into that. I'm into saying goodbye to law school. And I'm into Grad Week (our senior week equivalent) which includes a boat cruise (read: booze cruise) and brunch (read: boozy brunch). Oh law students. Well, there won't be kickball, so this senior week will be disappointing, I can tell already.
I wish I had other, interesting, insightful things to talk about. But it's hard during finals! My focus is on academic achievement. And misery. Anyone know any good procrastination tools that aren't internet memes full of .gif files? Also, the word meme: how do you say that out loud??
Some guy was talking to his friend today about Robert Griffin III as I was walking by. He said "This guy's RG3" and I looked at him. He goes "Him...not you..." gesturing to his friend. I know I'm not the #2 overall pick in this year's draft. Way to rub salt in the wound.
Showing posts with label finals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finals. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
Frack
Alright blog, here we go.
Finals being over was clutch. I spent a few days in DC without any real responsibility. Lots of laundry, groceries, and general responsibilities aside, I did little. I have to say, the best night was that Wednesday. I went with my roommate to pub trivia and a whiskey bar, and then we watched "A New Hope." It's really all I've ever wanted in an evening. The only other evening of note was Damien's Christmas Party. Thanks to Dan and Rachel, that night turned into a haze. Dan instigated many many shots of Scandinavian schnapps, one of the few liquors that gets worse with each shot. I just got annoyingly drunk (sorry everyone I was around!). The next morning there was a lovely group text:
Dan: Sorry about that everyone. Thanks for drinking with me
Me: My head...
Rachel: I'm still drunk
Dan: I ended my streak of not puking in DC
Rachel: I ended my streak of not blacking out at dinner parties.
For the record, Rachel's streak only dates back to Damien's Passover dinner party by my count. Whelp, that was DC Christmas.
DC Hanukkah was more of a sober event. It consisted of Ed and me cooking for Alena and Kerry while watching Tim Tebow lose to the Patriots. What up.
Then it was back to Boston, where I currently am. Boston has been, well, rather dull. I've seen some people and that has been nice. Christmas was very traditional: BDP's for Christmas Eve, family friend's for dinner, and Emma's for evening activities. It's as regular as Santa's mad dash around the world. Once again, Santa did not show up for me - even though I have a chimney. How does he know which children are Christian? Does he just go by last name and make all sorts of dangerous assumptions? I mean, Dave Goldberg we can probably cross off the list, but there are tons of ambiguities.
Does anyone actually get coal? That would be awesome. I'd be way more behind the idea of Santa if people actually got coal when they were naughty that year. What a superior system of child discipline. Do rich kids who have been naughty get coal derivatives from a futures market? Was any fracking involved in that coal extraction?
Fracking as a great word. It sounds way better than what it is: a method of extracting coal and natural gas from rock.
For my birthday, Shaked got my How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) Seasons 4 and 5, but I promised not to watch them until the end of finals. That was a good choice since I would have spent lots more time watching HIMYM than studying. But since finals ended, I have been in a HIMYM marathon. I'm just about at the end of season 5. It's like crack! Even though it's going steadily downhill and slowly consuming my life. Hey, it really is like crack.
So Happy Holidays everyone.
Finals being over was clutch. I spent a few days in DC without any real responsibility. Lots of laundry, groceries, and general responsibilities aside, I did little. I have to say, the best night was that Wednesday. I went with my roommate to pub trivia and a whiskey bar, and then we watched "A New Hope." It's really all I've ever wanted in an evening. The only other evening of note was Damien's Christmas Party. Thanks to Dan and Rachel, that night turned into a haze. Dan instigated many many shots of Scandinavian schnapps, one of the few liquors that gets worse with each shot. I just got annoyingly drunk (sorry everyone I was around!). The next morning there was a lovely group text:
Dan: Sorry about that everyone. Thanks for drinking with me
Me: My head...
Rachel: I'm still drunk
Dan: I ended my streak of not puking in DC
Rachel: I ended my streak of not blacking out at dinner parties.
For the record, Rachel's streak only dates back to Damien's Passover dinner party by my count. Whelp, that was DC Christmas.
DC Hanukkah was more of a sober event. It consisted of Ed and me cooking for Alena and Kerry while watching Tim Tebow lose to the Patriots. What up.
Then it was back to Boston, where I currently am. Boston has been, well, rather dull. I've seen some people and that has been nice. Christmas was very traditional: BDP's for Christmas Eve, family friend's for dinner, and Emma's for evening activities. It's as regular as Santa's mad dash around the world. Once again, Santa did not show up for me - even though I have a chimney. How does he know which children are Christian? Does he just go by last name and make all sorts of dangerous assumptions? I mean, Dave Goldberg we can probably cross off the list, but there are tons of ambiguities.
Does anyone actually get coal? That would be awesome. I'd be way more behind the idea of Santa if people actually got coal when they were naughty that year. What a superior system of child discipline. Do rich kids who have been naughty get coal derivatives from a futures market? Was any fracking involved in that coal extraction?
Fracking as a great word. It sounds way better than what it is: a method of extracting coal and natural gas from rock.
For my birthday, Shaked got my How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) Seasons 4 and 5, but I promised not to watch them until the end of finals. That was a good choice since I would have spent lots more time watching HIMYM than studying. But since finals ended, I have been in a HIMYM marathon. I'm just about at the end of season 5. It's like crack! Even though it's going steadily downhill and slowly consuming my life. Hey, it really is like crack.
So Happy Holidays everyone.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Final Final
Tomorrow is my last final. In 15 hours, I will be done with my penultimate semester of law school. All that stands in my way is Professional Responsibility. (I hope someone ironically gets thrown out of the exam for cheating.) I cannot wait to be done with over two weeks of constant studying or feeling like I should be studying. Not to mention being done with this crappy semester. Next semester I get to take classes I am interested in with good professors. This semester not so much.
Tomorrow afternoon there is a planned brunch at the bar closest to school. Then a much-deserved nap. The nap isn't group planned.
The Model Rules of Professional Responsibility can be summed up in one sentence: don't be a douchebag. Then it's just variations - don't be a d-bag to your client, don't be a d-bag to former clients, don't be a d-bag to opposing counsel, and so on. But I have a feeling that writing all that on the test will not earn me high marks.
Holy smokes, it's almost the holidays and I haven't done really any holiday shopping! I should probably just give everyone a Santa hat and act really offended if they don't like it or act confused. Rejecting a Santa hat in late December is like hating America. Right Rick Perry?
I have plans to have the nerdiest law school party ever. It will be called the "Ex Parte" (that's a law joke...yeah). And it will only go downhill from there. We can serve an apple tort(e). There will be Federal Rules of Party Procedure. And so on. I'll think of more awful law jokes later.
FYI: this is why law school's law revue shows are not funny. Law jokes are uniformly terribly.
My annual birthday gathering at the Big Hunt was this Saturday. A decent amount of people came out given that it was mid-finals. Despite having a server who hated me for ordering a drink from the bar (when she took ten minutes to come by the table), it went pretty well. I saw some peeps I have not seen in a while, and there was general merriment. And Sunday I was able to combat the hangover enough to get some actual work done. For the win!
Tomorrow afternoon there is a planned brunch at the bar closest to school. Then a much-deserved nap. The nap isn't group planned.
The Model Rules of Professional Responsibility can be summed up in one sentence: don't be a douchebag. Then it's just variations - don't be a d-bag to your client, don't be a d-bag to former clients, don't be a d-bag to opposing counsel, and so on. But I have a feeling that writing all that on the test will not earn me high marks.
Holy smokes, it's almost the holidays and I haven't done really any holiday shopping! I should probably just give everyone a Santa hat and act really offended if they don't like it or act confused. Rejecting a Santa hat in late December is like hating America. Right Rick Perry?
I have plans to have the nerdiest law school party ever. It will be called the "Ex Parte" (that's a law joke...yeah). And it will only go downhill from there. We can serve an apple tort(e). There will be Federal Rules of Party Procedure. And so on. I'll think of more awful law jokes later.
FYI: this is why law school's law revue shows are not funny. Law jokes are uniformly terribly.
My annual birthday gathering at the Big Hunt was this Saturday. A decent amount of people came out given that it was mid-finals. Despite having a server who hated me for ordering a drink from the bar (when she took ten minutes to come by the table), it went pretty well. I saw some peeps I have not seen in a while, and there was general merriment. And Sunday I was able to combat the hangover enough to get some actual work done. For the win!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Of Birthdays and Finals, Hopefully Not Final Birthday
Let's recap. My birthday and finals have both happened, generally in an intertwining narrative.
Friday night was probably the highlight of the weekend. Kerry took me to a cocktail bar called the Columbia Room. It is a ten seat bar, framed as a speakeasy - unmarked in the back of another bar. They have real bartenders. Not "I can make a rum and coke" bar tenders. They use high quality ingredients and top notch techniques. Usually they do a flight of three cocktails. Two are chosen by the house, the third is based on your preferences. The house choices were Prohibition-era style cocktails. We got the history of them and everything. It was interesting and the drinks were good. For my third cocktail I asked for "something with whiskey...or gin." and the bartender made me her favorite martini. It's was a dry martini with Plymouth Gin and a fancy dry vermouth in equal parts, with a twist of lemon. It was good - though not my favorite thing ever. Kerry had a neat ginger cocktail. And someone else at the bar got a vesper martini - the original James Bond drink. Pretty cool. We also got an extra drink (cause how often do you get the opportunity to sit at that type of bar). For that I asked for something spicy. I got a drink called a Sun Burn. It involved whiskey, bitters, ginger liqueur, tobasco, and an egg white. It was pretty incredible.
Apparently this bar is on GQ's list of top 25 cocktail bars. Well it's right up my alley. Huge fan.
Sunday was my actual birthday. As is tradition, I listened to "December 4th" by Jay-Z. We have the same birthday. No big deal. I'm practically him, right? I got the nice deluge of facebook posts, which was an appreciated distraction. But I spent most of the day studying Evidence. 'Tis the life of a December-born student. But this is the last time my birthday will ever interfere with finals! Alena and Kerry made dinner and baked a cake, respectively. It was delicious, and clearly the highlight of a study day. And I still lost at Settler of Catan. Great.
After another full study day yesterday, my first final came today. Evidence. It began in curious manner. I got to the exam room an hour in advance. Jon and I plugged in our computers and after a couple of minutes a socket down the row began smoking and making popping sounds. Umm that's cool. Someone called facilities about that, and it turns out that the school flooded last night (it's basically built on a swamp...like this city). So our basement classroom had been flooded, causing electrical problems. And making the carpet throughout the lecture hall damp and mildew scented. The first two rows of seats were roped off, and despite the smell and general sense of dampness that hung over the room, we all took the exam. Not what you'd call optimal test conditions.
I hope it went well. I'm nervous. I left the exam 20 minutes early. I had already read over my answers twice. Now that I am out of the test, I know that I got one answer wrong. But I just didn't know it, so those 20 minutes wouldn't have helped. Some crap about the Confrontation Clause changing in 2003. But aside from that question I feel pretty good about it. I think? I hope! At least it's over. Face towards the future. Towards tomorrow. Towards an Antitrust exam at 9:30 in the morning.
I'm not sure how this is going to go over with the professor but I made a little joke on the exam. The problem had to do with a prosecution for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. I wrote: "The potential for prejudice is high (no pun intended)." I hope my professor likes puns. Specifically bad ones!
Oh, I passed the MPRE. I am more than minimally ethical in all U.S. jurisdictions. I should hope so from a philosophy major!
I wonder if like...Jack Abramoff took that test? It's clearly a really good screening tool. Better we should have ethics shock treatment.
I remember that two years ago during finals it was freezing. It was so cold I was wearing two pairs of socks to school. Today it was mid-60s and raining. What is going on here? Why is DC now a tropical rainforest? It's December! Get with it. I want some snow. I want another snowpocalypse. I want classes cancelled, snowball fights, and hot toddies.
Shaked got me the next two seasons of How I Met Your Mother. All I want to do is watch them! But I promised I won't until the end of finals. An exercise in self-control.
Tupac says "It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent." That depends in large part on what your rent is. If you live in a mansion, yeah. If you live at your momma's house, like Snoop Dogg (Gin and Juice), it's not hard at all. If you "raise the roof" of your house, that would cost a lot. And there's always the threat of that roof being on fire and someone "let[ting] the motherf***** burn."
Friday night was probably the highlight of the weekend. Kerry took me to a cocktail bar called the Columbia Room. It is a ten seat bar, framed as a speakeasy - unmarked in the back of another bar. They have real bartenders. Not "I can make a rum and coke" bar tenders. They use high quality ingredients and top notch techniques. Usually they do a flight of three cocktails. Two are chosen by the house, the third is based on your preferences. The house choices were Prohibition-era style cocktails. We got the history of them and everything. It was interesting and the drinks were good. For my third cocktail I asked for "something with whiskey...or gin." and the bartender made me her favorite martini. It's was a dry martini with Plymouth Gin and a fancy dry vermouth in equal parts, with a twist of lemon. It was good - though not my favorite thing ever. Kerry had a neat ginger cocktail. And someone else at the bar got a vesper martini - the original James Bond drink. Pretty cool. We also got an extra drink (cause how often do you get the opportunity to sit at that type of bar). For that I asked for something spicy. I got a drink called a Sun Burn. It involved whiskey, bitters, ginger liqueur, tobasco, and an egg white. It was pretty incredible.
Apparently this bar is on GQ's list of top 25 cocktail bars. Well it's right up my alley. Huge fan.
Sunday was my actual birthday. As is tradition, I listened to "December 4th" by Jay-Z. We have the same birthday. No big deal. I'm practically him, right? I got the nice deluge of facebook posts, which was an appreciated distraction. But I spent most of the day studying Evidence. 'Tis the life of a December-born student. But this is the last time my birthday will ever interfere with finals! Alena and Kerry made dinner and baked a cake, respectively. It was delicious, and clearly the highlight of a study day. And I still lost at Settler of Catan. Great.
After another full study day yesterday, my first final came today. Evidence. It began in curious manner. I got to the exam room an hour in advance. Jon and I plugged in our computers and after a couple of minutes a socket down the row began smoking and making popping sounds. Umm that's cool. Someone called facilities about that, and it turns out that the school flooded last night (it's basically built on a swamp...like this city). So our basement classroom had been flooded, causing electrical problems. And making the carpet throughout the lecture hall damp and mildew scented. The first two rows of seats were roped off, and despite the smell and general sense of dampness that hung over the room, we all took the exam. Not what you'd call optimal test conditions.
I hope it went well. I'm nervous. I left the exam 20 minutes early. I had already read over my answers twice. Now that I am out of the test, I know that I got one answer wrong. But I just didn't know it, so those 20 minutes wouldn't have helped. Some crap about the Confrontation Clause changing in 2003. But aside from that question I feel pretty good about it. I think? I hope! At least it's over. Face towards the future. Towards tomorrow. Towards an Antitrust exam at 9:30 in the morning.
I'm not sure how this is going to go over with the professor but I made a little joke on the exam. The problem had to do with a prosecution for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. I wrote: "The potential for prejudice is high (no pun intended)." I hope my professor likes puns. Specifically bad ones!
Oh, I passed the MPRE. I am more than minimally ethical in all U.S. jurisdictions. I should hope so from a philosophy major!
I wonder if like...Jack Abramoff took that test? It's clearly a really good screening tool. Better we should have ethics shock treatment.
I remember that two years ago during finals it was freezing. It was so cold I was wearing two pairs of socks to school. Today it was mid-60s and raining. What is going on here? Why is DC now a tropical rainforest? It's December! Get with it. I want some snow. I want another snowpocalypse. I want classes cancelled, snowball fights, and hot toddies.
Shaked got me the next two seasons of How I Met Your Mother. All I want to do is watch them! But I promised I won't until the end of finals. An exercise in self-control.
Tupac says "It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent." That depends in large part on what your rent is. If you live in a mansion, yeah. If you live at your momma's house, like Snoop Dogg (Gin and Juice), it's not hard at all. If you "raise the roof" of your house, that would cost a lot. And there's always the threat of that roof being on fire and someone "let[ting] the motherf***** burn."
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Actual Last Day Of Classes/Time Warp
Today was the "official" last day of classes. Goodbye and good riddance this semester. Can we get Green Day in here to play a song? No? Alright.
Well it is officially finals period. I felt like a huge waste of time today although I did lots of studying. The problem is that I could take Evidence or Antitrust tomorrow and feel adequately prepared. I can definitely get better with the material, but it's a much slower learning curve now and as such it is more frustrating to continue slogging through the material. I'm basically fighting for every inch of ground in terms of preparation. It's World War I up in here.
It's getting to be that time of year where I grow a year older one day. Yeah, my birthday. Eh, I'm not thrilled about it. I've never been a huge fan. My mom already got me my birthday present. It was a Mark Bittman cookbook. Thanks mom, that will be helpful for recipes since cooking is a pursuit that I enjoy! But at the same time I'm not thrilled about it. You see, I mentioned at least two times that I don't like Mark Bittman very much. I think he's a food nazi. And this is sort of what I hate about my birthday. I got a "thanks, but" present. I feel like that happens a lot. And it sounds crappy of me to say, but I hate it. I hate the disingenuous gratitude. I hate feeling like someone close to me basically ignored my express preferences. There is nothing (or very few things, at least) that I really want. As cliche as it may be to say it, I don't care that much about what material possession I have. But I appreciate the thought. I do not appreciate the thought behind giving me a book that I said I don't want.
But, all in all, I like having the book. So after thinking/typing it out, I am in the odd position of more or less liking the gift, but disliking its thoughtfulness. Now I sound like a jerk. Nothing too new.
Today I was studying at the tables outside the library. Talking is permitted at the tables. But there are two dozen people studying around you, so the proper social etiquette is to keep conversations short and quiet. It definitely violates the social rules to have a twenty minute conversation (right next to me) about why you chose to be a chemistry major and professional hockey. Guess what? No one cares! I care more about improper propensity inferences in Evidence law than I do about you. And I don't care about propensity inferences basically at all. So stop talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins or I'm going to poison your Diet Coke.
Can there be some sort of social etiquette where it's totally alright to scream at people who are blatantly violating other social norms?
When the going gets tough, the tough are happy they aren't 1Ls about to take their first finals ever.
Well it is officially finals period. I felt like a huge waste of time today although I did lots of studying. The problem is that I could take Evidence or Antitrust tomorrow and feel adequately prepared. I can definitely get better with the material, but it's a much slower learning curve now and as such it is more frustrating to continue slogging through the material. I'm basically fighting for every inch of ground in terms of preparation. It's World War I up in here.
It's getting to be that time of year where I grow a year older one day. Yeah, my birthday. Eh, I'm not thrilled about it. I've never been a huge fan. My mom already got me my birthday present. It was a Mark Bittman cookbook. Thanks mom, that will be helpful for recipes since cooking is a pursuit that I enjoy! But at the same time I'm not thrilled about it. You see, I mentioned at least two times that I don't like Mark Bittman very much. I think he's a food nazi. And this is sort of what I hate about my birthday. I got a "thanks, but" present. I feel like that happens a lot. And it sounds crappy of me to say, but I hate it. I hate the disingenuous gratitude. I hate feeling like someone close to me basically ignored my express preferences. There is nothing (or very few things, at least) that I really want. As cliche as it may be to say it, I don't care that much about what material possession I have. But I appreciate the thought. I do not appreciate the thought behind giving me a book that I said I don't want.
But, all in all, I like having the book. So after thinking/typing it out, I am in the odd position of more or less liking the gift, but disliking its thoughtfulness. Now I sound like a jerk. Nothing too new.
Today I was studying at the tables outside the library. Talking is permitted at the tables. But there are two dozen people studying around you, so the proper social etiquette is to keep conversations short and quiet. It definitely violates the social rules to have a twenty minute conversation (right next to me) about why you chose to be a chemistry major and professional hockey. Guess what? No one cares! I care more about improper propensity inferences in Evidence law than I do about you. And I don't care about propensity inferences basically at all. So stop talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins or I'm going to poison your Diet Coke.
Can there be some sort of social etiquette where it's totally alright to scream at people who are blatantly violating other social norms?
When the going gets tough, the tough are happy they aren't 1Ls about to take their first finals ever.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Welcome To Finals
Thanksgiving came and went. It was nice to get away from school and DC for a bit, but the brief vacation left me wanting more. For the third straight year, my mom and I went to a weird family thing in upstate New York. It's at a "mountain house," which is fun if you like group hiking trips and fresh mountain air. But I don't. I mean, the air is fine. But I'd prefer other activities. Like sleeping and shooting apples off of people's heads. Someone did that once to his son. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.
My room was on the hallway outside the dining room, so every morning I got to hear stupid little kids screaming before and after breakfast. And their parents: "Billy knows all of the presidents. Billy, whose picture is that? No, that's Herbert Hoover. He was president." Apparently Billy does not know all the presidents. Now get to breakfast and stop hanging out in the hall outside my room. It's before 9 AM, have some respect.
Actual Thanksgiving was served at noon. A tradition I am not the biggest fan of. But the food was good. And Alan Alda was there. Not a joke. He actually goes there for Thanksgiving each year (and I bet he loves it when people yell "Hey Hawkeye!!!"). I also got to play Settlers of Catan with some cousins, so that was good.
Then I got about a day and a half at home. Not enough time. I didn't get to see nearly enough people. I was split between working and relaxing and got to do neither properly. So here I am back in DC. And now it's time to suit up. Or...outline up. Due to a lapse of judgment, or an attitude of ambivalence, I didn't realize when my finals were. Turns out they are scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday. That's pretty close, so it's business time.
The bad news is: I don't know Evidence and I have a long way to go in Antitrust. The good news is: most 3Ls are even lazier than me and even more behind in finals preparations. The best news is: these are my last fall semester finals and the last time that finals will interfere with my birthday. In a theme that will probably be repeated on this blog: I cannot wait to be done with law school.
The drive down to DC from Boston took a good long time. Thanks for driving, Nakul! Aside from spending half the drive in Jersey, the most exciting thing that happened was being right behind a police bust. As we were driving through Connecticut, four police cars stopped traffic, pulled over a truck, and approached it with weapons drawn. Hey now, that's something you don't see every day. We were front row for a potential firefight. Think I'm exaggerating? Check out this huge gun one dude had.
Yeah, that's what I thought. What was going on?? My guess was a drug bust, but you really never know. Luckily, the men in the truck went peacefully. Front row is good for cirque du soleil, but not a gun battle.
Photo courtesy of my iPhone. Yeah, it's nice to have a phone that takes pictures, not to mention one that I can actually hear.
My room was on the hallway outside the dining room, so every morning I got to hear stupid little kids screaming before and after breakfast. And their parents: "Billy knows all of the presidents. Billy, whose picture is that? No, that's Herbert Hoover. He was president." Apparently Billy does not know all the presidents. Now get to breakfast and stop hanging out in the hall outside my room. It's before 9 AM, have some respect.
Actual Thanksgiving was served at noon. A tradition I am not the biggest fan of. But the food was good. And Alan Alda was there. Not a joke. He actually goes there for Thanksgiving each year (and I bet he loves it when people yell "Hey Hawkeye!!!"). I also got to play Settlers of Catan with some cousins, so that was good.
Then I got about a day and a half at home. Not enough time. I didn't get to see nearly enough people. I was split between working and relaxing and got to do neither properly. So here I am back in DC. And now it's time to suit up. Or...outline up. Due to a lapse of judgment, or an attitude of ambivalence, I didn't realize when my finals were. Turns out they are scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday. That's pretty close, so it's business time.
The bad news is: I don't know Evidence and I have a long way to go in Antitrust. The good news is: most 3Ls are even lazier than me and even more behind in finals preparations. The best news is: these are my last fall semester finals and the last time that finals will interfere with my birthday. In a theme that will probably be repeated on this blog: I cannot wait to be done with law school.
The drive down to DC from Boston took a good long time. Thanks for driving, Nakul! Aside from spending half the drive in Jersey, the most exciting thing that happened was being right behind a police bust. As we were driving through Connecticut, four police cars stopped traffic, pulled over a truck, and approached it with weapons drawn. Hey now, that's something you don't see every day. We were front row for a potential firefight. Think I'm exaggerating? Check out this huge gun one dude had.
Yeah, that's what I thought. What was going on?? My guess was a drug bust, but you really never know. Luckily, the men in the truck went peacefully. Front row is good for cirque du soleil, but not a gun battle.
Photo courtesy of my iPhone. Yeah, it's nice to have a phone that takes pictures, not to mention one that I can actually hear.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Another One In the Books
2L is done. Done done done. Assuming I did not fail my Tax final, which is not an assumption I am fully comfortable with. That final was difficult. Maybe not Civ Pro I difficult, but I would give it an 8. 70 multiple choice questions: +2 for correct answers and -1 for incorrect answers. Yeah, I left a few blank. It's only worth it to guess if you have it down to 2 choices, right? I would say I was guessing between two for somewhere around 30 of the questions. So this was a serious exam. I hope I had a good guessing day. (Alright, I generally had a hunch of which was correct between the two answers, but I was not confident on a lot of questions because the professor wrote them to be intentionally tricky).
Going into the test, I was expecting to get rolling on a few questions before coming up against a toughy. Wrong. Question #1 I spent about 5 minutes on and had to come back to. The exam came out throwing punches. The only respite was a series of questions around #60 that were a bit easier (I felt, I am assuming nothing). But by that time it was quite easy to run out of steam, making the questions harder. The federal income tax is not joking around - it is rough.
Two night ago I had Crim Pro dreams. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking in the paradigm of Criminal Procedure. Everything had to be analyzed under either the 4th, 5th, or 6th Amendment. Of course, I was thinking about completely unrelated things, so this made no sense. I spent 2 minutes at 2:30 am trying to figure out whether my morning run would be a constitutional violation. It was completely bogus. My subconscious is a moron.
Did I mention that I am done? I sat at my desk and had no studying to do. (Oh wait, I do have a substantiation assignment for journal. Shhhh! Don't ruin my moment.) I caught up on some tv shows, I got a haircut, and I will soon attend a "seder" at Damien's.
Haircuts at Diego's have completely changed how I view haircuts. In a good way.
Reflections on the Semester:
Criminal Procedure - I more or less know someone's rights when they are arrested. In close calls, the police are going to win. Even in not close calls, the police will probably win. So if you are arrested, tell the police you would like to assert your right to silence and then shut up. (Yes, you must actually tell them you want to be silent. If that makes no sense, you can blame Justice Kennedy.) Also, if you are arrested in a car, you have almost no rights. However, Jay-Z was correct about the trunk: "You gonna need a warrant for that." Unless they have probable cause. Then they don't need a warrant.
Federal Income Tax - the tax system is complicated out of necessity. The tax code is long because it has a lot of loopholes to close. Tax policy is actually fairly interesting, and affects literally everything. A dinner that your company gives you might be included in your income. It is certainly Haig-Simons income (an econ thing - don't ask, Wikipedia). All in all, I think I can probably do the 1040 EZ form next year.
Law of Democracy - gerrymandering, redistricting, voting rights, and contributions are complicated. Think long and hard about them, there are upsides and downsides to any decision. Citizens United is pretty much garbage. Bush v. Gore is absolutely garbage. The Supreme Court justices involved will tell you just to get over it; I think they should get over themselves.
Lawyers, Lobbying, and the Law - bah. Joke. Waste. There is a constitutional right to lobby, get over it. And Madison knew how to right a Federalist Paper (14, in particular).
Going into the test, I was expecting to get rolling on a few questions before coming up against a toughy. Wrong. Question #1 I spent about 5 minutes on and had to come back to. The exam came out throwing punches. The only respite was a series of questions around #60 that were a bit easier (I felt, I am assuming nothing). But by that time it was quite easy to run out of steam, making the questions harder. The federal income tax is not joking around - it is rough.
Two night ago I had Crim Pro dreams. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking in the paradigm of Criminal Procedure. Everything had to be analyzed under either the 4th, 5th, or 6th Amendment. Of course, I was thinking about completely unrelated things, so this made no sense. I spent 2 minutes at 2:30 am trying to figure out whether my morning run would be a constitutional violation. It was completely bogus. My subconscious is a moron.
Did I mention that I am done? I sat at my desk and had no studying to do. (Oh wait, I do have a substantiation assignment for journal. Shhhh! Don't ruin my moment.) I caught up on some tv shows, I got a haircut, and I will soon attend a "seder" at Damien's.
Haircuts at Diego's have completely changed how I view haircuts. In a good way.
Reflections on the Semester:
Criminal Procedure - I more or less know someone's rights when they are arrested. In close calls, the police are going to win. Even in not close calls, the police will probably win. So if you are arrested, tell the police you would like to assert your right to silence and then shut up. (Yes, you must actually tell them you want to be silent. If that makes no sense, you can blame Justice Kennedy.) Also, if you are arrested in a car, you have almost no rights. However, Jay-Z was correct about the trunk: "You gonna need a warrant for that." Unless they have probable cause. Then they don't need a warrant.
Federal Income Tax - the tax system is complicated out of necessity. The tax code is long because it has a lot of loopholes to close. Tax policy is actually fairly interesting, and affects literally everything. A dinner that your company gives you might be included in your income. It is certainly Haig-Simons income (an econ thing - don't ask, Wikipedia). All in all, I think I can probably do the 1040 EZ form next year.
Law of Democracy - gerrymandering, redistricting, voting rights, and contributions are complicated. Think long and hard about them, there are upsides and downsides to any decision. Citizens United is pretty much garbage. Bush v. Gore is absolutely garbage. The Supreme Court justices involved will tell you just to get over it; I think they should get over themselves.
Lawyers, Lobbying, and the Law - bah. Joke. Waste. There is a constitutional right to lobby, get over it. And Madison knew how to right a Federalist Paper (14, in particular).
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Gunning Where It Matters
Last night was a fiasco. Not anything I did, per se, more what I did not do. Namely sleep. I probably got a solid 4 hours. I went to bed around 11, hoping to be in dreamland by 12. It turns out that was optimistic. I could not fall asleep no matter what I did. I read, watched tv, had a glass of wine, counted in my head, listened to music, etc. Nothing helped. I just lay there unpleasantly conscious. Covers on; covers off; covers half on; covers seven-eights off. Around 2:30 am I took a shower. My roommate must think I am a freak, but I think it helped so that sometime around 3:30 I drifted off. I woke up (with a wet pillow from my hair) on time this morning to take...my Criminal Procedure final. What a joy!
The final itself went alright. I felt pretty good about it, but so did everyone else. Our grades are distributed on a curve, so the better everyone else does, the harder it is for me to do well (see Will's common gripes about law school: grading curve). I tend to do better on more difficult finals, so I am a bit nervous about this one.
The other reason I am uneasy about this final is that two of the multiple choices questions should be disqualified. One of them had no correct choice as an answer (I am 99% certain, particularly after conferring with some classmates). The second question was not written in complete sentences. I believe the question was, "Which of the following is a true statement?:" The four answers were supposed to be about the Knock and Announce Rule, but only two of the answers actually referenced the rule. The other two answers simply contained incomplete sentences lacking a subject. In retrospect, the subject seems to be "the Knock and Announce Rule." But these incomplete sentences led to some semantic difficulties so that I did not even know what one of them was trying to say. Again, after conferring with classmates, I am not crazy, this actually happened. I want this question excluded (especially because I am not confident I picked the correct answer now that I fully understand what proposition each answer was trying to state).
I remembered the number of the first question (with no right answer), and after the exam I went to my professor's office to ask her to look for it in reviewing the tests. I stupidly forgot to mention the second question and had to later email her my request. Yeah, I felt like a gunner for doing that. But, hey, I am nervous about the test and this could really have an impact. This is real people. This is not a drill. So sometimes one must appear as a gunner. Luckily, I only did so to my professor rather than the rest of the class. And I guess to this blog. But no one on the internet is full of judgment, from my understanding.
The final itself went alright. I felt pretty good about it, but so did everyone else. Our grades are distributed on a curve, so the better everyone else does, the harder it is for me to do well (see Will's common gripes about law school: grading curve). I tend to do better on more difficult finals, so I am a bit nervous about this one.
The other reason I am uneasy about this final is that two of the multiple choices questions should be disqualified. One of them had no correct choice as an answer (I am 99% certain, particularly after conferring with some classmates). The second question was not written in complete sentences. I believe the question was, "Which of the following is a true statement?:" The four answers were supposed to be about the Knock and Announce Rule, but only two of the answers actually referenced the rule. The other two answers simply contained incomplete sentences lacking a subject. In retrospect, the subject seems to be "the Knock and Announce Rule." But these incomplete sentences led to some semantic difficulties so that I did not even know what one of them was trying to say. Again, after conferring with classmates, I am not crazy, this actually happened. I want this question excluded (especially because I am not confident I picked the correct answer now that I fully understand what proposition each answer was trying to state).
I remembered the number of the first question (with no right answer), and after the exam I went to my professor's office to ask her to look for it in reviewing the tests. I stupidly forgot to mention the second question and had to later email her my request. Yeah, I felt like a gunner for doing that. But, hey, I am nervous about the test and this could really have an impact. This is real people. This is not a drill. So sometimes one must appear as a gunner. Luckily, I only did so to my professor rather than the rest of the class. And I guess to this blog. But no one on the internet is full of judgment, from my understanding.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Where's the Sauce?
One down (Lobbying). One in twelve hours (Crim Pro). One on Friday (Tax). I must not jump ahead. One down, two to go. Focus on Crim Pro - did you know that you have basically no Fourth Amendment rights in a car? Disturbing.
I spent pretty much all day studying. I wish I had something fun to report. I wish I had something to report that was not the second floor study tables or an actual final. I guess I listened to some music in there too.
Let's see here. I am abstaining from bread and like-products. You don't know what you got until it's gone, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I think that was written about sandwiches in large part. I don't actually mind giving up lots of foods, what makes it difficult is that so many quick and convenient foods are unavailable to me.
Last night I made a stir fry, but in the middle I realized that the sauce I usually use could not be added. I scrambled to try to make my own appropriate sauce. I made three separate (largely ketchup-based) sauces that tasted...poorly. Then I made a bourbon and butter sauce before realizing midway through its concoction that I could not have the bourbon. So I settled for stock and butter infused with ginger and garlic. I had to call Alena for ideas on how to thicken it (flour being unavailable). It made for quite the amusing/interesting cooking experience. I think I am ready for Passover-safe recipes. That's literally the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the past couple of days. I apologize.
Let's go Celtics!
I spent pretty much all day studying. I wish I had something fun to report. I wish I had something to report that was not the second floor study tables or an actual final. I guess I listened to some music in there too.
Let's see here. I am abstaining from bread and like-products. You don't know what you got until it's gone, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I think that was written about sandwiches in large part. I don't actually mind giving up lots of foods, what makes it difficult is that so many quick and convenient foods are unavailable to me.
Last night I made a stir fry, but in the middle I realized that the sauce I usually use could not be added. I scrambled to try to make my own appropriate sauce. I made three separate (largely ketchup-based) sauces that tasted...poorly. Then I made a bourbon and butter sauce before realizing midway through its concoction that I could not have the bourbon. So I settled for stock and butter infused with ginger and garlic. I had to call Alena for ideas on how to thicken it (flour being unavailable). It made for quite the amusing/interesting cooking experience. I think I am ready for Passover-safe recipes. That's literally the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the past couple of days. I apologize.
Let's go Celtics!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Of Allergies and Finals
Sorry for that last post. I was upset. She deserved it. Finals has a way of putting people on edge. Now I am dealing with allergies during my studying. Yesterday they were very bad; I made a sniffle station around my desk using tissue boxes and a wastebasket in the midst of various books, papers, and highlighters. A snapshot of this finals period. That being said, I think I am kind of running out of things to study. I've been through everything at least two times in each of my three classes. I'm working on practice problems and exams. I don't know what's left besides taking the finals. And the good news is that it seems to be coming together. Here's hoping! Finals are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Bring them on (but maybe wait until I get less sniffly and allergic)!
The Red Sox won two games in a row. Oh yeah, winning streak! Gosh, that is depressing.
There is not too much else going on at the moment. But that's how finals go. I mostly see my computer and my papers with the background of either my room or the library. Friday night was the exception when I went out for Alena's birthday. I (unsuccessfully) Dougie-d. Kerry made Alena Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes with Guinness and Baileys in them, which were delicious. I think Alena generally had a good time. She did get one of her friends to sing "Survivor" to her at karaoke, I feel like that is indicative of a good birthday.
I have been watching available baseball games on espn.com, and I am getting super bored of the same four commercials that they keep running. I was just really excited that a Claritin commercial came on featuring a woman running a foot race for no apparent reason. It was new.
If you had two weapons to face the zombie apocalypse, what would they be? I'm taking a katana as one.
The Red Sox won two games in a row. Oh yeah, winning streak! Gosh, that is depressing.
There is not too much else going on at the moment. But that's how finals go. I mostly see my computer and my papers with the background of either my room or the library. Friday night was the exception when I went out for Alena's birthday. I (unsuccessfully) Dougie-d. Kerry made Alena Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes with Guinness and Baileys in them, which were delicious. I think Alena generally had a good time. She did get one of her friends to sing "Survivor" to her at karaoke, I feel like that is indicative of a good birthday.
I have been watching available baseball games on espn.com, and I am getting super bored of the same four commercials that they keep running. I was just really excited that a Claritin commercial came on featuring a woman running a foot race for no apparent reason. It was new.
If you had two weapons to face the zombie apocalypse, what would they be? I'm taking a katana as one.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The big 1/2
It might be 1:45 am. It might be an inopportune time to update a blog. It might be silly, but I am halfway through with law school.
"Whoa, we're halfway there. Whoa, livin' on a prayer."
Thank you, thank you.
My corporations final was ridiculous. We read about 85 cases this semester. We were asked (closed book) factual details about some of them. We were also asked about things that my professor discussed for fewer than 10 minutes in class. This was out of 25 multiple choice questions, plus three "short answer" questions.
Speaking of the short answers, you would be surprised how quickly you reach 400 words. And my professor said that the word limit would be an upper limit that "no one would reach." My answers were, 397, 398, 398 words respectively. Thanks professor.
Glen Beck is the worst. Not even 'fair and balanced,' just the worst.
"Whoa, we're halfway there. Whoa, livin' on a prayer."
Thank you, thank you.
My corporations final was ridiculous. We read about 85 cases this semester. We were asked (closed book) factual details about some of them. We were also asked about things that my professor discussed for fewer than 10 minutes in class. This was out of 25 multiple choice questions, plus three "short answer" questions.
Speaking of the short answers, you would be surprised how quickly you reach 400 words. And my professor said that the word limit would be an upper limit that "no one would reach." My answers were, 397, 398, 398 words respectively. Thanks professor.
Glen Beck is the worst. Not even 'fair and balanced,' just the worst.
Monday, December 13, 2010
THe most improtent factor...
After a desperate dash to "learn" administrative law, I put it all on the line this afternoon. It was time for the final. And wow, did it not go beautifully. I was prepared for it to be difficult, but somehow not in the exhausting way that was the result.
The practice exam I took was designed to be done in 3 hours and 15 minutes. It has 2 pages of facts to read and 7 questions to answer. The actual exam today was a strict 3 hour time limit. It had 5 pages of facts and 7 questions to answer. Some questions had multiple parts. When I looked up from question 3 and saw that I was already an hour into the exam I knew I had to hurry it up. There was no longer time for complete explanations, addressing possible counter-arguments, or even correct spelling. The further I got into the exam, the more time-pressured things became, and the less coherent it all was. In one instance, the third element (of a 3-part test) that I analyzed I realized was actually the best argument for me so I wrote, "This is actually the most useful and most important factor, so they should emphasize this" and moved on. I had no time for anything else. (I hope my professor enjoys spelling errors and errors in capitalization, such as beginning a sentence "THe most improtent factor...")
I made it onto the final question with about 6 minutes to go and promptly brain dumped onto the page. I didn't get the entire way through my answer; I had to stop typing when time was called. That was the first final that has ever happened to me on. The first final I have ever just written constantly for three hours. It was exhausting. There were a few times during the exam where I thought "Maybe I'll come back to this at the end to make the argument better." I am so glad I decided against doing that - I never would have made it back.
I left the exam with a jaw muscle strained from clenching it too much. No joke. It took me about 30 minutes to wipe that "What the heck just happened??!?!!" feeling. I think this was common to everyone. Two of my friends left questions entirely blank. Smart kids too, not morons or burned out 3Ls taking the class pass/fail. At least I answered all the questions!
After the afternoon final everyone I talked to was unhappy with their exam. Including people who were not taking the same final as me. People in Family Law, National Security Law, and International Law all exchanged sob stories with me. It was a rough day for exam-takers. One of my friends realized she was 500 words over the word limit for her exam and spent copious time removing them. That sucks. You did too much work, now do more work to undo all the hard work you put in!
Why is the office holiday party such a large thing in pop culture? That's such a random activity to give so much attention to (see Die Hard 1). I've never even been to an office holiday party, nor had an office with a holiday party I had the option of attending! But I imagine they are booze-soaked affairs where co-workers will act scandalously and someone will put his job in jeopardy by speaking honestly to the boss after one too many vodka sodas.
I am moderately perturbed at how quickly people comment on facebook posts. I'm not a huge commenter myself, but the rapid comments make me feel like something posted two hours ago is stale and no longer merits my input. They say life is slower in the South, perhaps facebook should take a cue from the South and sloooooow down. Or maybe I'm just becoming an old geezer. I don't even fully understand Twitter! Really!
The practice exam I took was designed to be done in 3 hours and 15 minutes. It has 2 pages of facts to read and 7 questions to answer. The actual exam today was a strict 3 hour time limit. It had 5 pages of facts and 7 questions to answer. Some questions had multiple parts. When I looked up from question 3 and saw that I was already an hour into the exam I knew I had to hurry it up. There was no longer time for complete explanations, addressing possible counter-arguments, or even correct spelling. The further I got into the exam, the more time-pressured things became, and the less coherent it all was. In one instance, the third element (of a 3-part test) that I analyzed I realized was actually the best argument for me so I wrote, "This is actually the most useful and most important factor, so they should emphasize this" and moved on. I had no time for anything else. (I hope my professor enjoys spelling errors and errors in capitalization, such as beginning a sentence "THe most improtent factor...")
I made it onto the final question with about 6 minutes to go and promptly brain dumped onto the page. I didn't get the entire way through my answer; I had to stop typing when time was called. That was the first final that has ever happened to me on. The first final I have ever just written constantly for three hours. It was exhausting. There were a few times during the exam where I thought "Maybe I'll come back to this at the end to make the argument better." I am so glad I decided against doing that - I never would have made it back.
I left the exam with a jaw muscle strained from clenching it too much. No joke. It took me about 30 minutes to wipe that "What the heck just happened??!?!!" feeling. I think this was common to everyone. Two of my friends left questions entirely blank. Smart kids too, not morons or burned out 3Ls taking the class pass/fail. At least I answered all the questions!
After the afternoon final everyone I talked to was unhappy with their exam. Including people who were not taking the same final as me. People in Family Law, National Security Law, and International Law all exchanged sob stories with me. It was a rough day for exam-takers. One of my friends realized she was 500 words over the word limit for her exam and spent copious time removing them. That sucks. You did too much work, now do more work to undo all the hard work you put in!
Why is the office holiday party such a large thing in pop culture? That's such a random activity to give so much attention to (see Die Hard 1). I've never even been to an office holiday party, nor had an office with a holiday party I had the option of attending! But I imagine they are booze-soaked affairs where co-workers will act scandalously and someone will put his job in jeopardy by speaking honestly to the boss after one too many vodka sodas.
I am moderately perturbed at how quickly people comment on facebook posts. I'm not a huge commenter myself, but the rapid comments make me feel like something posted two hours ago is stale and no longer merits my input. They say life is slower in the South, perhaps facebook should take a cue from the South and sloooooow down. Or maybe I'm just becoming an old geezer. I don't even fully understand Twitter! Really!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
My pretty, dimly lit, knotted fantasy
I would say the most exciting thing that happened today was receiving a $1 off coupon at ABP. I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. That's half a croissant! Besides that all I really did was learn Con Law in more depth. I think I've got it down pretty well, but I have another day to sure it up just in case. I could tell you all about neutral laws that incidentally burden speech! But that might not be so exciting for you.
Kanye's new album is downright addictive. But he says some ridiculous things. The most notable one (or the one that is currently on my mind) involves having sex with Egyptian mummies and a sarcophagus. I get the feeling that Kanye West went to the history museum that morning and saw a cool exhibit on ancient Egypt and was like "How can I fit this into my rap on this song I'm recording? Well I can't make a song about mummies - that would be weird next to all the other tracks which have no historical significance whatsoever. And it might be hard to how cool I am into a song about ancient Egypt since I wasn't even there. Let's see here..." But somehow Kanye did manage to put his new-found word into a rap, sarcophagus.
I won't lie, spell check needed to correct sarcophagus the first time I typed it. But now I've got it down. Sarcophagus. Sarcophagus. Rhymes with esophagus, right Kanye??
I guess this is not the best place to address it, but I am becoming concerned with the federal deficit as well. Let's think of ways to deal with the deficit, Mr. President and leaders of Congress. What's that you say: keep income tax cuts in place, add payroll tax cuts, throw in a low estate tax rate, and spend more on unemployment? So you want to have the government take in less money while spending more money and this is supposed to...reduce the deficit? Why yes that makes perfect sense, let's just do some calculations here. Does anyone have a calculator I can borrow? Anyone in Congress have a calculator? No one in Congress does, what a surprise. Alright, I'll just ballpark it. Oh, you mean that basic arithmetic functions do not support this plan as a way of reducing the deficit? Crazy! Someone should alert people to this fact.
If you want to reduce the deficit then do it. If you want to cut taxes because that's what you believe is best for the economy then do it. But do not attempt to sell me something while you are defying basic arithmetic.
End political rant of the week. DC affects me I guess.
Stupid person of the day: my friend who took the U.S. Foreign Relations Law exam with me last night. Today she told me that she didn't know what the word "tenable" meant on the exam so she assumed it meant "impossible." She may be in for a surprise.
Kanye's new album is downright addictive. But he says some ridiculous things. The most notable one (or the one that is currently on my mind) involves having sex with Egyptian mummies and a sarcophagus. I get the feeling that Kanye West went to the history museum that morning and saw a cool exhibit on ancient Egypt and was like "How can I fit this into my rap on this song I'm recording? Well I can't make a song about mummies - that would be weird next to all the other tracks which have no historical significance whatsoever. And it might be hard to how cool I am into a song about ancient Egypt since I wasn't even there. Let's see here..." But somehow Kanye did manage to put his new-found word into a rap, sarcophagus.
I won't lie, spell check needed to correct sarcophagus the first time I typed it. But now I've got it down. Sarcophagus. Sarcophagus. Rhymes with esophagus, right Kanye??
I guess this is not the best place to address it, but I am becoming concerned with the federal deficit as well. Let's think of ways to deal with the deficit, Mr. President and leaders of Congress. What's that you say: keep income tax cuts in place, add payroll tax cuts, throw in a low estate tax rate, and spend more on unemployment? So you want to have the government take in less money while spending more money and this is supposed to...reduce the deficit? Why yes that makes perfect sense, let's just do some calculations here. Does anyone have a calculator I can borrow? Anyone in Congress have a calculator? No one in Congress does, what a surprise. Alright, I'll just ballpark it. Oh, you mean that basic arithmetic functions do not support this plan as a way of reducing the deficit? Crazy! Someone should alert people to this fact.
If you want to reduce the deficit then do it. If you want to cut taxes because that's what you believe is best for the economy then do it. But do not attempt to sell me something while you are defying basic arithmetic.
End political rant of the week. DC affects me I guess.
Stupid person of the day: my friend who took the U.S. Foreign Relations Law exam with me last night. Today she told me that she didn't know what the word "tenable" meant on the exam so she assumed it meant "impossible." She may be in for a surprise.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Exam 1: Done. Next stop: Exam 2.
First exam of this finals period: completed. Foreign Relations Law. It was a good deal harder than I anticipated. The second question (of two) was the type where you see it on a practice exam and say "maybe I'll skip this one..." only it was actually my final so I couldn't skip it. That harsh reality set in and I ended up with a somewhat creative answer to one of the parts which will either get lots of points or get me laughed at and zero points. So here's hoping. As often is the case, the redeeming factor is that everyone else had that "What the hell just happened?" look on their face as well. So if it was hard for everyone, we'll all do fine. Except the people who don't, as mandated by the curve. Daunting? Perhaps.
The other upside to this is that my confusing study session had little to no impact on the exam. I spent the afternoon with a classmate who did nothing but confuse my understanding of some of the material. I spent the early evening trying to forget the afternoon. What a productive use of my time. That's what I get for study group-ing in this class.
I wish there were other things going on at the moment. But the next thing is Con Law on the horizon (Friday). Anything else? Legolas, what do your elf eyes see? Orcs? No, just more exams. Damn. Nerd.
The other upside to this is that my confusing study session had little to no impact on the exam. I spent the afternoon with a classmate who did nothing but confuse my understanding of some of the material. I spent the early evening trying to forget the afternoon. What a productive use of my time. That's what I get for study group-ing in this class.
I wish there were other things going on at the moment. But the next thing is Con Law on the horizon (Friday). Anything else? Legolas, what do your elf eyes see? Orcs? No, just more exams. Damn. Nerd.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
This Gun's for Hire
Maybe I'm just 26 years behind, but "Dancing in the Dark" is a great song. It's not like I had never heard it before today; I just had never listened. I had also never seen the music video, which accidentally launched Courtney Cox's career. So if you like Friends, you have Bruce Springsteen to thank. And if you hate Friends, then you have no soul and you have yourself to blame. (I'm not a great Friends enthusiast, but I recognize the goodness of the show.)
Perhaps to make up for yesterday no one got cold called in Corporations today. The more likely explanation for zero cold calls is that it was a review session and my professor miraculously went through the entire course in an hour and fifteen minutes. He spoke very fast. There was no time for interruptions. No time.
I started out the day feeling good about working. I got some work done at home. Then I walked into school and I could just feel the stress withering people around me. It was palpable. People were frantically typing away at their computers, asking questions, and flipping pages. Me? I remained surprisingly calm. To ward of the infective stress I sat with my friend Carl and commented on how manly he was as he ate a fried chicken leg using nothing but his hands and teeth (knives, forks, napkins, and plates are for lesser men than Carl). I will also add that I am so happy not to be a 1L.
Perhaps to make up for yesterday no one got cold called in Corporations today. The more likely explanation for zero cold calls is that it was a review session and my professor miraculously went through the entire course in an hour and fifteen minutes. He spoke very fast. There was no time for interruptions. No time.
I started out the day feeling good about working. I got some work done at home. Then I walked into school and I could just feel the stress withering people around me. It was palpable. People were frantically typing away at their computers, asking questions, and flipping pages. Me? I remained surprisingly calm. To ward of the infective stress I sat with my friend Carl and commented on how manly he was as he ate a fried chicken leg using nothing but his hands and teeth (knives, forks, napkins, and plates are for lesser men than Carl). I will also add that I am so happy not to be a 1L.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Service Matters, yo.
Contracts happened. Whatever. Who knows how it went? Not me. Could be good, could be bad. Probably was fine. One more. A matter of hours. Big study day tomorrow. Moving on.
After the exam I went to Chef Geoffs for Jason's birthday dinner. Happy birthday Jason. Everyone else seemed to have a good time. And it was nice people-wise. However the establishment itself was terrible. I was told that it is known for their burgers, so I got one. A $12 burger. Alright, that's fine, but I hope it's a really good burger. Cooked just right with fantastic toppings and delicious fries. It wasn't. In fact, it was served to me cold, like it had been sitting out waiting for the server to bring it to the table for 10 minutes, which I am sure was the case. That was a lovely thing to be served. After I realized this I wanted to ask if I could at least get warm fries, but the waitress didn't bother to come back over for another ten minutes. I finally flagged her down and asked for new fries and ended up sending the entire thing back. I felt bad, I don't think I've ever sent food back before. I'm always terrified of getting spit in my food, and also it's usually not that big a deal. But I wanted a nice meal after my final, it's a fairly reputable restaurant, and it was a $12 burger. I think I deserved a warm plate at least.
When talking to the waitress I tried as hard as possible to be polite. I channeled Matt Hope talking to people in the service industry, thought happy thoughts, and put on my polite voice. Rachel said it was good and I wasn't mean. So sending back food went as well as is possible I suppose. Of course my food came back to me after everyone was pretty much done eating already. That was fantastic too.
There were further service problems though. Notably when they brought out the food they did the "auction." "Who had the sausage Pizza? Who had the tuna burger?" etc. That's not professional - you should know who ordered what. Also, Rachel's food came out three minutes later than everyone else's, so we all ended up sitting there with food in front of us, not eating, politely waiting until she was served as well. Finally, the wait staff couldn't have cared less whether or not we had any problems. Jason's request for extra ketchup was treated as more of an inconvenience than anything else. While these gripes may seem silly, it is a fairly nice restaurant and one would expect them to be a little more professional, particularly for the prices they have. Also, I think that service matters - you pay for the service when you eat at a restaurant. That's why I didn't go to McDonalds for a hamburger (though they probably would have brought me a fresher one).
Finally, once I did get my food I only ate half of it because I got a stomach ache. Of course. Then when I wanted to take the rest home they gave me a "do it yourself" kit of an aluminum tin and a cover. Have fun scraping it in yourself. Classy joint, that one. I do not believe I will be re-patronizing it any time soon.
Now to learn Civil Procedure...
After the exam I went to Chef Geoffs for Jason's birthday dinner. Happy birthday Jason. Everyone else seemed to have a good time. And it was nice people-wise. However the establishment itself was terrible. I was told that it is known for their burgers, so I got one. A $12 burger. Alright, that's fine, but I hope it's a really good burger. Cooked just right with fantastic toppings and delicious fries. It wasn't. In fact, it was served to me cold, like it had been sitting out waiting for the server to bring it to the table for 10 minutes, which I am sure was the case. That was a lovely thing to be served. After I realized this I wanted to ask if I could at least get warm fries, but the waitress didn't bother to come back over for another ten minutes. I finally flagged her down and asked for new fries and ended up sending the entire thing back. I felt bad, I don't think I've ever sent food back before. I'm always terrified of getting spit in my food, and also it's usually not that big a deal. But I wanted a nice meal after my final, it's a fairly reputable restaurant, and it was a $12 burger. I think I deserved a warm plate at least.
When talking to the waitress I tried as hard as possible to be polite. I channeled Matt Hope talking to people in the service industry, thought happy thoughts, and put on my polite voice. Rachel said it was good and I wasn't mean. So sending back food went as well as is possible I suppose. Of course my food came back to me after everyone was pretty much done eating already. That was fantastic too.
There were further service problems though. Notably when they brought out the food they did the "auction." "Who had the sausage Pizza? Who had the tuna burger?" etc. That's not professional - you should know who ordered what. Also, Rachel's food came out three minutes later than everyone else's, so we all ended up sitting there with food in front of us, not eating, politely waiting until she was served as well. Finally, the wait staff couldn't have cared less whether or not we had any problems. Jason's request for extra ketchup was treated as more of an inconvenience than anything else. While these gripes may seem silly, it is a fairly nice restaurant and one would expect them to be a little more professional, particularly for the prices they have. Also, I think that service matters - you pay for the service when you eat at a restaurant. That's why I didn't go to McDonalds for a hamburger (though they probably would have brought me a fresher one).
Finally, once I did get my food I only ate half of it because I got a stomach ache. Of course. Then when I wanted to take the rest home they gave me a "do it yourself" kit of an aluminum tin and a cover. Have fun scraping it in yourself. Classy joint, that one. I do not believe I will be re-patronizing it any time soon.
Now to learn Civil Procedure...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Contracts Tomorrow - I Am Over It
There is a shop near school called "Tony's Flower's Shop" - wow, that's bad.
The girl who asked whether a treaty was necessary to using the treaty power in the Con Law review session was present and providing some comic relief at today's Contracts review session. It was in the form of asking a very basic question ("What are material damages?") and then asking our professor to explain one of the most clearly written provisions of the Restatement. While perhaps not quite as egregious as her prior errors, everyone agreed that this does not bode well for her exam tomorrow and that she probably has bigger problems than the provision of the Restatement if she is unclear on material damages. At least one person commented that they were "glad to have in in the class to help the curve." Unkind, but....meh.
Is there anything else? Well...the law library is still standing so we can all rest easy knowing that. The...electrical sockets still work. I mean, I didn't try all of them, but I have used a fairly random sampling of them and they have all worked correctly. Well there was one where the socket was out of it. I didn't try that one, but there wasn't a place to plug in so I am assuming it did not work. Without that one, every electrical socket I have inquired into has worked. Now cool you jets - don't get too excited about this. I don't mean to say that school has a perfect record on electricity. There may be some sampling bias involved. For example, I like to sit in seats near windows. It could be that sockets near windows operate better for some reason. Perhaps they get the sunlight they need to grow strong and healthy - like flowers. Who knows, I'm not a socket specialist. But let this paragraph be a lesson to you...about how interesting my activities during finals are.
The girl who asked whether a treaty was necessary to using the treaty power in the Con Law review session was present and providing some comic relief at today's Contracts review session. It was in the form of asking a very basic question ("What are material damages?") and then asking our professor to explain one of the most clearly written provisions of the Restatement. While perhaps not quite as egregious as her prior errors, everyone agreed that this does not bode well for her exam tomorrow and that she probably has bigger problems than the provision of the Restatement if she is unclear on material damages. At least one person commented that they were "glad to have in in the class to help the curve." Unkind, but....meh.
Is there anything else? Well...the law library is still standing so we can all rest easy knowing that. The...electrical sockets still work. I mean, I didn't try all of them, but I have used a fairly random sampling of them and they have all worked correctly. Well there was one where the socket was out of it. I didn't try that one, but there wasn't a place to plug in so I am assuming it did not work. Without that one, every electrical socket I have inquired into has worked. Now cool you jets - don't get too excited about this. I don't mean to say that school has a perfect record on electricity. There may be some sampling bias involved. For example, I like to sit in seats near windows. It could be that sockets near windows operate better for some reason. Perhaps they get the sunlight they need to grow strong and healthy - like flowers. Who knows, I'm not a socket specialist. But let this paragraph be a lesson to you...about how interesting my activities during finals are.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hosed
Thursday's Property exam went better. The things I didn't want to be on the issue spotter weren't on there (unless I really missed something). I came out of it feeling pretty good, which was a nice change from Con Law. Additionally, my Property professor brought her two kids into the exam beforehand to distribute candy. Taking candy from children - it doesn't sound great. But it's better than giving them free candy. Shouldn't have even brought up this sketchy rabbit hole. Whoops. The point is, that her kids were adorable and, despite being 12, were almost as tall as my professor.
Then back to the library! Once more into the breach! But somehow I'm losing motivation. I hope to regain it today with the immanency of Contracts in two days. But do I really care that much about express and implied warranties? No - but I have to pretend.
Yesterday I got into school on the late side - around 11. On one side of school, a block down, is a meeting at the World Bank. Lots of police, people in suits, cars with diplomatic plates, and generally important very official looking stuff. On the other side of school, in the quad right outside the law school, is a sorority event involving fire hoses, screaming (presumably drunk) undergraduates, and tons of idiocy. I asked someone later and I think it was a fundraiser of some sort, but I have no idea how this could have possibly been anything except organized morons. As far as I could tell they were divided into teams with matching shirts by sorority/frat and there were various events involving fire hoses. The only one of which I really saw or understood was two opposing teams of four people each had to control a fire hose to get a bucket strung up on a line to the other team's side of the line. Why was this an amusing activity? I am unsure. Why were they allowed to use fire hoses? Not clear. Why did they need to scream for three hours straight so that it could be heard literally everywhere in the law school? I have no clue. It was not the best afternoon for studying at school. Though I will say it was a laugh to watch all of this stupidity from a second story window, particularly because the fire hoses made the ground wet and I got to watch people wipe out every two minutes or so trying to run around. There was some cruel solace in that.
I went to a birthday party in SE on Saturday night. They had an ice luge there. Really, that's not just for frat parties? Alright, I'll take it as it comes. I was talking to this guy at the party who works at the State Department. I asked him what he did at state. "Terrorism," he responded. "Oooook. I assume you mean counter-terrorism." "Yeah, that's it, counter-terrorism, mostly focusing on Europe." "Ok, good. That's really cool." Then I talked about Dean Acheson for a little bit because I do love my post-cold war diplomats and I'm a huge nerd.
Dear Red Sox,
Please stop sucking. It's not a big deal, it's only a game. But the hopes of thousands, if not millions, depend on you. There are small boys and old ladies in the hospital who follow you daily. If you don't do well, they may not have the strength to go on. No pressure though. Also, it makes me a sad panda when you lose. That's not that important either. If you didn't know, a fairy dies for every home run you give up or error you commit. Like I said, no pressure. But people in infirmaries, sad pandas, and fairies are kind of taking their cues from you. So if you could at least try a little harder to be good, that would be lovely.
Thanks!
Then back to the library! Once more into the breach! But somehow I'm losing motivation. I hope to regain it today with the immanency of Contracts in two days. But do I really care that much about express and implied warranties? No - but I have to pretend.
Yesterday I got into school on the late side - around 11. On one side of school, a block down, is a meeting at the World Bank. Lots of police, people in suits, cars with diplomatic plates, and generally important very official looking stuff. On the other side of school, in the quad right outside the law school, is a sorority event involving fire hoses, screaming (presumably drunk) undergraduates, and tons of idiocy. I asked someone later and I think it was a fundraiser of some sort, but I have no idea how this could have possibly been anything except organized morons. As far as I could tell they were divided into teams with matching shirts by sorority/frat and there were various events involving fire hoses. The only one of which I really saw or understood was two opposing teams of four people each had to control a fire hose to get a bucket strung up on a line to the other team's side of the line. Why was this an amusing activity? I am unsure. Why were they allowed to use fire hoses? Not clear. Why did they need to scream for three hours straight so that it could be heard literally everywhere in the law school? I have no clue. It was not the best afternoon for studying at school. Though I will say it was a laugh to watch all of this stupidity from a second story window, particularly because the fire hoses made the ground wet and I got to watch people wipe out every two minutes or so trying to run around. There was some cruel solace in that.
I went to a birthday party in SE on Saturday night. They had an ice luge there. Really, that's not just for frat parties? Alright, I'll take it as it comes. I was talking to this guy at the party who works at the State Department. I asked him what he did at state. "Terrorism," he responded. "Oooook. I assume you mean counter-terrorism." "Yeah, that's it, counter-terrorism, mostly focusing on Europe." "Ok, good. That's really cool." Then I talked about Dean Acheson for a little bit because I do love my post-cold war diplomats and I'm a huge nerd.
Dear Red Sox,
Please stop sucking. It's not a big deal, it's only a game. But the hopes of thousands, if not millions, depend on you. There are small boys and old ladies in the hospital who follow you daily. If you don't do well, they may not have the strength to go on. No pressure though. Also, it makes me a sad panda when you lose. That's not that important either. If you didn't know, a fairy dies for every home run you give up or error you commit. Like I said, no pressure. But people in infirmaries, sad pandas, and fairies are kind of taking their cues from you. So if you could at least try a little harder to be good, that would be lovely.
Thanks!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Maybe Not the Best
Con Law final was today. It was less than pleasant. I read through the prompt for question 1, which was an EPA regulation. Then I pretty much blinked back tears. What is this saying??? Then I took a deep breath and read it again. Then again. Then I started writing. Never a good sign that I spent like half an hour reading. There just weren't a lot of issues to spot in the issue spotter. More than half of the stuff I studied was not on the test. Makes me feel like I wasted my time. I'm also afraid that I messed up one of the parts a little bit - which is a bigger deal because there were so few issues. Dammit. The second part, a policy question, went better. But who really knows? That's probably even more subjective. Overall, not the best that ever happened.
The only solace is that everyone felt badly about it. My friend Sarah did actually cry during the test. There's no crying in finals. Pull it together. Afterward everyone headed to the bar. I went with a few people and had a beer. They all also had wings on special. A few months ago I swore to be more careful around chicken wings. Luckily tonight I finally followed through on that! Tracy complained about her stomach later on. Mine was fine. Tortellini that I cooked - much better for my stomach. Then back to school for some property studying. Tomorrow is all-Property day. Very exciting.
Before the exam I remembered something and I'm so happy I did. I remember that This Is Sparta!!! Then the test kicked me into a big pit. Oops.
I truly wish there was something else to report. But not much happens in the library.
The only solace is that everyone felt badly about it. My friend Sarah did actually cry during the test. There's no crying in finals. Pull it together. Afterward everyone headed to the bar. I went with a few people and had a beer. They all also had wings on special. A few months ago I swore to be more careful around chicken wings. Luckily tonight I finally followed through on that! Tracy complained about her stomach later on. Mine was fine. Tortellini that I cooked - much better for my stomach. Then back to school for some property studying. Tomorrow is all-Property day. Very exciting.
Before the exam I remembered something and I'm so happy I did. I remember that This Is Sparta!!! Then the test kicked me into a big pit. Oops.
I truly wish there was something else to report. But not much happens in the library.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Pain is temporary, "Pride" is a song by U2
First final, Con Law, is tomorrow. I've basically been spending all of my time studying or eating. As such, it felt good to work out today after deciding around 5:30 that I was done studying for the night. Nothing else will come of it. I know all I'm going to know, now I need a night's sleep. And some knowledge of Con Law. Oh well. Of course today started off with a review session with my professor, during which a girl had to be told that there must be a relevant treaty in order for Congress to use the treaty power, and a war for Congress to use the war power. Even if I didn't go to law school I would have known that. Sometimes people need to pause, use a little common sense, and then plunge their head into a bucket of ice water. Lots of people left the review session feeling better due to some of the stupid questions that were asked. Kinda makes me hope that my questions were idiotic...but I'm decently sure they were not - for one thing I'm aware that the treaty power requires a treaty.
Yesterday brought me goodness at lunch in the form of 5 dollars, 12 inches, and 1 meatball marinara sandwich from Subway. It felt good going down. However, the rest of the day wasn't as delightful. Dammit Subway! Then again, it could have been something else...like caffeine. 2 large cups of coffee and a gigantic cup of Diet Coke. I'm lucky my heart didn't explode. Or my brain from all that book learnin' I wuz doin'.
A word about finals, particularly while being graded on a curve. I am not super competitive about the whole thing. I don't care that much about grades; I don't think they reflect that much or matter that much; I also think that amount of studying does not have a strong relationship to performance on the exam - it really comes down to how well you operate in those 3 hours as long as you know the material. But I am not alright with sitting in a room "studying" with eight people, some of whom are watching youtube videos, and explaining to them a basic power of Congress that was explained in the review session literally an hour before and was explained in cases we read and in lecture multiple times. That is not how I want to spend my day before a final. That doesn't make me a bad person or a bad friend, it just makes me the same as everyone else, if slightly better prepared at that moment. Unsurprisingly, this was not a mere hypothetical situation, but something that actually occurred today. Luckily, we got kicked out of that room by a faculty meeting and I relocated to a spot in the library where I could do a practice test without interruption. My recommendation to everyone who is not prepared: turn off gchat and get off facebook when you are studying, and studying will become a lot easier and less time-consuming.
That was what we call venting. Not in the way Coors Light uses the term. Thankfully. Damn those commercials were dumb.
Someone recommended that I run on the treadmill on a slight incline. Wow that was painful advice for my knee, shin, and quad. Why is being healthy so hard? What if pizza was as healthy as a salad? That's the parallel universe I want to live in. Where chicken ceasar wraps count as a serving of fruit, cheeseburgers count as vegetables, and beer is an acceptable grain for daily consumption - even in the morning.
The Red Sox need to do something in order to stop sucking. I'm sorry, but this has been pathetic. They lost 4 times in 3 days without having a double header. Come on!
Jesus. In English, it involves Christianity. In Spanish, it involves conjuring the Greek god of thunder. Conundrum.
Yesterday brought me goodness at lunch in the form of 5 dollars, 12 inches, and 1 meatball marinara sandwich from Subway. It felt good going down. However, the rest of the day wasn't as delightful. Dammit Subway! Then again, it could have been something else...like caffeine. 2 large cups of coffee and a gigantic cup of Diet Coke. I'm lucky my heart didn't explode. Or my brain from all that book learnin' I wuz doin'.
A word about finals, particularly while being graded on a curve. I am not super competitive about the whole thing. I don't care that much about grades; I don't think they reflect that much or matter that much; I also think that amount of studying does not have a strong relationship to performance on the exam - it really comes down to how well you operate in those 3 hours as long as you know the material. But I am not alright with sitting in a room "studying" with eight people, some of whom are watching youtube videos, and explaining to them a basic power of Congress that was explained in the review session literally an hour before and was explained in cases we read and in lecture multiple times. That is not how I want to spend my day before a final. That doesn't make me a bad person or a bad friend, it just makes me the same as everyone else, if slightly better prepared at that moment. Unsurprisingly, this was not a mere hypothetical situation, but something that actually occurred today. Luckily, we got kicked out of that room by a faculty meeting and I relocated to a spot in the library where I could do a practice test without interruption. My recommendation to everyone who is not prepared: turn off gchat and get off facebook when you are studying, and studying will become a lot easier and less time-consuming.
That was what we call venting. Not in the way Coors Light uses the term. Thankfully. Damn those commercials were dumb.
Someone recommended that I run on the treadmill on a slight incline. Wow that was painful advice for my knee, shin, and quad. Why is being healthy so hard? What if pizza was as healthy as a salad? That's the parallel universe I want to live in. Where chicken ceasar wraps count as a serving of fruit, cheeseburgers count as vegetables, and beer is an acceptable grain for daily consumption - even in the morning.
The Red Sox need to do something in order to stop sucking. I'm sorry, but this has been pathetic. They lost 4 times in 3 days without having a double header. Come on!
Jesus. In English, it involves Christianity. In Spanish, it involves conjuring the Greek god of thunder. Conundrum.
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