So I didn’t actually end up coloring.  Or knitting.

I went shopping.

It took my mother suggesting it [I called her as soon as it was over, and she said I should go] but I went and I’m glad.  I got my nails done for the first time in MONTHS, bought a pretty sweater to go out in tonight, and generally tried to unwind.

I still feel like I should be studying for something.  It’s so weird.

BUT,

my exams are OVER.  YAY!

I’ll write the detox post later.

Good luck to everyone that’s got one left!

So, my last final is tomorrow.

And, I’m just a little bit OVER finals.  Especially the one tomorrow.  Now, I happen to love contracts [I know, that's awful], but I’m not looking forward to it.  Especially when last year’s A+ grade was a 30-something….out of 80.  And the average was around a 15.  Forgive me if I’m not thrilled.

Today, in attempting to study, I passed out on top of my notes for about 20 minutes.  Now, I did set my alarm for 4:45 [it was 4:18 when I decided I needed a nap].  My phone was on vibrate, so I doubted I’d hear the alarm, or that it would even go off.  But, I was beyond caring.

Then, at 4:45 ON THE DOT – my mother calls.  [And she wonders why I still think moms get magical powers when they have children.]

Then, we had the following exchange:

Me: “Hello?”

Mom: “Hi! How are you?”

Me: “I’m ok.”

Mom: “You sound like you were sleeping.”

Me: “Oh, I was.”

Mom: “Oh, then why did you answer the phone if you were sleeping?”

Me: “Well, I wasn’t actually sleeping.  I passed out on the living room floor on top of my contracts notes.”

Mom: “Oh.”

Yup.  After that, I went back to studying.

THEN, I decided I needed to take a field trip to Target.  I wanted a disney princess coloring book.  But not just a regular coloring book.  I wanted one of the GIANT ones, you know, where they’re not actually books, but giant coloring pages? I’ve decided that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow after finals.  Mine will be over around 12:30/1 ish, but the roommates and the bffs won’t finish until around 6.  I don’t want to go home and come back to campus [we're eating near the school after they get out], but I needed a way to stay occupied.  I needed a mind-numbing, non-thinking, non-law way to stay occupied.  I think a coloring book would be good.  And I might bring one of the scarves I’m working on.  [I like to knit.  Why? Because I'm awesome.]

SO, I went to Target.  But, it was 5pm.

ERGO, I ended up in AUSTIN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC.   Fail.

What was supposed to be a 15 minute trip….was much longer.  And, I got there and they didn’t even have the one I wanted.  So what did I do? Instead of buying the perfectly acceptable My Little Pony one, I decide to go to Wal-Mart.  They didn’t have the one I wanted either, but it worked out perfectly.

I ended up getting a normal-coloring book [a Cinderella one], but since it was less expensive, I had money left over to get a bouquet of daisies [my favorite flower].

Anyway, I’ve studied really hard for all of my exams.  I’m beyond freaking out.  I just want them to be over, so I can go enjoy my friends for the first time in several weeks.  I’m less than 24 hours away from that, and I’m a little excited.

I will be putting my crayons and coloring book in my bookbag tomorrow, along with my casebook and outline.  I refuse to let law school kill the happy person in me.

I hope everyone does well on their finals, and that you all have a happy week.

Contract damages

And reliance

They both cause me pain.

Why did that one guy

Have to breach?

He’s ruining the game.

They don’t know how much it sucks

Solving their stupid fights.

Still I sit here trying to learn this,

Goodbye Friday night.

____________________

There are some rules I remember,

And I hope, that none have changed.

If they have I might be screwed,

My exam, is on Tuesday.

Oh my profs they have their reasons,

For making exams, painful for all.

Sometimes I wonder how my brain keeps working,

I hope that I’ve learned enough.

I hope that, I’ve learned enough.

And THIS is what I do when attempting to study for contracts.

Hark the finals angels sing, what the hell am I thinking? Contract damages are vile; wish parties would reconcile.  Come on all ye students rise, vent frustration to the skies.  One more final then we’re done, after that it’s time for fun.  One more final then we’re done, after that it’s time, for, fun.

We’re close to being done everyone.  Get excited.

I flubbed the saying on purpose, in lieu of putting “hell” in the title.

But, while I think the Wall Street Journal Law Blog means well, the following is not encouraging.  At all.

With nothing less than a slate of A’s (or something close to that), you throw away any chance you ever had of clerking for the Supreme Court or high-profile federal appellate judge. You will probably not become a law-school professor. You will not make law review and you will probably not get a job at Cravath. Even worse, in the short term, is that come January, you’ll find out that the dude who slept through Contracts or the woman who completely flubbed it every time she was called on in Civil Procedure or, worst of all, the guy who wore a freakin’ tie to your 8:30 a.m. Torts class, absolutely killed it. Each got A’s and A-pluses to your B’s and B-pluses. Those people will suddenly walk with a slightly different air, as if they’re better than you. And you’ll have to live with this new reality for the next 2+ years.

I knew all that.  I didn’t need to read it.  ::sigh::

Now, to be fair, that’s from a post where they wrote down what several law professors at highly respected schools said constituted a “good” exam answer.

But, to be fair, none of their answers are really useful.  Write down everything you know, but make it poetic, but only put things that are relevant, but draw a conclusion, but only get to maybe, but argue well, but answer the question.

How about -

Dear 1Ls,

We know it sucks.

We’ve all been there.

We promise, you’ll live through it.

So you night not be a Supreme Court Clerk.  (If you’re not at Yale or Harvard that shouldn’t really be a shock anyway.)  So you don’t end up on Law Review.  (Are you really going to miss all that cite-checking?) So you don’t have a 4.0 (for the first time in your life).

You know what?

It’s okay.  You can still turn out to be a perfectly competent lawyer.  You can still find a job somewhere.  You’ll be fine.  Would the above accomplishments make your life easier? Probably.  But you know what else? Nothing worth having is easy.

Life goes on, we promise.

Love,

People who’ve been there.

I think that would be more helpful.  I’m just sayin’.

Good luck tomorrow everyone.

So I’m reading through the Torts E&E and the last three chapters are Prof. Glannon’s talk about taking exams.

First, he goes through a discussion about not just identifying issues, but dealing with them effectively in an answer.  Apparently, profs don’t just want you to say “Look!! There’s an issue!! I found it!! I can has A now?”  They want you to find it, then effectively deal with it.

Then, he goes through examples of what NOT to do.  He calls it “weeding dandelions” out of the “bluebook garden.”

And then, I started to psych myself out, wondering how many of those mistakes I made on my Civ Pro exam.  ::sadface::

For my own sanity, I set forth the rules, knowing the prof would skip that – they’re apparently not impressed by our ability to copy things from our outline – and proceeded to apply [attempt to anyway] those rules to the crazies in the hypos.  [Sane people aren't allowed to be characters in hypos.]  Then, I drew a conclusion.

At least, that’s what I think I did.

Now I’m not so sure.

I’m generally averse to worrying about things I can’t control.  My exam is over, done, fin.  There is nothing I can do but wait, and try not to suck on the last two that I have.  Right? Right.

So, my first law school exam was yesterday.

What?!?!

Yup.  I have been officially examined on all things Federal Civil Procedure.

Res judicata! 26(b)! 1332(a)!!

See? I know stuff.

Okay, so here’s how it went down:

I studied.  HARD.  No, really.  Prep that went into Civ Pro [partly due to my own neurosis]:  Reading the Casebook [yeah, I actually did all the assigned reading], reading Freer’s Intro to Civil Procedure, reading Glannon’s Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations, all 130+ multiple-choice-type questions in the Gilbert outline, all 130+ multiple choice questions in the Emanuel outline, and the combined 18+ practice essays in both.

Later, I will upload a picture of my books and all the little flags on them.  I should buy stock in 3M.  Srsly.

Anyway, the studying [read: learning] went through Saturday.  Sunday, I took a break and worked exclusively on Torts [exam is Friday].  I decided to treat it like the LSAT – study, drill, etc.  And, like the LSAT, you get to a point where no more learning is to be done; all that’s left is practice.  You also need a break; that’s why there was no-civ-pro-Sunday.  The day before [Monday], I did the Gilbert’s practice questions, fudged my way through a few practice exams, learned what I could from the explanations, and called it quits.

I, unlike many of my classmates, did not take a timed [4 hour] exam in real exam conditions.  I did not allot myself 20 minutes to answer practice questions.  I did not write out extensive answers to those practice questions.

WHAT?!?!?!

Yeah.  I’m that kid.  But, really – for me personally, I don’t feel like I missed out by not doing any of those things.  I’ve taken exams before.  They’re long.  It sucks.  I know that.  I don’t feel like I would have benefitted from extensive practice-exam-ing.  My goal was to identify the issues, come up with what my answers would generally be, and compare them to the [extensive] explanations.  That’s it.  Given the ridiculous preparation I did [out of fear, mind you; I'm not crazy, I promise], I felt like that was okay.  That isn’t to say that taking simulated-environment practice exams is a bad idea; I know a lot of people who benefitted from the experience in that it lessened their nerves and made them more comfortable.  That’s an important benefit on its own.

Anyway, then, I tried to go to sleep I cried myself to sleep.  Yup, like a little kid.  Started bawling.  I’ve been totally chill for the past few weeks, worked really hard, and told myself it’s just school, I can do this, I’ve been studying all semester, etc.  And…I lost it.  I started thinking about how everything was riding on my exam, that I was going to suck, that I was going to make a crappy lawyer, that [insert complete and total nonsense here].  I sent the sibling a text saying not to judge me if I failed out of law school and ran away to Key West to be a Jimmy Buffet bum.  Sibling approved, and offered to come with.

Around 11, I decided I was being ridiculous and that I had to be awake in less than 7 hours.  So, I started counting backward from 100.  I don’t count sheep, because that’s distracting [partly because my sheep all look like the Serta sheep], but a lot of nights I’ll just start counting backward from 100 to focus my brain and help it slow down.  Usually I don’t make it past 70.  Anyway, one way or another, I managed to fall asleep.

And THEN, the alarm went off.  Sadface.

I woke up and got dressed.  I am one of those people who still gets “dressed up” to take exams.  I refuse to wear sweatpants, glasses, a sweatshirt, and sneakers.  I tend to think straighter and perform better when I feel put together.  Jeans, a pretty sweater, and my makeup make me feel put together.  I figure, if it’s a complete disaster at least I won’t LOOK like a complete disaster, right? Cue the delusion.

Anyway, put together, I went to school.  I got some potato, egg, and cheese tacos from Taco Cabana.  I managed NOT to spill salsa on myself.  I splurged and parked in the garage right next to the law school.  [It cost me $10 by the time I left my exam.]  Normally I park in the lot my permit is for, but that’s a ten minute walk, and I was lucky I had the nerve to even get to school.  I decided the $10 was worth it.  I went to my locker, dumped my bookbag, purse, cell phone, etc.  I had no idea what it would be like, and my paranoid little 1L heart didn’t know if it’d be okay to bring in my book-bag or my purse.  [Clearly, the LSAT and its plastic-bag nonsense have scarred me for life.]  With my pile of books [we were allowed the casebook, the Glannon, the rule book, and any outline we "substantially helped prepare"] I went to a lounge near my testing room.  I sat across from one of my classmates, and we looked over our outlines in silence.  Another classmate came and sat down with us, and MADE MY FREAKING DAY.  She started talking about non-law-school-related things, she let us know that she couldn’t sleep the night before, that she had a weird dream, and that she was NORMAL.  She made us laugh because she said the stuff we were thinking but didn’t want to say.  We told each other we’d be fine, that we’d worked hard all semester, and that at this point, there wasn’t much we could do anyway.

Then we went to the testing room.  Civ Pro was our small section [25 students] and we had the giant classroom [~100 seats] all to ourselves.  Everyone pretty much spread out.  I went straight to what would have been my seat in class, opened my little computer, and waited.

I won’t talk about the exam [we agree that we won't discuss or disclose the substantive content of the exam], but it’s safe to say that – using a spell-checker – I discovered I CANNOT SPELL THE WORD “INTERROGATORY.”  [Safari has a spell-check, that's why it's correct here.]  The most amusing part of the exam was finding my spelling errors.

A four hour exam sounds long, but it wasn’t really all that bad.  My stamina [the amount of time I can study/focus] has increased dramatically over the course of the semester.  It was just a normal stretch of thinking/study time.  I’m glad it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be.  After it was over, I just left.  I didn’t want to risk hearing questions about the test, or listening to people discuss it.  I basically ran away.  I went to my locker, threw everything in my book bag, and escaped.

A friend I hadn’t seen in FOUR YEARS [that's a little ridiculous, especially since she's FANTASTIC] was in town, so we met for lunch.  It was exactly what I needed.  We talked for a couple of hours, caught up on life, law school [she's applied for next year], and general adventures.  It reminded me that there are things outside of school, that my test was just a test, and that life goes on.

After lunch/dinner, I went home and caught up with the roommates.  We didn’t do any studying for the rest of the day.  Our brains were fried.  Each of us ended up sleeping for 10+ hours.  And, it was totally worth it.

Today, I’ve spent the day with my Torts E&E.  I’ve found that I like the review and the practice the E&E’s give.  Everyone does things differently; at FTS, we don’t judge….out loud.

I’ve found that I’m not nearly as terrified as I was for the first one.  I think that once you make it through that, you know what to expect, and you know that you can do this.  At least, that’s how I feel.  It’ll be okay.

Anyway, a few things I’ve learned:

1. Review in a way that works for YOU.  I have 3 roommates, two of whom are also 1Ls [we're all in different sections].  We all prep for exams very differently.  I’m the only one with my crazy E&E/practice question method.  Another prefers writing out essay answers.  The other prefers group-review/practice-exams.  But, what’s been most beneficial is that we don’t judge each other.  Don’t let the way other people review [or don't review] for the exam worry you.  Do what makes you feel most comfortable and most prepared.  It’s your exam, and you’re the one who has to deal with the consequences, intellectual and emotional.
2. SLEEP.  Please sleep the night before.  Really.  You’ll be glad you did, and you won’t miss that extra hour of “studying” [freaking out, whatever] you could have done.
3. EAT BREAKFAST.  I’m really glad I ate a decent breakfast.  Having my stomach growl two hours into the exam would have made me sad and unfocused.
4. Earplugs helped [me].  Given that there were only 25 people in the room, the keyboard noise wasn’t ridiculous, but I liked being in my own little world as I worked on the exam.  I took them out a couple times, but had to put them back in because I just focused better wearing them.  Some of my classmates didn’t use them, some did.  It’s up to you.  I liked my little bubble, and I plan on using them for my other two exams [which will be much louder, given that they're with my large section of 100 people].
5. REMEMBER THE RULES OF FIGHT CLUB.  I’m definitely a kid who doesn’t want to discuss the aftermath. I talked about things with my roommates, but not until way later that night when we’d all had a chance to decompress.  I still wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing things with my classmates.
6. Time yourself.  Give yourself time for each question on the exam.  Recognize that if you take longer on one question, you’ll be shortchanged on the others.  It’s normal test-taking strategy, but it’s easy to forget it when you’re in the midst of things.
7. Be willing to move on.  I didn’t spend time editing and re-editing my essays and second-guessing my answers.  I did the best I could the first time around, and decided that would have to be enough.  Don’t beat a dead horse, right? Right.  It’s okay to move on.
8. BREATHE.  It’s survivable.  Really.  I promise.  It’ll all be fine.

Anyway, the first one is over.

YAY!!!

Good luck to everyone else, especially all the 1Ls.  We can do this.

Cheers.

This story was brought to my attention today via facebook:

Col. Van T. Barfoot, a local Medal of Honor recipient, is under the gun from his Henrico County community’s homeowner association.

In a five-paragraph letter to Barfoot that he received yesterday, Barfoot is being ordered to remove a flagpole from his yard. The decorated veteran of three wars, now 90 years old, raises the American flag every morning on the pole, then lowers and folds the flag at dusk each day in a three-corner military fashion.

In a priority mail letter, the Coates & Davenport law firm in Richmond is ordering Barfoot to remove the pole by 5 p.m. Friday or face “legal action being brought to enforce the Covenants and Restrictions against you.” The letter states that Barfoot will be subject to paying all legal fees and costs in any successful legal proceeding pursued by the homeowner association’s board.

Original article here.

Naturally, I went to the law firm’s website.  On their homepage is a statement that says [in part]:

This is not about the American flag. This is about a flag pole. And Col. Barfoot is not being forbidden from displaying an American flag.

With its request that he remove the flag pole, the association was discharging its duty to all the owners in the neighborhood. The association’s position has merit and is supported by its Bylaws, Rules and Declaration of Restrictions and Covenants.

After letting my initial reaction pass [it wasn't a nice one], I’m just left wondering if this isn’t a case of “can” and “should.”  I don’t really have any qualms with the firm, I suppose.  They’re doing what lawyers get paid to do, and they have a responsibility to represent and advocate for their client.  I think the real question mark is above the Home Owner’s Association.  So they might, technically, be able to tell Col. Barfoot he needs to remove his flagpole.  But should they, really? Did they actually talk to all the owners in the neighborhood? Did they tell those owners that the “transgressor” was a 90-year-old veteran of three wars? As of right now [1:29 pm] a facebook group in support of Col. Barfoot has 29, 775 members.  It makes me wonder if all the owners in the neighborhood would be in support of the action against this man.  The association has stated that he has options – he can still fly the flag.  He can put up a little stand, or one of those poles that attaches to the house [you know, like you see on memorial day].  But, I’m not sure if that’s really the point.  I wonder – what harm is he doing? Has this pole lowered the value of any of the surrounding homes? Does it greatly offend [really] any of his neighbors?

Now, if there’s one thing I’ve learned this semester, it’s that most actions end up in settlement.  But what kind of settlement would be reached here? They let him keep the pole if what?

I imagine the Association is within its right in doing what it is doing, but just because something can be done doesn’t make it right if it is done.  It just seems to me to be one of those cases that applies the rules and the law so strictly that the conclusion is one that can’t possibly sit well with a “reasonable person.”

Anyway, good luck Col. Barfoot, and thank you for your service.

Check your coat pockets.

No, seriously.

I am the most scatterbrained person I know [next to my dad, who is the person I get it from].  I lose my wallet, I lost my driver’s license, I lose my debit card.  And usually, it’s not even lost.  Generally, after I’ve taken steps to replace whatever it is I lost [wallet, license, debit card, etc], I FIND IT.

Like today.

I went to lunch with a friend, and when I went to pay, I pulled out….the old temporary card I’d received the last time I’d lost a debit card.  My actual card? Nowhere to be found.  Luckily, friend covered my lunch, and I agreed to get it next time.  I spent the entire ride home wondering what on earth I did with my debit card and how I could lose 2 in 2 months.

I checked everywhere.  My room, my closet, my car.  The best part was checking my car.  Under the driver’s seat, I found what I thought was my card and I got REALLY excited.

THEN, I realized it was my old card.  The one I thought I’d lost.  The one they gave me the temporary card for.

::HEADDESK::

So, the current one was still nowhere to be found.

I called the bank, and the lady was really nice and said she’d lose hers everyday “if it weren’t for my husband chasing it down.” She said it’s better to lose it and block it than to lose cash.  [FINALLY, someone who gets it.]  So, she blocked it, and I can just go to the bank on Monday [banks are the last places on earth closed on Sundays, aside from Hobby Lobby] and get a new one.

THEN,

I sit down to study, and think….wait….the last time I used it I got gasoline.  It was cold.  It’s not in my purse so….it might be in my coat pocket.  I checked my black pea coat and it wasn’t there and I thought, okay, well, I tried.

THEN,

I looked in the pockets of the COAT I WAS WEARING AT LUNCH TODAY.  And, [you guessed it] there it was.

::HEADDESKHEADDESKHEADDESKHEADDESK::

I immediately called the bank back and told the lady who answered [a different one of course]: “Hi, I just called to close my debit card two minutes ago because I thought I’d lost it…and it was in my pocket.  Is there anyway to unblock it?” ::she laughs:: “No, I’m really sorry.  We used to be able to do that but they stopped letting us do that about 2 months ago.  You’re still going to have to get a new one.”

Dang it.

High five, bank, for looking out for my security.  I guess that’s just what I get for NOT LOOKING IN MY FREAKING POCKETS.

You’d think, being a lifelong scatterbrain that’d be a standard place to look.  Among the standard places: under the bed, under the dresser, between the bed and the wall.

Oh well.

Anyway, word to the world: check your pockets.  Srsly.

I’m in the library.  My brain hurts.  I just realized I’m LATE with this month’s reader thank-you.

It’s December.  WordPress is snowing, Texas is snowing, there are Christmas trees everywhere, Christmas music is on the radio, and general joy and bliss abounds.

Except for this whole finals thing.  ::sigh::

BUT,

Thanks for still stopping by.  Thanks for your words of encouragement.  Thanks for your own creative blogs that make me laugh and help me stay sane.  Thanks for making my little corner of the interwebs a happy place to be.  Thanks for humoring the lolcats, youtube videos, and the liberties I take with the English language and its grammar.

Basically, thanks for being AWESOME.

As always, if you’ve linked here and don’t see yourself on the right side of my blog, feel free to let me know [freshthoughtsoup [at] gmail [dot] com].  I promise I read my email, so don’t hesitate to say hi.

Good luck on finals everyone.