1/6 of the way to the bar

No, not the neighborhood bar, although a drink *sounds* like it could be a good idea.
So tonight was the official conclusion to my first semester as a law student. I took my last final. I sincerely hope that I did well enough on all of my finals to get to continue on the merry-go-round of stress. This is the first time I've ever felt physically ill because of the emotional toll of a test (being physically ill after a test you pulled an all-nighter for so does not count).
I'm kind of sad too, because I won't have the excuse of being a clueless 1L anymore. Now I have to actually know crap, and if I get to pass go and collect $200 I'll have to remember it for next semester's exams. Zoinks!!!
So I'm heading to my parent's house for the holidays and I'm working, but if any of ya'll in C-Tex feel like trying to hang out between now and the new year, give me a call and we'll see what can happen.
Happy Holidays to all!

Enrich Your Word Power: Law School Edition

These are the "big" words my professors have used in the past week.

Quixotic:
1) Romantic- tending to take a romanticized view of life
2) Impractical- motivated by an idealism that overlooks practical considerations
3) Impulsive- tending to act on whims or impulses

"I realized it would be a quixotic effort to give a lecture on the same day as a practice exam." ~ Prof. O'Shea

Panacea:
Supposed cure for all diseases or problems"It almost seems the writers [of sec. 87 RST 2d Contracts] thought this was the ultimate panacea." ~Prof. Dillon (I may have remembered this one out of context)

All the remaining words came from Prof. Morgan as we were discussing contributory negligence, assumption of risk and strict liability. I'll leave it to your imagination to determine the context ; )

Solipsism:
Belief in self as only reality
The belief that the only thing somebody can be sure of is that he or she exists, and that true knowledge of anything else is impossible

Panoply:
1) full array—an impressive and magnificent display or array of something
2) full ceremonial dress—ceremonial dress with all the necessary accessories
3) full armor—a full suit of armor and equipment for a warrior
4) protective covering—a covering that protects something

Demagoguery:
The character, behavior, tactics, or rhetoric of a demagogue
1) emotive dictator—a political leader who gains power by appealing to people's emotions and prejudices rather than their rationality
2) popular leader in ancient times—in ancient times, a popular leader who represented the ordinary people

Approbation:
1) expression of approval—approval, consent, or appreciation
2) official sanction—the official approving, authorizing, or sanctioning of something

So now that I'm a few words richer I will sign out.

Take Care Ya'll!!

Jackass

Unfortunately, I'm not referring to the movie. Yes, ladies (and gentlemen) I am a Jackass, but not the kind that gets lots of money for doing stupid shit in front of a movie camera. It's more along the lines of, "wow, she can be STUPID."

So the latest episode to remind me of this oft-ignored part of my personality was my tryout for the mock trial team at school. For some reason I had the bright idea to try out for the mock trial team. I don't know where this idea came from; I just happen to be pretty sure it wasn't mine orginally.

The tryout entails crafting an opening statement and presenting it to the coaches of the team. I've never been to a trial. I don't know what an opening statement is other than it happens somewhere near the beginning of the trial. At least that is what I am assuming since it is called an "opening statement."

So I download the fact pattern. It's a hundred and twenty pages of rules, court papers and depositions from a products liability suit. I'm a first year law student. Not a single one of my classes has touched on products liability yet, but I press forward in a misguided little train that could sort of way. "I think I can, I think I can."

Then to make my life a little bit harder I decide to try out as the defendant of the big bad corporation that really didn't have a defective product (just a stupid consumer) but it's hard to create jury sympathy when david is only asking goliath for $500K.

We'll just say my presentation tanked. It was like that first date in the movie Hitch. It was awful; I metaphorically kicked my Torts professor in the jaw. I think the last speech I gave that was that bad was my first informational speech in junior high.

Then to make this bad speech even worse; I used words with four syllables or more. Apparently this is a major faux pas. Unfortunately when I get flustered it's hard for me to remember the KISS principle and so all these "big" words slip out. I can't help it. I think that I am going to defenestrate my visual aids. Look it up!!! Defenestrate is a great word!

So, yeah, I'm a jackass. Nothing new there!

As a side note: CONGRATULATIONS Camel!!! You're going to NYC! I am so, so, so excited for you!!!!

Peace Out Ya'll!

My Law School Metaphor

Alright... so I've finally figured out my metaphor for what the law school experience is.

Today one of my professors was talking to me about doorways that are getting increasingly smaller (about this point I started thinking oompa-loompa land and little orange men) and that just wasn't doing it for me.

BUT, I think I've found the metaphor that will work for me.

Law school is like making a patch-work quilt. I've been given four bolts of cloth so far: Civil Procedure, Torts, Contracts & Legal Research and Writing. I am in the process of cutting these materials up into smaller pieces that can fit together to make a pattern. Then sometime next semester I will actually reach the point where I can sew the pieces together with some sort of certainty. After three years, I will have an entire quilt.

Now there might be some weak spots where my stitches aren't as strong and sure as they should be, but that's what continuing legal education is for! Furthermore as the law changes I will have to patch up the quilt.

Anyways, that's my happy metaphor to help me get some perspective on this situation.Peace Out!

Law School: A Bad Beginning

Well, no, not really a bad beginning, but I just felt like mooching off of Lemony Snickett today.

So this is kind of a multi-post in that I honestly don't have the time to be doing this, but I live to procrastinate as many of my good friends know. So I will come back and edit and clean this up, but it may take awhile for me to get to it.

August 20, 2006: So, Ive completed my week of orientation at Oklahoma City University School of Law, and now, I am finally starting to feel the terror that is usually associated with a leap of faith. I entered the week feeling some trepidation, but not too much considering Ive just moved 400 miles and the closest friends and family, geographically speaking, are three hours away in the DFW metroplex.

On the first day of orientation I am having no problems- they are throwing a cartload of information at us, but I definitely feel that I am coping with it just fine. Of course, day 1 is administrative details and not LAW SCHOOL. The second day is a brief introduction to the faculty so that we may be suitably impressed by their credentials. We also take an oath of profession responsibility and then we watch film clips and have a focus-group styled discussion, that is if you can have a focus group of 250 people, regarding ethics. Then we heard about the joys of being a lawyer from Prof. William Conger. To sum up his speech, it is a lawyers responsibility to be a compassionate counselor without cynicism. If you succumb to the cynicism that you can get through this profession compassion and counsel become meaningless. I mean this makes a lot of sense especially when you hear the whole presentation and not yours trulys two sentence synopsis. ***

Alright...so I read all the stuff I had intended to post, but it is boring and would only interest a couple of you guys...if you want a list of all the cases I've had to read to date, I will be happy to provide it via email. Then all the other stuff is just waxing enthusiastic about my professors, because I really, really like ALL of my professors. They are a wonderful group of people who say things like "your case sucks pondwater" and "you are in a perfect state of ignorance" and wonderful things like that (at least it's wonderful when you have the context, when you just have the words it can seem a little harsh).

So I'll leave that stuff off of my blog for now, but it may be added at a later date!

Cheerio Darlings!

Week 1

So...I've moved to OKC and "started" law school, well not quite yet. I'm taking the required mini-course to introduce the whole "think, read & breathe like a lawyer" thing. I'm looking forward to getting into the meat of the experience, because right now...I'm not having such a good time. Hopefully next week I'll be able to post a more cheerful and optimistic entry, although we all know that optimism is severely over-rated.

And that's the way this cookie is crumbling...

The Countdown Begins...

So, tonight was the last night of the Volleyball league and my girls did really well. They finished second in their division. Hopefully all the playing time together will give them a good start for their school season. They were a blast to work with, in spite of the handicap of being 14, and I know great things are going to happen for them.

The official countdown for my departure to law school begins. This past weekend I drove up to OKC and set up my kitchen in my apartment. Lame, I know, but that is me. I need my kitchen =) I'm still debating whether the TV is going with me or not, though how can I watch Food Network without a TV??? Although that also depends on whether I get a cable package with Food Network or not... Oh well, I'll worry about that one later.

So I have two more weekends in Florence as the pianist. This coming week for our Anthem we're performing "Turn Your Radio On" which is one of my all time favorite songs of a spiritual nature. Then the following week the semi-retired pianist will be doing an instrumental special so I can be there and just enjoy listening to her play. She is incredible and I am really looking forward to whatever she has prepared.

The first weekend in August I'm probably going to drive up to OKC for the pre-move move and set up all my extraneous wardrobe that I can go for a week or so without wearing and possibly my "Office Space." However, this is an efficiency apartment and I have eleven feet by sixteen feet to work with for my sleeping/office/living area.

I'm getting kind of antsy because I don't know what books to buy yet, and I have a very narrow window of opportunity in which to purchase them and do the pre-reading before the semester begins. Whatever, it'll work out, but this is still my current source of anxiety.

Adios!!

Decision made!!!

Alright! So I've made my decision for better or worse, and being the obstinate bullheaded type person I can be I'm going to be living with it for the next four year (if not even the rest of my life).

I am going to go to law school at Oklahoma City University. The scholarship and the opportunity to concurrently earn an MBA just sucked me in. The plethora of cute cowboys too ;) JK, my camel!

So, I'm now going to relax and enjoy the next three months because I know going back to school is just going to kick my tush. I don't remember how to study, and somehow I've got the feeling that it is NOT like riding a bicycle.

Carpe Diem!

Too many choices

Okay.... so I've been a little remiss in keeping this stupid blog up to date regarding the whole law school thing.

I visited Texas Wesleyan a couple a weekends ago, and was marginally impressed. I think the way the preview day was organized and the information that we were given is a really good indication of what life would be in that law school (i.e. expensive and perkless until graduation).
One of the really cool requirements for graduation from TWU is that every student must do 30 hours of pro bono work.

TWU is also all of 20 minutes away from my brother and his family. If I choose that law school hopefully that'll translate into more time with my nephew and my niece.

I was rejected at two of the seven schools I applied to, and I'm not really surprised. Furthermore I'm okay with that because fewer options = less stress. Decisions that are complex enough to require matrix analysis are NOT my strong point. You really should hear the office discussions regarding lunch every day.

I've been accepted at Loyala New Orleans. I've also been provisionally accepted at Quinnipiac (i.e. start part time and transfer to the full-time program at the end of the year).

So the N.O. school is appealing because I would be living in the city during the rebuilding efforts.

Quinnipiac is appealing because they have a program in healthcare law and a study abroad program in Ireland for the summers. There is also the possibility of interning in NYC (it may be a remote one, but I think that is the most likely school for that possibility in my case).

Be Careful What You Wish For

So I've been wishing to hear from some of the other law schools I applied to.

Well, I finally did and here is what the letter said:

Dear Chelsea:
This is not a denial letter.
As you know Valpo Law is a small school ... number of applicants who meet our admissions requirements far exceeds the number of seats in our first year class.
However, the admissions season is not over .... Your status is officially known as "admissions pending", a status above the traditional wait-list category.
...
Sincerely,
Valpo Admissions

So, I've heard back from a law school, but I haven't been admitted because they are waiting on a bunch of people who are probably in the same boat I am to say yes or no. However, because I WAS second string I haven't been officially denied a place in their school either.

I need to have a good long talk with my Genie and get this wish thing sorted out.

Decisions, decisions....

So, this weekend I went to Oklahoma City to check out Oklahoma City University where I have been accepted into the law school. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience, other that the little detail that it actually takes more time to fly than drive, but that is a completely different story.

Now, I have to admit my expectations were rather low because as one of the other admittees said, "The name just screams community college and not law school." However, when I got there at 7:00 in the morning I was able to wander around the campus and the building for the law school and poke my head into places that probably weren't intended to be viewed by the uninitiated. The campus just seems to be a bigger, red brick version of Southwestern.
There is this aesthetic uniformity among the buildings on campus, and the inside of the Sarkeys Law Center was a cross between the interior of the McCombs center and Olin. The law library also had a very strong resemblance to SU's library as well. So since I really liked SU's campus all of this goes into the plus column.

They have also offered me a fairly generous scholarship with maintanence requirements that I think I can actually attain. Another entry in the plus column.

I drove around Oklahoma City and the neighboring burgs, or townships, and found them to be generally pleasant. I found two apartment complexes that are ten minutes from the school and appeared from the outside as though they would be acceptable domiciles.

The Aberdeen is caddy-corner to a Methodist church and is about five minutes from the capital building; it is also near a non-emergency medical center (this means no ambulances) where I might be able to utilize my medical billing experience in getting a decent paying part-time job.

The Ambassador House is five minutes from an aikido dojo (the dojo is also about ten minutes from the school), and I would very much like to take that back up. There was a noticeable lack of gyms though, or maybe they just hide and disguise them a lot better than we do here in Texas.

So all in all I really enjoyed my visit to Oklahoma City and felt there were some distinct possibilities there. OKC also seems to have a disproportionately high ratio of good looking people (especially guys) for the size of the community. It is also overflowing with Chinese resturants.
However, I have also been admitted to Texas Wesleyan's School of Law and have also received a scholarship there (though not nearly as generous as OCU's). I will be going up to check out their campus in a couple of weeks.

I'm still waiting to hear back from several schools and although I'm pretty certain that I'm just waiting for all of the rejection letters to come in; I would like to have those before I commit myself to either of the schools that have already offered me a position.