Progress Made

Whew! I have the paper written, other than the summary of arguments, which I'm not sure if I'm doing or not. I printed it out, and then decided to relax this evening. I will review it when my thinking is fresh and clear in the morning and see what stands out to me. I know there will be things I need to add in here and there. I did the citation pages as I was going, but need to add page numbers and such. If I can get it all finished up in the morning, I'm going to treat myself and go to the MotorTrend car show in the afternoon. I need to do something un-lawschoolish, and since hubby hasn't seen much of me that last few weeks, I thought that the car show would be something fun to do together.

Sunday, I'm going to need to catch up on my Contracts reading, my Contracts outline, and work on the Torts privacy essay. Oh yeah, and sometime I need to pack and get ready for Boston. We're leaving realllly early Thursday morning. We'll get home on Sunday, and then Wednesday, we're going to Disneyland (by request of my daughter, to celebrate her 18th birthday on Thursday). I'm going to have to bring my outlines on the trips and find time to study.

I'm going to be so glad when this paper is done. I'm sick of Anna. I'm sick of her prior assaults on men. I'm sick of the gruesome photo. UGH. I honestly hope I can get all revising done this weekend so I can rid myself of this paper on Monday. If not, I will turn it in on Tuesday. Can't wait to be rid of this one.

Overheard in Contracts Class

Contracts Prof explaining about unconscionability, described rent to own contracts: "You know how they work. You can rent a $89 phone for $9 a week for the rest of your life."

1L: "Why can't the renters just save their money and then buy it?"
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Contracts Prof: "If you buy seeds from a company called Funk Seeds, you pretty much get what you deserve."

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Contracts Prof: "The phone company used to have the slogan 'let your fingers do the walking,' with this little picture of fingers walking. What is that? It's like the gang sign for the phone company!"

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Contracts Prof: "If you see a lot of exculpation going on, you feel rather exculpatory."

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"Super.....as always!"

I was able to pick up my graded #8 Legal Analysis paper early since I need to turn in #9 early (because of my trip to MIT with my daughter next week). Honestly, I thought it was an 80s type paper. I wasn't thrilled with it. I thought my arguments for the prosecution were weak. Anyway, the comments from my professor read, "As expected, very little work needed to transform this into a great appellate brief! Super paper... as always!" Of course, it did get my lowest grade of the semester (90), but I guess I'll survive, even though it does drop my weighted grade in there to a 93. :) At least now I can get as low as an 80 on the final paper and still have a grade of 90 or better for the semester.

Now, I do have to disagree with one part of her comment, that being "very little work needed".....yeah right! All my cases were from the 50s and 60s, so while I know what the law is that needs to be discussed, I had to find all new cases and will have to do all new case development for them. I call that more than just "very little work".

I did spend the afternoon working on #9. I got some good work done on it, and will continue tomorrow morning, and then all day Friday. I'm hoping to have it finished then, and do a revision over the weekend. I'm going to try to turn it in on Tuesday. I'm so ready to have this done with so I can concentrate on other stuff.

Sooo thankful for professors who are free with their praise and encouragement! :)

Bragging Rights

Even though my daughter has been accepted to and will attend MIT, she has yet to receive notice from 4 of the other schools she has applied to. We should be hearing from all of them this week, with 2 (Harvard and Berkeley) giving notice tomorrow online. I'm still excited to hear what the other schools say. Before she heard from any of them, I predicted she would get into 5 of the 8 she applied to. She's already been accepted at 3 of the 4 she's heard from so far, and I'm sure she'll get into Berkeley, so I think my prediction will be just about right.

I really hope she gets accepted into Stanford, because it was when we lived up in that area when she was younger that she started talking about going there. I know she won't change her mind, but I want her to be able to say, "Yeah, I always wanted to go there, and I got accepted, but decided to do something better." Plus, she is hoping to do graduate work there at SLAC, and I don't know whether or not they check if someone was accepted for undergraduate work when reviewing applications for grad school, but just in case they do, it would be nice to have had that acceptance.

A little more waiting here....not with the same anticipation of 2 weeks ago, but with excitement still the same. :)

Going for the Sympathy Vote

You know, I guess people will use whatever they can when it comes to winning elections, even (relatively) meaningless ones in school. I think the candy treats and cute fliers are great, and a nice break to all the seriousness of things, but what I don't appreciate it being yanked on for a sympathy vote.

Yesterday, during Torts classes, several individuals who are running for various Student Bar Association positions kind of introduced themselves and asked for votes. No big speeches, just more or less an "I'm running and this is who I am" kind of thing. Nothing stood out really, except something that offended me. One candidate, after introducing himself, had to throw out there that his mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will probably die in the next month or so. I won't even comment on the cavalier way he tossed that out, but as a woman, I find that extremely offensive that he would use her breast cancer that way. There was NO good reason for him to say that. He could have easily said he has had some family/health issues which prevented him for posting fliers, or whatever. But to use her illness that way, especially as someone who has had a minor scare in that area in the past, well, I was beyond offended.

It's one thing to ask for votes, but it's another to use means that aren't necessary. If you are so worthy and talented of my vote, show me. Don't try to make me feel sorry for you. A big thumbs down in my book for this candidate!

Very cool!

Overheard in Law School just used one of my quotes from Contracts class last week! You know what this means....I'm going to be listening for more to use! ; )

Can I Just Say This......Ex-husbands SUCK!

It's bad enough that he hurt and disappointed me over the years, but don't mess with my kids!

We knew all along that once the kids got to college, he wouldn't help out. We planned for that. Nothing in what he has done or who he is suggested anything other than that. BUT, after my daughter found out last week that she was accepted into MIT (and of course, will be going there), HE actually called ME. (To understand how odd this is you must know that we never talk on the phone, rarely talk to person-- just a "hi" when we exchange the kids, and all our communication is by email.) He didn't just call me, he said he wanted to talk about paying for her college. I was so stunned I could barely respond. He apparently was trying to get a figure out of me of what I wanted in contribution from him. I didn't quite get that, but he threw out the 50-50 proposition. I was floored. Since I don't handle our finances, I suggested he get together with my husband to talk about it.

So, this lovely meeting happened yesterday morning. My husband had spend the week preparing. He had a spreadsheet of all the various costs over the 4 years, including the history of annual increases figured in. When they met, my husband started talking about everything, and finally asked my ex, "Are we in this 50-50?" It wasn't until that point that my loser ex speaks up and says, "I have no money and I can't help with anything."

WTF?!?!?!? I don't get it! Why the frick was he calling me the day after she got accepted and offering ON HIS OWN to help with 50%? Why didn't he just say "congratulations, but I can't help" then?? Why the pretense of going to this meeting and acting like he was actually going to contribute?

I'll tell you why...probably so he can do what he always has done.....have the "appearance of having done the right thing". Yes, I'm sure he told his family that he met with us, and while he can't contribute out of pocket, he's making his contribution in other ways. (He somehow thinks he can dig up enough merit-based scholarships for her to apply for and somehow, magically, like the lottery, have her win.) He couldn't have told people that he just shut us down cold. No, that would make him look bad. That's how it always is for him. Exactly what he did in our divorce too......did everything to make me look bad when HE was the one who ultimately was responsible for our marriage's demise.

He actually had the nerve to say to my husband yesterday that he didn't think my daughter could ever get into a school like MIT. (WTF kind of idiot is he? This girl is absolutely brilliant, and I don't say that as her biased mom. I say what everyone else who knows her, except her own dad, says about her. I never would have spent the money to have her apply to MIT, Harvard, Princeton and Stanford if I didn't think she could get in. She IS that talented. She BELONGS at one of those places.) He said that her getting in was just a "random occurrence". He obviously don't really believe in her. I'm blown away. I thought part of being a parent WAS believing in your child....seeing their potential and finding ways to help them achieve it.

He actually told my husband that he thought she shouldn't go to MIT....she should go to UCLA the first 2 years (to save money) and then transfer to MIT. Ok, buddy, if you don't pay, you have no say. This girl has EARNED her way to MIT. How can you even THINK of denying her her dream?

Before you go and think that maybe I'm being unrealistic and perhaps he can't help because he is unable, let me tell you that he has bought new cars for BOTH himself and his wife in the last year and a half. He has made it clear that other things are a priority for him. I'm also sure his wife has no intention of letting him spend "their" money on anything this expensive that doesn't involve "her" kids.

Anyway.......after the gutless wonder announced he wasn't going to help, my husband kept it together and did not unleash on him like he wanted to, and it was all he could do when he got home to keep me from calling him. It's not like we honestly expected anything different from him, at least until he freaking called me. Loser. Why did he call me? To jerk me around??

I don't get it though.....he has based his life and decisions on his own children NOT succeeding! He didn't save any money or make any plans because he didn't think they could actually achieve something. That is so contrary to my way of thinking I can't believe I was once married to this man. My whole life is about me encouraging my kids to do their best, and finding ways to help them do that. I EXPECT them to do well. I don't plan for their failure.

When it comes down to it, while I'm disappointed that he won't share any of the burden for her education, I'm more disappointed that he doesn't believe in his kids and think of them the way I do. That is what stings the most.

Our response.....while I'm complaining on here, I won't do it to him. He's not worth it. We are just going to support my daughter and give her the education she deserves and has earned. I KNOW she is going places and will continue to achieve. And WE are behind her all the way. And guess what....SHE is going to KNOW who loves, supports and believes in her!

And today, I am thankful that I am no longer with that loser, and that I have instead a husband who believes in my kids and is willing to help them achieve their goals because planning for their success is the only way he will let himself think.

ACK! The time needs to change NOW!

So here I am, early on a Sunday morning, and I've been awake for nearly an hour already. UGH! I can't stand it when it gets light so early because it wakes me up and I can't go back to sleep. At least one week from now the time will change to daylight savings time, and it will be nice and dark in the morning again. AND, next year the new federal law will kick in, starting daylight savings time one week earlier, at the end of March (and extending it to the first weekend in November).

I suppose I should be using this time doing something useful but I can't get motivated to do much of anything this early on a Sunday!

5 More Weeks of My First Year of Law School?!?!?

This is just hard to believe....there are only 5 weeks left of my first year of law school until finals....and one of those weeks is spring break. It has gone by SO fast. My Legal Analysis class is already finished, other than finishing my final paper. My study group is working on our Contracts outline (the other two are up to date already) now. I know I need to be concentrating on memorizing all those Contract laws and working on practice tests for all 3 classes.

A small part of me gets scared and thinks that even though I did well on the midterms, that maybe the finals will be different since they cover so much more material. Will I really pass? I don't even want to think about it too much because then I start freaking myself out.

I'm just thankful that I've met some great people this year and with their help have been able to do fairly well. And I'm thankful that this year has kept me so busy that is has gone quickly. Hopefully that means the next 2 years will go equally as fast!

Overheard in Contracts Class

A student coughed all the way through the first half of class. After the break, right before the professor starting speaking again, she ran from the room.
Contracts Prof: "Good riddance........just kidding."
She walks back in with a Coke.
Contracts Prof.: "Oh, this was for a coke?"
1L: "I have a cough."
Contracts Prof: "Oh? I hadn't noticed. (smirking)You ought to stop smoking."
Horrifed look by student....
Contracts Prof: "Oh, you DO smoke? Oh, I'm sure there's no connection."

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Contracts Prof: "I want to teach you a lot about the Magnuson-Moss Act. Here it is......we don't care!"

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Contracts Prof: "They had annual sales of $40 million. That used to be a lot back in 1982. Now, that's a condo in L.A.."

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Contracts Prof: (in discussing English law cases in the book): "They always end up saying 'it seems to me.......' which means, 'I know the law but I ain't telling you!'"

Summer School

My CivPro teacher told us that he would be teaching a 2 unit summer school class, 2 afternoons a week, in "Children and the Law". He is also teaching a 1 unit class in "Family Law Mediation". I have been trying to find out the summer school schedule for MONTHS now, but apparently my school's attitude is that we don't need to know what is going to be offered or when until we receive our registration packets in early May. UGH. Don't they know some of us are obsessive about knowing and planning things?

I'm not really sure how all of this is going to work. The school reworked the curriculum because they decided to cut summer school down to 1 month, instead of 2. That's fine with me, however, it does make me nervous that I will now have to take extra units in the school year to make up the the ones I won't be able to do over the summer. Now, I only need to take 4 units over the summer, 2 as an elective, and 2 as a clinical. If nothing else fits my schedule, I'll take the Children and the Law class, as that is one that interests me. Then I'm going to have to see if I can get into the Small Claims Advisory. I'm supposedly the next one on the list, but apparently they aren't busy enough to add anyone else right now. If I could get that and work 144 hours, I would get the 2 units. I may take that 1 unit class also, just in case I can't get in that many hours.

Next year, doing the 3 year option, I will have to take:
Business Organizations 4 units (2 semesters, but over earlier than other classes)
Constitutional Law 6 units
Crim. Law and Pro. 6 units
Professional Responsibility 2 units
Real Property 6 units
Taxation 3 units (a one semester class)
Elective 2 units

The old schedule called for doing 6 units over summer school, so you see that extra 2 units of elective added in to the second year line up. If I can do that Family Mediation, AND 2 units of working in the Small Claims over summer, I would only have to get one more unit of elective in during the next school year. Of course, I don't think they even offer any other 1 unit electives, so maybe that won't even help me.

I'm guessing they are going to have to offer more electives in the school year since they changed the schedule like this. Again, it would be nice if they published these a few months ahead, so those of us with obsessive personalities could have one less thing to stress about.

Today, I'm thankful for FINALLY not feeling sick. It has been 3 weeks since I got that cold. What a nasty one! I am very happy to be rid of that! :)

No Torts Midterm Yet

I kind of expected to get it back today. We did go over the first question, but didn't get anything back. I don't know....I don't really care. I'm thinking my grade is in the 70s, so I'm not in a hurry to see it. We spent about half of the class today going over that answer. I don't remember exactly what I put. I think I did fairly well, except I think I either skipped defenses or didn't do them thoroughly. Oh well....

My daughter went to school today, and even though she had only told her friends and 2 teachers about getting accepted by MIT, she said random people were coming up to her all day, congratulating her. I did do the embarrassing mom thing and emailed her principal and told him, and he did email me back, saying they were very proud of her. (Well, gosh, they should be! I don't think their school has ever gotten someone into MIT before!) I'm sure she would roll her eyes at me big time if she knew how much I was bragging about her on here. I just can't help it. I'm still just blown away by it all.

Part of the joy of being a parent is looking at your child and seeing your strengths repeated in them. (Of course, the reverse is also true about seeing your faults and shortcomings making an appearance in them.) But, to see your child have your strengths, and then have them magnified, and then actually use them responsibly, it's just so gratifying. I mean, when I went to college, I was originally a Math major. (She wants to major in Math and/or Physics.) But, I got distracted and wasn't seeing a future for me there. I didn't have any inspiration about what my future could be. I feel in some ways that I wasted my talent/skills/intelligence by not doing more then. Of course, it all worked out because I had 2 wonderful kids, and am pursuing something now. Maybe not what I am ideally suited for, but at least I'm doing well. Anyway, it just makes me see that she IS using her gifts and making the most of them.

I am so thankful for both of my kids. I am proud of both of them, and can't imagine my life without them. It is a privilege to be their mom. :)

I was only half right

I picked up the next Legal Analysis assignment yesterday. I had assumed that for the last paper we would be told that the appellate brief we were to do was in response to Anna's being convicted after the gruesome photos and testimony of prior acts were allowed. Of course, she was convicted and the photos and testimony was allowed, but half of the class has to write the brief on Anna's behalf, and the other half on the prosecution's behalf. Normally I would relish being in the role of prosecutor, but because I had anticipated otherwise, I feel like in the paper I just turned in, my arguments and cases were stronger for the defense.

While the research for what the law for #8 was the same, the requirement for #9 is that all cases be from 1990 or newer. Looking up the cases I used in #8, only 3 of are newer than 1990. So much for not having to do any more research. I might as well be starting from scratch. Oh well, it doesn't matter really, because I need to redo my arguments on this side anyway.

Normally we only have 2 weeks for each paper, but we have 3 weeks for this one. BUT, my daughter has the Campus Preview Weekend at MIT April 6-9. The paper is due on April 7 (Friday), and I'm leaving for Boston with her at 3am on Thursday the 6th, so I need to get mine turned in by Wednesday the 5th. I'm just hoping I get my graded #8 back early enough to be of help to me.

And for today, I'm very thankful for a phone call I received tonight which gave me hope for something I didn't think was going to happen.

I am SO proud of my daughter!

She is at her dad's this weekend, and was supposed to call me at 9am when her MIT decision was posted online. The phone rang at 8:50, and I thought maybe she was calling me before she logged on to check. But when I answered the phone, she was crying. Oh no, I thought, she's already checked and was rejected and is now inconsolable. I didn't know what to say. But then her shaky voice managed to get out, "Mom, I got in!" Then we were both crying!

She has wanted this so badly, and worked so hard for it. This is the kid that has a 4.32 GPA (because of all the AP classes she has taken), got a perfect 800 on the Math portion of her SAT (and a not too shabby 730 on the verbal portion), taught herself the second year of Calculus because they didn't have enough kids to take the class at school, tutors other students, volunteers at the local hospital. She basically works from the time she gets home from school until 10 or 11pm every night to get all her school work done. Then she spends most of the weekends doing more work. She is the most motivated, hardworking and driven student I have ever seen. And she SOOOO deserves this!

It doesn't matter now what any other school says. She had declared long ago that if MIT accepted her, that was it. So, if Harvard or Stanford want her now, it will be too bad. She is going where she belongs!

Now, I get to join her in Boston in 3 weeks for the preview weekend. I've only been once before (for a quick 2 day campus tour trip in June, when the above photo was taken). I'm looking forward to that. The whole thing makes me realize that first and foremost, I'll always be a mom, because what really matters to me above everything else is my kids and their happiness. It just feels so good for someone else to look at my precious daughter and say, yeah, we see it too. She IS awesome! :)

Congratulation Miss E! I am so proud of you (and I'm going to miss you so much too!).

(P.S. I think it is obvious what I'm thankful for today......)

SHE GOT IN!!!!!

More details later.....

I'm SO nervous I can hardly stand it!

Eleven hours from now I'll know if my daughter was accepted by MIT. That is her top choice. Because she wants it so badly and because she has worked so hard, I want it for her too. Of course, selfishly, I hope she ends up in CA. She didn't get anything in the mail today, so I think there is a good chance she'll hear from Cal Tech and UCSD tomorrow, but if MIT wants her, it won't matter. I don't know how she is going to sleep tonight, because it's going to be hard enough for me!

So, turned in my paper before noon today. The new assignment wasn't out yet, so I'll pick it up tomorrow. I'm happy to have 3 weeks for this one. Kind of nice to have a little bit more time.

Today, I am thankful that Blogger is finally working right after 3 days of troubles. YEAH! And another small one.......when I moved back to town from the bay area in 98, the local paper sent us an info package that said you could request "porch" delivery if you so desired. I have grown up here, and NEVER heard that before. I have spent years playing "find the paper" every morning, so since that time, I have always requested porch delivery. Not all carriers are thrilled to provide that service, but it is so nice when they do, especially when you have construction going on in your neighborhood like I do and don't like to be out at the curb looking for your newspaper in your pajamas when contractors are right there watching you! From time to time, they get lazy and the paper starts getting further and further from the porch and I have to call the paper and "remind" them I want porch delivery.

A few weeks ago, it was getting really bad. I was having to go out and search for it every morning. Often it would be right up against one of the steps leading up to our house, which meant you couldn't see it unless you went all the way down there. Other times it was in the bushes or grass. Still other times it was at the edge of the driveway. I don't LIKE to call and complain, so I was tolerating it, secretly hoping they would give me my porch delivery again.

Well, I never called, but last week when it started raining, it began appearing on my porch again. At first, I thought it was a one time fluke, but it has been up there every morning for at least a week now. I know this is a silly thing, but when you are LOOKING for things to be thankful for, you find them, even if they are small. And even if it is small and silly, it was a nice way to start the day today....being in a grateful mood.

Right now I'm thankful for the weekend, and being able to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow (if I can sleep, that is!).

Ok, MIT.......what's it going to be???

Yeah! I'm done!

Ok, that wasn't too hard. Not that I think it's a 95 paper, but I'm sure it's at least in the 80s. It's a nice relief to have it finished AND to not have the final paper due until 3 weeks from now. I'm planning on going by school around noon to drop off my paper, and pick up that next assignment, though I doubt I will do any more than read it until at least some time next week.

Oh, I have another thing I'm thankful for. I had to take my son out to the hospital tonight for one of his periodic ultrasounds for an ongoing medical condition. Anyway, last time we had one done in December, the tech did not get any good pictures (though he didn't tell me that at the time). Instead, he then told me that I could have the pictures sent to his doctor that needed them by simply calling them and have them call the hospital and request them. UGH! First of all, when I tried to call and do that, they told me it did not work that way. Since I had waited until a few days before the appointment to call, I had to make about a dozen calls before they would actually agree to help me and do it without me having to go in and request the info in person. THEN, we get to the appointment with his specialist, wait an hour in the waiting room, a half hour in the exam room, and she comes in and spends 2 minutes with us telling us the ultrasound was bad and she can't tell us anything until we have another one! It was so frustrating because this amounted to a number of hours of my precious time that were completely wasted!

Yes, I will now get to the part I am thankful for. Tonight, the tech was so nice and friendly. She wanted to make sure she got the right images, so she took the time to look up some of his previous ultrasounds (he's got about 10 years worth there!) to compare and make sure. Then, she took a LOT of pictures. When I asked about getting a copy to take to his doctor, she told me I needed to fill out a form requesting it. Then, she walked me to the counter, asked the person for the form, and stood there to make sure I filled it out and knew when and where to come to pick it up. She was SOOOO helpful, kind and thorough. I am so thankful for her (and for all people who really try to do their job well)! I wasn't too happy about having this appointment tonight when I needed to finish this paper, but her attitude made a huge difference.

She kind of reminded me (because of her attitude) of a guy I took some shoes to be repaired to a couple years ago. My husband had some shoes that needed resoling, so I took them to a place I had noticed that provided that service. The business is a tiny little one, and the man who took in the shoes was very friendly. What shocked me however, was when I walked in to pick up the shoes 10 days later, he called me by my first name! He had only seen me once! I was so impressed. Anyway, I just love it when people will go the extra mile for you.

In other news, we found out that Cal Tech, Princeton and UCSD have already sent their notices and acceptances out, so they should be arriving here any day now. I'm thinking we might even see Cal Tech's and UCSD's tomorrow. Of course, MIT's will be online this Saturday. Then Berkeley and Harvard are doing theirs online and by email on March 30, and Stanford will be on April 1. So, in 2 weeks we will definitely know where my daughter will be next year. It's so exciting. I think she is embarrassed that I want to know so bad, but I can't help it! I'm just so proud of her and of course think that any school that doesn't accept her is FOOLISH!

I'm tired and ready to get to bed, but before I do I thought I'd post this link: Overheard in Law School. Of course, it gave me an idea for using that as an occasional post here. So, this is fair warning.....if I hear you say it, I may be posting it here!

Almost done with my paper....

I finished a rough draft on it last night and spent several hours this morning revising it. It is currently 8.5 pages, which fits fine into the 7-10 page limit. I'm weak on one side's argument on one of the two issues though, so I still need to beef that up. I was hoping to have this done so I could turn it in today before class, but that isn't going to happen. I could have turned it in as is, but I know I can save losing points without TOO much effort in strenthening those arguments. So, I guess I will finish it up tonight and turn it in tomorrow. I normally don't like to wait until Fridays to turn in my papers, first, because I don't like waiting until the last minute, and second, because I hate to waste an hour of my time driving there and back to do so. But, I'm going to be in the area for an appointment in the morning anyway, so it won't be much out of my way.

I find that I much prefer doing the points and authorities style papers over the neutral memos. Sure, my grades on the P&A have been higher (95 and 99 vs. 80, 89, 91 and 95), but I just like the writing of them more. Maybe they are more interesting, or perhaps it is more fun to be an "advocate". Not sure exactly, but it makes me inclined to think my grade on this one (neutral memo) will probably be less than my last two, which were P&A. Maybe that's why I'm trying to put in some extra effort, where I'm normally content to just turn it in and not overwork it.

BTW, I am STILL not over my cold! It seems like the later in the day, the more congested I get, though I do sound pretty nasty when I first wake up. I hardly had any voice this morning! Anyway, I'm hoping I can get a lot of rest this weekend since there won't be any midterm or paper pressures.

And something I'm thankful for to close my post with....my husband who was very helpful to me yesterday so that I could concentrate on getting my paper done. I'm grateful that he seems to sense when I'm about to lose it and steps in to help!

Blah blah blah

We didn't get our Torts midterms back today. I didn't really think we would, but I guess I was kind of hoping. The more I think about it, the less I'm happy with how I did because I keep thinking of other things I should have addressed. Oh well. It's weird to think that we only have 5 actual class period left for the year before finals. Yikes. This year has gone by so quickly.

I'm still waiting to feel totally back to normal. I still a little congested and coughing, though mostly at night. I did NOT sleep well at all last night, and I don't have my regular energy level. I'm just tired of feeling tired. And while I'm complaining.....where are all the nice warm days that we had in January and February? Heck, I was driving around with my convertible top down and wearing sandals! Now it's back to bundling up in sweaters and stuff again. I am ready for winter to end NOW!

I was thinking about this today.....for all my complaining and whining (mostly which ends up on here), I am very grateful. I'm grateful for this opportunity to go back to school. I'm grateful for second (third, fourth.....) chances. And I'm especially grateful for certain people. (And you better know who you are!) I have been truly blessed in so many ways, and I never want to sound like I don't appreciate it. Because I do. And I want to make sure that my focus is more on what I can be thankful for than what I can complain about. A challenge for me? Heck yeah. But I know it is something I want to work on and change. So here's to that....

Sigh

So here it is Sunday night and I feel so unproductive. Yeah, I did get all my reading for the upcoming week done (so I'm at least one week ahead now), and I did get some good work done on my paper (have all the law and cases organized, and a sketch outline done, as well as the first 2 pages, which is kind of the "background" part of the paper), but I didn't get to working on my Contracts outline like I wanted.

Sometimes having a life just "intrudes", not necessarily in a bad way, but in a time-consuming way. Like choosing to run errands with hubby and having lunch with him instead of just running out to school directly and just picking up my paper alone. Like taking my son to buy new shoes and then coming home shoeless just to repeat the drill in a couple days because the store we went to didn't have anything good in his size. Like having to do laundry. Like just wanting to sleep and feel rested for once. I want to spend time doing normal things and not feel guilty for it!

I know I should feel glad that I DID get my reading done and I DID progress on my paper. I guess I'm never happy with what I do because somehow it seems like I should have done more or better. Well, pretty much I feel that way about everything I do. And that's probably why I feel like a failure most of the time and why I am so obsessive about stuff.

I guess I should just go to bed and get some rest. Maybe if I felt completely well I wouldn't feel this way. But I am feeling completely overwhelmed with all of my shortcomings right now. That is definitely a sign that I need to stop and go relax. So that's what I'm going to do.....

Am I delusional or is my professor?

If you recall, when I turned in my last paper, my comments about it were, "I'm not happy with it, but like before, I decided it wasn't worth spending the hours it would take to revise it into something I would be happy with. I'm sure it is a below 85 paper...maybe in the 70s. Ugh. At this point, I don't care."

It was due right in the middle of the week that also included 2 midterms. I put much more time and energy on the midterms, and rightfully so. Now, I KNOW that I tend to be uber hard on myself, but honestly, I thought this paper was cr@p! I was so tired of it, that I didn't even cite any cases using 12(b)(6) motions, rationalizing to myself that judges know how to use them, so why did I need to tell them? I was too lazy to read those cases and try to incorporate that into my paper. I KNEW I'd be docked for it, but honestly, I didn't care.

So, I picked up that paper this morning. I was prepared for a comment like, "What happened here? Not enough research and depth on this one. You suck!" Well, maybe not the sucking part, but here's what I actually got, "You never cease to amaze me......such great writing!"

The look at my face at that point was a big WTF???? How could anyone like this? Yeah, so I turned it over and got a 95! I have never been more surprised on any paper so far. NO freaking way! I only missed 3 points for not citing any 12(b)(6) cases and only a point in each of two other areas for failing to citing the statute section in the argument. (I had cited it only earlier in the paper.) Big whoop.......nothing-burger deductions.

I'm just so shocked. I didn't think my arguments were that strong, and frankly, even though I commented on the differing opinions on the law, I thought I was really weak in doing so. I had kind of taken the position that in 7.5 pages you can't really do an in-depth analysis, so keep it simple, clean and straightforward and get to it and then move on. I guess my professor appreciates that style, even though personally, I always feel like it is lacking.

Well, if she is happy, I'm happy! (And for anyone who is keeping track, with 50% of our grade determined by these first 3 papers, my grade in this class is a 95%!)

UCLA comes a-knockin'.................

My daughter has applied to 8 universities.....3 UC schools, and 5 private ones. Her top choice would be MIT, followed by Stanford. Her last choice would be UC San Diego. Previously, she acted like going to a UC school would barely be acceptable (to her). But the closer the time has come to finding out who will accept her, the more she has been hedging her bets. A week or so ago she said she didn't think UCLA would even accept her. I know her thinking, because I'm the same way. I HATE being disappointment so much, that I prepare myself for the absolute worse. Then if it happens, I'm ready. If something better happens, I'm excited and happy!

So last night she went to the school play to support some of her friends that are in it. When she got home after 11, she came in and said goodnight. About 5 minutes later she came back downstairs and said she got accepted to UCLA. We were like HUH??? Apparently one of her friends who is crazy to get into UCLA found out that the decisions were posted online yesterday. She called and told them about it when they were out. So, my daughter checked once she got h0me, and they accepted her! Not only that, she has qualified for their honor program (whatever that is, but hey, sounds great to me!).

So, the 3rd ranked public university in the country, and the 25th ranked overall wants my daughter. Not surprising. But it leads me to think she's going to have a few more wanting her too. MIT posts their decisions online next Saturday. All the others should let her know by early April. I'm predicting acceptance by all her UC choices (other than LA, Berkeley and SD), and acceptance by at least 2 of the private schools (MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton and CalTech).

It's so exciting for me as her mom, not only because I'm so proud of her, but because I never had this opportunity. Yeah, you know, we DO live through our kids. But it's ok....I'd rather have it for her than have had it myself.

Alan Jackson

I just got Alan Jackson's latest cd, Precious Memories, and have to say I LOVE it! The cd consists of 15 hymns...and I knew 13 of them right off the bat, so it was great because these are among some of my favorites and could sing along (don't tell anyone!). Alan's rendition of them is sincere and worshipful.

I have never been a country music person, but hubby and I ran into Alan a few years back in LA while we were browsing in Corvette Mike's. On the way in we had admired a yellow convertible C3, but were stunned by the $70K pricetag! As we were inside looking at the sweet C1 and C2s, the salesmen were all abuzz about someone who was buying a vette. One of them told us Alan Jackson buying the yellow vette. Of course, we were clueless and didn't recognize him because neither of us listened to country. Once we got home, we bought one of his cds out of curiousity. We both liked it and have been fans ever since! I've seen him in concert 3 times since. I haven't really gotten into any other country artists, other than Joe Nichols who opened for him twice.

Anyway, if you love old church hymns and like them sung in a traditional way, you will appreciate and enjoy this cd. And you don't have to be a country music fan either. This is just GOOOD stuff!

Thank goodness for guardian angels!

Since my high school senior daughter has her driver's license, she normally takes my high school sophomore son to school every day. But today one of her classes took a field trip to the Reagan Library, leaving me to do it. Not a big deal, other than getting a half hour less of time to study. Anyway, as I was on my way home, I stopped at a red light, first in line. When the light turned green, I did as I usually do and before entering the intersection, looked back ways to make sure no red light runners were approaching. I looked to the right, and then as I turned to the left here comes this huge pick up truck, just whizzing right through the intersection! If I had not waited and looked, he would have hit me right in the driver door of my itty bitty car! :(

I have had previous experience with red light runners. About 12 years ago, my kids and I were on our way home (they were darling 4 and 6 year olds at the time), and when I made a left hand turn, someone ran a red light and hit us. Thankfully, we were hit by the back driver's side door, and both kids were on the passenger side (one in front, one in back) and while the car was messed up and I had some neck and back pains for awhile, we were all safe. Then about 4 years ago when I had my Corvette, hubby and I were on our way home from a car show. I was following him in his vette. He made it through a light that I had to stop for. When the light turned green, I proceeded into the intersection. I was halfway through when a van full of migrant workers ran the red light coming straight for me! I slammed on my brakes, they kept going, and literally missed me by inches!

Those experiences and the large number of red light runners here in town keep me nervous and watchful. It is too scary not to be! Everybody, just take that extra second to look both ways before entering an intersection. You know the saying....the life you save may be your own!

Bad, but not as bad as I thought

We did get our CivPro exams back today. Yes, mine was bad, and lower than my December midterm, but not nearly as bad as I was afraid it might be. I thought it could have been as low as in the 30s, but thankfully, it wasn't. I am not proud of it by any means, but at least it is over and that score will be thrown out!

I want to know why I feel so sick! I felt like I was getting better yesterday. I wasn't that congested and did fine during the midterm. So why do I feel worse today? I could hardly make it through CivPro because I was so congested I could hardly breathe. Ugh. I've been blowing my nose nearly non-stop since I got home. I wish I could curl up and sleep for like a week and recover in peace. No such luck!

I went to the library before class to start on researching for the next paper and got nowhere fast. So tonight I've spent a few hours (so far, with more to come) on Lexis. After reading through lots of cases, I am more sure than ever about what our next assignment is going to be. We ARE going to be defending this woman and have to find cases that did not allow gruesome photos or evidence of prior behavior. Why do I know this? Because all the cases out there DO allow these things! Well, so far, all but 3 cases anyway. So, great, I have 3 measly cases so far, I can barely breathe, I'm tired and it's not even 8pm, and I didn't finish my Contracts reading for this week yet. Yeah, I'm in fine shape.

I guess I should get back to it.....

Thank goodness for Torts!

It was good to take a midterm and feel like I actually knew what I was talking about on it. While I used nearly the entire 2 hours and 30 minutes to write my answers, it didn't seem "hard" as much as I thought there were surely some issues that I didn't see or address. It's ok. I'm sure I covered enough to earn at least a 70. That is a huge consolation to me, especially since we'll probably get our CivPro exams back today and I dread to see how badly I failed that one. (Don't expect to see that grade posted here!)

I ended up going through all the Torts old exams. I didn't write full answers for all of them; some of them I just outlined what the answer would include. Going through that process so many times made approaching the actual test less intimidating. I did the same thing-- outlined my answer and made notes of the various elements of things such a NIED before my brain freaked out and forgot one element here or there.

We did get our last Tort quiz back last night too. I got a full point, making 4 for 4 on the quizzes. Assuming I get a 1 on the last quiz, and 5 point for class participation, and at least a 70 on this midterm, I will only need a 57 on the final to pass the class. Heck, I could get a 57 on a Torts exam in my sleep! (See my post from yesterday!) I have no worries about this class at all.

Now I need to get to work researching for my next paper. We're back to doing a neutral memo concerning the admissibility of evidence in the case where a husband died when the oven exploded on him. We aren't told which side we represent here, but we are using the same facts and research for our final paper, which will be preparing for an appeal. I'm betting we are representing the wife and trying to have the photos of her man's dead body and hearsay from her friends about her previous abusive behavior towards men suppressed. I'm assuming the next assignment will be stating that the trial court convicted her, and we have to ask for an appeal because the above info was allowed in trial. Hmm....should be interesting.

Ok, I gotta get moving......enough for now!

Feeling a little better

...both physically and about the Torts midterm tonight. I was sick the whole weekend, well, sore throat on Saturday and in bed (but studying) most of yesterday. At least I can breathe a bit easier today. I slept pretty good, but I'm already tired, so I definitely need to squeeze a nap in here somewhere.

I feel fairly good about Torts. It's kind of funny because back when we were starting Negligence, our professor told us how that would seem easy once we got to Products Liability. I did not believe her. Of course, now I see how right she is because Negligence seems like nothing. Overall, though, it all has a flow to it, so even though we're covering a lot of material, it makes sense to me. It's probably a matter of how much will I have time to cover on the exam in the time allotted (2 hours and 20 minutes).

You know you're studying too much when you start repeating the 4 elements of Artificial Condition Highly Dangerous to Trespassing Children to yourself, in your dreams. (Yes, I did last night, and was happy I remembered it all!)

I'm anxious for this midterm to be over. We got our next assignment for Legal Analysis and because of the midterm I haven't started any research yet. I plan on doing that tomorrow morning. And I am also planning some major work on my study group's Contracts outline. That doesn't even mention all the regular reading and briefing, which needless to say, I am no longer 2 weeks ahead in. Oh well, I'd rather be busy than bored!

Marriage Phobic??

Oh my gosh! I forgot to tell this funny little tidbit. Yesterday in Contracts, we were covering the Statute of Frauds. At the beginning, the professor went down the list mentioning the different kinds of contracts that are included. One of them happens to be the promise on consideration of marriage. Even as he just read it off, it seemed like his voice flinched as he said the word "marriage". Later, when he got to that section, he just said something like, "Make sure you know everything I said about the promise on consideration of marriage." Again, his voice sounded so weird when he said THAT word. It was almost like he hated to say it! Or maybe he is just afraid of it! LOL Anyway, he then went on to the next section, and didn't say another word about it. I had to chuckle to myself. Maybe I read too much into it, but I thought it was interesting.

I did 2 practice questions for Torts today. They were ones that didn't have answers posted, so I have no idea how I did on them, but it was a good exercise regardless. I think there are about 10 more questions I have that I am going to try to do this weekend (and Monday). Three a day, that seems doable. Tomorrow, I will pick up my next writing assignment, but I'm debating whether or not I want to start the research. I think I'm leaning until waiting until Tues. am after the midterm. Hmmm.....though I might be able to do some at home now with Lexis. I'll have to see.

Another crappy Friday

I had to take my son to the doctor the other day. This kid gets every cold that comes along. He has had 3, back to back, and hasn't gotten over the cough before he gets another one. THIS in addition to his other medical issues. He has 3 different doctors that he sees regularly, and they require periodic ultrasounds and blood tests. It seems like Fridays, in addition to the time when I try to run errands I don't have time to run during the week, has become the day I schedule all his appointments. Yes, I have to take him to get a blood test today for his one doctor appointment next Friday.

Anyway, to get his prescription filled, we had to sit in the pharmacy for about 20 minutes. The place was packed with people and their germ spewing kids. Even though I washed my hands as soon as I got home, I feared I would end up with something after that experience. So, yeah, this morning, I don't feel good. Last Friday I thought was I coming down with the flu, but luckily it ended up being just a day of feeling bad. Today, my throat feels funny and I feel so drained. I don't really need this right now. :(

At least I did turn in my paper yesterday so I don't have to waste an hour driving out there and back to turn it in today. I'm not happy with it, but like before, I decided it wasn't worth spending the hours it would take to revise it into something I would be happy with. I'm sure it is a below 85 paper...maybe in the 70s. Ugh. At this point, I don't care. The first 2 papers for this semester combined are worth 30 % of this semester's grade. My average on them is 95, so even if this paper is in the 70s, it is worth 20%, which will still give me a good average.

The Torts midterm is on Monday night. I'm going to work on some practice tests today, and my study group is going to do some more tomorrow. I plan on spending all Sunday and Monday doing the same. I think going through the steps of analyzing the problems will help cement it in my head more than reading my outline over and over. I just wish I felt better.

Massive Insecurities Boiling Just Below the Surface

I admit it, the CivPro midterm shook my confidence. I KNEW I didn't feel good about it, but actually seeing a test where I felt I knew so little about what to do has been a very unsettling experience. For the first time since 2 months into law school, I even wondered if I belonged here. I thought I had settled this in my mind, but I guess not.

I didn't post yesterday, because I was still going through a lot of that in my mind. I do feel somewhat better today. It's hard though, because while this schooling will supposedly help me to help others in the future, it isn't doing that now. In many ways, it seems selfish to me, because it consumes my time. I had to drop my shut in visitation ministry (and I miss my ladies SO much!), I'm not home when my kids get home from school (and that hits me hard because my daughter will only be here a few more months), and I can't really spend enough time with my family on weekends and evenings because of my studying, paper writing, reading, etc. I can't help but ask myself if it is worth it. I want to say yes, but honestly, in many ways, I'm not sure it is.

It's not like I'm going to quit. I'm not that kind of person. But writing what was not a passing answer on that exam just brought out all those horrible insecurities.....maybe I'm not good enough....maybe I don't belong.....maybe I'm not doing the right thing....maybe I should spend my time helping the people who were already part of my life.

I guess I tend to mask that most of the time, because positive feedback allows me to. But I can't help thinking of one of my mom's favorite sayings, "Pride comes before the fall." I got a 99 on a paper and felt really pumped. While I certainly didn't feel invincible, I should not have held on to any pride about it, because now I feel the "fall" of failing an exam.

Now I'm feeling like my confidence was but an illusion. (It doesn't help that I didn't get a email reply from my Legal Analysis professor, so I'm struggling with the paper due tomorrow.) I suppose I should look at 4 passing (Dec.) midterms, and 6 Legal Analysis papers that ranged from 80-99 and say that I AM doing well, and that I DO belong here, and I should just not let one poor score freak me out so much. I'm not perfect. Ok, there I admitted it. Maybe now I can get past it.