I hate it when I can't fall asleep

I was so tired last night, and yet, I didn't fall asleep until after 2am! I HATE that! It seems to happen when I am the most tired. Anyway, at least I don't have a lot I need to do today.

My summer school classes are almost done. I have one more session of each class (one on Monday night- ugh, and the other Thursday afternoon). The finals are the following week. I'm done with all the reading, papers/brief, presentations, and I have all my class notes typed up. I just need to organize all my notes and handouts. I did this already for my Family Law class, but I still need to do it for my Children and the Law class. That's my "project" for the next week.

Since both finals are open note and open book, I'm not investing any time in trying to memorize anything. I may reread some sections of the books, and go over my notes, but my plan is really just to have everything organized and in order so that I can access it quickly during the tests.

Because I have class Monday night, and hubby and daughter have to work both Monday and Wednesday, we're not going over to Cambria for the Fourth like we've done the last few years. :( What a drag! We always have so much fun over there.

My cousin, Ulf, from Sweden and his family are in town , so we are going to have them over tomorrow night. I hear that his little girls, age 4 and 6, are the cutest things ever, so I'm looking forward to meeting them. Hopefully it will be a little cooler so we can all enjoy a boat ride on the lake. I'm sure the kids will like that. My last item on today's agenda is to go out and get all 3 of his kids a little gift. So maybe it I get that done I can treat myself to a nap. Hmmm...sounds good!

I'm Just Tired....

Maybe it's the heat (my car said it was 108 on the way home from class today) or maybe I'm just ready to be done with classes for awhile. But I'm tired. I really want to just do nothing. Doing the law review thing is seeming less and less appealing. I have not thought of a topic that is narrow enough, and certainly none that I'm excited about. And I keep thinking about other stuff. Like how once I finish summer school, my daughter will be here for 6 weeks until she moves across country to go to school. Do I really want to spend the last of her time here being so busy doing my research for my article? NO. I don't. I want to make the last of her time here special, and be available to her.

I also think about how starting in August I will be having 5 classes each semester, one more than last year, and in addition, I will be continuing to work at Small Claims, hopefully 2 shifts a week. I'm not sure I want the added stress of having to write a 25-35 page article during my first semester with that heavy of a load.

And, I think about how I really just want a break before heading into this next school year. I would like to go into it feeling relaxed and ready to take it on, not tired and frustrated from the start.

I guess you can tell I'm leaning against it right now. Maybe it would be different if I had a stellar idea for an article, or if it were 30 degrees cooler. I don't know. I'm not deciding for sure right now, as I don't have to turn in my topic until July 17. But I feel like I need, and have earned, some time off.

Law Review

I was invited, along with the top 20% of the first year class, to a welcome breakfast for the Law Review. I really didn't know what was required to become a member, so I wanted to attend and find out. Initially, I wasn't thinking it would be something I would want to do. In trying to complete the program in 3 years, I didn't see how I would have time to do it. Also, because the school's review is agriculturally focused, I wasn't sure how I would find a topic that would interest me. I'm not exactly a farm girl.

After attending the breakfast, I'm now leaning towards trying for it. It sounds like if you can find a topic and get the research done over the summer, it wouldn't be so impossible. Once summer school finishes in a couple weeks, I will have lots of time on my hands, because the only thing I'm committed to is working 2 mornings a week at the Small Claims office. It's not that I want to use my free time in doing legal research, but if I get a comment (actually a 25-35 page article) that is deemed publishable written, I will get 3 units of credit, waive the Advanced Legal Writing class, and be called a member of the Law Review. Because there is only a very slight chance I will be remaining in this community after graduation, I am going to need SOMETHING to make my resume standout among those who are graduating from Boalt, Stanford and Santa Clara. Perhaps being on Law Review would help me that way.

So, now I'm going to try to find a topic that I'm interested in and that hasn't been written on in the last five years. I have a few ideas, but need to narrow them down to a focused area. Once I get my idea picked, I need to find a faculty advisor to sponsor me. I have 2 that I am thinking of now, depending on which idea I go with.

I suppose the biggest thing you get from Law Review (yeah, yeah, other than the experience and learning about researching) is the bragging rights. For the rest of your life, you get to say you were on the Law Review. You get to have 50 copies of your comment printed up to pass out as writing samples or show off in other ways. You get to use a LEXIS cite, on your resume, to show your published article. Pretty sweet deal, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought too.

Loving Small Claims

I survived my first big challenge at the Small Claims Advisory office today. I worked there alone, as the sole advisor for the entire shift. I didn't know I would be doing that ahead of time. The other advisor just called about 5 minutes after I got there and said he wasn't feeling good and not coming in. After my shift last Thursday, I decided I felt confident to do a solo shift, if needed, so I didn't feel startled or nervous by his call.

I had not really handled a walk in client totally on my own yet, so I was just hoping that any that showed up would have problems I would know how to deal with. I had 3 walk ins, and I had no problem helping any of them! They were all so thankful and appreciative for the help. It made me feel so good to be able to help them! This is what I love. I'm so glad I'm able to do this!

I always work the morning shift and we are often not very busy for the first hour or so. If we don't have any clients, we can read while we wait. I brought in my book for my Children and the Law class (which is so conveniently small that I can carry it in my purse....probably the only law school book I will ever be able to say that for!) and in my downtime I was able to read all 112 pages that I needed to read for next week's classes.

It was nice to feel like I had such a productive day. I helped clients, successfully, all on my own, and I finished all my reading!

Proud Parent Moment

I have spent the last 18 years of my life being a stay at home mom. One of the things I have done during that time was volunteer many hours, doing many different things, mostly at my children's schools and at our church. I really now consider volunteering and serving others just part of who I am.

I had hoped my children would learn this from me and someday make service a part of their lives as well. I was happy when my daughter volunteered for the last several years at a local hospital, and when my son volunteered at the church vacation Bible school last summer and at the Wednesday night children's program during the school year there as well.

My son was going to work at the vacation Bible study this summer as well. The church holds it for 2 weeks, one in June and one in July. His dad had originally told me he was going to take him camping for the June week, so he signed up to work the July week. My ex said this week that he was going to take the kids for a few hours today, never mentioning this "trip" he had me save for him on the calendar months ago. (Ugh, ex-husbands!) Anyway, I asked my son if he would work this week also if they still needed help. At church this morning, I went to check, and they were still short 2 workers, so were thrilled that he would be able to help.

When my son got home a little bit ago, I told him that he would be working at the vacation Bible school this week. His immediate response was a big smile and "YES!" To see him not only volunteer, but to be so excited about doing so, makes me a very proud mom!

A Fun Time Waster

I always seem to find these kind of sites when I should be either writing a paper (like today) or studying for an exam. So, if you need a break, here is a fun one to check out:

Celebrity Lookalikes

The site is in the UK, so it is sometimes kind of slow, but it is so funny! They have their rentable lookalikes categorized by area (Comedy, Hollywood, Popstars, TV, etc.), but the fun part is seeing how much most of them look nothing like the person they claim to. There are a few really good ones like:

As Prince Charles














And this one:


As Marilyn Monroe.











Some only look like the celebrity because of their props (clothing, hats, hairstyle, etc.), but some are SO far from looking close to their celebrity that I can't believe they try to sell themselves that way.

Ok, who does this person claim she looks like:






Would you guess Penelope Cruz? Yeah right. I don't see that at all.


















And who does this look like:
I bet you would never guess Michael Douglas! LOL!

Ok, enough time wasted for me!

I found MY article

Last night I looked through some law review articles I had printed out, trying to find one to use for my paper in Children and the Law. I finally found one that met all of my criteria: on a topic that interests me, about law in California, current (published fall of 2005!), and not horribly long. I'm not going to mention my topic yet, just on the off chance anyone from my class reads this, as the professor doesn't want multiple papers on the same subject. I haven't started writing anything yet, but from what I'm thinking about it now, I don't think it will be hard to come up with 4-5 pages. I'm going to try to get it done (or nearly done) this weekend, as once the week starts I don't have much free time.

Oh, and how could I forget! I'm now a published author. Those of you in town will want to check out the letters to the editor in today's local paper. : )

I feel like such a slacker

I mean, I've gone from posting nearly every day to only a few posts a week. Part of it is that my schedule during the 5 weeks of summer school is just very busy, and part of it is not much is new.

In my Children and the Law class, we need to write a 4-5 page paper on a Law Review article that interested us. I have done a number of search-and-scans on Lexis for different topics I'm thinking about, but haven't picked "the" one yet. The professor is really laid back about this assignment. I asked him it was to be single or double spaced, and he said he didn't care! He said if you only come up with 3 pages, double space it, but it you need more room, single space it. It doesn't even have to be on an entire article (if very long), but only on the portions we're wanting to discuss. We can also either include our opinions or not.

My Family Law class that meets at night is interesting. The professor tells us real world things, so it seems more practical than some of the other classes. Having an evening class isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think it helps that it is light when I walk in there. I think it would be harder to go to an evening class in the winter, walking in when it is dark, because it already seems so much later.

One thing about summer school is since the classes are only 5 weeks long, there is a LOT of reading crammed into every class. Reading 100 to 200 pages per class, per day is not out of the ordinary. At least I'm not having to brief cases for that as well.

Tomorrow I will be working at Small Claims again, with my favorite co-advisor. He is such a nice guy and makes me feel much more confident about handling clients. I am really liking working there. I hope I'm able to stay on the 2 shift a week schedule once school starts.

That's about it for now.

Class Participation

For my Torts class, the final class grade was comprised as follows:

70% Final exam
10% December Midterm
10% Spring Midterm
5% Quizzes
5% Class participation

Class participation was defined on the syllabus to be: being prepared when called on and participation in a group presentation. Since I had a written brief for every case, every day of the class, and used them when called on, and did the group thing, I (mistakenly) assumed I would get the whole 5 points. When I did the backwards calculations, it was clear that I did not. I emailed the professor and finally heard back from her today. I got 2 lousy points. Before I even wrote back to ask why, she said, "Participation points were earned not only by being prepared when called upon but also by voluntary participation in class discussion. Only two people earned the full five points."

Ugh. I know one of the 2 people who got the full 5 points, and she talked a LOT. There is no way, even if I was trying, I could have talked that much in class. I'm just not that type. But I would have talked more than I did IF I had known it was being counted like that. I just think it is unfair that the syllabus wasn't really correct. Not that I'm going to do anything about it, but I'm not happy.

My professor for my summer school class tonight announced that we are 1/3 way through the class already. Yikes. I'm not even in a "rhythm" yet, with reading, studying, classes, etc., so it just seems weird. By the time I am, it will be over! She is allotting 10% of the grade for a written and orally presented brief, and class participation. Hmmm....wonder how much I'll need to talk to get those points!

Ah, a free weekend

Well, not really, but I don't have to do much. My daughter's best friend is having her graduation party tonight, and I'm going to that, and I am going to try to finish all the reading for this week's classes. I felt kind of out of it this week, since I was doing the reading the day before each class. I do not like working that way. I prefer to have the entire week's worth of reading done by the Sunday night before the week starts, and then during the week, begin work on the following week's stuff.

So, already finished the reading for Monday and Wednesday's classes. Today I need to read for Tuesday and Thursday's classes. My 2 classes are so different from the ones I had last year. I do not have to brief cases for either class. Family Law is very code based, so we have to read tons of code sections. Children and the Law is a policy class, so it is more about the development of the law and why it is that way.

Anyway, while it annoys me to no end that on a day I could actually sleep in I woke up at 6:15am, at least it gives me an earlier start on the reading. Since I have a couple hundred pages to go, I guess that is a good thing. What has law school turned me into that I think reading a few hundred pages amounts to a "free weekend"???

Well, what do you know???

After my little appearance at the Law Forum for prospective students on Tuesday, I got myself invited to be part of the panel that speaks to the new first year students during orientation. I have to say, being invited personally by the assistant dean made me feel a little better. I mean, being asked 2+ months early (rather than about 6 hours early) just gives one a different feeling. Regardless though, I enjoyed representing the school and talking with the people who came to the forum, so I know I will enjoy this too.

This was my first full week of summer school, and I'm TIRED! Two nights of evening classes, and 2 days that have Small Claims work in the morning, and classes in the afternoon keep me so busy. I'm just glad I don't have to do any briefing for the classes I'm taking. I do have reading to do, but not an overwhelming amount. Thank goodness! I'm going to try to get all my reading done for the next week tomorrow, since I have a free day. I could use a weekend of relaxation!

I need to write a short (4-5 page) paper for my Children and the Law class. I've printed out some Law Review articles already, and I would also like to look through them and figure out if I would like to use any of them. (We have to summarize the main points of a Law Review article for our paper, and then condense to 1 page for a class presentation.) For Family Law, we need to brief one case to present to the class. Mine isn't due until the end of the month, so I don't need to worry about it now, though I do want to print it out and read it. Hopefully I didn't get stuck with a bear.

I'm tired, so this is goodnight for me!

Serves me right!

Once every month or so my law school holds an informational law forum for potential students. I attended one about 2 years ago when I was considering attending law school. After one of the admissions officers gives the official school info, several law students give some first hand info, along with answering questions.

Why had I never been asked to be one of those students. Wasn't I a good representative of our school, I wondered?

This afternoon, while sitting in a classroom waiting for the first meeting of my Children and the Law class to start, the professor called me out of the classroom. "Do you have Moot Court tonight?" he asked. No. "Do you have another class tonight?" No. Ah, they had a live one. "Would you be willing to come and talk at the law forum tonight?" Even though I had worked all morning at Small Claims, and would have class all afternoon, how could I refuse? Of course, now I know that is more an act of desperation in the selection of students they pick to talk (at least how they picked me!). It was more that they needed a body who was willing and able. Oh well, I'm not too proud to turn that down. Plus, it felt good to represent the school in a somewhat "official" way.

There were actually 3 of us new 2nd year students there. We all have different backgrounds, interests, and lives, so I thought we were a very good mix to present to those who came to the forum. I hope we were helpful. I think we were. They asked us a lot of questions, and I just tried to give them the kind of information I wanted to be told when I was at that point.

I thought it was funny that I had always thought it was something of an "honor" to be asked to speak at the forum, when my being asked was more of just an availability thing. Oh well. I feel like I did my part to represent what law school is like, especially from the viewpoint of a stay at home mom (which if you recall, I was the only member of my class that admitted to being one).

An interesting point was the admissions officer saying that our class was made up of 89 people originally. I know we were down to around 75 by December midterms, and are now down to around 52 people. That puts us at a 58% pass rate for the first year. I remember them telling us at the beginning of the year that 1/3 to 1/2 of us would not make it past the first year. And they were correct.

I got the extra points!

I was correct and my transcript has already been changed! :) I swear I'm never going to trust any grade and verify ALL adding and calculating. It's not worth it to work so hard and lose points because someone else made a mistake!

Caught another grading mistake!

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may recall that I caught a grading error on one of my December midterms. The score had been added incorrectly, giving me 10 points less than I had earned. Apparently while this correction was made in the office, it was not made on the master grading list, so if I have calculated correctly, this will add a couple of points to my score in that class and slightly bump up my GPA. There is another class that I had a question about the grade total for, and I am waiting for a response from the professor. Not sure that one will result in any more points, but it is worth a shot. I know, it's not like I need the points, but I am extremely competitive, and I will make sure that I get every single point that I have coming to me.

Tonight my first class of Family Law meets. I'm not looking forward to going to an evening class, but I guess I'll deal with it for the 9 times it will meet. I have no idea how many people will be in this class, or who (other than 1 person) will be in it. Looking forward to the class itself though.

While at school this morning to copy my finals, I also signed up to work as a timer for the moot court competition next month. Since I will be doing moot court myself next summer, I'd like the preview so I know more about what to expect then.

Oh yes, and by this post you know that I survived my daughter's graduation party on Saturday. It ended up being really nice, but it was SO much work, even though I had tons of help. I certainly did not inherit the hospitality gene from my mom, but thank goodness she has it and likes to help me! We ended up having 36 guests for dinner, and probably had food for 70! Everyone who helped was sent home with days worth of food. All the food turned out really nice, and while the weather was on the warm side, everyone loved the view and the rides on the boats. Thank goodness I have 2 years before I have to have another party (when son graduates)!

Summer School

I registered for summer school today, for both Children and the Law and Family Law. Of course, I also "registered" for my Small Claims Advisory units, which I'm happy that I have 18 hours worked so far. In addition to registering, I was able to find out my class rank, verify my GPA which I had already calculated, and see the grade distribution for all my classes.

I was correct that my class ranking dropped, but I'm still in the top 10 of the class, so I suppose that is ok (but let's be honest- I wish it was higher!). I also got a letter informing me that I was eligible for Law Review, so that means I am also in the top 20% of the class. Of all my classes, I did best in Contracts, where only one student had a higher grade than I did. Considering how I felt after taking that final, I am quite surprised, but I did include an ode to Rose of Aberlone in one of my answers, so perhaps that gave me a bonus point or two! :)

Not much time to post more right now. I just got home from Costco, and now need to sample some dinner rolls, and then off to the grocery store. (All in preparation for my daughter's graduation party on Saturday.) The next 2 days will be a whirlwind of cooking and cleaning, so not sure if I will be posting more until next week. Thank goodness my classes don't start until Monday!