Wow. It's over. Tomorrow I can sleep in.
You know, before I start working on getting a clerkship for the summer. Oh, and I have a little over three weeks to get myself ready to do this again. But still. It's done. And I'm still sane, which is a nice bonus.
Feeling good.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Contracts, an ordeal
Today was the day of my contracts final. This was the final I was most worried about, because my professor has the reputation of writing up a vicious exam. It's multiple choice, but with choices that are generally a through f, (some actually went to i) and you're looking for the most correct answer. So, you have to really pay attention to nuance and detail. And some of the questions have more than one correct answer, but they can be completely inconsistent depending on which rules you apply to the situation. In short, it sucks. Hard.
But, the ordeal that was this test stated much earlier. On Friday I had my Civ Pro final, which gave me Saturday and Sunday to study for Contracts, which felt like it would be enough time. I had already finished my outline, so I just needed to plug the gaps in my understanding, get some sleep and try to stay in a good mindset. It all seemed very possible.
But, then, this weekend, St. Paul got somewhere between 15 and 20 inches of snow. It started slowly on Saturday morning. The contracts professor had scheduled a Q & A session Saturday morning, which I knew I really wanted to attend. There were probably only 5 inches on the ground by the time I set out, but the wind was squeeling quickly by me, whipping the snow around like a wet towel. As I entered the building I had a fear that it'd just be me and the professor, but I saw 6 other people. The Q & A went well, questions were asked, answers were given and I felt better about some things I hadn't quite understood. I had planned on spending the day at Mitchell studying, but the snow was coming down hard, so I headed home. I was content that I would have to work on a couple things, but that I was in good shape. This test was going to be hard, but I could do it, I thought.
And then I took her practice tests. I had planned to take these to get familiar with the format of her exams. I had heard the rumors about her exams, but I figured they were a little over-blown. I was wrong. Her exams are evil. EVIL. They're set up so you have to look up every little thing about every possible answer. Yes, there are some possibilities that are clearly wrong, but some of them are meant to look clearly wrong when they are not.
So, I ended up spending most of Saturday afternoon trying to talk myself into not failing out of law school. And, of course watching the snow pile up around our house. And pile up it did. Like I said, over two feet of snow. I watched as one of our neighbors tried to get her car into her parking space a couple spots over from ours, before she just gave up and left it half-way out. There was just nothing she could do, I guess.
Sunday was better. The snow had stopped. And I decided that I had to just go with it on the contracts final. I used the tests from yesterday to pinpoint a couple problems and spent a good chunk of the day re-reading a couple chapters (1 and 4), as well as checking over my briefs on a couple cases. And I decided I was just going to have to be meticulous and methodical and just concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.
I also spent some time shoveling out our car so that Dinah could go to work on Monday. We shoveled a lot, eventually clearing a path from our spot to the alley. It was a pretty decent acheivement, and I can say whole-heartedly that between changing my phone to a local number and shoveling out my car on a day when temps maxed out at 7, I am a Minnesotan.
And the shovelling was good. It tired me out, so that by the time I headed to bed, around 9, I went to sleep immediately.
I was awoken by the sound of a snowblower between our building and the one next to ours. After the last snow, our landlord had the walks cleared at aroudn 5 am, so when I awoke, I assumed it was around 5. I picked up my phone and was shocked to learn it was 1:30 am. 1:30 AM! I was pretty livid. The guy was out there for about an hour, working his way most of the way around the building, which forced me to switch rooms looking for a quiet spot so I could sleep. I tried to keep calm, but it was hard to let go of the fact that I was taking a nasty test in the morning and I needed a good night's sleep. After switching to the guest bedroom, I eventually got back to sleep without any further problems.
So, now it's Monday morning, and Dinah wakes me up. I get up and as I'm getting my cereal together, she tells me that the neighbor who had left her car half-way out of her space had moved her car sometime in the night. She had left and apparently come back and parked her car behind ours, blocking us in. Some of you living in a warm-weather climate might not know this, but this is a huge foul. If someone puts in the work to get their car out, and they don't block you in the process, then you cannot impeded them. And Dinah was angry. I guess she had noticed this last night and tried to hope this person would move her car on her own, before she needed to leave. But now, it was getting to time for Dinah to go to work and this woman had blocked her in. To make matters worth, we didn't know which building she lived in. So. Suck.
As I took a peak out the window, I noticed the parking lights were now on, and I mentioned that, and Dinah shot out. I have made my wife angry before, but this was not good. So, I did what any good husband would do. I got my cereal and went to the window to watch and see if I would need to call the police or an ambulance. Luckily, there was no real incident. The woman had left a note for Dinah to call her (which mitigates the problem, but doesn't make it okay), and Dinah was very civil about the situation.
And then I was left to get ready for my test. And really the rest of it is a blur. I did my morning ritual and suddenly I was there, sitting in the room taking the test.
I think it went well. Well, I don't know how it went, really. But I went slow and I took my time and I did the best I could. So, we'll see.
Now, it's on to Property. The last test standing. Two days of prep for this and the test Thursday afternoon. And then I get to start the new Denis Lehane book that Dinah got me for my birthday. I can't wait. It's been a good semester. Rough at times, but for the most part, I have enjoyed law school. And I think I'm getting the hang of things. Next semester is rumored to be harder, but I'm hoping it's harder in a different way. I'm hoping there will be less adjusting how I work and that any heightened challenge comes working on my skills. We'll see.
But, the ordeal that was this test stated much earlier. On Friday I had my Civ Pro final, which gave me Saturday and Sunday to study for Contracts, which felt like it would be enough time. I had already finished my outline, so I just needed to plug the gaps in my understanding, get some sleep and try to stay in a good mindset. It all seemed very possible.
But, then, this weekend, St. Paul got somewhere between 15 and 20 inches of snow. It started slowly on Saturday morning. The contracts professor had scheduled a Q & A session Saturday morning, which I knew I really wanted to attend. There were probably only 5 inches on the ground by the time I set out, but the wind was squeeling quickly by me, whipping the snow around like a wet towel. As I entered the building I had a fear that it'd just be me and the professor, but I saw 6 other people. The Q & A went well, questions were asked, answers were given and I felt better about some things I hadn't quite understood. I had planned on spending the day at Mitchell studying, but the snow was coming down hard, so I headed home. I was content that I would have to work on a couple things, but that I was in good shape. This test was going to be hard, but I could do it, I thought.
And then I took her practice tests. I had planned to take these to get familiar with the format of her exams. I had heard the rumors about her exams, but I figured they were a little over-blown. I was wrong. Her exams are evil. EVIL. They're set up so you have to look up every little thing about every possible answer. Yes, there are some possibilities that are clearly wrong, but some of them are meant to look clearly wrong when they are not.
So, I ended up spending most of Saturday afternoon trying to talk myself into not failing out of law school. And, of course watching the snow pile up around our house. And pile up it did. Like I said, over two feet of snow. I watched as one of our neighbors tried to get her car into her parking space a couple spots over from ours, before she just gave up and left it half-way out. There was just nothing she could do, I guess.
Sunday was better. The snow had stopped. And I decided that I had to just go with it on the contracts final. I used the tests from yesterday to pinpoint a couple problems and spent a good chunk of the day re-reading a couple chapters (1 and 4), as well as checking over my briefs on a couple cases. And I decided I was just going to have to be meticulous and methodical and just concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.
I also spent some time shoveling out our car so that Dinah could go to work on Monday. We shoveled a lot, eventually clearing a path from our spot to the alley. It was a pretty decent acheivement, and I can say whole-heartedly that between changing my phone to a local number and shoveling out my car on a day when temps maxed out at 7, I am a Minnesotan.
And the shovelling was good. It tired me out, so that by the time I headed to bed, around 9, I went to sleep immediately.
I was awoken by the sound of a snowblower between our building and the one next to ours. After the last snow, our landlord had the walks cleared at aroudn 5 am, so when I awoke, I assumed it was around 5. I picked up my phone and was shocked to learn it was 1:30 am. 1:30 AM! I was pretty livid. The guy was out there for about an hour, working his way most of the way around the building, which forced me to switch rooms looking for a quiet spot so I could sleep. I tried to keep calm, but it was hard to let go of the fact that I was taking a nasty test in the morning and I needed a good night's sleep. After switching to the guest bedroom, I eventually got back to sleep without any further problems.
So, now it's Monday morning, and Dinah wakes me up. I get up and as I'm getting my cereal together, she tells me that the neighbor who had left her car half-way out of her space had moved her car sometime in the night. She had left and apparently come back and parked her car behind ours, blocking us in. Some of you living in a warm-weather climate might not know this, but this is a huge foul. If someone puts in the work to get their car out, and they don't block you in the process, then you cannot impeded them. And Dinah was angry. I guess she had noticed this last night and tried to hope this person would move her car on her own, before she needed to leave. But now, it was getting to time for Dinah to go to work and this woman had blocked her in. To make matters worth, we didn't know which building she lived in. So. Suck.
As I took a peak out the window, I noticed the parking lights were now on, and I mentioned that, and Dinah shot out. I have made my wife angry before, but this was not good. So, I did what any good husband would do. I got my cereal and went to the window to watch and see if I would need to call the police or an ambulance. Luckily, there was no real incident. The woman had left a note for Dinah to call her (which mitigates the problem, but doesn't make it okay), and Dinah was very civil about the situation.
And then I was left to get ready for my test. And really the rest of it is a blur. I did my morning ritual and suddenly I was there, sitting in the room taking the test.
I think it went well. Well, I don't know how it went, really. But I went slow and I took my time and I did the best I could. So, we'll see.
Now, it's on to Property. The last test standing. Two days of prep for this and the test Thursday afternoon. And then I get to start the new Denis Lehane book that Dinah got me for my birthday. I can't wait. It's been a good semester. Rough at times, but for the most part, I have enjoyed law school. And I think I'm getting the hang of things. Next semester is rumored to be harder, but I'm hoping it's harder in a different way. I'm hoping there will be less adjusting how I work and that any heightened challenge comes working on my skills. We'll see.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
First exam done...
As I'm sure you'll gather from the title, I just finished my first exam. It was in Torts, and I think it went well. It's hard to tell for sure, especially when the curve is taken into account, but I feel good about it. And that's about all I can do, so good.
Now, tonight I celebrate turning 33 without dying. And tomorrow it's on to Civil Procedure.
Suck.
Now, tonight I celebrate turning 33 without dying. And tomorrow it's on to Civil Procedure.
Suck.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Classes are over...
A feeling of hope washed over me after my last Civ Pro class. I can survive a semester of this without making a complete ass of myself in class and without going completely insane. This is good, I tought. I can do this.
Of course that feeling was just a momentarly lapse from the anxiety I've been feeling lately. Finals.
Finals in less than a week. Torts, then Civ Pro. Then Contracts and Property. 2 weeks of studying and preparing.
Yup.
Of course that feeling was just a momentarly lapse from the anxiety I've been feeling lately. Finals.
Finals in less than a week. Torts, then Civ Pro. Then Contracts and Property. 2 weeks of studying and preparing.
Yup.
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