Don’t worry. I am still alive! I have received some frantic voice mails over the past few days from people concerned about the lack of updates on the blog. Rest assured that I am still here in Chicago, plugging away at law school, and eagerly awaiting my vacation over the holidays.
The sheer amount of work that has piled up over the last month is daunting. In addition to the normal reading assignments, the time came for me to compile everything into outline form for more efficient studying. This took quite a bit of work. To give you some perspective, my complete notes set for Constitutional Process alone was 175 pages! I was able to pare this down to a more manageable 75 pages. Now, multiply that by 4 classes and you get some idea of what I (and every law student) am up to this time of the year. People are starting to panic a bit, but I know that the next few weeks will be the real crucible. I am taking heart in the knowledge that the end of the first semester is in sight. I have almost made it through my first phase of law school, and it feels pretty good.
Of course, before I get there I have to contend with exams. For each class there is one exam, and this determines your grade for the entire class. Period. No other grades, just one exam. No pressure there, huh? When you factor in that I have not taken an exam in just over 10 years, this does seem to be an almost heart attack-inducing handicap. For some reason, I am not worried. I have between 2 and 3 days between exams to cram, and I think that I can do it. I have kept up with the reading all semester, so there should not be any surprises as far as that is concerned, and I have plenty of practice problems to work on so that I can test my grasp of the materials.
It is hard to believe that 3 months has gone by. I just hope that the rest of law school goes by as quickly. Of course, then it will be time to study for the bar exam (ugh), but so far, so good. I just hope that I will be able to keep up with the blog a little better next semester.
Thanks again to all of you for supporting me. It really means a lot.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
I am still updating....honest....
Well, it’s been a while but I am still alive and kicking. The last few weeks have gone by in a whirlwind. There has been a lot going on, but the gauntlet of the first semester of law school is almost complete. The stress level has started to rise among my classmates, and I have started to feel the tightening of the “exam noose”, to coin a phrase from “A Christmas Story.”
In law school, tests are administered differently than they are in undergraduate school. The entire semester’s worth of material is distilled down to one test for each class. That’s it. A single test can determine whether you will be entertaining offers from the big firms or scrounging around trying to find work after law school. 3 months worth of 2 hour classes are in a single test for each class, a 3 hour essay/short answer/multiple choice examination. This is a pressure packed powder keg. I think that I am pretty much in control, but the only way that I will know is when I sit down in front of my computer next month.
There are no real complaints about law school now. Getting called on by the professors is something I no longer stress about. The reason for this is Professor Roberts in Con Law. He still calls on me, and I look forward to it. He doesn’t do it maliciously; I am usually paying attention while others are surfing the internet. I think that he knows too. Contracts is great. I am still enjoying Contracts as one of my favorite classes. Torts is all right, and Civil Procedure is fine as well. I am a little sad that I will be bidding farewell to Civil Procedure and Torts after this semester. They will be replaced by Criminal Law and Property next semester.
What’s going on in Chicago? Well, there are some developments in my personal life that I will not go into right now (I know, you are all thinking “artful, this is the point of a Blog”.) Yes it is, and when the time is right, I will fill you all in. My weekly Sunday breakfast with my brother is still the highlight of my week, especially because my parents call us during the meal. As strange as it might be to say, our family seems closer now than ever before even though my brother and I are in Illinois and my parents are in Virginia. I can’t understand it…I am 34 years old and I miss my parents. I think this is just a testament to how close my family really is. This extends to my other family here in the US as well. My uncle sent me a great pep talk email after one of my (numerous) “gloom and doom” blog entries. His e-mail helped me to realize that I don’t need to stress. I haven’t stressed since! I also appreciate all of the support that all of you have sent my way.
I will get back into discussing some of the interesting aspects of the law next time. We are studying Equal protection under the 5th and 14th amendments right now in Con Law, and I find the subject fascinating. I will also keep you all apprised of my plans for the summer (job, research, classes…who knows at this point?).
In law school, tests are administered differently than they are in undergraduate school. The entire semester’s worth of material is distilled down to one test for each class. That’s it. A single test can determine whether you will be entertaining offers from the big firms or scrounging around trying to find work after law school. 3 months worth of 2 hour classes are in a single test for each class, a 3 hour essay/short answer/multiple choice examination. This is a pressure packed powder keg. I think that I am pretty much in control, but the only way that I will know is when I sit down in front of my computer next month.
There are no real complaints about law school now. Getting called on by the professors is something I no longer stress about. The reason for this is Professor Roberts in Con Law. He still calls on me, and I look forward to it. He doesn’t do it maliciously; I am usually paying attention while others are surfing the internet. I think that he knows too. Contracts is great. I am still enjoying Contracts as one of my favorite classes. Torts is all right, and Civil Procedure is fine as well. I am a little sad that I will be bidding farewell to Civil Procedure and Torts after this semester. They will be replaced by Criminal Law and Property next semester.
What’s going on in Chicago? Well, there are some developments in my personal life that I will not go into right now (I know, you are all thinking “artful, this is the point of a Blog”.) Yes it is, and when the time is right, I will fill you all in. My weekly Sunday breakfast with my brother is still the highlight of my week, especially because my parents call us during the meal. As strange as it might be to say, our family seems closer now than ever before even though my brother and I are in Illinois and my parents are in Virginia. I can’t understand it…I am 34 years old and I miss my parents. I think this is just a testament to how close my family really is. This extends to my other family here in the US as well. My uncle sent me a great pep talk email after one of my (numerous) “gloom and doom” blog entries. His e-mail helped me to realize that I don’t need to stress. I haven’t stressed since! I also appreciate all of the support that all of you have sent my way.
I will get back into discussing some of the interesting aspects of the law next time. We are studying Equal protection under the 5th and 14th amendments right now in Con Law, and I find the subject fascinating. I will also keep you all apprised of my plans for the summer (job, research, classes…who knows at this point?).
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