Graduation Day

This weekend I graduated from law school.  Or I guess I should said, this weekend was my law school graduation.  I can't say I graduated until all grades are in (something which was pointed out about half a dozen times during the ceremony).  As far as graduations go, this was a good one.  And I'm not just saying that because it was mine. 

First was our entrance.  The graduation ceremony was held in a local church (which is absolutely beautiful!), with the actual ceremony in the sanctuary.  They had the graduates get ready in the room the furthest from the sanctuary, which I didn't understand until after we started our walk towards the sanctuary.  All our professors and deans had lined the hallways dressed in their robes and applauded and cheered as we walked through the tunnel they formed.  By far the coolest thing ever (at least as far as graduations go).  One of the great things about going to a small school is that you get to know the professors and they get to know you.  I got so many congratulations by name from my professors.  That was cool.

Second was the actual ceremony.  It was funny, it was poignant, it was short.  We got some good advice from the dean and guest speaker, and we got some good laughs from our class representative.  Everybody got hooded, no names were butchered, and hundreds of pictures were taken.  And it all took an hour and a half.  Another great thing about graduating from a small school is that you don't have to sit through a 4-hour ceremony for the 15 seconds that you actually care about.  Afterwards, the graduates headed outside for the class picture, and I joked around with the dean as he tried find a spot where he wasn't blocking any of us short people on the front row.  Refreshments and more pictures followed as we all hung around the courtyard with family and friends.

The rest of the day was also great as I got to hang out with my family.  We smiled at my niece's giggles as she was raised high into the air by my brother over and over, and then laughed as my brother realized he had broken a sweat and was too tired to pick her up anymore.  We headed to dinner at this small local Italian restaurant that has the best bread ever and enjoyed a nice family dinner with lots of great conversation.  I had plans to meet up with friends later that night, but was so tired after all the activities that I fell asleep on the couch around 8:00 p.m.!!

While I'm not technically a lawyer yet, this was a big step in getting there.  Keep your fingers crossed that all my grades come back somewhere above a D- and I can pick up my actually diploma soon. 

Graduation Time Already?

Yesterday, I got measured for my cap and gown and had graduation pictures taken.  I picked up my graduation packet and passed on ordering a ring.  All that's left is to order graduation announcements.  I can't believe I'm actually (almost) done!

The last two years have flown by.  Two years ago, I started my life over in a new city where the only person I knew was my brother.  I admit, that was a little scary.  But I survived and am loving life.  The last two years have been filled with joy and heartache, jokes and tears, roll-on-the-ground laughter and pull-out-your-hair stress.  I've made a lot of new friends and have reconnected with some old ones.  I've managed to find my way around a new city and even have some favorite local spot.  I've started a couple of blogs and dropped the ball on a couple of classes.  I've gotten a new puppy to keep me company and said good-bye to some people I love.

In two months, I will walk across a stage, pick up my diploma, celebrate with family and friend, and then......start studying for the bar.  My plans after graduation include crawling into a dungeon for the next two months and learning everything there is to know about Texas laws and procedures.  A few months after that, I (hopefully) will be celebrating again with family and friends when I get my results. 

Until then, I'm going to keep wondering, is it really graduation time already??

New Adventure

I realize today that I haven't had many visitors in the past week and was a little sad, until I also realized that I hadn't really written much in the past week either.  I think those two things might be related.  The last week or so has been very hectic for me.  I started classes last Monday, got a puppy on Friday, and am starting a new job today.  Needless to say, blog writing has taken a temporary backseat.

So far classes have been manageable.  I wasn't too happy with my schedule originally; I have a lot of breaks between classes and I'm used to going straight through.  But during that first week, I've already decided that I really like my schedule, mainly because it allows me to read during the day before class as opposed to staying up late trying to get all the reading for the next day done at one time. 

So far the puppy has been mostly manageable.  She's a quick learner but I think I have my work cut out for me.  My brothers both have dogs, and I've wanted one for a long time.  I talked to my brother about it first, and he gave me some honest opinions and advice.  Luckily I can call him with dumb questions.

And so far I have no idea how the job is going to go.  More on that later.

Stupid Warning Labels

While preparing for my last final, I came across my notes for defective warnings.  I'm sure you've seen some warning labels on random products and thought, "Are people really that dumb??"  Unfortunately yes, some people are really that dumb.  And I have to admit that lawyers are the reason we have a lot of those stupid labels.  If someone doesn't realize that using a hair dryer in the shower is dangerous (or just plain stupid -- how are you supposed to get your hair dry if water keeps falling on it?), then there will be a lawyer willing to sue because the hair dryer maker should have warned them about that particular act of stupidity. 

When we got to this particular topic, the professor brought along a list of his favorite stupid warnings and shared some with us.  He was literally laughing so hard, he started crying.  Here's a sample:

• On a hammer -- May be harmful if swallowed.
• On can of pepper spray -- May irritate eyes.
• In a microwave oven manual -- Do not use for drying pets.
• On a stroller -- Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.
• On a box of rat poison -- Warning: has been found to cause cancer in laboratory mice.
• On a chainsaw -- Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hand.

Thinking about all these brilliant attempts at avoiding lawsuits made me wonder what kind of gems I had lying around my house.  Here's what I found:

• On a hair straightener -- Do not use to straighten eyelashes.
• On a jar of peanut butter -- Allergy warning: Contains peanuts.
• On a bottle of stain remover -- Caution: Contains cleaning agents.
• On a can of Raid -- Do not apply to humans.

All I can say is, good to know.

Gruff Cross-Dressing Grandma

As the semester is winding down, in most classes you start seeing the real-world application of what you've been learning.  In the school's law clinic, some students will get to go to court before the semester is over, some will not.  So that everybody gets some "court" experience, we hold a mock trial, complete with student attorneys, witnesses, and faculty playing judges.  The idea is to teach you how to make opening and closing statements, conduct direct and cross-examinations, object and make motions, and generally learn how a trial runs. 

The students were each randomly assigned to one of three courtroom and to each role.  Our client was a fictional grandmother trying to get legal custody of her two grandchildren who she was currently raising.  Their fictional mother was the opposition.  Because the students were randomly assigned to each role, we sometimes had males playing the role of the grandmother or mother.  In my case, my "grandmother" client was a fellow law student who is over 6' tall, has a beard, and was wearing a suit. 

Getting up in front of your fellow students is a very nerve-wracking thing.  My voice was very shaky as I made my opening statement, and my opposition admitted later she was extremely nervous too.  After opening statements I called my first witness, my "grandmother" client.  Just as he takes a seat on the witness stand, the judge says, with a completely straight face, "The Court will ignore that this witness is a cross-dressing grandma who needs a shave." 

At that moment we all nearly fell out of our chairs laughing.  Once we managed to compose ourselves, we were able to continue with the trial.  I don't know if the judge did this just to get us to relax; all I know is that we were definitely a lot less nervous when we started up again.  Unfortunately my poor partner's new name around the clinic is "Gruff Cross-Dressing Grandma."  I guess it just rolls off the tongue a lot easier than his old name.

Catching up

I can't believe I haven't written anything in more than 2 weeks!  But in my own defense, it's been a really busy 2 weeks.  I can't think of what I did during those 2 weeks, but I must have been really busy or I would have written something, right?

Here's the short version of my last 2 weeks:

• I had my first ever court appearance.  I now have a 3rd-year bar card, meaning I get to practice law under the supervision of a real lawyer.  I think it's a great idea, because you get to learn the ropes while someone holds your hand.  Most law students don't get this opportunity, because you have to get a lawyer to agree to "sponsor" you under their license.
• I made a trip home (with my brother and sister-in-law) to see my dad for his birthday.  We spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing, but we were together and that made it perfect.  I wish my other brother and his family would have been there too, but it didn't work out.  
• I finally got all my grades back for the spring semester.  I was getting pretty annoyed at my last two professors.  They have exams that were completely multiple choice and still couldn't manage to get the grades posted in a reasonable time.  Professors have 30 days from the exam to post the grades, and they took full advantage of that.  
• I decided to get off my butt and get back into shape.  Actually, I decided a long time ago, but I just recently started doing something about it.  And yes, technically I am in shape (round is a shape), but not a shape I'm particularly happy with at the moment.  
• I helped a friend out by masquerading as a judge (name "The Judge") and signed orders banning bugs from entering her house.  All bugs have been found guilty of trespassing and received the death penalty.  =)

There's a lot more that happened over the last 2 weeks, but that's all for now.  

Cold Front

This week marks the beginning of finals.  What this means is that law students are stressed, cranky, and just plain tired.  Soon, many will resort to surviving off of coffee and Red Bull, though hopefully not together.

My official finals preparation began yesterday, and I thought I was doing pretty well.  I slept in and got some extra rest.  I worked on two different subjects so I wouldn't get burned out.  I called it quits relatively early.  I even went home and treated myself to homemade brownies.  I didn't feel stressed or cranky or overly tired.  Overall, I thought Day 1 was a big success.  But since a successful day would be boring and I probably wouldn't write about it, obviously I was wrong.

When I got home, I noticed the house was a little chilly.  I adjusted the thermostat and forgot about it.  I had a very late dinner and then some brownies.  About 30 minutes later I noticed that I was still pretty cold, but I figured it was just because of the cold milk I had had with the brownies.  I grabbed a sweatshirt and forgot about it, again.  About an hour later, I decided it was time for bed.  I was still cold, but I figured I was just tired.  I grabbed some warm jammies (including long sleeves), adjusted the thermostat again, and crawled into bed.

I woke up around 4:00 am, freezing cold and shivering.  "Great," I thought.  "I'm getting sick.  Just what I need for finals."  I got up and adjusted the thermostat one more time, put on the sweatshirt I had been wearing earlier, and grabbed an extra blanket.  I crawled back into bed and fell back asleep.  Even with the extra blanket, I woke shivering the following morning.  I got out of bed and checked the thermostat -- it was 15 degrees colder than normal!  I had been turning the temperature control the wrong direction all night!! 

I learned two very important lessons from this experience.  First, don't mess with the thermostat when you're tired.  Second, apparently only so much information can fit into my brain.  When I added the additional law school information, it crowded out some of the already existing knowledge, like how to work a thermostat.  What this means is if you need to know anything about the rules of professional conduct for lawyers, give me a call.  However, if you need help adjusting the temperature in your house, you'll need to call someone else.

Advice for a Future Lawyer

Today Career Services had a guest speaker make a presentation.  Overall, I would have to say this was one of the most informative speakers they've had, and definitely the most entertaining.  One of her pearls of wisdom stuck in my head and I felt the need to share.

Obviously, people are worried about getting jobs once we graduate.  And once you finally manage to get a job, what if you hate it?  There are hundreds of areas of law, but what if you end up taking a job not in the area you want simply because it's the only job you can get?  Are you going to be stuck there for the rest of your career, or will you eventually be able to make it back into other areas?  What if you do end up with your dream job, in your dream city, with the dream firm.....and then you make a mistake that nobody ever lets you live down?  Are you going to be the butt of jokes forever?

What I learned today from this speaker was that it really didn't matter what I did when I got out of school.  Whatever I do is not going to determine where I spend the rest of my career.  Or as she put it: "The worst thing you can do straight out of law school is commit a felony and get caught." 

There are two things I'd like to point out about this bit of advice.  First, apparently the problem is not committing the felony, it's getting caught.  And second, if you commit the felony and get caught, it's ok as long as you're not straight out of law school.  I'm pretty sure that's not what she meant, but it does make it more entertaining and memorable to think if it this way.

Getting Organized

I've always known I'm a little unorganized, but last night I realized exactly how unorganized.  I have a paper due this afternoon, and I started on it around 10:00 pm last night.  Luckily, it's a very short paper, but it's a paper nonetheless.  I was chatting with family last night when I suddenly had a feeling that I had forgotten something.  So I checked my Outlook.  Nothing.  Then I checked by planner.  Nothing.  Then I checked the calendar in the pantry.  Still nothing.  Thinking I must be wrong, I went back to chatting.  But I couldn't get rid of that feeling.

Then it hit me -- I have to write a paper!  Great.  At this point, I wasn't too worried; after all, I've written papers in less time.  However, a problem immediately presented itself when I couldn't remember exactly what the paper was supposed to cover.  So I grab my notebook and start flipping through it.  Nothing.  No mention of the contents, no mention of the due date, not even the slightest mention of the paper itself.  Luckily, I have friends and one of them was able to bail me out.

So what did I learn about this experience?  First, me having (and using) Outlook, a planner, and a calendar do absolutely nothing to get me organized.  Second, since I'm pretty sure I threw out my notes on the paper when I did a little "spring cleaning," I really shouldn't clean.

Creativity

I've always liked how creative people can be when selling their products.  Whether it's talking reptiles or spelling-error prone cows, you have to admit there are some pretty creative people out there.  Since starting law school, however, I've noticed that most people that advertise their products for law students can't necessarily be described as creative.  Basically, if it can be made into a gavel, it is.  If it can't be made into a gavel, it's not made into anything.  Case in point, check out the pencil and flash drive below.