Law School

Well, here I am over half way through and I must say, this has been quite a journey and it has only just begun. I apologize that it has been a while since my last post, but when I get a few minutes away from studying and writing case briefs, the last thing on my mind is more writing. Hopefully, this will give a small window into my life right now.

Let me start by trying to describe (as best I can) the environment and culture surrounding law school. Law School is essentially the same as any other school, with the same types of personalities and social interactions. As much as people try to remain professional and respectful and create an environment of friendship, the inherent nature of law school is competitiveness. It it so hard not to see your neighbor doing well, and wonder what their secret is. Or, what study aid do they have? Why do they get it and I don't? The response for this is one of two ways, either to befriend them and pick their brain, or to see them as competition and find ways to destroy them.The incoming class is divided into three sections (I am in Section A). From day one, the school tried to create a sense of cohesiveness in Section A and promote bonding within the section. This was all to easy when everyone was on the same playing ground and in the same situation - a state of confusion. Every one latched onto each other and was very supportive, encouraging and open to each other.

However, this mentality and environment has slowly deteriorated over the past few weeks and is only expanded by the impending stress that is growing daily with the upcoming final week. Slowly but surely, people are becoming much more self-engaged and self involved and a mentality of competition now fills the air. Last week we had a research project where research books strewn about the library were to be shared between 40 students. 1 day after the project began we all received warning e-mails about people hiding, and destroying the material that was to be shared equally amongst people (this mentality does not go away unfortunately when you become an attorney because attorneys who come into our library have to be removed by the police when the tear out papers from legal books and put them into their pockets because they don't want to shell out the 10 cents to make a copy).

However, I have been able to find and attach myself to a few people who are genuinely concerned with the need to effectively network, and like myself, see the potential and positives in sharing and helping grow others. We study in groups nearly two to three times a week and have now begun studying for a few hours after class at member's homes. This is working out so well because it allows constructive exchange of ideas and internal teaching.

The hours necessary to dedicate to full time studying is at times overwhelming. During orientation, the guideline that was relayed was 3-4 hours of studying for each hour in the class room. This equates to about 40 to 60 hours of school work per week. At the time, it was inconceivable to think that I would be spending more time studying than I had been working. What happened to all this free time I told myself I was going to get? Let me say, it is nothing like undergrad. Now I find myself struggling to keep my head above water at times even studying 60 hours per week and it is a constant struggle to not give up and not get behind by just avoiding studying one night. Getting behind even by one day is like getting a flat tire. If you stop to change it, it will take a while and you are behind in the race, but if you push forward, the race will certainly pass you by and you will surely lose. I just hope to avoid any more flat tires.

We recently went through mid terms which are not for grades, but just for the experience of taking law exams. Every exam is the same format, a given set of facts which we need to state the rules of law and apply the law to find a conclusion against the facts. Confused yet? Yeah me too! Just think IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion). This is how every exam should look, but knowing how and when to state a rule, and how much application is the difficult part. Each exam is only an hour long, but in reality would take about 2 hours to properly write. So, "welcome to law school" is what everyone keeps saying.

On top of the class work, the studying, the constant nightly reading, the preparation, the research and the writing, and the shoving in times to keep my sanity, on top of all of this, it is important to keep you eye, and your plan on the future. We have already began discussing summer internships, networking opportunities, resume writing, and legal emphasis. This must always be in the back of your mind in order to ensure that you are always on the direct path to do what it is you want to do and give you the tools to get there. Crazy to think that the things I do now will affect and direct what I am able to do and accomplish 3 years from now.

It may seem daunting (and it is), but it truly is where I want to be and I am doing what it is I enjoy. The intellectual stimulation is exciting and the discussions had inside and outside of the classroom are exhilarating. The people are interesting (both positively and negatively) and I wouldn't trade going to school for anything. Luckily I have the greatest wife in the world which decreases the burden of the stress of life management. Without her, I might be slowly going insane.

Well, hopefully this allows you a glimpse into a classroom and into the life of a law student. I am more than happy to share anything about this experience to anyone who will listen, but don't want to bore you with unnecessary details. Let me know if you want to know anything more.

With Love

A look back at October

October held a lot for us out in our new home. I started a new job, celebrated a birthday away from home, Ross had mid-terms, and we had our first Halloween with no trick-or-treaters. It was also the first time we could wear shorts on Halloween since the temperatures were in the 80s! October was a good month and now we look forward to November, which holds some exciting events; Ross' birthday, I start a new work schedule, and my parents are coming out to visit, and then there is Thanksgiving!

This week I start a new work schedule...10am-7pm. It is going to be a long day. Last week was the first time my entire training/new hire class were answering phones by ourselves. So there was a lot of teaching myself and realizing how poor the training class really was. But one good thing that came out of a lot of new hires being added to the payroll is that the company was able to cut out some of the mandatory overtime and open up more vacation hours for the remainder of the year. So as things look right now, there is only one day of mandatory overtime instead of three and I might be able to get some time off to spend with my parents when they come out!

Ross is still pushing along with school and found out last week that he only has 4 more weeks of class until dead week (when they stop introducing new material) and then he has 2 weeks of finals. So first semester is almost out of the way! He is both excited and nervous.

Today is Ross' 27th birthday so he can no longer say that he is younger than me. With it being on a Monday and us only having one income, the festivities are quite small, but at least we can still celebrate it together!

Well mid-terms are finally out of the way for Ross and I am getting ready to start my 4th week of work. The mid-terms went pretty well but now Ross has to get ready for finals that are coming up in about 5-6 weeks, which is way more stressful than mid-terms...especially since the finals are graded for points! As for me, work is still work. Nothing great. The training was less than effective and I found out how true that really was on Friday when the whole class was thrown on the phones to start answering calls. Even though the time spent on the phone trying to answer questions was less than an hour and a half out of the 8 hour day...no one from the class felt prepared. The training on how to operate the phone system (transferring calls, placing lines on hold, calling other departments, etc) lasted a whopping 5 mins. And what made it even more stressful of an event was all the extra noise and commotion going on due to a baby shower taking place in the next isle. That's right....a baby shower in the middle of a call center with new hires trying to answer calls. To add to all that, the baby shower was for the "trainer" and his wife. So needless to say we were on our own for most of the time since our trainer was busy handing out slices of cake and watching his wife open baby gifts. But, I guess some companies don't put a lot of effort into their training programs. Or maybe I just had higher expectations since I was required to attend a 3 week long training session. So this coming week will probably be more interesting than last week. In the end, I keep telling myself that at least I have a job that is paying more than unemployment and I continue to keep my eyes and ears open for something better to come along. I guess I should get off the computer and get back to reading my book, especially since we are sitting in the school library where Ross is doing some research and I am sure he is going to need his computer soon. Oh, and if you are wondering about the new picture I posted at the top of the page, it is from Disneyland. The bright orange thing in the background is the pumpkin-shaped Mickey ears they have out for Halloween. Right before I started working we got annual passes to park and have made a few trips up there to get away for awhile.

New Job, Mid-Terms, and a Birthday

Well all I can say is that these last two weeks have been quite crazy. Joining the working class again sure felt weird after 9 months of unemployment. For those of you that haven't heard, I got a job as a phone representative at Wachovia Dealer Services (the call center for Wachovia's auto loans). I started on Monday, October 5th, and have been in training everyday since. As of right now I keep praying that things only get better. The training is very unorganized and unproductive. There are 8 new people in the class and the trainer spends half the day on the Internet shopping for a new car and responding to personal emails, text messages, and phone calls. I do nothing but read the news on the Internet to try and stay awake. I don't think I have ever read so much news on the Internet in my entire life. I have discovered that a person can only read so much information, interesting or not, in one day before they start to go crossed-eye. But in the end, I keep telling myself that at least I have a job, it pays more than unemployment, and I will get benefits starting December 1. So things could be worse.

Ross has been busy studying for his first set of mid-terms. Even though they aren't graded for points, they are still reviewed for format and content so he is better prepared for the real deal at the end of the year. Ross found study flash cards to help him better understand the material. So I have actually been learning a little bit myself by reading the questions and scenarios to him and having him answer and explain them. He continues to enjoy his classes and is having fun which is great!

And as many of you know, this was the first year that I celebrated my birthday without the rest of the family. Ross surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that he hand-picked himself! (see the picture below). Then we had dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney up in Anaheim. After dinner we spent the rest of the evening riding rides and watching fireworks inside Disneyland. So even though I didn't celebrate my 27th birthday with family having dinner, playing games, and eating cake and ice cream (which I miss), we still had a very fun night!

Last Week

Since it's been two weeks since either of us posted something, I guess we should update everyone on the latest. This has been my last week of not working. I officially start at Wachovia on Mon. Oct 5. A little excited to get back into the working world, but I am going to miss all the perks of not working. Anyways, here is a recap of what has been taking place these last few weeks.

The week of the 20th involved getting our vehicles ready to make the trip to the CA DMV. That meant getting smog tests done. My car passed with no problems. Ross' on the other hand....well let's just say that wasn't a cheap trip. A couple hoses had to be replaced before it would pass the smog test. So once we got that fixed, we headed to the DMV on Fri the 25th. That was two and a half hours of expensive fun. So now both vehicles are officially registered in California. We still have Colorado drivers licenses and are going to hang on to those as long as we can since it costs $30 to get a California one, plus you have to take a written test. Apparently California has it's own special driving laws.

After our expensive week of smog tests, repairs, and vehicle registrations, we decided it would be nice to take a trip up to Las Vegas. Thanks to me not having a job, Ross not having school on Mon the 28, Ross winning the last time we were in Vegas, and finding a room for only $19 a night, we left Sun morning to enjoy two days in Sin City. After the boring 4 hour drive, we made it to the Sahara hotel in time to watch the Broncos win another game and then it was off to try and hit it big. Unfortunately we didn't hit the jackpot like Mom did when she was there last, but we were at least able to play all night long. I even had some money left over to play Mon morning before we went to the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor, which was amazing! We got home Mon evening around 7:00pm and poor Ross had a little homework to finish. But overall it was a nice "weekend" getaway.

Some Good News!

Well after months of sending out resumes and applications, I finally got a job! I will be working in the call center at Wachovia Bank. Not necessarily my dream job but at least it is something that will pay the bills and get me out of the house. I start October 5 so I have a few weeks to go relax by the pool and enjoy my last days of being unemployed.

Some other good news is that Mom and Dad are coming out in November to spend a few days with us. The plan is to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas in one weekend. Needless to say I am very excited to see them again.

School for Ross is starting to get more intense. This week his study group is going to meet for the first time and start reviewing everything they have learned so far. I can definitely see why they strongly advise law students not to work if at all possible!

September is finally here and the weather is still HOT out here. The good news is that we keep hearing that it is never this hot. I am very ready for some cooler temperatures. Not much new going on. We ended up buying two mountain bikes on the same day and didn't really now it. Ross had bid on one on ebay not expecting to win it while at the same time he found one on Craigslist. Ends up we won the ebay bike and bought the Craigslist bike on the same day. So we now own two mountain bikes. We took them out for a ride around the neighborhood the other day and found quite a few houses for sale. Just something to look forward to in the future. Below I have posted a few pictures of our place now that we are more settled in. We still have some boxes but they are filled with DVDs since we have no place to put them as of right now. You do what you can with what you have.