Glaedelig Jul!

og Godt Nyt Aar!

And Done.

I finally finished my exams...holy crap, what a nightmare. Actually, that's not exactly true. Only the last one was a true nightmare; most of them were quite fair and managable. But Crim Law was a beast. For some reason, it felt like 90% of the test was on material that we never covered. Luckily, the general consensus afterwards was the same as my observation so at least I wasn't reading the wrong test. I guess that whole 'B- Curve' thing might turn out to be a good thing, eh?

I'm 1/6th done with Law School! Woohoo. Bring on the break...

I don't know what this means

"September the 11th, 2001 required us to take every emerging threat to our country seriously, and it shattered the illusion that terrorists attack us only after we provoke them." - GWB's Oval Office Address, Dec. 19th, 2005 (emphasis added).

When did we ever have such an 'illusion'? And is it an illusion, as such? I watched the entire speech and was mostly dumbfounded. I've long since given up hearing anything even remotely specific or truthful from any politician during a public speech but this one seemed more vague and deceitful than normal. His 3-point plan for exit from Iraq is so open-ended and broad that you could insert it as a post-invasion 'strategy' for ANY invasion where we weren't simply trying to expand our actual territorial holdings. This was supposed to be a great revelation...to put us at ease? I think not...

Additionally, no attempt to explain any of the Administrations acts was made. Instead of addressing the issues and concerns raised by the recent din of challengers to their policies at home and abroad, W simply acknowledges that the challengers are out there and asks them to 'have faith' in him. And this is an improvement! Three years ago, his press secretary was warning journalists to 'watch what they say'. Unreal...

Over The Hump + Battery Woes

So, I took my third midterm exam today. Civ Pro. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. I know, it sounds really boring but it's actually become quite an interesting class. Of course, I've a history of reading difficult books because I think they're good for me (like fiber) so I'm probably not a good weather vane. Anyway, I've only got two left and then it's vacation time. Err, resume time, rather. Seems I've got about a bajillion resumes to send out over the break if I intend on finding a job this summer. So I've got that going for me.

What I really wanted to gripe about what something that occurred today while I was mid-exam: the battery on my laptop committed a face-saving suicide. Apparently, it had shamed its family. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: 'Man, if I was taking a really big test, I'd have my laptop plugged in'. We're on the same page, brutha. I WAS plugged in. My first thought when the machine went to sleep and the little battery light started flashing was that the outlet was dead (not a surprise in our building). I raised my hand and the proctor moved me to a new table with a fresh outlet. Still no dice. Machine said no.

Luckily, I've had a little experience with what laymen call 'technology' so I knew that the next step (step 2 of 10) in my journey to killing Michael Dell was to remove the battery and kick the tires on the laptop with only the power cable attached. Viola! Machine said yes!

So, here's the weird bit. This laptop is about a year and half old. Just yesterday I ran this mean machine on battery only for over three hours before it told me to plug it in. That, my friends, is good battery life out of a laptop. So why, I ask you, did the battery not only kill itself in the prime of its life but WHY did my laptop shut itself down with a dead battery WHEN IT WAS PLUGGED IN?

I posed this question to the Dell technician this afternoon. Her answer: "Sometimes batteries die in this fashion and I've seen this happen before". So helpful. To her credit, she did try to 'make banter' with me during the whole 20 minute transaction. 'Banter' is described in appendix B of the Dell customer service handbook. Oh, and since Dell only warranties the batteries for a year, so, yeah, you'll be buying a new one. Woohoo! By the way, Dell wants $150 for a new one. Shaun said no.

I googled the model number and found a distributor online that sells them for $100 with an 18 month warranty and ships for free (I could have gone as low as $59 but the warranty wasn't as good and the shipping was murder). I'm sure it'll all work out but the whole ordeal left a bad taste in my mouth. Dell's customer support is turbo 'process oriented' and if a part will fix it, they'll over-night it to you. This makes me happy. The problem, like all customer service lines I've experienced, is that they are so damnably 'process oriented'. To the extent that they're instructing their employees on 'modes of banter' and no one who answers the phone actually knows anything about computers. This is not good.

Ok Enough griping. My battery is on its way and I've only got two exams left. Hurray for breaks!

One Down, Four to Go

Well, the Contracts midterm is behind me and, truth be told, I feel pretty ok about it. It was a fair exam and we were provided with a myriad of practice tests that prepared us. I'm pretty sure I hit a majority of the issues and explained them with sufficient detail. I feel pretty good about it, really. Of course, I felt good coming out of the LSAT last year too and look how that turned out. Well, best push such thoughts aside and plow on. The next exam (Torts) is this Saturday, after all.

We were told that 'The Fear' associated with law school exams would diminish significantly after the first one and I can now confirm that that is the case. I think it's partly the fact that the exams are no longer an unknown quantity and partly the fact that, provided you felt like you did ok, you actually trust yourself to retain all the pertinent information that they've drilled into you. A few days of prep work prior to the exam and, indeed, the Atari game cartridge that is Contracts is comfortably seated in the console that is your pre-frontal lobe.

Anyway, it's good to know that I can do it. There were a few harsh moments where I thought I might not actually be up to it. Contemplating failure along with a $35k tab at the end of the year isn't exactly heart-warming. I'm feeling much better now. I just hope it's not a false sense of semi-security.

All Finals' Eve

Well, we're down to it. Tomorrow is the first final of my legal education. Technically, it's a midterm but I hate splitting hairs. Incidentally, that characteristic may make me a bad lawyer some day. We'll see.

Anyway, I've been alternating between fear of failure and a general sense of comfortability with tomorrow's subject matter: Contracts. It's probably our most 'knowledge intensive' class. Outside of Criminal Law (which I'm sure you'll hear me flame about in a week or so), it's the only class I have where it's just not physically possible to know 100% of what you need to know. That said, tomorrow's exam is a crap shoot. I might go in there an know exactly how to analyze the fact pattern...or not. The problem is this: Even though every professor will tell you that your analysis is what matters, if you miss one issue and come to the wrong conclusion, you're screwed. Sure sure, they all give lip service to the quality of your analysis but professors are human and they want you to come to the same conclusion they would. This isn't Good Will Hunting, after all...and even if it was, none of us are savants; least of all me.

Anyway, there's some stress. If you read all those 'succeed at law school' books, you'd think that every test and every moment is both a determining factor and a milestone in your life. Lovely, but I fail to see how any other moment doesn't also meet that test. In general, law students are an anxious lot, even at my fourth-tier school...and we generally purchase such b.s. wholesale. Hence, knowing myself, I've done my best to avoid most of my compatriots in the last few days for fear of getting the anxiety sickness that I know someone's carrying. I just ask questions when I have them...and answer them when they're asked. But I don't get involved...and the folks that confer with me don't either. It's for the best really...or perhaps it's what they're really teaching. It's hard to say at this point.

Regardless, I served myself a last meal tonight just for laughs. Well, sort of. I splurged and bought all the fixin's for a wicked salad (feta, out o' season tomatoes, etc) and a very respectable chocolate ice cream. Oh, and I finally got the bulb for my selzter bottle so I've been drinking fresh-made soda most of the day. The last glass had a splash o' scotch in it for good luck. Scotch brings good luck, in case you were wondering. Mostly, it'll just be luck with the nodding off...but it's a start.

Good night, all...S.