Graduation

All I can say is that graduation and all the rest of it seem to have gone off without a hitch, although the last two weeks have really flown by. The family and everyone came out for graduation, and then I had to pack up and move to where I am studying for the bar.

Speaking of which, bar review started today for the July 2007 Bar Exam, and I have a lot to say about that. For any of you who are interested in what starts happening the day after graduation, I'll be blogging about studying for, and taking the July 2007 Bar Exam on another blog started with a few friends of mine, and you are welcome to check it out: Blogging The Bar http://bloggingthebar.blogspot.com

I'll still be around, answering questions about transfer stuff and cheering on those of you who are applying to transfer. As I think of stuff I'll post about it, but for now I'll mostly be over at BTB.

I suppose the biggest shock is that I thought for the longest time (especially when I was a 2L) that with graduation from law school would come this big release and feeling of accomplishment. In reality, you get so wrapped up in the festivities, and then bar review, that the big release never really happened. And of course I don't feel like a "real lawyer" yet because I haven't passed the bar, and the materials for bar review are initially so overwhelming that you feel like you are right back at the bottom of a big ol' mountain, having to climb up again.

But, as I have said before, and I'll say again, welcome to the law (and law school).

Take care one and all, and like I said, this isn't an official retirement...I'll still be knocking around here and there.

Best to all,

DF

My Last Exam

So, tomorrow is my very last exam of law school.

I was seriously thinking about bringing champagne to my final tomorrow and as soon as it is over just popping it right in the middle of the classroom and drinking straight from the bottle. Of course, the proctor probably wouldn't take too kindly to that. And I have to drive home, so that wouldn't be good either.

But is a nice, cheery, thought! At 4:30pm tomorrow, I will have to settle for the mental uncorking of champagne bottles, rather than actually doing it physically.

By the way, if anybody hasn't seen this super-fabulous animated sequence on 803 Hearsay Exceptions, I highly recommend it (and when you are so sick of reading about them, I promise this will be a welcome respite): http://media.putfile.com/hearsay

And the Lightening Strikes

The weather has (finally) been amazing here lately. Warm, but not too warm, sunny, clear skies -- the kind of weather that makes you just want to be outside. Tonight, as it was getting dark, the clouds rolled in and we have been having a spectacular lightening show punctuated by grumbling thunder. I am now curled up in my over-sized leather chair reading about the Parole Evidence Rule and Judicial Notice with the window open, listening to the rain fall and looking up once in awhile when the lightening strikes.

This would actually be really cool if I had a glass of red wine, and if I were reading something more enticing than my Evidence Gilbert's Law Summary!

Only 30 more pages to get through tonight, and then I am packing it in.

And to all a goodnight.

Mystery Meat?

Okay, someone emailed this to the law student listerv, and I just couldn't resist. I think we are all suffering from a bit of finals delirium at the moment (names and places have been changed to protect the innocent):

-------------------------------------------------

Does anyone actually eat the "double salamis" in the student lounge vending machine? I'm all for snapping into a slim jim now and again, but this is taking mystery meat to new heights. Is Double Salami just recycled vending food still lingering around since the origins of the Vending Machine, popped into E9 in the hopes that a starving law student will take a chance on it?

--

Reply 1:

Not to worry... John Smith keeps those "double salamis" fresh by partaking in the delicious treat on a regular basis. Usually in the library where the you can smell it from 3 tables away.

Reply 2:
-------------------------------------------------

I had some double salami during break in Copyright last semester. I pretended they were the best tasting cigars EVAR. Then I wiped my oily hands on the door hinges to stop their squeaking.

Where, oh where is my motivation, and the drunk guy who yelled in the library...

With graduation less than one week away, and just one last final to go (Evidence) why is it so difficult to buckle down and study? I feel, in a weird sort of way, that one foot is already out the door, and I am straddling the line between law school and those eensy weensy 11 days before I start bar prep.

Speaking of bar prep, how in the world do people find the motivation to study for the bar after law school? I mean, I am so burned out on this body of knowledge called "the law" that I have been devoting my attention to, that I just want to curl up in a ball and watch endless amounts of TV. Or travel the world with just a backpack and a digital camera. Studying for another couple of months is the absolute last thing I feel like doing right now. Just like studying for my Evidence exam is also probably about the last thing I want to do right now.

This post is going absolutely nowhere, and is probably devolving into nonsensical complaining, but I am hoping there are others out there who share my law school despondency. Since this is happening, I will share a short funny story with you:

The third day of law school finals a guy walked into this study room of the law school (it isn't really the library, but rather just a huge study room). This young chap proceeded to yell, for all to hear in the very quiet room, "I'm DONE!!! AND IIIII'M DRUNK!!!"

The rest of the room, bemused, then pained, turned back to studying, no doubt everybody just a wee bit jealous that most of their finals are still ahead of them.

Just a Little Over One Week To Go...

It is absolutely hard to believe that I am almost done with law school. I just have two finals left, one in class, and one take-home. Not too horrible, but it has been really hard to focus. I just keep thinking that I am practically done.

Anyway, I better get to studying. And so should the rest of you, especially if you are planning to transfer! Remember -- those second-semester 1L grades still count, even if you did super-well your first semester. You gotta show consistency, and staying power. None of the law schools to which you apply want to see that you came in with a bang, and finished 1L with a whimper.

Stay in there everybody -- summer is almost here!

Stay Strong, Virginia Tech

It could have been any one of our campuses -- it could have been our law schools, our colleges, or our universities. We hope you will be able to lean on each other in your time of need and help each other heal. Our thoughts are with you...