Exam time warp

Well, exams are already halfway over. Amazing. It is interesting how warped my perception of time has gotten. I can't believe it was only yesterday I tackled 97 multiple choice questions for my Criminal Law exam, and I also can't believe I only have 37 hours until my Civil Procedure exam (and two nights worth of sleep to get). Speaking of Civil Procedure, I took a quiz to find out "What Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Are You?" and I was quite pleased with the results. I was considerably less pleased with my answers to the practice Civ Pro exam I just took, so I will leave you with the quiz results and get back to studying.

YOU ARE 28 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1332!You are not a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure at all: you're the statute that allows the federal district courts to hear diversity of citizenship actions! You were drafted with the idea that an out-of-state party may be unduly prejudiced by appearing in a foreign state. Sometimes people may think that you're strange, and they try to minimalize your effects by requiring an amount in controversy and by being especially strict on the requirements for diversity. Also, attorneys often use you for "forum shopping" and other undesirable behavior. But there's no getting around the fact that you're so darned loveable! Your delightful quirkiness entertains friends and law professors alike, and although others may grumble about your eccentricities behind your back, they're always talking about you, so you must be doing something right. Let's face it, the world could use a few more 28 USC 1332's!

Last Class of 2007!

Today is the last class of my first semester of law school. This is both exciting and strange, and it also means that my first final is 4.5 days away. Then there is another final every third day for the next week-and-a-half. I am going to need to stock up on my finals secret weapon: pudding.

15 days from now I will be attempting to fly accross country with little Gordon. It may well be the longest flight of my life, and I've flown to New Zealand. I am looking forward to introducing him to my family, especially Holly. They are both orange and love to play so I think they will get along well.

Tonight I am going to clean my apartment and get to work on studying! Torts, Crim, Civ Pro, and Property, oh my! I think my brain has turned to jelly. That is good for toast, not so good for studying.

No more Mondays

Well, this is the last Monday of class of my first Semester of law school. So what if that is not really no more Mondays, it feels like it! This morning was definately Monday in full force! Gordon was suffering from "too much rambunction" as dad would say. He jumped on my desk and knocked my cereal bowl very close to my laptop. Needless to say, I was not amused.

Today we learned how to use the exam software. No spell check :( That could be a problem... It seems to be a pretty straitforward system, and assuming my computer does not catch on fire (as apparently happened a few years ago) I should be ok on the technology end of things. The content end of things remains to be seen.

In torts we are learning about defamation and the First Amendment. The elements are 1) defamatory statement: libel (written) or slander (oral) 2) Defendant's statement was of or concerning the plaintiff 3) published (communicated to a third party). Consider yourself edified!

Hypothetically speaking

As I walked into Torts this morning the Professor told us to download the pop quiz. The quiz consisted of 40 true/false questions. There were many good hypothetical questions that needed to be answered, and, of course, argued over.

If grandma loans her rifle to her dope-smoking, crack-addicted grandson and he shoots the mail carrier (sorry dad, I didn't make it up) because he thinks he is the Easter Bunny (whom grandson despises) is grandma liable for negligent entrustment?

Can a six-month-old be liable for negligence?

These questions were actually debated. I blame the lack of sleep and too much reason (I meant to write reading, but I think too much reason is actually more accurate). We have all contracted the rabid law student before finals disease.

They told me law school changes your brain, I think that is proving to be true. Sadly, law school cannot change the need to do laundry. That is what awaits me this Friday afternoon. Life is so glamorous here on the East Coast!

Procrastination

I have one crazy cat. The other night I was brushing my teeth and suddenly he was in my tiny medicine cabinet. The next morning I found the basket from my shower drain (one of his favorite toys) in his water dish. Today he decided to lie in the sink and get dripped on. I have 50 pages of torts to read for tomorrow's double class, but I thought I'd take a moment to share the absurdity with the world. Tomorrow at noon there will officially be only one week of classes left in the semester. Amazing and terrifying all at the same time! Well, I had better tackle that reading, I wouldn't be surprised if I got called on tomorrow, rumor has it there won't be many of us in attendance.

The end is drawing nearer!

Less than two weeks of class left, less than a month untill Christmas. This means I have a massive amount of work to fit into a short amount of time. Also, I need to get a job lined up for next summer.

I had a good Thanksgiving break, though I did not get as much done as I would have liked. I kind of set myself up for that... I guess it will get done or it won't!

It is HOT in my apartment! I asked the doorman if I could turn the heat down and he said "open a window." Even though I don't pay for electricity, I'd rather save some fossil fuels, but I guess the whole building is on the same thermostat and everyone else is cold. What's a girl to do? Get back to work, I guess.

Gratuitous Cat Pictures

OK, here are my reasons for posting pictures of Gordon so often:

1)The blog looks awfully boring without pictures.

2)The pictures I have are of Gordon, I take lots of them because I felt so bad about having so few pictures of Soot after he died.

3)My life is comprised of class, reading, Gordon, sleeping, eating, writing, bad TV, online time-wasting, and talking on the phone. Of these, the only thing that makes for good pictures is Gordon.

4)I find him to be ADORABLE.

5)Mom likes them.

These are all the reasons I need. So if you are tired of them I apologize. As soon as I have pictures of something else I will post them!

Is it Monday again already?

Well, despite my best efforts I was pretty productive this weekend. I got all my reading done, cleaned my apartment, went grocery shopping and got a decent amount of sleep. I hope I can keep that up during the Thanksgiving break, because that is when all my outlining is supposed to happen. Also, I plan to read Getting to Maybe which is supposed to be a good book about how to write law school exams. It is very handy to put things off by deciding to do them during the break until the break comes along.

Today I went to a panel on taking 1L exams. It was helpful to hear about the exams my professors have given in the past. This law school thing is actually happening. Exams are less than a month away. It will be May 17, 2010 before I know it. It is very strange to actually be doing things I thought about doing for so long. The very strange thing is not having any idea where I will be living three years from now. I have some ideas of where I don't want to live, so at least that is a start. Any suggestions on excellent places to live are greatly appreciated.

In other news, the temp has finally dropped to what could conceivably be called "brisk," a welcome change as far as I am concerned.

An interesting story: Last night I saw two people (a couple) dressed in white sweatsuits (Hanes style, tops and bottoms, complete with elastic around the ankles) he was wearing a white skull cap and she was wearing a sort of fuzzy white beret. When I saw them they were climbing into their white Pathfinder and driving away. That would terrify me! One false step and you'd have to buy a whole new outfit. Maybe that is the point.

Victory

Well, I made it. I went to all my classes and did all my reading and now it is Friday and I am still standing (well, sitting actually). Three more weeks of class! I don't know if that is exciting or scary, this semester has flown by. This week was tough, but I am still enjoying myself here at Penn Law. I am going to go to bed now and see if I can't nip this cold I feel coming on in the bud. I will leave you with (surprise) pictures of Gordon. If you are getting bored, I can switch to pictures of Law books. Trust me, Gordo is much more exciting!

America's Next Top CAT Model

I took these photos on Monday, and was amazed at Gordon's performance. Every frame was something different, and he was really working his angles. He knows what makes him look best. Needless to say, I was very impressed; some of the girls on ANTM never get it.

Monday Bloody (Manic) Monday

Man, some days I get the feeling that law school is just trying to see how much we can take before we crack like feeble weaklings. Today is one of those days. I am NOT going to crack, however, no matter how feeble I feel!!

So today we have an extra class (Civil Procedure, no less) and then I have 6-10 more pages to write on my memo that is due tomorrow (I suppose I might be partially to blame for that). Happily the reading is pretty light for tomorrow's classes, and I think I know pretty much what I want to say in my memo. All I have to do is (1) say it, and (2) figure out where to cite to in the cases for the quotes I want to use.

Last night I didn't get attacked in my sleep by a playful kitty. It was pretty awesome. Maybe my attempt to wear him out with his toys before bed actually worked! We shall see if this trend continues, I certainly have my fingers crossed!!

I realized this morning that there is a high degree of liklihood that I will be tired for the rest of my life unless I can condition myself to function on less sleep. That does not sound like fun, but I think I am in the right place to get some help with that! Apparently I live on the corner of Police Station and Fire Station...

And now back to our irregularly scheduled class. WHEEEEEEEEE! Personal jurisdiction!!!!!

Time flies

It is true, I didn't believe it until I was here. This week has been pretty busy: make up classes, a lecture by a lawyer who represented some of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, an International Law Organization meeting, a Post Acceptance Committee meeting, a writers' brainstorming meeting for the Law Revue (a variety show), Norwegian class, vet appointment, lunch with Professor Morse, blah, blah, blah.

I fear I am turning into one of those people who talks about nothing but her cat. I do have to say he IS one of the most interesting things in my life right now. He is feeling much better and is VERY playful. It is so nice to see him with some energy, but I do wish he would not use that energy to attack me while I sleep. I made him a ball out of aluminum foil and he loves to chase it all over the house. We were back at the vet again today, he has mild conjunctivitis, so now he gets salve in the eye twice a day.

I have to get back to my TORTS reading, but these are pictures I took of Gordon while we were playing the other day.

Back online

Well, I am back online! It seems that they meant to disconnect the cable to apartment 501 and disconnected mine instead. Happily, most of my shows wasted a week doing recaps of the season so far, so I didn't miss anything. Comcast picked a good week to screw me over.

This is the first time I have been home all day with Gordon. At first he thought it was pretty cool, now he is looking at me like "don't you have somewhere to be?" Just wait 'till I get the vacuum out tomorrow! I have to say that it is amazing the effect he has had on my quality of life. I think having someone to take care of helps me take better care of myself as well. He had the last of his antibiotics this morning, so hopefully it will just get better from here. He is already much more playful.

I watched the MTV showing of the new Broadway show Legally Blonde, The Musical tonight. Having started law school, I wondered if it would give the show new meaning. My two thoughts are: we don't sing that much, and the bit about her studying her way from a 131 to a 175 on the LSAT still doesn't sit well... I guess I am not very good at the whole "suspension of disbelief" requirement. We all know that bees don't pollinate corn, so maybe it runs in the family :)

I suppose I should really do some more research on how New York courts treat covenants not to compete. I also have one more article on the feminist view of tort law that I should read before I tackle 50 pages of Civil Procedure tomorrow. Life as a 1L is truly glamorous!

Distracted...

I have been soooooo distracted today! Paying attention in class is hard. I need a nap.

Gordon is home, eating like a champ, playing more, and just being adorable in general. Still no cable, though I did see a flicker on the modem yesterday. I went over to the Almaz Cafe to check my e-mail and enjoy a tasty beverage last night. I had a nice talk with the owner about society and etc.

It was Halloween yesterday, I took a nice long nap to celebrate. I think that is a pretty good way to celebrate, especially since I had to miss my shows. I can't believe it is already November.

Today I had some SPICY Chicken Tikka Masala; it was tasty AND it cleared out my sinuses. It may also have melted part of my brain, but I'll have to get a second opinion on that (maybe from someone who has studied medicine).

Happy Halloween!

Yay! Halloween is my favorite holiday! There is a girl in a cow hood and a person in a Darth Vader mask in my Crim class. I am wearing my retina-burning pink Egyptian dress. Today a group of us are going to lunch with my Civ Pro professor.

Gordon came home last night, he ate and took his medicine (with the help of a pill wand--I think those actually ARE magic) and was more playful then he has been in a while. I think he must be feeling better and also be happy to be home. He is still pretty congested and likes to sneeze on me. Norwegian class was fun, my student is great. The fajitas were also tasty. Sadly, my cable went out, so no Beauty and the Geek, no Internet, and no land-line. Comcast says it might come back on its own, but if not I have to wait until Friday night to be connected again. Then my cell phone started dropping calls. It's enough to make a girl grumpy!

About 10:45 pm I started hearing sirens, a lot of honking, and also helicopters. My Internet was down and I had no TV news so I couldn't figure out what was going on. I heard there was a shooting and the "perp" jumped into the river, then he was caught. Now I have to see if I can find the whole story online...

My little invalid

Well, Gordon has been at the vet since Saturday morning. I am hoping to bring him home today. He seems to be doing better at the vet's, so I hope he can do better at home as well. He has been eating but is still pretty congested. It will be nice to have him home again.

I have another Norwegian class tonight, so I am looking forward to that. We are going to make fajitas and watch Beauty and the Geek after class. So, if all goes as planned tonight should include Gordon coming home, Norwegian class, fajitas, Beauty and the Geek, and the democratic debate. This day is certainly looking better all the time! If I can do the dishes, read my Crim assignment and take a nap in addition, I will be one happy girl!!! Here's to trying to cram everything into one little evening!

Home Alone

Well, I am home alone today, Gordon is at the vet. He hasn't been eating and we are worried about dehydration. This past week was really something. Between kitty meds, events, reading and classes I am exhausted.

This week's highlights:
Monday--See previous post. I am not even going to recap that disaster of a day!
Tuesday--Gordon breathes through his mouth and I wake up from a nap just in time to watch Beauty and the Geek.
Wednesday--Guest lecture on the early Chinese Americans who were driven from their homes in cities all down the West Coast and the lawsuits they filed to fight back, Gordon refuses to eat, I wade through Torts reading and make some quickie costumes for Thursday
Thursday--Today's theme: Terrible things humans are capable of doing to each other. Symposium on North Korean Refugees including a talk by a man who spent a decade in a political concentration camp starting at the age of 10, Tortfeasor's Ball where crazy law students dress up as their favorite torts. I was CaCl2 (a salt=assault)
Friday--Career Planning and Placement open house with free food, canvassing for donations for the annual Equal Justice Foundation auction in the rain, meeting Ozzie the adorable beagle
Saturday--Gordon's day at the vet, Emily's day of Civil Procedure reading (I'd rather spend all day at the vet!)
Sunday--Norwegian lessons start for a fellow 1L!

Bummer :(

Well, he finally has a name: Gordon! It came from nowhere and really seemed to fit. I took him to the vet today where he charmed the pants off of everyone. On the way home, however, he pooped in the cat carrier and managed to get it all over himself and the carrier. I had to give him a bath and he was NOT pleased. He was wet and cold and sneezing and forlorn. He finally forgave me and has dried out quite a bit. Then I had to give him his medications. He took the decongestant pill OK but managed to spit the banana flavored antibiotic liquid everywhere. He hasn't forgiven me for that yet. I hope he does soon, because I have to administer the meds twice a day for the next week. I do have to say that all during the bath, the drying, and the medication he did not scratch me once. He has been very good even if he hates me. I am now going to put in a load of laundry and attempt to get all my homework done. It's a good thing I managed to get a little bit ahead this weekend!

He's Home!

Well, about 40 minutes after my last blog post I got a call from the shelter saying my boy was ready to be picked up! I took the bus up and fetched him, and he rode the bus with me all the way home. He was SO good! When we got home he wandered around and sniffed everything for a while, then he snuggled up with me on the couch. He has to be the most adorable little love bug I have ever met. He even looked like he was smiling. Of course, when I got the camera out he clammed up a bit. I don't think the light shining in his face helped any. Here are a few shots of him on the couch.

The name game

Everyone has a strong opinion on what to name my new friend, of course. My mom wants me to name him Benjamin Franklin because I live in Philly and go to the school he founded. Dad says it seems wrong to start a cat's name with a vowel and feels it should have a good "k" sound in it, like Henrik. Shannon suggested Kimchi, and Maisha didn't want him to end up with a legalese name. I hadn't even thought of that, but there are a few that could be funny. Lex loci delecti? Habeas corpus? Res ipsa loquitur? Jurisprudence? Mens rea?

I don't think I could do that to a cat. Mom and dad both like Roger but I was saving that for a daughter, or at least a little girl puppy. I like Jarle, but mom says that sounds too feminine. I also like Eilert after Eilert Løvborg, the love interest in Hedda Gabler and Peer Gynt. I think I am most partial to Sigbjørn, after Sigbjørn Obstfelder, my favorite author. Mom reminds me that the cat is NOT Norwegian; I don't think I should hold that against him. I guess I could try living with him for a few days and see what seems to fit best.

I am terribly impatient to get him home. It makes me so sad to think of him all alone in his cage at the shelter. Also, there were several cats there that were sneezing, so I want to get him out of there before he catches an upper-respiratory infection. His little kitty bed looks very lonely without him.

More pictures

Sweet kitty
Look at that pink nose!
Cool stuff from Korea

Kitty!!!!

Yay! I went to the shelter and picked out the sweetest little boy kitty today! He is a love, very friendly and purrs when I hold him. I have to wait for them to neuter him, then I can go pick him up. Now all I need to do is choose a name. Any suggestions?

Good news

Well, today was a day of good tidings. I am hoping to ride that wave all the way 'till grades come out for first semester. That might be pushing it, of course, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

First, I do not have TB. That is ALWAYS good news. Second, I have been selected to serve on the Post Acceptance Committee, which means that I get to help plan the Admitted Students Weekend for this coming March. I am pretty excited about that. My cat carrier came in today, so now I am all set for a furry adoptable. I also got an awesome package from Korea in the mail today. I'll have to post some pictures of all the cool things that were in it.

I had better go do my Property reading, only one class left this week! Amazing.

It's Tuesday all over again

Wow. It is only Tuesday. Amazing. I have close to a 4 day weekend this week, so even though it is only Tuesday, I am almost through my seventh week of law school classes. There are some good things coming up this week. After class I am interviewing for the Post Acceptance Committee, the group that plans the admitted students weekend like the one I attended in March. Tomorrow I am attending a lunch where my Criminal Law professor will be presenting a paper on "folk psychology" and after class there is a meeting for the Penn Law Revue which will be in the spring. Funny skits about law school? Count me in! I have a few applications in to different shelters, and I am hoping to bring a furry bundle of joy home this weekend. Pictures will be posted as soon as possible. Also, the end of this week marks the halfway point of first semester classes.

Next week will bring a screening of "God Turned His Back On Us" about the lost boys of Sudan, a meeting with the Career Planning and Placement office, the symposium on North Korean refugees, the Tortfeasor's Ball, and canvassing for donations for the Equal Justice Foundation auction in February.

Tonight is Beauty and the Geek. Now that Will and Rebecca are gone, who will be the power team? Who will Sam find to make out with and make his partner uncomfortable? I'll just have to wait until 8 tonight to find out, 5 hours and 20 minutes!

Emily's Recipe for Involuntary Civil Commitment

Combine in a large bowl
6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
2 cans tuna, flaked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb. egg noodles, cooked

mix well and pour into an oven-safe casserole dish

bake for 20-40 minutes at 325

leave oven on for the next 4 hours and wonder why the air conditioning is not keeping the apartment cool

write a blog post about the whole experience revealing to friends, family, and the public the extent of your incompetence

Enjoy!

Ahhh, Friday!

Well, the end is in sight (of the week, at least). Last night I went to Petco with a friend and took advantage of their store-closing sale. I got a bed, toys, litter, a litter box, treats, food, a scratching post, and food and water dishes. Now all I need is a cat. It is soooo exciting!

Now I long for yesterweek

Man, last week is looking pretty good right now. Maybe I should wear that superhero necklace more often. This week we had an extra Civil Procedure Monday after school, Tuesday our 1:30 class was moved to 4:40, last night we were notified of a new (additional) reading of 150 pages to be finished by the end of the month, today I have an online workshop after school, and tomorrow we are currently scheduled for a double torts class. I feel much busier this week. It's not all that bad, I guess it's what I signed up for! I'm going to start outlining this week, and that should make me feel like a bona fide law student.

On the bright side: I found cheap (for a girl from Montana) plane tickets to visit friends in WI after spring semester, and I heard from the UN so now I can get started on the application for that. Also, according to my student representative, today I have survived 5% of my legal education. The end of next week is the halfway point of the first semester. This weekend I am going to my faculty adviser's house for dinner. Next week should be pretty awesome. I get to take a TB test!

Strange week in review

It has been a pretty strange week thus far, with serious potential to get even more strange...

Monday we had two times the Criminal Law we normally do, and my professor was in not-so-rare hysterical form. That man missed his calling as a stand-up comedian, though he is a pretty great Crim professor, too.

Tuesday I got called on in Civil Procedure and my Torts professor called the group of kids that beat up a boy in one of our cases the "Jena 6."

Wednesday, in the middle of lecture my Property professor noticed my shoes and exclaimed "fabulous shoes!" mid sentence. I replied "thank you!" and when the rest of the class snickered she said "well they are, you should see them!" They are some of my favorites, too. My property professor has excellent taste! I also had two meetings for student groups I am hoping to be very involved with on Wednesday.

Thursday I ate falafel with some friends and when I joked that "now we feel awful" they had never heard that before and thought I had made it up. Sadly, I am too honest to take credit for that one. I went to the Penn Law Women's Association Ice Cream Social after class and had a lovely sundae and met my new mentor. She seems really great, and it is always nice to meet people with common interests. On my way home from school I was passing a business and there was a man on a ladder fixing the awning. He looked down at me an yelled "that necklace makes you look like a super hero!" I said thank you, not really knowing what else to say. He assured me he meant it as a good thing, and asked me to promise not to use it for evil. I agreed and scratched my head all the way home.

Later that evening I went to a section 1 "we don't have class tomorrow" party. I did a rousing rendition of "Baby Got Back" which is my standard karaoke song. I also had a chance to get to know some of my classmates I hadn't really talked to before. I keep meeting great people here, and that is very encouraging!

Today I went to a lecture on how to prepare for exams because I figure that is something I should probably know how to do. Now I'm off to a homemade pizza gathering.

Who knows what tomorrow has in store?

yikes

Wow, I got called on yesterday in my Civil Procedure class... I don't think I could have personally done a worse job of answering the questions, but at least my prof wasn't nasty about it. It was a question on a case we read for last week, so it was buried under the 60 pages of reading for this week. If only I had gotten called on today instead! Ah, well. At least if American Hospital Supply comes up on the final it will be in my head. Or if it comes up again ever in the course of my life.

Today I volunteered to help coordinate the "book insert sale" for the International Human Rights Advocates. Not 100% sure what that will entail, but I guess I'll find out! There is also a meeting for the Equal Justice Foundation today. Just in case my normal coursework doesn't keep me busy enough I'll add some other obligations :)

I want a kitty

I want a kitty. Last night I planned where I would put a scratching post, a kitty bed, a food and water dish, and I imagined a cat sleeping on my pillow and purring me to sleep. I thought about names and what I would do with said kitty if I went to Kenya for the summer or Central America for spring break. I thought about vet bills and difficult decisions. I thought about hair balls and insulin shots, dead birds and thyroid pills. I wondered if a cat could be happy and fulfilled living in a junior one bedroom apartment in Center City Philadelphia.

I really miss Soot. I miss how he would sit on me when I was taking a nap. I miss how he would touch my face with his paw when he wanted attention. I miss having someone waiting for me when I come home who is always happy to see me and very vocal about it. I miss having a furry cuddlebug to cheer me up when I am stressed out or sad. (This would come in handy in law school)

I promised myself that I wouldn't have another pet until I could afford to give it all the medical care it needed. I never have been patient.

Another year older

Well, I made it to 26, who would have thought? I was admittedly a little bummed out by the whole thing until I decided that I am pretty pleased with what I've done with the past 26 years. I had a great birthday here in Philly. I watched some So You Think You Can Dance marathon, walked to the zoo, took a nap, and tried to slice my little finger off with my kitchen knife... Happily, I was unsuccessful at that last bit, but I did manage to give myself quite a gash. Apparently I should not be trusted with sharp objects.

Once I got that under control, I went out to dinner with some friends. Turns out the restaurant that I made reservations at via the internet was closed Sunday only for renovations. Strike two! So we went to a great Thai place instead. Dinner was great, and then some of us went back to my apartment to have some AMAZING carrot cake that my friend Adrianna made from scratch. She is an awesome baker, so it was the perfect ending to a great birthday. Now I get to dive into my Civil Procedure reading. I refused to do any work yesterday, so I had better get to it!

Holiday weekend

Ahhhh. One class stands between me and my 3-day birthday-holiday weekend. Very exciting. Last night I went to the International Law Organization dinner at Kabul restaurant. Some tasty food, and some great events coming up. There is going to be a symposium on North Korean refugees, and one on national security.

I e-mailed the lady in charge of resettlement at the UN refugee camp in Dadaab yesterday to see about how to apply for an internship next summer. Things are rolling along here, no sign of stopping! Gotta go learn about the duty element of negligence torts. If the statute says you need to have your lights on, turn your lights on!

Philadelphia Zoo

I am now a proud member of the Philadelphia Zoo! I checked out the Nation's First Zoo with a fellow 1L yesterday afternoon. We didn't get to see everything due to the reading waiting for us at home, but I will be back. If I can avoid the pitfalls that are the zoo store and the food court I should be good to go. So far so good! I'm not sure where this will power came from, but I am not complaining! The zoo has three baby tiger cubs that are almost four months old now, too cute! We have reason to believe that there will be baby kangaroos in the not-too-distant future, too ;)

The third week of classes has already started! I was skeptical when I was told my first year would fly by, but it seems to be happening even as I type. Today I met with the professor who teaches a lot of the international law courses here at Penn and had a great discussion about my future goals and how I should be preparing for an international career. It is a little scary to be planning the rest of my life, but it is very exciting to have what have been far-off day-dreams become tangible.

Well, Legal Writing reading awaits, and a full day of Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Legal Writing, Torts and Socratic dialog is in store for tomorrow!

I Like Cold Beverages

Yesterday I got some excellent news. The JD/MA in International Studies program that I was so excited about has added two weeks in SENEGAL to their summer immersion part of the French program. I also found out that I can apply in January which will give me some more time to work on my French. If I am accepted I would still have to spend a month in Paris, so I guess I'll just have to pack lots of cortisone salve if that happens! Alors, je doit faire mes devoirs!

This post is called "I like cold beverages" because I just got back from the store with a wide variety of tasty cold beverages, and also that song cracks me up. I think I'll go enjoy both.

Socratic Method

Well, I finally had my first taste of the Socratic method. I think it went OK, I didn't faint or vomit and I was able to come up with passable answers (I think). I have to say I was impressed by my Criminal Law professor's pronunciation of my last name, I think he may have practiced.

So far I am still enjoying law school, the readings are pretty interesting (though some admittedly make me cross-eyed at times), the class discussions are thought-provoking. Now I remember why I've always said I am better at school than real life. There are also so many great opportunities to get involved with pro-bono projects, clinics, and other fun groups. I have to be careful not to sign up for too much, but it will be really nice to see my education put to good use so immediately.

I went to an academic support series lecture on preparing for class and the professor talked about lawyers as storytellers who translate the story from human language to legal language. Storytelling and translation? I guess I made the right choice of career! That is it for tonight, the pile of dishes in the sink is about to reach critical mass...

Apartment Pictures

These aren't quite in the order I wanted them in, but for a first try I guess it will be fine. Hope you like the pictures!

First week of class

Classes are now underway and things seem to be going pretty well. I am enjoying my classes, keeping up on my reading (and understanding most of it), and I haven't been called on yet. Just another benefit of having a last name that is hard to pronounce! My Professors are all really good, my classmates are lots of fun, and man am I exhausted! I am not used to paying attention for so many hours a day, I guess. Happily, I have been keeping up on my naps for now.

This weekend I plan to get my apartment into photographable shape and get those pictures posted. How better to induce you to visit? I am also planning a trip to the zoo (they have baby tigers!) and massive amounts of reading. Now that I have blazing fast Comcast cable internet with power boost at my house (is it obvious I was a marketing major?) I should be able to post more often, provided something interesting happens!

About the comments, pics are coming soon, I am not anti-technology, just lazy. I don't know if I prefer Pat's or Geno's cheese steaks, they are both good for different reasons, and a 1L is a first year law student, a 2L is a second year law student and a 3L is a 3rd year law student.

Gotta go, class is starting!

Orientation

Well, Orientation is in full swing, I've been bowling, helped clean up a park, taken tours, done pub crawls, been to receptions and presentations and certified my laptop. I have met a lot of really cool people and have started to figure out the bus system. I have my class and exam schedule and my assignments. I will also be dropping a pretty penny on books before I head home for a much-needed nap. Classes start Tuesday, I will write another post all about the Socratic method.

Settling into my new apartment

Well, my parents and I made it to Philadelphia! Our flight was a few hours late (big surprise) so we spent the first night on the floor. Ouch. The next day we spent getting supplies and furniture at Target and Ikea. The next few days we spent putting all of my new Ikea furniture together... It rained quite a bit while they were here, so we didn't get to walk around as much as I would have liked, but it did provide a cool environment for furniture assembly.

I did let my parents have a little fun here in Philly. We went to the Franklin Institute (though we didn't see Tut), the Mutter Museum, the Art Museum, the Rodin, the Reading Terminal Market, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Penn Law building, compared cheese steaks from the rivals Pat and Geno in South Philly, ate Ethiopian food, mom and I went shopping on South Street while dad went to the US mint.

Driving in Philadelphia was an adventure to be sure, though I left that adventure for mom and dad to enjoy... The rental car was returned in one piece, no collisions to report. Mom and dad left for Bozeman on Thursday afternoon leaving me to put up posters and unpack the boxes that I sent myself.

So far I LOVE Philadelphia--the people are awesome and very friendly. My apartment is great; it was so much fun to pick out furniture and all the trimmings. I will try to get some pictures uploaded soon, though I am not known for being good at that sort of thing! My home Internet connection should be set up on September 1, so I will do another post then and give all the details on orientation. I got my class schedule today, I'm almost a 1L!

Herregud!

Had a mental breakdown last night; I have SO MUCH STUFF!! Where did it all come from? I keep throwing stuff away, packing boxes to mail, packing suitcases, packing boxes of (mostly books) stuff I can't bear to part with but also can't afford to mail myself or store in Philadelphia... Yet, there is always more stuff to be dealt with. I am quickly running out of days and patience. I'd really rather be hanging out with friends in the next two days than packing.

Enough whining, I had an awesome evening with some of my very favorite people in the whole world, Carter, Bjorn, Sissel, and Siri. Also, both Danny AND Sabra made it into the finals of So You Think You Can Dance, so all is well with the world for now.

Here's hoping I get everything done in the next 24 hours so I can have some time to play (hey, a girl can hope!)

Getting started

Well, it looks like I officially have a blog now! Hopefully I will have lots of interesting things to post, and maybe even time to post them. Right now I am just going to keep packing my life into suitcases in an attempt to be ready for Thursday. If anything exciting happens, you'll be the first to know.