old friends

For anyone out there who knew me way back when I was but a lass of 16 or younger, this is for you:

You likely don't know how much your friendship meant to me, but I look back upon our time together so fondly. Those carefree days in sunny Florida will always occupy a special place in my heart.

After middle school I only had the one year of high school. And when I moved to Mississippi, I was practically an adult by the time I got settled here. Beyond what I knew at LMCS and DBHS, I never had the formative, rite-of-passage experiences that most American teenagers share: prom, spring break adventures, the shared anxiety of awaiting college acceptance decisions, and those last bittersweet weeks of senior year.

I have no regrets as to how my life unfolded, but so it goes that my middle school friends and my 9th grade friends remain so dear to me in my memories. The times we had and the experiences we shared, while seemingly mundane or silly or fleeting, will always be special to me.

And even though my role in your lives has likely been much smaller than your role in my life, please know that I'll never forget you. I wish you all the best, and I'll always be grateful for your friendship.

suiting

First thing this morning I had an on-campus interview, which meant (1) that I was frigid during the outdoors portion of my morning commute, and (2) that I was stuck wearing a business suit all the day long. Lounging in the student center reading for class, walking around on campus, eating lunch, and going to class all had to be done in a damned business suit, none of which felt right.

Now, I realize that I’m going to have to become more accustomed to wearing suits. But this realization has two caveats. One, if all goes according to plan, I won’t actually have to wear suits all too often, and certainly not all day, every day. Two, the wearing of suits that I will be doing will be better suited for suits than the things I’ve been doing today. That is, ideally, I’ll wear suits for court, depositions, and an occasional super-important meeting, but for doing everyday legal work I can simply wear put-together, professional-looking attire that isn’t necessarily a suit. And when I am in a suit I (hopefully) won't be in an environment where I stick out like a sore thumb as the only one wearing a suit amongst a bunch of 1st year law students and undergrads.

There’s just something about wearing a suit that makes me feel stuffy and uptight. Hopefully that will pass as I wear suits more often, but for now I’m happy to be home in yoga pants and a flannel shirt...

the party's over

The crowds have dispersed. The streets have been cleaned. But port-a-potties still line the streets. And although the neutral ground is cleared of tents, grills, chairs, and ladders, remnants of cheap Chinese trinkets remain. Crushed, deformed doubloons lie on the streetcar tracks. Beads hang from the trees, fences, and power-lines.

The streetcar is running again, but it carries more tourists than locals. They're easy enough to identify, clutching parcels from Cafe Du Monde and speaking in a variety of accents and tongues. The schoolchildren with whom I usually ride the early am trolley are nowhere to be seen. I suspect they've been given the entire week off to recover from the festivities.

No such luck for us law students. Today we return to the drudgery and toil that is the study of law. And while I'm ready and willing to embrace sobriety and quiet after a long weekend of hearty partying, it required a Herculean effort to get out of bed this morning in time for class. Unfortunately, it seems returning to the tedium and monotony of law school is no easy task after four days of fun and festivity.

celebratory

Festivities! Enthusiasm!

Such has been my life as of late. It started last Friday evening, with the Krewe of Oshun parading down The Avenue. Since then, 16 more parades have passed by mere yards from my home. And on Tues (Dat Tuesday!) we walked down to Lee Circle to see yet another parade: the Saints’ triumphant march through the old, faithful, tired streets of New Orleans. It was quite a sight:

With quite the crowd...

And fighter jets, too!

So it goes that my first Mardi Gras has almost come to an end. Tonight marks Lundi Gras, with two more parades and partying all night into the morrow: Mardi Gras, the day for which the entire carnival season has been culminating. After Zulu, Rex, Elks, and Crescent City roll tomorrow, the 9 days of parades will come to and end. As of Wednesday, Lent - the lean season of sacrifice and fasting - will then be upon this city. It couldn't end sooner, in my humble opinion. It was fun, at first, watching the spectacle. There is something truly special and unique about this city during this time. But there's only so much spectacle one need experience in the span of two weeks. For my part, I’ll be ready and willing to embrace the sombre spirit of Lent, thanks to the knowledge that another round of law school final exams lies just around the corner...

And, of course, secure in the knowledge that next year will bring another round of spectacle with another Mardi Gras.

Tonight, however, ‘tis bacchanal revelry or bust!

alive and well in 2010

Well, I survived exams and the holidays. Exams were difficult, but I studied so much and worked so hard I don't think I could have done any better for my part. The question that remains, then, is how hard my cohort studied, and how the grades will be distributed along the curve. Only time will tell, but I'll be waiting with bated breath until grades are released at the end of the month.

For now, week 2 of the new semester, I'm trying to get acclimated to a new schedule. It's a lighter load than last semester (3 substantive classes instead of 4), which is a relief, but that doesn't mean I'll be any less stressed, for my classes this term promise to be even more dense and tedious than those of the last term. Contracts II: Sales, and Property Law will both be tedious, and Constitutional Law will be the most interesting, but it will require a great deal of time and effort. (How could it not be with a textbook that's 1962 pages long?) And it is the one and only class for which the exam will be closed book and closed notes.

So, here we go again.

Aside from school, the holidays offered a much needed and welcomed break from the stress and mind-numbing pace of law school. Over the two-week mini-vacation I was able to do a lot of relaxing, and enjoy a lot of good food and good company, the memories of which will help to sustain me over the next few months as I stumble back into the fray of the Second Semester...

of practice, perfection, and patience

Twice since arriving at Tulane I've been told that it takes approximately 10,000 hours to "master" a skill. Apparently, that works out to about five years....

If that's true, I've already mastered the practice of law. I mean, sure I wasn't Licensed By The State, but I know from living in a law office day in and day out for five years what it takes to be a good lawyer. I've been there and done that every step of the way along with those who were duly licensed, with the exception of the Official Courtroom Proceedings...

I'm loving law school because it's school - challenging and rewarding - but I miss the actual practice of law. This is actually encouraging, however, because it has me totally convinced that I'm on the right path. If I find myself eager to find a law office job and again do Real Legal Work, then most certainly law school was, in spite of all the doubt and worry and difficulty of the past few weeks and months, really and truly a Good Idea.

For the time being, however, it's back to the books. School has been demanding lately (as if that's anything new), and the sorry part is that it's going to get much, much worse before it gets any better. For the past two weeks we were busy and distracted with the stress of practice exams. Although they were only practice and not for any kind of grade, to benefit from it one had to put forth something resembling the effort and time required to prepare for a Real Law School Exam. This week brought our first Real Research Writing Project Deadline, as well as the first session of a Career Development mini-course.

And all the while I'm still reading cases and learning doctrines, because practice makes perfect.

But what I miss is the day-to-day practice of law in the Real World. I'm caught up in the Ivory Tower in a way that I've never actually before been. (It used to be, in my previous scholastic endeavors, that my law office wage-earning work kept me firmly tethered to the Real World, but now I find myself steeped in the academy in a way that borders on suffocation.) What I'm doing now - right now - doesn't matter to anyone. No one is depending on me to do something with a piece of paper that will have a lasting, meaningful impact on someone's life course. I'm just reading cases long decided, and analyzing and writing about hypothetical legal problems. All the while there's Real Legal Problems happening, out there in the Real World, but they are wholly disconnected from my current endeavors.

So I'll continue diligently working, in eager anticipation of the day when the Law School Hazing is over and I can start taking baby-steps into the Real World as a Real Lawyer...

you know you're a law student if

you dream of IRAC formatting and BlueBook citations.

Such is my life lately.