Question

How many of my law school friends have checked this since Laura told you all about it last Saturday?

It's Friday

...which means I've just finished my first week of law school, and overall it seems pretty good. There certainly is a fair amount of work (a lot more than in undergrad) but I don't think I have to worry too much about the horror stories I've been told of how law students have to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week until finals season, at which point it becomes 18...I know a couple of people who are treating it like a job, where they'll work from 9-5 or 6 on weekdays, and that gets them through the material.

Ann Arbor's turning out to be a really great place: the Law School is beautiful and I don't think I could ask for anything better in the Reading Room or library. There are also a ton of bars, restaurants, stores and anything else you could want within walking distance, so there's always a new place to go.

The people here are much more laid back than your stereotypical law student--friendly, easy to get along with & willing to help you out if you need it. I think I got lucky with my section in particular, which seem to be filled with some pretty great people.

As for the classes I'm taking this semester, I think I'll end up really enjoying 3 out of 4, which isn't too bad: Con Law and Torts are both interesting (and match up pretty well with some of my interests in philosophy from undergrad) and Legal Practice shouldn't be too demanding (read: it's pass/fail, so I don't have to stress about it). Property, on the other hand, is the one I think I'll enjoy the least: I'm not as interested in the material, and it seems to be (at least at this point) a lot more memorization than the others. But the semester is young--that could always change.

And speaking of classes, I should probably get started on that reading....

Pictures of the Room

My desk (with the 1st semester books), and in back of that my pantry/food area

We get a sink in the rooms, which I think is great--it makes sharing a bathroom significantly easier.

The desk again, and the door in the background.

Desk/empty bookshelf

My bed and, of course, my GLORIOUS television.

And finally the incredibly heavy, unmovable dresser and a shot of my closet.

Hello!

It's been a while since I've posted, and this isn't going to be a very long update, but briefly so nobody thinks I'm dead: I moved to Ann Arbor, registered for school, got moved in (for the most part), got my awesome new computer, had a fun weekend with my parents and am about to go buy some textbooks (eep! they're expensive!).

I'll post some more details and pictures in the near future.

Also, I now officially hate Ohio State. Go Blue.

It's Cool Because it's about Moral Philosophy

Check out two of Carl Dennis' poems: The God Who Loves You and Progressive Health.

1L Schedule Vol. II

Also, in case anyone wants to know where I'll be over the next few days, here's the plan:

8/14-19: packing, Elaine comes up to Reno to visit
8/20: flying out with Mom & Dad to Ann Arbor
8/21: probably shopping for stuff for my room
8/22: Move-In Day
8/24: Parents head back to Reno
8/25: First day of orientation; pick up my MCard & get my new computer
8/25-29: Orientation week
9/2: first day of classes

1L Schedule

Well I just got the unofficial schedule for my 1L year, and it looks pretty good. Michigan breaks down each entering class into one of four sections, and then each section into four different groups, so there's ABCD, EFGH, IJKL and MNOP. I'm in the "I" group, and my first semester schedule is (drum roll here...):

Con Law: 10:10-11:00 am Mon - Thurs David Franklin
Torts: 11:15-12:10 pm Mon - Thurs Christina Whitman
Property: 1:30-2:25 pm Tues - Fri Brian Simpson
Legal Practice: 2:35-3:30 pm Wed & Fri Mark Osbeck

I checked out the bios for my four professors, and for some reason David Franklin doesn't appear anywhere...so I'm guessing that's not who will end up teaching the course.

They've also already made the 2nd semester schedule, which isn't nearly so nice: 8:00 am class 5 days a week = major bummer (you can see it here). Guess I've just gotta get used to getting up early this semester. And, in case you were wondering, in that 2nd semester I'll be taking Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law and Legal Practice (II).

All-in-all, it looks pretty good, and I'm definitely getting excited to head out on Wednesday.

I <3 NJ

So I got a letter in the mail a few days ago from the NJ Department of Taxation, telling me that I had only paid part of my tax bill. I looked through my copy of the tax return I filed, and it turns out that New Jersey didn't credit me the money that Princeton University withheld from my paycheck. After I found that out, I called the Department of Taxation, and tried to explain to them that I didn't actually owe any additional money, and that if they took a look at my W-2 form, they'd have proof of that. The not-so-nice lady on the other end told me that they just don't seem to have a copy of my W-2 which, in case you guessed, is pretty dumb considering that a) I sent it to them with my tax return, b) I'm almost positive that Princeton was legally required to send them one and c) if they're telling the truth, apparently my word is good enough for the State of New Jersey for how much I actually owe: I could have put that I earned $2.97 in 2007 and since they don't check for W-2's, they'd have no way to prove otherwise.

And as a result, I'm now going to have to send a letter to New Jersey with a copy of my W-2 from Princeton and explain to them what happened. With any luck, this will easily be resolved (ha). Anyway, back to work. I've got a strongly-worded letter to write.

I'm Back!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything, but I spent last week in San Francisco for a law school thing (and got to see Elaine, which was quite nice :-)), and since the internet connection at the hotel was pretty bad, I was a terrible person and neglected my blog.

But, updates on my life: well...very little is new. I'm finishing up my paralegal work (my last day is August 15th), and will be packing up my stuff to move to Michigan on the 20th, which I'm quite excited about. I've then got a few days of settling in time before Orientation, which starts something like August 27th, and then eventually classes begin the first week of September. I've of course been told by many past and current law students that going to school will consume my entire life and that I'll have little if any time for anything else (last week someone actually said I should set up automatic bill pay for everything since I won't have the 10 minutes/month to pay my bills. Riiiiight), but I'm pretty sure I'll squeeze in a few minutes every now and then for the important stuff, like updating my blog.

Carson City!

Elaine and I took a trip down to Carson City this weekend, and of course she took a bunch of pictures. I'm getting them up before she does so I can accuse her of copying me. :-)

The giant miner guy at the candy store we HAD to stop at BOTH there and back.
I know what you're thinking: yes, Elaine is that tiny.

The State Capitol, which used to be where the legislature met, but is now pretty much the Governor's office.

This is the view from about halfway along the walkway to the Capitol. You can see the gate and, across the street, the office of Nevada's Attorney General.


Elaine looking important (and maybe a little awkward?) in the old Assembly Chambers


Me, looking less important (and definitely awkward) in the old Supreme Court Chambers



The new Supreme Court building


The USS Reno, also known as the Mighty R!


Mammoths > me and >>> Elaine


Elaine at the Governor's mansion. I can't believe they don't have any security beyond a camera by the entry and a metal chain across the path to the front door (that tiny thing right behind her). I feel like the terrorists are winning in Nevada.


Really good picture of the mansion again (good work, Oscar!)

Football!

I just bought my season tickets for Michigan football next year. I will say that it'll be awfully nice to be able to cheer on a team that isn't terrible (anyone remember a certain homecoming game against Yale where we fumbled the ball at the 5 yard line when a simple field goal would have won us the game? Because I do.). I am a little sad that both the Notre Dame and Ohio State games are away, but I'm still eagerly awaiting a legitimate college football experience.

Also, for no particular reason, a cool fact: the largest crowd in NCAA football history was in Ann Arbor for the 2003 Michigan v. Ohio State game with a total attendance of 112,118 (Michigan won).

How awesome is this?

Firefly

In cae you were wondering, Firefly was a really good show that was cancelled way too early. I know the idea of a sci-fi/Western tv series sounds a little odd, but I found it really watchable. I was watching Firefly through Netflix, and even though I knew the thing only had 14 episodes, I still didn't realize I was watching the last episode until I had finished and tried watching the next one. So I am le sad.

At least they made a movie...

How Cute

I learned something today: a baby platypus is called a "puggle."

The Gubernator

Great news about our illustrious governor, Mr. Jim Gibbons - he of the 30-odd% approval rating, who has variously been accused of sexual harassment (twice), hiring an illegal immigrant while campaigning against illegal immigration (which he did) and taking 10's of thousands of dollars as a US Congressman to steer defense contracts to certain people (the email exchange between the briber and his wife went, "Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn [on the cruise we're paying for, which the Gibbons' never disclosed as required by House ethics rules]"; and the response, "Don't you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!" Excuse me, alleged briber). He's now getting a divorce! By which I mean, he's getting divorced again! That's right, this family-values supporting, conservative Mormon who's ready to stand up against the Godless liberals who don't respect certain traditional institutions is now in the midst of his second divorce. Consider some interesting tid bits from this saga:

* The Governor chose to move out of the Governor's Mansion in Carson City in favor of the couple's Reno home when the two separated, prompting many to wonder if he is breaking a Nevada law which mandates the Governor reside at the seat of government.

* The Governor is now seeking a court order to remove his wife from said mansion.

* In this supposedly amicable divorce, Mr. Gibbons has asked the court to order his wife to pay his attorney's fees and has sealed all proceedings from the public.

* Dawn Gibbons is contesting the sealing of the records--she apparently wants everything, from witness testimony to financial records, available to the general public.

* Jim Gibbons said, in front of a large group of people while a US Congressman, "Tree hugging, Birkenstock wearing, hippie, tie dyed liberals [in Hollywood should]… go make their movies and their music and whine somewhere else…. It's just too damn bad we didn't buy them a ticket...to become human shields in Iraq."

* And, when accused of sexual harassment during his gubernatorial campaign, he said, again for the record, "I learned an important lesson: never to offer a helping hand to anybody ever again."

OK, those last two had nothing to do with the divorce, but they're appropriately ridiculous.

Another Job

I just started working this week at my new job, another law office in town with two attorneys who do a fair amount of trial work. It's a pretty decent gig: I have my own space, desk, computer, etc., which is nice; the office is modern and everything works well; and, importantly, I really like my co-workers & bosses. Everybody seems pretty easy to get along with, so all in all it looks promising.

And, on the law school front....absolutely nothing new. Still waiting to hear from three schools which tell me they'll "make every effort" to get me a decision by April 15th. Fantastic.

Good News

A couple of cool things happened to me over the last few days. I'm finishing up my work at the law office where I've been at for the last few weeks, and have been looking for other jobs. Yesterday I was offered another paralegal job (with a different, larger firm) for a little bit more money and much better hours. I was worried it would take a few weeks to find something good, but I guess I got lucky.

And, in other news, today I received a letter from the University of Michigan saying I've been offered a Dean's Scholarship. I was pretty sure I'd get accepted, but I was surprised to hear that I'd been offered an award--guess somebody likes me. :-) I'm still waiting on four other law schools (well, I guess five since I was wait-listed at one...), but this will definitely make my decision more difficult (in a good way) if I'm accepted somewhere else that, all things being equal, I'd prefer to go. Now if only I would hear from those other schools!

Also....

Anyone want to guess who Cody's supporting for the presidential race? I'm going to go with Hillary Clinton. :-)

This is HILARIOUS

Everyone at Princeton's already seen it, but for those of you who haven't, click here. If you don't think it's funny the first time, watch it again.

There's also one on JFK here.

I'm Clearly a Liar

...because when I say that I'm going to post in my blog frequently, I don't. For about 3 months. So this time I'm not even going to say that I'll be posting in the near future, although maybe this will be that post where I turn the corner.

Brief update: I'm now living back in Reno and working for a law office for the next four weeks--it's a short gig, but it pays much better per hour than anything else I'm likely to get, so I decided to take it. By the end of February, I'll once again be facing the ever-less-appealing job market. I've finished applying to law schools (though I didn't turn in my applications as early as I'd hoped), and so far I've heard back from three, so I officially know I will be heading back to the ivory tower next September.

Lastly, if I ever do end up posting here more frequently, I may or may not be writing on some philosophy-related subjects, since a) I find it interesting, b) now some people might actually read it and c) you can't stop me.