10:56 AM

It's hard to believe I'll be rocking out in a mere twelve hours. I don't feel that rockenin' right now.

 
12:58 PM

Okay...the suspense builds! Will I be on call in Con Law next week? Duh duh duh...no! Not next week.

 
8:46 AM

People are talking about grades. Don't they know the rules? You can't talk about that!!!

 
3:25 PM

I keep waking up, very perky and ready to go, at 3:30 AM. Then I go back to sleep and I'm awakened by the alarm clock at 5:30. Then I hit snooze like 10 times. Maybe this means I'm not staying up late enough!

 
8:04 AM

Hey, want to go see some rock shows this weekend? One of my favorite bands in the world, MOTO (AKA The Masters of the Obvious) from Chicago are playing at Bernie's (AKA The Distillery) Friday night. The show starts at 10. Plus, another cool band hailing from Scotland, the Country Teasers (who I had the pleasure of recording for WHPK's Pure Hype back when I was in Chicago), will be playing at Cafe Bourbon Street (on Summit) on Sunday.

 
7:14 PM

I hadn't seen any before today, but today I saw two Chevy Aveos! These are little rebadged Daewoos, made in Korea. They used to be Lanoses. Not that I'm in the market for a new car now, and not that if I was I would get one of those. I don't know...I just like little, cheap cars.

 
3:21 PM

Somehow Professor Clovis never stumbles over the pronunciation of anyone's name. Either somehow he just knows, or he does his homework, or he's just so authoritative that people are afraid to dispute him when he says their names wrong. Or maybe he just never calls on people with difficult names.

 
10:24 AM

I'm starting to get back to that point where I'm all like: "Read cases? But I did that yesterday! You mean I have to do the same thing again today?!"

 
8:57 AM

You know the other thing about this semester? I only have one class that nominally runs longer than 50 minutes. Contracts runs actually but not nominally longer. Legal Writing runs much, much longer.

 
4:05 PM

Here's another plea for advice from an anonymous reader:

Dear 1L,

Recently my dentist has recommended that I get braces to correct a jaw problem. I had braces in middle school and am dreading getting them again now that I'll be starting professional school. I'm already pretty dorky and have enough trouble in social situations without adding metal to my teeth. Do you have any recommendations on how to mitigate the next year and a half? Is there some way to trick myself into thinking that I don't have braces?

Sincerely,
Future Metal Mouth

Well, I've never had braces. If you've ever seen my teeth, this probably comes as no surprise. So any advice I could muster would come from "book-learnin'" rather than actual experience. Here are a couple of web sites I've found with information for adults with braces:

• ArchWired
  
• American Association of Orthodontists Public Information (braces.org)
  
• www.bracesinfo.com

But lemme think...I saw a young woman about my age at a party recently, and I first thought to myself: "She's very tall and kind of oddly young-looking." And I thought and I thought, and she left the room and then came back and I finally realized she had braces. It took me a really long time to notice! It usually does. I don't know who has toupees and who doesn't. I would also have no idea if people had certain kinds of plastic surgery. So there's my first point: people won't notice as much as you think. I think that goes for both genders.

Second, if you're starting professional school soon (do you mean law school?) it must have been a long time since you were in middle school and thus it's been a long time since you last had braces. Have you thought about how advances in orthodontic technology might make it an easier go this time around?

Also, grown-ups aren't as cruel as middle schoolers. When I really think about it, I really love being an adult. Most adults are pretty decent to each other, even if they don't really like each other. Plus you can choose who you want to associate with.

I guess I'm focusing on your subjective impressions of what it will be like having braces again because it sounds like you don't have a choice in the matter and thus don't have a choice as far as the physical effects and limitations go.

So think about this: a kid in middle school in 1992 with braces may be a "metal mouth". But there is every reason to believe that an adult professional student with braces in 2004 will not be a "metal mouth" in any significant sense of the term.

 
8:56 PM

Geez...what am I going to spend all my time thinking about now? I'm going to have to actually pay attention to my schoolwork, aren't I?

 
8:46 PM

I've never eaten so much mashed potatoes in my life.

 
5:00 PM

Okay, now I have my grades. I know something you don't know! Hee hee hee...

 
4:12 PM

Sitting around waiting for the stupid grades is like sitting in a doctor's waiting room when you know you need a booster shot that day.

For your edification, here are some of my grades from college:

Genetics - B
Globalization and its Discontents (taught by famous blogger Daniel Drezner) - B+
James Joyce: Ulysses - B+
The Economics of Crime - A-
Physical Education - Pass!

 
11:03 AM

The mere fact of being in Legislation somehow makes me incredibly hungry.

 
9:59 AM

"This system is currently down!" Ack...false alarm.

 
9:19 AM

You know what? Maybe I'll read Turow's 1L right after I'm done with my first year. And you know what else? Maybe I'll write my own book about being a 1L! I've always wanted to write a book.

 
8:57 AM

Rumor has it that grades are out early...I don't know if I should check them now so I won't be distracted in class, or check them after class for the same reason. The thing is that there are plusses and minuses whether they're good or bad. If they're good, that's swell, but I might feel the pressure to keep them up. If they're not so good, I might be disappointed, but it might take the edge off the pressure to do anything but chug along in the middle of the pack. If they're really bad, it would be a good signal to maybe try something else.

This is pretty sick in a way...I've never been so concerned about grades before in my life. In fact, if I had been, I would have gotten better grades.

 
1:33 PM

I just realized that Professors Brudney and Foley both clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. I wonder if we could get both guys together some time to talk about Blackmun and what it's like to be a big-time clerk.

 
7:58 AM

Grades grades grades grades. Grades? Grades, grades. Grades grades: "Grades grades grades grades grades grades; grades grades grades grades grades grades, grades." GRADES?! Grades: "Grades, grades, grades, grades grades grades grades grades grades grades grades." Grades...grades, grades grades grades grades grades, grades grades grades grades grades grades grades grades grades. GRADES!

 
7:49 AM

I like the word "seisin" from Pierson v. Post. It sounds like it's from Japanese. It sounds like a combination of gaijin and sensei.

 
9:25 PM

By the way...am I the only one who can't stand the State of the Union? Not so much because it's boring, but because it seems kind of unwise to get the whole government together in one place at one time? It gives me the willies! I mean, do your boring speech, clap, and get out of there! Sheesh!

 
9:06 PM

In response to the recent guestbook entry:

Moritz College of Law Honor Code
Section B. Substantive Provisions

1. No student shall cheat in the taking of an examination; cheating includes knowingly receiving or giving any information to others except as authorized by the instructor, or knowingly taking any advantage not available to the class as a whole which has not been authorized by the instructor or the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. [Everything on this website is available to every class as a whole, and if you snuck in one of my (satisfaction not guaranteed) outlines, it would be just as bad as if you snuck in a photocopied Gilbert's or something. Besides, this rule seems to only be concerned with conduct during tests in particular.]
   
2. No student shall knowingly give or receive aid or assistance in any work assigned, including legal writing and research problems, Moot Court, Trial Practice, or any course, seminar, or other offering of the Moritz College of Law, when such aid or assistance has been prohibited or otherwise precluded by the instructor. [I don't put my answers to research assignments on this site just like I won't put my exam answers on the site (unless I perhaps get permission later).]
   
3. No student shall plagiarize (1) in any written work assigned for any course or seminar, (2) in any work for Moot Court or (3) in any journal sponsored by the College. Plagiarism means knowingly copying or imitating the ideas or expressions of another and representing them as one’s own. Failure to acknowledge or cite a source which is copied or imitated constitutes the representation that the idea or expression is one’s own. [I think it's clear that my casebook notes and class notes represent the ideas of the casebook author or lecturer, respectively, unless it says otherwise, like "I think..."]
   
4. No student shall knowingly steal, destroy or impede another student’s academic work. Impeding another student’s work includes, but is not limited to, the theft, concealment, defacement, or mutilation of common academic resources so that access and use by others is impeded. [I like to think I do quite the opposite.]
   
5. No student shall knowingly influence or attempt to influence any member of the Honor Council as to any matter before the Honor Council, except through official Honor Council proceedings.
   
6. No Honor Council member shall fail to maintain the confidentiality of all adjudicatory proceedings before the Honor Council or shall discuss any pending case with any person except as necessary to carry out his or her duties as a Council member.
   
7. No student having knowledge of a violation by another shall fail to report such violation by another as required by Article V., Section C.

I'm probably being oversensitive to anonymous criticism, but I wanted to show that I've really thought these things through. As far as grades go, we'll just see. That is, I'll just see, because I'm not telling you.

 
7:23 AM

John Kerry...Vietnam vet...electable? Hmmmm....

John Edwards...personal-injury attorney...detestable? Hmmmmm....

Richard Gephardt...self-serving SOB...out of the race....Yaaaaaaay!

 
7:16 PM

It took me all this time to realize that "Crescat Sententia" was really called that and not "Crescat Scientia" like the motto of my alma mater. You would think having gone to such a school I would be smarter and more observant than that.

 
4:30 PM

On a lighter note in terms of people I knew in middle school (and elementary school), this band's lead singer also went to my middle school. They opened for the Country Teasers at Bernie's, and I got such a crush on this female chanteuse all of the sudden. But there was something about her...I was like hmmm...and all of the sudden, the name "Lara Yazvac" insinuated itself into my consciousness. And I thought...hmmm...I haven't thought of her in years. But then later I went and looked it up online (like I look up everything), and sure enough. Well, the crush just wasn't really the same after that. You can't look at someone the same way once you realize you knew them when they were 8. Plus, I think she figured out who I was before I figured out who she was.

 
4:12 PM

This kid used to live on my street and picked on me in middle school. I had such glorious daydreams of venegence back then. And this kid got drafted by the NFL! Is there no justice?! At least he got cut.

 
4:03 PM

I'm realizing that at its best, law school is exacty what college should have been like for me. When I was trying to decide what to do with myself a year ago, one thought that kept crossing my mind was that I wished I could do college over again. Maybe this is the next best thing.

 
2:25 PM

Here's a hot tip: If you want to make a splash at a law school party, lip-sync to Slayer's "Angel of Death" with a ukelele. It may help to drink some beers first.

 
11:29 PM

Sometimes I read my own website just to remind myself what I was thinking about before. Do you think that's weird?

 
8:21 AM

I'm now an official member of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Blogging Community.

 
4:10 PM

For those of you who are concerned about your grades, heed this advice from our friends from the 1920's:

You can pass many a class,
Whether you're dumb or wise,
If you'll all answer the call
When your professor cries:

"Everybody down on the heels, up on the toes,
Stay after school and learn how it goes,
Everybody do the varsity drag!"

 
12:09 PM

Do you ever feel a little uneasy, like there's something you're supposed to be doing but you think you've forgotten what it is? Maybe I'm antsy because my "low fuel" light on my car came on this morning and I have to remember to refuel on the way home. Then again, the last time the light came on I still had like three and a half gallons left. Well, in any case, by telling you it will help me remember.

I'm going to talk to one of the deans today about my joint degree idea.

Guestbook action is picking up! I like it...it's alternatively heartwarming and ridiculous.

 
8:14 PM

Ahhhh...we're back up. By the way, if you're looking for "market gurus who wear bow ties", you've apparently come to the right place.

I got a phone call at exactly 8 PM and thought it was funny to get a call at exactly that time. It turned out to be my mom to tell me that "The Apprentice" is on. She's really into that show for some reason. I might try to get into it if only for mother-son bonding purposes.

 
7:35 PM

Well...you obviously won't see this message until later, but my server...and only my server...is undergoing "emergency maintenance". Yikes! I hope my website is okay...if you can read this, it is.

 
2:38 PM

I just noticed Steve, the big bad scary 3L, is actually younger than me by 39 whole days. Oooops...did I just give away my birthday???

 
12:37 PM

I wonder if people use the word "hey" as often in other parts of the country (or in other English-speaking countries) as they do here. Hey! Is "hey" even a word? Oh yeah, it's an interjection. There's also the much less frequently used "hey presto", meaning "suddenly as if by magic". That one sounds cool.

 
10:46 AM

Did I mention that we don't get our grades for a really, really long time? Need I mention that I'm not going to tell you what I get? But right now I don't know yet. Some people apparently do already.

 
7:48 AM

Monday I had the chance to hear Professor Clovis rail against IRAC, and now that I'm trying to pigeonhole a Supreme Court decision on "takings" into IRAC, I'm starting to see the potential error of my ways. Maybe I'll try loosening up my briefs a little bit for this semester. Like those very loud posters from that one company say: "NOBODY BRIEFS SECOND SEMESTER!" Nobody except me, I suppose.

 
6:36 PM

The only negative side of making a lot of friends in law school is that I fear it will blind me to the excesses of the legal profession in the future. The idea is that I will support any policy that's good for lawyers and oppose any policy that's bad for lawyers because most or all of my friends are lawyers. Of course, I'm still inclined to believe that most things that are good for lawyers are bad for everybody else.

Again...don't forget that 99% of the time in law school we see the law at its best, and the lawyers involved are invisible about 99% of the time.

Incidentally...how come the trial lawyers don't seem to lobby for building more courts and hiring more judges to reduce the backlog of cases? Maybe that's not true and someone can correct me on that.

 
8:57 PM

Oh yeah, I wanted to put a link here to Cherish's website so that maybe it will get crawled by some creepy crawlers: http://www.cherishlaw.org/. Go robot go!

 
8:33 PM

I don't really like the word "blog". It kind of piles jargon on jargon and then abbreviates it. It's a funny-sounding word. There are lots of nice old words that have more of a charm to them. There's probably something juicy-sounding in Latin or Greek that means roughly the same thing (in B.C. terms). Like...hmmm...

ephêmer-is , idos, hê, diary, journal, esp. a military record, as kept by Alexander's staff, Ath.10.434b, Plu.Alex.23, Arr.An.7.25.1; of Caesar's commentarii, Plu. Caes.22; of office registers, BGU1168.10 (i B.C.). 2. day-book, account-book, PCornell1.2(iii B.C.), PCair.Zen.176.357 (pl., iii B.C.), Plu.2.829c. D.L.6.86; eis tas e. philosophein to profess philosophy for the ledger, Plu.2.999a. II. -ephêmeria, J.Vit.1: pl., Id.AJ7.14.7, 12.6.1.

...or...

dĭurnālis , e, adj. [diurna] , = hêmerousios, diurnal (hence, It. giornale; Fr. journal), Gloss. Lat. Gr.

...or even...

lĭbellus , i, m. dim. [3. liber] . _ast; * * * II. Transf., a little book, pamphlet, esp. a book written in pages, and not in long rolls: * * * B. In partic., a writing of any kind. 1. A memorandumbook, journal, diary: si quid memoriae causā retulit in libellum...

Yeah. Like that kind of stuff.

 
12:53 PM

Is it wrong of me to buy commercial outlines? If it's right, why does it feel so wrong? Well, not really, really wrong. But I feel like I have to hide the spine of the book from the professor. I'm worried they'll think I'm not a "serious student". Oh well. As long as I don't look at the outline first, I think it's excusable. I would recommend outlines though, if only for the practice questions in the back. Costwise, they're not an unreasonable fraction of the cost of the casebooks which may or may not be so useful.

 
4:26 PM

Oooh! Oooooh!!! Make me win stuff!

 
9:16 AM

Who would have thunk that this website would be a good way to make new friends? I guess this is just my nerdy way of being outgoing.

The character of this semester is going to be so different without college football to distract...I mean entertain me each Saturday. I have two solid, unoccupied days a week to catch up and outline and send out resumes and screw around...I mean not screw around.

 
11:23 PM

Okay...so I'm almost done reading Sammy Davis, Jr's autobiography. No really! So I'll come with something to say about that when I'm done. It's supposed to be terribly inspirational, but to me it plays as really sad.

So here's the next edition of the advice feature, with the kind permission of a reader who e-mailed me:

I am considering law school. I have the grades and all that prereq stuff, but I feel like I'm hitting the career default button, I guess, by applying to law school. Now, you said in one of your early blogs that you kind of went to law school with little to no expectations to actually practice. So, here's my question... is the work that is required once you get into law school worth doing if you don't want to practice? I think what i'm asking is this- considering that there are SO MANY lawyers in the country, and hell, in the world, why would I go to law school if I don't want to practice? I also have a back up plan, so my world won't crumble if you tell me not to go...and oh, in an unscientific poll of my friends and family, the vote is split down the middle, so you're the tie-breaker. No pressure....:)

Thanks for your note! I totally understand where you’re coming from and I was exactly in your position at this time last year. I don’t feel like I can give a good final answer to your question for some time, since I’m only one-sixth of the way through school and I haven’t gotten my grades and I haven’t worked a single second in the real world in any law-related field (unless you count teaching LSAT, which I don’t). However, I’ll try to give you an update about how I feel compared to when I was in your shoes.

First off, being in law school has made me somewhat more interested in actually being a lawyer. I’m not sure whether I’m now more than 50% interested, but certainly more than when I started. So one reason to go is that you may find that you really like it and it really is what you want to do with your life. I don’t necessarily think that’s enough to make such a big commitment in time and money.

The main reason I think I decided to do what I’m doing is that I had a bad time in the job market after I graduated from college and wanted to make myself permanently employable. It may seem a little perverse, but in my heart of hearts I kind of see law as something to fall back on if I can’t figure out what I really want to do. At the same time, I’m leaving myself open to law actually being what I really want to do. I have a lot of other interests, though, and it sounds like you do too. If I truly believed that I could make a living being a novelist or a record producer or stand-up comic or some sort of television personality, I wouldn’t hesitate to punt on a law career entirely. Obviously, other people will feel differently depending on their personal and financial priorities. But I would say that the practical concern of having a degree that will let you make a living is a good reason to go to law school.

Finally, I think that this is the right place for me to be right now from an emotional standpoint. I have had my trials and tribulations and frustrations in school, as you’ve read, but when I really think about it, I feel a lot more comfortable and emotionally secure where I am than being miserable and frightened by the uncertainty of the job market. So I think you should consider how you’ll feel being in law school compared to your back-up plan. I wonder if your back-up is other school or if it’s work.

So that’s my two cents, or maybe more like four because I felt compelled to ramble on a little.

 
4:16 PM

Okay...Volume One, Part Two, Day One is through. It will be weird only having two hours or so in the morning to do my reading most days. It means I'll have to stay around later for longer to be ready for the next day's assignments.

 
2:54 PM

Having Contracts at the end of the day is good. For one thing, when you're done with this class, you're done with everything. The other reason is that this class ends in March, and then we'll be able to go home two hours sooner three days a week.

It's weird seeing the same people in every class. If you've been in a regular old section, this is nothing new to you, but I was in a weird little section last semester. I keep having to remind myself that I don't need to say hi to everyone I see because I've already seen them three times.

 
1:00 PM

I'm about to start my third brand-spankin'-new class!

 
3:22 PM

This semester, I get four classes in one day two days a week. I'm going to get so winded.

 
1:04 PM

Argh...now I'm not ready to go back. Whatever happened to my summer stuff? Well, I'll figure it out.

 
4:01 PM

Cherish and I aren't necessarily getting much done, but that's okay because it's fun. But I wanted to write one very, very important thing here, which is:

You know what song is awesome? "Gravel Pit" by Wu-Tang. That song is awesome. It would be awesome in itself, with the hook and everything...you could just loop that 3 seconds or so forever. But then there's the video. It's as if they decided they really, really wanted to write a song for the next Flintstones movie, and then did, but found out that there wasn't going to be a new Flintstones movie, so they decided to make their own prehistoric video with CGI dinosaurs and everything. So awesome.

 
2:22 PM

Oh, here she comes!

 
2:17 PM

I'm almost back! Cherish is supposed to meet me here to do summer job application type stuff. Also, I had another advice question that I answered that I want to post here, but it needs a bit of editing first. It's about deciding whether to go to law school, so it's actually appropriate to the topic.