So far, I love my professors. Professor Torts is amazing. Although the class can be a bit confusing and we don’t always seem to answer the questions that we actually need to answer, she clears it up if you ask her after class. Professor Crim Law is getting less scary. He freaked me out a little bit the first day (when he kept asking “Are you sure?” after everything someone said), but now that we’ve gotten settled in he’s not as scary. Most of the time he’s pretty funny. And Professor Civ Pro is so sweet. I really like her class a lot, even if the subject matter is really dry.

I’ve been to (almost) all of the club interest meetings, trying to find the one’s that interest me. I’ve settled on a couple, mostly focused on public interest topics. I’ve already gotten involved in two, one with that will (hopefully) help me out in the summer and another in an area that I really find interesting. As the semester getting going, I’m sure that I will have less time to be involved but right now I’m really excited about both of them.

I think we’ve identified the gunner of the class. I don’t even know if he is a “gunner” per se or if it is just that he doesn’t quite fit in with everyone else. He sat through Torts one day with his hand up the entire class. He never put it down, he just typed with one hand as he held up the other. Thankfully, Professor Torts never called on him but still. His only contributions so far in our various classes (we’re not in sections yet he’s in all of mine) have been to restate, in several sentences full of 20-letter words, what everyone else said much more succinctly.

We’ve also got a couple of people who are way to freaked out about the end of the semester. I would prefer to not think about finals. It’s September. We’ve only been in class for two weeks. I’m not even thinking about October yet, let alone finals. Especially since all of our professors spelled out for us that they are open book on the first day/in an email during Orientation. Right now it is time to chill out and get to know people.

Some people are also worked up about jobs. I don’t even know what I want to do next summer (other than that I want to work), and people are already worked up about jobs that they won’t be able to apply to because of the ABA rules about 1Ls. I really don’t think those jobs would take 1Ls anyway, but its a little to crazy for me to worry about jobs that you can’t get, even if you really want them. Right now I just want to worry about things like joinder and battery, not where I’m going to work next summer, thank you.

Tuesday we had our first assignment due at 9 am. It was very short and only took 15 minutes to finish, but it was also the first piece of writing our Legal Skills professors would see (and that we would never get back). Just a little pressure. We then had a full day of learning about the American court structure. I already had a good idea of how the courts were structured thanks to three different classes on the courts. While the information wasn’t new, it was also our first introduction to the Socratic method. Having taught a Socratic seminar before, this part wasn’t too bad either. There wasn’t any cold calling and no one was put on the spot really, so it was a pretty good day. We did have a fun moment where our professor thought we had reading (we didn’t) and set of a bit of panic in the entire class (except the gunners who had already read the entire book we had to read for orientation).

Wednesday and Thursday was more of the same. We had our first (for law school at least) case brief, our first experience with someone (staged) getting called out for being late. Our class didn’t have cold calling, but one of the other classes did. The gunners became apparent fairly quickly during these two days. You know you’re a gunner when the professor stops you because you aren’t answering the question and you interrupt her to say that you are getting to the answer. Classy.

Thursday night was our first “real” assignment that actually counts towards our Legal Skills grade. It was a fairly simple closed research memo; all of the cases seemed to point towards our client recovering and the facts of the cases given were strikingly similar to our case. If I wasn’t so distracted by the internet (which I still don’t have at home), it would have taken me only about two hours. As it was, it took more like five, not including the time I took to drive home to get away from the internet.

Friday was the last day of orientation. We had our work study meeting, found out where we would work. I’m in technology, which I find pretty funny. I’m not tech illiterate by any means, but I pretty much only know how to work on the user end. And I’m much more proficient at Apple than Windows computers. But the supervisor reassured me that we were mostly there to make sure people can connect to the printers and internet and such. Nothing major.

Friday night was the first big party of the year, sort of a welcome back for the 2Ls and 3Ls and a way for the 1Ls to meet more of the upperclassmen. We are a fairly small school, so pretty much everyone in all of the classes could have been there and still not overwhelmed the place. I’m pretty sure that was close to how many people were there. We didn’t stay long (one of the kegs was already tapped out when we got there), but I did get to see some of my fellow 1Ls who were in different classes all week and some of the upperclassmen I had already met.

Now I’m looking forward to a weekend of reading Crim Law and wine. And hopefully getting my refund check!

At 8:30 this morning, I officially “registered” for orientation and received my packet of information about the rest of orientation, setting up computers for printing and internet, and all of the forms we needed to fill out before we left today. After taking my two id pictures, most people in the class just sat around the lobby getting to know people and waiting to walk to the official welcome lecture. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be) the keynote speaker was sick and couldn’t come, but we did get introduced to the Dean and our Legal Skills director, took the Honor Code oath and proceeded to lunch. After lunch, we were split up into our LS sections and met our professor and TA. Professor LS is very funny and is a grad of the law school. He is very enthusiastic about the program, which is probably a good thing seeing as he will be our professor for the next two years.

The only part that overwhelmed me a little was the fact that we have a written assignment due tomorrow morning that was handed to us at 3:15 this afternoon. So now I am off to finish that so I can enjoy trivia night.

Speaking of school, I went on a wild adventure to get my parking permit for the school year. According to the 7,589,326 (actual number: about 10) emails the law school has sent it, you can purchase a parking permit at the parking office on the main campus of the university. They make it sound so simple: just look for the parking garage and parking services is right next to it. I’m used to parking garages that are several stories high, made out of concrete, and do not contain anything underground (because it would be a very large and expensive swimming pool if you tried). This parking garage was very small, made of brick, and you entered by going underground. Needless to say, I drove around the main campus three times before I actually found this building. It doesn’t help that there are two streets with the same name and parking services was on the one that I wasn’t. But $300 later, I can now park on campus until September 2011. As well as (almost) all of main campus, if I ever feel the need to get horribly lost again. There is a good chance of that, what with trying to get a student id sometime this week. But at least now I know that all roads in this town do lead to the University, in some way, shape, or form.

I also went to a small get-together thrown by some of my future classmates. It was very nice to get to meet people before being thrown into the madness of law school. Thankfully, I didn’t feel too out of place. Most people, like me, didn’t know what kind of law they wanted to practice and no one was overly well-versed in law and legal terms. Meeting people makes law school seem ever more real, which I guess is a good thing. Orientation starts a week from today, classes a week after that, and then everything goes to chaos from there. I’m hoping that at least some of these people are in my classes (as we appear to not really have “sections” like everyone else) so the first day is less awkward.

The worst part about this moving experience so far has been IKEA. I should point out that I love IKEA. I have a soft spot for all things Swedish anyway, so IKEA just won me over the first time I set foot in a store. That just made our trip all the more disappointing. The nearest IKEA to here is about two hours away on a highway that gets very congested sometimes. So the drive was *eventful* to say the least. We got a little lost after getting off the exit, sat in traffic because of a horrible accident involving an F-150 and a motorcycle (Spoiler: the motorcycle got the worst of it), and then almost got hit by a very large SUV in a parking garage. The IKEA was… sad. Back home, the IKEA is very well organized and clean and this one was not. And we also couldn’t get everything we needed. Half of the furniture I wanted (and that I knew would fit into my tiny apartment) was sold out, with no expected delivery date. Thankfully we are headed back up there to visit some of my friends in a few days, so maybe they will have it in stock (or we can go to another IKEA in the general area).

We are also currently without internet. I didn’t realize how much I depended on the internet on a daily basis until I couldn’t access it. I couldn’t access my email or my RSS reader (which was overflowing by the time I got to finally read it). My mother sent me the tracking numbers for the rest of my stuff, but I couldn’t pull it up to see them or check out the UPS website to see where it is. We are currently stealing wifi from Panera to feed our internet addictions. Sad but true.

I have had one hitch in getting my books. I ordered all but two books from Half.Com and Amazon a few weeks ago. I got all but one before I moved away from home. The last one, thankfully the only one I ordered that was not required, has not arrived and it is almost a week past the date that I could file a claim with Half.Com. I’m hoping to resolve this quickly and easily, but there are never any guarantees. At least I won’t be waiting for a required book, but I was interested in reading it (Plain English for Lawyers).

With thirteen (13?!) days left until orientation starts, I think I am pretty set for 1L to start. I have books, my class schedule, a place to live, and a car to get me there. All I need now is steady internet and law school can officially start!

1. A very nostalgic place that reminds me of being a kid is Ohio. We visited every year as a kid to see my family and every time I’m there I remember all the fun I had and the family I miss.
2. If someone really wants to show me how much they love me they can make me dinner. Food has always been a way to show love in my life–my mom cooked whatever we wanted for dinner on our birthdays and I prefer something that can be enjoyed together over any gift.
3. Lately I’ve been wondering a lot about what my life will be like in the fall. No matter how much you read about law school, it won’t compare to being there!
4. When it comes to saving money I am pretty good at it. I try to control my vices (like DVDs) as much as possible. I feel better knowing that if something happens and I need the money it is there.
5. I’d prefer snow over humidity any day!
6. I wish I knew how to make biscuits and gravy, my favorite meal that my boyfriend cooks for me. Although if I could make it, I would probably weigh 500 pounds.
7. I’m just waiting for my books to get here.

Head on over to Lauren’s blog to join in yourself!

Edit:

Finally, here it is! My earliest class in the day is at 11:30 am; only one class starts (or ends) after 4:45 pm. Overall, I’m really happy with it. I got the professor I loved at ASW for Crim Law, so I hope his class is as interesting as his session was. And the best part (for me at least) is that I can still bowl once a week. I’ve been bowling in leagues for the past 16 years and I was concerned that I would not have a night open that worked with the two leagues I would bowl in. Both are free, so I have a choice now. Anyway, here is my schedule:

• Monday: 2:00 – 3:15 (Civ Pro); 3:30 – 4:45 (Crim Law)
• Tuesday: 11:30 – 12:45 (Torts); 2:00 – 3:15 (Civ Pro); 3:30 – 4:45 (Crim Law)
• Wednesday: 3:30 – 4:45 (Crim Law); 6:30 – 8:00 (Legal Skills)
• Thursday: 11:30 – 12:45 (Torts); 2:00 – 3:15 (Civ Pro)
• Friday: 11:30 – 12:45 (Torts)

Life in the woods is pretty and quiet. I could definitely live in a place like this, even though the nearest “real” city is at least an hour and a half away. More than that, however, I could see my parents living here when they retire. It’s quiet and out in the country, but not too far from civilization. You only have to drive 10 minutes to a grocery store and there is a small downtown area with local shops and a farmer’s market on the weekends. True shopping, however, is about an hour away but other than that, this place is pretty much perfect.

The long period of waiting is coming to a quick end. I didn’t realize how little time I had left before school until I got the orientation email on Thursday. The week-long schedule was sent out, along with a book list for Legal Skills. Although it was nice to finally get something concrete, it also made me realize that after I get back from my trip to the mountains, I have 17 days left before I move. I have to get the (re-)packing in motion soon, because I have a lot of stuff. Some of it is getting shipped (because I drive a little hatchback and can’t fit everything I own) so all my boxes from undergrad have to be opened and repacked so that the stuff I need right away will actually be in the car. And so that I don’t bring every book I own.

I also spent some time recently cleaning up my blog links and making everything look pretty here. Hopefully I will have more to say about upcoming school stuff and other life adventures in the near future.

1. My favorite thing about this week has been flying to Georgia to visit the boyfriend. It’s so calm and peaceful here in the middle of nowhere and I missed seeing him (since he was across the Atlantic for two months earlier this summer). This is a nice way to relax before school starts.
2. The weather this week has been hot. Unbearably hot. I mean, its been cooler at home then say, oh, where I’m going to live in August but that’s not saying much. Today though its “only” 96. But it feels like 110.
3. The last (interesting) item I received in the mail was a lip gloss I ordered so that my order from Urban Outfitters had free shipping. It was only $3.50, while shipping was $6. Why not take the (essentially) free lip gloss?
4. The last movie I saw was Letters to Juliet. I really liked it, but then again I love all things predictable chick flick. But that was in theaters. The last movie I watched was The Proposal (which really falls in the same category…).
5. If I could do anything I felt like today I would take the boyfriend out for a nice dinner to celebrate his birthday. Preferably in a nice, romantic city in the South.
6. As a teenager I was very quiet and pretty much a homebody. Not too different from now, I suppose…
7. I wish I could trade lives for a day with Robert Gibbs. I’ve always been curious about that job after a friend suggested it when I became a public communication major. So that would be fun.

Head on over to Lauren’s blog to join in yourself!

Aside from the waiting *fun*, life is so relaxing/boring. In some ways time is flying by (how is it already the middle of June?) but at the same time it is dragging on. I think the dragging comes from the waiting. I’m not working this summer, because I’m visiting my boyfriend the first week of July and moving the last week of July, which left two weeks to work that month. Jobs around here are scarce, because tourism has taken a hit this summer because of the oil spill. Most places weren’t hiring for the summer anyway, but the fact that the oil is changing people’s travel plans and destinations doesn’t help. The only places I know of that are hiring are about 45 minutes (by highway) from my house each way. That’s a lot of gas to use for short shifts.

As far as the oil spill, we just need BP and everyone else who is working to stop the leak to get it done so that cleanup can really be the focus. I know absolutely nothing about the technology and science of it all, but as a Gulf Coast resident, I would love to know that the beaches and places I grew up with and love are going to remain as beautiful as I remember. Although I live a little further inland now, we used to live at one of the beaches that is getting tar balls right now. It’s sad to see; Gulf beaches around here have (had?) beautiful white sand and, aside from that one jellyfish that had it in for me when I was four, I’ve always loved being there.

… Although swimming in the Gulf in August is liking swimming in a bathtub. Way too hot for me.