What a night~

There are some nights that are just too precious to forget; rare and unexpected surprises, which I may never taste during my law school tenure. Tonight was such a night.

The night started with me meeting up with two friends for dinner. One friend is a 3rd year medical student from New Orleans and the other is a relatively well-to-do real estate developer. I haven't seen them for nearly 7 years. You can imagine the breadth in our conversation's topic. I always enjoy a good heart-to-heart talk, where minds and spirits meet. It's like a breath of fresh-air.

As all good things must come to an end, I said my farewells to these two, and drove home.

Just when I thought my night was over, I had a sudden urge to call a friend, whom I'm just getting to know. We had one of those conversations that keep two people up all night, giddy in each other's company. The topics of our conversation spanned from religion to family to law school to relationships to muscles to languages to music.......we talked about EVERYTHING. It's been quite a long time since I've stayed up all night reveling in the joy of sharing a simple conversation with another soul. But then again, it's been a while since I've met a worthy friend whom I can share such uplifting conversations with. I genuinely didn't want to hang-up.

But again, as all good things must come to an end, we hung up at around 4:30 a.m.

Funny thing is that I'm not tired right now. I suppose I should be thankful and grateful, since I cannot enjoy such all-nighters while in law school.

I know the guy in the article~

Kudos to Prof. Leiter for pointing out this link.

Interesting WSJ article regarding law school rankings. I personally know/met two of the guys interviewed.

Leading up to law school

The months leading up to law school are restless ones. I have plenty to keep me busy (e.g. working out, teaching, swimming, etc.), but my mind is constantly reverting back to law school thoughts.

Much of my worrying and fretting has stopped - the human body can only be so concerned. I'm not stressed or worried about law school. Just eager to start.

Though I hate to admit it, the adrenline rush I felt last year while applying to law school was much more exciting than this.

Ugh, I'm scheduled to leave for China next week. Then...maybe, just maybe I'll fly to Texas. =)

Adobe

I've been approved. I guess, management at the high-rise apartment complex near the Law School didn't hate me. Now, I ought to look for some good furniture.

Desk
Bed
Dining table
some chairs....

Am I missing anything else?

Why law school?

I frequently ask my LSAT students, "Why law school?" Of course, as expected, the answers are as eclectic as the bunch. It's, moreover, a great way for me to measure and reflect on my own motive and purpose for going to law school.

"I love to argue and debate." This one always amuses me. I suspect that it's because I can reply with Robert Miller's quote from, Law School Confidential, "You're better off getting married." (I'm such a geek).

How can I leave out the embittered paralegals, whom after decades of being used and abused, finally muster up the courage and time to study for the LSAT. They want the authority and money their boss' possess. "I do all the work, but he takes all the pay!"

There's always that one person who spits back: "I'm doing it for the money."

And the do goody-goods: "I want to change the world."

But I think my all time favorite response was from a blonde female student: "because there were more lawyer jokes then blonde jokes." This one had me going for a while.

"I wanted to go to law school eversince...." The natural step after elementary school was middle school. The next logical step after that was high school. And after that it was college. After college, however, people panic. A substantial number of these people cling to law school because they see it as a "smooth transition" between college and the real-world. Around 50% of my LSAT students are typically of this background.

I am not in any position to make a judgment call on any of the above responses. But my general opinion is that most people have clouded reasons for going to law school.

Last night I watched the film Patch Adams with my youngest brother. It wasn't about lawyers or law school, but it really made me think how important it is for a person to have a clear vision and reason for wanting to attend law school. Knowing your starting point and ending point simply makes you a more efficient and happy human being.

Happy V-day wishes.

For those taking their LSAT today. I'm wishing you the very best. Do well guys~

Confusing surprise

I sit down to pay my bills, and behold a letter informing me of my rights in a lawsuit I never even knew I was a part of.

AmEx is getting sued by a plantiff, whom I've never heard of. There is to be a settlement between the two parties. I have to go out of my way and write a separate "request for exclusion," if I want to be uninvolved.

I'm not in law school yet, but geeze, is it okay for a bunch of attorneys to represent an entire group of people without their expressed consent? It's obviously okay, since this letter I received was sent by the Order of the San Francisco Superior Court.

I tried to learn more about the case and discovered that the attorneys for the plantiff are big shot lawyers, who fight for employment rights, etc. Moreover, I learned that it's not easy to find background information on these lawyers.

Prepping for law school

It's summer! The summer before the big year; the calm before the storm. I've been doing some extensive, albeit informal, research on how I can most effectively use this summer to be in top shape before law school starts. Here are some sound, along with some crazy, advice that I've received thus far:

- "Go on vacation. You'll be asking why you didn't during those long nights"
- "Practice sleeping early"
- "Buy used 1L books and preview by reading EVERYTHING before school starts."
- "Start working out"
- "There's no way you can prep for law school, so just relax and enjoy"
- "Get some legal exposure; work as a para-legal or law clerk"
- "Date as many people as you can"
- "Don't get into a relationship!"
- "Learn to cook"
- "Take a Great Books course; you'll never have time to read real books again"
- "Go on a road-trip"
- "Don't waste time learning how to cook; you won't have time anyways"
- "Put on some pounds....studying makes you lose weight"
- "Make money"

This'll be an interesting summer. Of all the above, I want to go on a road trip (from sea to shining sea) and maybe even go backpacking in Africa or Southeast Asia. But it's very likely that I'll be stuck making money. Maybe I'll go on a brief excursion to Jamaica! My friends there have been begging me to come for some time now.