Sowande, 2L

Now that I'm back in Arizona [and my dogs refuse to stay out of my face while writing this so I can't be blamed for typographical errors], the first thing I have to do is clear something up. Apparently, I have to claim my hometown as Kingman, Arizona, not Bullhead City. Something about "Kingman is where I worked, and it's where all of my friends are, and I've only lived in Bullhead City for a few months..."

;o)

Final exams were intense, and seemed to become more so as they progressed. I'll just put it this way: It's like giving someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder tendencies (as I have, but I don't like to call it a disorder--it's more of a gift in some situations) a tangled phone cord, and five seconds to untangle it. You want to untangle it so badly, but just as you're getting at the biggest knot, you're out of time...

How about some photos.

Posted by Sowande at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't mean to say that the exam was scandalous, but wow.

(1) I don't know, for me it was fun being finally able to attempt to apply what I've learned to a fact pattern that will be scrutinized and develop into an evaluation of my work for the semester in Property.

(2) No matter what school a law student goes to, there seems to be a commonality in the level of pre-examination jitters. I stayed away from campus. That's what worked for me to keep me from getting swept up in any possible whirlwinds of over-contemplation, anxiety and concern. It's not that I don't have high expectations of myself, but I do feel that I need to be able to keep external influence at a minimum. That's also not to say that there are not nooks and crannies in which one can hide out and get some focused studying done on campus.

(3) It's all about perspective though. I was careful to work through practice problems, and made sure to attend each and every one of Professor Brook Baker's Analytical Skills Workshops through ASP. I'd say that traditional logic and analytical reasoning is not one of my strengths. I am more of a foreign languages and linguistics type. However, his course provided the opportunity to work through potential exam issues, and to work on making inferences to which the legal doctrine we are taught can be applied. Ohhhh, yeah. It's good stuff and I felt light-years ahead of where I would have been had I not participated in that wonderful class.

(4) Finally, I realized that my ability to handle stress was really bolstered during my time as a courtroom clerk. Clerking through lonnnnnnnnng criminal trials really builds up stamina, and having to keep track of every word while sitting through those lonnnnnnnnnnnnng trials (to create minute orders, handle sometimes hundreds of exhibits, administer oaths, etc.) for almost two years, was a skill that absolutely applied to my ability to concentrate for four hours on exam problems requiring attention to detail, and my ability to be flexible in thinking while dealing with nerves.

So this weekend has me preparing for our Torts exam on Monday, and Civil Procedure on Tuesday. Next post will probably be after final examinations, so expect a lot of bold lettering and caps lock abuse.

Posted by Sowande at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not fun having to tell loved ones that you can't plan for the holidays with the zest, zeal and gusto of years past because you have exams to study for, the preparation for which takes up all of your waking hours during the most crucial holiday planning phase.

Calm down, the Sugar Plum Faries will live to see another year.

Even though I told close family that I was going to be busier than all get out, it is still difficult for some to grasp the idea that anyone could possibly be that busy... Well, it was even difficult for me at one stage to grasp the idea that I was going to be "that busy", but I am.

Just to give you readers a sort of "biopsy" of what is happening at this stage for me, I am at the tail end of synthesizing everything I've packed into my skull, and learning how to express it in the context of responses to fact-tastic, hypothetical examination questions. What's most exciting is that while there are so many concepts that were thrown at me during the regular coursework portion of the class, it comes into focus with almost unreal clarity the more practice examinations I've done, the more study group discussion I've participated in, and the more I've forced myself to grit my teeth and read.

What "fires me up"? Well, I don't know where this is coming from but I'll say it, "I almost don't want to let the professors down." There's a lot to unpack in that statement so here goes. It's a given that I have my own high expectations of myself for exams and coursework, so let's set that aside for now.

The key here is that the professors I had are very passionate about what they do. It's not like large undergrad classes where the professor mumbles for an hour three times a week, you do homework that looks like it was first generated circa 1974 on a "ditto" machine, and then you take a long multiple choice question examination on a scantron. The professors seem to get really intimate with the material they plan for the semester, and just have a powerful knack for guiding the class. I guess I could just say that they obviously put a lot of work into every aspect of their classes, and then go the extra mile by choosing teaching assistants whom they trust to help students in need of an extra boost, and they arrange for pre-examination review sessions--some of which they themselves lead. And, they don't disappear the week before examinations.

So, with all of that hard work, I feel like I can return the favor by giving them an interesting examination to read. How can I do that? By gritting my teeth, and getting to know the material.

Now, I will warn that it is "easy as" to find little things to do around the house, i.e., "oh, I haven't dusted the ceiling fan blades like I wanted to... or dusted the door jams, or cleaned all of the windows inside and out, or gone grocery shopping... or written this week's blog..."

BACK TO WORK!!

Posted by Sowande at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm taking a break from non-stop studying for Friday's Property exam (and preparing for others next week) to drop a quick note while it's on my mind.

I, along with a small set of fellow mentees, met with my faculty mentor of color today, Professor Susan Maze-Rothstein, to talk about pre-exam jitters, study strategies, and other things that were weighing heavily on our minds. We spent a significant amount of time going over everything from how we've attacked the really complex issues we will be tested on, to the social dynamics of exam preparations. It was time apart, needed by all of us, to really connect with a faculty member and one another in the midst of what is a very time-intensive and tiring process.

Faculty mentors are available to all students. We were told this on the very first day, and were encouraged to seek one (or more) out; e.g., one for career path, one for networking, or just someone to share general interests with. They are important connections to make and if you get the right one, they can be a powerful ally with whom you can discuss everything you want to share. Academics, future path, to what to do if you suddenly have to move into a new place...

Speaking of new places, we had our first snow yesterday and I took a few pictures from my office window (I don't know if that's a chicken coop, a vineyard or a torture device down there, sorry), and our balcony, yes, balcony. On another note, today, it was in the teens and didn't get over 20 degrees. Ever so cold... but the cold is manageable. After 15 or so minutes in it, you stop feeling things... And it's supposed to get quite a bit colder 'round here.

Posted by Sowande at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Um... so I moved today, and now live in Brighton/Brookline. Yeah, one week (and some change) before examinations begin and while everyone else was busy outlining and catching up, I got to haul my prize books, Japanese films, and fashion. "Big ups" to my pal, Scott, who helped me out through what could have been a potentially dreadful housing situation--or "well bad", as one of my "Kiwi-phile" law office cohorts often says. Don't get me wrong--things never got to be that bad where I was living, but I was certain to act before falling into a housing situation that could easily jeopardize all of the hard work I put into getting myself into an excellent law school.

At this point in time, no risk is so small that it should not be considered very carefully in light of the significant time, money and soul investment being put into this educational undertaking.

So anyway, now I am living in an all-inclusive deal here in lovely Brighton. I've got a massive room, an attached office and a closet of my own all for an exceptional price... something about "closing doors and opening windows" comes to mind.

Oh, and back to the "opening of doors and closing of windows," check this out: I don't believe I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I lost my wallet a few weeks ago. I walked the streets where I thought it could have fallen out for an hour, but remembered that the streets of Boston are not the dusty roads of Kingman, Arizona, and to some folks a wallet means a meal, bargaining power (I've heard of people requesting finder's fees for the return of things they've found that they can attach to you), or a new kick toy.

To me, my wallet meant so much more because it contained pictures of my family, business cards of police officer friends and connections I'd met at local law student welcome events, my CharlieCard (which I'd just re-upped worth $59.00--ouch?), and even more importantly it was my partner's old badge wallet from when he worked in California--minus the badge of course.

Well, yesterday I received an email from one of the Registrar's Office ladies, with whom I am very close because she hands out the refund checks, noting that the Boston Police Department had mailed my wallet to the school and it was available to pick up... !!!

Who says a lil' faith and a colgate smile can't get you what you want in the big city?

Here's the new view... at night... it's not of Downtown Boston but there are cool lights in the background and when the snow falls, it should be a pretty cool site to see--DURING THE DAY!



And before I forget, I went to Maine with Scott (see above) to hang with his family for Thanksgiving. I didn't get to see the Portland Head Light, but I sure DID GET TO SEE THE B&M FACTORY, yeee haw! A drive-by baked beaning!! (Portland, ME is about two hours and a beautiful ride north of here).

Posted by Sowande at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)