Study, Surf the Internet, Caffienate

I have studied for at least five days straight living off of red bull and popcorn. Not a pretty thing, I assure you. I wouldn’t have to study so hard if it wasn’t for the fact that I did absolutely no studying during the entire semester (even though I promised myself at the outset that I wouldn’t do that again). In any event, it sure seems like people are stressed. How else can you explain the bitch fest on nuts and boalts about undergrads using the law library and the existence of piddly 100-dollar grants for students who want to go to a law related conference? Truly there are more important things in the world to worry about, but I chalk it up to people wanting an excuse to procrastinate. Where you see Boalt students debating about whether there is a lack of transparency about special programs at Boalt, I see a person trying to avoid finishing their outline. Seriously, people need to have a drink, get laid, go for a run, eat some chocolate, do something/anything to blow some steam off. We are in the home stretch folks!

Under Pressure

While I admit the finals theme on here is redundant, I have mere days left to learn entire subjects. I'm not stressed in the crazy 1L way, but I am definitely feeling the pressure build. It never ceases to surprise me how overly optimistic I am when I estimate how long it will take me to finish something. I actually told myself (and believed) that I could outline for an entire course in about two days. That could have happened if I wasn't me. Maybe if I was hooked up to a red bull IV and hopped up on Adderall I could have completed that feat, but no, I'm still my usual old self who compliments every 20 minutes of outlining with at least 10 minutes of internet surfing. I am so screwed.

Spending Money I Haven't Made Yet

Although my shopping habits have been significantly curtailed by my last minute cramming for finals, I have still been able to get out and check out some of the Christmas sales. I have to admit that the coupons I have been getting in the mail from various retailers have been singing a siren song to me. All I hear as I look at the promises of 25% and 35% off is spend! Spend! Spend! Unfortunately for me I am broke, broke, broke. However, I have started to entertain the dangerous thinking that since I have a well paying job in the summer, I can afford to splurge a little. What is another pair of shoes when I am already over 80K in the hole? The problem of course is that I don’t really need to put myself in any more debt than I am already in. Additionally, I have a bad habit of buying stuff for myself instead of the salutary act of buying things for others. In short, it is probably a good thing I will be in finals hell almost right up until Christmas because it will save me from my spendthrift ways. Maybe someone needs to do an intervention for me.

Dating Disclosure

Even though the pickings are admittedly slim in Berkeley, I have still been able to find a couple guys worthy of dating (outside of Boalt of course). Given my crazy schedule, nothing has evolved into anything serious and I am just having a good time. In any event, while having lunch with a friend, the topic of dating and disclosure came up which got me thinking. At what point do you have an obligation to tell someone that you are not dating them exclusively? Do you ever have an obligation to tell them? I am of the mindset that unless a guy states explicitly that he is only dating me, I assume that he may be dating other women as well. Consequently, I have never felt bad about dating more than one person at a time without letting them know. My friend disagrees. Am I the one in the wrong here?

The Finals Are Coming!

Finals are coming and people are starting to get tense. All the 1ls are scurrying around and finishing their outlines while the 2ls and 3ls are barely getting around to possibly making an outline or at least downloading one from boalt.org. Although I usually avoid the reading room at all costs, I was there recently and it was amusing how many people in there get upset when they hear sounds like the clacking of heels, the shifting of books, or the opening and closing of the door. I can’t help but thinking it is so pointless to get so worked up. People make noise when the move, get over it. Although I should be more stressed about preparing for finals, I am surprisingly relaxed. Maybe the fact that I am already employed for the summer finally sunk into my subconscious or maybe the little competitive monster living inside me has decided to take a sabbatical. Whatever the reason, I am looking forward to my two weeks of Christmas vacation freedom and spending money I don’t have. Any suggestions for books to read over the break? I might as well start my list now.

Another Reason Why It Feels Good to Win

As part of their plan to win back voters to the Democratic Party, the Dems have promised that one of their first acts will be to cut interest rates on federally backed student loans from 6.8% to 3.4%. According to this article, the Republicans really took good care of the student loan industry, and the impending transfer of party control is producing anxiety for lenders who could count on the Republicans to screw over students. One republican congressman went so far as to say (while the reps still controlled Congress), "I have all of you in my two trusted hands. At the end of the day, I believe, you'll be at least satisfied, or even perhaps even happy with the final budget bill."

Comically, the republicans also said, that cutting interest rates would not address a more fundamental problem: the rising cost of college. "The interest rates shouldn't be the major issue here. Rather, the principal — the amount of money students are forced to borrow because of skyrocketing costs — should be," said Steve Forde, a spokesman for Republicans on the House education committee. "Unfortunately, House Democrats don't see it that way and are taking a Band-Aid approach." Correct me if I am wrong, but these are the same people who wanted to give ZERO relief to students? Now all of a sudden they care how much I am shelling out for my education? Talk about hypocrisy. I am so happy the Dems are ruling the roost. I hope they can utilize their new power effectively.

Slower Traffic Keep Right

Thanksgiving was great. I tried to do some work, honestly I did, but all I really managed to do was eat obscene amounts of pumpkin pie and turkey. Although I am certainly stressed about getting ready for finals, I definitely don't feel the same panic I felt as a 1L. I love being a 2L with a job already lined up.

Anyway, on my way back from visiting my family I was forced to languish behind old people, and people who don’t understand that an open highway and clear sky practically begs a car to speed. As I passed sign after sign that says “slower traffic keep right,” I got more and more frustrated with the people who insist on doing 70mph in the left lane. At first I tried to be patient and scouted for openings in the right lane so I could weave around the dead weight, then I glared at them in the hopes they would sense my hostility and fear my road rage, and finally I resigned myself to fantasizing about ramming them, but nothing worked. I was going crazy. Who are these people, and why do they conspire to keep my odometer below 90? There is a group however, that has come up with a reasonable solution. Everyone should be given a paintball gun and when a person refuses to move over, you can shoot the offender's license plate. If a person has more than three marks on their license plate, the CHP gets to cite them. Sounds like a great idea to me.

Heading For Self Destruction

As finals are rapidly approaching I seem to be incapable of reading for more than 30-40 minutes at a time. I am so behind and yet I can’t seem to break myself of my full-blown TV addiction. I’m starting to think that maybe I do have adult ADD. How else can I explain why I have cleaned my apartment from top to bottom to avoid reading when I hate to clean? Maybe I’ll ask my abuelita to get me some unregulated, dispensed without a prescription Adderall on her next trip to TJ.

I guess the bigger question I should ask myself is why I even care about grades now that I have a cool job to look forward to for next summer, and potentially after graduation. Somehow I am just unable to purge the competitive streak I have from my personality. Something about the whole P=JD outlook (to the non-Boalt people, you get a "P" if you passed) has never resonated with me even though I don’t always get good grades. Its sick, I know.

What A Beautiful Morning

After experiencing some bruising mornings after an election (like Nov 2004) I wasn't sure what kind of morning I was in for. As I woke up and turned on the TV today, I was greeted with some of the best news I have seen in years. Finally, Democrats won and won big. Not only do we have control of the House, but we also have a woman as the Speaker of the House. Now I just have to keep my fingers and toes crossed that Senate control will fall to the Democrats as well. Today is a good day.

One of a Kind

I blew off all my responsibilities for today and even turned down an invitation to go somewhere fun in the hopes of catching up in at least one class. Instead, I am surfing the web and doing random blog quizzes (hat tip: life far away). I am such a procrastinator.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Glad I Picked Boalt

Below is an email that has been circulated by UCLA's La Raza Law Students Association, and it details a recent incident that occurred, which was blatantly racist. To add insult to injury, the Dean of UCLA law sent out an email to all students that didn't whole-heartedly express how the legal community at UCLA would not tolerate such behavior. Instead, he focused the bulk of his letter expressing his belief that what happened was "unintentional." Even if you concede that what happened was unintentional (which I find hard to believe that no one thought a moot court fact pattern based on offensive racial stereotypes was a bad idea), I don’t see the point of focusing a letter of this nature on how the actors in question were not culpable rather than focusing on what is and is not acceptable at UCLA law school. Although I obviously have no real way of knowing this, I have a strong feeling that Dean Edley and/or Dean Ortiz would never circulate an apology for racist behavior that consisted of so many excuses for the guilty party. In short, although Boalt has its problems too, I am so glad I didn’t end up at UCLA.

*****************************************************************************

Dear Alumni,

Greetings to you and yours from the 2006-07 Raza Board at UCLA Law. We hope this e-mail finds you well and happy! Though we as a board are excited about the work we have done thus far (especially the People of Color Workshop which was a great success!) and looking forward to a productive rest of the year, we unfortunately are writing to share a negative experience we recently faced.

On October 3, 2006, Moot Court handed out its problem for this year's competition. The fact pattern implicated an undocumented latino from the "State of Patron," named "El Guapo," who was a child-molester and deported for entering the US illegally at a port called "Beefeater."Upon re-entering, he was interviewed by INS agent"Jack Daniels." After conviction, he was sentenced to 16 years in state prison. While in prison, an INS agent in his "infinite wisdom" decided to deport "El Guapo" once again with the understanding that if he ever re-entered, all charges would still be applicable.

The issues for the Moot Court participants were: 1)the judge made findings of fact without a jury that increased "El Guapo's" maximum sentence-should this be OK? 2) Can the fact that the Grand Jury left out an essential element of the crime from the indictment constitute harmless error?

As you can guess, Raza, other student of color groups and Raza allies were outraged by the gross use of stereotypes and offensive language. We immediately drafted a letter addressed to the Moot Court Board and cc'ed it to Deans Schill, Cheadle and Carbado, Moot Court Advisor Professor Holm and Raza Advisor Professor Holmquist. The letter we sent is attached to this e-mail. After articulating the problems with the fact pattern and how it affected us, we called for three remedies: 1) a public apology 2) a re-written fact pattern 3) implementation of a policy that would ensure this doesn't happen again.

The Co-Chairs of APILSA and BLSA signed the letter. SALSA sent a letter of their own and other groups have mentioned that they may do the same. On Friday October 13th, we received an e-mail from Dean Cheadle with two attachments. The first was acover-letter and the second a re-written hypo from the Moot Court Board in which they had removed all proper names alluding to alcohol name brands and the defendant's ethnic background. We've also attached both of those documents with this e-mail.

As you can see, their letter falls short of a direct apology in that the board attempts to hide behind the "no intent" defense. Also, the letter was ONLY handed out to Moot Court participants as they received the second version of the fact pattern. The Moot Court Board never directly communicated with us (Raza) and has not addressed the law school community.

Dean Schill sent out the e-mail posted below on Monday October 16th, 2006 to the greater law school community. At this point, we are still disappointed, hurt and frustrated but can give this matter no more attention. As students of color, we already spend too much of our time addressing issues of "diversity," race and class consciousness, and outright ignorance. However, we wanted to share with you so that you can be properly informed. Thanks for taking the time to read. As you know, law school is a terribly isolating experience and it is incredibly meaningful to know that you support us.

En lucha siempre,

Raza Board 2006-07

p.s. Please feel free to forward to other Raza who may be interested.

**E-mail from Dean Schill to UCLA Law

Dear Members of the UCLA Law Community:

One of the great strengths of our school is our diversity. Within our extraordinary student body and faculty are men and women from a variety of races,
ethnicities, nationalities, income groups, religions,sexual orientations and ideological perspectives. One of the principal benefits of diversity is the opportunity for us to learn from each other. Part of this education is learning to see the world through another's eyes. This understanding of different viewpoints and perspectives is important for one to become an excellent lawyer; it is also important to become a good person.

Given our diversity, it is an unfortunate reality that from time to time members of our community will say or do things that will unintentionally offend or hurt one another. In the past week, we have experienced one such incident when the Moot Court Board created an exercise that included racial stereotypes and then compounded the problem by using a jocular tone. Understandably, many students were
deeply offended that a formal law school academic activity would include undeniably offensive stereotypes.

Based upon our conversations with members of the Moot Court Board, I am convinced that there was no intent on the part of the Board to offend or belittle our students of Mexican heritage. I also believe that members of the Moot Court Board now understand and feel deeply sorry about the hurt that they have caused to their classmates. Indeed, to avoid this sort of situation from recurring, the Moot Court Board has suggested and I have agreed that future exercises will be read by a faculty advisor.

Before we move on from here, I would like each of us to take a moment to reflect on this incident and learn something. Each of us is part of a community here at UCLA. As an intellectual community, it is incumbent upon us to defend the right of each member to express his or her views honestly and forthrightly. At the same time, because we are a community we should also encourage each other to consider the impact of what we say and do-- intentionally and unintentionally-- on our fellow students and faculty members and to hold each other accountable when we fail in that regard.

Thank you.

Michael H. Schill
Dean and Professor of Law
UCLA School of Law
405 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90095
(310) 825-8202
***************************************************************************

Tongue-Tied

I've noticed how precarious discussions have become with casual law school friends when the topic turns to OCIP. When someone brings up OCIP, I have become the master of carefully unearthing clues about how someone is doing without directly asking. I almost feel like asking any direct questions is akin to asking a woman her weight or a man the size of his unit. Some questions are just never polite. I almost wish people wouldn't bring it up at all because you never know if that person did incredibly well or didn't get any callbacks at all. Still, I guess its the innate nature of law students to want to know how they measure up to their fellow students, which constantly creates these awkward conversations whether it is about grades, CLR, or now OCIP. I am looking forward to the day when there is no longer anything else to compete for. Oh wait, I’m gonna be a lawyer; I guess that is never going to happen.

Questions I NEVER Want to Hear Again

1. So, tell me about yourself.

Hmmm....I am really lazy, like reality TV, and would prefer not to do morally repugnant work.

2. Why do you want to work at a law firm?

I like money.

3. Why do you want to work at our firm?

Refer back to my answer regarding why I want to work at a law firm.

4. What is your greatest weakness?

Big law firms that will pay me an obscene amount of money even though I am clueless. Bonus points for a summer program that will give me absolutely no sense of what it will be like to work there fulltime, and has a low ratio of socially awkward associates.

5. What is your favorite law school class?

The one where I did well even though I did online shopping most of the time, and almost never came to class anyway.

6. Why did you go to law school?

I'll give you a hint, it wasn't to be a lawyer at a big law firm.

7. What do you do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?

Helping the little guy stick it to the man.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Not at a big law firm.

(Feel free to add any other non-favorite OCIP questions.)

Maybe a Lady Justice Piñata?

The rejections from OCIP have continued to roll in via mail, albeit a little slower now. I can't believe I still haven't heard a peep from a couple firms that interviewed me during the very first week of OCIP. I know its sick, but I have been keeping all of my rejection letters and am waiting for the last few to come in before I make scales of justice piñata or something with them. Each hit of the piñata could be a cathartic whack for every stupid question I had to suffer through. What is something I want you to know about me that isn’t on my resume? Well, if I wanted you to know it, I would have put it on my fu*king resume! I am boring and have no hobbies that would help me make a connection with someone who is obviously a shell of a man. Satisfied? Why a firm given my public interest background? Well, if you want to make me say it, I will. I like money. I like the way I can pay rent with money. I like the way I can buy things like food, new clothes, and chocolate with money. Is that a sufficient reason, or did you want me to offer to clean your house too before you consider giving me an offer? On second thought, I could always use the letters as kindling for the next carne asada. So many rejection letters, so many choices. I am just glad that I don’t have to wear another suit for at least six months.

You're Hired!

Well, I did it. I tap danced for the man and it finally culminated in getting some offers. Yay! Luckily I have enough offers to institute my rigorous test of choosing between the firm with associates who made me jog in heels, and the considerate associates who actually walked a little slower and talked to me. Now I get to read five weeks worth of reading which has piled up. Despite the need to catch up on all the work I neglected, I feel incredibly lucky. I have an offer from a firm that is as good as a big firm gets, and was my first choice. Life is good.

Check Please!

The worst part of callback interviews for me has been the awkward lunches with the associates. So far I have been unlucky enough to be accompanied by people not wearing heels at every lunch. How they have failed to realize that speed walking in heels is not comfortable is beyond me. One time the two associates taking me to lunch actually walked at least fifty feet ahead of me and talked to each other instead. Needless to say, unless that place is my only offer I am not going to work there. Its not like I am a diva; I just expect a little consideration for the fact that I am wearing three inch heels, not running shoes. Also, once you sit down the uncomfortable silence begins. While I try to keep the conversation light and not too law related I have unfortunately encountered more than one associate that insists on asking the lame law interview questions that I have come to hate after doing OCIP. Do you really need to ask me “why your firm” before I have even gotten a chance to nibble on something from the bread basket? Really? Although the lunch is free I have paid dearly with minutes of my life I will never get back.

Return from Hiatus

Hello again. With school back in full swing and the stress of OCIP, I didn't have much extra time to blog. I have to admit that I don't really have any good OCIP horror stories. With the exception of being bored to death in a few interviews where I could hardly get in a word edgewise, my interviews occurred without incident. Although I could live without ever going through OCIP again, it was a positive experience in that I got to bond with all my classmates while nervously waiting in the halls of the Durant hotel. There was a real sense of camaraderie as we all pilfered highlighters and free Starbucks cards from the hospitality suites and waited for the next interviews.

This week the callback process is more individual and I miss being able to talk to fellow Boalties before heading into yet another interview. Although I am generally a people person, the callback interviews seem to be more difficult in that you are meeting so many people in one shot. In any event this process will hopefully be over soon and I can get back to reading my casebooks, which have been collecting dust for weeks now.

You Lost Me at Jesus.....

I was recently invited to join a webgroup that advocates boycotting South Dakota because of its efforts to make abortion illegal. While I have always been pro-choice, it is people like the person who sent me the invite that make me feel uncomfortable with the sometimes hostile anti-christian overtones of the pro-choice movement. On his personal site, he had games where you could nail jesus to the cross or dress him up in a ballerina tutu. It is unfortunate that the very person asking for tolerance and understanding of other viewpoints is blatantly intolerant. I'm not saying the person should believe in Jesus, but a little respect for something many consider sacred would go a long way.

Motivate Me

Am I the only one completely unmotivated to read or do anything? I am on day three of the first week of school and I haven't read for my classes at all, nor have I made any attempt to start ranking slave drivers for OCIP. I don't know what it will take to get me back on track. If the thought of a big P hanging around my neck for the rest of my life or paying for my own lunch this summer doesn't do it, I don't know what will.

The Final Countdown

It is mere days before I begin my 2L year. I feel like I will have to be dragged back to school kicking and screaming. As much as I love Boalt (and I do genuinely love Boalt) I am just not ready to go back. My shoulders have enjoyed their freedom from heavy book bags and I haven't touched a hi-lighter in months. On top of not wanting to resume going to class, I also feel the specter of OCIP lying in wait for me. Although I am confident I will get a job somewhere, I am not looking forward to the rejection I will likely face during OCIP. In many ways, the OCIP process has inadvertently become a reminder of how much connections play a role in landing a job.

For me, making it to law school was a great accomplishment. As a high school graduate I had already beaten the odds, and as a college graduate I could do no wrong in my family’s eyes. I will never forget my father’s face the day I graduated from college because it looked like his heart was going to burst out of his chest with pride. My mother practically blinded me with camera flashes as she documented every second of my college graduation with disposable cameras. Consequently, it is impossible for my family to help me navigate my path toward a successful legal career. While it is pointless to focus on how disadvantaged I am compared to others who have parents or family in the legal profession, it is still worth noting how few Latinos there are in the legal world, and how each of us must still blaze our own trail despite all the inroads that have been made. We still have a long way to go.

You Aint Nothing But a Hoochie's Mama

As I searched for a power suit to divert attention away from the big P on my forehead, I couldn't help but notice all the back to school clothes on sale, and the pubescent teenagers squeezing themselves into this year's fashions. A girl who couldn’t have been more than 12 modeled a pair of super short shorts for her mother who groaned with disapproval at the selection. The girl replied that all the shorts were that short, and it was just the style kids wear now. Surprisingly the mother seemed to accept this and agreed to buy the shorts. This may make me sound like a prude, but I really don’t understand why parents allow their children to dress like little hoochies. I wouldn’t care if that was the style kids wear or not; I wouldn’t fork over my hard earned cash to make my daughter look like a streetwalker. I think its unfortunate how many parents feel like it is more important to be their child’s friend than their parent. There may have been times during my teenage years when I disliked the boundaries my mother set for me, but looking back I appreciate the way I was raised.

Summer Lovin', Had Me a Blast

In addition to working this summer, I kissed my share of toads to find a prince. I went to a salsa club one night and met a tall attractive Cubano who turned out to love George W. Bush. yikes! Given my prolonged dry spell I decided to give him a chance in the hopes of discovering he was just misguided, not a jackass. As I tried to ignore his beliefs I disagreed with long enough to eat my free dinner, he did something no one has ever done before. When I asked for one of his french fries, he said sure and pushed his entire plate toward me. As I gently pushed the plate back in front of him, he waved the plate away and said I could have his food because he was going to order more french fries. Apparently in addition to not believing in welfare, he also doesn't believe in EVER sharing food. Weird. I could go on about the other dates I went on, but in the interest in brevity, I’ll only do one nightmare date per post. In any event, I ended up meeting someone in the last place I ever expected to—church. We started talking over the coffee and donuts after service, and haven’t stopped talking since. So far I appreciate the fact that he isn’t a law student, but only time with tell if things will work out. Right now, I am having a lot of fun and enjoying my summer of love.

OCIP Induced Blindness

Since there is less than two weeks left before school starts, I figured it was time to start researching firms to prepare for the OCIP process. I am practically going blind from trying to compile a list of firms that I would even be interested in working at. It is amazing how much they all start to sound alike. I wish they all had a school specific tab where I could find out just how many Ps they are willing to put up with. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to the OCIP process.

In all honesty, I haven't even fully committed to doing the firm thing. However, I will admit the potential money to be made has been singing its siren song to me. Working for a non-profit organization this summer was rewarding, but it didn't really pay my bills. It is very tempting to work for a firm next summer and make enough to pay almost all of my tuition. My biggest fear is that I will either be painfully bored doing firm work, or will be used to do evil in my community. Granted, as a summer associate I doubt I would be given any real substantive work, but in general I didn't go to law school to end up working for corporations who don't really need my help. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with working for a firm; it’s just not where I ultimately want to use my law degree.

School Year Resolutions

I feel like the beginning of a new school year is similar to the beginning of a new year. As such, I like to make promises to myself that I'll study more, surf the internet in class less, and actually go to the gym. In an effort to motivate myself to actually go to the gym, I am trying to cobble together good workout music. Maybe trying to put this collection will just be another excuse to delay going to the gym, but I figure it is worth a try. Any suggestions?

CLR Angst

So I am one of the many rising 2Ls waiting for a phone call from CLR to tell me my fate. I absolutely hate that every time the phone rings I jump. Since people have started to receive calls, it makes me a little nervous that those horrible days spent working on that packet were made in vain. I think I can manage remaining optimistic for the rest of the day, but I will have to resign myself to the inevitable if I don't hear by the end of the day. How long can it really take to make 50+ calls? To preserve my anonymity, I am not going to say whether I made it or not. That said, I definitely sympathize with those in my situation who are waiting for the call. Ugh.

Long Time, No See

So I have to admit, I have neglected this blog since school wrapped in May. Needless to say, it has been a busy summer. In any event, I am resurfacing after a nice chunk of time off from law school. I have been working in the real world, which has been great. I have been able to help actual clients AND improve my writing skills. Also, I feel like I could write a couple books based on the lives of some of the people I have met while working. I think the lives of some of my clients have definitely been stranger than fiction. Anyway, I will pop in and write more later, but for now I just wanted to reassure my 2 or 3 readers that I am in fact, still alive.

Free To Be

I wanted to give an exhaustive description of my 1L year and what I learned, but given that I have still not recovered from finals, I am not up to it just yet. I have spent the last few days filling my head with junk. I'm talking American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order marathons, anything tawdry and low brow. It has been great. I also want to pick up a few books to read. (suggestions are welcome) I don't actually start working until the first week of June so I am enjoying a rare respite from the chaos that has enveloped my life since I started law school. I can't even begin to explain how great it is to not have a reading assignment, WOA brief, or something equally oppressive hanging over my head. For at least a few weeks I will get to be the old La Mitotera again, which is priceless.

My Man Neil

I should be studying but I wanted to quickly mention this funny LA Times article that talks about my favorite fourth of July song "America" by Neil Diamond. Apparently it is becoming the new anthem for Latino immigrants. I just have to say I loved that song since Cheech used it as background music for their march on the border in Born in the East LA. My man Neil may be a little cheesy in his rhinestone studded apparel, but he sure can sing. "Everywhere around the world..they're coming to America...got a dream they come to share, they're coming to America...They're coming to America today!!" Ok, I got that out of my system. Back to work.

Red Bull IV Drip Anyone?

With one more take home exam due by noon tomorrow I am literally about to start holding my eyelids open with toothpicks. Summer starts tomorrow. I can't wait. I will officially have survived my first year and will be a 2L in less than 24 hours. It is about damn time.

Jimmy Smits Is My President

Ok...so I am on yet another study break. I wonder if you can really call them study breaks when they constitute the majority of your time. Anyway, although I should be studying I am watching a west wing marathon. I have never actually never sat through a full episode of west wing and now realize I have been missing out. All this time I could have watched west wing and pretended that there is a Democratic president for an hour at a time. Hey, according to west wing there is a democratic Latino president. I could get used to that alternative reality. I have to say the only drawback to living in west wing fantasyland is that it makes reality that much worse. It may sound ridiculous, but the day Senator Kerry lost the election was one of the worst days of my life. Everyday that I see another soldier dead, news about Guantanamo Bay, or the countless other things being done in the name of all Americans I truly wish things had worked out differently. In short, Jimmy Smits is my president. Too bad west wing was cancelled.

Sex and Studying

Ok, it is no secret that La Mitotera has hit a dry spell in her quest for a companion at Boalt. It is also no secret that I am woefully behind in preparing for finals, so I am studying on a Friday night in the hopes of doing well in at least one or two classes. Well, to add insult to injury the people who live below me are um, having a lot more fun than I am. Sure, I could ignore the low moans and the occasional loud groan, but can they pull the f**king bed away from the wall already? *Thump * Thump * Thump* Thump* small pause* Thump* Sheesh... forced celibacy is one thing, but hearing my neighbors for the last 20 minutes is wholly another. I have hit yet another sad low as this is the closest I have gotten to sex in months. Damn Boalt and their sad selection.

Huelga (Strike) on MayDay

I have been watching all the debate on immigration and haven't said too much about it because I have been a little self absorbed with the impending doom of finals upon me. However, I have to say I was really surprised when Dean Ortiz sent out the email allowing people to join the MayDay strike in support of immigrant rights. Although I'm sure there are divergent opinions about her decision, ultimately I feel like her decision illustrates why I chose Boalt over other law schools I could have attended. The action on Monday is going to be historic and I am glad that I don't have to choose my final over showing my support for something I feel deeply about. While immigration is a complicated subject, I am tired of hearing people talk about our immigration laws as if there are objectively just and the people breaking the laws should just play by the rules. The truth is that our immigration laws are confusing, convoluted, and second only to tax law in their arbitrariness. It is time to talk about the system and fairness. I am willing to concede that the current system needs reform, but that reform should not be driven by many of the racist undertones I have seen in immigration debate. Latinos along with other immigrants just want a chance to be a valuable part of this country; they should be given this chance.

The Day of Reckoning Approaches

Ok, so I admit it. I am a bad student. After my experience last semester with finals I vowed to prepare in advance. I promised myself that my outlines would be done by the end of spring break, and I would be taking practice tests weeks in advance with all the intensity you would expect from a self proclaimed red hot. Yet here I am with little more than a week before my first final and I am utterly unprepared. Not one outline is done, nor have I even attempted to look at any practice exams for any of my classes. I don't think there is enough coffee in the word to keep me awake for the amount of work I have to do to catch up.

So my cyber friends I have to ask. Is it time to shed my overachieving tendencies and start chanting P=JD? Do I still have a chance at seeing the glimmer of an H or *gasp* even an HH?

New Boalties

With my first year rapidly coming to an end, I have not had much time to post but I wanted to say a few words about the 0Ls I met during admit week. I was pleasantly surprised with the new crop of students. In general the newbies I talked to seemed very chill and more fun than my class. (Sorry, but even I have to admit that my class is sometimes lacking in the fun personality department) I hope that most of the people I met accept their offers, especially the cuties I met. Maybe Boalt will have some eye candy to look at in class after all. I can only hope.

I *Heart* Deer

Funny...

Thanks Boalt!

So I finally got a summer job about a week ago and decided it was time to start tallying up my hours for the Edley grant. When I went in to make sure I had enough hours to qualify for the grant I found out that much of the hours I had served for various organizations no longer counted. Apparently they have changed the rules and almost everything you volunteer with must include being supervised by an attorney. Unfortunately I had been told by all the 2 & 3Ls that volunteering for certain student organizations would count and now I am screwed. How can I possibly cram 20 hours of attorney supervised volunteer work into the next few weeks? Although I am grateful for the Edley grants, they should have done a better job of informing 1Ls that the requirements have changed from last year. Thanks Boalt!

On a side note the proposed changes in LRAP look great, so I won't complain too much.

Meltdown

Although finals seem far off on the horizon I have nonetheless started to feel the squeeze. Between having to finish my WOA brief that is absolute crap, and juggling the reading for all my classes I have been feeling overwhelmed. For the first time I am starting to feel like law school is getting the best of me and that I just can’t handle all of my classes. Ironically, I did not feel this stressed during the first semester. Was a meltdown inevitable? Does anyone else have days when you feel like your destiny includes a transcript full of Ps?

Sage words of wisdom welcomed.

New Lows

Although Valentines Day is now firmly in the past, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the horror of my Valentines Day. As many of the ladies of Boalt can attest, the choices we are faced with are less than ideal. Most of the women are beautiful, smart, accomplished while the men are not quite at the same level. Don't get me wrong, there are a few rays of hope walking around in the halls but for the most part the attractive men are married or in a relationship. So as a single woman I didn't have high hopes for valentines day to begin with. But then I met him. A cute grad student in another program who was taller than me, smart, and laughed at my jokes. Against my better judgment I allowed myself to think I might be doing something with a member of the opposite sex on V-Day rather than reading casebooks. We had drinks a few days before and I made sure I touched his leg, his arm, and gave him the eye contact that blatantly shows interest. We also had a few more long telephone conversations full of the deep thoughts that sow the seeds of infatuation. So when I called him and invited him to join me for drinks on V-Day I expected he would accept. Instead he told me that he was going to spend V-day studying at the library. Ouch. Not even a good excuse. I think law school is destroying my game.

Mommie Dearest

There was a lunchtime discussion today about balancing work and family after law school as well as “The Opt-Out Revolution”. Apparently the opt-out revolution refers to women leaving or planning to leave their careers after having children.

The organizers of the event played a video with interviews of three women lawyers (two of which were partners) and a man who had his own practice. The women talked about their experience working at a firm and what their life was like. None of the women had actually "opted out" and left their career to become a stay at home mother, and at least one seemed downright selfish and appeared to place her career over being a mother. So much for telling me how to balance family and work. I was struck by the way the first woman interviewed (a partner at Gibson Dunn) never really mentioned that it was important to be around for her child and instead offered a story about her colleague who hired a nanny/chauffeur to make sure someone picked up her kids from school and shuttled them around until the parents came home in the evening.

According to Ms. Partner, kids only have the "baby face" for so long and then they don't need you around as much anymore as they get older. You can always delegate duties like cooking, taking kids to soccer practice, and generally being around to other people. In her world you are successfully juggling a demanding legal career and a family as long as you still squeeze enough time in to have dinner with your kids. It seemed sad to me that she didn’t seem to think she was missing out on being a meaningful part of her kid's life.

Which brings me back to the question that has been nagging me for quite awhile. Can you have it all? Does working for a big firm turn you into mommie dearest or a bad mother?

I tend to think you can't have your cake and eat it too. Sure, picking your kid up from school or taking them to a dance class isn't something that you can't pay other people to do, but I think you miss out on creating and maintaining a strong bond with your child. I believe the concept of "quality time" being better than quantity is just a fiction created to assuage guilt. I think we all want to believe we can have it all and I am starting to think it just isn't possible. Something probably has to give, and in my case that probably means foregoing the big law firm route for something more family friendly.

I'd Rather Be Fishing

Although it may be unseemly to gripe while being at a law school where the students are great and the weather is pretty nice I just have to complain about the insanity that is WOA (Writing and Oral Advocacy to the uninitiated). This class is pass/no pass, worth one credit and is the bane of my existence. WHY oh WHY do I have to write a stupid brief about a case that is as exciting as watching paint peel? Why is it so much damn work? Is this a preview of my life should I take that detour to BIGLAW instead of doing public interest? I feel like I have lost hours of my life I will never get back working on something that is meaningless. Somebody tell me there is some practical application for all this work I am doing, I beg you.

What Was She Thinking?!!!!

As if my opinion of Britney Spears couldn't get worse, now I find out that she drove with her newborn son in her lap despite the fact she could have killed him if the air bags deployed. What was she thinking? It defies logic that anyone would fail to see the danger of having a child in the front seat. What does she need? A picture of a bloody and beheaded baby to understand the irresponsibility of her choice? I know in the scheme of world events this isn't that important but I hate to see parents put their children in obviously dangerous situations.

First Amendment Fundamentalists

As I reluctantly opened my eyes this morning, I was greeted with a very interesting speech by Rabbi Michael Lerner on my alarm clock radio. Essentially he said the problem progressives have with capturing the hearts of those we are losing to the "right" lies in our inability to acknowledge the importance of spirituality and articulate "politics of meaning."

He argues, that progressives' disdain for religion has made them deaf to the spiritual needs that underlie the move to the right. The left's unwillingness to engage in a serious debate about issues of spirituality has left a void which is exploited by Republicans. The sometimes justified anger over the way that some religious communities have fostered racism, sexism and homophobia, has created a knee-jerk hostility to religion that has both marginalized people on the left who actually do have spiritual yearnings and simultaneously refused to acknowledge that many who move to the right have legitimate complaints about the selfishness in American life.

I think he has put his finger on a huge issue that has crippled progressives in their attempts to move beyond dominance only in traditionally blue states. 86.8% of Americans view themselves as religious. To ignore that religion and spirituality are at the heart of most people's lives is foolish.

Also, I think there has been a tendency to advocate so strongly for a separation of church and state, that the adherents become as narrow minded as the right wing fundamentalists they oppose. I by no means have the answer to all of the problems that plague the left (if I did I’d probably be an overpaid consultant right now). That said, it is imperative that we begin to address the place spirituality should play in every day life and move away from this rabid need to secularize politics. Lets talk about real Judeo-Christian values that demand we take care of our fellow man and prevent the violence of war. It could be just the right jump start we need.

The First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement

I watched part of Coretta Scott King's funeral today and was struck by the void of progressive leadership. In the past there have been so many icons with expansive agendas and a vision. It feels like people who advocate for civil rights have either seen their advances rolled back or remain stagnant.

Also, I couldn't believe that Bush had the nerve to show up to her funeral. I'll grant that he was in a Catch-22 situation, but his presence seemed so disingenuous. He has done nothing to advance civil rights and yet there he was. That said, I still think the criticisms lodged against him DURING the funeral were in poor taste. A funeral isn't really the place to steal the spotlight to get a few jabs in. It is a funeral for christsakes.

Love Is A Battlefield

My poor sister is experiencing the crushing devastation of breaking up with her boyfriend. It is times like these where you wish you could spare them the hurt and pain. I wish I could give her some words of wisdom to assuage the grief that she feels, but instead I spit out platitudes and listen quietly. I can't believe the loser actually gave her the whole "I need space" crap excuse. This of course is worse than other break-up reasons because there is no clean break. Instead it leaves a ray of hope that the break is temporary, which is usually much worse than saying it is over. Yep...the little jerk will keep her hanging and languishing while he makes a decision.

Strange as it sounds, hearing her spill her heart out about the situation took me back to my first heartbreak. I remember it being so intense and feeling like the world stopped turning. I never thought I would ever meet another person like him. (Thank God I was right!!) Of course it took me awhile to move from the mourning stage to the visceral hate stage, but I made the transition after many months of writing bad poetry and rebound date after rebound date. All this of course, is a long winded way of saying I understand how utterly terrible breaking up feels and just because it hasn't happened to me in a long time doesn't mean I can't relate. Hearing her get weepy made me wince and I wish I could kick the guy's skinny ass. After all, he has a lot of nerve dumping my sister when she is clearly cuter and smarter than him. I am unbiased of course. I feel like there should be a family violence exemption where I could get a few punches in with impunity. I feel like the "I need my space" excuse that leaves the other partner in relationship limbo demands that type of response.

I'm Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. DeMille

Hello world. I am a law student at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law and this blog will chronicle my survival in the belly of the beast. Ok, maybe that is a little dramatic but law school can be hectic when all you want to do is relax and participate in "bar review."