Short and sweet

Trying to figure out how to look at the same thing in the most efficient manner.

Studying twice as hard as last year but not getting the same hit. I compare it to weightlifting. When you first start out you see immediate gains but as you continue you dont notice the improvement if any and you are likely to follow a path that will lead you to no improvement if you don't watch out.

Technology is great however the organization of all this data is an ever consuming ever changing task. FYLSX is six months away and I have to change gears with my ipod and study schedule; the blackberry helps with that but again it takes a lot of organization once a week to preplan what I will be listening to on the treadmill and in the car. Oh, and I dropped my blackberry yesterday, cracked the screen; have to have it so I have insurance, paid deductible and the replacement will be here tomorrow.

Upped my time on writing under Barperfect; about 1.5 hrs per day except for Sunday so about 9 hours a week.

Still working on the stupid definitions assignment; late. Have to get that back to NWCU asap. Time consuming drudgery that has basis in how you learn the law. I guess Professor Clancy knows what the hell he is talking about.

In the draft

Took some time off from this because...

I did not know whether I was going to be kicked out of school.

Because....

My tooth hurt.

Not knowing if there is purpose to something has effect on whether you stay at it. Ok, transcript problem with school, get notification of "non academic dismissal" because of military/civilian school that was mistakenly recorded as I had attended and did not. No relevance to my required amount of credits for the bar. Many letters, many emails later; problem solved. However, I thought if I get kicked out; study for baby bar only but goal of bachelor's at end of 2010 not realized. Non issue now.

I had a cracked tooth. I have had a cracked tooth for some time; did not know it was that maybe a cavity. However, when hourly intake of every analgesic and topical 20% benzocaine won't cut the pain you realize that you should have gone to the dentist 2-3 weeks ago or even when you filled out the paperwork 2-3 months ago. Nevertheless, I had to cop some prescription narcotics and father in law called his dentist on Sunday; got antibiotics and vicodin rx. Needless to say I fired my dentist who is not open when you need emergency treatment.

Back to law school, I have a labor intensive definitions assignment that is due March 1, I will put off my lack of initiative of putting the usual effort in this on the two problems stated above. I did not even tell Liosi that I was writing under the influence of Vicodin so he will expect a marked improvement now that I am clean and sober.

Things are getting clearer with some of the 2L concepts. I think the constant immersion: 5:30-8:30 ipod and 17:00-18:00 ipod getting ready and commuting has helped. Additionally, ramping up on this definitions assignments has helped also however it's like taking a drink of water from a fire hose.

Stamina is affected by health; since the dental issue and the prescription of other meds, I think I can study longer till 10 or 11 at night plus I increased my treadmill time to about 15 minutes a morning every day about 3/4 of a mile so 4.5 miles a week? That may have helped the stamina.

Rusty has been helping also;see video.

Ground Zero

2L

Property, Remedies, Criminal Procedure, Agency & Partnership

Mid terms are 25 weeks away; 6 months, Finals; 48 or so. The retake of the FYLSE about 40 weeks away.

It is an interesting phenomenon and it can't only be me but not only am I panicked because I don't know if I am going to pass my mid term but logically my brain know I have only been to one day of class but still I have high standards for self knowledge. I will chalk it up to anxiety issues.

Writing: Received first analytical assignment from Steve Liosi-Bar Perfect. I see the logic in the reworking of rule statements and the crawl before you walk concept. I am looking forward to being criticized and ridicule cruelly for my feeble attempts.

Seriously, anyone that writes law exam essays without essay by essay guidance, criticicism of statements of law is basically trying to learn do it yourself brain surgery. Or, something I have done do it yourself Porsche 928 car maintenance.

Additionally: A wonderful worm virus has infiltrated my web based email contacting all my contacts to buy pharmaceuticals. This list includes my school contacts which includes the less than patient assistant dean with all this nonsense. I am sorry, god, I am sorry for the actions of some bored russian hacking americanski emails.

Selling books by Amazon works. I have sold very expensive legal study aids and very happy with the speed and lack of bs. Yes, there is a commission but amazon takes care of the stupid details; collecting money.

2010

Holidays are over. All family has gone back to where they live. 2L is starting and I need a legal writing class due to my crappy essay scores on the FYLSX.

Monday-Thursday morning/afternoon drive: Subject specific ipod in car. Monday-Friday lunch devoted to 1L review. Monday-Thursday evenings are Real Property, Remedies, Criminal Procedure and Agency/Partnership. Saturday mornings: Writing class: Presently, Flemings and BarPerfect plus everything else.

In other news; spoke or heard about other classmates: two strangely enough have taken a seven month hiatus between 1L and 2L; one had passed the FYLSX the other had not and is taking Barperfect also. Personally, I got home and went back to studying, don't know if they are doing the same. I have not written an essay except for a diagnostic for Liosi. What's the use if they are not passing. However, I am reading essay procedures, copying templates, doing issue spotting, etc.

The very little I have started to read of the 2L classes indicate that without the foundation of the 1L, 2 L would be more of a challenge if not impossible.

And..one of my classmates has a video on youtube of pick 3 lottery.

Ray "The Bull" Bell

Ray Bell, manager of Graham Central Station, Oklahoma City, once told me as a young 22 year old assistant manager of one of his and the Graham Bros. bars, " Boy, it's not that you fell down, it's how fast you get up."

So I have failed my October 2009 with a couple bits of knowledge.

1. I know the law. I got a 73 on the multiple choice.
2. I got a 70 on a Torts essay; that was my worst subject in 1L.
3. I screwed up three other essays.

I am glad I made the choice before I got the results to go ahead and take an online writing course which allows to take it for free next year in Los Angeles.

I am also taking a peek at NWCU's syllabus for first year. They seem to have a different approach to learning the meat and potatoes of law.

Second year starts January 7. First year review; ongoing.

Before I get my test results....

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
---Theodore Roosevelt

Happy New Year

I received the authorization to access the "Blackboard" section of my new school; Northwestern California University. Different from ALU in that the academic guts of the website appears to have more detail. The classes run concurrently. The student is on a self administered schedule; 48-52 weeks.

So...I like that as any passive agressive control freak would. You are responsible for your schedule. Should be interesting. Ordered a bunch of cheap books, with more to be ordered. I have a Flemings writing course on the way.

No results from the Bar yet; mailed out yesterday. I know some of us have the vision of a person handling our letter much like when we ordered things (I did in ancient times) from the back of a cereal box or a comic book and the person at the company would put our toy carefully in the mail watching the mailman take it to our house. Yeah I still think like that.

Ironically, Paul B., a former class mate at ALU, who sat next to me at the Baby Bar, got accepted round about the same time to if NWCU.

New discovery: Listening to the KFI AM 640 Radio Show Handel on the Law; if you are in law school you start to see the patterns and the common sense solutions that apply to essay exams; I do anyway. Kind of like a coloring book for law students.