That's what my eyes feel like. Over the past day and a half, I've studied Trusts and Estates for about 14 hours. Very productive, quality studying. Unfortunately I'm hitting a wall. My brain is really tired and I'm having trouble retaining information long enough to finish my thoughts. I'm taking that as a sign that it's time to take a break. The exam is Saturday morning and I'm in good shape, so the rest of the evening is mine!
Today was the last day of class of my second year of law school. I have become 2/3 of a lawyer and remain 1/3 of a human being. Of course, just because classes are finished doesn't mean the work is done. First exam is this weekend. Paper to finish. Another exam the second week of May. Some days I would prefer to be 3/3 human and 0/3 lawyer and have my life back.
I'll repeat. He lives in a zoo. If I lived in a zoo, I'd need a smoke, too. Can you imagine how cranky this guy will be if he goes cold turkey? Yikes. Chimps are strong. I ain't gonna be the one to hide his smokes...
Do we really need to kill cats and put Cookie Monster on a diet?
I mean, is there nothing more important going on right now? I grew up watching Cookie Monster scarf down handfuls of doughy morsels and, somehow, have magically escaped the trap of obesity. I have had cats as pets for years and don't view them as a scourge to be assassinated.
I guess I have less trouble with educating kids about healthy eating habits than I do with people killing cats. If nothing else, given Wisconsin hunters' shaky track record with safe hunting (how many deer hunters fall out of tree stands or shoot each other each season??), is it really a good idea to introduce yet another reason for those so inclined to lock and load?
And while I'm ranting, why are there so many damned laxative commercials on during the evening news? Are people really THAT backed up? I wonder if Cookie Monster has anything to say about that...
When I was a junior (a/k/a third year student) in university, I was struggling with an abstract of my honors thesis. I had angst. The thesis was to be my grand work and the capstone of my undergraduate academic career. I faced a year of research and writing that would culminate in a 90-page tome on Vietnam in Film and History. I had built the thing up so much in my mind that I was paralyzed. My fingers could not push the keys on the keyboard.
I went to my major advisor and told him I was having problems. Being the wise and seasoned historian he was, my advisor looked at me, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "I'm going to tell you what my wife tells me whenever I have a writing project: just get the damn thing done."
So, on Friday I had 14 pages of my Poverty Law research paper down. 11-16 more to go. As I stared at the stacks of law review articles, cases, newspaper features and, of course, my trusty Bluebook*, I called to memory Prof. X's advice from years ago. I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and got the damn thing done. Mostly. Revisions and citation formatting to follow. But the bones of the paper are there and it came in at around 25 pages. Revision and addition is sure to add 3-5 to that. All-in-all, not too bad.
If you've read any other blogs from southern Wisconsin, you'll no doubt know that the weather has been amazing here. Friday and Saturday allowed just enough time for a couple of great bike rides. I think I need a wider saddle, though, because my sit bones are majorly unhappy. Like you needed to know, I know.
*For the non-law types out there, the Bluebook is the guide to citation format for legal writers (practitioners and scholars).
