I know its been about a week but I promise I have been working on some post. They will be ready to go hopefully by this evening. What can you look forward too...
NFL opening Weekend
Legal Writting
Medical Malpractice
Neurotic Law Students
and the Socratic method
So yeah, coming soon
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Boxers or Briefs?
"Think of your briefs like...well briefs. You always want them to be clean and neat in case someone else happens to see them. They should be comfortable fit for you without being covering too much or too little. Most importantly you should always use your own unless its an emergency for best results"
-As explained by a LARC professor and told to me by a peer
I think before we get too deep into the law school career I should take some time to explain what it is exactly I spend most of my time doing, namely, Briefing. The above quote is probably the best way to illustrate the concept of what briefs should be, though it may not be too helpful if you don't know what it is. So what are these briefs that lawyers carry in those cases (hence "briefcase" in case you ever wondered where it came from)? I am here to answer that my dear friend
In short, a brief is a "short". That is to say it is a short and abbreviated note on a particular case. As a student I may read anywhere between 7 and 12 cases per week conservatively. It would be nearly impossible to recall every relevant aspect of every case for every class without some short hand technique. That is where briefing comes in handy. Again, briefs are tailored to the person using them. As a 1L my briefs are highly formalistic because i am still using a very structured set-up to ensure I get all the important information. So what do my briefs look like?
Facts
Procedural Posture
Issue
Holding
Reasoning
Rule
Concurring/Dissenting Opinions
Facts
The facts of the case are those particular elements of the case that make it unique. These tend to be the parties, their relation to each other, alleged acts, circumstances, and scenarios. Often there can be many relevant facts in any particular case, but the key is to find the Outcome Detriment Factors (ODF). While it may be true and a fact that the defendant was a man, doctor, or wore glasses if that factor didn't help the court make a decision, then it probably doesn't need to be in the brief.
Procedural Posture
Sounds hard, but is actually simple. It's just the "How". How did this case get to where it is now? Who sued whom, what did the judge/jury say at lower courts, who appealed and what was the outcome there, and if there were any relevant motions/objections. This is the technical part of the case and can be difficult to find sometimes. Personally I think it is really helpful, because often if you know the "how"of where the case is, it helps with he "Why" as ill talk about in the issue portion. I know lots of people who skim this part, I think it is a mistake to, especially considering a question that always stumps students is the simple "Who won?". You'd be surprised how many students simply don't know, who actually appealed a case or who actually won.
Issue
The "why", "heart of the matter", or "the legal issue" of any case is the issue. Often there can be more then one legal issue, and the court does not have to respond to every one of them if they don't want. Often you can point the issue out by searching for language like "We are considering","We are looking to", or "The argument to". All of these are signals that the court is going to explain what is at issue in the case. If you think about it, every case comes down to one sides interpretation of an issue vs. the other sides. With that in mind, I try to frame the issue in simple yes/no questions, which helps when I get to the Holding. For instance an issue a court my face is "Does gun regulation in a school zone fall within Congress' power to regulate via the Commerce Clause?".
Holding
"No, possession of a gun in a school zone is not commercial activity and does not directly effect interstate commerce. Thus it is not within the scope of power of Congress to regulate". The holding then, is what the majority of the case thinks is the appropriate response to the issue at hand. The holding is often tricky to pick out, that is why a good expression of the issue is so vital. It is rare that the court will directly state its holding. Often I have to piece together various thoughts and synthesis them into the courts holding. At which point I must then explain how they came up with that holding
Reasoning
Which leads to the reasoning. Why did the court rule the way it did? This portion often bogs students down. Judges talk, a lot, about a lot, and have opinions about a lot. It is critical that you wade through the fluff and distill the reasons that directly apply to the holding. Sometimes I'm lucky and they neatly number the reasons or use language like "First, Foremost, We believe, or We accept/deny" Those tend to clue me into the courts reasoning. Often they refer to past cases or general hypotheticals. I know people who spend lots of time looking up the cases Judges mention or working through the hypothetical. I don't do that. One way is not better or worse. Personally though, If a judge alludes to a case the applies it in context, I assume that was the relevant portion I need. Would it give me more depth of knowledge if I knew the context of the mentioned case? Of course! Do I need it to apply to the case at hand? Not likely. In the end it is a cost-benefit analysis that you have to make. I judge it more important to get the breadth of the reasoning and its application vs. a deep and thorough understanding of any one particular reason.
Rule
The reason I think that is because in the end, all you really need is the Rule anyway. The dirty little secret to Law school is that most of the time and energy you spend preparing for class is "wasted". Not to say it is unimportant to learn to think like a lawyer and know the context of cases, BUT what you NEED to know for practice or more importantly for the EXAM is THE BLACK LETTER LAW! The rule is just that. Often enumerated in numbered or lettered form, the rule is what the case used in its ruling as a general principle. Think about it, if every case had the same facts and issues, we would never have disputes. We would know from the past what the court said about those facts concerning that issue. But that is not what happens is it? In theory, each case has new facts and issues and the court has to deal with them. They do that by applying these general rules. An example of a rule may be: In order to prove the civil allegation of Infliction of Intentional Emotional Distress, a plaintiff must show
1) The defendants actions were extreme and outrageous
2) The defendant knew or should have reasonably known said actions would inflict emotional harm
and
3) The defendants actions had to ACTUALLY cause the injury.
As you can see, the facts of a case may change, but this rule does not (for the most part, but there are exceptions. Not important for these purposes). Thus a Judge or lawyer (or law student) can apply the Rules they know to new fact patterns and reasonably come to some guess as to how the courts will act. Now obviously reasonable people can disagree on that outcome, that is in fact why there is litigation the first place, but if everyone is using the same rule you can debate the facts and not the law.
Concurring/Dissenting Opinions
You don't tend to run across these that often unless it is a big case or a Supreme Court case. I do take the time to read them, and if there is any particularly persuasive argument I might jot it down in this section. The important thing to remember is that for the most part, while it may be persuasive, it is unimportant By definition they are not the majority, thus there opinion does not "matter". However, often there are valid lines of reasoning in dissents that can be used later for new cases so it may be helpful to know what the court says about those facts. Also in rare instance the "minority" can become the "majority". Take the dissents from Plessy V Ferguson (separate but equal) and you will find they became basically the majority opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (desegregation).
That in general is briefing. It is important to note that reading and briefing are more helpful before class so you have a understanding in case you are called on. I have seen really long briefs and really short ones. I like to think mine are somewhere in the middle. One thing I didn't mention, but that I do and maybe helpful, is funny case names. See enough Jones v. Smith or Roe V. Wades and they all start to run together. Often case names aren't helpful in helping recall of the subject matter of the case. So to help myself I often give each case another title. In my torts class they tend to be funny names because the cases are funny i.e. "Electric lasso boy electrocutes self" "Shower glass Fall" and "No look train crash". As you can see they are general, but specific enough to a case to recall A) what was at issue B) help with what happened and C) what class it was from. Often I, and other students, forget what class we read a case for, so it helps a little.
So now that I have showed you my briefs, what do you think? I hope they are clean and neat enough. I happen to think they are comfortable and just the right fit. You?
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
-As explained by a LARC professor and told to me by a peer
I think before we get too deep into the law school career I should take some time to explain what it is exactly I spend most of my time doing, namely, Briefing. The above quote is probably the best way to illustrate the concept of what briefs should be, though it may not be too helpful if you don't know what it is. So what are these briefs that lawyers carry in those cases (hence "briefcase" in case you ever wondered where it came from)? I am here to answer that my dear friend
In short, a brief is a "short". That is to say it is a short and abbreviated note on a particular case. As a student I may read anywhere between 7 and 12 cases per week conservatively. It would be nearly impossible to recall every relevant aspect of every case for every class without some short hand technique. That is where briefing comes in handy. Again, briefs are tailored to the person using them. As a 1L my briefs are highly formalistic because i am still using a very structured set-up to ensure I get all the important information. So what do my briefs look like?
Facts
Procedural Posture
Issue
Holding
Reasoning
Rule
Concurring/Dissenting Opinions
Facts
The facts of the case are those particular elements of the case that make it unique. These tend to be the parties, their relation to each other, alleged acts, circumstances, and scenarios. Often there can be many relevant facts in any particular case, but the key is to find the Outcome Detriment Factors (ODF). While it may be true and a fact that the defendant was a man, doctor, or wore glasses if that factor didn't help the court make a decision, then it probably doesn't need to be in the brief.
Procedural Posture
Sounds hard, but is actually simple. It's just the "How". How did this case get to where it is now? Who sued whom, what did the judge/jury say at lower courts, who appealed and what was the outcome there, and if there were any relevant motions/objections. This is the technical part of the case and can be difficult to find sometimes. Personally I think it is really helpful, because often if you know the "how"of where the case is, it helps with he "Why" as ill talk about in the issue portion. I know lots of people who skim this part, I think it is a mistake to, especially considering a question that always stumps students is the simple "Who won?". You'd be surprised how many students simply don't know, who actually appealed a case or who actually won.
Issue
The "why", "heart of the matter", or "the legal issue" of any case is the issue. Often there can be more then one legal issue, and the court does not have to respond to every one of them if they don't want. Often you can point the issue out by searching for language like "We are considering","We are looking to", or "The argument to". All of these are signals that the court is going to explain what is at issue in the case. If you think about it, every case comes down to one sides interpretation of an issue vs. the other sides. With that in mind, I try to frame the issue in simple yes/no questions, which helps when I get to the Holding. For instance an issue a court my face is "Does gun regulation in a school zone fall within Congress' power to regulate via the Commerce Clause?".
Holding
"No, possession of a gun in a school zone is not commercial activity and does not directly effect interstate commerce. Thus it is not within the scope of power of Congress to regulate". The holding then, is what the majority of the case thinks is the appropriate response to the issue at hand. The holding is often tricky to pick out, that is why a good expression of the issue is so vital. It is rare that the court will directly state its holding. Often I have to piece together various thoughts and synthesis them into the courts holding. At which point I must then explain how they came up with that holding
Reasoning
Which leads to the reasoning. Why did the court rule the way it did? This portion often bogs students down. Judges talk, a lot, about a lot, and have opinions about a lot. It is critical that you wade through the fluff and distill the reasons that directly apply to the holding. Sometimes I'm lucky and they neatly number the reasons or use language like "First, Foremost, We believe, or We accept/deny" Those tend to clue me into the courts reasoning. Often they refer to past cases or general hypotheticals. I know people who spend lots of time looking up the cases Judges mention or working through the hypothetical. I don't do that. One way is not better or worse. Personally though, If a judge alludes to a case the applies it in context, I assume that was the relevant portion I need. Would it give me more depth of knowledge if I knew the context of the mentioned case? Of course! Do I need it to apply to the case at hand? Not likely. In the end it is a cost-benefit analysis that you have to make. I judge it more important to get the breadth of the reasoning and its application vs. a deep and thorough understanding of any one particular reason.
Rule
The reason I think that is because in the end, all you really need is the Rule anyway. The dirty little secret to Law school is that most of the time and energy you spend preparing for class is "wasted". Not to say it is unimportant to learn to think like a lawyer and know the context of cases, BUT what you NEED to know for practice or more importantly for the EXAM is THE BLACK LETTER LAW! The rule is just that. Often enumerated in numbered or lettered form, the rule is what the case used in its ruling as a general principle. Think about it, if every case had the same facts and issues, we would never have disputes. We would know from the past what the court said about those facts concerning that issue. But that is not what happens is it? In theory, each case has new facts and issues and the court has to deal with them. They do that by applying these general rules. An example of a rule may be: In order to prove the civil allegation of Infliction of Intentional Emotional Distress, a plaintiff must show
1) The defendants actions were extreme and outrageous
2) The defendant knew or should have reasonably known said actions would inflict emotional harm
and
3) The defendants actions had to ACTUALLY cause the injury.
As you can see, the facts of a case may change, but this rule does not (for the most part, but there are exceptions. Not important for these purposes). Thus a Judge or lawyer (or law student) can apply the Rules they know to new fact patterns and reasonably come to some guess as to how the courts will act. Now obviously reasonable people can disagree on that outcome, that is in fact why there is litigation the first place, but if everyone is using the same rule you can debate the facts and not the law.
Concurring/Dissenting Opinions
You don't tend to run across these that often unless it is a big case or a Supreme Court case. I do take the time to read them, and if there is any particularly persuasive argument I might jot it down in this section. The important thing to remember is that for the most part, while it may be persuasive, it is unimportant By definition they are not the majority, thus there opinion does not "matter". However, often there are valid lines of reasoning in dissents that can be used later for new cases so it may be helpful to know what the court says about those facts. Also in rare instance the "minority" can become the "majority". Take the dissents from Plessy V Ferguson (separate but equal) and you will find they became basically the majority opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (desegregation).
That in general is briefing. It is important to note that reading and briefing are more helpful before class so you have a understanding in case you are called on. I have seen really long briefs and really short ones. I like to think mine are somewhere in the middle. One thing I didn't mention, but that I do and maybe helpful, is funny case names. See enough Jones v. Smith or Roe V. Wades and they all start to run together. Often case names aren't helpful in helping recall of the subject matter of the case. So to help myself I often give each case another title. In my torts class they tend to be funny names because the cases are funny i.e. "Electric lasso boy electrocutes self" "Shower glass Fall" and "No look train crash". As you can see they are general, but specific enough to a case to recall A) what was at issue B) help with what happened and C) what class it was from. Often I, and other students, forget what class we read a case for, so it helps a little.
So now that I have showed you my briefs, what do you think? I hope they are clean and neat enough. I happen to think they are comfortable and just the right fit. You?
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Week Two
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"
-Unknown
At this point I have completed two full weeks of Law school. I apologize for the delay in post but lots has been going on, that has made it a little difficult to post on a more regular basis. I do have several good topics for future post, but before we get ahead of ourselves lets answer a very critical question that the quote above illuminates.
So with two weeks under my belt, what little lessons have I learned to keep me from getting fooled again?
The first lesson I learned, was a familiar one. TIME VALUE. To say that time management is an important component of law school, would be a understatement on several levels of magnitude. It is my experience and opinion thus far, that law school in itself and the material that you are asked to learn is difficult but not impossible, but doing well is impossible if you get behind. The sheer volume of material is the real enemy in law school. Being able to manipulate, store, decipher, and master large volumes of information is the key. With that in mind I have worked out a bit of a system that has kept me above water thus far. For me at least, the key is to review all the material the professors go over at the end of the week and assimilate it into my own notes and thoughts. Secondly, I HAVE TO READ ON THE WEEKENDS. I know some people that are able to read material during the week, that does not work for me. I'm always too tired at night, or afraid that ill get behind, so i read on the weekend.
The second lesson I have learned is that, while it is important to rely on peers for their thoughts and interpretations on material...its is equally important to take everything they say with a grain of salt. Trying to compare the number of hours and study methods of one student to another is akin to comparing your apples to another's oranges. Yeah they are both fruit and you can eat them, but which is better? Well its a matter of personal preference isn't it. I personally cant study for hours on end in the library at the end of the day, its counter productive to me. I start to have nervous breakdowns, lol. I need to be at home, relaxed, and able to listen to my music. I need to be able to get up and pace, or write on my dry erase board to help illustrate my thoughts. The point being, that I've learned to work my way. Work smarter, not harder! That's my motto at least.
"Work hard, Play Harder". It's always been a motto of mine, but here it is a measure of sanity. I could literally spend every waking hour preparing for class or in class and still not be that much more clear on the material. At some point it becomes a cost-benefit analysis. You have to ask yourself if studying for another hour on top of the 5 you have already spent, will give you any more clarity or understanding. The Law of Diminishing Returns shows that after a certain point you stop getting any real benefit. That is where having a social life comes into play. I admit I am still trying to find that balance, but I have been enjoying getting to know my fellow classmates and exploring the various bars and dives of Chicago. I could do a weekly post (and may just do that) about the places I visit here in the city, but I don't want it to become to repetitive. How many ways can you say "went to bar, had drinks, great convo, and silly dancing"??
So with the long weekend, I am taking the time to recharge the batteries. The first two weeks were just a warm up lap, now the real race of this semester is about to start. I think that armed with my mind set, and study techniques I should be able to do reasonably well. So with that in mind, I am ready for this week and the rest of the semester.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
-Unknown
At this point I have completed two full weeks of Law school. I apologize for the delay in post but lots has been going on, that has made it a little difficult to post on a more regular basis. I do have several good topics for future post, but before we get ahead of ourselves lets answer a very critical question that the quote above illuminates.
So with two weeks under my belt, what little lessons have I learned to keep me from getting fooled again?
The first lesson I learned, was a familiar one. TIME VALUE. To say that time management is an important component of law school, would be a understatement on several levels of magnitude. It is my experience and opinion thus far, that law school in itself and the material that you are asked to learn is difficult but not impossible, but doing well is impossible if you get behind. The sheer volume of material is the real enemy in law school. Being able to manipulate, store, decipher, and master large volumes of information is the key. With that in mind I have worked out a bit of a system that has kept me above water thus far. For me at least, the key is to review all the material the professors go over at the end of the week and assimilate it into my own notes and thoughts. Secondly, I HAVE TO READ ON THE WEEKENDS. I know some people that are able to read material during the week, that does not work for me. I'm always too tired at night, or afraid that ill get behind, so i read on the weekend.
The second lesson I have learned is that, while it is important to rely on peers for their thoughts and interpretations on material...its is equally important to take everything they say with a grain of salt. Trying to compare the number of hours and study methods of one student to another is akin to comparing your apples to another's oranges. Yeah they are both fruit and you can eat them, but which is better? Well its a matter of personal preference isn't it. I personally cant study for hours on end in the library at the end of the day, its counter productive to me. I start to have nervous breakdowns, lol. I need to be at home, relaxed, and able to listen to my music. I need to be able to get up and pace, or write on my dry erase board to help illustrate my thoughts. The point being, that I've learned to work my way. Work smarter, not harder! That's my motto at least.
"Work hard, Play Harder". It's always been a motto of mine, but here it is a measure of sanity. I could literally spend every waking hour preparing for class or in class and still not be that much more clear on the material. At some point it becomes a cost-benefit analysis. You have to ask yourself if studying for another hour on top of the 5 you have already spent, will give you any more clarity or understanding. The Law of Diminishing Returns shows that after a certain point you stop getting any real benefit. That is where having a social life comes into play. I admit I am still trying to find that balance, but I have been enjoying getting to know my fellow classmates and exploring the various bars and dives of Chicago. I could do a weekly post (and may just do that) about the places I visit here in the city, but I don't want it to become to repetitive. How many ways can you say "went to bar, had drinks, great convo, and silly dancing"??
So with the long weekend, I am taking the time to recharge the batteries. The first two weeks were just a warm up lap, now the real race of this semester is about to start. I think that armed with my mind set, and study techniques I should be able to do reasonably well. So with that in mind, I am ready for this week and the rest of the semester.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Trouble Sleeping I
In what may become a trend (hopefully not) I am finding it hard to sleep tonight. Now this could be due to the fact that
A) I slept from 3 to 6 this afternoon
or
B) In order to stay up to do all my readings for Constitutional Law, I drank two cups of French Vanilla Coffee from Dunking Donuts after 9pm.
I'm sure it has to do with one or the other of those. Either way though, that means for better or worst I am now up and fully alert even though my work is done. Which means that I have lots on my mind, and need some place to pour all of it so that I can get to sleep. This is that place, so the following post will be a scatter shot look into my mind tonight. I don't promise it will be tidy, short, or coherent.
1) First things first, I like lists. Actually I like order, which may be counter intuitive considering I don't necessarily I was like authority. Well maybe that is not true, I don't mind authority so much as I dislike unchecked authority or unwarranted authority. The point here being that my mind automatically sets up everything as a series of lists and boxes to be done or not done. I think that is why law school thus far has been a bit easier for me, before I knew what IRAC was my mind already viewed and rationalized the world in that way. IRAC being Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. I analyze everything, and tend to be calculating, thus I prefer efficiency and order over disorder and randomness.
2) I really enjoy IMEEM, the internet music service. At this point I have something like 20 playlist for every state of mind I am possibly in. I don't know that I would pay for the service, maybe if there were someway for me to take it with my on the go, like on an mp3 player. Something about finding music that I like and organizing it into handy dandy list that I can play at my discretion appeals to me. Oh wait that goes back to 1 doest it?
3) I seem to be developing a reputation for being cool, calm, collected, and intuitively picking up the information from class. I don't know how true that statement is, modesty I think prevents me from agreeing entirely. I will say though, that when classmates ask me for clarification on material or my studying style my answers tend to be reassuring to them, and not too far off base when compared to what the Professor highlights and illustrates in class. I don't know this is a product of some intuitive grasp that I have of the subject matter, rather I think it has more to do with my personal disposition towards school. Again, after Pledging Sigma, I am hard pressed to think of a more extreme emotional, mental, and physical stressor that can totally readjust my persona. That is to say, after going through that, law school, while not a cake walk, ain't exactly a Marathon.
4) Speaking of marathons, I realize that I am really going to have to pace myself as I go through this. Not just on the class work side, but on the social and emotional aspects of law school. I cant go out every time someone wants too. I cant spend too much time talking to my new friends. I need to strike a balance between networking here and staying an active part of my home support network. I'm working on it, we will see how it goes.
5) On the topic of Family networks, it would appear that my entire immediate family is on Facebook now. While perusing my Grandfathers page (yes he's on and my friend) I noticed both my brother and mother had wrote on his wall recently. Now my younger brother is a sophomore in college, so that is expected, but my mother being on FB gave me something to think about. Apparently my father is on there somewhere as well hidden. My first reaction to this information, much like finding out my grandfather was on, was to try and shade and block certain aspects of my profile from them. I wasn't even sure what the etiquette on adding them would be. But as I think about it more, is it really such a bad thing? I mean I have had a general rule for awhile now that I don't put anything up on FB that I wouldn't want my mother to see, isn't this just the ultimate test of that rule? Besides I've known for a few years now that FB is not quite as secure as it once was, maybe my revulsion to family being on is simply me looking back on a time when it was just young college kids. When it was the "cool" thing to do. I think now though, maybe it isn't bad to have yet another way to keep in touch with and share things with my family. At the very least it wont hurt, and it is not as if I have anything to hide. I think eventually I will get around to adding my family. I wonder if my HS sister has a page, I'm sure she does.
6) I think this month I will give my landlord rent for the rest of the semester. It'll be just one less thing I have to think about over the next couple of months, and I wont have to worry about over spending my rent money. I know it is a little lazy of me, but really why add more stressors to an already stressful situation?
7) One of my mentors in college (Doc) warned and trained me to deal with the fact that as I moved up in my educational standards and in the business world, I should get used to seeing less and less faces that look like mine. I'm glad I was somewhat prepared, working in Senator Isakson's office really helped. But I cant feel a bit disarmed being a spec in a sea of difference. I feel as if my defenses, and my need to be prepared, is always heightened. Not to say this is a bad thing, but it is something I have noticed. I notice that I am an "other", I notice it in a way that I doubt that they notice they are "similar" to their classmates. There is a subtle psychological (double) edge that comes with that realization.
8) It is sometimes hard to deal with the thought that I will never hear a new Michael Jackson song again. He was, his music was, such a large part of my childhood, my life, my persona. That his music makes me happy is without question, but more then that, he was just a constant in my life without thinking about it. Like gravity, the precise mechanics might not be known or understood, but the effects are known and if you lost it, you would notice. I feel as if Gravity has lost a bit of its strength.
9) I am enjoying/not enjoying the solitude here. My life has become surprisingly simple, I am either in class or preparing for class or I'm at home. There is no in between, no work, no GF (per say) to have to contend with, no family connections, no real friends (as of yet). It's nice to have my time, to do the things that I want, when I want, with no responsibilities to anyone else with my time. But I am social, at least to some extent. I miss the constant company of my GF, or my LB's, or friends in Atlanta. I miss calling someone and saying its Wednesday we should do something to celebrate it being Wednesday. The fact that we could just be together and enjoy each others company. It could be serious, it could not be, but it was always just relaxing and entertaining. I hope that I find that since of comrade here with my peers. I would love to have people over just to kick it and watch a movie, or play cards, or talk about why time is a man-made concept that nature does not necessarily respect.
10) I don't really have a 10, but I got to 7 and felt as if I should go to a nice round 10. So a few more random thoughts in a list of random thoughts. I don't think it is really a great idea for Disney to buy Marvel Comics. I cant wait until Lupe Fiasco's album comes out in December. My birthday is really going to be a bust or be really good this year, there is no in between. I hope to have a puppy by the end of next summer, hopefully my land lord ok's that. There really is no substitute for good music and good conversation. Every man should have some code or rules that he lives his life by. If you give your word, you should really stick to it, otherwise you have no reason to complain that people don't trust you. We are one of three species on the planet that has sex for pleasure, either we got extremely lucky or nature knows something we don't, and that's why the other million some odd species don't.
I'm still not tired, but I do need to get in the bed. Maybe ill let my mind run some more there.
M.A.C.
Keep Clawing Away...
A) I slept from 3 to 6 this afternoon
or
B) In order to stay up to do all my readings for Constitutional Law, I drank two cups of French Vanilla Coffee from Dunking Donuts after 9pm.
I'm sure it has to do with one or the other of those. Either way though, that means for better or worst I am now up and fully alert even though my work is done. Which means that I have lots on my mind, and need some place to pour all of it so that I can get to sleep. This is that place, so the following post will be a scatter shot look into my mind tonight. I don't promise it will be tidy, short, or coherent.
1) First things first, I like lists. Actually I like order, which may be counter intuitive considering I don't necessarily I was like authority. Well maybe that is not true, I don't mind authority so much as I dislike unchecked authority or unwarranted authority. The point here being that my mind automatically sets up everything as a series of lists and boxes to be done or not done. I think that is why law school thus far has been a bit easier for me, before I knew what IRAC was my mind already viewed and rationalized the world in that way. IRAC being Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. I analyze everything, and tend to be calculating, thus I prefer efficiency and order over disorder and randomness.
2) I really enjoy IMEEM, the internet music service. At this point I have something like 20 playlist for every state of mind I am possibly in. I don't know that I would pay for the service, maybe if there were someway for me to take it with my on the go, like on an mp3 player. Something about finding music that I like and organizing it into handy dandy list that I can play at my discretion appeals to me. Oh wait that goes back to 1 doest it?
3) I seem to be developing a reputation for being cool, calm, collected, and intuitively picking up the information from class. I don't know how true that statement is, modesty I think prevents me from agreeing entirely. I will say though, that when classmates ask me for clarification on material or my studying style my answers tend to be reassuring to them, and not too far off base when compared to what the Professor highlights and illustrates in class. I don't know this is a product of some intuitive grasp that I have of the subject matter, rather I think it has more to do with my personal disposition towards school. Again, after Pledging Sigma, I am hard pressed to think of a more extreme emotional, mental, and physical stressor that can totally readjust my persona. That is to say, after going through that, law school, while not a cake walk, ain't exactly a Marathon.
4) Speaking of marathons, I realize that I am really going to have to pace myself as I go through this. Not just on the class work side, but on the social and emotional aspects of law school. I cant go out every time someone wants too. I cant spend too much time talking to my new friends. I need to strike a balance between networking here and staying an active part of my home support network. I'm working on it, we will see how it goes.
5) On the topic of Family networks, it would appear that my entire immediate family is on Facebook now. While perusing my Grandfathers page (yes he's on and my friend) I noticed both my brother and mother had wrote on his wall recently. Now my younger brother is a sophomore in college, so that is expected, but my mother being on FB gave me something to think about. Apparently my father is on there somewhere as well hidden. My first reaction to this information, much like finding out my grandfather was on, was to try and shade and block certain aspects of my profile from them. I wasn't even sure what the etiquette on adding them would be. But as I think about it more, is it really such a bad thing? I mean I have had a general rule for awhile now that I don't put anything up on FB that I wouldn't want my mother to see, isn't this just the ultimate test of that rule? Besides I've known for a few years now that FB is not quite as secure as it once was, maybe my revulsion to family being on is simply me looking back on a time when it was just young college kids. When it was the "cool" thing to do. I think now though, maybe it isn't bad to have yet another way to keep in touch with and share things with my family. At the very least it wont hurt, and it is not as if I have anything to hide. I think eventually I will get around to adding my family. I wonder if my HS sister has a page, I'm sure she does.
6) I think this month I will give my landlord rent for the rest of the semester. It'll be just one less thing I have to think about over the next couple of months, and I wont have to worry about over spending my rent money. I know it is a little lazy of me, but really why add more stressors to an already stressful situation?
7) One of my mentors in college (Doc) warned and trained me to deal with the fact that as I moved up in my educational standards and in the business world, I should get used to seeing less and less faces that look like mine. I'm glad I was somewhat prepared, working in Senator Isakson's office really helped. But I cant feel a bit disarmed being a spec in a sea of difference. I feel as if my defenses, and my need to be prepared, is always heightened. Not to say this is a bad thing, but it is something I have noticed. I notice that I am an "other", I notice it in a way that I doubt that they notice they are "similar" to their classmates. There is a subtle psychological (double) edge that comes with that realization.
8) It is sometimes hard to deal with the thought that I will never hear a new Michael Jackson song again. He was, his music was, such a large part of my childhood, my life, my persona. That his music makes me happy is without question, but more then that, he was just a constant in my life without thinking about it. Like gravity, the precise mechanics might not be known or understood, but the effects are known and if you lost it, you would notice. I feel as if Gravity has lost a bit of its strength.
9) I am enjoying/not enjoying the solitude here. My life has become surprisingly simple, I am either in class or preparing for class or I'm at home. There is no in between, no work, no GF (per say) to have to contend with, no family connections, no real friends (as of yet). It's nice to have my time, to do the things that I want, when I want, with no responsibilities to anyone else with my time. But I am social, at least to some extent. I miss the constant company of my GF, or my LB's, or friends in Atlanta. I miss calling someone and saying its Wednesday we should do something to celebrate it being Wednesday. The fact that we could just be together and enjoy each others company. It could be serious, it could not be, but it was always just relaxing and entertaining. I hope that I find that since of comrade here with my peers. I would love to have people over just to kick it and watch a movie, or play cards, or talk about why time is a man-made concept that nature does not necessarily respect.
10) I don't really have a 10, but I got to 7 and felt as if I should go to a nice round 10. So a few more random thoughts in a list of random thoughts. I don't think it is really a great idea for Disney to buy Marvel Comics. I cant wait until Lupe Fiasco's album comes out in December. My birthday is really going to be a bust or be really good this year, there is no in between. I hope to have a puppy by the end of next summer, hopefully my land lord ok's that. There really is no substitute for good music and good conversation. Every man should have some code or rules that he lives his life by. If you give your word, you should really stick to it, otherwise you have no reason to complain that people don't trust you. We are one of three species on the planet that has sex for pleasure, either we got extremely lucky or nature knows something we don't, and that's why the other million some odd species don't.
I'm still not tired, but I do need to get in the bed. Maybe ill let my mind run some more there.
M.A.C.
Keep Clawing Away...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The River
As the river flows
The further I go
The less I know
The banks hide their nature from sight
The current takes me no matter my fight
The river, you carry your pace
So connected with this very place
Eternally entwined each and every space
And I must trust, my faith in your ride
For river you have humbled my every pride
Oh River! I need not fear
Nor need I even steer
For the end, it is forever near
You care not where I've been, just where ill be
River that flows , take me to the eternal sea
Marqus A. Cole Keep Clawing Away...
The further I go
The less I know
The banks hide their nature from sight
The current takes me no matter my fight
The river, you carry your pace
So connected with this very place
Eternally entwined each and every space
And I must trust, my faith in your ride
For river you have humbled my every pride
Oh River! I need not fear
Nor need I even steer
For the end, it is forever near
You care not where I've been, just where ill be
River that flows , take me to the eternal sea
Marqus A. Cole Keep Clawing Away...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
What the F*ck is the Law??
Akin to the matrix or the Tao, one can not be told what "The Law" is, per say. We all "know" what it is of course, but if we had to define it, or why it exists, or more importantly why it exists the way that it does, my hunch is that most people would be hard pressed to find a satisfactory answer to those questions. Professor CivPro mentioned in class the distinct difference between ought/shall. Ought implies that it should be done, or that its reasonable to expect it to be done. Shall implies it will be done. I mention that, because the "LAW" in my view has always been an ought. There is no inherent reason it is the way it is, and our laws aren't inherently better then others, or a religious law i.e. the Commandments. That is why I was so excited when I ran across this passage as I was reading today.
Justice Holmes 1881
The standards of the law are standards of general application. The law takes no account of the infinite varieties of temperament, intellect, and education which make the internal character of a given act so different in different men...But a more satisfactory explanation is that, when men live in society, a certain average of conduct, a sacrifice of individual peculiarities going beyond a certain point, is necessary to the general welfare...[ A man's] congenital defects will be allowed for in the courts of heaven, but his slips are no less troublesome to his neighbors than if they sprang from guilty neglect...When a man has a distinct defect of such a nature that all can recognize it as making certain precautions impossible, he will not be held answerable for not taking them...
***The best part, and most clear statement of the law I've ever read or heard***
A man may have as bad a heart as he chooses, if his conduct is within the rules. The standards of the law are external standards, and however much it may take moral considerations into account, it does so only for the purpose drawing a line between such bodily motions and rests as it permits, and such as it does not. What the law really forbids, and the only thing it forbids, is the act on the wrong side of the line, be that act blameworthy or otherwise
Reading that gives me chills!! I know that may not mean much to you, but to me it illustrates what I have always felt about the law...namely, it is what we make it and while there is a strong correlation between being moral and lawful, the two are not mutually exclusive. There are wicked people that are law abiding citizens, and piously moral people that do unlawful things. It is important to keep the two concepts separate, especially for a lawyer. You don't have to prove or disprove someone is a good person, you do have to prove they were lawful/unlawful. That passage just really excited me! I like Justice Holmes, its not the first time I've read an interesting passage of his. Remember, always be lawful be moral at your own discretion.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Justice Holmes 1881
The standards of the law are standards of general application. The law takes no account of the infinite varieties of temperament, intellect, and education which make the internal character of a given act so different in different men...But a more satisfactory explanation is that, when men live in society, a certain average of conduct, a sacrifice of individual peculiarities going beyond a certain point, is necessary to the general welfare...[ A man's] congenital defects will be allowed for in the courts of heaven, but his slips are no less troublesome to his neighbors than if they sprang from guilty neglect...When a man has a distinct defect of such a nature that all can recognize it as making certain precautions impossible, he will not be held answerable for not taking them...
***The best part, and most clear statement of the law I've ever read or heard***
A man may have as bad a heart as he chooses, if his conduct is within the rules. The standards of the law are external standards, and however much it may take moral considerations into account, it does so only for the purpose drawing a line between such bodily motions and rests as it permits, and such as it does not. What the law really forbids, and the only thing it forbids, is the act on the wrong side of the line, be that act blameworthy or otherwise
Reading that gives me chills!! I know that may not mean much to you, but to me it illustrates what I have always felt about the law...namely, it is what we make it and while there is a strong correlation between being moral and lawful, the two are not mutually exclusive. There are wicked people that are law abiding citizens, and piously moral people that do unlawful things. It is important to keep the two concepts separate, especially for a lawyer. You don't have to prove or disprove someone is a good person, you do have to prove they were lawful/unlawful. That passage just really excited me! I like Justice Holmes, its not the first time I've read an interesting passage of his. Remember, always be lawful be moral at your own discretion.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Bar Review
Riddle me this, Riddle me that
What does a stressed out law student who has spent hours thinking like a lawyer do to unwind?
Drink like a lawyer of course!
Personally I think it is more a kin to drinking like a pirate, but that is neither here nor there. Last night I hit the town with a a group of my new friends, and it was 'interesting' to say the least. An adventure that includes several bars and clubs, randomly crashing peoples apartments, cabs & trains, and peeing on dumpsters. That kind of night? Yeah it was.
So as always let me just make a note here that names have been changed to protect the parties involved, lol, and because the names aren't important the story is. With that being said
I should backtrack a bit and put the story into a bit of context. Yesterday was the end of a busy first week of law school. The stress of being in a new environment, learning new material, new people, and general anxieties, like a steam pot all that pressure built up and needed to be released. Friday I don't actually have class so I had a chance to decompress a bit during the day. I slept in (till 9) got up and watched a little ESPN. After that I spent about 5 hours reviewing all my notes from the week, and rereading the cases with eye to the new principles I had learned. To my pleasure, I found that not only did I understand the material a lot better now, but I could make my own intuitive leaps and bounds.
Well all that reading and typing at home for hours definitely made for a sense of adventure. The Family and Law Society was hosting a "Welcome back to School" Mixer at a Bar Louie down the street from the school and quite a few 1L's were invited. I met up with Lacie and another girl from my section and we walked with a few upperclassmen to the bar. The bar had $3 Stellas and half off appetizers. A quick note should be inserted here, while I do drink, Beer is really not my thing. Here that is all most people tend to drink, so I'm trying to be open and try new things, plus it was only 3 bucks. That being said, that beer sucked. It just tasted bad to me, I don't know.
Back to the story though. So We get to the bar and about 20 or so people end up showing up; it was a good mix of new people and upperclassmen. I met up with a guy named Javier from my class who sits in front of me and we chopped it up at the table. He seems like an interesting dude and he is from Chicago. I get the sense we are going to be pretty good friends, there are not many minorities in our section (out of 70 students, I am the only black male if that gives you some reference) so we had some things in common and kind of talked about our takes on the week. Courtland, another girl from our section that sits up front with us showed up and she kicked it for awhile as well. She actually went to Spellman so it was nice to have someone else that had lived in Atlanta to talk to.
I made one of those game time executive decisions that the 3 of us should go check out her place and have some drinks before we went out later so that we wouldn't have to buy at the bar. The happy hour was over at 7 and we had a bday get together to go to at 10 for Marty later on. Courtland lived around the corner and had some Rum so we hopped a cab and went to her place. From here the story really goes down hill (i.e. gets more entertaining). Courtland buys a few bottles of wine and some more rum and we start in. As more and more liquor flowed, strangely are tongues loosened up and we got to know each other a little better and talked about school some more. Javier and I ended up free styling, at which point I knew I was really good, so me and him decide to take a cab to SideTrack the bar Marty wanted to go to.
So during the cab ride we are talking to the cabbie and making jokes with him. We've both been drinking so much that we have to piss, so we get the cab to pull over in some scheezy alley and Javier hops out and takes a piss and darts back in the cab. We drive for another 5 or so and decide to just hop out and walk the next block or so. Along the walk we had to pee again so we pull off into a side street like 10 ft away from the main street where people are walking all around and pee onto some dumpsters. Finally we make it to the actual bar
So ok SideTrack is in an area called Boy's Town, so you can kind of infer a little about the neighborhood right? Yeah, you are not wrong, but it actually was a good bar. About 10 or so 1L's were there including Mandy (A girl that sits near me in class, and along with Lacie make up 2/4 of our study group). We all started (and I use that term loosely here) with a celebratory shot of tequila to celebrate Marty's bday. From there we moved up stairs where there was a bar that was less crowded and had better music. People were sharing drinks, and discussing the good and bad of law school, and how it felt to get past the anxiety of the first week. The short of it is that we stayed till about 1 or 2 when the bar closed. From there about 6 of us piled into a cab and went off for the next club.
We ended up at some club called Hangge Ups. I say club, but it was really more a bar with a dance floor and a down stairs with some more space. The DJ was not the best by far, but at this point we were all so blowed that anything could have been on and we would have been happy. The club didn't close till 4 and we stayed to make sure. I can not actually remember the last time I literally danced till 4 in the morning. We ended up taking another round of shots of tequila while there. I finally manage to say good-byes to people and walk around a little aimlessly looking for the nearest train to get on. I get on and make the 15 min ride, almost missing my stop because i was so tired.
I walked the block and a half to my place, somehow manage to make it into my room, text everyone that i made it home ok, and pull my clothes off. Needless to say I slept well in my drunken stupor, lol. I woke up regretting it a bit this morning, I was moving slow. I had to take like a 20min shower to freshen my senses up. When I talked to Jahaira she said I was too old to be out till 4 in the morning drinking and dancing, I have to say I think I agree haha, there wont be too many of those.
So im at the library now, killing some time between studying. Im going to take Saturday and Sunday to get ahead on my readings for the week. Maybe if I find some time this weekend I may go to wal-mart, im still looking for a entertainment center for my living room, and a book shelf for my office. But more on that later. So that my readers was how a bar review goes, and that is in effect how Law Students roll, lol.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
What does a stressed out law student who has spent hours thinking like a lawyer do to unwind?
Drink like a lawyer of course!
Personally I think it is more a kin to drinking like a pirate, but that is neither here nor there. Last night I hit the town with a a group of my new friends, and it was 'interesting' to say the least. An adventure that includes several bars and clubs, randomly crashing peoples apartments, cabs & trains, and peeing on dumpsters. That kind of night? Yeah it was.
So as always let me just make a note here that names have been changed to protect the parties involved, lol, and because the names aren't important the story is. With that being said
I should backtrack a bit and put the story into a bit of context. Yesterday was the end of a busy first week of law school. The stress of being in a new environment, learning new material, new people, and general anxieties, like a steam pot all that pressure built up and needed to be released. Friday I don't actually have class so I had a chance to decompress a bit during the day. I slept in (till 9) got up and watched a little ESPN. After that I spent about 5 hours reviewing all my notes from the week, and rereading the cases with eye to the new principles I had learned. To my pleasure, I found that not only did I understand the material a lot better now, but I could make my own intuitive leaps and bounds.
Well all that reading and typing at home for hours definitely made for a sense of adventure. The Family and Law Society was hosting a "Welcome back to School" Mixer at a Bar Louie down the street from the school and quite a few 1L's were invited. I met up with Lacie and another girl from my section and we walked with a few upperclassmen to the bar. The bar had $3 Stellas and half off appetizers. A quick note should be inserted here, while I do drink, Beer is really not my thing. Here that is all most people tend to drink, so I'm trying to be open and try new things, plus it was only 3 bucks. That being said, that beer sucked. It just tasted bad to me, I don't know.
Back to the story though. So We get to the bar and about 20 or so people end up showing up; it was a good mix of new people and upperclassmen. I met up with a guy named Javier from my class who sits in front of me and we chopped it up at the table. He seems like an interesting dude and he is from Chicago. I get the sense we are going to be pretty good friends, there are not many minorities in our section (out of 70 students, I am the only black male if that gives you some reference) so we had some things in common and kind of talked about our takes on the week. Courtland, another girl from our section that sits up front with us showed up and she kicked it for awhile as well. She actually went to Spellman so it was nice to have someone else that had lived in Atlanta to talk to.
I made one of those game time executive decisions that the 3 of us should go check out her place and have some drinks before we went out later so that we wouldn't have to buy at the bar. The happy hour was over at 7 and we had a bday get together to go to at 10 for Marty later on. Courtland lived around the corner and had some Rum so we hopped a cab and went to her place. From here the story really goes down hill (i.e. gets more entertaining). Courtland buys a few bottles of wine and some more rum and we start in. As more and more liquor flowed, strangely are tongues loosened up and we got to know each other a little better and talked about school some more. Javier and I ended up free styling, at which point I knew I was really good, so me and him decide to take a cab to SideTrack the bar Marty wanted to go to.
So during the cab ride we are talking to the cabbie and making jokes with him. We've both been drinking so much that we have to piss, so we get the cab to pull over in some scheezy alley and Javier hops out and takes a piss and darts back in the cab. We drive for another 5 or so and decide to just hop out and walk the next block or so. Along the walk we had to pee again so we pull off into a side street like 10 ft away from the main street where people are walking all around and pee onto some dumpsters. Finally we make it to the actual bar
So ok SideTrack is in an area called Boy's Town, so you can kind of infer a little about the neighborhood right? Yeah, you are not wrong, but it actually was a good bar. About 10 or so 1L's were there including Mandy (A girl that sits near me in class, and along with Lacie make up 2/4 of our study group). We all started (and I use that term loosely here) with a celebratory shot of tequila to celebrate Marty's bday. From there we moved up stairs where there was a bar that was less crowded and had better music. People were sharing drinks, and discussing the good and bad of law school, and how it felt to get past the anxiety of the first week. The short of it is that we stayed till about 1 or 2 when the bar closed. From there about 6 of us piled into a cab and went off for the next club.
We ended up at some club called Hangge Ups. I say club, but it was really more a bar with a dance floor and a down stairs with some more space. The DJ was not the best by far, but at this point we were all so blowed that anything could have been on and we would have been happy. The club didn't close till 4 and we stayed to make sure. I can not actually remember the last time I literally danced till 4 in the morning. We ended up taking another round of shots of tequila while there. I finally manage to say good-byes to people and walk around a little aimlessly looking for the nearest train to get on. I get on and make the 15 min ride, almost missing my stop because i was so tired.
I walked the block and a half to my place, somehow manage to make it into my room, text everyone that i made it home ok, and pull my clothes off. Needless to say I slept well in my drunken stupor, lol. I woke up regretting it a bit this morning, I was moving slow. I had to take like a 20min shower to freshen my senses up. When I talked to Jahaira she said I was too old to be out till 4 in the morning drinking and dancing, I have to say I think I agree haha, there wont be too many of those.
So im at the library now, killing some time between studying. Im going to take Saturday and Sunday to get ahead on my readings for the week. Maybe if I find some time this weekend I may go to wal-mart, im still looking for a entertainment center for my living room, and a book shelf for my office. But more on that later. So that my readers was how a bar review goes, and that is in effect how Law Students roll, lol.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Day 2 and 3
3 days under the belt and I'm still here. Either I'm really good or law school is not quite as bad as my mind (with the help of others) made it out to be. At this point I have been to all of my classes and met all of my professors. So with three days down, what pearls of wisdom do I have? Time Value, Time Value, Time Value
Why the emphasis on time value? Well because time is a finite resource in law school, and the work you are expected to do is an ever increasing pressure on that resource. Yesterday (day 2) meant two more classes, and two more professors with their own thoughts and demands on my time.
First, I had Constitutional Law. This class I had really been looking forward to, one of my favorite subjects ever is Con. Law in particular the Supreme Court, its role in shaping decisions, and shaping laws. I am a court nut, I must admit, so I was quite excited once we got in class. Professor Con.Law is a interesting little figure to me. He reminds me initially of a bookish Hugh Grant, he has the befuddled absent minded professor type feel to me, but that is not to say he does not know his stuff. I came away from the first class very impressed by his knowledge of the subject, and more importantly the way he was able to convey some of the complex themes to us in our first day. I cant wait for the class tomorrow.
The second class I had yesterday was Legal Analysis, Research Communication (LARC). Also known as legal writing, this is the class that is probably more pertinent for us students when it comes to "being" a lawyer. This class is all about how to research, write, and communicate legal ideas, ideals, and concepts to courts and other lawyers. A class this important obviously...is worth the least amount of credits at 2, but is mandatory for at least 3 semesters. Professor LARC is also another of those interesting characters. In her professional career she has been around the system, most interestingly as a trial litigator. At first, during orientation we met with her twice, my impression was that she was a bit cold towards us in general as a class. After having our first official class with her, and after talking to some 2 and 3L's, I have come to realize that her approach to class is to put us in the roles of attorney, and she the Judge. That is to say, there is a very strict and formal decorum she keeps with us, and our assignments and guidelines reflect that. Of all my classes this one will be the most difficult for me simply because it requires a world shift in thinking about how to write and analyze the information that we are researching.
So today was the third day of class, and I had a much better feel for what to expect when I got to class. I was able to prep for class with the instructors questions in mind and found that I quite enjoyed the back and forth exchanges between us and the instructors. I will try to continue to keep the post kind of general for the first couple of days, things are very up in the air and I cant report yet on standard practices. But stay tuned, I will begin to write a little more about the colorful people in my class and just the experiences of actually being in school. So enjoy
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Why the emphasis on time value? Well because time is a finite resource in law school, and the work you are expected to do is an ever increasing pressure on that resource. Yesterday (day 2) meant two more classes, and two more professors with their own thoughts and demands on my time.
First, I had Constitutional Law. This class I had really been looking forward to, one of my favorite subjects ever is Con. Law in particular the Supreme Court, its role in shaping decisions, and shaping laws. I am a court nut, I must admit, so I was quite excited once we got in class. Professor Con.Law is a interesting little figure to me. He reminds me initially of a bookish Hugh Grant, he has the befuddled absent minded professor type feel to me, but that is not to say he does not know his stuff. I came away from the first class very impressed by his knowledge of the subject, and more importantly the way he was able to convey some of the complex themes to us in our first day. I cant wait for the class tomorrow.
The second class I had yesterday was Legal Analysis, Research Communication (LARC). Also known as legal writing, this is the class that is probably more pertinent for us students when it comes to "being" a lawyer. This class is all about how to research, write, and communicate legal ideas, ideals, and concepts to courts and other lawyers. A class this important obviously...is worth the least amount of credits at 2, but is mandatory for at least 3 semesters. Professor LARC is also another of those interesting characters. In her professional career she has been around the system, most interestingly as a trial litigator. At first, during orientation we met with her twice, my impression was that she was a bit cold towards us in general as a class. After having our first official class with her, and after talking to some 2 and 3L's, I have come to realize that her approach to class is to put us in the roles of attorney, and she the Judge. That is to say, there is a very strict and formal decorum she keeps with us, and our assignments and guidelines reflect that. Of all my classes this one will be the most difficult for me simply because it requires a world shift in thinking about how to write and analyze the information that we are researching.
So today was the third day of class, and I had a much better feel for what to expect when I got to class. I was able to prep for class with the instructors questions in mind and found that I quite enjoyed the back and forth exchanges between us and the instructors. I will try to continue to keep the post kind of general for the first couple of days, things are very up in the air and I cant report yet on standard practices. But stay tuned, I will begin to write a little more about the colorful people in my class and just the experiences of actually being in school. So enjoy
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Law School: Day One
"You only get one first time, better make it an enjoyable one"
-Random guy to his HS girlfriend
Get your mind out of the gutter! So today was my first day of law school, which begs the inevitable question "How did it go?"; or my personal favorite "How bad was it?". Well I am here to report that not only are Law Professors not FIRE BREATHING DRAGONS...but by all accounts they seem to be reasonable, breathing, normal Humans! How can that be you might ask, find out below the break.
So with one day, and two classes under my belt, I now feel fully qualified in judging the entirety of law school in the post *note the sarcasm please*. I had two classes today, Torts and Civil Procedure. Each of my professors were older white men who had spent time out in the legal profession. I guess from here I should go into a little bit of background on the classes.
[This may also be a good place to reaffirm a few things about my posting here. As I've stated on several occasions this is meant to serve a few purposes: be my first hand account and written record of my trials and tribulations and law school, AND as a handy guide/reference for anyone considering, or anyone just interested in what law school is like. With that being said, this is entirely my experiences, my opinions, and my thoughts on things that I observe and happen in my world. That necessity means that I can only comment on the totality of my experience as I perceive it. All that is to say that, I can't speak for others or how things seem to other people. To that end, I will implement a policy of not using any professor's name at all, and not using a peer's name unless given permission by them as a professional and personal courtesy. That means you should assume all names are fictional unless otherwise noted]
Torts- this class is designed as an introduction and overview on the principle of torts. These are non-criminal, non-contract related instances where the action or inaction of an actor inflicts a harm or injury on another. The classic example is car accidents. Basically these are your everyday accidents, spilled hot coffee, slip in a store, product defects and injures a party. When people speak of "suing" they are claiming a tort has happened to them. Professor Torts seems to be a intelligent and knowledgeable teacher. My overwhelming first impression was that he wanted to be as accommodating as possible in helping us through a very long, challenging, and difficult process. I guess like the kind dentist that has to operate but makes you feel better about the procedure. Personally I enjoy the readings thus far, the cases are interesting, and the things we study are applicable to everyday life and situations. More on the class as the week continues.
Civil Procedure "Civ-Pro"- The study of the forms and rules of non-criminal cases. In short this class will teach us the rules, forms, and procedural laws that govern non criminal cases (cases arising from disputes between two parties, not invoking the power of the state). This class is ehh to me thus far. I understand and see it's extreme importance but rote memorization has never been a forte of mine, and it would seem this class focuses on learning the steps it takes for a successful law suit. That being said, as a person that strives to be an excellent lawyer you can bet Ill be learning pretty fast. Throughout orientation I was told by other staff and upper class men that Professor Civ-Pro would be my hardest teacher, he was mean, he was rude, he ate babies, and transformed into a bat at night (again please note the sarcasm). As is often the case, the truth is much more mild then the imaginations and misremembering of stressed out students. My one day appraisal is that he is highly intelligent and thus expects all of his students to see the cases the way he See's it after years of practicing. Personally I do appreciate the verbal sparring that goes on in class, but then again I never take personally when someone challenges my positions. I can see how that might be disconcerting to others though. We will keep an eye on this class though.
And that for all intents and purposes was it for my first day. I met with my study group after class (more details on that later), picked up my Transit Pass, and came home and did some studying. All in all, I would have to say while this will be a challenge, it will by no means be the most difficult thing I have ever done. After learning the Sigma way i.e. late nights, sleep deprivation, group learning, and muscle memory; I feel as if there are not too many extreme learning situations that I cant handle at this point. So there you go, that is how a first day of law school goes. Day 2 is tomorrow with more adventure.
Keep Clawing Away...
-Random guy to his HS girlfriend
Get your mind out of the gutter! So today was my first day of law school, which begs the inevitable question "How did it go?"; or my personal favorite "How bad was it?". Well I am here to report that not only are Law Professors not FIRE BREATHING DRAGONS...but by all accounts they seem to be reasonable, breathing, normal Humans! How can that be you might ask, find out below the break.
So with one day, and two classes under my belt, I now feel fully qualified in judging the entirety of law school in the post *note the sarcasm please*. I had two classes today, Torts and Civil Procedure. Each of my professors were older white men who had spent time out in the legal profession. I guess from here I should go into a little bit of background on the classes.
[This may also be a good place to reaffirm a few things about my posting here. As I've stated on several occasions this is meant to serve a few purposes: be my first hand account and written record of my trials and tribulations and law school, AND as a handy guide/reference for anyone considering, or anyone just interested in what law school is like. With that being said, this is entirely my experiences, my opinions, and my thoughts on things that I observe and happen in my world. That necessity means that I can only comment on the totality of my experience as I perceive it. All that is to say that, I can't speak for others or how things seem to other people. To that end, I will implement a policy of not using any professor's name at all, and not using a peer's name unless given permission by them as a professional and personal courtesy. That means you should assume all names are fictional unless otherwise noted]
Torts- this class is designed as an introduction and overview on the principle of torts. These are non-criminal, non-contract related instances where the action or inaction of an actor inflicts a harm or injury on another. The classic example is car accidents. Basically these are your everyday accidents, spilled hot coffee, slip in a store, product defects and injures a party. When people speak of "suing" they are claiming a tort has happened to them. Professor Torts seems to be a intelligent and knowledgeable teacher. My overwhelming first impression was that he wanted to be as accommodating as possible in helping us through a very long, challenging, and difficult process. I guess like the kind dentist that has to operate but makes you feel better about the procedure. Personally I enjoy the readings thus far, the cases are interesting, and the things we study are applicable to everyday life and situations. More on the class as the week continues.
Civil Procedure "Civ-Pro"- The study of the forms and rules of non-criminal cases. In short this class will teach us the rules, forms, and procedural laws that govern non criminal cases (cases arising from disputes between two parties, not invoking the power of the state). This class is ehh to me thus far. I understand and see it's extreme importance but rote memorization has never been a forte of mine, and it would seem this class focuses on learning the steps it takes for a successful law suit. That being said, as a person that strives to be an excellent lawyer you can bet Ill be learning pretty fast. Throughout orientation I was told by other staff and upper class men that Professor Civ-Pro would be my hardest teacher, he was mean, he was rude, he ate babies, and transformed into a bat at night (again please note the sarcasm). As is often the case, the truth is much more mild then the imaginations and misremembering of stressed out students. My one day appraisal is that he is highly intelligent and thus expects all of his students to see the cases the way he See's it after years of practicing. Personally I do appreciate the verbal sparring that goes on in class, but then again I never take personally when someone challenges my positions. I can see how that might be disconcerting to others though. We will keep an eye on this class though.
And that for all intents and purposes was it for my first day. I met with my study group after class (more details on that later), picked up my Transit Pass, and came home and did some studying. All in all, I would have to say while this will be a challenge, it will by no means be the most difficult thing I have ever done. After learning the Sigma way i.e. late nights, sleep deprivation, group learning, and muscle memory; I feel as if there are not too many extreme learning situations that I cant handle at this point. So there you go, that is how a first day of law school goes. Day 2 is tomorrow with more adventure.
Keep Clawing Away...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
1L
"1L"
So much is wrapped up in that title. So much honor, so much struggle, so much promise. As I sit here trying to prepare for tomorrow my first day of class, I feel as if I have moved to the eye of the storm. I am now one with the swirl of emotion and conflicting thoughts in my head. I have made my peace, its quieter. It's almost surreal I can feel everything moving around me so fast, my life has changed so much and will continue to change..and here I am just sitting. Being. 1L
It would be cliche to say I am about to take a big step tomorrow, my first class, what to expect? I honestly feel as if my entire life has led me here to this one point. All the things I have been through have become a giant confluence of forces shaping, molding, and directing me to this moment. This is my destiny, my calling, and its strange to think about it now. So many things I wanted to do as a child. So many things that were pushed my way as a teenager. So many chances to throw it away or pass it up as a Young Adult. But here I am, and I know, like I know up from down, that this is where I should be. Where I am supposed to be. Where I was always going to end up.
GOD, Destiny, Tao, or the Force...whatever it is, it knew I was heading here, and I think if I'm honest I knew it as well. I can not be worried, I've been through too much already. Will it be hard? Of course. Will it be taxing? Yes. Will it be to much for me? Not on your life. After pledging, I fully know my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual breaking point...this will not be near it. This is a matter of self-control, and will. I have both. This will not be easy but this will not be hard, just another challenge. Another chance to prove myself.
I actually look forward to this now. This summer my boss and myself were discussing motivation. More specifically why some Black men make it past there circumstances and others don't. He said something that stuck with me "They don't know their 'WHY'. They know 'WHAT' they want, they know 'HOW' to get there, but they don't have the 'WHY'" What is my WHY? It's like 7th grade again. Y=??
Y=U+G. That is to say "Why is you plus your goals." So what is my Why? Why am I here?
Because I have spent my life watching my family and their service to others. The simple acts of kindness that defines both my parents and grandparents. Because I have been taught, and internalized, that education and pushing one's self to be better is life's greatest challenge. And helping others is life's greatest gift. That is who I am. My goal simply put, is to succeed so I can then use the fruits of my success to ensure others can succeed. Succeed so I can protect those that can not protect themselves. Succeed so that I can lead.
That is my Why. That is the secret strength that I take into this 1L year. That is the secret that will sustain me and force me to succeed. You see the truth is this is not about me, its bigger then me. I can fail myself, but I can not fail others, so I wont. So I am ready for tomorrow and what it brings.
I am 1L
I am
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
So much is wrapped up in that title. So much honor, so much struggle, so much promise. As I sit here trying to prepare for tomorrow my first day of class, I feel as if I have moved to the eye of the storm. I am now one with the swirl of emotion and conflicting thoughts in my head. I have made my peace, its quieter. It's almost surreal I can feel everything moving around me so fast, my life has changed so much and will continue to change..and here I am just sitting. Being. 1L
It would be cliche to say I am about to take a big step tomorrow, my first class, what to expect? I honestly feel as if my entire life has led me here to this one point. All the things I have been through have become a giant confluence of forces shaping, molding, and directing me to this moment. This is my destiny, my calling, and its strange to think about it now. So many things I wanted to do as a child. So many things that were pushed my way as a teenager. So many chances to throw it away or pass it up as a Young Adult. But here I am, and I know, like I know up from down, that this is where I should be. Where I am supposed to be. Where I was always going to end up.
GOD, Destiny, Tao, or the Force...whatever it is, it knew I was heading here, and I think if I'm honest I knew it as well. I can not be worried, I've been through too much already. Will it be hard? Of course. Will it be taxing? Yes. Will it be to much for me? Not on your life. After pledging, I fully know my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual breaking point...this will not be near it. This is a matter of self-control, and will. I have both. This will not be easy but this will not be hard, just another challenge. Another chance to prove myself.
I actually look forward to this now. This summer my boss and myself were discussing motivation. More specifically why some Black men make it past there circumstances and others don't. He said something that stuck with me "They don't know their 'WHY'. They know 'WHAT' they want, they know 'HOW' to get there, but they don't have the 'WHY'" What is my WHY? It's like 7th grade again. Y=??
Y=U+G. That is to say "Why is you plus your goals." So what is my Why? Why am I here?
Because I have spent my life watching my family and their service to others. The simple acts of kindness that defines both my parents and grandparents. Because I have been taught, and internalized, that education and pushing one's self to be better is life's greatest challenge. And helping others is life's greatest gift. That is who I am. My goal simply put, is to succeed so I can then use the fruits of my success to ensure others can succeed. Succeed so I can protect those that can not protect themselves. Succeed so that I can lead.
That is my Why. That is the secret strength that I take into this 1L year. That is the secret that will sustain me and force me to succeed. You see the truth is this is not about me, its bigger then me. I can fail myself, but I can not fail others, so I wont. So I am ready for tomorrow and what it brings.
I am 1L
I am
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Orientation
"That's it?"
Well OK, maybe I didn't say that...but I did have a sentiment similar to that by the end of today. I just completed the first official day as a 1L and all things considered, it was not that bad. That is to say it could have been much much worse. On the whole the staff and students were friendly, the whole affair stayed on schedule, and it was fairly engaging.
For the most part it was what you would expect from any orientation. We got a welcome from the dean, met the major administrative staff members, and had the heads of various campus services stop by and speak for a bit of time. The overwhelming since I received from faculty and staff was that "This will be tough, tougher then anything you have ever done. We know this, we have been through this, rely on us to help you." That sentiment I must say is very reassuring for a person walking into a whole new world with no real expectations.
I have to say that I was impressed by the professionalism throughout the entire day. From having all the handouts already together in folders for us with name tags and ready to hand out from the beginning, all the way down to the lunch they served. They started on time, and kept everything moving briskly. I cant say how much more pleasant the experience was. I can imagine had it been behind schedule and under prepared it would have only added to the apprehension most students felt.
Speaking of students, lets give a quick break down of the make up of my class. So this is very unscientific, I didn't literally count everyone or check bio data. My guess after talking to other students and staff is that the class size is roughly 260 incoming students. We are broken down into 4 sections roughly of 60 plus students. I would guesstimate a male to female split of 40/60; I'd put racial minorities at 35% (with blacks making up rough 15% of that). On the whole everyone I spoke to seemed extremely kind and bright. As a few staff members noted, all our lives we have been the creme of the crop, out standing amongst the back drop of mediocrity. Now what was once "extra"-ordinary, is THE ORDINARY. This to me seems both a good and bad thing. The good is that you are surrounded by like minded individuals striving to do better so that atmosphere encourages you to be on point as well. Plus they all have some affinity for the law and are suffering like you (misery loves company! lol). The bad is that everyone here has (rightly so I'd say) larger egos then most because they are accustomed to excelling, how else would be here. There is only room at the top for a few people, if everyone is shooting for the top, scores of people are bound to miss. That can really bruise some ego's if they are not accustomed to it.
But all that is to say that I feel comfortable at the school, with my peers, and with the staff/faculty. I do realize that the actual difficulty will come. I feel a bit more prepared for this though, due to my time online for Sigma. After going through that roller coaster of physical, mental, and spiritual testing NOTHING can compare. While law school may tire, frustrate, and challenge me, it cant possibly be more of a burden then pledging was. So in that regard I already have a mental edge over my peers. Hopefully it last. More from the battlefields later though.
M.A.Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Well OK, maybe I didn't say that...but I did have a sentiment similar to that by the end of today. I just completed the first official day as a 1L and all things considered, it was not that bad. That is to say it could have been much much worse. On the whole the staff and students were friendly, the whole affair stayed on schedule, and it was fairly engaging.
For the most part it was what you would expect from any orientation. We got a welcome from the dean, met the major administrative staff members, and had the heads of various campus services stop by and speak for a bit of time. The overwhelming since I received from faculty and staff was that "This will be tough, tougher then anything you have ever done. We know this, we have been through this, rely on us to help you." That sentiment I must say is very reassuring for a person walking into a whole new world with no real expectations.
I have to say that I was impressed by the professionalism throughout the entire day. From having all the handouts already together in folders for us with name tags and ready to hand out from the beginning, all the way down to the lunch they served. They started on time, and kept everything moving briskly. I cant say how much more pleasant the experience was. I can imagine had it been behind schedule and under prepared it would have only added to the apprehension most students felt.
Speaking of students, lets give a quick break down of the make up of my class. So this is very unscientific, I didn't literally count everyone or check bio data. My guess after talking to other students and staff is that the class size is roughly 260 incoming students. We are broken down into 4 sections roughly of 60 plus students. I would guesstimate a male to female split of 40/60; I'd put racial minorities at 35% (with blacks making up rough 15% of that). On the whole everyone I spoke to seemed extremely kind and bright. As a few staff members noted, all our lives we have been the creme of the crop, out standing amongst the back drop of mediocrity. Now what was once "extra"-ordinary, is THE ORDINARY. This to me seems both a good and bad thing. The good is that you are surrounded by like minded individuals striving to do better so that atmosphere encourages you to be on point as well. Plus they all have some affinity for the law and are suffering like you (misery loves company! lol). The bad is that everyone here has (rightly so I'd say) larger egos then most because they are accustomed to excelling, how else would be here. There is only room at the top for a few people, if everyone is shooting for the top, scores of people are bound to miss. That can really bruise some ego's if they are not accustomed to it.
But all that is to say that I feel comfortable at the school, with my peers, and with the staff/faculty. I do realize that the actual difficulty will come. I feel a bit more prepared for this though, due to my time online for Sigma. After going through that roller coaster of physical, mental, and spiritual testing NOTHING can compare. While law school may tire, frustrate, and challenge me, it cant possibly be more of a burden then pledging was. So in that regard I already have a mental edge over my peers. Hopefully it last. More from the battlefields later though.
M.A.Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Start Your Engines
Mark,
Set,
GO!!!!
And Like that, they are off. Or I'm off, I must be off my rocker at least to think I was ready for this. But as Summer comes to an end, Law school patiently revs itself up and waits to engulf the entirety of me. So as I cherish these last days of relative freedom let me share a few things about school (while I'm still excited about, and in favor of law school)
Monday was my first trip back down to the campus itself. I bought 2 of my 3 books, got my official ID made, set-up my school email, and met with one of my advisers. By the numbers shall we?
1)Like I mentioned I got two books: Constitutional Law and Torts. The book for my 3rd class civil procedure was not in stock so I have to get it later. These are by far the biggest and heaviest (not to mention densest) books I've ever purchased or had to read. More on that later though.
2 & 3) I got my official DePaul ID and set up my campus email and checked out the campus wi-fi while i was hanging around. All things seem to be a go for Monday.
4) Last, I met with the director of the Family Law Clinic (whom I will refer to as Ms. B). She was the one that recruited me into that department so I figured I'd be polite and stop by to say thank you and talk. She gave me some good insight into the personalities of my professors as well as her thoughts on the first year of law school. It both helped and hurt my nerves, I'm still really anxious but on the whole I'm glad I stopped by.
Tomorrow I will be going back to campus to try and pick up the last book as well as scout my classes out and rent a locker. In the afternoon the Social Life committee will be hosting a kickball game for all the law students so I'm done for that. Kickball and meeting new people...how awesome is that? So as you can tell the posting will slowly ratchet up in frequency as the semester gets underway. This is as much about documenting for me my journey as it is a resource for other perspective (or current) law students., as well as for curious people. Off to bed for a full day tomorrow though.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Set,
GO!!!!
And Like that, they are off. Or I'm off, I must be off my rocker at least to think I was ready for this. But as Summer comes to an end, Law school patiently revs itself up and waits to engulf the entirety of me. So as I cherish these last days of relative freedom let me share a few things about school (while I'm still excited about, and in favor of law school)
Monday was my first trip back down to the campus itself. I bought 2 of my 3 books, got my official ID made, set-up my school email, and met with one of my advisers. By the numbers shall we?
1)Like I mentioned I got two books: Constitutional Law and Torts. The book for my 3rd class civil procedure was not in stock so I have to get it later. These are by far the biggest and heaviest (not to mention densest) books I've ever purchased or had to read. More on that later though.
2 & 3) I got my official DePaul ID and set up my campus email and checked out the campus wi-fi while i was hanging around. All things seem to be a go for Monday.
4) Last, I met with the director of the Family Law Clinic (whom I will refer to as Ms. B). She was the one that recruited me into that department so I figured I'd be polite and stop by to say thank you and talk. She gave me some good insight into the personalities of my professors as well as her thoughts on the first year of law school. It both helped and hurt my nerves, I'm still really anxious but on the whole I'm glad I stopped by.
Tomorrow I will be going back to campus to try and pick up the last book as well as scout my classes out and rent a locker. In the afternoon the Social Life committee will be hosting a kickball game for all the law students so I'm done for that. Kickball and meeting new people...how awesome is that? So as you can tell the posting will slowly ratchet up in frequency as the semester gets underway. This is as much about documenting for me my journey as it is a resource for other perspective (or current) law students., as well as for curious people. Off to bed for a full day tomorrow though.
Marqus A. Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
New Divide
There was nothing in sight
but memories left
abandoned
There was nowhere to hide
the ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in
between where we were
standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
to prove me wrong
to wash this
memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Across this new divide
-Linkin Park-
but memories left
abandoned
There was nowhere to hide
the ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in
between where we were
standing
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason
to prove me wrong
to wash this
memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Across this new divide
-Linkin Park-
So here I find myself on the far side of this New Divide. This space, this place, that is hundreds of physical miles from friends and families and light years away emotionally and mentally. I find myself on the verge of a new school, a new way of thinking, and a new life. What is the reason, is this something I deserve???
I am finally bringing my long and much needed vacation to an end. I know it's been awhile so an explanation is needed I think. I finished working July 24th and took the advice of a few current law students I had heard from, which was namely "Take a long good vacation, you are going to need it."
So I did just that. I went back to Atlanta, and from there I went to New York, then to Toronto Canada, then to Niagara Falls, back to New York, back to Atlanta, then to Dayton Ohio to visit my grandparents, and finally I'm on my way back to Chicago. Busy? Yeah I know. I really got to see and do a lot and it was nice just getting up and doing whatever made me happy for the day. More importantly I had a chance to see lots of my friends and family before school starts. I really enjoyed the time with my loved ones, but it enforced an idea in my head more then ever that this next stage in my life will literally divide me from them.
In the physical sense I have moved to a city basically on my own. There is really no support network here for me other then a single uncle that I do not really have a familiar relationship with. The nearest support would be my grandparents five hours away. Other then that I am completely on my own. I've had my own place before (with a roomate) but never have I been quite so alone. It will be different; nice, but lonely, and im not quite sure how the solitude will affect me.
In a more 'meta' there will be another divide, one that I cant really put a name on it. After being home and talking to friends and my family, I cant help but feel a distance developing between me and some people. I realize that I am only 23, but I feel as if I am ready to move on to the next part of my life. This is not a judgment, everyone takes their own winding journey through life, and God knows mine has not been without it's detours and double-backs...but on the whole, law school, and what it represents to me, is a major step forward. For one, it will deliver a tangible step in the direction of my career and life goals. It's also forcing a level of maturity on me that I did not have as a undergrad student. I've done the college thing already, I dont need to get "accustomed" to the life style, study habits, and the independence that comes with it. I can fully focus on doing what is best for me and my future.
"Future", that's another thing that keeps coming up in my thoughts. I'm ready to face it. I dont know what it it holds, I have my thoughts on the subject, but more then anything I'm just ready to get there. So here I stand, with my back to my past and facing this New Divide. The saying goes "We will cross that bridge when we get to it"...well I'm here, and I'm ready, it's time to see what the future holds.
Marqus A Cole
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Welcome to "The Den"
And with that...it's official!
I am now a "Chicagoian". Is that what they call themselves? Well whatever the name of a rose, it still smells as sweet. Which is to say, that I still have this sweet new pad here in Chicago. So a couple of quick things about finding a place,and having it ready for school.
First things first. Any place you decide to rent NEEDS/ nay HAS to be well within your budget. Granted Im getting $60K a year, of course I could stay in a place for $1200 a month and have no money on the side and make the semester needlessly tight. Or I can act like I have some sense and find a modest place. Being that this is Chicago (one of the larger cities here in the US) finding "a place" was bound to happen. The real trick was finding a place that was A) well within the budget B) had most of the features I need in an apt, and C) Had room for me to grow in. Lets take them one by one shall we?
1) So my place here is a 1bd/1 bath for $950. What that ends up meaning is that for that price I get a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom...and since I did research and spent time looking, i got the added bonus of an "extra room" which in reality is a sun room, but ill be making into an office (more on that to come). So there has to be +/-. For that phenomenal price tag on this large square footage I had to look well outside of the immediate area of the school. In essence Im compromising time in the mornings and proximity to the school for more sq ft for a lower price. To me that is a good trade off considering I made sure my place is off the Public Transportation that goes directly to my school.
2) Make a list of all the things you Need/Want in an apartment, and stick to it! You never know, you might find that dream place that has all the things you want. Ill be honest this place doesn't have everything on my list but it has most of it, and a few extras that made it worth it. For instance the kitchen here is not as large as I may have wanted and it lacks a dishwasher, but the space I lose in the kitchen I gain in an "office". Which is good because I intend to spend more time working then cooking anyway. Whereas originally I was going to have to put a desk in my room, now I have a fairly substantial dedicated work area that should help improve my concentration and productivity.
3) Room for growth is important to me for a couple of reasons. If you have ever had a place of your own before, you may have experienced a particular side effect: Leaving with more crap then you started with. When I moved from my last place I was amazed by just how much "stuff" I had. Now could I have been a scrouge and got a studio for 5 or 6 hundred dollars....SURE! Would I have had space to be comfortable and accumulate the inevitable junk that comes with living somewhere for 3 years...of course not. This place gives me some space to grow and also space to simply get up and walk around. Being able to move from room to room is often overlooked but essential part of making a place feel "homie".
So there you go, just a little bit about my new place. You will hear me referring more and more to the Den, and may even catch some pics soon. We are really getting closer and closer to the start of this wild ride, so you'll be hearing from me more and more.
Marqus
Keep Clawing Away...
I am now a "Chicagoian". Is that what they call themselves? Well whatever the name of a rose, it still smells as sweet. Which is to say, that I still have this sweet new pad here in Chicago. So a couple of quick things about finding a place,and having it ready for school.
First things first. Any place you decide to rent NEEDS/ nay HAS to be well within your budget. Granted Im getting $60K a year, of course I could stay in a place for $1200 a month and have no money on the side and make the semester needlessly tight. Or I can act like I have some sense and find a modest place. Being that this is Chicago (one of the larger cities here in the US) finding "a place" was bound to happen. The real trick was finding a place that was A) well within the budget B) had most of the features I need in an apt, and C) Had room for me to grow in. Lets take them one by one shall we?
1) So my place here is a 1bd/1 bath for $950. What that ends up meaning is that for that price I get a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom...and since I did research and spent time looking, i got the added bonus of an "extra room" which in reality is a sun room, but ill be making into an office (more on that to come). So there has to be +/-. For that phenomenal price tag on this large square footage I had to look well outside of the immediate area of the school. In essence Im compromising time in the mornings and proximity to the school for more sq ft for a lower price. To me that is a good trade off considering I made sure my place is off the Public Transportation that goes directly to my school.
2) Make a list of all the things you Need/Want in an apartment, and stick to it! You never know, you might find that dream place that has all the things you want. Ill be honest this place doesn't have everything on my list but it has most of it, and a few extras that made it worth it. For instance the kitchen here is not as large as I may have wanted and it lacks a dishwasher, but the space I lose in the kitchen I gain in an "office". Which is good because I intend to spend more time working then cooking anyway. Whereas originally I was going to have to put a desk in my room, now I have a fairly substantial dedicated work area that should help improve my concentration and productivity.
3) Room for growth is important to me for a couple of reasons. If you have ever had a place of your own before, you may have experienced a particular side effect: Leaving with more crap then you started with. When I moved from my last place I was amazed by just how much "stuff" I had. Now could I have been a scrouge and got a studio for 5 or 6 hundred dollars....SURE! Would I have had space to be comfortable and accumulate the inevitable junk that comes with living somewhere for 3 years...of course not. This place gives me some space to grow and also space to simply get up and walk around. Being able to move from room to room is often overlooked but essential part of making a place feel "homie".
So there you go, just a little bit about my new place. You will hear me referring more and more to the Den, and may even catch some pics soon. We are really getting closer and closer to the start of this wild ride, so you'll be hearing from me more and more.
Marqus
Keep Clawing Away...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mid-Summer Eve
Testing, Testing, 1,2,3
Is this thing still on??
Hey world, Im back. Sorry for the delay, but I really did not want to bore you with the going's on of me, over the past few months considering they were not law school related. I am going to try my best to keep this blog strictly relevant to the shennagians of a law school student. So with that being said, lets back up for a quick recap and then move forward from there.
1)Since we last spoke in April, I finished my time as a long term teacher in Clayton County Georgia. The time spent teaching American government was really wonderfual and a true insight into the minds of young people and what it is I want to do for the rest of my life. I now am more certain then ever that I have a passion for helping young (especially minority men) find a path to upliftment in their life. I have come to realize more then ever that they need positive role models. They need to see a succesfull young black man that hasnt been to jail, or has two baby mamas, or sells drugs. So yeah I will continue to try to set a good example.
2) I have officially made the move to Chicago. Actually I made the move to Chicago about a month and a half ago. To be technical I'm actually living in the suburbs of Chicago up in North Chicago, but same difference right. I am spending the summer working in the AmeriCorp program. Yeah that AmeriCorp, im working with a non-profit called YouthBuild. I could go into a lot of detail about what I do and what the program does, but I wont. I will say that they focus on getting low-income and at risk youth a GED and job skills so that they can enter the work force. My Time here at a non-profit has been...eye-opening to say the least, and a good experience to have. It is definetely going to look good on my resume once it is time to update it.
3) Last but not least, I am here to update because tomorrow I will be moving into "The Den". Yes I finally got my own place in the city of Chicago. Also I have a couple of deadlines for the school that are coming up so ill be updating on that as well.
So in short: I am here in Chicago, I am tying up some loose ends for the start of term, and I am exploring my new city. You will hear more about these adventures as they come in. So yes it is time to go ahead and tune back into "3YUTP" cause I will be posting more regularly again. Enjoy, and I hope all has been well.
Marqus
Keep Clawing Away...
Is this thing still on??
Hey world, Im back. Sorry for the delay, but I really did not want to bore you with the going's on of me, over the past few months considering they were not law school related. I am going to try my best to keep this blog strictly relevant to the shennagians of a law school student. So with that being said, lets back up for a quick recap and then move forward from there.
1)Since we last spoke in April, I finished my time as a long term teacher in Clayton County Georgia. The time spent teaching American government was really wonderfual and a true insight into the minds of young people and what it is I want to do for the rest of my life. I now am more certain then ever that I have a passion for helping young (especially minority men) find a path to upliftment in their life. I have come to realize more then ever that they need positive role models. They need to see a succesfull young black man that hasnt been to jail, or has two baby mamas, or sells drugs. So yeah I will continue to try to set a good example.
2) I have officially made the move to Chicago. Actually I made the move to Chicago about a month and a half ago. To be technical I'm actually living in the suburbs of Chicago up in North Chicago, but same difference right. I am spending the summer working in the AmeriCorp program. Yeah that AmeriCorp, im working with a non-profit called YouthBuild. I could go into a lot of detail about what I do and what the program does, but I wont. I will say that they focus on getting low-income and at risk youth a GED and job skills so that they can enter the work force. My Time here at a non-profit has been...eye-opening to say the least, and a good experience to have. It is definetely going to look good on my resume once it is time to update it.
3) Last but not least, I am here to update because tomorrow I will be moving into "The Den". Yes I finally got my own place in the city of Chicago. Also I have a couple of deadlines for the school that are coming up so ill be updating on that as well.
So in short: I am here in Chicago, I am tying up some loose ends for the start of term, and I am exploring my new city. You will hear more about these adventures as they come in. So yes it is time to go ahead and tune back into "3YUTP" cause I will be posting more regularly again. Enjoy, and I hope all has been well.
Marqus
Keep Clawing Away...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Forgotten but Not Gone...Yet
Hey I know it's been awhile since an update proper. I was on spring break for a week visiting DePaul and Chicago in general. When I got back to work, the school had changed the filtering standards so now I can no longer update during the day. When you consider I'm teaching for 8 hours a day, then grading papers, then making lesson plans, then trying to squeeze in time with friends, family, and my life....you get the point. I will have a lot more time in the coming weeks though. I mean hey! Ill be be in Chicago by the first week in June. So yeah full steam ahead!
Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Spring Break
I know its been a couple of days since my last post, let me apologize because it will be a few more days before I can give a full account. First of all I have been trying to wrap up the classes I'm teaching before my kids go on spring break. So right now it is a lot of grading papers, projects, and getting lesson plans ready for when we get break.
Also there is the not so small matter of getting things ready for my road trip Thursday-Monday. Saturday is "Admitted Law Student Day" at DePaul so I decided to head up there a day early to get the lay of the land and look at some apartments near campus. Saturday I will spend at the school, then i'll drive to Ohio to spend some time with my grandparents before coming back to the ATL. So yeah please try not to miss me too much, i'll be back with stories, thoughts, and pics...hopefully. Take care Keep Clawing Away...
Also there is the not so small matter of getting things ready for my road trip Thursday-Monday. Saturday is "Admitted Law Student Day" at DePaul so I decided to head up there a day early to get the lay of the land and look at some apartments near campus. Saturday I will spend at the school, then i'll drive to Ohio to spend some time with my grandparents before coming back to the ATL. So yeah please try not to miss me too much, i'll be back with stories, thoughts, and pics...hopefully. Take care Keep Clawing Away...
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tweet, Tweet, Chirped the Little Bird
"I woke up this morning and there was no milk, I'm now starving"
Imagine getting 20 or so random messages like that sent to your email, phone, and updated on your desktop widget at least 10 times a day. Maybe you don't have to imagine it, because you are already a part of the twitter movement. I have defiantly withstood this onslaught on personal privacy that is called Twitter; I figure if I can not have a MySpace after all these years I can live without this. I have a couple of problems with twitter on a philosophical level and also on a more practical level. Currently twitter has been getting a lot of publicity on tv and the internet and these two articles point out some of the impracticalities and problems with the system the way it is set up now.
My biggest problem with twitter is my sense that there is no inherent purpose to it's existence. If the goal is to simply update friends on your status and what you are up too, I feel that Facebook already did it first, and has a larger more coherent platform to do this from. Also there is a little more accountability in the world of facebook.
My second issue with twitter is the idea that people feel self-important enough to believe that thousands of people actually care what you just ate or what you are doing at this very instant...and more importantly I do not understand the people that follow others and feel the need to be alerted every time a person burps, farts, or pisses. The whole system seems a bit needy to me, both on the poster and follower sense. I know the argument coming; what's the difference between that and what you are doing right now? Well the difference is, that I am not limited to 140 characters. Nothing of sustenance or real importance is going to get said there.
Thirdly, this "need to stay connected" is fairly false. As a first generation Facebooker (it came online the same year I started college) I remember when it was really exclusive and useful for meeting new people at your school that you would then meet in the real world. Now most people (me included) have more FB friends then they could have possibly have met or known. People spend so much time "connected" on-line that they actually never "connect" in real life. It's a mad world I say.
Fourth, and this one really butters my buns, it is exceptionally lame! Older people are getting on it thinking it is the new cool hip thing to do. In reality most young hipsters I know would just as soon shoot a text updating the friends that need to know something, opposed to twittering them; I mean there is already a Facebook backlash starting. Texting is much more targeted then any tweet can be.
Finally, to me twitter is like a large bathroom stall at a high school that is constantly getting updated. As a source of news there is no peer review or verification going on to make sure items are credible. As a device to keep up with celebrities or politicians, there is no way to ensure that it is them actually maintaining there tweets. There is a reasonable expectation that publicist and managers keep up websites and myspace, but to have someone ghost write your tweets is inherently counter productive to the spirit of the movement
So this is my rant on Twitter. I know it has very little, if anything to do with law school, but whatever. If you dislike this post you can comment, email, call, or even text me...but please, please, please do not tweet me. Thanks Keep Clawing Away...
Imagine getting 20 or so random messages like that sent to your email, phone, and updated on your desktop widget at least 10 times a day. Maybe you don't have to imagine it, because you are already a part of the twitter movement. I have defiantly withstood this onslaught on personal privacy that is called Twitter; I figure if I can not have a MySpace after all these years I can live without this. I have a couple of problems with twitter on a philosophical level and also on a more practical level. Currently twitter has been getting a lot of publicity on tv and the internet and these two articles point out some of the impracticalities and problems with the system the way it is set up now.
My biggest problem with twitter is my sense that there is no inherent purpose to it's existence. If the goal is to simply update friends on your status and what you are up too, I feel that Facebook already did it first, and has a larger more coherent platform to do this from. Also there is a little more accountability in the world of facebook.
My second issue with twitter is the idea that people feel self-important enough to believe that thousands of people actually care what you just ate or what you are doing at this very instant...and more importantly I do not understand the people that follow others and feel the need to be alerted every time a person burps, farts, or pisses. The whole system seems a bit needy to me, both on the poster and follower sense. I know the argument coming; what's the difference between that and what you are doing right now? Well the difference is, that I am not limited to 140 characters. Nothing of sustenance or real importance is going to get said there.
Thirdly, this "need to stay connected" is fairly false. As a first generation Facebooker (it came online the same year I started college) I remember when it was really exclusive and useful for meeting new people at your school that you would then meet in the real world. Now most people (me included) have more FB friends then they could have possibly have met or known. People spend so much time "connected" on-line that they actually never "connect" in real life. It's a mad world I say.
Fourth, and this one really butters my buns, it is exceptionally lame! Older people are getting on it thinking it is the new cool hip thing to do. In reality most young hipsters I know would just as soon shoot a text updating the friends that need to know something, opposed to twittering them; I mean there is already a Facebook backlash starting. Texting is much more targeted then any tweet can be.
Finally, to me twitter is like a large bathroom stall at a high school that is constantly getting updated. As a source of news there is no peer review or verification going on to make sure items are credible. As a device to keep up with celebrities or politicians, there is no way to ensure that it is them actually maintaining there tweets. There is a reasonable expectation that publicist and managers keep up websites and myspace, but to have someone ghost write your tweets is inherently counter productive to the spirit of the movement
So this is my rant on Twitter. I know it has very little, if anything to do with law school, but whatever. If you dislike this post you can comment, email, call, or even text me...but please, please, please do not tweet me. Thanks Keep Clawing Away...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Today's Moment of Zen
The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), in Christian Science
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
More Pic's after the jump
How freaked would you be??
Sometimes life just imitates life too well huh?
Do you ever wonder what games would be like if they were rated R?
Keep Clawing Away...
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), in Christian Science
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
More Pic's after the jump
How freaked would you be??
Sometimes life just imitates life too well huh?
Do you ever wonder what games would be like if they were rated R?
Keep Clawing Away...
You Down Front
In a show of his political savvy and tech wizardry President Obama will be taking your questions today at 11:30am. A few days ago they opened up a long promised feature of the new White House website that allows everyday citizens to post questions blog style, and then vote questions up or down to be answered by 44 himself. Notwithstanding the fact that the top questions in several categories have to do with the legalization of marijuana I would like to know your thoughts on this new era of openness with the people. What intended and unintended consequences might be lurking behind this new "democratization" and openness of the Executive branch?
I personally think that the first and biggest benefit is simply an image shift from the Presidents immediate predecessor. That he is even taking the questions gives him the benefit of looking more open and trusting; it almost doesn't even matter if he answers the questions or not. Secondly, it makes all of his followers feel more involved. Even if your question doesn't get answered you have still trafficked the website and are more likely to watch the Q/A, thus getting informed through a particularly friendly filter of the president. Another benefit is that this tactic can only strengthen the "Cult of Obama", that is the people who may have never been involved in politics or the democratic party before, but feel a special connection to Barack. This gives him leverage when it comes time to do battle both with the GOP and also the DNC. Whereas in the past the national party could squeeze candidates through threats of withholding funds and legitimacy, it is now almost a complete 180. If Obama doesn't put his name to it, the voters will not see it as being legit
While this new super information highway directly to voters opens up a fast lane from the White House to the people, they should definitely be weary of a few pot holes. Not the least of which is, the more open you are the more we can see your flaws. The openness sword cuts two ways, not open enough and people start to get suspicious and distrustful; whereas being to open and allowing people to see you make mistakes make you seem less credible and more fallible. While it is true that all Presidents have been Human, and thus prone to error, no President finds it particularly pleasant to admit when his administration has been wrong or caught of guard. When you are under the spotlight you can only avoid a question so often before more and more people start to see that you don't know what you are talking about. By allowing this process to be so open, it would only take a small team of dedicated posters to get certain questions to the top of the list, ignore them enough and begins to be a story.
So yes, personally I'm all for this. I think it will be nice to have voters questions answered directly without the media filtering and telling us and the president what we mean. Often times the media ask what it wants to know, and assumes that middle America agrees, hardly the case I'd argue. What are your thoughts? Keep Clawing Away...
I personally think that the first and biggest benefit is simply an image shift from the Presidents immediate predecessor. That he is even taking the questions gives him the benefit of looking more open and trusting; it almost doesn't even matter if he answers the questions or not. Secondly, it makes all of his followers feel more involved. Even if your question doesn't get answered you have still trafficked the website and are more likely to watch the Q/A, thus getting informed through a particularly friendly filter of the president. Another benefit is that this tactic can only strengthen the "Cult of Obama", that is the people who may have never been involved in politics or the democratic party before, but feel a special connection to Barack. This gives him leverage when it comes time to do battle both with the GOP and also the DNC. Whereas in the past the national party could squeeze candidates through threats of withholding funds and legitimacy, it is now almost a complete 180. If Obama doesn't put his name to it, the voters will not see it as being legit
While this new super information highway directly to voters opens up a fast lane from the White House to the people, they should definitely be weary of a few pot holes. Not the least of which is, the more open you are the more we can see your flaws. The openness sword cuts two ways, not open enough and people start to get suspicious and distrustful; whereas being to open and allowing people to see you make mistakes make you seem less credible and more fallible. While it is true that all Presidents have been Human, and thus prone to error, no President finds it particularly pleasant to admit when his administration has been wrong or caught of guard. When you are under the spotlight you can only avoid a question so often before more and more people start to see that you don't know what you are talking about. By allowing this process to be so open, it would only take a small team of dedicated posters to get certain questions to the top of the list, ignore them enough and begins to be a story.
So yes, personally I'm all for this. I think it will be nice to have voters questions answered directly without the media filtering and telling us and the president what we mean. Often times the media ask what it wants to know, and assumes that middle America agrees, hardly the case I'd argue. What are your thoughts? Keep Clawing Away...
The Waiting Game
Here is the rub: I'm not sure what my decision would be if actually accepted to UGA now. I mean if Columbia came back in the next week and said they had a seat for me in their incoming class, the decision would be much easier; its the number three law school in the Country and it is in the biggest city in the world, no brainer. But this is different and I'm not quite sure what to do. I guess I should pro and con each school."Dear Marqus:You would think after months of having my application and having time to decide what they want to do with me they could come up with some kind of decision. So now this puts everything into a bit of a tizzy.
The Admissions Committee completed its review of your application and would like to invite you to be placed on the waiting list. The waiting list is comprised of top candidates for admission to the 2009 entering class who have neither been offered nor denied admission. To accept or decline this invitation to be placed on the waiting list, you must visit https://www.law.uga.edu/cgi-bin/admissions/waitlist.pl to complete and submit the requested information by April 15, 2009. If you do not accept the invitation to be placed on the waiting list by the deadline, your application will be cancelled and you will not be considered for admission from the waiting list"
The Pro's of going to DePaul are pretty compelling. It is in the top 100 schools in the country for one and it has a bit of name recognition. Second, the school is located in one of the biggest markets in the world. Graduating from a school in Chicago would possibly open up a lot more opportunities then Athens, Ga. There is also the benefit of getting to live in Chicago, a city I have never lived in. On the flip side is the fact that I would literally be moving away from all of my friends and family. I know it would be hard to adjust to being in a new city by myself for three years, but I am more then sure I can handle it.
Looking at UGA, I find it very hard to see many benefits. I mean the most obvious one would be the fact that it is ranked higher then DePaul by a significant margin. It is number 33 on most list of Law schools, and in the south the name UGA has lots of pull. I mean the alumni association alone would be worth the price of admission. But I am kind of done with the Georgia scene for awhile, and the school itself is located in the middle of nowhere; though it would be easier to see friends and family. Also I would have to see what kind of scholarship they are offering, I mean DePaul has $60,000 on the table, they are definitely going to have to match or exceed that.
So my question to you is, where do you think I should go?? Keep Clawing Away...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Today's Moment of Zen
Before there is feeling,
Stillness is not increased.
Stillness is not there
Only when there is no thought
And no knowing.
After there is feeling,
Stillness is not obliterated.
It is not that stillness is absent
After there is thought and knowing.
This empty, aware, undimmed
Essence is what is called the Tao.
- Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)
----------------------------------
The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.
Keep Clawing Away...
Stillness is not increased.
Stillness is not there
Only when there is no thought
And no knowing.
After there is feeling,
Stillness is not obliterated.
It is not that stillness is absent
After there is thought and knowing.
This empty, aware, undimmed
Essence is what is called the Tao.
- Luo Hongxian (1504-1564)
----------------------------------
The longest living cells in the body are brain cells which can live an entire lifetime.
Keep Clawing Away...
SSDD Pt. 2
Soooo, Same Sh*T Different Day huh? Let me finish up the last post I was working on. I had identified three objectives to complete before going off and starting law school. I should recap before moving ahead; they were:
Probably the most important thing that I have been doing is rebuilding and strengthening relationships with both my family and with my friends. As any college graduate can tell you, the four to five years you spend there really changes you. Some people grow more then others, but at the very least, world views are shifted and now ideas are met and incorporated into your life. Some people this results in a reaffirmation of what they already knew and believed, for others they begin to incorporate new and interesting things into their life. The four years I spent in school made me more confident then ever in my own personal skills and ability. I feel more self-reliant due to all of the different situations I have been put in and come out of. What that means is that I have had to "reintroduce" myself to my family and some of my friends. I am really trying to make the most of this time because I know that law school will be extremely demanding and I wont have much time with them, especially since I will be out of state.
Before I was able to do that though, I had to evaluate myself and find out who I was. I did a little traveling and found myself at my grandparents house for a few months simply living. With no work, no school, and no friends around I was able to actually figure out who Marqus had become over the past four years. I was also able to evaluate myself compared to where I thought I would be, and where I actually was. I came up with a readjusted plan, and was more focused when I got back to Atlanta.
This new focus and adjustment to my life plans afforded me a chance to get back in the "school" mode and get ready for law school. I started working on my law school applications and doing research on different schools. Now that I am accepted I try to spend a little bit of time researching the city I will be in. I have found myself recently trying to read articles in papers and online to get back in the frame of critically thinking about information. I plan on taking the summer to begin reading the required material for the semester. So this is what I'm up too till August. Working, enjoying good times with friends, and lots and lots of reading...and oh yeah witting here as well of course Keep Clawing Away...
- Put my financial house in order, and take care of any outstanding debt.
- Spend lots of quality time with both friends and family.
- Return my mind to the student setting, and become engaged with my soon to be environment
Probably the most important thing that I have been doing is rebuilding and strengthening relationships with both my family and with my friends. As any college graduate can tell you, the four to five years you spend there really changes you. Some people grow more then others, but at the very least, world views are shifted and now ideas are met and incorporated into your life. Some people this results in a reaffirmation of what they already knew and believed, for others they begin to incorporate new and interesting things into their life. The four years I spent in school made me more confident then ever in my own personal skills and ability. I feel more self-reliant due to all of the different situations I have been put in and come out of. What that means is that I have had to "reintroduce" myself to my family and some of my friends. I am really trying to make the most of this time because I know that law school will be extremely demanding and I wont have much time with them, especially since I will be out of state.
Before I was able to do that though, I had to evaluate myself and find out who I was. I did a little traveling and found myself at my grandparents house for a few months simply living. With no work, no school, and no friends around I was able to actually figure out who Marqus had become over the past four years. I was also able to evaluate myself compared to where I thought I would be, and where I actually was. I came up with a readjusted plan, and was more focused when I got back to Atlanta.
This new focus and adjustment to my life plans afforded me a chance to get back in the "school" mode and get ready for law school. I started working on my law school applications and doing research on different schools. Now that I am accepted I try to spend a little bit of time researching the city I will be in. I have found myself recently trying to read articles in papers and online to get back in the frame of critically thinking about information. I plan on taking the summer to begin reading the required material for the semester. So this is what I'm up too till August. Working, enjoying good times with friends, and lots and lots of reading...and oh yeah witting here as well of course Keep Clawing Away...
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Moment of Zen
So I think in an effort to keep this thing fresh and really offer off the wall stuff, everyday that I post I will try to incorporate a Moment of Zen. Yes like the Daily Show, it may be a video or quote or something totally random that I found today and wish to share. So here is today's moment of zen, you get two.
If students really have the
Intention to seek to be sages,
Then they must seek to focus
Their attention on this.
This is the basis for becoming
A sage.
-ZoZou Shouyi
---------------------------------------------------------
Darwin Award:
Keep Clawing Away...
If students really have the
Intention to seek to be sages,
Then they must seek to focus
Their attention on this.
This is the basis for becoming
A sage.
-ZoZou Shouyi
---------------------------------------------------------
Darwin Award:
Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.
3 February 1990, Washington
The following mind-boggling attempt at a crime spree appeared to be the robber's first, due to his lack of a previous record of violence, and his terminally stupid choices:
1. His target was H&J Leather & Firearms. A gun shop.
2. The shop was full of customers - firearms customers.
3. To enter the shop, the robber had to step around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door.
4. A uniformed officer was standing at the counter, having coffee before work.
Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a holdup, and fired a few wild shots. The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, covered by several customers who also drew their guns, thereby removing the confused criminal from the gene pool.
No one else was hurt.
Keep Clawing Away...
SSDD Pt. 1
As promised I am back. I apologize for my absences but life can sometimes get in the way of living if you know what I mean. Always have to deal with the "Same Sh*T Different Day".The life of a soon to be Law Student is always busy and requires lots of attention. With that being said I want to talk a little about what I have been up too, and what I think might be helpful for anyone trying to to figure out what to do before going to school.
I have personally identified three things I need to do before I go away to school in August.
Again this applies to what I am doing now, but I think it could be a pretty good rule of thumb as well. The most important thing to do is get your financial duckies in a row. You have just spent 3-5 years as an undergraduate and that had to get financed somehow. Personally I was on scholarship until late in my junior year so my own debt is relatively low compared to friends. Full disclosure, my outstanding dept right now is roughly $18,000. I used various student loans to pay for my apartment my last two years of college as well as tuition, books, and general living expenses. Looking back on everything I would have preferred to use one lender, to make repayment easier. Unfortunately for me I have four different lenders, two of which are private companies which makes it a hassle to cover all four of them at the beginning of the month. Which leads me to my next point under number one: defer student loans as long as possible while you wait to get into school. This was my biggest mistake, I was to lazy to take the necessary steps and now I have to struggle to stay current. Graduating into the current economy it is hard to find a job for people in my age range, and the jobs that are available do not lend themselves to lots of money.
So what kind of job should you get before law school? It varies from person to person, and you definitely want to do something you are passionate about and will enjoy. My advice is to get a job that keeps your mind stimulated, you don't want your brain atrophy in your time off from school. The summer after I graduated I worked as a camp director for teenagers in my home county. It was decent pay and I only worked five days a week, plus it played to my personal strengths of organizing, leading, and programming. When that was over I carried those skills and that experience over to working on a campaign for the local school board. As an Assistant campaign manager, I took those same leadership, management, and programming skills and implemented them in coordinating a campaign. This also married my second passion in life, politics, to things I'm already good at. After my candidate won, I was looking for a job that paid relatively well, a flexible schedule, and was not too demanding...I chose substitute teaching. It paid well, no weekends, and I could work when I wanted too. I was so good at it that the school I was at offered me a vacant 12th Grade American Gov't class to teach, which is what im doing now. I highly suggest teaching in the interim because it keeps the mind in the student mode: waking up during school hours, taking notes, and class discussions. I also get major holidays off without having to request them. Stay tuned for Same Sh*t Different Day pt 2. Keep Clawing Away...
I have personally identified three things I need to do before I go away to school in August.
- Put my financial house in order, and take care of any outstanding debt.
- Spend lots of quality time with both friends and family.
- Return my mind to the student setting, and become engaged with my soon to be environment
Again this applies to what I am doing now, but I think it could be a pretty good rule of thumb as well. The most important thing to do is get your financial duckies in a row. You have just spent 3-5 years as an undergraduate and that had to get financed somehow. Personally I was on scholarship until late in my junior year so my own debt is relatively low compared to friends. Full disclosure, my outstanding dept right now is roughly $18,000. I used various student loans to pay for my apartment my last two years of college as well as tuition, books, and general living expenses. Looking back on everything I would have preferred to use one lender, to make repayment easier. Unfortunately for me I have four different lenders, two of which are private companies which makes it a hassle to cover all four of them at the beginning of the month. Which leads me to my next point under number one: defer student loans as long as possible while you wait to get into school. This was my biggest mistake, I was to lazy to take the necessary steps and now I have to struggle to stay current. Graduating into the current economy it is hard to find a job for people in my age range, and the jobs that are available do not lend themselves to lots of money.
So what kind of job should you get before law school? It varies from person to person, and you definitely want to do something you are passionate about and will enjoy. My advice is to get a job that keeps your mind stimulated, you don't want your brain atrophy in your time off from school. The summer after I graduated I worked as a camp director for teenagers in my home county. It was decent pay and I only worked five days a week, plus it played to my personal strengths of organizing, leading, and programming. When that was over I carried those skills and that experience over to working on a campaign for the local school board. As an Assistant campaign manager, I took those same leadership, management, and programming skills and implemented them in coordinating a campaign. This also married my second passion in life, politics, to things I'm already good at. After my candidate won, I was looking for a job that paid relatively well, a flexible schedule, and was not too demanding...I chose substitute teaching. It paid well, no weekends, and I could work when I wanted too. I was so good at it that the school I was at offered me a vacant 12th Grade American Gov't class to teach, which is what im doing now. I highly suggest teaching in the interim because it keeps the mind in the student mode: waking up during school hours, taking notes, and class discussions. I also get major holidays off without having to request them. Stay tuned for Same Sh*t Different Day pt 2. Keep Clawing Away...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Can't Forget about You
Sorry about the long absence, a more substantive post is soon to come this weekend.
Keep Clawing Away...
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What is and What is to Come
By dent of its properties, weblogs make for some of the most accurate, detailed, and quickest forms of biography society has ever created. It is almost to amazing to believe that with a few simple tools any person can document, editorialize, and publish their entire life story to millions of people around the globe in an instant. Consider this: the first western artist to have a bibliography written about him while he was still living (in fact he had two) was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni...Better known as Michelangelo; yes that one.
One of his most famous works that survives to this day is his masterpiece of David. The piece was designed following the artistic discipline of diesgno, which considers sculpture the finest form of art because it more then any other form mimics Divine creation. Michelangelo often has the concept of "unlocking the form from within the block" attributed to him. It is said that he believed he did not create in the strict sense of the word, rather he was simply able to "free" the piece that God placed inside the raw block. His work David is suppose to represent the moments before the historical figure would take his place in the currents of history by slaying the giant Goliath. The moment after Conscious Decision but before...
...Conscious Action. This is where I find myself, or more accurately where I find myself at the moment. I have decided to begin this project and can visualize the end result, yet I am just now beginning the steps that will lead to the finish line.At this very moment 3YUDL is a mass of raw thoughts, templates, and future plans; yet I know that there is already a finished form inside that just needs to be unlocked. It's weird but if you can conceptualize time outside of this linear track we are on, it becomes easy to visualize 5,10,15 years into the future an older version of me reading back on this very post and thinking how silly and naive it is. Once the finished product is unveiled it is always harder to understand how it could have ever been anything other then what it is.
But we can not pierce that veil, and I am starring at what is now just an undefined blog, so shall we take out our tools and begin to free the soul of this block? I think we should.
Keep Clawing Away...
One of his most famous works that survives to this day is his masterpiece of David. The piece was designed following the artistic discipline of diesgno, which considers sculpture the finest form of art because it more then any other form mimics Divine creation. Michelangelo often has the concept of "unlocking the form from within the block" attributed to him. It is said that he believed he did not create in the strict sense of the word, rather he was simply able to "free" the piece that God placed inside the raw block. His work David is suppose to represent the moments before the historical figure would take his place in the currents of history by slaying the giant Goliath. The moment after Conscious Decision but before...
...Conscious Action. This is where I find myself, or more accurately where I find myself at the moment. I have decided to begin this project and can visualize the end result, yet I am just now beginning the steps that will lead to the finish line.At this very moment 3YUDL is a mass of raw thoughts, templates, and future plans; yet I know that there is already a finished form inside that just needs to be unlocked. It's weird but if you can conceptualize time outside of this linear track we are on, it becomes easy to visualize 5,10,15 years into the future an older version of me reading back on this very post and thinking how silly and naive it is. Once the finished product is unveiled it is always harder to understand how it could have ever been anything other then what it is.
But we can not pierce that veil, and I am starring at what is now just an undefined blog, so shall we take out our tools and begin to free the soul of this block? I think we should.
- First and foremost, this blog will serve as my primary memoir of: preperation for law school, life as a student, and the transition from Law Student to Law Practicioner. There will be many tales of DePaul, Chicago, and generaly the life of a law student.
- This blog will serve as the main tool to opine about legal issues, political issues, and current event items that cross my brain. My passions tend to run towards the political and legal so the things that I talk about most will reflect that. I will do my best to put issues into perspective, show both sides, and make my own thoughts open and accessible
- And Finally (since I like 3's) this blog will be a way for family, friends, and acquaintances to keep a rather clear window into my life as I undertake this rather stressful time. Going to school in Chicago means that I literally will be moving across the country, and any kind of face time with friends and family will be slim to nil at best.
Keep Clawing Away...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
