Synopsis of SMU Orientation

Before I go through and describe my two days at orientation, I wanted to share this beautiful work of art, drawn by a fellow 1L, that I feel very accurately describes everything we learned at the first day of orientation.

We've got there a story that Dean Camp told about crossing the street to buy a kite (the ending depicted in the drawing was much more dramatic than the ending to the real story). There's a drawing describing the average cost of the books for your 1L. Also, she's included an interpretation of all law students hitting the wall, which, we learned, was inevitable in 1L.

Lastly, we have Dean Attanasio, the first (and absolutely most important) speaker, who mentioned -- no fewer than seven times -- the fact that SMU is comparable to, if not better than, Harvard.

That's right. Harvard. Just think about that (and then give SMU your money).

Moving Sure Takes a Lot Out of a Girl (Part 2)

Okay, so where was I? Oh yeah...the car.

Anyway, after we made the decision to ship me my car from high school, my dad left me in my new, half-set-up apartment with no cable, no internet, and no company. :( Luckily, my bestie decided that he had enough time on his drive from Lubbock to Austin to stop by my place for a few days.

Let me tell you, I put him to work. He mounted my bookshelf, fixed a few things in my bathroom, and was my general handyman for the short time he was here. Don't worry, I cooked for him, so it was a fair trade. Then he took me to my first ever Ranger game (I love me some baseball!) where I got this:

Apparently, Texas is delicious!

I digress. After my friend left, I didn't have too much time to be lonely. The next night I met a few of my future class mates uptown for a vigorous and fun round of pub golf. Then I had a day or two to recover and get everything ready for orientation to start.

While my apartment still isn't 100% done done done, it's very close, and that's awesome -- I have three more bankers boxes full of miscellaneous crap before I can consider myself done. I have all of the furniture I need in my apartment and set up, and a lot of the general furnishings and decorations done too.

I found a couple of old steamer trunks, one which just happened to be slate blue, to stack and make into a coffee table to match my slate blue patterned couch. I bought a blender, toaster, coffee maker, george foreman, and Brita pitcher to round out my kitchen, and found a big parson's desk that had been painted white on CL to finish off my study. I also went a little nuts at Ikea, and bought a huge TV on CL, too -- I don't think I realized how big 47 inches was.

Let me tell you: it's too big to take up three looooong flights of stairs by yourself.

Now that a majority of the big stuff has gotten done, I'm in the process of buying/acquiring/crafting wall hangings and other little kitschy things to put into the nooks and crannies of the apartment, so it doesn't look so spartan/dorm-like. Overall, it's going well, and my place is turning into a relaxing place that I can come home to and enjoy, but also have a dedicated place to do my reading and work (and not have to camp out at the library like I'm sure a lot of other 1Ls are doing).

Now, I think I'm caught up through orientation. Next time I have a few minutes to spare I'll give you all an inside glimpse at how scintillating (or not) SMU's 1L orientation can be!

Moving Sure Takes a Lot Out of a Girl (Part 1)

Let's do a quick run down of everything that I went through before orientation:

I got a very late start leaving my hometown (not my fault, I swear, thanks mom), and was about thirty seconds from missing my plane. Not an auspicious beginning to my move. Anyway, after arriving at the airport, they told me either I could make my plane and leave my bags, or I could wait for the next plane the next day.

I chose to leave my bags. Duh.

Now, my bags consisted of pretty much everything I had left at my house, and so it was A LOT. And I was concerned that they might not get to Dallas unscathed. Thankfully my bags caught up to me on my layover in Vegas, and so I had the "good fortune" of trying to load these huge boxes and suitcases into my rental car.

The next morning, my dad and I drove to my apartment near campus. It was sooooo frickin' hot in Texas (I mean, it still is, but that week it was 108 or over every day). My dad and I waited for my pod to get delivered, went to Target to pick up a couple of necessities, and then waited for my movers to show up...no way we were carrying that much crap up to the fourth floor!

(For anyone needing a mover in the DFW area, check out His Kingdom Movers. They're super nice, super efficient, and extremely reasonably priced. Can't recommend them enough! It only took them two hours to get an apartment's worth of stuff up three long flights of stairs!)

My dad and I spent the next few days alternately setting up my apartment and shopping for cars. I'd determined that I wanted to lease a 2011 Kia Soul (there was a really solid lease program on), but the only colors left in the entire DFW area were the ugly green and orange ones!

Luckily, they found a car in a color I could stand, and ordered it. But when it got to Dallas it was realized that they had actually already reserved it for someone else. The 2011s aren't being made anymore (since the 2012s are coming out this month), and the 2012s don't have a lease program in place yet. Needless to say, it was a huge waste of time.

Long story short, I decided it wasn't worth my time and worry to try to get a car here and now, so my parents agreed to ship me the car that I drove in high school for my use for the next few months, and then when I go home around Christmas we'll see how it's doing and if I even drive enough to warrant getting a newer car.

Le sigh. What's a (broke law student) girl to do?

To be continued...

Growly Notes in Action

For those of you wondering, I am still liking the organization options offered by Growly Notes. It's easy to use and read, and so far I don't have any complaints.

(The one complaint that I had about the printing was fixed in the latest update).

If you were just DYING to find out how I'm organizing my notes (so far) this semester, here's a screenshot for you (click on it to enlarge it).

I have a one "book" for 1L, and a separate "section" for each class I'm taking. Within the section I have "pages" for the following: Class Notes, Case Briefs, Reading Notes, and miscellaneous notes about the instructor.

Let's see how this strategy plays out for me...

It's only the first (full) week...

Goodness gracious.

It's only the first full week, and already my planner is full. Literally, that's not an exaggeration. I've had to add post-its to two different days in my planner this week in order to have enough room to write down my different reading and assignments, plus my "notes to self" about classes and profs.

It's exhausting. But, as my friend is so fond of saying to me, "you knew what you were getting into before you got there."

She's right. I did. But in times like these, when the newness of the classroom setting and the stress seems to be getting to me, I only have to think of one thing to be able to get back on track.

I feel like everyone should have a little mantra to keep themselves grounded in times of stress. It doesn't have to be a Bible verse, or even a whole quote. Just something to calm you down and keep you focused. Maybe even put this quote/verse/mantra into an art piece or somewhere in your house or apartment or book bag to force yourself to remember it.

Okay, back to my reading/briefing/writing. I swear at some point this week I will find time to blog about my orientation.

A Few Things I've Learned About Texas Thus Far...

I've been in Texas for a little over a two weeks now, and in the course of that two weeks I've experienced quite a few "culture shock" moments. I would have never considered that Texas and California could be so different! I mean, we have semi-similar climates, and similar population demographics -- but ultimately there's just a fundamental difference between the two states.

Instead of delving too deeply into that difference, I've tried to embrace my new state by learning a few things here or there. And this undertaking also served to underline some differences between sunny CA and hot hot Texas. 

Here are a few examples:

• In California, we refer to freeways by their numbers, saying things like, "the 405 is crowded," or "hop off the 5 and onto the 99." Here, if you say "the (insert number here)" in reference to a freeway or highway, they look at you weird. And then correct you. It's not "the 75," it's JUST 75.

• Along the same lines, we call areas of the freeway where multiple freeways merge together and then separate an "interchange." Here they say "mixmaster." Which to me sounds like an old boombox from the 80s/90s, like the kind John Cusack held up in High Fidelity.

• There is, apparently, a difference between saying "y'all," and saying "all y'all." The former refers to two or fewer people; the latter refers to three or more.

• "Texas Country" music is NOT the same thing as "Country" music, and it *should* be immediately obvious whether a song is a Texas country song or not. I say should because it is, in fact, NOT readily obvious to anyone who hasn't spent a significant amount time listening to songs about tractors, dogs, and whiskey.

• The "Six Flags of Texas" doesn't refer to the roller-coaster amusement park, but rather to the fact that Texas has, at one point or another, been under the control of six different governments. (Which ones, you ask? Spain, France, Mexico, US, Confederate States, and the Republic of Texas.) 

So, anyway, those are just a few of the things I've learned over the past 14 days in the Lone Star state. Recently I was pondering aloud just how I was supposed to keep all of this straight, and someone said to me, "Oh, honey, don't worry. It'll come natural soon enough. You might be Californian by birth, but now you're a Texan by the grace of God."

I guess that about sums it up. 

Right?

*Clears Throat* Long Time No (Talk)...

Well, hello again. It's been an age...

and I sincerely apologize. No, really, I do. Trust me when I say I wish that I could have been updating for everyone. But unfortunately I hit a few snags on the road to having an internet-capable apartment. (the biggest snag of all: thinking that Charter Communications was the cable company for me).

However, after two weeks of using my iPhone as a life source, I have seen the light, switched to AT&T, and am now completely hooked up and wireless. IT FEELS AMAZING, thanks for asking.

Anyway, a lot has happened in the last two weeks. I'll update more about exactly what happened for all of you inquiring minds, but first I need to finish my reading.

And so it begins...

Welcome to the Paper Chase...

My Last Day at Home

Today happens to be my last day at home.

It also happens to be my mother's 50th birthday. (Dear God, don't tell her I said that in public. Blogging counts as saying it in public, apparently).

I'm rushing to finish everything at work that needs to get done before my program gets handed over to someone else. I'm also rushing to finish putting together a training binder for the person who will eventually replace me full time. I'm also rushing to finish packing (1/2 of a suitcase left), and rushing to clean out my room so that the guys from Sears can come install the treadmill.

Yes, treadmill. My mother is turning my room into a home gym. I think that means I'm not allowed to come back to live after law school.

Anyway, I'm going to take this time to enjoy being with my family and friends. My mom and I are having a joint cocktail party, and then tomorrow morning I'll drive down to LA (ugh) and get on a plane and wing it to my new residence! It's exciting, but kind of weird...

But What I Really Wanted to be...

Yes, I'm going to law school. Very very soon. But what I really wanted to be was...

An owner of one of these fabulous "apartments"! The World is a residential yacht that travels the whole year round. (my thanks to a future classmate, who introduced me to this new world of luxury!)

Crickets

I know, I know, you've been able to hear crickets around this blog lately. I'm sorry! At first it was the vacation, then the moving thing, and then, to put the cherry on the sundae, I got suuuuuuper sick for the last week! It was awful!

Summer colds are the worst. You expect to be sick in the winter, and that's why some hot chicken noodle soup always does the trick! But in the summer? Blech, it was FAR too hot in my hometown this past week for anything resembling chicken noodle soup. (Eventually, though, I just had to have soup, so I cranked up the AC, turned on the fans, and drank a quart of miso soup a day until I got better.)

So here's a little update: my pod was delivered while I was in Atlanta. I came home and started filling it up. My mom and aunt are both redecorating, so I scored my bed (obvs), a couch, a dining table, dining chairs, place settings, a chaise (that pulls out into a twin bed), lamps, cushions, a nightstand, and my bookshelf, among other things. Aside from a TV, desk and coffee table, I think that as far as furniture goes I'm pretty much set! I also was able to fit pretty much all of my clothes and books, leaving behind maybe three file boxes of books in my garage.

BUT, while I should have been packing, I started getting sick. And then I decided to skip a day of packing in order to go out with my friends for a farewell party they threw me (how sweet, right?). So when the people came to pick up the pod on Monday morning I wasn't quite ready. Thankfully the nice people at ABF ReloCube were willing to work with me, and so my friends helped me pack all day before they came back the next day to pick it up. It was pretty full, let me tell you!

So, once my pod had been picked up, my body relaxed and then the sickness really set in. I don't think I left my house (really, my bedroom) for, like, three days. I was miserable. But now I'm over it and excited to get to Dallas! I get in late on Friday evening and will be moving myself in all weekend! I'm really excited!!!!!!

(PS - One thing I did do while I was sick was watch the entire first season of Happy Endings. If you haven't ever seen the show, you really don't know what you're missing. Watch it. Now.)