Irishgoddess’s Weblog

I’m guessing that having a glass of wine right now wouldn’t be particularly helpful in studying.

But hey, it’s my life right now.

I woke up this morning feeling great, refreshed, and calm.   Our street has been blocked off for a major bike race that lasts all day.  It rained last night, and everything smells fresh.  The sun is shining, the skies are blue, and it is 71 degrees.  PERFECT.

Lucille, the ever enterprising one, is setting up a lemonade stand this morning.  That girl is going to rake in the money.

Having this extra day has done wonders for my studying.  This morning I spent 45 minutes or so working on a schedule that I think is going to work much better for me.  The previous schedule I had created for myself (which included working 5 days a week, but with 2 hour study breaks in the middle of the day) was just too scheduled.  I had everything scheduled, I think, including when I’d go to the grocery store.

I should have realized – I just don’t work like that.  I chafe at limits.  (HELLO?!  Do I not know myself?!)  So I’ve redone the schedule, and I’m only going to try it for two weeks.  If it needs adjustment then, I’ll do so.  But two weeks seems manageable.

The biggest change is I’m going to work 4 days a week instead of 5.   I can still put in 32 hours that way, but having “another” full day mentally helps me.  The other big change is I’ve only included the basics on the schedule:  work, class time, study time.  All other blocks are left BLANK – so I can clean if I choose, or grocery shop, or play, or nap, or even read (ha).

Another brainstorm I came up with this weekend is one I am embarrassed to share.  I just cannot believe how much of my mother is my blood.  I need to set a timer to remind myself to take a short break (10 minutes) after every hour or so of studying.   So my “reward” for studying the hour?  Cleaning.  Good god.  Yesterday as I did my homework I broke it up with laundry, mopping the kitchen floor, scrubbing the bathtub, and vacuuming.  All those things take 15 minutes or less, are no-thinking activities that let my mind rest, and make me feel good when they are done.   Can anyone say DORK?

Last idea I came up with (after a gentle chiding by Mols to “let things slide”) is about the laundry.  Everyone knows the easy part is putting it into the washer and dryer.  The horrible part is folding and putting away.  Here’s the deal:  straight out of the dryer Lucy and I “sort of” fold the clothes and put them into individual baskets assigned to each person.  GMan gets clean laundry, and it goes into his room.  If he chooses to fold it properly, and/or put it away, that is his choice.  Same for everyone else.  The key here is Mama doesn’t have to see all those baskets of clean laundry!  (Why do I care?  Why do I care?!  It’s in my blood.)

And now I’m off to brief Criminal Law cases.  Homicide this week!

It’s 12:37 a.m. and I’m almost finished briefing my cases for Contracts.  The fan is blowing, the music is playing softly, and I just heard the snore and sigh of my sweet girl behind me on my reading chair.  She came in here to sleep while I studied.    And THAT is why I prefer to study at home.

And just how tired am I?  I couldn’t even remember my password.

Right now I’m in the law library.  I have a very rare 45 minutes of free time – no studying to do, not at home, not at work.  I don’t know that I can really keep up with the blog anymore, but since it is free I guess I’ll keep it open for a while more and see if things adjust.

It is the end of week 3 of law school.  The thrill and newness has worn off, though I still really like it a lot.  I enjoy being in a class room setting again.  I love the give and take of conversations.  I love listening to other people make really intelligent comments.  I like meeting people that normally would never cross my path in life and discovering that I like them.    My favorite person so far?  This guy who is a substitute teacher by day, and a Republican (though with strong Libertarian leanings.)

Last weekend I really got off of my planned schedule and something will need to adjust.  I allowed myself too much “me” time (which was spent napping, cleaning, and shopping, and one night of beers and martinis.  I feel strongly that I need to keep myself sane, that I do law school MY way.  That means to me that I am not going to get all crazy and stressed, that I will keep my real life a priority.

As it turns out, though, I put too much emphasis on doing “my” things and kept putting off study time.  I got all of my reading done, twice.  But I didn’t allow myself enough time to brief and review, and I felt disappointed in myself.  I have this Master Schedule wherein I take a few hours from work and go to the break room and study.  Every one at work is completely supportive and respectful of that.   But I let myself put it off – just let me write a few checks!  I just will check one more email, and then I’ll go.  Oh, the phone rang, let me quick help this customer…

I need to do this differently.  I need about 27 hours of study time each week, plus the 11 hours that I am in class, and then the 30 hours (roughly) that I put into work.  Add in 10 hours of travel time between work, home, and school.  I need a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night, and one hour shower/coffee/get dressed time for each week day.   Have you heard the saying “there aren’t enough hours in the day”?  I just did the math, and somehow I need to find an additional 21 hours a week.   Who has suggestions?  How can I schedule this?  What can I do differently?  I am willing to do just about anything differently but give up sleep.

In other news, GMan is still getting up at 6 a.m., showering for 25 minutes, and going to school at least 30 minutes early.  Yes, I really do realize what is going on during the shower, but as long as I don’t know, it’s ok to know, you know?   I also still think he has a girlfriend which I find adorable, but being the worrier that I am, now I am dreading the inevitable heartbreak to come.

(Side note…I don’t mean to sound presumptious that it is a GIRLfriend vs. a boyfriend.  But I’m pretty certain, given certain signals, that it is a girl and not a boy.  I wouldn’t care if it were a boy, and that is the main point I’m trying to make here.  It always bugs me when people say to their kids, before any inkling of preference is shown, “When you have a girlfriend” or “when you get married”. )

One more note about life -  my sister just called me and told me she is getting married.    She hasn’t told my parents yet, and not sure if she’s going to or not.   It has bothered me for years that her main goal in life seemed to be to find a guy and get married.  (And up until 3 years ago the goal was also to then have a baby.)  This guy is odd, he is weird, but I like him.  He puts up with all of her idiosyncracies (and trust me, there are MANY) and he calms her.  He stands by her, he loves her, but he doesn’t let her walk all over him.  He makes her give him his space, and she is finally secure enough that she can give it to him without worrying he’ll leave her.  That is a huge step for her.  I am so happy for her.

Triangular area near front door.  Japanese maple, black tulips, grape hyacinth, red tulips and parrot tulips that are creamy white and pink.

Near giant oak tree in front yard.  Red tulips and a few uncommon (in my neighborhood) orangish-pink tulips.

Pointy leaved red tulips in back.  I like how bold and assertive they are compared to their more common, delicate, rounded tulip sisters.

Crazy “tattooed” tulip, yellow with red shots up its sleeve.

A crazy parrot black tulip in front of the pretty pink one.

As you can see I’m still learning the ins and outs of Word press.  I didn’t intend for those sentences to be links but am not unpleased with results.

Life as a law student…not bad so far. The orientation was full of scare tactics, and tales of flunking out. My school strongly emphasizes ethics, and talks about “starting over”, taking the time and experience of law school to make yourself into the person/professional you want to be.

I’m taking part in something called the Portfolio Project, my one extra-curricular. It will be ongoing throughout my tenure, and will involve my goal setting, my personal code of conduct, etc. One of my beliefs, onto which I intend to hold, is that I believe in myself first. And one way that plays out is I will listen, I will ponder, I will respect, but I will not necessarily listen or act upon other’s beliefs. For example, I will not “study anywhere but home” because one of my goals is to do law school without losing entire contact with my children. I will accept that law school is/might be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but that does not mean that I need to go through it with anxiety and fear.

A couple of shots of my study haven:

This is what will ultimately be the reading nook of our new bedroom. In the meantime, it makes a perfect study area. No one has reason to come into the new bedroom because there is nothing in it but this, and drywall. On the left you can see the dry erase board and bulletin board my mom bought me. On the desk is my laptop that my dad got for me. I used an old, wooden kitchen table for the desk and a paint spattered bench we found in the basement as the bookshelf. I covered them up with sheets, to make it all “pretty.” Because everyone knows you need pretty to study! The Congrats Mags sign is from my surprise party a few weeks ago. I guess that is a judge’s gavel. I was drunk at the party and kept thinking it was Paul Bunyon’s ax.

These pictures are blurry, I know. Behind my laptop is the window. I get wonderful daylight there. There is a picture of my kids, so I can always be reminded of why I am doing this in the first place. And there is the Sports Illustrated magazine with Brett Favre, because I look to him as an example of someone who works incredibly hard and is very successful. Oh, and because I think he’s hot.

This is my trusty Lazyboy where I read. I got this chair when I was 12 months pregnant (ok, 9) and spent many, many hours nursing and rocking my babies here. I have slept here when I was in too much pain to sleep anywhere else. You can see on the left side there where it has worn and needs to be repaired, with duct tape I’m sure. The only problem with this chair is that I might inadvertently fall asleep while reading. Not that that has happened yet. No, that thirty minutes was me thinking about what I read with my eyes closed. Anyone have suggestions on how to read sometimes dry material and not fall asleep? Pls. advise.

This last shot is to prove that I have not lost my true essence. Here are 4 different laptop bags I have from which to choose. Orange leather bag, red Lodis briefcase, cheap but charming Irish green nylon bag (from Target) and giant, red, fake crocodile skin bag that holds everything including small children and has extra long straps to hang off my already burdened shoulders.

My classes:

Monday: Torts. I just finished reading Grishanm’s King of Torts, so I’ve got this class in the bag.

Wednesday: Criminal Law. I watch Law and Order. I devour mysteries. Kay Scarpetta and Kinsey Millhone feature prominently in my fantasy life. ‘Nuf said.

Thursday: Contracts. As we all know, I spent the last 18 years of my life reading and executing contracts. Again, I should ace this.

Friday: Intro to Law. Hello? One of the reasons I decided to go to law school is because I know so many lawyers. If they can do it, I can do it. I know how they tick. What more intro can I need?

There you have it, folks. Life as a 1L.