Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
11/23/2003
I'm back. Have you missed me? I haven't written anything of substance for the last two weeks. That's mostly because I don't do or think about much of substance except for law school now. In the free time I might spend journaling, I'd rather not bother writing about the grind. But it's time I checked in, so here goes.
First of all, a good buddy of mine, Jordan Jones, just moved to Florence, Italy, to teach English. He has a weblog up and running via livejournal. You should check it out right here. Leave him a comment to let him know you're keeping an eye on him.
I hope to get moving on posting new pictures and my music. I think it will involve a pay upgrade to my site so that they'll host my files with less hassle. I'm busy these days, so that may not happen until Christmas break.
Busy, you ask? Whatever could you mean? Well, I feel like I'm behind the pack in preparing for exams scheduled for December 10 and 12. This may or may not be the case, but I know for a fact a lot of people are a lot further along, having completed course outlines and practice exams in their spare time. I, on the other hand, have been keeping up with class but haven't really hit the grindstone for exam prep, so I've been working up to that.
A course outline is a document you put together that sums up the learning you've done over the term. The exams are open-notes, so you're making the most effective cheat-sheet possible. The idea is that you spend so much time compiling and tweaking this document, that you don't even need to access it during the exam itself. The process, not the finished product, is the point. I have two exams this quarter, so I have been working on two outlines. I am debating whether to bring this work home over Thanksgiving. I don't think I will. Instead, I'll do summer job stuff.
"Summer job stuff" involves writing a resume and cover letter and sending these to law firms where I want to work. Sounds pretty straightforward, and it is, but it's very labor-intensive. Firm jobs are hard to find for first-year law students, so I will be sending my resume to at least 70-100 firms in Chicago, Texas and Oklahoma. I figure, if I'm don't get a job here, I want to work as close to home as possible. Anyway, the firms are not allowed to consider 1L job applicants until December 1. So you want your letter to arrive as quickly after that date as possible. My resume and cover letter are written and ready; I just have to do the work of picking firms and sending letters. Fun fun fun. That's how I'll be spending a good portion of my Thanksgiving "free time." Then once I get back, with that hopefully behind me, I'll focus on exams and hope for a call-back over Christmas.
Lately my days have been running long. I cook less and less because it takes up too much time. Also, I have to be home to cook, and I work much better at the library. I work at the law library mostly, but sometimes I go to the Regenstein, the main campus library. It's a good change of scenery, and the atmosphere is a little less oppressive than the quiet law library at night. Plus, a night bus runs from the Regenstein.
Okay, enough depressing stuff. I don't spend every single hour working. In fact, I took most of Saturday off. I worked in the morning, but then I went to Joe's Sports Bar to cheer on OU with the Chicago Sooner Club. The game was fun, though predictable. Some USC fan wandered over near out table, noticed we were Sooners, and started talking trash, since we'll most likely be playing Southern Cal in the Sugar Bowl. I just smiled and ignored him, even though he was talking to me. He was being obnoxious, but I tuned him out. But then at halftime Stoops gave an on-field interview. The USC guy, who everybody in earshot can hear but is ignoring, goes, "Nice visor, Stoops. Way to wear a gay visor. Your coach is so gay! He's wearing a gay visor!" I had heard enough, and I say, "How can you talk about somebody else's style when you're wearing a TURTLENECK!" He didn't have a comeback, and people around us started laughing loudly and making fun of his turtleneck shirt. Then I looked at him and said, "You can cheer for USC all you want buddy, but you better put your money on Oklahoma, because on January 4th we're gonna KICK YOUR ASS!" Everybody started cheering, and I made a bunch of new OU fans. The guy settled down a bit and went back over to his friends to try to save face. I felt kind of bad about embarassing him, but he had it coming, and random people congratulated me on getting in the last word.
One of the guys I was at Joe's with said, "Dude, did you know that there was a coup in the state of Georgia? Yeah, apparently they stormed the state government and took over! Crazy southerners!" I said "Man, that's the country of Georgia. You know, former-Soviet Republic of Georgia?" He just looked embarrassed. But it figures--he went to Notre Dame for college.
Okay, that's enough for now. I gotta study. But keep on reading and I'll keep on writing.
11/23/2003 06:55:00 PM
