I have a new job, how is this going to affect school?

As stated in a previous post, I have been blessed to obtain new employment. It is nothing special, but it is a great stepping-stone to finding a better position once I am out of law school. There are many people asking why am I working and going to school at the same time? There are tons of reasons (well really just three):

1. I cannot afford not to work.
2. I need to work on eliminating debt in order to take the bar. I am not trying to do this on a student loan salary.
3. I have monthly expenses that cannot be taken care of with a semester student loan check.

My problem with the new job is not the job itself, but becoming acclimated to the new settings. I know everyone is nervous when they have a new job, but have anxiety problems. Even after 5-6 months of working, I have extreme bouts of anxiety. It’s pretty bad and it has affects on my performance.

So actually, I need to be acclimated to not only the job, but to working and going to school at the same time. Which means that I have a tough battle ahead of me, but I am not only determine to win this battle, but win the war --- GETTING THROUGH FIRST SEMESTER.

In order to work AND go to school, I need to start right away setting myself up right and on the good foot.

• Learn the ways of law school and the campus. I do not plan to hesitate to ask any question no matter how stupid it may sound to me or the person I am asking. I am getting to the maturity level that I starting not care how smart (intellectual) I sound. The focus is to get through the first semester. I know if I can get through the first, I can graduate!
• Getting to know the administrative staff. Someone I really respect, told me the best folks to get to know is the administrative /support. I have seen how people often mistreat them and later pay for it when these same people go to them for help. These individuals always knows the “who’s who”.
• Maintaining “to-do” lists. From previous posts, I have expressed how much of a “planner” I am. Being that I will be working and going to school, to-do lists are going to be vital. If I do not have one, I will feel like my brain is scattered. NOT A GOOD FEELING.
• Schedule “me time”. FRIDAYS will be my day. NO STUDYING. I plan to use this time to do whatever I want to do. If this means lying in bed all evening after work, that’s what I am going to do. Catching up with DVR shows, reading, blogging, happy hours, talking on the phone with family/friends, etc. Basically even with the heavy schedule I am about to face, I still have to insert some me time in there or I am going to go crazy!!

So what about you? Do any of you have any tips you want to share?

The Week "END" Review! 8-8-10

This week (and last) has been uneventful.  Just getting comfortable and settled into my new job. 

Enjoying the last couple of days I have left before they are consumed with reading and briefing cases. 

Enjoying eating what I want and being lazy before I start the Insanity workout.

Basically this week is my final week of freedom. 

Thursday night I have orientation and to say that I am nervous is an understatement.  I went to a political function last week and while mingling with attorneys, one in particular informed me that this years incoming 1L class was double the size they usually have.  Then they went on to say, "Please be on it, because with a size like that, they will be flunking people left and right."  WTF!!!!  That is not what I needed to hear!!

Now my nerves are really bad.  I am going to use Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday reading over the material they gave us.  We will be placed in groups during some part of orientation and have to discuss each situation.  I think that there are a total of 7, so I will read three tomorrow and two the other nights.

Wish me luck and next Sunday I will be back to tell you about orientation!!!

Weight Wednesdays

On Friday, I discussed that I was working on the following items:

1. Faith
2. A positive attitude
3. Good Health
4. Financial Security.

This post will focus on developing good and better health. I am on a mission to not only to lose weight, but also get in shape. Earlier in life (just like many females) I was extremely skinny and being black, that was not a good thing. Being a senior in high school weighing 90-95 pounds and being 4’11, the only thing I had going for myself was big boobs. I desperately wanted curves and ass like everyone else. After graduating college, I was at a good 110 pounds. Even with the 10-15 pound gain, I still gained no curves and ass. Just a stick with tits……. I did not start to gain weight until January 2004…….hmmmm…..this was at the time I found out that I flunked. Connection???? Maybe so…

Now 6 ½ years later, I have ballooned to 150 pounds!!! Ten years ago this time I was preparing to leave for college any day weighing maybe 95 pounds and stressing because I could not find jeans sized 00. Being that I am 150 pounds, I swear that 10-15 of it is breast, matter of fact, an old doctor of mine told me it was. I was telling him that I wanted to lose weight and he stated, “well only aim for 10 pounds because your breast is at least 10 pounds because of their size.” I cannot believe I have let myself get this way. Now I am in no way fat or anything of that nature, but I am completely unsatisfied with my body and if I am not happy, it is going to project out and cause stress. This is the very thing that is happening. I know my issues with my weight are causing me to make horrible choices in men. However, that is another story for another post.

Now not only am I (in my and BMI opinion) overweight, but I am so out of shape that it is ridiculous. It is as if I wake up feeling tired. I seriously thought something was wrong me because I will lose breathe with just walking a couple of steps or walking up ONE flight of stairs. I was scared. Nevertheless seeing a doctor, I found out that I am anemic. Therefore, now that I have that in order and no longer stressing that something is wrong, I can focus of becoming better health wise.

How am I going to become healthier? By eating better, eliminating fast food and sodas, taking my iron pills for my anemia, taking vitamins, and………..

The Insanity Workout!!

(more on that next week…)

Soon and very soon.......

Orientation is actually ONE MONTH from today!!!

I am getting more nervous as the days go on.... LOL.....

The one question I keep going over in my head is:

Is it better to know what you going into or go into something blindly?

Okay back to the subject at hand, I am about to embark on this great adventure (again) in exactly one month, and you know what?  I have yet to receive any information on what I am suppose to be doing.  Meaning all I know (and this came from the acceptance letter) is that Orientation is on the 12th and Registration will be on the 16th.  HOWEVER no correspondence has arrived as of today informing me of a time or any additional information.  I was worried about this until I made a call to the school and they informed me that I should receive something in July.  So I guess I will have to bug my mom every other day to see if anything has arrived. 

Other than that, the only thing I am focusing on is getting settled into the new apartment.  We get the keys on Friday so basically I am continuing to do what I did over the weekend (other than watch YouTube videos), clean up, organize, and pack.

I don't know how it go at other schools, but at the one I am attending, it crucial that you obtain you some "POOP".  Poop is basically old outlines, notes, and xams from 2Ls and 3Ls.  Particularly from individuals who took the professors that you will be taking.  This is a welcome guide to help you throughout the semester.  It helps you weed out the riff raff early on and not to be studying unnecessary things.  The only thing I recommend is to not accept anybody's poop.  PLEASE make sure that whoever poop you get, they have made a good grade.  Also never pay for this information.  There are some decent individuals out there who are willing to help you, all you need to do in return is to PAY IT FORWARD.

I haven't took a look at them yet, I am staying true to my word.....I am not doing anything (other than enjoying my last days of freedom---as I call it) until the first Monday in August.  There is really no need. 

Lastly, I am going to start working out again.  Get back into the habit of it.  They say 15 days straight of anything becomes a habit.  So this weekend I will go to the park and have a walk and the next 14 days do the same thing.  Slowly incorporate some healthy eating into my life.  Now the only thing I need to figure out is how am I going to figure out my workout schedule once school starts.  Should I work out early in the morning (5:30am)? I am thinking my schedule will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, so should I just work out Thursday-Sunday?  Still trying to figure that out..... 

What do you guys suggest? 

The Week "END" Review! 7-11-10

This week has been interesting... More of a roller coaster ride to be exact.

I learned that the job I was offered is no longer available (well it is no longer available to me!). I was really not given an explanation other than to call HR. This is after the FACT that I was offered the job, took and pass the drug test, criminal background check, AND lie detector exam. Most importantly this was AFTER they told me that I needed to register my car in Louisiana before the week was over (this was on a Monday and had to have it done by that Friday). So here I am trying to come up with $800.00 to register the car, get my Louisiana license back, and to get a Louisiana insurance policy. After all this you tell me, "I am sorry, but the job offer is no longer available to you." WHAT????!!!! Thank goodness I was smart enough to stay at my current job until I was given my start date.

After the anger went away, I started to think that maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe I am right where I am suppose to be. It may not pay well, but other things outweigh that significantly. I can and am making great connections with people in the legal community and I am gaining tons of real life courtroom experience that I would never receive from sitting in a classroom. Basically I am walking in faith because it is obvious that this is where God wants me to be right now and who am I go against that?

In other (good) news......

I will officially be moving closer to work and school Friday!!! I am becoming roommates with one of my closet friends (she has been on this journey with me and been one of my biggest supporters). To say I am excited is an understatement:

1. I will literally be TEN MINUTES (at the most) away from work!!! It has been taking me 2 hours to get to work and at least 1 1/2 hours to get home.
2. 15 minutes from school.
3. No more country life!!!! I will be living in the capital city downtown in the heart of everything!!!

Lastly, I basically spent the weekend packing and being up under my mom.  I had not lived with her since I was 17 and went off to college.  So here I am after 10 years moving back in with my mom, this was a major adjustment for us to say the least.  LOL!!!!  Nevertheless a great one, I would not trade it for the world, but its time for me to go.  SEE YA LATER!!!!

Retrospective - LSAT (Part 2)

Last week in Part One of my "Retrospective - LSAT" story, I gave you guys the beginning of the journey and how the complicated relationship I had with the LSAT exam started.

Soooo.......

After meeting with my department head and getting the encouragement to give law school one more try, I started the necessary steps needed to take the LSAT.  

Now finding a prep course was the tricky part.  I didn't go the normal route (Kaplan and Princeton Review) because I known several individuals who used them and did not get the results they desired (whose fault that is, I don't know).  After looking around and doing research, I found courses being taught at Emory and Georgia State.  They both were being taught by the same individual!!  After I goggled him, I decided that he was the one I wanted to go with.  I picked a class section, paid for it, submitted my reimbursement sheet to HR, and waited for the class to start.

Two months later......  Classes begun.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays I was going to Georgia State University for my LSAT prep course.  THANK GOD I went with this prep course.  The teacher was funny and very much down to earth and really took the time to help everyone learn the tricks and the trade behind the LSAT.  It was him that inform me that there was no such thing as "studying" for the LSAT, instead we need to start "practicing" it.  Going to class was wonderful!  I loved parking in the parking garage near the school (because I stop parking where they told us - it was too expensive) and walking towards the school.  I started picturing myself actually being in school coming there for my classes.  I was really speaking it into existence!!!!

Being in class was great, it was trying to "practice" outside class that was the kicker....  For some reason I could not get it together to pick up any of the LSAT material outside of the class setting.  It was NOT for the lack of trying.  I definitely tried, but something was mentally holding me back.  I started to feel a lot of pressure to make sure that I do well on the exam.  To many people from my job knew what I was doing  and I kept thinking that if I mess this up, everybody is going to know and I will fall right into the hands of some of the individuals I work with (some were actually wanting me to fail).  I am really hard on myself and nothing I was doing was enough.  Studying.....I mean practicing for this exam really had my head gone.  I would basically get up on Saturdays, drive to the library (had too many distractions at home), find an area and get comfortable, open up the book, and basically break down.  Random people coming to my cube asking is everything is okay, and honestly I didn't know if everything was okay.  I could not for the life of me understand what was going on. 

So as I sit at the library (or coffee shop or bookstore), trying my damnest to hide that fact that I am having a mental break down in public, I am thinking to myself, "What the hell is going on?"   I decided that it was time to see someone. 

I found a therapist and after several sessions, we (okay she) came to the conclusion that I was not afraid of failure, but afraid of success.  She found that I knew that I was a brilliant individual and could do anything I want if I put my mind to it, but if putting my mind towards something is going to take me outside of my comfort zone, I am (and will and have) going to self sabotage myself!!!  DING DING DING!!!

This is EXACTLY what I did in law school!!!

So after several assignments given by her for me to do, I became comfortable embracing actually doing the things I want to do in life.   After getting to the real reason for why I could not pick up the LSAT book outside of the classroom, practicing for the LSAT got a little easier to do. I actually started understanding what I was doing. 

Some may say, "Wow you went through all that just with the test!  What is wrong with you?"  It was not about the test, I was basically doing the same thing I did in law school six years ago.  I needed to go through that journey so that I could get the help I needed so that when I start law school in less than 40 days, I will not get another letter in January saying that I have flunked out!!!

Retrospective - LSAT (Part 1)

Last year this time I had just took the LSAT and was waiting for the results!! 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!!!!

My history with the LSAT is a long and complicated relationship.  Some people like to say that they had a love/hate relationship with it.  Not me, I have a hate/hate relationship with the sucka!!

Back when I was a junior in college (2002/2003) and decided that law school was the next step in my quest for world domination (okay maybe that was too much LOL), I headed to the Internet to see what steps I needed to take in order to attend law school.  I obtain this wonderful timeline (which is a great thing for planners) and one of the first items was this thing called "Law School Admissions Test".  So me being the nerd that I am, I read up on EVERYTHING LSAT and headed to the book store to obtain a LSAT study book. 

In January 2003, I went to the LSAC website and registered for the June 2003 exam.  When did I decide to study for this exam?  TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE EXAM!!!!  I didn't know this back then, but there is NO SUCH THING as studying for this exam.  Nevertheless I aced it!!  Well...... not necessarily aced it, but I did receive the highest score out of all of the people who I went to college with.  If you know what  I made, I don't know what that says about my college and/or the people that go to it.  LOL!!

Sooooo five years later in 2008, I decided that I am really serious about going back to law school.  I did my due diligence and found out that I needed to take the exam again.  Once again I registered for the exam and once again I did NOTHING to prepare myself.  I convinced myself that I was ready to ace this exam.

I was like, "Hey!  I didn't prepare myself last time and I did okay, I should be okay this time. Right?"

No.  I did horrible,  actually the worst you can do, I did THAT...... I was so ashamed of myself and was actually convincing myself that it was time to give up this law school dream and move on to something else.

In the beginning of 2009, I was having my "annual work evaluation" meeting, and the new person over my department wanted to know a little about me.  After the obvious things (family, college, hobbies), we went on to discuss my short attendance in law school.  I went on to give her the scripted version (I had a lot things going on at the time and I decided to just sit out for awhile), but for some reason she could sense the bulls**t.  Without saying that I was a liar, she made me comfortable enough with her that for the first time I was honest and could actually say it out loud, "I flunked out of law school".

Then she said something that just clicked, but for some reason, I cannot remember the exact quote, LOL!!  All I can say is that after that meeting I came out with a new mind frame! Especially since she offered to pay (well have the company pay) for me to take the exam AGAIN and to pay for a prep course.  I never had someone (outside of family and friends) have such confidence in me.

Now this is when my journey REALLY BEGAN....

STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO!!!!

Summer before school starts - What shall I do???

With summer officially starting tomorrow and less than 60 days until school starts (56 to be exact), I feel I have so much to do!!

• I need to sit down and establish a concrete budget and stick to it.

• Get adjusted to the new job I will start some time this month or at the beginning of July.

• Establishing a better work wardrobe.

• Move in with my friend (driving at least a hour to and from work is not gonna cut it once school starts). 

• Go through the material I have obtain from students who graduated from the law school I am attending.

• Start waking up at 5am (between working and school, I am going to need the time in the morning) – Just Monday-Thursday.

• Buy a laptop.

• Go school supply shopping (I am TOO crunk about this – yes I am a nerd! LOL)

• Rest…

• Work on my Television addiction.

• Establish an exercise routine.
• Go visit the rest of my friends/sorors.
• Get Organized.
• MOST IMPORTANT: Get myself mentally prepared to handle working and the large course load.

I know that there is no “perfect” way to prepare for law school, but I just want to make sure that I have every “i” dotted and every “t’ crossed. This is my “second time around” and I am really trying NOT to make the same mistakes twice. It is one thing to enter into your first year blind and not knowing what to expect, but I know what to expect!!! I know exactly the magnitude of this journey I am about to embark on. The question is, I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.

For starters, I am wondering…..
• If I should start working on my flashcards for criminal law.
• Obtain horn books/nutshells to read casually over the summer.
• Work on my briefing.
I am not trying to teach myself law or anything like that, but at least I can have a “broad” overview of what I will be studying.

Soooo….. This is what I will be doing this summer along with a TON OF PLEASURE READING. Feel free to check out my other blog about my love of everything books and reading!! http://www.booksnobwannabe.blogspot.com/