First day…sort of
Today was my first day of law school…officially…sort of. From today through next Wednesday I have Intro to Legal Skills from 9-11 and 1-3 each day.
I decided to try the bus, which is my intended mode of transportation to campus. It worked very well. It takes about 900 steps to get to the stop from here (yes, I counted) and the bus stops downtown about the same distance from school (uphill, though, when arriving). The total time on the bus was 20 minutes headed to school and about 25 returning (more stops). Yes, one bus, luckily. And there is one that heads for home 11 minutes after class lets out, so I don’t have to wait around for it.
I can read on the bus, but I wonder how anyone larger than I am fits in the seats! I can just get my legs in, pressed up against the seat in front of mine. Still, it’s cost effective. I bought a student monthly pass for September for $51.20 (too late to get an August pass). As it costs about $45 to fill my tank these days, plus the hassle of finding parking and/or paying to park, that’s a deal.
The class itself (it’s one class but split in two sessions) is, so far, pretty redundant from the Summer Enrichment class I took. I take that as a good thing, though–I’m better prepared than those students who didn’t take the summer class. I already know how to brief and what the tests will be like. I also already have a basic understanding of defamation and some other issues like the death penalty and birth-related issues (abortion rights, etc.).
In the afternoon part of the class, we’re going to be discussing adverse possession. By focusing on that one topic, we students will get to understand how a class works, why we read the cases as we do, what the discussion is like, how to brief and outline, and what an exam is like–all things I’ve already done. In the morning part, we’re going to write and critique each other’s writing. I had to take a grammar diagnostic test (online) and today we produced writing samples for the teacher to evaluate. Unfortunately, because she went over in her lecture, we had about half the time we should have had to write the sample.
I think the writing part will be rather boring for me, but I’m glad they are doing it anyway. I’ve already read some classmates’ emails and there are often significant grammar and spelling faults. I think that most students don’t get much grammar in school anymore, so this brief workshop-like class will help.
So, it’s Friday and I’m looking forward to the weekend. Tomorrow there is a Welcome New Students picnic thrown by the school (free food!) at Mission Bay, then Christopher and I are going to go to San Diego Bay and look at the tall ships in port for a weekend festival. Sunday I will be doing my homework and trying to prep for the week ahead.
I’ve already done part of my reading, though…on the bus. 