Wednesday, January 14, 2009

5:40am: I actually get up after the first snooze session, mostly because Sarah is staying with us for a few days and, as the only “man” in the house, I need to get out of our one bathroom before anyone else gets up. The Santa Ana winds are still blowing strong & starting to annoy me.

7:15am: I am in the commons with my weekly men’s group called eNgage. Our fearless leader, Jer, is finishing up his discussion of “vision.” Jer is a good guy to put this much effort into leading this group in addition to being a 1L.

10:05am: I realize I will survive Torts without being called on today. Dean Gash is a straightforward teacher just like everyone told us he would be – we will definitely know what he wants us to know. Today we know a lot about trespass to chattels, conversion, and trespass to land. Believe it or not, this is interesting.

11:30am: The maintenance guy knocks on the door of our apartment; he is here to snake out our kitchen drain. I, on the other hand, am trying to do my readings on “pleadings” for Legal Research & Writing with some peace and quiet. He is very respectful and as quiet as he can be, but he makes it stink to high heavens in here. I add to my wish to study in peace and quiet the wish to study without the smell of sewage.

12:15pm: I take the trash out since my maintenance friend left his stinky rubber gloves in it. I notice the winds have died down. I also notice that the sky is a brilliant blue, the sun is bright, the temperature is probably upper 70s, the mountains look spectacular, and the world is perfect. Today is a day to envy Malibu for those scoring at home.

2:00pm: Professor Nelson delivers his quote of the day: “Life is an adhesion contract.”

4:45pm: Read the shortest case ever (in my Crim Law casebook) – a case about an Alabama man convicted of public drunkenness even though the “public” part of his drunkenness came after police arrested him at his house and had taken him out on the highway (overturned on appeal). The case is there to show that a “voluntary” act is a necessary element of “actus reus” (the first necessary element of a crime). My journal entry is almost longer than the entire case.

6:30pm: Jody fixes yummy individual pizzas for supper, and since my whole digestive tract is goofy any more, she uses alfredo sauce on mine instead of pizza sauce. This makes it extra yummy.

7:15pm: I sit in the farthest corner of the room at our Bible Study at the Perrins, sorta hoping I don’t have to do anything special. But Aaron comes back and asks me to take prayer requests and lead the prayer. I remember that this is an honor and not something to be avoided. I am proud to do it.

9:00pm: I am back on the third floor of the law library reading a case where a man stabbed his son in the chest and killed him. The question was whether he didn’t remember it because he was too drunk or because he was trained in jungle warfare in the army and just responded automatically. Either way, it sucks for just about everyone.