Law School Rants and Raves

Posted: September 2, 2009 | Author: Jarom | Filed under: Law School, War and Peace | 1 Comment

Now that I am a seasoned veteran of law school vet of two weeks, I have very strong opinions about the BYU law school. So here it goes.

RAVE

I figured it is best to start with the positive right? I love my classes. Yes, there is a lot of work. Yes, there is a lot of reading, but I really enjoy the way that the teachers go over the material. Most professors at the law school teach by what has been deemed “the Socratic method” (though as one professor claims, “Socrates would never know it.”). The basic idea is that a student is singled out, and they are then asked a series of question which delve deeper and eeper into the theories behind the case that was studied the night before (sometimes the hour before). I really have enjoyed this type of learning, because it allows you to explore the concepts right there in the classroom, while interacting the professors.

That leads to the second reason I have enjoyed law school so far. The professors seem genuinely interested in us as students. There is almost a sense of camaraderie, as if the professors see us as potential equals. It is a rewarding experience to feel that you are valued by your superiors.

RANT

WHERE IS MY FINANCIAL AID? I have tuition that is due, rent to pay, etc. I applied for financial aid almost 4 months ago, and I have yet to hear a peep from the BYU administration beyond my estimate loan allowance. It is almost the exact opposite of the experience I have at the law school. I feel like there is no respect, and I am talked down to by the people I have spoken to at the financial aid office. Yes, I understand that they have a lot of people who call in quite upset about not having any of their aid doled out yet, but when the office sends an email saying “pay your tuition or else we will cancel all of your classes and redact your admission” people tend to get angry (especially when we are waiting for YOU, financial aid office).

Take deep breaths

Posted: September 1, 2009 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace | 6 Comments

I was fuming earlier. I’d say that I have a reasonable temper, and although I do have my occasional rants at the Romgi (all of which I blame on hormones), I don’t think I get angry very often.

But tonight I was livid. Furious. You get the picture.

The problem was that we did not get our pictures. I had scheduled a photographer for yesterday, but two hours before our session she cancelled. She said the weather was turning bad (I suppose she meant the dust we’d had all day), she had a migraine, and her babysitter cancelled. I was put out because the Romgi had already come home early to eat dinner and get ready. But we rescheduled for tonight.

I checked my email moments before leaving, just in case she had written – nothing. So I jotted down her phone number and we took off for American Fork.

The place she’d chosen was really fun. It was the Harrington School, a 1903 Victorian Romanesque building that has been abandoned and fallen into disarray. It was exactly what I wanted.

Unfortunately, after half an hour, the photographer still wasn’t there. I tried calling…wrong number. I double-checked what I had written down. I was dialing correctly, but it definitely wasn’t her number. We gave up and got in the car to go home. At that point Krista went above and beyond in looking up the photographer’s number; all I got was a voicemail, and I didn’t trust myself to leave a nice message.

So, two hours of preparation, driving, and waiting down the drain, I begged for ice cream. The place we went had wireless, and I checked my email again, this time receiving a message (from half an hour before our session) saying that the photographer’s babysitter cancelled again, could we reschedule?

Gaaa. This is so frustrating! I very politely declined to reschedule. I understand that unexpected things happen, but after all the time we wasted… I chose this photographer because I liked her work and she was a third the cost of many other photographers in the area. I guess we’ll just have to save up until we can afford somebody more reliable.

I’ve calmed down now, but boy, was I angry!

Giveaway: Sabriel by Garth Nix {CLOSED}

Posted: September 1, 2009 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Book of Sand | 24 Comments

I am so excited to be hosting a giveaway in honor of my 500th post (technically, we’re at 475, but it’s awfully close)!

As you may have noticed, I love books. I read Sabriel this year in May and absolutely loved it – you can read my review here. Harper Collins, the publisher of Sabriel, has generously donated a copy for me to give away here on my blog. Head over to this Browse Inside page at Harper Teen where you can take a look at Sabriel, inside and out.

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me one of your favorite books. You must include a valid email address in the form.

Extra entries:

Follow me on Twitter and tweet this:
RT @mikahillery Win a copy of Sabriel by Garth Nix at fifty thousand pages http://wp.me/pb3E4-pK Then come back here and leave a comment with a permalink to your tweet. This can be done once daily.
Visit the Harper Teen site and leave a comment here with the title and author of a book that looks interesting to you. This can be done as many times as you like.
Blog about this giveaway and leave 2 comments with a link to your post.
Subscribe to my RSS feed and leave a comment letting me know that you’ve done so.

You can enter until 12pm PDT on September 16, 2009. A winner will be drawn using random.org and announced here on September 17, as well as contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be drawn.

Good luck! And happy (almost) 500 posts to me!