The Strangest Thing...

Being a second year law student brings with it a series of interesting quirks that had not presented themselves throughout my education until now. For example, for the first time in my life a good portion of my fellow students are wearing suits on a regular basis. It's not that the feeling of young people in suits is foreign to me, I have been to too many mock trial tournaments for that, what is strange is that while they are dressed to the nines I am wearing flip-flops and shorts. Another strange thing is that I am finally starting to look at people with "real jobs" as peers rather than as symbols of dreaded adulthood. These parts about the second year are strange but not the weirdest things I've noticed in the few short weeks since becoming a 2L.

The strangest thing about being a second year law student is that, for the first time ever a significant number of people in the grade below me are older than me. There are some first years who are well into their 50's or 60's struggling with the concepts of contract law the same way I did as a brash young newcomer straight out of college. While it is somewhat strange to see someone filling out their AARP application in torts what is even stranger is the people in the grades below me that I know from life before law school.

For example, I have one friend who was 2 years ahead of me graduating from the same high school who has now just started his first year as a law student here. This was a little strange but I got kind of a kick out of it. Trying to show him the ins and outs before he even started class was fun and I felt good about myself. That situation was one thing, the one I encountered this afternoon was completely different.

I had just gotten done swimming at the YMCA and I was walking into the library when I saw a face that was familiar. After closer inspection I found out that I wasn't merely hallucinating from the fatigue of swimming, I did know this person from a prior life. This guy, Andrew B. had gone to both my high school and grade school, riding my bus in grade school. When I was in third grade, relegated to the front of the bus with all the other uncool kids he was a suave and debonair 8th grader. Now that I am the older kid, my head is reeling from the role reversal.

I wonder who else I will meet in the 1L class...

Quiz Show

It has been a while since I posted here in large part because school has started back up and once again my life is consumed in various legal doctrine. Although school keeps me busy with work most of the time I still try to find time for a little bit of fun. While most would take a break from intense thought and focus on school by doing something that takes as little mental energy as possible I figured it would be best to find a way to keep my brain active. Thus I am now a regular at a quiz night.

My friend Phelps introduced me to his regular gig, Thursday nights at the TGI Fridays in St. Louis Park (a Minneapolis suburb.) Don't let the location fool you the competition I am up against are far from a group of slack jawed yockals. The trivia, split up into 4 rounds of 12 questions each tests my pop culture knowledge like it has never been tested before. Usually if you miss 4 questions you are out of the running for the top 3. This is where my misspent youth in front of a television becomes beneficial. I am pretty good, but unfortunately not good enough to get our team over the hump and into the winners circle (the best we have ever done is third.)

Here are a few examples of the questions they ask:

1) In the TV show Smallville Clark Kent's father is played by the actor Jonathan Schneider, name the character Schneider played on the TV show The Dukes of Hazard.

2) Name the star of Valley of the Dolls who was murdered by Charles Manson and his followers

3) What was the last name of the principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

if you know the answers to all of these questions you might be a good addition to the 1.21 Giggawatts (our team name.) Please fill out an application and have it on my desk first thing in the morning.