It's the weekend at last. I managed to survive the first week of 1L, complete with my debut in Contracts. I figure I've earned the right to blow off a little steam. Actually, the relazation began last night, since I'd already finished the reading assignments for today's classes. First was free food at the Graduate Student Picnic. The lines were rather long, but the food was good. And free (that part bears repeating). Then a bunch of 1Ls decided to head downtown to Corby's. For the uninitiated, Corby's is considered by many to be the best bar in town. It has a nice atmosphere, and there's a patio around the back. I gather it's the law student bar of choice, although there are a few other hotspots as well. I'll write more about those fine establishments after I've personally visited them. Corby's also has the distinction of appearing in the movie Rudy. A good time seemed to be had by all. Some of my fellow classmates couldn't help but talk about some of the cases we'd all been reading, verifying the conventional wisdom that that's all law students seem to talk about. I also got to meet (or in some cases, re-meet) more of my fellow comrades in arms. I didn't stay out too late, since I did have classes today. And I knew that I'd be on the interrogation block for Contracts once again.

Classes went smoothly today. Torts actually finishes early on Fridays, which is a big plus. And after poking around with some of next week's reading, I decided to treat myself to a movie. Now what does one watch after an intensive week of studying law? I wanted a movie which would require no thinking whatsoever. Something with action, a touch of sci-fi, and what by anyone's standards would be considered a terrible movie. I wanted something where monsters (read guys in big rubber suits) would fight to the death, destroying hapless human bystanders and anything else that got in their way. Alas, Godzilla vs. Mothra was not playing. Instead, I opted for Alien Vs. Predator (aka AVP). As I already mentioned, this is not the world's greatest movie by a long shot. But it's also not the worst by a long shot. Taken for what it is, it was decent. It could have been better, but it could also have been a whole lot worse. For me, it was the perfect way to simply vege out and enjoy a guilty pleasure watching a movie that few people I know would ever want to see. I'll save the finer cinematic experiences for another day, perhaps when others may care to tag along.

After putting in a few hours of reading in the library, I headed to the day's opener, Contracts. The reading assignment was fairly light and straightforward, but I brushed up on it this morning as has become my modus operandi thus far. Rougeau spent most of the class talking about the interaction of doctrine, facts, and theory. Then it was time to discuss the first case.

"Well, I'm sorry about this, but every class has to have a first victim."

In the moment Professor Rougeau took to contemplate the class list, I, along with the rest of the class, started calculating. There's a 1 in 90 chance that I'll be called on... "Alex... Ho?" As my heartrate doubled, 89 other people let out a collective sigh of relief. Yep, that's right, yours truly was selected to throw the opening pitch. It seems only fitting that I'm the first to be called on in Contracts. The main character in The Paper Chase was the sacrificial lamb in Contracts, and Scott Turow focused much of his book's attention to his Contracts class. And despite being prepared, and knowing I was prepared, nervousness crept over me.

Fortunately, I was prepared and it was a straightforward case: a guy suing a doctor for an apparently unsuccessful vasectomy - his wife had a child about a year and a half after the operation. I recited the facts without difficulty, and even got a few laughs when I remarked that it was only assumed that the plaintiff was the father and not say, the milkman.

I think it's only natural to be somewhat intimidated the fist time Socrates decides to interrogate you, and even moreso if you're the first lottery winner of the course. But I survived. It feels good to have it behind me, though I'm not out of the woods yet - we didn't finish the case, and the prof assured me that we'd be hearing more from me- "Mr. Ho" still sounds strange to me - on Friday. Still, knowing that I'll be discussing the case further doesn't bother me. At least I know it's coming and I'll be even more prepared for round two. The most interesting aspect of the whole experience actually came after class, when several of my fellow classmates came up to me to congratulate me on my performance and talk about the peculiarity of the process that stirkes fear into the heart of nearly every 1L. I have to say, however, that the profs are not the sadistic nightmares so frequently depicted.

A few other things happened today, but those experiences pale in comparison to the above story. But I do want to give a shout out to Bradley, who decided to create his own webpage today. Brad, you'll get a cool picture link of your own if you keep up the good work.

Up next was Civil Procedure. Professor Bauer had initially believed that the class started at 11 instead of 10, which resulted in him arriving between 15 and 20 minutes late. Some students spent the interim debating how many grace minutes a law prof merits before the class is permitted to leave. To me, the incident seemed to support the theory that true lawyers are always running a little late. This happened time and time again at the courthouse this summer. And as many of my fellow mock trialers can tell you, metal detectors area great way to ensure you'll be running behind.

And then it was time for Criminal Law taught by Professor Dutile, aka the Smiling Assassin (not to be confused with this poorly reviewed but very entertaining movie). I liked the guy - he's funny and quite entertaining. He even offered a few quotable quips:

"If you asked me for the definition of larceny in Iowa, I haven't the faintest idea. I don't even know if there's a larceny statute in Iowa. I just recently learned that there is an Iowa."
(Regarding the non-necessity of memorizing specific criminal laws)

"How much are books running you these days?"
"Around $90."
"Wow, that's approaching faculty salary."

But this is the reason he's known as the Smiling Assassin - you think everything's fine until you see his exam. Hopefully I'll manage to keep my wits about me and won't end up another one of his marks.

Despite being busy with law school, I have been trying to keep up with certain news stories. Iraq's soccer team lost to Paraguay today, thereby ending their improbable run for the gold medal. Controversy is still swirling around Paul Hamm. I feel really sorry for this guy. Not because of the whole medal controversy thing, although that does suck. But what I really sympathize with Paul about is how every journalist feels obliged to fit a clever pun into their headline. As someone's who has experienced a measure of shameless jokes at my last name's expense, I can relate.

I'm happy to report that I've survived my first day of law school. And it wasn't even close the horrifying, life-scarring experience depicted in Scott Turow's One L or the movie The Paper Chase (not that I was really expecting that). In addition, no pacing was necessary today.

I had three classes today: Contracts, Torts, and Legal Research. The first two courses saw me surrounded by 89 of my fellow classmates; LegRes had about half that number. My class seemed fairly calm for Contracts, especially considering it was our first law school class ever. This probably was the result of our professor not assigning reading for the first class, which meant no one had to worry about being called on and being socratically humiliated in public. Professor Rougeau devoted the class to distributing and reviewing the syllabus, talking about law school in general, and making a few remarks about the world of contracts. And like that, the first class was over.

There's a sizeable break between my Contracts and Torts classes, and I used that time to pick up my parking pass and brush up on the Torts readings. This preventative measure ensured that I would not be called on today, much like carrying an umbrella tends to ward off rain. I found Professor Tidmarsh to be instantly likeable; he wore an outrageous tie to class and started class by telling us about a wonderful new product he'd designed over the summer: it had the potential to improve the lives of billions, but might kill a few people. Like 20,000 or so. Those lucky few who were called on today seemed well prepared, although it didn't appear that our professor had any intention of actually victimizing anyone. I had to resist the urge to volunteer when I felt I could improve upon the answer offered in class; I don't want to be that guy. I know my debut will come soon enough and I'd rather not tempt the wrath from high atop the thing with any hubris.

LegRes was up last, and while the prof wasn't nearly as entertaining, the material presented proved very helpful for my Legal Writing assignment due tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, that's when I'll get my first look at the second half of my schedule and their respective profs - including the infamous Smiling Assassin. Hopefully none of them will have the disposition of Professor Snape.

The weather remains wonderful, and I'm enjoying the walk to and from the law building. Walking has often helped me sort through ideas and clear my mind. Some of my best and most creative (some might say insane) mock trial ideas often came while walking. Maybe it'll be the same with law school.

It's been a full day of orientation events. It was a gorgeous day- low to mid 70s, a cool breeze, blue skies, and plenty of sunshine. I tried to enjoy the beautiful weather as much as I could, since I know the South Bend winters will be upon me before I know it.

We started with breakfast, then listened to a few nominal speakers who introduced themselves but had little of substance to say. Next we split into smaller groups for tours and the "field trip" to the bookstore to buy books. There are no used textbooks to be had, so all our materials are brand new. This wasn't your typical book-buying experience. Everyone assembled behind a window/information desk and one by one handed our schedule to the students behind the counter. They shout out names of classes and professors to more students in the back who proceed to fill a large mesh bag (think laundry bags the size of large department store bags) with all the books you'll be using over the coming semester. While you wait, the two 2L tour guides look over your schedule and offer a few tidbits about your professors. My Crim Law prof, I learned, has been nicknamed "The Smiling Assassin." Great. Now that we have a few metric tons of books, we have to haul them to the registers to see what the damage is. My tab came to the eye-popping total of $553.32, but I hear others fared worse.

After commiserating with each other over how poor we'd all just become, it was back to the law school. We were assigned lockers (yay, middle school all over again) and mailboxes. Then we met the WestLaw and LexisNexis reps who gave us our IDs for the respective services and some free stuff. Then they fed us again, this time pizza.

After lunch I headed back to my apartment (graduate housing is a bit more precise, but I still think of it as an apartment). I registered with WestLaw and LexisNexis, then decided to crack open one of my new textbooks and take a look at the reading assignment for the first day.

"A man brought a writ of Trespass quare vi et armis clausum fregit, etc. et herbam suam pedibus conculcando consumpsit..."

Yes, this is why a ten page reading assignment may take hours.

So after reading seven different guys' take on the legality of trimming your thornbush then trampling your neighbor's property to clean up the mess, all drifting in and out of Latin, it was about time to head back to the law school for further orientation.

At six this evening was the first law school mass. This was an interesting experience. Though baptised Catholic, I don't know too much about the religion. My most recent and relevant exposure to this sort of thing came just under two years ago at Mike's wedding. This may seem sacrilegious, but the whole thing felt kind of cult-ish. The way the congregation repeats back what the priest says, and the ritualized practices... it made me feel a little weird.

After this attempted indoctrination came more free food. I packed away some slices of a Subway party sub and some chips, engaged in some more requisite shmoozing and hobknobbing, then decided to call it a day.

Tomorrow is the last day before classes begin, and there's not much planned. It'll be a chance to get some more of next week's reading assignments done and enjoy the last vestiges of relaxation before things start in earnest. As Derek would remark, it's Go Time.

Afterwards we drove downtown for a reception. The festivities were held at the Northern Indiana Center for History, and we were supposed to be enjoying the gardens there. But the weather seemed to have other ideas and instead we crammed the hallways. Despite a high noise level (at times it became difficult to hear what the person next to you was saying) and an utter lack of elbow room, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The buffet of hors d'oeurves and two complimentary tickets for glasses of boxed wine mght have facilitated better moods.

In all, todays activities have been enjoyable. It's a little overwhelming trying to meet and remember so many people, but at least we're all pretty much in the same boat. At this point I'm extremely excited and a bit nervous. But at least I'm finally getting started.