Three things I did this Weekend (1/12/2015)

Three things I did this Weekend (1/12)

This weekend kicked off the start to a new semester of law school. So, unfortunately, the bulk of my weekend was spent studying.

Studying

Not a lot of fun, but necessary! I have five classes for the first six weeks of the semester: Civil Procedure 2, Property 2, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, and an environmental law seminar. I calculated approximately 200 pages of reading for this first week of school to start of the new semester. Unlike ungrad, we do not spend the first class getting to know each other, talking about a syllabus, or otherwise wasting time we jump right in and attack what lies ahead. I spent my weekend reading, throughout most of the weekend.

Car Washing

As crazy as it sounds I washed cars this weekend on Saturday afternoon. Every weekend I have chores and obligations in addition to the fun family things we set out to do. Many years ago when I was first divorced I struggled with the dichotomy between being a “Disneyland Dad” and a real father. I was counseled to do the things with my kids we would if Mom and Dad were still married. The reason being is my kids still have to learn how to survive and mature and they will learn from those things families do: cooking, cleaning, laundry, and even eating together. Washing three out of four cars was accomplished by my son Jack and me. We spent time together. Sure, we were working, but we were spending time together. I had left my books on the table and he left video games behind in his room. Ty came outside and rode his little car all over the driveway. Fun and laughter ensued, combined with hard work and a sense of accomplishment.  Watch a great video of us here.

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Grades

Finally, I got my grades for the Fall semester 2014. Why is this part of what I did this weekend? Because I was stunned and it set the tone for my outlook on the whole weekend. I had received a Constitution Law Grade on December 30. Realize, we took finals the first week of December so four weeks had passed. Still unknown were Property and Civil Procedure. I felt I had done well in those two classes and predicted a B+ or better. For Con Law I was convinced it was the worst essay I had written in law school and would not have been surprised if I received a C+ or B-.

Surprisingly, Con Law (a four credit class) came in as an A-. Not just an A-, but there were two A’s, three A-s and grades among the 77 students in the class went down from there. In addition, I scored an A in both Civ Pro and Property bringing my GPA for the semester to a 3.88 and my over all GPA up from a 3.64 to a 3.73.

A subsequent blog will discuss how we make our own world and with law school I have truly managed to make success. Last semester I did not study nearly as much and worked to make sure family came first on the weekends. To do well at the same time was a huge and it getting my grades was part of what I did this weekend.