Email excerpt: Buhay Law school

this is an email excerpt i wrote when i was a law school freshman:

sa law school...

college is nothing compared sa law school. exaggeration man pero true to a certain extent, law school is 10 times harder than college. its a mistake to think that its just another four years of studying... its more of 4 years of training for a profession and mas makakatulong to think that we are already working, workers under training, and that part of the work is reading a lot of reading materials and acting like lawyers during recitations and the professors are the judges we have to convince kasi we are graded on how well we argue our case or the question asked

sa klase ng effort and demand na hinihingi ng law school, kung i-apply natin nung college, sure ko, A students tayo. probably anyone who survived a sem in law school pag bumalik sa college will find it impossible to fail, if not get a very high grade, pag in-apply yung same effort or same work ethic and habits... pero do it the other way around, apply the study habits nung college, one is bound to fail law school...

law school made me do things that i never did in college, like really read a lot, really study a lot and recite... on a daily basis! every prof yata sa law school is a terror prof compared sa college professors, or yung mga terror nung college will look really nice compared sa law school professors

in law school, one needs to love the law, kasi if you don't it will be very hard to survive.. part of loving the law is devoting every waking moment studying, it becomes the air you breath, it is what you eat and digest and it may also become the content of one's dreams at night. the law becomes a 7/11, kung saan we are employees in it who never stop working tipong sobrang immersed sa law na it becomes our life and only time that we get to interact with people outside is when people come along, siyempre exag pero most of the time ganito law school life

law school is expensive. aside from the tuition, may stacks of readings pa, enough to make owners of photocopying shops to have a stable supply of customers, baka nga mas magsurvive pa sila pag nagkaroon ng economic crisis sa dami ng kailangan ipa-photocopy. meron pang law books, yung mga codes, yung consti na sobrang expensive na minsan napapaisip ako na maging professor na lang kaya ako sa college of law tapos
maging author ng book? yun ay pag di ako pumasa sa bar... pwede kaya yun?

estimation of how many readings: half a sem in law school's readings is equivalent to two full sems of readings in college... syet, kaya palang basahin sa kalahating sem ang isang buong school year sa college.. so does this mean sa finals, equivalent sa two years in college yung coverage?

law school life is boring and monotonous, every day is the same thing, read and recite, read a lot and recite well. that is basically most of it.. and its boring kasi one's social life may be lost, again, because of the devotion needed. another reason for the boring nature is well, kayo-kayong magkakaklase lang ang makakarelate sa pinag-uusapan nyo and malamang the main thing that you are going to talk about is the law since it is the only thing that you've thought about all day. kung may mukha lang ang law, malamang yung mukha lang na yun ang laging nakikita

sa law school, some people become wordsmiths and linguists, well, not really linguists pero knowledge in spanish and understanding the latin terms is not only handy but sometimes necessary and big words and phrases during recitations are only useful if one knows how to really use it in a sentence...

sa law school, kung wala kang bisyo, there is a strong possibility na magkaroon, like smoking and drinking. mas bagay ang tomadores sa law school kasi it is something that is hard to do without, the humiliation and the bad grades, drinking as a social activity (and not just to drown ones worries) is a very good way to unwind and according to some, people who do drink and party from time to time are more likely to survive since they get to recharge themselves
sa law school, one become a strategist. tipong drop ko ba yung subject na to or alin kaya ang drop ko? basahin ko ba to or just start reviewing for the exam and sacrifice a few recits? magcut kaya ako sa minor subject para makabawi sa major subject? it all depends sa strategy some times on how to balance all of the demands sa law school and sa law school, every point sa grades counts...

sa law school, its smarter to be lucky than it is lucky to be smart..to a certain extent totoo... luck is more useful sa law school than mere knowledge, in terms of survival anyway... in terms of training, luck din na makuha yung mga prof na may matutunan ka talaga kasi may mga prof na di marunong magturo... well, call it luck or divine providence, basta outside of human capacity to control and foresee

sa law school nagkakaroon ng concrete meaning ang time is gold and time is of the essence... you can never waste time in law school, wasting it is always a risk (having time to unwind is not wasting time for it is needed to replenish much needed energy to survive in law school). good time management skills is necessary... and time flies even if you are not having fun. how? di ba ang bilis ng oras pag madaming kailangan gawin or when you have a deadline to meet? that is how time flies sa law school, so many things to do, so little time and sometimes under pressure to finish it before the class starts...cramming skills are tested to its limit sa law school, this is the best test on how good a crammer is...

sa law school, this probably applies to most if not all, even the most confident of men/women may doubt one's abilities pag tapak sa law school. the law school demands things that are almost impossible to do. almost impossible kasi... yes, it is possible to do pero its lying on the border of the impossible, kaunti na lang humanly impossible na gawin.. law school is overwhelming.. and sometimes crazy... the probability na mabaliw is higher pag pumasok sa law school and there are even horror stories on bar exams about people na nag-snap because of the extreme pressure... or maybe simple na memory loss kung saan may one bar examinee na nakalimutan na may GF pala sya, he just remembered while walking out of the exam area on the last day of the bar exams or nervous breakdown nung nakita yung bar questions...

sleepless nights, and even insomnia is common in law school. sleep becomes a luxury. to keep up with the demands, sleep needs to be sacrificed from time to time, in order to give more time to studying. to some, every waking moment is spent on studying up to the last minute before they go to sleep at night...

sa law school brain power is obviously needed, understanding and good memory are essential and soundness of mind din. dapat maging mindful sa mental health and well-being or baka matuluyan ang pagkabaliw...

aside from sleep, sa law school, love life may sometimes be sacrificed. not sure about the statistics pero most of the time, and ito din sabi nung mga law school professors, nagbe-break ang mga magGF and BF, kasi one common reason, lack of time and attention. so, there is also another saying, one is likely to find the partner within the walls of the law school, for reasons that both of you know the demands of the law school and after all those hours studying, kayo lang ang magkakaintindihan...

law school is a lovable hell for some... it is hell for obvious reasons, sobrang pahirap sa buhay pero if you love the law, you wont mind living in hell for four years...

law school life is overwhelming, stressful and demanding, pero its worth it if one really wants to be a lawyer, of course it is and it would really be a great achievement to be able to finally make it. so what one has to do, is adjust, adjust and adjust... like yung mga fresh members of the labor force na lucky enough to find a job, we have to adjust kasi law school is not just a school, as mentioned earlier, its a training for a profession... this is probably the main task of the freshman, adjust to the new environment...
 

just another school day

the days are becoming longer and the nights shorter. i wake up usually around 6am, sometimes as late as 7am or sometimes as early as 5am. point is, i have to be wherever im supposed to be by 8am.

then i get home around dinner time and sleep around midnight usually. i consider myself lucky if i get to bed as early as 10pm.

there's just a lot of stuff to do. and the bad news is, its bound to get more difficult. im still in the adjustment stage. better get used to these long hours and short rest periods. i mean, this is really what im going to face in the next few years. not that im complaining. wait, i am! well, not really. just whining. its just because im not yet used to it. but eventually, im going to get the hang of it. and once i do, things will still get more difficult. its a never-ending adjustment stage until you reach some kind of peak and there's no where else to go but down. and then its another crash and burn, nose dive in blazing glory experience.

what is an ex post facto law?

Professor and 1st year law student in class. Law student is reciting, talking about international law and Saddam Hussein when the professor decides to illustrate an ex post facto law. he asks:

Prof: "what are you wearing (looks at law student's tie). i dont like your tie!"
law student: "huh?"
Prof: "what's the color of your long sleeve?"
law student:"umm...sir, its blue".
Prof:"and your wearing that stupid tie! from now on, whenever you wear a blue long sleeve, the necktie should be red! that's the rule! and i dont want to see you wearing that stupid tie!"
law student: "huh? sir, im confused"
Prof: "i will give you a zero for wearing that stupid tie! it violates the rule i just said"
law student: "huh? sir why!"
Prof: "hah, and for being a philosopher another zero!"
law student: "sir, seriously!? sir, may i ask why?"
Prof: "you see, i am a believer in the ex post facto laws (a law that operates retroactively)"
Prof: "do you get it?"
law student:...

comic book movies

just watched the Incredible Hulk. cant decide which i liked better, Iron Man or Incredible Hulk? actually, i would like to say Iron Man but there's something lacking in Iron Man which you will get in the Incredible Hulk. what is it? a great fight scene! well, fight scenes. ive read that the Incredible Hulk would be more action-packed, holy crap! they did mean it. i was really satisfied with what they did with the fight scenes. thats what i felt was lacking in Iron Man. unfortunately, i still like Iron Man when it comes to rating the movie as a whole. but if im just going to think of great scenes, i would pick the fight scenes in the Incredible Hulk. there seems to be no particular scene that stands out from Iron Man (or im just very forgetful). my brother also said that the Incredible Hulk was too serious compared to the Iron Man. the characters rarely break an infectious smile or a really humorous joke. Iron Man does seem to have a lighter mood.

anyway, now that the 2 marvel movies have been released, i now wonder whether The Dark Knight of DC comics can match the people's expectations. i mean, Iron Man is just the first movie of probably another trilogy and people dont have high expectations yet. i think people were just expecting to get whats been promoted. as for the Incredible Hulk, not much expectations here also, maybe lower expectations even compared to Iron Man since the The Hulk didnt do very well. point is, im expecting much more from the Dark Knight, with all their virals and months of promotion. it doesnt look like it would be a disappointment but im hoping it would be as good, if not much better, than Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. not that im a DC fan. im really a Marvel comics fan but there's only one character from DC comics i like, and obviously, its the Batman. and as for the blog entry below, the name superman is really used in its generic sense and probably a slight reference to the DC character. well, thats how i see it. i mean, anyone can be a superman in the generic sense but only Clark Kent can be Superman.

Superman

having 20 units (inclusive of OLA), i think this will be my theme song for this semester:

Superman by Goldfinger

So here I am
doing everything I can
holding on to what I am
pretending I'm a superman
I'm trying to keep
the ground on my feet
it seems the world's
falling down around me
the nights are all long
I'm singing this song
to try and make the answers
more than maybe

and I'm so confused
about what to do
sometimes I want
to throw it all away

so here I am
looking older all the time
growing older all the time
feeling younger in my mind

I'm trying to sleep
I lost count of the sheep
my mind is racing faster
every minute
what could I do more
yeah I'm really not sure
I know I'm running circles
but I can't quit

and I'm so confused
about what to do
sometimes I want to
throw it all away
controlling everything in site


I'm feeling weak
I don't feel right
you're telling me
I have to change
telling me to act my age
but if all that I can do
is just sit and watch time go
then I'll have to say good bye
life's too short to watch it fly
watch it fly

quotes

I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger - the joker

I lived believing my shortcomings were just amusing distractions! That my failings would build character! And in return...After all those losses and mistakes, I would be granted one great, final adventure - jiraiya

In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying. - shikamaru nara

knowledge and experience are ambiguous, thus reality can become illusion. Is it not possible to think that, all human beings are living in their assumptions? - itachi uchiha

the problem is, im too old to be acting like a kid - shikamaru nara

id always brush responsibility off as troublesome. thats why i messed up so often - shikamaru nara

i regret to inform you that i have no regrets

my life is filled with regret. but i dont let it affect me. as i always say to myself, "no regrets". thats why i just keep moving forward. no matter how many regrettable things ive done, i easily ignore it and never let the feeling of regret get to me. the problem with this attitude is that, well, in my case, i just keep moving forward even if i keep making wrong turns or wrong decisions. ive made so many wrong turns and wrong decisions in my life and from time to time i know im about to make another one but i dont change my course and just keep moving forward. its because i know im not going to feel regret or force myself not to feel it. im just going to pick myself up again and just head forward. so in the end, im probably moving forward in the wrong direction and i mindlessly (mindlessly?) continue along this path because i dont feel sorry or become distressed with the wrong turns/decisions ive made, or about to make. at least i dont get stuck. but some would argue that that would be a better situation than going deeper and deeper into the wrong path. the reason i wrote this is because i think im about to make another wrong turn or about to make a wrong decision, and i cant stop myself even i know this will become another regrettable decision. its like im compelled to just keep on treading this path. its either this path just so happens to be surrounded with wrong turns but would still lead me to the right direction or its really the wrong path and i just dont want to head back towards the right direction because im a slothful person (which could mean the return of the sloth, the true slothful part of me and not just my ordinary lazy ass/non-deadly sin self).

im not a landline person

Just woke up and i have no idea where my mother and my brother is. well, i could guess where they could possibly be. anyway, point is, its usual that i wake up and find myself home alone and have no idea where my family went. sometimes they wake me up and tell me while im half asleep. and thats not really effective since i might not be listening. or they really dont tell me at all because it doesnt really matter that much to me.

i like being left home alone, especially in the morning since im not a morning person. i can be in the foulest mood and no one would mind. the only thing i dont like when home alone and not having an idea where they went is that when someone calls, i have no idea what to say where they are.

fate is a destination

Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd waiters who brings you things you never asked for and dont always like. - Lemony Snicket

if you dont feel like going to a strange, unpopular restaurant, then change your destination. the problem with doing this is when you dont know where else to go.

its just like starting over

i reformatted the PC exactly a week ago. and because of that, i had to re-organize my wallpaper collection. i found out just now that i might have deleted one folder of wallpapers which contains hundreds of desktop wallpapers (maybe half a thousand). crap. i need to look for them again...online! well, its just a bunch of clicks away but still, its a little inconvenience that could have been avoided. what a drag

Decisions, decisions

Which is the better one to do, help someone that needs your help (but not in dire need of it) or do what your supposed to do, like school work? This always happens to me and there is never a quick answer to it. People would say choose the one that is more important. But that isnt easy to determine and most of the time, you have to make a quick decision so there really isnt time to really weigh the importance of each (or enough time to carefully deliberate or analyze the situation). You also have to look at the urgency and the point of view of the other person. You also need to have a good sense of foresight or consider the possible consequences of action or inaction. It wont be a problem if theres a lot of time. It seems that as a person grows older (or more correctly, the more a person is assimilated in society), time becomes scarcer and the decisions become harder. Why is that? Why did we set up society to become more complicated the longer we live in it? Ok, im digressing.

coming in sideways

2 more final exams to go...and then i can have my tooth (or teeth) removed. how nice. something to look forward to after weeks of final examinations. i have an impacted wisdom tooth. or impacted wisdom teeth. cant remember exactly. for sure i have at least one impacted wisdom tooth and the pain it causes is really annoying. and it also prevents me from eating properly. thats why lately, ive been eating at the japanese/korean food place at the UP Shopping Center because its easier to eat bite-size food.

anyway, i was supposed to have it removed a few weeks ago when i visited the dentist due to the pain the impacted tooth is causing. but we decided to have it (the tooth extraction) scheduled when the semester ends because it would take around one week to recover from the minor dental surgery. and i dont have a spare week during the semester. thats why i had to wait until the last final exam before i can have it removed.

my supposed first week of vacation would be the end of the mental stress and the start of the physical stress which should last more or less one week. it depends if there wont be complications after the extraction. life is uncertain (and earlier i was thinking that life in law school is one big uncertainty). its possible that a nerve injury occurs during the extraction and i end up like George Grieves (Sublime).

Tomadores

holy heat!

whats up with the weather? its extremely hot! i think im sterile just because of the goddamn heat. i wont be surprised if my nut sacks got sterilized because of the weather (i should have asked in medjur class how hot is hot to have one's balls go sterile). its so hot it felt like i had a fever. im not exaggerating. and i think it also affected my brain functions. i was riding the jeepney a while ago and i was holding a P20 bill. and i didnt recognize it was a P20 bill in my hand. i forgot what i was holding. my hand, my brain and my eyes had a conversation that went a little something like this:

Left Hand: hey brain, im holding something, like a piece of paper. what should i do with it?

Brain: hmm.using the sense of touch, it feels like a small piece of paper and its crumpled. its too small to be of any use and like i said, its crumpled. so based from experience, its a useless scrap of paper and probably should be thrown in the trash bin. theres a trash bin on your right, throw it now.

Eyes: hey, wait a minute, let me see that piece of paper. i may not be the one in charge with the thinking but something tells me that its a bit weird for lefty to be holding a useless piece of paper. where did the paper come from anyway?

Hand: ok, here it is

Eyes: its a P20 bill. umm..with all due respect mr. brain, i dont think that piece of paper is anything but useless.

Brain: sorry, i guess i made a big mistake there. that piece of paper has a monetary value which can be exchanged for goods, services and other commodities depending on the purchasing power allocated upon it by the government that considers it as legal tender and the value granted upon it is also dependent on external factors like its value in the world market. i think. im just a brain of an average person, not a brain of an economist. but i take notice of the fact that the said piece of paper is something of value and i withdraw my former order to have the piece of paper thrown in the trash bin. i should have consulted the sense of sight first before making the decision. so, having re-evaluated the situation, i deem it best that the P20 bill be handed over to the jeepney driver in exchange for the service of transportation. there being no objections from any other body part, let the order be executed.


after that, i felt dizzy with all the non-sensical thoughts running in my head so i decided to just let my brain rest and stare blankly into space

My PC is a whore!

When "my" PC got infected with malware a few weeks ago, i had problems finding out how it got infected. Its rare for the PC to get "uncontrollably" infected by a virus, worm, trojan or malware. I always keep the anti-virus updated and im always careful with possible sources of infection. Most of the time, when the PC gets infected, i know the source. And knowing the source is very important because you need to have the source of the infection virus-scanned so you wont get infected again. Thats why i was very concerned when i found out the PC got infected with malware (which was hard to remove since the anti-virus cant fix it (or detect it at that time). I had to search various online forums that could instruct me on how to "manually" remove it).

Anyway, after a week of trying to fix it, i finally removed the malware (which runs a CMIII program in the background and prevents you from opening your hard drives with an ordinary left click, and i think also prevents you from safely removing flash disks and probably other USB port devices). It took me a week because i had a class everyday, and i needed hours of trying to figure out how to remove it, and another set of hours allocated for a "worst case scenario" (i.e. Reformat the C: drive!) so i also had to back up some files. Anyway, like i said, removing the malware was a success. But that wasnt enough, i need to find the source. Thats when i thought, my PC is a whore (or like a whore) and got infected with a reversible STD. Why? Because what made it difficult for me to find the source is that many people use the PC. Not only my siblings but also my cousins. And they check their emails there and insert their flash disks too. its hard to check and figure out who inserted the offensive instrument in the slot. So one of us must be the carrier of the horrible malware. So the question now was who? Who inserted the infected flash disk in the PC's usb slot. Or dowloaded an infected email and let the malware loose inside the PC. Anyway, im still not sure who the infected carrier is but at least my PC is clean again. And the anti-virus can detect the malware now (and the anti-virus is like a condom and it just so happens that at the time the PC got infected, the "condom was defective", meaning the antivirus was not updated enough to handle the malware). If the PC was a PC in a computer shop, i would say the PC is like a prostitute and not a whore since you have to pay for the services the PC offers.

Im mobile

I like this moblogging thing. Thanks to my cousin and her pocket pc, i can write blog entries almost anywhere and anytime. One place i cant write is inside the jeepney (tried doing that a while ago). Too bad. I get some good ideas during my everyday commute. Anyway, after writing the entry, all i have to do next is look for a wifi zone. And thats not very difficult because there are many wifi zones in places where i usually go to. And thanks to blogger, all i have to do is email the blog entry and the entry gets published automatically. This makes blogging more convenient. The only problem now is thinking of a decent and interesting topic to write about.

Life is a blur

I havent blogged for quite some time. Why? as usual, i dont know. It just happened. I guess i was just so occupied with stuff that i never had time to sit and write something to blog about. Although there's a bunch of stuff i would have wanted to write about (like a possible future of sperm banks, a fearless forecast on 1/3 of the local population and my PC having a life synonymous to a whore), as i said, i guess i just didnt have the time for it.

Right now, im really trying (and i really mean that im REALLY trying) to take my law studies seriously. And thinking of what ive accomplished, its not good enough. its still way below the standards ive set for myself. Old habits do die hard. Or maybe they dont really die, they're just locked in a cage deep within one's mind and you convince yourself it never existed. so begins the never ending battle between improving yourself and becoming what comes naturally.

which is the bigger sin to your own being? To deny yourself of being who you are to become someone of greater intrinsic and extrinsic worth or to deny yourself of becoming a better person just to be at peace with one's innate being. Of course you can always strike a balance. Life isnt black and white after all, but only a few seem to operate within the gray areas (or intentionally operate within it). I mean, life is uncertain, so why live a life of certainty? My answer would be, to gain stability. But that wont escape the principle of striking a balance. So again, you are forced to recognize, adapt and operate in life's gray area. and lately, it seems that i got lost within that gray area. The only thing certain about life is its uncertainty. Cliche.

This is my first blog entry which i wrote in a pocket pc (which my cousin lent to me) and emailed to blogger (i can now appreciate wifi technology!). And i wrote it while waiting for something to finish

new ironman trailer

 

Cashback Quotes

"once upon a time i wanted to know what love was. love is there if you want it to be. you just have to see that its wrapped in beauty and hidden away within the seconds of your life. if you dont stop for a minute, you might miss it." - ben willis

Crush. It's funny how the same word for the feeling of disappointment can be used for the feeling of attraction. The Oxford English Dictionary states one of the meanings for the word crushed as "a strong and unreasoning, but transitory attachment." - ben willis

the female form has always been a great source of fascination. I've always been in awe of the power they posses. - ben willis

The bad news is that time flies. The good news... is that you're the pilot. - ben willis

infected with malware

got infected with a malware last saturday. well, im not sure if it was just last saturday but thats when i found out about it. when i clicked to open one of my hard drives, it didnt open (like it should). i tried the other drives, same thing. it only opened when i right clicked explore. or typed the drive. i checked the task manager and saw that a CMIII program was running. and thats the first time i saw such program so i just clicked "end task". and nothing happened. it didnt make things worse, nor any better. i still cant open my hard drives. so what i did was run registry mechanic. no help there. updated my antivirus. again, no help. so i "googled" the problem. there i found from one of those free online tech help/support forums that im infected with a malware. so i followed the instructions already available on the thread i found (but it took me a week before i was able to do so since i felt that if i dont do it correctly, i might need to reformat the PC and i dont have a back-up! so i had to wait til i had hours to spare for a worst case scenario). when that didnt work, i posted a message on the online forum. well, still no reply. but at least i think i got rid of the malware. i checked my task manager again and i dont see the CMIII program anymore. and then my antivirus detected an infected exe file., which it deleted of course. but it didnt fix my hard drive problem. still cant open it. only then did i find out that theres another program to be downloaded to finally fix and restore a certain crucial file. so i did just that. and i think i finally fixed my PC and got rid of the malware. im still going to find out if my PC can still boot after i shut it down. thats when i can say thats my PC running like it should