How do you write a paper?

This question has bugged me for a very long time. You see, I used to basically write for a living. I wrote a Master's thesis, a doctoral dissertation, multiple articles, lecture notes and tests, and even opinion pieces. Then I get to law school. And on my very first writing assignment, I am told that I am not a good writer...Really.

What happened after that is not supposed to happen to someone that has already made her bones in another field. I froze. I could not write. I would procrastinate to the point of all nighter's. Anything to avoid writing! Now, I have a paper that I HAVE TO COMPLETE. Not only that, I have to have it done by the end of October. Doable - you betcha. Doable by me - that's more in doubt. I am honestly considering signing up with a writing coach. A writing coach is someone that you report to on a daily or weekly basis. Many people sign up for one when they get stuck on the dissertation. I always thought it was hooey.

What kind of problems do you have? How do you get going? And what kinds of bribes do you use?

Exercise...It's the right thing to do, and a tasty way to do it

Starting the new and improved schedule. Getting up at 5 am to work out. Starting weight - very heavy. First goal? 10 lbs. Timeline: First goal by October 24.

Today I went to the dentist. Have you ever heard of scaling and planing under the gum line? I hadn't. I will ALWAYS floss from now on.

Any interesting class bits? I need to start writing these things down.

Prof Tax told us that s/he was one of the first people to develop mortgage-backed securities, basically to put together the residuals. Yah! Wait, weren't those the things that hid the actual risk in the market (buried subprime mortgages into these huge pools). yay. And wasn't that the reason why the subprime foreclosures caused so much crap and helped to melt the economy. ummm, not so yay. I couldn't concentrate the rest of class, I was either stifling laughter that this prof. was so proud of what s/he had accomplished or about to leap over the table to throttle the prof for exactly the same reason. Maybe I just didn't understand what s/he was saying. Or Prof T is the devil.

Crunch, mmm carrots

Starting to bring my lunch more often. In fact, I am aiming for everyday and have only missed a few days. My favorite right now is a banana and peanut butter sandwich. It tastes almost like dessert. And little carrots are tasty, then top it off with an apple. MMMMMM. Sounds so simple, but it's quite good.

Happy with a side of guilt

1. Woot...I ate a salad today, with yogurt, low cal fruit juice (I feel cheated, basically watered down fruit juice), and fruit. AND the salad was not drowning in dressing.

2. I hate this feeling. A prof canceled class because of a family tragedy. I feel sorry for him, because I know it's rough. But underneath is this truly self-centered emotional response of happiness that I don't have class tonight.

3. Feel like I am getting into the swing of things. It's the beginning of the 3rd week, so I am in the swing a bit earlier than last year!

4. I do not feel like a moron. Nuf said.

Enjoy the week!

As I completely ignore resolution to get healthy

I went back and read some entries. Seems in a drunken stupor I said that I was going to get healthy...read drop a lot of weight. And in that same stupor, I claimed that I was going to have weigh-ins with real weight. Well, that has come and gone. But I should be taking this uber seriously. In light of my posts, I will begin the metamorphosis (no, not a cockroach).

So today I weigh...a lot. I can't bring myself to post it. Let's just set a goal and I will post how I am doing each week. So WebMD says a doable goal is 1-2 lbs per week. So for my very first goal, I am aiming to lose 1 lb per week for the next 4 weeks.

How do I feel...IT'S NOT ENOUGH. I should be aiming for 5 lbs a week. And that, friends, is exactly what causes myself to lose momentum. It is a strange process (completely counter productive, result - gain weight). First, I set a realistic goal. I begin achieving said realistic goal. Then I get antsy..more, more. So I start doing things that cause the weight to drop faster. And then I get even more impatient. Ultimately, with a lot of circular reasoning, depressive episodes, toss some insanity in, and I end up gaining everything back.

But each time is different, so never say never.

To lose 1 lb per week, I will:

1. Exercise at least 15 minutes 6 days a week
2. Take my lunch and eat breakfast
3. Not eat out more than one time per week

Okay, 3 fairly simple goals. Rah, rah, rah.

Saturday and Tax

I will spend hours on tax today. And then go to a civilized cocktail party with people who are not law students or lawyers. I will have nothing whatsoever to say that anyone will want to hear. Egads, my life is ragingly dull. Maybe I could pass a few no634 stories as my own. Nah, no one would believe it.

Whew!

I really need to chill. For some reason, everything is driving me crazy.

Fridays are a little odd because there are not that many folks on campus, a large % are 1L's. Every place I attempted to study, something got under my skin. Loud talking, music, even youtube watching. Moved to the library and I became ultra-sensitive to every noise around me. Out come the ear plugs. Now my ears hurt from having them in for hours. I guess I should take them out more often. So I end up grumpy.

Then I walk out to the parking lot I use, which is not a school parking lot. It is usually never manned. There are exceptions. This time, one of the people that runs the lot came over and asked me how much I paid. I tell him and he says I owe more. Yes, the charge changes, but when it does there is always a sign (which there wasn't this am, I always check). He keeps badgering me. So I simply say, the sign wasn't up. He keeps saying it was. (1) I don't actually have the money to pay more and (2) he has picked the wrong person to berate. I then say, nope, not going to pay, which I didn't. I am now banned from the lot, but happy that I left without a fist fight. Not from me, but this guy was doing everything but hitting me; grabbing my car door, my bag, my arm. While I am still a little pissed over the whole interaction (I don't care who was wrong or right, he was a total prick, I was leaving and the event he was upcharging for didn't even start for another 2 hours). The lesson, nothing was accomplished. I will park in a different lot for the same amount of money and that parking lot will likely be mostly full everyday. I hate these kinds of interactions. I will now spend the next 24 hours vacillating between feeling I was in the wrong and angry that I keep revisiting it.

Ugg...the weekend is off to a helluva start.