Semester Seshmester

I was thinking to myself today about well... what day it was, when I realized that UCLA undergrads are just starting their Fall quarter this week (last week was Zero Week, yes?).

Lemme tell you, it's very odd adjusting to the semester system.

For starters, I only got an abbreviated summer vacation. Since the quarter system ends later than the semester system and the semester system starts earlier than the quarter system, I got the shaft and enjoyed a grand total of two (2) months of summer vacation between graduating from UCLA and starting law school. It's always funny when classmates with Ph.Ds and years of work experience ask me what I did between undergrad and law school. I usually respond with a blank stare.

Law school for me started on August 18 with orientation, which means that I've been at Boalt for almost 8 weeks already. And we're only halfway through the material in most of my classes. If I were still at UCLA, around this time I'd have already finished midterms and would be gearing up for finals. Yikes.

Haha I guess all this opining is just a result of my newbie-ness to the mystical semester schedule. This 15-week thing is new to me. I've never had a "fall break" before (I'll be home the week of Oct. 17, btw). I don't know how to deal with a "finals week" that spans two weeks. And I'm still not sure how to deal with the school year ending on my birthday.

On the upside though, the semester system has its perks. Besides giving us fall break (freeking awesome, if not a little weird), my time here feels less compacted, so that I don't feel that I'm always constantly studying for a test. As a result, I have more time to kick-back, relax, and uh... read for class.