Posted by TDot on May 22, 2011 in
Randomness Good evening folks! 
With the first summer session here at NCCU Law getting underway tomorrow, today got spent tying up loose ends before the back-to-school grind resumes. And in the process I re-discovered some of the effects of final exam season: over the last 3 weeks of my 2L Spring semester, we lost about half of our regular readers as law:/dev/null has gone un-updated… and I managed to pack on another 10lbs around my waistline. 
So while all the cool kids make New Year’s Resolutions about getting in shape and other worthwhile endeavors, in honor of my procrastinating tendencies I’m making those resolutions 5 months late instead: effective today I’m improving my diet, exercising more, and finally posting an update to the blog 
My predecessor Preston Mitchum and I transitioned over the NCCU Law SBA this month
Here’s a quick rundown of where I’ve been the past few weeks:
- I finally became a 3L…
- …then un-became a 3L, as my Scientific Evidence professor unexpectedly gave the entire class 3 days to turn in an extra assignment — and I proceeded to sequester myself in my apartment like a hermit until it was finished
- Re-became a 3L again, for real this time
- Took over as President of our Student Bar Association
- Amped up my work schedule at I-Cubed to 40hrs a week… right before realizing I probably can’t continue at that pace when summer school starts ::headdesk::
- Watched the Class of 2011 graduate
- Watched the law school end up in a minor scandal after graduation
- Tallied up the private $$$ the SBA raised last year — an all-time record in law school history — and how much the 2011-12 SBA has raised in the past few weeks
- Penned my 2nd guest column for the Beyond Hearsay blog (publication date TBD)
- Spent $350 on books for summer school
- Spent hours reading ~150 pages for tomorrow’s first day of class
- Finally got around to updating law:/dev/null, including tweaking our About page to reflect my now-3L status
That’s the rundown. Nothing particularly exciting… which makes me wonder how exactly time has flown by so fast 
I’d be lying to you if I said I expected to resume regular blog updates, simply because my summer school schedule leans toward the crazy side this year (10 credit hours total) when it’s coupled with my internship. But my hope is I’ll work my way into a routine and can get back to posting somewhat regular content.
That’s it from me for tonight, I’m off to bed so I can get up for work + class tomorrow. Have a great night everybody! 
Tags: 2L, 3L, Blawg Love, El Presidente, NCCU Law, SBA, Scientific Evidence
Posted by TDot on Apr 8, 2011 in
Randomness I’ve got a handful of entries to finish editing from the past 2 weeks, ranging from the mundane (registering for my 3L Fall classes) to the slightly embarrassing (running out of time mid-speech during our forum for SBA candidates) to the don’t-really-have-anything-I-can-say-in-response (getting held in contempt by a real judge during a mock trial).
Hopefully all of those will be posted at some point in the coming day or two now that campaign season is officially over, my Trial Practice class is essentially over, and my Scientific Evidence class will be over once I finish this last paper. Just wanted to let y’all know both myself and law:/dev/null are still alive
Tags: 2L, Blawg Love
Posted by TDot on Mar 18, 2011 in
Randomness Earlier tonight I swung by UNCCH to grab Coldstone with one of my Legal Eagle colleagues and talk about life around the law school.
And I realized in the process I’ve now voluntarily set foot in Chapel Hill 5 days in a row… something I’m pretty sure didn’t even happen at the height of my UNCASG campus visits.
As a proud Wolfpack alumnus… I feel dirty
Tags: 2L, NCCU Law, UNCASG
Posted by TDot on Mar 14, 2011 in
Randomness …to everyone with whom I’ve ever shared a meeting, meal, or car ride where I incessantly looked down at my BlackBerry and *tappity tap tap*‘d away at my phone rather than enjoying the presence of your company
I was recently reminded of how profoundly discourteous the practice is and how annoying I must have been — and while I’ve surely racked up enough bad karma that I’ll likely be getting repaid for years, I want you to know I truly am sorry and hope you’ll forgive me 
Law school-related content to resume tomorrow Have a great night y’all!
Tags: "Real" world rants..., Tech Talk
Posted by TDot on Feb 6, 2011 in
Randomness Happy Super Bowl Sunday everybody
Haven’t written anything on the blog for a loooong time now — will have a new update some time today for certain. Instead of a bunch of old entries though it’ll all be rolled into one super-long entry
See you in a few hours!
Tags: Blawg Love
Posted by TDot on Jan 1, 2011 in
Randomness Happy New Year everybody!
Tonight’s entry is brief — I stayed home instead of attending New Year’s Eve festivities last night because I felt like I might be catching a cold, which less-than-24-hours later has now transmogrified into a horrible blend of a cold and a sinus infection 
Then 雅雅 came to visit on her way back to Tennessee for school, and when we left the apartment to get dinner… I somehow succeeded in my right foot giving out randomly at the least opportune time, as I then tumbled down the staircase of my apartment complex
For all the amazingness that was 2010, this is definitely an undignified start to 2011…
Tags: #fml, 雅雅
Posted by TDot on Dec 31, 2010 in
Randomness Back in July, I took my first bona fide vacation in ages when 雅雅 and I went to visit Nan and Pops for Independence Day and took a roadtrip through the Outer Banks of North Carolina on the way back.
This past week was so much better!
First, my employer closed down the office on both Thursday and Friday for Christmas. I don’t get paid time off or anything when they’re closed, but it did let me leave out of here on Wednesday night and spend more time with family.
Speaking of family, those of you who were readers back during Father’s Day or who are friends with me on Facebook might recall that it had been an incredibly long time since I last saw Son of TDot. Well at some point recently he asked his mom about who I was and if he could see me, so she arranged for the three of us to have lunch on Thursday
We met up at the food court of a local mall for what was probably one of the most nervous moments I’ve had ever in my life. It was amusing as I walked up because his mom was standing with her back to the direction I was coming from with Son of TDot facing my way. He saw me from about 75ish feet away and gave a look like “This guy looks oddly familiar”… and I basically gave him the same look, because I thought it was him but hadn’t seen him in so long I wasn’t sure
It’s not surprising to share similarities with your own offspring, but some of it still took me by surprise. His hair was cut short like mine and he looks a lot like I did when I was 12. We ended up independently ordering the same thing for lunch: a 10-piece chicken nugget meal from McDonald’s with a Sprite for the drink. His favorite subjects in school were the same as mine (science and history). He loves playing with Legos (I’ve still got a box of mine in the closet). He also loves RPGs, specifically Kingdom Hearts — a spinoff of the Final Fantasy series I play myself, so a good chunk of lunch was spent with the two of us talking video games
He also has allergies in the winter like I do, to the point where he keeps tissues in his jacket pocket. The look on his face was priceless when I pulled out my own batch of tissues from my coat pocket too 
I know he was nervous and I suspect his mom was nervous (and Lord knows I was nervous too), but all in all it was pretty awesome and I’m hopeful that it was the first meeting of many more in the future
The snow that was predicted (top) and what fell (bottom)
The next day was Christmas Eve, which is when the family gathers at Nan and Pops’ house to exchange presents with each other. If you count the various denominations of currency/gift cards as one gift, 50% of my Christmas presents were toothbrushes (an electric one and a travel one). It’s almost like my family was trying to tell me something…
Everyone got along this year, which is a switch from years past when there’s usually a bunch of arguing. And I enjoyed being able to finally afford presents for everyone in the family — even if it meant they all got NCCU Law paraphernalia 
Then of course there was Christmas, my 3rd favorite holiday of the year after Independence Day and Thanksgiving Dinner was tasty and it was fun getting to hang out with the family.
Y’all already read about Snowmageddon 2010, my road trip back to Durham. The photo on the right shows the difference between what was forecast when I left for Virginia Beach and what had I actually fallen by the time I was driving home. The red dots respectively show Nan and Pops’ house in Virginia Beach and my apartment here in Durham.
It was a bit of a white-knuckle experience but in hindsight it was pretty cool
Our view from the hotel room
雅雅 and I then headed down to Orlando the next morning for the Champs Sports Bowl, where we got totally spoiled by Nan using her frequent traveler points to reserve a hotel room for us at the Grand Bohemian in downtown Orlando. We were automatically upgraded to the “concierge level” on the top floor because of it, which included among other perks a VIP lounge with its own bar just steps from our door 
The photo shows part of what I woke up to on Tuesday morning 
In a fitting dose of irony, however, our trip to Orlando happened to be accompanied by near-record low temperatures for Florida We had to bundle up as we were exploring downtown, and had to double-bundle up before heading to the stadium.
But I think one of the coolest aspects of the trip (aside from the weather) was being able to connect with dozens of friends from undergrad, all of us in a different city of a different state, traveling from across the country to reunite in support of our alma mater. It was a fun realization
Then of course there was the game itself, my very first bowl game that I attended in person
My new red NC State hat!
I upgraded my black N.C. State hat that I’ve had since 2000 with a new red edition to help add to the red shading of the arena — which complemented the shading of the post-game crowd after the Wolfpack followed up with a huge 23-7 win!
It was definitely a lot of driving over the past week, but it was well worth it! It’s been an amazing year, and I’m incredibly blessed to have an opportunity to end it the way I have.
Now I’m recharged and ready for the Spring semester to get underway
Hope all of you had equally amazing vacations, and have a fun and festive New Year’s Eve!
Tags: About TDot, 雅雅, Nan & Pops, NC State, NCCU Law, NCSU Wolfpack, Son of TDot, TDot's Travels, The Parents
Posted by TDot on Dec 18, 2010 in
Randomness Qualified for my concealed carry permit today
One of the things I enjoyed growing up in a military-heavy city and living in the South is that firearms have been a normal part of life. They’re not regarded as these mythical creatures with minds of their own to be avoided at all costs. They’re machines that serve a purpose — and should be respected accordingly — but just like automobiles and other tools they’re totally harmless without a human user behind them.
During the summer, the kids in my neighborhood would even gather up all the water guns we could find, split off into teams, and roam the neighborhood playing a game that was a cross of hide-and-seek and capture-the-flag. My first “real” water gun was even molded to look/function like a single-action Beretta (though painted bright orange so law enforcement wouldn’t confuse it for a real gun ).
I don't think he's getting up 
But since moving to North Carolina I’ve eschewed firearms, since state law requires educational institutions to be Easy Target Zones and up until last year I lived on campus.
Until, in a bit of serendipity, I discovered one of the 1Ls at NCCU Law is a former Chief of Police and firearms instructor. He mentioned he was running a concealed carry handgun training course out in Maiden so I signed up.
Though I didn’t realize at the time I’d have to leave around 4:30am to be there when it started
After several hours of reliving through CrimLaw to get re-educated about when the use of deadly force in self-defense is justified under NC law, we headed out to the open-air shooting range. The actual qualification routine requires shooting 40 rounds from 7/5/3 yards in a certain timeframe, with at least 28 rounds hitting the target.
I was a little nervous since it was my first time firing a real handgun (in my case a .22 Ruger Mk I) instead of the fake Beretta from my youth… but it turned out pretty well. Sufficiently so that I asked to try from 25 yards against one of their metal knockdown targets about half the width of the paper — and hit it 8-for-8
Where was this precision when I tried winning stuff at the State Fair? 
Anyhow, now I’m back in Durham and get to go fill out a bunch of paperwork with the Durham County Sheriff’s Department before waiting a few months for my permit to come through. It was a fun day
I hope all of you have a great night — and check back tomorrow for a surprise
Tags: Competence FTW, CrimLaw, NCCU Law, Tech Talk
Posted by TDot on Dec 15, 2010 in
Randomness …about people (like me) who complain about how @#$%ing cold it is outside:
Enjoy scraping ice off your windshield while standing in freezing rain before you go to work tomorrow morning.
And when you’re done, feel free to drive back north 
That is all.
Tags: Gotta Be NC
Posted by TDot on Nov 18, 2010 in
Randomness Law school life is hitting über-crazy status as we get into the final days of class before the Thanksgiving holiday… followed the next week by final exams
So rather than a properly edited entry, you get a few random bullets that crossed my mind today:
- Wednesdays this semester seem to be the day I just totally forget law:/dev/null exists — sorry for constantly bailing on y’all the same time every week
- I’m appreciative y’all still stop by though! Barring an unexpected outage (or a complete and total lack of all interest) we should cross the half-million pageview milestone today
- It took 10 months to rack up our first 250,000 pageviews, and only 5 months for the next 250,000. I doubt that growth trend is going to continue given my sporadic absences but it’s still pretty cool
- After she read the N&O article on my less-than-stellar academic performance in computer science, one of the senior academic folks at N.C. State sent me an incredibly kind email with her thoughts. Amid the other remarks was this snippet: “In light of your comments regarding yourself as a computer science student, I thought I would pass on what a computer science professor told me when he realized I was one of your fans. He told me that you were one of the best and finest students he had ever had in computer science.” I have no clue which professor she was referring to, but is it bad that my first two thoughts were wondering (1) what that professor must have been smoking to come to that conclusion, and (2) if I could find a hearsay exception to get it admitted in case I ever had to prove that I really wasn’t that incompetent?
- I also got a snarky email from some random person about that article. Might make it a separate mailbag entry just so I can be snarky in response. We’ll see
- If you haven’t done so already, I want you to check out two blog entries that continue last week’s posts on the value of law school: Keith Lee over at An Associate’s Mind has this entry on performing your due diligence, and Jack Whittington of World Wide Whit has this piece on how *not* to persuade people. They’re both excellent entries — and it makes me feel better not being the only one in the “realistic optimist” camp anymore
- Speaking of realistic optimism, in the span of one hour Wednesday morning I randomly got contacted to schedule two different job interviews — one in the CrimLaw arena, the other in the CSC-related intellectual property field. It was a reminder to me that I really need to figure out wtf I’m going to do with my professional life after law school. Look for an entry on that topic soon.
- My draft motion in limine for DV Law was the highest grade in the class… and now I have to pretty much re-do the whole thing I’m in the role of defense counsel (again) and the facts for my case suck (again). Even so, I thought I had a pair of exotic-but-still-pretty-compelling arguments — until the prosecution from a different team unintentionally ran a tractor trailer-sized hole through one of them during her own performance this morning. Back to the drawing board…
- I can’t wait for Saturday
Have a great night everybody!
Tags: 2L, Blawg Love, DVLaw, NC State, NCCU Law, NCSU Wolfpack
[
