Reading Days 5 and 6

Two days to read for property, or rather, two days to learn property. Not a whole lot to report right now. I spent most of yesterday reviewing outlines and taking computerized "cali" lessons about the property material from the semester. Even though I have the feeling I didn't learn any of this stuff until yesterday, it wasn't completely foriegn, which goes to show that just being in class and doing the reading is sometimes enough. Today, I am taking practice exams. Preparing, or learning in general seems to have both a passive and an active aspect. The passive aspect is when you are reading your notes, or a case, or an outline to trying and comprehend the material. The active aspect is when you are faced with a series of facts and you have to apply the material you passively comprehended. The active learning requires much more focus, but it is the kind of focus that is required in the exam. When faced with motavating for an active exam preparation exercise, I always have some internal hesitation. It kind of hurts in the same way the first five minutes of a long bike rike hurts because your musceles are not ready to move, but once you get into it, it feels pretty good. There is something pleasureable about applying law to fact. It is the same part of the brain that is stimulated by puzzles or word games. Without taking at least some pleasure in this kind of work, law school would be a real drag.

Nice weather today. I might get out for a bike ride this afternoon. I took a couple hours off yesterday and went downtown to the pike market and had lunch with my girlfriend at Cafe Campagne. It was the perfect way for us to take a break from the books and stay fresh. It is important to keep perspective on life even during finals. We still have 8 days of reading and taking finals, and the last one counts just as much as the first one. A happy brain is a relaxed brain (not too relaxed, this isn't vacation). Again, just like biking, if you relax your upper body, your legs become more efficient. Ok, on to practice exams.