Very Little of What I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Law School

In keeping with recent lj themes on "things I have learned today", here's my own list re. law school:

• It is indeed possible for an elevator to be out for 4 months, with people working on it every single day. I would think that in that time, you could build a new elevator from scratch - and I include mining the metals and manufacturing the plastic needed for components into that estimate.
  
  
• Sleep. Is. Good. Not totally law-related, but it certainly helped make the mediation demonstration bearable this morning.
  
  
• Watching a mediation is like watching two snails mate. You're not sure what you're looking at, it's slow as molasses, and not even the participants have any fun.
  
  
• Lawyers really are slimy. At least, law students are.
  
  We're doing simulations and we've been beaten over the head with Ethical Considerations, and we still keep seeing students lying, cheating, not disclosing major facts, etc. Even on the day devoted solely to ETHICS, at least 25% of the students did the "unethical" thing in their simulations.
  
  And we're not getting paid to win these deals. We aren't even being marked on our simulations. There is no reason to lie or be slimy, other than an intrinsic need to "beat" the other side. Scary.
  
  
• The best kind of food is free food.
  
  
• Just having a copy of the Charter and a package of articling info from the Department of Justice, from a job fair at which they served free food, makes me feel like some day I too will be a lawyer.
  
  
• Over two years, you can slowly get used to the phrase "called to the bar" until it no longer sounds pretentious. Until you can picture yourself saying it without blushing or cracking up.

Lost and Found

OK, see this is what should happen when a kid gets lost:

1. 3:15: Debbie, Daniel's Tuesday babysitter, gets her kids from the school bus. Daniel is not with them, and the other kids say he wasn't on the bus.
   
2. 3:18: Debbie phones me to tell me.
   
3. 3:19: I call the school. Tell them that Daniel didn't get off the bus, and ask them if he's still at school.
   
4. 3:20: Secretary tells me that she can't locate Daniel's teacher at the moment, but I can call the bus company at 726-1000, and Daniel's route number is 83.
   
5. 3:21: I call the bus company and give them the info.
   
6. 3:23: After leaving me on hold for a couple of minutes, the bus dispatcher tells me that Sam, the driver for route 83, says that Daniel Rae got off at Bonnie and Clyde (no, I'm not kidding, it's a corner near our home) with his babysitter.
   
7. 3:24: I call Laine, Daniel's Monday babysitter, who is just coming in. She says that she and Daniel got mixed up and he got off at her stop instead of Debbie's, and she's just dropped him off at Debbie's.
   
8. 3:25: I call Debbie, who confirms that Daniel is with her and getting himself a snack.
   
9. 3:26: I call back Daniel's school to tell them he's been found. They thank me for calling them, since his teacher was sure he'd gotten on the bus and they had just called and left me a message to that effect, and asking me to call them back.

A total of about 11 minutes from beginning to end of the drama. With every person knowing the information they're supposed to have and the steps they're supposed to take. Nobody panicking, nobody freaking out, everybody just doing what they're supposed to do to make sure kids are safe.

Phew.

Journal spamming (with a purpose)

OK, I got this from the Media Relations lady at the airport. Anybody who's interested, please take a look, because I need feedback.

( Letter from Ottawa Airport Media Relations )