Closed Memo has Been Handed In

Now that the memo is in, the sun seems to be shining brighter (which, if you check the weather, is literally true), the birds are singing (yeah, they might just be in my head, but blame it on my crazy), and I've seen people frolicking in the streets (pure fabrication, on my part).

I went to school early this AM, finished editing it up, then handed it in, an hour early. Wow.

A few things about my closed memo writing experience.

Citations are still a little fuzzy for me. Knowing how and when to cite appropriately is something that I'll still have to look into. Hopefully, I'll get some constructive feedback in this regard when I get my closed memo returned to me.

Writing the outline took longer than I thought it would. I usually tackle assignments, such as this, by drafting a concise and complete outline. My outlines organize the material that I'm going to discuss, and include all of the points and supporting arguments that I want to make. I fiddled with my outline for quite awhile to make the organization as effective and non-redundant as possible, and I kept thinking of new points to include from the cases. Next time, for the open memo, I'm going to try and get working on my outline as soon as possible.

I think I should have referenced more specific examples in my application of the law. I organized my memo by first outlining what the law said about my topic, and then applying the law to the problem that I was assigned. When I outlined the law, I made many references to what the cases said about the law. BUT ... when it came to applying the law to my problem, I think I should have used comparable examples to situational outcomes from the cases. I thought about this yesterday, but didn't really have enough time to effectively work that idea into my paper. Especially since I had a hard time in keeping my paper under 2000 words (I clocked in at 1996 when I handed it in).

I'm Worried that I Don't Know a Thing About Grammar. I think this point comes a little bit from the law student paranoia that I seem to have developed, but part of this point may be valid. It's been a long time since I've been assessed on my grammar skills - a LONG time. While I've always confidently helped friends and family with editing their papers, I find that now, even as I write my blog, I'm second guessing myself (which is especially weird in the blog writing, since I've made a conscious effort not to care about grammar in order for the DRAMA of my actual thinking to come through in the way that I actually think it).

Oh well. I'm satisfied that I did the best that I could in the time that I had to do it in. I just hope that I had the right idea about it all, as I chose not to look at any example memos. Since this assignment isn't worth SO much in the marks department, I wanted to see if my instinct on reasoning it all out was on the right track. If I find that it isn't ... then I'll go take a look at the sample memos and see where I went wrong.

Now, I'm going to focus some on my Pro Bono project, which should include doing some research and formulating another outline. AND ... I really need to get back into the gym swing of things. I realize, now, why I haven't had the energy to do it, and as long as I take care of myself over the next few days, I should be good to go with hitting it hard.

My philosophy on the sick thing is always that if your body tells you to slow down - listen to it. I don't believe in pumping myself full of cold medication so that I can go about my daily grind, since I think that leads to a longer illness, and possibly a worse one. I've seen more than one person push themselves too hard just to be able to go to work, and end up off a week with a sinus infection, or something else comparable. If they had just taken one or two days right at the beginning of their illness, and actually rested, and allowed their body to combat whatever it was fighting, then maybe they would have nipped it in the bud.

In any case, I rested a lot yesterday, and I'm already feeling better today (although, still not 100%). Since we basically don't have any more classes today, I'm going to try and rest up some more, take my vitamins, and maybe go for a walk later to get the blood pumping, and get me some orange juice (which is what I always crave when I'm sick).

I'd also really love to finish my scarf. Almost there! All ... most ... there ...!