Monday, March 17, 2008

What happened? I blacked out.

Test #1, finished. I thought the quotation from Old School was appropriate; I looked up and 2 1/2 hours had passed during the exam! Panic, panic. I have this weird whole-body reaction to stress before an exam. I had to choke down my oatmeal this morning. I didn't even finish it! And I always feel ill right before my first exam. It usually lessens as the week goes on. I don't remember being that nervous before the LSAT, and I had a lot more riding on my score from that exam.

After I finish a day of studying, I usually let myself unwind a little while reviewing the main topics of a class. While going over joinder rules last night, I watched part of I Can Make You Thin on TLC. I'm iffy on it; while I applaud making people more conscious of what they're eating, I think telling them to eat "whatever they want" sends the wrong message, too. We're so far out of touch with what we should eat that I don't think our bodies will necessarily be able to bust through years of eating processed foods to say, "Roast some beets! Mmmm."

On the other hand, the tips are basic, appealing and not intimidating. The host--some British self-help guru--breaks everything down in concrete rules. He is introducing them slowly, week by week. That's particularly useful for people who have a hard time reinforcing habits on their own. I particularly liked his tip about eating consciously, which is something that I forget to do when I'm eating "healthy" food. Instead of savoring, I speed through meals. I'm almost always studying while I eat, and I'm shocked that I've finished my food already! I tried out his tip of chewing more and setting my fork down between bites at lunch. I still finished my (small) plate of quinoa, sliced apple and a bit of Greek yogurt, but I felt satisfied.

I have another early morning exam tomorrow. Time to get back to studying! I've barely made a dent in the caselaw, and a lot of it is crazy and somewhat contradictory.

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