An interesting day

Two law classes this morning, one faculty meeting and a blogger dinner. No ennui issues today.

Notes from my first class (family law):
* In the room next my class, the instructor chose to show fragments of Gone With the Wind (their course: Real Estate. The connection to the movie? Oh, I can imagine…). Introducing Family Law to the strains of GWTW theme music was peculiar;

* The class, conflicting with typically hot second year courses – evidence, con law II, tax, real estate – is smaller than usual with 99% 3rd-year students. My December grading arm is grateful already.

Notes from my second class (torts):
* Although my primary area of interest has been family law for years (the intellectual challenge of developing legal processes that will help determine the optimal placement for a child in a split family household is fantastic: basically there is no good solution and all you can do is poke holes in the existing legislative and judicial models that keep replacing each other every few years), I do LOVE teaching first semester law students (ergo: torts). Something happens to them during winter break following the first semester so that they become… well, like the rest of us. But in the Fall, they are ON BOARD and the project of studying the law is like one big hike into some stellar mountain range – absolutely thrilling.

Notes from my faculty meeting:
* A colleague sitting next to me played this game of pointing out to me the times when the presenter (whomever was up there, in command) went to the trouble of repeating almost exactly what had just been professed by someone from the floor. It was amusing. The repetition and rephrasing also ensured that the meeting would go on forever. I left after 90 minutes. I don’t think they were even half done and there wasn’t much on the agenda. Lawyers!

Notes from the blogger dinner:
* In addition to piling on info earlier in the week about what my lustrous bloggers would not eat, a heated email discussion ensued as to the appropriateness of bringing laptops to my house and to the table (two for, one against, one neutral – you guess which of the four – Ann, Tonya, Jeremy, myself – voted which way). I am hoping the bitterness, rage and disappointments have abated and no hidden resentments spring forth after the wine is poured (it usually takes a glass to unleash these kinds of things). You may want to check in later tonight. Or maybe not, depending on your tolerance for melodrama.