A second leap of faith

(My Journal on the CVC law debates is suspended pending renewed inspiration)

After a 1-year hiatus I recently plunged into the world of law school again. And Its been a crazy semester. But its over now.

Now its time to take a second leap of faith.

So here we go second semester.

For the last 48 hrs I've agonizing about two rather related things.

1. My Three Year Plan
2. Well... something related to my three year plan.

Three-Year-Plan. a.k.a. take the bar in 3 years

Its simple really. Thanks to differences in curriculum and other more 'amusing' circumstances. I restarted my quest for the bar 13 units behind (Persons, Labor Rel, Ethics and PIL). Thanks to an oversight on my part, plus the idea that I had to adjust first, I only enrolled 19 units last sem.
So now I'm 14 units behind my 3 year plan.

Why is my three-year-plan feasible?

1.) Arellano is very generous with scheds. I can take some subjects virtually anytime I want.
2.) Two summers at 6 units a pop = 12 units. That means I only need 2 more units overload whenever I feel like it.
3.) This means 20 units per sem + one 2-unit overload (if possible this sem na!) and the summers = the Three-year-plan is achieved.

Why would the plan be difficult?
1.) I'm working - while it's not (always) an 8-5 job. It is still work, 20 units while working is insane.
2.) ALFG - I gave my word. I'm committed to making the most of the opportunities that Forensic will give. That means.. Basta Nov 24-28 depending on what happens there. Further dreams might bloom.
3.) Pressumption of Regularity? - this is law school, failing is a clear and present danger


Why do I even have a crazy three year plan

1.) Age - I'm one of those crazy purists with thier misguided belief that life begins after the bar. From what I've seen here. LOL... The Arellano people have a life do you?
2.) Batch - I'm ADMU BS LM Batch 2006. I'm already a year delayed as it is.
3.) My Lola - I have an 80 year-old grandmother. I promised her I'd become a lawyer. Somehow doing it within her lifetime lends me a sense of urgency.

Final assesment - Rushing past law school might be a bad thing. might not have enough time to prepare for the bar. But that's my problem. I want to finish in three years. I just need to work harder to make it happen.

Ergo Sum, I'll be taking a full load + (if I got unlucky in some subjects), I'll be working, and as Hazel laconically put it. "We're out to whoop ass". [Regretfully, I'm fresh out of bravado right now. co'z it's Nov 1 and I have to commemorate my honored dead]

Now where's the memorial? I need to write my speach!

"Madam President, we will please the court!"

P.S. about that second one? PuRE AgOnY but largely self-inflicted.

The CVC Square off Law Debates. (Part 1)

THE BEGINING

A leap of faith

"Francis you'll part of our debate team sa ANC!" said Hazel on June 24 ,2008. "Kucil will tell you more."


Then and there, without pomp or heraldry I was initiated into the world of varsity debate.


The day before the Arellano Law Forensic Guild was supposed to have a meeting to decide who we were going to send.


The weekend before I was standing in front of the Forensic having my try-outs answering questions like "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?", "Is Bush's invasion of Iraq justified?" and my personal favorite that day "So you think the government should not negotiate with terrorists? even if they threaten to kill Ces Drillon?"

BTW my answer to that last one: Yes, they shouldn't negotiate, you're just making thier criminal act pay. It's going to encourge them to keep kiddnapping journalists knowing that they will get paid for it. Let them behead her for all I care may be that will prevent others like her from dealing with these people for a scoop.

Appologies to Ces, but if you play with fire don't expect me to feel sorry for you if u get burned.

BBTW I liked the try-outs becaue I learned that I could still rely on my background in international law and I could still think on my feet. It boosted my self-confidence.

Being a bit of a pessimist, and not hearing from Hazel till the middle of the week, I expected the worst, ala; "I'm sorry Francis but we have decided not to admit you into the Arellano Law Forensic Guild " Little did I know that I was about to be thrown from the pan into the flames.

For the record I'd been in school for just 3 days when I "try-ed out" following a hiatus of almost 1 year. I was still having doubts if (assuming I ever had one)I still had my "Legal mind". Adjustment was the name of the game. Competing against the best law schools in the Philippines was the last thing on my mind.

Obviously I wanted to beg out of that commitment. I was grossly inexperienced. I wasn't ready! In fact here is a list of all the debates I ever joined:

In AHS

1. Class debate (4M) for our 4th year english class, Librt {I think it was something about abortion) c. 2001. I lost because our teacher hates me :P (bitter)
2. Class debate (4M) for our 4th year english class, Librt (I don't remember) c. 2002. My team won and I was best speaker. (I had my revenge!)

But then remember this was in High School. as you all know high school debates tend to degenerate into screaming matches where you try to browbeat the opponent into conceding that you're right and they're wrong.

In Loyola Schools

1. Media Law Class Debate, Librt: (Must have been something about media law) October 2005. It was Jonathan, Isda and me against 3 intelligent girls who all eventually went to law school. Needless to say they turned us inside out!!!

In ALS

1. Hamon interyear Debate, sponsored by what was then known as the St. Thomas Moore Debate Society, Librt: Elective Officials should have additional requirments for holding office. It was Bubba, Angel and me against a trio of vetran 3rd year law debaters from STM. The result? Despite Angel Aguinaldo's evident skill and our team's fighting spirit, it was a gala massacre. The third years were citing laws and jurisprudence we had never even dreamed off.

If any of you remember the mess I made that day did you think I could ever become a debater?

See, so few that I remember all of them. 1 win 3 losses 25% and my last win
came over 6 years ago!!! LOL!

To my credit ASIL trained me to be a mooter, and I believe they did a good job, but moot court and debate are completely different animals. Plus I worked in a couple of call centers (yeah, yeah I worked in a call center so what!?! does that make me any less of a human being?)

But my only real advantage was that my Father talks to me in English and Tagalog is my second language (TSL :P )

I am (relatively) young and (was) inexperienced. There was no way I was the best choice for that team. I had to talk (debate?) my way out of this.

But when I met Kucil in person (For the second time although IMHO it counts as first since our first meeting was during the try outs) she was so convincing and determined that I didn't have the heart to refuse. No wonder she's such as successful medrep.

I knew nothing! Kucil and Warren would have to teach me everything from the ground up. I think that helped me a lot because I had no ego going into the contest. I accepted thier corrections and suggestions with becoming humility because they knew better and I was but a learner.

Square-Off would be my OJT. Great my OJT was a live fire exercise with real live opponents who shot back and on live Television to boot.

I had less than a week to learn enough about my new trade to at least look convincing as a debater.

Well, Forensic was taking a huge leap of faith. They did not know, or bother to ask, how utterly inexperienced I was and how dismal my previous debating experiences were. I guess a leap of faith deserves another. Like I said on ANC "I'm a freshman, but if they my team thinks I'm ready then I must be!"

Later I found out that Hazel and Kiev were sent to compete at Teleradio event on NBN. It was also Kiev's first time to debate in law school. Some how that made me feel a lot better about myself co'z I wasn't alone.

Next: San Sebastian vs. Arellano: the fairy tale begins

Changes

The only constant thing is change. Well sure enough I was ripe for a few blows of the delta aoulis. The winds of change really hit me hard lately.

Hm, actually I don't feel like writing anything much right now. I just wanna talk about us playing with our new laptops =>>>>

First time? =))

Well that and how thankful I am for the change.

I have a new home now. It's called Arellano Law and I'm proud to call it my own.



Here people don't judge you by the brand of your shoes, Being a working student is the norm, and you don't have to be a Scion to be accepted.


I have a new family now (without prejudice to my old one). It's called the Arellano Law Forensic Guild.

I want to thank them (and strangle them) for throwing me into the fire so soon. Thank you for having faith in me and I hope I fulfilled your expectations.

There's two of them right now. Yes we were goofing off playing with the camera of our (hard) won laptops.

The floating face is Kucil our mother, though she'll never accept the adage since she's only 24, and President. It was by her will that our ANC Square off coup was possible. She's in 4th year now and I don't know what we'll do without her.

The charming lass in pink is Kiev, like me (before the ANC thing) she's untested and an unknown x-factor, who knows what she's capable of. Well we'll soon find out. I'm curious about how well she'll do because like me she's gonna have her trial by fire with virtually zero preparation. and if my case be the precedent, then Forensic is in good hands.

Then of course there's me. Hopefully we can get more pics of the others soon.



Judging by the way things are going. Those few short hours we spent at MMS was my sembreak. Its time to hit the books cause the drums of war are beating again.

Foresnic Guild aside, I'm back on track to achieving my dreams and only time will tell if I'll be found worthy or wanting when the time comes. Yet my hopes are high and (I pray) my time is neigh.

Ad majorem dei gloriam

P.S. Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus means = Let Justice be done though the world may perish, c'mon guys you know how much I love Desideratic latin phrases.