Flemish brown ales (like the aformentioned Liefmans Goudenband) pair beautifully with nutty cheeses like Gruyère, Beaufort, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Especially when they’re accompanied by the sweet taste of victory, namely over 14-page memoranda of law.

I’ve been asked repeatedly how I’m able to retain my sanity as a full-time professional and a nearly-full-time law student.  The answer, in short, is that said sanity retention is almost a forced chore.  Let me take that back.  It is a forced chore.  However, I find that I still have plenty of time to avail of my many hobbies … more time, it seems, than many of my non-working classmates.

Not surprisingly, it all boils down to time management, and it’s actually made somewhat easier by having to work during the day.  I am by nature an expert procrastinator, and quite easily distracted by shiny objects and beer.  But when confronted with 40+ hours of work and 30 hours of school per week, I quickly realized how unbelievably valuable time is to those without enough of it (namely, myself).  For the first couple weeks of this arrangement, I was probably sleeping 4 or 5 hours per night, and my stress level was through the roof.  I think that it was during one of these frantic episodes that I, quite literally, slapped myself repeatedly and asked myself WHAT THE F#*& I WAS DOING.  

After calming down from these mild histrionics, I reflected upon my inner nerd and popped open Excel.  After a bit of numerical finagling, it became obvious that with optimal efficiency, I could easily get my 7 hours of sleep, and have Friday night as well as an entire weekend day to do whatever I felt like.  Doing so, of course, would require a strict regimen of ignoring distraction and finishing whatever homework I started.  I only had to force the new schedule upon myself like for a week before it just became normal.  I admit, it is somewhat unnatural for anyone to claim a 70-80 hour week as normal, much less manageable, but it really isn’t as bad as it seems if you actually look at it:

Weekdays, except Friday:

• Alarm: 0730
• Shower, etc.: 0730-0800
• Work from home: 0800-0930
• Take the train to work: 0930-1000
• At work: 1000-1745
• Take the train home: 1745-1815
• Drive to school: 1815-1825
• Class: 1830-2030 (or 2130, depending on the day)
• Drive home: 2030-2040 (or 2130-2140)
• Make and eat dinner: 2040-2130 (or 2140-2230), half of which I’m eating and studying simultaneously
• Continue studying: whenever I’m done with dinner until 0000
• Whatever: 0000-0030
• Bedtime: 0030

Friday:

• Same as above, except I get home around 1800 and don’t study at all

Saturday:

• 8-12 hours of studying, more if necessary (i.e. a paper is due)

Sunday:

• The joy of doing as little or as much of nothing as I feel like.

I mentioned that having to work makes time management easier.  It’s counterintuitive, but true nonetheless; having to get up at the same time every day, and knowing that work always takes up a certain amount of time per day helps with scheduling what’s left against what’s left to be done.  

One last important note:  I find it crucial to continue doing stuff I like whenever I can, especially when it involves physical exertion.  The only time I went two weeks without hiking, going for a bike ride, working out, or even just heading out for a quick jog was at the start of the school year.  At the end of those first two weeks, I don’t think I could have even written a summary of Green Eggs and Ham, much less properly brief a case.

Ok, I’ve moved on to a St. Bernardus Abt 12 and it’s time for me to focus on that rather than this silly post.