And... that's a wrap for semester one

The poor old proverbial putts have been cast aside for the past few months while I have been occupied with my first semester of law school, and now that I've emerged from the rubble after nearly three weeks of finals, I figured I'd try to jot down what few thoughts I have at the moment.

1. My writing ability has gone to crap. I've been reading too many confusing and long-winded sentences, so humorless, absent of poetic flair and devoid of any style in sentence construction that I think it's rubbing off on my own writing, which already didn't have much ability to spare.
2. This semester was my first where I actually felt like I was dependent on coffee/tea 5 days out of the week. I mean, I've commonly been sleepy during post-lunch afternoons before, but I would just let it slide. That simply won't fly anymore.
3. Someone once told me about their first year of law school that the maturing process was equivalent of all four years of undergrad. Still on the fence with how I feel about that; this semester felt long, but I don't know if it equates to two whole years of undergrad. Close, maybe.
4. The perks of living in a cool city are severely diminished when you are there to go to law school. 
5. Major conference college basketball is not that fun. Sure, the players are more talented, but there are also a lot more meaningless games/games everyone expects you to win. Maybe my tune will change if UCLA actually picks up their play for conference schedule.
6. Still, I feel very fortunate to be at UCLA. Sometimes I like to pinch myself and remind myself not to take it for granted.
7. Trader Joe's is really good at what it does.
8. I love being able to try unique places to eat almost every time I eat out. I also enjoy supporting mom and pop shops over the typical chains, which is quite a departure from my prior mantras.
9. You appreciate the days off so much more when your days at work are grueling.
10. I'm so very thankful for having a caring girlfriend and loving family within driving distance.

On an aside: happy birthday to my good friend Diane, who turns 24 today. We getting old.