Decanting

Enjoyed coffee and a strudel at Copa Vida this morning as I went over those 100 key flashcards. Got groceries for the next few days (half-and-half since my sweet lab decided he wanted to drink the pint I had left on the counter, and eggs and bread for my packed with protein breakfast sandwich).  Picked up Girl Scout cookies I ordered.  Cleaned the house.  Went to the gym.  Got a pedicure (chose a fun purple for some odd reason).  Finally "got" the difference between spousal privilege and marital privilege and scribbled the stick-person image on a wadded up receipt in my purse. Went to dinner with the beau.  Now, sitting on the couch and drinking wine. Clothing is ready for tomorrow (fleece yoga pants and a fleece pullover). Backup wake-up calls are scheduled.  Snacks are packed (not like we can bring anything in...) and my admission ticket is under my car keys.  I am as ready as I'll ever be.

I am so tired.  I can't believe the bar exam is finally here.  I am going to do my best and that's all I can do. :)

Wish me luck....

Fizzling out

Today's goal was to look at Civil Procedure, Family Law, Mortgages, Contracts/Sales, PR, and then review.  So far, done with Civ Pro and Family Law.  But, it's 3 p.m. and I am just running out of steam.  Realistically, I know I can finish up with those other topics before dinnertime and then enjoy a beer with my flashcards.

I'm just tired of looking at these BarBri outlines.  Tired of writing.  Tired of reading.  Tired of having my cat bite my hand while I type.  Tired of chewing on all of my pens. Tired of index cards.  Just plain tired.

Just a few more hours....

Facebook Statuses

While out running, I started thinking about some law concepts in terms of a Facebook status. Here are some I thought of along the way (a nice, sunny, 3 mile run with my pups):

• Sarah is glad her neighbors don't have a reasonable expectation in the trash and recycling they put out on the curb because she likes seeing who else likes good beer and shops at Costco.
  
• Sarah wonders if her neighbors know that if their dogs (who are on invisible fence) ever attack her dogs while running in the street, they will be held strictly liable for injuries, especially because they've seen the dogs attack others before.
• Sarah would be strictly liable for injuries her cat causes others because her kitty is known to bite.  
• Sarah wonders if running with 2 dogs and an Ipod (not this time, though) would make her contributorily negligent if she got hit by a car.  Surely though, the driver would have had the last clear chance to avoid the accident.
• Sarah hopes she never has to go on to her neighbor's property to protect herself because they have a very nice garden that would cost a lot to repair.
• Sarah thinks that our current president is managing his exclusive powers to handle foreign affairs quite well.
• Sarah wonders if the police ever caught the vandals who stole our Obama signs---they should have been charged with larceny and trespass.
• Sarah thinks people should stop trying to sue restaurants when they find a feather on a chicken wing or a small bone in their fish.
• Sarah will gladly perfect your cash if you give it to her.
• Sarah owns her house in fee simple absolute, subject to her bank's mortgage.
• Sarah thinks Dook players should be held liable in tort (battery) for their flagrant fouls that appear to exceed the scope of consent for a college basketball game.
• Sarah would set up an honorary trust for her dogs, but wonders who she could appoint to enforce it without thinking it was a joke.
• Sarah doubts the Simultaneous Death Act and the 120 hour rule would apply to above-mentioned trust for dogs if the dogs happened to die at the same time.
• Sarah admits she relies on  reliable authoritative texts to make some decisions.

• Sarah's arguments on Tuesday will prevail in "court," unless some unforeseeable, intervening, superseding event occurs.

15 weeks, give or take

The past month has been fun...historic elections, historic sporting events, beer festivals, beach vacations....time is flying by. I realized that the bar exam, take 2 is right around the corner. So...

Last night, I bit the bullet and devised my plan of action for studying. I calculated that I have about 15 weeks of studying ahead of me. My approach to this bar exam will be quite different than my approach to the July exam. First of all, I have more time. Secondly, many of these concepts and rules will still be fresh in my mind, so I won't be learning them for the first time. Lastly, I have a better idea of what will work for me and what won't.

General plan: Start slowly until mid-December (tackle smaller NC topics, do about 50 MBE questions weekly, read outlines). From mid-December until week before Bar exam, tackle 1-2 bigger NC topics and 1 MBE topic. By then, I should be averaging about 100 multis a week, with a few essays thrown in there. The whole week before the exam will be dedicated to review.

If anyone is interested in my specific study plan, I've posted it online should you wish to 1) re-live your experience from this summer as a reminder of how lucky you are to *not* have to be doing this again; 2)compare your study schedule to it; or 3)offer suggestions as to what you found most helpful in your successful endeavor to pass the bar.

Like last time around, I will do my best to make time for myself and for my friends and for my significant other. I will enjoy a glass of wine or a beer in the evenings as I review flashcards. I will eat well and get enough exercise and enough sleep. This time, though...I will pass.

Under 21

I feel like I'm 20 again---everyone else is going out to party while I sit home and wait for the day that I am legal, too.  The good thing about that is that I eventually turned 21 and was able to join my friends as they pounded cheap Jell-O shots and sipped from Blue Cups at He's Not. Once I was there with them, I realized I had not really missed much at all.  I bet joining the bar in the spring will feel the same way.  Right now I'm hearing about what goes on at the bar, but soon I will be hung-over with the rest of them.  One difference, though: I can't "fake" sitting at this bar while hoping no one will ask me for my license.  Even trying to fake it at this bar will mean giving up my barstool forever.

Speaking of drinking (and trying to live up to my promise of talk about good food and drink), on Wednesday night, I joined a bunch of other Triangle-area beer nerds in welcoming Stone Brewing to NC.  I tried an 11th Anniversary (actually, 2) and an Oaked Arrogant Bastard.  The evening of libations at Tyler's was followed by dinner and dessert at The Federal.  I chose the bread pudding for dinner while my favorite dining companion enjoyed a big (yet very reasonably priced) plateful of rabbit.

At least I'm admitted to those bars.  And, in April, I'll be let in to the NC Bar.  I hope there's some good beer waiting for me.

Jogging with Clichés

I admit: I am not a true runner...yet. While my dad and brother can go on and on about the "runner's high," I am not so convinced...yet. Don't get me wrong--I enjoy running while playing soccer, sprinting while playing tennis, and going on long hikes. But, *just* jogging (which is really what I am doing) is truly a mind over matter experience for me. Currently, I run about 2-3 miles, 2-3 times a week (depending on a lot of things like the weather, what I had for dinner, what time I get home, etc.) When I run with others or when I don't know how long a route is, I can go for longer which makes me know that I have a mental block when it comes to running on my neighborhood. I have a few loops that I run and once I get close to home, I lose steam although I could go another loop to increase my mileage. I only say all of this to let you know why running a half-marathon in February really is a tough goal. I am barely able to run 3 miles, much less 13!

Running is meditative for me. I rarely listen to music while I run, preferring to let my thoughts be the only noise between my ears. It seems that with every foot-strike of the pavement, another thought either enters my mind or becomes more clarified. Lately, as more things have been on my mind, I've truly come to appreciate that my father needed to go run to clear his head at the end of the day. Some people are morning runners. I am not and I wonder if I inherited that from Dad. I just cannot get myself out there in the a.m. to run...I much prefer the evening where you can smell dinners being prepared in the neighborhood or check out what beer or wine the neighbors prefer based on what's in the recycling bin. Actually, when I was younger, when dad was mad at us, he would go out for a run to calm down and to think about our consequences. We could always tell how much trouble we were in by the length of his run.

While I'm running, I often analogize running to whatever is the predominant concern of my life: runningis like studying for the bar exam, running is like failing the bar exam, running is like....

Some of the thoughts I had Tuesday evening while running in the rain (my favorite running condition):

• Running is like preparing for the bar exam:  everyone goes at their own pace and has their own style, but essentially we all have the same goal (finishing).
• Running is like studying for the bar and a lot like life: sometimes you've got to slow down, walk, and breathe deeply.  Running when you need to rest causes more harm than good.
• Running is like failing the bar: if you aren't able to meet your goal one day, you put your running shoes on the next day and try again.
• Running (and yoga) is like failing the bar exam: ultimately, you are your only judge and your harshest critic.
• Running is like life: sometimes the pace is steady, sometimes you run "in the zone," sometimes it takes all you've got to finish, sometimes you notice the flowers along the way, sometimes you don't.
• Training for a race is like preparing for the bar exam: you train and train and you hope that on race day, you'll be at your peak.
• Running in the rain reminded me that while being splashed with muddy water in a pain in the neck and a dirty inconvenience, most people do not intend to splash me, harm me, or otherwise annoy me.  For some reason, they are either not paying attention or are so concerned about their own issues to realize that I am running nearby.  I just keep running. 

Enough clichés for you?  Somehow there is comfort in those clichés at times.  I guess that's why clichés are so classic: when there's nothing more elaborate to say, sometimes the simplest saying or thought conveys the message the best. 

Running strengthens my mind and my body.  I'd like to think that preparing for the bar exam strengthens my mind, at the least.  However, I am beginning to think that what I am learning from this experience goes far beyond the original intent and scope of what I thought I would learn from it (torts, wills, property, contracts, etc.).  I am learning valuable lessons in humility, pride, self-respect, gratitude, and perhaps most importantly, just "being" in the moment and being at peace with what is.

It is what it is and this too shall pass.

Goals and More Goals

Reminds me of Univision's coverage of a soccer game: "Gooooooooooooooooollllllllll!!!!!!!!!!"

Confession: It's really hard for me to not plan and set goals.

I never truly realized that until now. Over the past week, as I ramble on to friends, my boss, and my significant other about my "plan" for the next 5-6 months, they have all told me to stop trying to plan things right now. I've been told to take some time off of studying, to take a break....but I am already getting antsy.

Last night, I did pick up a book to read and had a hard time putting it down. I've got stacks of books that I have accumulated over the past four years--my love of reading was only temporarily tempered by a lack of time to do so (thanks to 4 years of law school, at night, while working full-time). I am excited about using the fall and winter to make a dent on my Amazon wish list.

Other non-studying-for-the-bar-exam goals I have for the next few months:

1. Train for half-marathon: this will start in earnest once my marathoner brother gives me my training schedule. I imagine I'll be running 3-4 evenings a week, at least.
2. Read a book for pleasure every 2 weeks (or so).
3. Plant perennials and bulbs in front yard planters (going to class at night meant that weekend projects that were not finished were put off until later and "later" never really came back around).
   
4. Volunteer more often (especially with political campaigns of those I support).
5. Seal kitchen tiles and fix up baseboards. Yeah....long overdue.
   
6. Catch a fish.
   

Those are reasonable, right? Perhaps by focusing on the other enjoyable things in my life, the importance of the bar exam will fade somewhat. Yes, passing it IS important, but I have no doubt I can have a joy-filled life without it (for now). And truth be told, I don't doubt that WHEN I pass the bar in February and WHEN I start my legal career, I will look back on these days where I had the time to read for fun, work in the yard, and to go fishing and wonder why I wanted them to go by more quickly.