Balancing One Point

I have started studying again and am often asked how my studies are going. Depending on the day, my answer will vary. Sometimes I feel confident, especially when I find that I still remember the characteristics of a join tenancy or the rules regarding piercing the corporate veil. Other times, I feel overwhelmed, like when I realize that I've hardly made process on typing up my corporations outline.

One point is my hurdle, but I have to be certain to study just as hard as I did the last time. I admit that this second time around is much harder to get (and stay) motivated for. The material still looks familiar. I am still getting about 60-70% of my MBE multis right. I can still recite the elements for strict liability.

I am finding that I can run 3-5 miles easily on the treadmill when I have my BarBri outline with me. So, though I am not really progressing on typing up new outlines, I am reading the ones I used this summer and reading the big BarBri book. I have some "Law in a Flash" cards that a friend graciously gave me and those have been helpful, if not for the sole reason that it is a new format.

In other news, I am up to about 6 miles that I can run at one time. My marathon junkie of a brother will take me out on Sunday for a long run (for me...it will be an "easy jog" for him). I am looking forward to seeing my progress on achieving that goal of mine in February.

The good thing about studying so much during the winter is that it is much easier to cozy up on the couch with some hot tea, a kitty on my lap, and a Barbri outline when it's dark and cold outside. But, in all honesty...I look forward to cozying up on my couch next winter with a memoir instead of a bar prep outline.

December is for Studying

Or so I tell myself.

Last week was wonderful. Family and food are among my favorite things in life and Thanksgiving combines those two things very well. Since I'm not in school anymore at night, I've been able to bake more than in years past. I made an eggnog quick bread with rum soaked raisins, a classic pumpkin pie, and an experimental apple pecan chess pie. My sig other's birthday was yesterday, but I decided to hold off on baking his gingerbread spice flan cake until later, considering we had already stuffed our faces plenty over the past week. I need to start taking pictures of these baked goods so that I can blog about them along with a gazillion others who already have food blogs.

One thing I enjoy about entertaining out-of-town guests is having an excuse to go out to nice places to eat. Since the guests (sig other's family) came from Philly, we decided that Southern food would be a nice bet and hence, ventured to Watt's Grocery. Everything we gnoshed on was delightful. If any of y'all have not been there, try to make time to do so. The menu is seasonal and changes often, so it's hard to get bored (though I do wish the deviled ham were on the menu year-round).

This December will be marred by Bar exam study for me. It's a good thing I don't like shopping. In fact, I almost detest shopping during the holiday season. On Black Friday, we went to a beer event/fundraiser at Triangle Brewing Company in Durham. There were 15 casks of NC beer, including my contrasting favorites---Duck Rabbit Coffee Porter and TBC's Habanero XPA. It was a wonderful event and a great way to support a few good causes all at once (cystic fybrosis, supporting local businesses, and supporting NC breweries).

So, now it's officially back to the study grind. The break was good while it lasted. I am going to do a little bit each night through the month of December. Starting off with Suretyships last week was not a good idea. So far, Corporations has been easier going and I know it will be tested. I actually did quite well on the Corporations essay in July, though I doubt piercing the corporate veil will be tested again in February. I'm speculating something about shareholders and mergers. Hmmm....

I haven't had any panic attacks yet about the bar exam. Mainly what I am struggling with is being patient (there are things I want to do now that have been put on hold until March) and staying motivated (sometimes hard to see how a bar license is a benefit when I see my licensed colleagues having difficulties landing gainful employment). I have to remind myself that good things do come to those who wait and that yes, being a licensed attorney will provide me with more opportunities than I have now.

Patience and motivation...can I get a pint of that, please?

Racing Against the Fear

If y'all haven't figured this out already, I like to make analogies.  When I'm running, I tend to analogize everything to running.  Tonight was no different.

Since the time change a few weeks ago, I've been trying to figure out how to get in a few runs during the week.  I am not a morning person.  When I intend to run in the morning, I inevitably choose to sleep another 30 minutes.  However, I don't have much of a problem getting motivated to exercise between 5-7 p.m.  The fact that it gets dark at 5:30 throws a monkey wrench in my best laid plans to exercise.  This week, I tried to run 3 miles on the treadmill and it was dreadful.  I love my gym, but the air there is not nearly as fresh and crisp as the air I breathe while running outside.  Tonight, I was planning on another run on the treadmill, but decided to run outside instead.

Why haven't I gone running outside in the evening since time change? Because I was afraid.  Afraid that something would happen to me and no one would know, afraid that I would fall and injure myself and no one would see me laying on the side of the road, etc...

Well, tonight I decided to face those fears.  I will have to face my fears of failure in February when I take the bar exam again.  I think one of the best things I can do to help face a fear is to prepare myself for any situation that could present itself.   

So, tonight, I put on my reflective gear, tucked my ID and my cell phone in my pocket, texted a friend to say I was heading out for a run, and put my big, vicious attack dogs (well, they're big at least) on their leashes.  I went out for a run in my (lighted) neighborhood at a time when I knew people would be getting home.  Somehow knowing that my address is on my dogs' tags and that "parents" and "neighbors" were programmed in my cell phone made me feel safer.

And so I ran.  It was a wonderful run.  I could have gone longer, but my security guards were tired.    I did not want to run longer without them.  I do think that a healthy sense of fear motivates us and keeps us safer.

Facing the fear of running at dusk will be like facing the fear of the bar exam in February.  All I can do is prepare myself to the best of my ability and run with it.  Once the adrenaline of running (and of the bar exam) kicks in, the sense of fear subsides and is overcome by a sense of vitality and accomplishment.  I won't let my fears beat me.

Now, if only I could take the bar exam with my pups at my side :)

The countdown ticker

Because I need to see it to believe it.

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.

Perhaps the Biggest Failure of 2008....

Enough said.

And, finally, NC turned BLUE!!!!

I waited all day yesterday to hear the other bit of news that I was eagerly anticipating...that Obama had won North Carolina.  Unfortunately, provisional ballots kept many from calling North Carolina, though Obama had received more votes than his opponent on election day.  

The Obama campaign battled hard in North Carolina and I wanted this last victory.  Even if Obama had lost in North Carolina, it would have been a feat in itself that we had come so close.  Luckily, Obama was not relying on our electoral votes to win the election, so I felt some comfort in knowing that even if we lost North Carolina, we *did* win the United States.

And then today, two days after the election, the AP called it....

President-elect Obama is the apparent winner in North Carolina, a symbolic triumph in a state that hadn't voted for a Democrat in more than a generation.

North Carolina turned blue.  Carolina, Blue!  Today was a beautiful day for such inspiring news.  I have voted in every election I have been eligible to do so, so my experience at the poll was not much different than what I've experienced in the past.  However, I have never felt so proud to be a North Carolinian and an American as I do today.