The Who, L.A. Nokia Theatre, Nov. 8, 2008

All thanks to my beautiful wife!

There are better ways...

...to spend a Friday evening. This afternoon, my fiance called to ask if I knew Obama was in town tonight. I did. She asked if I wanted to go because her brother had five tickets. Even though I was tired and ready to go home, I reluctantly agreed to meet her at the high school where the rally was being held and where the doors were to open at 5:00. Leaving straight from work, I fought the horrendous Las Vegas traffic to get to that part of town and had no real problem finding a parking place.

Once there, I met up with my fiance, her brother, and her parents. We went and got at the back of a serpentine line that stretched around the outer edges of a high school parking lot. As the sun set, the line slowly inched forward. We talked and tried to warm ourselves at it got cooler and darker. The time crept by, but since the doors didn't open until 5:00 we hadn't expected to be in immediately. Well, after about two hours in line, it was really cold and we were still quite a ways from the door. I just couldn't see how they would fit us all in there. We saw Obama's motorcade arrive and so we knew he would be inside soon. I decided to walk up to the front and see if were going to get in or not. My future brother-in-law came up too and we spoke to a policeman who said they were searching everybody and trying to get people in, but he had no control over the process and someone else, indicating people behind him over his shoulder, were in charge of that. While future brother-in-law decided to ask another question, I decided to go further and talk to someone who might know if we were going to get into the rally.

I continued to walk along the line of people waiting and then I walked through the doors into the courtyard where people were entering the gym. I bypassed an initial security checkpoint where they were searching bags by simply walking past them. Actually, I'm just assuming that's what they were doing because I didn't stop to look. I just kept walking. I've had enough experience to know a lot can happen if you pretend like you belong and walk with a purpose. I stepped into the short line that was heading into the gym, but would first pass through a metal detector. I really only wanted to see if there was any chance of us getting in there. As soon as I got to the door, the fire marshall steps up and says, "That's it. No more. Alright, one more," and then ushers me through the door. Things seemed to be in a rather chaotic state. I walked right through the metal detector which beeped detecting the keys in my pocket, but no one seemed to notice or care. It was like I walked up at a shift change or something and slipped right through. There were so many secret service guys and other security officers and I walked right in there. I'm not joking, someone could have easily brought in a weapon. That worries me if there is that big of a gap in his security detail.

Anyway, the next thing I knew, I was standing in a crowded gymnasium full of people waving Obama signs and hoping to see the Man. I called my fiance and told her that I was the last one in--her mom thought I was joking because their line had started moving. They were letting them into the (outdoor) courtyard where speakers had been set up to convey the speech, but there was no heat or visuals. Obama decided to go out there and talk to those people before coming in the gym. I thought that was a real stand up thing to do because there were still several hundred people out there who had not got into the gym. He used a microphone and I could hear the noise, but could not see him from my place in the gym (apparently, he stood on a table). My fiance told me to stay in there and watch, but she thought it was unfair because I was the only one in the group that didn't want to be there and somehow I had ended up inside. She told me they had waited that long, so they would probably just listen to the speech. Now, I just have to mention that it was legitimately cold outside, like 40s going down to 30s or something. I know I was shivering.

The atmosphere inside was one of anticipation, not quite the electricity you might expect. Loud music was blaring and finally a voice came over the loud speaker and announced that....some dude was taking the stage. Seriously, I couldn't understand him, but it was some guy who was a lifelong democrat that only three days ago decided to vote for Obama instead of Clinton. He said that three days ago he went to Obama'a office and asked how to help. I really have no idea why he spoke. Obama was ready to go on and this was only irritating people. He finally wraps up and announces....the governor of Arizona! What!?!! Who organized this crap? We all know Obama is in the hallway behind the gym, we see him through the little glass in the door, who cares what anyone else has to say. Madame Governor of Arizona (and why she was speaking I don't know) said it was her pleasure to announce.....that she was endorsing Obama. Great. Give us old news. I already heard this earlier in the day, big whoop. I really cannot imagine she has that much political sway. Then she mumbles some words and the crowd goes wild. I assume this means that Obama is entering because the noise becomes louder and everyone is holding their damn signs up so that you can't see anything. I assume he was shaking hands because this went on for two minutes before he showed up on stage. Before he got on stage, my fiance called and said she was freezing and was going to leave (we had other plans to pick up our new sac-tional couch--from LoveSac) with her brother. I told her that if she would hold on for a few minutes, I'd come out. I just wanted to see the Man. Finally, he got on stage and said something about being fired up and ready to go (apparently that is a campaign slogan or something). His next commetn was that he was sorry he was late, but there were 2000 people outside who did not get in and so he wanted to speak to them. OH BROTHER. What a politician! There were not 2000 people outside. There were probably over 2000 inside, but the number outside was much smaller. After that wonderful minute of his speech, I decided I had enough and turned and walked out the door where all the freezing people wondered why I was leaving. I resisted the urge to say I was bored and going home.

I met up with my fiance and we went on to do other things. The general consensus from our group was that this was a terribly produced event. They did not plan very well and that kind of crap can make people not want to vote for you. I know it was a rally and that they were trying to make it exciting, but it was just crap. I'm sure that there were good parts had I stayed there, but after two hours in line and my fiance stuck out in the cold, it just wasn't worth standing there for something I could catch on the news later. Chalk this one up to experience. Don't go stand in line for political rallies, and if you're ever in charge of a rally, make sure you plan effectively. I think the worst part of this is that I haven't made up my mind yet (my choice is not in the race yet) and this was not a good experience. I know it can't be blamed on Obama. He didn't plan it and he probably had little to do with deciding who did plan it. I just found it interesting that the rally for the candidate bearing the flag of change was so frustrating. It just seemed to be what you might expect from a politician. I know they do things for the spin and all, but giving out way more tickets than you have seats, just so you can have news crews show the long line and say there is lots of interest, is the wrong way to go about things. Oh well, maybe we'll get change next time.

And then after a sleepless night...

...you log on to the NYbarexam.org website to find out whether all the hard work paid off when you took the exam. You nervously enter your BOLE id number and your birthdate and wait for a screen to pop up with the results. There are a lot of words and you scan it looking for the winner... and then you finally read the first line, "The State Board of Law Examiners congratulates you on passing the New York State bar examination held on July 24-25, 2007." And then you read the next sentence, which is straight out of law school, cya 101, "Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this lookup screen, each applicant must rely on the official notification (via U.S. Mail) as to whether he or she has passed the examination."

HA.

Well, I'm going to have faith that they were accurate with my name and go celebrate that I passed the NY bar exam. And also, start studying for the Nevada bar exam since they, unfortunately, don't have any reciprocity. Such is life.

And just like that...

...it's done. It's all over. Fin. The end. Well, hopefully. We won't know for sure for another 4 months, but it is no longer in my hands. A few hours ago I walked out of the NY Bar Exam, having completed it. What a wonderful feeling! I couldn't help but grin as I made my way home. I know some of my friends are taking the NJ bar and so they've got one more day, and I really don't envy them. So, I thought that I would offer a few thoughts and insights to the NY Bar Exam from my perspective while it is fresh in my mind.

First, they give you little wrist bands (like the ones you get at a concert or a waterpark) that you have to wear for two days. It's their way of tagging you so that you can be easily identified. I don't know if they do it every time, but no one told me about this. It ended up being a sort of little status symbol. It was bright, neon green and it said NYS BAR EXAM- THIS IS VALID FOR 2 DAYS, DO NOT REMOVE. When I was riding the train home, I tried to make sure the words were facing out to help people understand why I was wearing a bright green bracelet and carrying my stuff in a clear-gallon sized bag.

That's another thing. You can easily spot the bar applicants, by their silly little plastic bag (85% of which say Barbri). They are filled with the following items: pencils, sharpeners, pens, highlighters, tissues, candy, earplugs, a piece of paper that is your ticket into the exam, and a few other odds and ends. Everyone was wearing a watch. Pretty much no one had their cell phones. Now, I did have my ear plugs in, but I think these two days of testing are the longest I've been in public without hearing a cell phone ring in years!

Things I would consider indispensable for the exam: earplugs and immodium. The ear plugs are obvious. You're in a room with a lot of other people and even the silence is loud. You will hear every turn of the test booklet pages, every squeaky chair, every person walking who carelessly chose to wear heels. Good ear plugs take you to a quiet place, a place where contracts are always breached, burglars are always caught shortly after their crime, and spouses regularly kill each other in a jealous rage. As for the immodium. I think that is self explanatory, but apparently it is one of the bar exam secret tips that no one shares publicly. Everybody's doing it, but no is talking about it and it could be the difference between finishing all the questions with time to spare or randomly guessing in the last minutes.

I also have to add peanut butter sandwiches as bar exam must have. I saw more of these during the lunch break that I've seen in years. I, of course, had one in my bag too. Peanut butter is good for protein, which is good for energy to get through these exams. If you take this exam, you will put a lot of thought into what you eat before and during the exams. I followed Barbri's day before exam instructions nearly to the letter, but I didn't eat out with my friends. No siree, I couldn't risk eating at a restaurant and getting food poisoning. I stuck with what I know and trust--peanut butter.

The bar exam itself was not as terrible as the two months of review leading up to it. The two months of isolation, memorization, and huge amounts of guilt far outweigh the damage done by two measly days of exams. For the New York day, I felt like I knew more than I needed to know, which was exactly what I needed. You don't know what will be tested so you learn a little about everything, and if you're lucky, the examiners will make the first question on the exam about the one topic that neither you, nor 85% of the other candidates really studied. Oh, say like commerical paper, like they did for us for example! What a great feeling! I knew enough to make up a little bit and could take comfort in the fact that everyone else was doing the same thing. The questions ended up being more clear cut than all the practice questions, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Training to spot the issues on harder questions, made this easier and boosted my confidence. Time management is probably the hardest part of the NY day. In the afternoon, when they gave us the 15 minute warning, I was taken by surprise.

On the MBE today, the questions were different than the practice questions from Barbri and MBRE. In general, I thought they were more straight-forward than the practice questions. You generally didn't have to read through tons of crap to spot the issue. Some questions were very easy, while others were harder. There were many times where I could get it down to two choices, but would have to guess. Other times, I could only arrive at the answer through process of elimination. How I did on the questions today is anyone's guess. It was so hard to guage since it was a little unfamiliar.

One important thing to have for the bar exam is vacations plans for the near future. This will give you something to talk about with people while you're waiting to get into the room or waiting for the proctor to give you the exam. (And don't expect the proctors to be any younger than the ones that do your exams in law school.) Many people say to choose your lunch time companions wisely, I agree but for a different reason. Barbri said don't choose people who talk about the exam, because inevitably they will point out an issue that you missed. I say suck it up and talk to those people. It's too late to do anything about it at that point. The good thing is that a little analysis at lunch can help prepare you for the afternoon. Yesterday, we figured out during lunch what issues had been covered in the morning essays and what topics were likely to come up in the afternoon. We were pretty much spot on in guessing what the topics were. In fact, when I was waiting for everyone to file in from lunch, I opened a file on my computer with corporations notes and brushed up right before we began, and lucky me, there was a corps question. Talking to others can also make you realize that you're not the only one that is making stuff up or guessing wildly, but this is what works for me, your results may differ.

The best piece of advice I can offer is to not give up on the exam or the whole bar review process. I don't know if I passed yet, but I know that I would be kicking myself if I had quit last week and knew what I know about the exam now. You can do it. It's not impossible or so unbearable that you can't do it. Once you're done with it all, for a moment, you can just enjoy that sense of accomplishment--just for a moment or two. Then, you can go back to worrying for the next four months whether you passed, where you are going to find a job, and how in the world you're ever going to be able to pay off your student loans.

Graduation is not the end...

...of law school, the Bar Exam is. And, Wow! What a punch it packs! I thought I'd write a quick post just to document the fact that I did graduate. It was a nice day. It turned out to be more about having a day off from bar review than about the big event itself. After sitting for an hour and a half, walking across the stage only took a few seconds. It was sort of anti-climatic, especially when you don't even really get your diploma at that point (as of this date, I still don't have it). It was a lovely day though and it was nice to have a few shining moments to celebrate the successful survival of three years of law school. Somehow, I ended up in almost the exact middle of the audience in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. It was a nice moment to take in when all of us stood there and were recognized for our efforts. My parents made it out, as well as one friend from here in the city, and it was nice to have some familiar faces there to show their support.

The whole bar exam process is something else. It is frightening and annoying and stressing and exhilarating all at the same time. I will write honestly: I have been more stressed during these weeks of bar study than I ever was in the three years of school. They tell you it is a marathon and not a sprint and that things will come in time, but they are slow to come and you have to work hard. Our bar review course (I took Barbri) is over and we're on our own now. Some friends and I did the practice test that many people do after the main course and my scores seem to be barely in the passing range. Supposedly, these questions are harder than the bar ones, if that is the case, I may be in good shape.

One funny thing is that the odds are definitely in my favor that I and most of my classmates will pass. In fact, last summer, 87% of the first time applicants, who graduated from NYC area law ABA approved law schools (like Cardozo) passed. That is a very encouraging factor, but no one wants to be in that 13% that don't pass. That means a lot of studying and a lot of guilt when you're not. There is so much to learn and at this point, a mere 10 days away, I can't wait for it to be over, but at the same time fear it may not be enough time to get ready. Seriously, it plays some major head games. I'm doing much better than some people. I'm starting to relax a little more because I can tell that I'm learning the stuff and it is coming together in a way that would seem to indicate I'm on track to pass, but you never can tell, so you keep pushing.

For the record, whatever I may have said before about law school being a waste of time if you have to take a special class for the bar was incorrect. You absolutely need the law school experience to be able to comprehend all the information they throw at you in Barbri. Suddenly, things I learned three years ago have come back to me and are starting to make a little sense and I'm finally seeing a big picture (part of that is the absence of all the theories that professors are so fond of sharing). My advice is to latch on to the bar review company of your choice early in law school and take advantage of what they have to offer. It could help you a lot and you could get better grades because of it. I know that I would have done that part of things differently had I the chance to do it again. My first year, I thought that was just extraneous crap, I was wrong. It's worth your time and worth the investment. Hopefully, all of this will play out just right and this two months will forever remain a blur in my memories, it's not a summer I want to repeat, but I'm glad I did it.

And just like that...

...it's nearly over. In fact, I am done with the actual classes for law school. I can't believe I just typed that. It's Friday evening and I just woke up from a well-earned nap. Earlier today, I turned in a paper which deprived me of a little sleep, but not too much, you know me. Honestly, that paper could have come right out of my undergrad days. My last class was actually yesterday and that made it incredibly hard to focus, I think the only reason I did focus was the deadline. This paper was different from other law school papers and what a relief that was! We didn't have to bluebook it or do fancy citations, it was a literary analysis/critique and that involves my opinions and thoughts. About an hour before it was due, I wasn't quite at the requisite length, and suddenly I remembered that old trick of changing the font to get the paper to the desired length. You don't change the font size, just the font, and you have to make sure it is a nice, readable font, so that it doesn't look like that is what you did. Seriously though, I could have turned in what I just fine.

So, the reason I'm writing now is because I was telling myself all week what a momentous occasion this was and that I should blog about what things are relevant at the moment and pass on some advice. First, the third year of law school really is that much better than the other two. It wasn't necessarily easier than 2L year, but it certainly had its perks. If you plan your classes right, you can end up like me. Finals start on Monday and I have my first and only final a week from Monday, followed by another 10 page paper due two weeks from today. That's it. Seriously. I once vowed never to take classes where you wrote a paper rather than take an exam, but this has certainly had its benefits. I get an entire week to try and learn the finer points of evidence before the exam. It's exciting.

Ooh, now I remember the advice I really wanted to pass on: back up your hard drive on a regular basis and buy the extended warranty for your laptop! The paper that was due this morning--I actually meant to take care of it last weekend, but on Saturday morning I woke up, turned it on, plugged in the cord and it went dead. Just like that. No amount of button pushing or taking out the battery or anything like that could get any sign of life. Fortunately, and apparently, I bought the extended warranty for my laptop. Even better, when I called the Dell support line, I got an American english speaker. They had me do a few things and arranged to send a new motherboard to a technician who would put it in for me. Well, the days went by slowly, but on Wednesday, the tech called me and came over to put in the new board. He made cracks about how he hadn't seen this model in a long time and was surprised that it was still under warranty. Finally, after taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together again, we pushed the power button and voila, the lights came on and it whirred back to life. What a great moment. So, there is that lesson.

An ancillary lesson is that you should buy a Nintendo Wii. Those few days would have been unbearable without it. Even though it didn't have a word processor for me to do my paper on, it did have an Internet browser which allowed me to check my email and ensure my sanity. Sure, it's not the best way to surf the net or send emails, but it got me through the hard times. As an added bonus, it is also fun for playing games like Tennis.

Alright, back to the topic of school. I had my first real interview this week. I know, that sounds kinda pathetic for a 3L, but it was a very rewarding experience. I got to wear my suit to school and this time when people asked if I had an interview, which they invariably do when you wear a suit, I could say with pride, YES! That was a good feeling. Even better was that this interview was the result of sending out one resume. I know, seriously? I only sent out one resume? Obviously, I am not the typical law student and have other kinds of ambitions, and this is what worked best for me. There has been no assistance from the OCS (office of career services) and if you have grades (and ambitions) like mine, you shouldn't expect much from them. A lot of smaller to mid-size firms don't even hire people until this time of year anyway. I've also heard from various sources that mass mailings don't do much and unsolicited resumes are often just thrown in the trash. Another important fact about the job search I have learned is that (and this number is probably totally made up, but it represents some truth) only 20% of all available jobs are listed on something like Monster, Careerbuilder, Craigslist, OCS, etc. While a large portion of jobs are never listed, some are listed only on their company website. So, if you know a business you would like to work for, check out the career opportunities tab on their site or send them a resume. At least, this targeted approach is my philosophy, don't take my word for it, but I'm 1 for 1 on interviews to resume sent ratio. Now that is something.

Law Revue, The Barrister's Ball, a job, graduation...

... are all things that I've concerned myself with in the time since I last wrote. Well, I haven't graduated yet, but it s definitely something that I, and many of my classmates, have been thinking about lately. I don't even know exactly how much school we have left. I don't think I want to know. It's been a long time coming and now that it is here, I'm not so sure I'm ready to be done with school. School has been a fixture in my life for so long. Sure there were times when I dropped out or forgot about it, but even then it was still a possibility for the future. After graduation, it is likely that I may never attend school on a regular basis again. Oh well right? That's why we get jobs. Something else to fill our time with and instead of paying, we get paid to do it. That's cool. Now if only I could find a job.

Finding a job is something that we all must do at some point. For some 3ls it is a bigger deal. For some, this issue was practically resolved before the beginning of the school year. For others, it may be the length of another school year before it is resolved. I am not terribly worried about finding one, although it is a concern that I must consider often. I think something that makes it harder for me is that I have other interests besides the law, so the hard part is finding a job where I can be pursuing what I want as well as making money. I think that if I didn't worry about that, the job search would be even easier.

We just had our Barrister's Ball last week. It is essentially law school prom. I didn't go either of my first two years. Maybe I should have; maybe not. Either way, this was a fun night that I almost didn't attend. I received a lot of peer pressure to go and I'm finally glad I just bought the ticket and went. It's important to remember that sometimes your buying more than a run at the kosher buffet or open bar, sometimes your buying an opportunity to create memories you wouldn't have had otherwise. Since the Ball was right after spring break, it was exciting to see people we hadn't seen for nearly two weeks. Add to that the fact that everyone was dressed up and it makes for quite a party. It gets even better when you have good friends with whom you can share the memories. A lot of the Law Revue people were there and they always make things more exciting.

We did our law revue show about a month ago. It was, for me, a huge success. I had a really good time and felt rewarded for the hard work that we put into it. The cast put forth an amazing effort, especially considering that we are all in law school! The audience seemed to enjoy it as well. For me, law revue was absolutely the best experience in law school. I cannot emphasize enough the role that it played in getting me through these three years. It's so important to me to be able to do all the things I enjoy. I enjoy theatre and performing; I enjoy the law as well. My advice to anyone with time left in law school is to make sure that you get involved with an activity that you enjoy there. If they don't have a club for what you enjoy, start one. Make some new friends, more memories, and have a good time doing it.

Here is one of the videos that we did for the law revue show. If you want to see more, go to youtube and search Cardozo Law Revue.