YES!!!!!!!

I PASSED!!!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!! No more being an angtsy and mopey hermit....

I just got the letter today and I officially passed the bar exam. *sigh*

Man, I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to finally know. I'd convinced myself that there was no way I could have passed. After all, there was at least one essay question on Criminal Procedure that I knew I'd blown. And I've already talked about my love/hate affair with multiple choice exams.

I knew as of last night since I got a text from a law school pal who found out from another friend of hers that they had the results posted on-line. (They post the exam numbers of people who passed on the official website.) They were supposed to have them up as of last Friday, but for some reason didn't. (Don't ask me how many times I checked the website this weekend... too many to count! And yes, I was cussing the bar examiner people out big time each time I did.)

But I got a hold of the link late last night and there my number was... Then, there's me in my flannel PJ's dancing around the living room screaming and yelling with the family dog staring at me like I'd lost my mind. *laugh* Of course, I had to have my brother double and triple check the number to be sure. But thankfully, the letter showed up today saying that my eyes had not deceived me and the bar examiners weren't playing some belated April Fools joke on my anxiety ridden self.

This is both cool and scary at the same time... I can now *gulp* practice law! I fly out next month to take the oath and get the little piece of paper that says I am a practising attorney. Sheesh...

I must give a HUGE thank you to my wonderful, lovely friends and family. Everyone has been so supportive.

Now, I head back to the real world and the lovely job search...

Yikes! Life sucks and then you.... (otherwise known as bar exam blues)

Gomen.... it's been a while.... I also want to apologize, because this is going to be a self-pity session. But it's what a blog is for, right??? A place where you can b**** and whine to your heart's content and not be dinged too much for it....

So, to update... I failed the bar exam the first time around and made a second attempt recently. I am waiting on those results now... oh, joy.

Why, oh why does being a practicising lawyer all depend on multiple choice????? Give me 2 dozen essays to write and I'll be happy to write my heart out about commercial paper, corporations, trusts or even secured transactions! Ugh....

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I'm not optimistic. I'm just a god-awful multiple choice test taker. (I always wind up whittling down to two answers and picking the wrong one...) If it doesn't happen this time... I'll try again, of course. I can't work in the industry without it.

It's depressing and it's also extremely embarrassing. I feel like an idiot. I feel uncomfortable talking to friends and loved ones, especially friends from law school. (It's not them, it's ALL on my end!!!!!!) They're wonderful people that have been extraordinarily supportive, but really... what can one say to someone who didn't pass the most important exam of their life??

I've heard all the arguments... that bar exams are tough and plenty of smart people have failed. That's all well and good, but it still hurts... I'm still a failure and I'll always be haunted by the fact I was a failure.

I've decided that this tells me I'm just not that smart. Humbling really... but it could be that it's one of those necessary life lessons that I need. I think I've coasted for too long thinking a bit too highly of myself. Maybe a few years down the line I'll realize that this smack in the face is what I need to build character, but in the meantime, it still fundamentally hurts....

It also makes it hard for me to job search in some ways too. I'm in a dead spot right now. My choices are limited by my ability (or not) to pass a bar exam. I know it's not impossible and there are things I can do, but also the failure makes me less inclined to WANT to job search and network as I should.

None of this of course excuses me from actually going out and doing what I need to do. I know that and I will go out and get the job done. I have to. But it still doesn't change the fact it hurts.

Home Sweet Home

So I made the move and everything went pretty smoothly.

The only glitches with driving back were a speeding ticket received in Ohio (I wasn't driving) and getting lost in the South Side of Chicago.

Actually, we didn't get lost, but we wound up driving in circles trying to get to the Super H-Mart in Niles, IL. Apparently trying to get to 94 is impossible thanks to all the construction to the Dan Ryan Exists near Hyde Park. We wound up giving up and just heading home.

I'm home and enjoying catching up on sleep and not doing anything except reading, surfing the Internet aimlessly, watching Korean TV, and exercising occasionally. Heh...

Actually, I'm in the midst of trying to help my dad peel wallpaper in one of the bathrooms. A ton of fun...

Moving made easy!

I have to say, I love the Internet age. It makes so many things easier and moving is not the least of them.

You can arrange for packages to be sent through the Internet.

You can sell things through the Internet. (I LOVE Craigslist and Freecycle.)

You can arrange for movers through the Internet.

It's just awesome. I don't know what I would have done without the Internet.

All of my furniture is just about gone. I have only the kitchen left to pack up, take stuff to donate, throw stuff out and I'm done!

So far, so good....

Packing, packing, packing...

Ah, I am in the middle of packing and cleaning. So much fun...

I had originally planned on using one of those PODS things to move. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check this out.

It was going to cost me a cool two grand though, but I thought it would be easiest to move my stuff. Then I talked to my mom and dad. They convinced me that shipping my stuff UPS was the way to go. I was skeptical, but as of now, I've paid about a tenth of what I would have used for the PODS thing.

The moral of the story? Your mom and dad are usually (not always) but usually right. Heh...

To save on what I'm shipping, I am getting rid of everything that I can possible. So far I have sold all of the furniture in my apartment except for: my bed, a rocking chair, saucer chair, TV, TV stand and baker's rack. My desk is leaving tomorrow and I have to figure out where I'm going to do my computing. Oi vay....

2nd post of the week! Yay!

Yeah, okay... not much sarcasm there... heh...

Anyway, second post of the week. Not much to report. I am packing up my life to move back east right now. I am trying to sell off as much of my stuff as possible (furniture and the like) and ship everything else via UPS.

So far it's going well. I managed to sell about half of my furniture. I'm not making much, but it's still extra cash which is nice. The UPS shipping is a pain though. I put in a request for UPS to pick up last Friday in the afternoon... what do they do? They show up at noon, even though I tell them to stop by after 3:30. Go figure.

Oh, well... We'll try this again. My building has a doorman, so I'll leave the boxes with them this time.

On a different note, got the lovely news today that I might not get my bar results until November, instead of October. AAAAGH!!!! The sheer torture man....

Oops...

Yeah, big oops! I haven't posted since April. *sigh* It's now summer as a friend kindly pointed out... =) Ah, well... Here's the update: (1) Graduated in May (YAY!!!!) (2) Took the bar exam in July (jury's still out on this one... no results until OCTOBER!) (3) Went to a friend's wedding in NY (Congrats Fe!) (4) About to move back east That's basically it. The less said about the bar exam, the better... I'm just glad it's done. I do have a rather funny story to post at some point soon. Anyway, back to the resolution to be better about posting.

Is it spring yet???

Today, the weather is better here, but the last week has been miserable. Absolutely miserable.

A week and a half ago, it was in the 60's to 70's. This past week, it's been in the 30's. On Wednesday, it snowed... SNOWED!!!!

This is not helping with me trying to keep up with school and being healthy. School is just going downhill, frankly. I completely zoned out in both of my classes yesterday. Normally, I'm into the one class, but yesterday, it just completely dragged on.

I really have to get back into it. I have finals the 2nd week of May coming up and I have a 2o-page paper I have to write. I've done the research, but I actually have to sit down and write it. *sigh* Not only that, but I have some pieces due for my part-time job that I need to get done by the end of May.

Aargh... too much to do, too little time and motivation to do it!

On the plus side, I am keeping up with the exercise and healthier eating. At least, for the most part... =)

There I go again...

Ha... Can't even remember to post within a week. (Well, in all fairness to myself, there hasn't been much to post about honestly.)

Keeping up with school... barely.

Job searching... barely.

Eating better.... barely.

Exercising more.... barely... well, actually, I've been pretty good about that. Now if I could get the eating part down pat, I'd be happier.

It doesn't help that I've been hit with the spring cold/flu/allergy thing that's going around right now. Half the people I know have it. I spent the day home yesterday, but I'm feeling better today. It's one of those stupid sort-of cold things. Tickle in the back of the throat, some sniffles, tired and a bit achy, but nothing that keeps you at home too long.

Well, I'm drowing myself in OJ, tea, chicken soup and water, so that should help. I just don't want one of those full-blown head colds, thank you very much!

Back again....

Yep, back again... How about that??? Two days in a row! Also, made changes... still pink, but somehow not as bad... I think. Anyway, let me know what you think. (At least if you've been here before...)

*laugh* We'll see how this goes.

The other thing I've been doing is trying to get my health on track by incorporating better eating and working out more regularly. I've joined up with a couple friends and I'm doing an e-mail support group. It works REALLY well. So far, so good....

I also joined the SELF challenge. You can access info about it here:
http://www.self.com/challenge/welcome

They have a food diary and workout log. Very good stuff and highly reasonable.

Some of my biggest hangups are that I get very hungry a very short time after I eat. But talking to some of my friends, it seems that EVERYONE is just feeling that way. I would say it's working out, but I'm not cutting THAT many calories. Plus friends who aren't working out are feeling the same way. Maybe it's just the transition to spring??? Who knows? I just hope this ends soon. I'm really trying to improve things.

Hmmm.... Been a while....

So okay... I'm apparently not so good with keeping up with things. (Thanks Ben for reminding me I had the blog!) So much for keeping a log of my last year of law school. Heh...

Since the last time I posted:

(1) Went to London and Paris for a school program. (I'll attempt to post some pictures... maybe...)

(2) Took the MPRE - Professional Responsibility exam. (Hey, no lawyer jokes!)

(3) Applied for and will be taking the IL bar exam this July. (Woo-hoo! Never mind that the study course is going to cost me a cool $3k minimum.)

Other than that, nothing major. Still no job prospect as of yet, but I'm working on it. I'm not panicked... yet...

Graduation is in May. My parents and brother are coming out for it, so that will be nice.

This semester has been procrastination central. I have MAJOR senioritis. I'm lucky if I actually get the reading for class done. Heh...

EDIT: YIKES!!!! I haven't posted since May 2005??? What the he**??? Sheesh... I'm terrible at this.

Updates!

Again, too long since my last post! This was supposed to be at least a weekly thing, but it hasn't quite worked out that way...

So, what's been going on with me?

I was offered and accepted a part-time research assistant position with a professor at another law school. I will be doing research on the social, legal and ethical implications of nanotechnology. It's very interesting and timely stuff.

I know what you're thinking, "Are you NUTS??? Don't you already work full-time and go to law school?"

Why, yes... I am still working at the lab and going to school, but I really wanted to get some experience doing legal related research and more analysis intensive writing.

I'm not sure what the correct term is, but non-scientific writing is a weakness for me. I am very self-conscious about my writing. I haven't had much of a chance to do non-scientific writing since I was in college. While I've taken two classes in law school that focus on legal writing, I just still don't feel very confident about my abilities. It's one of the primary reasons I took the RA position. Nanotechnology is also a very timely, up-and-coming topic and I feel this will give me an opportunity to get some writing experience.

Otherwise, I've been swamped with school and work. I will be even more swamped, but at least I will be paid and I'll get some really good experience and contacts. The group I'm working with, the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future, is based at Kent School of Law. The group is studying emerging technologies and looking at the ethical, legal and social implications. It's very interesting stuff. If you want more info, go here.

I just started, so I'm still working out exactly what I'll be doing. If you'd like info on nano (which I'll try to talk about some more as I explore the topic), you can go here or you for info on the national initiative, go here.

Oops...

I just realized I haven't posted in an age and a half.

Since then:

1) Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast.

2) Rehnquist died.

3) Roberts is nominated.

4) School started.

5) Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellwegger break up.

6) Britney has a baby.

It's kinda sad that I remember the last two things but not other things of significance. I'd say more about the above stuff, but there's just far, far too much to say. *sigh*

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. Good luck to the people of Texas and Louisiana. I hope Rita weakens or doesn't devestate the area too much.

Interesting...

So, there are some debate about the 3rd year of law school and whether it's necessary or not. Here's a link to a Yahoo article on the subject:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050809/ap_on_re_us/law_school_third_year

Here's how it usually works, in your second year, you start interviewing heavily for summer associate and post graduate jobs. By the end of your second year, if you're looking for a medium to large firm job, you should have one nearly locked up. Thus, by your third year, you don't have to worry about a thing. All the stress of first and second year should be done with.

That is, unless you are bottom 2/3 of your class. In that case, from what I can tell, you're pretty much screwed.

I won't say where I am, but let's just say I am starting to seriously worry about the job thing. I am starting to rethink my options and plan for contingencies. Not that my grades are bad, they're decent... but they're not spectacular either.

Any advice from those who have finished???

Thoughts on Roberts

Been too busy to post!!! Exam next week in Evidence. We'll see how it goes...

What do I think about Roberts? I don't know. He's got plenty of experience in practive before the Supreme Court. He's a thorough advocate and a great number of people in Washington seem to like him.

He says that he will follow the stated law of the land but let's read between the lines... Laws can be changed and he will be on the body that can ultimately decide what is and is not the law of the land based on the COnstitution. I think the court may wind up overturning Roe v. Wade if the "right" case came along. Or at the very least limiting abortion rights...

Roberts seems like a fine candidate. I see no real reason for anyone to make an objection to him or prevent him being appointed. Democrats are certainly trying to dig up something on him, but I have a feeling that they really won't come up with anything. This won't be anything like Bork or even remotely close to Thomas! I guess my only thing about him is that he seems almost TOO perfect.

This was an utterly brilliant move by Bush. Ugh...

Procrastination....

Ahh... I am avoiding work of all kinds now.

I SHOULD be... reading for class... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... doing my dishes... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be.... vacuuming my floor... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... cleaning my bathroom... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... doing my outline for Evidence... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... researching for interviews... but I'm NOT.

What am I doing instead?? Telling anyone who's bored enough to read this what I SHOULD be doing but that I'm NOT doing.

Procrastination is a lovely thing....

Lawyer jokes....

Heh... Lawyer jokes... As a law student, I sort of cringe anytime I hear lawyer jokes on TV or elsewhere. It reminds me that my future profession is not one that is regarded very fondly. In a way, I can't blame people. After all, there are the guys out there who totally smear the profession with their conduct.

And then there are the politicians... heh... Let's not go there.

I do have to say though that we live in a system where we are granted certain rights and privileges. And if those privileges are violated, whether by ourselves or by others, we have a right to defend those privileges or be punished for violating them. Therefore, as much as people dislike it, lawyers are a necessity. After all, you need someone to defend your rights. As an adversarial system, this means that you need someone who's going to "put up the dukes" for you. Sometimes this means that you have to enter areas of gray.

Not that I think this is right. I wonder sometimes how I'm going to do in the profession. After all, am I willing to do all I can for my client? What if that "all" means that I have to do something that goes against my beliefs?

If you've looked at my previous post about my personality, you'll know one of my characteristics is that I have strong ethical beliefs and will uphold them.

Anyway, enough of the seriousness and the soap box rant... Here's a joke a law school friend sent me:

The United Way realized that it had never received a donation from the city's most successful lawyer.

So a United Way volunteer paid the lawyer a visit in his lavish office.

The volunteer opened the meeting by saying, "Our research shows that even though your annual income is over two million dollars, you don't give a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give something back to your community through the United Way?"

The lawyer thinks for a minute and says, "First, did your research also show you that my mother is dying after a long, painful illness and she has huge medical bills that are far beyond her ability to pay?"

Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbles, "Uh... no, I didn't know that."

"Secondly," says the lawyer, "my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair and is unable to support his wife and six children."

The stricken United Way rep begins to stammer an apology, but is cut off again.

"Thirdly, did your research also show you that my sister's husband died in a dreadful car accident, leaving her penniless with a mortgage and three children one of whom is disabled and another has learning disabilities requiring an array of private tutors?! "

The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, says, "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

And the lawyer says, So... if I didn't give any money to them, what in the hell makes you think I'd ever give any to you?"

Ha ha... =)

Feel free to post some favorite lawyer jokes in the comments box. It'll remind me to keep myself humble at the very least.

Just when things are going your way...

I feel for London.

A mere 24 hours ago, they were the victorious bid for the 2012 Olympics, beating out longtime city rival, Paris. And then this morning, they get hit by some of the worst terrorist attacks since Spain last year.

With the various underground lines out, I'm sure this attack will have effects weeks from now.

A former co-worker e-mailed and said that thanks to her tardy decorator, she avoided one of the mishaps. By the time she went to catch the underground to get to work, they had closed all of the lines.

Happy 4th! (Even the fireworks are PC...)

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!

I was watching the Macy's 4th of July fireworks and it was quite a lovely show. Excellent music and a gorgeous 30 minute fireworks show that totally outshined the show last night here in Chicago.

I couldn't help but notice though that the audience make-up was VERY carefully thought out. The camera panned over the audience and you could see that there was quite an even-handed mix of people. Some Asians, some African Americans, a couple of people of obvious Middle Eastern descent, the requisite military personnel (from all of the branches of course.) It was almost too perfect a mix actually. The camera made a point of stoppine on each "group" of people. I missed the first part of the show, so I wasn't sure if maybe this was planned and if the makeup of the audience was specified or not.

Ah, well... despite that, or maybe because of it, it was a lovely patriotic display to celebrate the birth of our nation!

Happy Birthday to the USA!

O'Connor retires... A blow to justice for all...

Okay, that's a bit melodramatic, but it really could be a dark day for the Supreme Court.

I hadn't expected Justice O'Connor to retire now actually. I'd heard rumors that she was planning to stay on to see if she could get named as the first female Chief Justice. Not that it was her sole motivation, but I thought she'd planned on staying on a while longer. I had instead expected to hear that Rehnquist was retiring.

O'Connor's opinions are consistently some of the most well written of any of the justices on the Court currently. I've for the most part agreed with her stands on various issues. I very much admire the fact that she seemed to take a very moderate stance on most issues. I know that many fear that women's issues have been dealt a severe blow. They forget about Ginsburg though. However, Ginsburg is also getting on in years and her health isn't so good. There's a possibility she will be leaving in the near future as well.

I think history will view the current Court as one of the most powerful in the history of jurisprudence. This Court has almost singlehandedly revived the notion of favoring states' rights over a centralized federal government control.

We'll have to see who Bush nominates. I don't have a good feeling about this though. Then again, you never know with the Supreme Court. Past nominees haven't exactly fallen in with what political affiliations might indicate. Justice Kennedy is a prime example of this. He was nominated and appointed by Regan in the belief that he would help swing the Court right. Ironically enough, he's voted very liberally. Republicans have talked pointedly about avoiding having another Kennedy appointed.