Thursday, July 28, 2011

It has been taken - Post-Bar blathering

Taking the bar is a lot like flying transatlantic three days in a row. That's the closest analogy that springs to mind. You are tired, passing through multiple security lines (and yes, things have to be in certain sized plastic bags), you have to present your seat ticket and i.d. to get anywhere, you're stuck with very limited carry on, you have earplugs, there are times when you are not allowed to leave your seat or move around the cabin, your biggest concern is your bathroom schedule and you're perpetually dehydrated.Seriously, I feel more jet lagged than anything else.

The additional terror of the exam has nothing to do with the actual questions (ok the looming terror of that question you are totally unprepared for is still there..) Mostly though, it's that it all rides on our computers! I had two close calls where the software didn't load quite right and nearly had to hand write. I was just putting pen to paper when they brought my laptop back in functioning condition (each table has a pink card that you hold up if you have a computer problem and magical computer elves come and fix your problems).

 And it's not just whether the computers function during the test. The way the software works is that it locks the answers in a file on our computer. We then must later upload these when we get internet access. Meaning between the bar and the upload... ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. Especially since we are not allowed to bring our laptop bags in with us. This means that around the testing room there are droves of tired, stressed out, underslept examinees carrying laptops in one hand and coffee in the other - all the while navigating a floor strewn with power cords.It's a melt-down waiting to happen. Glad to say that all files have been uploaded, although there's always that chance one of the files is corrupted somehow... oh the joy of technology!

Anyways, really, sincerely I have no idea *how* it went except I suspect that really isn't an appropriate question. Short of "passing" I never ever ever want to know how I did. There were some fun questions - no kidding, I got a real kick out of a combined sales and secured transactions question for no good reason other than perhaps a full on fit of Stockholm Syndrome. I typed like a dervish and was mildly concerned to find myself finishing re-reading and editing my answers with about twenty minutes to spare on most sessions. But then again, it was nice to have a few moments of silence (they let you leave early unless it's the last ten minutes and then you have to wait a really long time while they pick up test materials, so finishing early is a huge boon). And my seat-mate was a nice guy... good travel companion. Turns out that we were both 2011 UW grads, although he transferred in from California (smart man).

I'm a little flummoxed with life after the bar. It doesn't quite have a tangible meaning yet. I know that there are all kinds of activities I once enjoyed. That I have *friends* and have once been capable of - what's that called - interacting with other human beings?? I'm not entirely sure. I was telling my seatmate that I think that Barbri and other prep courses are really missing out in not offering some kind of post-bar rehabilitation program to get us all back to functioning human beings. In the meanwhile, People's Court seems to be an appropriate transitional aid... or at least it works for the caffeinated brain dead drooling.

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