Week 7 Schedule...TBE

Today is the first day I start realllllly hitting the ole books hard. I've posted a schedule for this week (7 weeks out) below, and I hope to stick to it. I've allowed myself one free day (Sunday) during which I'll either do nothing or use it to catch up on shit I've not done during the week.

If you'll notice, my schedule isn't nearly as terrifying as Barbri's. That's because I actually want to accomplish it. I've added supplemental in case I finish my daily grind, but that's not required.


Hope it may help you, if you're departing upon this journey by yourself as well.

Happy Monday.

Adventures in Bar Exam Land

I feel that I've reached an impasse at this point of my bar studying. If you'll recall, I made the decision to study without enlisting the (ridiculously expensive) aid of Barbri, although I was given a full set of Texas Barbri books with which to study by a Twitter friend.

From this point, I proceeded to study throughout December to give myself something to do and so I wouldn't feel rushed about my studies in the new year....which, if you've ever studied for a bar exam, know that's LAUGHABLE. So ha ha ha to me.

As of now, I've finished retyping 8 out of 20 handouts; the subjects I've already tackled are Agency/Partnership, Bankruptcy, Texas Civ Pro, Commercial Paper, Community Property, Consumer Law, Federal Income Tax, and Oil & Gas. This leaves me with a shitton more to finish, and the slightly panicky feeling no one likes to have but most associate with impending bar examinations.

It's at this juncture that I need to seriously ask myself how much I'm learning by retyping. I think I've learned quite a lot, and I'm going to have to go through everything again and fill in the blanks, which isn't that big of a deal and which will definitely help to jog my memory. It's also helpful to retype because it ensures I've seen it at least once. However, I know I'm a charts person, and I passed my last bar examination largely in part due to my incessant charting. On the other hand, I also had lecturers last time, which assisted me in tackling what I'm now attempting to retype because I was guaranteed to HEAR everything at least once.

Today is the day I lay out the next eight weeks of my life in a calendar to keep myself accountable and so I can minimize my feelings of extreme malaise and discomfiture. So, I guess my ultimate decision is how I want to approach the bar exam from this point forward. Do I want to finish typing ALL of the handouts? (I have 700 pages left.) Do I want to try to read them and see how much I retain? Which subjects do I want to chart?

Regardless, I went ahead and made myself a breakdown of the Texas bar examination, including what all is on the essay, the percentage each portion is worth (in lovely pie chart form), and what to expect on each section. After I finish my calendar (likely tomorrow), I will post that . And I'm thinking of documenting either in daily form or weekly form what I've been doing by myself to get prepared for the barf exam. :)

What do Y'ALL think?

Texas Bar Examination update

Update on Texas Bar Examination:

1. Please don't forget to send in your letters of good standing. ::facepalm::

2. Also, don't forget to send in your MPRE results. (Goodbye, $25...)

3. I somehow forgot to sign a notarized document in the Texas Bar Exam packet. Like, it was notarized, but I just didn't sign it. (What the hell is wrong with me?!!?!?)

4. Can I restate how amazing my Twitter community is? Particularly Adamdm4, who sent me his Barbri books to study with. :)

5. Though I've had my mess-ups along the way, Texas has been extremely nice throughout the entire application process, so there IS that....

6. I've been retyping the lecture handouts with blanks to fill in with my own handwriting, which is a long and arduous task that I'm afraid I am going to give up soon....

7. But I've made it through Agency/Partnership. And Bankruptcy. And Texas Civil Procedure. :) This is good, no? 

8. On the other hand, that means I've completed ~100 pages. Out of the phonebook that is Barbri.

::gulp::

9. Today I'm focusing on Federal Income Taxation. Then I might reward myself with some Criminal Law review. I'm such a rebel.

10. I've officially got all of my Texas documents turned in. Now....we wait. (And rejoice.)

Post-Bar Reflections

It's now been a week since I took the Arkansas Bar, and I figure it's about time for another blog entry. I figure it's easier to break it down in numbered lists, since I tend to think in a more linear fashion when doing so.

1) On Tuesday morning, I took the MPT. For those of you that don't know, this stands for "Multistate Performance Test," and it's essentially where the bar examiners give you a crap-ton of information and tell you to write a brief on it. Twice. 90 minutes per essay. The first one was great. It was about confrontation clause and evidentiary issues, and I had a blast. And I ultimately spent about 10 minutes too long on it. The second essay sucked. It was about nuisance (and let me tell you--I HATE TORTS!), and it didn't seem as if I could adequately match the facts I had with the eleventy billion elements required to make my argument. I didn't score too well on the second question, I'm afraid. But that's okay.

2) On Tuesday afternoon, I had the MEE to contend with. This stands for "Multistate Essay Examination" (I think, and if it doesn't, it should). I had six essays, and three hours total to figure it all out and write on it. Essay subjects were interesting, to say the least, and consisted of a TOTALLY lame LLC question that pretty much everyone hated, a wills question (which I loved--it wasn't too terribly bad), a domestic relations question in which grandparents wanted custody (good luck with that), a criminal law question about some dumbasses who spread marbles across a road (involuntary manslaughter? I think so), a secured transactions question that wasn't too terribly bad, and a civ pro question about a woman who hadn't reported sexual harassment in the workplace and whether a judge's decisions about the suit were appropriate.

3) Most people think the MEE is the shittiest portion. It definitely isn't fun beforehand, because you have a total of 12 testable subjects, and will only get 6 questions. Of those six questions, you may have mixed topics, topics that are VERRRRY minuscule in comparison to the rest of the information covered, or something that you may not have covered at all. You cannot bullshit your way through them like the MBE, because you don't have multiple choice answers upon which you can base your answer. In short, it's exhausting trying to prepare for it, and terrifying that you might have missed the areas of law that may be tested.

4) On Wednesday, I took the MBE (Multistate Bar Examination)--it's a 200 multiple choice exam divided up into two sessions. You have three hours to complete each of these sessions. Now, here's where my opinion differs from MANY other peoples' who took this exam: I didn't think it was that difficult. AND THAT SCARES ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's always been the case that any time I walk out of an exam thinking it wasn't that bad....it was. I finished the morning exam with about 30 minutes remaining, and the afternoon portion with about 15 minutes remaining. This doesn't seem big, but plenty of people run out of time.

5) I think my surprise with MBE's questions arise from the fact that I considered BarBri's questions to be much more difficult/demoralizing. I felt like I was able to more easily identify the "tricks" certain bar questions were getting into, and I didn't think the questions were unfair, although I was SHOCKED by the number of questions that dealt with Secured Transactions (as this wasn't *technically* a testable MBE subject). Ultimately, I'm more afraid about the fact that I didn't leave this exam afraid.

I will find out my scores on my birthday, August 31. This is one of the shortest turnaround times in the country, for which I'm thankful. However, I'm afraid I'm going to have a very shitty 25th birthday, if for no other reason than because I have to wait until 4:00 to receive my results. If I fail, I'll retake the examination. It truthfully wasn't that bad--it was much worse because you don't know what to expect, rather than because of the subject matter. Studying is never any fun, particularly when it consumes your entire summer. However, it's necessary (and if done correctly, doesn't have to overwhelm your life, in my opinion). I hope everyone else had a reasonably okay testing experience, and I hope we all make it out as bona fide lawyers.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the bar exam?

Armadillos from Texas play rap, eating tacos.

If you have watched the Barbri contracts lecture, son, you know what the hell I mean.

(You're welcome.)

Trade Fixtures Exception (a ditty by moi)

Barbri Amp: What it says v. what it means

Yes, Barbri is still struggling to get its shit together with regards to Barbri AMP, much to the chagrin of the people who paid shittons of money for its proven track record of "experience" and "success." Whatev.

Barbri: Experience.Failure.

Let me preface this blog entry by saying that I am no gunner. I do what I have to do to get by, and I do what I personally have to do to ensure that I know what I have to know.

Thus, I'm (obviously) taking Barbri to prepare for the Bar this summer. Barbri has been great and has a lot of great features that they tout at every damn available opportunity. Two days ago, I heard about the amazingness that was Barbri AMP. According to Barbri people, AMP is the bomb.com. AMP is Jesus' little brother. Super serial, you guys! In fact, Barbri's president Mike Sims has even talked about the awesomeness that shines out of AMP's every orifice: "BARBRI AMP gives our students a tremendous advantage on the Multistate Bar Exam, one of the most challenging parts of the bar," said Mike Sims, President of BARBRI. "The score increases realized by students who used BARBRI AMP can make the difference between passing and failing the bar, especially when you consider that many people fail the bar exam by just a few points," added Sims.

So I get online to access it yesterday, and what happens? Nothing.


That's right....nothing. The page won't load. My classmates and others throughout the United States are having shit fits because they want ALLZ THE INFO now. I would very much so like to access this as well, although my want arises particularly due to my pecuniary interest in this product. Today Barbri fired off the following two emails:

I understand how there is shittons of other material out there with which we can study effectively. But when I'm paying $2600, which is almost $50 per day (and others are paying even more in other states), I'd hope you could figure this shit out in less than 24 hours. Additionally, when you make promises about how much it will help improve my Bar exam score then don't deliver....well, that's just shitty.

Hopefully Barbri will get its act together with regard to its server, because they're going to have to deal with a whole lot of pissed off, newly minted lawyers with a (probably not valid) excuse as to why they failed the Bar exam if they do not.

Not me, of course. I handle my problems with booze, not lawsuits.

Bar tips: the MBE notebook

Barbri is fantastic, but I also need to work on personal organization and educating myself outside of the scope of Barbri. Which is why  I'm creating a new line of posts in which I seek organizational tips from fellow Bar students/lawyers, as well as give a rundown of my organizational process, so to speak.

Topic of the day: creating a Bar MBE notebook.

I actually plan on having two notebooks: one for MBE and one for essay. But since this is the world of MBE, I'll stick to that one (for now). For those of you who aren't taking the Bar this summer but will in the future, I'm not sure how much you know about this exam. I knew of the subject matter, but no one differentiated (to me, at least) which was on the MBE and which was on the essay portion before this summer. Which leads me to my notebook breakdown, subject by subject (and a couple of other relevant tabs):

1) MBE Practice Tips 

2) Constitutional Law

3) Contracts

4) Criminal Law/Procedure

5) Evidence

6) Real Property

7) Torts

8) Practice Exams/Answers

There are six subjects on the Multistate Bar Exam--actually seven, if you consider how Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure are TOTALLY different cups of tea, but whatever. Lawyers don't go to law school to learn how to count (although Criminal Sentencing Guidelines are apparently exempt from this statement). 

Disclaimer: this binder is going to be REALLY big. I've actually got to go buy a binder that I find adequately intimidating enough to handle all my Bar nonsense. I'm also investing in the good tabs: the ones with front pockets, in case I actually sit down and define all the words I need to flip through on a daily basis. Or in case I'm a dumbass and forget to hole-punch necessary items the first go around, and need somewhere to stick those notes so I don't lose them. 

At any rate, these tabs will handle the following information, although I'm not sure if I want to get some of those smaller Post-it tabs (the good ones) to ultra-compartmentalize it:

1) Outline of the subject--this will be the precise outline (2 pages or less)

2) Relevant definitions

3) Chart/Template I'm modifying, based on this amazing site's example

4) My kitchen sink outline

5) Quizzes I've taken on this subject

6) Supplemental material from the web

As you can see, this can get overwhelming quickly. On the other hand, I feel extremely motivated when I can see my progress right in front of my eyes, which is why this will probably be the best approach for me. I understand not everyone learns the same way, which is why it's important to realize your strengths and weaknesses, and then plan accordingly. 

Have I overlooked anything? Do you have any tips for me that have been helpful to you? 

Barbri, Day 5 (aka: OMG, I'm starting to see legal questions in everything)

Today was Barbri day 5, as indicated in my title. While I realize that many argue that the word excruciating is one that precludes degrees (much like someone can't be "very unique" or "a little bit pregnant"), I personally think that there are degrees to excruciating, like thumbtacks v. bamboo shoots under the fingernails. Or like 7 hours of Barbri review given by the same guy who sounds exactly like Lewis Black. Which I would classify as REALLY FUCKING EXCRUCIATING.

I don't mind listening. I don't mind sitting attentively. And I don't mind the lectures. What bothers me is the mind-numbing monotony of it all. But that's what I've paid for, and I'll squeeze every damn penny of of the endless monotony.

Which brings me to my next point: OMG I'M TURNING EVERYTHING INTO BAR EXAM QUESTIONS (I'm also highly considering making some of my favorite movies into examples on how to get through portions of the Bar, starting with Kill Bill and Mulan. Trust me, there are shittons of legal scenarios I can use to construct a bonafide badass outline to get me through the Bar and help me remember. And perhaps I will...). Back to my point: tonight I was reading Above the Law, as I'm apt to do, when I ran across this gem of a quote from New Jersey's (Republican/stupid/aneurysm-inducing) governor with regards to his state defying a federal law against certain types of betting:

"We intend to go forward," the Republican governor said. "If someone wants to stop us, then let them try to stop us. We want to work with the casinos and horse racing industry to get it implemented...Am I expecting there may be legal action taken against us to try to prevent it? Yes," the governor said. "But I have every confidence we're going to be successful."

What realm are we in? Obviously Constitutional Law. What is this concerning? States' powers. What is the rule? Supremacy Clause--federal laws=supreme law of the land. And who will win? Duh: the motherfucking government. Apparently I learned a new word this week: federalism.

Although I think "motherfucking federalism" has a much better ring to it. And would be awesome if repeated in a Lewis Black voice.

Barbri, Day 4 and other shit

Today I did the 3 hour, 100 question MBE practice test. I got 57 questions right. Which means I got 43 wrong. Of the six subjects:

1) Contracts kicked my ass. So did Evidence and Torts. Like, made me want to cry kicked my ass.

2) I only got three Real Property questions wrong. Which makes me question whether I took some kind of red pill and wandered into a Matrix-type rabbit hole. As opposed to Adderall, which is clearly the blue type of pill you see at law school all too often.

3) Con Law and Criminal Law weren't so bad, but I'd like to do better.

After I got my ass kicked thoroughly by Barbri today, I went home to analyze the damages. Obviously I wasn't too torn up, and I (surprisingly) wasn't too mind-fucked to pursue outlining for this next week. Obviously aliens have taken over my body.

I also went for a sprint/walk tonight. Something I officially gave up FOR LIFE. (Because, let's face it, biking is so much better and I'm a slow ass MF.) I've figured that if there's the possibility of me failing the bar and finding out ON MY BIRTHDAY, I'm at least going to look hot while reveling in my misery.

Or hot while celebrating. No matter the outcome, I plan on looking hot.

Except when I ugly cry (which is going to happen, either way). 

Barbri, Day 3

Today's Barbri preview focused on Constitutional Law and Evidence and OH MY GOD I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING AND WE'RE ALL GONNNNNNNAAAA DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE.

But for reals, it was (again) totally demoralizing, although definitely not surprising, with regard to how little I know. Completely.

Notes from today:

1) Got to see the Criminal Law teacher again...he reminds me of Steven Colbert, and makes my day better. Particularly when he uses the mnemonic device BARRRRRRK (okay, I added a few extra Rs in the there, but he is totally awesome).

2) As a side note: mnemonic is THE WORST AND HARDEST WORD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD TO SPELL.

3) Also got to see the majorly awesome Torts prof again, but he wasn't as organized for Constitutional Law and it gave me the sadz.

4) Went and printed off study tips for approaching the MBE. Panic attack is likely to ensue any moment now.

5) Constitutional Law is going to suck, and I don't care what the guy said--I'm not going to be the majority of people who get 24/33 correct because I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REMEMBER ALL THIS INFORMATION AND STUFF IT INTO MY HEAD AND MAKE IT STAY THERE. (I'm pretty sure this info leaks out of my ears at night.)

Tomorrow we are set to take a 100 question, 3 hour practice test. Lots of people aren't showing up to the school tomorrow because they can do it at home. I know better than this. I would sleep until eleven, play with shiny things, cuddle with my dogs, and then take eleventy billion hours to try to get through it. So I'm dragging my happy ass to the school tomorrow, because if I don't have the discipline to take it at home, you bet your sweet bippy that I'll have the discipline to haul my ass somewhere that ensures I do. And no, that's not sarcasm.

In other news, I think I'm going to be taking a nice weekender for Memorial Day, and may even get the chance to yell FREEEEEBIRD in a setting that's suitably appropriate. White trash nirvana? Oh hells to the yes. Am I okay with this?

FREEEEEEEEEEBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRD!!!!!!!!!

(duh)

Barbri, Day 2

Barbri Day #2 is over, although I do have some "homework" I apparently need to go over. Today was a lot worse than yesterday, namely because it went over Real Property and Contracts, and I very much so suck at both of those subjects....particularly Contracts.

Guy teaching the courses (same guy for both, both on a video) was funny. He reminded me of Louis Black. Without the cussing. Which may have made Contracts a whole lot more fun and memorable, but alas, I'll never know.

However, there are a whole lot of points I think I should make regarding today:

1) There were dramatically fewer people in my class today than yesterday, namely because they figured they could see the same videos from home. I cannot do that because (a) I have the attention span of a gna---oh, wow, look at that shiny object! and (b) I will never get around to watching all the video or take the video seriously when I could be doing a multitude of other, more worthy things (like sleeping, or eating, or sleep-eating).

2) Real Property sucks just as much now as it did 1L year, but Real Estate Transactions played a MUCH larger role in this section than anyone else let on it would. Ergo, I'm thankful I took the latter course, even though I shudder every time I hear the word mortgage.

3) Our class should really devise a system of shutting our books and letting the daily administrator know  when we are finished with our preview test, so we don't spend an extra 15 minutes Facebooking inside a classroom instead of getting out early and Facebooking from the privacy of our own homes.

4) I've GOT to start packing a lunch, because one of these days, I'm not going to be so lucky about snagging a parking spot when I leave and come back to school.

5) Okay, people. We get it. The dude just repeated himself four fucking times. I see how you might think that's funny. Personally, I think you should probably just write it down over and over again, so you might remember it for the Bar. Because, you know, if he's saying it seventeen times, IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT.

In addition to these notes, I think it's fair to say that this course is pretty damn good. I'm learning a lot, and even though I emerge each day with a headache, I figure I'm getting my money's worth. I've also taken up bicycling again (8.5 miles today) to deal with the stress of studying, and also so I can look decent in a majorly fucking hot swimsuit I plan on wearing at the end of the summer.

Is anyone else taking Barbri? What do y'all think of it so far?

Barbri, Day 1

1) Barbri started today. This means I get to officially learn what's actually *relevant* for the Bar....since the past three years have apparently MEANT NOTHING.

2) We started off with a Torts practice exam. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

3) To the douche sitting behind me: BURN. No, really. I'm tired of you already being a douchebag, particularly since we're only one hour into the effing course.

4) It's a beautiful day outside. And I wish I were floating in a pool somewhere, tanning my pasty white legs (who am I kidding? They would burn in a heartbeat).

5) Happy birthday to my fantastic boyfriend, who is now a quarter of a century old.