The Gratuitous Promise

Join Me

2009-02-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

This blog was started three and a half years ago to document my law school experience. While that ended about 9 months ago, I thought it was also appropriate to use it for my experience with the California Bar Exam, and with finding a job in the legal field. Now that I have done that, I am moving to a new blog. I'll still be talking about what's going on in my life, but focusing on my career.

Come on over to the new place and bookmark it. I moved all the old posts over already, so they are in one handy place. Let's all roll our eyes together and wander on over to The Blonde DA.

It's Official! I'm a Deputy District Attorney!

2009-02-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't really wanted to comment much on my job hunt and interviews. Obviously, I needed to get a job and start making money, and when a person is looking in this kind of economy and options are limited, it is reasonable to expect that not every job being applied for is exactly what one would have wanted to be doing.

My ideal job would have been to become an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA). However, since the USAO only hires graduates of ABA-accredited schools, that was not going to be an option for me. The next job on my list was that of a Deputy District Attorney (DDA). Prosecuting on the state level may not be as glamorous as working in that gorgeous federal courthouse, but it is still doing the work I want to do, and I was not really looking for a "glamorous" type of job.

Since the Fresno County DA office is not currently hiring, I applied at the DA offices in 3 neighboring counties. I also applied for a position as a Child Support Attorney here. I did receive an offer for that job, contingent on a background check being successfully completed. (In all fairness, had I started this job, I know I would have done a wonderful job there, and probably found it challenging while I learned the law in that area. Ultimately however, it was not where I saw myself being, and knew I would have continued trying to find a DDA position.) Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for me, in the time that check has been ongoing, I interviewed twice with with nearest county and received an offer from them this morning! I start on Monday. :)

I don't think there is any way I would have received this offer if it had not been for a couple of things: first, taking the Criminal Trial Practice class (taught by the USAO office chief) that gave me the confidence and skills I needed, as well as the courage to pursue it, and secondly, working the internship at the USAO for the last year of law school. I truthfully told the panel during my interviews that they should hire me because I was the best bargain out there- they could hire me for the lowest salary range, yet I had more court and trial experience than anyone at my level (and probably more than a lot of others). In addition, I found out that my supervisor at the USAO gave the DA a "glowing recommendation" for me, which I'm sure also put the icing on my offer.

I'm thrilled, excited, and just ready to start working. Can not wait!

"Is This Real Life?"

2009-02-03T14:19:00.001-08:00

More Babies = More Cash

2009-02-02T10:08:00.001-08:00

I so called this one!

Public Defender Gets Shit-Faced In Court

2009-01-30T15:49:00.000-08:00

That was too easy!

July 2008 Bar Exam Stats

2009-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

Kind of interesting to check out the statistics on the July 2008 California Bar Exam. Of the California, but not ABA, accredited schools, mine ranked 4th among the 18 schools in that category, beating the average 37% pass rate with their 51% rate.

Of the California law schools that are ABA accredited, Stanford had the highest pass rate with 97% among first time takers. Out-of-state ABA accredited schools University of Utah and University of Virginia both had 100% pass rates for their first time takers.

8 + 6 Doesn't Add Up

2009-01-30T10:11:00.000-08:00

More details are coming out about the woman who gave birth to live octuplets the other day. Like how she already had 6 children, aged 2 to 7, including a set of twins; like that she is single; like that she lives with her parents in a small home; like that she filed for bankruptcy and abandoned a home recently; like how she was using fertility treatments.

Who, in that situation, tries to get pregnant? With multiple babies? And keeps them all? Obviously, being intelligent and making rational decisions has never been a prerequisite to becoming a parent. And I don't advocate the government stepping in and telling people how many children they can have, but why didn't someone do something? Um, maybe her parents could have counseled her to think about the cost of raising 14 children (which now they will presumably be forced to share) or consider waiting until she was in a stable relationship with someone to help her raise the brood? Or perhaps a friend could have suggested that she concentrate on raising the large family she already had instead of taking on more.

I can't help but wonder if this woman, with stars in her eyes, thought this may be her way to fame and fortune. Get a reality show with a hefty contract and move into an extreme home with a fat paycheck. Who knows?

It just doesn't seem fair that people like this end up with so many children, who I'm guessing will not really have the kind or quantity of attention they deserve, while some intelligent, rational people struggle to have even one. I know, I know. Life's not fair.

Vegetarians Have Better Sex?

2009-01-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

That PETA ad has been banned from Super Bowl Sunday as being too sexy. What do you think?

Interview #2

2009-01-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today I had an interview with the second place that contacted me for one. This one was not with the actual department with the opening, but with the county's HR department, with a panel of 3 people from other counties. It was a rather short interview (though since I arrive quite early, I know mine was the same length as that of the person before me). Kind of boom, boom, boom, ok, walk her out.

I feel like I did well, but it was hard to tell much. They are going to speak with about 30 people over 2 days, rank them, and send out letters inviting the top 6 to return for interviews with the department. There are 2 openings.

Now the tricky part. Job offer #1 was made contingent on a background check. Since that contingency has not been yet removed, that offer cannot really be accepted. Until that time, it is not a sure thing, and I will continue to pursue other opportunities. However, since I know my background check will come back clean, it is really a matter of timing (and I suppose living in California, hoping the budget doesn't suddenly get yanked!). This job would have me starting 1/26 or 2/9, as the start date must be on the first day of a pay period. If I don't know by tomorrow, that would give me until 2/9 to see if I can get another offer, to have 2 to pick from.

Both jobs have attractive points. I'm clearly hoping that a certain one works out over the other, but when you aren't working, won't any do? I'm completely confident that I would do well and please my bosses at either. I'm just anxious to start doing SOMETHING!

Anyway, so my boyfriend and I are going to Las Vegas this weekend. We had talked about going to see Penn and Teller months ago, and once we found out that we both passed the Bar Exam, we booked this trip to catch their show. I haven't been in quite a while, so really looking forward to it. We have traveled to a few places in California so far (Carmel/Monterey, San Mateo (does the Bar Exam count?), San Francisco), but never out of state and not by plane yet. Of course, when you're in love, it probably really doesn't matter where you go or what you do, as long as you're doing it together. :) Yeah, yeah, I know that was corny (but it's true!).

Something else cool that we are doing is volunteering at the Fresno County Mock Trial Competition. The Fresno County Bar Association was looking for help, so we're going to be scoring attorneys for a couple of nights in the upcoming weeks for this event in which 10 local high schools are participating. We already received the packets describing the facts of the case and details about how to score the students. After law school (Moot Court and Criminal Trial Practice especially), it will be nice to be on the opposite side and be the one giving the evaluations and comments. Hopefully I can find something encouraging and helpful to say to all the participants.

Oh, and one more thing, Clint got robbed!

One Interview, One Offer

2009-01-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

After finding out in November that I passed the California Bar Exam, I applied for 4 jobs. All 4 were with different counties, and 3 of the 4 were for positions as a deputy DA. Two I have not yet heard from either way, but the other 2 called and set up interviews. The first was this past Monday.

This first interview was for the only job that is not as a DDA. I had figured that the initial interview would be with the HR department, so I was kind of surprised when I showed up at the given address and found it was the actual department of the position. I was interviewed by a panel of 3 people: the director and deputy director of the 260 person department, and one of the 6 attorneys currently working there. I could not read them and had no idea what they thought of me or if they liked me.

Before I left, I asked what the next step would be and was again surprised by hearing that they would make a decision in 7-10 days without a second interview. I guess even though they stressed that this was a "no glamour" job, because it was for an attorney position I thought they would want to put the applicants through a little more hoop-jumping.

I received a phone call yesterday from one of the three on the interviewing panel. I thought maybe she needed to clarify something I had said during the interview. Nope. She was calling to offer me the job. It is contingent on a background check, though I'm not worried about that since I passed an extensive one for the Department of Justice prior to working at the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Now I'm not quite sure about the second job interview I have lined up. If the background check takes a while, I'll still go and see what they have to say. But if the check is completed rather quickly, it wouldn't really be appropriate to go if I would be starting a new job a couple of days later. We'll just see.

In any event, I'm thrilled to have a job lined up and to know that I'll be working soon, as an attorney. Makes it feel so much more official. :) This position will have me in court 2 full days a week, and preparing for those days the rest of the time. The department has 70,000 cases, so it sounds like exactly the crazy kind of work I prefer.

A Stiff Sentence...Hmmmmm

2009-01-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

This story reminds me of a case I prosecuted last year. Gotta love those defendants who keep us laughing!

I need all the entertainment I can get these days. I'm so bored! Now that my move and the holidays are over, I have nothing to do. I have a couple of interviews scheduled for the next few weeks, but realistically I know that means I probably won't be working for at least a month. Ugh.

My boyfriend and I are going to see Frost/Nixon tonight and then to the Fresno Philharmonic tomorrow night, and I do have a couple of books I'm reading (Convictions, Principles of Roman Law), but I could seriously use some sort of project to work on.

Freaky!

2009-01-07T08:28:00.001-08:00

Do you know what an apothecary jar is? It's like the one there at the left, used to decorate your house by displaying various things inside. I bought a set of 3 at Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago. I put apples in the medium jar and lemons (picked from a tree I planted myself from a seed!) in the large and small jars.

Anyway, the lemons were creating condensation in their jars, so every other day I would take the lids off to let that evaporate. The jars are not totally air-tight (notice that there is not a seal around the lid). I figured I should buy something else to use in those jars, but had not done so yet.

Last night when my boyfriend and I were in the kitchen, we heard a noise on the counter, but neither of us saw anything fall or look different in any way. However, this morning I noticed a crack in the smallest jar.

I removed all the lemons to get a better look and when I picked up the jar, the top portion came off! It had cracked all the way around, completely through the glass!

I've never heard of lemon fumes cracking glass before and don't know whether to just return the jar set for a refund and assume it is a poorly made product, or exchange it for another set and assume this one was a fluke.

Has anyone had something similar happen?

"I May Be a Ho, But I'm Not a Crack Ho!"

2009-01-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

California's new no texting-while-driving law comes with a built in excuse. The law itself states that:

"A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication... (using an electronic wireless communications device to manually communicate with any person using a text-based communication, including, but not limited to, communications referred to as a text message, instant message, or electronic mail)."

But it goes on to say:

"A person shall not be deemed to be writing, reading, or sending a text-based communication if the person reads, selects, or enters a telephone number or name in an electronic wireless communications device for the purpose of making or receiving a telephone call."

So if you are pulled over for texting while driving, all you have to do is tell the officer that you were not texting but in fact just scrolling through your phone book on your phone to make a phone call. (Of course, I would never condone breaking any law. I'm just saying that, you know, I'm sure you would only be scrolling and not texting, right???) By the time you actually pulled over and the officer approached, I have no idea how he would know the difference. What is he going to do- confiscate your cell phone and look at the time of the last sent and received text messages and see if they have been read yet or not?

This law makes no sense to me. If the purpose of the law is to make dangerous behavior illegal, is there proof that scrolling through phone numbers is less dangerous than texting? Of course not, but I suppose they were forced to put in that exception since talking on our cell phones (with a hands-free device, of course) is still legal, and we could not talk if we couldn't scroll through the names in our phone and make a selection.

I'm sure Joe Simitian thought he was doing a great thing for our state by getting his law passed, but I have to tell you, I see a lot of other dangerous behavior in cars every day. I think he should also see about outlawing the following while driving: eating, putting on makeup, shaving, reading, listening to music, having conversations. I mean, all of those are distracting activities and surely accidents have been caused by drivers engaged in them. Senator Simitian, we are not truly protected yet. Can't you help us???

In the meantime, if the "I was only scrolling" excuse doesn't work if you are caught texting while driving, you can always try the one in the title of this post. I'm not sure it worked for the working girl who used it the other night on Cops, but it was pretty funny.

Don't Like Your Gift? Sue Someone!

2009-01-01T13:21:00.001-08:00

Here's a lawsuit I would like to see filed, strictly for the entertainment value (from our friends over at Not Always Right):

(An angry, overweight female customer approaches me with a Nintendo Wii Fit and hands me her receipt.)

Me: “Hi, what can I help you with today?”

Customer: “I’d like to return this.”

Me: “What seems to be the problem with it?”

Customer: “I think it’s broken.”

Me: “All right, what’s going on?”

Customer: “Whenever it weighs me and calculates my BMI, it labels me as obese.”

Me: “And…”

Customer: “Well, that can’t be right!”

Me: “From what I’ve heard, the measurements on Wii Fits are fairly accurate. Are you sure you want to return this? They’re pretty hard to find.”

Customer: “Are you calling me fat?!”

Me: “No, I’m just saying that…”

Customer: “You just called me fat!

Me: “No, I was just saying…”

Customer: “Whatever. I still want to return it. It’s obviously not working right. And, I think someone should talk to the designer; make them use a different word. It hurt my feelings.”

Me: *soothingly* “Maybe you could contact Nintendo; write a letter or something.”

Customer: “You know what, I will! I’ll let them know that their stupid game called me obese and made me cry for three hours straight. I haven’t eaten solid food for two days because of it. I’m so hungry! I almost fainted last night. Do you think I can sue?”

Me: “Well, you can sure try. Have a nice day.”

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little early, but I'm going to busy later with my friends so figured I would post now. I suppose a lot of you are making New Year's resolutions, but I don't really see the point of that. If you want to be or do something different, why not just do it? Why wait until some random point in time? If something is important enough to you to make a change when you realize you want that change, it is more likely to actually stick and not be forgotten in less than a month, as most "resolutions" are.

I've accomplished so much in 2008, it is hard to know what I would resolve for 2009 even if I had to. I am now legally free of a very negative and harmful influence in my life. I took and passed the California Bar Exam on my first try. I'm completely happy and content in my personal life. There is the little matter of finding a job, but finding one is not a resolution. I will just do it. I already have one interview scheduled in a couple weeks, so I'm not really worried about that.

The Fresno Bee has a weekly page for kids called Scoopy Squad. Yesterday's edition asked kids "What are your goals for the new year?" Most answered with something whose results will be very difficult to determine, such as "be a better soccer player", "behave better on the school bus", or "be a better reader". Miriam in Kingsburg had the best response though- "I am going to help my mom make pancakes." Ok, Miriam, I'm cheering for you to make your goal this year. And everyone else- whether you make a resolution or have a goal for 2009, I'm cheering for you too. :)

2008

2008-12-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

Wow. When I think about how this year began, there is no way I could have predicted how it would end. It began with me finishing my final semester of law school, with an increasingly insecure and paranoid husband, whose threats of violence finally became too much to live with. While I was certain any attempt to escape would have disastrous consequences financially and possibly physically, I felt I had no other choice.

I cannot really even understand how I was able to leave an abusive husband in the middle of my last semester of law school and hold it together enough to get through that, moving, studying for my finals, and on top of that, preparing for, taking and actually passing the California Bar Exam. I must have been on auto-pilot or something, because even thinking about it now makes me nervous and a little scared.

But out of all that crap, a new and much better life has emerged. (Ok, yeah, insert your own "manure/flower" metaphor here.) I'm in a healthy relationship with someone I love and adore, where I am treated with respect and my intelligence is not viewed as a threat. I have a group of friends that I enjoy and see often. I am living in a house that is perfect for me, where I feel safe and comfortable. I am an attorney, licensed to practice law in California. I cannot think of anything I really lack in my life at this point. I am happy and I feel pretty lucky.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a special time with family and friends! :)

My Gardener Rocks!

2008-12-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas Eve, I was surprised in the late afternoon by the doorbell. There stood my gardener, who handed me a bag of warm, homemade tamales. What a gift!

Since I only rehired him at my new house a couple of weeks ago, and haven't even paid him for any service yet, I doubted I would be receiving the same thing this year. But this afternoon, the doorbell rang, and there he was again!

I remember how good the tamales were last year, so I can't wait for dinner tonight. YUM!

The Place I Now Call Home

2008-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted much this month. It's been kind of crazy trying to move, get my apartment cleaned out, and do all the Christmas stuff (shopping, wrapping, decorating). I finished in time for my daughter's arrival yesterday from MIT. Now I can relax and enjoy her and the holidays. :)

Anyway, here's a peek at my new place. If you think this looks pretty good for only having lived here for 2 weeks, you haven't seen my closet! It is a true organizational freak's dream. :)

A Room with a View

2008-12-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend and I went to SF this past weekend. Here's the view from our room. Pretty cool, huh? If you look closely, you can see the rainbow to the left of Coit Tower.

While in the city, we visited the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum. Both are fabulous! In addition, we had an incredible dinner at One Market Restaurant. I can easily recommend all three places. What a great, short escape from Fresno!

Comcast SUCKS!

2008-12-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

I've been out of commission on here for the last week, trying to move, find a job, decorate for Christmas, etc. One of the biggest hassles has been getting the services at the house up and running. But actually it comes down to one incredibly inept company- Comcast. Let me tell you about my experience.

From my prior use at my apartment, I knew any contact with Comcast was likely to result in problems and the need for further service calls. Since I was moving in on Monday, I scheduled them to come Tuesday and had a 8am- noon window. They were to install my cable tv, internet, and phone (which they were to transfer from AT&T).

My boyfriend, who shares my disdain for Comcast, predicted they would not show up before 11:30am. He was right. They showed up at 12:10pm. Ugh. (Of course, later in the day, my son went to the apartment and got the phone and answering machine I had left there until the phone number was moved to the house. The idiots had left a message on that machine, telling me they were running late. Hmmm....now, since they knew they were moving that number from my old residence, and they knew my service window was 8-12, how exactly was I supposed to get that message? They had my cell phone number, and I had it on me at all times. Nope. Didn't call that.) Strike one.

When they arrived, "they" were a team of 3 Comcast workers. When I mentioned that in booking the appointment I was told it would take 2-3 hours to set everything up, I was told, "No, with 3 of us, we will be out of here in 45 minutes!" Shortly, a second truck arrived and a fourth worker joined in. My house had been remodeled from top to bottom by the seller, and the team appeared perplexed that there are wires in so many different locations. They went into my crawl space, my attic, and every room of my house trying to figure it all out. In the process, they tracked dirt everywhere and left insulation bits all over my closet. They moved furniture out to mess with all the cables. Did they clean up any of the mess, replace any of the furniture they moved, or apologize for any of that? No. Strike two.

Eventually, they did get the phone line working, and later, the internet, though they misspelled my network name even after I had deliberately spelled it out loud and slowly for them. I use my last name as part of the name and really did not want it spelled incorrectly. I should not have been surprised. No attention to detail is standard for Comcast. Strike three. But it continues.

They were not able to get the cable tv box working. They kept blaming it on "bad boxes" and "bad wires". It did not make sense to me that the working box which I moved from my apartment would suddenly be "bad", or that each of the next 3 that they tried could also be bad. After 2.5 hours, they gave up and told me their supervisor would be out soon to see if he could find the problem. If he couldn't fix it but knew what the problem was, he would apparently call the team right back to take care of it.

THREE HOURS later, at 5:45pm, I got a phone call from Comcast saying their supervisor was on his way. I asked when he was going to be there because I had been forced to sit around all day waiting for them and was leaving in 15 minutes. I told them I would be available from 2-5pm on Wednesday. Nothing better than letting Comcast keep you captive for an entire 10 hours.

The next day I was home earlier than expected from moving some more items over from my apartment when Comcast called. I told them the supervisor could come earlier since I was already home. He showed up around noon. It took him about a half hour to discover the cable lines had been damaged when the seller put in some additional drains in the yard shortly before escrow closed. He ran some new line, hooked up a new box and had it all working in a relatively short period of time. Why the team of 4 idiots did not figure this all out in 2.5 hours, I have no idea.

He called his guy who buries cable lines and I spoke with him and told him I did not care how he did it as along as any plants that were affected were replaced and the yard looked the same afterward. He asked me if I minded if he had his team come out on Thursday morning to do the work. I said no. First thing on Thursday, this team showed up and buried the line in my yard. They did a nice job and when they finished I could not tell they had disturbed any plants, so I was happy with that.

About 30 minutes later, my doorbell rang. When I answered the door, a man who appeared to be a country bumpkin greeted me. "Hi. I'm from Comcast. Did you order cable? I'm here to set it up for you." I kid you not. I wanted to scream. "Um, they have spent the last 3 days trying to get it installed and working. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!"

How can a company be so disastrously poor in their service and survive? I have no idea. All I know is if there was another viable option, I would take it. Comcast sucks!

A Double Whammy Day

2008-12-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

I just received a phone call from my real estate agent informing me that my house recorded and it is officially mine. It had been set to close on Friday, but I did all my required stuff earlier in the week and asked if it would be possible to close early. As if an 11 day escrow wasn't short enough! ;) I got it down to 9, so very cool to have a bunch of efficient people working on that.

This afternoon, I will be sworn in as a member of the California State Bar. I'm also planning to take the oath to practice in the Federal District Court. When I think about it, I still have a hard time believing I passed the bar exam. I wish I knew my score!

Gotta run- too much to do!

My Degenerate Creature of Darkness*

2008-11-29T10:13:00.001-08:00

Of course, personally she thinks she is Rose from Titanic. She is available for modeling work for any interested budding artists. ; )

*You must go see Bolt. Completely hilarious. While the dog is the "star", the cats, pigeons and hamster do a great job of stealing the scenes. You will be laughing out loud!

My Advice to Pass the California Bar Exam

2008-11-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

Before you heed anything I say, keep in mind that advice is often worth what you pay for it. Ok, so let's finally write this post...

First, do NOT start studying the bar exam during your final year of law school. It won't help you. It will only lower your grades for your final year. Stay focused on your classes and doing well in them. If your school offers any kind of bar prep class, consider taking it, but do NOT freak out if one is not offered.

Secondly, sign up for a bar review course. I don't think there is a perfect one, so it's probably more a matter of deciding what you are most comfortable with. I took Bar-Bri, and while it had its faults, it kept me organized in my approach to studying, and covered all the needed topics and exam parts. If you do sign up for Bar-Bri, a few warnings. First, their web site sucks. So does their customer service. They do not clearly tell you everything you are entitled to, nor make all the forms for requesting things obvious to find. Secondly, not all their lecturers are as thorough as they need to be. The Criminal Law and Business Organizations lecturers condensed their material so much that they left out a lot of necessary information. Some of the lecturers are very amusing, most are not.

Next, give yourself a week off after finals. Don't read or do anything law-related. Take a trip, sleep, see movies, have fun. The next 8 weeks will be the worst of your life, so do something you enjoy that will help you make it through.

If the schedule of your bar review course doesn't start for another week after your week off, begin doing MBEs. Don't try to study first. Just start doing them. You can use a computer program like MicroMash (though that has its own set of problems, but it does help you to get through and grade a lot of questions faster than using a book) or a book. After scoring them, read all the explanations for all the ones you missed. Write or type out the statement of law for those questions and keep them organized, by subject in a binder so you can refer to them later if needed. Aim to do about 100 a day.

Once your bar review class starts, stick to the schedule they give you and do ALL the assignments. My Bar-Bri class was from 9am-1pm every day. After class, I came home, ate lunch and started working about 2pm until around 8-10pm each night. In those 6-8 hours every day, do each assignment for that day, whether MBEs, essays or Performance Test. In addition, type up an outline for whatever material you covered in class that day. If you finished a subject, edit your outline as needed and print out to put in a binder for your final bar review study outlines.

Don't plan on taking days off until after the bar is over with. Try to do something fun every weekend, like going out to dinner or a movie, but don't get lazy and don't talk yourself into thinking you deserve time off. You don't. You will later, after you take the exam. You're not there yet.

When you get graded assignments back that rip your work to shreds, don't get discouraged. I think they do that on purpose to try to motivate you. Sure, take whatever you can from their comments, but don't let it destroy your confidence. My assignments, except for one, had failing grades and bad comments. I didn't focus on that. Not worth the distraction.

After your bar review course is done, you will have a week or two to finish your studying on your own before the actual exam. Continue with the schedule of assignments they give you, unless you can tell you have certain weaknesses. If you do, focus on those. Force yourself to not study the things you know perfectly. While studying those areas may make you feel smart, you know you really need to focus on your weak subjects. Just do it.

Arange your time so your last couple of days are only studying your outlines you made from the lectures. Make sure you go over every subject, again focusing on the ones you are weakest on, AND Professional Responsibility, since that is the only subject that is guaranteed to be on the bar exam.

When you sign up for the exam, consider the different possibilities for weather, distance, proximity of exam site to available hotels, your comfortable level with each city. Don't go to one city only because you know it is the "popular" choice for your schoolmates if you aren't personally comfortable in that city. Do not plan on staying with relatives during the exam if you are traveling from out of town.

If you are traveling out of town for the bar exam, get there about 24 hours before the exam begins. Check out the venue for the exam. Find out where you check in, see if you can locate the restrooms, drinking fountain, nearby lunch spots. Remember, by the time the proctors collect the exams and get you out of there, you only have an hour for lunch. You don't want to get stuck in line behind 900 other bar takers. Consider getting something the night before, leaving it in a cooler in your car, and eating there. If that doesn't work, find something close and quick.

Decide before you arrive what time you will cut off your studying. You NEED to do this! And you NEED to stick to it. My boyfriend and I had decided that once we got checked in at the hotel, looked at the exam site and stuff, we would study for a couple of hours, but once it was dinner time, that was it! No after dinner cramming, no getting out the outlines at midnight. Cut yourself off and then relax the rest of the evening so you can go to bed without panicking. Tell yourself that if you don't know something by that time, you aren't going to learn it. You will make it up and fake it. Just repeat that to yourself if you start getting nervous and want to grab your outline binder.

Make sure your hotel is within walking distance of the exam site. Even if you plan to drive from the hotel, walk it and time it, just in case, so you know how long you need. Ask for a refrigerator and microwave in your room, if possible. This will allow you to keep breakfast food in your room and save you precious minutes in the morning. If you bring food from home, that will also help you feel a little more comfortable going in every day.

After each day's test, don't talk about it too much, and don't beat yourself up over stuff you missed or forgot. Don't get freaked out and go back to the room and study. Just find a decent restaurant, eat a nice dinner, and relax. If you have trouble sleeping, take a sleeping pill by 8pm (not any later!) .

When the final day is through, if you are able, don't try to drive home. Find something to drink and celebrate there, and stay one more night. By the time you get out of the last exam, it will be about 5:30pm, and you don't want to have to try to drive for hours at that point.

You will then have 4 months to wait. Try not to think about it. It seems forever. It nearly is. Try to find projects to keep yourself busy.

If you are like me, and hate to be disappointed more than just about anything else, convince yourself you did not pass. Resign yourself to having to study and go through it all again. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Realize it isn't the end of the world if you don't pass. But when you finally get the results, if you do pass, celebrate and tell everyone your secrets!

Back to Real Life...No Longer a Law School Zombie

2008-11-26T17:02:00.001-08:00

Life has been a blur since finding out last Friday that I passed the California Bar Exam. I had mentally prepared myself to begin the excruciating process of studying for it for 2 months again, so when I found out that was not in my future after all, I jumped right back into real life.

The first thing I did is send off 3 applications and resumes to agencies for which I would most like to work. I'm hoping to get at least one interview and offer out of those. (Every boss I have ever had has absolutely loved me, so I know whomever ends up with me will be very pleased.) If that doesn't work, I'll just see what else I can find. Family law had been my second choice when I started law school (and I took 3 electives in that area) so that would be another possibility. We'll see.

The next thing I did was make an offer on a house! :) After going back and forth on the price for a couple days, we finally agreed and I'm in escrow on it now. It closes December 5th! Yes, you read that right. NEXT FRIDAY! Yes, I admit I'm kind of psycho when it comes to getting stuff done, but really, it made more sense this way. I can be in, settled, and decorate for Christmas before my daughter comes home on the 20th. Plus, it isn't likely I would interview, get an offer, and start a new job that fast, so better to do all this now then after I start a job and don't have as much time.

I've been swamped with house stuff the last couple of days, as you can imagine with having a 10 day escrow which includes a long holiday weekend. The appraisal was on Monday and the inspection was this morning (by one of my law school friends!). This weekend I need to go buy a refrigerator for delivery on the 5th. Hoping that won't be a problem.

Next week I need to pack and get everything ready to go. Oh, and there's a little ceremony on Wednesday. Something about swearing. Yeah, can't forget to go to that...

California Bar Exam, By the Numbers

2008-11-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

For the July 2008 California Bar Exam:

8637 people took the exam
61.7% of exam takers passed
75% of first time takers passed
27% of repeaters passed
From California, but non-ABA, accredited schools (such as mine), 37% of first time takers and 17% of repeaters passed
From SJCL (my school), 23 out of the 49 people who graduated in my class passed, for a 47% pass rate. However, I know at least 2 of those people did not take the exam. If there were others who also did not take it, the pass rate will be at or above 50%. (The school's pass rate had been hovering around 30% for the past few years, so this is a significant improvement.)
Of our 23 passers, 11 were male and 12 were female; 9 were students who completed the law program in 3 years and 14 completed in 4 or 5 years.
Of the 3 year program exam passers, the 9 came from an original class size of about 90 people, meaning that only 10% of the people who began law school at SJCL in August 2005 finished in 3 years and passed the bar exam on the first attempt.
All of the students who graduated with high honors or distinction (the top 20% of the class) passed.

Being the nerds that we are, my boyfriend and I had printed out a list of the 2008 graduates and made a prediction for each person, based on what we knew about them, their class rank or GPA, their study habits, their contributions in the classroom, whether or not we thought they would pass or fail. We predicted that 22 of the 49 would pass. And we woke up at 6am yesterday when the results were made public on the state bar web site and checked each person's name to see how accurately our predictions were. While we made some errors on the results for some individuals, the overall prediction was only off by 1. Yes, we were pretty proud of ourselves. :)

Congratulations to all who passed! See all of you at school tonight for the reception!

"My Mom's a Lawyer"

2008-11-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

It didn't take my daughter to throw out that phrase! Apparently the RA of her dorm was trying to convince her to attend more of the dorm's social events. My daughter, being a near clone of me, is happy to socialize with her friends and those she enjoys but finds little use for random socializing with people she doesn't know or care for.

Not only did she use that phrase, she included, "and half my genes come from her, so you're not convincing me of anything!" Apparently, that finally worked and he left her alone!

You Can't Plan for Everything

2008-11-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

If you read this blog even semi-regularly, you probably know I plan and organize everything. When it came to taking the California bar exam, my boyfriend-study partner and I left nothing to chance. We arrived in San Mateo, the site where we took the exam, nearly 24 hours before the exam began. We checked out the exam location, making sure we knew where the entrance, bathrooms and drinking fountains were. We located a nearby fast food restaurant, plotted the path there, and made contingency plans if the parking lot was full. We walked from the hotel to the exam site, timing it, in case the car had a flat tire or didn't start the morning of the exam and we needed to walk. We brought food to eat for breakfast in the room so we didn't end up in a long line at a restaurant or the room service queue.

As the 16 weeks from the time of the exam to the time the results were posted last night, we have mostly tried to not think about it. You can't do anything at that point anyway, so what is the use? Over the last month however, it had been getting harder and harder to ignore. A single line of text on a web site could change our lives. How can you not start thinking about it?

Anticipating having a hard time sleeping the night before the results came out (Thursday night), we each took a sleeping pill.

On Friday, I had the results page of the State Bar's web site up all day. I watched the hourly countdown on there until it became a minute by minute countdown at about 90 minutes to go. I thought surely the results would get posted a little early, to help ease some of the congestion to the site right at 6. Nope.

I did get right through at 6pm, putting in my application and file numbers. However, the screen I was taken to only had those 2 numbers, my name (my previous name, for anyone checking the list tomorrow, since that is the name I originally registered at the State Bar with way back when), and the sentence, "The name above appears on the pass list for the July 2008 California Bar Examination."

I had to read it a couple of times. Huh? What? No easy "pass" or "fail". Um, does this mean I really passed??? I printed out the page, just for good measure. I then began down my list of phone calls to make. My boyfriend was at the top of the list, but he had not been able to get through on the bar's web site yet, so while I could tell him that I passed, he did not know his results yet. I then called my children, parents, siblings, and friends.

Once he came over, we celebrated with a bottle of champagne. We had not planned to go anywhere, because we were not sure what the results would be, nor how long it would take us to get them, and then notify everyone. That ended up being a good decision. (We do have reservations for a nice dinner out tonight, which I am sure we will enjoy much more than we would have if we had gone out last night.)

After falling asleep before 10, we both woke up at 1am. Not the kind of awake where you open your eyes and roll over and fall back asleep. We were wide awake. After watching some tv and eating leftover enchiladas, we eventually went back to sleep around 4:30 or so. Ugh. If we had truly planned ahead, we would have taken sleeping pills last night too!

This post is long enough, so I will wait until next week to give my thoughts on the whole process.

I PASSED!

2008-11-21T18:23:00.001-08:00

OMG! I don't even know what to say or think. I had convinced myself I had failed. I'm in shock.

I need to celebrate.....

Tomorrow is THE Day

2008-11-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

It's down to about 34 hours now. I'm ready to find out I passed. I have my list of people I need to call as soon as I found out the results. I have packets with resumes, cover letters, and writing samples waiting to be mailed out. I have an appointment Saturday morning with my real estate agent to write up on offer on a house.

Of course, if I fail, none of the above matters, as I will be in limbo again, and in six months be in the same position- waiting to find out the results (of the February exam). It's hard not to wonder how I would possibly go through all of this again. I suppose that is what December is for- getting through all the emotions of it all so I could get serious in January and spend 2 months studying and preparing, again.

If I pass, I'll post once I contact everyone on my list. If I don't, well, who knows?

Do We Become Our Grandparents?

2008-11-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

Too many times it seems like I base my actions on doing the opposite of what my parents do. There are lots of things they do and have done that are annoying or hurtful, and I purposefully want to be a different kind of parent to my own children.

I suppose one of the areas that sticks out in my mind the most is being forced to share. Yes, I know. Children are by nature greedy and self-centered ("NO" and "mine" are usually among the first words spoken), and need to be taught that the world doesn't revolve around them. But to me, it seemed very communistic for my mom to have made me share things with my sister, when I was the one who had an after-school job, earned extra money, and bought the items myself. What about property rights, or don't people under 18 have those?

Perhaps it was easier, having one boy and one girl, and clothes-sharing not an issue, but I recall making sure my children were not forced to share. "Give that back to your sister. That is hers," was something my son heard me say, though never uttered by my parents.

Unfortunately, my grandparents died before I had the chance to get to know them as an adult. But I often wonder if I am more like them than I am my parents. Do we all swing away from how our parents are, making every other generation kindred spirits? I wish I knew, and sometimes I wish my grandparents were still around. I could use someone else to whom I could complain about my parents!

Domestic Violence

2008-11-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

Last week, one of the things I did to fill a few hours was trek down to the Fresno County law library to look up "Myers on Evidence in Child, Domestic and Elder Abuse Cases", by John E.B. Myers. Realizing that as a prosecutor, I will surely face having to question witnesses who have been victims of abuse, I thought this book might prove to be a valuable resource. While professionally I think I will end up referring to it in the future, personally it hit home. I thought I'd share a few of my observations, for anyone else who may be in a similar situation.

Domestic violence is not just an act that give you bruises and broken bones, but is "any use of physical or sexual force, actual or threatened, in an intimate relationship." (Children Exposed to Violence: A Handbook for Police Trainers to Increase Understanding and Improve Community Response, by Linda L. Baker, Peter G. Jaffe, Steven J. Berkowitz, & Miriam Berkman, italics added.) Even now, that is hard for me to swallow, because I don't like thinking of myself as a "victim" or someone who took years of abuse, but domestic violence did characterize the marriage I left.

I found these quotes from the Myers' book very interesting:

"The predominant behavior of batterers is control, and batterers do not generally apologize for their controlling behavior. Indeed, batterers feel it is their right to control their partner and their children."

"The overarching behavior characteristic of the batterer is the imposition of control over his partner. The batterer's control is carried out through a mixture of criticism, verbal abuse, economic control, isolation, cruelty, and an array of other tactics." (Quoted from The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics by Bancroft and Silverman, emphasis added.)

"Batterers tend to view themselves as superior, and to be selfish, self-centered, manipulative, and possessive. "

I can tell you when I read those quotes, there was no other conclusion to come to except that my ex-husband is a batterer. All of the above applied to our time together and his behavior. Yet, even as I say that, it is hard for me to admit. So why am I even posting about this? Because I am an intelligent and strong woman who got involved with the wrong man. Maybe I didn't see the signs, but maybe I would have if I had been warned.

Thirty three percent of female homicide victims are murdered by their spouse or boyfriend, and 20% of American women are assaulted by an intimate partner at some point in their life. That is why I think this is so important. Maybe I can open the eyes of one woman to recognizing the behavior of the man she is involved with, or thinking about getting involved with, before it is too late.

For those of you wanting help, please check out the Marjaree Mason Center locally or Womens Law.

ONE MORE WEEK!

2008-11-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Next Friday the results for the California Bar exam will be posted (at 6pm PST). After finishing the exam, I was so relieved to be done with it, and the results seemed so far off, I did not think about it much. Now I can think of little else. It is hard when that is what stands between my life either moving forward or remaining in limbo. Sigh.

At least there are a few fun things this weekend to distract me some. Tonight, my 11 year old niece is in Clovis West's production of Annie. Since the school needed younger children to play the orphans, a few kids from each of the elementary schools that feed into CW were picked to participate. Apparently she has really enjoyed this experience, so I anticipate this being the first in a string of many productions with her that I will be seeing over the next few years.

Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond film, opens this weekend. What's not to love there??? ;) We're going to go see that on Saturday.

Finally, after a long 3 year renovation, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum is reopening this weekend. To celebrate, admission is free. There are a number of different events planned, so check out their schedule if you plan to go.

What To Do?

2008-11-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

Now that there are only 8 days left until the results of the California Bar Exam are posted online, I'm thinking about the details. I think anyone and everyone I have talked to in the last month knows the results are being posted at 6pm that day. I have been telling people that I will call them if I pass, or email them if I don't. Beyond that, then what?

Do I make reservations to go out somewhere nice and celebrate that night? But if I do that, and don't pass, how bad will I feel then? Or do I just celebrate with the bottle of champagne that is already waiting in the refrigerator on Friday and figure out something to do on Saturday, should the situation be celebratory?

It's even a bit trickier because I have no doubts that my brilliant boyfriend passed. But of course I have doubts about my own performance. I don't want to have the mixed emotions of being excited for him, yet upset about my own results. Hopefully, that won't happen and we will both pass.

If you took and passed, tell me in the comments how and when you celebrated. If you didn't pass, tell me what you did to console yourself!

I Don't Have to Tell You What a 90 Point Win Is

2008-11-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend and I haven't played Scrabble for a couple weeks. After our previous game, he was ahead in the cumulative scoring by 74 points. Ouch! However, my win by 90 points last night has inched me back into the cumulative lead by 16 points. :)

Oh, and for those of you looking closely, no, neither of us played "quizzes" on the opening play for a bingo. He played "quiz" to open, and I later added the rest (which wasn't so bad for 25 points). Personally, I think "joint" (which also gave me "qi", "un" and "it") for 29 points was my best play.

I suppose I should stop while I'm ahead or he'll want to play again tonight (and probably beat me by 17 points!).

Everyone Loves a Parade

2008-11-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

Because my nephew was playing with the Clovis North band in the Veteran's Day parade today, I woke my son up and made him go watch it with me. Even though he protested about having to wake up so "early", I think he enjoyed it.

We got there about an hour early, as I figured you would have to if you wanted a decent spot to see everything. We ended up on the curb near the beginning of the route. It was getting quite crowded and close to the starting time a mother with 4 little kids plopped 3 of them on the curb next to us while she stood with her infant behind the crowd. Her 6 year old son (Ronald) was very curious and outgoing, so we become fast friends.

When Ronald and his sister began speculating how many F16s were going to fly over (after it was announced they would open the parade), the numbers kept getting higher and higher. I leaned over and asked him how high he could count. "Umm," he thought for a second. "Ten hundred." (Two F16s flew over, very low to the ground, which was very cool!)

Since the parade was about a half hour late in getting started, Ronald and I had plenty of time to talk. The Fresno State flag girls and mascot were standing right in front of us as we waited. Ronald was trying to get Timeout's attention for the longest time by yelling, "Mr. Bulldog!" I finally told him that his name was "Timeout", which changed the yell to "Mr. Timeout!" It was funny, but I told him it was just "Timeout", no Mr. in front. Timeout finally came over and Ronald gave him such a huge hug that Timeout nearly fell over backwards.

Many veterans of different wars took part in the parade. Some walked as groups, others rode in various vehicles. They seemed thrilled to be honored, as their waves were returned by the eager children in the crowd. Even though I'm normally not much of a parade person, I have to admit that even I thought this one was kind of fun.

Fresno's Future: Tinkertoys and Legos

2008-11-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

In proving what a world class Fresno is and will be in the future, city leaders have constructed a model of what they imagine for Fresno in 2050. This model is comprised of Tinkertoys and Legos. I suppose, considering that it is Fresno, I can only be surprised that Lincoln Logs were not also included.

They'll Need to Redo That Episode

2008-11-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

Last week on Mythbusters, the guys tested various items, such as a police badge, an ipod, and a bunch of pizza delivery boxes, to see if any could stop a bullet from harming a person. It did not appear any normal item that a person would be carrying or wearing could effectively stop a bullet. A news story today, however, related how a purse stopped a bullet from hitting the victim of an attempted robbery. I suppose the Mythbusters will need to test this theory themselves now. I'm dying to see Jamie and Adam argue about whether a Louis Vuitton or a Chanel offers the most protection. ;)

2 More Weeks

2008-11-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

It's kind of getting scary that it is this close. I'm so afraid I won't pass. Even though I know I should be in the group that passes (since 30% of first time takers from California accredited, but non-ABA accredited schools like mine pass, and I graduated in the top 15% of my class), that only makes me feel like I will only be more humiliated if I don't pass.

Ok, let's change the subject to something more important. The really big news of the day is that the stick was added to the Toy Hall of Fame. This was, of course, because the cardboard box was already inducted in 2005. Is it just me, or is that guy a little bit too happy to be holding that stick???

I'm Official

2008-11-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

Getting my name changed on every account, credit card, and identification item I have did not take as long as I thought. I received my new driver's license in the mail the other day and with that was able to finish changing over the last accounts that needed that before they would make the change. Also, I haven't actually received my new passport yet, but I did send in all the required items weeks ago. (No, I don't have an international trip planned at the current time, but I just like knowing that if I want to go somewhere on the spur of the moment, I can.)

The last place I need to change my name is with the state bar, but they won't let me do it now since I'm in limbo. I either change it with them if I pass, or register to take it again with the new name. :(

In other news, author Michael Crichton has died. I think Jurassic Park was his first book that I read, though I did so before the movie came out and was disappointed when it did not enthrall me as much as the book had. I then read his other prior fiction books (The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Eaters of the Dead, Congo, Sphere, Terminal Man) and continued to read his new books (Rising Sun, Disclosure, Lost World, Air Frame, Timeline, Prey, State of Fear and Next, which I finally finished after the bar exam) over the years. He apparently has one last novel coming out December 2.

I always appreciated the research that he did on the subjects of his books, with all the detail and depth that gave them. I'll miss not having more of his books to read in the future.

Don't Forget!

2008-11-04T08:55:00.001-08:00

Today is election day, finally! I will be happy to see an end to all the annoying political ads and demonstrations, as well as the recorded calls. (I can't figure out who would actually listen to one of them. If you do, please leave a comment and tell me why!)

Yahoo has a cool election dashboard that is kind of interesting to check out.

And just for fun:

3 More Weeks

2008-10-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I'm not feeling that well, but I am going to a costume party tonight. I don't know why, but everyone who is going has made a big deal out of keeping their costume a secret. Once they started that, I couldn't very well tell them mine. So I'll let you in...I'm going as a pirate wench. Very nice, huh? :)

Public service announcement of the day: don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tomorrow!

My Cat Needs to Learn How to Do This

2008-10-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Then she could stop meowing at me all day long, wanting "fresh" food put in her bowl!

Do Not Give Me That Knowing Grin!

2008-10-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

While in law school, I was much too busy to rant about all the little mundane things in life that annoy me so much. Lucky for you, now I have the time to do so! ; )

Last week, I went to the DMV to change my name on my driver's license. They punched a hole through the expiration date on my license and gave me a temporary paper license. When using my credit cards (which are now in my maiden name), I have been showing sales clerks both the old and new (paper) licenses, which I have clipped together. I thought it would make it easier for them to see that everything is valid.

Yesterday I went to a party store to get some supplies. Both clerks were wearing Halloween costumes. The guy who waited on me was a tall, white guy, wearing a long, black, dreadlock wig and tie dyed shirt. After charging my purchase, he asked to see my id. When I pulled out my licenses and handed them to him, he looked at me, pointed to the punched out date, and smiled.

"Oh, mine has that too!" he said, thinking he had connected with another fellow DUI-er. "Yeah, I just got my license back."

You big loser, I thought to myself. "Um, I just changed my name. That's all." Ugh.

Who Is Everyone Talking To??? And Why Do They Have to Do It When I Can Hear Them?

2008-10-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not saying that I don't carry my cell phone with me, and answer it when I am out, but I don't really understand having long, involved conversations on one when you are out in public. It is almost like people think they enter a soundproof bubble when they answer the phone, forgetting that everyone around them can hear every word they say.

When I was out running errands this morning, it seemed like half of the people in stores were talking on their cell phones. Here are some of the conversation snippets I heard:

"Dad already yelled at me for that. I don't know why he thinks I intentionally forgot."

"I'm sorry about crying yesterday. I just had a total meltdown."

"Yeah, she is really going to get it."

None of these conversations were short ones, but quite involved. None appeared to be any emergency. So, why? You couldn't possibly, um, I don't know, wait until you got in your car or home before doing this?

While I'm at it, all of you people walking around with those bluetooth devices sticking out of your ears while you are walking around in public look like idiots!

Palin the Poser

2008-10-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

In case you missed this the other night:

4 More Weeks

2008-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Now that we are less than a month away from the results of the California bar exam being posted online, it feels real and not so far off. I really need to think of something to keep myself busy for this last month of waiting.

My rant for the day: Why can't people spell? I don't get it. If I don't know how to spell something, I look it up. I can understand typing fast and not realizing that you misspelled something, but why would you just write something that could not possibly be correct without checking?

I was looking at home listings online (plan on buying something as soon as I pass the bar and get a job) and came across the following description of a house:

Spacious 5 bed, 4 BA, over 2,600 s.f. with huge greatroom, 2 bedrooms- (1)is used as office (1) is used as gameroom, no closets, amwas stay, Large breakfast area, Jack & Jill bath, oversized master w/2 closets, extra large 2 car garage.

I sat there, wondering what "amwas" was. It finally hit me that the person meant "armoires". Apparently the writer must have heard someone pronounce that word in the French way and decided a phonetic spelling was good enough (though, wouldn't that then be "ahmwah"?), or they were too embarrassed to ask. (But how embarrassing is it to publish that kind of error online?)

Then I was reading a forum and saw a post announcing, "Without further adooo......"

What is wrong with people? Are they that stupid, or do they just not care? Ugh. Drives me crazy! Don't even start me on the "there/their/they're" stuff.

First Gang Injunctions, Now Trademark Infringement

2008-10-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Prosecutors have tried various means to go after gangs, as it is often difficult to find witnesses willing to testify against gang members. Gang injunctions, like the one I helped draft against the Dog Pound gang while interning at the DA's office, allow the police to pick up any gang member for engaging in any disallowed activity in the "safety zone" described in the injunction.

The US Attorneys have a new tactic. They are going to seize not only gang property, but the gang's trademarked name. Once the trademark forfeiture takes place, the police can take any property from a gang member that bears the trademarked gang name and charge him with trademark infringement.

As the article mentions, sounds like a clever idea, but seems bound for court battles.

July 2008 Bar Exam Questions

2008-10-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

The essay and performance test questions from the July 2008 exam are now online.

Well, This is One Way to Get Rid of Your Ex

2008-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does this strike anyone else as funny:

"So the researchers set up a field experiment in which they watched the spiders, sometimes snatching the males from the jaws of females before they were devoured." (Italics added.)

I'm just imagining a female researcher, the morning after a bad date....."Die you little bastard. Let's see how you like that!"

Yeah, I really need to pass the bar and get a job!

Scrabble Update

2008-10-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't commented on the Scrabble cumulative score (my not-very-official cumulative score of all of the games of my boyfriend and I, started some time in the last month or two) in a while. Since I finally won a game last night, I figured I should do so. The last I reported, I had the lead in the cumulative score by 12 points.

About 2 weeks ago, I beat him by 82 points, putting me ahead by 94, cumulatively. We have played for the last 3 nights in a row. After he beat me the first 2 times, I couldn't let that record sit for weeks and insisted we play again last night! The first game this week he won by 86, and the second by 66. I won last night's game by 22. This gives him the cumulative lead by 36, so he ought to know I'm a good sport for posting that. ; )

I do believe he said last night that any win over a 20 points difference was an ass-kicking. While that may not be what I originally said, I don't have any problem agreeing with him on this (for now). By his standard, we have both had our ass kicked, and kicked the other's, twice in this last string of games. Overall, I guess we can say that we are pretty even. :)

W- Who is He?

2008-10-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

We went to see W last night. It was much different than I thought it was going to be. With all the flubs and misstatements that President Bush has made over the years, I anticipated a lot more making fun of him and his less than perfect ways. (Anyone who watches David Letterman is reminded nightly of just how imperfect he is, as the clip below shows.)

To me, the film was a look at the man, a man who lacked direction and purpose in his life, and a man who sought the approval and acceptance of his father but never received it. Without this acceptance, he eventually turned to God, with whom he apparently not only found acceptance, but also gained what he believed was a divinely inspired purpose for his life. Even though he had this new direction for his life, the group of advisors surrounding him (each with his own agenda) and his own inability to effectively manage them led to a less than stellar performance while in office.

I expected a film that would be mean-spirited, poking fun and taking cheap shots, but that is not what I saw. While it is hard to know exactly how much of the story portrayed is true, I thought it was presented in a thoughtful and entertaining way.

5 More Weeks

2008-10-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

I really did not mind the first 10 weeks, but now it is getting annoying. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of doing (next to) nothing. I'm tired of wondering. Did I mention I'm tired of waiting?

At least I'm getting small stuff done. My name is now changed with Social Security, AAA, and all my credit cards. Just need to do my bank accounts and driver's license, which I have an appointment for next week.

We're going to see W tonight. I don't believe that I have seen any of Oliver Stone's other films before, but from the reviews I have read, this one is apparently not a complete history re-write. Of course, when you are given the right kind of material, how much do you need to make up???

How About a Cage Fight?

2008-10-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Today's Fresno Bee reports on yesterday's debate between Judge Wanger and Mayor Autry, as does Bill McEwen's column. He makes observations, such as the following:

"The judge didn't play fair exactly. He based his arguments on things like the law, precedent and the Constitution. Autry did what people do when they don't have evidence or law on their side. He said that judges should use common sense."

I am impressed that both reporters got the facts right and were not taken in by Autry's charisma nor misled by his legal misunderstandings. However, as the article points out, while the judge went to law school, Autry's degree is in physical education. I'm guessing he would be more than happy to take on the judge in a cage fight, as suggested by McEwen. At least there Autry may have a chance of winning.

ETA: If you are interested in listening to the debate, here is the audio.

Happy 3rd Blogiversary to Me!

2008-10-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

I started this blog 3 years ago today. Hard to believe that I have been doing this that long. Even harder to believe that people are actually still visiting and reading it! ;)

Today was the debate between Judge Wanger and Mayor Autry. I'm not even sure where to start commenting on it, other than to say it was most entertaining and definitely worth the $15! I guess I will just make some random observations because there is too much that could be said, and I, unlike my boyfriend, did not take any notes.

The first thing that was obvious is how little most people, who are not lawyers, know about the courts, the Constitution, the law and the way all of those function. I am sure Autry had been briefed by his legal team, but he still seemed to have little to no understanding of any of this. He claimed that the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution, was the document guiding our country and courts and that the Declaration's words hold a superior position to anything else said anywhere.

Autry also has no clue what "judicial notice" is, but seemed to think it was a magical phrase that was going to get him the win in this debate. He spoke about it as if this allows judges to do outside research on cases, and bring in anything they find, along with their own opinions and common sense, and get those into evidence under "judicial notice". Um, that is not how it works, but he brought it up at least a dozen times, seeming to hope each time that that would be the time it would click in his audiences' heads and they would see the value in this argument. Nope. Never did.

And then there were points he made that contradicted himself. He said that judges should be able to bring in common sense and outside knowledge (Autry's "judicial notice") and use that in deciding cases. However, when Judge Wanger made a comment in the homeless case, which prompted this debate, that the actions of the city of Fresno were "demeaning" to homeless people (their personal belongings were seized and destroyed, without notice- a common sense observation???), Autry claimed that the judge already had an attitude about the case. How can you say judges should bring in their common sense and outside knowledge on one hand, and then criticize them on the other when they do just that?

Autry tried to create visuals through his stories. The problem was that they seemed just that- like stories, doubtfully enhanced by his desire to create a certain perception in the media. One of his stories was that the ACLU lawyers who filed the class action on behalf of the homeless did not really care about these people, and could not get away from them fast enough. I believe his quote was something to the effect, "As the homeless pulled on the arm of the ACLU lawyer, the lawyer quickly left, hopped into his limo and drove out of town. The view of Fresno in his rearview mirror was the best thing he'd ever seen." Ok, please. Can he get any more dramatic?

Actually, he did. As he described the homeless encampment, which he claimed to have visited, you would have thought he spent quite an amount of time there. According to him, the place had a coffee pot used as a urinal that was filled with disease and mattresses infected with hepatitis. Homeless people there fouled their pants with diarrhea, were openly using and selling drugs, and having sex. Autry topped off this story saying that this entire scene was visible to a little girl who lived across the street. For good measure, he also threw in that around the corner from this encampment was the Rescue Mission, with "food, shelter, medicine and hope." Ok, that was just corny.

When the topic of the settlement on the homeless case was brought up, Autry was asked why he signed it if he did not agree with it. He brought up the difference between the world we live in and the world we wished we lived in. He signed it because he didn't want to risk the future of the city with the possibility of losing a lot more if the case went to trial, and he hoped the judge would step in and alter the agreement to make it more "reasonable". Ok, so the world Autry wishes he lives in is the world where judges think like he does, but that is not the world he actually lives in, so why didn't he realize that difference before he signed the thing?

I'm wondering how the paper will portray this event in tomorrow's paper. I'm sure Autry probably thinks he did a good job. I'm equally sure that the lawyers (and soon-to-be lawyers) in the room probably cringed, seeing in person exactly how much our mayor does not know.

Presidential Candidates and the Supreme Court

2008-10-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Erwin Chemerinsky wrote this recent article for the LA Times, which was reprinted in today's Fresno Bee. Would be interesting if some of this is discussed in the final debate this week.

6 More Weeks!

2008-10-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

It's finally start to feel like finding out the bar results is not so far away now, like it is actually going to happen. I'm so tired of my life being in limbo and cannot wait to find out the results. Of course, I'm going to be crushed if I failed, but even that result will give me something to do!

In completely unrelated news, two public service announcements:

On October 3, 2008, Congress temporarily increased FDIC deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2009.

Replacement adapters are available at Apple stores starting today for anyone who purchased an iPhone 3G. I recommend calling your local store to make sure they are actually in stock before making a trip there.

That's it for now!

Now I Remember!

2008-10-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is the picture I was thinking of the other day, when I caught my cat posing. Of course, my cat isn't nearly as privileged as this one, since I refused to bring her the remote and a beer.

In other news, the escrow on my house finally closed yesterday, after being on the market for 16 months! The final selling price was only 12% more than I paid for it in 2003, and a whopping 33% less than the original price I listed it for in June 2007. Considering everything that has happened in the financial markets in the last few weeks, and what seems bound to happen in the months ahead, I feel fortunate that it did close and that I did walk away with some money from it. Still, it makes me feel sick to think how much more I could have gotten out of it, had I sold it a year earlier.

I learned something new the other day. Once a judge signs your divorce judgment, it is in effect the day that the judge signs it. (This does not shorten the time for a dissolution to be final to less than 6 months, if the judgment is signed before that time, however.) What this means for me is that since my maiden name was being restored, I do not have to wait until the final date of dissolution for my name to change. Legally, since the judgment was already signed, it has been changed. I'm now in the process of doing all the paperwork to get it changed on everything. Yes, that is a pain, but at least I have the time to do it right now.

NO Shame

2008-10-07T16:21:00.001-07:00

What can I say? My cat is fat and she doesn't care who knows it!

So Mavericky!

2008-10-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

7 More Weeks

2008-10-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm past the halfway point now, so I know these next 7 weeks are going to fly by. Yep, before you know it, I will be logging on to the California State Bar website and finding out if I passed the exam. Sigh....

At least there are a few events in the coming weeks to help distract me. This weekend, it is the Fresno Fair. It's been a tradition in my family to attend every year, look at the exhibits and eat some fair food. (My personal favorites are the soft tacos and cinnamon rolls. YUM!) Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate and I remember more than once walking around the fairgrounds in 95+ degree heat! This year should be much more pleasant, though there is a chance of some rain tomorrow.

Hal Holbrook will be appearing as Mark Twain next weekend. My boyfriend and I already have tickets for that, so I'm looking forward to it. And of course, on the 15th is the debate between Judge Wanger and Alan Autry, for which we also have tickets.

Coming up in a couple weeks is the Civil War Revisited. I have taken my kids to that for years and we have always enjoyed it. History has been one of my son's favorite subjects so I think I will still be able to get him to attend with me.

Nice to have a few things to look forward to. But now I need to drive over to school. I heard that they put up the photos from my graduating class and I want to go take a look.

If You Had an Unfortunate Name....

2008-10-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

would you pass it on to your child? I'm just asking...

8 More Weeks

2008-09-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today is the halfway point between taking the California bar exam and finding out the results. It seems like so long ago that I was sitting in that huge room with 1000 other people taking that 3 day test. Hard to believe I'm only halfway to the results.

In other news, everyone is concerned about the financial crisis. To make sure I don't have all my eggs in one basket, I have opened accounts at a couple of different banks in the last couple of weeks. Several offer a better interest rate on their savings accounts if you open the accounts online. I did this, but was astonished that Citibank turned me down! For a savings account! &$*%@! What the hell? I was trying to give them money, not asking for any!

It could not have been my credit score, which at 793, is in the excellent range. The only thing I can think of is maybe they are getting so cheap that they don't even want to pay the interest rate they are advertising. I guess if they are trying to drive away customers they are being successful! I am now taking my business elsewhere.

How Many Points = An Ass Kicking???

2008-09-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

As further proof that I have nothing to do these days, I pose the question, "In the game of Scrabble, how many points must you win by to consider it an 'ass-kicking' of your opponent?"

I think one needs to establish a hearty win by at least a 50 point spread to declare that an ass-kicking has occurred. My boyfriend, on the other hand, thinks that even a one point win qualifies. He thinks this, of course, because he beat me by 8 measly points last night.

Let's review our last 3 games, on which I have kept these mental notes. Three games ago, I beat him by 60 points- an obvious ass-kicking by probably anyone's standards. Two games ago, he beat me by 40. I suppose that could have been an ass-kicking, if one established the ass-kicking level as a relatively low number such as 25. This past game, he won by 8 points. However, if you note, the cumulative scores of the past 3 games would put me in the lead by 12 points....not an overall ass-kicking by my standards, but apparently one to my boyfriend.

So even if my ass was kicked last night, my boyfriend's ass has been cumulatively kicked! :)

Determination of Moral Character

2008-09-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

In order to practice law in California, you must graduate from an accredited law school, pass the bar examination, and receive a positive "moral character" determination. This determination is made by conducting a background check on all applicants. Law students are advised that this process takes up to 180 days and to submit this huge application at the beginning of their final year.

I believe I sent mine in sometime in April. Today I received a letter from the Committee of Bar Examiners informing me that "the processing of your Application for Determination of Moral Character has been completed. The Committee of Bar Examiners is pleased to advise you that you have been found to possess the good moral character required for certification to practice law in California." : )

Because I underwent an extensive background check before working for the Department of Justice when I was at the U.S. Attorney's Office, I have to wonder if the CBE was able to access that information, as all my references were not contacted. Whatever the case, I'm glad to have the second of these three requirements now fulfilled.

Wanger vs. Autry

2008-09-22T11:04:00.001-07:00

Gotta love this image that the Fresno Bee used to promote next month's debate between Alan Autry and Judge Wanger.

If you are interested in making reservations, check out the Fresno Bee for more information. Could be a very interesting show...

Did He Say Rent???

2008-09-21T11:35:00.001-07:00

The following exchange took place between a clerk and customer in a video rental store:

Customer: “Where can I rent some condoms?”

Clerk: “… try the grocery store. We rent movies only.”

Customer: “But, don’t you guys… umm… cater to that kind of customer?”

Clerk: “Not my job to know, sir. Personally, I would never sell them here, let alone rent them.”

Customer: “That’s because you’re a stupid Catholic who’s not going to get laid until you are married! F*** YOU AND YOUR F***ING MORALS!”

Clerk: “I am going to have to ask you to leave, sir. Your behavior is unacceptable in this store.”

(The customer suddenly grabs the fliers on the counter for the upcoming movies, throws them everywhere and then sprints out.)

Another customer: “They don’t pay you enough, do they son?”

Clerk: “Nope…”

------------------------------

This one occurred in a coffee shop:

Clerk: Good morning, what can I get for you?

Customer: “Did you go to church today?”

Clerk: “No.”

Customer: “Why not?! It’s Sunday and you should be giving thanks to the Lord! I don’t like this… let me speak to your manager NOW.”

Clerk: “Ma’am, this isn’t a Christian establishment where we are required to go to church.”

Customer: “Get your manager!”

Manager: “Yes, ma’am?”

Customer: “Why don’t your employees go to church on Sunday?! This is an outrage.”

Manager: “Well, if we did there would be no one here to make your delicious coffee when you get out of church.”

Customer: “Well, I guess that’s okay. I’ll let Jesus know that you guys are helping me so that you don’t go to Hell.”

---------------------------------

To read more stories about idiots and the stupid things they say and do, check out Not Always Right.

9 More Weeks

2008-09-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

After having a house on the market for 16 months, I am happy that it is finally now in escrow. If all goes as planned, it will close October 9. This was the big event I needed to have happen before my divorce could be finalized, for tax reasons. That will now happen, as requested in my court documents, on December 31, though it could have happened today, since the original documents were served 6 months ago.

I'm going crazy with next to nothing to do, so ended up applying for a part time law clerk position with a criminal law attorney. I have an interview this afternoon for that. It would be nice to have something to do for the next few months.

Has it really been 7 weeks since I finished taking the bar exam? I guess that makes next Friday the halfway point between taking it and finding out the results. I know the waiting is supposed to be the hardest part, but the boredom, not the waiting, is what is getting me. I need to find something to keep myself busier.

Hoodlums Everywhere Rejoice

2008-09-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

A Florida judge has ruled that a ban on baggy pants is unconstitutional. What a wonderful way to celebrate Constitution Day. Next time I see someone's underwear because their pants are hanging too low, I am going to think, "Wow, now there is our constitution at work!"

A Win is a Win

2008-09-15T09:02:00.001-07:00

I suppose I wouldn't have to post this picture if I beat my boyfriend at Scrabble more often, or at least when I did, it was by more than just a few points. I beat him the other day by 60 points, and even if you take into consideration that he beat me last night, the total of the scores from both games combined still put me ahead by 20 points. : )

I realize this post makes it seem as if I'm not doing much these days. Well, generally, that is true. Last week did seem rather busy though. My house is finally in escrow! I had some stuff I had to do in regards to that, and still have a few projects remaining at the house to do in the next 60 days. I also saw a former classmate and hung out with her for a few hours, and watched the Fresno State game with another group of classmates, and took my son to a gun show where he bought a few goodies.

Yesterday, we went to go see Burn After Reading. Definitely go see it- quite funny! Brad Pitt's character is as deliciously ditzy as you want to believe he is in real life. The entire cast is outstanding, so don't miss this one!

10 More Weeks

2008-09-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lucky Break for the Sausage Slapper

2008-09-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Seems he has been set free until the sheriff can gather more evidence. If only that dog could talk...

Money Recovered; Sausage Eaten by Dog

2008-09-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Some crimes defy explanation.

Update: This one even made the Smoking Gun!

Damn! There Are a Lot of Fat People!

2008-09-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

I just got home from Sam's Club, where I did a little shopping after the MCLE class I attended this morning (more on that in a minute). I don't pretend to understand why so many fat people shop there, or its sister store WalMart, but damn! I swear, that place was filled with fat people who looked at me like I was a freak for being there with them. Believe me, I felt like one!

I don't get 2 things about fat people- first, why do they wear tight clothes that show everyone exactly how fat they are? You think everyone else wants to see how many rolls you have under that shirt? No. You don't want to look at them yourself, so why are you forcing other people to see them? Secondly, why do fat people not realize how much space they take up? Or maybe they do and their way of getting back at those of us who don't take up quite so much space is to place themselves and their carts perfectly in the middle of store aisles? Perhaps that is their way to force us to look at all those rolls? Ewww and ugh.

Anyway, I attended one of the MCLE classes this morning even though I don't get any credit for it. My strategy of arriving 20 minutes early paid off, because everyone else who was attending began at 8, but my class didn't start until 9, so I got to sit and talk to the judge alone for 15 minutes before the session started. :) Very nice! He had some good advice, and I think talking with him was actually more beneficial than the class itself.

11 More Weeks

2008-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, actually it is 11 weeks from tomorrow until the bar exam results are posted online, but since I have such a busy life these days, I thought I better post today since I may not get around to it tomorrow. (Insert rolling eyes here.)

I do have a couple of things on my schedule in the next few days though. I'm going to attend one of the MCLE sessions at school on Saturday morning. The class I'm going to is being taught by one of the magistrate judges in federal court (whom I appeared before regularly and who looks like a young Christopher Reeve). I don't have to get in the hours until I pass the bar, but figured it would be interesting. I wouldn't mind a chance to talk to the judge either- I have always wanted to ask him about the 2 hour/$25 parking ticket trial I had in front on him!

My boyfriend and I are also going to see a play later in the weekend. I haven't been to this theatre for a while, and have always enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to that too. Of course, doing just about anything with the person you are in love with is fun. :)

Well, that about catches you up on my busy life...

12 More Weeks

2008-08-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

The count continues to inch its way down.

I spoke with my contact at the DA's office the other day. Unfortunately, due to the budget problems, there isn't a paid position for me there right now. Of course, they would be thrilled to have be as an (unpaid) intern, but I'm not so sure I want to do that. It would actually cost me money (with parking, gas, etc.), and I have been urged by several people to just enjoy this time off without feeling guilty.

I'm not used to that kind of mindset. When have I ever done nothing? Out of college, I worked full time until I had my kids, then spent years chasing 2 toddlers around, and when things eased up some when they got in school, I volunteered there and at church. I've always had something going on, and it is usually something I start, organize and manage.

I'm trying to decide how to spend the next 12 weeks. You think a 3 month "vacation" would be welcome after 3 years of law school, but it's more like a shock to my system. I'd rather be busy. Maybe part of it is that everyone around me is busy. My son started college and is up early to get to his 8am class every day. My boyfriend has a job and is up early too. Maybe part of it is feeling a little left out.

At least I have used my free time to get in some of the workouts, naps and reading that I wanted to do over the last 3 years. I really need to just enjoy this. I guess it's not so bad.

MIT #4

2008-08-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

The current annual university rankings were released today by U.S. News & World Report. Being the proud parent of a daughter at one of the top schools, I have watched this list for the last few years to see where her school ranked. MIT has bounced around the top ten, but this year came in at number 4, behind only Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Very nice!

Speaking of my daughter, she told me that her fall classes will include Intro to Algorithms, Computation Structures and Artificial Intelligence. Not that I have any clue as to what those classes will teach her, but I suppose it will be enough for her to do a little cryptology!

P.S. 13 more weeks!

I'm at Home While He's at School?

2008-08-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

My baby started college this week. He has a pretty scattered schedule, with 8am classes every day, 2 evening classes, and another in between. It's so weird to have him rushing around to leave in the morning (ok, I admit it is more like me pushing him out the door) and gone in the evenings for classes, while I am sitting at home. Guess I know what he felt like for the last couple years.

I'm still getting used to having nothing to do. I don't really like it. I'm trying to get myself in some sort of routine every day, but other then working out, there is not much I really need to do every day. If I don't get a temporary job soon, I will probably pursue some kind of volunteer work. It just makes no sense to me to sit around and do nothing when I could be helping someone do something!

I do have a little trip this weekend though. Since I took my daughter to Disneyland for her 18th birthday a couple years ago, I told my son I would take him somewhere for his, though it would have to wait until August since his was the week before the bar exam. He wants to go to the Queen Mary, so we are going there this weekend. He has never been there, and it has been a few years since I went there as part of a Corvette cruise. (I toured the submarine then, but didn't actually tour the ship.) Here's a picture from that day:

At least this will give me something to do this weekend. My parents have a vacation house over in Cambria and since I have not been over there for a while due to law school and studying, they suggested that I may want to go over and use it. Sounds kind of cool to me. Wouldn't mind hanging out and walking on the beach there for a few days.

I suppose I should go. I think I hear Costco calling my name....

14 More Weeks

2008-08-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

I guess since I already have a mental countdown going on, I might as well make it official and post it on here. Fourteen weeks from today the results of the bar exam will be available online. Gee, is that all??? Surely the time will just fly by, what with no job, no school, and so many interesting things to fill my days. (Um, like counting how many times a day my cat meows at me because she wants fresh food in her bowl. Yes, I have quite the exciting life these days!)

It is just so weird to have nothing, I mean nothing in my life or on my calendar. It's just such a weird adjustment from law school and bar review. Hmmm, well, my son starts city college on Monday. I guess I can read his books and stuff if I go into serious withdrawal.

(Can I admit how I embarrassed him yesterday? Neither of us had ever been to the campus before, so I took him down there, walked around, found where all his classrooms where, bought his books and parking permit with him. I would rather him do that ahead of time, than on Monday, along with thousands of other people, and end up missing classes and getting cut. My official excuse is that he is "directionally-challenged", but I can admit that I'm a mom who does more than she should or has to.)

Well, since I don't have a job or classes to worry about, I can at least get myself in better shape. I spend 55 minutes on the elliptical yesterday and should go get in today's workout now. Got to make this time count for something, right?

No "Normal", Yet

2008-08-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation. It is very odd to have nothing to come back to- no school, no work, no studying, no assignments. I suppose in one way that should be exciting. I can now make my life into whatever I choose. Of course, more often, it feels daunting, because so much is not decided.

But, little by little, it will happen. I am joining the Bible study that I was a part of for 7 years when it starts up again next month. I'm going back to my church and am going to find some service or volunteer work to get involved with there. I feel like without that, my focus has been shifted away from what it should have been this last year. But this is a welcome readjustment.

I still need to find a job. I have several people I will be contacting to see what I can do. Not knowing if I passed the bar or not puts me in a weird position because I'm not sure who would want to hire me for 3 months. At the end of November, I will either have to quit to study again (if I failed) or want an attorney position (if I passed), which an employer may not have open or want to offer to me.

Of course, I'm also realizing it isn't the end of the world if I just have this time to regain the part of myself that I lost during law school.

Helicopter Pix

2008-08-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the pictures I took while flying over Maui, Molokai and Lanai in a helicopter yesterday. Was a lot of fun!

Greetings from Maui

2008-08-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting sunset photos over the last 5 days here in Maui. These are some of my favorites.

Tomorrow my son and I are taking a helicopter tour of west Maui and Molokai. Sunday we are flying out, but getting into SFO late, so I won't be back in town until Monday afternoon.

It's nice to be away, but I'm looking forward to being home-in my own bed, and living a normal life (assuming I can figure out what that is, of course).

Now What?

2008-08-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I spent the last 3 years in law school, graduated with distinction, spent a grueling 9 weeks studying for the California bar exam, and just finished taking it. Now what?

I came home yesterday, unpacked, did laundry, and repacked for my trip to Maui for which I leave tomorrow. So far this morning, I've dusted, vacuumed, mopped the floors, cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen. I've also moved all my BarBri books and bar study outlines off of the floor of my office. Now what?

Once I get back from Hawaii, I will get in touch with my contacts at various places and see if I can get at least a temporary job while waiting for the bar results (which will be posted at 6pm on Nov. 21). Other than that, there is nothing I have to do. It feels so weird.

Law school started off kind of slowly. Everything was completely foreign and most of the first year I doubted I would even pass. But as I eased into second year and then the third, it started to encompass more and more of my life- how I thought, what I did, who I spent time with, what my schedule was. Bar review is even worse. I became so totally isolated in this little world that seemed to only include studying and sleeping. All relatives and non-bar-preparing friends became a distant memory. My vision was so narrow and focused. Take the bar. Give a passing performance.

Actually taking the bar exam was rather freeing because all of a sudden, I was doing something with everything (well, some of the things) I had been learning and studying for years. At that point, the studying was done. And for the first time in a long time, I could see beyond this little world that drew me in.

Now what? Now is the time to reconnect with family and friends I haven't seen much of in the last 3 years, especially the last 3 months. Now is the time to stop being a "sheep" and get back to what makes me me. Now is the time to do the things that bring me joy, that I haven't been about to do for years. Now is the time to return to real life.

Day Three is History

2008-07-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I'm done! Now just 16 long weeks to find out the results.

This mornings essays surprisingly did not contain anything related to Civ. Pro. The topics were Remedies, Property and a Wills & Trusts/Community Property cross-over. (I was right about the Remedies and Property being on there, but missed the mark on the other two in my predictions from last night.)

The Remedies question was a gold mine....so many things to talk about and the calls of the question were so specific. I loved that question! I think I wrote the most to the question over any other essay on the exam. The Property question was kind of weird, because the calls were also specific, but there was not as much to write about, so I don't know if I didn't see stuff, or it just wasn't there. I much prefer having tons to write about. The final question was also strange, because while I have done well on W&T, and CP practice essays, I never had one combined like that, so it was difficult to figure out how to organize it exactly. I answered it, but who knows if I did it how they wanted.

The PT in the afternoon was writing a memo of points and authorities requesting the denial of a defendant's motion to suppress evidence. Yeah, I totally loved that one, as it was from a district attorney's point of view, and I love the crim stuff anyway. The task memo wasn't quite as clear as Tuesday's in how to organize the final document, but I tried to make sure I included everything they asked for. There were tons of facts to put in, so I'm just hoping I used enough and the right ones.

Overall, the bar exam didn't seem to be that big of a deal to actually take. The studying and preparation is by far the worst part of it. If you have prepared, the exam isn't much. You just have to go in for 3 days in a row and do it, but it's not really that bad. For me, the MBEs were the worst, as I have no idea how I did and felt like I wasn't doing well. I feel very positive, overall, about the essays and performance tests.

It's so odd now to think that I don't have to study. Yeah, I do have to look for a job (once I get back from Maui), but I can stop being a student. It's freeing yet unsettling. What am I going to do with all my time? Somehow, I think I'll find ways to fill it! ; )

Day Two is Through

2008-07-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

No more MBEs! Yeah! Today's two sessions of the California bar exam were 100 MBEs (multiple choice questions) each. We had 3 hours for each session, but I finished both in about 2 hours and 45 minutes, a little slower than my average in practice tests.

The afternoon session's questions seemed to be easier than the morning's questions, but we were given very strict instructions about not revealing any portion of any question or answer in oral, written or electronic form, so I won't do that. Not that I really remember many specifics anyway.

I'm tired and it's already 9pm and I want to review the topics I think are most likely to appear in essay questions tomorrow (Civ Pro definitely!), so good luck to everyone on the final day tomorrow. That's it for me tonight!

P.S. My personal predictions for tomorrow's essay topics: Civ. Pro., Evidence, Property/Remedies cross-over.

Day One is Done

2008-07-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm one-third of the way finished munching through the meadow. I'm completely exhausted but feel very good about the test sections I took today. First up this morning were 3 one hour long essay questions. The first was a Professional Responsibility one, not really one of my favorite topics because, as I've mentioned before, duties just seem to appear out of thin air and I never can find them all. Anyway, it was kind of a relief to have that question first since we are guaranteed to get a PR one somewhere during the 3 days, so nice to get it over with. I think I discussed 8 different duties, so hopefully that was enough to be a decent answer.

Second question was the bizarre one of the day- a cross-over of Con Law and Crim Pro. Not the typical Con Law Equal Rights, Due Process or First Amendment stuff, so I really have no idea on that one. I wrote for an hour though, so maybe I hit enough issues???

The final essay question was a Contracts one. I just worked my way through that one, but I didn't feel like I was quite as organized on how I analyzed that one. We'll see.

The most annoying part of the day is after each session, you must stay in your seat, silent, until the exam proctors pick up all the different papers (used exams, scratch papers, exam covers, etc.) from each applicant in their area. Most of these proctors move very slowly and most of the applicants don't seem to care to get their papers in order before the proctor is standing in front of them, so this process takes about 20 minutes. So, after just completing a 3 hour exam, you have to just sit there and do absolutely nothing for 20 more minutes while this collection process takes place. You can't surf (no internet access), can't send text messages (no phones allowed), can't get up to use the restroom or get a drink (have to stay in your seats). You are just so anxious to get out of there, walk around and eat something and it seems like they drag that out more than necessary.

Anyway, after lunch was the 3 hour performance test. Generally, they are just a matter of following directions and being organized, but sometimes if the directions are ambiguous or weird, they can be puzzling. Thankfully, today's was straight forward and the document we were asked to create was nothing strange. There were a lot of things to comment on, so I just did as much as I had time for. I feel like I at least touched on all the main points, though I would have written more if I had had the time.

The location itself is kind of odd. The building feels like a big warehouse. There are just rows and rows of tables, and they have us seated 2 to each table. At first I thought it might be too squishy, when you get your laptop and all your papers spread all over the place, but it was fine. I have no idea how many people are taking the test at this location, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were over 1000. We have assigned seating and I like my spot. I'm in the third row from the back, in the first section from the door. Makes it close to the restrooms and water, and faster to get out.

It would be nice if there were more lunch options closer. At first you think you are getting an hour and a half for lunch (12-1:30 when you are supposed to get back), but because the paper collection process takes so long, you don't really get out of there until 12:30, so you have to rush to get anywhere and eat quickly. Not exactly helpful if you are trying to stay in a de-stressed mood.

Tomorrow is MBE day- 100 multiple choice questions in the morning and another 100 in the afternoon. I normally take about 2.5 hours to do 100 questions, so if I repeat that pattern, I will be able to leave early for lunch and at the end of the day. (The days you use your computer, if you leave early, you are not allowed to take your computer. You have to come back at the end and get it, so hardly any point in leaving.) The MBEs are not on the computer, so I don't have to haul my laptop over there, worry about any technical issues, and don't have to wait to pack it up when I'm done. All of that plus MBEs aren't as high stress as the essays. You already know the 6 subjects that will be on the questions, and if you have done enough practice ones, you know the type of questions to expect. It's just a matter of sitting there and working through them. It almost seems like having a day off to only have MBEs tomorrow.

Thursday is a repeat of today, with 3 essays in the morning and a PT in the afternoon. They generally don't use a single topic for more than one essay, so the topics still available for essays on Thursday are: Property, Torts, Evidence, Crim Law, Wills & Trusts, Civ Pro, Community Property, and Business Associations. My preference would be for Thursday's line up to be Evidence, CP and W&T, but that is highly unlikely. Civ Pro is apparently highly likely to make an appearance, but I did well on the last practice essays I did on that subject, so I guess that shouldn't be too bad. Maybe none of them really look too scary right now.

Ok, I'm tired and I've gone all for way too long. Time to relax...

Well, This is It

2008-07-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

My last blog post before I take the bar exam, that is. I have to say though that I feel pretty good. I mean, I've spent three years studying in law school and nine weeks of intense studying for the bar. If I don't know something now, I don't think I will learn it in the next 24 hours.

I'm just sick of studying and sick of thinking about studying. I want to be normal (or at least as normal as a person with a J.D. can be). I want to sit on the beach and drink tropical drinks and not even think! Well, I get to do that soon enough, as I leave for Maui a week from today.

But first things first. My study partner and I leave for San Mateo in the morning, where we will check out the site of the exam and make sure we know all the important stuff (bathroom and drinking fountain locations) and where to get a lunch quickly during the breaks.

I know it is all going to go by quickly. And next thing I know, I'll be on the beach, trying to be normal.

What Will It Feel Like...

2008-07-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

one week from today when I wake up and have the bar exam behind me? It seems hard to imagine a life with no studying, no practice tests, no reading law outlines.

My return to normal life will be postponed for a week for a trip to Maui with my family, but I'm not even sure what this new "normal" will be. Obviously I will start applying for jobs, and have plenty of stacks of books and notes to sort through and organize, but then what?

Whatever it entails, I'm just excited to start it. I have felt disconnected to so many important areas of my life- family, church, volunteer work, and I'm eager to get involved again.

The Last Week

2008-07-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on. One week from today I will be up in the bay area, waiting to take the first of 3 days of exams for the California bar, which starts the following day. Bar review classes are over, so I'm just going through all the subjects on my own. I don't necessarily feel ready, but when I'm outlining essay answers for subjects I don't think I know (ahem, Civ Pro), and I get every single issue that is in the sample answer, I start to think maybe I'm going to do ok.

If I had to pick the essay topics (there will be a total of 6 essay questions given), I'd choose Community Property, Wills & Trusts, Evidence for sure. Maybe Torts, Property and Crim too. I'd rather not see Bus. Org., Con. Law or Civ. Pro., but I could probably do ok. Professional Responsibility is going to show up somewhere, which sucks, because duties come out of the woodwork in those questions and I never seem to see them all. Remedies will probably be included as part of a cross over question, possibly with Contracts.

Today I did 50 mixed MBE questions, then reviewed Corporations and outlined 2 essays, then reviewed Civ. Pro. and outlined 2 essays. Time for a dinner break and then probably some more MBEs. Fun, huh?

Better Late Than Never

2008-07-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last summer I did an internship at the DA's office. I spent my entire time there working on a gang injunction. I drafted all the documents needed for the entire process for the Dog Pound gang, and drafted another set of generic documents, for any injunctions they wanted to do in the future.

Shortly before I left, they halted the Dog Pound injunction. It was not explained to me why. I was disappointed that I never heard about it being filed, but there is nothing a lowly law clerk can do about such things since this is the kind of issue that is driven by policy. At that time, several gang injunctions were coming under fire in other areas of the state, so I wondered if that was the reason for the stop.

This morning, however, I was very pleased to read that this injunction has been filed. The permanent one was signed by the judge yesterday. Of course, I have no way of knowing if they actually used the documents I drafted for it, but it is still pretty cool. : )

Huh?

2008-07-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I read stuff and I'll come across something that stops me, and all I can think is "Huh???" Happened this morning as I read this article in the local paper about an ordinance to stop solicitors on city street medians. Personally, I think if people would just stop giving to the panhandlers, they would disappear and go elsewhere. I'd rather have our police concentrating their efforts on violent criminals than rounding up the cardboard squad.

Anyway, the article contained comments from different people, including the owner of a funeral home. She was for the ordinance because she claimed that "panhandling by the homeless is hurting her business." Huh? Ok, I can see that if you have a store or restaurant extremely close to an intersection where homeless people are begging, some customers may be turned off or frightened. (But even that seems like a stretch, as most parking lots and store fronts are quite a ways off from the medians.) However, I have yet to see anyone driving around with a corpse in their vehicle, looking around to decide what funeral home to use!

Random Bar Review Phrases and Images

2008-07-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of my last bar review class being tomorrow, I give you the BarBri random phrase and image list:

Munching Sheep
"It's my prerogative"
"Everybody passes"
"PLAIN VIEW"
"Fabulous!"
Sharon Stone buying Epstein's $400 Cadillac
"Make 'em liable!"
Rapping aardvarks
No-note-Chemerinsky
Conviser wearing leathers
"Good idea???"

Bonus points to anyone who emails me and tells me which lecturer and subject each of those came from! :)

Bring It On

2008-07-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it is because I'm just tired of this process, or I actually feel like I can pass, but the title of this post was finally my attitude today towards the bar exam.

I mean, I excelled in law school, under very trying circumstances, and I have been studying like crazy the last 6 weeks. What more can I do? Yeah, yeah, keep studying for another 2.5 weeks, but really? I'm just wanting them to throw it all at me so I can give it my best shot. Will that be enough? Who knows, but I just want to do it!

5 More Days

2008-07-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

That is all that is left of bar review classes. In some ways I feel less ready now than I did 6 weeks ago because now I'm aware of exactly how much I don't know. It's depressing, tiring and I just want it all to be over.

The only topics we have left to cover are Wills & Trusts (ugh, 120 pages and 8 hours- I'm already dreading being bored out of my mind!) and Community Property (hoping that isn't so bad).

At this point, I'm not feeling like I have much motivation or energy to tackle this. And of course, that makes me more depressed.

Three and a half weeks and I can forget about this for a while.

No Wonder I'm Stressed

2008-07-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

Sometimes this seems overwhelming- especially when I look back over everything that has happened in the last year:

Last year just about this time, my daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Three hours after hearing that diagnosis, I had to compete in the Moot Court competition. (I did go on to compete in the finals, and my daughter is doing great and cancer-free now.)
I worked 20 hours a week this last year of law school, in the US Attorney's office, responsible for a case load of over 100 cases in the misdemeanor unit. (I had 5 trials in that time, including one in federal district court, and got guilty verdicts in all 5.)
I have had my house for sale for the last year, in this horrible market, and for most of that time was solely responsible for getting the house presentable for all showings.
My eyes were opened to the realization that my marriage was an abusive one, and when physical violence of a deadly nature was threatened in a dramatic way, I had to move out and file for divorce in my last semester of law school. (I still graduated with distinction, ranked #8 in my class.)

Those are the "highlights". I suppose I have good reason to feel stressed! But I can also look back and see how I have survived and excelled in spite of all the stress. So I suppose that should make me feel a little hopeful if I feel stressed now.

One Month

2008-07-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

It will be over one month from today. It's hard to believe, mostly because I don't feel ready and I don't see how one month will make any difference.

The bar review period is so much more intense than law school- studying 8-12 hours a day, every day, trying to relearn everything you have spent the last 3 years learning. It wouldn't be nearly as overwhelming if it was just the major concepts, but it isn't! So many of the MBEs test you on the very minor points or subtleties and it seems impossible to be able to remember them all.

I suppose the good news is that in a month, I shall get 3.5 months off from studying, regardless of how I do. On November 21, the results will be posted, so it won't be until then that I will know what the following 3 months will bring. Better not to get too far ahead of myself.

Just gotta keep plodding along.....one day at a time, one subject at a time.

Spoke Too Soon

2008-06-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

My last post spoke about starting to feel a sense of confidence in taking the bar exam- not that I necessarily would pass, but that I had a chance to. My bar review course had us take a simulated 6 hour MBE test the other day. Because my score was much lower than the few prior tests, I'm back to feeling insecure.

The whole process of preparing for the bar is very reminiscent to the first year of law school: the constant wondering if you are going to make it or not, the emotions ranging from confidence to depression, and no one else in your life understanding what you are going through (and annoying the hell out of you by making it obvious that they don't, and don't really want to understand).

I'm not trying to be bitchy, but how many times do I have to tell my family that all I'm doing between now and the bar exam is studying (and a little sleeping)? Seriously, I think they all think I'm just taking a few months off to sleep in and goof around. Why else would my mom call me at 8:30am on a Saturday and ask me if she had woken me up? (To start with, I don't answer the phone when I'm asleep, which I have told her MANY times. It seems like she has a secret desire to catch me being lazy or something.) And then, I mean, really, does she have to act surprised when I tell her that no, I'm studying and will be all day? She appears to think I should be able to study a few hours here and there and pass it no problem.

This all feels like a big game, again, kind of like first year- like, let's see how many people we can get to leave just by scaring them out or wearing them out. I know most of the exam is showing how much you know and understand the law, but another big part of it is just not freaking out. Yeah, I know I have my moments, but I'm not letting them win by default. So, I shall keep working away (despite the fact that very few people seem to realize how much work is really involved in this process!).

Munching Through the Meadow

2008-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Three weeks left of bar review classes and what we have learned, as expressed to us this week, is that we are to be "sheep, munching our way through the meadow, into the corral", trying to do nothing in our bar exam to awake the exam grader from his stupor. In other words, give them what they want, in the format they want it, and don't try to be creative or clever, as there is no way to grade creativity.

I understand that, but at the same time, it seems ridiculous to test potential lawyers on how well they "fit into a box" when the profession requires people to think of solutions outside of the box. Whatever. I suppose the bar exam has as much to do with practicing in the legal profession as the LSAT does with going to law school.

Anyway, the beginning of this week was spent on Performance Exams. If there is any part of the bar exam I think I can actually pass, it would be this. Why? Because the majority of it is just following directions and being organized. I can do that with my eyes closed. (Well, almost.) It's nice to feel like passing isn't so impossible, and the lecturer for this topic was an encouragement.

I also feel good that I scored well on my last 2 sets of MBE questions- 75 and 78%. The whole grading system of the bar exam is very indeterminable, as every year the scores are adjusted by some unknown formula, so it is hard to know what exactly you need to get to pass. However, generally, 70-75 seems to be the golden spot, so if you are getting above that, you should pass.

Of course, our lecturer earlier this week also showed us how you can get failing grades on each essay and then still pass the overall test. Like I said, you can't really figure it out and it doesn't really make much sense.

At least I'm starting to feel somewhat optimistic now. I definitely am not saying that I know I will pass, but at least I don't think that failing is inevitable now. Passing does seem within the realm of possibility.

New Traffic Laws

2008-06-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

On July 1, new laws affecting cell phone use will take effect. It will then be illegal to use a handheld cell phone to talk while driving a motor vehicle, and if you are under 18 it will be illegal to use any cell phone. Now, I certainly agree that cell phone use while driving can lead to accidents, but I don't necessarily think it is the holding of a phone that distracts a driver's attention. I think, rather, it is the involvement in a conversation with someone, not present.

So, what is going to happen after this law goes into effect? Honestly, I think the end result may be a slighter lower rate of accidents for people using cell phones, but people are still going to be distracted by conversations, so I don't see how this law will stop that. And, in the immediately future, I predict an increase in accidents, because most people do not currently use a hands-free device, so as soon as the law kicks in, I'm assuming most of them will. Of course, since they aren't used to it, it will take some getting used to.

The cell phone will ring, the driver will scramble to figure out where the earpiece is, how to get it in his ear correctly, and how to answer the phone. Talk about a distraction! How many accidents is all of this going to cause?!?

Apparently, the new laws do not cover text messaging, which has to be even more dangerous and distracting than talking, since you have to look at your phone (and away from the road) to read and write those messages. And the new laws do allow you to dial phone numbers while driving. Seems like too many distractions are still going to be available.

Of course, police officers can pull you over if they see you doing anything they believe to be unsafe. But are these laws really going to do anything to increase traffic safety? I know that was their intent, but I seriously doubt it.

Baby No More

2008-06-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

My baby graduated from high school yesterday. I suppose he hasn't really needed me for a while, but I don't appreciate the reminder that I'm a little less necessary in his life now. I'm proud of him, and am anxious to see what things he will do in his life, but I can't help but look back and miss things. There's nothing like having your baby wake up and smile when he sees your face, or having him squeal with excitement when he discovers something new, or listening to him laugh for the first time.

I know there are other things in the future, I suppose equally exciting things, that I will be able to share. But it just isn't the same. It's hard to look forward without glancing back over your shoulder sometimes.