Post-Bar...Peru

The bar exam is officially over. And it feels great. The days leading up to the bar were a little tense. The two days of the bar were not the most pleasant. But now things are awesome.
The bar was a surreal experience. There were two thousand people with gallon sized plastic bags trying to disguise their nervousness. All mobbing Hynes Convention Center. The first day of the bar was the multistate exam. Two-hundred multiple choice questions. I thought it went decently. There weren't too many crazy Property questions. And no Rule Against Perpetuities, which was a plus. I don't think even one bank forgot to record a mortgage due to a clerical error.
 The woman next to me got up to hand in her exam an hour before time in both the morning and afternoon sessions. That is either extreme confidence or extreme foolishness. I sat out the entire time, trying not to change my answers.

The second day consisted of ten essays, five in each session. I felt like I had a decent grasp on the morning session, but it really slipped away from me in the afternoon. A few of the essays I read over and over again, wasn't sure what they were asking about, and proceeded to make some crap up.  (My only relief is that other people seem to have done the same thing.) There was one essay containing a trust, which I must have read over and over for ten minutes until I decided it made no sense and the problem wasn't just me. Then I just made something up. On another essay, my knowledge of warranty laws was painfully insufficient. So I made something up. See the trend?

The afternoon session was probably the closet thing I've ever gotten to a panic attack. I lost all concept of time and had difficulty calculated how much longer I had whenever I looked at the clock. I felt myself almost fading into the chair, and the words on the computer seemed to expand. It was slightly disorienting. My last essay must read like the ramblings of an addled man who knows a marginal amount about criminal procedure. I'm just hoping that the first day and the morning session can make up for any deficiencies. But really the important thing is that it's over!

At least we didn't have any bats at the bar exam site (unlike Indiana) and no one had a stroke (Virginia). The worst thing was probably the hour and a half-long bag check line at the testing site, since everyone had their laptop case and the event planners did not use enough foresight.

After the bar, I went to the bar. McGreevy's, that is. The less stressful, more boozy type of bar. Where a number of lovely people came by to celebrate with me. Thanks to the non-bar taking contingent who came out: Ethan, Nakul, Erica, Kait, BDP, and whoever else I am missing. Then there was the crowd who had just taken the bar exam. We were...a deserved mess. We celebrated getting through ten weeks of studying and two (in some case three) days of the most important exam of our lives. There was much rejoicing.

I spent another day in Boston, saw Dark Knight Rises, and came back to DC. Everyone, you don't have to be embarrassed. No one else could understand half of what Bane was saying either. And how does he eat??? He has to drink through a straw, I imagine. But he is so big that he must be chugging protein shakes through the straw constantly. Yet, I didn't see any protein shakes in the movie. Plot hole! That's right, the plot hole I am concerned with has no bearing on the actual film. (Spoiler alert: the other thing that preoccupies me is that it must have taken Batman a long time to draw that bat sign in oil to get lit up, and they only had a few hours left to save Gotham. Is no one else concerned about Batman's time management priorities?)

After spending a couple days in DC, I leave for Peru tomorrow. I think I am all packed and ready to go. I'll be back the 14th. So if you need me, email is the best way to get in touch. Not that I'm bringing my laptop to hike Machu Picchu.
Boom. That's right, I'm hiking Machu Picchu. And spending a couple days in the Amazon. Plus Lima and Cuzco. If you are thinking "Will isn't much of an outdoorsman," then you would be right. ("I'm an outdoorsman, Donna.") But here I am being adventurous and expanding my horizons. My biggest fear about this trip is snakes. Because they are the worst in all contexts. All of them. I think spiders rank at number two. Three is zombie Incas confusing me with a conquistador. If those things don't come near me, I'll be all set.

To Peru!

A Link (not the Super Smash kind...sad)

Alright, I'm gonna throw out a link. This is the kind of crap I find funny these days. Really, on the bar exam about 5 banks will forget to record mortgages due to a clerical error. It's not most maddening thing. These banks didn't get to be billion dollar institutions by making clerical errors with regard to the stupid mortgages they hand out. No, they record and then foreclose on the house of some poor Joe who just got fired from his job at the Pizza Hut. Wow, studying for the bar can really take a toll on your sense of humor. Also on your wrists; I think I'm getting carpal tunnel.

I did laundry today. I don't think I lost any socks. Or I lost two socks and I don't know!

Cupid Shuffle

Saturday Ryan and Jess got married! Ryan is a husband, it's crazy. Congratulations to them. Mazel tov. The wedding was lots of fun. The couple was happy, the guests were happy, and the father/daughter dance inspired some tears. The ceremony was at a church in DC. It was a little more religious than I was expecting, though I don't know why since it was in a church after all. I think it's the first mass I've ever sat through, so that was neat. The reception was at the officer's club of an army base in Virginia. "But they don't allow drinking on army bases!" someone protested. "Oh yeah? Watch me," was my response. Turns out they didn't have any booze, just Shirley Temples.
I am kidding. They had an open bar which was nicely stocked (and some people did have "dirty Shirleys.") The bartender, however, was half deaf and repeatedly gave people a drink they had not ordered. Kerry asked for whiskey and received a cranberry vodka. Her theory was that the bartender figured that she's a chick and that's what chicks drink.
Another great facet of the wedding was the Bad Grammer love. It was great to see Erica, Celia, Dumps, Talya, and Josh. (It was also nice to see other people, but I was at the BG table so I'm focusing on them. And they are more important than most other people so...deal with it.) It is sincerely heartwarming that we are so much like family that we garner an entire table at the wedding reception.

Not to worry, the DJ played the "Cupid Shuffle." I know you were worried about it, but it happened. We also did the "Electric Slide." It was so long since I last did the Electric Slide that I nearly forgot how to do it. Luckily, it ain't exactly the most complicated dance in the world. It's at least one step below the "Single Ladies" music video.
Ryan stepped onto the dance floor with about fifteen seconds left in "Call Me Maybe." Upon hearing he had missed the song, he goes, "That's it. I really gotta quite smoking." Great motivation right there.

Every time I listen to the Black Eyed Peas I dislike them a little bit more. Their songs really are not good.
I'm really going with the music comments tonight. The background in Rihanna's "Hopeless Place" is basically just the "Macarena." Listen to it. Tell me I'm wrong.

Ryan's bachelor party was on Thursday, and was a great time as well. The highlight was going to the Columbia Room. The bartender's version of the rickey (the official drink of DC), called the shandy rickey, was one of the best cocktails I've ever had. And Ryan's drink, the Ghost Dance, was amazing as well. It involved burning some herbs with a brulee torch and putting the glass over it to get the glass smokey. It took pretentious craft cocktails to a whole new level. And I loved it.

Blah blah blah studying for the bar is a pain, barbri sucks, and so on. You know the drill. Don't let my briskness detract from my candor on this, however.

Taste-o-Vision

I have been neglecting this blog. I know it. But maybe that's because the most interesting thing I've done recently was correctly predict the winner of the MLB Home Run Derby (Prince!). Studying for the bar continues. At least tomorrow marks a milestone: the last day of lectures! I am positively wild-eyed with excitement. It means there's more time in the day to sit down and learn the material. More importantly, it means I never have to outline my lecture notes again. That is easily my least favorite part of my day to day routine. So...huzzah for that being over.
Last week I had a simulated exam over the course of two days. Well, most of an exam. There was a simulated 6 hour multistate exam, but only a half day local essay exam. The multistate went pretty well. It made me feel like I'm on the right track. Like I can actually do this. The local day made me...not as confident. I learned that I really need to work on essay writing. And I should probably learn property law.

This week is Ryan's bachelor party (Thursday) and wedding (Saturday). Besides saying mazel tov to him, I want to admonish him for picking a wicked inconvenient weekend to get married. Two weeks before the bar? How inconsiderate! But I'm pumped for both the bach party and the wedding. I'm also pumped to see a bunch of people at the wedding. All the improv people and other college people. Not the crappy people though. They know who they are. (Note: I actually don't know who I am referring to.)

I've been having trouble sleeping the past few nights. My favorite 2 AM sleepless pastime is watching the Food Network. But it comes with its perils. It's a really terrible feeling to 1) not be able to sleep and 2) really crave a surf and turf prepared by Bobby Flay. I'm really thinking that the Food Network is a perverse form of torture. Until they make taste-o-vision! I'll be the first in line at Best Buy for that. When I'm 106 years old. And probably don't have a lot left to live for, so I'm willing to give something that dangerous a chance. Whatever. It's a long way off.