Change your links. You can't use this blog as your crutch forever. In fact, you only have a few days.
New Blog: Ped Eggs and Hamlet
New URL: http://chronicdagger.blogspot.com
Friday, October 02, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Change your LINKS!
Friends of Smash: Please change your links to my new blog!
http://chronicdagger.blogspot.com
http://chronicdagger.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
New Life, New Blog
Hey loyal blog readers. Since my life has changed so much over the last few months, and since my husband wanted to try his hand at blogging as well, I have decided to create a new, fabulous blog with Leo.
I haven't decided how I'm going to work this all out, exactly, yet. I don't know if I will maintain both, or if Secret Simmerings will slowly die. But, what I do know is that you should go to the new blog, check it out, and add it to your blog lists! I'm still tinkering with the layout and settings, but it's fully functional now.
Check it out: CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT "PED EGGS AND HAMLET"
I haven't decided how I'm going to work this all out, exactly, yet. I don't know if I will maintain both, or if Secret Simmerings will slowly die. But, what I do know is that you should go to the new blog, check it out, and add it to your blog lists! I'm still tinkering with the layout and settings, but it's fully functional now.
Check it out: CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT "PED EGGS AND HAMLET"
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
About The Bar Exam
I didn't blog much this summer because I had a lot of flashcard making to do.
A LOT of flashcard making.
My purpose for excessive flashcard construction was two-fold:
1) I hoped to learn some law.
2) I hoped to build up my hand strength and endurance for the actual exam.
Whether I achieved goal one will not be known until October 16th. Goal two was a definite failure (see my fingers for writing blisters).
I spent all of June and July looking exactly like I do in that picture, above. But, the Bar Exam isn't just a test. It's torture. One of the bar examiners, on the second day of the exam, referred to the process as "hazing." I believe he remarked that they try to make it "hell week on steroids."
This summer, countless people, all well-meaning, have made statements to me like the following:
"You are very smart. I'm sure you'll pass"
"You have been studying all summer, so you will definitely pass."
"Yes, some people fail, but not people like you."
What those people apparently don't understand is that the Bar Exam is ONLY taken by "people like me" who have "studied all summer," and yet only 49% of those people (in Virginia) pass the exam. There is a very real chance that I failed (as real as any chance that I passed), and I would like people to accept that and not keep making statements that are only going to make me feel more like a horrible failure of a human if I don't pass the exam.
Here's how this thing works, for those of you who don't know: Virginia examiners expect you to have a mastery of 25 different subject matter areas for the 9 essay questions. Six subjects are tested on the multistate exam (only three of which overlap with the Virginia essay day--and the overlap is annoying because then you have to learn "majority" law as well as "Virginia" law--always different). Some of these tested topics are common areas of law, for which law school courses were a reasonable starting point for learning Virginia-specific law (e.g. Wills, Domestic Relations, Corporations). However, some of these subjects were never mentioned in law school and had to be learned from scratch (e.g. Suretyship, Creditor's Rights, Commercial Paper).
For those of you who still aren't getting this, I'll spell it out for you: The task is impossible.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to learn 28 areas of law, with any depth of detail, in two months. The bar examiners know this, which is why other states test 10 or 12 subjects, rather than the impossible 28.
Those of you who have said "oh, my brother passed the Utah bar; so if he can do it, you can do it" will now understand why that statement is not comforting to me AT ALL.
Anyway, my colleagues and I spent the whole summer working hard and studying, only to feel completely unprepared for an exam that will determine whether we can be licensed to practice law--whether we just wasted the last three years of our lives--whether we will be able to find gainful employment to pay back those $200,000 of law school loans--whether our families and friends will still respect us. It is torture.
Plus, I had to look at THIS all summer:
No beach trips. No sunbathing. No light, trashy reading.
Ok, so, you get it. My summer sucked. Let's move on to the test.
The test is given each July in the most inconvenient place possible: Roanoke. My friends and I booked hotel rooms 6 months in advance to ensure a place in what I feel comfortable describing as the grossest place I've ever had to sleep.
There were mystery stains, sticky headboards, live bugs, and TWO bibles.
This is what I looked like the night before the first day of the test.
Rough, right?
One interesting side note: our dump hotel did have a "presidential suite."
From peering into the open window, we noticed that the Jimmy Carter suite wasn't all that different than our own room, except it contained a king size bed and a couch.
We could have used a couch.
I like that picture above because you can see Rachel in the reflection, the yellow walls of our "hotel" forming a sunny backdrop.
After crying to Leo on the phone a few times, it was finally time for the exam. THIS is how you have to dress for the Virginia Bar Exam:
Court-appropriate suits are required (Are you seeing this torture theme continuing?).
The administration of the exam is also full of torture tactics. If you have the wrong kind of shoes, you must leave. If you try to bring sunglasses into the building of the exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam. No feminine hygiene products are allowed in the building. No food or water or cough drops for the girl across the table who had the nerve to develop a cold for the days of the Bar Exam.
Anyway, I don't think I can talk about this anymore. My chest is tightening and I'm having a hard time breathing. But, in case I STILL haven't convinced you, let me tell you that I think I'd rather have to have back surgery again than have to re-take the Bar.
This horrible experience also marked the first nights Leo and I have been away from each other since we got married.
I think he missed me.
A LOT of flashcard making.My purpose for excessive flashcard construction was two-fold:
1) I hoped to learn some law.
2) I hoped to build up my hand strength and endurance for the actual exam.
Whether I achieved goal one will not be known until October 16th. Goal two was a definite failure (see my fingers for writing blisters).I spent all of June and July looking exactly like I do in that picture, above. But, the Bar Exam isn't just a test. It's torture. One of the bar examiners, on the second day of the exam, referred to the process as "hazing." I believe he remarked that they try to make it "hell week on steroids."
This summer, countless people, all well-meaning, have made statements to me like the following:
"You are very smart. I'm sure you'll pass"
"You have been studying all summer, so you will definitely pass."
"Yes, some people fail, but not people like you."
What those people apparently don't understand is that the Bar Exam is ONLY taken by "people like me" who have "studied all summer," and yet only 49% of those people (in Virginia) pass the exam. There is a very real chance that I failed (as real as any chance that I passed), and I would like people to accept that and not keep making statements that are only going to make me feel more like a horrible failure of a human if I don't pass the exam.
Here's how this thing works, for those of you who don't know: Virginia examiners expect you to have a mastery of 25 different subject matter areas for the 9 essay questions. Six subjects are tested on the multistate exam (only three of which overlap with the Virginia essay day--and the overlap is annoying because then you have to learn "majority" law as well as "Virginia" law--always different). Some of these tested topics are common areas of law, for which law school courses were a reasonable starting point for learning Virginia-specific law (e.g. Wills, Domestic Relations, Corporations). However, some of these subjects were never mentioned in law school and had to be learned from scratch (e.g. Suretyship, Creditor's Rights, Commercial Paper).
For those of you who still aren't getting this, I'll spell it out for you: The task is impossible.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to learn 28 areas of law, with any depth of detail, in two months. The bar examiners know this, which is why other states test 10 or 12 subjects, rather than the impossible 28.
Those of you who have said "oh, my brother passed the Utah bar; so if he can do it, you can do it" will now understand why that statement is not comforting to me AT ALL.
Anyway, my colleagues and I spent the whole summer working hard and studying, only to feel completely unprepared for an exam that will determine whether we can be licensed to practice law--whether we just wasted the last three years of our lives--whether we will be able to find gainful employment to pay back those $200,000 of law school loans--whether our families and friends will still respect us. It is torture.
Plus, I had to look at THIS all summer:
No beach trips. No sunbathing. No light, trashy reading.Ok, so, you get it. My summer sucked. Let's move on to the test.
The test is given each July in the most inconvenient place possible: Roanoke. My friends and I booked hotel rooms 6 months in advance to ensure a place in what I feel comfortable describing as the grossest place I've ever had to sleep.
There were mystery stains, sticky headboards, live bugs, and TWO bibles.
This is what I looked like the night before the first day of the test.
Rough, right?One interesting side note: our dump hotel did have a "presidential suite."
From peering into the open window, we noticed that the Jimmy Carter suite wasn't all that different than our own room, except it contained a king size bed and a couch.
We could have used a couch.I like that picture above because you can see Rachel in the reflection, the yellow walls of our "hotel" forming a sunny backdrop.
After crying to Leo on the phone a few times, it was finally time for the exam. THIS is how you have to dress for the Virginia Bar Exam:
Court-appropriate suits are required (Are you seeing this torture theme continuing?).The administration of the exam is also full of torture tactics. If you have the wrong kind of shoes, you must leave. If you try to bring sunglasses into the building of the exam, you will not be allowed to take the exam. No feminine hygiene products are allowed in the building. No food or water or cough drops for the girl across the table who had the nerve to develop a cold for the days of the Bar Exam.
Anyway, I don't think I can talk about this anymore. My chest is tightening and I'm having a hard time breathing. But, in case I STILL haven't convinced you, let me tell you that I think I'd rather have to have back surgery again than have to re-take the Bar.
This horrible experience also marked the first nights Leo and I have been away from each other since we got married.
I think he missed me.
Sarah Palin = Perpetual Joke
As if her accent and political ignorance weren't enough to ensure that Sarah Palin will never be taken seriously, she now joins the ranks of fellow "family values" politicians who actually value naughty sexcapades over preserving the sanctity and boundaries of marriage.
Sarah and Todd Palin are divorcing because they both engaged in multiple affairs.
This story leaves me wondering a lot of things about the republican party. Can the party survive the continuous cascade of falling party leaders? Will the party be forced to come up with more moderate leaders who won't be held to moral standards (standards us regular folk adhere to, but politicians find impossible)? And most importantly, who the hell would bang Sarah OR Todd Palin? Gross.
Sarah and Todd Palin are divorcing because they both engaged in multiple affairs.
This story leaves me wondering a lot of things about the republican party. Can the party survive the continuous cascade of falling party leaders? Will the party be forced to come up with more moderate leaders who won't be held to moral standards (standards us regular folk adhere to, but politicians find impossible)? And most importantly, who the hell would bang Sarah OR Todd Palin? Gross.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Go Crazy? Don't mind IF I DO!
Last night, when I went to sleep, I left a partially-created outline up on my computer, closed all my internet browser windows, and went to bed. I left my phone out by laptop in the living room.
This morning, I woke up to a 7:20 a.m. cell phone alarm I didn't set. The phone somehow was right beside my bed. And, then, when I came out to my computer, my joinder outline had a whole section of text randomly inserted (copied and pasted from a section below, only without any formatting) that was hyperlinked to the "getting started with firefox" website. And, there was a browser window open, but someone had dragged the window so that it was really tiny.
Did I sleepwalk?
Are the mice playing mean tricks on me?
WHAT IS HAPPENING!?
This morning, I woke up to a 7:20 a.m. cell phone alarm I didn't set. The phone somehow was right beside my bed. And, then, when I came out to my computer, my joinder outline had a whole section of text randomly inserted (copied and pasted from a section below, only without any formatting) that was hyperlinked to the "getting started with firefox" website. And, there was a browser window open, but someone had dragged the window so that it was really tiny.
Did I sleepwalk?
Are the mice playing mean tricks on me?
WHAT IS HAPPENING!?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Daft Punk Tribute
Many of you are familiar with the musical group Daft Punk. This familiarity comes directly from the fact that Daft Punk is seriously awesome.
It has come to my attention that some people don't like electronic music. I do not understand this position. I must assume their hearing isn't as keen or acute as my own.
But, even if you are one of those electronic music haters, you cannot tell me that you don't enjoy the music videos by Daft Punk. I think the Around the World video almost won an Oscar. Or something. Or, it should have.
(Click here to see the Around the World Video--Youtube has disabled embedding of clips of this video, probably at Daft Punk's request)
And the Technologic video is so creepy without even trying. It's a true feat of awesomimnity. (I found one that embedding wasn't disabled on!)
My new favorite is this fan-made video, made from clips from Snow White. It's definitely a copyright violation, but a model case for Fair Use. (If I talk about the law, I feel less bad that I'm not currently studying for the bar ... even though copyright isn't on the bar ... ok, ok, I'll get back to it). But, watch this, and tell me it's not awesome.
Tell me.
It has come to my attention that some people don't like electronic music. I do not understand this position. I must assume their hearing isn't as keen or acute as my own.
But, even if you are one of those electronic music haters, you cannot tell me that you don't enjoy the music videos by Daft Punk. I think the Around the World video almost won an Oscar. Or something. Or, it should have.
(Click here to see the Around the World Video--Youtube has disabled embedding of clips of this video, probably at Daft Punk's request)
And the Technologic video is so creepy without even trying. It's a true feat of awesomimnity. (I found one that embedding wasn't disabled on!)
My new favorite is this fan-made video, made from clips from Snow White. It's definitely a copyright violation, but a model case for Fair Use. (If I talk about the law, I feel less bad that I'm not currently studying for the bar ... even though copyright isn't on the bar ... ok, ok, I'll get back to it). But, watch this, and tell me it's not awesome.
Tell me.
Bar Studying Tip
Advice given by the Bar Review lecturer today on the subject of Legal Ethics:
(paraphrased)
If you get an ethics question on the essay portion of the bar exam, and you can't remember the rule that applies, just make one up.
Make up a rule. Then, look at the facts and apply the rule you made up. You'll probably get full credit.
Nice.
(paraphrased)
If you get an ethics question on the essay portion of the bar exam, and you can't remember the rule that applies, just make one up.
Make up a rule. Then, look at the facts and apply the rule you made up. You'll probably get full credit.
Nice.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Graduations Abound
Last Saturday, Leo and I attended the high school graduation ceremonies of Leo's younger sister, Tori. I guess no one informed the school that it's acceptable to hold graduation ceremonies later in the day than an average school day would ordinarily start, so we had to get up at the BUTT CRACK of dawn to make the hour-drive to Leo's hometown, to be in our seats by 8:30 a.m.
Leo doesn't like morning driving.
Not even if it means he gets to eat rice krispy treats for breakfast.
Let's be honest--he eats those for breakfast every morning.
I don't really enjoy early morning activities myself.
I really need to start doing my hair again. Maybe after the bar.
Attitudes didn't improve much once we reached the stands (we are impervious to excited crowd mentality).
Plus, everything was so far away. It was hard to see what was going on.
Eventually, one of us got into the right spirit!
Some people think I wear hats to be fabulous. But, really I wear them because my skin is translucent and direct sunlight might kill me.
All kidding aside, we were very proud of our graduate! She got an attack hug to prove it.
To kill some time between the ceremony and subsequent party, we instigated a costume change. This is my man:
This is me.
Then we played some family sports.
Leo helped Tori select just the right computer for college (i.e. he made sure it had a webcam and enough RAM for gaming).
Here Leo demonstrates his best Popeye face. I guess.
Kakelyn tried out the new rock band drums with cymbals.
Then, it was back to family sports.
He was the best kid on the field. In your face, nieces, nephews, and cousins!
I got sunburned anyway.
Leo doesn't like morning driving.
Not even if it means he gets to eat rice krispy treats for breakfast.
Let's be honest--he eats those for breakfast every morning.I don't really enjoy early morning activities myself.
I really need to start doing my hair again. Maybe after the bar.Attitudes didn't improve much once we reached the stands (we are impervious to excited crowd mentality).
Plus, everything was so far away. It was hard to see what was going on.
Eventually, one of us got into the right spirit!
Some people think I wear hats to be fabulous. But, really I wear them because my skin is translucent and direct sunlight might kill me.All kidding aside, we were very proud of our graduate! She got an attack hug to prove it.
To kill some time between the ceremony and subsequent party, we instigated a costume change. This is my man:
This is me.
Then we played some family sports.
Leo helped Tori select just the right computer for college (i.e. he made sure it had a webcam and enough RAM for gaming).
Here Leo demonstrates his best Popeye face. I guess.
Kakelyn tried out the new rock band drums with cymbals.
Then, it was back to family sports.
He was the best kid on the field. In your face, nieces, nephews, and cousins!I got sunburned anyway.
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