Saturday, June 10, 2006

So Contracts Can't Be Learned in One Day

I suppose Property can't either. Which sort of screws up my plan to have all of the MBE subjects substantively reviewed before leaving for California on Wednesday. Grrr. I hate it when my plans, even my crazy plans, get off course.

The good news of the day is that I'm starting to notice when the books and the lectures and the other books contradict each other. For example, one set of books says that the Statute of Frauds applies to sales of goods of $500 or more and real estate transfers of more than one year. The other set says that the Statute of Frauds applies to sales of goods over $500 and transfers of real estates for one year or more. So why is this a good thing? It is proof that I'm actually paying attention. Unfortunately I'm not sure which source is the most trustworthy. I'm thinking Conviser because the most people use it by far and such problems would hopefully have been worked out by now. I also noticed yesterday - and unfortunately did not make a note of the exact question - that AdaptiBar and the Strategies & Tactics for the MBE book have different answers correct for at least one of the questions. Grrr again.

I'm also suffering from Mac withdrawal. I so miss my little Mac. It was sleek and cheery and never crashed. But I temporarily retired it so I could get used to a Windows piece of junk in preparation for the three days in July. It amazes me that ExamSoft doesn't run on the education computer. I think it is a plot by Bill Gates to force members of the legal profession to use PCs. Unfortunately I bought the PC before the MacBook came out and I couldn't afford the MacBook Pro (plus I'm not so sure I would be ready to trust something so new on the Bar Exam) so I might as well suck it up and continue getting used to it. But for the record, PCs suck.

Finally, I really miss coffee. I gave it up after finals because it doesn't fit with my unemployed budget and I don't own a coffee pot since I only like "fancy" coffee. I didn't even have it when I was at Starbucks, drinking tea instead out of respect for my poverty. Big mistake. I need coffee. With chocolate. And steamed milk. And whipped cream. And maybe some peppermint syrup. I'm not sure whether it should be blended together with ice in that glorious Frappucino creation or just enjoyed in a big steamy cup since I haven't been outside today. Perhaps I should go back to work a few hours a week. Then I could have coffee. And some of the other things I've been missing about the employed life.

OK, back to Contracts. I think I reached the fourth issue, performance, last night. Which makes me 3/4 of the way done. Yes, I'm going now. =)

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Miss Working

Yes, I just said that. But I do. I miss structure. I miss going out to lunch. I miss having people to talk to during the day. I miss knowing what day of the week it is. I miss the concept of weekends. On the other hand, I don't miss work itself. I'm just having trouble with this concept of the days blending together. The years of work full-time and go to school at night left me WAY over-structured. I looked forward to the weekend because I made a point of never scheduling anything before 9:00 or 10:00 so I could just drink tea in my pajamas or wander around the house like a zombie for a few hours. It isn't so much fun now that I can do it whenever I want, so long as I don't spend too much time on it. I'm sure I'll have the opposite problem once I go back to work in the fall.

This is turning out to be a very whiny post. Because now I'm ready to complain about the weather. It is so hot and sticky and dark because were are having nothing but thunderstorms. Life in the swamp is supposed to be beautiful in the spring and this spring totally sucked. There was, like, five nice days. I'm, like, so glad I'm, like, a Valley Girl by birth, 'cause I can, like, talk like that. Fer sure, fer sure.

So, once I stop grousing, contracts is going to be the subject of the day. I started last night and am going to me a concerted effort to finish a comprehensive initial review today and do the same for Property tomorrow. Then I can start reviewing the MBE subjects, writing essays, and all the rest on Monday. I'm also flying out to California for a few days next week, although books will be accompanying me so it isn't going to be all that fun. I'm ready to leave the other coast for the sunny coast. But since it will be at least three years before I can consider a permanent relocation, I'd better go back to remembering all of the things I like about the swamp: (1) fireflies; (2) free musems; (3) the baby panda; (4) cheap flowers for sale on street corners and at metro stations; (5) .... I can't even remember the rest. But I KNOW I like it here. I do.

A contract is simply an offer and an acceptance supported by consideration. Nothing to fear and nothing to make me continue to ramble on in a concerted avoidance effort. Breakfast and then to work.

Why Is Every Subject the Hardest and the Scariest

The audio lecture for Contracts begins with comments on how Contracts is the subject most likely to strike fear in the hearts of students. The audio lecture for Property begins with comments about how hard it is. Evidence professors talk about the intricacies of the rules and the importance of remembering every small detail. Does every law professor think their subject is the hardest, the scariest, the most difficult to master? And from that are we supposed to infer that, because the lecturer was the speaker chosen by PMBR or Law School Legends or BarBri or Sum & Substance, he or she must be the smartest, most special person ever? F*#!wits.

My brain seems again to be regressing to the first year of law school days when everything - especially unshoveled sidewalks outside of Starbucks - was a negligence suit waiting to happen and I yelled at TV lawyers for getting things wrong. I'm not really watching TV and I'm not going to Starbucks, but the law taking over common sense and normal human interaction is happening again. Someone makes a declaratory or conclusory statement and my automatic response is, "Do you have any evidence to back that up?" Trading food supplies with my roommate and the subject of value comes up, I point out the peppercorn theory of consideration, and she responds that she liked me better before I decided to go to law school. Fun stuff.

I'm again planning to spend my day having fun with Real Property. I tried my first set of MBEs last night and it was a disaster. I fell for every trick in the book. I'd like to excuse my poor performance by saying that it was 1:00 in the morning and I was doing it because I couldn't sleep, but that just seems lame. I can consistently get 75-80% when I answer questions one subject at a time. I should be able to get something close to that when the subjects are mixed, even if I should be sleeping at the time. Just in case you think I'm being to hard on myself, I do allow myself to get them all wrong if I'm actually asleep.

Going to yoga now and then back to the books! Collected mneumonics and study tips to come later.

Thursday, June 1, 2006

BarBri Lectures

Constitutional law is the subject of the day. I have four sets of notes from the same BarBri lecture and am going through and filling in the in-class work. Amazingly, each of the four sets of notes emphasizes different things. I don't get it. Aside from a few things here and there, shouldn't notes from the same lecture be largely the same? Maybe by comparing all four I'm actually getting the live version (or at least the one on video).

I'm continuing to plug away at the MBE questions and have completed 299 on AdaptiBar and another 150 or so through my various books. All Torts, Evidence, and Criminal Law/Procedure with percentages hovering between 75 and 80%. The good news is I almost always choose the right answer on questions I missed if I happen to see them again. The bad news is that I keep missing the same types of questions. I'm particularly bad at the applying previous precedent questions. My logic just doesn't match the bar examiners on what is analogous and what is not. Even after reading the explanations I generally still think I'm right on those types of questions. But they are the all mighty so I must learn to think like them.

I woke up this morning reciting the elements of common law burglary. It was very disturbing. If I have to think about the bar exam while I am thinking, why can't my brain focus on the things I don't know rather than the things I do. It would be much more helpful.