Bar Exam Diaries - Day 3

I'm done! Here's hoping that I don't have to repeat this ordeal in February.

My alarm went off at 6:00 because I had planned on doing my hair and wearing makeup for the confidence boost. (I had gone to the other days with no makeup and braided hair.) I was so tired that I reset my alarm for 6:30. I got up at 6:35 and showered and dressed. I managed to do my hair, but I didn't bother with the makeup. It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone there anyway.

I didn't eat any breakfast at home because I wasn't hungry yet. I turned on my computer to check my e-mail, and my cat decided she wanted to curl up on my lap and purr lovingly. I let her do that for a few minutes and then I had to leave. I drove to the BART station and got on the train. I brought a book today, so I buried my nose in it, in the international symbol for "please don't talk to me right now". Fortunately, everyone near me on the train was familiar with that symbol.

Bar Exam Diaries - Day 2

I'm now 2/3 of the way through the bar exam. The worst of it is over. Today was the multistate bar exam, which is the multiple choice section. I'm pretty good at essay exams, but multiple choice is my weakness, so today was the challenging day for me.

I woke up at 6:30, showered, dressed, and decided on breakfast. All I could stomach was a thing of yogurt, so I ate it and then drove to the BART station. I got on the train and headed on my way. Nobody felt chatty today, which is good, because I didn't really feel chatty, either. I got smart today and brought my ipod. I spent the train ride playing Angry Birds. When I arrived, I was hungry, so I stopped at a coffee shop and bought a pastry.

I ran into a few friends and we debriefed yesterday's exam. My impressions matched theirs, which was comforting. Then we headed in and took our seats. I brought pillows today, which helped. I could reach the table. The proctor came over and checked my ID. He was entirely too cheerful for the situation, but I appreciated it.

Bar Exam Diaries - Day 1

Last night, I got all of my stuff together because I didn't want to have to deal with it in the morning. I read over the list of stuff permitted in the exam room, and I laughed because one of the things listed was "two pillows without pillowcases". What? Do they think we have time for a nap or something? Anyway, I went to bed, and my alarm went off at 6:00 AM.

I got up feeling pretty refreshed, since I get up at 6 for work every morning anyway. I showered, dressed, then went to the kitchen to make breakfast. I had peanut butter toast for breakfast because I wanted something with protein, but I couldn't have any dairy because today was my last morning on an antibiotic where I can't eat dairy products within 3 hours. Sigh.

After breakfast, I drove to the BART station, bought my ticket, and got on the train. There was only one empty seat left, so I sat in it. The guy next to me was feeling chatty. We had a conversation that went like this:

Soylent Green Tea

Something funny (in a gallows humor sort of way) happened at work yesterday. One of my many responsibilities is stocking the break room so that the engineers are well-fed and appropriately caffeinated. A few weeks ago, at the request of our CFO, we switched brands of tea. The new brand of tea we use coincidentally has the same name as an employee who was asked to resign last month.

I was in the kitchen re-stocking the tea, and one of the engineers made a comment about the name of the tea brand. He joked that the timing was suspicious and that he was a little hesitant to drink it, wondering what was in it. We had a little laugh about it before returning to our respective cubicles.

(And for the record, the tea in question contains tea leaves and other plant-based spices. No former employees were harmed in the creation of the beverage. HR people may be evil, but we're not that evil.)