Raising the Bar

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So, if I want to pass the bar exam in July, I need to do something different.

I rocked the multiple choice section both times I took the bar, so obviously I know the law. (The multiple choice section is widely believed to be the harder portion, though I found it to be the easier portion.) So, I need to work on my essays. I'm a good writer, but the bar exam doesn't reward good writing. It rewards what I like to call "Mad-libs for Lawyers". My remedial college English students can write better essays than the so-called "model answers" that the state bar holds up as paragons of legal writing. That means I need to do a ton of practice essays so that I can spew back awful writing in my sleep.

I also need a change of venue. I have trouble studying at home because there are so many distractions. The TV, the computer, the laundry, and the cats are all way more interesting than the Rule Against Perpetuities. I also need to accept the limitations of my endocrine system and realize that my malfunctioning adrenals mean that I'm more productive in the morning than in the evening.

So, instead of studying by trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to read books in the evening after work, I'm going to study by writing essays in the morning before work. There's a coffee shop next door, so I'm going to go there at the beginning of the day and write one practice essay each morning before heading into the office. I guess hot cocoa and pastries will need to become another line item in my budget.

I'm going to take the light rail to work so that I can use my commute time to practice multiple choice questions and brush up on areas of law I'm less sure about. Since the light rail station is about 4 blocks from work, that gives me a mile round-trip of walking each day. That way I'll have exercise automatically worked into my schedule, too.

This will lengthen my day considerably. I'll leave home around 7 in the morning and get home around 7 at night. But, once I'm home, I can take the rest of the evening off. I can play with my cats, do chores, go out with friends, watch TV, or go to bed early with no guilt. This time I'm going for quality over quantity.

Meep, Meep

I've always liked political cartoons. A picture is worth a thousand words. So, in grand political cartoon style, here's what's going on in my life right now:

Last night, as I eagerly awaited catching the dinner I've been pursuing for 7 1/2 years, my meal turned around, stuck its tongue out at me, defiantly said "Meep, meep!", and sped off.

So I get to go chase it again. Sigh.

Travel Challenge

Elisabeth wrote a post about a travel challenge. I shamelessly stole the idea and decided to use it for my own blog post. It's a list of 100 places. I've bolded the places I've gone to. I've managed to make it to 15 of them. (I've never been to Napa or Yosemite, despite living only a few hours away for most of my life.) I guess I'm not as well-traveled as I thought. (Though I have set foot on 3 continents.)

Travel Challenge
1. Alamo-San Antonio, Texas (I was in San Antonio a few years ago, but I didn't have time to do anything touristy.)
2. Alhambra-Granada, Spain
3. Andros Island-Bahamas
4. Angel Falls-Venezuela
5. Angkor Wat-Angkor, Cambodia
6. Atlantic City Boardwald-Atlantic City, New Jersey
7. Ayers Rock-Australia
8. Big Ben-London, England
9. Bora Bora-Polynesia
10. British Museum-London, England
11. Canals of Amsterdam-Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. Cathedral of Seville-Seville, Spain
13. Cave of Crystals-Mexico
14. Christ the Redeemer-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
15. Cinque Terre National Park-Italy
16. Colosseum-Rome, Italy
17. Crater Lake National Park-Oregon
18. Dead Sea-Israel/Jordan (Only on the Israel side. My visa wouldn’t let me go to Jordan.)

19. Death Valley-California
20. Devil's Tower-Wyoming
21. Dome of the Rock-Jerusalem, Israel 

22. Easter Island-Polynesia
23. Edinburgh Castle-Edinburgh, Scotland
24. Eiffel Tower-Paris, France
25. Empire State Building-New York City, New York
26. Forbidden City-Beijing, China
27.  French Quarter-New Orleans, Louisiana

28.  Galapagos Islands-Ecuador (but I have been able to pet a Galapagos turtle!)
29.  Gateway Arch-St. Louis, Missouri
30.  Gettysburg Battlefield-Gettysburg, Pennsylania
31. Glacier Bay Basin-Alaska
32. Glacier National Park-Montana
33. Glowworm Cave-New Zealand
34. Golden Gate Bridge-San Francisco, California
35. Grand Canal-Venice, Italy
36. Grand Canyon-Arizona
37.  Grand Mosque in Mecca-Saudi Arabia
38.  Great Barrier Reef-Queensland, Australia
39.  Great Mosque of Cordoba-Cordoba, Spain
40.  Great Wall of China-China
41. Hagia Sophia-Istanbul, Turkey
42.  Hawaii Volcanoes National Park-Hawaii
43.  Hollywood Boulevard-Hollywood, California
44.  Iguazu Falls-Argentina/Brazil
45.  Kiyomizu-dera-Kyoto, Japan
46. Kremlin-Moscow, Russia
47. Lake Titicaca-Peru
48. Las Ramblas-Barcelona, Spain
49.  Las Vegas Strip-Las Vegas, Nevada
50. Leaning Tower of Pisa-Pisa, Italy
51. Louvre Museum-Paris, France
52. Macchu Picchu-Peru
53. Matterhorn-Switzerland
54. Chichen Itza-Mexico
55.  Metropolitan Museum of Art-New York City
56.  Mount Everest-Nepal
57.  Mount Fuji-Japan
58.  Mount Kilimanjaro-Tanzania
59.  Mount Rushmore-South Dakota
60. Napa Valley-California
61. Ngorongoro Crater-Tanzania
62.  Niagara Falls-New York
63.  Notre Dame Cathedral-Paris, France
64.  Pacific Rim National Park-British Columbia
65.  Pebble beaches of Nice-Nice, France
66. Petra-Jordan
67. Petronas Towers-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
68.  Portland Head Lighthouse-Maine
69.  Puerta del Sol-Madrid, Spain
70.  Pyramids of Giza-Egypt
71.  Redwood National Park-California
72.  Rock of Gibraltar-Gibraltar
73.  Rocky Mountain National Park-Colorado
74.  Ruins of Athens-Athens, Greece
75.  Ruins of Pompeii-Italy
76.  Sagrada Familia-Barcelona, Spain
77. Sears Tower-Chicago, Illinois
78. Sedlec Ossuary-Czech Republic
79.  Sistine Chapel-Vatican City
80. Smithsonian Institute-Washington, D.C.
81. Space Needle-Seattle, Washington
82. St. Peter's Basilica-Vatican City
83. Statue of Liberty-New York City (I’ve been to the one in Paris, and I’ve seen the one in NYC from the Newark airport.)
84. Stonehenge-England
85. Sydney Opera House-Sydney, Australia
86.  Taj Mahal-Agra, India
87. Temple of the Golden Pavilion-Kyoto, Japan
88. Teotihuacan-Mexico
89.  Tian Tan Buddha-Hong Kong
90. Times Square-New York
91. Varanasi-Uttar Pradesh, India
92. Victoria Falls-Zimbabwe
93. Wailing Wall-Jerusalem, Israel
94. Walt Disney World Resort-Orlando, Florida
95. Washington Monument-Washington, D.C.
96.  White Cliffs of Dover-Dover, England
97. White House-Washington, D.C.
98. Winchester Cathedral-Hampshire, England
99. Yosemite National Park-California
100. Zion National Park-Utah