Questions Welcomed

So, I like to hear the sound of my own voice – it figures that it would translate that I like to see my words in print (online, whatever).  I don’t purport to be an expert on anything Bar related, but I am more than happy to share my experience and answer questions.  So, for my first answer to a question asked . . . .

Q: When did Bar/Bri or PMBR start?

A: I didn’t take the PMBR class (I self-studied with MicroMash), but I do know that the 6-day class for PMBR began the Monday after I graduated from law school, so that would be May 21st.  The Bar/Bri course started May 29th. 

I graduated from a school in Texas, but was already living in Colorado.  I flew home for a quick weekend for graduation and then was back by the PMBR start date.   I had already decided though, not to take the PMBR class.  I had heard from friends who had taken the February Texas Bar and PMBR and didn’t have many good things to say about it.  I researched the alternatives and decided to go with MicroMash (if you complete the program they guarantee you will pass or else you get a free update so you can study again without having to buy another bar review).  And, I’d have to say that I was really pleased with the MBE prep.  I was able to study at my own pace and online.  The software was easy to navigate and had excellent study guides and explanations for the answers (why it was right, why it was wrong).  The program focuses on your weak areas (in my case Torts, blech) so that you are optimizing your study time.  My MBE was really low at the Bar/Bri practice exam (99/200 correct raw) and my scaled score ended up being 143 on the actual test.  So, I feel like it helped . . . at least a little bit because I totally revved up my MBE study after that.

Hope this helps!  Good luck and keep the questions coming! 

Throughout the Ages

Tomorrow is my birthday (holla!) and although I already feel like it has come and passed, I wanted to post a few interesting facts about November 19th.  On my birthday, throughout the ages, the following notable events have occurred:

• 461 – St. Hilarious becomes Pope.
• 1863 – Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address
• (In honor of my husband’s love of soccer) 1969 – Pelé scores his 1000th goal.
• (In honor of the enormous amount of student loans I have accrued during my legal education) 1985 – Pennzoil wins a $10.53 billion verdict against Texaco, in the largest civil verdict in U.S. history, stemming from Texaco’s establishing a signed contract to buy Getty Oil after Pennzoil had entered into an unsigned, yet still binding, buyout contract with Getty.
• 1990 – Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It’s True album.
• 1997 – In Des Moines, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gives birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies were born alive. They would go on to become the first set of septuplets to survive infancy, with all seven alive in 2007.
• 1998 – The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against US President Bill Clinton.

Today is also the birth date of the following notable persons:

• 1831 – James A. Garfield
• 1917 – Indira Gandhi
• 1933 – Larry King
• 1935 – Jack Welch
• 1938 – Ted Turner
• 1942 – Calvin Klein
• 1949 – Ahmad Rashad
• 1956 – Ann Curry
• 1959 – Allison Janney
• 1961 – Meg Ryan
• 1962 – Jodie Foster
• 1966 – Gail Devers
• 1966 – Rocco DiSpirito

And in 1978, I graced this world with my presence.  So, happy birthday to me . . . and to any other November 19ers out there.  You’re in good company!

Hey Y’all!

Can I just say . . . I LOVE Paula Deen!  You’ve got to tune in to the Food Network, if for nothing else, but to hear that wonderful Southern accent.  She’s fabulous!

Weekend Wrap-Up

In one word – chaotic (the weekend and this post). It has been a busy couple of weeks and an especially hectic weekend. A couple of weeks ago we came across a great house that was calling our names and this past weekend, we moved in! It is a cute Craftsman bungalow with a basement (yeah, I’m from Texas – that’s cool) and a finished attic space. We have some great friends here in Colorado that helped us move – and guess what? They still like us . . . seriously. The house is a wreck – we have only just begun unpacking (where did we get all this crap?) and I’m just ready to be done with the process.

Saturday night, one of the aforementioned (too legal-sounding, sorry, I may have mentioned this, but I AM an attorney) friend and I went to see Patti Lupone at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House (part of the fabulous Denver Performing Arts Complex). The show was fabulous – the woman is amazing . . . amazing. After the show, we waited by the stage door and got Patti’s autograph AND (because I am a great friend and remembered to bring my camera), I was able to get a shot with my friend and Patti. What a great night!!

On Sunday, my crafty husband built us a bed (well, actually a box spring), but yeah, with his own two hands. Our queen-size box spring would not fit up the stairs to the attic at the new place (which is where we decided to have our bedroom) – bummer, but by Sunday afternoon, we had crammed the mattress upstairs, and lugged the newly built box spring (in two pieces) into the attic. However, our couch would not fit down the stairs to the basement and our living room. CRAP! So, we’re still trying to figure that out, and get the house in order. My lovely husband turns 30 this week (whoa!) and I’d like to have some friends over for dinner sooner rather than later to celebrate.

OH – and congratulations to my friends in Texas that passed the Bar Exam! I had a bunch of friends that passed, and unfortunately a few that failed. The waiting is over and the Bar Exam is a bitch – good luck on it the next time around!!