On Avoiding Jail

“He’s dead, so I guess he turned out alright.”
                             -Quote from this week in San Antonio

Hasta la vista!

We will be poking our heads into San Antonio for a week! See you when we get back!

Like The Onion for Celebrity News

If you are a parent, especially to a young to tween-age girl, you are likely to know that – oh my gosh – Disney’s High School Musical 2 is coming to the small screen this Friday night!!! Oh yeah! The first one was a huge success and (shhh) I can admit it, but I am “hopelessly devoted” to movie musicals. Ya, I went there. Anyway – my daughter and I have a TV movie date night on Friday and I couldn’t be happier.

I heard they were actually screening the show on the big screen in certain places and while searching the web for that information (I came up empty handed), I found this little doozy from Dateline:Hollywood. Here’s the best part:

“High School Musical 2” starts with all of the cast members from the original film getting summer jobs at an upscale country club. However, in a plot twist downplayed in all of the advertising, Troy (Efron) finds out during the summer that his father has been having secret sexual affairs with both his girlfriend Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) and best friend Chad (Corbin Bleu). The news is doubly devastating when Troy finds out Gabriella is pregnant, meaning his girlfriend will soon bear his half-brother. The trauma leads Troy to start snorting heroin with Chad and, eventually, take his own life by drowning himself. “Even though it’s a suicide, we still have a fanastic dance number as I go under the water,” said Efron.

Seriously – this is hilarious. I love it – it’s like The Onion for celebrity news. If you know me, you know my primary news sources are the tabloids – they are my guilty pleasures. So this spin on the stories is hilarious and mucho apreciado. Take a look – you’ll find yourself cracking up.

52 Days

To the person who found my blog by searching “colorado bar exam results august 2007,” I feel you. I totally wish the bar exam results were out in August. Only 52 more days.

The Princess Bride and The Muppet Movie

Two American classics – the former is one of my all-time favorite movies. Therefore, when my child came home and told me she had watched part of it at summer camp, I was excited. I immediately started quoting the movie. As it happened, Cherry Creek North was showing the movie at their summer movie series “Films on Fillmore” that very week.

Sidenote: Every Thursday night during the summer, Cherry Creek North and other sponsors show a free movie. Families and friends bring dinner and eat on blankets on the plaza. The movies start at dusk (around 8:30 p.m.) and although we don’t get home until around 11, a great time is had by all.

The fam decided to venture out to watch the movie on the big outdoor screen. So we got dinner and went to the plaza and waited for the movie to start. The Denver Outlaws (Major League Lacrosse team) also sponsor the event and were holding drawings throughout the evening for tickets to their last home game of the regular season. I actually registered for the grand prize (which included a jersey) and about one minute later, my name was called. We won four tickets and the jersey! This night was already worth it.

Watching the movie in that environment was like what I picture a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening is like. Not many people were in costume, but everyone certainly knew the words and weren’t afraid to quote the movie from beginning to end. Despite how annoying that can be, the movie and atmosphere of all those people who just love that film was so cool.

This past week, the movie was The Muppet Movie. Love it! And, my kid had no idea who the Muppets were. What? Seriously – that movie came out in 1979 – can you believe it? Anyway – we ventured out again to introduce her to Miss Piggy and Kermit. One of my favorite songs ever comes from that movie – “Why are there so many songs about rainbows.” Yep, that’s it – Rainbow Connection. When Meredith heard the song, she said, “That’s not the same song.” She only knew the Willie version. Too funny. Anyway, summer is winding down and that will be our last Film on Fillmore this year.

I’m looking forward to spending next summer with my husband reliving some of our favorite movies and introducing our daughter to the classics at a cool outdoor venue.

The Bar Exam

Picture of me with
2 days to go!

So, I’ve been wanting to write about my experience with the Colorado Bar Exam, if for nothing else but that I don’t want to forget what I went through. I’ve read several bar exam blogs, most bar takers out of California, and have been drawn in and felt like a part of this mad, mad world Bar Exam world (even if I was merely lurking). When reading those other blogs pre-exam, I had to tell myself that everyone is different. Don’t freak out from what you read, and also, don’t feel better from what you read. So, lest I forget, here is my account of the July 2007 Colorado Bar Exam.

I graduated from law school on May 19, 2007 in San Antonio. I had to be back in Denver to begin Bar/Bri courses shortly thereafter. The Monday following graduation, I began my MBE self-study with MicroMash. For three hours every weekday, I did MBE questions and wanted to cry about my performance. I felt like I was getting nowhere. When Bar/Bri began, I started to feel a little better. The lectures were boring, but DON’T GET DISTRACTED. I was going to be focused on the Bar and that was it. For the first week or so of Bar/Bri, I slacked on the MBE review. I was working in the morning and playing with my daughter in the afternoon, and then – then, I was sitting in a classroom from about 5:30 to 9:00 every night. But after a couple of weeks, I got back into the MBE. I was getting better – hey, I actually enjoyed doing the MBE practice questions. Shock!

When Bar/Bri ended, after six weeks of bar review classes almost every night, there were two and a half weeks until the Bar Exam. I had already been studying like crazy, but at this point, I began studying about ten hours per day, sometimes until 3:00 am. Then, I’d go to work in the morning. I started plastering my walls with flashcards. I even plastered them all over the bathroom. I figured that would be good for the night before the exam when I would be curled up on the bathroom floor wondering what I’d gotten myself into – at least I could look up at my flashcards and study while enduring the misery. I ended up sleeping not curled up in the bathroom, but in my own bed, although, did I really sleep? Probably not – I was too anxious.

Day 1 of the exam. I had to be at the Merchandise Mart in Denver at 7:45. It’s a 20 minute drive from my house and I left at 6:00 am. 6:00 AM. I did not want to be late and I have never had to drive on the freeways during traffic in Denver, so I had no idea what it would be like. I took my flashcards and some other study material I had created and ended up getting to the venue at 6:30. Yep. So, I sat in my car, talked to my best friend back in Texas while she told me to breathe, and tried to relax. I was so nervous about the first day – nine state essays and two MPTs. I had been having issues with writing my practice essays and just wanted to get that part over with. I could deal with the MBE on day 2 later.

Once all approximately 1100 applicants got inside, we found our seats and two by two at a table, tried not to be nervous. I sat down next to a sweet girl (Hi Maggie!) and probably talked her ear off about everything except the Bar Exam. We talked about where we did our undergrad (both at UT-Austin) and families, etc. I did most of the talking because when I’m super nervous, I just don’t shut up. Finally, they handed out the exam. I did the MPT first and felt decent about it (we had to write a brief, and YAY! that is what I had practiced the most). Next I wrote out my five essays. At this point, I don’t even remember what they were, but there were five of them. I finished about five minutes before time was up and just put my head down. I felt good. Half of day one was over.

After lunch, we did another MPT (memo to senior partner) and then four more essays. More of the same – although, at one point during the family law essay, when talking about common law marriage (intercourse is an element), I said that in this day and age, where intercourse is neither specifically included nor excluded in the exam fact pattern, that it is probably assumed to have taken place. Probably not my best work, but hey, hopefully my grader will laugh. Day 1 was done and I couldn’t be happier.

I went home and didn’t even touch my review materials. All that was left was Day 2 and the MBE. On Day 2, I left my house a little later and got to the exam site with about 30 minutes before the doors opened. Again, I just tried to relax. The morning MBE was great. Short fact patterns (nothing like the questions I had been practicing) and questions I knew (I think). I felt pretty good about it UNTIL the afternoon MBE. Um, thanks National Conference of Board Examiners. Did you want to freak everybody out with the page long fact patterns on every question, and the numerous D answers? D is never the right answer! Way to screw with us all. Anyway – after the Bar Exam, I met my husband and daughter at the Denver Diner to have some comfort food.

Since then, I have gone between feeling good about the exam and then, questioning myself. I remember something that I maybe should have added in the essays, but hindisght is 20/20 and I just hope that my performance was enough. I’m still having the dreams though. When will I stop dreaming that I’m writing the exam and my ink runs out and no one will lend me another pen?

56 days and the results will be out. Until then, I’m trying to freak out just once per day. That’s okay, right?

Peer Pressure and the Cool Kids

What am I doing? What am I doing? What. Am. I. Doing? Seriously? Yes – laugh all you will – I am starting a blog. I’m not quite sure why – I am not a person who likes to publicize matters in my life. But what the hell – everybody else is doing it. Cue my mother (or yours): “If everyone else were jumping off a bridge, would you do so as well?” Well, actually, yes – I probably would. So much for independent thought.

I am following in the footsteps of my wildly popular in-laws (i.e., the cool kids) and my husband.

A little bit about me:

I recently graduated from law school and took the bar. I am trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. In January, I was taken out of the only place I’ve known as home (the great state of Texas) and moved with my family to Denver, Colorado. Exciting, yes – scary, yes. But, we’re having a blast so far.

I’m not really sure what I’ll post about – I guess I will chronicle my life as a law school graduate trying to transition into the real world of practicing law. And since that will probably get boring pretty quickly, I will probably write about my day-to-day life (again, blah!).

Anyway – I hope I enjoy this as much as others do – we’ll see how it goes. Toodles for now.