| | i just got back from my first super lovely day of bar exam goodness.
the morning portion of the exam wasn't too bad. the last few minutes right before the proctor said we could being were the worst. too much pent up anticipation. i know i didn't manage to hit every single issue, but at least there were no questions where my mind drew a blank. the questions hit topics i didn't expect, but at the same time, i expected to be surprised. i'm sure i could torture myself by looking at my notes and whacking myself over the head for all the issues i missed, but as gusgus wisely told me "no prehash, no rehash". i think it's good advice.
anyhow, no need to whack myself over the head when plenty of pain awaited me in the afternoon.
you see, after a fairly relaxed lunch, i returned to the testing site feeling pretty tired, but at least relaxed. i started up my good old reliable laptop once more, ready to go. everything looked good. then i opened up the testing software. and up popped a cute little window. oh goody, i thought, a special bar message just for me. and what was that message you ask? i won't hold you in suspense. the message read "thank you for downloading softest. please register your software. if you are re-registering your software you will have to re-download all previous exam files."
let me paraphrase the message for those of you not so familiar with the wonderful world of the bar exam: "welcome to hell sucker! worst case scenario 101 initiated! bwahahahaha!!!" basically, the california bar is super anal about what computer you can use, what needs to be registered ahead of time, and what files have to be on your computer the day of the exam.
at first i freaked. then i rebooted. same message. then i called the proctor. the proctor leisurely strolled over after about 5 minutes of semi-frantic hand-waving. since i didn't mention it earlier, my proctor appeared to be a 75-year old man. you can imagine how helpful he was in dealing with technical difficulties. then, a guy sitting behind me oh so sagely to tell me that rebooting would fix the problem. thanks dude - i mean, i know he meant well, but uh, i had already tried that like 3 or 4 times.
at first i just thought, "ok, this sucks, gonna have to hand write this sucker." then the awful thought popped into my head that the file containing my morning answers might have been corrupted or lost. which, would pretty much mean automatic failure. and, while i wouldn't mind getting my results earlier, dang would i be pissed if i failed because of 'technical difficulties'. then i was pretty angry about the whole situation. then i channeled all those lovely barbri stories about people who pass despite crazy circumstances. (comas, surgeries, pregnancies, et al) wow, maybe all those motivational barbri talks really DO justify the steep price tag.
in the end, i had to take the test by hand. for all you past bar-takers out there, you pretty much know that trying to write the afternoon section of the test when you've always used a computer does nothing for either your penmanship or the organization of your presentation. surprisingly, i finished the essay within the allotted time. i say this is surprising because even typing on a computer, i usually never finished the practice exams on time. at least handwriting prompted me to be more concise. because, dang, my hand was really starting to cramp up by the end.
on the upside, i think i stayed unusually calm throughout the whole ordeal. i think that was just a bit of divine intervention. actually, i think the girl sitting next to me was more visibly agitated by the incident. she was quiet helpful in getting the proctor to (uselessly) come look at my computer though, and we had a nice little chat while we were waiting to be excused.
i called the software company immediately when i got home. it took a while to get through, but they were quiet competent actually. they remotely took over my computer and took care of everything. fortunately, my morning exam files were safely saved on my computer. yay! so, now i'm gonna have to wait until november like everyone else to see if i failed. i suppose the chances of that are a lot greater now, but whaddya gonna do? it could be worse. i'm just thankful that all that studying wasn't a TOTAL waste, at least not as of yet.
trying to be positive, i've thought of some beneficial outcomes from this experience:
1. if i fail the bar exam, i now have a REALLY good excuse (though, it would be ironic if i got a good score on the afternoon question... i doubt it)
2. there's probably not much that can happen to phase me on days 2-3: if my computer crashes again, i have practice handwriting the test
3. if an interviewer ever asks me how i respond to the unexpected, i have a pretty good story to back myself up. alternatively, if they question my ability to handle pressure i can confidently tell them to go screw themselves. ok, maybe not that last part so much.
4. thanks to the lovely software support lady, my computer runs a lot faster.
5. my stress energy has been pretty thoroughly exhausted - after 2 sleepless nights, i think i'm gonna sleep just fine tonite.
6. i now have a really good bar horror story - if any lawyer ever tries to complain about their bar experience, i have a pretty good shot at one-upping them.
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| | Posted 7/24/2007 7:58 PM - 40 Views - 14 eProps - 7 comments
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