By the way ...

... I seem to carry over a few valuable tidbits from one exam to the next. That's why I know that I'll pass this thing sooner or later. And I do believe it's going to be sooner rather than later. And when I finally do pass I plan to post an evaluation here of each and every one of the bar prep resources I've used, from books to seminars to tutors. I've taken something positive from everyone I've gone to for help, except for one, and I'll not talk about that one, and I don't think I've mentioned that one yet so you can't start guessing who (oops, did I say who?) that was. (;-)>

Anywho ... I bring forward the essence of each tutor from one exam to the next, and my bookshelf holds a little bit of each of them; a one-sheet here, a supplement there, a cluster here, a checklist there. But, frankly, (and don't call me Frankly (or was that Shirley?)), at this point, I don't know if that's a curse or a blessing - for them or for me. Regardless, each of them has taught me something that I wasn't taught at my school. Or, more likely, it was taught but I was too preoccupied with personal BS to notice it when it came across my desk.

Anywhen ... this time, I'm reaching out for feedback in a way that I wouldn't have had the courage to before. There's something about failing repeatedly that makes us (well, me, anyway), acutely aware (and whatever comes after acutely (Mega-Acutely?)) of the fact that I've been seriously screwing this thing up and that I'm going to continue to do so until get equally serious about passing.

Anywhat ... one of the reasons I haven't been more chatty this time is that I'm tired of damning with faint praise (very faint) those who have helped me before. I've decided not to subject these new good people (yet) to whatever little extra scrutiny they may receive as a result of my having written about them here until I actually pass the damn exam. That way I don't have to go to bed at night feeling even more guilty about even more good people I've demeaned by linking their good names to my heretofore miserable one.

Anyhow ... as I was saying, one of the most useful things I've picked up along the way is the PowerDreams audio stuff. Right about now in this process I start having trouble relaxing during the day and going to sleep at night, and their ... stuff, for lack of a better word, is great for that. I've only unequivocally recommended a couple of programs here - Steven Emanuel's MBE program and Dava and Martina's PowerDreams audio ... stuff. Everything else comes with caveats - good for some people, not good for others. But these two programs are worth every penny they charge, and them some.

And ... I've already done what I said I wouldn't do - spend more time here. But, it's only this once, and no one can complain unless I do it again soon. And I won't be doing that. Soon. Or something. It's after midnight now, and I'm tired.

G'night Gracie.

Hmmm... Let's see ... What is up ....?

First, the horrible tropical itchy-scratchy thing I was afflicted with has thankfully run its course. After two days of complete and utter hell, it faded away as quickly as a lick-em/stick'em tattoo from a Cracker Jack box. The doc's don't know what caused it, and as long as it doesn't reappear, they don't care.

As far as my bar prep is concerned, I pulled out all the stops in my effort to find out where my writing is going south and how I can get it headed back in the right direction. What I've determined so far is that when I review an essay prior to writing it I see 90% of the issues that appear in the released answers. But, for some reason, the answers I end up writing doesn't look much like the released answers. Somewhere in my writing process there's a break in the issue-chain-of-custody as I try to bring the issues I've spotted to the answer I write. A big part of that problem can be traced back to my inability to construct a comprehensive outline in a short amount of time, which would then leave me enough time to write a complete answer.

I know, that's the same challenge I talked about last time. I think this problem is unique to me, and is a result of my programming background. The way I solved problems then is not the best way to solve them now. At least, not in this venue.

So, that's what's up.

This blog, obviously, has been consuming relatively little of what's left of my free time after I've closed the books for the day. But I'll make an effort to pop in a bit more frequently between now and the exam. But just a bit.

Cheers, all. Good luck with the studies.

Alrighty then ...

... I have some good news and I have some good news. But first, ... Hey, is that Rod Serling slinking off the stage? Yep, it surely is. And he looks a bit embarrassed, too. Good Riddance, Rod! And don't let me catch you back here again!

All right, here's the situation. At first, what I had looked like the dreaded shingles. Happily, it's not. Less happily, no one knows exactly what it is, or more to the point, what it was. That's right, "What it was." Yay!

I spent the entire day yesterday bouncing from doctor's office to pharmacy to dermatologist's office. I got three different medications to treat the symptomis horribilis associated with this yet to be named tropical disease. All they are willing to call it is "contact dermatitis". But I suppose that's good news too because they aren't calling it "the dreaded shingleitis!" Thank God! I was seriously contemplating abandoning this quest if the symptoms didn't go away soon because I couldn't sit for 30 minutes without scratching furiously, and I mean furiously, at some part of my body. Gads, it was hell.

But today, whether it's the meds or the natural progression of whatever it was that inflicted me, I'm better. Not 100%, but close, real close. So. Yay. For that I will be eternally grateful. Or, if not for eternity, at least until July 31st.

Thanks to all for the good wishes. Now I've got to get back to catching up on what I was doing before this thing started, which was catching up on my schedule.

(;-)>

Coincidence? I think not!

Or maybe I've entered into some sadistic version of the Twilight Zone.

We woke up this morning to the sounds of a roofing company taking the roof off my neighbor's house. The demolition part is not the bad part because they aren't yet pounding nails or using the electric saws on the new sheathing that goes under the new shingles. That noisy stuff comes later after they've woken everyone in the neighborhood.

What could that possible be coincidental too, to ask? Well, yesterday I woke up in the nascent stages of what is looking to be a bad case of the Shingles. Get it? Yeah, me too, unfortunately.

Holy crap but this stuff is annoying, and itchy. And I understand that the painful part is going to begin over the next few days, and it could last for weeks. So, unfortunately, unlike the annoyance caused by my neighbor's roof job, which should be completed today, if my research is correct my Shingles are going to be with me for the next few weeks. Just what I need.

I haven't ever had this before but I did have the Chicken Pox when I was a kid. Apparently this virus lays dormant in the nerve roots for the rest of your life. It can become active again when the immune system is weakened, in times of stress, yada, yada. Perfect. I can just hear Rod Serling's voice in the background, 'He doesn't know it yet, but the Grand Poobah has just entered ... The Twilight Zone." Or maybe for me the proper term is re-entered.

Blah.

Okay, Fine, There You Go.

That took about 30 minutes, so I don't want to hear no complainin' outta' youse guys.

Time for a New Timer?

It looks like the website behind my old timer went bust. I downloaded the code from a site that provided free flash modules to paste into your blog, but the code had to link back to their site to work properly. That didn't seem to be problematic, so I let it do its thing. Now, though, the site, flashmysite.com, has disappeared.

I'm probably not going to track down another one because I'm kind of burying myself in my preparations for this exam. I've gotten serious about changing what's wrong with my writing and, with everything else I've got to do, I'm not inclined to take the time to find a new timer.

I reserve the right, however, to change my mind about that.

Well, I can't take time off ...

... so my only choice is to continue to travel the road I'm on. The path to my future passes directly through the bar exam.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I understand what you're saying, I just can't take a break.

I've just got to take it one day at a time.