Insight
My friend had a very nice insight the other day. It was simple and it was true, which makes it the best kind of insight.
I was trying to explain how it's weird to talk to people when taking the bar. You don't want to talk to your friends about the bar because you want to be "normal." You don't want the bar to consume your life. You also need a break from the bar. You want to take a breather, relax, joke about the barbri lecturer's hair or the funny "states" the prep courses use in their hypos. (state of desire, state of innocence ... or ... New Hermont, Oreshington, Florabama).
but, you also need someone to talk to about the bar exam. wait, do you have to do a 403 analysis for all types of evidence questions? what are the exceptions? i'm confused. can you help me? and sometimes your friends will help you but sometimes they can't. and you know why. b/c sometimes you're that friend and, really, you can't have people asking you these stupid questions b/c they're confused and you're just gonna get confused and can they stop asking. plus, once your friend starts talking about the bar it's like a little light goes off in your head, wait, i can't talk about the bar or studying or study techniques. I have no time to talk. I have to just do.
so basically the conversation goes as follows:
Bar Exam Taker ("BET") 1: "are you watching the world cup?"
BET 2: "yeah. i'm a europhile. i love it."
BET 1: "do you favor argentina or germany?"
BET 2: "well, argentina has those two young guys, but germany - they're playing like rock stars - plus, home field advantage is huge."
BET 1: "yeah, i love the fatherland too. Hey, if one of the Germans kicks an Argentinian in the knee cap that would be awesome. Assuming that US law applies, think he can be charged with a battery?"
BET 2: "Um...."
BET 2 thinks in head: hrm...elements of a battery - prima facie case 1) harmful or offensive contact 2) to Argentinian 3) with intent and 4) causation....Wait, but i think there is some type of sports game special rule...
BET 2 still thinking to self: dude, self, i really should know this rule. i don't want to look like a dumbass to BET1, my dear friend and confidante who I really shouldn't be competing with anyway. damn, why do i compete with my friends? i'm really just competing with myself and damn self! how come you don't know this?
BET 2 nervous...
BET 2 decides to play the famous law student exit strategy to get out of a situation in which one is at risk of looking dumb: evade question and make other person look dumb. extra points if throw in esoteric factoid.
BET 2: "haha, you know that's not what the bar will ask. they'll ask something more like, what if he shoots him at a bar later that night after drinking tons of budweiser beer (*remember, because Anheuser Busch is a proud sponsor of the world cup*) b/c he's just not used to American beer and doesn't realize how drunk he is. FN1. can he be charged with common law murder?"
OMG now BET 1 realizes he really needs to get home to go over crim law. BET 1 totally doesn't know criminal homicide. is intoxication even a defense? was he sufficiently provoked? what about that battery question, BET 1 is still confused even as to simple battery. And is battery even a tort or is a crime? what's the difference? BET 1 starts to sweat. There's only one solution: use famous law student exit strategy.
BET 1: "Or, better yet, how about if the facts said that the Argentinian died after the German kicked him in the knee. But the World Cup Doctor, Doctor Feelgood, didn't rush onto the field right away because he just thought it was normal flopping even though it was the doctor's duty, according to the very special yet official "World Cup Doctor Hippocratic Oath", to run on the field at the first sight of blood. After the news broke the story of the German "death-kicker" and the "scared-of-a little blood" Doctor, leaving each of them to get numerous death threats from the Argentinian Single Soccer Mom's Mafia, known on the streets as the "Kickin' ASS Mom Mob", the autopsy shows that the Argentinian actually died from fright after seeing a Dutch fan wearing no 'trousers.' FN2. Who can be held criminally liable for the Argentinian's death then?"
Both exit scene terrified of how much they don't know about the law and how much it sucks that they're gonna miss the game tomorrow.
---
See? I'm not as simplistic as my friend.
His simple, very true statement sums up the one thing that sucks about the bar exam. It's 2 months of pure loneliness. You can't really be around people to study because you need to just sit there and do it. (and i mean, talk to people, not be in a public place). It's not even like first year exams because for exams (as Prof Whitebread says) you want to reach "level 3" of knowledge (out of 3 levels). You want to really know it deep down to your bones. For the bar exam, you don't. So there's no point to really sitting around talking about every little issue.
Still, you want to be around people. In fact, you need to be around people or else it's just you and the bar. and the bar isn't quite known as a self-esteem booster or even a "friend."
So that's the biggest problem with preparing for the bar. It makes you lonely.
--
FN1: "There has been a wider resentment in Germany that a US brewery has the exclusive rights in a country which prides itself on the quality of its beer and has very strict laws governing its composition."
FN2: "Football's governing body has explained why up to 1,000 Dutch fans watched a World Cup tie wearing no trousers.
Around 1,000 fans arrived for the Ivory Coast tie in their traditional bright orange trousers - but bearing the logo and name of a Dutch brewery.
To protect the rights of the official beer they were denied entry, so the male fans promptly removed the trousers and watched the game in underpants."
source of "esoteric" factoids 1 & 2:
I was trying to explain how it's weird to talk to people when taking the bar. You don't want to talk to your friends about the bar because you want to be "normal." You don't want the bar to consume your life. You also need a break from the bar. You want to take a breather, relax, joke about the barbri lecturer's hair or the funny "states" the prep courses use in their hypos. (state of desire, state of innocence ... or ... New Hermont, Oreshington, Florabama).
but, you also need someone to talk to about the bar exam. wait, do you have to do a 403 analysis for all types of evidence questions? what are the exceptions? i'm confused. can you help me? and sometimes your friends will help you but sometimes they can't. and you know why. b/c sometimes you're that friend and, really, you can't have people asking you these stupid questions b/c they're confused and you're just gonna get confused and can they stop asking. plus, once your friend starts talking about the bar it's like a little light goes off in your head, wait, i can't talk about the bar or studying or study techniques. I have no time to talk. I have to just do.
so basically the conversation goes as follows:
Bar Exam Taker ("BET") 1: "are you watching the world cup?"
BET 2: "yeah. i'm a europhile. i love it."
BET 1: "do you favor argentina or germany?"
BET 2: "well, argentina has those two young guys, but germany - they're playing like rock stars - plus, home field advantage is huge."
BET 1: "yeah, i love the fatherland too. Hey, if one of the Germans kicks an Argentinian in the knee cap that would be awesome. Assuming that US law applies, think he can be charged with a battery?"
BET 2: "Um...."
BET 2 thinks in head: hrm...elements of a battery - prima facie case 1) harmful or offensive contact 2) to Argentinian 3) with intent and 4) causation....Wait, but i think there is some type of sports game special rule...
BET 2 still thinking to self: dude, self, i really should know this rule. i don't want to look like a dumbass to BET1, my dear friend and confidante who I really shouldn't be competing with anyway. damn, why do i compete with my friends? i'm really just competing with myself and damn self! how come you don't know this?
BET 2 nervous...
BET 2 decides to play the famous law student exit strategy to get out of a situation in which one is at risk of looking dumb: evade question and make other person look dumb. extra points if throw in esoteric factoid.
BET 2: "haha, you know that's not what the bar will ask. they'll ask something more like, what if he shoots him at a bar later that night after drinking tons of budweiser beer (*remember, because Anheuser Busch is a proud sponsor of the world cup*) b/c he's just not used to American beer and doesn't realize how drunk he is. FN1. can he be charged with common law murder?"
OMG now BET 1 realizes he really needs to get home to go over crim law. BET 1 totally doesn't know criminal homicide. is intoxication even a defense? was he sufficiently provoked? what about that battery question, BET 1 is still confused even as to simple battery. And is battery even a tort or is a crime? what's the difference? BET 1 starts to sweat. There's only one solution: use famous law student exit strategy.
BET 1: "Or, better yet, how about if the facts said that the Argentinian died after the German kicked him in the knee. But the World Cup Doctor, Doctor Feelgood, didn't rush onto the field right away because he just thought it was normal flopping even though it was the doctor's duty, according to the very special yet official "World Cup Doctor Hippocratic Oath", to run on the field at the first sight of blood. After the news broke the story of the German "death-kicker" and the "scared-of-a little blood" Doctor, leaving each of them to get numerous death threats from the Argentinian Single Soccer Mom's Mafia, known on the streets as the "Kickin' ASS Mom Mob", the autopsy shows that the Argentinian actually died from fright after seeing a Dutch fan wearing no 'trousers.' FN2. Who can be held criminally liable for the Argentinian's death then?"
Both exit scene terrified of how much they don't know about the law and how much it sucks that they're gonna miss the game tomorrow.
---
See? I'm not as simplistic as my friend.
His simple, very true statement sums up the one thing that sucks about the bar exam. It's 2 months of pure loneliness. You can't really be around people to study because you need to just sit there and do it. (and i mean, talk to people, not be in a public place). It's not even like first year exams because for exams (as Prof Whitebread says) you want to reach "level 3" of knowledge (out of 3 levels). You want to really know it deep down to your bones. For the bar exam, you don't. So there's no point to really sitting around talking about every little issue.
Still, you want to be around people. In fact, you need to be around people or else it's just you and the bar. and the bar isn't quite known as a self-esteem booster or even a "friend."
So that's the biggest problem with preparing for the bar. It makes you lonely.
--
FN1: "There has been a wider resentment in Germany that a US brewery has the exclusive rights in a country which prides itself on the quality of its beer and has very strict laws governing its composition."
FN2: "Football's governing body has explained why up to 1,000 Dutch fans watched a World Cup tie wearing no trousers.
Around 1,000 fans arrived for the Ivory Coast tie in their traditional bright orange trousers - but bearing the logo and name of a Dutch brewery.
To protect the rights of the official beer they were denied entry, so the male fans promptly removed the trousers and watched the game in underpants."
source of "esoteric" factoids 1 & 2:
posted by mjs at
3:00 PM
1 Comments:
Melissa, you should blog about barbri crushes-- I've talked to mine a bunch but we still haven't exchanged names...! that's about as "playing it cool" as you can get when talking to someone at barbri...
By
E, at 4:42 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home