Regarding the Bar: Meeting the Bogeyman in Open Combat

I met the Bogeyman.

He threw some strong punches: Essay Question #6; an irritating series of mortgage and lien recording questions; ridiculous joint-tenancy fact patterns. I cannot say I passed for sure, but neither would I be surprised if I succeeded.

So the Bar and I both made respectable showings, and now we've each retreated from the field.

The results should be posted mid-October, and then we'll see if I'll be visiting King of Prussia in February for a rematch, or if any future visit to the mall is purely voluntary.

Bar's Tuesday and Wednesday

The exam is Tuesday and Wednesday. Late this afternoon (or early evening) I'll head up to the Holiday Inn Express at King of Prussia, verify that everything is where I think it is, and then I'll do a little light shopping before the exam.

Personality Test

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Also, Bar Prep continues to be unpleasant

Instead of enjoying a BBQ, I was rereading Bar Bri study materials.

Cleaning out my locker

Thursday I went up to school, enjoyed an Iced Coffee at the Bookstore, and cleaned out my locker. I felt sad cleaning it out, although removing my blanket triggered a fond memory of the time I camped out and took a nap on the lawn.

I've been eating okra every couple of days, thanks to the plant on my doorstep. (Supplemented, when needed, with frozen okra.) Stir-fried and microwaved, mostly. If I had one of these I'd probably be preparing a whole lot more corn-meal breading.

Zinnia on a Hot Day

It's taken me a while to get it growing nice and solidly, but the Zinnia is now doing a great job. Gorgeous flowers.

The Basil plant that used to be in my window is enjoying the sunshine. Note that it's now blooming again. The small little green plants around the base of the basil are marjoram.

One week of study left.

More Plant Theft!

My lavender plant was stolen! The lavender, in the white pot on the left, is seen here in a photo I took on the 13th at dusk.

While I am very disappointed at the loss, I've gone ahead and ordered new plants and pots from Burpee and Amazon respectively. There's not enough time in the season to grow the lavender from seed, so I've ordered the plants instead. Also, when the pots arrive, I'm going to pick up some

Regardless, I have one more day of work, and then I'll switch to study-only mode for the rest of the week. The bar exam is one week from this tuesday.

Tomorrow

I know it's been a few weeks since the last posting: as it turns out I did eventually recover from my sore throat.

Tomorrow is my last day in "class" for Bar Bri. The rest of the week I'll be studying on my own when I'm not at work.

Here in my neighborhood there's been a spate of vadalism: lots of graffiti. I'll try to post some pictures of the miscreant's work later, along with some more flower pictures.

The Dangers of Itunes

I've had a sore throat since friday, and unfortunately instead of getting better by Monday, it got worse. So I've spent the last 72 hours sleeping some 50 hours.

Idle hands are the devil's workshop, so I went to enjoy harmless fun provided by Apple: the Itunes Store.

Now over the years, I've had quite a bit of fun at Bob Dylan's expense. But every once in a while I really want to hear one of his pop tunes. While I could blame illness, instead I'll give credit where it's due.

Thank you Bob Dylan for "Lay Lady Lay".

Other purchases included more Ben Folds Five, Blondie, New Order, Traffic, The Who, Chemical Brothers, Gorillaz, Bush, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, Madonna, Laura Branigan, Cake, Blur, and David Bowie.

Are you sure you like cats?

These cats share a facial resemblance to a certain austrian who failed as a painter.

(Thanks NRO.)

A new picture of blooming action

Live Music in my Neighborhood

Tonight I went to listen for a while to music presented at Bardascino Park (less than half a block away, on the south-west corner of 10th and Carpenter.

The music was fine, and seeing all the families sitting around together was incredibly heartwarming. I don't see enough small children running around in my daily life.

Tomorrow in Bar Prep news...3 hours on PA DUI.

Bar Prep is Tedious

Currently, it's almost 10 AM.

If I had managed to wake up at 7:20, I'd just now be nearing the first break in a three hour lecture on PA Professional Responsibility.

Since I'm not there, I'll have to pick up a videotape, or find a time to watch it at one of the other Philadelphia area Bar Bri sessions.

My goodness, this is tedious. Some of the reading is not bad, but as a whole this daily grind of classes and material is quite exasperating. And it means that my entire day is consumed: first classes, then work, then home and whatever I manage to do with the "homework".

The intensity of my external focus in combination with the stress of adapting to a different schedule temporarily destroys my equanimity. It is an unpleasant feeling to be so out of balance, and to know that the imbalance will continue for two more months.

Fortunately, next week is something of a breather; only two days of class for folks just taking the PA Bar (the other days are training for the NJ Essays).

This bar prep foolishness is so bad that looking for a job is starting to appear a welcome distraction. And, I assure you, I hate looking for jobs.

The Permalink doesn't seem to be working, but today, at least, Anthony works a similar theme as his latest post.

Bar Prep, Diet and Fiber, and Cafe de Laos

I've been swamped with Bar prep and work. But even so, I've managed to accomplish a little, like setting up a pretty good budget household budget process for the rest of the summer, and even investigating savings plans for the future (after all, eventually I'll convince someone to hire me, and when that happens I'll need to start building up some reserves.)

I've also been trying to make some improvements to my diet. Of course, I'd tried the same thing earlier in the year, but now I've got a little more control over my time, and I'm finding it easier to prepare stuff at home. One of the big problems when I was going to school is that the classes began at 6 PM. If you leave work at 4, the transit from West Philly to Temple takes about 30 to 45 minutes. That gives a good hour to prepare for class, but not long enough to eat a proper meal.

Which reminds me, I seem to recall having just 25 minutes or so for lunch back in elementary and high school. A terrible policy, and a poor preparation for adult life (where most people are much better off if they eat slowly, rather than wolfing things down.)

Anyway, as part of improving my nutrition, I've been trying to add more fiber to my diet. Which got me curious, why exactly do doctors suggest adding fiber to the diet, anyway.

It turns out that fiber does two things. One, it promotes intestinal health by making it easier for the intestines to push everything on through (specifically, the fiber absorbs water, increasing bulk, which in turn triggers peristalsis) and two, it combines with the cholesterol, which is then excreted, rather than absorbed.

See this article from the Mayo Clinic for more information.

Finally, two weeks ago I went for a late night dinner (9:45 PM) at Cafe de Laos, which is right around the corner at 1117 South 11th Street. The room's decor, with lots of wood and elephant sculpture was great, and I also enjoyed the food. I forget its name, but my entree was sinus-clearing hot and delicious.

For a second opinion, try Philly.com.

Other people to check out

Every once in a while, I try to play Quizzo.

But check out the man, myth, and legend, Johnny Goodtimes.

A report from the field

Graduation was wonderful!

Last week I returned to the Bar Bri classes and work at the Computer Connection, a combo which will be continuing on through the end of July, when I take the PA Bar. For the time being I'm more focused on Bar prep than looking for a job, but I'll try to keep my eyes open if I see anything here in the Philadelphia area. If someone somewhere else wants to hire me, I'll have to figure out the bar implications then.

Now, on to the flowers:



This is the pot that used to be indoors. On one hand, it seems a little scraggly. But this plant is supposed to flower best under difficult conditions, and note the beautiful jewel red color. That's just a fantastic flower.



Here is the windowbox. This is (except for a little topping off) the same dirt I used for the Beets last fall. So the dirt should be fairly exhausted. I suspect that's helping to cause some of the yellow leaves towards the bottom. These plants just started blooming Wednesday, and as you can see, the effect of the color against the green background is just terrific.

Graduation!

Tonight was graduation, and I think it went off quite well. We managed to make good time handing out the diplomas and seeing everyone was a blast!

Thank you Tom for coming! And thank you Bill for calling and wishing me well.

Now I'm exhausted, and I think I'll get to bed.

Also, the McCormick and Schmick's at Broad Street is really, really nice. We had dinner there after the graduation.

Mom and Dad are Here in Philly!

Whoo-Hoo!

Of course, I think Mom's not impressed much with my cleaning abilities.

All of her children are special in their own way, but when it comes to housekeeping it would appear that I'm very special indeed.

Tomorrow...sightseeing ahoy!

Text of my Prepared Remarks

Evening Class Speaker’s Speech


By Adam H. Davis, May 18, 2006
(To be delivered at the Temple Law Commencement Ceremony)


My friends, it’s been a long time, but I would like to say a few words concerning the law of agency.

We today enjoy high honor, and are properly proud of the hard work, the painful travails born to earn these diplomas.

And, personally, I have known no finer men and women than my fellow students, my colleagues. To know you is to be proud of you; to be numbered with you is awfully humbling.

But I spoke of agency, and I meant it.

It is my happy duty to stand and speak for my friends, and say a few words on their behalf. Today is so special because our family and friends have come here to join us.

So first, let me say, We’re Sorry!

Let me explain.

As evening students, we have juggled life, work, and study. Yet law school alone demands, at its hard points, more than a day’s effort crammed in 24 short hours.

How many vacations cut short, legalistic digressions, lonely bedrooms, spent bank accounts, and unanswered calls, emails, and letters stand against us in accusation.

It is a hard, and singularly adult lesson, that to pursue excellence requires sacrifice, sometimes voluntary and sometimes not, from the people who love us most.

But today is a day of gratitude and joy; not sorrow, and certainly not remorse.

Gratitude for our professors, for the administration, and the support staff who keep the school running day and night. And appreciation for the day students and LLM students who shared our classes. And I should personally thank the Bookstore, for the restorative powers of their large iced coffees.

And today is a day of joy, because we can now go forth and serve. To be a lawyer is to be an agent, a servant. Today we may begin to serve our families, our friends, our communities, our nation, and our world more excellently. And we do so with the humbling recognition that we couldn’t have made it to here alone.

My fellow students, I have neither time nor voice to say how much you mean to me. Know how blessed I feel to have journeyed this far with you, and how much I look forward to seeing you in the years to come.

Again, for all who have come to be with us today, thank you so much. Carry that thanks to everyone who could not be here, as well. Mom and Dad, I love you very much.

Thank you all: it has been a wonderful honor.

New Google Toy

Slate pointed me to Andrew Sullivan's post on the new Google trends analysis feature.

Rather than for such heady investigations as the consequences of repression on sexual desire-

Langston Hughes comes to mind: Or does it explode?

-I looked up a sartorial term with considerable Old South connotations.