OK, precious posse —

Here’s the scoop.
First, thank you for being so patient with me.  I know I’ve been an absolute bear, and it’s only because I surround myself with the world’s most wonderful friends that I’m able to survive this!

So…

Flew out to LA last Wednesday, and spent a day with the squeeze before reporting for duty at the Pasadena Hilton.  I picked up my girl Rosine at LAX (blog post about the world’s best study partner to come – I totally get credit for recognizing brilliance when I see it…) and headed to review weekend.

Best study buddy ever.

Because of my freaky-deaky online law school, as I have mentioned, all the studying is ON YOU.  Which, for some of us overachieving, Hermione, type A personalities, that is perfect.  We like moving at our own pace, we like figuring out what we have to know, and we truly love learning it.  I’m speaking for my fellow students, perhaps out of turn, but, along with the flexibility, is the reason we chose this school.

So what a spectacular moment when we all come together for the review weekend!  We’ve skyped one another, emailed, texted, called, IM’d, conference called, and class-chatted for a year and a half.  We’ve stalked one another’s Facebook, we’ve tried to put a 3 dimensional face to our friends, we’ve had virtual study groups, and finally, we get to meet for the first time REAL TIME, with real faces, and real voices, and real smiles (remember when Darth wanted to look at Luke with his own eyes?  Yeah, like that.)

The review weekend begins with a mock test that simulates the FYLSX (First Year Law Students Exam – have I mentioned that?).  The following 2 days are a review/debrief/dissection of the test, in a room with 80-100 of my closest law school friends.  I loved being in the room with all that academic energy, drive, and passion.  Our reviewing professor, Professor Steve Bracci, is the undisputed hero of the weekend, and if his earnestness could get us through, we would all pass with the proverbial flying colors.

We also got to meet most of our other professors, who have been completely available and absolutely helpful.  My brother attended a bricks-and-mortar law school (hipster-speak for plain old boring law school), and he did not have the complimentary things to say about his professors that I do about mine.  I’ve never waited more than 5 or 6 hours for an email response, and each time, the professors offer to also chat on the phone if we think we need extra help.  And no, all this sucking up does nothing for getting me to pass the test – CalBar is the complete and final say on that; our faculty have no input.

So test day rolls around, we report to the Pasadena Civic Center – all 800 of us – with our belonging in a clear, ziplock bag, earplugs, #2 pencils, and enough nervous energy to have powered the building for the entire 8 hours.  4 essays, 4 hours, and hour break for what would have been lunch if anyone could have eaten without puking, and then 100 multiple choice questions in 3 hours.  (Let me help you – 1.8 minutes per question).

And just like that, it was over.

“So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945.”

Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite that bad, but it was pretty brutal.  Results released by CalBar August 10, and I’m sure it’s an unintentional oversight on CalBar’s part that the last day for regular-cost registration for the retest is August 1.  Hmmmmm.

The $10,000 question?  I honestly do not know if I passed.  The essays were solid, and while the grade is combined, the MCQ’s were sketchy, and I don’t know if the essays can lift me up.  So retake is October, and another good time with my posse, another trip to Pasadena.

In the meantime, 2L rolls on (totally different subjects than the test subjects – an extra special bonus!)

Back to my life, my home, my friends, my work!  I’ve missed you all!  Thank you again for being so patient – don’t get into any legal trouble til I’m ready!  =)

Thanks for reading!