Tomorrow - - - - > > GAME DAY.

First, we have to get to the game: transportation; logistics; walking.

Transportation

How are we traveling and what problems or concerns can we run into on the way to the exam. You can run into anything and everything. How do we avoid any and everything? We leave in enough time to walk to the site if necessary. The bottom line is tomorrow is not the time to be shy. If you car breaks down, you may have to hitchhike. If the cab driver is moving too slow for your liking, tell him you need him to drive as if he or she has a purpose because the biggest exam of your life is about to happen and you must be there. This is no time to be timid (but also no time to be rude, either). A temper tantrum will not get you anywhere, except more time in traffic.

Plane.

If you are arriving by plane early in the morning, then your goal is to keep your head at all times. Airports are large, busy, and confusing. Get directions from someone who works at the terminal for a cab or where to pick up your baggage. Yes, some of you are thinking, "who is flying in tomorrow?" Believe me, there are a lot of folk that have some interesting situations going on in their lives. Someone is taking a flight out in the morning, or will board a flight in a few hours to to get to their exam. It happens. When you, plane user, get into your cab, tell the cab driver your story, so that he or she can feel that you are dealing with an urgent matter. If someone is supposed to pick you up at the airport and take you to the exam, be 1,000% certain that the person has the right airport and the right airline before you get on the plane, even if you have to text the person right before hopping onto the plane. This is not a time to take chances, especially in a situation like the one before you. When you exit the plane (and as soon as you have a signal), call the person who is supposed to pick you up at the airport and stay on the telephone with him or her once you leave the plane. Tell him or her what type of clothing you are wearing, and what kind of luggage you are carrying. Find out where they are waiting for you. Then tell them where the site of the exam is - - again. Yes, we need the plan before we get in the car. We are not working with the, "I thought you said, X, plan." That is not the m.o. for tomorrow. Once you get in the car, say your greetings, then you begin to get comfortable. If you have to change shoes, socks, t-shirts (whatever!) in the car then do it. If the car is too small, then go to the hotel closest to the exam site and use that restroom to change AND the hotel's holding area (breakfast area). Get changed, get out and get to the exam site. ASAP.

Trains.

Ummm. Do not fall asleep on the train, and miss your stop. Yeah, I know that the guy comes by and stamps your ticket, etc. But heck, his daughter might be taking the exam today and he may forget to tell you about your stop because he is thinking about whether his daughter made her connections. You will need all kinds of alarm clocks. Use 'em. Get yourself off the train and move as quick as possible to ground transportation, using the same instructions I gave for those flying in to their destination tomorrow morning.

Automobile or Bus.

Drive yourself or take a cab. Do not take the bus. You will likely kill everyone on the bus if anything goes wrong. If the busdriver sneezes one second too long after the light turns green, I would not be surprised if you threw a No. 2 pencil to pop him in his head. Everyone on the bus is chilling, and you are the only ice-cold frozen pop, a/k/a, the original, "Mr. Freeze." Follow the instructions for cab or driving. Leave in enough time to walk. If you drive, and you happen to drive and park your car somewhere where it should not have been at 8:30 a.m., and you come out at lunch (12:45 p.m.) and the car is gone. Then guess what. It's gone. Call someone at home to check it out and call the police. Spend 20 minutes trying to straighten it out. If you can't, then go get a sandwich and something to drink, and say, @#$%#%@$# that car for right now. KEEP IT MOVING. You might think that I kidding, but I am not. I left my car at Georgetown University Law Center when we were studying for the bar. I left it there at 9:00 a.m., and went back at 12:00 to get some water from the trunk. The car was gone. Bye-bye, gone. Yes, it was; but, I did not flinch. I kept it moving. Don't let it take you to another realm. Get your butt back in there and take the exam. The car is really stolen or impounded. If it is stolen, you've reported it to the police. If it is impounded, then you will pick it up when you get out of the exam.

Short-cuts to the exam.

Do not try a new shortcut. Take the exit, street, road, dirt road you know already. Do not try anything new. It is a recipe for disaster. After the exam starts, disaster.

Gasoline, Ticket Fair, etc.

Fill your tank up tonight. Do not think that you have just enough to make it to the testing site. Murphy's law is now your law, and it will follow you everywhere you go if you try to do something that is not too right. Get the gas tonight, after 9:00 p.m., when there is less traffic. Get change ... as much as necessary for the cab or if you have to park at a meter (which you probably won't have to do). But, who knows. And, really, who wants to find out the hard way.

Don't Put Your Books, Etc., in the Car the Night Before the Exam.

Leave everything either packed in a bag right near your bed, or at the front door. If someone walks off with your car, then everything is gone. Not a good feeling. They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Well make your books or whatever else you are storing in your car, your enemy.

Get Inside When You Arrive At The Exam Site; Don't Dawdle. No Time For That.

When you arrive at the exam site, stay close to whomever is giving instructions with the microphone. It is not a "what did she say?" moment. No time for that. You have to listen and act and react for yourself today. Nobody is watching out for you, except me. And I cannot be at 500 different locations tomorrow. I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Share the Love, But Don't Fall In Love.

You will see people you haven't seen in a few months and memories come back very quickly when everyone is trying to get through an early in the morning, gotta pass this exam, tense moment. Ain't nothing like a hug (especially from deep voice, pearly white teeth, Don Juan guy, or belly button, bouncy hair, smile-all-the-time girl). But that's all you got for him or her. A hug. Don't get caught up in the conversation. You know what you came there for; stay on track. Get going and get ready to rock and roll.

The Bathroom (and other things).

I'm no doctor and I am not trying to tell you what to do, but the bathroom did not have a chance with me when I took the bar exam. Just between you, me and the lamppost, I knew I wasn't going to stand in a line for the restroom (at least not in the morning during the exam). Empty I came to the exam; empty I left from the exam. I don't know what the experts say, but I read my own expert treatise, and it said, Barbara Vanessa Maria Teresa Smith, "you sit down, and you stay down." If you have to squeeze the saliva from your tongue to quench your thirst (this is what the BVMTS treatise told me), then that is what you will have to do in order to make it through this exam. I listened to the little voice. What do you need to make it through the day. How much is too much? What is too little? You know your body. You know your life. What do you need to keep your body and mind happy over the next two days? Other things come up and some things we cannot stop, but we can be as efficient as possible. Be efficient as you possibly can.

You have your own little voice. What is it telling you? Move. Sit. Drink (a lot) (a little). Again, you are an adult & can make this decision for yourself. I JUST WANNA KNOW if you are interested in the party that will be held in your neighborhood on or about November 5, 2010. I'm Just Asking.

Follow The Proctors' Instructions.

To The Letter. Please. Do not kicked out because someone told you not to sharpen a pencil and you decided that no one tells you what to do. The next instruction will be to pick up your things and leave, or to call upon security to escort you to the other side of the exam room. Pick your poison. Do what they ask of you now. Pass. Don't do what they ask of you because you want to do it later. Take exam in February 2011. I think you get the idea.

Seating Arrangements

Introduce yourself. The person I sat across from had some strange tick (breathing heavily or tapping finger) that I cannot readily remember right now. But when I noticed that he or she did it a lot, I lifted one hand off the desk and brought it back down onto the desk, decidedly, and I looked at the person, to let them know that he (I think it was a he), needed to stop. He did, too. I never said a word. You should figure out something that does not involve speaking that will accomplish the same goal of allowing you to get through your examination without someone else getting on your nerves. Isn't that the purpose of the exam? You should not see it in your deskmate (but, don't be surprised if you don't).

Set up all of the stuff you were allowed to bring. Do it immediately. Don't look around. Believe me. You are alone. You do not have to look around for that. Since you do not know how quickly (or, slowly) they will seat everyone, you want to be more than ready when they say "You may begin."

Let us remember to stop when we have been told to stop, AND
begin when we are told to begin. Very simple instructions; okay!

The Exam Begins:
You may start off a bit nervous. That is okay. But treat each requirement with the respect it deserves. If it is the MPT, the task memo controls. If they are essay questions, follow the call of the question. If it is a short essay answer, we make certain that our answer is short, but that it is direct, then we close, and get to the next one. We follow our watches. We have an answer for every question. We don't skip questions, either.

We treat a question like it Maxwell House Coffee: All Facts Are "Good To the Last Drop."

We do not run from a question. We knock it down. We are not scared of the law.

We do not argue. We do not sit on the fence. We DECIDE who is guilty or liable. Then we beat that @#$@#^@^#$@ into the ground!

We do not rob Peter to pay Paul. When the time is up, we kiss that question goodbye & give the new question a bear hug.

We treat facts like the equal protection clause. All facts are similarly situated. We are like Marines; we leave no fact behind.
You are the new super-hero, alias, "The Fact Finder."

We remember - - from the moment we sit down, until someone says time.
We are not fighting to get in just for us.
You want your family to eat. Well.
You family has the right to live. Well.
You have the right to have what you want.
But you're gonna have to fight for it.

LUNCH.
Get up and go, but don't eat so much food that you feel sluggish.
If you are going to have a drink, you need to do it the second lunch starts, so that you can have a restroom break before the afternoon session begins.
Don't go far, you do not want the afternoon to start before you return.
Listen to the time in which you are supposed to return.
Make a decision before you go to the exam whether you want company at lunch.
If you want company, determine your boundaries.
Some people like to talk; some people don't.
I had a wonderful lunch by myself in the car. No love lost.
Do not beat up on yourself regardless of what you think you did.
Get geared up for the afternoon.
Don't grunt and moan like a baby about what you have to do.
Handle your business.

Afternoon:
Duplicate the morning, but do so with the energy of a lion.
Push even harder than the morning.
Don't let the crazy, "where in the heck did this question come from?" throw you for a loop.
When you write the answer to the last question, make sure you go out with a bang.
Be strong. Push the keys on the computer across the page.
Put your fingers into the pen.
Concentrate on how much you love you and love how you are going to get through the exam.
When they call time.
Stop.
Get Up.
Get out.
Have a great, meal.
Don't think about what has happened.
Look forward to the next day.

And the next post.

Go get 'em.