Surviving the Bar Exam (part 1)

"A thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters." Monty Burns (the Simpsons) could have been describing the thousands of bar examinees packed in the Denver Convention Center on July 30th frantically typing away at their laptops, attempting to write the greatest law essay ever written in 30 minutes or less. The bar exam is quite the experience (i.e., torture chamber), and I'm positive that no one in their right mind would ever want to repeat it.

Our adventure with the bar exam began on Monday when we packed our bags and headed for Denver to spend the night in a hotel. Since Tom had to be at the Denver Convention Center at 7:15 am, we didn't want to risk morning traffic from Colorado Springs to Denver the day of the exam. We were a bit late heading out, but it was worth the extra time to make sure we didn't forget anything vitally important.

Besides his laptop, Tom had to bring a surge protector, USB flash drive, long extension cord, name badge, and photo ID. (I might be missing something because there was a long list of what to bring and not to bring)

Denver traffic is horrendous and it doesn't help that there is no carpool lane into the city. We arrived at our hotel very tired and very hungry. Downtown had plenty of restaurants but nowhere to park for free so we decided to eat at the Village Inn right by our hotel. Come to find out it closed at 3 pm. Seriously? We drove and drove for miles and finally found a Taco Bell in a sketchy part of town and did the drive-through. Back at the hotel, Tom devoured his comfort food and Constance devoured a whole can of sweet potatoes. She sure was hungry because she has never eaten a full can before. 

 She was even sad when there was no more left.

 Very sad.

Tom didn't really sleep that night; it's hard to sleep when your mind is racing and your stomach is tied in knots. We woke up bright and early the next morning and dropped Tom off. Here is the look of anxiety.

 Tom had good reason to be anxious.

Here he is walking off to face fingerprinting, personal possession confiscation, corralling into a large freezing room with thousands of other test takers, 6 substantial essay questions on any number of common or obscure law topics, a 45 minute break, and 2 MPT's (look at some random documents and write a full legal document in only 90 minutes).

Constance and I arrived at the convention center around 4:30 to meet Tom when he was released from captivity. He didn't emerge until almost an hour later. While we were waiting, I got talking with one of the security guards there. He told me that this was the largest group of test takers they've had so far. Also, he told me the sad story of a young woman who during lunch lost of her photo ID. They wouldn't let her back in to finish the test. Her boyfriend was retracing their steps during lunch and looking high and low for it but could not find the lost ID. She automatically fails the exam and has to wait several months and pay thousands of dollars to study and retake it. Losing stuff before, during, and after the exam is a very real fear since you can't put anything in your pockets or carry any bags or backpacks into the exam room. Just hope you end up where you need to be with everything you are supposed to have, that the test-taking software works on your computer, that your computer works, that (if you haven't brought a long extension cord) your computer battery lasts until the end of the test, that you don't have to use the bathroom, and that you don't get sick and die.

Post-test Tom was dazed and tired. We ate dinner at Chipotle then went back the hotel. It took a good 20 minutes before he started talking normally and a little longer before he could answer any real-life questions. Here's to hoping that bar exam part 2 (200 multiple-choice questions) is kind to him today.