My 2013 - Part 2

My amazing 2013 journey continued ...

JULY

I still continued to study for the New York State Bar Exam. I wasn't able to finish all the materials I had at hand.  That made me nervous.  But I had to persevere.

So, off I went to the land of the US of A by myself 10 days before the exam.  From LA, I went straight to Albany. It was my first time to visit the capital city of the New York State and also my first time to travel to the US by myself.  Albany is a simple and quiet city, but very nice.  My mom followed just 2 days after the exam for my much needed moral support.

The experience is quite surreal as I took the exam not in a classroom but in a stadium.  Test areas are at the center court and the pathway near food stalls.

I find the New York State Bar Exam less hard than the Philippine Bar since it has lesser coverage and it is just a 2-day exam, unlike the 4 Sundays of the Philippine Bar Exam.

But you could not blame me if I was still nervous.  I had to make it worth it.

AUGUST

The day after the New York State Bar Exam, my mom and I went to New York City - concrete jungle where dreams are made of.  We watched Mamma Mia, went around the streets of New York, visited Times Square, Rockefeller Center and the MET, and walked around Central Park.  I also met Zachary Levi.

And that was just during the first 2 days of August.  Off we went to LA to spend time with my sister and her adorable daughter, Ally.

I then went to visit my aunt and her family at San Diego.  I also went there to take the Multi-Professional Responsibility Exam.  I reviewed for it for a week.  I decided to take it in San Diego since I figured I could study more there than with Ally, because I know I will play with her often .. haha.  But I truly had a great time with my cousins at San Diego.  And I am pretty sure I gained a lot of weight as well :)

SEPTEMBER

And so I went back to my beloved Philippines.  I went to my daily grind of reporting to our office.  While I was away, our office had a renovation.  I am really proud of my mom for her knack in designing everything.

I had a lighter teaching load with just my Sales class in law school.

By middle of September, the MPRE results were out.  And I passed!  Thank you Lord :)

OCTOBER

October is the bar exam month in the Philippines.  As it were in the past years, I then went to Manila for Bar Operations to give support to our students.  This was my first batch of students who took the Bar Exams.  I really pray that they do well.  I also pray that my dear friends who took the same will also pass this time around.

And on the 30th day of this month, I found out that I passed the New York State Bar Exam!  Amazing talaga si Lord :)

NOVEMBER

November was not that much great for the Philippines for Yolanda struck.  The news was really disheartening.  I was relieved when I found out that a law school classmate of ours survived it.

But aside from the devastation, I think the bigger news was the help extended to the Philippines from across all nations.  I just hope and pray that their help would really be extended for such purpose.  May GOD bless the lives of all the concerned citizens all over the world.

It was also in November when I get to attend a wedding of a law school friend.  I was glad to meet up with my first year batch mates.

DECEMBER

'Tis the season to be jolly.

My aunt for Saudi was around from November until first week of December.

I was able to attend the IBP Palaro/Christmas Party and I had fun that night.  Next time, i-career ko na .. hehe

I did not get to attend a number of parties, though.  The reason is that by December 21st, we already left for Australia, where we spent our Christmas and New Year with my dear sisters, Johanna and Jessica.

I will try to post a separate blog for our Aussie trip.  But I hope these pictures will do for now.

Pretty amazing 2013 huh?  And I only have GOD to thank you for it.

Looking forward to a blessed 2014 :)

Get Lucky

In order to be admitted to the New York State Bar, one has to pass the New York State Bar Exams as well as the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE).

I took the MPRE last August in San Diego.  I was lucky that Atty. Noreen informed me that I could take it outside of New York as long as I indicate in my application that I am taking the MPRE for the New York jurisdiction.

And so, I decided to stay at my aunt's place in San Diego.  I was advised that I could study for the MPRE after the New York State Bar Exam.  And so I did.

I said to myself that I was going to study for a week for the exam and I had two review books on hand already.  Sunday before the exam, I already started listening to some lectures online.  And then, I would answer some sample questions as well.  By Tuesday, I realized that I could cover more topics if I read instead of listening to the online lectures.

Anyway, my aunt and uncle were very accommodating as there were nights that we went out for dinner.  So I had to make the most of my time in the morning and/or afternoon.  

On Thursday night, there were some changes as my sister was going to fetch me on Sunday, the day after my exam.  So my aunt decided to make the most of my Friday.

We went to the outlet stores on Friday morning as my aunt had to buy some stuff that I could bring to my uncles.  I was also able to buy some pasalubongs as well since I felt I could not buy them when I leave San Diego.  I then studied in the afternoon.

I told my aunt beforehand that we would not stay late that night since I had exams the next day.  For dinner, they treated me to a Korean buffet .. whoa!  

My cousins at an "eat-all-you-can" Korean restaurant

I thought we were going home but then we stopped by Extraordinary Desserts .. wow!  I had Strawberry Parfait and it was delicious!!! (No wonder I gained weight!)

Sarap jud ito ba!

My cousin ordered this Truffle Framboise - Masarap din!

I thought we were going home after that but guess again.  We made a quick stop at USS Midway.  We did not go inside anymore since it was already closed.  My aunt wanted me to stop by here because aside from a tourist attraction, it was where Jessica Sanchez had her audition and homecoming for the American Idol.

With my cousin

And so, we went home.  I was so quite nervous for my exam the next day - wondering if some stuff I have studied have been deleted because I felt so full with the food I ate.  I haven't done something like this on the night before an exam.  Adding to my anxiety was the fact that I was not able to finish all the review materials I had on hand.

This is all I could bring for the MPRE Exam (in a Ziploc bag)

My uncle and I left at around 7:30 and I was at the Test Center (a school) before 8:30.  The exam started at 9:00 a.m. and I was done at 10:45 a.m.

My uncle was supposed to fetch me at 11:00 after mountain biking.  I had no cellphone or watch with me since it was not allowed during the exam.  I just waited after all the other examinees left.  It turned out that one of the guys my uncle was biking with had a flat tire and in mountain biking, no man is left behind.  I was not nervous that I was not going to be picked up (again, I had no phone or money).  I knew I just had to wait.

In the afternoon, we went to Legoland with my cousins.

The exam had 60 multiple questions, only 50 of which were graded (but you won't know what).  I know I did my best.  I have read that some people overstudied for it but others pointed out not to take it for granted. 

Results were out just this week.  I knew it was going to be released this week, 5 weeks after the exam.  I wasn't sure what date though but any day during the week.  I was trying to search for #mpre over twitter and voila!  I saw some tweets saying they're so happy they passed!  My heart was really beating so fast.  I logged in my account and saw my score:

Before you get excited, that's not a perfect score!  The highest is 150 (scaled scoring) and the lowest was 50.  The score required for the New York jurisdiction (it varies in every state) was 85.  So, yes .. I passed it!!!!

Thank you Lord!

Thank you for my aunt, my uncle and their whole family for accommodating me.  I thank them for their support and their faith in me that I could make it (that's why they made the most of my stay in San Diego, even during the night before my exam!)

Thank you to my ever supportive mommy .. as in! Wala na akong masabi!

I am indeed lucky with my family and relatives and passing this exam.  I could not have done it without God's grace.

I hope my luck will continue with the results this November.