today

I suppose I owe myself an LSAT chronicles update, but I had such a good time today that i don't want to think about that right now. The lime at MoJo's pulled me out of my funk in a splendiferous way. 

I told the husband, while we were on the bus to their house, that I was feeling a little melancholy. He offered to show me a big melancholy. I think that's when things started to turn around.

I thought, before that, I would have to turn it on. That would be hard to maintain, given how I was feeling. But John and Pie were already in such good moods, it was infectious. By the time we got there, I was happy to be outside in the sunshine.

Joe and Maureen's friends, many of whom I've never met, were terrific. I actually forewent the people I did know to chat with people I've never spoken to before. One couple took to Pie like ducks to water and we got on like a house on fire. Once we realized how much we had in common, I had to force myself to leave them to go talk to the people whom I did know. Then, the lime got even better with them because they had me laughing about all kinds of things. Especially Ryan. What a lovely guy.

Sometimes, it's hard to be myself here. Today, I just didn't think about it. I just wanted to be me and not think about what John would say or the LSATs or anything else.

I left with the couple we befriended, who offered in the absolute sweetest way to give us a lift home. Le Pie and the husband wanted to stay behind. Our original plan was to stay to watch the Yankees plays the Mets at Joe's but I was thinking about the rain and how great it was to get a ride home. But Pie really wanted to stay and John's pals put him up to asking to stay, so I left alone.

It was a good time riding home, talking with my new friends. Poor Jackson was climbing the walls to go outside when I got in at nearly 9 p.m. and, as sorry as I was to leave the lime and the game, I was glad I came home to walk and feed him.

Thank you and g'night.

shakespeare in the park - twelfth night

Anne Hathaway is not the only reason to see "Twelfth Night". I am sure her name is the draw, and she gives a wonderful performance as Viola/Cesario, but the rest of the cast is nothing short of amazing. Hathaway holds her own and she better, because the acting quality is fantastic.

I am not a fan of Shakespeare's comedies. I have always been drawn to the tragedies, my favorite being "King Lear". I also enjoy the histories, and they are my favorite to study. I first met "Twelfth Night" in 3rd form and I read it with my father. It was the only play we were to read together, as he passed away just after. "As You Like It" and "Much Ado About Nothing" came later in high school but I always found them overrated.

So, with a soft spot for "Twelfth Night", I joined a virtual line to get tickets to see the play. It's a random choosing so I was very lucky to get tickets on Wednesday. I was so excited. I went to pick them up just after 6 but they didn't let people into the Delacorte Theater until 7:45, so it was a wait. And with the monsoon weather we've been having, it was a wait with my heart in my throat.

I thought I dressed well for the weather. I wore a sweater over my tank and took my raincoat and umbrella. But it was still cold. Very cold. People brought blankets and I wished I'd thought of that but I was a Shakepeare in the Park novice. People around me commented that it was much better this way than when it is muggy and hot because it just feels uncomfortable with so many people.

I got a seat at the end, near the aisle, with a terrific view of the stage. I'll post some pictures over on Facebook a little later. You weren't supposed to take pix but I had no flash on my camera phone, so I got some before the play started. I wanted to take a couple of the actors while the light was still good but there were a lot of ushers around me so I didn't get the chance. Besides, when the play started, I didn't want to do anything else.

I do not think I have ever laughed so hard with this play. The interpretation was hilarious and the actors used the language as if they spoke it every day of their lives. It reminded me of "Romeo + Juliet" when Claire Danes screams "My only love sprung from my only hate!" It was a way of hearing the words leap off the page and make you forget it was written nearly 500 years ago.

It was Hamish Linklater who ran away with the show with his portrayal of Sir Andrew Aguecheek. He was delightfully foppish and brought a wickedly funny and, dare I say, sympatheic element to the naive and manipulated Aguecheek. I never like Aguecheek in the play and never warmed to him in any other production I've ever seen. But this time, I laughed so hard, I cried whenever he was on stage.

It wasn't just what he said, it was all the little non-scripted actions and nuances that Linklater brought to the character that made him endearing. I found myself longing for him to return to the stage, despite the fact that I knew exactly what was going to happen. I wanted to see him fall, frown, and hear him whine in his high-pitched voice that never managed to become annoying. He wore a long, flaxen wig and I wanted to die everytime he flipped his hair.

He was given every opportunity to shine with the bawdy and ridiculously funny antics of Maria, Sir Toby Belch and Feste, with Fabian (Jon Patrick Walker) joining in for good measure. Julie White, a tiny thing, gave Maria a jauntiness and life to her mischief. Jay O. Sanders played Sir Toby and swung his bulk around with ease. He and White had terrific chemistry on stage and if I found it unbelieveable that Sir Toby and Maria got married in the play, I didn't feel that way this time. Their interaction was as much courtship as it was to create high jinks.

The Fool sings a great deal in the play and David Pittu was ideally cast as Feste. His voice was nothing short of divine. He sings a song for Orsino (Raul Esparza), who joins in as Viola/Cesario looks on in pain, and he, too, has an amazing voice. The songs, and the vocals, added another dimension to the entertainment that I didn't expect. Just to sit back and enjoy someone's magnificent voice was delightful.

Hathaway sang in her first scene as Cesario and she is always a treat to hear. Audra McDonald, as Olivia, only joins in during the last song but just a few notes of her lovely operatic voice is enough.

Speaking of McDonald, she brought a sweet girlishness to the role of Olivia. She giggled and twirled and the delicious look on her face when she thought there were two Sebastians had me falling out of my seat.

And couldn't leave out Michael Cumpsty, in the funny but thankless role of the unfortunately-named Malvolio. His letter-reading scene was hysterically funny, as was his appearance in yellow stockings with cross-garters. Words cannot do justice to that image. That he had to pause to let the audience's laughter die down in both those scenes, should give some idea.

The rain held off until the very end, when a light drizzle started during the last song, which includes a line about the "wind and the rain". When Feste sang it, he looked up and laughed and got a rousing round of applause, deservedly.

It was a delightful performance. I didn't realize I knew most of the dialogue until I sat down and "season'd a brother's dead love" took me back to Roydon Salick's Shakespeare I. Ahhh, the memories.

So, if you're in New York between now and July 12, I recommend lining up, online or physically, to get your free tickets and enjoy Shakepeare in the Park - Twelfth Night. I can guarantee you will enjoy yourself hugely.

potato love

Last night, I was still too tired to make real dinner so I went to one of my favorite easy go-to meals for the guys: eggs!

Pie loves breakfast food at dinner and I made him a hot dog omelet with toast with butter and jam and a cup of honey vanilla chammomile tea. There was nothing left when he was done.

For John, I had a couple of boiled potatoes left over from potato salad I made earlier this week, so I cut them up and sauteed them in some olive oil. I added some Mrs Dash all-purpose seasoning and some dill and served them over a lovely, puffy omelet. He loved it.

He asked me what I put in the eggs and I said, "love". He gave me a John-look and I told him what else I put in it. He wandered around the kitchen a bit and then pulled up a stool by my legs and gave me puppy-dog-John and asked me to make him some more of the potatoes, just the way I made them. "And don't forget the love," he said. I reminded him how he scoffed at my love earlier, but he looked so cute so I got up.

There was only one half of a potato left and he gave Pie a taste, who almost died dead at how good it tasted. John found a cuter face than his own and just gave him the rest. Somehow, it got the name "potato love" and exortations were made to Mummy to please make more. But I wasn't going to boil potatoes at that hour, especially since I was so tired. I promised to make more today.

Pie has a school picnic today and it's pot luck. We're taking some pesto pasta from FreshDirect. It has always been a big hit at our parties. There is probably going to be a ton of food for the kids so it would be nice for the grown-ups to enjoy something that is not a mini-hot dog.

So the delivery came this morning and Pie saw the potatoes in the box. I had forgotten all about yesterday. It happens at 6:30 in the morning, what can I say? Anyhoo, he didn't forget and reminded me I have to make "potato love" for him today. Who can refuse?

the lsat chonicles - test prep

Even though the results are not out for the June LSAT as yet, I wanted to write a little more about the test prep class I took and how it differed from when I was doing it on my own.

(I found this little gem after I started at Kaplan, and it was very helpful for both LSAT prep and law school admissions. I really couldn't find a more comprehensive blog about the LSAT anywhere else, and I really looked.)

I started my own prep late last year. I bought a Kaplan 2009 prep book and got it going with a friend. It was slow going. If I'd found Steve's blog at that time, I could have used some of the study methods he set out, but I was just plodding along.

I took a couple of prep tests in the meantime. One from and Kaplan and one from Princeton Review. I finished all the sections (there were no writing samples on these tests and only four sections) and scored the exact same on both. They were not bad scores for someone doing the test for the very first time but all of my work was instinct and not really based on any understanding of what I was doing.

Reading Comprehension was the easiest for me, but I read entire passages and absorbed everything. Logic Games and Logical Reasoning were pretty foreign and I wasn't always sure what I was doing.

I began to do some research into prep classes. I very quickly ruled out all but the big two. I chose Kaplan because the other one was just disorganized. They also didn't use real LSAT questions. I also went to a seminar they hosted and the woman kept pronouncing "recommendation" as "reeCOMendation" although she pronounced "recommend" correctly. That really grated on my every nerve.

I attended a couple of Kaplan seminars and was pleased with what I saw. I signed up for Kaplan Extreme and began my journey to law school in ernest.

I really got a lot out of the course. Every section was broken down and every question type identified. That alone was so much help. In the actual test, I found myself automatically identifying question type in LR and knowing exactly what to look for. Even better, I could rule out answer choices immediately.

I discovered a more constructive way to take the test. The word "triage" is now stuck in my brain. Tutor himself carved a space in my head for that because he never let us forget how important it was to take a minute and look at the games and RC passages and determine the order in which they should be done. At first I thought this was done by personal choice, but not so. By the actual test, it was automatic and became a part of time-management.

Not to say that there wasn't a pitfall. The LG section in the June 2009 test was no picnic and there was no way around doing what I did. I didn't finish and that killed me. I have no idea how I put that mess behind me and carried on, but I did. For the record, dinosaurs suck!

But there was no question I was better prepared for even that on the day of the test than people who studied on their own. The guy next to me and the number of people canceling their scores were evidence of that.

At the same time, being better prepared might not translate into a good score. Much like the politician in "The Suffrage of Elvira", I don't want to jinx myself. I have no idea how I did. Some mornings I wake up and feel very good about everything, even fucking dinosaurs. And other mornings I wake up and wonder if I should sign up for the September test now.

my autobiography in point form

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Where did you take your Facebook profile picture? It's one of my wedding pix.

What exactly are you wearing right now? Slacks, tank and short-sleeved hoodie.

What is your current problem? Waiting on LSAT scores and wondering if we can afford to give Pie the summer vacation I'd like him to have.

What makes you happy most? Hearing John and Pie play; reading; doing absolutely nothing at all.

What song are you listening to at the moment? Richard Attenborough's narration of the jungle part of "Planet Earth".

Ever sang in front of a large audience? If a parang session in high school counts, then yes.

Do you still watch kiddy movies or kiddy TV shows? I have a 6-year-old, so very yes.

Do you speak any languages? A liitle Spanish and French and a few words in Hindi.

Has anyone you’ve been really close with passed away? Yes

What’s something that really annoys you? My husband.

Chapter 1:
===============
1. Middle name: Now it's Maharaj.

2. Nicknames: Maude, Bones, Pmaha, Pet.

3. Current location: Apt in NY, NY.

4. Eye color: Dark brown.

Chapter 2:
===============
1. Do you live with your parent(s)? No.

2. Do you get along with your parent(s)? After a fashion.

3. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? My mother is widow.

4. Do you have any Siblings? Five.

Chapter 3: Favorites
===============
1. Ice Cream: Ben and Jerry's Stephen Colbert-inspired ice cream.

2. Season: Blistering hot summer.

3. Shampoo/conditioner: Head and Shoulders and St Ives.

Chapter 4: Do You..
===============
1. Dance in the shower? Yes, in spite of slipperiness and previous injury caused by said slipperiness.

2. Do you write on your hand? Yes.

3. Call people back? Yes..

4. Believe in love? Yes.

6. Any bad habits? One or two.

Chapter 5: Have You..
===============
1. Broken a bone: No.

2. Sprained stuff: My wrist.

3. Had physical therapy: Yes.

4. Gotten stitches: Yes.

5. Taken painkillers: Yes.

6. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling: No.

7. Been stung by a bee: Bee, no. Wasp, yes.

8. Thrown up at the dentist: No.

9. Sworn in front of your parents: My mother, yes.

10. Had detention: Once, with my whole class in high school. We had to clean all the benches.

Chapter 6: Who/What was the last
===============
1. Movie(s): Star Trek (and it was AWESOME!)

2. Person to text you: My former next-door neighbor.

3. Person you called: The husband.

4. Person you hugged: The husband.

5. Person you tackled: The Pie.

6. Person you talked to on AIM/iChat: Anu on Google Chat.

7. Thing you touched: Seeing as how I'm typing I suppose that would be the keyboard of my laptop.

8. Thing you ate: A bowl of Maggie Chicken Noodle Soup.

9. Thing you drank: Cuppa coffee.

10. Thing you said: To the husband: Have a super-fabulous day.

Chapter 7: Future
===============
1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Hopefully employed.

2. Where do you hope to live? Eventually, in France.

3. Do you want to be famous? Only if I can be fabulously wealthy.

just so tired

I feel so mentally exhausted. My body feels so mashed up, like I got drunk and slept in a drain the night before. I just want to sleep. I couldn't even stay up to watch the game last night, even though I had slept a good part of the day away. Even today, I don't feel much better.

I'm also not over the LSAT mindset that I've developed over the last few weeks. It feels weird not doing the work every day.

I did get some movies from the library and put back the books I took off reserve or returned without finishing over the last month. Netflix comes back up next week. I still have the admissions to work on but I did a lot before and don't plan to do anything until I get my score, so I have about 3 weeks off.

I'm hoping my energy is restored by this weekend because I'd like some Mummy and Pie time. He is so happy I do not have class anymore. We've started reading Harry Potter at night and he decided he wanted to read on by himself. We didn't do that with the "Regarding the..." books because neither of us had read those before. Since I have read all the Harry Potters, I told him to go ahead. It is wonderful for me to see my six-year-old walking around with "The Sorcerer's Stone" and reading it on the bus.

the lsat chronicles - the test

I feel mentally drained. I haven't felt this way since LG took over the Guardian as editor-in-chief. But not even the mental workouts from those days was enough to prepare me for how I would feel this morning. I'm spazzing out even as I type this.

John's friend Michelle, who is a lawyer and has been through all of this before, offered to drive me to the test and wait there for me until I was done. I was so grateful and I really hope I can do that for someone one day because it was a huge help to see a familiar face during the break and after the test. Plus, I had no idea that I'd really want to talk about it so much and it was good to be able to do that with someone who knew exactly what I was talking about when I said, "I hoped section 1 was the experimental section because I didn't get to finish one of the games and had to guess-bubble!" More about that in a bit.

So she picked me up at 11 because I had to get to Queens College in Flushing, Queens, for 12:30. John walked out with me to meet her and pointed out her snazzy car with the top down. It was my first time riding in a car like that and I wish I could have enjoyed the experience a bit more. Michelle was wonderfully distracting, keeping up a steady stream of conversation but I was very reticent. I was not nervous, just kind of numb.

We got there in plenty of time and joined the rest of the gallon-bag holders on the 4th floor of the Student Union Bldg. Luckily, it was the place where I was supposed to be because I didn't know there was another floor of test-takers. And neither did a lot of other test-takers. 

The LSAC people did not label the rooms properly and there was a lot of confusion. I was on a floor with a ballroom and the two sides of it were labeled Ballroom East and Ballroom West. The sign put up by the LSAC was A-Goldberg in Room 404 and Grant to L in Room 410. But there were no rooms 404 and 410, just Ballrooms East and West. Plus, no note about where everybody else who didn't fall into A-L was supposed to go.

So I asked the supervisor (she was easy to pick out because she yelled at everybody and was pretty condescending) where were the rooms we were supposed to go to. She said, "Read the notice." I said, "Em, I CAN read but the rooms here do not say 404 and 410 but Ballrooms East and West." I spoke very slowly and deliberately.

She looked up and realized I was right. She then pointed to the left for 404 and to the right for 410 and left. No apology and no announcement. I had to shout out to the crowd of poor test-takers, all of who were wondering the same as me, where to go.

The procters were just the biggest joke of all. Not one of them looked a day under 60. There were 3 in my room and 2 of them had canes. One had 2 canes. The one-cane lady was wonderfully inefficient and I wondered if it was her first time. 

The main procter in my room was the 2-cane man. He called for all the Gs to come inside. So all the people with the last name G went inside. Then they came back out because the supervisor threw them out. We had to get finger-printed first outside. One-cane lady was doing the printing and she said to line up with the Gs first, then the Hs and so forth. One girl asked her if we're supposed to guess everyone's name. It was a fair question. Why couldn't she just call out the letters? 

There were only a small handful of Gs, so I went in very quickly. The main proctor checked your ticket against your ID and the LSAC list and you were escorted to your assigned seat. I got to sit in the second row, on an end next to a window. Awesome! There were 3 rows of 2-seat tables, so it was very roomy and comfortable, especially being up in front.

At first everyone was very quiet, but seeing that it was only 12:45 and we didn't expect to start the test till 2, people began to talk. I had a lovely seatmate, a nice guy who happened to work as an intellectual property paralegal. We had lots to talk about. It took us a while to get going, but once we discovered we had something in common, we couldn't shut up. He studied for the test on his own so he quizzed me about Kaplan. I gave him a couple of tips but he looked pretty bummed out by the end of the test and told me he was going to take a class for September.

It took a long time to get started. Two people were in the room who were Rs and there was a lot of fuss about leaving them there or sending them back and then getting books for them and putting them on the list... It caused a long delay and those poor people had to go through a lot. One of them canceled his score before the writing sample. Poor guy. By the end of the test, 9 people out of my room of 68 canceled their score. 

That took so long that people had to go to the bathroom. Before we went inside the supervisor told us to go before we went into the room because once we sat down we wouldn't be allowed to go back out and would have to wait until section 2. But the main procter was nice enough to let one girl go. Then a guy said if he let her go, the guy should too, so he went. The MP said that 10 people shouldn't go at once because we're about to get started. So about 15 people got up and rushed to the bathrooms! I know I felt much more comfortable when I came back. We were still nowhere near to starting.

They finally got round to handing out the test books. Then they had to come round and check ID and take down your test book number. Then we bubbled in our info on the answer sheet and got into test mode. I had already turned my watch to 12:00 (so I could time my sections) and there was no clock in the room so I had no idea what time it was. The procter said he would only give us a 5-minute warning and we'd get a 15-minute break. They adopted the "if I can't see your cellphone then you don't have one" attitude, so a couple of people switched off their phones and kept it in their pockets. We were given severe warning about if they heard any kind of electronic noise coming from a test-taker, that person would be escorted out immediately and their book taken away and their name flagged. I had already given mine to Michelle.

At last, we got started. My first section was Logic Games and it was very hard. I wasn't at all happy. Not once have I not been able to get to all the games and this time I didn't get to the last game and had to guess-bubble C for all those questions. I did manage to work out the first answer and I know I got it right and did change my C to the correct choice on my answer sheet, but it was a lot of questions to miss. 

That was a tough way to start. I was hoping LG would be the first section and was very happy to see that it was. I just felt that I could get a better handle on the test that way. Despite the missed questions, I didn't falter and just put it out of my mind when I got to section 2.

Section 2 was Logical Reasoning and I thought I handled it well. I identified every question type, worked through the section exactly as I had been doing for the last 3 months and left the longer and harder questions for last. I answered every question and was pleased when it was over.

Section 3 was another Logic Games section and hope reared in my heart that the first section would be the experimental section. I totally killed those games and was so happy at the end. I thought it was the easiest games section I had ever done. However, after the test, my seatmate and I got to chatting about the sections and he got two Reading Comprehension sections and one LG and I had it the other way around. And his LG sounded a lot like my first LG section. Okay, exactly like it. I did forget a lot by then so I could be mistaken but I was pretty sure the dinosaur question he mentioned was in my first and not third section.

But during the break (where I was surprised to discover it was 4 o'clock) I was unaware of all of this and was pretty happy. I took my chocolate bar, banana and water bottle out to Michelle, who got to wait in the lobby right outside my test room, and chatted with her for a bit. We weren't allowed to talk about the test so I told her I would tell her the funny stories later. I went back in, ready to kill what I knew must be coming: another LR section and the Reading Comp.

And conquer them I did. I was very happy with RC. The humanities was the comparative passages and for the first time I thought the humanities passage was the hardest one. But I was very familiar with the terms (thank God for the degree in English Lit) and at least knew what the writers were saying. But even for me it was tough to pick out what they had in common because it really looked like they were presenting very separate things. 

I actually did that first and I know my Tutor would kill me because just the day before he said we should do the two-passage questions 3rd or 4th. But, in my triage of the section, there were 2 tougher-looking passages about fractal geometry and something else. I forget now but it was the natural sciences one. 

Once I figured out what the humanities passages were talking about (Willa Cather's style), I felt it was smooth sailing and finished well before the 8.5 minutes we're supposed to allot per passage.

I then did the law passage, which was again easy. I had finished 2 passages in 15 minutes and could take my time with fractal geometry and natural sciences. Fortunately, they were much easier than I anticipated and I should have left the humanities for last. But I was able to finish with plenty of time to spare and went back to look over the Willa Cather passages and was happy with my answers.

By the end of the 5th section, they had managed to get the a/c turned off. When I sat down, all those hours before, I didn't feel warm at all and was getting a nice breeze through the window. But I guess people in the middle didn't feel so comfortable and just as we were about to start section 1, the a/c came on. By the end of section 1, we were all test-taking icicles.

People complained at the break and the procters did try to get it turned off. Just after the start of section 4, they made an announcement that the engineers had gone home and they would re-open the windows to get some of the warmer air circulate. It didn't work but someone did get it turned off.

I have to say, I really zoned out the cold during the test. I tried my best to take tests during not-perfect circumstances and I thought this one was the best test environment I ever had. It was only at the end of a section I realized my fingers were blue. Once I was in a section, though, I was oblivious to everything but what was in front of me. That also made me feel pretty good.

The writing sample was the last section and that I did with my eyes closed. I didn't even need the scratch paper. Then it was over. The procters got into a tussle over someone leaving the room before time was called and the one-cane lady and the 2-cane guy really went at it. I got to hear most of it as I was done with my writing sample as it happened. It was very funny but distracting. The MP didn't turn the mike off and everyone could hear what they were saying. They were really kind of badly-behaved.

Michelle said that the procters in the next room were worse. Three of them stood at the back talking in loud voices. 

It took a long time for them to count the papers before they let us leave. One-cane lady was so mad, you see it. She had to keep re-counting because she was so angry she kept losing count. It didn't help that two-cane guy kept going at her for the guy who left. I have no idea how she could have stopped him from leaving. SHE WALKS WITH A CANE! It took her four tries to get her count to match with the others. 

Then we got to leave. Amen. Michelle and I went looking for something to eat and wound up at a cute place called Prohibition around 85th and Amsterdam. We were going to Jackson Hole, which is right next door, but we stopped to look at Prohibition's menu and were sold.

I had a frozen cosmopolitan to celebrate being done with the test. I texted Tutor the bare bones of the experience and then ate like it was the first time. I was so hungry I about inhaled 2 of the mini burgers on my plate. I slowed down over the fries and then exhaled. Michelle asked me if I was ok and I said I think I was done. I just came to a full stop. We laughed hard over our meal and I took the remaining 2 mini-burgers home for John, because I couldn't eat anything anymore.

Michelle dropped me home, I kissed my sleeping Pie (who peppered me with questions this morning to make sure I wasn't going back to school until next year) and yapped with John for a bit before showering and hitting the bed. He came in later and gave me a back rub and I fell asleep.

I'm still pretty wiped this morning but I got up to take the kid to school so John could sleep late. We still have some issues with the upstairs lights so an electrician is coming this morning. Life goes on as the 3-week wait for scores begins.

the lsat chronicles - the morning of

It was tough getting to sleep last night. John got me 2 games for my phone so I stayed up, trying to relax, by playing a lot of Solitaire. I eventually got out of bed around 10, ate a banana and made a cup of hot, peppermint tea and went back to bed.

That meant it was tough getting out of bed this morning. But a Pie has to go to school, so I managed. I took him to school this morning, thinking that being outside would be a good idea. And it was. It was very mind-clearing.

My darling husband allowed me to convince him to work from home today. We are having some kind of electrical issue in the upstairs living room and kitchen and Javier is here trying to fix it. I don't think any of us anticipated he'd still be here nearly 2 hours later, so I am glad John is here.

My test-day buddy is going to pick me up at 11 and there's no turning back. I have already decided, barring some kind of freak disaster, I will not be canceling my score. I am just going to do the best I can, use the Kaplan method and breathe.

the lsat chronicles - 2 days before

We had our last in-class test today. Nothing has changed. I wish I was doing better.

Tomorrow is my birthday. My mother-in-law came today and we went to Ollie's for dinner. I was happy, because I wanted to go there tomorrow for lunch. Now, I am glad I am not going anywhere tomorrow. I am going to buy a very small cake and come home and celebrate with John and the Pie and then hit the bed till Monday.

My MIL also gave me some lovely birthday presents. She gave me a ring that her mother gave to her and she told me she wanted me to have it now. She rang me later to tell me that she didn't give me anything for my wedding so she wanted to give it to me now. She is so sweet. She also gave me a pair of earrings and a lovely little jewel box. She is a such a dear to me. I've encountered some lame mothers of boyfriends in my day, and she makes up for every single one of them. Especially the one I had to live with. The universe owed me for that one and I couldn't ask for better than Ki Hwang.

His grandma even took care of a present for me from the Pie. She gave him a picture holder for me the last time he spent the night at her house and he kept it hidden all this time. Not bad for the kid who cannot keep a secret.

My mom sent me some money, which I took and got myself a pedicure today. A nice Indian-wedding red to give me some good luck for Monday. I gave the Pie $5 out of it and he immediately went and got himself some ice-cream. Not much about saving, that kid.

So, in effect, the birthday celebrations are over and I must say, I am happy. Not that I don't wish for a party. My son asked me who is coming to my birthday and I told him I'm not having a party and he said, "it's like your birthday never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever existed." There were a lot more "evers".

Tomorrow, I go to my last LSAT class and then chill out till Monday. My test-day buddy is picking me up around 11 and she promised coffee. I have to arrive at the test center at 12:30 and I have no idea when I will be leaving. My friend said she is going to stay until it is over and since she is a lawyer and has been through this already, I think she is prepared for the possible long haul. I am so happy she will be there. It will be nice to see a friendly face after the test and no one from my LAST class will be at the center.

I am hoping something happens between now and Monday. I am identifying question types and cutting down on carelessness but I could stand to see some limited options and get the tougher LR questions right. It worries me that after all this time I cannot conquer those 12-23 set. And there's nothing I can do now to make it better.

So I wait for Monday. Wish me luck. And Happy Birthday! One doesn't turn 35 every day.