Liberation!
Ah, the ecstacy of completion. As soon as I darkened the Question 200 bubble with my No. 2 lead pencil, I was frickin' FREE! One part of me wanted to whoop it up and high-five-body-slam my seatmates, but the atmosphere was one of restraint. People were filing out and packing up their stuff all too quietly, sedately, seriously for my taste.
What a far cry from the last few minutes of the 1994 Bar, when you could hear all the different college bands striking up in the distance and you couldn't wait to rush out into the congratulatory wave of well-wishers. The Polytechnic University, the site of the '94 exam, leads out into a narrow street - and that's where the throngs of bar supporters parked themselves at. I was intoxicated even before I reached the UP station in the middle of the road: the Silliman people (I'd competed earlier that year in a debate at their school) accosted me with several shots of tequila as I made my way past. More drinking to come thereafter (I think we went for lots of beers and pizza and a loud band at Chatterbox), and the next succeeding days. Good times!
Fast forward to post-NY Bar 2008. Good thing that my sis Lea and I tested at the same location; we celebrated with a big dinner at Korea Town, then headed back home for a quiet evening. No tequila for me, just several well-deserved beers (yum); and no raucous well-wishers, just several phone calls, local and overseas, from my support network of family and friends. And then sleep, wonderful, peaceful, uneventful sleep!
Today I had more sleep (a little nap after waking up, he he), and then set off to explore the nooks and crannies of the Big Apple. I walked up and down West Broadway to buy stuff at a few specialty food stores (bagels, boursin, and brie! Tarush...), bought a tonload of (non-law related!!) books at Strand, did some midtown pasalubong shopping, got me some Chinese takeout, lugged everything back home on the subway...and now I'm enjoying the fruits of my "labor." "Enjoy" is the operative term: now that the Bar is over and done with and I don't have to think about another legal doctrine, element, or principle, I can actually begin to enjoy New York City, and the US, for that matter. Bar none, it's about time!
1 comment:
Wonderful, you made it! As you enjoy the Big Apple, we will start to feel pinch on Sunday for another subway/bus fare hike. Have fun in the city (in spite of the snowy forecast tonight) and hope to see you before you leave for Chicago. I will see you back in Manila otherwise. And don’t forget to e-mail me the information on the "art of cooking" lesson for my housekeeper.
Post a Comment