Randomness

[panyasan]

Escriba, I am sorry to hear that you didn't pass your exam, but as you said - you learned a lot and next time you will succeed.

[justTripn]

OH NO, Escriba, I'm sorry. Alt least you'll know what you getting into next time, right?

As far as what happened on the train, here in the U.S. it doean't matter what you look like or what you have with you, TSA (Our Airport Security) is guaranteed to scan you , make you take off your shoes, etc. It doesn't matter if you're a shady looking terrorist type or an 85 year old grandma. This is the world we live in now.

Anyway, I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it all.

Yes, in the U.S. it doesn't matter who you are. When I went to Jamaica, they selected my 80-something year old grandma (actually my husband's grandma) who has one leg for the 5 minute pat down. She came away totally pleased because they told her she couldn't possibly be that old, she looked 60, and they were totally shocked to learn she had one leg. They didn't realize until they asked her to take off her shoe.

But the tickets themselves are randomly marked so we know the selection for inspection is random.

I'M SORRY Escriba! But I enjoyed the story and am glad to hear you are in such good spirits. Over here, no one ever passes the bar exam the first time either. You will get there.

Bluetiger, Silverbullet, and Warpgirl, it is so good to get new enthusiastic writers and posters. Triaxian Silk would shrivel up and die without you.

[justTripn]

Bluetiger, Silverbullet, and Warpgirl, it is so good to get new enthusiastic writers and posters. Triaxian Silk would shrivel up and die without you.

WHOOPs and Aikiweezie!

Always dangerous to start with these lists.

[Asso]

OK, people, I came back! And I flunked the exam Yes, depressing. The Institutions of the European Union beat me. It's official: I hate the EU! But not everything is lost, I've learned from this experience. This was my first time and now I know how it goes and I'll be less nervous next time.

And I can make a funny narration of what happened too You know how I love to tell humorous tales. To make things clearer, I'm going to write in blue my inner (usually sarcastic) thoughts (this time inner. My big mouth is universally known )

I expected a calm trip by train. And I was having it, except for the fact that they were showing "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" by Uwe Boll Anyway, I was reading the Criminal Code (yes, my life is pathetic) when three young men entered into my car. One of them stayed in the front part and the other two went to the back and stopped just behind me. I was with earplugs so I didn't know what they were saying. I figured that they were waiting for the bathroom and when more time elapsed I thought they would be acquaitances with one of the guys behind me. Suddenly one of them bent toward me and told me something. I took the earplugs off.

ME: What?
MAN: Identification, please.
ME: Who the hell do you think you are, a damn policem--- (I saw the badge he was holding) Oh, my God! He is! Yes, sir.
I showed my ID to him.
POLICEMAN: Are you traveling to Madrid?
ME: And what if I lie? Do you have a lie detector? Yes, to Madrid.
POLICEMAN: May I inquire the purpose of your trip?
ME: Why, yes, Soval. I intend to enter into Moncloa, kill the President, his wife and children, call the King posing as the President, set a date with him in a solitary place, then kill him and declare Spain a Republic. How does it sound? I'm going to do a state exam.
POLICEMAN: (while his comrade is writting my personal details in a block) Is it today?
ME: No, tuesday. By the way, now that I notice it. You've gone directly to the two guys behind me. One is obviously Arab and the other is South American. And now you ask me, the Basque girl. Is something wrong with me? Not that I'm paranoic or anything. Because I have nothing to be paranoic about. I hope you don't begin to delve into my family members, though.
POLICEMAN: For what is the exam?
ME: And now, for my next trick, I'm going to blow the mind of a policeman To be a Judge And the Russian judge gives her 9.4 in the Bewilderment Scale
POLICEMAN: (a little pale) Oh. That's great.
ME: Yeah, someday I might be your boss. Hah! Then you'll regret thinking that I was a terrorist. It's the hooded sweatshirt, isn't it? Because somebody in a hooded sweatshirt must be suspicious. Yes, because when you're a terrorist you want to look like one. Because all terrorists have bear and wear sunglasses and a sweatshirt with the slogan "I'm a very dangerous terrorist and I have a bomb with me." How easy is your job, man. Yeah, well, I have to pass the exam first.
POLICEMAN: It's a national level exam?
ME: Yes. It's in the Supreme Court. So more police than there... And by the way, how much time does anybody need to write some personal details? Is your comrade mentally handicapped? Because you know, I think that the integration of handicapped people it's great but maybe somebody faster should write the damn details.

At last, they wrote my personal details, gave me my ID back and whished me luck (that was sort of nice.) And then they left the car. I was right, they asked the Arab, the South American and the Basque girl with the hooded sweatshirt

I arrived at Madrid and went to my acommodations, which were in Chueca. The gay district. And hence, the more secure place for women in all Madrid. I like it, it's small, peaceful and full of life and shops. The bad thing is that you see dozens of gay couples, so gorgeous and well dressed and smelling like Heaven and you feel really, really, ugly and without style.

Anyway. Once I left my belongings I walked to the Supreme Court to get used to the idea of how much time I needed to arrive there and how it was et al. It's huge. Beautiful and huge I walked near the building for a while, with the paper where I wrote the indications, and wearing my hooded sweatshirt and attracting the attention of the policemen in the zone with my suspicious behaviour. It wasn't my day

I studied that day and the next and on Tuesday I went to the Supreme Court. I went one hour earlier, so I had to went back to my accommodations because the guards told me the place was closed until 4:00 pm (this is outrageous, it's a public service!) I came back to the huge, huge Supreme Court and entered. The guards gave me a beautiful pass (in blue) with the word "opositor" (candidate for a competitive examination) on it. If you go just as a friend or a family member the pass is yellow and it reads "companion" I found it amusing.

I waited until my turn. I was a nervous wreck. Seriously. On Sunday I took a shower with my underwear and my glasses on, I didn't sleep in two days and I didn't eat anything that same day. I know, I know, I should have eaten something. But I couldn't, I swear. At last, my chance came. I entered into the courtroom. The examining board (all Judges and one district attorney) was there. Our courtrooms are slightly different to US courtrooms. There is a rostrum in the back, where the Judges sit down, and other two, one at the right of the Judges and the other at their left, were the Prosecution and the Defense (one in front of the other) sit down. The accused sits down in a table in the middle of the three rostrums (where I had to sit down to make the exam, so I felt like a criminal suddenly.) The secretary was in the rostrum of the left and she asked for my ID. Once she checked my personal details, she took a little velvet bag or sack. It was then when I noticed it: there were five velvet sacks on the table, numbered from 1 to 5. Each one of them contains chips with the numbers of the lessons and you have to put your hand into the bag and take one.

Yes, it's exactly like a quiz show. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to present Alex Trebek! It was a little surreal Anyway, I took the five chips (one per bag.) That's how it goes: one lesson of Constitutional Law (from 31 possible lessons), two of Civil Law (from 98) and two of Criminal Law, General and Special part (from 66.)

Have you ever had this nightmare where you have to do a test and the teachers asks precisely all those lessons you don't know or you don't know so well? That was my exam. At each chip I was like:

First chip: lesson 31. Oh, sh-t! (Institutions of the European Union.)
Second chip: lesson 36. Oh, nononono... (Principles of the Land? Registry. I don't know what's the exact term in English.)
Third chip: lesson 90. What the hell is this? (The Bequest)
Fourth chip: lesson 5. OK, not so bad, but since I'm not going to get here... (The Concept of Action in the Criminal Law)
Fifth chip: lesson 36. (Crimes against the socioeconomic order. The Theft and the Robbery; for us they are two different concepts.)

Usually the last question, of Special Criminal Law, is the hardest. Lesson 36 is one of the easiest. I would have aced it. But since the first three were a complete hell (they're horrible, believe me) I didn't get there. I hardly passed the first question and couldn't say anything coherent in the second. I just couldn't remember anything, my mind went blank.

So they nicely told me to leave the room. After me there was another girl, but she didn't even begin her exam (she took out the chips and decided that she couldn't answer anything.) So the examining board was dismished for the day. And when all of us were outside I discovered that those people that had to examinate me I dreaded so much were in fact very nice (couldn't they tell me it earlier?!). And after discovering that the members of the examining board aren't ogres who wait for you to fail. I'm calmer. And very positive for the next try. Really. I think I can do it. I'm full of energy.

So, yes, I failed, but I've learned an important lesson

[WarpGirl]

JT you're so sweet.

[Escriba]

Thanks for the support guys!

I've been away these days, in a kind of a short holidays. I was convinced to go to the mountains by my friends. I don't like mountains, which is a little sad, since I live among them But I spent a really good time. And now I'm fit to start studying again.

Goodness, Escriba, you have a lot of tests to be a judge!

Actually, I think it's a fair system. I mean, being a judge is something serious, you have a lot of responsability, so the hardest the exams, the easiest to have the best people. I guess

The US system is different, because your law system is different. You work with precedents and that's why you need people with lot of years of experience (and hence, knowing a lot of different precedents) to be a judge. If I'm not wrong, in Holland the way to be a judge is something like a master's degree: only the best students of Laws can access to it and then they have to pass about three or five years of very hard studying to get the post.

The bad thing is that you see dozens of gay couples, so gorgeous and well dressed and smelling like Heaven and you feel really, really, ugly and without style.

Please. Style is for people who have money. If it doesn't make me look like a box (or worse, pregnant! but baby-doll is finally fading out of style), it fits, and it's on clearance, I'm happy.

I think you actually made a good point here

As far as what happened on the train, here in the U.S. it doean't matter what you look like or what you have with you, TSA (Our Airport Security) is guaranteed to scan you , make you take off your shoes, etc. It doesn't matter if you're a shady looking terrorist type or an 85 year old grandma. This is the world we live in now.

Anyway, I'm glad you have a sense of humor about it all.

Oh, we have that too. But at least that's normal police, you know, people with uniforms. The ones in the train were secret policemen. Actually, I always wondered how the police controlled this mean of transport. Europe doesn't have (mostly) frontiers now and it's easiest to travel by train than airplane (which has, as we know, more controls )

And this is something you learn to accept when you're Basque: you're going to be questioned by the police more than other people (except, of course, racial minorities, which have all the tickets in the raffle ) I take it calmly, really. Maybe I shouldn't (human rights and persumption of innocence and all that) but I do

[WarpGirl]

I think you're doing the right thing by taking it calmly. By showing other people dignity and respect even when they aren't treating you with any, you can possibly change their perceptions of you and other Basque people. So I applaud you.

This week has been awful to be a Bones fan, the Bones community is up-in-arms about Temperence again and I hate it. Booth is not a victim of a cold Witch, I wish "fans" and commentators would shut the H-E-Double-hockey-sticks UP!

[Escriba]

Against Temperance? After the "I love you in a professional atta girl kind of way" fiasco by Booth that made me stop watching the series for now? People is weird. I admit writers don't always write Tempy consistently (is she traumatized or does she have Asperger?) but I wouldn't call her a "witch with b." I mean, she's always been like this

[Alelou]

Okay, Escriba, the grieving is (hopefully) over, and I know you have a lot of studying to do, but here's the really important question: when do we get another chapter of Mirage?

(or Disruption for that matter...)

[WarpGirl]

Against Temperance? After the "I love you in a professional atta girl kind of way" fiasco by Booth that made me stop watching the series for now? People is weird. I admit writers don't always write Tempy consistently (is she traumatized or does she have Asperger?) but I wouldn't call her a "witch with b." I mean, she's always been like this

NO YOU CAN'T STOP WATCHIMG SOME AMAZING THINGS ARE STILL HAPPENING! Come back, come back, please oh please come back! I'm begging! Puppy eyes. As for the Trauma vs Asperger, I say it's BOTH! She's trying so hard you would not believe the progress she made last week. Start watching again please.

SPOILER!!!:

She gave Parker the keys to her building's pool!

Besides while Booth is a monumental idiot, and yes I'm am totally angry with him, it's really all Sweets' fault AGAIN! Really he should die and Gorden Gorden should take his place. That way he can fix Angela (tramp) Hodgins and the mess that is BB right now. Come on you didn't stop watching TnT when they were idiots, and they don't even have the good excuses BB have. Please don't give up.

[justTripn]

I can't remember on which thread I said I would begin ice hockey lessons, but it went well. I'm the oldest player in my beginners class, but also the only one in the group who has done this before, so for the time being I have a slim advantage. Maybe for two more lessons until these young athletes learn to skate I need to start running or something to get in condition. However there were many women at the arena playing on teams on other rinks, some of them my age. AND just today at work, I look down at my arm and their is this huge hockey bruise--to remind me how much fun I had, lol . . .

[Asso]

[WarpGirl]

Ah you go JT! Taking the stairs at work may help, that is if there is stairs. Walking to the coner for lunch, or a good old fashioned treadmill. Ah now I am reminding myself of Physical Therapy. Just keep having fun! And quit the minute you're not. BTW it was the Happy News thread!

[Aquarius]

I'm watching The New Guy for like the bazillionth time. So funny....it never gets old!!

[Aikiweezie]

I can't remember on which thread I said I would begin ice hockey lessons, but it went well. I'm the oldest player in my beginners class, but also the only one in the group who has done this before, so for the time being I have a slim advantage. Maybe for two more lessons until these young athletes learn to skate I need to start running or something to get in condition. However there were many women at the arena playing on teams on other rinks, some of them my age. AND just today at work, I look down at my arm and their is this huge hockey bruise--to remind me how much fun I had, lol . . .