The Bar, Sisyphus, and Redemption

There's a part in Dante's Purgatorio in which Sisyphus -- son of the king Aeolus of Thessaly and Enarete, and the founder and first king of Ephyra -- rolls a rock up a hill for all eternity to expiate for his sins. Actually, he rolls the rock up the hill a ways, only to see it roll back down, causing Sisyphus to start all over again.

I've felt like Sisyphus over the last few months. Studying for the bar for hours on end, and still not understanding the basics of commercial paper, was oddly akin to rolling that rock up the hill and then watching it roll away.

Well, my Sisyphean task is done. I have passed the New Mexico bar! The rock is gone, and I have entered Paradiso. It's been a long journey, and I'm eternally grateful to Demaree for shepherding me through. Hopefully, some day, Sisyphus will know the joy of casting off his rock and reaching the summit of his hill.

Dante & the Bar Exam

So, we (Dem, Elliot, and I) are nearing the completion of our time apart. In about a week, I will have finished the bar exam, and will have arrived in Midland, Texas. At that point, finally, we'll be together as a family again. It'll be the first time I will have seen Elliot in five weeks; and, considering he's only eight months old, that means I have missed a good chunk of his life. Needless to say, the reunion will be joyful.

Until then, however, the bar exam intrudes on my thoughts every moment. Never would I wish it on my worst enemy (be he commie, fascist, or Dennis Kucinich, a.k.a., Gollum)












to spend twelve to fourteen hours per day studying contracts, property, torts, con law, crim law, admin law, wills, trusts, corporations, agency, partnership, evidence, sales, indian law, secured transactions, civil procedure, etc.

Honestly, I wake up at night thinking about the definition of burglary -- the breaking and entry at nighttime of the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a felony inside the dwelling. How messed up is that?! And, if I'm feeling particularly boring while asleep, I'll conjure up some res ipsa loquitor, which contains the following exciting requirements: (1) Demonstrate the accident is not the type that normally happens in the absence of negligence, and (2) negligence is attributable to defendant (normally demonstrated by showing defendant was in exclusive control of that instrumentalities that caused the accident).

In light of how the bar so thoroughly depletes one's humanity, I expect to see the following engraved above the bar exam entrance in Albuquerque: Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate [Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here]. This is, of course, part of the famous inscription above the gates of hell in Dante's Inferno. Upon entering the gates, Dante sees all number of teeth curling monstrosities. My only question is: Is what Dante saw worse than what I will see in six days? I doubt it. My bet is Dante's horrors ain't got nothin' on the bar.