I've opened a couple windows -- to air out the apartment and allow the cats to smell the smells.

They smelled the smells for a while then got bored and left the windows.

It's just gorgeous!

A little venting...

I have spent the last 2 hours filling out my application for the bar exam. For whatever reason, North Carolina feels the need to have 38 fucking pages of information about me. The few other states I've checked ask for maybe 10.

They want to know:
1. Every place I've ever lived
2. Every place I've ever worked
3. Every debt I have, to include student loans
4. Transcripts from every college I've attended
5. And a copy of every law school application I have submitted

So far, it seems reasonable, but they also want 4 character references and 8 regular references from people who have known me for several years but aren't a) relatives, b) supervisers, c) law students, d) in the same household, or e) mentioned anywhere else in the application. I don't think I know that many people.

I can not believe I am paying them $850 for the pleasure of filling out this insane amount of paperwork. And this is the easy part!!!

editted because I never get this formatting stuff right on the first try

Holy monkey balls, Steph.

Why does commercial fruit-flavored yogurt have so much sugar in it? I just mashed up some blackberries and mixed them up with some plain yogurt, no sugar, and it tasted so much better than regular blackberry yogurt where all you taste is sugar. I think next time I try this I'll put in a little bit of sugar, because it could use some, but really just a tiny bit.

Also, at Whole Foods today, they had Spinach Feta Latkes in the prepared foods section. I think that, once you put feta into something, you really can't still call it by a Yiddish name.

they also want 4 character references and 8 regular references from people who have known me for several years but aren't a) relatives, b) supervisers, c) law students, d) in the same household, or e) mentioned anywhere else in the application. I don't think I know that many people.

Wow. That's really insane.

Wow. That's really insane. Why don't they just have the FBI background check all the Bar Exam applicants -- wouldn't that be easier?

And, what happens if you don't have a copy of every law school to which you applied?

Anne that stinks regarding the taxes. My DH took a swipe at ours and thought we owed about $1000. I sat down with them and came up with a refund of about $2000. My numbers are prettier than his numbers (and I knew he was wrong, because he's been out of work since Sept.)

Nonian, IIRC, my bar application was about 32 pages, and also a pain. I remember getting a lot of information about the jobs I'd had, etc., off my old tax returns. It's a pain, but once you have this information all in one place, it ends up being quite useful, and you'll probably need it again if you apply for any kind of gov't job. For the character references I used my parents' neighbors, so they were able to say they'd known me for 20+ years.

When I went to my Fitness & Character interview, the interviewer was an attorney who represented a man accused of child molestation years before in a case on which my mother sat on the jury (the trial was 9+ months, there were several defendants, and she was sequestered for 2 weeks). I think she and I talked more about that trial than my fitness or my character. I will never, ever forget one little boy testifying. He was about 7, cute as anything, and the prosecutor was working her way up to the more difficult questions.

Q: Do you have a girlfriend?

A: No. Well... (big pause, big smile, blushing) Well, there's my mom.

Wow. That's really insane.

Yeah, it is. What bugs me the most is that I'm a pretty organized, record-keeping type person and some of this information, I truly don't have and I don't know a way to get it. I have financial records going back 5-7 years, but some of this stuff (like all my addresses in college) I just don't know.

It's probably not a big deal, but the form makes a big deal about how if you leave stuff off, they could use it against you in the future at some point. (as in "you lied by omission on your bar application so we are now going to sanction you."

As a comparison, my TOP SECRET DOD clearance was not anywhere near this in depth, nor did it take up this much paper.

I've scrolled through my entire address book now. Using friends, friends of parents, and a few law school professors, I'm only 1 reference short.

Oh, and did I mention that I have to go get fingerprinted?

And that I have to submit 2 copies, each double sided, and each notarized?

Can you imagine how pissed I'll be if I don't pass the actual test in July?

ETA: I guess as a silver lining, I can verify that if anyone needs an lawyer in NC, they have been thoroughly investigated before getting licensed.

I'm looking for fun thing to do on a date, and I got the idea to look for one of those movie theaters you hear about that serves dinner along with the movie. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time finding such a thing. I'm in the Los Angeles area, it shouldn't be that hard to find something like that since movies are the local pastime of choice, but no luck.

Any suggestions?

Nova's going on a date? You bastard.

A: No. Well... (big pause, big smile, blushing) Well, there's my mom.

Ohdeargod. My ovaries are doing a Mexican Jumping Bean dance in my pelvis.