And We're Back

First the good news: Finished the bar exam.

Now the better news: I'm going to be a stay-at-home-dad.

And now the bad news: Actually, there is no bad news.  It's all good.

This is going to be a long post.

Subscriptions

First, apologies to my subscribers.  I broke the subscription system.  I fixed it again, but if you were subscribed before it's probably been lost.  You can fix it here:

Bar Exam

So, I took the bar exam again.  For the fourth time.  People always ask me "how'd you do?" and in the past I always answered, "If I knew what it took to pass this thing, I would have passed by now."  Well, this time was different.  Actually, last time was different.  On my third attempt, I was only five multiple choice questions away from passing (out of a three-day exam).  I had worked really hard--a lot harder than the first two times--but more importantly I worked smarter.  I strategized, I had a schedule, and I stuck to it.  I kept track of what I was doing.  I was also trying to hold down a job, which took time away from studying, and in the end I failed at both.  But when I got so close to passing, for the first time I realized what it really takes to pass this exam.

So this time, I did everything better.  I literally started studying the morning after I got my results.  I hired a (very expensive) tutor--a guy who had helped my buddy Rob pass last time.  (I'm waiting until I see my name on the pass list before I recommend him.)  I went to a psychologist to see if there were any mental blocks standing in my way (turns out there were).  And I didn't take a single day off (unless my tutor said I could).  My tutor's schedule was significantly more work than what I did last time, and I mostly kept up with it.  That meant not only fully memorizing every subject, but also doing a LOT more practice questions than I did last time.  Just like last time, I kept track of how much of each subject I had memorized, and this time my percentages were much higher.

Of course, I also had a kid in the middle of studying.  Not only did that punch a four-day hole in my schedule, but it became impossible to work at home afterwards (never mind the fact that my mother in law was here for two weeks).  So I adapted and found better places to study.  Yelena generously took care of the kid (including lots of waking up in the middle of the night) so I could get a good night's sleep so I could study better.  My tutor factored four lost days into my schedule, and I managed to (mostly) stay on track.

On the exam itself, I feel I did better.  I knew more of the material, and when I didn't know, I was able to make educated guesses.  You only need a 62% to pass.  On the multiple choice section, they love to test little random wrinkles of the law, such as the rule that character evidence is inadmissible in civil cases--except for four types of civil cases, where it's a required element.  That question came up on the bar exam and I knew the four exceptions.  I hit a lot of points like that.

So, now I wait until late May.  I'm still nervous--firstly, because it is a very hard test, and secondly, because if I fail again, I'm really not sure what I could do better next time.  I honestly believe I gave it my very best.  Here's hoping it was good enough.

Nathan

The baby's doing great.  He's grown a lot since I last posted photos.  Yes, I will upload more at some point.  I'm backlogged by about a year and a half at this point.  My first priority is Aaron & Julia's wedding.  Everything else will get done, I promise.  Stay tuned.

So, what's new with the baby?  Well, he's getting ready to say his first word.  He can say certain syllables, like "ma," "ba," and "ga."  When he had his shots he said "ow."  And when I sing to him, he goes "AH AH AH" like he's singing along.  When he's hungry he says "oogie" but that's not a real word.

He smiles.  Huge, happy smiles.

He's getting ready to crawl.  When he does tummy time, he lifts up his head and pushes himself up on all fours.  He can't quite crawl yet, but he can flop in the direction he wants to go.

He can follow motion and recognizes inanimate objects.  He LOVES his mobile and is entranced when the jungle animals move in and out of view.

He's a lot bigger.  At two months, he's already double his birth weight.  It usually takes kids six months to do that.  He's still below the curve for height and weight, but he is catching up.  And he's eating a LOT.

He's also sleeping through the night, which is AWESOME.  Yelena is a little jealous because he wasn't doing that when she was taking care of him.  Now I'm the one who's responsible for getting up in the middle of the night, but I've only had to do so a few times.  We put him to bed around 9 pm and he usually sleeps until around 7 am.  Babies don't usually do that until they're a lot older.

He's also a tough little guy.  He got his first round of vaccinations this week and he cried when the needle went in, but he calmed down immediately afterwards.  He was a little sore when we got him home (that's when he said "ow"), but a little Baby Tylenol and a swaddle and he was fine.  By the next morning he was all better.  Same thing when we tried using the baby nail clippers and accidentally cut him--he made a face but didn't cry.  He's a sturdy little guy.

One bad thing: he's not a fan of Beethoven.  His mobile plays Ode to Joy and he doesn't like it.  He does like Bach and Mozart, but I'm a little ashamed that my son doesn't like the greatest composer of all time.  I mean, I agree, it's a travesty to take the Ode to Joy out of context and play it on a Fisher Price baby muzak mobile.  That's like making a Lord of the Rings movie with no Tom Bombadil or the Barrow-Wights.  Ahem.

Anyway, I've been a stay-at-home dad for a week now.  I'm still looking for work, but given the economy I suspect I won't find anything until summer at least.  That gives me a lot of time at home with my son, which has several advantages: (1) we save a lot of money by not hiring a nanny or eating out, and (2) our child is raised by a parent, not a stranger.  He's already developing way faster than babies are supposed to and I'm sure it's because he's had a parent caring for him at home the entire time.  Also, kids grow up so fast and I know I'll never get the chance to do this again.  Ironically, it's kind of a blessing that I lost my job and failed the bar last time, because otherwise I never would have had the chance to do this.  And, God bless federally funded unemployment insurance.

Google Earth

Have you seen the new Google Earth?  I'm sure you saw the old version, which let you fly around the planet looking at the Grand Canyon and Yosemite and where you grew up and even showed 3-D buildings of large cities.  Very fun.

[caption id="attachment_778" align="alignnone" width="1024" caption="That's not a photo."][/caption]

The new version is even cooler.

First, it has historical maps.  You can fly over a major city and see how it looked 50 years ago.

[caption id="attachment_779" align="alignnone" width="1024" caption="San Francisco, 1946"][/caption]

It'll also show you how the earth looks at different times of day.  This is the view from Yelena's delivery room at the moment Nathan was born.

He was born at 7:13 am, just as the sun was rising.  It was pretty special but I didn't take a picture, and now I can recreate it using Google Earth.

Next cool feature: Google Sky.  Built into Google Earth for a while now but I only just discovered the feature.  Your favorite map program is now your favorite planetarium too.

But we're not done.  The new Google Earth will now take you to another one of my favorite places, something that was previously unavailable:

Mars.

Here we see the Spirit rover, in its current location on Mars.  The red lines show where it's been.  (The hills are black & white because the highest-resolution satellite photos of the area are black & white, although a new orbiter will hopefully change that.)  It gets even cooler--you can "fly into" panoramas that the various landers have taken.  You can not only fly around Mars; you can stand on the surface.  (And yes, you can watch the sun rise, just like on Earth.)  Can you hear my nerdgasm?  Let's keep going.

Next awesome feature: the flight simulator.  Dragging the globe around is fun, but ACTUALLY flying is even more fun.

[caption id="attachment_783" align="alignnone" width="1024" caption="Flying through the Grand Canyon in an SR22 propeller airplane"][/caption]

Oh yeah, and the new version also does weather, traffic, and the bottom of the ocean.

[caption id="attachment_787" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Soquel Canyon, Monterey Bay"][/caption]

How is this all in one application?  And how is this all free?  I really don't know.  Google, you're awesome.

Movie Review: Defiance

Two Thumbs Up (Yelena & Me)

I'm sorry, I've gotten sick of Holocaust movies.  Actually I was sick of them years ago.  First of all, after Schindler's List, how can you even watch another one?  But even if your appetite for visual punishment is high enough, it's getting harder for these movies to answer the "so what?" question.  I mean, of course the Holocaust was important.  And it seems like the number of Holocaust deniers is increasing.  People increasingly compare Israel's current policies to Nazism, which is not only libelous but intentionally hurtful as well, and as Israel's very right to existence is increasingly called into question it becomes more and more important to remind the world why the Jews not only deserve, but desparately need a safe haven of their own.

But none of that justifies another Holocaust movie.  I never saw The Red Violin or The Pianist.  "Oh, but they were so well done."  Great, but I get it already.  Hitler's actions have left an indelible mark on my own family, and I face the consequences of that every single day.  No, really.  I don't need to watch another movie about it.

So, then, why did I even bother to watch Defiance in the first place?  Not just because it stars Daniel Craig in his second role as a historical Jew who carries a gun (although that didn't hurt).  I watched it because it's not a story of Jews being victimized.  It's a positive portrayal of Jews standing up for themselves.  And THAT is something we need more of in today's world.  (Did you hear?  Iran is ready to build a nuclear weapon.  No, not kidding.  They've got the fissile material now.)

It's based on the true story of a group of Jews in Belarussia who decided they didn't want to be rounded up and led to the slaughter.  Three brothers created a village in the middle of the woods and lived partisan-style throughout WWII.  At times they had contact with Russian irregulars, and those interactions carry echoes of the future Communist attitude toward Jews.  The movie also grapples with the fact that even in Eastern-European shtetls, life was already changing by the mid-20th century.  Traditional Hassids, modern intellectuals, pacifists and warriors all lived together in a self-built village in the middle of the woods.

Of course, the Germans eventually figured out what was going on and ended up sending men, tanks, and planes against the men, women, and children living in the forest.  How does it end?  Well, watch the movie.  I'll just say this: you'll be surprised.

Well that's it for this edition of Jordan's Blog.  Please be patient, pictures will come.  Be sure to re-subscribe so you don't miss them.

J<