I MADE IT (post subject changed)

[Kris]

Hi everyone, tomorrow morning at 9:00 am I will write my first of eight tests for my second state exam.

If I pass, I'm allowed to become a judge or prosecutor (with at least an average of 8.0). If I fail I will enter boot-camp (the state somehow takes it personal when you fail while you work for them) and have to do it all again in six months and pay 500,- Euro for it. Nice right.

I really hope I pass right at the first time and can just move on with my life or better get back to a life somehow, because I didn't really have one in the last couple months.

So, if you can spare some good karma, thoughts or prayer just send them over. I'm the one sitting at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt with different Bon Jovi songs in my head...when you hear "Help" by the Beatles everything is too late.

~Kris~

[T]

prayers said...karma sent! Good luck, Kris!

[Rike]

good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Kris]

Well, one down, seven more to go.

I was dead tired after five hour writing yesterday. Normally I do find some time to have a bite or two of my sandwich after 3 hours, but yesterday I didn't have any time at all.

By the time I was back on the train home, I was past the point of hunger and just felt nauseous.

The test itself wasn't that bad, I think...maybe I missed something, don't know. I hope they'll find something in the 18 pages verdict, I wrote that's what they were looking for. I put my pen down exactly two minutes before we had to turn the paper in. That's normally a good sign, that means you didn't miss something, because these cases are composed for five hours.

We'll see how it goes next week. I'm a little worried that I write four tests next week though. Only Wednesday is off. I was pretty beat yesterday and actually had a migraine today. The idea that I have to write one of this tests while having severe headache and nausea freaks me out a little. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Madison8742]

Good karma sent! You've got the whole Jovi community rooting for you!

[Kris]

Weeeellllllll, I recovered from this nightmare this morning. Some of you saw me venting on twitter.

It wasn't nice. And if someone finds out what to do with this case from this morning, he/she is very welcome to let us stupid little lawyers-to-be know. We are 100 people writing alone in Frankfurt, several hundred more in other cities in this state and we have easily about two dozen different solutions to this case. They can't be all correct.

Ok, I need to put that behind me and focus on the great, wonderful and so easy *sarcasms-yes!* stuff tomorrow. Nothing less than law enforcement proceedings and debt recovery will be waiting for me. Yeah-not.

[mbwl]

Good luck with your test Kris, sending good wishes & good Jovi karma your way, I have every confidence the you will pass with flying colours :-)

Mattie

[Hath]

Sending good wishes and Karma as well. Good luck!!! Got got this, chica!

[Kris]

Well, what an interesting week.

After the nightmare on monday, I had the pleasure of trying to find a way to Frankfurt on Tuesday. Because of heavy snow no train was leaving the town I live in. I don't have a car and even if I have one, it wouldn't have helped, because the streets where blocked. There were three major accidents on different highways in this area.

Normally it takes me 45 minutes to get from my place to the Higher Regional Court. Tuesday it took 1,5 hours. I finally got on a small train or better two little rail cars and travelled trough train stations I never want to see again. 25 minutes before the beginning of my test I was finally at the Court.

I was running high on adrenaline, shaking and I think my blood pressure was sky-rocking, but I made. The terrifying thing is that if you are late even though it isn't your fault, because of the weather you are NOT allowed to write the full five hours. You have to manage in the remaining time you have. And to be honest, that's not possible.

I managed to calm down a bit before the test started, and I think it went well. Even though nobody expected what they asked us for in that case. lol

Wednesday was a day off. I was very happy about it. And on Thursday I had my last civil test. We were all nervous before we got the case, because it could have been either employment law (which we all wanted) or business law, which is way more difficult.

It was employment law. It was a nice case. This time we had to "act" as an attorney and represent our client. I think it went quite well.

I was dead tired when I was home and nearly fell asleep on the couch around 7 pm. And I still had the test on friday. Four five-hour tests in a week is really too much.

As expect we had to write a lot on friday in the first criminal law test. I came close to 30 pages. My hand and fingers hurt badly afterwards and my eyes were blood-shot. I was a walking zombie on my way home. I'm just glad I had this weekend to recover before I have to write the second criminal law test tomorrow.

The only thing that worries me, is that it started snowing again and in the news a strike by the train personal, that is operating the railway control center, was announced between 6 to 8 am tomorrow morning. I'm not sure it has any influence on the train (or better commuter railway, it's not really a "normal" train) I'm taking, but it already has my stomach in knots again.

I have to remind my that only three more tests and everything is over...well, at least until the oral exam starts.

[Kris]

Just two more, just two more....

My hand and fingers still hurt from writing today. I think it's completly stupid not to let us type. Nobody is writing a verdict these days by hand.

Two more tests. Tomorrow and Thursday...but it's administrative law...I don't like administrative law...I really don't...my brain isn't made for it....actually my brain isn't made for anything these days, when I think about it, it's quite remarkable that I'm able to write in english right now....God, I need a break!

[mbwl]

Hang in there Kris you're nearly finished.
It'll all be worth it in the end.
Then you can relax and take some Jovi time :-)
Take care.
Mattie

[Rike]

you're almost done, it's Wednesday already.

[Kris]

I'm feeling sick. My throat hurts and I think I have a fever. Just glad tomorrow is the last test.

[Kris]

Well, it's over and I finally recovered. I fell into my bed and barely made it out of it the three days after the last test. I slept up to 11 hours each night. I think my body needed to catch up what I missed in the last two weeks....and the sore throat is gone too. Just a light coughing is still there.

The last test was not really difficult....we all were just annoyed by it. Maybe that's normal after two crazy weeks and eight tests that got your adrenaline pumping everytime.

My mood got better every step I took out of the building...down the hall, into the elevator and getting outside. The about 100 candidates turned the small plaza in front of the court house into a little party area. Some friends, finacee, roommates, wives, husbands or simply lovers showed up with some alcohol. It was a funny way home and then I collapsed into bed. lol

It's over...until the oral exam. lol

[Kris]

*drum roll please*

I got my results.

I PASSED!!!!!!!


I will have my oral exam on August 1st!!!!!!

[T]

Awesome news, Kris! Congrats!!

[Kris]

Hi everyone,

some of you already read it on Twitter the other day, I passed my oral exam on Thursday!!! And it was the hardest thing I ever did. They grilled us....but let's start at the beginning:

I had my oral exam on Thursday in Wiesbaden, which is the capital of the state I'm living in, at the Ministry of Justice. *gulp* Yes, this is the moment to pale visibly. A building with no AC, when we are having about 97°F and you are wearing a suit with everything that goes with it.

Everyone always assumed the oral exam would take place at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt. All the trainees always felt quite comfortable at that court, we know it, we like it and it is only a 30 minute train ride away from where I live. To get to Wiesbaden it takes nearly 2 hours by train.

As there wasn't any chance for me to be at the Ministry at 8:30 am on Thursday when I would spend the night before at home, I booked a room in a small hotel just across the street from the Ministry and arrived on Wednesday. The other trainees stayed at the same hotel and we all went out for pizza and ice cream in the evening to calm our nerves. We ran into some candidates who had there exam on Wednesday and they told us how hard it was, I wanted to pack my things and leave right that moment.

I'm not good at oral exams. I don't mind standing in a court room and do the pleading, but in an exam situation my nerves get the best of me. It was that way for my first state exam and it also happened for my Abitur. So, on Thursday morning at breakfast I could barely eat anything. My bag was loaded with sweets, water and little bezel’s, because I knew that the exam could easily take five hours, if not more and then this heat. At the end I spent 7.5 hours at the Ministry....absolutely insane.

We were four candidates. Before we would be tested all together in civil law, criminal law and public law for about three hours, everyone had to give a presentation of a case. I had to go first...oh, joy.... and had one hour to prepare my criminal law case and later explain in under 10 minutes (they get really mean when you talk longer and cut you off) from the perspective of a prosecutor how I would deal with this case and why I would bring it to court.

Luckily my nerves calmed down during my preparation time, probably because I had a rather good idea what to do and I wasn't as nervous as expected when I entered the room to give my presentation. The three verifier (one attorney at law, one chief judge of the administrative court and one chief judge from the criminal law court) still were very intimidating. I managed to stay under 10 minutes and had to wait for the other three candidates to finish.

After that the grilling started. I had no idea how long one hour can be. We had to solve a civil law case together at first, we stumbled and stuttered our way through that hour. I'm pretty sure, I sounded as if no one of us ever set foot in a law faculty, yet alone a court room. I was just glad we were all having problems with it, but it sure didn't feel good when they told us afterwards, they would break for lunch now. LUNCH! As if anyone of us could eat!!!

Then came criminal law, it felt a lot better....but the worse part for me was public law. I don't like it, I don't really care about it and I don't really understand it. I was smart enough to take a look at the clock when it started, so I would know when it would be over. And again, we stumbled and stuttered our way together through that hour.

It was a nightmare. I remember at one point when one of the judges asked me other question, I mumbled to myself 'God, damn I don't know and I don't care anymore. I quit.' before giving an answer. I'm just glad he didn't hear it.

We were drained after the last part and still had no idea if we had passed or not, because they don't tell you how you did in each part or the case presentation. You have to wait till everything is over. At the end we all passed and were too tired to be happy about it.

I pulled my suitcase loaded with legal text and commentary books (all together about 18 kg/39 lbs.) and my little bag with clothes to the next bus stop (missed the next bus and roasted a little longer in the sun) and got back to the main station to take the train back. It was announced that the train was about 30 minutes late, because in one of the cities we had to pass, was a problem with the overhead contact line. So, I called my parents and told that I passed. My mom couldn't stop cheering, my dad was crying. To understand that reaction, you have to know that I'm the first one in my family ever going to university and graduating. My grandparents didn't have the money to send my dad to college, he had to work his way through evening schools and seminars to get his degrees. From my point of view that is much harder than going straight to college or university, because he was already working in a job, having a newborn at home who wasn't sleeping (me) and going to school, but he sees it differently.

When I was finally how, my suit was drenched, because there is also no AC in the train. The next day, I found out though that I was lucky to miss the bus and therefor the train, because that train nearly collided with another train at the main station of the city they were talking about the day before. Due to vacation and sickness, there weren't enough people observing the railway system and the two trains were on the same rail track when they entered the station. The two train drivers managed to stop their trains just in time to prevent a collision...after that the passengers were stuck at the station for hours. I would have never made it home that night, if I didn't miss the bus.

[Summer]

Oh my gosh! You have an angel looking after you. Congrats, Kris!

[cindyj]

Congratulations Kris!

[mbwl]

Congrats Kris,
Well done, knew you could do it :-)
You definitely have an angel watching over you with the missed bus & avoiding the train near miss.