The last log ended near the beginning of Week Ten, and we are now at the beginning of Week Fourteen.
Weeks Ten and Eleven saw job-heavy demands. My job revolves around a weekly set of events, and since the week of christmas landed on a typical ad-day, the ad-day was moved from Wednesday to Thursday, my study day. The bodybuddy/lifemate&i worked the week of christmas together (he had tuesday off, like usual, and i took tuesday off, and he added a day, so we both jobbed a four-day week that week, and with the way that our pay works for holidays, we got some monstrous paychecks for that week of jobbing). Anyway, there's nothing terribly notable during this week since I had to fit in studying whenever I could, which was on Tuesday (xmas eve) and the weekend. Week Eleven was similar in that Wednesday was New Year's Day, and apparently, New Year's is not a holiday that an employee can demand to have off, and so, since the ad-change happened on New Year's Day, I had to job. The first ad-change of every month is also the most enormous ad-change of the month, and the first ad-change of the year is the most enormous of all of the enormous ad-changes. Not only that, I was down a person for that most-enormous ad-change day. Thus, the bodybuddy/lifemate&i worked our little asses off, and he got some overtime. Again, another monstrous check, very little time to fit in studying, but fit it in I did.
Week Eleven was also when I took a third full practice test in exam mode. I got the same exact score, again, for a second time (test two saw a one-point drop). The odd thing about this one, however, is that my raw score (the number of questions i answered correctly) was one point fewer than the other two practice tests. I also finished up most of the lessons. I left myself a handful of lessons and a handful of drills for Test Week, and by the time Week Twelve rolled around, I was focused solely on the argumentative writing portion of the test.
Week Twelve was when the argumentative writing portion of the test became available, and so, I ran through the ONE practice test available on LawHub on the first day of Week Twelve. This portion of the test is not-scored, and so, the practice also left me with little to no sense of how "well" I did, but by doing the practice, I familiarized myself with what was going to happen when I sat down to complete this writing sample, and so, from my point of view, it seems to me as if LawHub (and thereby LSAC) is/was communicating to me that the one practice "test" is all one needs to get the gist of this portion of the test, etc. The argumentative writing, or writing sample, portion of the LSAT is very straightforward, but it is also very open-ended. In my mind, there is little to nothing a person can do to prepare for the writing sample in a few weeks. The point, in my opinion, is to find out how much time a prospective law student spends writing. If one spends a lot of time writing, this portion ought to be a breeze, theoretically. If one does not spend a lot of time writing, this reality will be utterly apparent, etc. I, obviously, spend a lot of time writing, and so, I was not nervous or worried about writing a writing sample.
All of Week Twelve's mind-space was filled with focusing on writing. I didn't work any LSAT drills or lessons. I rested my mind as much as I could, worked it in different ways, namely ways that were not-writing, and I discussed various strategies for the writing sample with the bodybuddy/lifemate. We threw a few ideas around, but ultimately, I decided that writing is, quite literally, something I do every single day. There's really nothing more that I can do to prepare. So the focus became about clarity. I really needed to make sure that I didn't just ramble, like usual. I needed to make a point and then support it. If, like I oftentimes do, I come to some different conclusion than the initial statement I make at the opening of the argument, then I really needed to remember to go back to the opening paragraph and make sure I word the conclusion in the same way that I eventually conclude, etc.
In essence, do my thing, but then make sure the opening conclusion and my final conclusion match.
The most difficult part of this portion of the LSAT, for me, was finding an approved space. I knew my apartment would not be an approved space, and so, we started searching for a coworking space around town, and we toured a place all the way back in Week 8. After fretting for a few weeks, I outlined my plan for what would become Test Week, Week Thirteen. I had to also juggle my jobbing schedule to create this plan, but sure enough, a plan surfaced, and I went with it.
We booked a day pass for the first day of Week Thirteen (sunday), and on that day, we went to the place, and I completed and submitted my writing sample. The next day (monday), I was notified that my writing sample was approved by LSAC, which means that the space that we booked was an approved space for the argumentative writing portion of the January 2025 LSAT, just fyi, and near the end of Week Thirteen, I would sit for the LSAT at an in-person testing center. [added 22jan25 ... the bodybuddy/lifemate reminded me of the thing that happened the morning of the argumentative writing, when we were deciding whether or not i should wear my glasses. we decided that i should wear my contacts, because it's just one less thing to think about, &then, i decided that i'd open a new pair of contacts. it was the perfect decision, except that i already had my "eyes" in, &so, when i went to put in my new pair, i put them on on top of the pair i had already put in for the day, &when i blinked, i could hardly see at all. i freaked the fuck out. i couldn't figure out what was happening; i even opened another right lens. eventually, i took them out, &was shocked when i could see, &it was at this moment that the bodybuddy/lifemate sat me down for some breathing exercises before we trotted off to the coworking space where i would write my writing sample.]
Monday I studied for most of the night, reverting my mind back to the LSAT, and then, near the end of the bodybuddy/lifemate's shift, I walked to the job and jobbed about ninety minutes (I have managerial duties that I didn't want to push onto my deputy if I didn't have to), and then we left together. That morning we had planned on doing a dry run of the walk to the testing center, but we also wanted to swing by the beach, and after walking the beach, we were too relaxed to do the full walk, so we walked to a grocery store that's about halfway to the testing center, bought up some charcuterie stuffs and headed back home.
Tuesday I finished up all of the lessons on LawHub, and around 0600 (inching closer and closer to Test Day's test time), I took my fourth and final full practice test in exam mode. For all of the first three practice tests (all taken in exam mode), I got the same score (not the exact same score: the first test i got a score, the second test i got a score one point lower than the first test and then the third test was the exact same score as the first test) despite having three different raw scores. For the fourth test, I finally answered four more questions correctly than my best raw score and had a score three points higher than my past top score. After taking that final practice test, we did a dry run of the walk to the testing center. Took us about an hour. We found the building, found the suite, and found the nearest bathroom. The bathroom was locked, so then we knew that would be the only thing I'd need to find out on Test Day (along with the question about pencils).
Wednesday I took a little break from studying because I had to go to my fucking job. My job duties include something called ad-day, and Wednesday is ad-day. The job load of ad-day is such that I have to schedule between two and four extra grocery clerks to help out. And so, I don't like to leave my team hanging, so I went in to help out, and they all looked at me like I was crazy. I quickly realized that they are more than capable of handling an ad-day without me. And now I know this for a fact, and now I will take a vacation soon. So it was a short day. I was able to get in and out of there in a half shift, and I am glad that I went in, cause even though it was manageable for my team, I still worked four hours. They were all going to finish early, so if I hadn't shown up, they would've simply used up all their time doing ad-stuff, but instead, they probably had to go back to grocery for a few hours at the end of their shifts, which totally sucks. So, sorry?
Thursday was LSAT Eve. The bodybuddy/lifemate and I went for our run loop on the beach, and it was fantastic. We made and ate an enormous, delicious salad. Actually, we ate really well for the entire week of Test Week (all part of the plan). It's exhausting to live your best life, lemme tell ya. You have to eat well, drink plenty of water, get lots of rest, exercise, stretch, breathe, stay focused and diligent, etc., etc., etc. We were able to keep up the necessary diligence for the week and so, ate well, slept well, etc., etc., etc. The other thing we had to do was slowly creep later and later into the day. I scheduled the earliest possible test time, 0800. Ideally, I would've tested at 0300, but that wasn't an option unless I wanted to test remotely, which I did not, so, 0800 it was. As a night-jobber, my day ends around 0700, which means that if you're a day-walker, imagine working your whole shift and then taking the LSAT at 2000. On the Friday the week before, we began staying up as late as possible. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was up until about 1500. Earlier in the morning, around 0800, I completed the last of the drills on LawHub. I saved myself four short drills to do on this day, the day before the LSAT. I performed as expected on the first three ... now a few more than a few more than half. Feeling good. Right on track. Solid. Consistent. And then, I finished the fourth, last drill of all of the drills, and submitted my answers. "Oh my god," I whisper shouted at my computer, the bodybuddy/lifemate in the kitchen, "What! What's wrong?" "I just finished my last drill. Like, my last last drill," I shout. "Yea, and?" he asks. "I only missed one."
Friday was Test Day. We walked out to the testing center, and I took the January 2025 LSAT. I had absolutely no idea how I might've done as I was exiting the testing center. When I found the bodybuddy/lifemate in the building's lobby, the first thing I told him was that the first part seemed too hard and the last part seemed too easy. I had no idea how I did. Then we walked home. I was wired. I was too tired to go out or celebrate or do anything, so we just chilled at home, but I was wired. I had ramped my mind into fifth gear (a gear my brain hasn't seen in well over a decade), and it was taking a long time to come down. I ended up finally passing out at some point in the early afternoon, but then ultimately did not sleep well. On Friday night, I woke up to be at my job by midnight.
Saturday was a blur. I jobbed a half shift, and felt like I had been beaten to a pulp. I have no idea why my physical body felt so beat up. My brain was, obviously, complete mush, but that was to be expected. Why my body also felt so physically beaten was beyond me. That night, I finally got the sleep that I wanted, and I woke up sometime around midnight on Sunday.
Sunday was the first day of Week Fourteen.
Another notable thing happened before Test Day. LSAC is the service that verifies all of your credentials, and then, once verified, all of your credentials are made available as a report that can be sent to whatever school(s) you apply to, etc. The various credentials that are verified are your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and the LSAT (including the writing sample). The first thing I did was have my transcripts verified. All three were approved the week I officially joined LSAC, and it was a breeze of a streamlined process. I also submitted my two letter writers that same week. I reached out to a past professor before officially beginning the process (decisions), and amazingly enough, he said that he'd do it. My current boss was Letter Two. My boss submitted his letter all the way back in Week 4. Around Thanksgiving I thought of a third letter writer, because I was feeling nervous about Letter One, my past professor, and so I emailed the person I thought of for Letter Three. He also said that he was willing and able, and then a bit of communication got mixed, but then it got worked out, and he submitted Letter Three at the beginning of Week Twelve. I had to let Letter One go. I was starting to stress and felt like it just might not happen. I pushed it from my mind. After I take the test, I thought to myself, next Monday, I'll email my professor again.
Come LSAT Eve, I check my email to make sure I have all of the information I need for LSAT Day, and sitting right at the top of my inbox is an email from LSAC confirming their receipt of Letter One. I cried. I only need two letters to apply (the school accepts up to three), and so, my third letter writer had already settled all of my nerves about the letters, in general, but now, I have three letters. I have one professional letter, one academic letter and one letter that has nothing to do with either of those things.
On LSAT Eve, everything processed by the LSAC process was completed except the only part that was all on me. And now, I am completely finished with the LSAC process. Obviously, something could "go wrong" with the test or whatnot, but as far as I know, I did it. It's done. All there is left to do is to answer a handful of questions on the school's specific application and tap out a resume *barf* I fucking hate writing resumes. Ugh.