september bar blues

my lawyer-dad, a proud true-blue aquilan & atenean, would always tell me while i was growing up: when you go to law school, you have to join a sorority.  you will not survive law school and the bar without joining one.

most of you know that the rebel in me prevailed:  i went to law school on my own terms (my finances could only support a UP Law education and nothing else) and at my own time.  and i never joined a sorority.

but the lessons from dad stayed.  although i realized i could survive law school even if i chose the 'barbarian' life (yessireee, those who opt not to join the greek-lettered-associations are the barbarians. go figure.), i wanted to be sure i wouldn't be clueless when it came to my bar so as early as my freshman year, i volunteered for barops.  and i have been doing it since, walang absent, walang na-miss na taon.

for those not in the know, barops is the shortened term for bar operations.  general barops is making sure that the examinee has everything s/he needs, and trying your bestest to provide all the last-minute tips available. 

barops as i usually do it covers the whole milieu of a bar examinee's needs from the time he manifests his intent to take the bar, to the last bar sunday.  from the academic requirements (requesting for the university transcript), to the materials (photocopying reviewers, tips, pre-week reviewers of other law schools from previous years, borrowing books, etc.), to the basic (driving to/from the hotel, driving to/from the exam venue, special food requests, bar exam lunch baon, phone-in calls from loved ones, etc.) needs and wants of man... the bar examinee just needs to tell me, and i will try my damnedest to deliver.  this type of barops, though, i only do for really close friends and relatives and classmates who have been left behind. 

the funniest barops i had was when i was the head of the evening barops, and one of our examinees called the headquarters, specifically requesting to talk to me.
him: uhm, apryll, big favor naman. pabili sana.
me: yep? ano kelangan? bakit di nyo sinabi sa kids?
him: eh kasi, nakakahiya...
me: ano? condom? (though i was doubtful. they were 3 guys in a room. but then again...)
him: ikaw talaga, gaga. hindi, nakakahiya talaga...
me: e ano nga... iuutos ko yan, don't worry, di ako bibili...
him:  uhm.  wala kaming dalang toothbrush eh.  2 kami.  ayaw namin yung sa hotel.
me: susme, yun lang pala. ok ok. coming right up. haha. anong brand?
........ (details of the purchase)
him: thank you! thank you talaga!
(nakakahiya ba talagang magpabili ng toothbrush sa iba?)

this year is turning out to be quite a challenge.  i have two very close friends taking it, and i'm doing the personal thing: as in the works.  and for the first time EVER in my whole barops career, i had to drive around malate on a friday night looking for a videoke spot because, yes, my examinees wanted to sing their hearts out.  after videoke, we had to drive waaaay up north, and ended up being bumped by a 16-wheeler truck from behind. (crazy stuff, i swear.) and on saturday night, one of my friends was running a fever. (first time ko din 'to.)  and on lunch break in between the exams last sunday, one of my alagas didn't go out and meet me at the designated spot.  (wala syang baon kasi ayaw nya magdala.)

what a way to celebrate my 10th year of barops duties, eh?

but i will persevere... i survived barops for my girlfriends who took it all together in 2004, which was not without its own comedies and tragedies. and yes, they survived mine.

this is my personal annual mission:  to do barops for the privileged ones i call friends and/or family, and to provide as many materials as i can for An Waray barops, which is my pet project in the party. (yes, if you have been the recipient of any bar materials from An Waray in the past years, you can thank me & Cong. Bem properly if you want to. haha. kidding.)

every year, without fail, you will see me trekking to sheraton and taft for barops.  and no one can question the high i feel during every salubong, when i heave a sigh of relief and think, "next year uli."

so to wryl and thad and minnie and japs and jay and garet and sheryl and gemma and crislyn and all the other names listed on the An Waray official barops list:  use us and abuse us now for all i care.  but just go and do your friggin' best in the bar.  because trust me, you don't want to go through that whole sh*t ever again. 

at para sa inyong lahat, 2009 bar examinees, "may you never pass this way again."

cheers!