New England falls, post-Halloween and lumbering sleepily towards the promise of Thanksgiving feasts, always bring to mind one of my favorite movies: The Scent of a Woman.
With lines like "the day we stop looking is the day we die," and Al Pacino playing a stubborn, sarcastic, blind Lieutenant, it has to be a popular favorite. While I haven't watched the movie in ages, it's been on my mind recently. And biking past trees that are turning from yellow to bare, it finally hit me why scenes from the movie have been playing in my head.
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam [MPRE] is this Saturday, and I'm having some serious doubts.
It's not that I lack ethics, or a sense of professional responsibility, as many friends have joked. It's just that I'm not quite sure I have the right ones. Because when I walked into a review session last weekend and the first thing I heard was "squeal like a pig and rat on your friends," I realized I might need to seriously study for this one.
I do understand why attorneys need to be ethical. But despite the nuclear winter that is my social life, I have difficulty betraying what friendships I have. And if law school has taught me anything, it's that trampling on people to get a better grade has to be possibly the most abhorrent behavior man is capable of.
I'm sure the American Bar Association is fully aware of this, though. Because why else would they make you rat out your friends under threat of punishment [and possibly disbarment]? Still, that's enough cause for concern to have me hitting the books this week; poring over what behavior is absolutely not permitted and what you might be able to do. And ignoring all lessons learned from The Scent of a Woman.
Of course, the bikes are not only serving as vehicles of distraction and procrastination, but also a source of a fair share of disappointment. Because while I'll be guesstimating my way through the MPRE on Saturday, I will be totally missing NYC Velo's "IF You Please" event. Okay, not that I could ride to Piermont, NY on a single-speed, much less a single-speed Bianchi with the IF show ponies that are inevitably going to show up for this ride, but did I really have to be taking an exam while this was going down? A ride with some awesome guys, the chance to ogle pretty IF bikes, and even talk to IF about your dream bike...It feels harsh...a little cruel, even, that I'll have to miss this.
Professional responsibility, however, dictates that I'll be taking the MPRE. So go for me, please. If only to watch Rich Bravo ghost ride both of his IFs all the way to Piermont and back.