Almost a month away from the Bar, and I am already over it. :)
I kid, I kid. I am taking a great class this week on how to write effective NY Bar essays. The lady is a wonderful teacher, and although you feel like she secretly hates you, she is a kind and brilliant little old lady and I really appreciate her. My favorite part about the class is when you raise your hand to ask her a question, she replies with "Not now Misses Sanchez" referring to me. She does it to everyone who raises their hand, but she calls me Misses Sanchez and I don't want to correct her because I feel bad and the class laughs every time.
On Wednesday, I had a difficult time paying attention in class (9:00-5:00pm) because I didn't sleep the night before, and by not sleeping, I literally mean, not a single wink, not 15 minutes, not 30 minutes. I watched the hours go by then got out of bed and got ready at 7:30am. Awesome. Well, I bought a 5 hour- Extra Strength energy shot a couple of weeks ago, and kept it in my backpack, just in case of an emergency. At this moment, it is important to note that I stopped drinking strong caffeinated drinks my first year of law school because it hurt my stomach. Prior to that, I worked at a coffee shop as a barista and would take single shot or 4 shot espresso mochas like it was my job to. (I guess it kinda was my job to.) So the most caffeine I ever drink is green tea, maybe, once a month, I'll have a small cup of coffee.
Anyway, I was really dragging on Wednesday and decided that this was a good a moment as ever to break open the 5-hour energy drink. Aside from being sensitive to caffeine, I also had only eaten one tiny granola bar for breakfast. So, with an empty stomach, I chugged the entire energy shot and waited anxiously for some energy to focus and pay attention. At about 10am, I started to feel super excited and was happy that finally, the energy I needed was here. By 10:30am I had to get up and go to the hallway because I couldn't stop shaking in my seat and I felt like I needed to go for a marathon run. I figured this is what I was waiting for, and went back to class. I sat there like Judy Grimes (video below). I felt like I every time I recited a rule of law, I must have sounded like her to the rest of the class.
By 11:30am, my stomach was so nauseous that I thought I was going to vomit at any moment! I felt light headed and was just looking at my clock waiting for 12:30 to come so that I could eat something!! I knew if I didn't eat something soon, I would literally pass out. I felt like my blood sugar levels were super low and would cause me to pass out. As soon as lunch hit, I ran out and ate my lunch. Unfortunately for me, all I had for lunch was two hard boiled eggs, the remaining granola bar and some pretzels. I didn't have my regular lunch because we didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping so that's all I had to eat! I felt "ok" after the first egg, but the second one grossed me out, but I still ate it, then the granola bar, then I stuffed my face with pretzels as fast as I could. Nope, food didn't help either. I sat there with my head between my legs trying as hard I could to get my heart rate to slow down. It was beating so fast that I couldn't keep up with it when I tried to count it.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to stay, but I wobbled back into class and told one of the students that I needed his help and asked him to please send me the notes for the remainder of the class, in case I left. He thought I'd be fine, so I sat back down and put my head on the desk. Another student came in and said I looked awful. I explained to her what I did, and she then handed me her trail mix. I hate trail mix, but I knew I needed to get more food in my stomach. The other guy next to me said that you don't drink the whole energy shot, you only take half and wait. It was too late for that. I drank the whole thing.
By now, I was still shaking but now I was pale and still light headed. The teacher came back in and told me to wait it out and to go to the hallway if I felt sick. Halfway through the second half of class, I had to get up and go to the bathroom again, but this time, I knew I was going to throw up. I was right. I didn't make it to the bathroom, I had to throw up in a trashcan right outside the bathroom. I don't think I can eat hard boiled eggs again. Gross. I sat in the hallway and again tried to calm down my heart rate by breathing, because I was pretty sure I was going to die. It didn't work. (Please note, no matter how many yoga classes or meditation techniques you know, you cannot calm your heart-rate when it's stimulated by crack.)
After that, I decided I had enough, so at the next break, I gathered my things, apologized to the professor and left. I stumbled into the subway, got on the train and again, put my head between my legs again and waited for my stop. I rolled out of the subway, and made it home. I came in, ate some cold chicken and beans and laid down. At some point, I fell asleep and when I woke up, my heart rate had finally calmed down and I knew I wasn't dead.
I don't think I will ever, EVER, again take that stupid 5-hour energy drink because I might die. If you ever take it, please know that it might be good if you are running from New York to Philadelphia. DO NOT use it if you are going to sit down for an 8 hour class. Lesson learned.
