Homework #3

This week, Scalzi provides us with:

Weekend Assignment #3: Recount the worst piece of advice you've ever been given, or the worst piece of advice you've ever provided. (For extra credit, do both).

Well, poop.  I only give good advice.  Duh.

This isn't an easy assignment, mostly because I don't try to dwell on the bad things in my past -- which would include stupid things people have said to me, and stupid things I've said to people.  I'm good at this type of denial.

That said, I seem to recall some particularly bad advice I got when studying for the Bar Exam.  The California Bar Exam consists of two days of essay-type questions and one day of multiple-choice questions.  I (well, my parents) coughed up a massive amount of money for a Bar Review course to prepare for the exam.  The course instructors told us how to study for the exam in order to pass:  focus on the essays and just let the multiple-choice take care of itself.  This was extremely bad advice for me -- by this time, I knew how I worked best, and I knew I needed to reverse the advice and focus on the multiple-choice, letting the essays take care of themselves.  Still, it was scary as hell tossing the advice and just trusting myself.  (It worked out OK.  Just ask my doorman.)

Worst piece of advice I ever provided:  About seven years ago, a co-worker was sharing her house with four roommates, and they were having trouble with dividing the phone bill.  I told her they should all just get cell phones with individual numbers.  Don't know what possessed me to give her this advice -- ended up costing them all a small fortune.