Soaking, next month between the 10th and 16th while you are sitting on a break or ready reserve in the crew lounge, ask someone to give you a five minute tutorial on how to bid. It doesn't have to be a pilot either, some of the FAs know their stuff.

Read the PBS users manual again if need be. You should know what the system defaults to as well, as well as how you can modify stuff.

You do not have to bid specific pairings unless you want to.

Before you are done with your bid, look at what parings you have in each layer.

Have low expectations on what your bid award will look like. It'll make life easier.