I am not dead yet
I can dance and I can sing
I am not dead yet
I can do the Highland Fling
I am not dead yet
No need to go to bed
No need to call the doctor
Cause I’m not yet dead.
Really – I’m not dead. Just mostly dead.
Things that have happened in the past six months:
- I’ve become addicted to iTunes. Seriously. I’ll be sitting at my desk at work and think “Wow, you know, I’d *love* to have ‘California Dreamin’ easily accessible”, and with 2 clicks and 99 cents, I can have it. I had to stop when I realized that in 3 months I had spent $50 on 99 cent songs. Ooops.
- Closed down my business, although there are still a few account left to clean up. I am SO looking forward to having that monkey off my back.
- As of this month, I’m officially employed full time in the legal field. It’s a little weird – I had been self employed before that, so this is a heck of a change. Luckily, I’ve found a position that will work with my school schedule, encourages me in my law school aspirations, and doesn’t mind if I wear formal shorts and long tunic shirts to work. (Yes, formal shorts. The folks at ‘Go Fug Yourself’ would have a field day.)
- Got married. Weddings eat your soul. I’m blissfully happy about the marriage, but the wedding planning sucked balls. I can’t believe some people actually try to do that while in school. Psycho, they are.
- Did I mention school schedule? Because, yes, I got into law school!
Yep, after all the worry and wait of last fall, I did get into school. I ended up applying to four programs, and got into three out of the four – not a bad track record at all! Although I did get accepted into my boss’ alma mater, I ended up choosing a different program. Not naming names here, but the school was listed on Vault’s “Top 25 Most Underrated Law Schools”, and is semi-frequently listed as a great value for the money. The school has a decent reputation locally, and the night program (which is what I chose) has a really good reputation. So…. the plusses are:
- Night program! I attend classes three nights a week, while still being able to work full time. In talking with others who have completed this program, the workload is tough but manageable. I’ve spent this spring clearing out my schedule and taking care of any other obligations on my plate so I can start with a clean slate. July is dedicated to taking care of the last few obligations from my old job, and by the time school starts in August, I should have that all taken care of.
- State school – so the tuition is *very* reasonable.
- Did I mention that I can still work? And I now work with an attorney who just went through all this, so it’s fresh in his mind? And he’s willing to be flexible with my schedule to give me time around midterms/finals for study? And he’s already planning on getting me in the courtroom once I hit the three-year rule? Yeah, my boss freakin’ rocks.
- Low tuition + working through school = minimal debt. I’ve worked *hard* to keep my debt level low over the past 5 years, and I’m glad that I can continue that through law school.
Minuses:
- The administration seems to kinda suck ass. My second choice was about $20K more expensive than the school I chose, but the administration was lovely. Here? Not so much.
- Since it’s a PT program, it takes four years instead of the traditional three. Including summer courses. So I’m going to be in school for four years, straight, with only small breaks between the semesters. So much for having a social life.
- 45 minute drive each way – although I was going to have that no matter what school I chose. The problem is that I drive a small SUV – it gets great gas mileage for a SUV (about 20 MPG), but it’s far from fabulous. I just paid it off last fall, though, so I’m leery of trading it in for something new and having a car payment every month. I will admit to totally coveting the Toyota Yaris (liftback version, natch!). http://www.toyota.com/yaris/ In electric blue.
So – if there’s anyone still out there, chime in and say hello. It should be an interesting ride. 
