Law School, Finally

October 19, 2017, Montgomery, AL

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I’m in law school and I’m living in Alabama. It all happened so fast. Life is funny. It’s like I got a 2^nd chance. I was accepted into University of Alabama for college and my parents begged me not to go, so I stayed home and ewent to Purdue Calumet. I ended up droppinmg out twice before I finally got it together and transferred down to West Lafayette.

                Anyhow, circumstances prevented me from going to law school for so long. Some real, some imagined.

                Finally, 17 years after graduating college, I took the LSAT. I took it in June, the last possible chance for the coming school year. My original plan was to go to IUPUI in the evening and keep my teaching job. That seemed the most sensible and required the least amount of change. I would have had to go to class M-F 5:30 – 7:30 pm and some Saturdays. I began to worry that it might be too much for me. I asked Mr. Gavia last year for his advice and he said that working full time and law school is doable – but not teaching full time and law school. Teaching is a whole other ball game.

                Speaking of ball games, the Cubs lost tonight and are out of the playoffs. They made it pretty far, but no back to back championship.

                Anyhow, back to law school. I applied to IUPUI in April, around the time I registered for the LSAT. They said they wouldn’t be able to make a decision until my score came back in July.

                Now that I was registered on LSAC (Law School Admission Council) I started to receive recruitment emails from schools all across the country. The key word that interested me was, “scholarship.” A couple of schools offered up to full tuition, so I applied there. One was Barry in Orlando, Florida. My brother, Brian, had just moved to Tamp with his family, so I thought it might be nice to be down there with them. In addition, my boyfriend, Geoff, was being (or attempted to be) persuaded by his ex to move to Florida because she wanted to move there (and the kids, of course). I thought it was kismet. Then on LSAT message boards, I saw Barry being ridiculed and found out they had some bad stats on bar passing and work. In the end, they didn’t offer me a full scholarship, so I definitely wasn’t interested.

                Another school in Arizona offered scholarship. My cousin, Teresa, lives in Arizona, so I thought thatmight be nice. After a google search, though, I found that thy were on the verge of losing their accreditation. That was a no.

                The LSAT scores came in. I got 156. It was about 67% percentile if I remember correctly. I thought it was just average. Apparently, it was better than I thought.

                I got an email from a school in Alabama with the magic words, “up to full scholarship.” Of course, I have family in Alabama. This school was in Montgomery, which was far from family (l further south) so that was a little disappointing.

                However, I had come to visit Montgomery earlier this summer during my road trip. I went to the ADAH (Alabama Department of Archives and History) for genealogy research. I only briefly drove through the town, but I thought it was nice enough. Definitely a better impression than I got of Birmingham.

                So I did a google search and there were no scandals, ridicule or accreditation issues. Their rank was lower than IUPUI, but the stats for post grad employment and bar passage rate seemed comparable.

                I emailed the place back. “Tell me more about the scholarships.” I got an email back from Director of Admissions, telling me to give him a call to discuss. So I did. 

                I remember lying down on my bed in Beech Grove (Indianapolis) during our conversation. I grabbed whatever I could to take notes. Based on my stats he said I could qualify for a full scholarship! What about living expenses? You have to take out loans for that. Oh L

                I was REALLY hoping to have room and board included like they do sometimes for undergrads.

                Full scholarship is still good, so I apply.

                I’m still waiting on IUPUI.

                Faulkner gives me the okay! Full scholarship - $39,000 a year for all three years. Awesome!

                But then panic. I have to quit my job and move over 500 miles away in less than 3 weeks! And I have to take out EVEN MORE student loans. I already have undergrad and Masters loans.

                I’m hoping IUPUI can match it. They finally admit me and give me the number - $3k scholarship of $11k tuition.

                Wah wah.

                I had already explained to them that I had another offer. When I wasn’t happy with $3k, they asked me to send them a copy of my offer letter from Faulkner so they could, “see what (they) could do.”

                There’s some back and forth and they offer $10.5k – but not of 11k – it’s for about $20k. It ends up being about 50%. This is their final offer.

                I. Am. Torn.

                I absolutely can not imagine packing up my entire life in my 2008 Dodge Caliber and moving to Alabama.

                I really don’t want to take out loans for living expenses.

                But I’m going to have to take out loans either way.

                I talk to my boss, Tamara. Her niece just graduated from IUPUI law school. She calls her on speaker to ask for her take. “Got with the full ride,” she says.

                Then my parents weigh in. Just as they did 22 years prior, they beg me not to go. My dad even texted me about it. It pushed me to the edge. I sobbed. I was completely torn.

                I remembered how I missed the chance to go to University of Alabama before. I remembered flunking out of the “safe school” I remember the unhappiness.

                So I quit my job. I packed my car. And here I am. 

Robot Restaurant - Tokyo

On my way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I had an overnight layover in Tokyo. I decided to get as much as I could out of it. I booked a Manga Capsule Hotel in the Shinjuku district and got tickets to the Robot Restaurant. I first heard about it on a facebook post by The Points Guy and thought, "I have got to go there" even before I knew I was going to be in Tokyo.

I walked there from the Hotel. I was using google maps on my phone and not sure if I would be able to find it. Then I turned a corner and come upon this.

Yep, think I found it! I still get that song stuck in my head sometimes.

You can take a picture with these giant robot ladies outside of the restaurant.

This is in the hallway on the way inside the restaurant.

It is cheesy, expensive and touristy, but so, so fun. At the visitor counter at the airport I got a coupon for about $20 off the ticket price. You buy tickets for the show across from the actual restaurant. There are people standing outside the ticket area with large signs advertising the show. I walked right up, gave the girl my coupon and she sent me up to the ticket desk. No frills, no fuss, just business. (i.e., this is not where you are going to ask questions about the show- they move you right along - get your questions out to the person outside trying to lure you in).

When you arrive, they put you into this mirrored room with a bar where you can purchase expensive drinks and overpriced bar food. The menus are in English, or at least are available in English. The staff speak English, or at least most of the ones who interact with customers.
You can hear the announcements being made in English.

This is the floor/stage before the lights go out.

These signs let you know that it's now or never. 

By the end of the show, I was saying, "Holy sh*t!" and was kind of relieved it was over. I didn't know how much more of it I could take. Total sensory overload. 

Now for the big girl tips: It is tight in here, very tight. I was lucky to get a front row seat, but it was in the middle of the row so there were tables and people on either side of me. I'm talking just a few inches away from each other. It makes economy class airport seating look like luxury. I was upfront with the staff about the situation and they got a person on the end to trade with me. I had asked if maybe they could just pull up a chair or something but there is no extra space anyplace on the floor. Every inch is accounted for the show. If you are in the front row, they make you practice dodging the robots at the start. And you do! There are pieces of robots and contraptions that do go right over your head.

My photos and videos leave a lot to be desired because the show is dark, and my camera isn't great with dark lighting. There are so many things I wish I could have got good video of. There was a Michael Jackson dance segment where the dancers wore glow sticks all over their bodies. It was really cool, but my photos and videos are nearly impossible to make out.

For me I had this inner battle of wanting to record/photograph everything and wanting to just soak it all up in the moment. There is so much going on at every angle. It is expensive. However, I'm glad I did it. I had a very small sliver of time open for an activity in Tokyo and this fit the bill. The district is a little shady with nudie clubs as you walk by (this is the "red light" district). However, there is enough foot traffic that I did not feel unsafe walking alone at night.

It was an awesome experience!

Do you recognize this girl?

We didn't take "selfies".  We had photo booths. You paid two or three dollars and got four chances to get it right. You would then wait a few minutes to see how it turned out. 

There was photo booth in Woodmar Mall that I loved. I took pictures with nearly every person who went there with me. It was located right outside of Carsons. I remember sitting and waiting for the pictures to print out and then waiting for them to cool down. When the machine spat them out, it also ran a fan on them to dry the ink. 

I don't remember why I went into the photo booth alone. This is the only time I've ever done that. Did I need a photo for something? I'm not sure what year this is, but it was definitely after my 15th birthday, because in another shot, I see the ring I got.

Something about this photo strikes me. I don't know exactly what it is. The eyes look sullen. The space between the eyes and cheek look sunk in. The mouth looks big for the face, the teeth look big for the mouth. Not a bad thing. Kind of Julia Roberts style. 

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this is me. It doesn't look familiar to me at all. It almost looks soulless. Is this what I'm like when I have my "shields up"? 

Funny, there is a ridge between this picture and the next where I folded it. I remember doing it because the last two pictures were "bad". 

This was one of them. Apparently, I had flipped my hair to get a different look and didn't re position in time for the next picture. That's another thing about photobooths, once it started, it just kept going. You didn't press a button or anything, it would just flash.

I like the second picture so much better. I like the way my hair looks better, even though it was just flipped over to the side. I like the natural expression on my face. There are no "shields up" here. This is genuine. This person has a soul. Here is where I can see the ruby ring Mom and Dad got me for my 15th birthday. I see the skinny hands and long fingers and nails that were part of who I was. I don't remember the necklace. But I think the shirt I'm wearing is a black one with a little flower at the top that I got from the $7 store (called One Price Clothing). I remember I had a pink one just like it and Grandmother had bought me one of them when she was up here. 

The top photo I am trying to be seen as pretty/respectable. The bottom photo I am being me and I am so much than that. 

Scorpion and the fox

I'm scanning old letters for a project. And getting pissed off. I say, "why was he such a dick to me?" Geoff says, "because he was dick. Have you ever heard of the scorpion and the fox?"


Here it is told as a frog...

 The Scorpion and the Frog

  A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the 
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The 
frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion 
says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

  The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of 
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp "Why?" 

  Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

http://www.aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?4&TheScorpionandtheFrog