All Comedians Go to Heaven

All comedians MUST go to Heaven. How else would God have developed such a wicked sense of humor?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been looking at the transportation options that I have for the coming year. Buy a new car? Buy a used car? Keep my own car? Sell my car and let my dad give me the little truck to keep back there for a year or so?

Well, sometimes the decisions we think are ours to make get ripped from our little fingers.

Over the weekend I came to the decision that I was going to sell my car and use the money for moving expenses, then I was going to take our little truck to Texas with me and use it for a year or two. I'm probably not going to be driving all that often, and it might be handy to have a truck, even if it is a truck with manual windows and doors (and transmission). I've had a couple of unforseen expenses come up in my personal life in the last few weeks, and so I thought that might give my budget a little more wiggle room.

Today that plan went straight to hell in a hand basket.

You see, I've been predicting that my transmission on my Explorer was going to go out. But I'm a girl with no automobile knowledge, so my dad thought it was just me being fatalistic. Turns out it wasn't. I was reversing out of a parking spot yesterday (after lunch with my mom and dad, where we had discussed possibly just using my car to load up and move to Texas, since it wasn't going to be a daily driver any more), and my car just clunked, and all of a sudden being in reverse was like being in neutral.

Yep, my transmission went out. Estimated cost of a rebuild? $2200. Worth it? Nope, probably not.

So now I'm on my way to go shopping for a new car. At least I can get some trade-in value for it here. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. I just have to keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason.

RIP Dora the Explorer.

Summer is an Uncertain Entity

One of the bummers about signing a lease for an apartment in a new city where you're going to be going to law school is that you don't know exactly how long your lease term should be. While everyone in 1L takes the same subjects and reviews the same cases, not everyone has the same opportunities for summer employment, and that employment is what will dictate where you live during May, June, July and half of August.

So the predicament that a lot of law students find themselves in is in deciding how long of a lease term they should sign to. 10 months? 12 months? A lot of times you'll get a price break for a longer (12 month) lease, but the practicality of a 10 month lease is appealing.

I don't have the luxury of making that decision at this point. The apartment that I'll most likely be signing for is a 12 month lease...I didn't have the option of making it a 10 month with an option to renew. Luckily I was able to get the option to sublease the apartment should I be unable to live there for all 12 months.

Ideally I'll get a paying 1L summer gig at a biglaw (market paying) firm in Dallas. Realistically? Those positions are few and far between, and it is more than likely that I'll either have to move back to my hometown and work at a mid-law (but still paying) gig here where I have ties, or work/clerk for free in Dallas over the summer. Either way I'll have to continue paying rent through the summer, so if I do move home for those months I'll definitely need to sublet my place in order to afford it.

Siiiiiiiigh. The trials and tribulations of being a grown up.

Taking a New Approach to Apartment Hunting

So, after careful consideration of several different factors, it was my intent to sign a lease at Cambridge Apartments in Dallas. The area seemed nice enough, the leasing agents were all very helpful, it was in my price range, and there was a one-bedroom unit available.

Unfortunately, my intent meant very little when it came to actually signing a lease. In fact, I never even saw a lease. At the last minute the one-bedroom became no longer available, and that was a bummer.

So I started looking again, this time slightly more panicked (as we're getting closer and closer to my moving date). I widened my net, so to speak, to take in apartments in more locations and at a higher budget. And my belief that when God closes a door he opens a window was completely reaffirmed.

I found a new place that I'm signing a lease on this week, and I'm stoked. It's a 2/1 unit literally right across the street from the law school. Now, I wasn't looking for a 2 bedroom, but I was looking at the floor plan and it looks like this unit will be ideal because I'll be able to have a study area, which sure beats doing my work at my kitchen table. (My dad suggested turning the extra bedroom into a closet. He knows me so well!)

However, there are pros and cons to every situation.

In this instance, I'll be paying a premium for the extra room and convenience in proximity to the law school. After all is said and done, my rent + utilities will be about $200-$250 per month higher than if I had rented at Cambridge. However, I think that not really having to drive anywhere and being in an incredibly safe neighborhood will be worth it in the end.

I'm only worried that really I might not be far enough away from campus. I know that sounds ridiculous. Living so close will be awesome during the school year, but what about finals time? I feel like the stress I will feel on campus (that I could normally get away from if I chose to live somewhere a little more removed from campus) will be just hanging over me all of the time if I'm that close to the source of my stress.

I guess we'll just have to see, won't we?

A Hidden Gem

Today when I was halfway through my daily  "de-cluttering" task, I found something that I had completely forgotten I owned. While this in and of itself isn't necessarily an earth-shattering occurrence, I do think that it will help me transition into life in my new place of residence when I move in (approximately) 37 days.

What do you think? I feel like I'll get a lot of compliments on it. Right? ;)

The Speed of a Turtle

So it turns out that SMU's financial aid office moves at a turtle's pace! I submitted my FAFSA in mid-April and have yet to hear anything back. For the last two months SMU's Pony Tracks website has shown my FinAid Application to be at "Step 3 - Under Review" with a note saying to check back after June 15 for an update.

Guess what? It's after June 15th. And I have no update yet.

So today I called the FinAid office. I don't know who I spoke to, I would assume it was a student worker but I really couldn't tell you. I just asked when I could expect my award and he put me on hold for about two minutes while he checked with someone else in the office. When he came back he said that I should know by the end of the month, or the end of the first week of July at the latest.

That's in a week, possibly two. You know how they say "trust but verify"? Yeah, I'm not holding my breath for a FinAid award before mid- to late-July. Siiiiiiiiiiigh.

Luckily I've taken care of every single other piece of paper work involved in getting my student loans, so as soon as I get the award from SMU and accept my loan amounts then I should be golden. The guy I talked to on the phone said I would have my loan disbursed before school started, so I'll be able to pay tuition and get books and all of that fun stuff.

Once again, we'll see. My friend didn't get his loan disbursement at Tech until 5 or 6 weeks in to the semester. Yikes!

You've Got to Pay the Price

Going away for a relaxing family vacation is lovely. It really is. 

For those of you that were wondering, my parents surprised my sisters and I with a getaway to a Hot Springs resort and spa a few hours from home, right in the mountains on the Central Coast. It was wonderful! We had massages and facials and soaked in our personal hot springs, and spent some quality time together. 

The not-so-lovely consequence of this lovely time off from my work is that I now have about a million fires to put out. It seems like after a week of a relatively quite office existence, everyone decided to have emergencies during the week that I was gone. 

Isn't that always the case?

Anyway, things are going to be a little quiet on the blog front for the next three or four days while I get all of my work stuff sorted out. But never fear! I'll be back up and blogging in no time. 

Stay tuned!

But What I Really Wanted to be...

Yes, I'm going to law school. But what I really wanted to be was...

the owner of a Villa in Tuscany! Drink wine all day, lounge in the Tuscan afternoon warmth, eat gelato all night...ahhhhh, that would be the life!

0L Preparation: Hanging with the Fam-Bam

When I was in undergrad in Ohio, I pretty much saw my family every 8 weeks or so. I went to school at the end of August, saw my parents in the beginning of October for Parent's Weekend, came home at the end of November for 10 days of Thanksgiving, went back to school for a month before I got a month-long break at Christmas, had Spring break in mid-March, and was home for the summer by the second week of May.

This is not going to be the case while I'm in law school. There's no Parent's weekend, Thanksgiving break isn't 10 days long and I'll have other stuff to do during that time off, my winter break isn't as long either, and I may or may not come home for the summer. Taking in to consideration that all of my sisters are off doing their own thing too, and you'll come to the conclusion that this summer may very well be the last time that we'll all be able to get together for a while. And so I'm preparing for my drought of family time by doing some very family-centric things this week.

We're taking family portraits for the first time since I was in high school, we're going to our beach condo without our cell phones (ha! yeah right) in order to spend some time with each other without the temptation of running down to the office to tie up some loose ends, we're going to go see a play in LA (my dad and sister are obsessed with Les Mis, we've probably seen it 6 times at least!) and just generally enjoy each others' company.

I think that even though tempers might flare at one point or another during this upcoming week, the time that I spend with my family now is what will get me through some tough times during 1L. I'm sure I'll enjoy law school, but I'll always miss my family.

The Many Moving Decisions of Miss Twenty-Something Law Student

Okay, so moving cross-country (or partially cross-country, as the case may be) isn't a new thing to me. But this will be the first time I've undertaken a move like this without a dorm room (and the included amenities and furniture) waiting for me on the other side. And that just makes this whole process a little bit more difficult.

During college I acquired quite a bit of "stuff" and I had to get rid of 75% of it when I moved back to California, so everything that I ended up keeping was really special or useful to me. And in the last two years that I've been out of college, I've managed to accumulate even MORE stuff. Now that the time has come for me to be a big girl and get my own (unfurnished) apartment, I have to decide what "stuff" comes with me and what stuff stays. 

Let me give you a clue: I want it ALL.

Needless to say, there aren't very many scenarios in which I can keep or even use all of my stuff. And how much I ultimately decide to part with will determine how I move to Dallas in 50 days. Here are the options that I've explored.

1. Moving Truck - I could rent a moving truck from a company like U-haul or Penske. These trucks run about $850 to pick up in my hometown and drop off 6 days later in Dallas, and have a mileage limit of 1750 miles. Now, it's only 1300ish miles to Dallas, so I'm thinking that I would be fine as far as mileage goes, but if I rent a truck I still have to pay for gas and hotels, etc. These trucks get about 12 mpg on the freeway, so at $4/gallon that's an extra $440 in gas at least, not to mention food and lodging. I'm thinking that this option, in total, will cost me about $1600 when all is said and done, plus will take 4 days (1 to load, 2 to drive, 1 to unload).
   
2. U-Haul Trailer - I could rent a small trailer to hitch behind our car/truck. To pick one up in my hometown and drop it off in Dallas 6 days later would cost about $150. Now, the added expense here would come from the mileage and money put into our personal vehicle. Since I'm not planning on taking my car to Dallas, we would probably use one of my parent's cars. We have a hybrid and a small truck, and odds are we would end up taking the small truck (it's older and an extra car, anyway, so no one cares about the added mileage...plus it's tiny and gets good gas mileage). The bad thing about this option would be that someone (probably my dad) would have to drive the truck to and from Dallas, and one of these trips he would be by himself. :/ Total I think that this option would end up costing about $650.
   
3. ABF U-Pack Pods - This option is the least amount of stress. The pod is delivered to my house, I pack it, they pick it up and 4 days later it's dropped off in front of my apartment in Dallas. The contents are insured, so that's another worry off of my mind. It is pricey though, and we're looking at about $900 for the door-to-door service. In addition to that price, I would have to get a plane ticket to Dallas for myself, which is an additional $200, so our total out the door would be around $1100. STILL, it does make it exponentially easier and less stressful on me, which makes it more valuable.
   
4. Two Suitcase Limit - In this option my dad and I fly out to Dallas, and whatever I can pack with me in two suitcases (technically three, since my dad wouldn't need two) is what I end up starting with in Dallas. Of course, this means that the big things -- my bed, my amazing bookshelf, my books, and my mementos and knick-knacks -- couldn't come with me. I would have to sell everything possible before leaving and use the proceeds from that to set myself up with some Craig's List and IKEA furniture before school starts. I might ship myself a box or two of books before moving, but other than that...no comforts of home. While this option is the cheapest (only the price of a plane ticket), it's the least amount of "stuff," and it would probably cost me more in the long run to replace my stuff than it would just to move my stuff.
   
5. Road Trip - In this option we load the little truck down with as much stuff as it can hold, strap the mattress with a tarp over it on top, and take a road trip to Dallas. This option would fit an amount of stuff somewhere between options #4 and #2, which is doable without being outrageously expensive to supplement once I'm in Dallas. This option would probably cost about $500 in gas, food, and lodging.

So, those are the options I'm weighing right now. I think ultimately it will probably come down to my dad, who is the one who's going to be doing the lifting and taking the time off to move me in. It's kind of an overwhelming amount of information to process, isn't it?

Signing Your Life Away is Ridiculously Easy These Days

I'm a blessed girl. I know that I am for a variety of reasons, but this time I'm saying it specifically for one: I have no student loans from my undergrad days. Zero. I'm lucky, because my family was able to pay for all of my expenses after my rather large scholarship was deducted from my tuition, so I have no debt after four years. That's a nice feeling, especially seeing as how a lot of my friends weren't so fortunate.

So, after two years of working, I also have a little bit of cash saved up -- not a lot, mind you, as I did take a fabulous month-long trip to Europe, two trips to Cabo, and a major repair on my car. But enough that I can comfortably move into my apartment and set it up and probably put down a decent down payment on a car.

But definitely not enough to pay for three years, or even a single year (or really, even a semester) of tuition, fees, and expenses (personal or otherwise) at SMU. So I'm definitely going to have to take out loans. And for a first-timer like me, this can be a confusing and scary process. FEAR NOT!

Even though SMU moves at a snail's pace with financial aid (I'm basing this off of the boards on TLS as well as the fact that I filed my FAFSA back at the beginning of April and have heard NOTHING from SMU since then), there are still steps that you can take to get everything on track so that when the school finally releases your decision you've got a head start.

First, head over to studentloans.gov. This is the Federal Government website all about student loans. From here you can complete your loan education, apply for loans, and fill out all of the necessary paperwork to get your loans. You will need to sign in with your pin from your FAFSA filings, so have that pin handy, or request a duplicate on the website.

First, take your loan entrance counseling. Anyone who takes out federal student loans will need to complete this and it takes 15 minutes or so if you read through everything quickly. You read a section and answer the easiest questions ever down at the bottom. Hint: almost all of the answers are either "true" or "all of the above." I'm serious.

Then, apply for your GradPLUS loan. It's a simple, four-step process, and you'll get an immediate decision as soon as you submit. If you're not approved they'll let you know what steps you need to take to get approved, and give you the forms for a cosigner and all of that good stuff. If you are approved, they'll send your approval directly to the school within 24 hours, so that way when your FinAid decision comes through there's not a waiting period before you can accept it!

After filing an application for a GradPLUS loan, you should complete Master Promissory Notes (MPNs) for the loans you'll be taking out. Most people will need two -- one for the GradPLUS loans and one for the Stafford loans. Most of the forms autofill if you've already filled a loan application, and it really doesn't take the 30 minutes that the website estimates. Mine took, like, five? Eight for both...

Make sure you print and save these MPNs in a very safe location, as a lot of your high risk data is on this form.

In total, the whole process, from logging on to getting approved to printing and filing my MPNs took less than half an hour. They make it far too easy to sign away your life to the government these days.

You know what bugs me?

So I was talking to one of my friends that is planning on attending law school this upcoming year like me. As we were chatting, she casually mentioned that she will probably be transferring to the T14 (or at least a seriously higher ranked school than where she will be going, which is ranked between 60 and 95). I asked her why she felt this way, and she said that with her grades in undergrad she couldn't have gotten into the schools she "deserved" to be in, but that after finishing in the top 10% of her class, she'll most likely be able to get into at least Cornell or Northwestern, probably even Penn or Michigan.

I'll confess, I almost did a spit take. Look, if you have lofty aspirations, that's fine. That's good, actually. Those goals and dreams will help drive you to work harder, and you're more likely to be more disciplined if you have a specific goal in mind. 

But expecting that you'll be in the top 10% of your class just because you're you and you're smart? Puh-lease.

Look, pretty much every law school, even down to Cooley, will have at least a few seriously smart kids. Smarter than you. (Just putting that out there.) And the higher up in rankings you go, the smarter your classmates will be, and the more competition you'll face for a spot in the top 10% of your class. 90% of the people you go to school with won't be in the top 10%. 

Odds-wise, I'd say it's much more reasonable to expect to be in the bottom 90% than in the top 10%. It's a numbers game, after all. And if you are in the top 10% -- good for you! That will open a lot of doors for you! You're more likely to get a good SA position and more likely to be able to transfer, if you so desire.

But don't go to one law school planning on outscoring the dummies who went there only because they couldn't get in anywhere higher ranked and then transferring to a top ranked school. It's just not going to happen that way. You're setting yourself up for failure and disappointment if you choose this path, and then two years down the road you'll be stuck at a school you don't want to go to, with debt you won't be able to pay off because you were too busy trying to transfer to make any valuable networking connections.

Work hard to be in the top 10%. Be diligent and disciplined, because natural ability will only take you so far. But don't put all of your eggs in that basket, or you'll end up with a not-so-delicious omelet.

My Reading List for the Summer

I only have 52 days before the big move, and I'm using this time not only to work, but also to tie up any loose ends I have here in my hometown, get my shiz packed and ready to go, hang out with friends, and generally relax and have fun.

The way I relax? I read. Trashy romance novels, young adult science fiction, historical fiction, you name it. And I've got a pretty extensive list of things I need to read before I head to Dallas. Well, before school starts, anyway. I'm going to have two weeks in Dallas to acquaint my self with the area, set up my new digs, and (hopefully) see one of my oldest friends graduate from Tech.

Yeah, he's just now graduating. He's on the Van Wilder college plan.

ANYWAY, here's a small sample of the things I'm going to attempt to read before the end of my summer. I'm going to try my hardest to stay away from the romance novels, since I can read those in a few hours and have already read most of the ones in my house. I can always reread my favorites on my (limited) down time once 1L starts as a way to de-stress.

Just Like Heaven (Julia Quinn)
My Life in France (Julia Child)
The Botticelli Secret (Marina Fiorato)
Bitch-Proof Suit (De-Ann Black)
The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova) -- I've been working on this one for FOREVER. So close to done.
House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds (Stephen Berry)
Heaven is for Real (Todd Burpo)
Game of Thrones series (George R. Martin)
Bossypants (Tina Fey)
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (Robert K. Massie)
The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
A Year in the World (Frances Mayes)
Debutante Divorcee (Plum Sykes)
Summer at Tiffany (Marjorie Hart)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson) -- late to the game, I know.
Day of Infamy (Newt Gingrich)
Thanks for the Memories (Cecilia Ahern)

I also want to reread a few of my favorite sci-fi series. I already reread all 7 of the Harry Potter books last month, and I'm done rereading the Hunger Games, so I want to start in on Catching Fire and Mockingjay, and finish up the summer with my very favorite series, The Belgariad (and the sequel series, The Mallorean). If you're at all fond of the Harry Potter/Hunger Games/Uglies genre, you should DEFINITELY read these series. I think there are 10 books in total, 5 in each series, and they're very very very good. The author is David Eddings.

So, does anyone have any must-reads that I should pick up over the summer?

But What I Really Wanted to be...

Yes, I'm going to law school. But what I really wanted to be was...

A purse/accessories buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue. Siiiiiiiigh.

Checking out Apartments around SMU

So today I spent a few hours on the phone with various leasing offices around the University Park area of Dallas. Exhausting and confusing, to say the least. It's difficult to assess an apartment building and address when you're not familiar with the city in which you will be living. So I took exhaustive notes, and hopefully, with the help of my dad and maybe a friend who is familiar with the Dallas area, I'll be able to make a smart, informed decision about where I want to live and how much I'm willing to pay.

The apartments that I visited when I was in Dallas last time that weren't in the Village were all too expensive for me to live in on my own, and so I originally planned to go back to Dallas at the end of June/beginning of July to figure out a few other options and visit with some leasing agents. Now, because of family schedules, that's looking like it might not be possible. Soooo, not only am I finding an apartment in unfamiliar territory, I may also be signing a lease sight unseen.

Scary stuff, right?

Well, I've talked with a bunch of leasing offices within the Village: The Cliffs, The Corners/Corners East, The Bend/Bend East, The Gate, and The Meadows. Apparently they are tearing down of the building to start construction on a new building, and so the tenant of the Bluffs have moved into other buildings throughout the Village communities, so not only is there a decreased availability, there is an increase in rate as well. This is a bummer, but probably not a barrier to my living there. Rent in Dallas is still less than rent in Santa Barbara (although considerably more than rent at my parents' house, which after utilities is a whopping $0).

As it stands, the least expensive 1/1 in the Village for a 10 month lease starting on or around August 1 would be about $730. I think that both the Bend East and Corners East had apartments at that rate. My preference in the Village would probably be to live in the Cliffs, because it has a gated parking lot and comes with alarms on the apartments, but apparently most of the people displaced from the Bluffs are moving into the Cliffs, and so there is zero availability as of now.

We're still 60(ish) days out from my move, so within the next 30 days things should be opening up, so I'll have to check back. As of now I'm on the wait list at the Gate and the Cliffs, and hopefully everything will work out.

Contrary to popular TLS wisdom, there are more places to live than just the Village. :) One place that has come recommended was a building called Cambridge Court Apartments. They, too, are gated, and are cheaper than the Village, but they lack some of the amenities of the Village properties and are a little bit (maybe 5 minutes) farther away from school. BUT, on the plus side, they offer a student discount, so that's good. I hate to consider somewhere that I haven't seen, and I haven't been able to check out these particular apartments, but the property has a pretty decent score on apartmentratings.com and the pictures look nice.

Siiiiiigh. Moving 1200 miles away from home when you don't have a dorm room (and the attached conveniences of one) waiting for you on the other end is turning out to be trickier than I thought it would.

Moving 1200 Miles = Good Time to De-Clutter

So, since it's summer - and by "summer" I mean the summer before law school - I've started working more often than not on my own schedule. I still have just as much to get done, but I'm lucky enough that I'm able to do it from home (or really anywhere that I have the internet and a phone), or at weird times. And so I've been able to get a lot more done on my time "off."

One thing that I've been working on this week is de-cluttering my life. I am a saver, a clothes horse, and a bibliophile, so I tend to have quite a lot of stuff packed into not so much room.

When I packed up my life the first time, in 2005 after graduating high school, I threw away a lot, took a majority, and stored some stuff in my parents' garage. Then when I packed up my life the second time, in 2009 to move back from college, I threw/gave away most of what I owned, but still managed to fill a Ford Explorer so full that I had to rely on just my side mirrors during my 32 hour, cross-country trip.

This time around, I'm trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible before the big move. I have learned over the years that the only way to pick over your closet thoroughly is to evaluate your full wardrobe as often as possible. If you're just going through things once a year, you'll never get rid of anything, because you'll always think, "Oh, I might wear this." You've got to be critical of your closet at least once a week for a month to be able to truly let go of the things you'll never wear.

At least, you do if you're me.

So, for the last month I've been organizing and reorganizing my closet, trying to get rid of as much junk as possible. I've had quite a few, "what was I thinking," moments, but on the whole I think I'm much happier now that I've gotten rid of three contractors bags full of clothing, and one full of shoes (what can I say? I have a big closet). PLUS there are always lots of good causes looking for new or gently used clothing donations. Personally, I donated my clothes to Teen Challenge. Often the kids that go to Teen Challenge have only one set of clothing to make it through the whole program, so it feels good to donate clothes to the people who will need them and appreciate them the most.

After attacking my current closet, my attention shifted to the garage. When I moved to Ohio I left a shelving unit full of stuff that I was sure I was going to need someday in the garage. Now I know why my dad rolled his eyes. I have not even thought about the stuff in the garage more than a handful of times, and out of the twelve or so bankers boxes I've left, I've probably "needed" one. So I went out there and pitched pretty much everything.

It felt good.

So, if you're planning to make a move farther than a 2 hour drive for law school, do yourself a favor. Attack your clutter early. You really don't want to get down to the final week at home and still have to worry about getting rid of half of your worldly possessions. It will make the remaining time you have with your family and friends more stressful. Start going through your clothes, books, knick knacks, and furniture now, selling what you can, donating anything that's left over, and generally de-cluttering (and thereby de-stressing) your life.

You won't need all of that stuff in law school.