Um...

So, here is my first official law school textbook. Looks riveting, doesn't it? Well, I think it looks terrifying, and Carrie says it looks like a cliche. I wonder if they make Cliff's Notes for these?

My first class starts 3 weeks from Monday, called Criminal Law, of course. It seems unbelievably surreal to think I'm taking a class called Criminal Law...crazy.

These next three years are going to be; well, to speak plainly, fucking expensive. And if I may not know what kind of law student I will be, I do know that I am nothing if not frugal. So I thought I might keep a tally on all the money I'll be saving. The computer the school suggested (the best, most expensive computer they suggested) is $1200. I got a better computer at a better price and saved about $400. And this beautiful book bought new is about $150, used from the college, about $100. I got it online from a place called Better World Books for $64 (including shipping). So far the tally is at -$486. I'll keep you posted on my future money saving adventures!

Not too bad.

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I'm Number 2!

Some of the fantastic goings on at the bookstore. The rap video isn't quite ready, but it will be soon!

Tremors

I know it's just jitters, but I don't want to go to law school. This morning I think the truth really hit me for the first time. It's Saturday, and I woke up at 8AM, and couldn't go back to sleep. If you know me at all you must know this is practically unheard of. If there is anything I do well, it's sleeping in, but I couldn't. I tossed and turned, thinking about how soon my summer class will start. One month from Monday. One month. I am running out of time to enjoy all the things I'm able to do without worrying about tests and homework and grades. And what about all the things I wanted to get done before the first day of school? So I got my nervous self out of bed and went for an hour-long walk. It worked to stave off the panic for awhile, but now I'm back at it.

A big part of my reticence about school is in leaving behind Third Place Books. I know it's not often that people find something they love to do. And while, of course there are days where I want to scream and burn the place down; I count myself lucky that those days are few and far between. On the whole, I am genuinely happy at work. And things are going really well right now. I love all my new responsibilities, and I feel like I've hit a creative stride that's been transferring into my personal life. Leaving that sense of security will be hard, but I'm mostly afraid that leaving will mean saying goodbye to all the fabulous people I've met. After moving to a city where I only knew two people; this bookstore and my lovely, kind, hilarious co-workers, feel like home. I don't want to start all over again. I feel like I just did this.

So there it is. I'm incredibly nervous, and while everyone keeps telling me to 'calm down,' 'don't be nervous,' 'this is a great time in your life!'; I will continue to be nervous until I set foot in that classroom and finally get this interminable waiting game over with.

Under Construction

Clearly, there has been a bit of a shake-up. Things aren't looking too pretty right now, but in my defense, I did get side-tracked by District 9. Can I just say, "Wow, what a movie!" Anyhow, hopefully things will be back to normal, or at least greatly improved, in no time.

Wow.

White Rabbit Syndrome

Remember that Year of Balance I was going for? Well I have made some good changes, and failed spectacularly at others. Some things, I find, will just be forever and always out of balance.

I cannot go to bed on time. And I cannot wake up in the morning. I will hit the snooze button countless times. On all three alarms. Yes, three alarms. Needing to leave the house at 8:35AM to catch my bus, I will always be rushing out the door at 8:38AM, and consequently always running to catch my bus.

In fact, my bus driver has noticed my nearly ritualistic morning dash. He asked me if I was transferring from another bus, and I lied and said yes. I couldn't stand the shame from his accusatory stare if I were to tell him that I just have trouble getting out of bed. And also, I think if I told him the truth, he would be less likely to wait for me when he sees me running. I can picture him driving off, leaving me in the dust, maniacal laughter swirling amongst the bus exhaust, as he curses me, "Just get up 5 minutes earlier!"

So in trying to break my habit, I have learned that I am a creature of habit. I am habitually late. Constantly three minutes tardy. Perpetually unpunctual.

Opal Acrobatics

Here is Opal doing what Opal does best. Note: the basket she is trying to extricate herself from is wedged under that wall outcrop. So, the opening she has to navigate through is less than 3 inches wide. I'm not sure how, or why she does the things she does, but I can pretty much guarantee an accidental dunking in the toilet just below the shelf where the basket sits. I'll post pictures when it happens.

An Albatross Around One's Neck

While commencing The Great Purge of 2010, I stumbled upon a blurb in an old Mother Jones magazine about photographer Chris Jordan, and his study of albatross chicks on Midway Atoll. Maybe it's because I have a strange urge to see an albatross in real life, or maybe it has to do with the Great Purge of 2010 and the unavoidable feelings of waste and guilt, but these photographs had me near tears. Taking a tour around his website is admittedly, depressing and gruesome, but I think it's terribly important stuff. You can argue all you like about the scientific veracity of Global Warming and climate change, but does it seem right to wreak this kind of damage if we don't have to? Anyways, these are just thoughts, not condemnations, but I think the age of me buying anything with a plastic, screw-top lid is over. Incidentally, the secondary definition of albatross in my copy of Webster's reads as follows...

2. a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility. Often in the phrase an albatross around one's neck.

Greetings...Again

Praise be! I have the interwebs!

After an excruciating 2-hour visit from the cable man, in which I needed to use the restroom desperately (incidently a 2-hour visit which caused me to miss the May Day Immigration March, though it's my own fault for scheduling the appointment on May Day), I am once again connected to the outside world. It's not as if I am a Luddite; though I do think computers and eventually robots will mean the destruction of the human race. So, I'm not quite sure how I lasted the better part of the year without internet. But make it I did, though I will say that towards the end of this sad technology drought, the walls were beginning to close in on me here in my comfy little hovel. So with my apologies for the blog-out, please check back for future posts about the cats, law school updates, craftings, and my general egomaniacal musings on things that you probably care little about.