Countdown to St. Paul...

I went to a law school open house earlier this year and something one of the current students said to the group of would-be students has stuck with me. She said, "If there's something you really want to do, do it before you get to law school, because you won't have time to do anything but read once you get here."
Fair enough. That's what I want out of law school, a challenge and good preparation. And while I'm fairly certain I've made my decision about where I go, I have no idea what to do with the time I have left before I get there. I mean, I am going to continue to work, of course, so it's not like I have hours of free time to fill or anything. But the rest of the time. I've spent a lot of time filling out applications, writing and editing essays, worrying, looking at viewbooks and thinking about the what the right place for me is. Now, I am almost done with that. And I have time to do something else.
So, now my question is what do I do?
I do have some goals going into law school. First, I want to drop a little more weight, so that when I inevitably start to feel stressy and eat my feelings, I'll have a little give before I need to feel bad about myself. Second, I'd like to do some writing--including the Gumshoe, which I will probably want to have in some form of stasis before law school. I'm thinking I may publish some of my short stories here, but we'll see if I really want to do that. Then, of course, there's the moving, subletting our apartment and that kind of stuff.
I think these are attainable goals. Nothing earth shattering, which I think is what worries me. I don't feel this particular need to get too prepared for law school. I want to read a couple books on the law and economics, but other than that, I'm not sure there's too much else I can do. Just keep counting down the time and try to keep myself busy.
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So, yeah, I've pretty much made my decision about which law school and I've started to get everything ready for them. I'll send in my deposit later this month and that will be that. As anxious as I am about how I will now fill my time, while waiting for school to start and for the move to happen, I am really excited.
It's hard to quantify it, because it still feels so far away that it might all fall apart somehow*. But, Dinah and I are planning on going to an admitted students weekend in March and I am really excited about that. I imagine we'll probably spend some of the time looking around the neighborhood we plan to be in and after that I will be able to visualize it a lot easier. So, let's count this down.

*The zombies could attack anytime.

Yup, another Mega-update...or (I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar)

Look, I know this isn't what good blogs do. They give you content everyday. They give you something interesting to think about. Even if they just talk about themselves, at least they give you something to chuckle about.

And hey, I would like to be a good blog. But I'm not, right now. It's okay. It's out there now. Let's move on.

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Watch Glee tomorrow. Look, TV has been quite the tease for me the last couple of years. Last year, three shows I really liked got cancelled, despite the fact that they were good shows. Eli Stone, Dirty Sexy Money, and most heinously, Pushing Daisies* were all shot down. (Though Pushing Daisies is coming back in comic book form, which I am thrilled about. Seriously, this has all the markings of awesome.) So, I need this one.

FOX showed the pilot twice and I enjoyed it both times. The show delves into the realm of cheese, but purposefully. It's quirky and fun. Tomorrow's show will be the start of the first season, so seriously folks get on board. You will thank me.

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Some of my procrastination has been well-founded, though. I have been studying for the LSAT pretty hardcore** right now. My scores have popped up to the level I wanted them to be, so with 17 days 13 hours and 22 minutes left (as of this typing) I'm feeling pretty good about my shot of hitting this test hard. The little bit of doubt I'm having now is what's keeping me headed to the library. That's good.

The bad news about this test is that I am not allowed to wear a hat during it. And I can't bring my iPod and get all Michael Phelps (above picture) jazzed up*** before I start. I don't know why the loss of the iPod and my lucky Cardinals hat is bothering me, but...well...okay, I'm oddly superstitious. I know they're trying to keep me from cheating, but honestly, I'm not smart enough to think of a way to cheat with just my hat and an iPod, except to have a recording of Obi Wan Kenobe going on repeat just saying, "Joe! Use the contrapositive."

Sigh. Oh well.

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Also, last week, I got to work on a trial with the attorney I've been doing work for****. What sort of trial, you ask?

a MURDER trial.

It freaked my mom out when I told her.

So, yeah. It was really cool. I mean, I didn't, you know, get to ask questions or anything, but I reviewed documents and helped with the prep. I took notes and reviewed testimony and gave opinions on questions and such. I mean, it's probably not the biggest, bestest thing ever, but I helped. I actually caught a detail that, if it had slipped past my boss (and it probably wouldn't have) could have really messed things up for our client.

And really, more important than that, is how much I enjoyed watching it. I know it's probably not the right thing to say. I mean, it's a human tragedy playing out infront of me, but it's exciting to watch. The questioning, the answers, the manuevering. Yeah. This is where I want to be. This is what I want to do. It's been a really, really long time where I felt like I had potential. You know? I heard it so much when I was a kid. "You have potential." Potential for what I never really thought about. But now, it's like I can see it. I know it's a ways down the pike for me, but I'm working on it. And just having the direction--the beacon out there in the future somewhere--it's such a different feeling. It's better than I felt when looking at college, because now I know where I'm heading for beyond the term of school. I don't know the details yet, but I know the picture. And it was all there in that courtroom. And I can do this.

The benches were uncomfortable though. Have to say that.

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So, we say Extract yesterday. And I gotta say, I was hugely dissappointed. I looked at the cast--with Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck***** and JK Simmons and Kristen Wiig--I was pretty excited. And the cast did well. Bateman was solid. Affleck was good--honestly, he gives the best performance in the movie. JK Simmons and Wiig, were good, but completely under-used.

And mostly, the movie was...well, clunky. I've come to expect a little of that from Mike Judge. I like his movies, but there's a certain amount of clunk to them. I am not sure if everyone feels this way or if it's just a difference in my comedic preferences, but it's always there for me. This time, however, it wasn't just there, it was omni-present. And Judge always uses some sort of shortcut to make a character do something they normally wouldn't. It's never a solid reason, and is really part of the charm of some of the other movies, but in this case, it doesn't work. It just ends up making me feel uncomfortable and condescended to******.

Another bone of contention: the movie just seems to make fun of blue-collar workers in a way that isn't loving or empathetic, as has been the case in his other movies. And really, it's not all that funny. And with a cast like that, I just can't forgive that. So, yeah. Save your money folks.

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*Note 1. Oh, I noticed they were all ABC shows. Between this and Disney buying Marvel Comics, I am more than miffed at the Mouse.

**Note 2. I would say not hardcore hardcore...more like Iowa juicebar hardcore.

***Note 3. I'm sure this is how he's described it in interviews.

****Note 4. Preposition dangling free and easy.

*****Note 5. I am an unabashed Affleck fan. Say what you will haters of Affleck, but he's a good actor. And most people I've heard bash him do so because he dates hot women they cannot date. And I can understand the urge (I guess...), but I honestly don't care who he dates. As long as he's doing good work, I'm happy. My only greivence with him is he hasn't done as much work lately.

******Note 6. See Note 3.