I spent so long away from this journal that I didn't feel like it fit me anymore. When I made it I combined two names Ahneta and Leala, each of which had a meaning that I felt was important for me at the time.

I know that's silly. Its just kinda how I do things.

I've done that again, largely because I'm at enough different of a place that I thought it was time. Anyone who's still interested in the random, occasional posting that I'll try to do is more than welcome to read the new blog. It can be found at http://allissachi.blogspot.com

Thanks.

Hi all...

I very rarely ask for prayers for myself or my family, but I feel they're needed.

On Friday morning my cousin Tory's boyfriend shot himself in the head. I have not been in close contact with Tory for several years and because of that I've found it hard to get in contact with her and share my condolences. I've been praying for her and hoping that she comes through all this ok, but I'm not sure what else to do.

If the religious among you wouldn't mind keeping her in your prayers and perhaps praying that I find some guidance about what to do, I would appreciate it. If the non-religious among you wouldn't mind just... keeping her in your thoughts and maybe offering any advice I would appreciate that as well.

Thank you.

For a long time I had literally no idea what school would be best. As the previous posts show... each school, regardless of ranking, has a LOT to offer.

Of primary concern is whether or not the school will have a good program in constitutional, public interest and civil rights law (the last sometimes being grouped with the previous two). I found that each of the schools I got into does. It helped that my essay centered almost completely on that as three schools narrowed themselves out (Duke, Penn and UVA waitlisting my application).

For the past ten days Jeff has been in town. The purpose of his visit was, well, for us to see each other cause we missed each other... but also to visit at least one of the non-Michigan campuses and see what the area we might be living in would be like. We chose Chicago.

Food poisoning aside, it was a great trip. The visit to Northwestern and UChicago proved highly informative... and we got to chill in Chicago for a couple nights and see what living there might be like. With all the culture and excitement of the city... we also found no reasonably priced parking, no way for either of us to commute to a school easily (meaning wherever we live would be a cost and quality of life issue), no schools near the Northwestern Grad campus that Jeff could enjoy and thrive at (I recall Moody Bible College being nearby though). We found rough weather (as rough as Michigan) with less ability to move around and indoors quickly, a long drive to get to grocery stores and other (non 7-11) amenities.

At the school, which was in many ways fantastic, I found a strong inclination toward JD-MBA students and business law. That is part of what makes Northwestern such an AMAZING law school for so many people, but it is exactly the opposite of what I needed to hear on the tour to get excited about going there.

We found that we did not even tour the University of Chicago because the neighborhood was just not somewhere either of us felt COMFORTABLE. Meaning it contained within it the same feel and problems as living in Washington DC does. Having already unofficially ruled out both DC schools simply because of the area, the University of Chicago was off the list fairly quick after the drive through campus.

As we sat down and talked about what schools had what to offer, it became clear that city living is just not for us right now. It is constricted and expensive, making getting started out of school incredibly difficult. So, with me throwing up out the side of the car all the way home (again, food poisoning), we headed back to Michigan to make our decision. A decision which was made easier by the small letter I got from Yale on the ride back. It was expected - they let in 6% of candidates and my GPA was lower than their range. I feel that what happened here happened for a reason and I was honored to have been as closely considered as I was, knowing what I know about their admissions process.

That said, I've kept people in the dark long enough. When we got home I knew where I was beginning to lean towards and I sat down with Jeff and asked him where he felt most comfortable. Thankfully, we were in agreement. Then I went to my parents and said that I'd made a decision (unless they were deadset against it, of course) and found that they too were most comfortable with this particular choice.

Because of the personal inclination and general consensus therefore... I will be going to MICHIGAN LAW.

More social/Jeff updates about the trip to come. Thank you and good night.

Admitted schools (this section also titled: Kristen bragging -- why each school is the awesome)

George Washington:
Awesomeness as yet undefined.

Georgetown:
Home of oral argument prep for Supreme Court cases
Essay read by Dean of the Law School
MASSIVE and highly qualified Constitutional Law staff

Northwestern:
Generally doesn't let people in without work experience.
Cept me.
Generally doesn't let people in without an interview.
Cept me.

Michigan:
Offered $8000 Dean's Scholarship
Admitted to SUMMER SESSION
(that's a big honor, actually... details on Umich's law website)
Potential for work as GSI/Grader (I'd totally cross that picket line)

NYU:
FRICKIN' AWESOME Constitutional Law staff.
Housing options for Jeff and I provided by the school.
Access to NYC internships and opportunities.
Highest ranked of schools I got into.

Waitlisted Schools (this section also titled: Screw you guys... I'm going home)

Duke and Penn:
I have written both politely declining my spot on the waitlist.
Why?
See above.

Denied Schools (this section also titled: Emptiness)

Still None.

Applied Schools (this section also titled: Come on dudes... I don't have all day)

Columbia:
I'm starting to doubt I'd go there if I got in.
Wrong atmosphere.
Yes - a TON to offer... but also a more expensive part of NYC

University of Chicago:
Also a long shot - very politically conservative.
Expensive part of Chicago.

University of Virginia:
Oddly, also a longshot.
Very affordable, but not near anything.
Less name recognition (despite high ranking).
Not wild about the politics.

Yale:
Let's just say... I'll believe it when it happens.
If I get in... we're going.
Jeff's already agreed. My folks are for it.
We'd go.
But... its Yale.
So... who knows if I'll get in.
Am I really part of their top 6.8% this year?
Can't say

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There's the update. I'm too tired to be modest and/or interesting.
Y'all are awesome.

--I donated blood today. Remember that I will buy a drink for anyone who donates blood - that's not just during Blood Battle or other major drives --- that's any time: a pint for a pint!!!

--I GOT A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP TO MICHIGAN LAW!!! *giddy*
That's the first school to offer money and it makes Michigan a stronger possibility. Jeff started looking at schools around Ann Arbor and Detroit (cause he's the most amazing man IN THE WORLD) and I'm, well, I'm pleased that Michigan is really trying to get me to come back for law school. So we'll see what happens.... :-D

I'm just going to do a short rundown of the schools as they stand right now.

Admitted:
George Washington University (22nd)
Georgetown University (14th)
University of Michigan... GO BLUE!!! (8th)
Northwestern University (12th)
New York University (4th)

Waitlisted:
Duke University (10th)
University of Pennsylvania (6th)

Denied:
NONE

Still Waiting For:
Columbia University (5th)
University of Chicago (6th)
University of Virginia (10th)
Yale University (1st)

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Also
Everyone who reads my journal gets a cookie.
Cause you're all awesome.

I should be asleep. Instead I'm up thinking about schools, my job, my boyfriend and life. Good things to think about, eh?

Let's go in order with another schools run down:

ADMITTED:

George Washington: Ranked 22nd, located in DC.
There is a funny story about GW, actually. I got an e-mail from the admissions office at GW Law telling me about all these GREAT admitted students events and meet-and-greets and housing fairs in DC and all that. It was pretty exciting. I read it all the way through. Then it hit me. I HADN'T OFFICIALLY BEEN ACCEPTED YET. What, you say? So... I thought to myself... this is either a clerical error or a HORRIBLE joke on the part of the school. It was a clerical error... but how much would it have sucked to get that e-mail followed by an "oops, LOL, you're not actually in... isn't that funny?" note...

Georgetown: Ranked 14th, located in DC.
I don't think this is at the top of my priority list, to be completely honest. It is an AMAZING school with a GREAT reputation for public policy and political and public interest law. DC would be a really awesome place for an internship. DC is not, however, an awesome place to live during the school year. That said... I was GIDDY and flattered when I got the acceptance note. It was personally signed by the Dean with a hand-written note talking about how I would be a good fit based on the essay I wrote them. I was SHOCKED. Usually the Dean isn't even part of the main admission's committee... and only sees acceptances to sign them and send them out. A personal note, about my essay (showing that it was read)... that was a great feeling.

Northwestern: Ranked 12th, located in Chicago.
There's nothing new about Northwestern. I love the location, I love the atmosphere around the school, I love the location. I'm interested in what they have available for the different fields of study. Its just a great school and I was pleased to have been admitted to soon after submitting my application.

NYU: Ranked 4th, located in New York City.
NYU is an amazing possibility. The school itself has a lot in common with my ideas about the law - making it a good personality fit. In addition, the couple's housing isn't restricted to married couples - which would make finding a place to live in NYC a LOT easier for Jeff and I. Those are two very attractive aspects of it. Again - I don't have a funny or amazing story... I'm just blown away to have gotten into NYU.

WAIT-LISTED SCHOOLS:

Duke: Ranked 10th, located in Raleigh-Durham.
I'm not shocked or upset by this. Even though my LSAT was strong for them, my GPA was not. That, and I think more importantly, Duke doesn't focus on public interest law. That makes civil rights a low priority. I liked the possibility of being closed to major civil rights firms (making summer living easier), but Duke was not a top choice. Neither Jeff nor I want to live in the south for school and I think it would be too conservative for me. I have until the 31st to accept or deny my spot on the wait-list. I will be politely declining a spot. Hopefully someone will get to go to their dream school by getting into Duke and I will not be taking that chance away from them. :-D

DENIED SCHOOLS:

None yet.

APPLIED SCHOOLS:

As it stands I'm still waiting on Columbia, Chicago, Michigan, Penn, Virginia and Yale.
I think Yale would be an amazing opportunity, but it is definitely a long shot. A girl can dream though, eh? In the meantime... I'll keep people posted about schools.
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My job is amazing and fun. I love working at Plum. The atmosphere is amazing. I'm a cashier and I'm loving the extra money. Its going to be SO helpful to have that cash on hand for the move. Everyone should come shop at Plum - we have a fine selection of wines and beers.
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Jeff... Yes... let's talk about Jeff. LOL
I've been blessed with the most wonderfully supportive and sweet boyfriend in the world. I couldn't have built a better man from scratch. I love everything about him. He helps me when there's trouble... he laughs with me and makes me happy all the time. He's working his ass off to prepare for all the changes we're making and steps we're taking together. I almost wish there was something about him I could bitch about... cause that would be funnier... but there's not. He's just... the best... and I love him dearly.
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Life is good.
The end.

This entry is exactly what it sounds like. LOL

Columbia: App Complete, awaiting decision
5th ranked

University of Chicago: No way to tell (no online app checker)
tied for 6th ranked

Duke: App Complete, awaiting decision
tied for 10th ranked

George Washington: No way to tell (no online app checker)
22nd ranked (back up school)

Georgetown: App complete, awaiting decision
14th ranked (also back up school)

New York University: ADMITTED
4th ranked

Northwestern: ADMITTED
tied for 12th ranked

University of Michigan: App Complete, awaiting decision
tied for 8th ranked

University of Pennsylvania: App Complete, awaiting decision
tied for 6th ranked

University of Virginia: App Complete, awaiting decision
tied for 10th ranked

Yale: App Complete, awaiting decision
1st ranked (stretch school)

So... about how Jeff and I are moving in together in 4-5 months and that's gonna cost money. About how neither of us wants to dip into our longterm savings (ie: the money for our first down payment on a house or our kids college fund). And about how I didn't have a job and would therefore have had to completely rely on mommy and daddy for moving costs...

That's all fixed now... well, at least partly fixed. I have no idea how much its going to cost to move (that depends largely on what place we end up going), but I do know that I'll be able to pay for at least a portion of it with the money I make this summer. I got a job at Plum Market as a cashier. (Come buy things there - its fantastic).

I enjoy working a lot more than just sitting around or hanging out. I can't explain exactly why, cause I know most people don't like work... but I enjoy that tired feeling after a long day. Its rewarding. And I like my bosses so... that helps a TON. Not liking one's boss can make it a lot harder. I know a couple people dealing with that at other places right now and its apparently not fun.

I've been there full time for about a week -- just finished training the other day and got my own till (money money... MONEY). Both days that I cashed in I was off by $0.25, but the second day - totally not my fault... somehow a Portuguese 10 cent piece was left in my quarter drawer and no one noticed. So if we'd counted that piece, which was technically considered a quarter all day... I'd have been right on. Not that it hugely matters cause they don't get pissed until you're +/- $3.00 and I was no where close to that.

Let's see what else is going on. LOL. Jeff's coming the first week of April. I know I downplayed that and made it look like it wasn't a big deal... but I pretty much started this entry for the sole purpose of mentioning that Jeff's gonna be here cause I'm giddy about it. Dave insists upon seeing him, so I'm sure we'll grab lunch with Dave while he's here. Other than that, we're mostly gonna be planning and hanging out with anyone else who insists on seeing Jeff (all offers of hang outage are definitely welcome, actually).

I've yet to hear back from any other schools, but to be fair... most of them didn't consider my application complete until the first week of March cause my recommendations came in slow. Silly US Postal Service. That said, I'd like to have more responses to base my judgment off of. Namely Yale. I think once I hear yes or no from Yale then we'll have a good idea of where we're going. That'll be weeks though - they have the whole faculty review the apps, which is a lot longer process than just a small selection committee.

Finally, the fun times in Michigan. On Friday I hung out with Lisa and Maggie (got a couple drinks at Pizza House) and then walked down to Bob's for poker. Its like a mile away. I walked back to my car in the morning. It was good that I wasn't that hungover. Although, we did have a decent number of drinks. Two with Lisa and Maggie and then a couple big ones at Bob's. No poker though - I missed the first tournament and they never started a second one so I went out in the hallway and talked to Jeff for a little while before going in and crashing on the couch. I had to make sure I got enough sleep cause I had work on Saturday.

So that's my life thus far. Pretty fantastic, I think... :-)

Life is actually quite amazing and wonderful, but I'm pretty much constantly missing Jeff right now so... it has its moments of suckitude. Its a word. Look it up.

I realize now that I never wrote about the second week of the trip to Mountain View. It was amazing. We relaxed, played cards, got dinner with Tracey and Brad and Jeff's parents. We bought Magic cards, played Peggle together, slept late when we could and woke up early when we couldn't. I cooked and painted dice, finding that what I used to think was relaxing... well... just isn't.

In particular, I came to a realization that Facebook Mafia is in no way, shape or form... a relaxing activity. On the contrary, its filled with self-righteous hypocrites who think that because they've become popular on a Facebook application (of all things) they're better than other people. I don't know why I didn't notice it sooner. Probably because there are also many nice, wonderful people who play also and I generally didn't burden myself with the others.

That said... Jeff and I were trying to have a relaxing afternoon the second weekend I was there. He played Warcraft and I started a couple games of mafia. Rather than feeling more relaxed... I felt tense and annoyed. That pretty much ended it.

I suppose the cooking and dice painting enjoyment shouldn't surprise too many people who know me well. I've enjoyed sorting Skittles and jelly beans for quite some time. It relieves stress. For anyone who didn't know that - you should try it. The point is not the sorting. The point is the focus your mind puts on sorting instead of whatever has been bothering you. It won't make any problem or issue go away, but it can be calming enough that upon returning to the source of stress, you're able to think more clearly. That's what I've found anyway - as silly as it is.

Anyway, my calming, vacation stress reliever while Jeff was at work was to paint a set of dice for him for his Magic set. It was SO relaxing. I'm thinking about taking up some silly game like Warhammer or something just so I can sit and paint things. Or maybe coloring. I remember coloring. In any case - finding ways to slow down and relax has become more and more important for me.

By about midway through the second week, Jeff and I both were calling it "our apartment". At first it was a slip... he said it without thinking about it and then I did later that same day. We both know its not "our" apartment... but it felt really nice to say.

Then... BIG NEWS... :-D
While I was still in California I got news from Northwestern Law School. I'M IN!!! Northwestern has a couple attractive features in particular. The first is that its 12th in the country. The second is that its in Chicago, which is one of the places that we liked location-wise. The third is that its just north of the city, which makes housing a LOT more affordable and easy to find. The fourth is that, quite frankly, I like being courted by schools. (Whether or not I deserve it... LOL)

To be honest... I do think I should be courted by schools a little bit. I've worked my ass off to build a good resume. Michigan honors and upperclass honors, 3.52 GPA, 172 LSAT, published my sophomore year, 2nd in the nation in impromptu speech, wrote an 80 page thesis as part of the honors degree, worked for two major companies in HR, worked for the US Attorney's office in Detroit, held positions at church and in multiple clubs (including political ones) and founded other clubs. I don't want to sound arrogant... but shouldn't that resume be a top choice?

In any case, the rest of the week went wonderfully. I'm loving his family more and more by the minute. I always liked them, but like I said in the last entry... there's always that nervous beginning when you're meeting people who're important to someone you love. The mix of trying to be yourself and trying to leave a good impression... its... tiring. I found that the tiring feeling got less and less as I spent more time with them though... and it was replaced by more of the enjoyment and fun that I knew was there. Its hard to explain how you can really like spending time with someone, but become quite worn out afterward. In any case, that's going away so... good times.
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I really didn't want to go home. I love my parents and I missed them and my puppies... but it felt like leaving a piece of myself on the other side of the country. And I was getting elbowed by some jerk on the first plane.

That being said... things have still been going well at home. I talk to Jeff every day and we're figuring out when we're going to see each other next... I'm catching up with folks in Michigan who I missed for the two weeks I was gone.

Last night I got dinner with Bob, went to Lisa's for a movie and ended up talking politics over part of it with Tim, Sean, Dave, Lisa, Ben, Ingrid and Lauren. I had promised to go to poker later that night so as soon as Labyrinth and the equally bizarre "The Making of Labyrinth" (LOL) had ended, I packed up and headed out. Dave came with me to poker. It was fantastic. I placed second in the tourney I played and then headed home to see the family.
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Of course... I purposely left out the big news until the very end of the entry for two reasons.
1. See who's paying attention.
2. Garner a sense of suspense.

More big news:
I GOT INTO NYU LAW :-D
Why was that posted separately from Northwestern? Cause I like chronological order and cause its slightly bigger news, as I've let it set in. NYU is ranked 4th and is the second highest ranked school I applied to behind Yale. I didn't apply to Harvard or Stanford as I had no urge to go to either and didn't feel like wasting the time and money. That said - NYU is amazing, progressive and in New York City (one of the other places Jeff and I would be happy to live).

So I'm giddy... doors are opening, options are becoming clearer and life couldn't be better. Well, it could, cause I still miss Jeff... but other than that... things are perfect.