Minutes to Memories

Merry Christmas from Ocean Springs!!!!!!!!!

It is odd to consider that, if all goes as planned, this will be our last Christmas in Ocean Springs. The weather this year has been absolutely gorgeous, up until the last day or two when the cold breezes began to blow. We have really enjoyed warm Decembers over our years here.

We plan to be traveling over the next several days, so let me go ahead and say Merry Christmas to everyone, and even a Happy New Year just in case I don't get back to blogging before then.

May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be around 70 degrees with palm trees on the beach.

I don't know if it is a breach of test-taking etiquette to share your score with the world at large, but I received an early Christmas present yesterday when the Law School Admission Council posted my LSAT score earlier than I anticipated.

I scored a 161, which puts me at the 84th percentile of test takers. Not as high as I wanted (is it ever?), but not as low as it could have been, too. It is a solid score with which I am satisfied.

The score, in effect, rules out the University of Virginia and the University of Arkansas from consideration, leaving me with four schools on my list:
* Florida
* Ole Miss
* Pepperdine
* Tennessee

I looked at my responses, and of the four test sections, I missed 3, 4, 10, and 6 respectively. I wish I knew what happened on that third scored section!!! If I wouldn't have blown that particular part of the test, my score would have been several points higher!

But as my beautiful wife pointed out, she prayed for me to get the score I needed to get, so we should be satisfied.

And I am.

Thanks for all the super-cool things said to me in response to our big announcement (both here and in bunches of private emails). I highly suggest everyone make a big move, just for all the nice things people say.

Christmas is five days away. More on my mind, my LSAT reporting date is thirteen days away. Today, however, was an ugly, rainy day, though it did not dampen the spirits of my youngest who got out of school for Christmas break. It has been a perfect day to sit around the house and read a good book, which is what I have been doing.

My friend, Bruno, has been reading a book from Frank McCourt (either 'Tis or Teacher Man, I forget). Somewhere in that news, my friend Trent Austin said that Angela's Ashes was the best McCourt book in his opinion (and Trent's opinion when it comes to books is most valuable). So I checked Angela's Ashes out recently and have been meaning to find some time to read it.

I had read the first third of the book over the past three weeks. I've read the second third so far today. Simply an amazing book.

McCourt's memory of an unspeakable childhood is impeccable. His writing ability is superb. His humor while sharing tragic stories is amazing.

Okay, forget blogging. I've got to go read another chapter. Or ten.

I’m moving. Well, next August is still a long ways off. But I’m moving anyway.

It has been ten weeks now since my self-imposed blogging hiatus, and I guess it’s about time to return. It all began with my trying to simplify life (remember that crazy check-email-once-a-day attempt?). Somewhere in the middle of that process, my wife and I began having some deep talks about the future, and somewhere in the middle of that our computer crashed. That was a convenient reason for the break.

I’ve just had a lot to sort out before spewing my life details out to the world at-large once more.

But I’m ready now.

Somewhere in October Jody and I decided that I should try to go to law school next year. I’m 37 years old, so I think this qualifies as a mid-life crisis. Going to law school is better than getting a girlfriend (and Jody said it would be cheaper, too), and a sports car just isn’t my style. No, I’ll just reinvent my life instead, incur heavy student loans for old time’s sake, and move from our beautiful home to a college apartment.

I’m pumped about it.

The downside is leaving people we love, which we will have to do next August. We told the elders of our church family in November, and broke it to the whole church family in December. Most everyone has been very supportive of the fact that we are following our hearts, even when our hearts are leading us into uncharted waters. The funny thing is, when your heart is convicted, you’ll follow it whether others are supportive or not. But the support has been heartwarming.

It’s pretty cool that I can count about two people who are probably glad to get rid of us at church, and they’ve been nice enough not to say it. Lots and lots and lots of people have told us they really hate it that we’re leaving. Some are even scared of the prospect. But they still tell us that we should do what we think is right for us to do. Very, very cool.

While I wasn’t blogging, I was sneaking around studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Remember now, I hadn’t taken a real test in 13 years or so, much less a killer test like the LSAT. I took it a couple of weeks ago, so now I’m awaiting my scores. From what I can tell, I will get the results on January 2. I will either be really happy or really grumpy that day. Don’t say I didn’t warn you either way.

I’ve sent in my application to six schools. It will probably be March or April before we know for sure where we’ll be headed.

· The best law school on my list is the University of Virginia, but I really doubt I’ll end up there. For one, there’s this tricky thing about being accepted there. If that miracle occurs, then I have to decide if the debt is worth it.

· Just behind UVA for me is Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. There are lots of reasons to go to Pepperdine, not including Pamela Anderson (Hi, Jody!). The biggest problem there is money, so I’ll have to wait and see about scholarships there.

· The next two of interest are the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the University of Florida-Gainesville. I really like both schools, and I go back and forth as to which one I like best (mostly depending on the weather that day!).

· Ole Miss is the smart financial choice. Oxford is a cool little town from what I hear, too.

· Last, and least for me, is my alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. I loved it there, but for several reasons, it comes in sixth on my list of six.

Well, let’s not overdo it on my first day back on the blogging wagon. But I thought all four of you faithful readers deserved a somewhat substantial update.

I’ll try to get back in the habit. If not daily, at least often.