Good bye Seattle, Hello Lansing

I made it! I can't believe I'm actually in Michigan FOR law school. I never could have imagined what God had in store for my life. His plans are always greater than our own. Never, would I have imagined myself going to Michigan to pursue my dream of law school. But now that I'm here, everything seems to have clicked right into place. I have a wonderful apartment across from a lovely park with a fountain that sparkles pretty colors at night, and I really like the school's facility and the way they've taken care of the incoming students during orientation. Now, I just need some more furniture. I have literally been living on my sole piece of furniture, my bed. It's where I sleep, eat, study, and attempt to talk on the phone (spotty service in my bedroom).

The road to Lansing:

I wanted to blog along our journey from WA to MI, but internet service wasn't readily available, plus I was completely beat whenever we called it quits for the day. I never thought sitting in the same confined space for 10 hours a day could be so physically painful and exhausting. BUT, I had the time of my life, and that's because my best friend and sister, Jenna agreed to tag along and share in the driving duties. I'd already done the drive with her from CA to WA twice, so I guess she sort of owed me. Although this roadtrip was a beast compared to that drive. We entertained ourselves as we always do on our roadtrips together....make videos that are ridiculous and funny (probably only to us).

Day 1 we drove from Puyallup, WA to Butte, MT ("That's BUTT with an E").

my car was completely packed!

Day 2 (Jenna's 20th Birthday!) we drove from Butte, with a pit stop in Billings, MT to have some Red Robin for lunch...a sad excuse for a birthday celebration, through Wyoming, and stopped in Rapid City, SD (20 miles outside of Keystone, SD/Mt. Rushmore). Man! Montana was the state that just wouldn't end.

*fabulous coffee suggestion from Noel: iced, non-fat, toffee nut latte, with caramel drizzle*

we hit a Starbucks at least once a day, in almost every state we passed through

Day 3 we started with a morning visit to Mt. Rushmore. This day was BY FAR my favorite day (and Jen's too). From Rapid City to Keystone you drive on Highway 16 and it is a strip of Roadtrip USA things to do. We wished we had the time to stop and visit all of the interesting attractions: Reptile Gardens, Petting Farm, Cosmos (mystery area...so mysterious, we didn't know what it even was), Bear Country USA, 99 cent Cowboy pancakes, etc. It all looked like so much fun! We quickly popped into a store called Christmas Village and got some Mt. Rushmore Christmas ornaments. And then, before driving the last stretch of highway to Mt. Rushmore, we stopped in Keystone. Cool town. I felt like we were in the Frontierland section of Disneyland. Very cowboys and indians. Jenna got her first pair of Minnetonka moccassins. We also made an obligatory purchase of $3 trucker hats with ridiculous captions. When in SD...... Mt. Rushmore was amazing! I'm so glad that we got to stop there. Hard to believe what was made out of the side of some mountains. After reluctantly hitting the road, we made our way through the rest of SD and we PUSHED through Minnesota before finally stopping in La Cross, WI (Right at the MN/WI border on the Mississippi River). I couldn't believe we were able to cross all of MN in the course of an evening.

trucker chic

Mt. Rushmore!

Avenue of Flags at Mt. Rushmore

Day 4 we drove the FINAL miles to Lansing, MI. Driving through WI was beautiful. Finally, some different terrain other than flat lands consisting of agriculture and very little civilization. We also drove through Chicago (note to self: never drive to Chicago again, instead take the train), hit a million tolls in IL, and unexpectedly spent an hour or so crossing northern Indiana. Arriving at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing, where I had stayed during my visit for orientation in June, was like reaching an oasis. Guaranteed amazing beds, familiar surroundings, no more thousands of miles to drive...we were in heaven. End of roadtrip.

The next day, I moved into my apartment at 9 am. The rest of the day was spent unpacking, shopping for supplies, showing Jen the bits of Lansing I knew how to navigate to, and dinner+movie on my living room floor. Jenna: "It's like we're newlyweds on our first night in our new apartment."---Thanks, Jen (Bale). You made this whole experience wonderfully memorable.

Now:

I've been living in my new apartment for one and a half weeks. I got to have dinner at the parents' house of my new friend, Sarah, which was fabulous. I attended two more afternoons of orientation. Thursday (9/3) was convocation where we took an oath, before a judge, to not "lie, cheat, steal, or plagiarize," nor tolerate "anyone who lies, cheats, steals, or plagiarizes." Friday (9/4) was a State Bar of Michigan event where we discussed professional problems in small groups with our fellow students and local lawyers and judges. Tonight, I just finished my first set of case briefs on Property Law for my first day of class (Tuesday, 9/8). I still have three classes' cases I need to read and brief for my first week. Thank goodness tomorrow is a holiday, although I won't have classes on Mondays this term anyways :) I can't wait to see what classes are like.