Cheers

As I prepare to start my new life at a new school I thought it was time for a change. I got tired of having to pay diaryland to host images and then I discovered that you can do it for free on blogger. Although I always liked the ease of using diaryland, I decided to take a chance.

So here I am.

A lot has happened in the past month. After getting accepted to Boalt, I had to scramble to get things in place so that I could transition as smoothly as I could from Santa Clara. First I had to find a new place to live. I paid $30 to sign up for this "Cal Rentals" listing service offered by Berkeley. Basically they send you rental listings every day tailored to the kind of room you are looking for. But then I went on Craigslist and ended up finding an apartment without ever looking at the rental listings I paid for. That probably wasn't the brightest move, but I'm very happy with the room I found.

I'll be living in Albany, CA which is about 15 minutes from school (probably less without so much traffic). I live on this great street filled with little shops, restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, etc. And there are TWO movie theaters, including one for independent films. It's a very nice neighborhood and I think I will be very comfortable living there. Although it's a bit pricey, I think it'll be worth it.

The landlords are this cute old asian couple who both went to Berkeley. The woman totally reminds me of my college debate coach because she talks on and on, but she's still very sweet.

After finding a place I had to next move out of my Santa Clara apartment. I drove down last weekend with my Dad and we proceeded to load up a Uhaul truck by ourselves. I was quite impressed with myself. My mom and brother couldn't come until the next day, but dad and I managed to clear out the entire apartment.

I was glad to be leaving the place. The people there weren't very considerate and I didn't really mesh with any of them. I hope my new neighbors will be different.

So after mom and brother arrive, we drove up to Albany and loaded all my stuff into my new apartment. But then we had a dilemma. I still hadn't heard from Stanford and there was a possibility (although slight) that I would be accepted. So we decided to leave all my stuff boxed up and wait to unpack until I had heard from Stanford.

Well, I heard from Stanford today and they said no. They said the reason was that a larger than usual number of 2nd year students had chosen to return. I guess at Stanford, they only accept as many transfer students as they have room for. Oh well, I'm happy with Boalt!

After unloading the van, we drove to campus and I was finally able to see inside the law school building. The classrooms are huge but they look old. Definitely not as nice as the classrooms at Santa Clara. The seats don't have laptop plugs or ethernet ports. Damn! How am I supposed to Instant Message during class? I just hope the classrooms are wireless.

Then we went to Pier 39 and walked around. I was disappointed because all the sea lions had migrated for the summer. Bastards!

Now I'm trying to prepare myself for On Campus Interviews. Big law firms come to campus and interview people for summer positions. It's crazy because you interview now for a position next summer. Then you work there during the summer and if they like you, they extend another offer of employment for work after you graduate.

This means I have to polish my writing sample and work on my resume. Crap! I hate writing my resume. I never know if I'm doing it correctly.

In all the excitement of the past month, I've totally bailed on my judicial externship. It probably wasn't the smartest idea not to do the work, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't motivated as I wasn't getting paid and the excitement of transferring made me distracted. Now I have to go in next week and tell the judge I didn't get any work done. Damn!

I think I'll be in Reno until around the 12th, maybe longer. I have Orientation on the 19th and I want to go early so I can move into my apartment and start getting familar with the area. I definitely want to go to the Ikea in Emeryville, which is also about 15 minutes (if even that) from Albany. Woot! I've never been to an Ikea but from what I hear I'm missing out.

I still don't know what classes I'm taking, I don't get to register until orientation. I just hope I don't get stuck with crappy classes. They must have spots set aside for transfer students.

That's about it for now. There wasn't any sarcasm this time, more law stuff. But I'll try to be better next time.

I'll also come up with a catchy signature line. I think I will retire see you in the car with my old diary.

Welcome aboard!