copy and cutline

the new deal

I am tired of wincing every time I look at "The Blog" tab on my Internet search window, a prickly feeling of guilt causing me to quickly skip to my next task. I feel guilty because dozens of people have loved Ben and I, supported us and invested in our lives for two years through this forum, and abruptly in the last month we have disappeared like ghosts (or first-year law students).

My plan was to have a flashy farewell post several weeks ago in which I explained how Ben and my feelings toward copy & cutline have changed in this season of life. While living overseas we wanted to use the blog in order to process the experience and stay in touch with a wide range of people. Now, though, we want to spend the extra hour a week we are not blogging to make a phone call, take a walk, text siblings or bake cookies; whatever it is that people do when they live close to family members and old friends.

But Ben talked me down from my termination plan, and I feel like the alternative has not been inspiring--us leaving the blog to lose its readership and fade ingloriously. Plus, there are a lot of things about blogging that I miss. I miss expressing myself and in turn receiving positive feedback from readers. It's a nice feeling. It is also one less thing that Ben and I have in common, and with school just beginning for me it feels like we don't have enough of those.

Although I am torn about it, for now we are not closing down this blog. At the same time, I want to redraw the parameters for the faithful few who still check up on us through Google Reader. I doubt I will have the chance to blog consistently. It is not for lack of ideas--currently I have a killer essay fermenting about how law school is just like Harry Potter--but my hours are packed with the "right now".

If you can handle the uncertainty, check in with us every few weeks. We are both into interesting new fields, and who knows what the future holds. Of course you can always just call us, e-mail us or come bake cookies. We'll be here for four years!

-a

 

my friends call me marilyn

In five hours my newly-blond self will begin the long trip back to Wyoming, family and a brand new phase of life.

Hip hip hooray!

-a

whimsy

This week marked the beginning of my little time of solitude. Ben left on Tuesday for the Faroe Islands where he is taking thousands of pictures for money over the next month, my intern companion flew the country on Thursday, and Alice the Rabbit has made the trek across town to be with her new owner. What I am left with is a nasty head cold, five unwatched seasons of the Gilmore Girls, an apartment full of stuff that has to go somewhere in the next two weeks, and an enormous work project looming.

Of course I am making do nicely, but there are a few things I could imagine that would make this time go more quickly:

1. A magical Monopoly-style card which would give me an unlimited baggage allowance on my flight home. Instead, today I spent 30 consternating minutes on the phone to discover that United Airlines has an unpublished carrying policy that would charge me a hefty $550 for bringing one extra bag back with me.

2. For the water in our apartment to not be disconnected again. Fingers crossed.

3. That the new Harry Potter movie would be released. Oh wait!

4. For the tiny lizard that currently makes me shriek every time I walk into the kitchen and see it staring at me with its little beady eyes to somehow find its way out of the apartment.

5. That the United States Air Force would accidentally have mixed up Ben with his brother (who is in the Air Force) on a transfer list, and so send over complimentary movers. I have seen them work, and it's a miraculous and painless process--much different than trying to figure out how to prioritize your life into two, 50 lb. bags.

6. That one of my co-workers will have sudden revelation concerning their interest in our office's newsletter, and therefore beg me to let him/her write the stories for the August issue.

-a

how busy?

It has been over two weeks since we last posted--that might be a copy & cutline truancy record.

I wish we were being more faithful in recording daily challenges and adventures. Ben has only been back a week from his final trip to Mindanao to do photo work, my mother has been our real estate agent in Colorado and we are in the final stages of securing a great little apartment for next year, and today I gave a high-energy photography skills workshop to a roomful of bouncy pupils (International Justice Mission employees).

Unfortunately, tonight another set of tasks have materialized. Instead of insightful cultural commentary or zippy political discourse, I leave you only with elaborations on how busy we feel.

-Ben is so busy he doesn't even have time to drop all of his dirty clothes on the bedroom floor.
-"Is milk supposed to be chunky?"
-Abby and Ben are so busy they haven't watched a single episode of Seinfeld in weeks.
-Abby is so busy that she can't even search for a used couch on Craigslist.
-"You haven't fed the rabbit in a week? I haven't fed the rabbit in a week!"

-a

boulder rocks!

I recruited Ben and Gillian, my fellow intern, to help me make the announcement of the season.

In August I will start law school in Boulder, Colorado--a proud member of the CU Law class of 2012!

It has not been an easy decision between my two final schools. Colorado is located in a region of the country where we could see ourselves living long-term, and it offers outstanding opportunities to be involved in Western natural resource issues. However, Minnesota’s program is better regarded nationally, my ticket the Top-20 elite and a law firm job in Manhattan?

I have been told I am being shortsighted to pass up a high-ranking graduate school; I have been told I am being brave for picking the school that is the most holistic fit. I probably need to stop asking people for their opinion.

At any rate, Colorado won me over with its aforementioned investment in ecological issues, a joint program in Urban and Regional Planning that seems like a good fit for me, its solid academic reputation, and the chance to hinge my studies on a place—where my education will tangibly connect to familiar surroundings and the countryside which has nurtured my family for generations. Plus, I am not sure that a firm job in Manhattan fits into my emergent professional vision: Abby Kirkbride, Esquire/Husbander of Lambs, Chickens & Zucchini.

What I am trying to focus on is that I do not have to foresee every twist in life that will come from this decision. I can rest in the knowledge that this has been a thoughtful choice, and that for three years Colorado Law is going to be a good place for Ben and me.

And the cherries on top? Boulder is a haven of yoga studios, natural food markets and one outstanding yarn shop.

-a

Heyah!

It's the latest and greatest. Click here to download our Spring 2009 update.

-a

yahoo!

It feels a little like I have turned our blog into the “The Choice” feature from The New York Times, a section where uncannily articulate high school seniors blog about the colleges they have applied to, where they have been accepted and their full-ride scholarships. Minus the full-ride scholarships for me.

 

Regardless, I am rounding out a year of direct preparation for law school (more than that if you take LSAT study into account), and so as the final application decisions trickle in, this is what is on my mind.

 

If you are still with me, today I received an enthusiastic (I would like to think) offer of admission from the University of Minnesota Law School. Yahoo! The past month has felt like my 40 days wandering in the wilderness, so it is nice to be wanted. 

 

This is a perfect time to share our outlook on the Twin Cities--the same key as before with Ben in pink, me in blue, and both of us in yellow. Ben couldn't contribute anything to the list that he is looking forward to, so help us out. What’s the scoop on Minneapolis/St. Paul?

 

-a

 

 

 

we process

So far Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon is the only institution that has accepted me to be a part of its incoming class. This has prompted Ben and I to do some soul-searching on how we feel about living in the Northwest. The conclusion? Pretty good, especially if I could transplant my entire family to Seattle, Washington.

Here is the assessment we came up with this week. The key is that the yellow blocks stand for things that affect us both, while the pink blocks are Ben's contributions, and the blue ones are mine.

Neither of us has ever been to Portland though, so we would love some insider-type tips!

-a

plan b

If things don't work out as planned for next year, I don't want to inspire the kind of awkward conversation normally reserved for people who have just gone through bad breakups. Something like, "I was so sorry to hear about things not working out for you and law school. You know, I guess it was just not meant to be."

Please know that we have backup plans for our backup plans. Such as:

-Become World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) volunteers. Possible destinations for us would be Denmark or Sweden, where I could work on a farm while Ben pursued photography opportunities with his contacts there and in the Faroe Islands. It is a neat program where you pay a small sum by country for a list of farms that are set up to take volunteers. The volunteers work for a set amount of hours each day for a pre-agreed upon length of time. You don't get paid, but do get free lodging and food.

-Move to Detriot and buy an inexpensive house in a rough-but-upcoming neighborhood. Ben would document a city at the nexus of the economic recession, and I would do whatever from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to support involvement with local agricultural and neighborhood development. Apparently, Detriot is a "vast, enormous canvas where anything imaginable can be accomplished" and the site for realizing "a strange, new American dream".

-Move into the basement/next door to you, close family member or friend! Your hospitality is especially vulnerable if you live somewhere with a burgeoning green movement and a lively art scene.

So no pity here. I may not have a long-term vision for my life outside of law school, but the setback of a single year is far from insurmountable. We will keep you posted, especially if we decide to sleep on your couch for three months.

-a

i got them law school application blues

I mentioned it briefly last week, but I want to clarify for those dedicated fans following my law school application process that I am finished with my submissions (!). It has been a challenge to wrangle my transcripts, references and thoughts into seven orderly packets, but after two months and many hours of work, it is done.

The hardest parts for me were the personal essays. With prompts like, “Tell us anything about yourself not otherwise covered in the application that will indicate why you are good fit for this school,” I struggled and sweated to show how accomplished I am, how bright, how unique, yet how humble. Luckily each of my essays was based on the same framework, so I was not building from scratch each time.

It is likely that by mid-April I will have heard back from all of the schools, but it might also happen sooner than that. One school unexpectedly contacted me on Saturday, but it was not a pleasant surprise. They said, “No thanks.” For my own sanity, I am going to wait until I receive all the results before I go public with the details—it is the equivalent of yanking the bandage off the wound all at one time, as opposed to picking at it. Of course, when I get good news, the policy might change.

Thanks to all of the people who have helped me through this—Ben, Gillian, Hannah, Carli, Pat, Ashley and Dan. You have been great editors, advisers and listeners.

The sharp transition from frantic activity to stillness has been dizzying. It’s just a waiting game now.

-a