Finals Hell

I have a 20 page paper and a take-home final due on Monday at 6pm. I'm trying to get the paper out of the way in the next few days and then work on the final from Friday-Monday. I'm also picking up a 2nd take-home final on Thursday (which I assume will be due next Thursday).

I have to start studying for my other exams immediately after I'm done with take-home #2. The first one is on May 4th, and the last is on the 12th. And then the day after that my relatives are arriving, I have to get my hair/nails done, and finally, the thing I've been anticipating for 4 years - graduation!!

Needless to say, it's going to be a very busy couple weeks.

I have a couple of blog posts in the back of my mind (like, did I mention M and I bought a car... for my mom?), but it'll have to wait until then.

Hope to see you guys when I get back... with my newly-minted JD! :)

Rent Decrease Requested

...and now we're patiently waiting for an answer from the landlord. We asked that they get back to us by the first of next month.

M and I decided to try for a $100 decrease. That would be fantastic, though I would be fine with $50 as well. I've never tried to negotiate for a rent decrease, but I've also never rented during a renter's market. I'm optimistic about our chances.

But if they flat-out refuse, then it's back to the hunt. I'm feeling blase about the whole thing now; I like our place enough that I would be happy to stay, but if we had to leave I'm almost certain we could find something as good or better.

EDIT (4/21): They agreed to the decrease! :) That's a $1200 savings, and we can not worry about moving for another year. woohoo!

Options

Moving into M's parents' house is no longer an option. His dad found a contractor who said they could start construction in 4 months and be completely done in 9. So we'd have to be out in 4 months. We figured it wouldn't be worth it.

The two options open to us now are staying in this apartment and moving out. If we stay here, I was considering asking the landlord to lower our rent to $1150 (a savings of $75/mo). There are tons of 'for rent' signs in this area (in our building alone there are 2 units; both of which have been on the market for months). My assumption is that she wouldn't agree, but might come back with a counteroffer of $1200 (a $25 savings).

If we moved out, we could likely get a place for our current rent or cheaper, and maybe with some extra perks. There's an apartment I'm looking at today that is $30 cheaper, gated, a mile closer to M's work, allows pets, and has a pool! The only downside is that they're looking for someone now, and our lease doesn't expire until the end of June. If we move at all, I would actually prefer to do it now or in late May, because it'll just be too stressful the closer I get to the bar. But considering our building still has 2 empty units, what are the chances of finding someone to assume our lease? Then we'd get stuck still paying 2 months of rent here!

I really want a puppy, but maybe it'd be best, financially, to put that off for another year. Our current place doesn't allow pets, so that was one of my motivators. They're also building a huge skate park across the street, and we're wary of the number of kids that will be drawn to it. We had our bikes stolen last year, and people routinely walk through the complex and check out the trash can. Are we going to have more of that kind of stuff happening, but worse? On the upside, our neighbors here are really nice (though the unit next to us is empty, so we might be stuck with someone nasty). We're settled here; we finally put pictures up on the wall, organized everything. It won't be fun to get this right all over again.

Needless to say, I'm conflicted. What do you guys think is the right move?

Bar Prep

Just paid for my bar preparation class this morning, in full. $2000 went on a credit card, and $300 and some change came out of my bank account. Had I gone with Barbri, it would've cost me $1000 more. The program I went with is new... though the company itself has been around a long time. I think I feel ok about it. I wish I could've gone without a class entirely, but I don't think it would've been smart to try to study on my own. Some people can do it with no problem, but I'm a procrastinator.

If all goes well, the first installment of my $13k bar loan should arrive in a few weeks. I'm debating whether or not to pay the $2000 off outright. It might not be possible. I need this money to stretch from now until early August. That's the soonest I can start working. And honestly, I can't WAIT. I'm so sick of school. I just want to be out there making money again.

April Goals

I have a lot of school work to take care of this month... and it's really important that I stay on top of it!

Week of April 5th

• Do quiz/answer forum question Done.
  

Week of April 12th

• Finish research assignment 5 Done.
  
• Answer forum question Done!
  

Week of April 19th

• Finish 20 pg paper Done on 4/23

Week of April 26th

• Finish take-home final #1 Done on 4/26

Tuesday, 4/27

• Organize and clean the apartment
  
• Take bar loan check to bank (if it arrives)
• Visit Mom
  

Wednesday, 4/28

• Yoga, 11-12:30
  
• Go to school, 2-7
  
• Print out outline, look at sample tests & do flashcards for final #1
• Print out all handouts, powerpoints, etc. for take-home final #2
  

Thursday, 4/29

• Start on take-home final #2
• Yoga, 4-5:30
  

Friday, 4/30

• Yoga, 11-12:30
  
• Continue working on take-home final #2
  

Moving?

M's dad proposed something to us over the weekend that I'm kind of excited about! His dad and stepmom bought a house recently. It's about a mile away from where we currently live, and about half a mile closer to M's work. They're going to do a lot of work on it before they move in; I think they're adding an extra bedroom, a pool, some other things - apparently it's on a huge lot. But before the construction can get started, they need to get their permits approved.

This is where we come in. They think it'll take 6-9 months for the approval process. During that time, the house will be vacant. So M's dad asked if we'd like to live there during that time - rent free.

The downside would be that we'd have to move twice, possibly in a 6 month period. But we'd save anywhere from $7350-11025. M also expressed some hesitation over the fact that we'd get to live in the house first. It's his parents' dream house, they've been saving many years for it, why do we get to take advantage of it - that kind of thing. I also wonder if they'd want to visit all the time - it is their house, after all.

What do you think? Is it worth it? Any other potential downsides that I missed?

Waiting it out

I saw an endocrinologist today. I liked her; she really seemed to know what she was talking about. Nothing really got accomplished though; she said it'd be best if I waited until next month to have my blood re-drawn. It makes sense (because my TSH levels could be fluctuating for some other reason right now), but I hate waiting.

I find myself second-guessing all my symptoms. Maybe they're just from stress? I've been exercising the past two weeks, but I still haven't been feeling so good... tired and run-down. Maybe this is just normal for someone who's a month away from finishing law school.

Another stressor came in the mail today. Remember how I was fired from my job last summer? Even though I filed my moral character application last year, it still hasn't been completed. Apparently that job is the reason. They're requesting more info. Thankfully, I basically have the entire thing documented in emails... I really see no reason why it'd be an issue after I produce them. Still... it makes me nervous. :\

The next three days I'll be spending with M and family... It'll be nice to do something fun, get my mind off things.