I did it!

So I did. I made it through my first year of law school at Michigan State University.

There were definitely times when I felt like I couldn't.  There were sleepless nights (due either to stress/insomnia or needing the time to finish all of my work). There were tears (especially after taking my first final, which I was convinced I failed. I'm happy to report, I did not.). And there were many questions (specifically, "you're in your 30's, all of your friends have houses and families, what are you doing going back to school?" and "how in the world am I going to do all this reading?/how in the world am I going to pay all these bills?").

There were times when I was filled with doubt, and the voices that told me I never should have left my job, should have followed Drew to Houston, etc. were hard to quiet.

But, in the end, I did it.

I'm not going to lie: law school is hard.  Law school while being on the road doing comedy, working part-time, and interning is doubly hard. Law school while being on the road doing comedy, working part-time, interning, and not knowing many people in your new town/having your partner move out of state/living alone is triply hard.

But, I got through it. On the days I didn't want to get out of bed. On the days I didn't think I could possibly cram more into my brain. On the days I passed out, fully clothed, at my computer. I got through it.

Along the way, I met amazing people, and I realized that I am so lucky because I have quite the support team in my corner.  Whenever I needed someone or something, it somehow seemed to appear. When I needed someone to listen to me cry, I was gifted with a willing ear. When I needed make-up notes from a class I missed, one of my new friends provided me with those. And when I needed some home-cooked meals, my mother loaded me up with tupperware full of them. I received countless check-in calls and cards of encouragement, and I even got a care package of homemade marinara sauce and pickles (thanks Tim!). To say I'm grateful for the awesome people in my life would be an understatement.

In addition to learning Torts, Property, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Research, and Advocacy, I also learned the following:

-the parking meter enforcers at MSU are no joke; I'm pretty sure I spent more on parking tickets than I did on books

-it's possible to need Botox after one really tough semester (that's right, I said need. Pumping your face full of botulism moves beyond a mere want once stress has caused you to have an eleven permanently engraved between your eyebrows)

-free food always tastes the best, and there's not a lot I won't do to get it

 -procrastination is not your friend

-nor is the Bluebook

-wine, however, is definitely your friend

-I actually kind of dig wearing suits (and posing like a news anchor, as evidenced below)

Some firsts

I had a couple of firsts on Valentine's Day.

I worked at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle in Royal Oak, Michigan, and my act was translated into American Sign Language for the first time. You have no idea how tempted I was to tell all my dirtiest jokes, just to see how they would be signed.

I also got to be part of my first marriage proposal. Well, I didn't ask anyone to marry me, nor was I asked, but I got to facilitate an audience member asking his girlfriend to marry him. I called him up on stage (by the wrong name - Oops!), and in front of a sold-out crowd, he proposed. Best part? She said yes. Second best part? He was pretty forgiving of me messing up his name.

Overall, it was a really fun weekend, where I got to work with headliner Andy Pitz, who's super funny and nice.

I also got to hang out out with my buddies, Russ and Delilah. And, really, what would a weekend be without a greenroom selfie?

Valentine's Day!

Look who came to visit for Valentine's Day!

Vegan chocolate caramels inside a giant vegan chocolate heart? And it goes to benefit Farm Sanctuary? Clearly, the only option is to eat it all in one sitting, right? I'm pretty sure more animals are helped that way.

Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with just as much chocolate...and fewer creepy, possessed looking faces.

I felt like a real law student today...

because I got to wear a suit!

If this doesn't say "let me represent you in a slip and fall case," I don't know what does.

Thoughts on the Super Bowl

Well, these will be limited as I know basically nothing about it. In fact, I have no idea who is even playing in the darn thing, but I've got $50 on Artemis being named MVP of the Puppy Bowl.

Oh, and these!!! I know that I would give nearly anything (barring my NKOTB music/doll/button/clothing/pillow/water bottle/jewelry collection, of course) to anyone who made me at least 5 items on the list.

Warm weather, vegan donuts, and creepy dudes

Guess who got a break from Michigan's cruel and unusual temperatures sub-zero temperatures with a trip to Florida?

If you say me, you're either 1. an awesome guesser or 2. a master of stating the obvious seeing as it's my blog.

I was so very happy to hop in my car, leave Michigan's snow behind, and put on my flip-flops as soon as I hit the Kentucky border. My apologies to the folks in the I-75 rest areas who had to deal with my ghostly white, severely neglected feet.

When I arrived in Jacksonville, I was excited to learn I'd be working with Richie Holliday. Not only is he super nice, but I think he kind of looks like Joey McIntyre (especially when he does NKOTB's "Right Stuff" dance, which he was kind enough to treat me to). Our MC for the weekend, A-Train, was also incredibly nice (and really funny).

Best combination ever! Now, if only they could squeeze a Taco Bell in there, I'd be in heaven.

Posing like Charlie's Angels never gets old.

Richie's partner, Amanda, also joined him for the trip. And I found out she loves vegan donuts just as much as I do. Not only that, but she researched ahead of time, and found that Jacksonville has its very own vegan donut shop. That, my friends, wins the 'Best News of 2014' award.

So, of course, we had to make a trip.

Looks like some others did, too.

That's my s'mores donut. If I ever release an album/book/law review article/any other written publication, I will be dedicating it to said donut as it was sheer perfection.

Overall, it was a really fun weekend. Nearly sold-out shows, and great company!

On Sunday, I headed up to a show in Fayetteville, North Carolina to perform at a one-nighter on my way back to Michigan. I didn't snap any pictures, but this conversation happened after my set:

Setting: bar in the back of the showroom, me doing a quick email check on my iphone.

Him: (awkwardly stares at me for a while)
Me: (pretends not to notice, gets more and more engrossed in iphone)
Him: Hey.
Me: (grimaces) Hi.
Him: You waiting for anybody?
Me: Um, no, just watching the show.
Him: Oh.
LONG PAUSE.
Him: You're pretty (awkward 'heh' sort of sound).
Me: (half-smile). Oh, thanks.
Him: What are you doing here?
Me: Just waiting to get paid...watching the headliner.
Him: Oh.
LONG PAUSE.
Him: You got a boyfriend.
Me: (quickly) Yep.
Him: How come he's not here with you?
Me: Well, I'm working.
Him: What do you mean?
Me: I was one of the comics on the show. I just got off stage 5 minutes ago.
Him: Really?
Me: Yeah...I was up there for half an hour.
Him: Hmm, I had no idea.
ANOTHER LONG PAUSE.
Him: Well, good luck to you.

He then immediately walks back to his seat in the front row, where he's sitting with his girlfriend.

Way to keep it classy, bro. Not only are you hitting on other women while you're out with your girlfriend, but you got so drunk that you can't recognize someone who you were 3 feet away from for 30 minutes.

Luckily, I didn't have any more run-ins with Mr. Forgetful Pants and was able to escape without any awkward encounters.

On Monday, I got up early in the morning, squeezed in a few miles, and am now headed back to the snow and ice.

First day of 2014!

I'm pretty sure my resolutions (flossing, taking vitamins and sleeping 8 hours per day) officially qualify me as old and boring.

I also vowed to give up my one great addiction in life: diet soda. While soda doesn't cause me to hold up a bank or curse out my family at holiday gatherings (as many additions do), I feel like I'm probably giving myself countless tumors by drinking such massive quantities of chemicals. So I decided this would be the year I'd quit it entirely. 

I'm happy to report that day 1 was a success. I didn't get the shakes or anything like that, but I did think of diet cherry Pepsi nearly every five minutes. Hopefully that part gets easier. And if not, I suppose I'll just replace it with beer.

Just like 17 million other people, I went to the gym today and did my first run of 2014. And also like them, my gym-going won't make it past February.

I also had some delicious vegan sushi.

Happy 2014!