The law school fairest of them all

Hey, law school fans,

On Wednesday, there was a law school fair in the ballroom of the Wilkinson Center. The BYU Pre-Law office doesn't do a great job of getting the word out...the way I found out about it was a junk email from Michigan State. Then, all my law school junk emails started telling me about this law school fair, some of them from schools I was actually interested in and a few that said I could get an application fee waiver if I stopped by their table at the fair. Awesome.

So I was pretty excited to go. I had all kinds of things I wanted to find out, but at the same time I didn't really know what to ask. But I got some advice from my law school pals Bert van Uitert, Erin Kulesus and Aimee Brown (thanks, guys!). Erin and Allisyn were really excited to go with me too.

Even though I didn't really do that much, for some reason it was really fun. I guess it really is like a fair, or like a carnival. But instead of cotton candy and huge teddy bears, you get to dream about the next phase of your life. Erin and I both became even more thrilled by the idea of a new adventure. And there were so many options!

The ballroom at the Wilkinson Center was full of schools, and there was a pretty good representation. Harvard, Yale and Princeton weren't there. But Cornell and Columbia were. And, it ranged all the way down to the bottom tier schools that send me junk email all the time. It was just cool to see all these great schools from all over the country all at one place.


All of the schools in my narrowed-down list were there, which was a nice bonus. In addition, there were a few more schools that for one reason or another convinced us enough that we'll maybe apply to them too (the fee waivers helped):

Iowa - Because we're pretty much open to moving anywhere in the country, I didn't really know how to choose among all the state schools in the country. I know some state schools stand out, like Michigan and Texas. But I didn't really know the differences among Iowa and Wisconsin and Georgia and New Mexico or most anywhere else. But the guys at the Iowa booth made us feel pretty good about it, especially Erin. Erin, of course, was really big on finding out what family life would be like at each school, and what life would be like for the "law school widows." And she felt really good about Iowa, which means I do too.

Virginia - This school is one of the best state schools, and ranked ninth overall. I've always known it was a great school, and I think it would be cool to live in Virginia. But I wasn't planning on applying because I didn't think I could get in. But, this was one of the schools that had a fee waiver. So, hey, I might not get in, but it's worth $16 for the CAS and $0 for the application. (Plus, Allisyn got some swag from them - a little teddy bear.)

Minnesota - The lady at the Minnesota table was really nice. Kind of a grandmotherly type, and talked about the great family environment there.






We picked up a whole backpackfull of brochures, pamphlets, business cards - plus a pen from Washington and a pen from Notre Dame. And in addition to that Virginia bear, Oregon was handing out rubber duckies holding a gavel and a law book. Pretty clever.

Allisyn at home with her Oregon Law rubber duckie.

(Skip to 9:11) (If the video isn't loading for you, click here)

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THE CONVENTION - 3x02
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We got stuff from all these schools:

Already on my list
Texas
Notre Dame
UC Davis
North Carolina
Washington
Arizona State
BYU
Utah
Baylor
Gonzaga
Willamette

Will probably go on my list
Virginia
Minnesota
Iowa

Ones I would maybe apply to only if my LSAT is surprisingly higher than I expected
Stanford
Michigan
Columbia
UC Berkeley
Vanderbilt

Ones I got fee waivers for
Utah
BYU
Virginia
Oklahoma
Vermont
Texas Tech
Oregon
Akron (this one I didn't pick up, it was given to me by a desperate University of Akron representative)
(and Baylor and Willamette are already free)

Ones I would maybe apply to only if my LSAT is surprisingly lower than I expected
Florida
Ohio State
Temple

Others I just picked up for fun (either because they make me think of good college sports, or "The Office")
Nebraska
Alabama
Cornell
Syracuse

The guy representing Stanford was none other than Tony Montague, one of my MTC teachers! It was really cool to see him. I've run into him on campus a couple times since being home from my mission, but that's all. I had no idea he was even at Stanford. So that was cool. (Too bad that he can't pull some strings, haha. Even if I could get into Stanford, though, it is super expensive to live there. Tony said the apartment he and his family live in is $1,700 a month. And that's student housing. Yikes.)

Probably the best sales pitch came from Baylor. The girl was super nice, told us her apartment that has three bedrooms and two bathrooms was only $600 a month (that's less than we're paying in Provo for two bedrooms and one bathroom), and that Baylor has a spring term and a summer term, which might be better than finding a job for the nine months between graduating from BYU and moving to law school. Baylor also got me thinking about the benefits of being "a big fish in a little pond." Even if I could get into Virginia or Notre Dame, it might be worth going to a school like Baylor. It would be easier to be in the top of my class (which, one person told me, is noticed by employers no matter what school you went to) or on the law review. So, something to think about.

Anyway, I've got a big stack of brochures to read!

I can't wait for law school.

P.S.: If you want to read Erin's blog post about the law school fair, click here.

The Camera Loves Ya, Baby

¡Hola! ¿Cómo andás, che blog? Hace tanto tiempo. Demasiado tiempo. Hay varias noticias que compartir…ya te actualizo.

I've changed locations since my last post. I am now home sweet home for the summer. I wrapped up everything at work (and not a moment too soon), aced my finals, neatly packed everything into a corner of our house in Magna, UT, and returned to Mosier for a summer lacking in grocery bills and rent checks. It would be rather posh, except that in order to live this life of luxury it meant I had to be 2,299 miles (according to Google Maps) away from Erin. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be! Not to say that I was anticipating that this summer apart would be quick and easy. But, to go from living 33 feet apart (also according to Google Maps) to being separated by at least six states (and these are big Western states we're talking about) is not something I would recommend. All those crazy looks I got from people who found out we were getting married at the end of the summer? I think I understand them now.

One thing that makes me happy though is my sweet job. After a week of hiatus, I started work at the Oregon Child Development Coalition in The Dalles. The organization works with Head Start and Migrant Education to provide a preschool for children ages six weeks to five years. During the summer, these children are mostly from families who come up from Mexico to pick cherries. I was one of the first people hired specifically for this busy summer season at OCDC. Basically, my job is to hire everyone else. I am a human resources assistant, so I'm the one updating policy manuals and scheduling job interviews and calling references and putting together paperwork and training new employees on OCDC policy.

(Toby Flenderson, my Office human resources counterpart)

The best part is...I get to do a ton of it in Spanish! I always loved Spanish, but it grew to a full-fledged affair during my two years in Argentina. On the brink of returning home, I could never imagine that my Spanish abilities would ever wane. Alas, waning did occur. But thanks to this job I'm getting caught up and getting some good practice. A gringo who speaks Spanish is a highly valued commodity. It's fun to be appreciated at work.

Anyway, the matter at hand...

Order was restored to the universe when Erin and I finally took our engagement pictures last weekend. I took a day off to extend Memorial Day to a four-day weekend and spent virtually the entire time in Texas or in transit to Texas. It was oh so sweet to see Erin again. She waited for me on the baggage claim floor at IAH with a sign marked 'Despain,' just in case I forgot what she looked like. Of course, any fogginess in memory was instantly scorched away the moment I saw her amazing smile.

And now, all of you get to enjoy that smile (although under slightly different circumstances). I present to you...The Best of the Engagement Pictures.

A kissy one!

I like her feet.

She surprised me!

Looking into eternity.

Assisting the lady as she traverses the perilous waterfall.

Foot pop!

Erin says the timing is off on this one, that the picture was taken when I was already done kissing her. I still like it.

The cliché piggyback picture.

Here I am spinning Erin around, like I did with her cousins a couple of months ago. (I'm such a good cousin-in-law.)

I love when I say something funny and she scrunches her face up like that. I am crossing my fingers that all our kids will get her cuteness gene.

We think we're so cool in our sunglasses.

We're such dorks!

Our kids are doomed. The dorkiness genes will be coming at them from both sides.

Carl (Erin's dad) gave us instructions to high five each other. Maybe he had had enough of me kissing his daughter right in front of him.

Look at that rock!

Many thanks to Carl for his photography expertise.

The picture we will actually use for announcements, according to instructions from Erin, will be kept a secret. You'll just have to wait until yours comes in the mail!