Journalistic beginnings

My inner struggle with Law School continues after a conversation I had with an old friend at The Times-Picayune. I'm being tempted to return to New Orleans not as a law student but as a journalist. It wouldn't be the worst thing to do to get more work experience, especially in a field that I'm already enveloped in, but my mom warns that if I don't go back to school now I never will. If I do take a job in journalism I could always apply to better law schools down the road and (hopefully) get in. There's also the option that I just won't go to Law School and I'll live out my life as a journalist, albeit relatively poor.

My roommate, Chris, is in New Orleans right now house-hunting. The Times-Pic gave him a great deal to return to NOLA and he's excited about working for such a great paper again. The TP really is a great place to work, they're like family to me, and I think Chris feels the same.

In a late-night discussion with myself (I do that more and more now) I shot a quick (and free) application to night law school at Loyola - New Orleans. Although it's definately a lower-ranked school than LSU (my current pick) it would allow me to work in the field and get my JD in less than four years.

Something to think about.

Law School, Yeah

So LSU Law made it extremely worth my while to return to Baton Rouge next year. Enough to where I would graduate with almost no debt, assuming I can keep the scholarship they offered. So here's the question, is three more years in Baton Rouge worth turning down a better school that would put me into debt considerably?

When you compare LSU to Tulane, Alabama, Wake Forest and UNC you can't really beat the value. The only one I'd probably even consider at this point is UNC, simply because it's a top-30 law school at a rock-bottom price. But at LSU I could get a good education, have little debt, take some journalism courses as electives and be back at home. Closer to my girlfriend and my family, around my friends and the people I love. There's no question that it would be comfortable.

But is comfortable really worth it? I find myself wondering if I should be experiencing something different. Still, I can't go wrong going back to school, especially if it's (relatively) free, assuming I keep my grades up.

Breland came up this weekend and we had a great time. Unfortunately for me I received the bad news that I'll have to have my wisdom teeth out ASAP because one of them has a cavity the size of Texas in it. The Mardi Gras festivities start up here next week and I'm planning on some visitors from Baton Rouge, then its down to New Orleans for the real thing Feb. 17. I'm taking the red-eye back home Mardi Gras day and bringing a huge king cake to my co-workers. I'll be sure to post pictures.

Also took pictures at the big war protest this weekend, I'll be sure to post them later tonight.

Marching on

So the Saints lost. Maybe it was time for the team's run to end anyway. But now comes the speculation of what could have ben. Personally, I'm looking toward the draft and hoping Sean Payton gets a good cornerback and some other defensive players. We went to 18th Amendment for the game, but the highlight of the day was the two inches of snow that fell. We had a snowball fight in front of the bar during halftime, very exciting.

I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. My new interns started last week. They're all around my age. Erica went to a small college in Pennsylvania, Jared is from Iowa State and Brian went to UNC-Chapel Hill. All very cool people, and Jared, Brian and I have spent some time playing darts at happy hour after work this past week.

My mother was in town for a few days last week and we ate some good food and saw Dreamgirls, an excellent movie that I didn't think I would like as much as I did. I would definately recommend it to any of you.

My law school search is nearing the end. I am having doubts, I must add, that maybe I should just go work for another year or so before heading back to school. We'll see. So far I've been admitted to Miami, LSU and Tulane. I'm still waiting on decisions from Alabama, Wake Forest, UNC-Chapel Hill and Colorado. I am leaning toward LSU. Everyone, from my friends to my uncle who went to Law School there over Tulane, has been telling me not to waste my money in New Orleans. The pricetag is about $25,000 more to go to Tulane, not to mention cost of living.

We'll see. That's all for now. More to come this week.

Snow on the ground

It's snowing (substantially) for the first time since I moved up to Washington. And it's only an hour from the NFC Championship game and I'm about to head out to cheer for the Saints. Its not like I haven't seen snow before, but its somewhat different when you live in a city where you have to walk everywhere.

I'll post pictures later. Go Saints!

New Year's in NOLA

I just returned to the district from my eight-day foray into the south. I was able to spend time in New Orleans and Natchez. I'll backtrack the trip for all of you reading.

Breland and I spent New Year's Eve at an apartment in the French Quarter owned by one of her family's friends. The fireworks were stellar and the apartment was in a choice location, at Jackson Square just across the street from Cafe du Monde. This was no doubt the absolute best place to spend New Year's Eve.
We also brought boxes and boxes of old Mardi Gras beads up to the apartment, which we (and the other revellers) began to throw to the crowds below as the night wore on. We wound up leaving the French Quarter around 1 a.m., and I returned home to Metairie and immediately fell asleep. Earlier that day we ate at Cannon's Uptown with my dad, Glynis and the twins. It seems like a major part of my trip revolved around food. Crabby Jack's Po-Boys, Soul Food at the Piggly Wiggly in Natchez, home cooked meals. I really think I gained some weight while at home, and so now that I'm back in the district (where the food literally sucks, I might add) I will have to slim it down.

I arrived home in New Orleans late on Dec. 22, after my airline schedule was changed so much that I actually went home, watched a movie, and then went back to the airport to catch my flight. After celebrating my birthday in New Orleans with my chocolate Doberge cake (my favorite) I headed home to Natchez for Christmas and drinks with old friends. My mom made me a Carmel cake for my birthday/Christmas (also a favorite) and I caught up with friends there that I hadn't seen in a while. After Christmas with the family I made it back to New Orleans where I spent quality time with my family there, my girlfriend and some friends in the area, including fraternity brothers and some old Reveille staffers. And, as I said earlier. I ate, a lot. I won $15 at the casino (I was losing until the very end, my dad lost as well), and played blackjack next to some Notre Dame football players, including star quarterback Brady Quinn. You can rest assured there were no LSU players there, I'm sure Les Miles had them under lock and key in the hotel.

With Ashley Jennings and Russ Butts at Andrew's in Downtown Natchez.

With Stephen Crain, Mat Sanders and Wes Galjour at Bruno's in New Orleans

More to come. Tired now. My flight back didn't get in until almost midnight and I didn't get to bed until late. I did, however, get a free plane ticket because they needed my seat on my original flight. If I didn't get to see you when I was in Louisiana/Mississippi then I'm sorry, I'll catch you next time. Happy New Year to everyone.