Orientation’s over, the homework is prepared, and classes start tonight. I’ve enjoyed the people I’ve met so far and the assignments have been interesting.

I have decided I need to simply set aside any lingering doubts about my decision and charge ahead with enthusiasm. The finish line feels far away, and I’m eager to get there. But with interesting assignments, opportunities to start working next summer and, atleast compared to my peers, a promising financial situation; hopefully the time will cruise by enjoyably and at a brisk pace.

Then I can get into work that I enjoy and start moving towards financial independence once again and hopefully, in a few years, be in a position to sail off into the sun.

Full Scholarship

I have secured spring funding for school. So this means my entire first year of law school will only cost me the few hundred dollars I spent on my books. That’s $40k down, $80k to go for the next two years. School is going well. Classes are enjoyable and not really as difficult as people would have you believe. I would say it is about equal to the difficulty of my undergraduate work. And actually, because the curriculum is so concentrated, unlike undergraduate work where I took electives in whatever I pleased, I might even say that it’s a bit easier since all the classes closely relate to one another. Concepts learned in one class apply to another. Also, the subject matter is interesting and it’s empowering to know that I am gaining a commanding knowledge of the system that governs me.

Funding the remaining two years remains up in the air though. I ought to be laid off from work any day now. I’m looking forward to the free time. Unemployment insurance ought to cover my day to day expenses. I won’t be able to save much, but at least I will be making gains academically and having a nice break to just focus on school without a simultaneous 40 hr work week to distract me.

The question is, what do I do about funding the final two years of school without my scholarship through work?

I need to mull over some scenarios.

Layoff

So it is finally official. Last Friday they pulled over 200 of us aside across the state and gave us our walking papers. I wound up working at that company for 2 years, 6 months, and 3 weeks. During which I took a 30 day leave of absence, 30 days I called in sick, and 10 weeks I spent on paid vacation. By my calculations that means I actually physically showed up and worked about 512 days or 4,096 hrs. In compensation, including my tuition money, I received about $165,000. Which comes out to: $40/hr. Not too shabby. Especially considering that about half of those 4,096 hrs were spent surfing the internet and rolling cigarettes.

If you throw in the fact that I will be able to collect unemployment for the next 80ish weeks, that bumps my total take from this job up to $215,000, which would give me $52.50/hr.

The timing of the layoff could not have been much better. I just finished my undergraduate work last May. And I have already secured funding for the entire first year of law school. The unemployment income should take me a significant portion of the way through law school, meaning I won’t have to take out student loans just to pay the rent. I am looking forward to the 40 extra hours I am going to have each week. This mostly means I will no longer be sleep-deprived, no longer have an excuse not to workout, and have some time to cook myself some food rather than grabbing fast food burgers for dinner on the way home from work on my rush to class. Things will be pretty laid back for the next couple of months. But, in anticipation of the layoff, I did sign up for a heavy course load in the spring. Which ought to have me feeling sufficiently productive.

So goodbye manual labor. Goodbye shitty management. Goodbye working 40ft in the air, hanging by only a thick piece of leather, while I try to use my fingers on a 10 degree winter morning. Goodbye constant risk of death by electrocution. Goodbye commute and goodbye creosote splinters.

A Nice Period

It seems as though I am experiencing yet another “retirement preview” thanks to my unemployment. I’ve entertained thoughts of, after retiring, going back to school to pick up what I missed on the first go-round. Without having to work, spending my mornings studying mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics would be a delight. With absolutely no pressure over GPA’s or mounting debt, the experience would be entirely new. A well-paced study schedule, coupled with satisfying comprehension and ample contemplation might be near to heaven.

I am almost there now. Without work my schedule is clear to focus on class. It’s not quite perfect, there is worry about financing the final two years, and I am forced to take some classes in subjects that I would prefer only to have a casual acquaintance with, but otherwise I am practically already experiencing the life I hope to live in another 8 years or so down the road when all my financial goals are realized.

It is as if I am already rich.

Grades

I have started to receive the first feedback of my law school performance on some graded quizzes. I have scored above average on everything so far. It is nice to feel confident in my studies. Classes still remain enjoyable and the topics are only getting more interesting. The tedium of study is fading away. In fact, my recent studies have been more enjoyable than any studies I have ever undergone. I have yet to dread attending one class or gouged out any eyeballs trying to get through an assignment.

It’s possible that this might change next semester when I take on an additional law course plus simultaneously attempt to become a certified EMT. I may feel a bit more under-the-gun with the quantity of my assignments. But for right now, things are moving along with ease.

Change In Plans

The layoff from work has forced me to take a second look at my financial and education plans. Since my employer was prepared to pay for 100% of my educational undertakings I was prepared to take on as many educational pursuits as I could handle stopping just shy of giving myself a complete mental breakdown. Now that I have to personally pay for any classes, I need to actually weigh their value. I will need to take out loans to finish my legal education.

Luckily, my new chosen career path actually rewards people with higher student loan debts. My track is considered public service and so there are generous federal and state programs that will pay off my loans for me. If I graduated with zero debt I would not see any of those government bonuses. I expect that these programs will pay off my debt 100% over the course of 5-7 years so I needn’t budget any money from my main income to go towards debt.

I expect after graduating that I will have to work for 5-7 years to have my ~$400k I’ll need to be financially independent. That puts me at 33-35 years old.

After I reach financial independence I am not at all sure what I will do. Right now there are a few possibilities, I’m not entirely sure which ones will stay or what order they will be performed in, and I leave room for additions at any time:

1. Live aboard a sail boat and do some traveling.

2. Continue my education in engineering, theology, philosophy, physics, robotics or mathematics.

3. Bike cross country (Tried this once and made it about 1/4 of the way).

4. Some long-distance hikes.

5. Some long-distance kayak/canoeing.

6. Do a ~3-6 month RV tour of North America.

7. Get some remote property and build myself a cabin.

8. Just keep working because I love it so much.

9. Take a break from work, do some of these things, then take up a new career.

10. _________________________________

Before I quit my work there are a few things I’d like under my belt besides financial independence:

1. Helicopter/Airplane Pilot’s License.

2. Captain’s License / Some overnight sailing experience.

3. Complete basic home electrical, plumbing, welding and automotive courses.

4. __________________________________

So there we go, some pretty great plans for after the work life is over. I don’t mean to look too obsessed about life after work, I am looking forward to my career after school, probably more than most people. It isn’t that it’s all bad and I can’t wait to get past it, it’s just that, as an employee, you lack a certain amount of control and so you are somewhat robbed of the enjoyment of planning. It’s just not quite so fun to day dream about those years of compromising, following orders and attending meetings.

I should probably write down what exactly I mean by financial independence sometime.

Year End Finances

I spent $23,723 in 2009.

In 2008 I spent $24,251. Last January I predicted that this year I would spend $28,200. Let’s see how I spent all this money.

The breakdown:

$8,502 Rent

$2,422 Restaurants

$2,320 Groceries

$2,170 Car Insurance/Parking/Gas/Maintenance/Tolls

$1,963 Travel / Vacations

$1,440 Video Games / Electronics / Hobby Stuff

$1,130 Utilities

$1,100 Education (Books)

$694 Public Transportation

$279 Clothing

$1703 Misc.

Here’s how it compares to last year by category

2008 2009 Category Difference

$6,260 $8,502 Rent +2,242

$1,721 $2,422 Restaurants +701

$2,331 $2,320 Groceries -11

$1,628 $2,170 Car Stuff +542

$362 $1,963 Travel +1,601

$1,872 $1,440 Hobby Stuff -432

$741 $1,130 Utilities +389

$2,408 $1,100 Education -1,308

$422 $694 Public Transportation +272

$148 $279 Clothing +124

$1,762 $420 ATM Cash -1,342

$4,596 $1,283 Misc. -3,313

$24,251 $23,723 Total -528

So I crept up in most categories but some big savings in Education, cuts in ATM withdrawals and far fewer uncategorized, miscellaneous purchases saved me and I came out ahead this year by $500 over last year. More importantly I beat my expectations of spending over $28k this year.

How The Predictions Played Out

Last January I made predictions about how I would spend my money this year. Here’s how things lined up:

Rent Prediction: $9,000 Actual: $8,502

Education Prediction: $2,000 Actual: $1,100

I expected law school to be pricier than it is. Most of 2008′s education costs were from the law school application process.

Groceries Prediction: $2,400 Actual: $2,320

Eating Out Prediction: $1,700 Actual: $2,422

I really need to improve the eating out numbers. Especially since this year I will have time on my hands to cook at home.

ATM Cash Prediction : $1,200 Actual : $420

I actually did much better on this than I had hoped.

Gas Prediction $1,000 Actual $1,126

Public Transit Prediction $450 Actual $694

Auto Insurance Prediction $450 Actual $358

Auto Maintenance Prediction $500 Actual $120

Clothing Prediction $600 Actual $279

I had actually planned to spend a lot more money here with the hopes of forcing myself to become a bit hipper. – Didn’t work.

Travel Prediction $1,650 Actual $1,963

Hobby Prediction $800 Actual $1,440

An unplanned new video card and PS3 are responsible for this.

Last Year’s Goals

I had 5 goals last year. I met 3 of them.

1. Re-establish 6 month’s of living expenses – Done

2. Max out IRA contribution – Didn’t do it

3. Pay off student loans by May – Done

4. Open a new brokerage account and deposit $16k – Didn’t do it

5. Get 401k over $15k – Done

2010 Predictions/Goals

1. Set aside $1,000 for future EMT training

2. Set aside $3,000 for transition period from unemployment ending to part time work starting

3. Grow IRA to over $30k

4. Lower school tuition costs with scholarships to below $30k for 2L year

2010 Budget:

$9,000 Rent

$1,000 Education

$2,600 Groceries

$1,200 Eating Out

$400 Gas

$350 Insurance

$400 Utilities

$100 Auto Maintenance

$600 Summer Parking

$700 Public Transit

$600 Clothing

$1,800 Travel

$600 New TV

$600 New Bike

$250 New Bread Machine

$1,000 Hobbies

$1,500 Misc.

$1,080 Health Insurance

$23,780 Total

So this is an encouraging number. Almost exactly at 2009 levels plus a new tv, bike, bread machine and plenty of money ear-marked for travel, hobbies and miscellaneous. I am also hoping to set aside $1,000 for an EMT course in the spring of 2011, and 3,000 extra dollars to cover living expenses in the summer of 2011 when the unemployment runs out, just in case I have trouble getting a p/t job while I finish off my last year of law school. Unfortunately that means to reach all my goals I would need $27,780, which is about $1,200 more than what my net income will be next year. My taxes for next year are a complete mystery as well due to confusion about how my tuition money is going to be taxed. I could owe a couple grand or get several grand back, I don’t know what to expect there.

Transportation costs ought to be much lower since I won’t need my car regularly. I need to hold onto it though because I may get an internship next summer that requires it, which will require expensive summer parking fees. Perhaps I would forgo the bicycle in that case until 2011. I will know by February if I have landed an internship that does not require a car , which means I could forget about the gas, insurance, maintenance and parking fees all together plus net a little money by selling the car off. Though I would need to then spend a little money on car rental fees from time to time, but it would still be a net gain. It also might be fun to build a solid bike from parts by picking up used parts at yard sales here and there, instead of having something built for me, in which case the costs would probably be <$200.

This is the first time in my life that I’ve had to pay for health insurance.

Long-Term Projection

This is the part where I recalculate when I will be financially independent.

Last year I predicted that I would be financially independent sometime in 2013 and retired around 2016. Things have changed a lot since I was laid off two months ago and won’t be contributing to my savings for the next two years.

It is difficult to make predictions at this point since things will depend on how long it will take to get a job after graduation, its pay rate, and how long I stay in that job. Also, my tuition costs and unpredictable financial aid package will be factors. So I have to make some assumptions. #1. I will land a job within six months of graduating that will pay $40k/year. #2. I will also have a 2nd p/t job starting in my 3rd year of law school and will continue to work weekends in that job until nearing retirement. I will be able to live off the income from the weekend job and dedicate my entire main salary to savings.

Here is my predicted liquid assets at the end of each year:

2010: > $40k

2011: > $54k

2012: > $75k Graduate from Law School / Start Working

2013: > $115k

2014: > $160k

2015: > $216k

2016: > $277k Financial Independence

2017:> $344k

2018:> $418k

2019:> $500k Retired at 35

$500k – $600k Retired. This is about the number I need to hit for a comfortable ‘retirement’. Which basically will be a time in my life when I do whatever I want, not necessarily a time when I stop earning an income all together. I would likely continue to work, since I plan to enjoy what I do. This would be a good point to quit the 2nd job if I were so inclined. It might be a good time to quit all together for a period to go on some sailing/long-distance hiking/biking/camping adventures for a couple of years only to come back and start a new phase of my career. Or I could just drop out all together, it’s a long way off.

$250k – $300k Financial Independence. This is about the number where I could build a little cabin in the woods and, if I were content with reading books all day, going for local hikes and scrounging things together when I wanted to build a new project, I could get by quite comfortably without ever working again. There are people who do so with much less, but this is the number I would be comfortable with. If I absolutely despise my work and can’t stand the thought of another 3 years of it, I may well allow myself to quit one or both of my jobs when I reach this milestone. But I don’t see that happening.

The Close of Winter Break

I have had a short, but wonderful winter break. My last exam was on the 22nd of December and I go back to class tomorrow. That’s 19 days off by my count. Three were spent traveling, one was spent moving and another was filled with family (however delightful) obligations, leaving me with 14 days to myself. I have had a great time mostly catching up on magazines, TV shows, blogs and video games, you know, relaxing. I think what makes me different from most people, and hence amenable to an early retirement lifestyle, is that I never understand people when they say, “Oh, I’m glad to be back at work. I was going stir-crazy sitting around the house.” Are they kidding? There are so many more subjects I would read about if I had the time, shows I would follow, and the video games, oh the video games I could play. And when you get bored of perusing content that itch to start creating comes: What if I wrote a few articles? Or a screen-play? Or a game? Wouldn’t that be fun?

And many of these people have more resources than I do. They have yards to garden in and garages to tinker in with cars to tinker on. Oh the things I could do!

But alas! Tomorrow I begin my quest anew. I am fortunate in that I am actually quite enjoying school and am looking forward to my new classes. It is not as if I have to grab my lunch pale and head back down to the factory assembly line after my short vacation. My work is stimulating and ultimately working towards a greater good. But ironically, the best thing about going back is that I know I am getting closer to my goal of not having to go back.

Taxes and Savings

I’ve been doing my taxes lately (somewhat frantically as I am eager to find out what kind of financial aid package I can expect from school for next fall) and happily found that I will be getting a hefty refund due to all my educational expenses over the past year. Enough that it puts me past my savings goals I was not expecting to reach until the end of this year. Because of this I think I will increase my savings goal just a tad so that I can get myself a nice round number in a particular account (wow, all those zeros!) and because I was prepared to save the money anyway.

An interesting thing has happened as a result of this extra savings. I have spent a day or two thinking about what I could do with all this extra income I was not expecting. Maybe finally building that dream multimedia PC I have been designing for years in the back of my head while riding trains and during the duller moments of some undergrad classes. Most of the work though is configuration and getting the software just right, so the actual out-of-pocket costs would probably not exceed $500 or $600. I’d like something silent, energy efficient with a sleek form-factor, that could act as a DVR, torrent downloader, automated dvd ripper, music/photo/video server, hulu/fancast/etc capable, misc file storage, scheduled fm recorder (to catch those talk shows I used to listen to at work), podcast downloader, MAME so I can play classic games, all with a nice front end navigable with a remote and a wireless mouse+keyboard combo for other things. And a place to dock and auto-sync an mp3 player for grabbing the fm recordings and podcasts would be nice. Of course, then I’ll need an mp3 player, so there’s another $150-$300. I have taken to walking home from school so it would be nice to have things to listen to, it may ultimately get me to walk more as well.

Of course I also want a new bike and maybe a bread machine this year. But those were already budgeted for.

I suppose I could use some more clothes, I’d have to work hard to spend more than $1,500 on those. It’s such a chore for me.

I could take a vacation or a trip. But my bf is a little cash-strapped and couldn’t afford to come along, plus I am not really interested in travel, so that essentially excludes that.

Point of all this being, there isn’t much that I wish to do with my money beyond save it. Which is probably what will happen to this windfall.

Interning

After a couple of interviews I have secured a summer internship at a local prosecutor’s office. It will be 40 hrs/week for about 2 1/2 months during the summer. It should be an enjoyable time putting bad guys in jail, learning to navigate the courts and coming to the rescue of the victimized. It’s a good position to have secured because firstly, it will be fun, tremendously educational, and provide me with a great opportunity to see if I am actually going to enjoy the day to day life of the job I am working towards after graduation. And secondly, because it will look great on the resume and allow me to have a better shot at getting the position I want next summer, which is typically followed by a job offer pending graduation.

I am particularly pleased that I have an offer at my place of choice so early on in the process since it means I can relax for the rest of the semester and I don’t have to put up with doing any more interviews.

Meanwhile the doldrums of winter roll on. Spring break is in two weeks and after that it’s just 7 weeks until the end of the first year of law school. I have submitted my request for financial aid and can expect an answer in April sometime. I’m anxious to see the numbers since they will have a significant effect on how many years I am going to have to work before I reach financial independence and then early retirement.

Why Law School?

Given that my main goal in life is to retire early and spend my days in quiet leisure tinkering, reading, enjoying art, socializing, blah blah blah, why am I bothering to attend law school when I could just get a job and get on with the task of saving money?

The answer is basically that I have an opportunity before me that is somewhat unique. My first year of school was free and a severance from my employer ensures that I will have a living stipend through my 2nd year of school as well (it’s a union thing). That money goes away though, if I get a job. So my choice is basically, 1. sit home and do nothing and collect the money. 2. Get a job, work 40 hrs/week and make the same amount of money I’d make if I did nothing. Or 3. collect the money and use the opportunity to work towards my law degree (4. I suppose I could also collect the money and simultaneously work on developing some under-the-table side business). But this income makes for a great excuse to continue on to year 2 of law school rather than quitting and getting a job.

Financing the tuition is an issue, which is why I’m anxious to the see the financial aid numbers.

But basically, due to my unique situation, law school for me represents only 1 year of opportunity cost (money I could have made working full-time) which will happen during my 3rd and final year of school. For the typical person, law school represents 3 years of lost income, a much steeper price. In addition, the average person pays for all 3 years of school themselves. I will only have to pay for 2 years and hopefully I will have a few grants and scholarships to defray my obligation further.

Now, while my goal is to retire early, I still will need to work for about 5-7 more years to retire comfortably (by my standards), and I would prefer those years of work to be something enjoyable and meaningful, rather than something arduous and draining. By spending a little money on school and giving up that one year of lost income, I help to make those 5-7 years a time of accomplishment and enrichment rather than one long countdown to my freedom from work.

Besides, I’m actually having a good time in school, things are coming easily to me, the schedule’s terrific and I’m surrounded by good friends every day. Who wouldn’t want to keep that going a little longer?

Should You Go To Law School?

From search records I’ve noticed a lot of people reading this stuff get here by googling “should you go to law school”? So why don’t I just answer it for all you people who seem to be on the fence. Keep in mind this is the perspective of a guy who plans on retiring at 35 and can’t even fathom the mindset of a person who goes into debt to buy a car or whose dream is a McMansion. That said, here we go:

If you know you absolutely want to be a lawyer and can’t imagine doing anything else, then go, whatever the cost. Can’t live your whole life wondering ‘what if’. If it’s not for you then drop out after the first semester and think of the tuition bill as the price tag of living a life free of regrets.

There are ways to become a lawyer without going $100k into debt. I’d recommend first off working a little bit and paying off any lurking undergrad loans before you consider piling more on by taking on law school debt as well. Consider being a part-time, evening student. That makes it so you can work full-time while going to school at night. It’s not the easiest thing, but if you love the law, it won’t be that hard. That way you can cover your cost of living and pay a chunk of the tuition so you graduate with just a tiny debt load.

Also, be price conscious when it comes to law school (I know, this from a guy who’s going to a $40k/year school, but I had a unique scholarship situation). If I were paying for all my schooling I’d consider a state school in a more rural state. It could be worth moving and delaying school for one year to establish in-state status. There are many reputable schools under $14k/year in state, which, after financial aid and contributing money from working, could make for a debt-free graduation. Though they say, unless you’re going to a top 10 school, you ought to consider going to school in the area where you intend to practice just so you will be clued into the social/professional network in the area and run into a lot of alums during job interviews. I don’t know how crucial that is. If it’s a choice between $50k of debt and having the interviewer say, “Oh, I went there too!” or $0 debt and having to tell the interviewer, “It’s in North Carolina. ” Followed by the inane, “Yes, the winters are mild there.” I think I’d take my chances with the zero debt.

If you want to go to law school so you can be a big firm/corporate lawyer raking in six figures and playing lots of golf, think again. There are plenty of people in my class who fit this mold and I can tell you a few things about them: 1. They’re miserable, they hate class, writing, reading cases, they can’t wait for class to end, they count-down to the end of each semester, it’s just sad. 2. Most of them think they are going to be raking it in later and so live it up, maxing out their loans and spending the money going out drinking after class with all their miserable cohorts, and so are over $100k in debt and a few have over $200k of debt. That’s a deep hole to dig yourself out of. 3. Those cushy corporate/big firm jobs are few and far between and tough to get simply because they pay so well. 4. They make you earn your pay, it’s high-pressure, long hours, and it will be a decade before you’re spending weekday afternoons on the golf course.

When I was deciding to go to law school I only considered it because I thought I might like to do some criminal work, or maybe help advocate for civil rights. I went back and forth on the idea of attending for years. Mostly what deterred me was the $100k+ price tag and the warnings of the ‘glut of lawyers’ in the market looking for jobs. Then, opportunity knocked, a 100% scholarship, so I couldn’t pass that up. Within a month I knew it was for me. Classes fly by, they’re engaging, I fly through the reading because it’s so interesting and there’s a general feel of camaraderie on campus that makes it easy to make friends. I know getting a job won’t be easy but since I’m single and willing to move anywhere, don’t expect a high salary, probably won’t have any debt, and am already having great success with internships and pro bono work, I figure I’ll find something.

There are a lot of books and people who will tell you not to go to law school unless you get into a top 10, 15 or 20 school. And I’d say to that, if you’re life goal is to make a killing, then yeah, don’t bother with law school if you aren’t in the most exclusive 15 or so. And also don’t go if you’re not confident that within that elite group you will be in the top 10% of the class come graduation. There are easier, less risky ways to make money. Especially if you’re willing to go $200k into debt. Think of it this way, if you go $200k into debt to go into business and fail, well, worst case you probably had a pretty thrilling time and you go bankrupt and start from scratch. If you go $200k into debt to go to school and fail, well, most likely you were miserable the whole 7 years and to top it off, if you fail, you’re stuck. Student loans can’t be canceled in a bankruptcy and you will have to force yourself into a job that (a) you aren’t good at and (b) you hate, just to try to dig yourself out of the hole you dug, which will probably take you your entire life. Bottom line, don’t go to law school for the money, some will get lucky, but it’s too big a risk. It seems to me most accounts I read from people who regret going to law school went, not because they had an interest in the law, but rather because they thought it meant a guaranteed cushy, high-paying job. Or, they had a genuine interest in the law, but simply took on too big a debt load.

On the other hand, if you 1. want to advocate for people or have an idea of some legal field that interests you 2. will be happy to earn a typical middle-class salary and 3. can figure out a way to graduate from law school without a soul-crushing student loan debt, then you’d probably do well to go to any reputable law school.

Anyway, that’s this atypical 1L’s advice. I’ll check back after graduation, when I’m looking for a job, to see if I still agree with myself.

Spring Cigar

The weather has finally been warming up in Boston. With the temperature getting into the 50′s regularly it’s time to start smoking again. I think you know you are an addict when you’re standing outside in 10 degree weather in order to suck down half a cigarette as fast as you can. I’ve never done that and can’t fathom a smoke being good enough to make enduring such cold worth it.

But on a sunny afternoon, when I’m walking to school or just needing to get away from the books or computer for a bit, a nice sit down on a bench with a slow-burning cigar hits the spot. – The aroma of the aged leaf, the sound of the strike of a match, the way the smoke lilts into the air off your fingertips. Every bit of it is a joy. It makes me feel calm, peaceful and rich. One thing I miss, since moving to the city, is having a smoke while going for a drive. I only drive rental cars now from time to time and of course, they all ban smoking.

And the winter can be so long that I forget that I am indeed a smoker. And on a spring day when I light up again for the first time, I remember why.

A Retirement In Pictures

Rather than just write about what I would like to do with my retirement I thought it would be fun to shamelessly steal photos from around the internet in order to put together a visual way of representing what I’d like to do:

First, enjoy a brief career as a jurist helping to tip the scales of justice to the fairest outcomes while padding the retirement fund some more.

Hang up my hat when I’ve had enough, buy a small sailing yacht, and explore the eastern seaboard for a while. If I find the sailing life’s for me, then perhaps explorations in other seas would be in order.

When I’ve had my fill I’ll sell the boat, reconnect with family for a while. Then take off on a U.S. bike tour. I did this my summer before college and had a good time but only went about 800 miles. I’d like to at LEAST go coast to coast, perhaps a bit more.

After a short respite I think I’d also enjoy doing some long-distance hikes. Perhaps the Appalachian, perhaps Alaska in the summer, or the Continental Divide.

I know that, even after all that, there will still be some sights I have missed out on. So I think a few months of canoe-camping combined with some RV-roving would do nicely.

I think all that ought to serve to get the wanderlust out of me. If not, I could certainly also allow myself to try a typical 10 day vacation somewhere like most working people. Or also sign a 6 month apartment lease in some exotic city before I finally decide to really settle down.

When I am finally ready to take off the traveling shoes I think I’d ultimately settle in a rural northern area. Somewhere with relatively cheap land, lots of space, but still only a few hours drive from some museums and theaters for when I need a taste of that.

I’d like to park the RV on the land and live in it while I build myself a rural, river-side, one-bedroom cabin that can be wood-heated and powered primarily by a hydro-electric generator. With lots of glass to make spending time indoors during the winters less stifling.

With a totally off-grid electrical system using hydro, wind and solar power.

An attached green house for year-round gardening.

A garage space for building cool things.

The first project coming out of the garage will undoubtedly be a fully-automated photo-bioreactor for harvesting vegetable oil from algae for use in diesel automobiles converted to run off straight vegetable oil. It also may be able to produce a sizable amount of ethanol from the leftover biomass once the oil is extracted.

I like old cars. I’d love to take a cheap, old car off someone’s hands, throw in a diesel engine so it can run off my homemade fuel, maybe even make it a hybrid-electric, and polish it off so it shines.

An outdoor hot tub that looks like the river just cut it naturally out of the rock. Makes winter star gazing much better.

A heated driveway so I don’t have to shovel. Extravagant? Yes. Do I care? Clearly not.

A motorcycle. Something that could be used both on and off road would be ideal.

A trailerable motorboat for the occasional week-long trip to Nova Scotia or New York or Bermuda when I get that longing for the sea. I think maybe I’d like to try to build one from scratch. Or at least refurbish an old one. And it would run off the algae fuel of course.

I could never retire without knowing that I would be able to nurse my video game addiction. Some arcade space carved out of a basement or attic would be nice.

All followed by a quiet life of leisure spent in comfort and peace filled with tinkering, programming and lawyering.

RV photograph courtesy Philip Greenspun

$10,000 Richer

Well, my employer has sent the final payment to school to cover my tuition for this year. It was just over $10,000. They are overdue in paying by about 60 days and I was beginning to wonder if they were going to pay at all. The school has been bugging me for the money for the past four weeks, sending me form letters threatening to call collection agencies.

So it’s a load-off to know it’s taken care of. I was afraid they were going to make me fork over the $10k before they’d allow me to sign up for summer courses. But it’s all set now. So my first year of law school didn’t cost me a dime. Not bad. The next two years will be a different story. By the end of the month I ought to receive my financial aid award and I’ll know just how much debt I’ll have to incur in order to finish school. My one big hope is that my net-worth will still be positive when I graduate. – Even if only by a few hundred bucks.

Meanwhile, school couldn’t be going better. One prof., a former State Supreme Court Justice, tells me I ought to consider becoming a law professor. I’d love it, it’s a sweet gig. You can’t beat the money and the schedule and I enjoy those esoteric conversations on jurisprudence and inane hypotheticals. But it’s a tough position to get.

And I believe I’m in the running for a prize for an oral argument I gave. After an appellate argument in front of a moot-court judge I nearly blushed from the compliments on my performance. I’ll know in a few weeks.

Generally, things couldn’t be going better with my studies. I don’t know who these people are who think law school is difficult. I’d be completely happy if I could make a career of being a permanent law student.

Registration for next fall’s classes happens on Thursday and I’m already looking forward to it. I am setup for a schedule that only requires me to be on campus 2 days out of the week. There will only be one exam in December. And all but one of the professors comes highly recommend (I couldn’t avoid taking one guy’s class who everybody seems to hate). Anyway, I’m happy how this is going so far.

Wrong Occupation

I am surrounded by people who are forcing their round bodies through square holes. Every week I talk to people who feel they shouldn’t be in grad school, they regret their debt loads, they’re tortured by their classes and their readings. My silent reaction is that they shouldn’t be here. But I can’t say that, it would only push them further into despair. So they will push themselves on to graduate and then, consequently, on into careers they likely will find equally uninteresting. Such is the tragic song of so many men, it seems. It’s so despairing in fact, that they cannot even admit to themselves that it is tragic at all. Instead they throw up their hands and say things like, “Such is life,” and, “What are you gonna do?” And they toil and toil and toil, thoroughly believing that it is the only acceptable way to live one’s life. After all, all their neighbors are living these lives too, everyone can’t be crazy, right? “It must be a matter of necessity,” they have to believe, or else they would have to make the devastating admission to themselves that they have made a series of irreversible mistakes that has needlessly committed them to lives of misery for years, and likely decades.

There is no solution for their tragedy and the only thing I can gain from seeing it is relief that I don’t stand in their shoes.

4-Day Weekends

My schedule for next fall has me only taking classes on Tuesdays & Thursdays. So I’ll have 4-day weekends to do with what I wish. Of course a bit of studying will need to happen on the off days, but not much. I expect I ought to be able to squeeze most everything into Wednesday so that my 4-day weekends will be completely free.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with myself. If I were out of school and had my house this wouldn’t be a problem as there would be plenty of things to learn about and plenty of projects to take on. But as it stands I am just renting a small room and my mind is completely occupied with school so trying to learn interesting other things that require much focus is almost impossible. I tried this a few years ago where I was teaching myself computer science while simultaneously taking classes in classical studies. It eventually lead to me dropping out and becoming a freelance programmer. I can’t have that happening again. If I weren’t in school I’d be teaching myself about robotics. But when I get into things I’m passionate about like that, my main studies suffer because they always seem less interesting. So I’m going to save the self-taught robotics courses for the weekends and evenings when I’m working after graduation.

One thing I’d like to do a lot of is camping. It’s cheap, I have most the equipment already, and there are plenty of great places to go see within just a few hours’ drive of my place. I’d also like to get back into scaling mountains up north. Those two things could go hand in hand. A small, trailerable sail-boat might be a fun way to pass the time, but I worry about the costs. Bicycling 100+ miles in a day followed by a recovery day of magazines and video games could make for a nice weekend and I’ve already got a bike for that. Just need to tune it up. I could take up hunting again, I haven’t done it since I was a kid but I abandoned it just because I found it to be a bit boring.

Perhaps I ought to try to get myself to finally learn to ski for those cold winter months. There are several ski mountains from where I’ll be staying within an hour’s drive. There’s one where a season pass is less than $250. I could be skiing 4 days a week on the cheap.

I have friends who seem to go on trips at least one weekend a month. I could tag along with them on the cheap.

Or I could use the time to develop a part-time business or work on a software project to make some side money.

Sailing

I joined a sailing club in town. So far I’ve been out on the water just a handful of times. I’d say, at this point, I’m a competent sailor, but I’m looking forward to taking some advanced classes in the next couple of weeks. Should be a nice way to spend a Saturday with a friend. -Just small <20′ boats so far. Though the club does have some 23 footers I’m looking forward to trying out before the summer’s through.

As a solitary activity it’s somewhat akin to smoking a cigar. It’s slow. It makes you pause. It’s something that can’t be interrupted. It causes you to sit back and take in the sights between puffs. And there are those comforting things that come along with it. -The flick of a match, the echoes of the hull as you climb aboard, the smell of the unlit tobacco just before you light up, the rustle of a filling sail, the lilting of the smoke.

I think it suits me.

Back In School!