Ripe Word Fruit of the Num-Num Tree

I love to travel. Love it, love it, love it. It's a completely refreshing experience, almost bordering on reinvention. And, I suppose some people do reinvent while on vacation, although I've never seen the need, especially when abroad. It's important to remember that, while what you may be experiencing seems bizarre and vaguely magical, you yourself present more than enough odd fodder to render abandoning reality unnecessary.

It's been so long since I've traveled on my own terms, to places I wanted to go, I can hardly wait. True, my last big trip was an all expenses paid adventure to a unique location, but it is a location I'll be happy to never see again. Ever.

So, it's with no small amount of excitement I plan my first trip in more than five years as a civilian - to Peru. I will be going with an old friend of mine who has been in China teaching English for the last five years. In fact, it's been about that long since I've seen him. He's coming down to Florida over St. Paddy's Day weekend so we can iron out the details and catch up. I can't wait to see him. We're scheduling the trip for late May, and plan to be down there for a month. While there, we hope to meet up with one of our friends who will be in Ecuador during a portion of the time we're in-country. I've suggested meeting on the Amazon River in Iquitos, which is in northern Peru. If all goes well, it should be an incredible time.

My friend wants to visit Bolivia as well, but as I worked out a rough draft itinerary today, I realized the breadth of Peru. It's a big country. If we're to see all the "important" things there, I suspect we may have to make an in-country flight, which I never considered in the initial discussions. But, I think it may be the only way.

In addition to this plan, the tickets are already bought for a trip to Ireland with another friend in September. We'll only be there for two weeks, but I'm really looking forward to being on vacation with this guy. He works tirelessly as an accountant in Chicago, and since we got out of college we haven't really had the time to hang out like we used to. Fucking jobs. What can you do? Anyway, this will be a great opportunity to reconnect. And, after storming the British Isles for two weeks, when we come home it will be his birthday weekend, and we'll be having a party to celebrate with the rest of our friends.

Why all the travel? Well, I figure once I start law school in the fall of 2007, I won't have much of a chance to go anywhere for a three-year stretch. The money will be tight, times will be tough, etc. So, it just seems like the right time. And, I've been in another world for the last five years. The military has really been effective at separating me from a life I loved, had I known enough to appreciate it at the time. It's time to get back to it, and the friends that made it so great.

So, if any of you have any travel tips for the locations described above, let me know. I'm pretty straight when it comes to England - I've lived and worked there. As for Peru, Bolivia and the other Isles, though, all suggestions are welcome. And, if any of you live in these areas or will be there at the same time, and would like to enjoy a few drinks with a couple rowdy wanderers, drop a line.

*YAWN*

The test is finished, and it has left me a bruised and battered husk; happy, but extremely tired. The LSAT is a vicious monster of a test, and in its aftermath I found myself lowering my limits of acceptibility regarding my potential score, if only to avoid the prospect of taking it again.

It was about five hours long, with a ten-minute break after the first three of six sections (five multiple choice and one writing section at the end). Looking back on it, I can't even say how I did, other than I'm confident enough to not call and cancel the scoring. And, I can tell you that's more than can be said for at least two other people who tested with me.

One, a smoking hot black girl sitting directly to my right, completely freaked out during the second section, scribbling madly over her bubble sheet and, eventually, getting escorted out by a test proctor as she sobbed uncontrollably. Distracting? Um...yes. The second was a shaggy-haired and bearded hippie type who, in the fourth section, cursed aloud and began erasing furiously after the five-minute warning was called toward the end. I'm assuming he skipped  a question on his answer sheet, then didn't realize until he was checking his work at the end that he had done so.

I'm guessing that these two, at the very least, will choose to have their scores invalidated; this option is available for nine calendar days after the finish of the test.

It's interesting how that makes me feel. I feel bad because I know I'd hate for that to happen to me. So, in a way, I'm empathetic about it. But, at the same time...well, that's two people I don't have to worry about during the application process, given the possibility they may have wanted to apply to the same schools as me. I know it's bad, but I can't help it.

But, the test is not why I'm so tired. After all, it was Saturday. Today is Tuesday. No, I'm tired because my friends in Pensacola took me out to "celebrate" after the test, and it turned into a debauched free-for-all for everyone involved. We went to a club called Cap'n Fun (no kidding) and it was a riot. They had a couple bands, and they were both pretty decent. Many drinks were consumed, much dancing was done and many new friends were made, if even just for one night.

Two of the people I came with ended up in handcuffs, although I don't know why. I'd just met them that night, and they were more friends with my friend's girlfriend than with him, and he couldn't tell me anything. The gist of it was that they were in custody and I couldn't do anything about it, so I may as well not worry. In my state at the time, that sounded pretty logical, so I can't tell you what happened.

I, on the other hand, decided to climb a tree on the way to the car after we had left, and ended up falling out of it. I can't say why I climbed it, except maybe it was to satisfy a bet or dare. Or, I may have just wanted to do it. What I do know is that I was up there a good ways when I fell (I was wearing smooth-soled boots and a blazer; not good for climbing), and I managed to land on my face in some bushes.

So, today my lips are a little swollen, and I've got some minor scrapes on my neck and nose. All in all, a successful fall, seeing as how I just got new teeth and could have easily knocked them out.

Between not breaking my neck and avoiding a serious emotional and/or logistical failure taking the LSAT, I think it was win across the board.

Man, it's been so long I almost forgot my password to get in here. It's been a busy month, to say the least. But, this weekend I'll be wrapping up a month or more of studying when I take this damn LSAT test and get it off my calendar. This thing has been haunting me like a wraith for a long time now, and at this point I'm just ready to "get 'r done", as the locals say (although I think I spelled it wrong...or right, but you know what I mean).

Besides the study nonsense, things have been good. I finally got my permanent set of crowns, after having chipped one of them in September. Yeah, that's how the military medical system rolls. I suppose I could have halved the wait time by lying and saying it hurt, but I'd likely really be hurting now if I'd have done that. Regardless of the delays, pain and numerous appointments, I think they turned out okay. They're the right color anyway, and are just as crooked as the ones they're supposed to match, so I don't have much room for complaint.

In my opinion it's kind of like putting a dress on a pig, as they say, but let me tell you - if you have to look at the pig every day of your life, it may as well be dressed nicely.

So, for this test I've devised a fullproof master plan. It's on Saturday morning in Pensacola at the University of West Florida campus, so I've reserved a room at the University Mall Marriott for Friday, which is about two miles away. That way I can relax and enjoy my evening in peace (with several amenities, including a whirlpool, heated indoor pool and weight room) without having to worry about making the hour-plus drive in the morning. This small adjustment to my strategy has put more than an ounce of true excitement and enjoyment into a task that, up until now, has only left me with anxiety and an ill temper.

I mean, who doesn't like going to hotels? Naturally, it gives me the impression I'm going on vacation, but what's more, I get to enjoy the feeling one gets upon turning their back on a mess they've made with no regret over the prospect of having to clean it up later. I'm not talking about flinging doodie at the walls and leaving wine stains all over the bed, mind you. I'm not a savage. I just like the feeling of not having to make my bed, do the dishes or vacuum the carpet. When I'm leaving to take what is reputedly a fairly difficult test, I think this liberating sensation will be a great note on which to bring in the day.

I look forward to catching up the blog once I put this all behind me. At the very least, it will make for a fun story.