My computer is BAAAAAACK!

And now I shall finally be able to catch you up on my jet set life! J Street tackles new cities!

Who knew when it came down to it that Erin would turn out to be just like my mom? I never really believed she would be able to play the responsible one. But there I was, at 6:10 a few weeks back, hating her for waking me up 5 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off, just like my mom used to do.

"Caaaaara...."

"It's not 6:15"

"Cara stop splitting hairs. I'm making you breakfast."

*GRUMBLE* And then I roll out of bed and pop into the shower. By the time I get out, there is a feast waiting for me on my bed: scrambled eggs, cheesy grits, bacon, honey glazed ham, and toast. It's all a bit cold (I take long showers), but the thought is there. Erin and I run around nibbling on our breakfasts and finishing up all those last minute things we needed to get done. By the time we went outside to catch our shuttle to the airport, I was feeling pretty good about life. All my loose ends at work had been tied up, I had cleaned the kitchen and living room, Erin had cleaned the bathroom, we had eaten as much of our left over food as we could (hence the enormous breakfast), thrown away everything that wasn't going to last, and I even had time to water all of the plants. I told Erin sometimes we are such good little adults. I'm really proud of us!

Then we were off to our first stop: Chicago!

Those are the clouds over Lake Michigan. I was admiring the shadows they made on the water for awhile. Then our plane hit some rather upsetting turbulence, and I wasn't in the mood to admire anything anymore. Erin had taken a few "Tylenol" to get her through the plane ride without her ciggies, and somehow those knocked her out enough so that she didn't notice that the entire plane pulling apart at its seams. I, on the other hand, was perfectly aware of how much this resembled the first episode of Lost. (Except I didn't see any hottie doctors or con artists on my plane. Plus, if we landed on an island, it was going to be a bitter cold one up in a great lake instead of a tropical one with mangos.) We fortunately managed to land (on the second try) without me throwing up all over Erin's stupid grinning face.

Then I was off to my first law school: Northwestern!

The original motivation of this trip was to visit law schools. Partly because I wanted to learn about the specific schools I visited, and partly because I wanted to learn about what to look for in law schools in general. (Well and partly to take off from work and play around in a bunch of different cities, but I try to pretend that I am super studious and that was really just a serendipitous benefit.) Northwestern was my first stop. I had a really chill Asian gal with a woven orange beret take me around for a tour. She was a good tour guide, but even more than that, she seemed like a person I wouldn't mind spending 3 grueling years sitting next to. Hopefully she was representative of the student body in general. Another plus was that the campus is in a great location. Right on the beach and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The library has a breath taking view of the lake, and the top of the Magnificent Mile is only 2 blocks away (which means lots of shopping!)

In the next episode, will Erin and I meet up with the Super Friends to take down the Chicago mafia or will the Deep Dish villain lure us into his diabolical trap? Stay tuned to find out. Same bat time! Same bat place!