Becky and I both have our final Daily Trojan articles of all time in tomorrow’s paper, which is the last issue of the semester.

Becky’s is a farewell column in the Opinions section. After a tongue-in-cheek tribute to herself, she leaves her readers with “loads of hard-won, but entirely useless, pearls of wisdom and otherwise random observations.” Among my favorites:

Even if you discover the cure for cancer, Carson Palmer will still make more money at quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals than you ever will.

Insurance companies employ only heartless bastards who sell spoiled milk to school children and club baby fur seals.

And, finally:

If you don’t know what blogging is by now, you’re out of the loop.

Heh.

My final article, meanwhile, is a bit less dramatic. It’s just a shortened, newsified version of the multi-thousand word magazine story I wrote for my journalism class about the alleged Troy Hall burglar, Roosevelt Carmichael.

It’s a decent story, but unfortunately, the DT editors once again demonstrated their remarkable ability to introduce ridiculous errors into otherwise spotless articles. For instance, where on earth did this comma come from?

The man who allegedly burglarized dozens of Troy Hall and Troy East apartments in fall 2001, was sentenced in March to more than six years behind bars.

That’s my lead sentence, folks. The incredible thing is, someone who is supposed to be an “editor” actually had to look at that sentence in its original form (without the comma), read it over, and actively make the decision to add a comma where it clearly did not belong.

Remarkable.

Ah, well, it’s an appropriate end to a frustrating career at the Daily Trojan — fighting in vain, to the very bitter end, against bad judgment and utter incompetence.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the DT “editors” also apparently don’t know the difference between parole and probation.

I used the word “probation” six times in the article, because that’s the proper term, but the deck (underneath the headline) stated, “Arrested in 2002 for violating parole, Roosevelt Carmichael faces six years in jail.”

Dumbasses.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic, check out this gem from a photo caption in the Sports section:

USC recruit Whitney Lewis is now eligible to join the football to join the team in fall after receiving a qualifying SAT score on TUesday.

Still no word from Georgetown Law School — or, at least, still no word that I’m aware of. It’s possible that something came in the mail after I came to campus earlier today, and I just haven’t seen it yet.

To review: Georgetown has already made its decision on whether or not to admit me — but I don’t know yet what that decision is. They mailed me either an acceptance letter or a rejection letter on Friday evening. They told me it’s on the way, but they won’t tell me which kind of letter it is, because they have a policy of not revealing admissions decisions over the phone or e-mail.

What this means, aside from the fact that Georgetown’s admissions office is run by a bunch of sadistic bastards, is that, according to the quantum-physics theory best expressed through the analogy of Schroedinger’s Cat, at present I have been both rejected AND accepted by Georgetown.

This paradoxical reality will remain true until I open the envelope and see what the letter says (or, more accurately, until I see the envelope and determine whether it’s a “big envelope,” meaning I got in, or a “small envelope,” meaning I didn’t).

When I finally determine the letter’s contents, I will be “popping the quiff.” No, that’s not some sort of crude sexual slang. It’s another quantum physics term.

Oh, nevermind.

Where’s my letter?!?!?

:)

Yesterday I posted an update on my future plans. Now, it’s time to update my parents’ future plans.

Both my mom and my dad have declared their intention to retire as Connecticut state employees on June 1. They’re taking advantage of the “early retirement” package that the state is offering as part of its budget-cutting strategy.

This has been in the works for a while, but my mom officially announced her plans yesterday in a letter to the human resources department at Eastern Connecticut State University, and my dad followed suit today with his employer, the Secretary of the State.

My mom is already looking for teaching/professorial jobs in New York City, and it is conceivable that this may lead to an eventual (or even not-so-eventual) relocation of the family’s “home base” from Newington to Manhattan (where we already have an apartment, which right now is used primarily by my mom, primarily on weekends). That, in turn, would have major implications for Adollya. (Sorry, the Adollya webpage is out of date; Mr. Bun is president now.)

But that’s mere speculation, and much remains to be determined. Even my parents’ retirements won’t even be totally official and final until a bunch more paperwork is turned in. (There’s government bureaucracy for you. You have to turn in lots of paperwork even if you just want to stop working and go home! :)

What is certain is that the next month is shaping up as an incredibly eventful one:

May 16: I earn two Bachelor’s degrees from USC.
May 17: My mom earns a Master’s degree from Pratt.
June 1: Both of my parents retire from state service.

Somewhere in there, I’m going to figure out where I’m going to law school, too. :)

NOTE: Originally, before I fixed the typo, the statement above the list of dates said “What is certain is that the next month is shaping up as an incredibly eventual one.” Hence my dad’s comment. :)

I’m sitting in my final undergraduate class right now. Professor Shah says it will be a “short class.” Right now she’s talking about her career, and what she hopes we got out of this class.

UPDATE, 2:17 PM: She’s going over each person’s final article. She just said I did “an incredible job” with my story. That compliment sounds like it might translate into a good grade. :)

UPDATE, 2:21 PM: She’s about to give us back our corrected papers, and then class will be dismissed.

UPDATE, 2:24 PM: I got an A on my paper. She wrote, “Terrific reporting job and very well written. Not a wasted word yet it flowed beautifully.” Well, that’s certainly rather nice for my last reporting assignment at USC.

UPDATE, 2:26 PM: “You’re free to talk to me, or, if you wish, you’re excused.” Class dismissed!

UPDATE, 4/1/03: Here’s a picture of me with Becky’s laptop, which I used to post the lines above:

And here’s a shot of Professor Shah talking to the class:

If the U.S. is really a power-hungry, oil-hungry, imperialist nation, as the antiwar crowd claims, then why on earth are we pulling our troops out of Saudi Arabia now that their stated mission (defending the Saudis from Saddam Hussein) is over?

Testing cell phone post

Up until now, this website has been almost silent on the question of my post-graduation plans. I have chosen to remain largely mum on the topic because, earlier this year, I was simultaneously applying to both law schools and journalism internships, and since my URL is listed on my résumé, I didn’t want to tip my hand in either direction, lest a potential employer or admissions officer see something on my site that might negatively impact my chances.

Now, however, it appears almost certain that I will be attending law school, probably beginning this fall — unless the Kansas City Star comes calling (more on that later) — and so I see no reason to keep my public in the dark any longer. :)

I applied to ten law schools. They are, by U.S. News rank: #7 University of Michigan, #14 Georgetown, #22 (tied) Boston College, George Washington, and Notre Dame, #28 Boston University, #31 Fordham University, #40 UConn, #55 American University, and #57 Cardozo (Yeshiva University).

I applied rather late in the game, so I still haven’t heard back from some schools. Here are my results so far:

Accepted: Cardozo (with full tuition scholarship), George Washington, Boston U.

Put on waiting list: Notre Dame, Boston College

Accepted for Fall 2004: Notre Dame (with $15,000 fellowship)

Rejected: Michigan

Decision made, result unknown, letter in the mail: Georgetown

Haven’t heard anything yet: Fordham, UConn, American

At the moment, I would say Cardozo is the front-runner, if only because I can go there for free. However, I am seriously considering Boston U., too. I only heard from George Washington today, so I haven’t had time to fully digest that one yet. But, they are highest-ranked school I’ve been accepted to for this fall, so I suppose I shouldn’t dismiss them. (Their financial-aid philosophy is not exactly generous, however. They figure Stafford loans should cover the first $18,500 of a student’s financial need, and then we can start talking about grants.)

Complicating things severely, Boston U. wants a $200 deposit from me by — oh — today. This while I wait to hear from four schools (including my “dream” choice, Georgetown) and while I try in vain to decide between schools on the other side of the country that I won’t be able to visit until almost a month from now.

I will probably give BU their deposit, though if I get an acceptance letter from Georgetown tomorrow (it was mailed out Friday evening, but they don’t divulge admissions decisions over the phone or e-mail, so I’m waiting with bated breath), that might change. We shall see.

All of this begs the question: what about Becky? Well, her plans are already set: Becky begins her graduate studies at Arizona State University in the fall, seeking a Ph.D. in history. (I’m so proud of her!) Now, you may have noticed that my furthest-west law-school option is… Notre Dame. So, if I do go to law school in the fall, it will be nowhere near Becky.

Where does that leave us? I don’t exactly know. There remains the possibility that I could live with Becky in the Phoenix area next year, get a job, and apply to law schools in the Phoenix area for Fall 2003, with Notre Dame as my “backup” option. But, with at least one East Coast school offering me free tuition, that doesn’t seem the most likely option at the moment. Again, though, we shall see.

As for my summer plans, they remain equally up in the air. I interviewed for an internship at Legal Affairs magazine in New Haven, a law-journalism hybrid close to home that would be ideal. But I haven’t heard anything yet. There is also the possibility that I might be offered a “one-year position” at the Kansas City Star, but that is highly speculative at this point. We shall see.

If the Star offers me something, I would probably try to defer my admission at my law school of choice, or else attend Notre Dame in Fall 2004. Or, I might be converted back to full-time journalism by a wonderful experience at the Star, and give up on law school altogether. Who knows? Only time will tell.

I do know this, however. The next few weeks will be crucial in determining my future plans. And, unlike during the last few months, I will try to keep this website updated with the latest developments.