Buh-bye Bratislava...not even a postcard to remember our time together...

I'm going on practically thirty-six hours of consciousness if you discount those few in-and-outs that lasted about the span of smooth train-riding on the way to Budapest this morning. The smoothness wasn't extant and neither was the sleep. Not that I would normally be concerned; however, I am a little because I need to make my way to the airport to arrive in Schipol at about ten minutes to 10AM. Slovakia's capital should bode well for me, traisping across its quiet cobbled alleyways and boulevards. Just me and the cats. Maybe an amateur violin concert tonight :) At least someone/thing should be having some fun. Me, I'm too tired. In my fatigue, I realized that I was writing my friend, Tim and rather silly email that was much more about me than him:

hey tim, getting ready to take my first flight within
europe in nearly three years.  a little spooky since
bratislava has only taxis making their way out there
at this time.  i don't relish the idea of possibly
getting ripped off.  it's one a.m. now.  it'll be nice
to have a quick jaunt in the developed EU instead of
wannabe EU nations that are still mired in between a
sickle and a hammer.  have you been to bruges,
belgium?  i had planned to go last time i was in
europe, even flew into amsterdam, then i heard about
this cool modern art exhibit that takes place every
five or six years in Germany and skipped out on the
old for the quite new. 

it's probably best i stay out of amsterdam for the
most part since i will want to head into the red light
district and turn it into my own personal
all-you-can-eat...well, you know what i mean.  yeah,
and the budget is almost thinner than a shoestring so
even the whores in moldova were seeming a bit pricey.
still haven't bedded a madame of the night, though i
haven't ruled it out, either.  but i don't think you
want to keep reading about my rampant sexual
frustration and trek through the nearly interminable
desert that has become my sex life.  yeah, that was a
near-borrowing from Mary Shelley, but i figure that
the more Romantic i make the struggle to get a piece
seem, the more at ease i am not always getting my
slice of that Vagina in the Sky. 

so, let's turn to another topic that hopefully will
yield better results...law school.  you'll hear all
the different ways to the prized LSAT score and i
think for the most part people are UNINTENTIONALLY
full of shit.  i say unintentionally because i think
most people who have gone through the near traumatic
rigor of studying, have to forge their own path to the
score's summit.  think of it like a religion.  for the
most part, and i'm taking this from the mouths of many
of the law schools' high priests (aka, pre-law
advisors and deans), its a game.  The LSAT is nearly
bullshit because it's just a way of weeding out people
because the ivy gates of legal paradise would become
overwhelmed otherwise.  on the other hand, you always
gotta maintain that reputation, baby (hence, why so
many schools can have such inflated LSAT entrance
scores)!

So, I'm just being lofty because it's so damn late, so
forgive me.  What I'm trying to write is that listen
to what people have to say but find your own way of
studying.  Here's some advice that I can impart that
worked for me.  Maybe it will for you.  Set a date for
yourself that works to take the test.  There are four
a year and be prepared to have to move it back at
least once because of other commitments arising or you
may just find that you are not adequately prepared to
take the actual exam yet.  Better to push back
entrance rather than settle for a shit score.  I know
a lot of people who have done that and now many of
them are working instead of attending law school.  So,
go take a practice test cold.  Go to a Kaplan or
Princeton Review center if there is one.  I took the
free practice test at the Kaplan center in
Bloomington.  They will try to offer you a program but
I suggest actually finding what's right for you first.
You may be able to lick it without much problem by
studying on your own.  I did fine, I scored in the 85%
and sometimes I regret not giving myself the
opportunity to study at the Kaplan center because I
may have done better. 

Yet, studying on my own, I raised my initial score
from a 146 (45%) to 161 (85%).  Though this gives me a
snowball's chance in Harvard's hell, I do have much
more opportunity for very decent schools because of my
background which will work in your favor as well. 

I wish you luck in preparation.  Once you start, let
me know how it's going. 

Promise the emails won't be so long next time.  -Colin

----------------(his prior message)

Colin, 

Yup, I've talked it over with Chris and others and have come back to my senses and have passed on the house. Other than that being a conductor is going well. I don't think I'll be doing this for very long, maybe three years. I'm looking at going to law school in laramie wyoming starting 2007. But I still need to pass the lsat.

I hope europe is still fun, wish I could be there.

Tim