Law School Discussion

I'm sitting here agonizing over which laptop to buy primarily because I'm not sure what I'll need to do with it during 1L, 2L and 3L.  Any of you vets want to chime in on what you use your laptop for during school so that some of us might be better informed when we drop some cash on a shiny new one?

Well, I'd say that there is probably no other jurisdiction in the country that is as favorable to tenants as New York city.  It's pretty ridiculous actually.  And my organization is run like a corporation because it is, a very large one.  When your portfolio includes two developments that end in "city" and have their own zip codes, you're pretty big.  However, we still run into the same problems that smaller agencies have.  We often fail to show up for scheduled repairs, do shoddy work, mis-apply funds, etc.  I don't think there is a landlord/management agency immune to these things.  The only way to guarantee perfect service is to own your own home, but even then you can be at the mercy of contractors sometimes.  So, my point is, there are stories on either side and if you listen to all of them you may never choose an apartment.  However, due diligence is certainly a must and I wouldn't choose to live in a building that had a larger % of don'ts than do's.

I don't work for Mozart, but I do work for the largest residential landlord in New York city, and I'm in housing court every day.  I can definitely tell you that there are a lot of our tenants that hate us.  However, there are a lot that like us, and they live in the same buildings.  So, while reviews are great, and sometimes the only thing you've got going for you, they don't always tell the whole story.  Everyone can get disgruntled now and again.  My wife's grandmother lives in a Mozart building in Pittsburgh and has had no problems for the last 10+ years.  I'm not specifically recommending them, but if you look hard enough you'll find stories from both sides of the aisle about anything.

Well, everyone's military experience is a little different.  I happened to go through officer candidate school which is by far the toughest thing I will ever do in my life.  We averaged 3-4 hours of sleep a night for 14 weeks, with physical and academic training from 5:30am to 12am everyday.  Then, after Armor school I went through the scout leaders course, which is basically staying awake for two straight weeks while doing tactical exercises in the woods of Ft. Knox.  Then Iraq.  So, everyone's experience is different.  The mental challenges were there in the Army, but certainly they were of a diffrent type and scale than law school will be.  When I said that I felt prepared for law school by my Army experience I really meant that I know what it feels like to suffer for something you believe in, and I've developed a discipline and determination that I think will serve me well in school.

Hey there - my name is Stu and I'm going to Pitt starting in the fall.  I also happen to be married to a lovely woman named Alison.

One of the things we are both looking forward to is meeting new people and making some good friends during our time in Pittsburgh.  To that end, I was a little disappointed not to see a "Married Students" club listed in the Pitt directory online.  Does anyone know if one exists at the law school?

If there isn't one, I think Alison and I are very interested in starting something up.  It doesn't have to be a formal club (and I don't think I'll have time as a 1L to organize a formal club) but we'd definitely like to meet other married couples to share our agonies, insights and support with.  I was in the Army for three years and had an opportunity to work directly with the Family Support Group for my unit when we were in Iraq.  I'm not saying going to law school will be like going to war, but for the families of the students there are some real similarites, like long-term separation from your spouse, high stress at home and at school/work, and a feeling of isolation.

We'd like to get through all that by banding together a little "support group", which could consist entirely of going to a bar, going to a Pirates game, or doing a potluck at someone's house.  Obviously, all of that would be up for ideas.  The general thing is just to have a group of people sharing a common experience together to provide an outlet for married students and their spouses to go to should they need.  Also, for us, moving to Pittsburgh will be a new experience.  We have family there, but don't know anyone else.  So we'd like to get to know some of you :-)

If you are interested, drop me a line at stu_wexler@yahoo.com.  Even if you aren't interested in doing anything formalized, drop me a line anyway and maybe we'll get together during orientation or something.

Oh, and one last thing - this might be obvious but we're also excited about meeting single people... really, anyone.  But we figure that being married during law school has it's own challenges and rewards, and we'd like to meet others going through the same experience.