If you are going to law school simply for the exclusive title of "Esq."
Personally, I tend to hold a dim view of people who use the Esq. title after their names. It seems silly to me, like a dentist who demands that people outside his office call him "doctor" and he makes all his restaurant reservations that way. I don't think anybody views this title as exclusive anymore, or at least not very.
which allows you to charge $250 per hour in your job, you're an idiot.
Oh, I wouldn't be so dismissive of that. I know a handful of attorneys who I would not characterize as being at the top of their profession who regularly bill $250 or $300 an hour. Granted, the number of hours they bill isn't particularly impressive, but it appears that it's not that difficult to get these rates. The tough part is getting the clients.
Is it a valid reason to go to law school as "something to do" for the next three years?
If you want to, my opinion is, why the hell not? You seem to be somebody with some real world experience who understands the risks here. I've seen people waste a lot more time and money than is involved in law school on things that ended up not working out. You don't seem to have any unrealistic delusions about the profession. If you want to go for it, go for it.
I am interested in law, but I know that jobs are scarce,
My father once said to me, when I was a very young man, "There is always room for the best". Yeah, jobs are scarce, but there will always be a lot of money to be made by attorneys who bring true skill and give true value to their clients. If this is something you really want to do, I wouldn't let this dissuade you.
and I can't say there is one area of law I definitely love yet.
If a person shows up to the first day of 1L already knowing exactly what area of the law they want to practice, before they have so much as cracked a single law book or sat in a minute of lecture, then more power to them. Personally, I think a person will make a far more enlightened decision on what they want to do within the law after they've been to a year or two of school. For that matter, they may spend the first 10 years of their career trying to find an area of the law that they want to work in. Nothing wrong with that.
But I don't know what else to do.
There, I'd say open your horizons a bit. There is ALWAYS something else you could do. You could get an associate's degree and be an RN. You could join the Navy and be an EOD tech and jump out of airplanes and scuba dive for the next 20 years. The reason to go to law school is that you want to go to law school. However, if this is truly THE ONLY THING YOU CAN THINK OF THAT YOU CAN DO, I'd say that you might want to think about it a bit more.
Is it incorrect to look at law school as something to do for the next three years?
Only if you think it's incorrect. This is a decision only you can make, for yourself.
Somewhere to meet new people, have some new opportunities, etc.?
It would certainly be that. If that's what you're after, law school is a good place to do it.
I understand there is a boatload of debt with law school,
Maybe, but you could get a scholarship. Even if you go $100,000 in debt, that's not nearly equivalent to a house payment. (house payments have PMI, Insurance and taxes added to them.) It's more like paying off a brand-new accord every 5 years for the next 15 years. So, you drive a crappy car for the next 15 years, worst-case. Best case, you get a nice job and drive a nice car.
In some sick sense, it's like f*** it I'm already screwed.
Yep, most psychology works that way. Your cherry is popped. No need to guard your virtue, now. I mean, no need to go skank yourself all over town, but you've seen that a little bit of vice won't kill you. Keep it to a reasonable amount and you'll probably be just fine.
Is law school the new college? (albeit with less parties and fun) Kind of like a college where you have more time to concentrate on what you want to do with your life?
If you want to see it that way, it doesn't sound unreasonable. However, I would add one caveat: the only reason to go into the law is to get a job in the law. If you don't intend to go to the best school your circumstances will allow, and place as high in the class as possible, I'd say don't do it. It may very well prove to be a regrettable waste of time. However, there are bigger mistakes you can make. You can do a lot in life with a law degree. It's a credential that you will have for as long as you live.