It's fall! And 80 degrees?!

Sooo, I haven't posted in a while, and I have some general life updates. I also have an adorable pic of my niece and nephew I should put up sometime.

1. It was great to see Carmella's pics from the chap reunion weekend in Mass! Looks like lots of relaxing fun was had by all. Very disappointing not being able to attend :( But I was at least in NYC instead of SD that weekend. I hung out with Chase, Sarah Yoon and Tovah from amherst! We ate so many things that I can't get in sd, like gelato! and thai, french, and italian food along with about half a dozen cookies that were each the size of my head. Delicious and awesome! Although I think chase was happy when I left so he could return to his diet and the gym. I also met the ceo of the ACLU (who was recently on Colbert!) and lots of ACLU people from around the country.

2. Took the LSAT this last weekend. I actually think I did ok, but that might have been the dayquil talking. I was sick and hadn't been studying as much as I would have liked, so I'm about positive I'm going to cancel it. I'm actually excited to take it again in December though. Now that work has settled down I feel like I can actually focus and try to get a score I'm happy with. But it means I probably won't be applying until next year. I have mixed feelings about this especially considering my constant ups and downs at work. But taking 3 years rather than 2 between college and law school isn't that big of deal especially because I am at least building my resume. Right?! right?! Ha, I am clearly 100% happy with my decision.

3. Speaking of resume building :) So I was having lots of issues at work the past few months. It's only me and my boss at the ACLU of SD (until the end of the month when our new staff attorney starts!!!) and for some reason (severe emotional breakdown?)around June my boss stopped showing up for work and just completely checked out mentally from the office. He was also submitting reimbursements that seemed fishy to me, but there's basically no oversight from National on real issues here so I wasn't sure what to do or who to talk to about it. So I just picked up the slack and became the de facto Exec Director for most of the summer doing lots of awesome stuff that I wasn't getting paid for because I am a typical non-assertive female.

But no more! Being taken advantage of can really motivate a person to demand more. So in about as many words I told my boss to suck it up or leave- which seems to have worked somewhat for now. I also told him I needed at least a title change to reflect the responsibilities I've assumed otherwise I was going to take this open position at another non-profit. So now I am the Programs and Office Coordinator and I can submit overtime for my extra hours. And sometime this winter we are about 80% sure we will be approved to add a Programming Director (what I do now) which I will have to apply for but will almost certainly get. That position will come with a substantial jump in pay, and would look very impressive I think on my law school apps as long as I don't STRANGLE my boss in the process. It would also be a good thing for this office if I didn't apply until next fall to law school so I have some time to build a good foundation for the programs I'm starting. I hate to think of them collapsing instantly after I leave, although I CAN NOT stay here past that. But for now I have the attitude of I will do what I want and they can fire me if they don't like it because I'm not going to waste anymore of my time playing dumb games. Gahh, non-profits are soooooooo problematic and infuriating!

4. Carmella is visiting soon! So excited for that, and to start returning phone calls again. I need to catch up with many of you and hear about your lives! Also, I'm going to Minneapolis at the end of the month for a few work meetings and for a wedding with the guy I've been seeing for the past few months. I can't remember if I've mentioned him on here before, but his name is Sam and he's a lawyer here in Sioux Falls. It's been going really well, surprisingly so in fact. The break-up with austin felt like a slowwww death, but with sam it's just been one positive, happy moment after another, and I'm excited to see where we will go in the future. It's just really good with him.

Sorry a lot was condensed in this post, but it felt really cathartic to get it all out so I'm glad I did.
love!