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May 24, 2005
ann arbor real estate
don't worry, readers! foxes, who has left you all thirsty for another entry (i think he is currently holed up with beyonce, jay-z and rum drinks on the beach in st. barth) has graciously allowed me to step in again and guest blog about my trip to ann arbor and the apartment search. so, here goes my second attempt at blogging.
i recently spent 2 days in ann arbor looking for an apartment and i was determined to leave with something snazzy by the end of my trip. oh, the visions i had in my head of a living space for next year! no more cramped manhattan studio apartments for me! no way! room for parties! a dining room! space for my friends to stay when visiting from the east (possibly in a small but quaint guest room, but probably on one of my (many) couches!) a backyard! i am 25, dammit, and i'm ready to have a place of my own. to feel like a grown-up.
woopsie! i was so wrong. so, so wrong.
number one - don't let anyone tell you that the cost of living in ann arbor is "cheap." most apartments shown to me were well over 800 dollars a month. coming from manhattan, i'm used to ridiculously inflated monthly rents. but this is michigan, for god's sake. anything that was remotely nice (and close to campus) was over 900 dollars a month. what?! i drive a cadillac with a perm 'cause i'm a G, but no way am i going to pay that.
number two - ha. guest room. these apartments are not large. they are cut at weird angles. one apartment had a bed that flipped up into the wall (you know, like an ironing board). that was the only affordable place i saw, and the sink was falling out of the wall. you can flip the bed up into the wall (so you can entertain, i guess) but the sink? not so much. it'll be on the floor all the time, sucka.
those undergrads at michigan have taken no prisoners, and ravaged the apartments like woah.
the people who showed me these apartments were a far cry from the slick real estate agents of manhattan. when i asked them about a broker's fee, they laughed at me. one guy did, however, sport a range rover (all wood!). however, he drove around ann arbor at 124 mph and i had to sit in the backseat, holding on for my life, while he tried to show me 4 apartments in 10 minutes. why was i in the backseat, you ask? he had a babyseat in the front and didn't want to move it. to top it off, 3 packs of marlboro reds occupied the now-empty seat. good luck, child. your dad is crazy. and probably trying to kill you.
however, i stuck it out. i don't want to live in a dorm again. i love to cook, which hopefully will be something to get my mind off the books next year. defeated, i walked to the last apartment i was scheduled to see.
it was love at first sight.
a sweet lady named barb met me at the door and showed me the place. it's 5 minutes from the law school. it's not that large, and i can only fit one (small) couch in the living room, but it was clean. the kitchen is new, the bathroom is not infested and actually nice. and, i can have it as furnished as i want, for no extra charge. i can also park my cadillac (heh) in the lot behind the house. for those of you who know ann arbor - it's sort of near ricks. which could be bad, but hey! i've got an open mind. and i drink like an undergrad sometimes, so whatever.
i've signed the lease, and i'm psyched to make the big move in a few months. monthly rent in NYC is starting to hurt, so i guess this is relatively better. and while i was in ann arbor, i had lots of time to explore and i realized that it really is a great town.
watch out, wolverines. gotham is coming to town. holla.
Posted by foxes in guest reporter: gotham at 05:26 PM | riffraff (154) | trackback (2517)
May 09, 2005
time to pay her blog a visit 'fore she decide to get cute
chickenmagazine boldly proclaims, "I am by far the cutest blogger in the blawgosphere." foxes, of course, cannot let such a treasonous and cloudcuckoo lie go unchallenged. to the courts! he says.
josh, having met both of us in real life, will have the final say on this matter! so i put it up to him, the question, "who is the cutest blogger in the blawgosphere?!"
quite naturally, i am confident that josh will vouch for foxes' aggressively masculine yet shamelessly endearing brand of cuteness. sad puppy dogs and beautiful women alike love foxes for now and would give their droopy left eyelid or their voluptuous, tactile right toe just for the opportunity to pinch foxes' cheek. foxes joins josh in scoffing at chickenmagazine's childishly minascule and laughably scholarly intimation of cute.
josh, please put cm in her place so i can get back to being cute to the extreme. THX.
Posted by foxes in blogs at 06:03 PM | riffraff (213) | trackback (3153)
May 07, 2005
put blogging on my back when you in need of soliders
chicken magazine writes a letter to her future self. not quite as charming as her diary entry and perhaps only threat to foxes as "cutest blogger in the blawg-o-sphere", the post is still obviously worth mentioning. which is what i'm doing. mentioning it. and throwing in that old hobbes quote: "poor him, he wasn't you." thomas hobbes? no, calvin and hobbes, dummy! but please people, enjoy law school. after all, law school is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
while cm urges herself to dive into the fray, foxes always felt comfortable on his throne above it, occasionally extending an arm downward to help the lonely and brokenhearted. unfortunately, at a recent snoop dogg concert, foxes tried to do just that, but was punched in the face by an inebriated hoolligan instead. but that won't stop him. hate it or love it, the underfox is on top. and i'm gonna what? blog homey until my heart stop.
Posted by foxes in blogs at 02:32 PM | riffraff (109) | trackback (2444)
May 06, 2005
michigan for now
everybody dance now!
michigan law sent confirmation of the receipt of my deposit. ever gracious, sarah zearfoss includes a response to my letter:
I remember the question you asked me at the forum, but I didn't recall it was you who had asked when I later met you at Preview! I hope you'll still choose to join us after you hear from C & C.
Posted by foxes in status update at 05:35 PM | riffraff (190) | trackback (1969)
May 05, 2005
why is everybody always picking on ming?
foxes will be eagerly watching tonight's mavericks versus rockets matchup for insight into his own destiny. much like the rockets, foxes started the playoffs out on the right foot, immediately going five and oh; and, much like the rockets, foxes is a lanky chinese dude. in fact, once i was in h-town walking behind a group of dudes wearing jerseys and bouncing a basketball, when one of them sees me, does a double take, then turns around and puts his hand over his mouth, yelling: "yao!!!"
can i write check?
tonight, foxes will watching in anticipation as the rockets face elimination. can yao stay out of foul trouble? will the rockets be able to scrape out a win? foxes needs to know.
Posted by foxes in personal at 10:42 AM | riffraff (126) | trackback (3156)
May 04, 2005
human life begins on the other side of saucy barbecued ribs
mike sun, generous proprietor of bluespot.org and gentleman extraordinaire called foxes today and we had a chit chat. he told me about a childhood buddy of his who recently sold his startup to google and now he is a multi-multi-millionaire. that, coupled with my current law school admissions experience, reminded me of that famous renard quote: "failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others." however, in these situations i prefer to think of buckminster fuller who wrote: "sometimes i think we're alone. sometimes i think we're not. in either case, the thought is staggering."
Posted by foxes in personal at 11:55 PM | riffraff (238) | trackback (2926)
May 03, 2005
we've got love and hate, it's the only way
foxes has many things: staggering beauty, arresting intelligence, a heart of gold... but one thing that he doesn't have is a sense of entitlement. he doesn't believe that he deserves to be admitted to harvard, nor does he believe that he deserves to be admitted to thomas cooley school of law. he understands full well that law school admissions is an imperfect sorting process and he does not bemoan his outcomes. on the contrary, he is well aware of the fact that he is a tough guy to get to know. did his inner light come out on those few pieces of paper? probably not. yet, he knows that he would make a substantive contribution to any law school, regardless of the strength of its applicant pool. after all, every school i know of could use a serious heaping of gangsta lean. holla!
in an anti-groucho marxian way, michigan has shown its own foresight by admitting me. i have been blessed with a multitude of gifts, mostly physical and intellectual—and now, michigan law has offered me a seat in their incoming class, and for their smarts i am grateful. michigan is not the dung; no, it's me and others like me, eschewing domesticity to wade through a river in darkness toward a cruel lover, as mythologized in chekhov's agafya.
yes, it's that i want to see the face behind the apple, so that i don't see botticelli's flora floating on my back. of course, i demand that chicago and columbia see clearly. but i'm unsure that they will come to their senses. from reality television i have unfortunately learned the following truism: you always ding the ones you love.
Posted by foxes in personal at 10:41 PM | riffraff (223) | trackback (983)
and the one thing you can tell about human beings is this
josh is bummed because his law school admissions process is over. foxes would offer to switch places (ie harvard for months and months of continued uncertainty), but we all know that josh would take up the opportunity immediately. after all, he got into harvard—he's no fool! who wouldn't rather be me, warts, fungus, and all? my options will be open all the way through september, ha ha!
of course, foxes' boastful exterior merely serves to hide the unending hurt he feels on the inside. a hee hee hee!
yesterday, i took a tour of a wastewater treatment plant in an effort to better understand the law school admisisons process. part of filtration consists of letting the poo settle to the bottom so that clean water can be skimmed off of the top. enjoy your trip back into the water cycle of life, mr. josh. i'm just going to chill here for a bit with the rest of the turds.
Posted by foxes in personal at 10:25 AM | riffraff (120) | trackback (1126)
May 02, 2005
24 hour tardy people
the peanut gallery has been clamoring for foxes' decision. nobirth writes in the comments: "So, what is the deal? Most other bloggers have announced their law school decision..."
let's pause for a moment and hop into the wayback machine: it's december 2004. the world is different. holding hands is still in style. girls are still wearing uggs. yet, foxes still had the prescience to write: "this site will document my law school application process, as i am surely to be waitlisted into oblivion". is foxes clairvoyant? whence comes his foresight? it's simple: he's a genius. you haven't noticed? don't front!
so along with his deposit to michigan law, foxes included the following letter that was addressed to the charming ms. sarah zearfoss; but, he would also like to send the same sentiment out to the entire foxes fan club and its multitude of international constituents, desperate to know his decision so that they can make their own.
Dear Ms. Zearfoss,
Thank you for the offer of admission. Enclosed is my enrollment deposit. I write to notify you that I will remain under consideration at Chicago and Columbia.
I doubt that you remember—because of the volume of students that you must have met—but I spoke with you at [my undergraduate institution's] law forum, asking you whether two women pictured in the viewbook—one with a hijab and one without—were in fact the same person. At that time, I had little interest in Michigan Law, but after speaking with you, I became enthused about the possibility of attending and sent in my application straightaway.
Your patience is appreciated during this period of uncertainty.
do you remember that time we...? foxes will always love ya, no matter how this turns out. xoxo
Posted by foxes in status update at 04:36 PM | riffraff (135) | trackback (1020)
May 01, 2005
mailbag, 5/1/2005
Dear Foxes:
While it may be hard to recall by now, after receiving so many glossy brochures and near-incessant emails extolling the virtues of Michigan Law School, our very first communication to you as an admitted student was your offer letter. Once you got to the exciting part about the offer, you might have just stopped reading. If you did, you may have missed the little detail explaining that to reserve your seat in the incoming class, your initial seat deposit of $300 must be sent to us by April 30, 2005. Since that date is quickly approaching, I just wanted to send a quick reminder. Now, if you've already sent your deposit and are nonetheless getting this email, don't panic: chances are your check is wending its way to us. We will confirm our receipt of your deposit with a letter sent out the day after we get the check.
If, on the other hand, you have somehow decided that you don't want to join us this year, we will be very sad, but would appreciate your letting us know that; responding to this email is fine, or sending back the form that came with your offer letter will work too. We sincerely hope that you'll decide to join our community. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Very truly yours,
Sarah C. Zearfoss
Posted by foxes in mailbag at 11:56 AM | riffraff (231) | trackback (1020)