Tack on another APR

I just read Jeremy Schachter's fabulous post about why law school is so awesome. I myself am understanding his finer points even though I haven't yet attended first year orientation. Schachter writes:

Comedy was cool, but I wasn't exactly rich, I was borderline poor. Not poor enough though. I wanted to know what it would be like to be poor and be millions in debt and it's awesome. Every bottle of Head & Shoulders and every falafel sandwich from Pita Joe is at 7.9 percent. Do you know how liberating that is!?

I, too, am suddenly drastically poor. This isn't the kind of poor in which I have to choose between buying milk and buying bread. This is the kind of poor in which I have to choose between Visa and Discover to buy aspirin. This is middle-class poor and it's added a new dimension to my world.

The key, though, is to spin it. When I signed the promissory note I didn't become poor; I became a super-environmentalist.
First: all that cash moving around this country is REALLY bad for the trees. Save the paper; use plastic! And speaking of plastic, here's a dirty secret: I REUSE sandwich bags. I'm an environmentalist from way back, so reusing baggies is good for my soul. My personal best is six; SIX days of using the same peanut-butter-smeared baggie! Dirtier secret: I've occasionally resorted to washing baggies and drying them on a dish drainer. I'm telling you, it's good for the environment and Tupperware containers don't easily fit in my backpack. I believe I can take this one box of baggies and spread it out over an entire year. I'm saving at LEAST $1.50 here.

I've started adding up how much I spend on food each day. By my calculations I can have two cups of coffee and a bagel in the morning, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, a bowl of rice for dinner, and four rolls of Smarties for dessert, and still be under my $4/day limit for food. If you're wondering: yes, I do eat Smarties. The sugary, children's-tylenol kind, not the chocolate ones. For dessert. Often. What? It's cheaper than cake. The Smarties are naughty plastic-wrapped things but what's more earth-friendly than an entirely plant-based diet? Never mind that the only plant included here is rice. And the coffee is not fair trade, but it would be if I could afford fair-trade coffee.

And:
I was garage-sale-chic before garage sale chic was cool. And even before it was, ahem, chic. But how much does it rock that I bought an ENTIRE LAW SCHOOL WARDROBE from Goodwill? Look at me! I can be environmentally conscious AND fashionable all at...the...same...there's a stain on this blouse.

This law school thing is pretty awesome. Being poor, wearing yellowed rags, resisting hunger, headaches, and other temptations; it's all preparing me to be one ROCKING attorney. Or it would be, if I could afford to buy my books.