4/24/2022

What have I been watching?: still Survivor forever smh

What have I been listening to?: songs from Rick and Morty lol

On Monday, I had my last ever law school class. All that is left to get through is a single exam (at least, in my case--some of my classmates have multiple). So I have kind of been leisurely studying a couple hours each day. My exam is the 29th, so it's a bit far out to be studying intensely for most of the day. I would burn out by the time I took the exam if I did that, I think. At the same time, I don't want to be unprepared considering that I have a lot of free time to study, so I'm just doing a bit each day.

The other day, I decided to go to the Flats to check out a place I've not been to before. It's called 27 Club. It is a combination coffee shop / bar. The draw of it is that it is owned by MGK. I was there for several hours studying, but I probably wouldn't go back to study again. It's a bit expensive, and the vibe isn't super conducive for studying. It's kind of dark, with a lot of ostentacious bright neon color decor, and a bit loud. It's more the kind of place people go to to take some pics for Instagram. I don't regret trying it out, though. I've been trying to hit some new / different spots during my last few weeks in Cleveland.

While I was in the area, I decided to reach out to my friend Katie (shout out to Katie) because she lives in the Flats. After she got off work, we had dinner at Collision Bend Brewery, which was within walking distance from 27 Club. It was lovely to see her and catch up. 

The next day I stopped by a coffee shop called Milk and Honey. Not gonna lie, my original draw to this place stemmed from seeing a video on TikTok about a lucky charms iced latter they had. They also have a cinnamon toast crunch version. I won't be here long because I have a facial scheduled this afternoon. 

Okay, I am coming back to this on 4/24. I had my first ever facial on Friday afternoon. I got it done at the Well House at Lamson Mansion, I think it's called. It was like a historic massive house converted into this spa business. It was quite fancy and a lovely atmosphere. Definitely would like to treat myself there again. I got a groupon for it, and it was a dermaplaning facial. Dermaplaning is basically them shaving your face to remove the dead skin and the hair, obviously. The esthetician showed me afterwards all the dead skin removed and piled up on her paper towel--quite satisfying. Then she did some extractions. I had heard of extractions and seen some videos on tiktok but had never had them done on myself. I had no idea that it was actually a kind of painful experience! They either use a tool with a metal loop to press very hard down around a pore to essentially squeeze out the icky stuff, or they literally dig into a pore with a sharp hook end of a metal tool to pull stuff out. Wow, my eyes were watering like crazy. The esthetician had to wipe away my tears every once in a while. But just like the dermaplaning, it's super satisfying.

After the scraping with a blade from the dermaplaning and the extractions, my skin was quite irritated and red. She applied an oat milk mask to calm it down a bit. Then my service included a neck and shoulder massage, which was lovely. The mask was then removed and various products were applied to my skin, and I was all set to go. I quite liked the experience! It isn't something I'd be eager to pay a lot for, and these kinds of things can be quite expensive, but using a groupon is such a good way to do it. The esthetician recommended that a chemical peel could be good for me, and I might make another appointment with her for that.

Later that day, I worked out with my friends Matt and Marielle. We did some good back and bicep work that I was happy with. I picked up veggie lo mein and garlic green beans afterwards and ate that at their place while we all watched the Kardashians. It was a great night.

Then Saturday was a big, fun day. My birthday was not technically Saturday, but we celebrated as if it were. I haven't really properly celebrated my birthday during law school so far because it always falls during final exams. Finally, though, I am at a place where, with just one exam and a job already set up, I didn't feel like I couldn't take a day for fun. I ran a bunch of errands earlier in the day--picked up a prescription from Walgreens, went to AutoZone so I could get a headlight replaced as well as my windshield wipers, got gas, and picked up a Drive Up order at Target. Then I played an hours' worth of tennis with Matt and Marielle. It was a 70 degree day and the courts were quite hot. Back home, I tidied up a bit and did dishes because we were going to have some folks over around 7. Clare brought home a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake which we ate with our classmates and friends once folks came over.

Then most of us, but not all of us since some had to wake early to continue studying, headed over to Good Night John Boy around 9 to start dancing! It is my favorite place in Cleveland. I absolutely love disco and it's pretty much the only music I like to dance to. 

Ready in our disco fits

birthday me

We met our classmate Alexa at John Boy. She is in Law Review with me and we are very similar in the sense that we care a lot about our schoolwork and want to do well. She knows the DJ at John Boy and had him surprise me by announcing my birthday in between songs. It was so fun and so sweet of her to have him do that. I felt so special! We danced for pretty much three hours straight, eventually heading out a little after midnight.

It was a wonderful birthday despite the fact that it was not technically my birthday. But I had a great day and am so happy I could finally celebrate it properly.