Chapter 3

I kept both jobs and the cheap apartment for

the next few years. I also kept the old Jeep Cherokee that was used

and old when my parents gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday.

With all my cheapness, I started putting a decent amount of money

away. I was a man on a mission.

My free time was spent exercising and

studying for the LSAT. I posted two pictures on the tiny

refrigerator in my miniscule bring-your-own-kitchen apartment that

used to be someone’s shed. The first picture was of a man with a

perfect body to remind me to try to look like that. I might not

have time for sex and dating right now, I told myself, but

when I do, I’m going to rock somebody’s world. The second

picture was of a big house overlooking the ocean. It was to remind

me to study hard for law school.

About two years into my mission, my mom died

suddenly from a heart attack while jogging. I kicked myself for

being so buried in work and studying that I hadn’t spent much time