In my last post, I told you I would give you updates on our vacation and our tour of UF law. Here is our expereince at UF and what an experience it was...
On our last day in Florida we visited University of Florida, Gainesville. I can't tell you how long I have daydreamed about visiting this campus. Last summer, Jace started talking to me about what an LLM is and the conversation hasn't stopped. I did plenty of research into LLMs and Jace told me what schools offer a tax program. I specifically researched UF and tried to learn as much as I could about their program. UF is ranked #2 in the nation for Tax LLM, right behind NYU, and is substantially cheaper than other programs and cities.
Another school that offers a tax LLM is Washington University is St. Louis. So, this past December we toured WashU and we loved it. It is a gorgeous campus and we both looked at each other and said we could live there. The advantage to WashU is that it is only 3 hours away from family and if we needed to get home quickly, we could.
Just like we explored WashU, we wanted to explore and get a feel for UF. We thought while we were vacationing in Florida, we might as well drive to Gainesville. It was a four hour drive one way, but well worth it. We were in a little rain on the way to campus due to Tropical Storm Debby but the sky cleared up just in time for us to tour the law school.
If you know me, I am a sucker for live Oak trees with Spanish moss blowing in the wind. It doesn't get more Southern than that. Y'all the drive up to the law school had so many live Oaks--is that a sign? I think so!
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We met with a woman from admissions and then a woman who works with just the tax students as a career counselor. It was so interesting to talk to them because they are solely focused on the tax LLM students. We left impressed with the program, had our questions answered, and looked at each other and said we could do UF. However, y'all if we get accepted into UF I will have big hair from all the humidity and heat! This KY girl will have to get used to the swamp like atmosphere. Don't worry though, I can chomp on with the best of them!
So we had this wonderful meeting, got a good feel for UF, and practically skipped all the way to the car. We get into the car and we decided we would drive around campus and explore a little bit more. Y'all we weren't in the car 5 minutes and I thought I was going to throw up. You know that "pull the car over RIGHT NOW" kind of feeling. Poor Jace tried to whip it into a semi-private space and we ended up near a hospital in a tow away zone. I sat in the car and had the air on full blast and I thought I was going to throw up. THE.WORST. FEELING.IN.THE.WORLD!!!!!! I go to open the door and Jace had his hands on the unlock button setting on go, and the next thing I know I was bent over thinking my breakfast was coming up. Of course that day, I had a deep scoop shirt on and while hanging out of the car feeling as sick as a dog, I was trying not to show the world all I have.
Jace loves me to death and I know this. However, he also loves his new car. It still has the new car smell and he really didn't want to ruin that smell with the smell of vomit. I understand. So, Jace and I created a game plan. He told me to go into a building and he would come check on my after finding a real parking spot and not in a tow away zone. Later he told me there was a group of men touring the area and they were right behind our car. He didn't want me throwing up in front of these guys or in his car.
Too much information yet? Don't worry, it gets better.
So I go into the building Jace instructed me to go to and found a bathroom ASAP. Of course, there is someone in the stall next to me. She wasn't going #1 either. I walked into my stall, splashed cold water on my face and hovered over the toilet. Nothing. I didn't want to throw up but you know you will feel so much better if you do. It didn't help that I was so close to a public toilet. Closer than I ever really want to be again. But you do what you have to do sometimes. I stayed in there quite a while and was trying to pull it together. I felt awful but knew we were 10 hours from home and it would be a long car ride back to MS.
From what Jace says, when I am sick I have little patience and am not real sweet. Is anyone? I say this because I was getting real tired of the lady next to me. She was quiet as a mouse and was hoping that I didn't notice her. Well, I could see her feet and knew she was there. I was still feeling so sick and really didn't want to throw up right beside her. Y'all I tried to be nice and I thought I would politely ask her if she could leave. I said in my Southern accent, "ma'am, I am not feeling well so you need to go ahead and do your thang". That is exactly how it sounded. Needless to say, the lady left pretty quickly. However, her granddaughters came in shortly after Grandma left. I know they were granddaughers because I overheard them say to each other, "Grandma told us not to come in here!". Great. I have now scared these kids, made Grandma mad, and am nauseous. I wanted to curl up on the cold tile floor but resisted the urge.
By the time it was all said and done, I never threw up but the wave of nausea hit hard. It passed but not for quite some time. I found Jace in the same parking spot and we drove home. I saw the rest of Gainesville from Jace's sunroof with my seat back all the way. We were supposed to tour an apartment complex and we never got there. In the car after I was feeling better, Jace told me that he parked far away, ran down a hill, went up and down the hospital hallway, and tried to call me repeatedly. He later went back to his car and parked in the spot I saw him last. He told me he loved me but really loved that I didn't vomit in his car.
So after months of building up anticipation and daydreaming about UF, I was sick for most of the day. I still enjoyed our time there, am pleased with the facilities, and feel comfortable there. I think they have a wonderful program and am hopeful that Jace will get accepted.
I hope this post didn't gross you out. It is just a day in the life of Katie Keith. Jace and I tried to find laughter in whole mess. We experieneced our vows a little early... in sickness and health...in Gator Country.
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