How does a hard-working 20-something go to law school?

I just took the LSAT on Saturday, and now I've got a couple questions. I did flip through some of the Ask MeFi archives, and while there was enlightenment, my top two questions didn't come up. 1)I graduated in '01- what kind of recommendations do they want to see? 2)How the hell am I going to pay for my living expenses while I'm there? What looks best in terms of recommendations? Old bosses? Older professors? Friends done well? The biggest names I can get my hands on? If it helps, I'm in my mid-20s and I've been working in the whole new media/online business-type-area since I graduated. I have a handle on my expenses, and I'm steadily paying things down, but I'm two paychecks from homelessness, like most of this country's 20-somethings. If I go to law school, how am I going to make rent and buy food? Is it all loans? Do people fit in part-time work easily? Do I just pay for it by working over the summer as an associate? (Here are answers that I'm not considering: night school and part-time law school.)