Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Almost Official
I've got good news! I received a letter last week from the Florida Supreme Court. I am eligible to be sorn in as an attorney in the state of Florida. I am this close to being a licensed attorney. Even though I don't have a job yet, I am so close to ending a long journey and completing a long held dream. When the big day happnes, I'll let you know.
New and Improved
Now that I am back to (semi) regular blogging, I decided to add a new "feature" to my blog. You'll notice on the right side of the page a list of books that I am reading or have recently read. Hopefully, this will give a little more insight into me. As I read new books, I will probably comment on them so that you can go enjoy them too.
I love to read. I have always tried to be a voracious reader. Books, magazines, newspapers, it doesn't matter. I want to read it. Many people find this strange since I just graduated from law school (including the extra year that most sane law students avoid like the plague). My mom has always told me that my grandfather was not a reader because he did not want to read after spending his entire day at work reading things. I also have friends who are not big readers for the same reason. But me, I like to read. Of course, I am not in practice yet, so it might change, but I doubt it. In fact, I feel like I am behind. I have done little non-school reading the last four years. Not becuase I read so much for school, but because I simply did not have the time. I tried to get in a lot of books during the summer, but it was never enough. So now that I am out of school, I am starting to move through some books.
As you can see, I have recently been reading some fluffy crime novels. These were books that my mother in law left lying around on past visits. My rationale for reading them was this: they were stacked on top of the bookcase rather than actually standing on a shelf like normal books. I have been in a bit of purge mode since I got back from Gainesville. We have too much stuff. So things that don't have sentimental value or a place to call their own must go. This includes books that are not standing on the bookshelf in a normal manner. But these three books have created a new problem. I enjoyed them so much, I want to read more by those authors, particularly the James Patterson book. It ended on such a cliffhanger that I NEED to read the next book to see what happens. This is brilliant marketing by these authors. Creating characters that appear in book after book creates a built in customer base. The dilemma is that I have more books at home that need to be purged because they do not have a shelf. So do I read them or go to the library and get the next Patterson?
I am currently reading "Stealing Elections" by John Fund. I decided to read something topical since the election is right around the corner. Fund spoke at UM Law School right after the 2004 election to promote this book. At the time, he was covering the election controversy in the Washington Governor's race. The book is about the different problems facing the American election system. I've only read the introduction, but I hope to get it read by the election. I will tell you what I think when I am done.
For now, go vote and go read.
I love to read. I have always tried to be a voracious reader. Books, magazines, newspapers, it doesn't matter. I want to read it. Many people find this strange since I just graduated from law school (including the extra year that most sane law students avoid like the plague). My mom has always told me that my grandfather was not a reader because he did not want to read after spending his entire day at work reading things. I also have friends who are not big readers for the same reason. But me, I like to read. Of course, I am not in practice yet, so it might change, but I doubt it. In fact, I feel like I am behind. I have done little non-school reading the last four years. Not becuase I read so much for school, but because I simply did not have the time. I tried to get in a lot of books during the summer, but it was never enough. So now that I am out of school, I am starting to move through some books.
As you can see, I have recently been reading some fluffy crime novels. These were books that my mother in law left lying around on past visits. My rationale for reading them was this: they were stacked on top of the bookcase rather than actually standing on a shelf like normal books. I have been in a bit of purge mode since I got back from Gainesville. We have too much stuff. So things that don't have sentimental value or a place to call their own must go. This includes books that are not standing on the bookshelf in a normal manner. But these three books have created a new problem. I enjoyed them so much, I want to read more by those authors, particularly the James Patterson book. It ended on such a cliffhanger that I NEED to read the next book to see what happens. This is brilliant marketing by these authors. Creating characters that appear in book after book creates a built in customer base. The dilemma is that I have more books at home that need to be purged because they do not have a shelf. So do I read them or go to the library and get the next Patterson?
I am currently reading "Stealing Elections" by John Fund. I decided to read something topical since the election is right around the corner. Fund spoke at UM Law School right after the 2004 election to promote this book. At the time, he was covering the election controversy in the Washington Governor's race. The book is about the different problems facing the American election system. I've only read the introduction, but I hope to get it read by the election. I will tell you what I think when I am done.
For now, go vote and go read.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Football's Place in Life
By all accounts, things are not going well for football fans in the city of Miami these days.
The University of Miami is at 5-2, but that is very misleading. UM has lost to the two good teams they have played. Miami's wins have come against Florida A & M (a 4-3 1-AA team), Houston at 5-3 and the last three wins have come against North Carolina (1-6 with the lone win against Furman) and winless Duke and Florida International. The combined record of the teams Miami has beaten is 10-26. Not an inspiring number with a road game this week against a top 25 team. And I am sure everyone knows about the fight last week in the Miami/FIU game. Miami is suffering right now.
As bad as that is, the Miami Dolphins are having an even worse year. The Dolphins are 1-6 with losses to Green Bay and Houston and the lone victory came against the Titans. The Dolphins are a very bad team this year.
If you listen to sports radio down here, you would think the world is about to implode. People are unhappy and everyone has the solution to make things better.
That is why this story really struck me last night. About 8:00, NBC did a teaser about a bus crash on the turnpike with "details at 11:00." I didn't think much about it until the news came on and it turned out the bus was full of Dolphins fans from the west coast of the state on their way home from the game. None of the bus passengers were killed though a few had some serious injuries. I couldn't help but think that the accident puts the game in perspective. I'm sure more than a few of the people on the bus are the type of fans wanting to see coaches fired, players benched, etc. I can't help but wonder if the state of the Dolphins' season became at lot less important to at least one fan. The ability of a football game to make your day bad diminishes when you have to crawl out of a burning bus just to stay alive. Though I've always realized sports outcomes are not all that significant in the scheme of life, I still have to be reminded from time to time not to take it so seriously.
Thinking about the bus accident this way, I found it insenstive for the author of the story in the paper to say, "made a bad day much worse for some Miami Dolphins fans." But then I was shocked to see this quote from one of the passengers: "'We had a bad day -- a very bad day,' Hardman said." I would say you had a very bad day and the game had nothing to do with it. I consider myself a pretty passionate fan, but I guess I will never understand Dolphins fans.
This is all made even more interesting to me after the lesson at church last night. The preacher was talking about joy and repeated the often said truism that "no one can ruin your day unless you give them permission to." The same applies to sports. The outcome of a game can only ruin your day if you allow it to. But many fans refer to sports teams as "we." "We need to beat X this week." "We need to do a better job of getting the ball to Y." What "we" need to do is understand that "we" are not a part of them team. We don't practice. We don't play. We don't coach. We don't pay the salaries (directly at least). Of course, you must realize I am writing this while wearing my Cowboys jersey, getting ready to watch the Cowboys on Monday Night Football tonight. I am sure up to this point, Julie is screaming at the computer about how I watch games on TV. When I watch one of my teams, I like to talk to the TV, to put it mildly. I am guilty of the we mindsight from time to time. But, I think I do a pretty good job of not letting games get me down. I think I usually get over it pretty quickly. But I also realize that I can do a better job and not get down when my team loses. It is a joy to watch sports. As a fan, it should be entertainment to me and nothing more. I hope that the images of a bunch of people in Dolphins gear standing near a burned out bus frame will help me remember this.
P.S. The driver of the truck that caused the accident died. Please keep his family in your prayers.
The University of Miami is at 5-2, but that is very misleading. UM has lost to the two good teams they have played. Miami's wins have come against Florida A & M (a 4-3 1-AA team), Houston at 5-3 and the last three wins have come against North Carolina (1-6 with the lone win against Furman) and winless Duke and Florida International. The combined record of the teams Miami has beaten is 10-26. Not an inspiring number with a road game this week against a top 25 team. And I am sure everyone knows about the fight last week in the Miami/FIU game. Miami is suffering right now.
As bad as that is, the Miami Dolphins are having an even worse year. The Dolphins are 1-6 with losses to Green Bay and Houston and the lone victory came against the Titans. The Dolphins are a very bad team this year.
If you listen to sports radio down here, you would think the world is about to implode. People are unhappy and everyone has the solution to make things better.
That is why this story really struck me last night. About 8:00, NBC did a teaser about a bus crash on the turnpike with "details at 11:00." I didn't think much about it until the news came on and it turned out the bus was full of Dolphins fans from the west coast of the state on their way home from the game. None of the bus passengers were killed though a few had some serious injuries. I couldn't help but think that the accident puts the game in perspective. I'm sure more than a few of the people on the bus are the type of fans wanting to see coaches fired, players benched, etc. I can't help but wonder if the state of the Dolphins' season became at lot less important to at least one fan. The ability of a football game to make your day bad diminishes when you have to crawl out of a burning bus just to stay alive. Though I've always realized sports outcomes are not all that significant in the scheme of life, I still have to be reminded from time to time not to take it so seriously.
Thinking about the bus accident this way, I found it insenstive for the author of the story in the paper to say, "made a bad day much worse for some Miami Dolphins fans." But then I was shocked to see this quote from one of the passengers: "'We had a bad day -- a very bad day,' Hardman said." I would say you had a very bad day and the game had nothing to do with it. I consider myself a pretty passionate fan, but I guess I will never understand Dolphins fans.
This is all made even more interesting to me after the lesson at church last night. The preacher was talking about joy and repeated the often said truism that "no one can ruin your day unless you give them permission to." The same applies to sports. The outcome of a game can only ruin your day if you allow it to. But many fans refer to sports teams as "we." "We need to beat X this week." "We need to do a better job of getting the ball to Y." What "we" need to do is understand that "we" are not a part of them team. We don't practice. We don't play. We don't coach. We don't pay the salaries (directly at least). Of course, you must realize I am writing this while wearing my Cowboys jersey, getting ready to watch the Cowboys on Monday Night Football tonight. I am sure up to this point, Julie is screaming at the computer about how I watch games on TV. When I watch one of my teams, I like to talk to the TV, to put it mildly. I am guilty of the we mindsight from time to time. But, I think I do a pretty good job of not letting games get me down. I think I usually get over it pretty quickly. But I also realize that I can do a better job and not get down when my team loses. It is a joy to watch sports. As a fan, it should be entertainment to me and nothing more. I hope that the images of a bunch of people in Dolphins gear standing near a burned out bus frame will help me remember this.
P.S. The driver of the truck that caused the accident died. Please keep his family in your prayers.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Silence is Broken
It's been awhile since I posted. Nearly two months. What can I say? My life has been pretty dull since I took the bar exam. I can proudly report that I passed. It is an accomplishment that makes me very proud. However, I am still not a licensed attorney because the state of Florida is still looking for my skeletons. Hopefully they won't find any. I hope to be an actual licensed attorney soon. I'll post when it happens.
I have spent the last few months looking for a job. I've had leads from time to time, some that I was really confident in. Up to this point, none of them have panned out. It is pretty discouraging to keep getting rejection letters. I could probably wallpaper a room with all the rejection letters I've received since law school started.
My in-laws recently visited Miami. While they were here, we drove through a park across the street from our apartment complex on a Saturday afternoon. There were no less than four birthday parties going on. Each party had rented its own inflatable bounce house for the kids. I have seen those things around town before in people's back yards.
Then today, I saw the party to end all birthday parties in the small park next to the public library. When I was driving up, I saw the beginnings of the directions...ballons, grills, etc. A pickup truck was pulling a miniature ferris wheel that is about 15-20 feet tall and has five cars on it. I just looked out the window and there is more. There is the requisite bounce house. There is a table full of gifts. There is a "toy" train with four cars pulling kids around the park. There is some sort of homemade Disney princess castle. And there is at least 100 people out there.
I have decided that if I don't find a legal job soon, I am going into the birthday party entertainment business. There is obviously a market for it. "Keeping up with the Jonses" extends beyond cars, clothes and houses. It apparently also applies to kids' birthday parties. With that kind of mindset, the market here is tremendous. Anyone want to invest in a miniature carnival with me?
I have spent the last few months looking for a job. I've had leads from time to time, some that I was really confident in. Up to this point, none of them have panned out. It is pretty discouraging to keep getting rejection letters. I could probably wallpaper a room with all the rejection letters I've received since law school started.
My in-laws recently visited Miami. While they were here, we drove through a park across the street from our apartment complex on a Saturday afternoon. There were no less than four birthday parties going on. Each party had rented its own inflatable bounce house for the kids. I have seen those things around town before in people's back yards.
Then today, I saw the party to end all birthday parties in the small park next to the public library. When I was driving up, I saw the beginnings of the directions...ballons, grills, etc. A pickup truck was pulling a miniature ferris wheel that is about 15-20 feet tall and has five cars on it. I just looked out the window and there is more. There is the requisite bounce house. There is a table full of gifts. There is a "toy" train with four cars pulling kids around the park. There is some sort of homemade Disney princess castle. And there is at least 100 people out there.
I have decided that if I don't find a legal job soon, I am going into the birthday party entertainment business. There is obviously a market for it. "Keeping up with the Jonses" extends beyond cars, clothes and houses. It apparently also applies to kids' birthday parties. With that kind of mindset, the market here is tremendous. Anyone want to invest in a miniature carnival with me?
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