The Sound of Madness

Word on the street is that Bush is considering sending around 20,000 more troops to Iraq in an attempt to stabilize the region. It's getting to the point where I'm just slapping myself on the head when I hear this stuff. Our government thinks this is matter of troop levels? Do we really still fail to see that this is an economic and political crisis that we have put ourselves in the middle of? We've sent our military to the other side of the world, a place few of us can begin to understand. We have no perspective. We removed their brutal ruler and assumed everything would take care of itself. When it didn't work out that way, when the flowers and candy never came, we were left in a political vacuum.

At this point, like most people, I have few ideas how best to end the Iraq situation. I am beginning to feel more and more like a near total withdrawal might be best. I agree that it sounds risky and weak, but we've been wrong about everything else; the premise that Iraq and the US are better off if the US doesn't withdraw could be wrong as well. And it will be much harder for the insurgents to kill our soldiers if they aren't walking down their streets anymore. It looks as if Iraqis are going to be fighting each other for a long while no matter what we do. You have a group of enemies who live among each other in a part of the world where kidnappings and carbombings are frequent. We are standing in the crossfire, adding fuel to the fire, while attempting to set up a government that will be ineffective and written off as a puppet. Besides, I'm not sure if anyone even knows what the mission actually is anymore.

In future articles I will discuss whether America might be better off with a vastly reduced worldwide military approach. Could our military be more successfully utilized within our own territories? I will try to answer this question...

peace out

The California Lawyer

Despite all my concerns and worst case scenarios, I passed the California Bar Exam. I will be sworn in next week my friends! It's been a long ride and I'm so thankful that I won't have to do it again. Some of my friends weren't so lucky. Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way.

The Cars Rock.

Topsy Turvy

What a strange world we live in...

Last night, someone stole an old atlas and my floor mats from my car...

That's right...my floor mats. Not my cd player, amplifier, subwoofer, or anything else. Just my floormats.

Uh....what?

I'm so confused...what would a person do with floormats? They're usually cut specifically for each vehicle and mine were several years old as it was.

I wish I had access to a criminal profiler. I'd like to know what kind of weirdo would do this...

Whomever it was...I think they probably belong in Gitmo.

It's Saturday & I'm 26

It never fails to amaze me how much my perception changes every few years...as I lay here this morning I can't believe that I'm 26 and I'm done with law school. It wasn't so long ago that I was looking at 3 more years of school. I remember my first semester...wondering if I was going to be able to survie...which would eventually shift to wondering if I could deal with the constant barrage of non-sense. That's really what law school becomes...its like a mental marathon. If you survive the first month, you will graduate as long as you read an outline and show up for finals.

Despite this, I now realize that law school radically altered the way in which I perceive the world and process information...For the most part, I think its an improved perception. But it does seem to carry a lot of baggage.

Im Still Here

I drifted away from the blogging world for a minute there...it happens. But fear not, I'd never leave you. I've spent the evening making phone calls and calculating financial stuff. Nothing too exciting...but the weekend is almost here, and you've gotta like that.

We're approaching the One Month range for finding out about the bar. I had my first dream in a while about that the other night. What a long time to have to wait. What a pain. Blah!

Anyway, there is lots going on but I don't feel like saying too much really. Just wanted to say hello and I'll hopefully be back soon...

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A Big Shot

Well, after an interesting conversation the other evening with a bar exam study buddy, I came up with an interesting plan. Phase 1 of the plan was already successful, although phase 1 is meaningless if phase 2 fails. Here is the plan:

Phase 1: I called up a partner at a firm I'd like to work for, and left him a message which, more or less, said: "I'd like 15 minutes of your time at your office at your earliest convenience. I have an offer I don't think you can refuse." I received a call from his secretary the very next morning, and the meeting has now been scheduled.

Phase 2: (which I'm working on) will involve me walking into his office and convincing him to give me a job as his clerk on a trial basis. At the end of the month, we'll schedule a meeting to determine whether or not to continue my employment.


I'm pleased at the opportunity to give this a go face to face. Although I'm a bit of practice, I'm a salesmen at heart, and I like my chances in this setting. But you just never know.

Have a great weekend! Godspeed.

-thememowriter

CHHHHHIEFS

Well ladies and gentlemen, after a long wait, football season is finally upon us. How can it take so long?

But here we are, with the Chiefs ready to take the field for their first (fake) game of the season. Sadly I cannot watch it on TV, as the evil cable programmers are conspiring against me. Such is the life of a future world ruler.

It was a good weekend and it only seems to be getting better. After a midnight dip in the La Jolla cove and an afternoon meeting with the Deputy District Attorney, we've got the Chiefs tonight as well as Billy Idol. Wednesday night is the Death Cab for Cutie concert and Friday I leave for Vegas.

Hope everyone has a good Saturday night and beyond...


GO CHIEFS!

All I see
Are dark grey clouds
In the distance
Moving closer with every hour
So when you'd ask
Is something wrong
I'd think you're damn right there is
But we can't talk about it now

Tiny Vessels
Death Cab For Cutie

The Bar Exam Archives

I was finally putting the rest of my "bar gear" away and came across some of my scribblings and whatnot. I found a few poems I wanted to share:

Coffee and Easements
Hot Bubbles of Caffiene
Keep the Mind Awake



If I were a cat
I most certainly
Would still eat
Carne asada burritos



He dove into black water
With Confidence
Rocks can move when stormy
His sea has been long calm
*by Buzzy Trusiani



If I was God
I'd give Everyone
A giant Pinata
Filled with Jelly Beans
and Gummy Bears

the child at the restaurant
al fresco
she stares into
the shiny spoon
her reflection faces her
laughter flows like water
she is happy

Oh Heartbeat City Here We Come

Hello peeps:

What's new you ask?

Well first of all, can you name the band that the title references? (The answer can be found beginning tomorrow in the comments section.) This question is a new wrinkle to thememowriter. Hope you enjoy it.

Right now, I'm staring at the window, looking at my broken Jeep. Suddenly it won't start. A friend of mine is on the way over to try jumping it. Please please PLEASE work!

Today, I've been canvassing the job market, sending e-mails and letters to employers all over the place. I enjoy making contact with people, new and old. It's fun to have your name out there, and to have messages coming in, whether positive or negative.

HEARTBEAT CITY HERE WE COME: The first annual thememowriter trip to Vegas is only 2 weeks away. 84% of our readers voted that the trip would be an "absolute blast" while 14% were undecided. The details of the trip are yet to be completely determined, but the preliminaries look good:

Hotel: (Undisclosed, but it's gonna be nice and have a great view)
Transportation: Navigator limo, loaded with tasty spirits & lots & lots of ice
Dining: Who cares, as long as there are hot chicas to hit on
Entertainment: Lounges, casinos, nightclubs, swimming pools...you get the idea
Poker: You know I'm going to be playing a ton of poker. Watch out tourists!


To all of you out there...hang in there. We all have our good days and our bad days, but there's too much possibility out there to live with regret. Be comfortable with the decisions of the past, enjoy the present as much as you can, and look forward to the future.

Best wishes!

-thememowriter

Stockholm

The past few days have been a bit strange. After all the time spent stressing over the bar exam, I've felt a bit of emptiness since it ended. Am I suffering from Stockholm syndrome?

I suppose in some ways it makes sense. If I had been starting a job right away, I probably wouldn't have had time to think about this. But because I have some time off, I have been wandering around in a daze. Preparing for the bar gave me a sense of direction. Now that direction is gone.

For now, I haven't decided what to replace it with. More on that to come.

"Each person is at each moment capable of remembering all that has ever happened to him and of perceiving everything that is happening everywhere in the universe. The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge, by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment, and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful."

-Cambridge philosopher, Dr. C. D. Broad, in Aldous Huxley's "The Doors of Perception"

For Better...Or For Worse?

I was trying to decide whether writing about the bar makes me feel better or worse. I think I've decided it makes me feel better, so that's nice.

The test is around 100 hours away now, which is nuts! Compared to everything I've done up to now, that's a drop in the bucket! Then again, if I can stay awake for 70% of that time, and spent most of it studying, I can probably still learn a fair amount more. But what to focus on? MBE's? Essay? PT? I guess a little bit of everything, but really I still want to memorize substantive law. Bar/Bri says repeatedly that memorizing is the least important thing to do, but its still so tempting. Try answering an essay when you don't know the law. It's terrible.

Alright, back to work...did you enjoy my poems?

-thememowriter

Them stem cells is bad
They're really people ya see
You can't go killing cells now
Cause they're the same as me

I fully support
diversity of citizenship
opined
the Commander in Chief