8th Floor Observations

2005-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Black jacket by Kenneth Cole. Rainproof material. Bought for me spring 2000. A gift. The jacket I wore all the way through law school and one hideous temp job right after. I wore that jacket till the coldest week of last autumn. I visited you in the hospital wearing that jacket. I told you goodbye in that jacket. The last thing I'm holding onto from then, I'm going to let it go now. Giving it away. A gift (again). You'll have forgotten long before I do.

2005-05-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that my favorite character in "the Life Aquatic with Steve Zizou" was Cody, the three-legged dog? Thanks.

2005-03-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

A new post. I'm working a lot of hours most weeks and spending my weekends in faraway places. I'm not a secret agent, I'm just a contract lawyer. It's working out well, thank you.

I've made some friends at work. It's not like that. This is all about music-exchange and maybe the occasional after work martini. Strange but I had to get the flu to prove I was like everyone else and get to be friends with people. At one point about 30 of the 70 attorneys on my floor had the flu, which was fairly unproductive for the workplace. Unfortunately for you, lawyer-hater, we all survived. Now we're thinking of suing Caterpillar for, you know... being there.

Oh, and we got high-speed at home now, so that's nice. And the dog went to the vet. He's healthy, but his nuts haven't grown back yet. So, still no puppies.

2005-02-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Blue-cheese bacon burger. Fries. Chocolate milkshake.

Dog walk. Dog park. Dog bath.

Super glue. Super market. Super Bowl (tm).

(Sorry--"The Big Game." Since I didn't buy the license.)

Election. Erection. Condescension.

Mystified. Stupefied. Exemplified.

This is my blog and I'll waste the space if I want.

2005-01-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

The word of the day is: election.

I saw Christopher Hitchens on C-SPAN earlier today, accurately describing the al-Zarqawi scum as not the "Arab Street," and not even the "Arab sewer." They are, as declared agents against democracy in Iraq, beneath contempt. They are hateful and murderous, and though the election today will not stop them killing ever more people, it will prove that the job in Iraq is getting done.

It may be said that this is not an election proper. I doubt that it matters to Iraqis. I think there is great symbolic currency in elections, even (especially?) in one so limited in practical effect. There was this election, there will be a constitutional congress, there will be a ratification vote on October 15, and a final election on December 15. The country will go into effect independent of the US occupation authority by the end of the year.

Those opposed to the Iraq election did not stop it. I doubt they will stop any of the other dates in the process. The next big date I will look for will be when the Iraqi government, such as it is elected, executes a Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. That will be real power, the power of the central government to enter into an international treaty. SOFAs are a big deal--I lived in a few countries under their protections and rules, and have retained some measure of respect for what they represent.

It's a good day for Iraq and for the world.

2005-01-21T02:28:00.000-08:00

I like I've eaten a can of soup (I mean, the can) and chased it with a coil of razor wire.

2005-01-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

I just read this week's posting on the Becker-Posner blog, and was dee-lighted to read two excellent (but very accessible) postings on "tort reform," especially with regard to federal limitations on medical malpractice awards. This is an especially interesting topic for me, because among other reasons it always seems to provoke arguments at familial gatherings. But not within my family. In my girlfriend's family, there are doctors, lawyers (not just me), AND insurance agents, so the med-mal pyrotechnics can be stimulating indeed, especially after dinner, when the merlot has had time to set in.

2005-01-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

Okay... This is King County. To date I've said nothing about the election. All I really have to say about it is other people are covering it in depth, and I think we should have a re-vote, and I think all the current elections officials in King County should be fired.

Someone got arrested in our alley last night. The police used a megaphone to communicate, which after all the Friday night partying was a little tough on the various central nervous systems on the 8th Floor. But at least he didn't get shot, which was by no means a certainty at the beginning of that confrontation.

We're a little hungover today on the 8th floor. It's early afternoon and we're still in our pj's. The only trips made outside today have been for the sake of the dog. It's cold as nuts outside today, I can report. Soon we'll have to leave the comfort of our apartment for some Saturday shopping, and maybe tea down at the market. My girlfriend loves tea.

2005-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, happiness makes you cry. Well, it can make you cry. I love how diametrically opposed emotions can elicit an identical physical response from time-to-time, as if there are more possible mental reactions than physical manifestations, so the body just has to double-up.

So here are some reasons I'm not at work yet, in no particular order:

1. eating my Cap'n Crunch one crunch/berry at a time.
2. have secret double-life.
3. emotionally co-dependent on my dog.
4. yesterday's bike-chain derailment was a sign from God.
5. made partner, make own schedule now!
6. relying on Dan Rather report that says I don't have to go in till 11.
7. too sunny.
8. too ironic.
9. can't go on any longer.
10. instapundit.

2005-01-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

The word to describe Seattle today: raw.

2005-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Last night the Mirabeau Room was going off. There was a benefit staged and I'm sure it raised a lot of money because it wall-to-wall. The DJ's were local and very good, and of course the music had an Asian theme. The music was really, really nice and there were beautiful people everywhere, especially at my table where I was lucky enough to be accompanied by no less than five lovely ladies. And I do mean lovely. Had a drink, danced a bit, but I think we left just as it was really taking off. I'd got up at half-past 6 to go play soccer, and I was tired. All in all, a good day and night. Today there is a little snow on the ground and in the air.

2005-01-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who recently became a father. He's a unique kind of friend of mine. Very reserved, confident, very, very smart. Like me, he's a little frustrated with the job market. Unlike me, he's now got a lot more riding on his prospects. So tonight in conversation, he made a point I've been trying to make to people about where I'm at, job-wise. He's had the very same thought as me, and he explained it in the same terms I've used in trying and failing to communicate the concept to others. I think that's what makes us friends--not only do we often (not always) think along similar lines, but we communicate them out the same way, too. I really value that in someone. It's nice to have around. The other cool thing about this guy is, once someone described him as hip like a hipster. That was shouted down by a lot of us, including his beloved. He took the shouting down in stride (I think he may also have contributed to it) but the more I think about it, the more I think it's an apt description.

2005-01-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Stupid work getting in the way of stupid blogging. Sorry folks, I know you're dying to read hot fresh new news in my life here like four times daily, but frankly, I spend all day looking at a flat screen. I really don't feel like typing more at the end of each work day.

I applied for a different position in my firm. Hopefully I'll get the job and that will be fly.

I "networked" with another young lawyer in town tonight (he bought me a beer). A man of vision, I hope he succeeds. This particular conversation has got me thinking again about how I am too conservative by nature, and perhaps it's time I did something crazy.

Ann Althouse has some sweet posts up this week. The link is right over there to your right. I especially like the Reid/Read deconstruction of some Justice Thomas bad-mouthing. And the fashion/beauty posts raise some internalized points I used to think about a lot per my former girlfriend, but not so much these days.

The word of the day is: superficial.

2005-01-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

Damn but shoes are expensive.

2005-01-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Late last night/early this morning, some merry-making jerkoff rang our doorbell TWICE (at 3:30 and 4 am) causing our dog to go crazy and causing me and B to wake from a blissful slumber. Coming home from the grocery just now, I had a fantasy that I cornered that guy and kicked him in the nuts repeatedly while saying "Happy New Year" for emphasis with each kick.

2005-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Thus begins a new year, and perhaps new blogging habits. Short and sweet.

My workout was great. It was mostly just running. However, it was satisfyingly followed by the sight of my knee swelling up big time. It doesn't really hurt, it just sucks.

Perhaps also we will have a "response to comments" section. Here is one: watching the bad guy in "Trading Places" get "plowed in the ass" wasn't nearly as satisfying as (watching my knee swell up after a good run) one might think after one realizes that it is extremely unlikely that his ape costume would have had a rectal hole in it, through the which the real ape could sodomize the bad guy. So maybe there was just a lot of dry humping, which would also be uncomfortable and degrading, which is just what a villain in a comedy deserves, huh?

2004-12-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, y'all. I love most of you.

This Christmas I watched the old Eddie Murphy/Dan Akroyd movie, "Trading Places." I really liked it (again) but some things stood out more this time. For instance, at the very end, why was there a costume party going on in the train? It makes no sense at all. Jim Belushi's character says, "it's not even New Year baby" to his girlfriend, so it can't be a New Year party (plus the stock market isn't open on January 1st, the day they took the secret information to the market and cornered the forzen concentrated orange juice market). So, why the need for the costume party? Especially considering that (spoiler ahead) since they were stealing the secret information from a guy who knew their identities ANYWAY, there already would have been an angle to get disguises into the movie. I mean, they couldn't have walked into his car (and why didn't he lock the door anyway?) without disguises of SOME kind, so why not just go with the ones they had, and dispose of the costume party on the train? Because they needed a way to get the bad guy into an ape suit? I don't believe that. They could have got rid of him some other way (like in the caboose, or by pushing him out of the back of the train, or by locking him in a closet or by hitting him with chloroform and leaving him in a car full of guys on their way to a BSDM convention or something). So basically, as far as I can see, the costume party was superfluous.

Happy New Year.

2004-12-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

Ha ha. Twice in five years the "Fighting Irish" have lost to a team called the "Beavers." Since I went to one and hate the other, this makes for news. You know, I loved the movie "Rudy" but I hate the way Notre Dame is pampered by the sports media. It's a tired theme, but it's nonetheless true.

2004-12-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

The following is an email I recently wrote to my father, who lives in a foreign country and watches the NFL in the middle of the night. The science project posts will just have to wait.

Hey when did you become such a big NE Patriots fan anyway? As far as I can recall, you've always been a Cowboys fan, and the only time I can remember you paying attention to the Patriots was back in 1986 when Jim McMahon and the Bears did the 42-10 Super Bowl Shuffle all over them, (in what was, for me anyway, the harbinger of the lopsided Super Bowl that was seen so prominently from the late 1980's to the mid-1990's, which caused television viewing to plummet for the SB, which caused fans to care less and less about it (if that were possible), which ultimately caused the league to implement its ridiculous salary and "parity" inducing rules, which have functioned like some kind of Socialist Sporting Regulatory Body
gone wild, and which has subsequently caused the NFL to become the unexciting and frankly crappy league that it is today, what with its focus on family-friendly marketing and football info-tainment television shows which now even my librarian girlfriend finds somewhat compelling, since she just watched "NFL Week in Review" or some crap on ESPN and came back to tell me how cool it was... so anyway, clearly I blame Mike Ditka for the crappy state of the NFL, although in 5th grade I thought he was a hell of a football coach and manager of kitchen appliances).

And let's not even TALK ABOUT how the above mentioned series of events has allowed TERRY BRADSHAW (who I despise only slightly less than Ted Rall, but for obviously different reasons, and but I'd still like to see TB kick TR in the nuts---oooh I'd pay money to see THAT) to return to the center of the nation's sporting consciousness from his rightful place on the fringes of lunacy...

So back to the original question... when did you become such a big
Patriots fan anyway??

ps--My girlfriend does not pronounce it "es-pen," since she knows it's really pronounced "E-S-P-N" (and no, smartass, she doesn't say, "E hyphen N hyphen...etc"

pps--A quick Google reveals that is was actually 46-10, but I don't think the point behind the post is materially affected.

2004-12-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

coming soon: the story of the lamest 6th grade science project ever (plus also how elementary school science can be hazardous to your health).

2004-12-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

This morning at 11 I looked out the 18th floor window of my office building. The office faces directly south, and there, seemingly in line with my sight was the sun. Almost due south at 11 am, sort of seeping through the high thin clouds, casting a pale light on us through our double-panes. And I thought to myself, "jeez, it looks like the sun just can't be bothered." And neither could I.

My girlfriend is super-cute. As is my dog, but in a different way.

And it's cold tonight. I'm thankful for my warm apartment and bed. Plus my job. I love having a job.

2004-12-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

A break? Not quite.

After getting our meteorlogical asses kicked for the last week or so, it seemed to me that all good folk of Seattle could look forward to a break this morning. And it was glorious. Clear, clean sky, shining sun, calm blue (as opposed to black/grey) water in Puget Sound. It was even a little warm. Odd. And so, so temporary. As I type the clouds are sailing in, the temperature is dropping, the wind is picking back up. Damn.

Went to old law firm Christmas party. Apparently last year got a little wild so this year they severely cut back on the alcohol flow after 9pm. Instead of the 5 bars that they had up when we arrived at 7, they had cut back to 2 after 9, so it was tough for B and me to get our wild on. But a couple of whiskey sours added a nice polish to my evening, and some of the talent on display was truly first class. Even B was taken aback by some of the dresses and occupants of said dresses.

After leaving the party in a complimentary taxi, B and I came home and I took the dog out. It was one of those outside-excursions that made me question how much I really love my dog (a lot), because frankly, the wind and rain, and his reluctance to do his thing were all combining to make me unhappy. You could say it was taking the polish off my evening. So B and I set out again, to a cafe around the corner from our apartment. In fact, it's the very cafe where Tom Leykis got his head kicked in this summer. All I have to say is, "Good corned beef hash." And beer.

UPDATE: It's sunny again. It's cloudy again. It's sunny again. It's cloudy again. It's sunny again. This could (and probably will) go on all day, if not winter.

2004-12-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday posting... Today was a classic Sunday (do I ever have anything other than classic weekends? I'll ponder...). I got up pretty early (8:30), walked the dog, then walked to the shop to get some laundry/dish soap, and cleaned the apartment while B slept. I did the bathroom, three loads of laundry, loaded the dishwasher with the dishes from last night's steak BBQ (which was awesome) and generally made myself useful in a quiet way. I also ironed a bunch for the coming week, which, whatever. I hate ironing, but it's so necessary.

We got Netflix this week. Our first three discs came: A Christmas Carol and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vol. 3 (discs 1 and 2). We watched all of them (B watched Christmas twice--she's got a sinus-sick thing right now) so we're waiting on the next three now.

I played soccer today, just a pick up game. It was cold and muddy. And windy. But it was a lot of fun. Most of the guys (5/9) were Italian, and incredibly skilled. They were good, which made it more fun to play, despite the terrible field. One of the guys actually lives in our building, which was kind of funny.

On Friday B and I went to the Seattle Art Museum. There's a great big Spanish exhibit on right now. Frankly, we were unimpressed. There were neat things, sure. But no sex, no violence, no drama. Just a bunch of portraits and a couple suits of armor. And a horse with armor. More interesting to us was a sculpture display on the fourth floor. All things made of glass. Really cool, stimulating stuff. One of the pieces had a fingerprint on it, which I pointed out to B. Shortly thereafter, a docent came by and informed me that touching the objects is prohibited. I laughed out loud, which he might have taken the wrong way, and tried to explain that I was showing the fingerprint to B. He seemed cool to that, and thanked me, and got on the radio for a cleaning crew with some windex. As we were walking away I thought that in his position I might have been more skeptical: "Yeah--I KNOW there's a fingerprint on the piece, and I bet it matches your finger, pal..." but luckily he was more believing.

Today I also read blogs. Lots of blogs. Althouse, Celluloid Wisdom, and How Appealing. Also, I read the introduction of the new Becker-Posner blog, which, come on, that's totally going to be heavy. Get ready for a schoolin', blogosphere.

Short story wrap-up: I'm feeling good. I get paid tomorrow! Now I feel EVEN BETTER!! Hooray for dollars. And sense.

2004-12-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Now that I've alienated the few readers I had by failing to update for days and days, I'll resume blogging. It's sort of like a new slate, almost. But it beats the hell out of starting over.

It's so easy to fall into a routine. Easy easy easy. I've been at my job for just over two weeks now (or is it three? ah, the days, they just bleed together), and today I caught myself in a rut. ALREADY! Morning: show up more or less in nick of time, wipe off sweat from biking or very-fast walking. Morning plus 10 minutes: wrap up email/blog surfing, start working. Choose CD from among pile in desperate need of upgrade. Work. Morning plus 2hours, 30 minutes: break. More work. Lunch. Afternoon: choose music from web-radio stations. Work. Afternoon plus 2 hours 30 minutes: break. Walk around lobby. Work, leave. Repeat M-F.

Well, it beats being unemployed.

I'm really digging my job, but I don't think it's a good idea for me to blog at work, so until I get a fly new laptop with wireless internet, probably I'll be limited in yet another way (ie: not as much blogging). But hell, since nobody's reading anyway, no big deal.

So the 3d Circuit wants to analogize law students to boy scouts. Or more directly: law schools to the BSA. Whatever. I'm not alone in my skepticism.

So here's the last topic of the fortnight (apart from my interjection here re: my first attempt at cross country skiiing. It was dope...): Last week I sent an email in response to an ad for a litigation position that was posted on the state bar's website. They listed a contact person, so I emailed her. I figured I'd not get a response, so I wrote in that I would follow up this week. I followed up yesterday, asking for the materials they want from applicants, a contact to whom the materials should be addressed, and have a nice day. So today, I got a totally cheesy auto-reply email that said basically, "we reviewed your materials, you look awesome, sorry the position has been filled." And I was sort of offended there for a second, because I'd just been patronized by a freakin' auto-reply email. Nobody reviewed my materials, because I never got to send them in. Nobody was impressed by my skill set, and for once, it wasn't my skill set's fault. So, note to law firm X: your HR person is a slacker, and in my humble opinion, it reflects poorly on your firm. Yes, MAYBE you got millions of emails, but duh, that's what happens when you list one.

Anyway, it's time to go cook the chicken.

2004-11-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Sunday. What a day. Sourdough bagette, coffee, honey, sausage, and a fried egg. I had a hell of a week.

I got up at 7am yesterday to go to court for a mock trial. Our group did the judge, jury, and everybody else a favor by putting on our show a full 2 hours ahead of schedule. People were pleased. Note to law students and lawyers offering comments afterword: you don't have to be nasty about delivering comments. Also, before offering substantive comments on the case, consider that we have a) limited facts and law on which to base our cases, b) we have limited time with which to prepare), and c) we're there not for YOUR benefit, but for our own. Our exercise was about putting on a case, not winning it. If you must offer comments, talk about speech, delivery, etiquette, procedure, etc... it's not much help to say, "why didn't you argue X case, or Y principle?" The answer to all those comments: they weren't in the materials. That's my rant.

I got a job. A real job, in a law firm. It was very sudden. Last week while at my temporary job, someone from the firm called me out of the blue (I'd contacted them about three months ago, then forgotten about them as I'd thought they'd understandably blown me off). They called on Wednesday, I interviewed on Friday, someone followed up on Sunday (Sunday!!), and I was hired on Tuesday. I started Wednesday. It's interesting work, extremely interesting in fact. For obvious reasons I can't discuss the specific work, and the only drawback is it's not a guaranteed position for any length of time. However, prospects look good for stable employment. The employment agreement is such that I can continue looking for other work if I want, and it won't be held against me if I find something somewhere else.

The level of anxiety around the apartment has decreased remarkably over the past week. The job is only 20 or so blocks from the apartment, so I can bike everyday. It's funny, I go into the firm looking like one of the couriers, but I get dressed inside and work all day looking like a lawyer, then go home again looking like a courier. It's a big, big firm, so there is a great deal of anonymity, so... so I don't know what. I have a feeling like I have a chip on my shoulder there, but I have been examining that and am thinking the chip may be a permanent part of my shoulder, and not necessarily related to the firm environment. It's my problem and I'll have to deal. Meanwhile, the dog need to take a run, so I need to take him...

2004-11-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

Politics blows. I was hoping for a little relief when the election ended. Little did I know that that from which I wanted relief was just getting started. I feel like I can hear the fabric of our society ripping, and am powerless to do anything about it, much less stop it. People for whom I thought I had a degree of respect are effectively saying, "I can't deal, so I won't even argue with you." People I know who couldn't possiblly know what end of a gun to point at someone are hinting at carrying. People who hold jobs that demand intelligence, organization, and critical thinking are complaining about conspiracy theories so outlandish the Coen Brothers couldn't have come up with them. People who I assumed to be intelligent, durable individuals have literally wept like babies. Can we please get a fucking grip here? I'm starting to worry. People are asking my girlfriend how she can stand to sleep with me, what with our differing political belief. And there really is only one fundamentally different belief (singular), it just happened to be a deal breaker for this election. Pretty much everything else, we voted the same. What the hell is going on here?

The guy (I have to assume it's a guy, for reasons that will become clear in just about a second...) who rents the 10th floor apartment one block down and half a block over, down the hill so that his apartment is about level with ours, was last night watching on his gigantic television three naked women getting it on in what looked to be a lockerroom/shower-type setting. It looked like a blonde-brunette-blonde situation, though not a "true" blonde. From the distance and amount of atmosphere between our apartments, I couldn't tell if there was any surgical enhancement or not. I'm going to hazard a guess and say, "not," but don't take me as definitive here. This is funny because the other night B and I were eating dinner, and the table looks out towards this guy's apartment. She stopped in mid-sentence and said, "I think... no? Wait... I think that guy's watching a porno..." But she didn't have her glasses on, so she couldn't really tell. Well, when she gets back from California I'm going to give her the good news. One more reason we don't need to order cable, I guess.

2004-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

I'm working right now, so have limited time to write what can only be limited thoughts. I'm glad it's over--really over. I've heard reports that Sen. Kerry's speech was good, very good. I've not heard the speech yet, but I'm willing to believe it. Here again "if only" will get a lot of air-time. "If only he'd been THAT good during the campaign..." Well, maybe. It doesn't matter now, though, does it?

I'm tired today, like many people I suspect. I've gone through the morning in a haze. And frankly, I was in shock (and awe) at 10 am when I got invited for an interview with a big Seattle firm for this Friday. Not a great position, but still lawyer's work, and something good to go on, someplace good to start. Thankfully no one asked me if I'd rather have a W presidency or a good lawyering job. I'll take both, thanks, and I won't even feel bad about it.

2004-11-03T01:15:00.000-08:00

Me: I hope Senator Kerry (*cough*) will do us all a favor, spare us the litigation, and concede sometime in the next twelve hours.

Senator John Edwards: "John Kerry and I have made a promise to the American people that with this election every vote would count and every vote would be counted. Tonight we are keeping our word and we will fight for every vote."

Me: *sigh*

I wouldn't expect anything less. Look, Mr. Edwards, as a citizen, I don't want you to fight for every vote. I want you to look at the facts. Mathematically, it would take a statistical anomally of (dare I say?) fraudulent proportions for you to win Ohio now. While fraud is likely what we'll have proven in New Mexico, you probably won't get away with it in Ohio (note: I'm basing my fraud in New Mexico line on the fact that when I started watching tv tonight, W was up by 30,000 votes, then Bill Richardson goes on tv and says, "wait, we just counted 24,000 votes in Santa Fe County, which is heavily Democrat" and then later in the SAME interview he calls it "almost 24,000," and then he calls it "19,000." And then like a half-hour later, all of a sudden W's only ahead by a thousand votes? You go all day, count votes for most of the night, and he's ahead by 30,000 votes, and then in under half an hour the race is hot again? Color me skeptical here, that's all I can say.) Your party is sinking in stature with every election. Instead of bitching and moaning about 140,000 votes across Ohio (especially when you're losing by several million across the country... how then, will you react, if even by the scope of your wildest wet dreams you DO manage to win Ohio, how then will you govern, having lost the popular vote? Snidely you may say that you'd just follow W's lead, but snidely in return I'd say: you couldn't possibly know how), how about going and finding a new platform? How about giving people a viable alternative? How about getting your party's shit together, and NOT nominating John F (is for "freakin'") Kerry?? You *almost* had my vote, DNC, but I think you may have lost it forever in 2004. Even if, even IF, as I said above, in John Edwards' wildest wet dreams gone wild, you manage to make a fight out of Ohio, it will just further expose you for the self-motivated pair of political hacks that you are.

Dan Rather: It's still an exciting race to the finish, and we'll be here for you all the way to the bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter, parsimonious (ed--he didn't really say "parsimonious") end.

Me: *sigh*

Dan Rather, you look awful. Your jowls are hangning, your eyes are baggy. It just may be time to hang it up. On television tonight, you're like the desperate, desperate kid who still believes in Santa Claus, or the kid who wants you to believe that Michael Jackson (or his sister) used the phone at your house. In my eyes, you have no credibility. You're a disgrace to your profession, I hope you realize it soon, but I won't hold my breath.

BBC: "President Bush leads the White House race, but victory hangs on the state of Ohio, where the result is still unclear."

Me: The result is only unclear because you can't subtract. You're not good at "maths." At this hour, anyway, W's lead is greater than the number of ballots that will ultimately be certifited and counted (provisional, absentee, or any other kind of ballot). Or maybe because you're hopelessly optimistic, or because maybe you're deluded. I know it's going to be depressing for you, but at least you'll be able to spend the next four years going, "tsk tsk" as much you've been doing it for the last four years. I used to like you, but now I just ignore you. Sort of like Dan Rather.

It's late. I'm too caffeinated. I'm cranky and my dog has to go out and pee. I hope, oh how I hope, that when I wake up tomorrow morning, the election will be over and we can get moving.

2004-10-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't post all week. I'm bummed the Sox won the world series, but take it as a sign that even the loserest of losers can turn their luck around with a little bit of cash and a lot of hard work. I decided that I'll sit for the patent bar exam as soon as possible. Started studying day before yesterday, shooting for early or mid-January. Dog looks a little depressed these days, not sure why. Maybe he misses his youth. Or maybe he needs a girlfriend, I don't know. I do know that I'm glad he's not a cat, since I don't like cats much. Except for the cats in Team America, I thought they were pretty funny. Probably going to try and make some chicken soup tonight, we'll see how it goes.

2004-10-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

If ever there were a Monday, today would be the day. And not just because it's Monday, but because it's been one of those mythical Mondays.

Let's start with the weather... after a glorious, absolutely glorious weekend of sun and shine, today was a return to the gloom and doom that occasionally descends upon the PNW. It threatened rain without much production, except for those moments when I was walking the dog or driving the truck. But I'm used to the weather, and anyway it's only October. I don't REALLY get tired of it until March or so.

Wait, I should go back about six hours. Before the weather, there was the sleeping situation. I slept on the couch last night, not because B and I had a fight, but because we're eradicating little six-legged pests from our bedroom, and the dog can't sleep in there right now. Since he can't sleep in our room right now, the little guy is beside himself with anxiety. He doesn't understand that we don't want him sucking up powdered pest poison (but we're okay with it, really), and he thinks he's done something wrong. So to stop him whining I slept in the living room with him, which was none too comfortable.

Work... such as it is. I drove B to her office, then drove to mine. Today being the first time I've made this trip, I missed an exit in between our offices, and so had my journey unnecessarily extended. That was not-too-bad, except I really wanted a cup of coffee. I'd foregone my morning cup at home to save time, figuring I'd fill up in the basement. Upon arrival, I was saddened to learn that there was no more coffee. And not just no more coffee in the pot, but no more coffee in the house. Gritting my teeth, I drank tea. Lots of tea.

Actually starting to get to work on this project was impeded by the fact that the weekend crew that was assigned the task of clearing up the final publishing and editing bugs didn't, so we couldn't, so I sat there for a while chasing my tail. My boss is a real sport, though, and she let me hang around to collect hours while I tried to figure out problems that weren't mine to begin with, and so I couldn't be expected to fix. The downside there is I got stuck trying to explain these issues to my fellow worker. I must not have been doing a very good job letting her know that I didn't know any more than her, so I couldn't really answer her questions, no matter how many times per quarter hour she asked me to explain stuff.

But that was okay, even though I was hungry, because I found a vending machine that spits out chimichangas for a buck seventy-five. Except, in my case, today it didn't spit out the food, so I was spitting mad. My boss kindly reminded me that many people are killed or maimed each year when they try to shake their treats out of the machines. And she promised to try to get my cash back for me. I'm not holding my breath.

So a few hours later, I took off for home. No major problems on the way home, no traffic to fight, because hey, it was the middle of the day, and the only people out driving at that time of day are no-lifes like me.

At home, the dog had to pee, so I had to take him out, so it had to start raining again. Happily a friend of mine is heading up this way in a couple days and we're going to meet up. Unhappily the dog took my lapse in concentration as an opportunity to eat something off the street that I normally would have stopped him eating, which is going to make him real unhappy later on, in a digestive sort of way, one suspects.

My ballot was in the mail. I made my girlfriend dinner. I read the voter's pamphlet and was frankly offended by the paucity of real choice amongst candidates. I refuse to vote for someone who says, "Abortion is the American Holocaust" and am honestly shocked that a major party (guess which one!) would allow themselves to be affiliated with that kind of moronic talk. But then, there's a lot of moronic talk going around these days, right John?

There are still 3 hours to go before tonight ends. If there is cause for serious schadenfreude, I'll be sure to let you know.

2004-10-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Yup.

"That’s one of the meanings of 9/11. That you cannot be safe in Darfur or Beirut, in the Phillipines or Indonesia, that’s a problem. But if you can be murdered by Islamic terrorists while you’re on the top floor of the WTC, then that’s not a problem anymore. That’s much bigger. The progressive idea was to turn, for instance, Beirut into NY. If that’s not being accomplished, this is bad enough. But when people start turning NY into Beirut, we’re definitely moving backwards. And fast.

An attack that manages to ground all US and most of the world’s air traffic and close down the stock markets around the planet is something qualitatively different from a bomb in an Ulster pub. Human life is fragile, so is democracy, the world economy, globalization etc. The US can absorb U$ 1 trillion in damages. The rest of the world cannot. The US can survive a nuke in Manhattan. Brazil can survive a nuke in Sao Paulo. But Brazil cannot survive a nuke in Manhattan. What most of the world’s anti-Americans fail to understand is that whatever harms deeply the US harms us even more. Were Africa to suddenly disappear, it wouldn’t make much of a change in the life of New Yorkers. Were NY to disappear, Africa would go along.

So, this is what I have to say for those who think that Americans have overreacted to 9/11. Actually they have under-reacted. One more attack on America and Latin America will be condemned to a further hundred years of solitude and misery."

And there's a good litmus test for knowing if your house has a roach problem or not in the whole article, which I think you should read.

2004-10-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

I think what this means is, the end of the world is upon us. It's not so much that the Yankees couldn't stage an improbable comeback (10-3, 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, I thought they still could have won it), and it's not that Boston has won anything yet (they still have to play the NL champ), what bothers me is that the 3-0 series lead is no longer sacrosanct.
The 3-0 lead was something you could count on. It was like, the sure thing, as far as sports goes. The 3-0 lead was something almost holy, something untouchable. It was more than the 4 minute mile, because there was so much more to it. Now it's just one more fallen idol, one more landmark from my childhood erased. What is this crazy, unhealthy world doing to all of us, now that the 3-0 lead is no longer invincible?

Assuming the world does not end, I'll tell you what really IS going to bother me now. It's that everytime a series goes to 3-0, we're going to be told over and over and over and over again by the sporting syncophants that the only team EVER to come back from a 3-0 lead are the 2004 Red Sox. I don't know if I'll be able to suffer hearing that statistic associated the Boston Red Sox. If there is any team other than the Yankees that I do not want to be reminded of ever, it's the Red Sox. And Manchester United, but they don't play in series match-ups.

UPDATED AGAIN: Something happened to my original update (like, I deleted it accidently, duh) so here's what it said: my buddy Chris suggests that my existential crisis is meaningless. Basically, in his opinion, because the Yankees are the most loathsome team in all of baseball, with a history of loathsome off-field and on-field moves, they deserved everything they got. Furthermore, the fact that it happened to them this year is an indication that universal justice is alive and well, and that all is well with the world. No indication if this logic applies to terrorists and child molesters, but I hope, how I hope, that it does.

2004-10-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Baseball is a merciless game. There is no place to hide on the wide open diamond. Errors of skill and judgment on the field are, as a matter of physics, instantly exploited.

The most dramatic moment in baseball, for me, is the home run. A pitcher committs an error of judgment, decides to challenge the wrong batter at the wrong time, and he is punished. Or, the pitcher committs an error in skill. He leaves a ball up and over the plate, the batter seizes the moment, and reacts. The bat whips around, crushes the ball, and the failure of the pitcher is all too evident. There is no gray area, no room for debate. There is no consoling a defeated pitcher. He must move on, alone, though he takes responsibility for the whole team.

You cannot fault the batter. He is presented with an opportunity and he takes advantage. There is no more reason than that. He does what he is trained to do--to bash the ball wholeheartedly. The joy comes not from making the pitcher look bad, but from completing the physical act which he has practiced countless times. The ball is up, it is over, it is struck.

Management is another level to the game. There, too, the moves are open to public scrutiny. But with management, there is rarely the instantaneous reaction that there is with pitching and hitting. For example, in the summer, John Olerud was let go by the Seattle Mariners. Many claimed this was heartless, stupid, without class. Tonight, John Olerud, one of the nicest, most accomplished, least appreciated first basemen in the game, hit a home run against Boston to score two runs for the New York Yankees. This is not about the Yankees. Personally, I don't like them. But I do like Olerud, and I was disappointed at how he was treated by the Mariners this summer. So, congratulations to you, John Olerud, I hope you win another ring, even if it is in Yankee pinstripe.

2004-10-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

G--

I meant to include this as a central point of my response to your comments last night, but unfortunately I got distracted and followed a course of argument that I meant to relegate to a secondary position. In short, I got carried away and lost sight of what I thought was a stronger line of reasoning. Fortuitously for me, this has enabled me to think a little more about the point itself.

You seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge the moral superiority of the United States, and thus fail to understand the vociferousness with which I advocate for the military protection of the country on overseas fronts. This is so either because you do not recognize, as I do, the value of the United States as a country and society, or because you do not believe such values can be measured and quantified, and thus compared. The point I meant to pursue last night then, is this: forget about morality for a second. If you don't think the morality of nations can be compared (and it's obvious that I believe this is a foolish proposition), then consider another line of comparison.

What are the traits of a healthy society? What do people want and value? Electricity? Running water? Roads (I know you like roads)? Air travel (I know you like air-travel, too)? Schools? Free media? Internet availability? That's an incomplete and imperfect list, but those are most likely universally-applicable signs that you've got a healthy society.

All these services (and I haven't even described goods yet, like niceties such as "food" or "shelter", or even your beloved CompUSA, Circuit City, or the countless internet-vendors you patronize) cannot take place without a functioning market place. And, even in societies where there is a functioning marketplace, not all these services are readily available or optimally functional. Furthermore, in at least three of the areas above (air travel, internet access, and media) the United States has been a pioneer and standard-bearer for the rest of the world to follow.

In short, another way to measure the United States as the greatest nation on earth would be to compare its market to that of other nations. In terms of size, there is no comparison. We are the biggest. In terms of quality, there is no comparison. In terms of safety, again, no comparison. In terms of wealth generated, no comparison.

These markets provide goods, services, opportunities for personal growth irrespective of background, and sometimes even education. These markets draw people from all countries of the world and these markets can only thrive in such a liberal society as ours. Furthermore, history has repeatedly shown that societies in which markets are restricted are less free, less able to produce for its citizens, more likely to be controlled through undemocratic means. Like it or not (and far, far, far more people on earth like it more than dislike it) this nation has been the Grand Experiment, and the experiment's successes have far outweighed its failures. That's yet another method by which I quantify this nation's superiority.

I do not believe this country is fragile. I do not believe the "barbarians" are at the gates (alarmingly, though, I do believe at least some of the barbarians are actually inside the fort, and I trust they will be dealt with in turn). I do not believe that we should at all limit the extent to which we pursue and kill (as in, "execute" summarily, with or without public disclosure) these new barbarians.

Finally, if you think I am hostile, it is because of the limits of choice we as a population have in deciding who our leader in this war will be. You could say I believe that the marketplace of candidates has been weak. I do not think, and I have never suggested that I blieve, that the current administration is doing an adequate job fighting this fight. However, the idea put forward by the American left that we can "do better" is based on false alliances and logistical miscalculations. I believe it would be foolish to allow John Kerry to take over on the greater war, the ideological war, not because I think the current administration is doing a perfect job, but because the proposals put forward by Kerry are delusional. In order to convince me that we should change leadership at this election, the Democrats would have had to have picked someone better. They didn't, so they lose (my vote), end of story.

2004-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

I had not read this blog for quite some time, and I was glad that instapundit linked to this article today. Two memorable passages:

1) "...all of this rage and fury and spitting and tearing up of signs, all of these insults and spinmeisters and forgeries and all the rest, seem to come down to the fact that about half the country thinks you deter this sort of thing (another Sept. 11th attack--wjd) by being nice, while the other half thinks you deter this by being mean."

2) "...It all comes down to carrots (liberals) or sticks (conservatives). By the way: if you’re in a rush and need to run, here’s the spoiler: You can offer a carrot. Not everybody likes carrots. Some people may hate your carrot. Your carrot may offend people who worship the rutabaga. But no one likes being poked in the eye with a stick. That’s universal."

I don't much care for carrots, especially cooked ones, even though I know they're good for me and I should eat more of them.

Please read the whole thing.

2004-10-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Chris, Jen, Otis, Mt. Saint Helens, the Seattle Mariners, B's automatic transmission, and all the dog's shedded hairs in the carpet for giving me something other than unemployment to think/do something about this afternoon. Your collective assistance though this continuing difficult time is very much appreciated.

2004-10-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight, when you weren't looking, the world became a better place. A little boy was born in New York City. He's going to be really special, and so we have to help make the world a better place for him.

2004-09-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

So today I watched the Mariners play the A's. I saw Ichiro get his 256th but not his 257th. Also on the television today was a live feed of arguments from the Washington State Supreme Court, held from the "Temple of Justice" in Olympia. Do they really call it that? So one of the things that struck me while I was watching these lawyers talk was how nervous they looked. And we're talking professional speakers here, people who have chosen a career in public presentation. These people were fidgeting, swaying from side to side, taking off and putting on glasses, stammering, and losing their places in notes that I'm sure they weren't really supposed to be reading.

I had that all in mind tonight while B and I were watching the Presidential debate. I thought both W and Kerry did fine jobs speaking (ignoring substance for the moment). Both were much, much more composed than any of the lawyers I saw speak earlier in the day, and both made their points well.

I took notes during the debate. For the first time in a long time I wrote in pencil, and not a mechanical one, either. I think when I do trial work I'll take my notes in pencil... it's the true analog. It'll be like an anti-technology statement or something.

Overall, in the first three or four questions, I thought Kerry was evasive and non-substantive or off-topic in his delivery. He was asked if he could prevent another 9/11 and how he would do it, and in less than two sentences he was onto Iraq, our casualties, the cost of the war... all good points, ripe for discussion, but nowhere near the actual question. He was asked about the "colossal mistakes" in Iraq (which would have been a good time to address the above and which could have accommodated a lot more criticism), and he started by saying he'd been to Vietnam. Was he really in Vietnam? I wasn't aware...

Both B and I thought it was a clever trick to employ the word "outsourcing" to the fighting in Afghanistan and the failure to capture OBL. Incidentally, as pointed out on instapundit, if the President announces tomorrow that we have OBL in custody, it's not going to be good for about 30% of Kerry's points tonight. Around the fourth or fifth question I wrote in my notes that I thought Kerry was coming on stronger, but he still wasn't offering proposals of his own. "I have a plan," isn't going to make me want to vote for him. "Go to my website," isn't good enough in a debate.
Simply saying that he wants to increase by two divisions the size of the Army, and double the size of our special operations forces is nice. However, there was absolutely no explanation of HOW that could possibly happen. Again, not good enough.

Question 5 was a killer for Kerry. Basically it came down to how has Bush lied to the American people. Kerry, to his credit, pointed out that he has never said "lied." And he was able to list four points on which Bush misled the public. But he lost it when he tried to turn the war in Iraq into the specter of the propoganda-fodder War on Islam. W was able to introduce his major selling point: OBL does not get to decide how we defend the US. That was a critical avenue for W and he spotted it well. True, it doesn't offer a substantive response to Kerry's list of points, and it alters slightly (but importantly) the nature of the question. Hell, maybe it wasn't even that slight. But it was a strong statement, and it will be remembered, probably out of context.

Some of the other questions thrown out were pretty cheap, too. Is Operation Iraqi Freedom worth it in terms of American lives? Jesus. Name Kerry's character flaws. Come on. I give credit to both candidates for resisting the temptation to take a cheap shot at the other. Alternatively, I find fault in both of them for not having the balls to do it on live t.v.

W was weak in the beginning, got stronger as it went on, but let Kerry get away with far, far too much. Kerry said with certainty that OBL is now in Afghanistan. He said that WMD's were crossing the borders into Iraq everday and blowing stuff up. Bilateral talks with North Korea, plus hexa-lateral talks, too. Are we really supposed to believe that Kerry would have us engage in both? Can he be serious when he says it'll work?

W's answers were pretty superficial so far as I could tell, and Kerry let him get away with quite a bit, also. W was asked miscalculations in Iraq, and pointed out that a lot of loyalists laid down their arms, disappeared, and are now back fighting us. I was screaming at Kerry to ask him, "HOW did we allow them to disappear??" Of course I know that in the confusion of war people do get away, but this would have been a great debating point for Kerry to exploit, and he failed. And then in his rebuttal, Kerry seriously played down the contribution of our allies, especially Australia. And seriously, Poland must feel like its status in the international arena is just swelling by the minute. "Not one, not two, but THREE mentions in the US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE!! Holy shit, Karel, we're like more important than Japan tonight!!"

W also repeated himself far too often, mostly in non-responsive ways. I would have been very frustrated with him, for example, if I were doing cross examination and he kept saying "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time." I understand that Kerry is not consistent (and, incidentally, he could have hammered him for it more than he did, and done so more creatively).

Most annoying for me was how Kerry continually argued that Iraq was not a central point in the war on terror until we made it one. For me, Kerry discounts the facts that the country is NOW a central point in the war on terror and we need to win the battle there, and it calls into question his judgment, since he voted in favor of it, with "the same intelligence" as W pointed out repeatedly. W didn't have much more to support/defend his position, but Kerry was so weak W wasn't required to do much.

Kerry did nail W pretty good when W was asked about how the Iraqi experience (I could just feel Lehrer itching to say "Iraqi failure") would affect US policy regarding possible future pre-emptive strikes. (Here's looking at you mullahs.) W invoked the 9/11 attacks, saying "the enemy" struck us. Then he went back to a discussion of pre-war Iraq, which I think is a weak spot for him. He added that he would not want to be in the position to make that kind of call again, but left no doubt that he pursue the use of the "Bush Doctrine" again if necessary. Kerry got him when he said that the enemy did attack us first, but that W got the wrong enemy in the reply.

Now, I say that Kerry nailed W, but I think so only because W's reply was very weak. It consisted of two points: 1)"I know who attacked us." and 2) he brought up the (valid, I think) point that diplomacy was not going to work in Iraq. Okay, those are good points, but they were totally in the wrong place, and W never really responded to Kerry's challenge. And on this specific point, this has been a fundamental mistake in W's presidency, not just his campaign. He needs to make people understand how Iraq fits into the overall puzzle. It's clear that many, many people already understand. It's a difficult, uncomfortable, unhappy, unpleasant, unforgiving but essential reality that we're fighting a war in Iraq. But we're really fighting a war with dual objectives in Iraq: one to stabilize the country (good for them), and one to establish a platform from which we can exert influence, either militarily or diplomatically, throughout the muslim world (good for us, but much, much more difficult conceptually and practically).

Overall, I thought the W edged the debate slightly, just slightly. That said, it was going to take a lot from Kerry to convince me that he's the go-to guy. He needed to say why and how he could be a better president in terms of foreign policy. Foreign policy is really what matters to me this particular year, and W probably has that one locked up. And by the way, the KGB was never located under Treblinka Square. Treblinka was a Nazi death camp. Good one.

This was only round 1, and B rightfully pointed out that the real killer for W is going to be the domestic policy debate. I think Kerry can really hurt him there. For example, I can see no justification for the federal defense of marriage act. Also, the economy is just not strong enough for W to fend off a serious challenge.

One thing that did come clearer for me though... we have some pretty mediocre candidates. I don't think it'll be the end of the world if either of these guys are in power next year, but I sure as hell don't see any kind of Renaissance coming our way, either.

I have a lot more in my notes, maybe I'll get to it later. I doubt it, though. Even though the debate held my interest and came off a lot better than I thought it would (I was never embarrassed for either candidate, which is a first for W), it's still not going to change much for me. We're still stuck with these two guys, at least I'm not any MORE put off by either of them tonight.

2004-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, the point of this post is NOT that the President is a liar, a good liar, a bad liar, an evil liar, or anything at all. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE PRESIDENT. I only say that because it's obvious from the comments that too many people who have read the post didn't listen to what Bjorn Staerk was saying. The post, and the book it reviews, is supposed to be beyond one or either party. It's not about the substance, it's about the procedure. Or the very sick procedure that is political discourse in this country (the USA, the Greatest F*cking Country on Earth Today, Tomorrow, and Probably Ever). Please click on the link.

2004-09-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

There can't be many more depressing sights at a Mariner's game these days than "Booney" coming up to bat, especially with two on, two out, with the M's down by one late in the game. I say it's depressing, because it is, on so many levels. First, there's the inevitable disappointment. I knew before the first pitch in his seventh inning at-bat yesterday that he would bat in exactly zero runs. Second, there's the realization that something that was good not long ago is certainly gone, probably forever. Boone was a good hitter not long ago. He wasn't ever great, I don't think, but he did fit in well in a team filled with good hitting. That was three or four seasons ago, and back then I wouldn't have been so resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to drive anybody in. I'd have had some hope that he could produce something. Not so yesterday. But I sure didn't expect him to strikeout. Third, there's the knowledge that the disappointment isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and that the disappointment will actually linger much longer than one would want.

I went primarily to watch Bobby Madritsch pitch. He did pretty well, too. Seven innings, two earned, with something like 8 hits but too many walks (four). I'm glad I went to watch him pitch, because I think he'll be a pretty good pitcher next season, I just hope for his sake it's somewhere else. The Mariners just aren't going anywhere. Hell, compared to other teams they can't even get worse, at least in terms of runs and RBI.

My disappointment was severely tempered by the fact that I was someone's guest, and didn't have to shell out for my ticket. Spare a thought for my gracious host, however, who flew all the way from Japan just to watch Ichiro hit. In three games (one against Anaheim and two against Oakland--he missed one of the Oakland games due to jet-lag), he saw Ichiro hit one single. Otherwise, it was walks, K's, and ground-outs.

2004-09-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

2004-09-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

Whatever.

I spent all day trying to check my email. Yahoo apparently had some kind of DNS issue, because nothing Yahoo-associated was working for me all day long. Even now I'm having a lot of trouble checking the baseball scores, which is causing me all kinds of fantasy-baseball angst.

I've applied for multiple jobs this week. I'm not holding my breath on any of them.

B and I bought a printer this week, a Canon multi-function printer/copier/scanner. I went with a Canon over an HP based on some customer reviews, the price on newegg, and the cost of replacement ink-cartridges. I'm going to get some photo software installed and start posting pictures of our new place, views from the new car, and the same big dog.

I feel like the longer I go without finding a legal job, the further and further away I get from achieving what I hoped to accomplish by going to law school. That in turn has got me re-evaluating (because I just LOVE to go back and revisit the past...) exactly why I went to law school in the first place. Or at least, why I went to the law school I did, instead of a more prestigous one, where it wouldn't have mattered that the market sucks, or that my class standing wasn't great. And don't try to tell me that those schools don't really exist, because we all know that they do.

But it comes down to choices, doesn't it? I mean, all the decisions I made, they made sense at the time. And even though the scale on which I was weighing these choices was slightly skewed, or it didn't have the perspective it needed, or whatever, I made those choices using the best information I had at the time. And that's all you can really do.

The point is, I guess, I went to law school because I thought that once I got out I'd be able to do some good, to affect some positive change in the lives of people who needed it. I needed it before school, and I was lucky to find someone good and honest, and she inspired me to go. But now... man. I feel so far away from being able to do that.

For the past two weekends I've been back home working on MS's house with him. Building, framing, spackling, hanging windows... Hard work, but with measurable success at the end of every day. It's awesome that place, I can look at it every time I'm there and say, "I helped build that." Sure, I took a lot of orders and needed a lot of instruction, but I put a significant amount of work into that place. I know MS appreciates it.

I really miss my friends back east tonight. And come to think, you who I met in THE law school I chose to attend (despite myself), you who I wouldn't know otherwise... you're the most that I gained out of law school, and I am eternally grateful to know and love you. I would like nothing more than to sit with you (with cartoons in the background, and YOU know which cartoons, my swimming adult friends) and talk about our lives, our plans, their plans for jr... We have so much ahead of us, so much good to do, so much joy to share. Aw shucks. I miss you guys. So let's just commence to jigglin', shall we?

2004-08-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's all back to nothing happening, apparently. Or maybe I haven't been opening my eyes. B bought a Subaru wagon this week. We took it to the shop on Wednesday, and I picked it up yesterday. Taking it to the shop gave me a good excuse to get the bike out. I biked from the shop (at N 80th) down to Fremont, took in a disgraceful game of football by the shite in black and white, then biked home after stopping off to get a new brake. Yesterday I took Old Mario back up the Fremont hill, which nearly killed me. I'm almost 30, I look in reasonably good shape, but that hill was ferocious. I'll have to get up it more often. Note to readers, because my bike is a Bianchi, and because it's pretty old, I call it "Old Mario."

Riding by two wheels gave me a further appreciation for the scenic beauty of this city. And for the crap condition of most of the streets. Jesus, I thought Portland's roads were bad. I'm going to need a new bike even sooner now, which forget about it financially.

Finally some good news, though. I'm going to be in a three-month tutorial on trial advocacy run by the state bar's young lawyer's division. Hopefully this add some spice to my cover letters and resume, and for sure it will get me some contacts and CLE credits.

B is in a bit of tooth pain right now, since she had some dental work done earlier this week. O is better and is a much happier dog in the wagon than he ever was in the little truck. Oh god, you know your blogging sucks when you resort to life-reports on the SO and the pet. Why did I pick this up again??

2004-08-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

An interesting quote by an Iraqi from an article in The Guardian, following their loss to Italy in the bronze medal game of the Olympics:

"Iraq was representing the Arab world and we are very proud of Iraq. This team has brought joy to out hearts. It's the only joy we've had since the end of the war," said Ahmed Naash, 21.

I think this quote is interesting because it came from Reuters news agency, which has consistently portrayed the occupation in Iraq as an on-going disaster. In fact, by reading most Reuters stories, you would get the impression that the occupation of Iraq has been nothing but an abject failure. I don't subscribe to that point of view, based on the reading I've done on various blogs, both from America and Iraq. That's not to say that there aren't still areas of intense fighting (Najaf, for one), but clearly there are sections of Iraq where the people (or at least some people) consider the war to have ended.

What that says to me is, at least for these areas, the occupation has been a success and the isolated areas of fighting are just that: isolated. It's possible I'm extrapolating too much based on this one quote, but at the very least it gives me reason for hope.

2004-08-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

I used to love the Olympics. Even now, soaked in commercials and soft-biographies with too-loud crap music, some parts of some Olympians are remarkably easy to watch. I quit blogging (twice) for a while. I felt like I ran out of things to write. Actually, I hit a rut in the road of life, and I'm happy to write that I'm out of the rut, and even happier to write that this rut was extremely short-lived, all things considered.

A change of scenery has done me a world of good: as you know I'm on the 8th floor. Actually, 8 has played a big part of my life. My favorite Olympics: Seoul '88. Best year of my life: I was 8. Number I like to wear when playing soccer: 8. In high school I was tangentially in a clique of ne'er-do-wells who all had the number 8 in their phone numbers. It was mystifying to me that the nominal leader of the pack would point out such an uncool mundanity (because he was nothing if not cool), but nevertheless... You couldn't be in the clique unless you had an 8 in your phone number. My phone number's suffix was 5371. So it follows I was only tangentially in, and I ne'er ne'er did well. My two (soon to be three) best friends in all of North America and Jurisprudence (though we may not always agree on either) live at 888 8th ave., apartment 8T. Before you try looking for them, remember that North America is a pretty damn big place, and these people love to shoot guns and throw ninja stars. And they have not one, not two, but eight feral cats in their apartment. The number of lovers I've had is 8. Or thereabouts. I had two skateboards with four wheels each, for a total of 8 skateboard wheels. I get up around 8. It seems like 8 years since I started looking for a job. I can eat about 8 ribs before I have to take a breather, 8 minutes is about as long as I can run without getting tired.

Like I said I quit blogging for a while because I thought I'd run out of things to write. I was foolish for thinking that. In the time I stopped blogging: I learned how to do some house-framing. Somebody at my mom's work died of the flesh-eating bacteria. I moved to a new city (how's that for "nothing to write about?"). My dog began this weird habit of whining for no particular reason, which gives me some pause given the unreported seismic activity around here. I sold my little truck. I bought a DeWalt 18V cordless drill (not the XRP) and started building treehouses for a part-time living. I got over my dread of impending biological warfare, but substituted for it a dread of perpetual unemployment.

I'll be carrying on this blog for a while, I hope. I may get bored with it, but it won't be nearly as serious as I've tried to make the other blogs. No point in it, really. I'll post again later.

2004-08-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

I look out the 8th floor window, and I see the 8th floor of the opposite building. Living here is easy, when you can go indoors, when you've got a girlfriend who puts up with a lot and a dog who loves you. I went out with my friend D tonight. She knows she's passed the California state bar. She knows it so well she can afford to be fatalistic, and she can afford to say "I'll just take it again" without having to say "If if have to..."

B says the nice thing about having separate bedrooms would be that nobody would have to wait for anybody to come to bed. But she'd miss me. I love B with all my heart. She says it's ok.

D and I went out, had a couple of beers, and talked about law school. We talked about why she was so busy, why I finished 12th bottom from the class, and what it means for me finding a job in a saturated market. We talked about her mom, her dad, her Frankie Sinatra, and then she left. I bought a slice of pizza for a homeless guy. I heard him ask the guy behind me for a cigarette right after.

B and I talk about if there's a rank thing in our building. Like if the 12th floor people feel superior to the 3rd floor people. I don't think so... I think it comes down to corner apartments. And views of the sound. The 3rd floor probably doesn't have much of a view. Neither does this 8th floor apartment, unless you stick your neck out. But then, you often have to stick your neck out before you'll be rewarded with much of anything. Including, it seems, a view.

That's why I dig W, because he's stuck his neck out.

I love our new p lace, but it's going to suck in January when I have to take the dog out to pee in the middle of a storm.

Horns honk, sirens blail, sometimes we hear gunshots. The fountain spits its water on the walk and our lives keep pushing forward.