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February 1, 2010

The Rumors of My Demise . . . .

They have, in fact, been greatly exaggerated. Sure, I took a bit of an extended break there, but I never intended it to be a full-blown departure. It's just that things were busy and I didn't have a lot of stuff to write about that I felt like sharing. I'm back now, though, and--while I can't promise daily updates like in the olden days--I won't go a month and a half between updates again. So what have I been up to? Well, kind of a lot, actually. For starters, today marks two important anniversaries. First, this is the two-year anniversary...

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September 11, 2009

Concerning the Passage of Time

One of the important yet tedious things that many lawyers have to do is keep track of their time. For many attorneys, life is measured by the tenth of an hour. There are many ways to keep track of one's billable time, from fancy computer programs to just making it all up. My method isn't technologically advanced, but I think it's fairly accurate: every day, I take a blank page in a legal pad and write the date at the top. I note the client's name, the time I started working, the time I stopped working, and what I was...

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January 1, 2009

"A Long December"

So, I completely failed to record a Christmas carol this year. So I figured I'd do a New Year song. And my favorite New Year song, by far, is "A Long December." So here it is. I kept it really simple and, more importantly, I think that the singing is pretty decent. Let me know what you think. The Lovers of Sight and Sound - A Long December Anyway, 2008 was a great year. Mr. Vice and I started a business and didn't immediately fail. In fact, we did really well. I saw my family. I hung out with my...

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November 27, 2008

Giving Thanks and Whatnot

I wanted to come up with something clever and un-cliche to say for this year's Thanksgiving post, so I went back and read last year's post. And I realized that the thing I'm most thankful this year is my job. I mean, I have a job that I love. I look forward to work every day, as much as that's possible. I enjoy almost every aspect of my work. My co-workers kick ass. And though it can take a lot out of me, I don't feel like it's grinding down my soul. Plus, while I can't "win" everything I try...

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November 13, 2008

Just Like That . . .

One of the things that you sort of know when you're a lawyer is that nothing ever goes to trial. It just doesn't happen. Mr. Vice and I opened our office in February and we've each had one trial so far, which isn't very many when you consider how many cases we've each handled. Many clients start off telling you that they're completely certain that they want to try their case. But as you begin to develop a better understanding of the case and the witnesses, it's a lot easier to see where each case has huge weaknesses, so even...

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October 10, 2008

Well, That Was a Good Week

After last week, I was feeling sort of beaten down and worthless. I had gotten my ass handed to me several times in court, and I wasn't happy about it. I was feeling like a failure, frankly. Then this week, a whole lot of good things happened. I mean, I didn't win a trial or anything, but I got some fairly good results for my clients, and that's what's really important, I think. So I did the only thing I thought was reasonable: I took a half day today. Yup, I drove to the office, made my one scheduled appearance...

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August 14, 2008

"Tapestry"

I just watched this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called "Tapestry." You can read the whole plot synopsis here, but basically it involves Captain Picard almost dying. Q gives him a chance to go back and undo one of his biggest mistakes. See, when Picard was an ensign, he got in a fight because he was sort of an arrogant jackass. And during the fight, he got stabbed through the heart. Well, Picard took that back. And then he saw that the arrogance of his youth made him the confident, badass leader he would become. Had he not...

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May 5, 2008

In My Line of Work . . .

After we sold that house, we got a bunch of congratulations. One of the people that congratulated us mentioned that we should be happy about the victories we get because those of us in our line of work don't get to win very much. I knew what she meant, but I think I didn't really understand it until today. See, I never expected to end up doing criminal-defense work. In fact, I usually gave this kind of work as a specific example of things I didn't want to do. The whole thing seemed unsavory, you know? I mean, intellectually, I...

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May 4, 2008

I Did Nothing

I spent this weekend doing nothing. I played video games, I watched TV, I cooked, I played guitar, I sat around. I did nothing. And, for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel guilty about it. See, law school filled me with this sense that every single second could be better spent doing something other than what I wanted to do. If I wasn't reading, outlining, reviewing, or stressing, I was behind the curve. That's how it felt, at least. Even though my personal life--what little there was of it--wasn't particularly stressful during law school, those three...

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April 23, 2008

"I Will Sell This House Today!"

Am I good at my job? I don't know, but I'll know by this time tomorrow. Wish me luck....

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April 7, 2008

I Love My Job

On the drive back from the office today, I saw a man doing what can only be described as power washing dirt. I turned to Mr. Vice and said "So, when you're doing that job, how do you know if you've succeeded?" The man's entire job seemed so futile: even if he succeeded in using the high-powered water to somehow move the dirt around, he could never succeed in eliminating the dirt. And even if he won, what would he really have accomplished? Some piece of pavement that no one's ever noticed and no one ever would might be, in...

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March 25, 2008

It's Like I'm a Lawyer or Something

The last hour and half has been a ridiculous whirlwind of communication. My cell phone, office phone, e-mail inbox, and physical mailbox have been inundated with various requests, questions, and myriad other demands for my time. It's as if everyone in the universe who has any reason--personal or professional--to contact me decided that they were gong to do it right after lunch on Tuesday. That's fine with me--the time's absolutely flown by, and I've actually gotten a lot of things that were floating in the air above me taken care of. And I was able to actually help a few...

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March 19, 2008

I'm Sick

My throat started feeling scratchy and raw last night. When I woke up this morning, I knew I was getting sick. All day at work today, I knew things were going to get worse. By the time I was driving home after my last court appearance, I was feeling full-on terrible. I called my mom tonight because I had forgotten to make my weekly call on Sunday. As soon as she heard my voice, she asked me if I was sick. I told her that I was. And I haven't missed my mommy more in months. Anyway, it's just a...

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February 27, 2008

Early to Bed, Early to Rise . . . .

I've always been a night person. I'd much rather stay up until 4am than wake up at 7am. But this week I've had no choice--I've been up at 7 every morning. And it's been brutal, but also not. Don't get me wrong. It's hard to drag my ass out of bed that early. And I still can't wrap my head around being completely wiped out and ready for bed at 10:30, especially after so many months of being able to stay up until whenever the hell I wanted. Still, I've had to get up so early because I've had things...

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February 21, 2008

Fuck You, Technology

Now, don't get me wrong, there are few things I love as much as new-fangled gadgets. If there's a needlessly technological way to do something simple, I want it. And if there's some fancy new equipment out there, I want that, too. For example, I don't know how I've lived this long without GPS--how can I go on without knowing my exact location on the surface of the Earth? Still, there are time when technology lets you down in a profound way. Today was one of those times. It all started innocently enough--the "ABS" light in my car came on...

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February 12, 2008

Let There Be Chairs!

Yes, after weeks of having a chairless office, we now have somewhere to sit. It's really pretty awesome--our office is looking more and more like a real office every day. We also had a networking event today where we handed out a bunch of our business cards (we have those, too) and met a bunch of the other lawyers in town. They all seemed pretty nice. In fact, the only thing our office is really missing right now is clients . . . Oh, wait! We got a call today from the public defender's office assigning us more cases! So,...

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February 8, 2008

New Poll!

Yes, seeing as how it's February, I decided that it was about time to put up a new poll. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the results of the old poll because the website seems to be down. Still, that prompted me to look around for a better poll generator, and I think I found a good one with a better look and interface. Still, I'll let you know if I'm ever able to find out what you guys hate most about the holidays. In the meantime, the new poll, as suggested by the Expat, asks why you have your particular...

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