Sanity Hearing

Third Year

I feel cheated.  Everything I heard or read said that third year of law school was supposed to be really easy.  "After first year you can just coast along," I heard people say.  Yeah right. 

The only thing I will say is that against all odds I think I have become better at managing my time and a bit more organized at this point.  I am a lot better at prioritizing things, which I feel makes a big difference in my overall performance.  I know this sounds nuts to some people, but when the choice is between reading 100 pages for a class you won't get called on in or doing an assignment for a class that will be graded or doing research for a professor you work for-- you are more likely to do the latter two things first and take care of the hundred pages when you find more time.  As Derek said to me, "The secret to law school is figuring out what NOT to do."  sounds crazy to some people, but in my experience it's correct.  There are only so many hours in the day you can afford to work and still have some semblance of a life-- you have to pick and chose at some level.

I realize this page has at times served as my venting mechanism-- and hopefully some of you find that entertaining or at least informative if I never get the chance to call you any more.  As I wrote out my "to do" list for the day today it took up about three pages in my poor man's palm pilot (read: $1 note pad from CVS).  In terms of my sanity, I have to say I am actually really happy though.  Maybe that's being in a really good relationship, maybe it's knowing I have a great family that loves me, maybe it's just that I know that soon school will be over.  For the most part though-- I think there is a more depressing answer that fits a bit better with my personality:  When it comes down to it- I am a realist.  I know there are fights in life that cannot be won and things that simply are impossible to change.  I think somewhere in the last year or so it really set in that as challenging as school is, the level of work I have to deal with is highly unlikely to decrease unless I should become unemployed or win the lottery.  On top of that, I realize that I actually LIKE working hard.  It is true that I would prefer to be more creative, and it is true that I think law school, as a system, is highly flawed, but the reality is that I have no choice but to keep working for now if I want to get anywhere good-- if I want to keep having the opportunities that are probably one of the most important thing to me.

Things aren't getting any easier-- and I doubt they ever will.  But maybe, just MAYBE, I am getting a little better.

Mr. Manners

At my high school there was this incredibly overstated custom of holding doors for people.  I know this probably sounds ridiculous if you are reading this and you did not go to my high school, but I am telling you-- it was a really a bit absurd at times.  Part of this had to do with the fact that the campus was a collection of a whole bunch of small buildings rather than one big building so as a result, in between classes there was always a rush of people entering and exiting buildings walking down covered walkways that connected the buildings.  People would hold the door for an extremely long time, even if the person coming down the walkway was 50 feet away or more.  Our headmaster even made a comment about this little custom one time saying it was evidence of the strong sense of community at our school (questionable at best).

I remember specifically this one time that I was in a hurry and I did not hold the door for some people behind me (they were literally 20 feet away, still walking down the stairs) and as I was rushing away from the door (now 30 feet or so from the door) some kid yelled at me for not holding the door for the girl that had been "behind me."  At the time I was very embarrassed for being impolite, although later I put two and two together and realized that the guy who had yelled at me was just trying to impress the girl he was with that day.

I would not claim to be any expert on manners.  I have had one or two people tell me I do not have "social graces" (these people usually just suck though).  Don't get me wrong-- I am a clutz, I endorse burping, and farting is cool with me if no ladies are around.  People even accuse me of making an "I hate you" face and intimidating people on a regular basis.  All that being said-- I think too many people just don't care about being pleasant and being nice any more.  Don't get me wrong-- I know you're in a hurry, and I know the person you are holding the door for may not know you or may even suck-- but so what.

My dad always had this little sign on his desk that said, "What makes people different?  Habits and Assumptions."  My point about manners is that I think a lot of people just assume it does not make any difference any more if you are rude or polite- and more to the point-- they assume that being thoughtful won't be appreciated by anyone.  In terms of the habit prong of the maxim, I think that despite my strange past with holding the door-- I do it out of habit most of the time now.  Sure, there are times when I am in a hurry or I am having a bad day and I forget, but by and large I hold the door as a habit.  I barely even think about it most of the time now. 

My theory is that a lot of these little things like saying please and thank you, holding the door, etc., if you get in the habit of doing it, the marginal cost of doing it will eventually be close to zero-- chances are you will probably stop even making the conscious decision to do it and instead you'll just do it automatically.

What's Up With Teddy Bruschi?

For what it is worth, here are my thoughts on Teddy Bruschi coming back and playing for the Patriots.

Everyone I hear or read seems to want to make a huge deal about, "His kids and his family."  This just seems ludicrous to me.  You are not part of his family, you are not his child, or his wife, or even his second cousin, so how can you proclaim to know what is best for his family.  I imagine that to someone playing at the level he is at, with the amount of money that he already has in the bank, that to Bruschi playing football is what is important to him.  I have met plenty of people in my life who love to work, love to be busy, and would never be happy just sitting around.  My guess is that Bruschi's family realizes that playing in the NFL is a life long dream for him, something that means an incredible amount to him, and passing up any opportunity to continue doing that would be an incredible blow to Bruschi psychologically.

From what I have heard about his medical condition it seems like Bruschi is no more at risk playing football than he is walking down the street.  If that is the case, then I can't understand why you would not let him back out there to play. 

Retrospective

A little more than a year ago I was writing about this.  So, if you are anything like me you are asking yourself- what has happened?  Did the non-twist-off-madness end?  Well sadly the campaign last year failed to yield significant results on the issue of non-twist-offness; nonetheless, I feel progress has been made on the issue.  Let me tell you how:

1. Fall 04:  Shortly after the article is written I win a raffle at the Wickenden Pub on a Thursday night.  Included in the prizes is a Heineken bottle opener, which I cleverly zip tie to the handle of my fridge.  Score one for the good guys.
2. Late Fall 04 (Pre-exams):  I become despondant with law school, question the meaning of my career and of my life.  I blog frequently the pointlessness of work and of school and attack the systemic problems with our education and professional institutions.  I lose sight of the goal of ending non-twist-offs and simply avoid the problem by switching to wine which I can open with a cork screw.  My mom sends me an email telling me to, "Lay off the booze."
3. Christmas 04 (Post-exams):  My despondancy has subsided slightly.  I was forced to worry about school and divert my attention from the other issues like twist-offs for awhile.  Bush won election and I realize issues like tax cuts will probably be more important in coming administration than "real issues" like twist offs.  I write some funny stuff about exams on this weblog.  At Thanksgiving dinner I did not understand the blue laws in Connecticut and forgot to buy beer- male family members castigate me for remainder of holiday, which I am forced to make up for during Christmas break. 
4. Return to School 05:  New year and new classes.  Don't remember much of significance except Matt's B'day party in hear at some point.
5. Ski Weekends:  During this period I become reclusive in respect to Providence and go to Vermont pretty much every weekend where I watch movies, drink magic hat, and ski.  Cast of characters emerge in my life who I haven't seen in a while: Conor, Brendan, James.  Other regulars appear as well on limited occasions:  Russ and new girlfriend Katie,  Vanessa.  I make limited progress on the non-twist-off issue but learn that Sierra Nevada comes in Twist-off, which I view as a positive sign.  During this period I also listen to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintainence  and become interested in the concept of what is quality.  Are twist offs quality?
6. Spring Break 05:  Since I have no money as usual I spend spring break skiing, which is probably what I would want to do even if I did have money.  I read about 3 or 4 books including Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels.  Begin my rise to power at the Docket by writing a bunch of articles.  Also during this period listen to Phish a lot.  My mental health was questionable.  Very little progress made on twist off issue, but extensive field research performed.
7. Matt's Birthday party falls in this next period at some point.  First party at our apartment despite the fact we had lived there for nearly six months or so at that point.  A pretty fun party that involved all the people we know from law school bringing us too much food and booze that allowed us to eat and drink for free for about the next 2 months.  Extensive field research performed.
8. My birthday party.  A lot more happened between Matt's Birthday and mine, but I can't really remember what any of it was.  I have a feeling it involved me going skiing and going to school during the week, which was not all that sweet.  My birthday party was cool- Derek, Dunleavy, and Natalie all came so it was cool some of my out of town friends made it.  Not much progress made on twist off issue.
9. Ski Season ends/Easter.  I spent the weekend of Easter with my family in VT and also did my last weekend of skiing.  I have a feeling other people don't really get it, but this makes me sad and emotional.  Ski season means a lot to me-- makes life worth living, time spent with family and friends, memories of my dad.  Every year when it ends I sort of recognize my own mortality.  Twist off progess:  zip tied bottle opener to downstairs fridge extensively adopted by family and vistors.
10. Somewhere along the line here about the time exams are starting, I meet Wendy.  I fall in love.  Life seems to make more sense and I am not obsessed with productivity and the battle between the educated proletariat and the global capital machine.  I blog less, but my grades improve fairly dramatically.  Wendy opens my drinks for me.  Personal twist off progess:  dramatic.  World wide twist off progress: minimal.
11. Summer came to a close not too long ago and now I am back at school.  This year is perhaps the busiest I have faced so far, though I think I am far better equipped to handle it than I was first year, which I would say was most on par with this one.  I do not have a ton of time to drink beer, though I still go out on thursday nights and I'll have one or two if someone is offering.  For the time being I would have to say twist off madness remains a hot button issue with me, but I just don't have the time to focus on this project these days.

I would not say I have given up, but I have to live to fight another day.  Most of the time now if I feel like a beer, I'll have a Narragansett, which usually comes in a can.  Like a communist who eventually gets a job as an investment banker or a commercial real estate salesman- I am in conflict.  I ask myself questions such as, have I sold out? Have I given up?  What happened to my passion?  I guess the only reasonable answer is that sometimes we have to prioritize.  Most revolutionaries and philosophers do not see the fruition of their ideologies in their own lifetime.  As a single man, I cannot end the madness of the non-twist off, but the dream lives on.

If you still believe- end the non twist off madness.

Endorse This

Don't get me wrong.  If there was a way I could make 10 Million Dollars tommorrow, I would definitely take it.  And don't think for a second that I am saying that anyone else who has that opportunity should not take it. 

But that being said, I simply don't understand the whole endorsement deals situation.  The young golfer Michelle Wie went pro yesterday and immediately she received a massive endorsement deal from a bunch of different companies.  I am just going to put aside the whole issue of how incredibly young she is, which frankly is another post.  For the time being, let me just register this thought-- I can think of very few times I have bought sports equipment due to an endorsement deal, thus it makes almost no sense to me that nike and all these other companies are willing to pay such an premium to athletes like Wie. 

Speaking from my own experience I rarely buy sports equipment because of who endorses it.  I wear New Balance and Asics sneakers, and frankly I was unaware of any athletes endorsed by either of these brands, but perhaps running is not the best example.

Thus I move to Skiing.  A sport which I love, a sport which I have spent an fairly unusual premium persuing, and a sport full of endorsements.  I could probably tell you at least a few pro skiers endorsement deals- for example Bodie Miller is a Fischer man and Herman Miaer is (or at least was) endorsed by Atomic.  Other than that I don't really know.  Alright so this is not a comprehensive list, but what I am aiming to say is that every brand seems to have someone using their stuff, and even if they didn't I would still ski on whatever gets the best reviews from people I actually know- not from a single pro athlete who probably has special pro-specification stuff anyways. 

Alright, so this wasn't the best post, but I still think they are paying Michelle Wie too much money.  At 15 I would have been happy for a free set of clubs, my own T.V.,  and a car when I turned 16.