Behold the Whirlwind of Change

Deuce is Loose! To O.C. or not to O.C.

2007-01-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Wow.....What a game by Deuce and da SAINTS! Deuce with his power running inside and Reggie with his nifty moves outside, and Drew Brees didn't even play at his best. On to the Superbowl!

The O.C. has become one of my favorite shows for the past few years. I haven't followed it this season due my lack of time and an underwhelming season premier. I'm thinking about getting back into it because once in a while the show delivers a timeless zinger like this one about how Taylor discovered the joy of Korean food with two Korean guys (youtube is awesome):

P.S. - Looks like the show is being canceled, even before the current season is completed, so I guess that's that.

The Anti-Office

2007-01-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

By the grace of all that is holy it looks like I passed all my courses for last semester. It appears I'll be hanging around law school for a while longer afterall. As the winter break ended I'm back at work, back at the "office," so to speak. I actually feel rejuvenated and even somewhat excited for this semester. We'll see how long this aberration lasts.

Speaking of The Office:

While I can understand why this show is doing well with the viewing audience, I've decided that I'll no longer watch it due to its indelible streak of sadness. In short, the characters' lives are pathetic. There is a self-aggrandazing boss whose pride is buttressed only by his delusions of greatness. All of his employees are stuck in deadend jobs devoid of hope for a better future (up to the second season). Of course, there's Jim, unable to express his secret admiration for Pam, or tear himself away from her for almost two years. Please, be a man, make a move, whether it ends success or failure. Then move on!

This setup could've been hilarious if the script wasn't so sympathetic towards its characters that the audience is made to identify with them. They aren't stock characters like the ones in Seinfeld, or objects of spoof in Saturday Night Live. I simply cannot laugh at the sufferings of characters whom I like. Behind every joke there is an underlying element of pain. I suppose I lack a strong sense of schadenfreude (such a great word), and would like to keep it that way.

In Other News - 2006

2006-12-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the news items that I’ve been keeping tabs on for the past several months but haven’t had the time to post on this blog. I’ll try to remedy that over this coming semester.

The Way of the Dragon

I used to scoff at the idea that Bruce Lee was a philosopher. That view changed two days ago when I came across a clip of this great interview: http://www.maniacworld.com/bruce_lee_8.htm. Independently, I came to realize some of the philosophies Lee delineates in this clip. For example:

1) Balancing one’s instincts and control. It applies to the use of any skill set, not just in martial arts. In politics, for instance, it certainly was a mistake for Howard Dean to express his unbridled enthusiasm by screaming aloud at his rally. Conversely, if Al Gore had used less control and championed environmental issues as his instinctive passion would’ve led him, he would’ve showcased the personality that he sorely lacked during his presidential bid.

2) The importance of expressing oneself freely and honestly. Bruce Lee did it through the movements of his body, and once he learned to do that, he considered himself a success. I’m trying to achieve the same, but through employing appropriate skills that I need in various situations of my own life.

Additionally, the last part of the interview touches upon the advantages and dilemmas created by Lee living simultaneously in two vastly different cultures. I certainly have much personal experience attesting to such challenges. This clip shows Lee was much more than a martial arts master. It is a shame that his death at such a young age deprived us from the many accomplishments that he no doubt would’ve made had he lived longer.

The Haunting

Speaking of dead Asian guys, the story how James Kim died from hyperthermia while hiking to save his snowbound family really gave me the chills. I’m sure part it was that I didn’t want to see a successful Asian American die so needlessly and tragically. More specifically though, I remember having this same feeling of dread as I was reading about the demises of George Mallory’s mountaineer partner and Robert Scott the Antarctic explorer. The despair and hopelessness all them must have felt! Lesson: don’t put yourself in a position where you can get stranded and freeze to death.

A Case of IIED

It seems CNN's Nancy Grace is in a bit of hot waters for browbeating Melinda Duckett, a mother of a missing child who committed suicide after appearing on her show. Grace, a former prosecutor, ran the tape of Duckett getting grilled on her show even after the latter had committed suicide. The family of the deceased is now suing Grace and CNN for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A summary of the case is provided by Joe Scarborough, whom I view as one of most fair and balanced TV personalities:

From the first semester torts class, was there a power differential between Grace and Duckett when the mother appeared on the show? Did or should Grace have specific knowledge that her questioning would be harmful to the interviewee, given emotional state of a distraught mother? Did Grace act recklessly? What was Grace’s duty as the host of a TV show? Given that Duckett committed suicide before her interview ever aired, was there causation? This is definitely an interesting case to keep an eye on. There is also an update on the case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Sa3QcR-6c

The Saints are Going All the Way

What a fantastic season my Saints are having. The Saints and the Superbowl in the same sentence? Who could've fathom that a year ago?

Desert Crossing

2006-12-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

It seems but last night that I stayed up late writing my last entry. Yet the relentless flight of time’s arrow stops for nothing, and no one; it is once again the end of another calendar year. Back from a family vacation, it seems like a good time for an update; also, I want to elucidate on the “romantic exposé” I wrote last time, like I said I was going to do.

Though it’s good to be taking a break from doing schoolwork for the time being, one of the most important things the experience of last semester has taught me is that I have to accomplish important tasks just about every awaking hour of everyday, if I were to reach the goals that I have set for myself. First and foremost among those goals is to stay afloat in law school, as my performance last semester leaves much to be desired. If my performance does not drastically improve this time around, you might as well get out a broom and sweep me out the door. In order to work both harder and more efficiently I’ll need a new, nuanced approach to the whole law school experience. Unfortunately, as it is typical of me, I had to learn my lessons the hard way, and the details of such a new approach came to light only through my errors and mistakes. Nevertheless, I could not imagine gaining valuable insights on how to improve myself in any other way except by slugging through challenges in a high pressure environment. Hopefully I’ll be able to implement a revamped plan in the coming days and provide myself with a better chance of succeeding in the spring.

As for the subject of the last entry, nothing of substance has happened with Claire since. While I made some misjudgments over the course of the semester, not pursuing my romantic leanings in this instance was not one of them. Simply put, I knew I wasn’t in a good position to do anything. There were too many moving pieces in my life during the entire time, as I was charting the best path through law school. Navigating through the challenges of life, both inside and outside of school, was akin to crossing a desert, with one dune to be climbed followed by another, and another. It was in that context that having just the thought of her helped me a great deal.

As I alluded to last time, I sensed something extraordinary in her as soon as we met. In addition to those feelings I described in a somewhat fancied fashion, I felt that she already had the various parts of her life pieced together and that she was ready to move forward full steam ahead. In other words, she was already in a position that I was striving so hard to be in. As early as two weeks into the semester I felt that my initial hunches about her were completely confirmed by my observations. Since I have hardly spoken to her, and really don’t know the first thing about her, not for sure anyway, those impressions can still be wrong, though I highly doubt it.

In any case, knowing the position that she was in made it even more abundantly clear that the first order of business for me was to straighten out the various parts of my life. Her image was like a mirage standing and waiting in the distant sands, inspiring and urging me forward. Tangible aspects about hers, such as whether she was/is involved already (most likely), became less important than simply the idea of her being there. At this point, it feels as though I’m finally standing at the edge of the barren wasteland, and a new phase of my journey is about to begin. There are still numerous obstacles to overcome, of course, but whatever lies ahead is much preferred over the desolation of the arid sands, and I’m glad to have made it this far. Without a doubt, part of my motivation for forging ahead was chasing after the mirage that my mind created. How will Claire react if she finds out she’s being compared to a mirage? Now that’s an interesting query.

Matter of the Heart

2006-10-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

My last entry was posted on June 4th? Time indeed passes by quickly and the seasons change in the blink of an eye...

As much as I strive to achieve originality in my writings I feel this update cannot escape the confines of familiar platitudes, since I'm to write about the most universal subject ever embellished by the pen...

Speaking of eyes, one pair has come to mesmerize me as of late, and the attraction goes far beyond their outward beauty. A fiery yet gentle brilliance shines through those eyes, and I find the personality exuding it utterly fascinating. As I sit in class each passing day, especially during a lull, my wandering gaze invariably becomes affixed on her, observing even the most subtle of her movements: the tilting of her head, the brushing of a lock of hair behind her ear, the gesturing of her hands, and of course the curving of her lips as she flashes that luminous smile.

Even during those first few minutes I spent in her presence, as we were meeting for the first time, I instantly sensed a unique quality about her, perhaps best described as an air of intelligence entwined with a feel of kindness. Of course I noticed that she possessed outward beauty, but equally palpable was her captivating aura, which I have since found more and more alluring. I don’t know if anyone else senses these qualities in her; I know simply this: I had never before encountered such a distinctly engrossing character in anyone.

It is quiet evident, and has been for a quiet sometime now, that I have developed a fairly big crush on this girl.

Thus is the state of my heart 2/3 the way into my first semester as a 1L. As for the state of my general affairs, it has been more or less what I had expected before coming in: lots of work, busy almost all the time, and learning interesting class material. There is always more to learn, and I have much to improve to reach where I would ideally like to be.

The ordinary observer, guided by common conventions of wisdom, may surmise that my crush on this girl, whom I’ll henceforth refer to as “Claire,” is creating an undesirous distraction at a time I can ill afford it. Such an inference would only be partially correct. While it is true that at times my attention is inconveniently diverted away from the rigorous study of law, harboring this crush, as I shall explain next time, is propelling me to greater achievements.

Xtremely Surprised

2006-06-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

Who would've thought all of these characters will be facing real mortal danger?

First of all, Wow! Secondly, WOW! Never could I have fathomed X3 as such a powerful movie. The first two X-Men movies were slick and fun action films, heavy on action but rather light in substance, and so I went into this one expecting more of the same. Instead, X3 began on a darker and more serious tone, then completely ensnared my emotions starting from the half way point. The major plot point completely blindsided me, I didn't believe something like that could happen until the moment I saw it occur on the screen. The tension-building leading up to that moment was flawless.

Of course, I'm trying not to give away too much here, but it's suffice to say after that development I realized this wasn't going to be your cookie-cutter comic book movie. For the first time in watching these movies I felt palpable suspense for the fates of the main characters, as this new director stripped our heroes of their aura of invincibility. It still surprises me how much I came to cared for the characters in this film, especially since I was far from being one those crazy comics buffs. So top-notched wall-to-wall action combined with a surprisingly engrossing storyline, and strong acting from Ian McKellen, Patrick Steward, Halle Berry, and especially Hugh Jackman (the guy is such a believable actor) make this one of the best films I've seen in a while. The only quibble I have with the film is that it never conveyed clearly why the good guys would fight tooth and nail to the bitter end. I had to do some analysis afterwards to come up with a satisfactory answer. Many fans of the X-Men comics are taking issue with the "unfaithfulness" of the movie, but they just have to realize that no two artists would interpreted a subject in the exact same way. You don't want to deviate too much from the original work, but I think in this case the filmmakers used their artistic license well and created a very strong movie. Final verdict, *** 1/2 stars.

BTW, the filmmakers left enough loose ends untied for the making of a sequel, especially if you sit through the ending credits.

Life is Like a Game of Poker, Part I

2006-05-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Above is a typical hand you would run into online

Why haven't I updated this blog in more than a month? The reason was not that I haven't done anything interesting lately. On the contrary, it was because that I have been engaging in so many activities that I hardly had time for blogging. There sure is no shortage of topics for me to choose from. Me thinks it's best that I focus on the activity that has consumed the vast majority of my free time, Texas hold'em poker.

However, before I get into that. Michael Smith of espn.com wrote:

"As a native New Orleanian, I have to admit I almost cried when Bush put on that New Orleans Saints cap. Saints fans and the people of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast know what I'm talking about."

Ditto. Wow. I am not a native New Orleanian and even I got choked up, not to picking Reggie Bush itself, but to what it meant for so many desperate and sad people down here. For his part, Reggie has said and done all the right things since he's been to the city and appears genuinely appreciative of the people's enthusiastic reception. He is almost single-handedly lifting the spirits of the people around the city, something the other Bush fell far short of doing. His arrival plus the addition of Drew Brees is giving the Saints a long overdue makeover. Reggie Bush vs. Michael Vick twice a year, once in the Superdome.....football just doesn't get any better than this. If I were staying in the city of the year, which I'm not, I would consider buying the expensive season tickets.

Back to poker. I started playing hold'em heavily within the month. Unlike before, I was trying, almost desperately, to produce a profitable return off my game play. I warmed up for few days on the $0.01/0.02 no limit tables and moved on steadily to the larger tables. The main lesson I've learned about playing internet hold'em is the overriding importance of tight play. Everytime I thought I had tightened up my betting enough, the loss of a big hand would convince me otherwise. After some initial success, my bankroll started to stagnate. Unsatisfied, I shifted from no limit tables to limit tables at the suggestion of my friend DZ. Again I enjoyed some great success earlier on.

At this point the reader might wondering, "Since when did Z become such a obsessive online gambler?" The short answer is since I decided to take a shot to travel to Europe over the summer.

This entry is getting to be too long and my eyelids are getting heavy, so I'll continue with further details of my whole poker experiment next time.

Proper Punishment for Sex Offenders

2006-04-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a bit longer than expected to become acclimated to a 8:30 to 5:30 working schedule, plus about 1 ½ hours of vexing commute everyday. As I have mentioned before, the daily routine of completing rather mechanical tasks is thwarting my creative growth. Still, my grey matter manages to espouse a few interesting ideas from time to time. Lately, I've been considering what the appropriate punishment for convicted sex offenders should be, and the conclusion that I have reached may be controversial for some.

The issue of pedophile predators taking advantage of children through using the internet has been very prevalent on the news. Many of those criminals are repeat offenders who had been jailed and released. When interviewed, most of those men claim their sexual urges are what drive them to commit acts of sexual crime time after time. It appears that neither prison time nor counseling is effective in deterring them acting out on those urges. The fact that so many of them are left unchecked under the current rule of law is unconscionable.

Speaking from a male perspective, I believe that men's sexual instincts are indeed extremely powerful. If a boy did not grow up with the proper discipline and positive education around him, then as he matures into a man, his sex drive may very well run amok and lead him to perpetrate heinous crimes. Even for those men who are highly educated and intelligent, there's still absolutely no guarantee they can keep their instincts in check, either, case and point, Bill Clinton. So strong is the male urge, the worst thing one can do is to deny it or constantly surpress it, instead of channeling it. It didn't do all those Catholic priests any good. Eventually the dam will break if all you do is blocking the surging currents.

Maybe we have to blame evolution for this unfortunate state of men. In any case, I don't see any other way for society to control these dangerous criminals' sexual cravings except for using punitive chemical castration. Sex, afterall, is not essential for preserving the right to life. One can argue that it is an important part of the right to pursuit happiness, but if you deprive someone's opportunity to experience happiness through a criminal act, you forfeit your own right to do the same. If only all the legislators and courts would agree that it is not cruel and unusual punishment.

Battling boredom

2006-03-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere that a person starts to lose the muscle tissues he gained from exercising after 4 or 5 days of inactivity. If that’s true, then the same must be true for brain tissues as well. I’m barely two weeks into my current menial and monotonous job, but my neurons are in danger of slipping into a state of atrophy. Even when I was simply staying at home I never stopped pondering about current events, my future, and life in general. Having to basically turn my higher brain functions off for 8 hours a day has been quite unpleasant. I’m once again reminded of how important it is to find an intellectually challenging and stimulating career.

I’ve decided my current condition is completely unacceptable and have devised activities to regain and maintain my mental sharpness. I’m trying to muse about anything interesting while at work, including what to write on this blog. In my spare I’m trying to do some critical reading and studying, and I'm starting to draw once again.

It is true that physical conditioning enhances mental fitness. For that part, I’m getting back into exercising, which I had abandoned after my snowboarding trip. On 3 days a week I'll run for at least 30 to 40 min.; on 3 other days I'll do body-toning exercises, and Sundays will be R&R day. Upper body strength training is not a priority, but core fitness is. I just purchased a balance ball, which seems to intensify all the regular exercises 2 to 3 folds. I had a stomach cramp after doing just 2 sets of ab exercises. It sure is effective, and this is a good start to my regiment. I’m also considering resuming a diluted version of the killer workout routine Air Alert III, which basically decreases the repetitions by 1/3 and slows the progression by 50%.

Final Four It Is

2006-03-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

What more needs to be said? Even though the game went to overtime, it didn't feel nearly as riveting as the Duke game. Because LSU was so dominant inside I never felt Texas had a decisive advantage. Also, after the team beat Duke, I just had the sense that they can beat anyone else.

20 years ago LSU made it to the Final Four as a 11th seed. How neat is it that another 11th seed, George Mason, is back in the Big Dance with them. I don't think anyone can thoroughly explain why UConn struggled so mightily in the tourney with that supposedly superb frontline and its outstanding backcourt. Now I just hope Shaq will show up in Indianapolis to cheer on his alma mata. Earlier in the year many pundits thought SEC was a weak BBall conference, but now there's the high possibility of an all-SEC national championship game.

AWESOMENESS!!

2006-03-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

That picture just about sums it up. LSU played the most fantastic defense ever on J.J. Redick for all 40 min. and down went Duke. I don't think anyone thought Tigers' defense could be this good, so good that Duke could not catch up even when both Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas were out with foul trouble. Garret Temple doggedly guarded Redick like a glove, Thomas was his usual athletic self, and Davis did enough damage inside. But the most important shot of the game was the huge trey made by Darrell Mitchell. Again the guy bailed out the team just when Duke was looking to break the game open. This was probably the most celebrated win for LSU in almost a whole generation, and it can really put the school's basketball program on the map. Assuming Davis and Thomas won't make the mistake of jumping into the NBA prematurely, the team next year can be absolutely electrifying. They really need a skilled point guard for next season, what high school senior or junior college point wouldn't want the chance to dish the rock on this team?

I'm getting ahead of myself, there is much more to play for in this tournament. LSU's brutal pre-conference schedule really toughened the team. Duke had beaten Texas while LSU edged W. Virginia in the regular season, but now it's time for something new for both schools. The other 2 games were also very exciting. I went to bed thinking the UCLA-Gonzaga would go as I had predicted as well, only to wake up and find out about UCLA's wild comeback.

As they say down here: GEAUX TIGERS!

Hoops Season

2006-03-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

This is a great time for me as a basketball fan. In the NCAA Tourney last night, LSU pulled out a tough and exciting win against Texas A&M in the final seconds on a long three. LSU is finally making some noise with the tremendous talent they have. Next up is a sweet sixteen date with those snobbish, elitist Dukies on Thursday. I actually like Duke, unlike the majority of college basketball fans. I never understood the reason for all the hating.

The two teams are fairly close talent wise. The game will come down to how much LSU can keep J.J. Redick in check and whether the Tigers' frontline can outplay Sheldon Williams. LSU has a very athletic starting five that can play very effective defense, anchored by Glen Davis and block specialist Tyrus Thomas. Thomas is one of those freakishly explosive athletes. During the game, tv analysts pointed out that his head almost touched the rim when he jumped up for a block. In many ways he reminds people of Stromile Swift, who has not progressed whatsoever on the next level despite his impressive physical talent. Hopefully Thomas can avoid Swift's mistake of leaving for the NBA before he was ready. I'd say LSU has a 40% chance of winning, despite the players' youth. If you think that's too high, consider that early in the regular season they pushed UConn to the limit and lost by 1. It will be a fun game.

Speaking of Swift, his teammate and my hero, Yao Ming, is playing very inspired basketball after he came back from his toe surgery. His point production, rebounds, and minutes are all up significantly from before. Unexpectedly, the toe injury allowed Yao to rest more than he has done in long time. It's a shame that such a rare talent has been stymied from reaching his full potential by needless and short-sighted obligations imposed by the Chinese government, which has forced him to play basketball almost non-stop for the last couple of years. The Rockets won't be in the playoffs this year, but if Yao continues his growth and McGrady comes back healthy, they will have a real shot of challenging the Spurs and the Mavs next season.

And Kobe's 81 is incredible. Still hate the guy and his "bring all your hate" Nike commercial.

My best post yet deserves to be posted by itself again

2006-03-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe how long I spent on putting together this entry. Yet I enjoyed the process immensely, the reason for which will soon become apparent.

I’ve been wanting to write an entry about the Winter Olympics and how much I enjoyed watching snowboard cross and figure skating. Snowboard cross is without a doubt the most exciting event to see on TV, in large part due to my own fondness for snowboarding. From my own experience I could tell right away that it is also extremely dangerous. Even in the Olympics there were some horrible spills, with several athletes being carried off in stretchers. Then I saw this in yesterday’s news: “Swedish snowboarder Jonatan Johansson died Sunday after falling during a snowboardcross run down.” The 26-year-old Olympian lost control when he was doing a jump. Even though he landed within the boundaries of the course and was wearing a helmet, the internal injuries caused by the fall were still lethal. It’s crazy enough to go down the slope at 30 to 40 miles per hour and pulling off crazy jumps, but to do it while bumping against 3 other people is just too extreme. Downhill events simply should not be made into contact sports.

Figure skating, even though it is getting more dangerous as well, is just an elegant sport to watch. It’s a shame that the Japanese girl beat out the more graceful Sasha Cohen and the more athletic Irina Slutskaya due to major mistakes made by the latter two. But that’s not why I spent so much time on this blog. If you did not watch ice dancing, then you missed out on seeing a woman whom I consider to be as close to physically perfect as any female can be: silver medalist Tanith Belbin.

To put my opinion of her into the proper perspective, below is my fantasy collection of female celebrities whom I believe to be the most beautiful and sexy. They're judged not just on physical appearances, but also on what I perceive their personalities to be.

Listed in no particular order after Jennifer Love Hewitt:

Kristin Kruek Natalie Portman

Kelly Brook Samaire Armstrong

Monica Bellucci Lee Hyori

Rachel McAdams Eva Longoria

Kate Beckinsale Beyonce

Heidi Ayumi Hamasaki

Elizabeth Hurley Alyssa Milano

Cindy Crawford Cecilia Cheung

And others who, while very pretty, lack that extra "umf" to be at the very top:

Halle Berry Charlize Theron

Salma Hayek Jessica Alba

Kournikova Sharapova

Zhang Ziyi Adriana Lima

Jessica Simpson

(Did I leave out any other super babe?)

To me, if you combine the best features of Julia Roberts, Heather Graham, and Maria Menounos,

each a gorgeous woman in her own right, and have the product be greater than the sum of all its parts, you get the single most splendid beauty in the world:

To outshine all those other women is no small feat, to say the least. I thought no one could ever supplant Jennifer Love Hewitt as #1 on my list, until now. If I were Tanith Belbin and is getting paid less than, say 2 million dollars in endorsement this year, I would fire my agent right away.

Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, in this case, yours truly. Looking at it "scientifically," because a few of her genes lined up in a certain sequence, she'll be making more money than 99.9% of the people can ever dream of. Even though genetics is a major factor for the development of any talent, this is a gift that she doesn't have to cultivate. From an economic standpoint, however, whatever she gets paid in money is far exceeded by the amount of utility she creates just by being in the public's view. Hell, I can't even put a dollar amount on how much personal enjoyment I'm getting out of seeing her. So it is "just" for her to earn that kind of money, even if it does not seem "fair."

A New Beginning - Again; Old Posts

2006-03-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, finally, I think I've found a new blog site that looks good and allows free commenting. After using xanga and then msn spaces, I do not want to move again. On msn spaces I posted only a few, but important entries about law school acceptance, snowboarding, and writing. So here they are, verbatim:

March 12

Observations on blogs

For the past 2 days I've been reveling in my first law school admittance. Since Wash. U is among the top 3 of my choices, it was indeed a good cause for celebrating. Only if I get in either Boston University or Boston College would I start considering other options.

I’ll make a few general observations about the blogsphere: 1. The paucity of updates is quite prevalent in most of the blogs that I check up on. Typically an entry starts with something to the effect of “I can’t believe I haven’t updated for such a long time,” which I’ve written myself. Well, I don’t expect that to be a problem for this blog for the near future. I have ample time on my hands and certainly no shortage of subjects to comment on. The challenge for me is to keep the length of each entry from becoming too great. 2. There is a significant number of blogs containing Chinese characters, either in their titles or content, which might be the case for other foreign languages as well. I’m just glad I’m able to read and respond to them.

March 11
The Words I Wanted to See the Most!
Congratulations on your admission to Washington University School of Law!

Yes, Yes Yes!!!! I didn't expect to hear back from schools this soon, but here it is! My first acceptance. Washington is a very good school, and everything else from here on out is icing on the cake. Wowwwww

YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!

March 09

Greetings all. The creation of this page signifies the turning of a new leaf in my life. From henceforth this is where I will share my adventures and calamities, my tribulations as well as triumphs, but most of the content will be consist of my opinions and insights on the different aspects of life. Writing offers a multitude of freedoms for me – freedoms to express, dream, and reflect. The accessibility and ease of blogging make it an ideal avenue for me to write sensibly and continuously. As a bonus I might be able to entertain not just myself but an audience as well. What’s not to like?

As I said this is a new beginning for me. I’ve traveled a long and meandering road to get here, but my future is looking brighter than ever because of the path that I have traversed. Before I speak of either the past or the future, I should describe my present situation. I’m awaiting replies from the 14 law schools that I’ve applied to for this coming fall. Meanwhile, I’m in New Orleans working in the latest of several positions that I’ve held since the Hurricane. It doesn’t entail much effort or skill, but it provides the small income that I require for now.

On to more interesting topics. Over Mardi Gras weekend I took a snowboarding trip to New York, where I met up with some college buddies, some of whom I hadn’t seen since graduation from Cornell last May, others for even longer. It was great to see they’re all doing very well pursuing either further education or careers in world-renowned financial firms. They’re working very hard, 10~12 hour days, but that’s expected for jobs at just about any large corporations
nowadays, and it’s the amount of time I expect to be spending for law school and beyond.

The snowboarding itself was awesome. I hadn’t boarded in almost a year, but I was able to do most of the things that I wanted to do on the slopes. I even, for the first time, went down a couple of double black diamonds. The only problem I had was with the lack of stamina, but my techniques felt good and it was certainly exhilarating to go down those steep trails once I got into a rhythm. That was the first day. It did not prepare me for what was to come on the second day.

The place we went to on the 2nd day hadn’t seen any significant snowfall for weeks (due to those same wacky, global warming-induced weather patterns that are partially responsible for catastrophic hurricanes, but that’s a talking point for another time). What I had to deal with was fast, sandy, artificially snow-covered slopes that had numerous patches of solid ice. The result? The most spectacular wipeouts I’ve ever had, if you were looking at me from any vantage point other than my own. For the most physically painful experience I’ve had in recently memory I took a tumble that had me upended and involuntarily doing a 1 ½ back somersault, with my head hitting the ground at least twice and with my body weight landing on my tailbone. Never was I more thankful to have worn a helmet. It saved me from at least a concussion.

However, I learned quite a bit because of the touch conditions. Being frequently on my butt and back forced me to re-examine all of my techniques. I found out exactly what I was doing wrong and was able to, despite some difficulties, go down the black diamonds. Negotiating the single diamonds amid those kinds of conditions was much tougher than going down double diamonds the day before. The good news is I’ll never forget what I learned on those slopes, and I’ll pick up from where I left off the next time I snowboard.

I love to write and can probably go on forever, but I have the rest of my life to do that. I’m adding a recurring feature at the end of my entries called “Quick Wisdom.” From time to time I will record some quick insights I’ve gained about people and life. They might be ridiculous, completely off-base or dead-on. One thing is for certain, they will always be what I think is true at that time. For the first entry I present a double dose:

Quick Wisdom:

#1: On the way to JFK airport the shuttle driver pointed out to me that I had mistakenly double tipped him by $5. I decided it wasn’t much and let him keep it. Upon hearing that, his eyes just lit up and he had most grateful smile on his face. I realized my small generosity probably just made his day at 5 am in the morning. If not for that $5, it would’ve just been another mundane workday for him. I probably won’t ever see him again, but he his good mood might’ve carried over to how he treated his other customers or his family for the rest of the day. Wisdom: Sometimes it really doesn’t take much to gain someone’s good will.

#2: As I was driving one day I saw the car in front of me slowing down and swirling to left to avoid a pothole. I thought that car was too slow and drove to the right to avoid the same hole. There was no evidence indicating that the right side was better than the left, but when I glanced back into the rearview mirror I saw 2 or 3 cars behind me following my lead and swirled to the right, probably just out of reflex. Wisdom: Someone in a leadership position can have tremendous sway over others. When you’re a leader and take an action, some will follow suit instinctively, even if your action breaks the trend.

Yet another new blog

2006-03-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

This had better work