What a Difference a Year Can Make

A year ago today, I was about halfway through my relatively easygoing public interest summer legal job in downtown Manhattan. I would hop on the train, get off at Broadway-Nassau barely thirty minutes later, stroll past City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge gleaming in the sun, past J&R Music and the Manhattan Municipal Building with its newlyweds, past the Sugar House prison window, and onto the bench beneath the shady trees and chirping birds to slowly enjoy my coffee in the breezy courtyard between buildings. After work I would get home before six, throw on my regular clothes, and start what was basically a whole new day. It was probably one of the most relaxing summers I've ever had, even if it did only last two months.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009: I wake up dead tired, get ready in a mad rush, stumble out to the garbage F train for a stalled ride to midtown, get off at Rock Center, rush about eight blocks, throw back a coffee in the gray cold morning while standing next a stone pillar on Park Avenue, head up to my office building, and plant my butt in an office chair to research and write for basically 10 hours straight, day in and day out. By the time I get home at around 8:30pm I'm exhausted, and just have enough time and energy left to maybe watch some entertainment and prepare to repeat it all again the next day.

So what is the difference, you ask? Why am I doing this to myself? One word: money. And maybe experience. There is no doubt that this summer's option is better for my wallet. But at what point does it become worth losing one's mind? Regardless, I'm almost halfway done with seven weeks to go. We'll see if it gets any easier.

There is No In-Between.

Something I haven't been quite able to figure out since entering law school and the legal profession in general,

It's been my general experience, since I was a child, that anything I applied myself to I could accomplish. Not just accomplish, but excel at. Even reach the top. There was never anything, back then, that I could not mentally grasp. Granted, I'm talking about small matters here (since I never endeavored to tackle anything world class). Still, though, for purposes of what I'm about to say, it doesn't matter.

Since entering law school and working within the intensely competitive upper echelon of the legal profession, however, I am continuously taken aback at the degree of (albeit academic) intelligence I encounter in so many individuals on a daily basis. Law school and the legal profession are the first places where I can honestly say that, regardless of the concept put forth to us, virtually everyone I am surrounded by will, at a minimum, understand it. Instantly. Some will even master it. All in less time than it takes me to read the matter to begin with.

My point in all of this is simply that I'm curious, or rather, I can't figure out--where is the in-between? The first twenty-nine years of my life I spent coasting past my peers in virtually every activity I participated in, be it professional, academic, or otherwise. Whether it was school, the military, my civilian jobs, etc., there was basically no limit, within reason, to how far I could have traveled within those spheres. Since entering law school, however, it's taken everything I have to not be steamrolled over by my younger and apparently more-naturally-gifted classmates and colleagues. Where were all of these incredibly intelligent individuals for the first twenty-eight years of my life? And where are all the mediocre intellects now that I am in law school? It's as though I've gone from 0 to 100 in just a few seconds, and there doesn't appear to be any possibility of slowing down in the near future. All I can say is, I'm tired, and looking forward to the end either way. $120k/yr starting sounds great, but not if I wind up losing my sanity in the process.

One minute you're a teenage fisherman/pirate...

...who's never left Somalia,

and the next minute you're being led into Federal Plaza, Downtown Manhattan, New York City, in handcuffs.
Can you imagine?

I'd probably be smiling too.

I Stay Gucci Down to the Socks...

Last fall, I inexplicably purchased this pair of $400 Gucci sneakers (which I couldn't afford) at Gucci's store on Fifth Avenue. Now I know why people spend so much money on these things--the shape, style, and look of them is fantastic. After wearing these with some nice fitted dark denim or black, 'regular' sneakers looked and felt like big clunky moon shoes.

Anyway, I liked them so much, and got so many positive comments, that I went back today and picked up the same pair, in white, for this summer. I'm officially an idiot.. but damn, my feet look good.

Japanese Girls in Matching Underwear

Japanese girls in matching underwear are the greatest thing ever invented (as if there was ever any doubt). That is all.

Don't Flatter Yourself...

Don't flatter yourself, don't think I'm a fool
Just because you walk talk and act so cool.
Don't flatter yourself, got too big for your britches
Little boys like you can be the biggest bitches.
Don't flatter yourself...

Flatter me.

--Author Unknown

But Ripper's Guide to Strip Clubs in the Bronx

But Ripper puts you on about where the real xxx action is going down in the Bronx.

Rochester Strip Club Review Dated Added: Sat Sep 22 2001 Submitted by: Coop

Beware of Klassy Cat in Rochester, NY. Though the girls who dance for the Klassy Cat are the prettiest strippers in Rochester, they may not be the nicest. Don't get me wrong, most of the girls are very friendly or give the impression they are. But after today, I'm not so sure. This may make me sound like a loser, but this is to warn all the less than "hunky" guys out there about the place. I went to Klassy Cat this afternoon. I had a couple of beers and watched the girls dance. I tipped a few and I was respective of them when I had contact with them. There was one dancer there today, I didn't catch her name, she has long blonde hair, apparently a whole body tan, is about 5' tall with a hard body and is very well endowed. Well, being a red blooded male I thought "wow". After she was through with her set I sat and waited patiently for her to come out so I could ask her for a table dance. She was in the dressing room for quite a while. Then she came out with three other girls wearing a very short white mini skirt and thigh red leather boots and a red thong. After the music quit playing she went back into the dancers dressing room. I waited a few minutes longer than I got up and asked the bartender if she would be available for a table dance or if she was done. The bartender told me she was sure she was available and said she would go and tell her I would like a table dance. I waited by the cigarette machine for a few minutes. She came out an chatted with one of the other dancers and played around. She also talked to a guy who must have been a regular. She went back into the dressing room and so did the dancer she was talking to. A few moments later the dancer she was talking to came out and was pulling a small luggage case behind her. She said "see you later" to me and then she left. The dancer I wanted a table dance from came back out of the dressing room and put her arms around my neck. She gave me a little hug and told me she had to go to the little girls room then she would be right back. After being ignored for about an hour I finally left. So just be careful when you go to Klassy Cat.