Nobody Walks in L.A.

That's something that struck me while in D.C. Everyone there walks - and not just like a regular pace. They power walk. It's like they're all trying out for some walkers' marathon or something. It's kinda crazy.

So being an outsider, especially one from Los Angeles, I didn't really blend in very well. Though I did love the little neighborhood my cousin lives in. It's very trendy urban, complete with quaint cafes, beautiful buildings, and the gays! And apparently it has one of the highest concentrations of lawyers in the country. If it wasn't overwhelmingly hot and humid for 4 months out of the year, I might consider moving there.

Anyway, I totally enjoyed spending the time there, and I really do want to go back some time soon. I may plan my next trip for when it's snowing though. It will likely have WAY less tourists (i.e. less screaming children and maybe even less children on the planes? Hope springs eternal). And I would love to see the Supreme Court in the snow. I think it would be even more breathtaking.

Regardless, I would be one of those people who was constantly bitching that there was no parking (or I would have to pay an extravagant amount of money to live in a building with parking). Because, as the song says, nobody walks in L.A. And I'm not one for bucking many L.A. trends.

Happy weekend!

My Fellow Americans

So I was in DC for my friend's wedding this past weekend. It was lovely. Although it was quite interesting to see the bride and groom at the front of the church with their "private areas" pressed up against each other and whispering what could only be dirty things to each other. I guess this is what happens when you have 27 year old virgins. Anyway, the trip was great, but now I'm trying to play catch up at work. To those who were recently/are going to be sworn in, savor the moment. It's truly great. To those who fell just short, you can and will do it if luck smiles on you and you persevere. Good luck and great weekend!

Name Your Price

If I don't have to ship the books (i.e. if you and I can meet and you pick them up), I'll sell them for $175, and you can have ALL of them for that price, as many or as few as you want. If I have to ship them, I want $225, including the shipping (media mail), and it's for the full set of BarBri books only. If you want them all, I'll have to calculate shipping.

However, if you think it's too much, NAME YOUR PRICE!!!!

Books for Sale!!!

I have a full set of BarBri and Bar Passers books, and PMBR and a I also have another MBE book by Emmanuel's for sale.

The BarBri and Bar Passers books both have the new subjects.

Make me an offer. I just want to get rid of them.

Obviously, they're helpful. They have now helped me AND my friend R pass the bar (CONGRATS, R!!!!!).

Week

This week is going to be long. Maybe fate has scheduled it to be particularly busy for all lawyers in a showing of solidarity for those awaiting bar results. If memory serves, they come out this Friday. God bless and good luck. I feel your pain. Been there. I wish you all the best of luck. I know it's only luck, and while I know it feels like nothing more than empty meaningless platitudes, I wish to reiterate that it's not a reflection on the lawyer you will be, only the amount of luck you had on a series of three consecutive days.

So I have my first court appearance tomorrow morning, I have an answer, a boat load of discovery responses, and a settlement statement due Friday, a deposition on Thursday, a letter to opposing counsel to send on Wednesday, and a slew of legal secretary stuff to do during the week, in addition to my law clerk and attorney stuff. Oh yeah, and this is all in addition to trying to start a law practice and deal with my headache issues.

Still no MD diagnosis, but I'm feeling better about it after having some unofficial advice from a friend.

The moral of the story is this, my friends - I feel your pain this week. And I pray for you. I hope this week yields good news for all of us.

Mothers Day

Well, it looks like I won't know whether or not there's a tumor before Mothers' Day. Seems pathetic to me, but whatever.

I went to the hospital and got my scan on disc. I tried to open it, but I have no idea what kind of files they are, and even if I did, I surely wouldn't know what to look for anyway.

But for all the mothers out there, I wish you happy and healthy families. No one could ask for anything more. God Bless!

Oh, and the lawyer in me feels the need for a disclaimer - thank you to the person who posted the comment. If I need to, I will certainly look into all of my options, including the one you suggested. However, I do not endorse any treatments, conventional or otherwise, and my posting the comment should not be construed as such. The only endorsement of treatment that I have is treating doctors with a bit of skepticism, as I feel they have earned it. Not to say that lawyers haven't, but that's an issue for another day.

Brain Tumors and Bar Results

While I'm not awaiting bar results again (thank God!), I am going to have a brain scan/MRI tomorrow. They don't usually have a doctor to read those scans immediately, so there will probably be some waiting to be done. And the scan starts at 7 p.m., assuming it starts on time, so I have no idea whether or not there would even be someone there that I could grab and gently urge (read "force") to read it for me.

So it got me thinking about the gamut of things it could be. Of course, brain tumor tops the list. Then again, the inherently sarcastic and distrustful part of me (is there any other part? really?) let my mind wander and think about the twisted and outside possibility that it was some sick experiment by a law professor or bar examiner to place a chip in my brain and it has ever since been festering and is now causing excruciating pain. I know it's a long shot, but it would be a great story to tell the grand kids, wouldn't it?

For those of you who are awaiting bar results, especially those of you who are awaiting a repeat set, I feel for you. No one feels your pain, perhaps even quite literally, more than me. I didn't get nervous this last time until about a few days before results, and then the day results came out I was a hot mess. I was such a mess that I couldn't even click the "check your results" button after I had entered my information. My niece did it. Thank God it ended well. I wouldn't have wanted her to see how shattered I would have been if I hadn't passed...again.

Two seemingly unrelated things that oddly go extremely well together. Brain tumors and bar results. Chocolate and peanut butter. Sex and candy (listen to the song).

I can't wait to go to my friend's wedding. By then, I will either have started chemo or will have had a spinal tap (to relieve some of the pressure caused by excess spinal fluid on my brain). Either way, good times!

The Difference Between Laweyers and Doctors

Too many punchlines, I know...

But the one that comes to mind in particular right now, as I sit in my brand new office (thank you very much) and write a joint application for preliminary approval of class action settlement is that lawyers shouldn't "reinvent the wheel," as my mentor once put it. If a great lawyer did this kind of motion before you, and was willing to share it as an example, why the hell would you otherwise try to do one from scratch? To bill a client more money? Not me, brother. Not my style. And I believe it to be unethical and in direct contradiction to the interests of your client.

On the other hand, doctors SHOULD "reinvent the wheel." They should look at each patient anew, not being prejudiced by another doctor's thoughts and opinions. My idiot eye doctor should have made an independent judgment about me, not just signed off that someone else made the right call (and that it was up to her to explain to me what that call meant). Maybe this is why they hate doctors so much. We hold their feet to the fire in lawsuits. We hold them accountable for jumping not even to their own conclusions, but someone else's that they probably don't even know, have never even met, and whose credentials and/or training they've never explored.

The primary difference? Maybe it's just that our malpractice premiums are lower than theirs. Who knows?