The Adventures of Chris

I’m starting a new job tomorrow. It’s a full time, legal peon job that hopefully leads to a full time, legal lawyer job when and if I pass the bar.

Steph asked me if I’m excited about the job. I gave an honest answer - “not really.” I remember being really excited about my first foray into full-time, salaried employment right out of college. I was excited to see what it felt like to work in a tall shiny building, have my own work-issued laptop, and live inside a cubicle with my name on a hanging placard.

Now, in my first foray into full-time, post-law school employment, there really isn’t any excitement. All I feel is a little anxiousness, for a number of reasons. First, I’m anxious about whether I can do a good job right from the start. The problem with me is that I put a lot of pressure on myself at the start of a job. I practically obsess over my first few assignments. The reason? I’m a huge believer in the power of first impressions. I know people say they’re open minded, but the first impression you portray in a workplace can make all the difference in the world. I was fortunate enough to make a fairly good first impression at my first job and all I can say is that the rest of my tenure gave me a peek into the life of a very attractive person; one where things just seem to go your way more often than not.

The second reason I’m anxious is that this is my first paying job in a for-profit legal setting. For the most part, I think that law schools don’t really teach students how to be lawyers. Law schools teach relevant laws and issues, but don’t teach about how those laws and issues are put into practice. One of my most memorable moments in law school was submitting my first written assignment at the start my first internship with the Attorney General’s office. When I saw the finished copy, I realized that my work had comprised the majority of an acceptable legal document. It was real proof that I had made strides towards becoming a lawyer. That was huge for me. That being said, all of my work experience has been in lower pressure government or judicial settings where I was an unpaid intern. Tomorrow I’m starting work in a for-profit, private firm setting as a paid worker, so it’ll be a change.

The third reason I’m anxious is that I have to get to work pretty early and my drive to work right now is pretty long. I also tend to have a lot of eye crust in the mornings and sometimes forget to zip up my fly. I’m anxious about that too.

If you asked my parents, they’d tell you the only things in Eagle Rock are an out of date mall, a car wash, and thugs. Therefore it’s no surprise that I’ve never had the urge to venture too far into Eagle Rock.

About a year ago, I read a glowing review for Cafe Beau jo lais, a French restaurant in Eagle Rock. I couldn’t believe that a good French restaurant was in Eagle Rock. I reread the article to make sure it didn’t mention anything about the place being in a shabby mall, in a car wash, or solely serviced by thugs. No mention of any of those things. I figured I had to try it. A French restaurant that close to me. Who would have guessed. Plus, it’s not often that my last name appears in any American print media, even if it’s only part of a French word.
Turns out the place is pretty good, pretty French, and definitely not in a mall or car wash. We started with a salad with warm goat cheese toast. The salad dressing was mustard-based, which I have now come to realize is a fairly common French dressing*. I gotta say, good goat cheese is very tasty. For entrees, Susan had a parmesan crusted halibut and a glass of pinot noir. Both were delicious, especially the halibut. I was very impressed at how all the flavors worked really well together. I had a very juicy New York steak with garlic butter and a glass of ice water. Both were also very good.

For dessert, I had the banana tart with vanilla ice cream and Susan had the creme brulee. Want to know how French this place is? The waiter’s accent was so thick that I couldn’t even understand him when he said “creme brulee”. I could have sworn he said something between “hooey” and “hula.”
Anyway, two thumbs up.

* For some reason that reminds of me the Princeton Review and their “Joe Bloggs” , sucker-attracting answers.

What is the most popular salad dressing for French people?
A. Thousand Island

B. French

C. Mustard

D. Ranch

This past weekend in the bay area was all about two things - pizza and Animal Crossing.

Pizza because I got to try the pizzas at San Francisco Italian/pizza place A16. I’d wanted to go ever since I overheard a fellow diner at Pizzaiolo saying that the best pizza he’d had in the bay area was at A16. The pizza style there is pretty authentic Italian - simple flavor, thin crust, no oregano on the margherita. We were lucky enough to have six eaters, meaning we got to try five different pizzas. Here are a few shots of the margherita and the fungi pizzas.

The rest of the weekend was consumed with playing Animal Crossing on the Nintendo DS Lite. The game is one of those virtual world games, where you take a character and build a life for him. There’s no real goal to the game. No bad guy to take out. No sports trophy to win. It’s just a guy who lives in a forest town with animals, takes out a mortgage from a raccoon, generates income by catching fish, finding shells, and picking fruit (and, oddly enough, selling the items to the same mortgage-holding raccoon), and chats with a variety of animal neighbors, including a neurotic duck and a fitness-obsessed bear.

The game has no point (although you could argue that almost no video game does), yet I spent a majority of the weekend fishing for fake fish and thinking about how to grow fake orchards of profitable fruits. I hate to admit it, but I think one of the reasons I’m so into this game is that in certain ways, the life of fake fish and orchards is more exciting and satisfying than my own. It’s really satisfying to set mini goals (like paying off a mortgage with fish), setting out to do them, and then accomplishing them.

Speaking of video games, Bully is out. It’s such an interesting premise. I know that the subject of bullied students is a sensitive one in America, but sometimes I think one of the problems surrounding bullied students is forgetting how cruel children can be. I wonder if the video game might cause some people to rethink and revisit that aspect of student life.
Today on cable I saw the part in Austin Powers where Austin Powers tries to make a three point turn in a hallway that is only inches wider than the maintenance vehicle he’s driving. Damn that scene is funny.

This song was playing in A16 as we were leaving.

Currently Listening Clap Your Hands Say Yeah By Clap Your Hands Say Yeah The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth see related

I was a real moron at the airport today. Athough I have flown to Europe and Asia during the imposition of the “no liquid/gel” travel restrictions, I totally forgot that those restrictions apply to Southwest flights from Burbank to Oakland too. I totally just walked up to the check in baggage line with a toiletry kit full of an assortment of liquids and gels. Luckily, the restrictions were recently loosened to allow 3 oz. of liquids/gels if kept separately in a large ziplock bag. Even more luckily, I just happened to have a large ziplock bag in my duffel. Unluckily, I had to ditch my bottle of Listerine. That hurt. Listerine is expensive.

I just felt really stupid. Then again, I saw a guy who was arguing with a airport security person because he was being forced to ditch some of his liquids/gels. He was yelling “It’s just AFTERSHAVE DAMMIT!” at the top of his lungs. I wanted to tell him that whatever that aftershave cost, his dignity was probably worth more. Then again, that might have been pretty nice aftershave.

I had a discussion today where I talked about my own belief that intelligence is somehow loosely related to genetics. Yes, I realize that it’s really almost impossible to separate genetic and environmental factors. Yes, I know that a lot of really smart people have not-so-smart parents. It’s not that I believe that smart people can only come from smart parents. I just think it’s slightly more likely that smart people come from smart parents. I made the statement knowing that I had absolutely no basis for this belief, so I started to look it up.

And the answer is…unknown because genetic makeup and environmental factors are too closely intertwined. However, identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to get an equal score on an IQ test. Which means that genetics is a differentiating factor. Which means I could be right. Or I could be wrong. Case closed.

MSNBC.com had a bulletin board system so that people affected by today’s Hawaii earthquake could share their experiences with others. Most of the entries included information such as where the people were when the quake happened, any visible damage to their buildings or to surrounding infrastructure, and what supplies were needed (i.e. batteries were out of stock at local store). Then I saw this one.

“My fiance (Tina) and I are staying at the Four Seasons Hualalai. Based upon the maps we believe the quake epicenter was only a couple of miles away. It was an exciting start to our day. A very heavy shake - many of our friends at the resort reported broken glasses and fallen lamps. We hopefully will get married later today. Power is out, the salon is closed, but the beaches are open. Its a beautiful day in Hawaii and the resort staff have been great. We are hoping that this is some kind of a positive sign relative to our big day - perhaps a message from Pele. That technology and all the frills of our modern world, pale against the power of nature and that of friendship, love and the dream of a life together. Scott M arft iny 805-2 52-82 59″

That last part, in bold, had me cracking up. The Pele thing, combined with the line at the end…it’s pure gold. He even put his entire name, his phone number, and his fiancee’s name.  For those of you who don’t think this is funny, picture this entry next to entries that say “My ceiling collapsed and there is no water or power here!” and “The mudslides have blocked the road to my home!  I’m so scared!”

I read about the new Red campaign that is being pushed to raise money for the fight against AIDS in Africa. As part of the campaign, companies like Motorola, Apple, and the Gap will sell special “Red” merchandise and donate a portion of the profits to AIDS relief.

I went to Gap’s web site. Their Red clothes are a rip off! A white button up shirt is $75. A t-shirt is $30. Inflated pricing isn’t the trend - Apple is selling a Red nano for the same price as other nanos,and Motorola is selling a Red Razr. Doesn’t that seem wrong? It’s obvious that retailers stand to benefit by associating with this celebrity-driven Red campaign. Still, isn’t Gap’s strategy actually less magnanimous than it seems? I figure Apple hopes to gain by selling more nanos, yet they’ll be donating 10% of their proceeds on the nano (and they’re not charging more than the normal nano price). That means Apple probably increases their quantity sold, yet they are not taking the full proceeds from this increase in quantity. But with the Gap, they’re just doubling the price and then donating half of the price…meaning they’re not really “donating” much out of their own pockets at all.  50% looks like a lot, but it really isn’t.

I’m just posting this because I’m bored and I want someone to verify that I’m interpreting this correctly.

http://www.gap.com/red

http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/red/

http://www.motorola.com/red

On a side note, I’ve got some yellow Nike Livestrong wristbands I’ll be willing to let go for cheap.

Today I went with dad and brother to Disney Hall to see pianist Helene Grimaud perform with the NHK Symphony. It’s amazing how much more I enjoy classical music performed live by an orchestra versus hearing it on the radio. Part of it is the sound, but part of it is the visual aspect. I really like how the sections move in unison, but the different sections all do different things during the performance. It’s actually pretty exciting.

On a side note, I always want to ask people who play obscure instruments how they decided to get into that instrument, and then how they decided to go pro with that instrument. “At what point did you realize you wanted to dedicate your life to the timpani?”

In totally unrelated news, I got a free 2 month trial for Amazon Prime. I’m thrilled.

I spent a few hours writing cover letters today. I hate writing cover letters. On one hand, the first reaction is to regurgitate your resume in paragraph form. Then you realize that’s redundant. Then you try to rework it so that it seems more personal. Then it seems too informal. Then you wonder if the line “I would appreciate an interview at your earliest convenience” is too pushy or presumptuous. Then you wonder if “please please please just give me one interview” is too pathetic. Then your name starts looking like it’s misspelled even though it isn’t. It’s an ugly process.

I’m getting sort of frustrated with the job search already. I hate the feeling of trying to do something knowing that you’re already at a disadvantage. In the case of a job hunt, my disadvantages are that I didn’t go to a big name law school, I wasn’t in the top of the class and I’m not even sure I passed the bar. Granted, there are tons of people in the same boat as I am, but that doesn’t really lessen the annoying feeling.
I can take rejection. Really, I can. But knowing that you’re already disadvantaged just makes the rejection more frustrating. It’s like being a short, nerdy boy in school and being given the task of getting a date with a cheerleader. Every rejection just hurts more because you didn’t know if you even had a chance in the first place.

Add that to the fact that I’m realizing more and more that there are certain types of attorneys that I can’t stomach working for. No, I don’t want to help defend rapists. No, I don’t want to work for a solo practitioner in Koreatown. No, I don’t want to do immigration law in Glendale of all places. Damn, immigration law in Glendale. That makes insurance litigation sound great.

Currently Listening Sam’s Town By The Killers Song: Read My Mind see related

I went with my dad to Tower Records on Sunset a few days ago. Seeing that my dad’s been going there since before I was born, he wanted to go there one more time before it was closed.

When I was a kid, my dad sometimes used to drag me to the store with him. Being the avid music fan that he is, he’d spend hours there flipping through what seemed like countless cd’s. Being the young kid that I was, I was bored out of my mind. I’d just spend the time looking at the cd covers and squatting or sitting on the floor, wondering how my dad could be so interested in those cd’s. Then again, I remember thinking that for my dad, Tower Records was probably like Toys R Us was to me. I really remember thinking that.

I was just thinking, I wished they had more listening stations back then.
I took the photo above from the vantage point that I most often had while in the store. That’s about how tall I was when I was squatting as a kid.

This album is pretty good.

Currently Listening The Crane Wife By The Decemberists Song: Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) see related

Went to the Killers show at the Wiltern on Saturday night. Not the biggest fan of their new album (some of the songs annoy me a lot), but their performance was definitely slicker than when I saw them in Vegas a little while ago. The highlight of the evening was seeing a big family going to the show. After seeing them walk in, I tried to imagine whether I’d be ok with taking my little kids (like 8-10 years old) to the show. It wasn’t really that bad. The band didn’t really cuss out loud. The fan base is pretty yuppie and relatively calm. The only problem would be a lack of seats, since the kids would be 3 feet tall. A lot of people in the crowd were pretty young. I realize I’m still young enough to go to these things, but when you start constantly noticing the age of people around you, you know you’re getting older.

That’s my segue into the next weekend activity - Knott’s Halloween Haunt. After many years of almost going, Susan finally took me. When the first masked person approached me, I laughed. We rode the Mine ride, the Log Ride, the Xcelerator, and the Silver Bullet. The Xcelerator was this ride that went from 0 to 82mph in 2.3 seconds, then went up this huge incline, then came down a really steep drop, and then sped around a few times. I thought the big drop would be the problem, but I actually was most phased by the 0 to 82mph part.  Obviously, as you can tell from the look on my face, I didn’t handle it that well.

Now for a close up:

The Silver Bullet was a suspension roller coaster that spun and flipped a lot. What’s more embarrassing?  My expression, or the contrast between my expression and Susan’s?