Ocean

They lay it on thick here in southern California.

On Tuesday the Summers went kayaking at La Jolla Cove, where the water was so warm and so blue I could have melted into it. An intrepid Partner and his wife took us kayaking at sunset, when the sunlight leapt across the ocean. We paddled up to a pod of sea lions and witnessed other wildlife from afar. The water was still enough for rank beginners such as I not to feel afraid but to feel like we were experts. We paddled about the cove for about an hour and half, and when it was time to head back in, my partner and I rode a wave right back to shore. Rockin'.

Afterwards, we settled into a local restaurant where we racked up enough points on the Partner's credit card to fund his next round-trip flight home to the midwest. Better than the food, though, was the fellowship. We're nine weeks into our summer program, and we've grown together. We talked, we laughed, and we felt completely comfortable. Of course, Offers always are at the back of our minds, but each of us has come to know an exceptional group of people, and for that I am especially grateful. I expected to be friendly with my co-workers, but I never expected to be their friend.

Celebrities

My sister is pals with one of Capitol Hill's fifty most beautiful people. I once ran into the guy at Kramerbooks in DuPont, and he recognized me, so that makes me pals with him, too.

I love famous people.

http://thehill.com/cover-stories/the-50-most-beautiful-
people-on-capitol-hill---
40-more-contd-2007-07-25.html

Shout, shout, get it all out....

...these are readers I can't do without, come on! [FN1]

Ms. Jenski, who is in the lead for the Most Posted Comments Award.

Ms. J, whom I believe to be an alumna of a certain institution between the foothills and the bay.

Mr. Jersey, aka LRev, who introduced the Captain to me as "The Guy Who Used to Scare Me." Best of luck on the Bar, LRev. We don't call you LRev for nothing!


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FN1. Regular readers will recognize this as another reference to the Tears for Fears concert I am about to attend. I'm thinking about dressing up in period costume. Suggestions?

Harry Harry Harry

The New York Times has some nerve. Photos of children dressed up as wizards. Articles about books sales. PLOT SPOILERS. It's impossible to find out what's going on in the world without running into Harry.

But I don't want to run into Harry, at least not yet. My plucky little book is making its way all the way from England, and I want to treasure it when it gets here. San Diego is a far away place.

Doesn't The Times know that?

Run for Dessert

My horse came in last.

But he was my horse, that was clear. With a name like "Run for Dessert," even Summer Associates who've known me only a matter of weeks knew that that was colt for me.

Which makes me wonder, have I embraced too tightly my reputation as a homing beacon for dessert? No one wants to be The One Who Always Knows Where the Food Is. Thing is, I do always know where the food is.

My talent can be uncanny. When my family vacationed in Prague, a city in which I never had set foot, I directed my parents and sister, sans guidebook or recommendation, to a place that served the most delectable cakes and strudels. Granted, every tourist place in Prague serves cakes and strudels, but this place stood out. The coffee was especially good, and the ambience particularly charming. Even the bathroom was nice - the only 'A' bathroom we found, and we had used quite a few. Until Prague, I had thought my memory for dessert was limited only to cities in which I had lived. Wrong.

Of course, loving dessert has its upsides. The Captain got a second date even before we went on our first date because he told me our first date included ice cream-stuffed cupcakes. And see how well that's turned out.

Ridiculousness

I have three weeks left of work, and it's starting to feel like it.

One of the other summer associates, Good Neighbor (so named because he sits next to me), had this to say about the next several weeks:

[T]here are going to be breakfast treats on this floor on three out of the next six work days. I suspect we might also have birthday cake on one of those days. During the next eleven calendar days we have horse races, kayaking, two softball games, a beach party and "Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without, come on, I'm talking to you, come on!" [FN1]

And by the close of business, we added "Dinner at a beachfront condo."

It's good to be a Summer Associate.

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FN1. The lyric refers to the Tears for Fears concert the Summers are attending in two weeks.

More Pilates

Today I went to another Pilates class, but I'm still upright and ambulatory.

Frankly, I feel cheated.

Barely Political

It's the Great Debate for 2008: http://www.barelypolitical.com/.

There are so many reasons not to like this video, chief among them the objectification of women and the reduction of the presidential election to nothing but a beauty contest.

But, good grief, it's clever.

Surfer chick

This morning I went surfing. And it was fantastic.

I should clarify that by "surfing," I mean, "I walked out to the break, hopped on the board, and had my instructor push me back to shore."

But the feeling I got after managing to stay upright a few times in a row? Far out.

It's a small world after all

Today I started thinking that perhaps the world is too small.

Part of the appeal in coming to a place where I have no connections is simply that: I have no connections. But in the last week, I have discovered not one, but two, impossible connections that got me thinking that maybe even San Diego isn't far enough away.

The managing partner's daughter
My managing partner's daughter is a reporter at an online newspaper. The daughter's manager is a friend of mine from high school. This is spooky enough, given that the daughter grew up in San Diego and I grew up in the Junction. Spookier still, however, is that this online newspaper is based in New Delhi.

Buyer's counsel
My firm is seller's counsel in a somewhat complicated securities/real estate transaction. Today I discovered that buyer's counsel is my next-door neighbor from my first-year dorm. This is remarkable considering that I attended college in Rhode Island, and I now, might I remind you, LIVE IN SAN DIEGO. I consciously have tried something drastically new, but I keep on getting pulled right back.

So it makes we wonder if my world really is too small. Not in terms of geography, but in terms of networks. My parents gave me the best education they could afford, and I've worked hard to take advantage of those opportunities. But is running into, and dealing with, the same people over and over again really what education is all about? I thought I was supposed to be broadening my horizons.

Edited to add:
For a celebrity's opinion on roughly the same matters, see this thoughtful piece on social networks in this week's SundayBusiness. Apparently, Ben Stein and I are on the same wavelength. How about that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/yourmoney/
15every.html?ex=1342152000&en=aa8016d0980e2982&
ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Animals

It was a sad, sad day...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/06/AR2007070600679.html

...until Sis forwarded this along. (Hi, Sis. Thanks!)

http://dogsagainstromney.blogspot.com/

God bless the Internet.

(And I passed my mid-summer review. Yay!)

Relativity

I consider myself to be in pretty good shape. I work out seven days a week, and I run, swim, and lift. Yesterday I mixed it up a little bit by running some trails near my house. The trails were fairly easy, so I was especially pleased with myself.

But then I went to Pilates. [FN1] And now I know: I'm not in good shape. I'm especially inept when it comes to on-my-side exercises. The teacher had to hold me up for that portion of the class. She thought I just didn't understand her directions. Wrong. I WAS PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF FOLLOWING HER DIRECTIONS. The pain was excruciating. It was so much more difficult than the classes I've taken before. Apparently, they're soft in Manhattan.

Ow, ow, ow.

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FN1. This is for the Abstract Concept. He is a strong supporter of my Pilates.

And while I'm at it, I should note that Mr. Jersey called. Just to chat. It was so amazing. (Hi, Mr. Jersey! Yes, I do footnote my blog posts.)

Asian

This summer, I've gotten back in touch with my Asian side. My two roommates are Asian, and so, predictably, are many of their friends. Why "predictably," you say? Well, do you have eyes?

Neither my sister nor I ever has run with the Asian crowd. There was a while back in high school when I thought I ran with them, but boy did they let me know I was mistaken. So ever since then, I've been happy with my friends of many races, not content to confine myself to a mono-ethnicity clique. Sometimes I question myself, and wonder if I've done myself a disservice by not having more Asian friends.

So that's why this summer I've been happy to get acquainted with APALSA-San Diego. They are a fun-loving bunch, inviting me whenever they go out, and trying to coax stodgy old me into going with them to parties in Hollywood. (Bless their hearts.)

But best of all, they cook. Friends, APALSA can cook. I was treated to a tropical feast on Independence Day, a veritable smorgasbord of Guamanian, Filipino, and other Polynesian food. I ate, and ate, and then I ate some more, and the best part - I didn't even feel guilty about it. APALSA must be magic.

At one point in the evening, though, I did notice something awry. My roommate's half-Mexican, half-white boyfriend was there, the only non-Asian. I felt awkward for him, wondering if he felt awkward, too. My old habits came flooding back, "Oh why can't the Asians be friends with other races?" I thought. But then I had another thought - I am often the only Asian in the room, and only rarely do I feel awkward about it. Not because I'm incredibly self-confident or self-aware, but because I've learned to deal. I've toughed it out. And maybe I shouldn't be the only person to have to do so.

Disoriented

Having a four day week is nice, but having the middle day off is disorienting. Tomorrow is Friday, which is usually my favorite day of the work week, and not because it's the weekend. No, Friday is my favorite day because it's Breakfast Club Friday on the 24th floor, where my office just happens to be. Every Friday morning, someone from the 24th floor brings in breakfast for the entire floor, and boy, do they get competitive. People have brought in their own toasters just so the rest of us can enjoy the maximum flavor of breakfast. This is the kind of competition even a Communist could love.

Thing is, half the reason why Breakfast Club Friday is so great is because by the time we've hit Friday, we've earned it. We break bread together but we also break pressure. We hold at bay the demands of work as we gather for a little bit and share a kind of communion. We chat. We enjoy ourselves. When breakfast comes only the second day after a holiday, though, the meal loses a little bit of its luster. There's something to be said for deserving what you get.

No? Some of you are shaking your heads.

Midsummer Day's Dream

Happy Independence Day.

Today not only marks the day, 231 years ago, that a bunch of renegades took government into their own hands, but it also marks the mid-point of my adventure as a pretend attorney. It ought to be all downhill from here.

I have a hunch it's not, though.

Mid-summer review's next week and I can see it now: "Everyone really likes your work, KHC, but you can be a little slow with the memos and, for the love of God, remember to attach your attachments!"

It's also to time to start thinking seriously about whether San Diego is the place for me. And I'm just as surprised as you are. Had you told me six months ago I would be seriously considering a move to San Diego, I would have changed the subject. "East Coast" is written all over me. I subscribe to The New York Times. I carry an L.L. Bean tote bag. I wear pearl studs on my days off. I am a snob. None of these traits is particularly Southern California, and yet I'm enjoying it here. It has its downsides (no fall or winter wardrobe!), but it has so many upsides. Beautiful produce. Delicious fish. Pandas.

Of course, I could be getting ahead of myself. I need to get an offer before I can think about moving, and after Attachment-Gate, who knows about that. In which case, it's time to go look at the resume.

Pooky gets a pass

Californians like their dogs.

Yesterday I read a case in which two homeowners got to keep their dog, Pooky, in spite of the by-laws of their homeowners' association. The homeowners, who suffered from depression, said that Pooky helped with their symptoms, and therefore should be admitted as a medical service animal. The association didn't buy it, saying that Pooky was just a dog and wasn't trained as a service animal, and so he should go.

The court said, "Bah! Who needs training? The dog makes the people happy, let it in!"

Okay, so the court didn't say those words exactly, but it did say this, "[I]t was the innate qualities of a dog, in particular a dog's friendliness and ability to interact with humans, that made it therapeutic here." (citation omitted)

Your tax dollars hard at work, folks.

Bring it on

Whatever the work week brings, I am rested and I am ready. I am ready to work and to bill. I am ready to Contribute Something Interesting to the Discussion for the three-billionth time this summer. Yahoo.

I can't say enough about getting a good night's sleep, several nights in a row. It's better than ice cream. I should do it more often.

It all began Friday night, when San Diego Gas & Electric turned off my power. Even though I knew it was coming, there was something very final about "lights out" at 10pm. There was nothing to do but go to bed. It rocked. San Diego Gas & Electric should shut off my lights at 10pm every night. But only my lights, because I wouldn't want the food in the fridge to go bad.

Then on Saturday, I declined a social invitation. To an event I actually would have enjoyed. Whenever have I done that before? And this morning, I went back to crazy leftist South Park for breakfast at the Big Kitchen. God bless crazy leftists. They feed my soul.

I think my serenity was catching. On Saturday, I had lunch at a French bistro where the owner gave me an enormous oatmeal chocolate cookie for free. Later on, I stopped by See's Candies [FN1] where they gave me not one, but two, free samples.

Calories don't count when they're gifted to you.

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FN1. For the uninitiated, See's Candies is one of the most delicious reasons to live in California. Ask the Captain, he knows.