An Open Letter to Albert Pujols...

Dear Mr. Albert Pujols,

You sir, are a god.

You are the greatest hitter in baseball right now. And, your are making a good case of being one of the best ever.

You are also in the process of negotiating a contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals--my favorite team. And this negotiation is splitting my loyalties.

On the one hand, with the knowledge that you are the greatest, I think you should get a ton of money. Seriously, if we could get a scale and put 2000 lbs of hundred dollar bills on it, that would be yours, in my estimation. It's my impression this would far exceed the 3o million a year for 10 years that you are rumored to want, but I'm not sure. My point is, you have been a great player for a long time, playing under a contract that the most club-friendly person might call "modest". And you've seemed like a good person through it all. Team leader, unselfish player, you've been everything on the field. And off, it seems. In fact, you've set up a charity that helps people living with Down syndrome.

In short, I think the Cardinals should give you your money. And I think the Cardinals can afford to pay you. And if they can't, it's because they didn't plan ahead enough.

I know you probably didn't know this Mr. Pujols, but I'm currently in law school and as part of my training, I've been studying the negotiation process in one of my skills class. So, when I saw the report that the Cardinals believe you would not accept a trade in the middle of the season, part of me smiled. I saw this as a smart bargaining position. It says to the team, either you pay me now, or you have to try to pay me when the Yankees and Red Sox bring there wallets to the table--you won't get the consolation prize of prospects. It's a strong move. It's probably the right move for you, sir.

Here's my problem though. I rationally see your position and acknowledge your right to get paid. But. I also am a life-long Cardinal fan, and this is not something that is entirely rational. Should you not get the contract you deserve and leave, well, I don't know what I'll do. Over the last decade, I have grown to love watching you play baseball. I have really enjoyed it. And if you go somewhere else, I don't know how I'll react. That's not exactly true--if you go to the Cubs, I will have to seek professional help. And professional strength medication. But, barring that, I'm going to be torn. I can't see myself following you and becoming a fan of another team. It's unthinkable, really. So. I would still follow your career. I would still root for you to do well. I would cheer you if/when you came through Minneapolis. But, it would definitely be a parting for us. I could state it another way, I suppose, but this is what it boils down to.

I know you can't take this into your calculation. You have to make a business decision. You have to make a decision that's good for your family. And I wish you luck. And I really do hope you get the money you deserve.

I just also hope you can do it with the Cardinals.

All the best,

joe

Back at law school...

William Mitchell has a requirement that every student has to attend a certain number of presentations ("PLP"s)--given by faculty, attorneys from the community, or experts in some field--by the end of the first semester of the second year. The idea behind it is to expose us all to different areas of law and pique our interest in issues that aren't covered in our required classes. Some people have not been enthused by this "extra" requirement, but I have really liked it. In fact, I'm almost done with the requirement, but I probably will continue to going.

This past week, I went to a PLP given by a relatively young attorney on the requirements of filing a suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the Minnesota state counterpart. And while the topic was really interesting, but there were two things I really liked about this particular presentation. The first was the passion he had for his work. I could see it in the way he talked about the state of the law; his voice was focused, sometimes to the point of straining. I could see the anger when he was discussing how routinely disabled people in our society get the short end of the stick. It was so refreshing to see. In law school, I've met professors who are passionate about what they teach, or just about teaching in general. And that's great. But, their appreciation in many ways is very clinical. It's the appreciation or anger one has for the mechanics of a subject. It's the difference between looking at a Van Gogh and appreciating the brushstrokes, the choice of color pallate and the structure of the painting, as opposed to feeling the painting on some visceral level. Obviously, it's good to appreciate the mechanics, but sometimes you just have to feel it.

The second thing I liked about the presentation was something he said as he was starting. "I found law school," and he paused thinking of the best word, "deeply alienating. So, if that's where you're at, don't worry." I don't know that I am finding law school deeply alienating, but it is, as I've mentioned, a very lonely endeavor. Most days, it's just me and a number of books, with breaks for class and eating. And it's nice to hear from someone who didn't romantacize the experience. I think my experience is pretty different than most people I've bump into. I am older. I'm married. And, I'm more quiet than a lot of people. So, in a lot of ways, I feel pretty isolated.

Which isn't to say I'm not enjoying law school. I am. There are tough days, but this wasn't meant to be easy. And that challenge is really exciting.

******

So, yeah, I am back at law school. We started up on the 10th, and that first week was rough. I thought I was ready to return after the break. It turns out, I was ready to get back to class, but buckling down and getting the work done proved to be a little hard. Luckily, my drive returned this week big time. I worked late every night this week and did so with good focus. And it felt good. So, that's nice.

******

What hasn't been nice is that Mitchell has a really odd system of grade reporting. Basically the past 3 Wednesdays and Fridays they've posted what grades have come in on the internet. But only from 5.30 pm until 10 am the next morning. And my grades have trickled in. Of the four that will report this way (my writing class does it differently), I only have one grade. And I know that I'm trying not to focus on grades. And grades aren't the focus of my learning. And what's important is that I get where I want to go. Yeah, these things I am aware of. However. I would like to see how I did. I took these tests over a month ago, and I know that these are all classes of over 70 people, and the process of entering all of the grades into whatever system they have must be long and exhausting. And they have to get to the seniors first. But I'm really having trouble being patient about this.

It's just tortorous to check every Wednesday and Friday for three weeks and only see one grade. And to have no idea when the rest are coming. ugh.

The good news is next week they start posting them every night of the week. So, hopefully by this time next week, I'll have some idea whether I should be pushing myself harder or changing my study habits. Hopefully.

******

One reason I've had to work late this week is because I have been working on applications for a number clerkships for the summer, which are due on Tuesday. Good news on that is that I'm done. All of the positions are in the public sector--some really exciting places. I know a lot of poeple are going to be applying for these, and the odds that I even get an interveiw are long. But. It's worth a shot. And I think I'd do well at any of these places. So, we'll see.

Rodin, or I didn't just spend my time in San Francisco doing Maltese Falcon stuff...

I'm sure the last two posts have you worried that I spent much of my San Francisco time looking up places based on the actions of various fictional characters, but rest assured. I did make time to get out and some of the other things San Francisco has to offer (as well as work on some of my law school stuff for class next week).

Coming into San Francisco, I didn't really have too many plans about things I wanted to see. I wanted to visit the Hammett sights, but other than that, I just wanted to see what was around. So, Thursday afternoon, when I was planning Friday afternoon, I just googled, "San Francisco sights" and tried to get some ideas. And I was lucky to find there is a pretty substantial collection of sculptures by Rodin here. So, this afternoon, while Dinah was hard at work, I went to the Legion of Honor Museum to see a mess of sculptures by the master.

The grounds of the museum are surrounded by a golf course and a park, which means they are gorgeous and well kept. Also, they are strikingly quiet and expansive--especially in San Francisco, where space is at a premium and everything is built as close together as possible. It was a nice change of pace.

I have only included pictures of Rodin's two of the scuptures here. The Thinker is, of course, a very famous sculpture and the museum has it sitting in the front court yard with nothing else around it. It's very striking.

The other sculpture I thought would be nice to include was a piece called The Great Hand, and, while I am no art critic, I think it captures what I really like about Rodin--the passion and tension he captures in his sculpture.

The museum also has on its grounds a Holocaust Memorial, pictured below. It's a really striking sculpture and I think the picture pretty much says it all.

One last Maltese Falcon Post...

After yesterday, I knew I hadn't visited all of the places mentioned in The Maltese Falcon.* I did visit 891 Post St., which is another apartment Hammett had in San Francisco and the basis for the description of the Spade's apartment, but I didn't post the pictures I took because they were boring. But, there was still one other place I hadn't visited--John's Grill.
Part of the reason I had not visited was because when you google, "maltese falcon san francisco", it's one of the first things that pops up. And that didn't seem right to me, because John's Grill is in the book for maybe two lines and there's no real description of the place aside from the fact that Spade orders pork chops, mashed potatoes and tomato slices, and that he smokes while he's there. But. Dinah's conference was really near the grill, so today we met there for lunch. And I gotta say, it was pretty awesome.
The ambiance is really cool. Lit sparingly, but not dim, the dark wood gives you the feeling that this place is just as it was when Hammet visited it. I doubt Hammet would look kindly on the prices, but the place is kind of a tourist trap, so what can you do?
The only thing that convinced me I wanted to visit this place was the rumor that they had a replica of the falcon there on the second floor. I am not someone who craves seeing or having movie replicas, but this is my weak spot. Like the characters in the book, I crave a maltese falcon. I have dreams of getting my first post-law school check and buying a maltese falcon replica,** to put on my desk.
Anyway. As Dinah and I were sitting there waiting for lunch, I noticed that above the bar, they had sitting a small replica. I tried to take some pictures of that, but because of the lighting, I couldn't get one to turn out. Suffice it to say, it was smaller than I thought. And the display of it up there was not terribly impressive. It looked more like an afterthought than I would've thought for a place that prides itself on being in Hammett's masterpiece.
But I ventured upstairs after a bit and found the case I've pictured here. Let me tell you, it was truly impressive. I may have stared at it for twenty minutes, before heading back downstairs.

*Note 1. I know, you were all very disappointed in me.

**Note 2. And secretly, it's not that expensive.

San Fransisco and Dahiell Hammett...

Dinah has a conference in San Francisco, and I didn't have anything going on. So, after looking at the weather report and seeing that tempratures that were in the double-digits, jumped at the chance to join her. Law school starts next week--this week is for fun and relaxation.

We came in on Tuesday and visited Chinatown that night. Wednesday we took a ferry from the Embermarcado to Sausalito, seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz along the way. Then we went to Ghirdelli Square and the North Beach area. It's been a busy visit, but very good.

Thursday, however, Dinah's conference began and I was left to my own devices. It didn't take me long to figure out what I wanted to do. San Francisco, in my mind, is the city of The Maltese Falcon. And I wanted to see whatever I could that was a backdrop to the book and its author, Dashiell Hammett. And, lucky you, I'm gonna share some of the pictures I took.

The next pictures are from the building on 111 Sutter St., where Hammett put Detective Sam Spade's office in the book. It's a pretty nice building from what I could see. In the book, Spade's office is on the fifth floor. Checking the directory, I could see that Harvard University has some space up there now.

The following picture is of the Geary Theater, where Joel Cairo takes in a play. The building is still a functioning theater. I didn't get a chance to look inside the theater, as I would've liked, but the outside was very impressive. But I love old theaters.

The next three pictures are of the Monaco Hotel. When Hammett was writing The Maltese Falcon, it was called the Hotel Belvedere. It was here that Joel Cairo stayed during his trip to San Francisco. You can see from the pictures that I made my way inside. Obviously, the interior has changed since the time of the book, but I thought it was still the kind of sumptuous atmosphere that Cairo would likely be found in. I especially loved that wooden staircase. It was so beautiful.

The next two pictures are of the alley at Burritt and Bush, where Spade's partner was shot. Looking at the first picture does spoil the book and the movie, so turn away if you haven't read or watched. Also, if you haven't read or watched, you should. Both works are worthy of your attention.

When I first got to the area, I was sure I was in the wrong place. In the book, the area is described as being hilly (and everything in this San Francisco is hilly), and Archer's body went down the hill so far that Spade didn't want to go down and look at it. But, as you can tell, this area is not really all that hilly. But, there's the plaque, so I was in the right space. So my guess is either, it was hillier before the buildings were put up around it, or Hammett wasn't being that exact with his descriptions.

The following two pic are of the building on Dashiell Hammett way (see the first pic), where Hammett resided for some time to get away from his family so he could drink. After the holidays, I'm sure many of us can relate to that sentiment.

All in all, I was surprised at how close all of these places were to each other. In fact, it only took me a morning to look in on all of these places. And I walked the whole way.

Joe takes a picture...

The church across from William Mitchell, on my walk home tonight. I'm sure my camera phone doesn't do it justice, but it's a gorgeous church and the snow falling in the light was so serene.

Just thought I'd share.

First Semester in Review...

Well, I'm starting to get my assignments for next semester, which officially begins next Monday. But, I think it's important for me to look back and make sure I'm taking some things away from the semester that seems to have just ended. So, on to bullet points of things I learned...

• Law school is hard. I know, not exactly an earth-shaking proposition, and probably something I knew in the abstract before entering law school. But, I was not fully prepared for the way in which it is hard. It's, of course, academically challenging, but it's also challenging just to keep up. I'm lucky that I didn't get sick or have something else go wrong that would put me behind, because I cannot imagine having to play catch up.
• Law school is hard, part II. The amount of effort, angst, and worry that go into every assignment and every class is phenomenal. I am kind of a worrier anyway, but when you add to my normal penchant with a competitive environment, a ton of work, and a demand for a high level of precision? Well, you have a recipe for me being a very hard person to be around. I certainly don't like being around me when I'm wallowing in the doubt.
• The curve sucks, but I found the less I worried about it, the better I felt about how I did. Now, I don't have my grades back from first semester finals*, but I think I did well. I at least did the best I could. I know I didn't spend the night in the library, or read (and re-read) non-stop for days, in preparation for finals. I didn't edit my papers four or five times. I know that others did do these things in order to secure better grades than the rest of us, and it bothers me that I don't have the drive to do that. But I don't. Which brings me to:
• I'm not ever going to be a clerk for the Supreme Court or anything so elite. I don't have the raw intelligence, the fine skill, nor the drive required for that. I know going into law school, this was a goal of mine. But, fact is, I don't have what it takes. It sucks to say that, but honestly, this is not why I went to law school. I went to law school, because I want to help people. I've got some idea about how I want to do that, but I'm not sure about anything now. And that's fine. I may get good grades or I may get average grades, I don't know. But the important thing--the thing I hope I keep in mind if the grades don't come back the way I want--is that I'm on my way to doing something that helps the community and the people who live in it. And really, I want to spend time with my wife at the end of my days. I need balance between work and life--it's was one big reason why I didn't want to attend law school and become an attorney in Chicago.
• In law school going slow is better. It's always better to do something right the first time, but it's never been more true for me than when reading and preparing for class. If something has to take 4 hours to get before showing up to class, it's better to spend the time in the beginning than sitting there in class and feel like an idiot because you don't quite follow things. Or worse, get called on to explain something it turns out you don't understand. Luckily, there were only a couple of classes where I was lost and they were in the beginning of the semester. But that fear was good. It made me slow down and try to really understand everything.
• Fear is okay. Fear of failure. Fear of letting down the loved-ones who are sacrificing so much to put me through law school. Fear of looking like a jerk. These are all good motivators, but I found they all ate away at me after a while. There's only so long that fear can push me before I start to need more. Fear pushes me away from places I don't want to go, but the problem is that it doesn't necessarily push me somewhere I do want to go. So, next semester, I'm still going to be afraid, but I'm going to try to get myself moving somewhere I want to be.
• Law school is hard, part III. Law school is a professional school. Ultimately there are two goals: first, to learn to be an attorney (hopefully a good one), and second, to get a job (another thing I worry about). During all the classes, reading, and assignments, I'm supposed to be moving toward these goals. But measuring my progress is hard, unless I put a lot of faith in grades. And while I don't doubt that the grades are meaningful, I don't know if they are measuring my progress in regards to these two goals. The grades may influence my ability to reach these goals, I know, but that's not the same thing.
• It's hard to feel like you're on the road you want to be as a 1L. The whole year is planned out. No choice in classes or professors. The only choice you get is what extra-curriculars to join, and, for my part, I was afraid to over-commit myself, so I didn't join too many last semester. This semester, I think that's going to change. A little. I'm in two groups and do some volunteering on the weekends, but I think I can join another group and volunteer a little more without sacrificing too much of my time. That will be nice.
• Law school is lonely. This is what I'm dreading most about going back to school. It's not just time I have to spend away from my wife and friends (though that does suck), but it's also other things. Over the holidays, I spent time with my father (Thanksgiving) and with my mother (Christmas), and neither of them really know how to handle me going to law school. It's like they think I'm a different person because I'm learning about the law. I am sure it has to do with feelings of regret/inferiority they have, and that neither of them want to make me feel marooned from them. But, it kind of sucks. And it's hard to explain to them that I'm not a different person. Especially because:
• Law school makes you a (slightly) different person. Not really a completely different person, and I'm sure it's different for everyone, but it's there. The whole mantra of the 1L year (at least thus far) is that 'we're teaching you to think like a lawyer.' And when you're thinking like a lawyer, that means you're not thinking like you used to, at least in part. It hasn't changed my beliefs, or how I view the world, but I do find myself questioning things a little more. And (though you probably can't tell from this post), I find I have a little more confidence in dealing with people.
• I've spent a bunch of time during break trying to get things together so I can get a legal job this summer. Wish me luck.
• I can do this. I know this post can be read as a downer, but I am starting to look forward to the next semester. Now that I know I can get through a semester and I have some ideas about how to do it better**, I feel like everything is going to be okay. I do know that more is probably going to be expected of me this semester, but that's okay. I can do more. I will do more.

*Note 1. UGH. I don't want to think about it, but it's all I think about at night.

**Note 2. Outlining from the beginning of the semester. I'm telling you, this is going to decrease the end of the semester insanity by a good 20%.