Fuck Armaggedon...This is Hell

The other thing I want to talk about today is my increasingly frustrating job search.  Frustrating because it's going no where.  The worst part about all of this is the silence I've been getting.  I think it's only a fair bit of courtesy that if I take the time and effort to apply to your firm, you at a minimum, send out a no thanks post card.  That's all I really ask.  If that's too expensive, how about a form rejection email.  

I've also decided to change strategies a bit here.  While before things have been going out into the ether and that was the end of it on my part, I've decided to become a bit more active in the process.  By that I mean, take the risk of being annoying.  Couldn't hurt to make some calls and shake some trees if I'm not getting jobs anyway.  I feel like the whole process is somewhat degrading.    Anyway, enough whining.

Hmm, I wish I could get in with some sharks like these.

I Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans

I have to admit, I was terrified when the letter came. I had no idea what I had done to offend the Supreme Court of Louisiana, but I was sure I had. My grandpa and my parents were so excited by it that they wanted to open it without me. As it turns out, they were inviting me down to New Orleans to give me an award for volunteering down there after Katrina.

After a bit of trying to decide whether to actually go, my sister and I made the 14 hour drive down on the Friday before the ceremony. That meant it was going to be a crazy weekend rush. Drive down on Friday, come back Monday night. It didn't hit me how happy I was to be in NOLA till we were driving down Magazine St. It almost felt like going home. We got to eat lunch at Parasols, which my sister declared was the "dirtiest place she had ever eaten" and "the best sandwich ever" (shrimp po'boy, dressed). It was good to see that inspite of the crime and the total Assclown in charge, that New Orleans is making notable progress. However, it was a bit disheartening to see the St. Charles streetcar running only because the producers of K-Ville got the city to run it in front of where they were filming.

That night we waited in line for almost 2 hours to eat at Port of Call. It was almost worth the drive just for that meal. Afte that it was a fun night out in the French Quarter. The next day was a tad on the rough side, but we had Nacho Mama's for lunch before a walk around the Quarter in the day light. We capped the night off with some ice cream at the Creole Cremery.



Monday morning we went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee which, in a stunning New Orleans moment we got to enjoy on the Moonwalk with the Mississippi River on one side and a guy playing the sax on the other side of us. It was a beautiful fall morning. After that we wandered over the the St. Louis Cathedral. It was blocked off by a bunch of Secret Service looking types and LA State Police. As it turns out, it was the "Red Mass" or blessing of the judges. Right as we walked up the bells starting going off and a flood of clergy poured out followed by a mass of judges. After that we wandered around the French Market buying nicknacks for the people back home funding the junket. I managed to pick up a pretty cool little "Abogado" devil. The guy didn't seem to find as much humor in me buying an anti-lawyer charm as did.



The awards ceremony itself was nice. There were at least 100 names of volunteers printed in the program and around 20 of them showed up. I was expecting to get a handshake and maybe a certificate. I was a little shocked when I got a plaque and my picture taken with the Chief Justice of the LA Supreme Court. Afterwards, there was a reception coinciding with the LA judges reception. I stayed long enough to get thanked by a number of judges and attorneys.

It was quite an honor to get welcomed and awarded like that. I got involved with New Orleans becuase I was fortunate enough to make some great friends. I volunteered because I fell in love with the city the first moment I visited it. I only wish I could have seen it before Katrina. However, the New Orleans I know and love is still a wonderful and chaotic place. It's going to take more than just me volunteering down there to help preserve what is good about the city while repairing what is broken and wrong with it.

Last Warm Day

I think yesterday will go down as the last warm day of the year. I'm glad I got outside for it. It was warm, sunny and slightly too windy. The only upsetting thing about the day was that, after a couple of months of not exercising regularly and eating too much, I've gotten back up over 200 pounds. I mention this mostly to help embarass myself back into motion.

I'm glad that today is a pretty crappy day. Perfect rest day, but I think I'll try and get the motivation to do some lifting at some point. I've at least managed to do some work on the job search as well. I found one firm to apply to that looked interesting. I also found a firm that I would avoid at all costs. Not because any of them are bad attorney's, but becuase I know one of the partners could bore someone to death. At least this is marginally easier now that I can apply for a job knowing that in less than a month I'll actually be a licensed attorney.

First Attempt

Yesterday marks a fairly significant moment in my life; my first real job application. I've had precisely two jobs before law school, KFC and working for my dad. I wouldn't say I really had to apply for either. I did have an interview at KFC, but my guess is that really doesn't count for much.

I should also mention that the Librarian is responsible for a lot of the heavy lifting on this. She found the firm to apply to, redid my my resume and edited my cover letter to make it actually something useful. I'm hopeful on this one, but, honestly, not too optimistic. But it was worth it to go through the panicked feeling of actually submitting the application. I'm hoping that part gets a little easier.

On that particular front, I decided to sign up for Law Crossing. Man, is that expensive. Pinky said good things about it, so I'm going to try it out for a couple months. If it doesn't work, that's an expense that's getting cut fast. Speaking of expenses, I really need to get any sort of job I can get my hands on. Dr. H had the suggestion of getting some crap job to make some money and then volunteer at a legal clinic to get practice. I think that's a pretty good idea and might look into that.