With Much Haste

“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.” - Fydor Dostoevsky

It has been a while since my last entry, a very common theme as of late. I just finished a three week long trial and I am beat. I feel physically and mentally drained, but it is such a great experience. The feeling of having a witness up there and having to ask the right questions to get the proper evidence is a good one. You always have to be on point and pay close attention. It reminds me that I like what I do. I haven't read much news, watched a lot of TV or kept up well with friends this past month. It feels like at times, why even keep a blog if I don't write in it anymore. I have notes that I have that I wanted to write about, but they are weeks old and I feel less motivated to jott them down at this moment. I'll skip most of them since I forget what is old and what is new. At least this entry will help me feel better about myself. I'm starting to get my head above water and as I go into a new week, I'm starting to see day light. I'm already planning my vacation.

Speaking of, I'm traveling to Washington, DC on October 30th for the Daily Show's Rally to Restore Sanity on the National Mall. I was sold when I heard, "We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it's appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles."

Hell, I might even check out March to Keep Fear Alive. I'm excited to visit with Mark, Ashley, Sam, Bob and Angie. I'm also hoping to see my other DC pals and Dan and Thea. It is going to be an awesome, yet reasonable time. It will be a short three day weekend, but I'm very much looking forward to it. It will be a good escape too. If you are going to be there let me know.

I don't know exactly how I fully feel about returning to DC for other admittedly irrational reasons. For the most part I'm extremely excited. Thank goodness for the distraction of the Rally though. Places have memories and feelings associated with them. It is hard sometimes when you see and experience things that bring rushes of memories pouring back that rationally don't make sense, but it is like your body is reacting. The good ones you miss, the bad ones you don't want to resurface. A cherry blossom means so much more than a cherry blossom, each metro stop has a story and even the supermarket aisles speak volumes. It is like hearing that old song that transports you to another time. Some songs makes you nostalgic and others make your stomach hurt. Time changes a lot of things though, and I've had a lot of that.

It makes me think of how much I would like to go back and visit Cornell. The thing is, unless I was going with friends, it wouldn't feel the same. All the same places, yet what really made the place was the people and friends. For me a trip there would be like visiting an alternate reality where none of us exist and people own iPads. That is why reunions are the best time to return I gather.

On Friday night, many many weeks ago now, Abram invited me to a BBQ at his friend's house. It was in San Marcos, and I haven't been that way in a while. I had a great time and got to meet some new and interesting people. The food was good and was cooked on a gas grill, something I have never seen. I know they are somewhat common, but I have always used a charcoal grill, so it was a neat novelty. We hung out outside and shared stories and some of us even traded barbs. We ended off the night with board games, which is always fun. There was one girl I met who I thought was really cool so maybe I'll get to see her again some time. I think life is cool that way.

At some point, I went to see a comedy show which I found to be very funny and another week I checked out a street magic festival. It was not as cool as it sounds. I guess I imagined some sort of cool David Blane type thing and instead it was glorified clowns doing tricks for kids. I've kept busy the best I can and somehow when I'm the most busy I'm the most motivated to try new things.

At another point, I learned about helping a friend get out of jail and learned that the whole bail bonds thing sucks. If only I practiced criminal law. There are still a lot of things I need to learn about being a lawyer. You tend to focus on what you do and I think it pays to be a generalist. This is a topic for another day.

Speaking of law, I just found out that two of my friends opened up their own law firms. I am very excited and proud of both of them. I have yet to have a chance to really talk to them about their decision, but man it takes courage and determination to just go out on your own and be your own boss. I'm not at a point where I could feel confident doing that, but if I ever did, I'd hope to do it the way they did. I can't wait hear about it and see how it goes. They are going to do amazing I'm sure.

Two weeks ago, I went to tailgate for the UT v. Wyoming game. Met up with my sister Ana. Rick hooked us up with some free tickets, which I'm super thankful for and we, being Abram, Norbert and I, had a great time at the game. I'm always amazed at the generosity of other people. This weekend I'm hoping to join them at the UT v. UCLA tailgate. They won the HEB tailgate award last week, so they are going to be on the Jumbotron. How awesome it that?

Well that is my summary, the part I'd like to put into writing of course, unless you want to know about my dentist and eye appointments next week.

visiting Austin