Shame

This article is a telling indicator of our complete inability to deal well with Iraq. In it, the author asks many people in key positions of government the simple question: "Do you know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites?

This was something I learned in my Introduction to Religion class freshman year at Hillsdale College. Have the officials of our government become so arrogant, and frankly, lazy, that even learning the basic rudimentary beliefs of the people we are currently occupying is beyond them?

This is terrifying to me; such ignorance in the hands of those in such power shows very poorly for our nation, our educational system, and our culture. Such basic lack of curiosity - of that essential modicum of interest in a subject necessary to have in order to even adequately deal with a problem - is a glaring problem. The author only interviews a few people, yet somehow I have the uneasy suspicion that if you asked the same question of key people in the upper echelons of the executive branch, one would find the same ignorance.

Choices

I know that I haven't posted in quite a while - I'm trying to figure out what to do with this site. My choices are either go to a new address and continue a blog that's essentially an outlet for whatever comes to my mind, or, I can stay at this address, cast greater anonymity to the wind, and make a more substantive (and more involved) piece of work. Considering that I'm becoming more and more interested in politics as of late, perhaps the latter is more appealing.

Does anyone out there have an opinion on this?

Jobs Just Doesn't Care Anymore

Bjorn, this is MY current favorite video.

Gnarls Barkley: Smiley Faces

Update, and a Move

Well, my life hasn't been too busy at all lately, although I'm happy to say I'm back on a workout regimen, and I'm losing my law school gut quite quickly. I'm still just trying to figure everything out with my life.

Otherwise, all the articles I keep reading about the government and employers checking up on blogs and personal sites has made me pretty paranoid. So, I think I'll be moving this blog any day now and making an anonymous one, so be sure to save the link when I do so.

Inspiration

Alright, alright, I'll accept your flattery, Bjorn and Diana, and keep posting. Honestly though, thank you for the kind encouragement.

I'm making some big life-changes while I figure out a way to do something that I actually enjoy in life, and I've had some good sources to help me figure that out, no matter how cheesy it may seem.

First, I've watched this commencement speech by Steve Jobs many times over the last month.



It is highly inspiring, and Jobs, as a very successful and admirable man, is worth listening to (plus, I'm a Machead, so what Jobs says, goes).

Here are my favorite quotes from the speech:

Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future. You have to trust in something: your gut, Destiny, Karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect somewhere down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is gonna fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking, don't settle.

"Stay hungry, stay foolish."

Another site that's helped me a lot is one that I linked to a whileback, Barely Legal: The Blog. They've been recently running a hilarious/serious series called "Bad Reasons for Attending Law School", and sadly, I qualify for almost all of them. To all you who are thinking of law school, read these links, and please take them to heart.

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #1: “I don’t plan on ever practicing law, but having a JD looks good, right?”

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #2: “I have a worthless undergraduate degree”

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #3: "I want to work in a genteel profession"

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #4: "Law School is Prestigious"

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #5: "I got a good score on the LSAT"

Bad Reason for Attending Law School #6: “My parents pressured me into it”

Bad Reason For Attending Law School #7: “I want to make a difference in this world”

Numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 (especially 6), and 7 were all essentially the reasons I went to law school. You may as well put those together and you'd have my personal statement for going to law school. Now I think it's time to make my own way, and take some roads a little less travelled.

Also, apparently I've had Mono for the latter half of this semester, which explains my recent total lack of energy or motivation. I assumed I was just depressed. At least it's good to know that I wasn't just being a slacker (although that's what I am right now while writing this entry).

Update

Flickr Update: The BBQ/Chris's Birthday Party

Final

I'm coming to the general conclusion that my blog is pretty boring, and honestly kinda pointless anymore. I don't really have much interesting to post about anymore, and honestly, blogging in general is becoming a bit old. Reading friends' blogs and knowing what's going on in their lives is nice and all, yet in some ways it seems so impersonal. What happened to phone calls and personal e-mails? Not only that, but the only blogs that I really read are funny blogs. And this blog just isn't funny. I can tell the occassional one-liner or whatever, but I wasn't granted the ability to tell a really funny story. Lately this blog has only really been a forum for complaining about my life, and in fact, it began that way about a year ago, while I tried to recover from all the difficult things happening in my life at the time. It's not really fun to post anymore, so after this post, I think that will be it for me for quite a while, and I may even soon kill the blog entirely if I so decide.

However, here are a few of the things I've learned in the last year:

- Being single can be very, very good for you.
- Being in a healthy relationship can be very good for you, and help you through some incredibly difficult times.
- Don't ever, ever choose a career (or for that matter, what type of graduate school to go to) because your parents recommend it, and your dad did it, and you don't know what else to do with your life. Be very sure of what you're doing before you do it. Be sure it will be a good investment of your time and possibly money, and if possible, find something that you will love doing, or at least find interesting.
- I am not my father, nor will I ever be.
- Be careful with your heart, and don't let others use it, yet love completely when you choose to.
- Ironically, non-Christians can often behave more Christian that Christians.
- No matter what the vaunted career services department at Hillsdale College may claim, a Hillsdale degree isn't the "preparation for all that you may choose to pursue" that it claims to be. Granted, I received a wonderful education, I'll admit that. Yet, in some ways a Hillsdale degree leaves one unprepared in many ways for dealing with the stresses and work-demands of the real world (or at least, law school), while also making it difficult to enter other possible career alternatives. Hillsdale College, compared to law school, seems now like a nice, pleasant, enjoyable stroll through the woods coupled with intellectual, high-brow conversation with friends. It is very much a place unto its own, yet in some ways its very limiting.
- Don't go to law school.

Update

I realize I haven't posted in a while...I suppose I don't have much to talk about. I could do the normal old complaining about school, but that doesn't really accomplish much (nor is it very interestting). I have come to a conclusion though - I now know that I will most likely not be an attorney. Perhaps I'll still finish my JD, although lately I've been considering cutting my losses and doing something else. Of course, perhaps if I can find some summer legal work I'll get a chance to change my mind. I know that I would love being a professor of a subject that I enjoy, yet I also know that having a JD would probably help me in getting into a decent doctoral program somewhere, and would be a good thing to fall back on if I ever needed it. Decisions, decisions. Now though, I just need to focus on finishing up the semester.

Ha, I see that Mark has linked to my blog on his website. He's right, this blog isn't very exciting, is it? Yea, must be because I'm in law school...I swear though, I used to be an interesting person! I must thank Mark though, for making some hella good turkey burgers on Saturday night. Anni and I attended a dinner party at Simone's apartment with all our Germans/French buddies who live here in Owen. It was the first time I'd been out in a long, long time, and I really needed it. It was a good evening...lots of food, and I brought lots of beer. I was also excited because, in going to buy beer at Goodrich (the first time I'd been there), I was ecstatic to see that they had Frankenwein (Wine from the Franken region of Bavaria, where I spent a month of German summer school). I happily bought a bottle of Silvaner, which I hope to enjoy at some point soon. I sincerely miss German wine, and always buy some if I see a decent dry variety.

Otherwise, I'm just trying to survive, and trying to remain human, as opposed to the best efforts that school may throw my way.

Hilarious

My buddy Thomas over at Notre Dame law sent me an e-mail informing me of Barely Legal: The Blog, a blog by a guy who hates law school as much as I do. Very funny.

Yea, I'm a nerd...

The new Zelda game for the DS...I may have to buy me a DS now.

Debweted!

I just deleted my Hillsdale College Facebook account. It was actually extremely liberating.

My St. Patrick's Day

So yea, St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Of course, this year I happen to have gotten a fantastically strong case of the flu right on St. Paddy's day. Great. I can't even get out of bed.

Naples Pics

The Spring Break pics are here.

Back from Naples

I'm back up north from a week in Naples, FL with Anni and mom. It was immensely relaxing - the food was great, the weather was perfect, and the pool was warm. The highlight of the trip would have to be the drive down to Everglades City on our last day. We started by eating at the Rod & Gun Club, a nice little restaurant that used to be visited by presidents like Eisenhower and Roosevelt. Thankfully, it survived Wilma, and I enjoyed a seafood platter for an early lunch. Then we took a boat tour of the everglades, where we saw wildlife like dolphins, ospreys, and other birds. Then a trip up to a little road stop where there was a boardwalk built over a river. The place was teeming with alligators. On the way back on Tamiami Trail, we came on a place called Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe. It was a classic old Florida place run by one guy, filled with individuality and charm, and was a great contrast from the over-developed and overly "hip" restaurants of Naples. You grabbed your own beer from the fridge, and then told him what you wanted. The tables on the porch had Corona bottle salt and pepper shakers, and paper-towl rolls with which to grab your napkins. We first ordered the last stone crab that he had, and it was delicious. He prepared it really quite well. Then another round of beers, and a serving of gator. It was a great meal on a porch, and we then drove home. On getting home, Anni and I took a canoe trip on the lake while the sun set, she enjoying her Bitburger while I paddled against the wind. Then a nice quiet evening of snacks and watching college basketball with the GF. A perfect last day. I'll be posting pictures in a few days.

Nintentatts

Awww, Krupa's blog is gone now....c'est domage.

And via Ars Technica, Nintendo Controller Slot Tattoos. Bad ass.

Intruiging

Bush and Blair have brilliantly done Bin Laden's work for him.

An intriguing article. My mom would love it, but Victor D. would hate it.

Good News

Good news: my new law school philosophy and the sun and warmth today are wonderful things. I'm actually decently happy for the first time in a while. I've got a crapload to do, but whatever, that's life. Also, as of today, I begin working out again. Soon, spring break!

My Law School Manifesto

My law school philosophy and what it involves: It involves abandoning the idea that my self-worth is dependent on how well I do in law school. It involves believing in myself, and being assured that no matter what, no matter what my grades, I will find a job and have a decent career in something, and that a JD will help that. It involves understanding that a negative outlook on law school only hinders me and my ability to work. If I dread classes and work, then I will never start to understand. It involves accepting the positives of law school: the prestige it offers, the self discipline it teaches, the toughness it imbues, and the knowledge (however arcane) it gives. It involves developing a tough enough skin and a strong enough psyche to accept that less than perfect grades in law school are good, and that even getting into law school is an accomplishment in itself. It involves reassuring myself that there is more to myself than just my academic ability, and that true growth doesn't really happen when something is easy.

Bach

Recently, all I've been listening to while studying, or anything else for that matter, are the organ works of Bach. I don't know what's up with me. Maybe it's just the way Bach so perfectly puts the fear of God in me through his music, a feeling which is eerily appropriate while reading cases. I dunno. Maybe it's just also calming to me, in a way, without putting me to sleep, making it good for studying too.

Barrister's Ball

The Barrister's Ball (aka Law School Prom) was a blast last night. I definitely got my groove on. Here's the link to the pics.

Flickr Update

Hey everybody, I've finally posted some Hamburg pictures onto Flickr. I didn't take too many, but they give an idea of a few of the things I saw.

My Hamburg Pics

Taking a Break

Considering the lack of grades this past semester which I consider good enough, I think I need to cut back on all internet activities, including blogging. Therefore I'll be taking a break from this blog for quite a while, except to post when I've updated my flickr account.

I'm Back

Yesterday, after one easy flight, another extremely long flight, and finally one nearly-missed flight, I've come home from my visit to Hamburg to see Anni and meet her family. I was there for 10 days, and it was really, really enjoyable. Being with Annika in an environment free from the demands of school was wonderful, and her family is really quite nice. Her parents were extremely generous and kind, and I enjoyed meeting Anni's friends in Hamburg.

This was the first time I had been to the north of Germany, and it was really pretty interesting being there - quite a lot different from the northern part of Bavaria I had grown accustomed to while living in Wuerzburg the summer before last. The biggest (and most obvious) difference is that Hamburg is a sea town. I'll put up some pictures from the city in a bit, when I get around to it.

Also, Germans really know how to celebrate New Year's Day. It mostly involves drinking and partying with friends on Silvester (New Year's Eve), drinking a warm, spicy drink that is prepared by pouring flaming rum over a sugar cone into the concoction, and setting off fireworks. Then, on New Year's Day, we ate a late lunch, watched some concerts on television, ate some Berliners (the jelly doughnuts, not the people), had a wonderful dinner, and then lit the candles on the Christmas tree.

So yea, it was a fun, relaxing, and pleasant time. I feel ready to get back to the grindstone. Till next time.