The Great 'Fiar' of 2005

Mustang makes the national news...could be worse, I guess.

And yes, I know who the coverage is by, but it was the only site I could find that had my town in the dateline (ty xopher).

Always Be Cobbling

"You see this gumdrop, this gumdrop cost more than the mushroom you call a house....that's who I am, and you're not."

If you missed it on SNL, check this out


And,
Why do I stick with the S-10 pickup?

15.244 gallons of gas = 414.5 miles.

Happy Holidays

Well, the time is upon us. Christmas hasn't been what it used to be, as most holidays haven't been. It's an odd time, seeing how I like getting gifts, but the holiday season isn't filled with the same excitement and anticipation as it used to be. For Christmas, if I were to get nothing, I wouldn't be very upset. The only thing that I minded about missing Thanksgiving was the opportunity to see my family and have good Turkey and fixins. The fact it was Thanksgiving didn't register as an upsetting factor. Had I seen the family, I would have enjoyed that more than getting the time off, but as it was, I was happy for the time off and upset about nothing. Am I jaded? Am I suppressing thoughts and feelings of past events? Is there a problem with enjoying Christmas and Thanksgiving as much as Labor and Memorial Day? It didn't used to be like that. I'm not quite sure when it happened either. Maybe my ex-wife sucked the fun out of everything with her shenanigans, as well as putting me behind on all my career goals, and the fact I've been playing catch up since I was 18 has taken its toll on me. (Granted, it wasn't all her, I did say I do, but this past year has been the first time I felt I was actually getting somewhere.) Maybe it was before then when Dad passed away. Maybe it was a combination of a bunch of things. But, making excuses isn't something I do.

I have a degree. I'm in school for more. I make more than the average salary. I have the ability to take care of myself, and my friends and family. I've got a family that cares. I've got friends that care. But I feel I'm just...blah...towards everything. Is 25 too young for a _____-life crisis?

Do I work too much?

Of course, I work all week. Then my weekends, unless I'm actually doing something, my thoughts are on my work. Not a neurotic, freaking out, "I've got to do this right now or else," type of thought, but it's always in the back of my head. It worries me to the extent that I've seen workaholic attorneys. They never seem to be gone from the office. I'll come in a tad early, and they're there, and have to stay late to finish something up, and they still beat me out the door. I look at them, and I know I do not want that life.

I suppose with the amount of work I'm doing (work and school), I look forward to just having the nights off. But, I catch myself doing a little legal research for the projects that the attorneys I work for have given me. Hey, I can always bill those hours, doesn't matter where I do them. But, now that I'm done with school for the semester, you would think I wouldn't be as tired as I am having 15 hour days. But I find myself even more than my work/school days.

I suppose it's not so bad that there's something I'm good at and enjoy. I mean, I get all the legal research assignments now -- apparently because of my capability of finding the most obscure case law, no matter the jurisdiction, that could possibly help or hurt the case we're dealing with. But, I go to bed sometimes thinking if its too much. That by the time I get out of law school, I will be burnt out on law. Will I have spent all that time and money doing something I thought I wanted to do only to do a course direction on the eve of beginning to walk down the path that I trudged through hell and back to even find? Am I going to be one of those people that has a post-grad degree specifically for something and ending up not doing it? Will I do it because of the time and expense and not enjoy it?

But, I love research. I could spent 10 hours in a library and hit the stacks. The way one case is cited for one little bitty fact reference, and finding that cited case and having it be the jackpot you've been looking for, there's no greater feeling. Having the working attorney be shocked at something I found and be either ecstatic I found it or hopeful that the other guys don't.

How do I take a step back when its what I do? I don't want to burn out on it. I think I'm too good at it to have wasted the past 5 years on it. I have my 'releases' from work, but, lately, it hasn't been enough to keep my mind off of work for an entire weekend.

Dang, that went all over the place. If its incoherent, I apologize. A long semester and year is winding down, and my mind could use the time off. Till next time...

My name is Richard Roma....

Right now I'm watching Glengarry Glen Ross. Great f'n movie. Acting, tight dialog. Pacino being Pacino. I really like good dialog and good acting. What's good acting? Isn't that up to each person? I don't know the method behind the art. But damn, good stuff gets me excited. Watch the first couple seasons of The West Wing and see good acting and dialog, in my opinion. Give me bad cinematography and good dialog, and I'll still leave happy. (I know Chris, sacrilege, I know.) Back to Glengarry, I'd love to get to Broadway and watch it performed as it was written (if it's still running), or any play for that matter. I'm a fan of plays. I'm a fan of musicals. Not the TV/movie variety, but the real thing. Til today, I haven't really ever thought about why.

Most everyone has that(those) teacher(s)that they remember the rest of their lives. I have three. First on my list is Ms. Lantz, my 7th grade reading teacher. I remember feeling 'too smart' for the class and actually making the remark, "I never learned anything in your class." That said, she was the one that made me want to be a teacher. Because I got things fairly quickly, I was encouraged by her to help others who may not have been getting it as quickly as I had. She didn't stifle me, she just encouraged me. Until my senior year, I was ready for college to be for getting ready to be a teacher. Oh, and she was hot. And being a 7th grader, take that for what you will.

The second was my senior English teacher, Ms. Lee. In the middle of the 1st semester of my senior year of high school, she pulled me outside and suggested that I head down to Ms. Lockhart's debate class and check out what they were doing. She thought there was something going on down there that I might be interested in. Also, they were needing some able minds and she felt that I could help them out. Now, I don't know if she approached anyone else, nor do I know if I was her first choice, but I know I was the only person in there that wasn't already in the debate class. Mock trial was just about to get started and I came in and did pretty well for someone with no other debate schooling. I had a ball in Mock trial and was apparently pretty good at it (Best Attorney each 'match'). I helped get the team into the state semis for the first time ever. It was that experience, and our attorney-coach's influence, that pointed me towards law. Unfortunately, Ms. Lee passed away much too soon and I never got the chance to thank her.

Getting off the subject real quick, I'm not a regretful person. I feel what's done is done and it cannot be changed. I will say I have made mistakes, and I have done my best to learn from them. But, regretting acts and decisions just isn't something that I do. That said, if I did regret anything, one of them would probably be not listening to my older brother. He told me when I was enrolling my freshman year of high school that I should take debate. I didn't. The day I realized he was right, he became smarter and wiser than I had given him credit for. (Not much mind you, but nonetheless, some).

Back the matter at hand, third on the list was Ms. Larios. She ran the middle school theater department. She had a passion for theater and performance arts. Of course, I didn't notice it at the time. But the woman had a love for it. And she had me doing monologues, performing in plays, pantomiming, etc. I didn't get Best Actor in 8th grade just for my good looks. :) Anyway, my entire point is that I think I can trace back my aforementioned fondness of theater and good acting/dialog to Ms. Larios' class. I remember some lines from the plays I was in, as well as the monologue I used to did for those fun academic competitions. I see my sister-in-law doing what she is doing, and I look upon it with mild jealousy. Theater is something that I didn't get the chance to do because I was dumb enough to get married as young as I did. Theater classes in college don't lend themselves to a night student who works full time. Maybe one day I'll see what I can manage.

During my trip to D.C. over Thanksgiving last year, I got to sit in on a rehearsal of a scene that Bridget was directing and my brother played a part in. It was as cool and interesting to me to watch as it was watching a big The Music Man production at the Civic Center Music Hall. The interaction among the actors who weren't speaking at the time. The blocking. I know that's not all there is to it, but I'm starting to ramble now. And I know it might be kinda nerdy and boring to those who don't care, but its very interesting to me, and I feel, my brother and sister-in-law.

It's interesting to think back and realize the influences my teachers have had on my current life. Not just the ones that I remember as vividly as the three mentioned above, but the ones whose little bits of wisdom and knowledge sticks with me to this day. Mr. Hale, Mr. Goodger, Mr. Walcher, Ms. Brabec, Ms. Langford, just to name a few. Makes me almost regret not being a teacher....almost. :)

My new toy

Well, I committed the cardinal sin of the Christmas season. I shopped for myself. I bought a new computer! It's a nice desktop upgrade. And for you Mac believers, I strongly weighed my options, but being an online gamer, a PC is really the only way to go at the present moment. Here are four pictures, the first being the before picture.



I've been marveling at the upgrade from less than 20 GB of hard drive space compared to the 120 that I have now, as well as the 2 GB of ram I have compared to the 512MB I used to have. Along with a 256 MB Video Card, up from 128. I can't wait to get this thing fired up to race. Oh yeah, dual core processor!

As for the old one, it has treated me well. Bought it with the ex-Mrs. before we were married and its ran very well, with the exception of all the spyware she put on it over the years. Nothing a reformat didn't fix. That said, I hear that my twin and his wife are having computer problems, so (as I've already told them) my Christmas present to them will be the old computer. Just have to find a way to get it to them in one piece. And never fear Mac loyalists, perhaps when I need that laptop for law school, I'll take a bite out of that Apple.

TV, Money and Work

TiVo/DVR is one of, if not the, greatest inventions known to man. I get to watch all the West Wing I can stand, and snag all the shows I like while I'm in class. The Office, My Name is Earl, Las Vegas, etc. Haven't missed a Jeopardy! since I got it. It runs during the day here so I've missed it ever since I started working days. Currently, I'm watching the recorded 1864 episode of The Civil War. Probably my favorite historical subject. PBS is rebroadcasting it. Which means it'll be soon time to break out the trilogy of books by Shelby Foote.

I got my rebate check from the state today. $45 whole dollars. A-woo, a-hoo. I'm hoping to get me a good bonus come this payday. I've been told that the firm gives an extra paycheck, so that will help get my Christmas shopping started. But, since I've only been there four months, and seeing how I just got a raise, I'm semi-skeptical about what my amount will be. We'll see. Of course, I'll be grateful for anything, as I know that many people don't get a bonus.

Ah, the new gig. I haven't really talked about it. Name of the firm is Pignato & Cooper. Although, with two new partners coming on January 1, that name might grow. The thing I like most about the firm is the youthfulness of it. There are two people there that are above 40. I'd say the average age of the firm is in its low to mid-thirties. There's no old men stuck in their ways, and everyone is always willing, if not eager, to go grab a beer at quittin' time. One attorney was a senior at OSU when I was a freshman there. It's a small firm, obviously. 6 attorneys, 7 staff. And room to grow. The pace is unlike any other firm I've been at. Its busy all day, everyday. When one attorney is lacking work for me, I can easily go to another assistant and grab some of their work, and vice versa. There hasn't been a day that just dragged on, yet. And its a good busy. You're almost always doing something, but it's not overwhelming; its not stupid and mundane. I work primarily for two attorneys (Cooper being one of them). He's the mild mannered type, but the other one is a guy that likes to get pissed off at the other attorneys. I've gotten the order to bury an opposing attorney in paperwork on more than one occasion, and it puts a smile on my face to do so. Maybe that's my nature as well.

I spent the first month of my job catching up my position from the lackadaisical person that preceded me. Filing. Organization. Now, when you walk by my desk and see it, it looks like the person working there is a) on vacation, or b) fired. But, my policy is that if its on my desk, its not in the file and its not doing the attorney (the moneymakers) any good. Okay, now I'm just rambling.

Now I'm going have Dixie stuck in my head for the next few days.

Wit and Wisdom

I'm currently working on the easiest 'paper' I've had the pleasure of doing in college. In my lap is a book of quotations entitled Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents. Funny enough, it stops at William Jefferson Clinton and doesn't have any of Bush II. Take that for what you will.

That said, the book has 70 pages worth of quotes from the men we've called President. The assignment is to read through all of them and pick one for each President that best fits my personal 'image, thoughts, perception' of that particular President. So, I thought I'd share.

George Washington - As the first of everything, in our situation, will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.

John Adams - In the first place, what is your definition of a republic? Mine is this: a government whose sovereignty is vested in more than one person.

Thomas Jefferson - Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty.

James Madison - The essence of government is power; and power, lodged in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

James Monroe - So seducing is the passion for extending our territory, that if compelled to take our own redress it is quite uncertain within what limit it will be confined.

John Quincy Adams - Always vote for a principle, though you vote alone, and you may cherish the sweet reflection that your vote is never lost.

Andrew Jackson - Each public officer who takes an oath to support the Constitution swears that he will support it as he understands, and not as it is understood by others.

Martin Van Buren - As for the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entry upon the office and of my surrender of it.

William Henry Harrison - [Brrrr, it's cold out here....just kidding] If political parties in a republic are necessary to secure a degree of vigilance to keep the public functionaries within the bounds of law and duty, at that point their usefulness ends.

John Tyler - The Constitution never designed that the executive should be a mere cipher. On the contrary, it denies to Congress the right to pass any law without his approval.

James Knox Polk - I prefer to supervise the whole operations of the government myself rather than entrust the public business to subordinates and this makes my duties very great.

Zachary Taylor - Rotation in office, provided good men are appointed, is sound republican doctrine.

Millard Fillmore - God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are not responsible, and we must endure it and give it such protection as is guaranteed by the Constitution, till we can get rid of it without destroying the last hope of free government in the world.

Franklin Pierce - If a man who has attained this high office cannot free himself from cliques and act independently, our Constitution is valueless.

James Buchanan - What is right and what is practicable are two different things.

Abraham Lincoln - With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in: to bind up the nation's wounds.

Andrew Johnson - Away with slavery, the breed of aristocrats. Up with the Stars and Stripes, symbol of free labor and free men.

Ulysses Simpson Grant - [on the surrender of General Robert E. Lee] I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and so valiantly.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes - It is now true that this is God's country, if equal rights - a fair start and an equal chance in the race of life - are everywhere secured to all.

James Abram Garfield - Assassination can be no more guarded against than death by lightning, and it is best not to worry about either.

Chester Alan Arthur - No higher or more assuring proof could exist of the strength and permanence of popular government than the fact that though the chosed of the people be struck down, his constitutional successor is peacefully installed without shock or strain expect the sorrow which mourns the bereavement.

Grover Cleveland - Men and times change -- but principles -- never.

Benjamin Harrison - The law, the will of the majority expressed in orderly, constitutional methods, is the only king to which we bow.

William McKinley - Our differences are politics. Our agreements are principles.

Theodore Roosevelt - A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.

William Howard Taft - We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.

Woodrow Wilson - We are citizens of the world; and the tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.

Warren Harding - Stabilize America first, prosper America first, think of America first and exalt America first.

Calvin Coolidge - The chief business of America is business.

Herbert Hoover - Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

Harry S. Truman - Three things ruin a man. Power, money and women. I never wanted power. I never had any money, and the only woman in my life is up at the house right now.

Dwight D. Eisenhower - A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.

John F. Kennedy - We stand today at the edge of a new frontier -- the frontier of the 1960s -- a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils -- a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.

Lyndon B. Johnson - If government is to serve any purpose it is to do for others what they are unable to do for themselves.

Richard Nixon - When the President does it, that means it is not illegal.

Gerald Ford - I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln

Jimmy Carter - My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice now when people wave at me, they use all their fingers.

Ronald Reagan - Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.

George H.W. Bush - My opponent won't rule out raising taxes. But I will. And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push again and I'll say to them, read my lips, no new taxes.

Bill Clinton - I do not believe we can repair the basic fabric of society until people who are willing to work have work. Work organizes life. It gives structure and discipline to life. It gives meaning and self-esteem to people who are parents. It gives a role model to children.

George W. Bush - Mission Accomplished.

If you got thru this, you'll notice that I like the ironic quotes, as I inserted on the current one. :)

Thanks for reading. And leave a comment so I know people are actually reading.

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