Goals Revisited

What I wrote almost three months ago:

I guess my first year can be summed up as bittersweet. It will be interesting what will be in store for me next year - assuming my grades get me through this first year. I really don't know what I want to do. I do have a few easily attainable goals for this summer though. 1) I want to get back in shape. 2) I want to reconnect with a few friends - the group of friends who I have known since elementary school. 3) This may be the most ambitious of my summer goals, but after a brief discussion with a study buddy of mine, I'd like to push my comfort zone out a bit more; step out of my bubble every once in a while; try not to seek comfort but to continually do...something. I'm not sure how successful I will be with this third goal, I've thought about similar things in the past but I never really pushed myself to step out of my bubble. At the very least, attempting to reach these goals will give me something to write about.

Current status:

1) I am nearly back in shape. I'm probably 2/3rds of the way there. I can at least see some definition take place and I can work out five days straight without feeling sore.

2) Reconnect with friends? Done*. The Nintendo Wii is a great get-together machine. Must buy some more party games.

3) Expand my comfort zone? In progress. Will get back on the progress in a few weeks.


*By done I mean I reconnected with the childhood friends that are still in the area. A lot of my childhood friends are now either studying or working up north. Know what this means? ROADTRIP!

Posting for postings sake? Alternate title: What the hell am I doing with my summer?

My headline says it all. Work is good. I now subconsciously add two spaces after every period because of how much work I've done as a legal intern at wherever I work at. Somehow I've managed to pump out a work product in a decent amount of time, but I try and "stretch" the amount of time I spend working just so that I don't get dumped with even more work. I try to limit what I do to one or two assignments per week - mind you I only work three days a week.

So the work life is good. But the social life sucks. It sucks so much that I don't even have a Korean drama to watch right now. Everyone is either busy, lives too far away, or is too much of an acquaintance for me to bother asking if they want to do something on X day or X weekend. The one silver lining in my social life is that I'm finally getting into shape. A combination of Wii Sports and working out at the gym 2-3 days a week has pumped me full of endorphins. Remember all the goals that I had set for myself a few months back? Yea, looks like I should ramp up my efforts or else goals 2 and 3 will not even be attempted this summer.

On the Job

This week marks the end of four weeks on the job. In those four weeks, I've managed to complete five, presentable work products for any future employer. However, I feel as if I could have done more. This past week, I spent all of Wednesday doing absolutely nothing! Woke up at 6 am, got to work at 8 am, and twiddled my thumbs until 5 pm that day. You can say I was a bit annoyed at the whole situation. But more than that, I was bored.

Now, some might say 'find some work'. Well, that's difficult because I did ask if anyone had work for me that day. However most of the attorneys either did not have work or their work required me to spend more than half a day on it.

Aside from my nine hours of boredom that day, my experience here has been good. I've learned to be more precise in both my writing and research. In fact, I've also learned that for many young attorneys (or wannabe attorneys), half the battle is gaining experience and confidence in doing your research.

In my 1L year, the professor would give us all the statutes and/or cases we would need to construct a memo. Now though, I'm doing all the research on my own so I don't feel as confident as I can be when it comes to research. I consistently feel as if I am missing something...some statute or case or I did not spend enough time deciphering any hidden meanings behind a statute or case. However, I can take solace in what one of the attorneys told me. Once a young attorney becomes confidant in his or her research abilities, writing a memo becomes much easier.

It's Tough Doing Nothing

It's tough doing nothing. Really tough. I stay up late and sleep in till the sun is high in the sky. It's tough figuring out what to do everyday. Really tough. So far, I've managed to assemble a list of Dim Sum restaurants I want to go to over the summer. Lets just hope my heart can withstand all the greasy sui mais I'm going to eat. I've also been working out again, but I'm still no where near where I was last year.

But what has really helped preoccupy my time has been watching Korean Dramas again. I am currently watching Full House. No, not the Full House with the Olsen twins, but a different Full House. Here's a music video link to Full House. Watching Korean Dramas all over again has given me time to reflect on the dramas that I have watched - and believe me, I've watched plenty.

My very first Korean Drama was a show called All About Eve. This drama had high production values, a story, characters with depth, and the evil girl was hot! What was annoying though was that my mother and a few of my aunts thought I looked like the lead actor, Jang Dong Gun. Yea right. Only if I were about...15 years older and 50 pounds heavier, then MAYBE. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of similarity, I would rate myself a -1.

A few other good dramas that I've watched (in no particular order) have been Winter Sonata, Beautiful Days, Hotelier, All In, Stairway to Heaven, and Dae Jang Geum (or Jewel in the Palace in English). In fact, DJG was perhaps one of the most elaborate and well-written dramas I have ever seen. For the most part, DJG actually broke away from the typical formula you find in most other Korean (or Asian for that matter) Dramas - that of a regular girl being pursued by two men (one usually poor while the other is rich). I would go so far to say that if you have some interest in Korean Dramas, you must have DJG on your list; all of Asia loved this epic, 54 episode drama!

Luckily, by next week, I'll be at work and that will help preoccupy my time. I should iron my shirt, shine my shoes...

Getting Reacquainted with TV

First off, YES! Apolo and Julianne won on Dancing with the Stars. Ok, I admit it, I watched the show when I had time. Apolo probably did the most difficult techniques of all the celebrities and he was very light on his feet. It also doesn't hurt when you have great chemistry with your (amazingly hot) dance partner. My favorite dance of theirs was the second Cha Cha and their first Rumba. Their Samba was pretty cool too.

Speaking of pretty cool things, I must be evil because I cannot stop laughing when I see the breakdancing baby. I'm pretty sure there are a few mash-up/remix videos on ytmnd.com.

And yes, I am back in the City of Millions (formerly known as the Big City in my last post - but that is reserved for New York City and I for sure am not in New York City). I'll only be here for one day though to grab my suits, shoes, and whatever else I need to bring back home. I'll be starting work next week and frankly, I could use an extra week of vacation, just to get further reacquainted with TV.

Real World Experience Here I Come

Ok, to wrap things up from my last post, I still need to get the heck out of this house. Other than the constant chastising, over-parenting, arguing, and ulcer inducing moments that is currently a part of my life, things are...peachy. I can't wait until the rest of the family goes off on a vacation and a friend of mine gets his new house. Knowing him, I am sure he's going to throw an all-nighter!

However, today has been a little different than the usual mundane day of mine. I actually paid a visit to where I will be working for the summer. So I wake up, get dressed in a suit that is too old (note to self: go back to the big city and grab your suits) and a borrowed, oversized, overused, pair of dress shoes (note to self: when back in the big city, grab your shoes too) and headed on over to my summer employment. While driving there, for the first time I noticed how freaking rich this area is. Now I've driven past this area many times before, but this has been the very first time where I've noticed how stinkin well off this entire area is. Could this perhaps be a change for the better? Is yours truly caring more about the world around him? Maybe. But knowing me, don't place your bets yet. I'm very lackadaisical if not pushed.

So I arrive at where I will be working for the summer, and the secretary who I spoke with on the phone for all my interviews is not there. Bummer Number 1. Apparently she's out for a medical reason. I was hoping to meet her and thank her. She was a very nice person while arranging for all my interviews, giving me little bits of advice and such. Very nice lady. So I am escorted to a waiting area and while there, I realize Bummer Number 2 just hit. Specifically, breakfast did not sit well in my stomach. Yea, you can imagine the rest. Just then, the person who hired me came in and proceeded to give me the 10 minute tour of the office. So here I am, trying to stay cool while my stomach was turning inside out AND trying to remember everyone's name. Thank goodness the office has a website with most of their information on it. Apparently, I will be working with someone from the same law school I am at. I can't remember his name because 1) I am bad with names and 2) it was a strange sounding ethnic name. However, I do know he goes to the same school I do and I do know it's a "he".

I look forward to working and meeting the other extern next week. It's a small, cozy office and I will be rotating between attorneys. The person who hired me seems to be really laid back. In fact, the entire office seems to be very laid back. Maybe it has something to do with the city I am working in. Oh, and the biggest perk is that they have a Westlaw account! Yes! Whatever the case is, I hope to like what I am doing and learn a few things from the people I work with. I also hope my breakfast will sit well with me next week. Ugh.

What Was I Thinking?

I would rather spend my time in a city of millions without a soul to share my week of freedom with than spend it with my familiy where I oftentimes feel suffocated, constrained and made to feel worthless. Worthless may be too strong a word but it's all I got right now.

I need to find a good reason to get out of here.