The End of The Summer, 3L Year Arrives

Well it's time to get back into old habits, especially sportswriting and blogging. I tracked down my old blog right before it got deleted and pulled many of the posts over here from 1L year and last year of undergrad. Some tough days back then, but some good days. But that's in the past and mostly for me, so let's move back to the present and catch-up from a much too short summer break.

My last entry listed my schedule for the year, and it's so hard to believe I'll be in class again Monday. Kind of sucks because I'm ready to be done with school, but this will likely be the last year of school ever for me so I should enjoy it to some extent. Went to go buy books yesterday and I'm pissed at the bookstores. Not only do they never stock many used books (although I went too late to get them this semester), they have trouble getting law books in before classes start for some classes. So I've got 5 of my 8 required books so far, but hopefully the others will come in next week. Doesn't seem like too much to ask, but OSU is not geared for us law students. I actually had to ask permission to go into the textbook section of Long's (one of two bookstores that carry law books) because they had it roped off "in preparation for the upcoming quarter." Undergrads don't start for another 4 weeks...so thanks for being so accomodating Long's. Speaking of slightly inconvenient changes, the construction following me around campus continues...the last part of the shell that was the Ohio Union came down 2 weeks ago. First the mechanical engineering building, then the main library and Oval, now the Union. At least the major points of campus will be nice to come back to :-)

I'll highlight some of the good and bad points from the past few weeks, but looking at the summer overall, it was a success. Went to two more Reds games, a third bobblehead night where we actually beat the Brewers and climbed out of the NL Central cellar, and of course the July 3 fireworks game for our anniversary. Diamond seats are more than amazing, and we're hoping to go at least once a year for that. Not only the best and most comfortable seats in the house right behind home plate, but also unlimited food/drinks (yes alcoholic) and service at your seat every inning. You also have a private lounge and bar underneath the seats as well. The seats are very expensive, but I think we definitely got our money's worth. Plus, we won the game against the Giants and saw Barry Bonds hit home run #752. Fireworks were very well done as well after the game. It's funny that Bonds has hit a home run in both the games I've seen him in and Griffey has yet to homer when I go see the Reds despite countless opportunities. Darn fate. If we settle there it will be nice to get Reds season tickets or a partial season.

Last time I wrote we were still in the middle of softball season and it was the day of the formal attorney-guest dinner. Well the formal dinner was dressy, but more like LBD instead of prom wear if you know what I mean. It's definitely a little intimidating speaking to people you work with when you still don't have a full-time offer from them and to other attorneys at the firm you have not worked with, but I'm sure it was worse for Kelley. The dinner was good and the conversation was OK. We sat at a table with Colin (a new associate), Kurt (undergrad co-op student for the summer), and Rich (a partner working half time on his way to retirement)...so lots of different views. Hopefully it will be a little better if we do it again next summer. Softball season ended on a high note as we won our last game in extra innings against the worst softball team I've ever seen. Of course I think that says something that we needed extra innings to beat them, but oh well at least we finished with our first win in over 2 years (they say). Everyone makes the playoffs and we lost our playoff game to a team we were very competitive with both times we played them. Still, it was a good end to the season.

The work itself became much more centered on patent applications. I got plenty of small research projects in all IP fields to fill some time when I got into a lull, but still there were days where I did not have much to do. I completed 8 or 9 patent applications wire to wire, so that's more than most summer clerks at most firms. Also did another office action, but only did 3 of those this summer. Of course the patent search online and at the USPTO was also good experience. One final thing I did work-wise was litigation discovery work and going to a Markman hearing. I couldn't ask for a better work experience for a first-time IP summer associate, and thankfully after being on this path of schooling for 6 years, I am confident this is what I want to do as a career.

The apartment drama never really ended. They finally moved us to the other building 2.5 weeks after they said they would, so I never again really felt unpacked at those apartments. Stephanie was really apologetic and sweet about the whole mess, and I figure Heather (who I subletted from) and her will probably not live together much longer. Too much displeasure between them. It happens even when you live with friends. I'll be looking forward to renting a house next year or a nicer apartment wherever we go. Speaking of friends, the shit hit the proverbial fan this summer at the Columbus apartment. Kelley was there only half the time and couldn't clean much, but Sarah did not help out hardly at all. It got so bad in the kitchen and living room that I wanted to freak out one of the last weekends I came home. Plus Sarah apparently brought her mom into the apartment without giving Kelley notice so the place wasn't picked up at all. That makes us look bad and that angers me a little. Plus Sarah doesn't realize what she says around Bruce (her new b/f) and us...things like "my co-workers cannot wait for me to move out of the slums" and "it only takes 5 minutes to empty the dishwasher, but I just want to relax when I get home from work." I never was particularly happy about wasting my spring break helping her move from Philadelphia into our spare room...but at least I was gone all summer. This arrangement was OK for three reasons: (1) it got Sarah to save up some money and get on her feet here in Columbus, (2) it saved us rent money we desperately needed while I had to sublet another apartment, and (3) it kept Kelley from having to be alone in Columbus this summer. Now Sarah is on her feet, the sublet is over, and I'm back full-time again...so thank God she is apartment hunting. Here's hoping she finds something soon. I'm happy to be a friend and all, but it's time to have my office, my closet space, and our storage space in the basement back. I'm not helping her move out either...that's for her and her family. C'est la vie.

Bruce is an interesting cat. He's quite a bit older than the rest of us and works at COSI with Sarah. Perfectly nice guy, but definitely has a strange streak. Beats me in the geeky department which is hard to do! The only problem is he never seems to treat Kelley and I with much respect, as if we're too young to be smart and mature. He actually opened up to me more when he found out I was an engineering student who went to law school, not some random law student (he was an engineer himself). You can get the picture. I wish them the best, just in a different apartment because I feel like our hospitality is not appreciated as much as it was in April and May.

For free time this summer I spent a lot of time working on ebaying and sorting my Magic collection to sell at Origins. I also read the entire Harry Potter series mostly on lunch breaks at work and of course went to see a good number of popcorn flicks. Best of that bunch was a tie between Knocked Up and Order of the Phoenix, but Ocean's 13 was enjoyable also. The Harry Potter series is the first series I've read that did not have a disappointing ending. While I still recommend the Left Behind series, the Mission Earth decaology, and the Dark Tower books...Harry Potter is the only series strong from start to finish. I could nitpick how slow the first half of book 7 was, but it gave Rowling enough time to wrap up every major loose end and character from the past 6 books (there were a lot). I was also disappointed that there were no more deaths in the main characters, but the primary thing I cared about was Snape and that turned out how I wanted. Anybody who wants to talk Harry Potter can certainly msg me, but I'm looking forward to seeing Movies 6 and 7. Should be a banner holiday movie season for Christmas 2008 with Harry Potter 6 and Star Trek 11.

Best week of the summer was our anniversary and Origins. Kelley and I went out to a very nice dinner at Melting Pot for our anniversary and of course she got her lovely three-stone diamond ring for the right hand. Then we did the Diamond seats Reds game as explained above and that was a good experience. Origins was back to being a blast this year after a year off. Thursday I offed the bulk of my collection for a hair less than I wanted (like $10 less but that's OK as I made about $3000 off the whole collection over the past year), and I played in the Settlers of Catan World Qualifier. You play 4 games against very good Settlers opponents and top scores counting wins and then points moves on to semifinals and finals on Sunday. I got one win and three second-place finishes, so I just missed the semifinals. Still a lot of fun playing a bunch of Settlers because I cannot get people to play much around here. Friday I branched out and tried a couple new things I've been itching to do for years. First was a LARP called Terrorwerks, which was an awesome experience. It was like playing Halo in real life, with Marines and air-soft rifles and alien creatures causing havoc. Also puzzles to figure out along the way. LARPS (live-action role playing games) are definitely a full-on experience, but I really enjoyed my first foray into one and will be trying to recruit my buddies into one next year. I also did one of the National Strategic Decision Making games (NSDM), which is a role-playing game where the controllers set up a scenario involving 3-4 countries and then certain conflicts arise while the players (which are assigned government or media or other leadership positions at the beginning and each having their own personal agendas) try to make deals and further the interest of their country. Our scenario involved Austrailia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. There were lots of people there who have done tons of these (in a room of 60 players, I bet there were 60% that had played 8-10 or more times all the way up to 50+ times...and these games last 4 or 8 hours apiece!). It was very awkward being the rookie and I ended up getting assigned Prime Minister of Vietnam, #2 in command over there. The geo-political knowledge and discussions of my fellow Vietnam players was way over my head...these guys know their geo-politics. Nevertheless, I just did what I could to make deals and not look like a fool. At the end of the game the controllers pick the top 9 individual players in order and recognize them for their great play. I think our group of core leaders clearly did the best for Vietnam and did better than Indonesia and Austrailia, but the shocker was that I was named #1 overall and the winner of the NSDM. This is no small deal to these people, and the rest of the weekend I kept running into people who played the game and congratulated me on my performance. I was kind of shell-shocked, but hey I guess I beat 60 other guys at a game using the lovely beginner's luck. I don't think I'll do that again despite my win because it was a little too over my head, but good times. Friday night Kelley came down and we tried Palabra but nobody else signed up to play. Bummer. Saturday we skipped Killer Bunnies and tried out a bunch of games in the Exhibit Hall (we brought home tons of new games this year and a mega-bagful of dice for Kelley since that's her thing). We played in the Apples to Apples National Championship and Kelley made the final table. I just missed the final table but won a copy of the game in a consolation game. That's a great party game if you have not tried it. Sunday I did some final shopping at the Exhibit Hall and watched the Settlers tournament final, which was for a trip to the World Championships in Germany. Looking forward to going next year and maybe actually getting the gang to go, as it was kind of lonely this year with Tom not going and Shep not coming up.

All of a sudden it was time for the Loyola patent interview program. My insistent bugging and pleading with the career services office (and Jon getting 15 interviews last year while I had 13) finally got some results and OSU sent twice as many as they ever have to the program, 17 people! I got to hang out with some 2L's and a couple 3L's as well as Jim from WHE while I was there. Ended up with 12 interviews when it was all said and done, and they all were easy conversations as you lose a lot of the pressure when you think you have an offer in the pocket. Plus a couple firms were repeats of last year and my experience/resume have only gotten better than last year so those went really well. Highlights were a Charlotte GP firm, a St. Louis branch of a Washington boutique, a laid-back California boutique, and a couple of really solid Indy firms. The NYC firm, Chicago firms, Texas firm, and Michigan firm all would have to woo me pretty well after what I saw in the initial interview. I doubled or tripled my nice clothes wardrobe the week before Loyola and bought new shoes, which messed up my feet badly on Friday. I'm still dealing with it over 2 weeks later, and I think it was a case of sesamoiditis. Essentially I cannot jog or play tennis or go bowling or anything because it was too painful and hard enough to walk without limping. It's finally getting better though, so that's good news. Much more painful than that ingrown toenail on the same toe from last year around this time.

Then it was time for JDR Orientation and the only 2 on-campus interviews I'm doing. Orientation was a long 4 days of hard work, but I think it all came off well and I did not get any complaints from the new staffers. They will be handing in their first Acc-check Monday and then we start the process with the managing editors and then the authors before coming back for a second go-round. I'm so happy to be done with Orientation, but with gimping around in pain and having to run around and stand all the time...it certainly did not help my foot heal. Exec Editor is going to be a lot of work from time to time, but thankfully Orientation is one of the biggest jobs and it's over. Now I have to manage the staff and play the double role for a while as my note is going through the editing process now as well. I probably should have added more substance to it, but I also don't want to stretch it out too long. Maybe I'll attack it this week, maybe not. No big deal either way as I think it's in a good spot even if it is shorter than the other notes we are publishing.

Kelley and I have decided to go on a cruise for fall break, and we chose the one that we took for our first cruise 3 years ago. That one ended a day early and sucked because of hurricane Francis, so hopefully no repeat performance of that. I went back to Wood Herron for two more weeks of 3 days of work leading up to the partner's meeting on August 15, so I could know if I had an offer before I left the firm (and also so I could earn some more money before school). These weeks I stayed in cheap motels at night, but Kelley stayed with me the second week since she had all week off. On Wednesday I got the good news that I indeed do have an offer for full-time work next year. The offer is six figures in Cincinnati which is very exciting given cost of living and full benefits as well (free health insurance for entire family, 7.5% of salary paid into 401K by the firm with no matching required, moving/bar exam expenses, death and disability insurance, etc.). This offer is so good that Kelley and I wished we could accept on the spot, but I do want to see if my better resume opened more doors this year at loyola. I am done with first interviews and sent letters out, but I really only am tracking the 14 interviews. I've already got 4 responses, three no's and one callback with Leydig in Chicago (who I called back with last year). Plus now with the offer I can push the timetable a little bit, so we should have a fuller picture in 2 weeks I'd think. All early indications are pointing toward WHE, but let's not count out the important Charlotte, St. Louis, and Indy firms I mentioned above; as well as any others such as Leydig. Still, it's comforting to know you have a good full-time job at a great firm waiting for you. The only two law school friends I've talked to so far (PS and DE) also got offers and are accepting them straightaway. So hopefully I'll hear lots of good news from friends this week. The other two summers at WHE also got offers, and I know Jim will accept his. Steve is only a 2L this year so he may look elsewhere for his second summer before hopefully coming back. He is our best softball player...we need him!

I'll also be going back to WHE for part-time work on Thursdays and Fridays if I accept the offer. That's good because I'll keep touch with the firm and also make better money than grading engineering papers. I'll also get to do a little bit of what I love as opposed to the likely boring coursework I'm taking as a 3L. Yay to bar exam prep. Also going down to the firm for the quarterly associate-partner dinner Wednesday because they are eating at the Club in Great American Ball Park and going to the Braves-Reds game afterwards. It's the fourth and final bobblehead night, so we'll have a complete set from the summer of 2007 as well. Should be a fun time. Also doing a fantasy football league with others at the firm, so I'll let you know how that goes if I remember. I tried a few different draft strategies in my 3 public leagues and this firm league...see if any of them work.

Also I'll be in charge of the NFL football pickem pool this season. Please email me if you want details, but it will be $20 buy-in for the entire season with payout only to first place unless we get ten or more people. We've only had 4-8 in the past three seasons, so hopefully we get more this season.

Between sportswriting, JDR exec ed duties, National Moot Court this semester, and classes...I'll be lucky to regularly update the blog. But I'm hopeful to keep my usual pace of the past 2 years of law school, at least once a week or so. We'll see you around.

PS - Went to The Beach waterpark Thursday. Why would anybody go there instead of King's Island? The Beach = lame. At least IMHO.