Monday, December 31, 2007

postscript 2007: R.I. P. carbon neutrality

i forgot to mention that 2007 saw me hoofing it, mooching rides, and taking the bus everywhere  
my carbon footprint was almost non-existant...but it was a bit inconvienent being so rightous.
after much indecisive searching, i finally got a whip:  a toyota tacoma 4x4.  
signed the contract today...gonna be ridin dirty by next week.... blood for oil!

be easy

Sunday, December 30, 2007

2007: the wrap up

well amigos y amigas, i hear 2007's death rattle, so the time is ripe for a cursory review and recap.

2007 started off full of uncertainty.
i was working at a small hotel on ocean drive, miami beach.  i was a bartender.  the management was changing hands and my job was in peril, so it was time to make some hard decisions 
regarding my future plans.  

option a:  move to chicago in the dead of bitter winter and try to find a job in
 my field (law).

option b: try to find a legal job in miami.

option c: become a career bartender.

so when i was finally up against it, unemployed and running out of cash, 
i hit a stroke of good luck.  i was 
walking aimlessly down espanola way 
when i noticed a lot of construction related commotion in an old theatre, the Cameo.  
i walked in and introduced myself to someone,
and inqured about the possibility of employment at what appeared to be a slick new mega-club, almost completed.  i got the job.  
the next month was spent working on opening the club and having a hell of a lotta fun doing it.
we got it open, and i started working as a full time enabler.  the money was good, and the job was a gas.

all the while, my j.d. lurked in the corner of my mind like a creepy patron.  i sent feelers into the career job market, and with the help of a career counseler from my law school, who met me for mojitos and crab cakes...i applied for and secured a position at the miami dade public defender's office.  

a criminal defense attorney...a public defender, my dreamjob.  the next 3 months were spent learning, and learning, and learning how the law works, in practice.  most days, i went home with a headache, and sleep listfully, speedy trial rules and discovery procedures floating in my head like sugarplums.  all the while i kept slinging drinks on the weekend, living a double life like some sort of ubergemini.

then july hit, and it was time to take the florida bar exam.  
i embraced the challenge, freaked out, and 
smashed on it.  

after that i just kept working and working and working...i now have had 7 jury trials, 3 not guilty and 4 losses.  not bad for the quality of cases i get.  i also now feel comfortable on every part of the jury trial, the motion practice and organizational skills still leave a little to be desired.  i am also still at the club, having built up a lot of good will there, and i still take a lot of pride in that job.

don't get it twisted though,
2007 was also off the hinges in my personal life...
i met a lot of cool people, 
friends, aquaintances, clients 
and for lack of a better term, dime-pieces.

my game and swagger grew this year. my chi is strong.

i went to 2 sgllp sponsored weekends, each chock full of debauchery and belly laughs.  san diego, sal se puedes, santo domingo and sosua...formative trips, my friends.

i also visited texas twice and survived.

didn't read many good books this year, but saw a shitload of good films, and ate well always.

i was cigarette free for 1/4 of the year.

i caught brown trout in iowa with my dad and brothers.

i still miss my ex girlfriend and talk to her on occasion.

thats about it... wow, this year was mental...all i know is, 2008 is gonna be retardiculous.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

it's on

a trip to the warm and balmy climes.  


stay tuned

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

sick flows of the day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nTWT3CBnUA&feature=related

the way i ball

i fixed my bike.  rollin on deez.
i got a respite on a fiscal obligation.
i got digital cable and internet after 5 months of no tv and shitty connection.
work is under control, confident and less frequently nonplussed, learning the ropes.  making my bones.  
burning the candle at both ends, striving and surviving,
power mornings, late lunches, allnighters.  loving it, the rush of blood and adrenaline while in trenches.  handling grown man shit.  helping grown men out of some bullshit, usually.  fighting against inhuman incarceration and police malfeasance. learning every day.  preparing and unloading.  
trip to the dominican republic is upon us.  it's time to shine, o' me brothers.

you will laugh if you click this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjNNxnKVEpQ

Monday, November 19, 2007

new words

check it out. there are new words.


http://blog.oup.com/2007/11/locavore/

wu tang! wu tang!

yo

got the wu tics son...shit's gonna be off the geiger counter! straight up and down nagasaki fruit loop shit, ya heard?

i've been waiting to see these cats live for 13 yrs....

Sunday, November 18, 2007

r.i.p. mrs. west

nip tuck casualties.  

i see them everywhere, looking like a mix between a martian, a model, and a trannie. why do they do it?   they end up looking so gross.  fake lips, fake tits, fake eyes, fake ass?!
i guess momma didn't love them enough, maybe they hate themselves.  maybe they love themselves, but feel they would be perfect only if...




i  guessi have some of the same tendancies, sometimes feeling like i will be completely content when one thing or another gets accomplished... it feels so certain, but then, at the moment of truth, i find that all my anxious worry-energy re-focuses on the next problem in about 5 seconds.  this is how i have been trained to think all those years of jumping through hoops, always working towards a distant goal.  

well, i have arrived, and although i will never stop trying to better myself, i am gonna work on enjoying the here and now, a la tao te ching.  


time to smell the fuckin' roses ya'll.

this week

this week's to do:

dry cleaning

get gallon of milk

wash sheets

buy wu tang tickets

mon.

trial day- pick jury, do opening statement, do closing argument, hopefully get a good result

tues.

catch up on other work

wed.

work double  (dj z trip at cameo)

thurs.

thanksgiving dinner at sara's (don't forget to get wine)

fri., sat.

work at de club

sunday

laundry, blog, regroup

ongoing projects:

nosmoking.org
exercise
tan
upgrade wardrobe
find and purchase truck
read book

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

quitting smoking

i want to avoid a painful cancer death.

i want to save $150 dollars a month.

i want white teeth.

i want to exercise without being short on oxygen.

i want to become mentally tougher.

i want to smell and taste more vividly.

i want to avoid a tracheotomy.

i want to stop providing profit for some of the most evil motherfuckers on the planet.

i started today.

Monday, November 12, 2007

this monkeys gone to heaven

"....if the devil is six, if the devil is six, if the devil is six...well, if the devil is six, then god is seven! then god is seven! then god is seven!... this monkeys gone to heaven....."pixies

welcome to my blog.  

i just climbed out of the primordial soup, so please don't let a few typos deter you.  also, i will not capitalize.  i will try to blog honestly and say something.

hope you like it.

richie