From Scottsdale
Things I’ve learned while in Phoenix for my CLE/Conference:
Getting a seat in the exit row on any flight is always better. It’s just so nice. Why do they even ask you if you want the exit row? Everyone wants the exit row. I mean, some people I guess can’t take on the responsibility, but other than that, we all want them. You (airlines) don’t even have to ask.
The sun makes me happy. I tolerate all the rain we get in Oregon OK, but man the sun can be a pick me up. I guess I already knew that but I forget every year at this time.
You should never wear brown shoes with a blue suit. Of course I already knew that, but since 2 out of every 3 lawyers here in suits are breaking this fashion rule, I guess I learned that it needs to be said more often. Please, for the love of vanity, stop this now.
You can’t stay at the Biltmore and be miserable. Just impossible. I think we should embrace the idea of sending people who are depressed to rehab like we do for drug addicts. We should send them to a happy place. We should send them to the Biltmore. I’m going from here to demand they change their slogan here to “The Biltmore: rehab for the miserable.” I’ll let you know how that goes.
As great as the Biltmore is, I still miss my family. I mean look at those boys in the picture. How could you blame me?
Spring training may be the perfect baseball to watch. They only play it in warm nice places. It is played in small, charming ballparks. The players actually acknowledge the fans and play relaxed as if, you know, they’re playing a GAME!! It has all the good parts of minor league ball with the players you actually care about. I got to see the Giants play in Scottsdale. I hung out on the grass hill right behind the outfield fence with a bunch of other people just there to enjoy the sun and fun of the game and it was fantastic. If you are a baseball fan and have a list of teams or ballparks you want to see, you need to add spring training to the top of your list.
Fancy hotels are stingy with soda. You can only get it here in tiny little bottles that are actually just laced with the scent of diet pepsi. Can we get some consultants from 7-11 to talk to these people? For the cost of one 4 ounce bottle of Pepsi (actually Coke) at the Biltmore, I could purchase enough at a 7-11 to fill a hot tub…not that I would do that…as far as you know.
I really like the special edition Dodge Charger R/T Daytona. The raving Giants fan at Thrifty who hooked me up with a free upgrade put me in a lime green, hemi powered, riding on 20s, chromed out, leather-seated, 400 horse power driveable rocket. I hit the gas on the freeway and it pinned me back in my seat. I’ve never rented a car like that and wouldn’t have paid to do it this time, but man it is nice.
I can only take so much information on forensic accounting for automobile cases before I check out and start writing something to post on my blog. It’s about 3 minutes 16 seconds.
A good lawyer can take the worst facts in a case and make a compelling argument in their favor. We had a couple lawyers give mock opening statements for a case with difficult facts for their side and they were both amazing. People sometimes act nervous around me when I tell them I’m a lawyer as if I may subject them to Jedi mind tricks, and I’ve always thought that was silly, but some lawyers are pretty dang persuasive. Rhetoric done well can be a scary weapon, so maybe I should cut people some slack for acting nervous and be more nervous myself around lawyers. Hmmm….
Hotels without WiFi should be forced to shut down until they get that remedied. There is just no excuse. If I didn’t have a blackberry here with me along with my lap top I would be at risk of having to go 30-45 minutes at a time without checking my email. Can you imagine the terror of that situation? I’m sorry I even had to put such a horrible thought in your mind, but these things need to be said. Plus, it makes it hard to manage my fantasy basketball team during the playoffs and that is just unacceptable.
That’s all for now.
Coming soon: I have been asked to officiate my first wedding this summer for some very good friends of ours now that their daughter is getting married. Easily one of the top 5 compliments I’ve received in my adult life, but also lots of pressure. For you preacher types that read this, prepare some of your best advice for officiating weddings and save them for when I post on the subject in the near future. I’m going now to find some place I can drive my rental car 110 mph, just because I can. In fact, I almost have to.
Getting a seat in the exit row on any flight is always better. It’s just so nice. Why do they even ask you if you want the exit row? Everyone wants the exit row. I mean, some people I guess can’t take on the responsibility, but other than that, we all want them. You (airlines) don’t even have to ask.
The sun makes me happy. I tolerate all the rain we get in Oregon OK, but man the sun can be a pick me up. I guess I already knew that but I forget every year at this time.
You should never wear brown shoes with a blue suit. Of course I already knew that, but since 2 out of every 3 lawyers here in suits are breaking this fashion rule, I guess I learned that it needs to be said more often. Please, for the love of vanity, stop this now.
You can’t stay at the Biltmore and be miserable. Just impossible. I think we should embrace the idea of sending people who are depressed to rehab like we do for drug addicts. We should send them to a happy place. We should send them to the Biltmore. I’m going from here to demand they change their slogan here to “The Biltmore: rehab for the miserable.” I’ll let you know how that goes.
As great as the Biltmore is, I still miss my family. I mean look at those boys in the picture. How could you blame me?
Spring training may be the perfect baseball to watch. They only play it in warm nice places. It is played in small, charming ballparks. The players actually acknowledge the fans and play relaxed as if, you know, they’re playing a GAME!! It has all the good parts of minor league ball with the players you actually care about. I got to see the Giants play in Scottsdale. I hung out on the grass hill right behind the outfield fence with a bunch of other people just there to enjoy the sun and fun of the game and it was fantastic. If you are a baseball fan and have a list of teams or ballparks you want to see, you need to add spring training to the top of your list.
Fancy hotels are stingy with soda. You can only get it here in tiny little bottles that are actually just laced with the scent of diet pepsi. Can we get some consultants from 7-11 to talk to these people? For the cost of one 4 ounce bottle of Pepsi (actually Coke) at the Biltmore, I could purchase enough at a 7-11 to fill a hot tub…not that I would do that…as far as you know.
I really like the special edition Dodge Charger R/T Daytona. The raving Giants fan at Thrifty who hooked me up with a free upgrade put me in a lime green, hemi powered, riding on 20s, chromed out, leather-seated, 400 horse power driveable rocket. I hit the gas on the freeway and it pinned me back in my seat. I’ve never rented a car like that and wouldn’t have paid to do it this time, but man it is nice.
I can only take so much information on forensic accounting for automobile cases before I check out and start writing something to post on my blog. It’s about 3 minutes 16 seconds.
A good lawyer can take the worst facts in a case and make a compelling argument in their favor. We had a couple lawyers give mock opening statements for a case with difficult facts for their side and they were both amazing. People sometimes act nervous around me when I tell them I’m a lawyer as if I may subject them to Jedi mind tricks, and I’ve always thought that was silly, but some lawyers are pretty dang persuasive. Rhetoric done well can be a scary weapon, so maybe I should cut people some slack for acting nervous and be more nervous myself around lawyers. Hmmm….
Hotels without WiFi should be forced to shut down until they get that remedied. There is just no excuse. If I didn’t have a blackberry here with me along with my lap top I would be at risk of having to go 30-45 minutes at a time without checking my email. Can you imagine the terror of that situation? I’m sorry I even had to put such a horrible thought in your mind, but these things need to be said. Plus, it makes it hard to manage my fantasy basketball team during the playoffs and that is just unacceptable.
That’s all for now.
Coming soon: I have been asked to officiate my first wedding this summer for some very good friends of ours now that their daughter is getting married. Easily one of the top 5 compliments I’ve received in my adult life, but also lots of pressure. For you preacher types that read this, prepare some of your best advice for officiating weddings and save them for when I post on the subject in the near future. I’m going now to find some place I can drive my rental car 110 mph, just because I can. In fact, I almost have to.
Comments
As for weddings ... I've done more than I care to remember. It is, indeed, a high honor! I'm meeting with a couple this weekend and this will be my last wedding, other than my daughter's should that happen while I am living and lucid.
1. Sunshine is especially gleeful when you are in Finland. This past week it was the warmest the good folks of Helsinki had seen in March...ever. That made for lots of happy Finns.
2. I stayed in a hotel in Rome that actually claimed "Internet Access" because they had a dial-up telephone connection in each room. I stared in disbelief trying to remember the last time I had a POP account and heard the horrific "handshake" sound. Needless to say, that hotel made me love my Blackberry even more.
3. Stayed in a hotel in France that had WiFi, but it was only truly accessible in the lobby bar. That might have been okay (heaven knows, there isn't anything decent to drink in France, ha ha), but that is where all the travelers gathered each evening to smoke. Again, I think that the heros at RIM, who make the Blackberry, can now add "Save Jennifer from getting second-hand smoke induced cancer" to their impressive list of technical accomplishments.
Now having read this, it does make this recent travel sound exotic and exciting, when in fact I spent more time in airplanes than I did in some of these cities. I don't think I have to go anywhere this week, which is a good thing.
On the lawyer observations, who do you guys tell jokes about when you're together. Do you guys hammer us teachers, doctors, or easier targets like those "preacher types?"
And you should tell the mother of the bride that her method of choosing teams based on her perception of which coaches have good manners coupled with which teams Grandpa liked got her 7 out of 8 in the elite eight and two out of 4 in the final 4, and so anybody who riducules her clever method is not very bright.
I went in 2000 and can't wait to go back. I saw 8 games in 7 days...not bad. Perfect weather. And unlike many, I really enjoyed the chance to see the AA and AAA kids who played the late innings.