Summer Solstice: Santa Barbara Style

In addition to being the land of yuppies, Santa Barbara is also the land of grown-up hippies. So it's fitting that they would have a Solstice Parade, which was first started in the 70s and is full of drum circles, homemade floats, and "whimsical" costumes to pay homage the first day of summer.

Alex's family and I sat in the harsh summer sun to watch this mix of Mardis-gras and Venice Beach parade. I laughed to myself thinking: this is why people think people from California are strange. It was fun though, and a whole different side of the Santa Barbara I am used to seeing.

Summer Solstice

There is no better way to celebrate the first day of summer than eating In-n-Out at the steps of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Garden with the boyfriend in town to see his family and me.

[Photo Courtesy of SB County]

Paradise City

After finding out that I got the job in Santa Barbara over winter break, I opened up the United Airlines magazine to find a full spread on Santa Barbara. Beside this picture, the article started off by saying: If you could work in a place where most people dream of spending just a few days, would you? You would.

Now that I am actually working in Santa Barbara, it does seem like the place everyone wants to be. Walking down State Street, I feel like I am in a vacation destination with everyone wearing sundresses and resort attire, shopping at designer stores, and dining on outdoor terraces. Everyone looks healthily tanned and happy. It's like Paris meets the California beach lifestyle. Does anywhere here work? I feel horribly overdressed in my law-firm appropriate business clothes.

It is funny how spoiled people can get here though. People in our office were flipping out today because it hit the 80s. They were running around looking for fans and one lawyer even changed into shorts (yet still wearing his shirt and tie). After growing up in the valley/desert where 110 degree summers were the norm, or spending last summer in humid and muggy D.C., I will gladly take 80 degrees and sunshine.

[Photo Courtesy of Hemispheres Magazine]

Cookiegate

First there was FarfalleGate, and now there is CookieGate. Yes, apparently Cindy McCain's recipe for Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies that she submitted for the Family Circle Presidential Cookie Bake-off is actually Hershey Co.'s recipe. As many followers of this saga have pointed out, this is much like when Monica found out that Phoebe's Grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies were from Nestle or when Screech's Spaghetti Sauce was actually Betsy Crocker [sic].

Ok, so Cindy McCain should have been more careful, especially considering she has a reputation of stealing recipes. Yes, she should have cited the source if she knew where it came from.

But can this please be a sign to Family Circle about how ridiculous this bake-off is? Do we really think that any presidential candidate's spouse really bakes cookies from scratch, let alone has an original family recipe? I love to bake and am even known to many as a baker, but I use packages (Ghirardelli brownie mix is still better than anything I have tried from scratch) or recipes from cookbooks, other people, or websites. Yeah, we have a family recipe for eggrolls but who knows who that is copied from.

More importantly though, even if a Presidential candidate's spouse made the most amazing cookies, would that make that person a better First Lady/Lad or that person's spouse a better President?

I know this supposed to be a lighthearted competition, but it reinforces gender stereotypes (though this year it was interesting to see Bill Clinton enter in his family cook's recipe), puts candidates' spouses in a difficult position, and serves no purpose.

I vote Break and Bake in 2012. That's what American families use anyway.

[Images courtesy of Family Circle and Nestle- no, it could not have been more perfect]

The Billable Hour

Today, for the first time, I billed over six hours at work. Some of you might be thinking that I must come in late or leave work early then. Nope, billable hours does not equal number of hours you are at the office. I always kind of knew this, but I did not fully understand it until I entered the private firm world this summer and measured everything to the tenth of an hour. Yes, we actually have a computer program where I say that I work 3.4 hours on x assignment for x client on this day.

During fall recruitment last year, we were always told to look at how many billable hours a firm required. I think around 2,000 was the norm for the big firms and 2,400 was probably the highest. Many people in their head calculated: 2,000 hours a year divided by 50 weeks (assuming you have 2 weeks of vacation) = 40 hours a week. Well, even if I goofed off an hour a day, that still seems like a normal work week.

Then I read this "beware of the big-firm" law review article, which described why the billable hour number is deceiving. When you measure everything to the tenth of an hour, you have to cut out a lot of time to do ordinary things: walk down the hallway to go to the bathroom, fill up your cup of coffee, respond to emails, attend a training session, etc. Moreover, the billable requirement is often just a minimum. So now you know why many lawyers at big firms work 14+ hours a day, six or seven days a week.

I know that many firms are making positive steps to facilitate work/life balance. I know that all lawyers, whether at big firms or small, often work long hours. I know that billing hours will become easier once I gain more experience and have my own projects. But there is still a marked difference between how the billable hour influences the culture at big firms and small firms because of the difference in required hours, how strictly they are enforced, how they are counted, etc. Big firms aren't inherently bad in my mind, they're just not for me. I like the fact that the lawyers at my small firm all have families, go home at a decent hour, and never have to work weekends just to accumulate hours.

Now I know why they say that once you have worked in a small firm, you can never go big.

1L Reflections

Having been a political science major, I am used to taking classes that fine tune critical analysis skills but do not impart practical knowledge that I would need in a job. I kind of thought that the first year of law school was the same way. It was there to make you think like a lawyer. Who knew that those classes were all applicable to the 'real world'.

Working at a small firm this summer, I do a little bit of everything. I mostly help represent school districts and education offices, but I have also done some family law and business law issues. However, between these three areas in three weeks, I have seen all of my first required classes put to use, especially civil procedure. Contracts, constitutional law, property, torts, and even criminal law; I cannot believe that I have seen it all.

And of course there is legal rhetoric. A lot of people thought that our legal writing classes were either too rigid or a waste. But let me tell you, when your boss tells you to prepare a trial brief for a very rich and important client, you go back to the basics to make sure that you are doing it right. Yes I CREAC'ed. (conclusion, rule, explanation, analysis, conclusion). Thank goodness I had a good legal rhetoric professor who taught me to do this well.

I gave my brief to the lawyer today and was slightly nervous because this was my first big project for this particular lawyer. He came to my office and told me that I did a good job and that my writing style was very persuasive. Breathes another sigh of relief. I think I am getting a hang of this lawyer thing.

I am my Father's Daughter

Whenever we head anywhere as a family, the scene always plays out: my dad and I are sitting in the car ready to go while my mom and my brother are running around the house still getting ready. My dad will always turn around and say to me "you take after me."

I always knew that I was similar to my mom in many ways. But it has not been I have gotten older that I have realized how many traits I have inherited from my dad. In addition to punctuality, we both are methodical planners, chocoholics, borderline obsessive compulsive neat-freaks, providers, risk adverse, somewhat pickier eaters (I think my dad was finally glad to have someone else in the family who does not eat fish sauce), news-junkies, worriers, and more.

I also think that I did not realize until I was older how underappreciated dads are. So thank you dad- not just for imparting the good parts of your personality on me and providing for our family, but being all around a good dad. Happy Father's Day.

[Picture: Dad in his pith hat in Vietnam-- fearlessly leading our traveling brigade]

Taco Time

Yesterday when I was out buying some fancy chocolates for Father's Day, I stopped by Lilly's Taqueria, a place that rated highly on Yelp. Although I usually pack my lunch for work, I was so happy to enjoy the beautiful Friday weather and finally eat some good Mexican.

Lily's is the quintessential hole-in-the-wall taco joint. I could not believe that it was just two blocks off of the ever bourgie State Street, which is filled with expensive restaurants and designer stores. I arrived before noon, and the place was already packed. I was the only non-Latino person there, but I took that as a good sign.

I looked up on the whiteboard with my taco options: carne asada (steak), adobada (marinated pork), steamed beef, ojos (eye!), tongue, brain . . . yeah, I stuck with the asada and adobada. The tacos came out on soft tortillas with cilantro, onions, and a side of salsa verde. All for $1.35 each.

I was going to take it back to the office to eat, but since the office was about a mile away, I could not wait. I sat down at one of the folding tables on one of those chairs you would find at a church hall, and savored those little tacos. The meat was moist and flavorful, but not greasy at all, and the toppings were perfect.

At moments like these, I wonder how we got so off-track with tacos. How did the taco bell taco, with oily ground meat and covered in cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce become what we think of when we think of tacos.

[Photos courtesy of SantaBarbara.com]