Category Archives: blog theory

The fledgling blogger

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I just met a student from my old law school at Dunn Brothers. I managed to calm the 1L about her upcoming final. I also gave her some leads about clinics and jobs.

Those who succeeded in law school were either the manic-workhorses or those with solid mentors (or, more likely, a combination of both.) The quick advice from an older student is invaluable and something I found in the form of blogs.

The conversation made me realize that there is a subset of people who view blog authors as ersatz mentors and role models. I was one of these people and definitely relied on bloggers (like her and her and them) for advice and support.

Even long before law school, I remember being the chubby middle schooler living in Kansas trolling the blogs of cool kids from more exciting places.

Ten years later and people use my blog as an example of how to survive law school. I think that’s pretty amazing and a reason not to disappear.

I find myself in a new place now. Sure, there are plenty of “how to survive high school/college/law school” blogs. The life of an aspiring corporate executive is harder to write about without coming across as obnoxious and calculating.

I suppose the only thing that I can do is just to remain as honest as I was in law school – readership be dammed. Hopefully that doesn’t backfire.

Dull but here

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Several people have noted that things are much quieter around these parts. Blogging was easier when I was in school because I was busy exploring the city, surrounded by hilarious people, attending drag shows, and living in a crazy apartment building full of drug dealers, passive aggressive notes, and schizophrenics.

Now my days are filled with work, dog walks and marathons of Law & Order, Midsomer Murders, and The First 48. Sure, my school life provided easier blog fodder, but things are more comfortable now.

So many of my favorite blogs faded over the years. Molly Joon, Alexa, and Simon Psaric moved to Tumblr. Everyone else stopped updating livejournal and fled to twitter or facebook… I guess my point is that this blog has run for seven years so far. Some periods will be more exciting than others, but at least I’m still here.

Also, this is actually a very exciting time of my life. I’ve had my post-law school job for 10 months now and already received a promotion, but running around boasting about that isn’t exactly tactful is it?

Existentialist dilemma at the gay bar

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Leave it to me to have an existentialist dilemma at the gay bar. Back in Florida Carlos and I would trek up to Wilton Manors to the Tranny Palace drag show. This is one of the best performances we saw:

That’s Noel Leon. Work.

I remember thinking how strange it felt recording the drag show. An amazing performance was going on in front of me but I was watching it on my camera screen. It was a tradeoff though because without the video, no one would remember the show.

This implicates that whole art vs. life / creation vs. consumption dichotomy that I spent way too much time thinking about during undergrad. It’s something that Oscar Wilde and Truman Capote grappled with too. It goes like this: you can either be out partying and socializing or you can be at home, working and creating. Each can fuel and yet compromise the other.

So my experience at the Noel Leon show was compromised by the recording, but that recording preserved the memory and allows me to share the experience years later. Fair trade?