New York's New Governor

A piece of trivia you may not know about David Paterson: he is a graduate of Hofstra Law School, but he is not a lawyer. Why? Because he was not able to pass the Bar exam.

In his defense, Patterson, who has limited vision and is legally blind, claims he received inadequate accommodations. The Bar Examiners provided an amanuensis to read him the questions and transcribed his answers. Paterson explained to the New York Observer: “I can do some reading on my own, but the bar exam I couldn’t, because it was grueling. ...It was a big problem for me. … I didn’t feel I had enough time.”

My reaction to his excuse? I don't know. Having somebody read me the questions and transcribe my answers sure would have sounded great when my hand felt like it was going to fall off from writing so much. However, I see his point. The exam is time pressured in some areas: if he received no extra time and needed somebody to read each question to him slowly, then it would have been absolutely impossible to finish the exam (I'm thinking about the multiple choice Multistate Bar Exam portion).

Knock It Off with the Bluetooth Headsets

Wife and I just returned from a rather lengthy walk around the city. A little Mexican hole-in-the-wall put a stack of menus in our building today. I picked on up and started craving the food. Since the prices were good, and we haven't had Mexican food since last fall, we decided to give it a try. Since we thought it would be more fun to walk than to call for take-out, we hiked about a mile each way to get our dinner. Oddly, everyone who worked at the Mexican restaurant was Asian.

As we walked, we ran into countless individuals talking on wireless Bluetooth headsets. That creates a real problem here in the city: I can't tell who is talking on the phone and who is just crazy. As we walked down the dark street, a guy approached me yelling and screaming. As he drew closer, I tried to look at his ears for a wireless piece - I figured that he was probably just talking on the phone. Nope. Turns out this guy was just a lunatic. The crazies really need to wear a sign so that it is easier to know to stay away from them.

Oh, in case you want another reason to knock it off with the wireless earpieces: they look really stupid. If you want to wear it while talking on the phone, great. But wearing it all day just looks ridiculous. It's not a fashion accessory. It does not make you look important. It makes you look like you take yourself way too seriously with your $39.95 toy.

I'm a Member of the Mock Board of Directors

Recently, I had an extremely unique experience. I was literally sworn to secrecy, so I will just give a very broad overview:

The one of the largest investment banks in the world is about to make a huge business proposal to one of the largest corporations in the world (this is an investment bank that every reader has certainly heard of). I participated in the preparation for this presentation as a mock board member.

The investment bank sent us confidential materials to familiarize ourselves with the issues. There were also suggested additional reading materials for further research.

After preparing myself for the event, I sat and listened as the investment bank's managing director gave us the presentation as if we were the board of directors (yes, it was the MANAGING DIRECTOR we interacted with). We were invited to interrupt him, ask plenty of questions, try to stump him, and then, finally, vote on his proposal. At the end, we were asked to explain the rationale for our vote.

This was an experience that I will certainly never forget.

Depths of Despair

I find myself in the depths of despair. There is a horrible tragedy: Mamoun's has raised the price of a falafel sandwich from $2 to $2.50. I can't eat when I am the depths of despair. Hopefully, I will recover soon because there are bagels that must be eaten.

Before I get emails telling me that there are worse problems in the world than my sandwiches going up in price - I know, this is a joke. My joke is based on a movie quote. What movie?

Breaking News in NYC

I imagine that everyone across the U.S. is hearing this on the news right now, but this current headline is the current buzz here in Manhattan.

New York Governor Linked to Prostitution Ring

This could, potentially, end the political career for Spitzer. Law geeks know him, not only for his political career, but also for his perfect score on the LSAT and work as an editor of Harvard Law Review.

I'm Sick of Flying

I just got back to our apartment here in New York after my trip to San Fransisco and Palo Alto.

The trip was wonderful, but the flight home was simply horrendous. What should have been a 4 1/2 hour flight was delayed, stretching it out the entire day. I arrived at the San Fransisco airport this morning just before 6:00 a.m. I arrived back at our apartment at about 11:00 p.m.

Highlights of my day included:

1) After boarding the Jet Blue flight in SF, the pilot announced that because of bad weather in the Northeast, we would be taking a different route. We were delayed 45 minutes while "the computer was programmed" for the new route. Did we really need to be in our seats on the plane for that?

2) Jet Blue is known for their satellite televisions for each seat - it was broken. Lovely. I watched the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie three times. I have horrid high pitched screaming stuck in my mind right now.

3) When it became obvious that we would be delayed significantly from landing at JFK, the pilot decided to give us a tour of Canada. Seriously.

4) After a few hours, the plane began to run out of gas, so we landed in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Yes, the Scranton made famous by "The Office." After landing, the storm then moved to Scranton and we could not take off again.

5) The tanks for the lavatories filled up, preventing people from using the restroom (after an hour in Scranton they emptied the tanks).

6) Jet Blue ran out of drinking water and all liquid refreshment.

7) Jet Blue does not provide meals, and ran out of all of their snacks. So, we all were stuck in an airplane with no lunch and no dinner. Fortunately, I bought a huge sandwich at the airport to carry on board with me (the firm is paying for it).

8) When we finally landed, JFK (which was currently 5 hours behind for all flights on the schedule) was doing TRAINING on the runway, so it took an extra 30 minutes to taxi to our gate. The pilot referred to this as the "perfect ending for our day." When all flights are five hours delayed, why is the delay being increased with training?

Let's just say it was a fun day.

I'm Driving Again

I'm driving around San Fransisco and Palo Alto in a rental car. That may sound like no big deal, but I haven't driven a car since arriving in NYC last August.

Is This Really Right?

Why is it that the nice woman in front of me in line through airport security is treated like a terrorist for having a bottle of water in her bag, but the FAA approves me carrying on a razor? I don't get it.

On My Way to San Fransisco

Before the sun comes up, I will be on a plane to San Fransisco. After arriving at the airport, I will rush to the Palo Alto office of the largest law firm in the world for about five hours of interviews. On Friday, I have eleven interviews in a row at the best tax firm in the country not located in NYC or DC.

The interview process is quickly coming to an end.

I am continuing to get invitations from law firms to fly out to visit them. There are three SF firms that I will never have a chance to visit. Today, a major Dallas firm invited me down, as did three excellent New York firms (UPDATE: just now, at 10:30 at night, another DC firm invited me to a second round of interviews).

I am extremely thankful for the opportunities. Honestly, I really don't understand why I am getting all this attention. That's not false modesty - I really don't understand it. The economy is impacting the job market extremely badly, and most of my classmates (including the very smart ones) are finding it difficult to get calls from firms right now.

Whatever the reason, I am extremely thankful that my problem is being too busy right now. I really wish that at this point in the game I could refer some of these firms to my friends.

In just a few days, it will all be over, and Wife and I will begin to prepare for a whole new journey. I anticipate that on Saturday, this blog will take on a new theme.

More Choices

I have another definitive offer to choose from now. The Southern firm is extending an offer and is even sweetening it, trying to get my attention. Southern firm offers benefits that NYC cannot: a better work/family balance, more prestige in the area (I would be a huge fish in a tiny pond), and the ability to quickly take on significant responsibility.

They also offer this, which NYC cannot compete with:






UPDATE: Wife tells me I may NOT choose a firm based upon the city's food. Bummer.

The Capital of the U.S. is a Cute Little Town

You know you are a New Yorker when you spend considerable time exploring Washington, D.C. and can't help but think what a cute, little, podunk, ghost-town it is. Walking around, it feels like the streets are empty.

What makes DC interesting is that no building is permitted to be taller than the Capital building. In 1899, Congress enacted a height limit for the District prohibiting private buildings from topping out higher than the Capitol, which reaches 288 feet above Capitol Hill at the crest of the Statue of Freedom. A revised height law in 1910 did away with that fixed maximum. The newer legislation, still in effect today, states that no new building may be more than 20 feet taller than the width of the street in front of it.

Thus, Washington has a relatively modest skyline in comparison to the majority of American cities, and it cannot even be compared to NYC. The tallest building appears to be the thirteen-story glass building of the law firm that is courting me here in DC.

I have spent time in DC before, but this is the first time I have looked around with an eye on making this home. A good friend of Wife lives here in the DC area. This morning, we went to brunch with her at a hotspot for French cuisine. We then spent the afternoon with this "tour guide" showing us the best parts of the city and surrounding areas. Wife and I are surprised that we can drive just a few minutes and find extremely calm and quiet suburbs.

I was really hoping that I would hate the big law firm I am in discussions with in DC so that our decision to choose the firm New York would be easy - but the firm is outstanding. I was hoping Wife and I would despise the concept of living here - but we can both envision making the area home.

Final Interviews

I just got done with 17 interviews in 9 hours. I'm exhausted.

There is absolutely no way this would have gotten accomplished without Wife. I was literally the talking head. Before each interview, Wife would hand me a folder with all the paperwork and quickly remind me of the basics, "We're going to room 1234 for XYZ firm in Los Angeles. The firm has 1200 attorneys, 300 in the LA office, and 21 tax attorneys. Partner X is the interviewer. He specializes in international corporate M&A work, went to X university, Y law school, and your LL.M. program at LAW SCHOOL." Then I would walk in and start talking.

Wife found it incredibly humorous to listen to other candidates complain about how four or five interviews completely drained them. They would be in better shape if they had Wife keeping them organized as well. Too bad for them I'm not giving her up.

The funniest part of this excruciating day: all of these interviews are for nothing. Before any of these firms have a chance to get back to me, I will have chosen which firm and city will be my permanent home.

This Could be My New Workplace

I received a telephone call from Famous Partner at Big NYC firm telling me that "I was their unanimous first choice" with an invitation to join their firm. If I choose to accept the offer, this will be my new workplace (the big glass building).

I'm an Interview Machine and Wife is an Organizing Genius

It will be a very busy couple of days for us. In a few minutes, I will go to class, and then the moment it gets out, Wife and I will rush to the airport to fly to Washington, D.C. Tomorrow, I will have a day of “serious” interviews with a major firm in their DC office. Then, Friday, I have a FULL day of screening interviews.

On Friday, there is essentially a meat market for tax attorneys (basically speed dating for lawyers and firms to hook-up). Firms from around the country will be at a posh hotel to meet with us (actually, there will be firms from around the world). The way the system basically works is that is that we submitted our credentials to the firms, and then they invited the attorneys they like to have a screening interview with them. To make a long story short, I am blessed to have a good number of interviews – more than I could humanly accept. These are just screening interviews, so the odds of any of these turning into employment is rather small, but it is a great start.

Why is Wife attending? Well, she is taking time off work to act as my personal assistant, and more importantly, my brain. Besides being gorgeous, brilliant, kind-hearted, and hilarious, she is also possibly the most organized person in the world. She has the uncanny ability to turn absolutely anything into a spreadsheet. Not only can she turn anything into a spreadsheet – she actually does turn everything into a spreadsheet (and a “pretty spreadsheet” at that). While I concentrate on interviewing more times than you would believe in about eight hours, Wife is in charge of the folder of research and paperwork I must submit to each firm. While I will play the dumb bobble-head talking and schmoozing with partners, Wife will be the one ensuring I’m where I need to be, when I need to be there, with the information I need when I get there. Undoubtedly, if it were not for her organization, I would only have been able to accept about half as many interviews as I did. While most other candidates will have approximately an hour between interviews, I will have less than 15 seconds (seriously, that’s not an exaggeration). Hopefully, we will be a model of teamwork running like a well-oiled machine.

It's a Sad Day

It's a very sad day: Bagel prices went up at our bakery. The price went from $.70 to $.90. That means the Monday night special for bagels went from $.35 to $.45.

Fortunately, Wife's boyfriend works there. Tonight, he gave her a dozen bagels for $2.00. That's two bucks more than he usually charges her.

SWADG: Stuff We All Don't Get

When I arrived home tonight, Wife had a bunch of “goodies” to show me. Wife, as our four regular readers know, works at a major advertising company. One of the company’s clients is a shoe/athletic wear company that Wife said I am not permitted to identify (it is an expensive, trendy brand of athletic shoe– I’m sorry but I just won’t tell the name of the client…I just won’t do it…Wife will probably be deleting that line when she sees it).

Wife oversees the finances for this large client’s account. Anyway, the point of this story: when wife came to work today, she was greeted with a gift bag: a pair of athletic shoes (that are not released yet) and also a pair of “fancy” athletic shoes (I don’t know how to describe these shoes – Wife loves them; they look like a combination of tennis shoes and ballerina shoes to me). They also sent over plenty of socks to go with the shoes. This whole package came in a nice athletic bag for storage. Because Wife loves me she made sure to make sure they know what size shoe her husband wears.

The only SWAG I get are pens, mugs, and an occasional stress ball. I’m in the wrong business.

The good news for me is that Wife’s firm just won a major candy manufacturer. Let’s hope they love her too.

This is the Song That Goes Like This

I have "This is the Song That Goes Like This" from the Broadway show Spamalot stuck in my mind. Because I find it hilarious, I thought I would post the lyrics. If you google the song title and "Jessica Harris" you will find a video of a very funny rendition by a couple performing this song at a talent show.


This Is The Song That Goes Like This

Once in every show
There comes a song like this
It starts off soft and low
And ends up with a kiss
Oh where is the song
That goes like this?
Where is it? Where? Where?

A sentimental song
That casts a magic spell
They all will hum along
We'll overact like heck
For this is the song that goes like this
Yes it is! Yes it is!

I'll sing it in your face
While we both embrace
And then
We change
The key

Now we're into E!
*hem* That's awfully high for me
But as everyone can see
We should have stayed in D
For this is our song that goes like this!

I'm feeling very proud
You're singing far too loud
That's the way that this song goes
You're standing on my toes
Singing our song that goes like this!

I can't believe there's more
It's far too long, I'm sure
That's the trouble with this song
It goes on and on and on
For this is our song that is too long!

We'll be singing this til dawn
You'll wish that you weren't born
Let's stop this darn refrain
Before we go insane
For this is our song that ends like this!

Interesting Email

I just received a rather interesting email:

Dear Mr. Husband (thus guy actually knew my name):

Would you consider a tax counsel position with any of the Congressional
tax-writing committees (i.e., the Senate Finance Committee or House Ways
& Means Committee) or Member offices?

Best Regards,

Mr. Bigshot

Hmmmm.....that's something to think about. Working for Congress. Hmmmm.


UPDATE:

I sent Mr. Bigshot an email telling him that I would consider such a position. I received an immediate email asking me to call him. Now, we are playing phone tag.

UPDATE #2
We just spoke on the phone. His purpose was simple: find out my political affiliations to see if I could be a match for the positions he was looking for. I tried to sound as moderate as possible, but that didn't work. If flat out asked, "Are you a Republican or Democrat." I told him. I then heard silence.

UPDATE #3
Wow. A top Senator with my political party affiliation is reviewing my credentials. I never would have dreamed of this turn of events two hours ago.

Keeping Busy

It has been a long, hectic day - and the day is not even close to being over yet. I spent the first part of the morning participating in an on campus interview with a big NYC firm (those are just introductory "get to know you interviews" - nothing exceptionally excited). Oh, the firm gave us all Starbucks gift cards as gifts; that was nice. Later, I had a pesky class to prepare for and go to (annoying how classes are getting in the way of my life).

This afternoon was then spent doing "serious interviews" at another one of the big, swanky New York City law firms. Though four hours of straight interviews does not sound too bad, it is rather draining.

Top tier law firms don't deviate in their pay for young lawyers. All "good" NYC firms pay exactly the same amount. What differentiates firms competing for top talent are the perks. A few of the perks that the firm I was at today offer their lawyers include:
* Starbucks drinks catered in for the attorneys twice a day.
* A freshly baked cookie tray brought to the attorneys on each floor every afternoon.
* A team of massouses to give each attorney a massage once a week.

I recently told a friend, I don't plan to make money the deciding factor in my choice. But hot, freshly baked cookies may be hard to to turn down. Yes, it is the important stuff that will persuade me.

I should add: I am not particularly optimistic about getting an offer at this NYC firm. I know that this NYC firm, just like most others, receives about 500 resumes for each open slot. The firm did screening interviews with 51 lawyers. I made it past that round. They are bringing back fifteen to twenty for serious interviews. I think of it something like American Idol. I made it past the "thousands auditioned" stage, to now where there is the "top twenty-four." While I have a shot, I'm smart enough to know that the odds are strongly stacked against me.

Now, I need to go pack because first thing in the morning, I am flying down South.

My U.S. Tour Begins

In the next few weeks, I will be touring around the country to interview with various law firms in every corner of America. With the economy appearing to cause the legal market to tank, I am a little concerned about actually getting an offer, but right now I will enjoy the VIP treatment that the law firms are using to try to woo candidates. Although I have been asked to interview with firms in London, Paris, and Beijing, we will focus on the States right now (Wife says Paris "could be fun," and London is "something to think about," but all I got was a funny look with "we'll talk about it" when I mentioned Beijing). With the international firms contacting me, Wife and I recently realized that we need to get passports.

Later this week, I will be traveling down South to spend a day and a half with a firm. This is the “smallest” firm that I am talking to thus far (by “small” I mean that it is is not international in scope – they are a regional firm). This firm reminds me of the law firm in the first quarter of John Grisham’s novel “The Firm.” No, this firm does not have any mafia connections (that I am aware of). It reminds me of Grisham’s fiction because this firm is a mid-sized Southern firm that wants to play with the big boys (it is significantly larger than the firm was in the movie). As I reviewed some of their recent work, this firm appears to handle much larger cases and transactions than a firm of their size typically does. Their lawyers are exceptionally well qualified, and they also put a strong focus on family and loyalty. It should be interesting to see what the firm has to offer when I get there. Wife and I independently found the similarity to this firm and "The Firm." Because of the similarity, we simply refer to it as "The Firm."

I’m going through the travel information that the firm sent me. When reviewing it, I suddenly feel so low-class. When I travel, I basically look for the cheapest flight possible that will fit with my schedule. I’m generally satisfied with pretty cheap hotels. The firm is trying to entice me with fancy flights and a five star hotel. On my flight, I am promised plenty of leg room, my own television, and all the snacks and drinks I want. The hotel I will be staying at appears to be nicer than what Wife and I stayed in on our honeymoon (and we stayed in some really nice places). Personally, I don't understand what the point of spending this much money on a hotel is. I am going to spend very little time in the room. All I will be doing in it is sleeping, last minute firm research, and maybe some studying (ok, I probably won't do any studying). Needless to say, Wife is a little jealous of the upcoming trips. I'm going to need to find a way to make this up to her.

Valentine's Day Post

Here is a song in honor of Valentine's Day. When I played if for Wife, she found it rather emotional. I'll warn you that the artist (Mark Schultz) did not make the video. A fan put together a montage of photographs that go by while the song plays: if you like the photos, great; if not, don't blame the artist.

Enjoy my official Valentine's Day song for 2008: He Was Walking Her Home, by Mark Schultz (lyrics are posted below).

Mark Schultz - Walking Her Home

Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

Her dad said son
Have her home on time
And promise me you'll never leave her side
He took her to a show in town
And he was ten feet off the ground

(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home

Ten more years and a waiting room
At half past one
And the doctor said come in and meet your son

His knees went weak
When he saw his wife
She was smiling as she said he's got your eyes

And as she slept he held her tight
His mind went back to that first night

(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home

He walked her through the best days of her life
Sixty years together and he never left her side

A nursing home
At eighty-five
And the doctor said it could be her last night
And the nurse said "Oh
Should we tell him now
Or should he wait until the morning to find out?"

But when they checked her room that night
He was laying by her side

Oh he was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled when he said this is not the end
And just for a while they were eighteen
And she was still more beautiful to him than anything
He was walking her home
He was walking her home

Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

Wife’s Birthday Celebration: Meeting Clay and Eating at Mario Batali’s

If I do say so myself, Wife had a pretty good birthday celbration. Over the last 36 hours, we saw a Broadway musical, met Clay Aiken, and ate at one of Mario Batali’s restaurants.

Last fall, we heard the news that Clay Aiken was joining the cast of Spamalot. Wife, being the energetic teeny-bopper that she is desperately wanted to go see him. In her defense, we watched Season Two of American Idol together years ago, she became a fan then. The past few months, she has been watching for a special to come around for tickets to go see Clay in Spamalot, but there were absolutely no deals to be had. Lo and behold, tickets did show up on our list – for the performance the day before her birthday. It took right about two seconds to decide what to get her for her birthday.

Spamalot was a better show than I expected it to be. We have become quite the Broadway experts in the last two months (we have seen the Farnsworth Invention, Phantom of the Opera, Is He Dead?, Pirates of Penzance, and a Tribute to Eugene O’Niel). Shockingly, wife says that Spamalot was her favorite. Spamalot was definitely the funniest. The humor, while not exactly doctoral level humor, was actually rather sophisticated (well, most of it was).

Clay Aiken did a decent job in his role as Sir Lancelot. Frankly, I am sure that the former actor, David Hyde Pierce, undoubtedly did a “better job.” However, the roll is designed for a goofy, nerdy, wimpy knight that loves to sing. Really, this is a role that is perfect for Aiken. I mean absolutely no disrespect to Clay – this is simply a role that he plays very well.

For the most part, the cast was exceptional. Personally, my favorite part was looking at the cast members and trying to remember which Law & Order episodes they appeared in. However, there was one notably weak cast member. For our showing, the understudy for the Lady of the Lake performed. She seemed like a fine actress, but could absolutely not sing. Her lack of singing talent was the talk of the theater during intermission. For a woman staring in the performance of a musical, I would think that a prerequisite would be the ability to sing – clearly, I am completely mistaken.

After the play, I suggested to Wife that we ought to go the cast exit and wait to meet Clay. Wife rolled her eyes at me and responded, “I’m not a twelve year old girl.” I take full blame, insisting that waiting outside in the cold to meet Clay would make her birthday very special. And it did, Clay came out, introduced himself to us, signed autographs for us, wished Wife a happy birthday, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Ok, I’m making a lot of that up. We did meet Clay and we did get his autograph. Wife said to him, “Good job tonight,.” After about a ten-second pause, Clay responded, “Thank you very much.” He was clearly completely out of it. As Wife commented, “He’s still performing.” In all fairness to Clay, he was the first star that came out. Though he was rather aloof, he was extremely polite and was willing to stay out and sign autographs for anyone that wanted one.

To finish off our celebration for Wife’s birthday, we went to dinner at Mario Batali’s restaurant, “Otto.” Without a doubt, this is the “trendiest” activity that Wife and I have done since we have been in the city. Otto is incredibly crowded with a young, very hip New York crowd. In a way this is the perfect restaurant for Wife and I: all of the entrees are extremely reasonably priced at just about ten dollars each. The restaurant makes it’s money on the wine, which goes for up to about $350 a bottle. Since Wife and I don’t drink, this is a very cheap priced dinner at a trendy hotspot.

During dinner, we had some great entertainment at the table next to us. This fellow and his date, who clearly enjoyed the wine WAY too much, decided to pull a stunt to get a discount on their meal. Together, they split one of the unique pizzas. They devoured the pizza, except for one tiny morsel of crust (seriously, above the last half-inch of crust on just once piece). The fellow decided to proclaim that the pizza was “burnt” and “practically inedible” to everyone that would listen. It worked – they received an apology and their bottle of wine was on the house. I can’t figure out why the restaurant gave them the bottle of wine for free instead of just giving them the $12 pizza, but I’m just a simple minded fellow.

All in all, I would say that Wife had a rather good birthday.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Happy Birthday to the smartest, sweetest, and sexiest wife on earth!!!!!

What Were the Suns Thinking?

Good new! I can now like the Miami Heat.

New York Subway Performer

Wife and I just returned from a night out with Aunt and Uncle (which deserves, and will get, its own lengthy post). As we were coming home, we walked past several street performers down in the subway – nothing unusual there. As we stood waiting for our train, a guy started playing the drums. Again, nothing unusual. I looked over at him and noticed that across his drum set he was promoting his website. This street performer has a website and a MySpace page devoted to his act!

Check it out here:

Shakerleg's Website (view lots of pictures, read various stories, learn his subway performance schedule, and even sign up for his email list)

Shakerleg's Myspace (you can listen to him perform)

The streets of New York City are simply awesome.

The Dangerous Streets of New York

At about 7:15 yesterday evening, Wife and I were walking down the sidewalk on our way out for a special evening (which she will write about later). She and I were chatting – everything was normal. Suddenly, Wife began to shriek while I heard a simultaneous loud “thud.” I looked around, figuring that there had just been a car accident, but directly in front of us was something much worse than a typical car accident: a speeding taxicab struck a careless bicyclist. Right in front of us was the bike rider sticking through the windshield of the taxi.

In less then five seconds, a street cop was on the scene. Seriously, he began handling the situation in less than five seconds. Within about forty-five seconds, two more police cars were on the scene. Wife complained vigorously about the response time of the paramedics and fire truck, because they took nearly five minutes to arrive.

The cyclist was “just a kid” (Wife’s description), who was no more than nineteen or twenty years old. He was listening to his iPod while he peddled, so he was oblivious to the sounds of the street around him.

I couldn’t piece together exactly what each party was doing to cause the accident, but it appeared to me that the speeding taxi made a reckless lane change to avoid a parked bus, while the cyclist was traveling the wrong direction on the street. With the bus blocking the view, neither one could see each other until they got into the intersection, when it was too late. From what I could piece together, both of them were at fault (probably the kid going the wrong way down the street bore a bit more blame).

As the kid was pulled out of the windshield, he immediately began apologizing to the taxi-driver. All he could do was mumble over and over, “I’m so sorry, I’m just so sorry,” as he looked at the smashed windshield of the cab and then down to his mangled bike. The kid was clearly in complete shock; he was not doing well at all (as would be expected after you fly face-first through a glass windshield). Wife’s immediate response was to look at me and say, “Go tell him that you’re a lawyer and he needs to sit down and be quiet.” No, I didn’t listen to Wife. Without having seen exactly what caused the accident, I don’t know who was really at fault (I can just speculate), but the kid looked half-conscious and really shouldn’t be taking full responsibility in that state.

As the paramedics began loading the kid into the ambulance, the poor guy was visibly panicked about what would happen to his bike. Kind-hearted Wife turned to me and suggested, “Go tell him that we will take his bike home for him.” I began to protest to Wife that 1) we have tickets to a show that would begin shortly; 2) we have absolutely no idea where this guy lives; 3) the bike was mangled to the point it would be very difficult to move; and 4) it was barely fifteen degrees outside. Wife’s response was simple, “But he needs help.” Fortunately, the paramedics were ready for the situation and began strapping the bike to the front of the ambulance.

So, the primary lesson here: be careful on the streets of New York.

Husband and Wife Do the Opera

Earlier this month, I received an email from Law School with the subject line, “Free Tickets.” Immediately, the email had my full attention. The email explained that a theater company needed to fill up several seats for opening night of the opera “Pirates of Penzance.” The email explained that in order to be considered for up to two tickets for the next night, I had to email a fellow with the company who would call me if I was selected. I thought, “Why not,” and immediately shot off an email, figuring I would never hear anything, but there was nothing to lose.

Later that evening, the guy did indeed call. He told me to be at the corner of a certain intersection where one of his employees would have an envelope with our names on it for two tickets. He explained that we should be discreet about receiving free tickets, because it could anger other patrons who paid a LOT of money for their tickets. In order to be discreet, we should meet his employee a couple of blocks from the theater and not mention anything about it at the theater.

After I hung up the phone, I started thinking: we need to meet some guy at the corner of an intersection for secret tickets? Really? This must be a joke. I began thinking this was a scam, but how were they scamming me for free tickets? Despite my doubts, I told Wife that I think I got us tickets to our first opera together, but not to get too excited until we actually had tickets in hand. Though Wife understood my apprehension, she disregarded my advice not to get excited. To make a short story even shorter, the tickets turned out to be completely legitimate. Wife and I enjoyed a wonderful night out, for just a few dollars spent on subway fare and hot cocoa. Not only did we get free tickets, the tickets were for exceptional orchestra seats.

Pirates of Penzance was definitely a great first opera for us to see together. Wife enjoyed it because it was musical with lots of singing (and most of the singers were very good). I enjoyed this opera more than I anticipated for a couple reasons. First, it was in English – that was a big deal for me. Second, Pirates is a comedy. I like comedies. Comedies keep the attention of simple minded folk like me.

Pirates of Penzance is probably most famous for a song that almost everyone has heard: “I am the very model of a modern major general” (also known as “The Major-General’s Song”). Though the song may not exactly be operatic, it was certainly entertaining.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the evening was during intermission when Wife turned to me and said, “I miss singing.” Those who know Wife, know of her musical training and passion for singing that was extinguished several years back. Maybe, just maybe, we can get her to start singing in public again.

Where We Are

I'm sure you have heard the news that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment Tuesday. You can read all the rumors and speculation about that somewhere else. I thought the loyal readers of this blog (all ones and ones of you) would be interested to know that his apartment is just up the street from us.

Our First Broadway Musical

“Say you'll love me ev'ry waking moment; turn my head with talk of summertime…” Earlier this month Husband and I attended our first Broadway musical adventure. I find myself still humming the songs to Phantom of the Opera. I have always loved the music to Phantom, but have never been fortunate enough to see the production (I realize many people are shocked to learn I have never seen it since I am so familiar with the music). Well I can officially say that I have now witnessed the immensely popular and loved Phantom of the Opera.

Let me start from the beginning. Husband’s wonderful Aunt recommended us to join a group that provides drastically discounted tickets for some of Broadways best shows. A few weeks ago Husband and I were going through the website and I saw that they were offering tickets to Phantom of the Opera. We decided to use the Christmas gift that Husband’s sister had sent us to purchase tickets. We bought the tickets about two weeks before the date of our show – you can only imagine my excitement.

There was really only one flaw with our plan. We bought tickets for January 3, when it was still tourist season here in the city. Okay, so I know that every day of the year in NYC there are going to be thousands of tourists, but they seem to flock to NY during the holiday season (especially for that big, famous crystal ball that dropped two days before the date of our show). Everywhere in the theater there are signs stating that photography is not allowed and to please silence all cellular phones and beepers. Apparently, tourists believe that the signs do not apply to them because I could not begin count the number of cameras, video recorders, and cell phones I saw snapping pictures and recording videos, many of which Husband and I were in the background. Husband’s response was “Great. Now we are going to show up on YouTube.”

The show itself was terrific. Although I was already quite familiar with the music, I didn’t really know all that much about the plot (other than the obvious). Husband and I were rather disappointed to learn that we had several understudies in our viewing. We were particularly upset to learn that Raoul was an understudy. However, the understudy did a good job. He had a wonderful voice, but was not powerful enough. He definitely was overshadowed by Christine and the Phantom.

It was a wonderful night at the theater and I was pleased to finally see Phantom of the Opera. The next shows that are on our possibility list are: Les Miserables (I absolutely love this show), Jersey Boys (everyone recommends this), and Spamalot (long story). I am not sure if we will actually get to see all of these shows, but they are on our hopeful list.

New Year's Eve in New York City

Even though we didn’t do anything incredibly exciting, there is nothing like New Year’s Eve in New York City. As many of you know, Wife has been quite ill for just over four weeks now. I have spent the last few weeks nursing my wife back from the brink of death (yes, that’s a bit of hyperbole). Given the cold, the crowd, Wife’s health, and the fact that neither of us really felt like getting into a fourteen-hour shoving match with tourists (during which time we would be unable to use a restroom), we decided that we would watch the Ball drop from the comfort of our apartment.

Though we decided that we didn’t want to spend fourteen hours freezing with a million others in Times Square watching the ball drop, Wife and I decided to go over to Times Square on New Year’s Eve just to take in the atmosphere. On Monday afternoon, we took the ten minute trek over to Times Square where we saw the stages, where the ball will drop, and hundreds of thousands of fans lined up.

We now have a completely different perspective of the festivities as we watched Ryan Seacrest host the New Year’s Eve spectacular in Times Square. All the events take place on a block that we have walked down countless times in the last few months. We recognize the signs; we spot little shops and restaurants we have gone in; we notice how each station carefully positioned their cameras to avoid showing advertisements for their competitors. A year ago I never would have dreamed that we would watch the biggest New Year’s party in the world while feeling like it is taking place in our backyard.