A long, long time coming

There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.

 - Sam Cooke

Hi, folks. It sure has been a long time. I quit blogging right after law school, and although I toyed with the idea once in a while, I've never started back up since then. But lately I've felt like this could have a place in my life again. I see a lot in my new job, and I have a lot of thoughts looking back on my last job, that this kind of outlet could help me process and express.

I know quite a few people followed this blog back in the day, but without some kind of lingering automatic subscription, it's unlikely any of them will see this. That doesn't bother me one bit: I figure this will be a gradual ramp-up and I'm happy for some anonymity while I work out the kinks.

In fact, I won't mind if the anonymity lasts a lot longer than that. When I went away to law school and left family members craving details of all my distant adventures, blogging was a perfect way to keep everyone updated. But the most helpful part was always the writing, and I expect that to hold true even without a ready-made audience.

Here are some things I'd love to think through here:

1. Until recently, I worked as a prosecutor in a court that's now accused of practices amounting to debtors' prison. I certainly saw state laws and court procedures that unfairly disadvantaged poor people, and I couldn't agree more that they have to change. At the same time, I worry that everyone involved with that court will be painted with the same brush, when in fact an internal struggle was always raging, with many people willing to buck the system in favor of people's rights and just outcomes. I hope their experience on the ground results in the credit and input they deserve as a part of the much-needed change to come.
2. That is by no means the only controversy related to criminal prosecution to arise during and after my time in that job, and it's so hard to reconcile the undeniable facts about systematic bias in the profession with a very positive personal experience. There's so much I have yet to sort out.
3. Trial advocacy: I spent eight months doing it almost constantly, then two and a half years doing it every month or so, and now I watch multiple civil trials a week as a staff attorney to two judges. I've started helping out with a trial skills course that one of my judges instructs at the local law school, and it makes me realize how much experience I gained in a few short years and how many attorneys still struggle with the basics. I'd love to use this space to explore some strategies that should be more widespread and might be worth passing on to students if I get the chance.
4. Homeownership: I've had two very different experiences with this in rapid succession, and despite requiring more elbow grease, the second time has been much better. I'm tired and have come close to biting Russell's head off a few times, but I love the outcome and take pride in the skills I've gained. I would love to share some of that process in case it helps others avoid pitfalls and reach the same satisfaction we have.
5. In a sad twist, homelessness—the very opposite situation—was a key issue in my job for most of the past three years. My work assignment as a prosecutor brought me into very close, almost unparalleled contact with the people experiencing homelessness in Austin. I gained so much perspective on that problem, but even more appreciation for the difficulty of solving it. Now that I'm out of the trenches, I want to relay my experience into some kind of beneficial action, but I have yet to figure out what it should be.
6. Relatedly, I've had some opportunities to involve myself in local politics and I want to do more of it. This would be a fun place to strategize and chronicle that process, which should ramp up quickly now that one of my most awesome law school classmates is running for public office.
7. Lastly, for a few years there, my world was rocked by some serious loss and change. A few of my all-time toughest experiences—seasonal depression, my mom's brain tumor—were discussed here. Others—an abusive boss who wrecked my first year as a lawyer, the death of my peerless Nana—happened after I quit blogging. All of these were interspersed with major life events that, however positive, still made for great stress and upheaval: planning a wedding, taking an overseas honeymoon, buying one home and then another. Coping and adaptation were my most vital life skills for a while there, and although things seem to have calmed down, you can never know for sure. I'd like to process some of what I learned in case it benefits anyone, and also in hopes of making it clearer and easier to access in the future.

I know these are lofty goals, and maybe I'll wind up focusing on just a few of them. But for now, while I feel out whether this is worth taking up again, it's plain to see there are at least seven reasons why it is.

Lifted

As I've so often written here before, time is a funny thing. On the one hand, I can hardly believe almost eighteen months have passed since I last posted to this blog. On the other hand, so much has happened in those months that I wonder if I can possibly summarize it all.

I wrote my last blog post just before I started my clerkship, because my judge made it clear that I should not be blogging during the time I worked for her. Although I hated to give up this wonderful way of organizing my thoughts and sharing my experiences in life and work, I honored her wishes from day one. I even gave up on my plan to write a "goodbye for now" post because I didn't get it done before my first day at the court.

Well, my clerkship has been over for a while now, and as I begin to find my footing in the next phase of my life, I have started to feel like taking advantage of this blog being fair game again. I guess the freedom, time, and energy to say what I want about the last year and a half has made me realize: I have a hell of a lot to say.

I expect to post here and there about the major events and changes that made my life look the way it does today. But then again, I don't want to spend TOO much time looking backward. I mostly want a space to think and write about all the changes still in store for me. So, to get you very quickly caught up with the present, here is a quick summary of these eighteen crazy months:

• On August 25, 2011, I started my clerkship. Where this is concerned, I plan to name as few people or places as possible in order to maximize what I can appropriately say about my experience.
• The following month, at an event held by Austin Pets Alive to clear space for animals evacuated into Austin during the devastating Central Texas wildfires, Russell and I brought home a new family member. Simon is a friendly, lanky brown tabby who plays the mischievous younger brother to our older cat, Ramona, and now we can hardly imagine life without him.
• A few days later, Russell made good on a lot of long conversations and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes with all my heart. We got to share the good news a week later at the Pennyslvania wedding of one of my awesome cousins.
• On October 27, 2011, my beloved and incomparable Nana lost a hard fight with lung cancer and left our family without its matriarch. Even as I reeled from the sudden shortfall of awesomeness in the world, I treasured the way the family pulled close afterward to share laughter, tears, and the strangest Halloween on record.
• A week later, I learned that I had passed the Texas bar exam. I was a licensed attorney at long last!
• In early 2012, I found the perfect dress for our wedding and we chose a date (a Thursday in October) and venue (the beautiful Barr Mansion). The planning was officially underway!
• Around the same time, I learned from my judge that my clerkship would last only one year instead of the two years I had expected. This is a long, long, long story you will certainly hear at another time.
• That March, I started applying for jobs to follow the end of my clerkship. I focused on nonprofit and government offices in the Austin area. I had three interviews between early April and early May, and then I had to cross my fingers and wait.
• On May 17, I learned that Harvard had awarded me a fellowship to work for an Austin nonprofit, the Appleseed Financial Access and Asset Building Project, for a year. I was elated to have at least one option for after my clerkship.
• On June 12, the City of Austin Law Department offered me a position as a criminal prosecutor. While prosecution was not a career path I ever expected to take, I had heard great things about working for the City and felt very actively courted by the people there. The job also offered a much better salary than the fellowship from Harvard and would not require me to start searching again in only a year. With great difficulty, I chose the job at the City over the fellowship.
• On July 6, 2012, I was released from my clerkship and free to start my new position. My early departure was the end of another very long story I plan to share here sometime.
• For the remainder of the summer, I learned the ropes at the city prosecutors' office. I learned to conduct trials, which are a huge part of this job, and battled the surprisingly intense anxiety that the first few of these can cause even a comfortable public speaker. But I gradually overcame that with the help of my friendly coworkers and outstanding boss.
• That summer we also opened a gym membership and spent a few sessions with a trainer learning butt-kicking exercise routines to make good on a very old promise to be in the best shape of our lives for our wedding. Russell lost over a dozen pounds, and I lost about twenty and saw a huge change in the shape of my body. We knew we couldn't keep it up forever, but damn, clothes and photos were a joy for a few months there.
• On October 18, 2012, in the middle of a week-plus of amazing time with both sides of my family, Russell and I got married in the most kickass ceremony and reception we could ever have imagined. Pictures of the awesome clothes, crowd, food, dancing, and details to follow. Probably in much greater numbers than you actually care to see, but hey.
• Now things have most decidedly quieted down, and Russell and I get to focus on things like work and losing the weight we put back on over the holidays.
• We have also planned (and then rescheduled, due to an unfortunate snag in the City's leave policies) an unbelievable honeymoon in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. We can hardly wait for takeoff in early March. For now I'll leave it at that, because I will surely be unable to shut up about this in plenty of posts to come.

I'm looking forward to explaining a lot of this, along with other topics like friends, food, and life in vibrant East Austin, in greater detail. Stay tuned, and hopefully I'll make you as glad as I am that the blog is back in action.

Testing, 1, 2, 3

This semester, our focus was on establishing our relationship with the RFK Center and the teens, gaining their trust, and determining their goals and interests before planning the actual workshops for next semester. To that end, we participated in a conference call with the Children’s Action Corps staff, an informal meeting with former students Lauren Birchfield and Joe Kennedy, and two “getting to know you” sessions with the staff and teens.