Lounging, Blocks, and Time with Ramire

Summer in Minnesota

There's not much that's better, particularly spending weekends out of the city at a lake home or cabin.

I remember last summer when I was in bar exam review class. I didn't leave the city any weekend, and when I would drive home from work at 5pm on a Friday and the roads were empty, I would feel so resentful of how everyone but me had already fled the city for the lake, and how I was the only one who had to just stay home and study all weekend instead of sipping cocktails on pontoon boats.

Not this year, folks. This July, we are going to be at the lake 3 of the 5 weekends. First Mille Lacs for Johan's baptism; then Brita's place in Alexandria; then a place my mom rents on a chain of lakes near Coldspring.

Bar exams vs. cocktails and lake-front cabins with my family and friends? No contest. Come on July, I'm ready for you.

My Job & My Insanity & My Salad (3 unrelated topics)

There are many changes at work recently- an experienced paralegal (who guided me through a lot of the stuff I am still learning to do) is gone; one of the attorneys at my office is moving to Arizona which is going to open the door for me to add more criminal defense to my practice (something I enjoy and is important to me), but that is going to be on top of the cases I already have. In true Type A form, I will rise to the occasion. But, it's all sort of daunting.

Bizarrely, also have become preoccupied (obsessed?) with a horrible and devastating and sickening child abuse case in L.A. I stumbled across it in reading some NYT online headlines last week and have since not been able to get it out of my mind. It's not that news stories of kids getting abused didn't used to bother me, but I think that since becoming a parent, I have become much more sensitive to this stuff. I cannot get this poor little boy and this tragic, sickening story out of my head. Some examples: I am following the court appearances of his mother and her friends on the LA County Jail website. (Bail is set at $1,100,000. Not reasonable? Good.) I e-mailed Tom at MySpace and demanded that he disassemble the MySpace pages of these people. (So far, the page is still there.)

I realize my reaction is kind of insane, and I'm not entirely sure how to account for it. I think it's my feeling of utter helplessness. I feel angry and sad that I can't help that little kid; that I can't make it all better. All I can do is love my own little boy (which I do, big time, of course). And email Tom at MySpace, apparently. Uggh. (Note to self: Do not accept any child abuse cases in your expanding criminal defense practice. Zealous advocacy? I think not.)

Finally, and much less freakishly, I am constantly searching for the perfect salad, and last night I found a contender: mixed spring greens; candied pecans; warm goat cheese; and a slightly spicy-citrusy vinaigrette. Delish.

This Week

Well, last week I guess, since Sunday we start anew. Last week was the first time since starting to practice law that I had what I would classify as a shitty week. No major events but a bunch of minor defeats, unfair happenings, and reactions causing even more unrest made me so relieved when I finally got home on Friday afternoon. Between a client who fired me after I got him everything he wanted and a judge that yelled at me because our receptionist put her on hold, I felt like the universe was aligned against me last week. It was lame. I am hopeful this upcoming week will be better.

Speaking of hope, I am not ok with these commercials for some cars (Dodges and Jeeps, I think?) that offer the promise of $2.99 gasoline for the first 3 years you own your new car. This offer seems utterly void of hope. Like, regardless of the possibility of a whole new direction for this country come November 4 (or January when he takes the oath), Dodge/Jeep want you to buy into the dejected belief that nothing can changed for the better so the only way to get reasonably priced gas is to buy their cars, even though you probably can't afford it. Boo Dodge and Jeep.


And boo to last week. But unlike Dodge and Jeep, I remain hopeful about the future. This upcoming week. And this upcoming four years.

Line of The Week

"If you like a T on your BLT, you know that elections matter." - Al Gore

Why wasn't he this clever/funny 8 years ago?

Tim

Tim Russert's death has my heart feeling heavy. I am an MSNBC addict and spend a portion of nearly every evening of my life listening to these pundits and commentators talk politics. Tim Russert, in my mind, was always a great one, not so much for the objectivity that everyone seems to be lauding, but for his passion. You could hear it in his voice. He loved politics just as much as I do. I always felt that if he and I ever met, we would get along really well because of this passion we share. His sudden and untimely death makes me sad for his family and also sad that he won't be here to experience this election; the election that he described as the most important in a generation.

Yesterday evening there was a memorial photo/video montage set to Springsteen featuring Tim with a bunch of important politicians. When it came to a picture of Tim interviewing Barack Obama from late 2007 or early this year, my eyes became fixed on the screen and I thought, "Tim didn't get to see us elect the first black president." He knew how important this election was going to be; that it's going to be historic.

Now, I don't claim to be psychic but I do sometimes have an uncanny intuition about certain things. While watching this montage with the footage of Obama, I got an overwhelmingly strong sense that I was looking at pictures of our new President.
I wish Tim was going to be around to analyze election night. It won't be the same without him.

The Penumbra

Knowing I need to update this little project, I thought about blogging about my resolution of Kindercare-gate, or about my affection for soy milk. Those are coming, but right now, I want to write about the past 10 minutes of Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Matthews has been hosting a panel including _____ Kennedy-Townsend, Ellen Moran, and Cecile Richards (Ann Richards' daughter) to talk about the election and women voters. While McCain likes to portray himself as a maverick and an independent mind, he is frighteningly backward on issues of women's health and other issues that are traditionally "important to women" (education, children's health, social services, avoiding nuclear war etc).

This panel was smart, interesting, and in-depth. They know what they are talking about. It seems that McCain has been on the opposite side of almost every issue that Planned Parenthood takes a position on since becoming a Senator. I usually like Matthews' sharp wit and unwillingness to let people get away with bullshit answers. Matthews did a decent job of moderating until one of the panelists (the Kennedy, I think) started talking about real memories of people that older women know who underwent illegal, dangerous, back alley abortions before Roe v. Wade. This conversation seemed to make Matthews uncomfortable; the lofty issues reduced to the graphic reality of what a world without Roe v. Wade was and would be like. Kennedy was right to frame the issue in this way, and it's really the only way to talk honestly about it.

The legal reasoning in Roe v. Wade is flawed. I remember the first time I read the whole opinion--my law school friends and I were dumbfounded to find that this dear and precious right to our own bodies was based on such tenuous reasoning. The penumbra in the Constitution. Oh, christ, we said to each other over blueberry pancakes, it's a shadow. And shadows can disappear just as easily as they appear.

But any woman over 45 or 50 has to remember the horror stories of what some women suffered and died before Roe v. Wade. Sometimes abortion seems like a passe issue--not as sexy as talking about relations with the Middle East or gay marriage, but this brief panel discussion reminded me of one of those basic rights that we may have come to take too much for granted.

How about a wire hanger on the door of every woman who is considering voting for McCain? Just a reminder...

Obama

The time has come. I am officially endorsing Barack Obama for President, for whatever it's worth. Hillary has made her decision to suspend her campaign and throw her support to Obama, and I am doing the same. I implore other Clinton supporters to join Obama as well. As Sarah said earlier today, "It's time to work really really hard between now and November." I am on my way to Obama's website to join the ranks, and I hope that you will all welcome this Clinton-lover into your fold.

I am here for the duration. Go Obama. Go America.

What's Next

Last night Hillary asked supporters to go to her website and share their thoughts for what should come next. So, I went. I was a little disturbed by the comments of many who said they would vote for McCain over Obama, not vote, and/or made all sorts of other extreme and extremely childish threats, and accusations about Obama.
I am guessing most of the people who wrote are the fringe, and I hope that most Hillary supporters will put the party and country first, get over their disappointment and move on.

Out of respect for Senator Clinton, I am not going to officially join the Obama campaign until she suspends her campaign, endorses Obama, or at least makes a decision.

This is what I put on her website:

Dear Hillary:

I have supported you from the beginning, despite most of my family and friends supporting Obama. I am not entirely your demographic, but nevertheless, I have always felt that no one would be a better president than you. However, now that Obama has enough delegates, I think it's time to re-strategize. Staying the course doesn't seem like a realistic or smart option. Running as an independent? No, we're Democrats. Taking it to the convention? No, that almost ensures a McCain victory.

Are you interested in VP? Then go for it. I could also see you as Secretary of State or a Supreme Court Justice. Whatever you do, I know it will be great and I know that this country is a better place with you on our side.

Best,

Kristina Lund Alcantara

Johan's Travels

I promised "a couple" pictures and then only posted one. Here are a couple more.

a little jet lag...



after some grub and a power nap, where should we go on our next trip?

Home Again, Home Again

Well, Johan and I have been back from LA for almost a week, and since then, have had numerous other adventures (visits from Kindness Mother Sarah & from Jamie), and many of the photos from our vacay are posted on facebook.

I am including a couple just to prove Johan has now been to the coast. He loved the ocean just as much as I do. It's funny because I'm happiest living in Minneapolis, but I feel the most at peace with myself and with the world when I'm standing at the edge of the sea. Any-hoo, Johan, too, was captivated by the sea. See?





Despite a stuffy nose, Johan was a great traveler. He was quiet and happy on the airplane and seemed to enjoy people-watching at the airport. This is great news since we have big plans to keep travelling, and it's probably a good idea to bring the baby with us.

Now that we are home, and both Sarah and Jamie have gone, I am feeling a little melancholy. It could be the clouds, the wind, the thought that it may be quite awhile until we see the LA friends again. Time seems bigger when you are thinking about it in baby-time. I mean, a few days with good friends once a year seems great, but when I think about seeing these folks in another 12 months, Johan will be a year and a half old! For some reason, that seems a lot longer.

In short, Dear LA friends: please come visit. We miss you already.