For those few avid readers of my blog, here is a direct link to some baby pics from the day of birth. Enjoy

Edit: Also, if you want to help us out and visit the baby, please email me to get added to our Baby Visit calendar on Google Calendar. If you already got invited, just add a time!

Or in other words, the baby outing process has begun.  Updates as things happen!

Edit:  Nealon Gyeong-In Ling was born on July 30, 2008, at 6:33 pm at home.  Due to the rigors of his travel itinerary, he will only start accepting requests for autographs after a much needed rest.

Yes, it has been forever since I posted on this blog.  I’ve been marathoning between work and school so it’s kind of tough to update on a regular basis.  However, I just wanted to give a big reminder of a number of final countdowns!

July 25 (5 days):  I’m finishing my 10 weeks at the Department of the Interior.
July 31 (11 days):  The official due date of the NGI Ling.
August 4 (15 days):  Final paper for Wills and Trusts due.
August 25 (36 days):  Back to school!

I believe that this video of the Final Countdown apprpriopriately expresses my preparedness in the upcoming weeks.  Enjoy:

Down: In trying to catch the bus today, I stepped in dog doo.  I spent 10 minutes figuring out where that smell was coming from before I realized that it was from the bottom of my shoe.  Super embarrassing.

Up: In doing research on appropriations authority for the DOI, I stumbled upon this hilarious piece of work.

From 16 § 1a-1’s Historical and Statutory Notes:

Removal of Feral Burros and Horses from Death Valley National Monument
Pub.L. 102-381, Title I, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1384, provided in part:  “That in fiscal year 1993 and thereafter, the National Park Service may use helicopters and motorized equipment at Death Valley National Monument for removal of feral burros and horses.”

Down: All my hard work in trying to get my settlement brief done earlier was to no avail, as circumstances outside of my control prevented us from sending it in until right before the deadline.

Up: I went to the Farmers’ Market today and got me a cheese and artichoke tamale and some blackberries.  Total food nirvana.

Up and Down: A hawk was perched upon our building’s canopy on the lower floors, holding a pigeon in its talons.  A crow spent ten minutes trying to psyche the hawk into flying away by pretending it was going to dive bomb the hawk.  Ballsy!

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Your best time for work is either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, especially if you don’t have an internet connection at the office.  Now is time to pick up some pre-Web survival skills (does anyone even call it the Web anymore?).  Taking an interest in the law library will help you with your research skills, much like a bow and arrow and some Red Bull will help you with your office politics skills (and subsequently your jail survival skills).  Alternatively, you could just get yourself a nice cup of coffee and think happy thoughts about the weather.

Our Con Law II professor put a word count limit on our answer for our exam this Friday/Monday.  An interesting response:

As a writer, I feel disadvantaged against people who have computers and use word count.

I would have never thought of that. . . probably because (a) I have a computer, and (b) I can actually do math and reasonably estimate my word count.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The sun shines yet again today, reminding you that you need to enjoy yourself sometimes.  Take a break sometime in the middle of the day by making little origami animals out of confidential documents.  The lawyers at the office will really think that your ability to make a veritable Noah’s Ark out of their $50 million transaction agreement is what makes you a keeper at the firm.

Today, I had the awesome luxury of working at home instead of going downtown to the new office (which is supposed to be pretty sweet).  I think that being at home really does help me realize how I value certain simple things in life; for instance, the ability to take a break from work in the middle of the day and say, “Hey, maybe I’ll buy myself a baguette and make me a sandwich.”  Why is it that we value the slave trade of the law and try to beat each other out on the jobs that take up 70-80 hours of your week?  Is it really worth the huge six-figure salary and the fast-track to partner and Smith, Smith, and Smith LLP?

I don’t want to be “the authority” on something.  I do want to be good at my job, and I do want to sit outside sometimes and have me an Arnold Palmer and take a nap for several hours.  Hopefully I’ll be able to work toward that goal without dying or selling my soul in the process.  Until then, I’ll be munching on my jalapeno and garlic stuffed olives.

Mmm, olives.

Monday, June 23, 2008
Some people may question your consistency and dependability based on your transient internet presence.  Now is the time to refocus on why you decided to sex the internet up with your presence.  Some people do it for fame, others for money.  The one question you really have to ask yourself is, “Why can’t it be both?”

The weather today will be fair, but irrelevant for most, mainly because we don’t live in nature, but in a cramped, file cabinet-surrounded hell called the office.  Learn to think of it as your second home and don’t be surprised if, in a few years, it becomes your only home after you neglect your family and friends to the point in which they reject your existence.  You’ll still be okay, because at least you’ll have some kind of hobby that will replace the warmth of other humans, something like model ship building or filing your McDonald’s receipts by server and location in an elaborate color-coded manner.

Alternative dumprediction:  Get another career.

So, I had posted previously about the end of MetroFi in Portland.  I guess I should have realized that this was going to occur sooner, rather than later:

Dear MetroFi User,

It is with regret that we notify you of our intentions to discontinue
offering the MetroFi FREE and MetroFi Premium services effective June 30,
2008. It has been our pleasure to be your provider of Internet access and
we have appreciated your support.

Please plan to find another service provider as soon as possible so that
you do not find yourself without access to the Internet.

If you wish to remove the MSN SideGuide application from your computer once
we have discontinued services, please do the following (please note that if
you remove it prior to our discontinuation of services, you will not be
able to access our network):

1.      Go to “Start”, “My Computer”;
2.      Select “Add, Change or Remove Programs”;
3.      Find “MSN SideGuide” in the list and select “Remove”

If you are interested in finding a FREE Wi-Fi hot spot near you, please
consider using the following link:  http://www.wififreespot.com/ca.html

Thank you,
The MetroFi Team

The hilarious thing is that Jon and I don’t have internet access at work because of security reasons and rely on MetroFi to let us do legal research.  I guess it’s back to the books.  This probably also means that I will be MIA from the internet jungle while at work for the rest of the summer (well, at least until the end of July).