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| I learned a new word today. At lunch, one of my good friends in law school, a previous economics major, said to me that I was the person that comes closest to being Homo Economicus he's ever met. I responded with "What?". He explained Homo Economicus:
Courtesy of wikipedia:
Homo economicus, or Economic man, is the concept in some economic theories of man (that is, a human) as a rational and self-interested actor who desires wealth, avoids unnecessary labor, and has the ability to make judgments towards those ends.
Homo economicus is seen as "rational" in the sense that well-being as defined by the utility function is optimized given perceived opportunities. That is, the individual seeks to attain very specific and predetermined goals to the greatest extent with the least possible cost. Note that this kind of "rationality" does not say that the individual's actual goals are "rational" in some larger ethical, social, or human sense, only that he tries to attain them at minimal cost.
wikipedia goes on to say...
The term is often used derogatorily in academic literature, perhaps most commonly by sociologists, many of whom tend to prefer structural explanations to ones based on rational action by individuals.
My friend went on to explain that he was certain I would take it as a compliment (I did,) and that in many ways he admired that about me. He went on to say that I am probably the only person he knows that is capable of reducing everything down to its component utility and make rational judgments based on that comparison.
Reflecting upon this, I think this "skill" is what makes my life simple. Generally speaking, I don't view too many things as having complicated externalities. I know what certain things will cost me (in terms of time, effort, happiness, etc.) and how much the desired result from that effort is worth to me. And if I decide to pass on some opportunity, I never dwell on it because it's in the past, and it is pointless to spend present resources on things in the past that are beyond my control.
Of couse I understand having this property comes with both its upsides and downsides in life, but it does amuse me to know that I might be some prototypical rational calculator. | | |
| So Today I found out I passed the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam) by the California Bar's Standards.
Tomorrow I have my final in my Professional Responsibility class.
I sent this email to my professor:
Hi Professor,
According to the MPRE results I got back just today, I'm ethical enough for the California Bar... I don't suppose that'd be good enough for you to allow me to skip your exam? :)
I'm kidding. Thanks for an entertaining semester!
I got back this response:
Nice try. I haven’t heard that one before. Congratulations, but you’d probably better study anyway.
:) | | |
| If you'll forgive me, this entry is going to be about neither Law school or Law practice. (but for those that are interested nonetheless, school is fine, and work is going well!)
For the number of years I've collectively been in the West LA area, it might be strange that up until tonight I couldn't Identify an incident that I would classify as a "LA". I have been in the presence of various celebrities; I've walked by Magic Johnson, John Lithgow, Matthew Perry, Gary Shandling, among others. I sat in the table right next to Hank Azaria at the local Starbucks. But I haven't had one of those experiences where you stop yourself right afterwards and thing "wow, did that just happen?"
Tonight, they are having the Beowulf premier down in Westwood (and Angelina Jolie must be coming or something because the throng of bystanders is abnormally large.) I walked by the commotion and turned down a street, walking away from the red carpet. I noticed in front of me was a lot of activity, but they commonly set up Will Call on this particular street for the premier at the theater, so I didn't think much of it. I walked right by the table they had set up as a box office, and the lines of people waiting to get their tickets. As I kept walking I suddenly noticed that the scenery of the street had changed in a strange way.
Suddenly it didn't feel like Westwood village anymore, in fact, it kind of seemed like I was at a bazaar in India. Then it dawned on me that I had probably walked into the filming of some movie. A man to my left held a hand out and said "stop", which I abruptly did, then he quickly changed his mind to, "Go. Quickly."
So I went. And I was weaving and bobing my way through the length of this authentic-looking bazaar in the middle of West LA as quickly and with as much dexterity as I could muster. As I was nearly through a voice rang out "Rolling!". Crap. "Faster", I thought to myself, must go faster!
I picked up the pace, noticing that everyone else around me was wearing an appropriate garb, and *I* was the one that looked completely out of place in jeans and a sweater. As I was stumbling through, and nearly at the end, I noticed there was a figure kneeling down right in my path. As I skidded to make the adjustment as to not run into the person and at the same time still make forward progress towards the end of my ordeal, the woman on the ground looked up and I found myself staring into a beautiful pair of eyes.
It was startling, because for the past 10 seconds I was focused on getting to the other side of this faux reality and back into the welcoming darkness of pedestrian LA. And then, without warning I had my breath completely leave my body.
But, being present of mind, I shook myself back into the false-reality and reluctantly strode past the mesmerizing, radiant, brilliance, and was soon re-enveloped by the brisk night air of Los Angeles. My conciousness stopped a beat and for a moment I was disoriented; what just happened? It was like I had just stepped through a door into a completely different world, and then just as immediately, I was back again. As I turned my head and looked back, the bright lights were a twinkling suggestion that what I had just experienced was not a dream. I imagine it must have been very similar to what the lampost in Narnia must have looked like through the dresser. | | |
| Another season of football, television coming out of reruns, another semester of school, and Starbucks bringing back their Pumpkin Spiced Latte. All these things point to previously visited grounds, to be tread anew. Somewhere along the way, time has passed as well. And not just some amount of time, a lot of time.
This past weekend I received an invitation to my high school reunion. The first thing that struck me wasn't the shock of age, but rather that it wasn't being held at the high school; instead the venue was a restaurant. I won't lie, I'm disappointed by this. In all of the movies and TV shows, I was led to believe that reunions unequivocally were held in the hallowed hardwood floors of the high school gym. Replete with aging people in evening wear, reconnecting with sentimental days of yesteryear, and possibly comparing successes and attractiveness of spouses.
My reunion, apparently is going to be held in a chain restaurant in casual dress, with a cover charge. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But it's a pointless exercise, as it is what it is. I've not yet decided if I will attend, because as I was looking over the guest list, I realized that I recognized scant few of the names. Along which, I have few memories, much less sentimental ones, of high school. Further, I've no spouse and little desire to measure achievements.
I remember during my senior year of high school, I resolved to attend
my senior prom because it was just one of those milestones, and
significant events during a person's life. The entire affair was closer
to nightmare than dream, I tell the story as a tragic comedy, something I can look back and laugh about now, instead of something that I will cherish. Being who I am though, I just might go to my high school reunion, disillusioned even before I step across the threshold.
But the one inescapable reality is that along with the football and TV seasons, time has been inexorably marching along. Strangely, I had many thoughts about the future when I was in high school, but getting old was never a part of any of those thoughts. And now, there isn't a thought about the future that doesn't involve getting older.
Perhaps even stranger is that I am not at all afraid of getting older, quite the opposite, I am eager to embrace it. Eager to proceed on to the next phase of life. The problem is I don't know where I am right now, or which direction to proceed in. But I won't pause, I'm just going to pick a direction and head that way until I receive more information.
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| I'm one weekend away from starting my 2nd year of school. And I am 2 years away from starting my permanent employment offer, which I recently received. So I am able to breath a sigh of relief, as I have a job waiting for me upon my graduation.
I consider myself to be outstandingly lucky to have had the opportunities that I have been given, and to have fell in with a firm full of personable, and decent, people. I will do what I can to fully leverage this great opportunity and learn as much as I can so that I may someday live up to the potential that has been ascribed to me. | | |
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