I'm not happy, RIM. Not. Happy.

I started a new job last February, and with my new job came a new phone. The firm let me pick any phone I wanted, as long as it was a blackberry. The office is invested in the BES, you see, and they rely heavily on the security features that Blackberry has for so long been known. I've used a Blackberry before, and was left feeling that the Bold I owned was a little under-powered and slow for the operating system, so I asked for a Blackberry Torch 9810, with the physical keyboard, hoping for a better user experience. So far, I must say that I'm disappointed.

"Chaos, Mr. Who. It is our mode and modus."

Chaos indeed. So this is my first blog post since finishing law school. Since then I've articled, gotten a position with a new firm (which is really my old old firm), had a baby, had a wife break her leg, had some trouble sleeping...the list could go on. So. Here we are, blog, just you and me. Maybe I can stick with you a little longer this time, eh? If the chaos doesn't erupt again? Worth a try, anyway.

Law School Is Done!

There! Done law school! Now on to bar exams. And work. And the new house. What am I doing wasting time on my blog again?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Helicopter Mom

This article appeared under my byline in the Obiter Dicta, on January 31, 2011.


Like Luke, my partner in editorial crime, I also had strong feelings when I read Amy Chua’s story and book excerpt.  “Horrified” might not be too harsh or exaggerated to describe what I felt as Ms. Chua tells us of threatening to leave her three year old daughter out in the cold and under-dressed if the little girl didn’t practise her piano lessons. This horror was only slightly reduced by the fact that Ms. Chua apparently was bluffing, and relented when her daughter stubbornly refused to submit to this threat. Unlike Luke, however, I read the article with the uneasy feeling that as harsh as Ms. Chua’s methods seem, when she talks about Western parents coddling and over-protecting their children, she may have a point.

So You Wanted To Manage Your Work/Life Balance....

This article appeared under my byline at the Obiter Dicta, on January 10, 2011.

For most of us students here at Osgoode, work/life balance isn’t much of a concern. At this stage in our lives, we are mainly pre-occupied with getting ourselves through all the work of law school, getting established in our new careers, and using what free time we can find to blow off some steam. However law school is not forever, and articles shall also pass, and eventually each of us is going to come to grips with deciding just how much time we want to spend working, as opposed to having “normal” lives.

Some of us, however, have already given this matter some thought. Those of you who know me, for example, will already know that I have a wife and daughter, living some distance away from me. Work/life balance for me is an immediate problem, as raising a toddler is a full-time job in itself, and my wife is also working two jobs to help put me through school. Every spare minute I can spend at home with my family is one she doesn’t have to do the work of a single, working mom. Alternatively, too much time spent at home helping my wife reduces my grades, and defeats the point of coming to law school in the first place. As you can imagine, I have gained extensive experience in balancing my work life and home life in my two-and-a-half years here at Osgoode. My aim in this article is to share the fruits of that experience with you.

A Long Absence

Okay, so I haven't posted anything here in while. School has been crazy, family life has been crazy, and I've been following events in the Middle East pretty closely these last few weeks.  So to make up for this, I"m going to publish the more recent articles I wrote for the Obiter, and hopefully begin a more regular (or at least more frequent) schedule of posting thoughts.

The spark.

I think I see it now, the pattern here

And here and there. It's such a small part

A tiny piece of the picture.

But it's here. Can't you see?

Let me show you.

There. Right. Now you get it.

What is it? Why, it's everything.

And it's growing.

Didn't you know?