Here is the deal, you have to copy and paste this into your journal...

The Rules

1. Leave me a comment saying you want to be interviewed.

2. I will respond by asking you five questions of my choosing.

3. You will post the questions and the answers to the questions on
your journal.

4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview other
people in the post.

5. When others ask to be interviewed, you will give them five
questions.



The following list of questions were given to me by Shennanigans.



1. You generally do not allow comments on your journal because,rightfully so, the peanut gallery of the world does not know you. However, there are times you do open your entries for comment - What are the reasons you choose those entries? Albeit, they are not personal in nature, but there are other entries of non-personal nature which you choose to keep closed to comment; why?

(As a side note... Maybe you should realize that we, 'Scapers, would not just leave silly random comments when you do open for comment if it was a more frequent occurrence. LOL!)


When I first journaling, I got some truly offensive things in my comments sections, and so I closed them off. Now, I'm just gotten used to it, and it sort of gives me more freedom. Lately, I've made the decision to open more entries up to comment, but I think probably the more personal entries, where I'm complaining about this or that or talking about my love life, will remain closed. On the other hand, for political or other social commentary, some feedback might be nice.

2. In your practice of law, have you found yourself doubting the very nature of people and their inherent ability to be decent, good, and honest? What has had the biggest effect on you and your outlook on the world and people because of it?


The practice of law has definitely changed my outlook on people. I think I had a better grasp on it when I first started practicing law. One thing is that I assume that the average person I pass on the street is screwed up in one way or another. This means I'm less likely to be intimidated by people, and more likely to think about their underlying motives.

I don't think that I view poeple as more dishonest. I've never really thought of people as being honest. I will say though that part of the reason I live as far out in the country as I do is because I want to keep my distance from clients. I was disturbed when I ended up with a few people who live with a couple houses of me as clients, and they turned out to be seriously messed up individuals.

3. You have indicated that your current interest in walking in nature has somewhat changed your ability to just "be" in nature. Rather than walk by a tree and enjoy its beauty, you now analyze its botanical values and qualities. How have you, if you have, balanced the two?


I don't think there is any balance here. I like learning about nature, and I enjoy my hikes. This relates to the last question in a way. When I first started practicing law, I was more conscious of the change that it created in my perception, now it has become such an integral part of me that I'm not aware of it anymore.

I guess that journal entry didn't quite explain my position. I really like learning about nature when I'm on a hike. I had to think consciously about what I was losing. It was only after self-reflection that I understood that there was a loss in addition to the gain. By comparison to the increased enjoyment I get now, it was trivial.

4. In living and working in a smaller community, do you find that you become more emotionally invested in your cases? If so, is it because you know the faces with the names? Is your answer because your job has a bigger effect on the smaller community, and/or because there are more ties that bind?


I don't know the faces in work outside of work. There are about 200,000 people in the county I live in, and I've dealt with maybe .5% of them in course of my practice. On a very rare occasion, I will run into one of them on the street, and I will wave and say hi.

I do become very emotionally invested in my cases. What happens in court to my clients has an enormous impact on their lives, and when they succeed, I feel like I've succeeded. That article about the fellow who got stabbed by his client and triumphantly told the court, "See! I told you he was nuts!" is extreme, but is something I can relate to. I had a client who did not like me at all recently, and that person ended up getting a different attorney. I was relieved, but not because I had gotten rid of a problem client, but because I had been very frustrated with the progress in the case, and I thought my client had been getting screwed.


5. You remained in a relationship in which, as it appears to a reader of your journal, you almost certainly knew how it would end.
Why?


She was cute, we had a lot of interests in common, and she was and is a fun person to hang around with.

It might have been a self-fufilling prophecy. I don't think I was really emotionally committed to her. We did have fun at times, and we still communicate at least a couple of times a week.