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Okay men’s volleyball fans, it’s time to jump on the Pepperdine bandwagon.
Last week the Waves were #4 in the nation when they shutout #3 Stanford 3-0. That bumped Pepperdine up to #3 nationally. However, USC also swept Stanford 3-0, and they advanced to #4 in the rankings.
Last night’s battle between Pepperdine and USC promised to be a long, five-set match, and the first set had that vibe to it. The Waves pulled out an exciting 30-28 victory, however, and the large crowd settled in for a long night. But the Waves phenomenal blocking led the way to an even more impressive 30-24 victory in set number two. Then, USC just packed it in, and Pepperdine completed a shocking shutout with a dominating 30-19 win in set number three.
You can read a more detailed story HERE.
I don’t think anyone goes undefeated for the year in men’s volleyball, especially in Pepperdine’s crazy hard conference. But we’re undefeated so far, and our undefeatedness appears to be getting more and more impressive with each passing match.
* My hometown has been iced in this week – the whole town w/o power. I’ve heard it is the most beautiful destruction you’ve ever seen.
* Our most infamous Pepperdine Law alum, Mr. Blagojevich, would not go down w/o a fight. But going down he is.
* L.A. has 4.5 million people. Now, a lady out here goes and has octuplets. Our population is multiplying at 8x the normal rate.
* The International Justice Mission is a cool outfit, and I heard an IJM speaker twice this week. I thought I was up on all the good justice passages from the Old Testament, but I had never noticed Psalm 10 or Isaiah 59 until he used them.
* My man Pujols wants Manny Ramirez in St. Louis, but sounds like the Cardinal brass doesn’t agree. I think Manny would be fun in St. Louis. Then again, Manny is fun anywhere.
* The basketball Hogs finally got an SEC win last night. I caught parts of the game – looked like Mr. Clarke was the man.
* Volleyball action on tap tonight: Pepperdine Waves vs. USC Trojans in some of the best volleyball in the world.
* It is Friday.
One of the dangers of blogging is exposing that you are an idiot. But best I figure, once that cat is out of the bag, then you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
I’ve been all over the board on what I want to do with a law degree, and I’ve declared several different directions on this blog. Lots of things sound interesting, so I go back and forth a lot. It feels, however, that it is about time I pick a course to pursue. Doesn’t mean that’s how it will end up, but I need to be shooting for something.
Turns out that family law is that direction. Makes sense given my resume, but on several other levels, too – reasons I’m too sleepy to outline this morning.
The words “family law” have a certain ring to them:
* There’s the ugly side: being a “divorce attorney” is not the most popular thing to be.
* There’s the warm, fuzzy side: standing up for the best interest of children sounds sweet & cuddly.
Then there’s the reality of it.
Yesterday, a dude spoke during lunch at the law school, telling us about his 37 years of experience as a solo practitioner in the family law field. He told us that the reason there are metal detectors when you enter courthouses isn’t criminal law – it’s family law. Where emotions run high. He told a story about when his client’s wife pulled out a gun in the courthouse (pre-metal detector days), shot his client, turned the gun on him, pulled the trigger and the gun jammed. Thankfully, the bailiff subdued her before she ended his career!
So, it isn’t a boring field. 
Anyway, feels good to have a direction in this vast ocean called the legal profession. Now it’s time to start making progress down that particular road.
Dude was speaking at lunch yesterday on international justice to a packed house. While explaining the history of his organization, he told a story from the apartheid regime in South Africa. He mentioned so-and-so who was the leader of the white church there, and then mentioned so-and-so who was the leader of the African-American church! LOL!
I really had no idea there was an African-American church in South Africa.
Being the smart aleck I am, I immediately scanned the room for who else thought this was funny. Not a smile in the entire room – except for two deans who were giggling in the corner.
So I bought the old “practice makes perfect” line and did a mock interview last night. Been interviewed many times in my day, but this was the first for a job in the legal profession.
And it was good. But not for what I thought it would be.
My “interviewer” specializes in labor & employment law at the firm Epstein, Becker & Green. Turned out that she had gone back to law school in sort of a midlife crisis like yours truly, so we did less of the “let’s play interview” part and spent more time with her giving me advice – and me doing some very important listening.
She was a straight shooter, and I think I’ve been wanting that for a long time now. I have been struggling to find my story – why I’m here, and where I’m going. She told me now’s a good time to figure that out.
So I’m on it. Jody & I had one of our good, long talks last night, and we’re not far from being able to answer those important questions. We need to sleep on it a couple more days to be sure, but we’ll get there.
And from my perspective, it’s about time.
MARIO’S STORY
Periodically, Ken & Alice Starr open up their home to law students for “Sunday Night at the Starrs.” We’ve had to miss the first couple of these opportunities, but last night we were able to attend. I was especially excited given the subject matter: “Seeking Justice.”
Because the program promised an above-average attendance, the event was held in the Mendenhall Appellate Courtroom at the law school instead of the Starrs’ home, and a good-sized crowd did in fact turn out to see and hear an amazing story. Mario’s story.
We had the privilege of seeing the documentary that will air on Showtime later this year, along with meeting the nun who stood by Mario’s side for so many years, the attorney who saw the case through to victory, and the producer of the film. It was quite a night.
Here is the LINK to Mario’s story, and I encourage you to spend significant time there (there’s a movie trailer to watch along with lots of other cool stuff). But also Google the name of Mario Rocha and read all the articles you can find about his awful story with a happy ending.
During the brief Q & A session at the end, I was particularly impressed by an answer given by Mario’s attorney. You need to know first that this attorney grew up in a prestigious prep school in D.C. (the one the Obama girls now attend) and that he is an attorney at a huge firm that makes its fortune representing the largest companies in the world. In other words, not a prime candidate for a liberal do-gooder. And yet, when sharing what Mario’s case taught him he said that he learned that an innocent inner city defendant with brown skin won’t get a fair trial in Los Angeles.
Please remember: we now live in a country where a rich Ivy League Christian attorney who happens to be black can now be president. But we don’t live in a country where a poor, non-white, inner city kid can get a fair trial. There is much work left to do for those interested in Seeking Justice.
We went back to Firestone Fieldhouse to watch the #4 Waves take on #3 Stanford last night, and it wasn’t even a contest. Pepperdine swept the Cardinal in three straight to remain undefeated on this young season.
Here’s a LINK with the particulars of last night’s match.
Our next chance to see the Waves in action will be this Friday when the USC Trojans come to Malibu. USC also swept Stanford in three straight this past week, so it ought to be quite a match!
It’s hard to capture the speed and power of men’s volleyball. Especially at the level on which Pepperdine plays. Maybe it would help if you realized that Paul Carroll (#12) is six feet, nine inches tall.
We went to watch Pepperdine defeat Pacific last evening (where we learned that Hillary, and her friend, Sarah, have discovered boys – at least, college volleyball boys!). Carroll, who plays on the Australian National Team, led the Waves to a resounding victory. Tonight will ramp up the intensity when we host Stanford (we’re #4 in the nation and Stanford is #3).
Like I said, capturing the speed and power of the game in a picture is impossible, but check out the leaping ability of the outside hitter in this pic (and for a little perspective, the tiny libero in the orange shirt is actually 5′10!)!!!
Go Waves!
As with anything, there are good things and bad things about our big move. Good stuff we would never have experienced if we hadn’t moved, and things we miss out on because we have.
An example of the latter is the chance to spend an evening hanging out with friends. This is mostly attributable to being new, of course, and will change with time, but being so busy with law school exacerbates the situation. Last night, Mike & Heather invited us over for dinner and reminded us how nice it is to spend an evening with friends.
Mike & Heather moved here from Oklahoma for Mike to be the computer guru for Pepperdine, and in the process, the university snagged a really neat family. Their preschool twin boys are adorable, and it could be that they are the type of folks everybody instantly bonds with – either way, they have treated us like we are instantly good friends.
So last night was a good one. A scrumptious dinner, fun conversation, and new friends = a winning combination. It made the three hours of study at the law school afterwards much more palatable.
Yesterday produced a few thoughts…
Attended a panel on civil rights hosted by the Black Law Students Association and moderated by Professor Christine Goodman yesterday during lunch. Raul Ayala of the Mexican American Bar Foundation, Rabbi Judith HaLevy of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, and Reverend Brenda LaMothe of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church were the speakers. As would be expected, the inauguration of our nation’s first black president was a popular topic.
But my favorite part was a story Reverend Brenda told near the end of the hour. She talked about growing up black in Watts during the 1960s, her memories of the riots, along with the devastation felt throughout her community following the assassinations of Dr. King and two Kennedys. She remembered a personal feeling of despair and the advice her grandmother gave her: “Don’t expect to save the world. Go to school, do your best, and use your life to touch one person. If we all did our job, the world will be saved.”
As with most grandkids, she didn’t buy it at the time.
In a moment of transparency, she told us that she did decide something that she had never admitted publicly before yesterday: she decided she would marry a white man instead of a black man so she could have white kids who would never be called nigger. And she did it. With the exception that she went on to have two really black kids!!!
But along the way her grandmother’s advice made a lot more sense. And forty years later it makes a lot of sense.
Quit trying to save the whole world I say to myself. Use my life to touch one person.
And then last night I went to the Perrins for the grad student Bible study. Dean Perrin himself spoke. He used Paul’s “jars of clay” as his text, but near the end he offered a phrase from the very cool writings of Henri Nouwen: “downward mobility.” How making oneself less can, in fact, be progress. Jesus, for instance.
Quit trying to save the whole world I say to myself – moving up in the world, though intuitive, is misguided. Use my life to touch one person. And look downward.
I tell you the truth. The greatest among you will be the servant of all.
