In the valley of the jolly
I have just returned from my 10th annual journey down the Willamette Valley to lecture on tax law to groups of recent law school graduates who are studying for the upcoming Oregon bar exam. So experienced have I become at this drill that I am now in the running for a choice position with the CIA as head motivational speaker at Abu Gharib.
Anyhow, Salem was a four-hour lecture yesterday morning and Eugene was another four-hour beauty this morning; that and 120 miles a day on I-5 can take the starch out of you. As a fellow freeway rest area patron blurted out as he passed me in the parking lot yesterday: "I'm getting too old for these trips." My heartfelt response: "You and me both, buddy." All I did in Eugene yesterday afternoon and night was sleep and eat. Go for a run? Take in the sights? Check out the scene? No way, kids. Inhale some sustenance, stare at Shaq, and hunker down under the covers.
I did manage to eke out a tiny bit of anemic blogging from the hotel's one public computer last evening. But with other users breathing down my collar, my time on line was cut short. Tonight it's the sleep fairy who's tapping me on the shoulder. World Cup has Portugal vs. Iran at 6 a.m. -- interesting, but I think I'll have to miss that. And of course, the underdog USA in a last gasp against Italy at noon. See you sometime in there.
| Posted at 11:41 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (5)
Jack,
thank you for your entertaining lecture, i can honestly say it was the best bar review lecture we've had thus far (12 by my count...). Your levity and jealousy of p.n. and our new building made the lecture worthwhile on its own. But thanks for the tax help, too
Posted by cavemanlawyer | June 17, 2006 1:09 AM
I can relate, as I recently changed jobs and it requires traveling for business, which I had done quite a lot of in my twenties, but you are right in your 50's its a little TV, room service to avoid the hotel dining scene, and curling up with a good book.
What you might want get a wireless laptop, it frees you from the hotel lobby shared computer, most decent hotels have wireless now for at the most a couple of bucks a night, but most are free.
They are not the bulky things anymore I had remembered bringing home on vacation that weighed twenty pounds or more. They have some cute little ones that actually fit in my over shoulder bag quite nicely.
This allows you to log in while you are watching TV flopped out on the bed in you jamies with no one breathing over your shoulder.
Posted by Traveling Gal | June 17, 2006 6:34 AM
You're not missing a heck of a lot with Portugal & Iran -- it's been pretty cringeworthy, except for one Portugal goal.
Posted by Shelley | June 17, 2006 7:52 AM
oh bojack, i hope you're doing the tax lecture for the feb 2007 bar exam. your tax class has been, inexplicably, my favorite class of law school and i think you're the only one who could make a 4 hour crash lecture on tax remotely bearable. are you on hiatus? don't go away in january of 2007 please.
Posted by dawn | June 17, 2006 11:08 AM
Many hotels in Eugene are promoting free WiFi access as an amenity. I recently found a nice little motel on Franklin Ave. for less than $50 a night that included WiFi and free coffee (Starbucks, praise the lord, was only three blocks away). My mac and I were quite content and I didn't have to go through those dreaded internet withdrawl symptoms while away for the weekend.
Posted by Moses | June 17, 2006 12:46 PM