Nealmeister

Grendel's Den (I KNEW I knew it from somewhere!)

Jess and I trekked over to Harvard Square to meet up with Janine, Paula and Aaron for some late night snacks and well-deserved pints of Original Sin Cider.  Of course, we showed up at Grendel's Den (after parking on Church Street, the site of an apparent water main break), ready for some good, live college music.  Now, I've gone from lame to insane lately, so it was nice to just kind of chill and have one pint with a quesadilla, and have the singer/guitarplayers make fun of us a-la acoustic cafe, instead of molesting us a-la columbus ave karaoke.  Not that I'm hating, I'm just saying.  Plus, the eye candy was very gentle on the eyes.  Just saying there, too.

Now, what happens when you get a bunch of law school students, attorneys, and D.A. staff involved?  You remember that, in land use class, you've read something about Grendel's Den.  And you're right.  In 1982, Grendel's won an historic court case in the US Supreme Court, which enabled Grendel's to use their liquor license and changed existing laws in 9 states.  Read the decision by clicking here. [Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc., 459 U.S. 116 (1982)]

Yuletide Sightings Take ___

I do have beautiful friends, in particular, S & J, who are not only beautiful looking, but are among the nicest (and funniest) folks I know.  Good people do survive law school, folks.  S & J are among the bunch who have not turned into spiteful, corporate a-hole attorneys who have sold out on the public interest and now only help the private good.  Oh wait, let me not speak too fast... that's me!  The couple of honor:

Awww, how cute.  Now, Sonya & James were really cool and savvy about their engagement party.  No gifts; the gift of our presence was enough for them (awww).  And lo!  Engagement party = Christmas party (awww sweet!).  Now how about that?  It meant only one thing: I could leave the firm early (7:30pm) and stop billing on a Friday night and instead, have me some fun!

Ok, I might have broken off a piece of the gingerbread house.  After all, the house was there to be eaten by humans like... me!  Then, of course, the rest of the boys annihilate the rest of the house.  How's the trouble maker?  Of course, me...

Finally, what's a party if I'm not hanging out with all of the girls at some point or another? Honest to gawd, I was not intruding in this picture! Colleen and Simone wanted me there, I swear!!

Moving, Lonergan, and Seventy-Five Days

An agent through which vital powers are exercised.

Fall is finally becoming fall in Boston, in November.  Crisp and cool, just the way November should be.  I always thought that this type of fall weather lends itself to the nostalgia that replays inside my mind and supports the frustrated writer that lingers inside of me.  That's what I thought about when I was walking up Walker Street after I got off the bus this evening.  I was thinking about how much I really love my street, and how cool but strikingly red the fireball glowed from the utility pole at the top of my street, and how much I really loved what I do--even though I bitch and complain about it at times.  It's that new slug of a slog that I have to fight out and figure out.  I could quit.  But I love the playing field.

Beneath that fireball, though, I bumped upon Todd and Meg's U-Haul.  Todd and Dan were in it, amid all of the Todd and Meg's life that was getting squeezed into a 17-foot U-Haul.  Now, I always get really funny with change, especially moving.  I play things off like I'll see someone tomorrow.  I try to keep things "normal."  I laugh a bit and [/MESSAGE CLIPPED/]

[So Long], Sweet Summer

I got an unexpected call from Barbara this morning. I was in the middle of finishing up drafting a release at work and found myself really looking for an excuse to take a 6 minute break. Barbara became it. And I was wicked delighted to take her call.

As things turned out, I cleared my early afternoon schedule to get Chacarero with Barbara and her dog. Even though the original Chacerero is now closed (victim to the filene's shuttering/downtown crossing gentrification), we made do. After a bit of waiting at Rico's, we hit up the patio at the Boston Anthenaeum to soak up the mid-summer splendor that is

Boston

. So, looking over the king's burial ground -- straight for our alma mater law school and the urban mountain that is the financial district -- I let barbara do most of the talking. We kind of relished over that feeling that you have inside of you when the bar exam is done. We chatted about conservatives and Gordon Brown. I nostalgized about how I felt when I cleared out my law school locker, and she told me about the relief she felt when she could get out of that law school.

I realized, though, that I really do miss academia... Or at least the freedom of having "hang out" time while getting things accomplished. Of course, that feeling is only amplified by the sunny weather and New England summer, by people wearing cargo pants and t-shirts and reef flip flops, to everyone else's stories of frozen margarita happy hours oceanside... on a Tuesday night. I decided, then, that I wanted winter to come. Soon.

Just think people. Christmas is less than 5 months away....

Fast Forward Rewind: Summer 2007

[Gate at Nate & Sue's Family Cottage, Little Compton, RI]

It is really hard to believe that Summer 2007 has nearly half-way completed.  I'd like to think that I'm a glass is half-full guy, but this summer, I'm thinking that more than half of the things that I wanted to do won't happen.  The second rafting trip up in Maine has already fallen through; trips to Hampton Beach or surfing at Salisbury or beach bumming on Plum Island have been talked about; and my sister and Chris are moving to Ohio next week. 
One thing is for certain, though: for the times that I have been able to enjoy the summer and everything it's got to offer, the times have been high-flying and wicked neat.  Jackman 2007 was full of hits.  Having Hillary and Travis come out from Illinois and Ohio -- only to partake in scorpion bowls, amble about Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, and ride the rides at Canobie Lake (all those pics I really do have to upload soon).

Nothing, though, kicked things off better than heading down to Little Compton for what's becoming an annual trek to Rhode Island.  Sue finally posted her pictures.  Now, I can quasi-relive inside jokes of "that's what she said" or nostalgize about my constant napping.

What's cool about Rhode Island, though, is that it's got everything you'd expect in Maine, plus a tinge of what you'd expect in the Carolinas.  I guess that's uniquely Rhode Island.... and now, I'll let the pictures say the rest.

Some hosts are great.  Others are awesome.  But these guys are wicked awesome!  Plus, they're photogenic, as evidenced by yet another glamour shot down in Sakonnet Point.

Peace and tranquility.  Little Compton Harbor.  You'd never guess, though, that it was an abnormally chilly Memorial Day weekend...

They still got it in them.  Able to walk without blackberries.  Able to laugh at wicked stupid jokes.  Able to not stare at the camera during ST's candid shots.... well, some of us like to smirk a bit!

Or, in realizing that you're from Maine, perfect your ability to have your eyes shut when the camera lady's saying "the sky is perfect.  Don't blink on me!"  Oh well.  I guess this makes the picture a bit more memorable...

I'm beginning to realize, more and more in these contemplative pictures that involve one of my 27 hoodies and one of their 27 pairs of sunglasses, that (a) I really like my hoodies, and (b) I really need to get contacts so that I can finally wear sunglasses.

And, oh yeah, as time goes on, I'm realizing that I look less and less like my mom, and more and more like my dad.  Wow.

Re: emails from friends

The email message:

It's weird how reading your reply to George made me realize how I never hear you talk about Notre Dame that much anymore. Either corporate indentured servitude is stifling your nostalgia or I'm just not around you in a social setting that much anymore!

Nealmeister's response:

Oh, I do think about it a lot. I think about Notre Dame, and the ocean, and the woods in Maine, my parents and Sunday morning bruch, and that four of swords card from the tarrot card deck four years ago (or five summers ago). I think I'm just not around many people in a social setting anymore (unfortunately), and as such, all of the nostalgia gets kept to myself. The things that make me laugh with my friends, the things that I really love discussing, the things that I really love spending my time doing, there's really just not that time anymore. It's somewhat sad; those were all the things that made up my personality. But it's amazing how once you get to the real world, your "personality" no longer becomes relevant. Well, at least in the corporate world. It's all about cash. Nobody really much cares about what I think (or the brilliant things in life, for that matter, like the ways clouds form on the eve of a thunderstorm in the middle of the summer; or how beautiful the congregation sounds at church when they try to sing, even though they're somewhat out of key and sound somewhat shrill; or the sound of the tires to my corolla when I'm driving through the less congested roads around the Middlesex Fells), unless it has to do with a transaction. Which is hard. I'm sounding like a frustrated writer...

The reply back:

Damn, that was intense! Brilliant! I just had to check and see if you still had it in you. But I hope I didn't open a can of worms on you.

A "Devil Wears Prada" Moment

I know that there's quite a number of blog posts that I need to catch up with.  But in the meantime, this is going to work.  It's 10:17PM and I'm still at work.  Indeed, I got to desk at 7:33AM.  I procrastinated for a bit at around 9AM, emailing back and forth with Sue.  And then for about a hour around 7:55PM, I went to the gym.  Now, I'm back here, at Club 34, still being a corporate associate.

Sometimes, I wonder why I slave away at all of this the way I do.  I understand that driving forces exist, but I wonder how much of it is self-imposed (read: still type-A, even after Boston Latin School, excessive undergrad drinking, and even more excessive law school and bar review drinking).  At the same time... I just want to, you know, "do good," and "enjoy the river," and "be with the people I love."  Like, how is corporate law relevant to all the things, deep down inside, I really want to do?  Is is really?  Move to Maine... alas, that's the answer!

But is that even a statement?  Against the MAN?

From that little thought, I found myself thinking about The Devil Wears Prada.  I think I've blogged about this before, but tonight, in the wake of my review, in the wake of being kicked in the ass, in the spirit of believing that every pup attorney needs to get his (or her) ass kicked in a mighty fashion before being worthy of anything, I thought of Miranda Priestly. 

"You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff."

--Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, in The Devil Wears Prada

Touche.  Indeed.  The arguments, the thoughts, even TDWP, it all is circular.  Eventually, that chick in TDWP gets where she needs to be... and I, I'm still listening to John Mayer and The Fray in my office.

Go figure.

The time is now 10:29.  There's to .2 hours that I cannot bill!

BarBri is Done!

Don't know why this was still in draft, 10 months after the fact.  I mean, the original posting date (in draft) is 12-JUL-2006.  And it wasn't even a real post...  just a picture of the Suffolk-AM crowd, minus Mr. Murphy of course.

But we can let nostalgia continue, I guess, for it brings visions of hope for the law school/barbri class of 2007.  Kids, there is hope.  Just wait until August...

Livin' it up raw

Well, Jess is done with 4 out of 5 law school first year finals.  I stayed up until 6AM working.  So how do we celebrate?  By taking the Corolla out to Medford and hitting up (a) Kappy's, to get part 1 of all of the fine liquors and beers for "Flippin' for First Year Fun", and (b) go to BJs to get some... now we won't go there.

Roomie field trips always happen to bring on a great deal of excitement.  They don't happen enough, but when they do, there's sure to be a few laughs.  Take going to Anastacia's (a/k/a "Our Trip to Somerville").  Who knew that the Corolla (not mine, hers) could survive falling into a ditch?  Who knew that when a lane is marked "Right Turn Only," you're not supposed to go Left or go straight?  Apparently, I didn't.  And of course, I start hollaring back, or something like that.

Anyway, Kappy's.  The last time we were there, it was September and we were returning about $20 worth of empties.  There was sludge on the floor, and we both were wearing flip flops.  So, of course, true to form, today we walk into Kappy's both wearing flip flops.  For about point 5 seconds, this feeling of disgust overcame our bodies.  I myself was a bit mortified.  But for a second, Jess had no way of knowing, because I was humming the "I'm so mortified" song inside my head.

A trip to Kappy's or BJ's is not complete without a designated pusher... and push along we did.  Tons of Sam Summer.  Tons of Twisted Tea.  Tons of Harpoon and UFO.  Then, we came upon a really crazy concoction: Smirnoff Raw Green Tea.  WTF????  Well, we said WTF so many times that we bought a case.  I've done the pretasting, and it's un-f***ing believable.  It's going to make "Flippin' for First Year Fun" a bit dangerous, and I think it may put happy punch to shame.  But so what.  If it's good enough for the wasps on the MV, it must be good enough for me...

In re: Property

My roommate -- and a handful of other goods friends -- are going through their first year law school exams.  I've got a good chuckle out of "reviewing" with them.  And I've got a good chuckle knowing that they'll finally understand where all of the law school "inside jokes" are coming from.  So, in light of all of the good laughs that I've got out of "reviewing" with some of them, I've decided to share you the crazy facebook action that ensued last night... when I was 80 percent sleep deprived :)

Neal Boyle is proclaiming to all of his first years: I won BLACKACRE!

Updated on Tuesday

The responses (of course, you have to read bottom to top):

Caroline C*nw*y (Suffolk) wrote at 10:54pm on May 1st, 2007 hahaha that's awesome!! nice catch on Greenacres... i'm going to go with a tenancy for a term through the summer, if possible. end date august 31, 2007. hopefully i'm not mixing up my tenancies. which is entirely possible. Wall-to-Wall - Write on Caroline's Wall - Message - Delete

Neal Boyle wrote at 10:49pm on May 1st, 2007 Greenacres is the place to be!! Unfortunately, I own Greenacre too. I own all acres. Statute of Neal. They don't teach that in property class... You could lease Greenacre, though. Would you like a periodic tenancy? A tenancy at will? Tenancy of terms? Tenancy by the entirety? Oh wait, scratch the last one... Wall-to-Wall - Write on My Wall - Delete

Caroline C*nw*y (Suffolk) wrote at 10:30pm on May 1st, 2007 can i have Greenacre? Wall-to-Wall - Write on Caroline's Wall - Message - Delete

Neal Boyle wrote at 10:17pm on May 1st, 2007 dukeminier is my hero.  literally. Wall-to-Wall - Write on My Wall - Delete

Ysmael F*ns*c* (Notre Dame) wrote at 10:01pm on May 1st, 2007 lol... we're such dorks (have fun slaving away as i prepare to do the same in a couple of years...) Wall-to-Wall - Write on Ysmael's Wall - Message - Delete

Neal Boyle wrote at 9:58pm on May 1st, 2007 not if you're in a jurisdiction where i've statutorily eliminated all adverse possession claims... take that COAH OCEAN!! Blackacre's in my chain of title!! It's mine!! Wall-to-Wall - Write on My Wall - Delete

Ysmael F*ns*c* (Notre Dame) wrote at 9:52pm on May 1st, 2007 not after i make it mine through adverse possession! (this message satisfies the "hostile" element) Wall-to-Wall - Write on Ysmael's Wall - Message - Delete