a N O T I C E f o r f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y
  a NOTICE for friends and family  

Note: for those of you who read this whom I don't know, this entire thing is going to be totally irrelevant. Who cares where I am, physically? That's the beauty of the internet. But for my friends, the people I actually talk to in person or on the phone every now and then, this might matter.
To my friends and family, some of you know this already, but many of you might not. Anyway, I'm almost done with law school. In fact, I'm almost done with all of school. I'm graduating in a few weeks, and much as I've loved academia, I suppose it's time to work. Like at a real job and all that.1

So here's the deal. I'm just going to get this all over at once, because I hate talking about what-I'm-doing things, and would much rather talk about what-I'm-thinking things. This is probably why I haven't bothered to tell too many people about this even though it's all quite huge.2

In about two weeks, I move to Japan. Shonan Village, an hour south of Tokyo. I will spend the summer editing a journal on Asian environmental law, policy, and science at an environmental thinktank there.3 My dream summer job, and, maybe, my dream any-job. I expect it will be nice. Maybe I will even learn some Japanese. I'm not sure I will have access to my web page, but I should have email.

During this time, I will study for the bar. It should be hectic, but fun. In that overworked exhilerating kind of way that seems to fuel me these days.

Then, I will move home to Memphis, to (gasp) live with my parents and work for a judge--Judge Ronald Lee Gilman--who seems kind, intelligent, and is an MIT alum to boot. I'm honored and lucky to be able to work for him. And with the co-clerks, two of whom I've met, and who seem great. I just hope I don't disappoint.

The clerkship will last a year. I do not know where I will be after that. I'm considering Tennessee, San Francisco, and Boston. I might be forced to return to DC, because a lot of the more interesting (to me) jobs are here. But location-wise, I'm not psyched.

For actual jobs, I'm considering government (DOJ, EPA, Solicitor General's Office, state Attorney Generals' offices--that is, if any of them let me in), public interest (Union of Concerned Scientists, Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Foundation, and maybe some of the other biggies like EDF and NRDC), and weird random research fellowship applications 4 (Institute for Advanced Studies, Brookings, American Association for the Advancement of Science, etc.).

If you have advice, I'd like to hear it.5

Because my life is rather transient, and will be for another year, if not longer, I got a net domain. Well, actually, my brother and I got a net domain. He's moving, too.

Anyway, this should act as a permanent point of contact. So, friends and family, if you want to get in touch with me, please please, email me here. Thanks. If I knew my addresses and phone numbers and stuff, and if I had more time before I have to move, I'd mail you one of those handmade cards with excerpts from my favorite authors that I usually make in these kinds of circumstances, but I don't know my complete contact info, and I've been spending most of my time finishing up things that need to be finished.

So please keep in touch with me here. And please keep in touch.

050900

1. Not that I consider academia non-real. But I'm not likely to work in academia anytime soon. The legal academia bar is way too high for me. Justin, however, still thinks I will end up in academia. I think he is projecting more than predicting.

2. A typical conversation with me would be:

(someone I like): Hey, whassup?
Me: I've been totally obsessing with my paper lately, the one about American Trucking v. EPA, and how I there should be a scientific amici brief in this case talking about risk assessment. The more I read about it, the more I'm convinced this would be useful for the Court.
(the person I like): Oh. So what're you doing now that you're almost done?
<unless it's a person I *really* like, then the conversation about American Trucking would go on much longer. But eventually it would lead to the question above.>
Me: Um, I'm studying for the bar in Japan and working there.

This usually leads into a tedious conversation about the background of it all, Professor Brown Weiss popping this cool cool job on me, and how I couldn't turn it down, who these Japanese people are, what the journal, Global Review of Environmental Strategies, would be, etc etc. To me, its boring, and every iteration just gets more boring. To the other person, it's a total shock what I never mentioned it earlier. Am I not psyched? Am I not their friend? No. No. I am psyched, I am their friend, I just hate talking about this.

(someone I don't like): Hey, whassup?
Me: Nothing.

3. I'd advise you to follow that link. There's a very cute javascript thingie there. I'm usually not into that kind of stuff, but for some reason I really dig the IGES following the mouse around.

4. This, people claim, backs up their beliefs that I will someday end up in academia. Not necessarily so. Rather, this demonstrates my fear of the real world and its ensuing practicality and my love of, well, research research research. Being of the research bent, though, I will defend forever the uses of research, indirect as they may be. But I love research not for its utility, but for the joy of it in itself.

5. This is not, by the way, a general solicitation for advice. It's really just to friends and family. Thanks.