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New Orleans' critters
September 17, 2009Actual conversation that I had with a friend the other evening as we were walking down the sidewalk back to our cars:
Lara shrieks and jerks back.
Lara: "Was that a big frog? It scared me!"
Lara's friend: "No, it was just a big cockroach."
Posted by Lara Richards at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Dear fancy-schmancy law firm, Part 2
September 12, 2009I sent a note to a local law firm about why I couldn't attend a reception they were hosting the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend. (I was on the road to Paducah for a weekend-long work session on our sagging farmhouse roof.)
I didn't expect to hear anything from the law firm partner that I sent my note to, but I did. Turns out, juding from the partner's reply, they might be pretty cool and, more importantly, appreciate my farm girl roots.
Here's the law firm's reply:
***
Lara, thanks for the nice note, and I do understand your choice. We look forward to meeting you at the firm's interviews.
regards, Law Firm Partner
p.s. Here is a roof quote for your enjoyment:
But I don't begrudge anybody, because I know how hard it is to have that dream and to make it happen, whether or not it's just to put a roof over your head and food on the table.
Carol Burnett
Posted by Lara Richards at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Dear fancy-schmancy law firm,
So I had a major country girl conundrum last week. I had been invited to a law school reception at the home of the partner of one of the law firms down here in New Orleans that I'm really interested in working for. I had heard through the grapevine that the firm really uses the reception as a way to get a good look at the candidates and it was highly encouraged that I attend.
But I couldn't. See, I had already committed to being in Paducah for the long Labor Day weekend to work on our roof, which has needing working on for a really long time.
I chose the family and the roof, of course, but I felt it necessary to send the law firm a note to explain my absence. I decided to just lay it all out for them. Here's what I sent:
***
Mr. Law Firm Partner,
I regret that I was unable to attend the law school reception at your home last week. I have heard from several of my classmates that the event was delightful.
My absence on Thursday is in no way a reflection of a lack of interest in working for the firm, however. I was disappointed that I was unable to be there, but I had a prior family commitment. Lest you think my "family commitment" was a Labor Day barbecue or something equally trivial, I shall provide a bit more detail.
I am the oldest of six daughters born to a farmer/rancher and school teacher in a small Texas town called Paducah. The country house we live in is 80-plus years old and has needed a new roof for several decades. The roof situation has drastically worsened over the last five years, so much so that leaks had developed in the house.
For the past year, my family has been saving money to fix the roof. I enlisted the help of my best guy friend from high school, who agreed to serve as the general contractor of sorts on the project, while myself and Sisters 4 and 6 climbed up to help.
I have had the roof project on my calendar for Labor Day weekend since this summer, and I had promised my family I would be on my roof at sun-up Friday. There was simply no way I could be in New Orleans at your reception Thursday evening and then in Paducah on the roof Friday morning. As you well know, I chose the roof.
I am very interested in the firm because of its commitment to excellence and reputation in the New Orleans community as being the best of the best. I think I am an excellent candidate for a position at your firm because of my scholastic excellence, work experience as a journalist, and my diverse life experiences, roofing now included.
I look forward to meeting you and/or your colleagues at my interview with the firm Thursday morning.
Thank you for your understanding.
Lara K. Richards
Tulane Law School, Class of 2011
Posted by Lara Richards at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Torin Halsey's gonna kill me
September 3, 2009I'm notorious for putting things off. I can procrastinate like the best of them.
But recently, I outdid myself.
Last summer, before I left the newspaper to head down to New Orleans for law school, I asked TRN chief photographer extraordinaire Torin Halsey for a big favor. I wanted to purchase a camera and I figured Torin, being not only a great photog but a great guy/dad/friend, could help me pick the perfect one out.
We met at Best Buy one day, he asked me what I was looking for, what I wanted to do with the camera, etc. He made his recommendation and helped me getting outfitted with the perfect camera.
I didn't get the camera revved up before I left Texas because I figured I'd do all the charging up and downloading of the computer program stuff once I settled into my new apartment.
And then school started. And then it was Christmas. And then it was Spring Break. And then I went to New York for the summer.
And that wonderful camera that Torin helped me pick out 14 months ago sat and sat and sat in its box. I finally - three days ago - took the thing out and figured out how to use it.
It does take the most wonderful pictures, by the way. (See the previous blog "Y'all, Meet Roger Traynor" to see a picture of my new cat. Yes, I took a picture of my cat. I'm officially an old maid now, I know.)
So, in honor of my good friend and photographing mentor Mr. Halsey, I'm going to attempt to take you on a photographic tour of my life in NOLA over the coming weeks/months.
Better late than never, eh?
Posted by Lara Richards at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Y'all, meet Roger Traynor
My dearly departed contracts professor named her cat Roger Traynor, after the renowned California Judge Roger Traynor.
My professor's sister had warned that Roger was a very shy cat. He liked to hide under the bed and was slow to get comfortable with people. Well, I guess good ole Rodge sensed that I was a Texan pretty quickly, because within 5 minutes of being dropped off at my house two weeks ago, he was in my lap, instant friends.
So far, me and Mr. T (sorry, but I'm trying on numerous nicknames for my hairy friend) are getting to know each other. He only likes soft food, which has really stunk up my tiny apartment, but we're trying to find a happy medium. He's decided that my favorite turquoise chair makes a good substitute for his scratching post, a habit I'm trying to break.
He loves crawling up in front of the air conditioning units in my apartment. He loves sleeping in suitcases. He likes watching me shower, which is something that will take some getting used to as well.
If he's not attempting to sleep directly on my face, he likes to climb on top of my trunk to sleep.
I'm officially a cat lady now, but so far, so good. Turns out, Roger's a pretty cool beast. Check him out.
Posted by Lara Richards at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
My new friend
September 1, 2009I don't pretend to understand the universe or to have the full capacity to comprehend why some things happen, why some things don't.
Last year, after more than a decade as a journalist, I uprooted myself from Texas and started a new adventure in New Orleans - law school. Needless to say, the transition was very bumpy. I had to learn how to study again, how to be a student, how to be around people that wanted to be lawyers (eck!)
On any new adventure, it's always nice to find a comfortable spot along the way - especially with a friendly face - to help you make sense of your new-found chaos.
I don't know why I gravitated toward my contracts professor. She just seemed very grounded, very real, and yet extremely approachable. She had recently battled cancer - and won! - so she was also one tough broad. In other words, my kinda gal.
I found myself in her office often. Sometimes, I was seeking help to make sense of the law, but most often, I was just looking for someone to help me make sense of my new world.
She and I had communicated over the summer by e-mail. I told her I couldn't wait until school started so that I could come into her office again and she could help me sort things out -- from what classes to take to my job hunt to what kind of lawyer I wanted to be.
In early August, I received word from school that my professor had been injured in a swimming pool accident and had died of massive brain injuries. I don't know why the cosmos would put her through cancer only to snatch her away in a freak accident. As I said earlier, I just don't understand.
I was still up in NYC finishing my summer job when word reached me of her death. I e-mailed another of my professors to ask about funeral arrangements, if there was going to be a memorial service, what her family was doing, etc. That professor told me that everything was taken care of, except for her two cats.
And you all know the rest of the story.
I now have a cat. While I love having animals out on the farm, I've never personally wanted an indoor cat in my own home, especially an extremely furry, hairy beast like the one I've got now.
But it was the thing to do. It was the only thing to do. It's my way of grieving and coping, I guess, since I can never again go into my professor's office and ask for advice. Instead, I come home to her cat every day. He's no substitute for my professor, but there is a sense of peace and solace that coming home each day to her cat provides.
My professor's office was a comfortable place for me to go to learn, to escape, to figure things out in the wild and crazy world of law school. And now, hopefully, my home can be a new home for a thing she loved so dearly.
Posted by Lara Richards at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
