Studying for the DE Bar Exam

I am totally consumed by the Bar exam. Please excuse me if I fall behind with the blog.

Lessons from Red Sox Nation

Although I said that I wouldn't mix Red Sox stuff with this blog, I had to write about the mother that I met during the Sox game tonight. As we were sitting there between innings, I started talking about my son and how I wanted to bring him to the game tonight. She asked how old he was and I told her that he was a little over 2 months. Then she told me to enjoy this time because they grow so quickly and to always remember that when children are small; they only have small problems. It was very reassuring to hear her words because as new parents, everything seems larger than life to Tisha and I. If Alex doesn't go to sleep then we make a big deal out of it. If Alex spits up on his clothes then its another big deal. However, this mother of two, was telling me and probably all new parents, to realize that in the beginning all of the problems that arise are usually minor. "Just wait until they get older," was what she continually said. Parents of teenagers have tons of issues and problems to deal with (such as underage sex to underage drinking) on a daily basis. Thus, it is in this context that the thought of a dirty diaper leaking onto a new outfit doesn't seem to warrant such a big commotion anymore.

Snowing Again

After a few minutes of pondering whether I should go to school or not, I decided to stay home. A quick flash back to two years ago, when it took me 3 hours to drive home from BC, tipped the scales to the staying at home side. Besides, I don't want to be three hours away if I am needed by Tisha and Alexander.

10 years ago

This is going to be one of those years where everything changes. From the birth of Alexander to the pressure of starting my first real job, 2008 is going to bring many new challenges to the Brooks family. Tisha and I have been steadily getting ready for Alex's arrival and we pray everyday that we have a healthy delivery and a healthy boy. This is also my final year in law school so I'm counting down the days until I walk across the stage with a juris doctorate in my hand. 10 years ago, if you asked me where do I see myself in 2008, I probably would have said practicing medicine somewhere. Around this time in 1998, I was a senior at Tatnall and probably gearing up to go to Elon College in North Carolina. It's funny how one year can completely set you on a different course in life. By the end of 1998, I was attending Ursinus College, dating Tisha, taking a class with Rev. Rice, and dreaming of attending Harvard Divinity School before making my way to law school. I look forward whatever surprises are in store for 2008.

There's No Need To Fear

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I can't remember how it came up in a conversation but when I was chatting with my brother-in-law Jared last week, somehow we started talking about Underdog. Underdog was one of my all-time favorite cartoons growing up and I fondly remember viewing myself an a underdog in my youth (The reruns used to come on Nickelodeon). Well, thanks to the new live-action movie, Underdog is enjoying a little come back. I saw the movie last week in Allentown and really enjoyed it. Although, it wasn't as good as the cartoon (most movies never live up to his cartoon origins), it was nice to see Underdog on the big screen.

Tisha brought me a few Underdog dvd's for the holidays and I can't wait to watch them. Maybe Alexander will enjoy watching the same superhero cartoon that I enjoyed watching as a child.

More Snow

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We're supposed to get over 9 inches tonight.

First Snow

December is here and in typical New England fashion, we are ushering in the final month with snowfall.

Thank God that I do not have to drive anywhere today. We didn't get a lot of snow but the roads are still a little slick.

Breakthrough

Ever since I left Tatnall, I always had the same reoccurring dream. For the past 9 years, every once in a while, I would dream about playing football. In this dream, I would be extremely slow (almost running in slow motion), while everybody else is operating at full speed. The dream varies in how I enter the game: sometimes I'm still in high school and sometimes I'm back for homecoming and the coach tells me to suit up, but either way, I step on the field and I feel like somebody is holding me back. For those of you who know me well, I won't go into my high school football experience (that would take a whole new blog) but I will tell you that my varsity playing days were a big disappointment. I would always stink up the place in my dreams and for the past 9 years, it was more of the same.

However, last night must have marked a shift in my psyche. Once again, I found myself playing football and I was operating in slow motion. But the difference was that the other players kept missing me. Although I was moving in slow motion, I was side stepping the competition and even outrunning a few of them. By the end of the dream, I scored three touchdowns and was carried off the field by J. Bergey. This dream marks a very significant change in my life. It serves as the last vestige of my old self. As I get ready to become a father and obtain employment after law school, I have to shed off the baggage that continues to hold me back. As the brothers in The Darjeeling Limited, had to literally leave their father's baggage behind, I had to figuratively shake off the feelings of disappointment that were holding me back from scoring (achieving) all these years.

I think God has big plans for the Brooks family and this was one giant step towards accomplishing the goals that God has set for us.

Trip Down Memory Lane

Thank you Alexander for giving me a chance to relive my childhood. I'm looking forward to all the wonderful memories that we will share together.

I took the liberty of scanning a few photos from my childhood and posting them in the gallery. Click on the photo for more pictures.

New Sitcom?

I was watching Everybody Hates Chris a few weeks ago when I had this great idea. Why not write a sitcom about my life at Tatnall? However, instead of writing about my life at a private school(class, prom and sports), I would set the show during the summers when I worked maintenance with Sid and his brother, Steve. Those summers were some of the best times of my life and I think the concept would work well as a sitcom because of the crazy host of characters who worked at maintenance while I was there. I worked every summer while I was at Tatnall so I have tons of funny stories to tell. Sid and I talk every week about possible show ideas and I'm currently looking into books on how to write a pilot. As always, I'll keep you informed on the development of this great idea.

Is This The Face of a Lawyer?

I was stopped in the elevator yesterday by a gentleman who asked me, "If I was a lawyer?" I had to think about it for a few seconds and then I replied, "Not yet?" He then proceed to talk about O.J. Simpson but it had me thinking about my transformation from a college kid to a lawyer. Granted, wearing a shirt and tie makes me look professional but what makes a person ask me if I'm a lawyer rather than asking me if I'm a banker or a computer consultant. Two summers ago, I was standing in front of the Delaware's State Building waiting for my ride, when a young lady asked me if I was a lawyer. Before I could answer, she started talking about her cousin who was framed and is currently serving time down state. At that time, I just finished my first year of law school so I told her that maybe I can help her in a few years.

I guess the lawyer vibe could be coming from the briefcase that I carry. The base-ball glove brown Coach brief was a gift from Rev Rice for being the Chapel President at Ursinus College. He gave me a gift certificate for my hard work and I went to the Coach outlet store in Lancaster, Pa. to find a bag and pay the difference.

I had this bag since 2002 and it still looks brand new. I didn't use it much at Harvard but I started carrying it in law school and always tote it along on my interviews and internships.

Preppy Is As Preppy Does

I am truly a obsessive person. When my mind is set on one thing, that one thing usually consumes me until I have it or accomplish it. Take for instance: Tatnall. My first visit to The Tatnall School was in 6th grade to watch Ashely Deadwyler play basketball. I marveled at the cleanness of the school and the astuteness of the students but the thing that put me over the edge was the LL Bean book bags that were left outside of the lockers. Coming from a public school where if you dropped a pencil it would be gone before it hit the ground, these book bags represented not only a better school but a better life. I dreamed day and night about attending that school. I wrote "Tatnall" all over my quizzes and probably had something with Tatnall on it on my wall. Later, this same obsessiveness would apply to Harvard, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Law School. Now, I'm not saying that this is a bad thing because this obsessive behavior often drives me to achieve accomplishments beyond my wildest dreams, but I must admit that sometimes it spills into other aspects of my life. Ask anybody that truly knows me about my hobbies and they will tell you that they change every summer. Every summer since High school, I would obsessive over something. Whether its a new sport, a new video game, making beats, playing the trumpet, or clothing fads, I would be completely consumed by the new hobby or whatever. However, the one thing that I always come back to is preppyness. I may dabble in BBC/Ice cream clothes or buy a extreme amount of soccer jerseys but at the end of the day, I always feel more comfortable in a blazer and my brown loafers. Tatnall enforced a loose dress code on its students but somehow I subconsciously internalized this dress code on myself. I tried to rebelled in college by wearing basketball jerseys and sweat pants but by my sophomore year, my preppyness reared its head to the point where my nickname was Abercrombie. Since college, J.Crew has become synonymous with causal wear and LL Bean with reliable foul weather gear. In Law School, I co-founded bow tie Wednesdays and became well known for wearing khakis pants with the hunting dog prints on rainy days. I guess the moral of the story is once you go prep, you never go back.

Downgrade

With the rising cost of Cable and our new edition on the way, Tisha and I decided to downgrade our cable package. And when I say downgrade; I mean downgrade. A few years ago, we had HBO, Encore, and the sports package but in the name of saving money we decided to cut our cable bill and take away the premium channels. I didn't go into too much of a withdraw because I still had CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, TLC and the Discovery Channel. However, this time we are going all the way down to basic cable, which consist of NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS and a few other local broadcast stations. This is definitely going to be a big year for me. Many changes are in my future.

Apple iphone

Check out this cool review of the next big thing from Apple. The iphone will change the cell phone game because it can do everything. I would love to have one but since I have a baby on the way, I have to settle for the work friendly profit driven blackberry. Click on the picture to see the review

The Results Are In...

Yesterday, I went to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital and the X-rays didn't show anything. However, I did meet a BC football fan who talked my ear off in the waiting room. I start physical therapy today. Wish me luck.

Everything Starts To Shut Down At 27

Yesterday was my 27th birthday and I started the day off with a terrible pain in my lower back. A few years ago, I had the same problem and it stuck around for a few weeks so I'm praying that it doesn't last that long. I went to the doctor's office today and she gave me some Motrin and scheduled an X-ray tomorrow afternoon. I'm also going to start physical therapy on Friday. The doctor said that it could be a pinch nerve or some disk might have shifted. Let's pray for neither.
I'll keep you informed on my diagnose.


p.s.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

Second Time Around

As some of you might know, this is my second attempt at trying to start a blog. My first blog came in the form of a web page named Brooksworld. I started the page after my first year of Divinity School and it was a real labor of love. However, during my first year of law school, I got super busy thus the web page and blog were put on the back burner.
This new page emerged because I wanted to chronicle my 2nd year at BC. And since I needed a page to express my election campaign, I just decided to use the blog to do both. The only thing I need to do is pick up the trumpet again and I'm totally back on track.