Not Exactly Breakfast at Tiffany's

ugh. i am suffering from the worst crick in my neck ever. that's what i get for falling asleep while propped on 2 pillows, watching tv. so much pain right now.

i apologize for my lack of updates but for some reason, i haven't been too keen to write about what i've been up to. not because of a lack of events, but more like it could be embarassing to share them. when i stop grimacing every time i think back on them, THEN i'll write about them. until then though, i hope you'll continue to stick around.

last weekend i finally met up with Spoon for some snacks and drinks. this has been a long time coming since we've been making "intentions" to meet up but just never follow through. clearly we should be in touch more often as i found out during drinks that Spoon was in Playa del Carmen the same weekend i was! i can't believe the coincidence. if only i had been more diligent about keeping up with communications...

Spoon graduated 1 year before me from Pace Law School and has been feeling the employment effects in this current struggling economy. while she's had a few employers since she graduated, it seems like most of them were very small firms or solo practitioners that weren't able to keep her for an extended period of time (and they were definitely getting her at an already bargain rate). Spoon's in another transition period and has decided to solo practice while waiting to land at her next firm.

solo praction-ing takes some serious courage. especially since we're so young (relatively) and don't have anything close to a decent book of business (if we have any at all). Spoon's in the midst of getting a website running and has received a few cases based on referrals from friends and former co-workers.  it's a minimal-commitment operation since Spoon doesn't intend to spend the capital to invest in a full-blown solo practice but i have to give her props for not just sitting around waiting for someone to respond to her resume.

this conversation all took place at Tiffany's, a local bar in my hometown that opened up some time when i was in high school. somehow, i've been able to resist its allure (insert sarcasm here). so why did i find myself here on friday night?

Spoon happened to read in the NJ Law Journal that Tiffany's is being sued in a civil suit. the facts are pretty interesting: the defendant was convicted of a DUI and is being sued in civil court for damages by someone hurt in the accident that occurred while the defendant drove under the influence. the defendant has successfully third-partied Tiffany's, the bar that served him before he got into the accident, under the Dram Shop statute (which, in relevant part, states bars can't serve visibly intoxicated people). i hadn't read the case but had glanced at a blurb that the partner in my firm sent me. in commemoration of the article, Spoon suggested Tiffany's as our drinking spot.

yes, Tiffany's screams local, and it's parking lot was deceivingly packed in comparison to the customers inside the place. the snack foods were "meh" (stop double frying fries!) and the drinks were surprisingly pricey (at least my Dewar's on the rocks was. $8? who do you think you are Tiffany's?) but, the draw of local bars isn't the food or drinks. it's the drama. there's something so shamefully fun about witnessing the drama that always unfolds at local bars. someone always gets a little too drunk, there's always a fight or at least shouting and bouncers in action.

and tonight was no exception. right before Spoon and i decided to head home, we saw the biggest meathead, equipped with "guns" blazing in his too-tight t-shirt with sleeves cut off, start screaming at the bartender about his $250 tab. $250? at a local bar? what the hell was this guy drinking? and, more likely, how many drunken rounds did you buy?

the screaming started with him claiming he only ordered 6 drinks. it later became 2 rounds. and then it was actually 2 rounds of shots. at some point he demanded to see "John" (the manager he knows by first-name of course), and the matter was shushed into the side office. Spoon and i were DYING to get a peek at that bar tab to see exactly what this guy had ordered, but alas... it will have to remain one of the great unsolved mysteries.

but props to Tiffany's for not disappointing me.