Soup Is Good Food

I hate eating lunch at my desk.  I think everyone deserves a break from the workday when they can go outside, stretch their legs, and get something interesting to eat with friends or family members.

Sometimes, however, work pressures just make eating out impossible.  When that happens, it’s nice to have dependable options within walking distance where you can get a good lunch and bring it back to your desk.  I’m lucky, because I’ve got a lot of really good choices.

When I’m in the mood for something on the lighter side — which in my case means soup — I head down Gay Street to Cafe Brioso.  Every day this nifty little coffee shop and eatery offers your choice of five or six different soups, as well as a full spread of sandwiches and other fare.

Today I decided to try something a bit different and got a bowl of the coconut curry lentil soup, which set me back only $4.  It was excellent, combining lentil heartiness, coconut smoothness, and a little curry kick to get me primed for the afternoon at the office.  With some crushed saltines and a crumbled crust of bread, it filled me right up.

It’s just another reason why I’m a committed soupaphile.

On Applying, And Getting Rejected

Richard has begun the second year of grad school, and Russell starts his first year of grad school next week.  It got me to thinking about my law school days, and specifically about the application process.

I was working on Capitol Hill for U.S. Rep. Chalmers P. Wylie when I decided to take the LSAT and look at going to law school.  I had a solid undergraduate record, I got a good LSAT score, I had that Capitol Hill job on my resume, and I had a nice recommendation from Mr. Wylie in my application packet, so I aimed high, for Harvard and Yale among other schools.  I was a confident, and foolish, young man.

I was taken down a peg when, very shortly — embarrassingly shortly — after I sent in my Harvard application, I got the standard form rejection letter.  It hadn’t taken them long to figure out that I wasn’t Harvard material.  My rejection from Yale came a few days later.

I soon realized it wasn’t the end of the world.  I was accepted into other good schools, went to Georgetown University Law Center, got a good legal education and met some great people, and have moved on.  I now think that those once-embarrassing rejections were a good thing, because they helped to motivate me to work hard in law school and because everyone needs to experience a little humility in their lives.  And, I’ve also come to believe that it’s not where you go to school, but what you do with the education you receive that counts.

Rejection isn’t the end of the world.  Often, it’s something you can build on and learn from.