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blawg tips.

Last Wednesday, the firm I’m working for put on a presentation called “Blogging Your Way to Fame and Fortune.” The purpose of the presentation was to encourage lawyers to blog about topics within the industry (apparently also known as “blawging”) but I thought I would share some of the presenter’s tips.

Social Media Presence

The presenter, Douglas Wood, emphasized the importance of having a social media presence. It seems obvious, but I guess even the smartest lawyers can be resistant to change.

He suggested keeping the professional and personal spheres completely private – meaning having personal posts on one social media site (like Facebook) and keeping Twitter strictly professional.

(source)

While I think this is good advice in theory, I disagree with the premise in terms of effectiveness and brand-building. If I’m trying to network with someone or engage in conversation with him or her, it is a more realistic and truthful depiction of who they really are if a personal tweet comes out every once in a while. I think it’s important not to post anything inappropriate and to watch your language, but other than that I sort of think the two spheres can merge.

What do you think about this? Do you keep the spheres separate?

Engage in Conversation

The whole purpose of blogging – or tweeting – is to engage in conversation. The presenter broke down the idea of blogging into 5 key steps:

Enable conversations by creating a community.
Influence the conversation by adding value.
Monitor those conversations.
React to the conversations.
Monetize the conversations.

(source)

Tips from the web

I jotted down some of the tips he presented as well. While most of them were obvious, they are easier said than done.

Keep the goal of your post in mind while writing.
Focus on having good headlines. (No, not like the Drake song. Sad).
Include graphics.
There is no time for perfection in blogs. If you are taking the same level of detail in going over your post as you would with a brief or a memo, you shouldn’t be blogging.
Blog often! Continuously feed the beast.
Write like you talk.
Use subheadings.
Link to other sites.
Blog on an article in the news or in a trade publication.
Don’t be egocentric. If a writer wants to put out a bad blog post, all he or she has to do is focus on what he or she wants to write, and not on what the reader wants to know.

The rest of the talk was a little bit more law focused, and dealt with ethical rules in making sure attorney-client relationships aren’t formed (unless that’s the goal) by an online conversation.

I’d like to try and focus on these goals, mostly blogging more often!

Do you have any blog tips? What do you think is the most important one?

Tags: blawg, blog tips, blogging, law, law firm

Comments 4 Comments
Categories blogging, law

firefly run.

10 Jun

On Friday, May 31, Whitney and I met up with our friend Riley in Carson, CA for a fun, neon-themed, 5k in the dark called the Firefly Run. We had heard about the event via LivingSocial and thought it would be a fun excuse to dress up like goons and hang out. Riley lives in Huntington Beach so it wasn’t too inconvenient of a meet-up spot, either.

We took the neon theme seriously.

The event was cute – relatively easy check-in, complete with a dri-fit T-shirt and some light-up reflective strips. There was a DJ (as well as speakers pumping music throughout most of the course!). It was a fun vibe – lots of people dressed up and there was an energy and an enthusiasm that made it seem like it was a lot of people’s first race. The vibe was similar to that of The Color Run (which Riley and I had met up to do together last year!) I’m starting to think this “themed race” thing might have to be an annual tradition. . .

at the start.

The course meandered through the Home Depot Center, home of LA’s MLS team, The Galaxy!

home of the galaxy!

We also ran through Cal State Dominguez Hills’ campus, and did a lap on their track. Whitney and I pretended to know how to jump. Okay, I pretended, she actually knows.

Oh what up, CSU Dominguez Hills!

I LOVED how they pumped music (house music) through the course. It definitely extended the fun, party atmosphere of the race. We kept it slow and had fun throughout – even having to walk through some of the narrower portions due to the crowds. Riley and I raged.

This was such a fun race. It was definitely good to do untimed, since the course wasn’t really set up to accomodate the amount of people, but with that mindset it really was a good time!

Afterward, we grabbed dinner at the nearest place…a Chili’s. You can imagine how that went.

Also, soon after the race I realized one of my toes had fallen asleep. It stayed that way literally until the morning I woke up for the marathon, two days later. Scary not being able to curl your toes, but at least it figured itself out.

Has anyone done a trendy/themed race lately? Deets please!

Tags: 5k, firefly run, neon, race, running

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Categories do, electronic dance music, fitness, friends, likes, races, running

Equinox for a month.

9 Jun

So I tweet a lot, and apparently Klout thinks I’m “influential about fitness,” so they gifted me with a free month-long membership at the Equinox in DTLA.

The DTLA location just opened in March, and I had never been to an Equinox before, but I had heard good things. Heck, if they own Soul Cycle I figured it had to at least be decent.

The month I had Equinox coincided with my last three weeks (errrrr only 3 weeks) of marathon training, and my week of recovery, so I didn’t try as many different classes as I would have normally.

I did get to try the following:

yoga classes – I took a handful of yoga classes at Equinox and really was impressed with the quality of instruction. The studio actually felt like a yoga studio – the space is only used for yoga classes which is awesome. They also had studio-quality yoga blocks, straps, mats, and blankets. I am not a “beginner” in yoga in terms of number of classes I’ve taken, but I’m insanely inflexible. When I decided I was going to run 26.2, I ramped up my yoga to prevent an IT band/hip injury so these classes were great. They were definitely better than the ones I’ve taken at Gold’s Gym.

view from morning yoga.

pilates – With my membership, I got to do a 55-minute long session with a pilates trainer on the pilates reformer. I’d never used the reformer before, and it was both a good stretch as well as a decent core work. I didn’t feel my best the morning of the workout (blame it on the alcohol?) but I’d do it again, but not at Equinox prices.

spin - Believe it or not, I only ended up taking one spin class at Equinox. I enjoyed it – it was pretty high quality and the spin room is studio-style. The instructor was great, but it was no Soul-Cycle (but what is?)

treadmill - One awesome thing about Equinox is they have treadmills where you can “run” through roads of different foreign cities, projected on the TV in front of you. I once went on a 20 minute run through different streets in the Bavarian countryside, which was pretty awesome.

power plate – This may have been my very favorite thing. This “power plate” technology is like stretching intensified. I did a normal IT band or hip flexor stretch, but as I stood on the power plate, it vibrated making the stretch way more intense/powerful/awesome. If I actually ever joined an Equinox, I would use this every day.

Overall, the gym was really nice – clean, not crowded, and gorgeous locker rooms (they have Kiehl’s products for everything). The manager who showed me around was nice. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t enough to make me consider switching to Equinox from Gold’s. I’ll take the $100 price differential and go to the occasional YAS or Soul Cycle class.

Thoughts on Equinox/up-scale gyms?

Disclosure: While Klout and Equinox gave me a free pass to the gym, all thoughts and opinions are my own

Tags: equinox, gold's gym, gym, klout, review

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories DTLA, gym, review

but seriously, this was the #bestweekever

8 Jun

This was one of those weeks where I repeatedly exclaimed obnoxious statements like “WHAT IS MY LIFE?!” and “My life is a JOKE” because…well, sometimes it is.

Here’s why:

On Sunday, I ran my first full marathon. Sure, parts of it made me curse my life, but at the end of the day, it was still pretty awesome.

boom.

On Monday, I rallied past the intense soreness and limping and randomly went to a Dodger game with a friend who was in town from back east…who I randomly met in a hostel in Portugal over 4 years ago. #life. It happened to be an awesome game…and Yasiel Puig’s first MLB at-bat.

On Tuesday, I realized SkinnyRunner mentioned me in her recap of Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego. So so so cool.

On Wednesday, the firm I am working for this summer put on amazing event. The six Summer Associates met up with a few of the partners and associates at the firm to attend a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Through one person’s connections, we ended up hanging out in the green room for the taping. Before the show started, one of the guests, Will Smith, came by and met everyone who was hanging out in the green room. I shook his hand, but there was someone in between us so we sort of did this awkward head bob where I went right and he went right and then I went left and he went left. Only I would find a way to be awkward around Will Smith. Whatever. I’ve had less exciting Wednesdays, that’s for sure! He was friendly and insanely animated.

oh hey bud.

Seth Rogan came by too, but just to grab a beer. No socializing for him! We watched the show from the green room, and then headed to the stage to see The Lonely Island (!) perform with Alanis Morisette. Their song “Semicolon” was hilarious. Also gotta love the Oxnard reference.

After the show, we had an incredible dinner at the Public Kitchen at The Roosevelt Hotel. It was a late night – we didn’t get back to our cars at the office until after midnight!

Other highlights from the week included: fun lunches with the firm at McCormick and Schmick’s, Taipan, Wurstkuche, and CPK. I also attended a fun happy hour Friday night put on by the first year associate’s at Nick and Stef’s. It is so refreshing to hear them stress out about their jobs and whether or not they’re doing things right because that’s how all of us are as summers.

You might say I’m a little tired from too much fun. It kind of reminds me of this:

This was such a great week – and it’s not even over! On today’s agenda? A yoga class (my first workout post-26.2) and another Dodger game – this time with my law school posse!

Happy Saturday everyone! What was the highlight of your week?

Tags: best week ever, big law, Dodgers, jimmy kimmel, marathon, puig, will smith, yasiel puig

Comments 2 Comments
Categories bar, being thankful, do, Dodgers, drink, DTLA, eat, Europe, food, friends, likes, Los Angeles

my first marathon.

7 Jun

So, it’s true. I finally put on my big girl pants and ran a full marathon!

It was last Sunday, and I have LOTS to say about it. (TL;DR version? Finished (barely) in 3:49). For those nerdy enough to read on, here’s the play-by-play:

Expo

My Dad and I trekked down on Saturday to hit up the Expo at the San Diego Convention Center. We sat in some gnarly traffic, but it was nice to have the time to chat with my Dad (mostly about law and journalism, surprise surprise).

We got to the expo and I picked up my bib (which was surprisingly a process – finding and then forgetting my number, filling out a waiver, etc). Of course I had to take a photo for posterity purposes.

My Dad also told me I needed to buy myself an #RnRSD shirt because “you only get one first marathon.” Funny, normally parents are the ones talking you out of wasting money. But I’m glad I bought it. I also am now officially one of “those” people who drive around with a 26.2 sticker on their car.

We checked out some of the booths, I took a picture for an Arrowhead campaign, and I tried to find SkinnyRunner but didn’t see her. Sad day.

After the expo, my Dad and I grabbed lunch in the Gaslamp district at an Italian place whose name I can’t remember but I’d go to again. We then paid my grandparents a visit in Chula Vista, and then went back to our hotel downtown so I could chill, organize my life, and make the all-important playlist. We had dinner at a great place in Little Italy called Craft & Commerce. It was super trendy but also delicious. My arugula salad also had fresh strawberries and and a strawberry and cinnamon flavored ricotta cheese. Nom.

My mom had to work Saturday, but she took the train into San Diego from DTLA and met up with us late Saturday night. I called it a night early to prepare for my 4:50 alarm. But first I obviously had to wind down with whatever 48 Hours Mystery: Obsession (or whatever those shows are called). This one was about some psychotic killer. Those are the best.

We stayed at the Doubletree downtown which was convenient (walkable to the start) but it wasn’t anything to write home about, and had terrible parking.

Race Day

I stuck to my mantra of nothing new on race day. I had gluten free oatmeal before my 20 miler with half a banana and a cup of coffee, so that’s what I had on race day. I also wore the same outfit, down to the hat, socks, and sports bra.

pre-marathon selfie. because…

My parents were willing to walk with me to the start which was great – it kept my mind off of the task I was about to do, and it was nice to chat. We said goodbye maybe 20 minutes before the start, and I headed to my corral (#2).

I never claimed to be a looker.

I met a really nice fellow first marathoner in the corral, Erin, and we chatted. We had similar time goals but I knew I would be stupid if I tried to actually run with anyone that early.

We sang the national anthem, had a touching moment of silence for the victims of Boston, and then we were off!

The Race

I had a few different goals for the race. My original “first timer” goal was to break 4:00, and I thought that would be pretty easy. My second goal was to break 3:45. My third, long-shot goal was to qualify for Boston (3:34:59).

My first few miles were great – I kept telling myself to slow down, but I kept running 8 minute miles, but they felt slow, easy, and comfortable. I saw my parents at mile 6, downtown near our hotel which was great. I listened to music, took in the sights, and enjoyed it.

feeling great at mile 6.

The first 10 miles were pretty scenic – we ran through downtown, Little Italy, Old Town, and over to Mission Bay. Once we got to Mission Bay, we ran for 3-4 miles along a bike path near the water which was great. I still felt great – loved my music – and hit the half at 1:44. I realize now that this was a little fast, but honestly it felt conservative at the time. I kept thinking “wow, I could run the second half in 2:00 and still beat 3:45, and there’s no way I’ll slow down THAT much.” Wrong, my friend.

I broke up the run mentally into sections. The first 6 were easy – I’ll see my parents at mile 6. And then it was “get to 10 miles.” From 10, I broke up the next segment to the half, and then to 15. I thought of miles 15-18 as a unit because those were the miles I ran with my Dad when he did the LA Marathon, so I tried to envision that I had his support through those miles. Next, I broke up miles 18-22. At 22, my friend Hannes would meet me after having completed the half, and we’d run the last 4 together.

During mile 17, I started getting a little bit fatigued. The course wasn’t as exciting/pretty, and my pace slowed. I was now in the high 8s. I saw my parents at mile 18 near Fashion Valley, and when they asked how I was doing, I replied “I’m Dying.” I did appreciate their “Get ‘Er Done” sign, though.

dead.

I started walking through every water station and really just started to feel fatigued. Miles 18-22 were easily the most difficult. This stretch was boring – a lot of it was on the freeway, and there was a massive hill during mile 20. I walked way more than I had expected to, to the point where it was truly embarrassing.

evidence.

Some point in this portion of the race, I spotted Monica of Run Eat Repeat as well as SkinnyRunner. It took me a few minutes to decide that I would try and meet them, but I ran up to SR and said hi and introduced myself, and was lucky to run with her for a few minutes. She was so friendly and encouraging, and I tried to keep the “OMG YOU ARE MY ROLE MODEL” shrieks to a minimum. Due to the insanity of the hill, I wasn’t able to meet Monica, but I am pretty sure there will be a next time.

At mile 22, I met up with Hannes. I am pretty sure he just had to take one look at me to figure out that at mile 22, at about 3 hours, there was no way a BQ was in the cards. I said “just get me to the finish.” Hannes was incredibly helpful keeping me headed in that direction – with plenty of walk breaks – but we got there inch by inch. By this time, my quads, hips, and knees were all hurting. Not like injury-pain, just SORE. Each calf experienced at least 2 charley horses. #FullOnBreakDown.

The last mile was nice – gentle downhill toward Petco Park. Hannes said “we just have one more lap around a track to go” and I flipped out. REALLY? We sped up to a 7:30 pace those last few meters.

finishing my first full marathon.

I crossed the finish line in 3:49:36. Not a BQ. Not sub-3:45. But proud of my time. I have a lot of room to improve, and tons of things to fine-tune.

(I don’t suggest doing the math on the pace those last 6 miles…it ain’t pretty).

I met up with my parents in the post-race expo. They literally found me lying down on the asphalt. My mom had me take a photo with a sign she made, which is oddly perfect for the blog.

I felt terrible, but it was such a great feeling.

Music

I’m a music junky. I won’t bother sharing my entire playlist (because frankly, who cares), but here are some of my favs from the race:

Daft Punk – Doin’ It Right (I loved this one so much I played it twice in a row).

J.T. – Mirrors (Duh)

Purity Ring – Grammy (Soulja Boy Cover)

Will i am f/ Bieber (ick, i know) – #thatPOWER

Zedd f/ Foxes – Clarity

Post Race

I had trouble walking the rest of the day, but otherwise I had a lot of energy. I got back to LA and my roommate was super sweet and ordered thai food for us. Whitney came over with Ben & Jerry’s, sunflowers, and kept me company while I sat in the jacuzzi and iced in the pool. It was so nice to feel the support of so many people – including tons of friends via social media.

Recovery

Monday was pretty rough. I was limping, and getting in and out of chairs was a pretty big struggle. By Tuesday, I felt like I had run a half marathon. Wednesday there were just vestiges of soreness, and I felt fine by Thursday. I haven’t worked out yet since (my goal is to ease back into it this weekend). I have a tendency to overdo things, so I felt like a full 5 days off was fine. My firm had a ton of events this week so I ate like a glutton, but whatever. I just can’t use the “calorie deficit” as a rationale anymore. Boo.

Post-Race Thoughts

Running a marathon was not easy, but it was also awesome. During the race I told Hannes how I was thinking of maybe running Long Beach in October. I didn’t appreciate the irony at the time because I was probably walking as I said that, but marathons are so addicting.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the race, marathons, running, etc. let me know! I’d be happy to nerd out on running with you

Do you have a running goal? A life goal? Get at me!

Tags: 26.2, first marathon, marathon, RnRSD, run, running, san diego

Comments 8 Comments
Categories 26.2, races, running, San Diego

flywheel thoughts.

27 May

Yesterday I met up with my blog friend turned real life friend, Katherine, for a #SoulDate…err…spin class at Flywheel Sports on Larchmont Blvd.

We’re both spin-o-philes, and when I heard Soul Cycle’s biggest NYC rival was opening in LA, I knew I’d have to try it.

Upon walking into the studio, I immediately liked it. The locker area and foyer are BIG – there is tons of room to hang out, walk around, and the vibe is a little more low-key than Soul Cycle’s. Shoe rental is totally free, and check-in is done via small laptop computers set up at walk-in.

Their current motto seems to be “Never Coast” which I liked. They had merchandise for sale, just like Soul Cycle.

The classroom is set up like a stadium. Katherine and I were in the second row, right in the center, which I think was a perfect location.

The defining element of Flywheel is that there is a “torq board.” When you sign in for a class, you can opt-in to their system which tracks your resistance and RPMs, and displays your current rank within the class at various times throughout the class. If you know me, you know that I can be somewhat competitive. (Okay…really super competitive). Katherine and I dominated, obviously.

I liked the Torq boards – it definitely made me work harder, but I found myself thinking more about making sure I beat whoever was in front of me, and then once I got to #1, making sure I stayed there. My focus was more on beating others and less on having fun. Where I come out of Soul Cycle feeling like I’m rejuvenated and refreshed, I came out of Flywheel feeling exhausted, but victorious. It was a different feeling – and I liked it – but I didn’t like it better.

Our instructor, Elizabeth, was enthusiastic. The bikes have sensors which display your current RPMs and resistance levels, which was good because we could gauge where we were at. Elizabeth would say “Your resistance should be at a 50, and your RPMs should be between 85 and 90.” In other classes, instructors will say “You should be at a 5 on a 1-10 scale.” Flywheel takes the subjectivity out of it, and I liked that I was able to verify that I am indeed working hard.

The other cool thing about Flywheel is they store your information from the class online. Afterward, I could see my various scores, as well as mileage (23.4 for a 45 minute class!) and calories burned.

The music selection was just okay. I love me some Macklemore (remixed with Blu Cantrell!) but could have done without “I Touch Myself.” Yeah, they played that.

Overall, I had a GREAT workout at Flywheel. I was WIPED later. I appreciated the fact that the first class was completely free. Beyond that, though, all things being equal, I would be much more willing to pay for Soul Cycle than for Flywheel. The quality is comparable, but the experience is very different.

Have any of you tried Flywheel? Soul Cycle? Thoughts?

*All images are from Flywheel’s website.

Tags: bikes, cycling, exerciseg, flywheel, los angeles, soul cycle, soulcycle, spin, spinning, working out

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Categories likes, Los Angeles, spinning, workout review

celebration station.

24 May

Last weekend was filled with some pretty fun celebrations.

On Friday, my roommate Jenn graduated from USC Law.

Jenn and I have been through a lot together (besides the recent burglarization of our apartment + moving), but law-related as well. We lived together at our sorority house the semester we studied for the LSAT. We also took the same LSAT prep class and took practice tests together. We ended up scoring one point apart on the LSAT. (Fun fact). We proofread each other’s admissions essays, and have lived together through Jenn’s 2L and 3L, and all of my law school experience so far (I was in Spain when Jenn was a 1L).

It was awesome to see Jenn graduate and to be a part of her graduation, and to meet members of her extended family.

After the ceremony, we headed to her family’s country club (I know, what sort of life am I leading?) for a celebratory dinner. The view was insane.

And I ate one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had, from Dots in Pasadena.

On Saturday, I dropped by my friend Kelsey’s parents’ house for a little birthday BBQ. I haven’t seen her parents or sister since high school, and it is always fun to see Kelsey, and now her fiancé, Drew.

I also caught up with another good high school friend, Sam, on Saturday night. She is studying to be a nurse, and had two 12-hour shifts, back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday at a nearby hospital, so she spent the night. Love catching up with old friends.

On Sunday, the celebrations continued with my friend Andrea’s bridal shower. Andrea is marrying one of my high school friends, A.K. (I guess he goes by Andrew now…whatever.) I have gotten to know Andrea pretty well over the past 4 years, and her bridesmaids put on a very nice bridal shower. I especially enjoyed the mimosa bar.

The shower was loosely themed around “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” – so we had to frost ourselves as soon as we walked in. I promise I don’t always dress like Khloe Kardashian.

me, Andrea the Bride-to-Be, and Jenn

We played some games, drank and ate a little, and talked all things wedding. Looking forward to July 28th!

Also on Sunday, I attended a lunch to celebrate my friend Heather’s graduation from Loyola Law School! I was a loser and didn’t snap a single photo…at least for once I wasn’t being inattextive.

Such a great weekend. Back soon with more.

Tags: bridal shower, celebrate, cupcake, friends, graduation, law school, mimosa, party, pool party

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Categories friends, home, likes, Los Angeles

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blawg tips.

Last Wednesday, the firm I’m working for put on a presentation called “Blogging Your Way to Fame and Fortune.” The purpose of the presentation was to encourage lawyers to blog about topics within the industry (apparently also known as “blawging”) but I thought I would share some of the presenter’s tips. Social Media Presence The […]
firefly run.

On Friday, May 31, Whitney and I met up with our friend Riley in Carson, CA for a fun, neon-themed, 5k in the dark called the Firefly Run. We had heard about the event via LivingSocial and thought it would be a fun excuse to dress up like goons and hang out. Riley lives in Huntington […]
Equinox for a month.

So I tweet a lot, and apparently Klout thinks I’m “influential about fitness,” so they gifted me with a free month-long membership at the Equinox in DTLA. The DTLA location just opened in March, and I had never been to an Equinox before, but I had heard good things. Heck, if they own Soul Cycle […]
but seriously, this was the #bestweekever

This was one of those weeks where I repeatedly exclaimed obnoxious statements like “WHAT IS MY LIFE?!” and “My life is a JOKE” because…well, sometimes it is. Here’s why: On Sunday, I ran my first full marathon. Sure, parts of it made me curse my life, but at the end of the day, it was […]
my first marathon.

So, it’s true. I finally put on my big girl pants and ran a full marathon! It was last Sunday, and I have LOTS to say about it. (TL;DR version? Finished (barely) in 3:49). For those nerdy enough to read on, here’s the play-by-play: Expo My Dad and I trekked down on Saturday to hit […]