Today marks the first year of my adventure in the world of law. Exactly one year ago today, I filed the first complaint entitled Lacambra vs. Shea Properties et al. By the end of 12 months I would be engaged in 6 lawsuits. Never did I imagine that things would turn out the way it did. Of the 12 months previous, I have slept on a bed exactly 84 days out of the 365 days. The rest, save a couple of evenings under the open skies or a public bathroom at a park, a month in a motel and a little over a month at David's, I slept in the Chrysler 300M that my friend Jefferson loaned me.
So far so good, I am actually beginning to believe that I can become exceptional at this. I derive great satisfaction from what I’ve been able to do with what little that was available to me. In the world of motorsports there is a saying - there is a racecar driver and then there is a racer. The difference between the two is that a racer is able to squeeze the most out of the equipment and wins with inferior equipment. In that world of speed, things are measured in very minute increments - a tenth of a second here and a tenth of a second there until you are able to put together a fast lap. The idea is to be consistent every lap. In the end, it isn’t how fast your equipment (car) is but how fast you get around a circuit.
There were some very trying moments for me in the last year that I thought I couldn’t overcome. I found it useful to verbalize things in my head in terms that I could understand so the future can be viewed with optimistic lenses. For that, I sought inspiration from my favorite team in the world. There is no team in any sport on this earth that inspires me the way “Scuderia Ferrari F1” does. Their passion and commitment to their trade is all consuming that it is often said “Ferrari is Formula One”. Imagine conferring such praise to any other team in any sport and you will find the proposition ridiculous. When Ferrari F1 competes in certain circuits around the world, the effect of the team on spectators is nothing short of magic. Countless times on television feeds can the “sea of red ” be seen - fans in Ferrari colors covering entire portions of the track during victory celebrations. But even their wizardry – their expertise and technical prowess - was not immune to some very lean years. Before the recent re-emergence to winning form, Ferrari had to wait 21 Years to regain the “Driver’s Championship”. This occurred under the tutelage of Michael Schumacher who brought back the glory to their stables in 2000. Along those lines, I tell myself, losing is part of my chosen occupation and to win I must wait.
Year One was an incredible year for learning and confidence development. The first few times I appeared before a judge I was intimidated beyond explanation. My knees were sometimes knocking and my legs felt wobbly like spaghetti. There were times when my voice was trembling I hardly sounded like my own self. Fortunately, greenhorn moments like that no longer happens to me and I am able to comport myself in a manner that I hope is equal to the expectations of the courts and its judges. Although, I know sometimes, I fall short but it isn’t because of lack of trying.
So, what do I wish to accomplish in the next year? The answer is simple yet full of landmines, mazes, quandaries, confusions and dead-ends. It is my fervent wish to grow professionally, to conduct myself at the highest level and to win against my opposition by a wide margin every single time. The latter is the highest of imperatives because this engagement is still a laboratory experiment that I am conducting on myself. I am my own test subject. That’s what makes this whole thing fascinating, fun and sometimes excruciatingly painful.
I imagine myself in an amazing piece of purpose built machinery - senses muted by the high pitched sound of a finely tuned engine revving her heart out at 19007 RPM’s. Every turn and every corner is a rendezvous with punishing and unnatural forces of gravity. It is the region of fast twitch reflexes and thoughtless instincts. I imagine driving at the very edge – at the very fine line between the maximum limits of road adhesion and unimaginable calamity. Then, I somehow pull it off, the perfect lap on every single lap and in every single race - manifest and unequivocal – a perfect Championship Season.
