I feel like David Koresch must have felt like: isolated, but with a loving family that would die for you. It may come down to that.

I’m staying at the Doral Golf and Spa Resort, by Marriott in Miami for the NAF conference (see below for info about NAF). The accomodations are par for the course (did I already use that pun?) The food they are offering us in the morning is a muffin, sliced fruit and either juice or coffee. I drink neither juice nor coffee. I used to love juice, but I dislike pulp, and now the damn stuff gives me heartburn. It sucks getting older.

For lunch they offer over-priced sandwiches, and for dinner…well, I’ll stop there. So, you ask, why not go off the grounds for some meals? That would be great, but the closest resource for food, away from the resort, is over a mile away. What’s the big deal with that, you ask? I came with shredded shoes, desiring badly to purchase some while I was down here, and now I’ll have to take an expensive cabride into downtown to locate some Payless Shoe Source to spend as little money as possible on some cheap tennis shoes.

I’m bitching, I know, but isn’t that what these things are for?

I love what I’ve been learning? I attended a workshop on improving advisory boards. Here are my notes. Do what you will with them:

Gather student work and profile it at the next law advisory bd. meeting to help with fundraising.

how do we get professional clothes for kids who cannot afford clothes?

mentors need to talk to the kids about their attire. possibly bring in toastmasters for speechmaking.

National job shadow day.

Find the IT/Law Dept. heads from the Bay Area colleges to sit on the advisory boards. Invite the career services director from the college too.

kids should intern at the colleges too. in the IT/law depts. The two and four year colleges should offer scholorships too. Teacher’s choice scholorships based on teacher’s criteria (Kendall college Chicago offers this).

Competitions on college campuses. Invite college seniors to talk to the students.

Standard of conduct agreement the students need to sign.

“guidelines for Internship supervisors”

Chamber of Commerce-great resource
education committee, luncheons, be a presenter, have a student speak to them. the COC knows nothiing of NAF

Elks/Lions/Rotary/Kiwanis all have scholorship committees

Law graduation sash by holiday break

Advisory bd. meeting: invite students to present what they’re doing in their classes.

Internship committees: fundraising, internship, publicity
Have the meetings at the school instead of the office.

Read “Oh, The Places You’ll Go:, Dr. Seuss to the students.

Give local recognition to the business partners through the local media.

Also, I attended a workshop on student self-assessment.

All-in-all a productive day.

I’m not used to the weather. When I lived on St. John, USVI, it was always overcast, with ten minute showers. It’s overcast now, and I’m just not used to it.

Well, one more meeting for the day coming up, and then off to Little Havana for shoes. Perhaps I’ll wear my Che t-shirt.