Last week I met with about a dozen former colleagues of mine from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for dinner at Lauriol Plaza. I like this place, but I don’t understand the mania around it. If the weather is nice, everyone goes there and it is not unusual to be told that there will be a two hour wait. We were lucky that we didn’t have to wait two hours. After dinner a few of us went over to Kramerbooks for dessert.
After we finished I asked our waiter if he would participate in the Year of Giving, but he said he was slammed and didn’t have time. So I wandered inside and through a small door that leads to a cozy café / bar where I found John sitting by himself fidgeting with his phone.
A patent litigation lawyer from Irvine, CA, John is in town for a law conference. He started his own practice with some partners in 2006. He handles all kinds of cases, although the examples he mentions are mostly in the area of technology and biotech.
When he is not practicing law, the 35-year-old says he enjoys sports, movies, and photography. In fact he had a nice Nikon camera placed in front of him at the bar.
John and his wife also are involved in giving. They help the Teen Leadership Foundation. Specifically he tells me about one set of kids that are with a foster family where the mother has cancer. In fact he says that he is going to give the $10 to her.
I asked John if there was anything you could help him with for the Lend a Hand section. He said no, but then thought for a minute and said, “Actually I really could use a responsible, hard-working personal assistant that I can trust to handle confidential materials.” So if that sounds like you or someone you know and you are in Irvine area, let me know and I will connect you with John.
We shook hands and thanked one another and I started walking home. About half way home I realized that I never gave John the $10! Oh no! I hustled back to the café hoping to find him still there. Sure enough he was there and was totally cool about it.
Year of Giving 