Thursday, October 30, 2014

My trip to San Francisco yesterday was a success. As soon as I landed, I rushed to a taxi and directed the driver to take me the financial district. The ride cost me $60, but it saved me a considerable amount of time that I would’ve lost had I rented a car at the airport. I made into the offices of Latham and Watkins at 12:10 and I spoke until 1:10. The group of 30 attorneys gave me a warm reception. Unfortunately, they were not the decisions makers that I would need to address. Instead, the lawyers were all associates, new grads who were entry-level attorneys in the law firm. Those attorneys were charged with the responsibility of providing pro-bono legal representation to incarcerated individuals who were indigent. Although I don’t anticipate that those young attorneys will be able to generate any orders for Prison Professor, I appreciated their attention and I am grateful to have had an opportunity to share different perspectives on why mass incarceration represents our nation’s greatest social injustice.

Following my presentation at the law firm, I wrote the BART across the bay to Berkeley. I spoke to a large audience of several hundred people for one hour. The undergraduates gave me an enthusiastic reception and Professor Alan Ross told me that my presentation was the highlight of the semester. I really appreciated the warm reception and I’m hopeful that I succeeded in influencing the young people of Berkeley to act.

In the evening I dined with my friend Lee Nobmann, then had a great night’s rest. Early this morning, I drove back to the city to make another presentation at San Francisco State University. The students were somewhat familiar with my story, as they’d already books that I’ve written. Still, I enjoyed speaking with them and responding to their questions for an hour.

Following my lecture at SFSU, I rushed to the airport for a meeting with my friend Greg Reyes. We discussed my business model and plans for the career that I’m building. Then I boarded a flight and returned to Orange County. A very productive day trip.

Days since my release from prison: 444

Miles that I ran today: 0

Miles that I ran so far this week: 34.53

Miles that I’ve run during the month of October: 186.12

Miles that I ran so far in 2014: 2,050.14

Miles that I need to run in order to reach my annual goal of 2,400 miles: 349.86

Miles I’m ahead of schedule to reach my 2,400-mile goal by the end of 2014: 52.86

My weight for today: 168