I met with a recruited today. She has a specific position in mind for me, and I think our meeting went well, but we'll see. I am really trying not to get my hopes up, which you will understand if you were around back when I was job-hunting the last time around.
The job is pretty much what I do now, although a bit more particularized. But their hourly requirement is 160--and supposedly it's a true 160 and not the 170-but-we-really-want-to-see-200 that I am dealing with right now. Anything above = extra bonus. It is about a 5% pay increase--so not much, but worth moving for when combined with a better working environment and more reasonable billing requirements. And my googling tells me that the better working environment is not just recruiter-hype--this place has been named on a couple of "best places to work lists."
Anyway, like I said, we'll see. I am notoriously bad at interviews and after the horrible, terrible, awful, no good job-hunting experience that I had coming out of law school, I don't really have any expectation that the first apple I bite will be the magic one.
3/29/09
Today is better
I spent most of yesterday in a funk--partially out of exhaustion and mostly because of my job situation. But I fiddled with my resume and contacted a couple of recruiters who had contacted me in the past unsolicited.
One of them emailed back this morning and said that she had several positions that might work for me. Just the slightest hint of an opportunity filled me with hope and made my day better. I don't think I realized how much my job was beating me down until it all came to a head this week.
She asked for a contact number and I sent it, along with instructions regarding the best time to call me. Because Big Boss hovers outside my door anytime I am on the phone or someone is in my office. Last week he came in and started giving me instructions while I was on the phone with one of our corporate clients! (He has also instructed me not to have conversations with particular associates and staff members--I wasn't kidding about the jealous boyfriend thing.)
One of them emailed back this morning and said that she had several positions that might work for me. Just the slightest hint of an opportunity filled me with hope and made my day better. I don't think I realized how much my job was beating me down until it all came to a head this week.
She asked for a contact number and I sent it, along with instructions regarding the best time to call me. Because Big Boss hovers outside my door anytime I am on the phone or someone is in my office. Last week he came in and started giving me instructions while I was on the phone with one of our corporate clients! (He has also instructed me not to have conversations with particular associates and staff members--I wasn't kidding about the jealous boyfriend thing.)
3/28/09
Too far
I officially hate my job. I love what I do, and I'm good at what I do. But the environment in which I work is toxic, and it has finally gotten to me. I haven't posted about this before in case my anonymity was blown, but at this point, I just don't care.
The turnover in my firm is astronomical. It is no secret in the local legal community that my boss is particularly difficult to work for. But I have been floating along because my boss seems to like me and his tirades are generally directed elsewhere. Still, the entire office is on pins and needles when he is present and breathes a huge sign of relief when he is out.
I am the only associate working on the majority of Big Boss's and Partner's cases. There are a couple of new associates, but they work exclusively on one big case. So I get to work on everything else. I have been incredibly busy lately, because several of our cases are ramping up for summer trial settings and we have a couple of new cases that we are trying to get a handle on. I had three significant motions that required responses within a 1 week period.
Big Boss got PO'd with me because I didn't have one motion, with a 12-day deadline, turned around quickly enough to send to the client before filing (it was complete on a Friday and due on a Wednesday). Two days later, Partner was PO'd because I had not completed what turned out to be a 15-page privilege log that required the review of two boxes of documents, 3 days before the deadline. And in the middle of all of this, Big Boss was in my office every 5 minutes giving me inane tasks that could have been done by his secretary more quickly and just as effectively. Neither one seems to have a clue how much I am doing--even though both have asked and I honestly told them that I can't take anything else on and still make my deadlines.
Part of the problem is that Big Boss freaks out if I work on a project that is not exclusively his. He will then come and load me up with stupid stuff for his cases. A few weeks ago, Partner was called out of town and was unable to attend a scheduled meeting with our consulting expert. I was to take the meeting, along with another attorney who was only tangentially involved with the case. When I told Big Boss that I had a meeting that day he said, "We'll I don't think you'll be in that meeting, because I need you to meet with me during that time." After he had just given a 4-hour time frame of his availability, only one of which would have been consumed by my meeting.
Oh, but here's the kicker...15 minutes before my meeting with the expert, Big Boss disappears. He finally reappears an hour later, eating an ice cream cone. And then another hour later, he cancels his meeting. So, there was absolutely no reason in the entire world that I couldn't have met with our consulting expert. How whacked is that? I felt like I was dealing with a jealous boyfriend. And the other Partners just said, "Oh, well, that's just how he is."
Then, he tried to get me to agree in writing that I would put in 200 hours this month--because I only billed 175 last month and that was too low. (Umm, no, not doing that.) Are you freaking kidding me? When I was hired I was told that there were no billing guidelines, but to try too hit 170. I usually average 180. I wouldn't have accepted this position for this pay if I were expected to bill 200 hours every month. I will do what is required to meet my deadlines (and it looks like I will hit 200 this month anyway), but I am not going to do it in perpetuity.
And then yesterday, I got a call from the school nurse that SS wasn't feeling well. I decided to go pick her up instead of calling the nanny because I had already put in at least 50 hours this week, everything I had planned for the rest of the day could be done from home, and I hadn't seen the kids all week.
I went to tell Partner that I was taking off and he gave me the evil eye. Even another associate commented on it. He has 4 kids--and a wife who stays at home. Guess he doesn't have to deal with kid stuff. Ignoring the evil eye, I was packing up to head out when I got a call from the receptionist to meet Big Boss up front in a conference room. I had no idea what for.
It turned out that he wanted me to sit in on a meeting with a new client. And I had no opportunity to tell him that I was on my way out. Fortunately, about 10 minutes into the meeting he sent me out to have a copy made. I was able to call DH and have him deal with the SS situation.
But the whole ordeal left me feeling like the loser-mom of the year. I never play the kid card. My kids have been remarkably healthy this year, and I haven't missed any time from work because of them. There was no reason for the silent, but obvious, flak from Partner.
Part of the reason that I wanted a professional career is to have some modicum of flexibility over my schedule. The majority of what I do, I can do from home so it shouldn't be a big deal to take off early on a Friday to deal with a sick kid. But this is one of those firms that insists on face time--if you're not at your desk you must not be working. (Big Boss's secretary can barely leave her desk. He actually got her a scanner so that she doesn't have to leave to make copies. I expect a port-a-potty next.)
I am so frustrated with my job right now. I put in 110%, but I am not willing to turn my whole life over to my job. The only night this week I saw my kids before bedtime was Friday. I am not cool with that. But apparently Partner and Big Boss think I should be working more. I can't complain about having too much to do if I'm not putting in 200 hours/month.
So my plan for this weekend (in addition to drafting a cross-claim, an MSJ, 2 affidavits to support the MSJ, 2 client reports, and discovery responses) is to update my resume and start the whole job search all over again. Of course, this is not the ideal climate to be job-hopping, but I have too. I'm generally a tough cookie with no tolerance for whiners, but this week has brought me to tears (silently, in the bathroom). No job has ever done that before--and I've had some really crappy jobs.
The turnover in my firm is astronomical. It is no secret in the local legal community that my boss is particularly difficult to work for. But I have been floating along because my boss seems to like me and his tirades are generally directed elsewhere. Still, the entire office is on pins and needles when he is present and breathes a huge sign of relief when he is out.
I am the only associate working on the majority of Big Boss's and Partner's cases. There are a couple of new associates, but they work exclusively on one big case. So I get to work on everything else. I have been incredibly busy lately, because several of our cases are ramping up for summer trial settings and we have a couple of new cases that we are trying to get a handle on. I had three significant motions that required responses within a 1 week period.
Big Boss got PO'd with me because I didn't have one motion, with a 12-day deadline, turned around quickly enough to send to the client before filing (it was complete on a Friday and due on a Wednesday). Two days later, Partner was PO'd because I had not completed what turned out to be a 15-page privilege log that required the review of two boxes of documents, 3 days before the deadline. And in the middle of all of this, Big Boss was in my office every 5 minutes giving me inane tasks that could have been done by his secretary more quickly and just as effectively. Neither one seems to have a clue how much I am doing--even though both have asked and I honestly told them that I can't take anything else on and still make my deadlines.
Part of the problem is that Big Boss freaks out if I work on a project that is not exclusively his. He will then come and load me up with stupid stuff for his cases. A few weeks ago, Partner was called out of town and was unable to attend a scheduled meeting with our consulting expert. I was to take the meeting, along with another attorney who was only tangentially involved with the case. When I told Big Boss that I had a meeting that day he said, "We'll I don't think you'll be in that meeting, because I need you to meet with me during that time." After he had just given a 4-hour time frame of his availability, only one of which would have been consumed by my meeting.
Oh, but here's the kicker...15 minutes before my meeting with the expert, Big Boss disappears. He finally reappears an hour later, eating an ice cream cone. And then another hour later, he cancels his meeting. So, there was absolutely no reason in the entire world that I couldn't have met with our consulting expert. How whacked is that? I felt like I was dealing with a jealous boyfriend. And the other Partners just said, "Oh, well, that's just how he is."
Then, he tried to get me to agree in writing that I would put in 200 hours this month--because I only billed 175 last month and that was too low. (Umm, no, not doing that.) Are you freaking kidding me? When I was hired I was told that there were no billing guidelines, but to try too hit 170. I usually average 180. I wouldn't have accepted this position for this pay if I were expected to bill 200 hours every month. I will do what is required to meet my deadlines (and it looks like I will hit 200 this month anyway), but I am not going to do it in perpetuity.
And then yesterday, I got a call from the school nurse that SS wasn't feeling well. I decided to go pick her up instead of calling the nanny because I had already put in at least 50 hours this week, everything I had planned for the rest of the day could be done from home, and I hadn't seen the kids all week.
I went to tell Partner that I was taking off and he gave me the evil eye. Even another associate commented on it. He has 4 kids--and a wife who stays at home. Guess he doesn't have to deal with kid stuff. Ignoring the evil eye, I was packing up to head out when I got a call from the receptionist to meet Big Boss up front in a conference room. I had no idea what for.
It turned out that he wanted me to sit in on a meeting with a new client. And I had no opportunity to tell him that I was on my way out. Fortunately, about 10 minutes into the meeting he sent me out to have a copy made. I was able to call DH and have him deal with the SS situation.
But the whole ordeal left me feeling like the loser-mom of the year. I never play the kid card. My kids have been remarkably healthy this year, and I haven't missed any time from work because of them. There was no reason for the silent, but obvious, flak from Partner.
Part of the reason that I wanted a professional career is to have some modicum of flexibility over my schedule. The majority of what I do, I can do from home so it shouldn't be a big deal to take off early on a Friday to deal with a sick kid. But this is one of those firms that insists on face time--if you're not at your desk you must not be working. (Big Boss's secretary can barely leave her desk. He actually got her a scanner so that she doesn't have to leave to make copies. I expect a port-a-potty next.)
I am so frustrated with my job right now. I put in 110%, but I am not willing to turn my whole life over to my job. The only night this week I saw my kids before bedtime was Friday. I am not cool with that. But apparently Partner and Big Boss think I should be working more. I can't complain about having too much to do if I'm not putting in 200 hours/month.
So my plan for this weekend (in addition to drafting a cross-claim, an MSJ, 2 affidavits to support the MSJ, 2 client reports, and discovery responses) is to update my resume and start the whole job search all over again. Of course, this is not the ideal climate to be job-hopping, but I have too. I'm generally a tough cookie with no tolerance for whiners, but this week has brought me to tears (silently, in the bathroom). No job has ever done that before--and I've had some really crappy jobs.
3/22/09
Weekend Business
This weekend has been busy, but not overly hectic. Lounged for a bit yesterday morning, then decided to sort through the girls' dressers to evaluate the need for new spring clothes and weed out the outgrown, faded and holey clothes that they always manage to wear whenever I am not around to object.
Half their jeans have holes in the knees, so I decided to cut them off into shorts and capris. Of course, I didn't want plain old cutoffs--so I headed out to buy fabric to make ruffles and ribbon for trim. I turned one pair into the cutest skirt for the twins using this guide. Making the skirt was a snap, but it took a full hour to rip the seams out of the jeans. I added a ruffle to the bottom using pink fabric with black polka dots and added a matching ribbon belt. Freakin' adorable.
All three girls were invited to a birthday party last night, so DH and I got to go out to dinner sans kiddos. We went to a new Mexican place and got a table on the patio overlooking the lake right at sunset. It was nice. I may have had more margaritas than necessary--but only because the waiter brought by a free one that didn't have a home. Who am I to turn down a free margarita?
Took the kids to Disney on Ice this afternoon. You've got to respect someone who can twirl another skater over his head while dressed like a lion. It was a nice girlie afternoon. (I could only get 4 tix--but I think DH was relieved.)
I need to look at some work stuff--but I am obviously delaying with this pointless post. I've been going 90 miles an hour for the last few weeks, and I really need a break. Unfortunately, now is not the time, because I have deadlines that would be impossible to meet if I took any time off. And I do appreciate my position--I know that there are many, many lawyers right now who wished they had the problem of too much to do.
Half their jeans have holes in the knees, so I decided to cut them off into shorts and capris. Of course, I didn't want plain old cutoffs--so I headed out to buy fabric to make ruffles and ribbon for trim. I turned one pair into the cutest skirt for the twins using this guide. Making the skirt was a snap, but it took a full hour to rip the seams out of the jeans. I added a ruffle to the bottom using pink fabric with black polka dots and added a matching ribbon belt. Freakin' adorable.
All three girls were invited to a birthday party last night, so DH and I got to go out to dinner sans kiddos. We went to a new Mexican place and got a table on the patio overlooking the lake right at sunset. It was nice. I may have had more margaritas than necessary--but only because the waiter brought by a free one that didn't have a home. Who am I to turn down a free margarita?
Took the kids to Disney on Ice this afternoon. You've got to respect someone who can twirl another skater over his head while dressed like a lion. It was a nice girlie afternoon. (I could only get 4 tix--but I think DH was relieved.)
I need to look at some work stuff--but I am obviously delaying with this pointless post. I've been going 90 miles an hour for the last few weeks, and I really need a break. Unfortunately, now is not the time, because I have deadlines that would be impossible to meet if I took any time off. And I do appreciate my position--I know that there are many, many lawyers right now who wished they had the problem of too much to do.
Nope. I don't have a competitive streak
Is it perverse that I get a thrill when I get to draft a response that pummels the other side? Really, it doesn't happen all that often. Generally there are not-so-clear cut issues that have to be craftily argued. And while I enjoy the challenge of the craftily argued motion, it is really more fun to pick apart the other side's motion apart and hammer them into the ground. Or maybe it's only fun when opposing counsel has been especially uncooperative.
I have drafted two such responses this week. The first was a response to a motion filed by a truly incompetent lawyer. He's a solo, he hasn't been practicing very long and I don't think he generally practices litigation. He is clearly not familiar with the federal rules and has never even glanced at the local rules.* I might feel sorry for him for getting in over his head, except that he he has made a number of gaffes that lack of experience can't excuse, and his client is paying for them. I think he has just realized that he dug himself into a hole, and is now desperately trying claw his way back out. Unfortunately, I think his hole is just getting deeper.
The second response is to a motion filed by a large local firm. I'm pretty sure that a first-year drafted the motion, which shouldn't be a problem, but the partner overseeing him dropped the ball. Once again, a basic procedural rule was violated, so that his motion cannot be granted. At all. I don't know if it was unfamiliarity with the rules or just an oversight, but somebody screwed up. I do feel bad for the young lawyer that will probably get blamed--he is a nice guy. But these guys have been very uncooperative. And even without the screw-up, I probably could have defeated the motion.
*Advice for young lawyers: Always get a copy of the local rules--especially in federal court. They are generally available online, unless you are in a tiny district out in the boonies. The federal district in which my case is pending has lengthy local rules--some of which modify the federal rules. And local rules contain info like page limits, filing requirements, mediation requirements and other information to keep you from harming your own case.
I have drafted two such responses this week. The first was a response to a motion filed by a truly incompetent lawyer. He's a solo, he hasn't been practicing very long and I don't think he generally practices litigation. He is clearly not familiar with the federal rules and has never even glanced at the local rules.* I might feel sorry for him for getting in over his head, except that he he has made a number of gaffes that lack of experience can't excuse, and his client is paying for them. I think he has just realized that he dug himself into a hole, and is now desperately trying claw his way back out. Unfortunately, I think his hole is just getting deeper.
The second response is to a motion filed by a large local firm. I'm pretty sure that a first-year drafted the motion, which shouldn't be a problem, but the partner overseeing him dropped the ball. Once again, a basic procedural rule was violated, so that his motion cannot be granted. At all. I don't know if it was unfamiliarity with the rules or just an oversight, but somebody screwed up. I do feel bad for the young lawyer that will probably get blamed--he is a nice guy. But these guys have been very uncooperative. And even without the screw-up, I probably could have defeated the motion.
*Advice for young lawyers: Always get a copy of the local rules--especially in federal court. They are generally available online, unless you are in a tiny district out in the boonies. The federal district in which my case is pending has lengthy local rules--some of which modify the federal rules. And local rules contain info like page limits, filing requirements, mediation requirements and other information to keep you from harming your own case.
3/14/09
You can be a carnie!
That's what PS said to me as I was standing in the bathroom complaining that I was growing a beard. (Seriously--why didn't anyone tell me that I would start turning into a man once I turned 30?)
My kids are growing into real people--with senses of humor that are can be appreciated by someone over the age of 12. Although I miss the cuddly sweetness of their baby and toddler years, it is fun to watch them grow into smart, funny people.
A couple of weeks ago I had to take the twins to a birthday party out in the boonies on a Friday night. I gave my GPS to my inlaws, so I had to go old school with the Google maps. I called PS on my way home from work and she got on Google maps and found what I needed because we were going to have to leave again the second I got home. And then, once we were in the car and realized that we left the maps at home, she called DH and took down directions from him while I was driving. I told her that I was so amazed that she had developed from this sweet but useless little baby blob into an actual helpful person who could figure things out.
I have to say, I think I made some pretty amazing little people.
My kids are growing into real people--with senses of humor that are can be appreciated by someone over the age of 12. Although I miss the cuddly sweetness of their baby and toddler years, it is fun to watch them grow into smart, funny people.
A couple of weeks ago I had to take the twins to a birthday party out in the boonies on a Friday night. I gave my GPS to my inlaws, so I had to go old school with the Google maps. I called PS on my way home from work and she got on Google maps and found what I needed because we were going to have to leave again the second I got home. And then, once we were in the car and realized that we left the maps at home, she called DH and took down directions from him while I was driving. I told her that I was so amazed that she had developed from this sweet but useless little baby blob into an actual helpful person who could figure things out.
I have to say, I think I made some pretty amazing little people.
3/10/09
Because y'all are always so helpful with this kind of thing . . .
My paralegal's wife is having their first baby tomorrow. What should I get them? (And don't say a gift card--I know that is the obvious answer, but I'd like to go more personal. (And yes, I get the irony of asking complete strangers to help me pick out a personal gift for another complete stranger.))
Apparently I looked like crap today
Because at lest 4 people asked me what was wrong. The last one informed me that I have ginormous black bags under my eyes. Indeed, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror later in the day and it was not pretty.
It's true that I haven't been sleeping well. I keep managing to wake earlier and earlier every morning--despite the time change. I occasionally resort to sleeping pills, which help me sleep sounder, but do nothing to solve the early waking.
It is totally stress. I am barely keeping my head above water at work. In the last two weeks I have had two motions to compel, a motion for summary judgment, a written demand and two motions to quash to which I have to respond. And that is in just 3 of my cases--there have been a bazillion smaller issues popping up in all of my other cases that are keeping me from handling these big issues. And I got about 5 new cases--one with a bizarre issue involving the federal government that I really need to spend time on.
On top of all this, the environment at work is getting, um strange . . . well stranger. Not willing to tell all, but let's just say I have had lots of Anonymous Lawyer-esque experiences lately. Definitely not helping the sleeplessness or the stress.
It's true that I haven't been sleeping well. I keep managing to wake earlier and earlier every morning--despite the time change. I occasionally resort to sleeping pills, which help me sleep sounder, but do nothing to solve the early waking.
It is totally stress. I am barely keeping my head above water at work. In the last two weeks I have had two motions to compel, a motion for summary judgment, a written demand and two motions to quash to which I have to respond. And that is in just 3 of my cases--there have been a bazillion smaller issues popping up in all of my other cases that are keeping me from handling these big issues. And I got about 5 new cases--one with a bizarre issue involving the federal government that I really need to spend time on.
On top of all this, the environment at work is getting, um strange . . . well stranger. Not willing to tell all, but let's just say I have had lots of Anonymous Lawyer-esque experiences lately. Definitely not helping the sleeplessness or the stress.
3/9/09
In case you were wondering . . .
both salt and baking soda render nearly instant death to marigolds. I think we've discovered a new eco-friendly weed killer. Although, of course, weeds would never be as easy to kill as marigolds.
Hmmm, maybe I need to pot some dandelions and see what happens. Too bad DH just put weed 'n feed on the lawn.
Hmmm, maybe I need to pot some dandelions and see what happens. Too bad DH just put weed 'n feed on the lawn.
3/8/09
Busy Sunday
Woke up this morning and started making a chore list for my new nanny/housekeeper. Because she keeps doing stuff like cleaning out the kids' closets while ignoring things like making the kids pick up their books from the middle of the living room floor and loading the dishwasher. I like her and I hope that everything will work out if I give her a little (ok, a lot) more direction.
Picked up around the house a bit and paid some bills.
The twins have a science fair project that has to be related to Earth Day. I really wanted to do something with worm composting, so we went out looking for worms. No luck finding worms and they are $30/lb on the internet, so we decided to switch gears. SS bought 3 tomato plants, and we are going to have one control, play Foo Fighters to one and read to the other to see which grows the best. TT bought a six-pack of marigolds and we are going to water them with tap water, baking soda water, sugar water and salt water to see which grows best. Sounds easy enough, but we have spent the last two hours setting up our experiments and recording initial observations.
There are certain times when having twins is a PITA* (most of the time it rocks!) One of those times is when we have to do school projects times 2. I don't want to cop out and let them do the exact same thing, so we always have to come up with two different projects. I think the science fair project is a great way to spend time with the kiddos--but it is very time consuming to have to set up two different projects at once.
And PS is leaving for a 3-day outdoor-education camp with her class tomorrow. She has supposedly been packing, but when I asked her to show me the clothes that she is taking, she had picked out her nicest jeans and plaid shorts and polos that look more suitable at boarding school than camp. Oh, and half the clothes she packed are dirty--arrggghhh. So now we are frantically doing laundry to get her packed. How is this possible? I think I was packed 3 weeks ahead of time whenever I went to camp!
I have some work projects that I need to take a look at, but so far my day has been consumed with kid stuff. But it's ok-I've been working a lot lately and the kids needed the mommy time. I'm sure missing that lost hour, though.
*The other times it is a PITA to have twins is when the work together for evil. Like when they were toddlers and somehow managed to always turn on their light after bedtime, even though the switch was at least 2 feet out of reach, and there was nothing in their room that they could use as a tool to reach it. I think that one was standing on the other's back, but I will never know for sure.
Picked up around the house a bit and paid some bills.
The twins have a science fair project that has to be related to Earth Day. I really wanted to do something with worm composting, so we went out looking for worms. No luck finding worms and they are $30/lb on the internet, so we decided to switch gears. SS bought 3 tomato plants, and we are going to have one control, play Foo Fighters to one and read to the other to see which grows the best. TT bought a six-pack of marigolds and we are going to water them with tap water, baking soda water, sugar water and salt water to see which grows best. Sounds easy enough, but we have spent the last two hours setting up our experiments and recording initial observations.
There are certain times when having twins is a PITA* (most of the time it rocks!) One of those times is when we have to do school projects times 2. I don't want to cop out and let them do the exact same thing, so we always have to come up with two different projects. I think the science fair project is a great way to spend time with the kiddos--but it is very time consuming to have to set up two different projects at once.
And PS is leaving for a 3-day outdoor-education camp with her class tomorrow. She has supposedly been packing, but when I asked her to show me the clothes that she is taking, she had picked out her nicest jeans and plaid shorts and polos that look more suitable at boarding school than camp. Oh, and half the clothes she packed are dirty--arrggghhh. So now we are frantically doing laundry to get her packed. How is this possible? I think I was packed 3 weeks ahead of time whenever I went to camp!
I have some work projects that I need to take a look at, but so far my day has been consumed with kid stuff. But it's ok-I've been working a lot lately and the kids needed the mommy time. I'm sure missing that lost hour, though.
*The other times it is a PITA to have twins is when the work together for evil. Like when they were toddlers and somehow managed to always turn on their light after bedtime, even though the switch was at least 2 feet out of reach, and there was nothing in their room that they could use as a tool to reach it. I think that one was standing on the other's back, but I will never know for sure.
3/3/09
Just funny
Funniest Courtoons evah . . .
This one is my fave:
I may or may not get clocked on a regular basis for failing to define every.freaking.term in a document.
And this one is a very close second because it so accurately portrays my life:
This one is my fave:
I may or may not get clocked on a regular basis for failing to define every.freaking.term in a document.And this one is a very close second because it so accurately portrays my life:
3/2/09
Oh yes, it's Monday!
Started out yelling at SS for not turning in her schoolwork on time and pulling bad grades.
Then went to grab my wool coat that had just come back from the cleaners and clearly had not been cleaned, despite the fact that they charged me $12 to clean it. So I was pretty grumpy already.
Then seconds after I turn out of my neighborhood onto the highway I see something go flying off the hood of my car. And I realized instantly that it was a box of screws. DH had been hanging some things for me over the weekend, and when he went to return his tools to the garage, he managed to leave a box of screws and his level on the hood of the Suburban.
I circled back through the neighborhood to assess the damage--yes the entire box had dumped out, but, fortunately, they were generally contained to the shoulder.
Since the mess was on the side of the road, I went ahead and took the girls to school (who were now seconds away from being late) and noticed a cop right across the street from the school. I pulled in next to the cop and explained the situation. I told him that I had no problem cleaning up the mess, but I didn't want to get run over while doing it. (The speed limit is 55 and cars often drive much faster.) He said he would check it out, and I ran home to get a shop broom.
(Oh yeah, there was also a phone call to DH somewhere in there where I might have uttered loudly a few choice words.)
Anyway, I got back to the highway and met the cop with the broom. He made me stand out of the way while he swept up all of the screws. He was really very nice to me, which I genuinely appreciated.
Finally made it to work to find that both of my bosses who were supposed to be out of town all week were already hard at work in their offices thanks to the snowstorms on the east coast. (OK, I actually knew that they weren't leaving town--but I usually beat them into the office.)
From that point, the day had nowhere to go but up. I almost missed a deadline, which left me busy, but I didn't get chewed out about it. (Yes, my job is to make sure all of our deadlines are met in every case that I work on. That freaks me out a little bit sometimes.) I saw the deadline popping up on my calendar last week, but thought it was an old one that hadn't been taken off the calendar when a new scheduling order was entered. Nope--it was from the new scheduling order (that I drafted!) Oops. But I got it taken care of and all is well.
And my bosses were exceptionally nice to me today (and they didn't even hear the screw story). Partner, who was out of town last week when some pretty big fires started popping up, told me that he was glad he had somebody he could trust to take care of things when he wasn't around.
Then went to grab my wool coat that had just come back from the cleaners and clearly had not been cleaned, despite the fact that they charged me $12 to clean it. So I was pretty grumpy already.
Then seconds after I turn out of my neighborhood onto the highway I see something go flying off the hood of my car. And I realized instantly that it was a box of screws. DH had been hanging some things for me over the weekend, and when he went to return his tools to the garage, he managed to leave a box of screws and his level on the hood of the Suburban.
I circled back through the neighborhood to assess the damage--yes the entire box had dumped out, but, fortunately, they were generally contained to the shoulder.
Since the mess was on the side of the road, I went ahead and took the girls to school (who were now seconds away from being late) and noticed a cop right across the street from the school. I pulled in next to the cop and explained the situation. I told him that I had no problem cleaning up the mess, but I didn't want to get run over while doing it. (The speed limit is 55 and cars often drive much faster.) He said he would check it out, and I ran home to get a shop broom.
(Oh yeah, there was also a phone call to DH somewhere in there where I might have uttered loudly a few choice words.)
Anyway, I got back to the highway and met the cop with the broom. He made me stand out of the way while he swept up all of the screws. He was really very nice to me, which I genuinely appreciated.
Finally made it to work to find that both of my bosses who were supposed to be out of town all week were already hard at work in their offices thanks to the snowstorms on the east coast. (OK, I actually knew that they weren't leaving town--but I usually beat them into the office.)
From that point, the day had nowhere to go but up. I almost missed a deadline, which left me busy, but I didn't get chewed out about it. (Yes, my job is to make sure all of our deadlines are met in every case that I work on. That freaks me out a little bit sometimes.) I saw the deadline popping up on my calendar last week, but thought it was an old one that hadn't been taken off the calendar when a new scheduling order was entered. Nope--it was from the new scheduling order (that I drafted!) Oops. But I got it taken care of and all is well.
And my bosses were exceptionally nice to me today (and they didn't even hear the screw story). Partner, who was out of town last week when some pretty big fires started popping up, told me that he was glad he had somebody he could trust to take care of things when he wasn't around.
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