I spent most of Thanksgiving allowing DH and the Kiddos to wait on me, while supervising DH's preparation of our feast from the sofa. He did a pretty good job for a first-timer (except for his refusal to salt and pepper the mashed potatoes, which led to a rather ridiculous fight.) I was feeling pretty well--especially considering that the day before I felt like I'd had the crap beaten out of me.
This morning I was feeling even better. DH and I even got out for a bit and did some shopping, and held up pretty well. Came home, took a nap and woke up with the munchies. Grabbed a muffin and an icy cold glass a milk and settled into the sofa to catch the Mork & Mindy marathon.
And then I dropped the entire glass of icy cold milk right in my lap. I screamed and jumped up. Bob took off, thinking he was in trouble, and DH came running into the room wondering what in the heck I had done. Meanwhile I am frantically trying to rip off my jeans, which are now glued to my body with icy cold milk.
Somewhere, in the midst of instinctively leaping from the couch after I dumped milk all over myself, I managed to injure myself. All of the improvement that I made over the last two days has disappeared, and I am in the most pain I have been in since the moment I woke up from surgery, right before they pumped me full of morphine.
I'm a little concerned that I pulled some of my stitches, but I have no way of knowing because they are internal. My incisions are super-glued on the outside--so nothing to pop there.
After sitting on the couch for a couple of hours following this little incident, I started to feel better. We had promised to take the rugrats to see Bolt this weekend, and I thought I could manage sitting in the theater. Mistake.
Actually, the sitting was ok. I stuffed TT's coat behind my back and managed to get comfy. But walking into and out of the theater was absolute torture. As in, a white hot knife twisting where my gallbladder used to be.
So DH says I am now grounded to the sofa for the rest of the weekend. Yea me.
Yes, I am a complete and total dork.
11/28/08
11/25/08
So, I survived
The gallbladder surgery went much better than I anticipated. I had a tough time with the anesthesia after my ablation a couple of months ago, and I expected to feel like crap most of the day. But they pumped me full of zofran and phenergan (and morphine), and I only had a few minutes of nausea.
There was quite a bit of pain immediately afterward. The surgery was done laproscopically and apparently they inject CO2 to inflate your abdomen so they can see what they are doing. But all the gas doesn't come back out, and what remains is painful. When I first awakened, it felt like there were bricks on my chest and I couldn't take a deep breath--much like it felt when I had broken ribs. Eventually the pain shifted and the drugs kicked in. Now there is some pain in my side and shoulders, but otherwise I am feeling pretty good. Just very, very tired.
I am looking forward to having the next five days off, with a good excuse to just lie around the house doing nothing.
There was quite a bit of pain immediately afterward. The surgery was done laproscopically and apparently they inject CO2 to inflate your abdomen so they can see what they are doing. But all the gas doesn't come back out, and what remains is painful. When I first awakened, it felt like there were bricks on my chest and I couldn't take a deep breath--much like it felt when I had broken ribs. Eventually the pain shifted and the drugs kicked in. Now there is some pain in my side and shoulders, but otherwise I am feeling pretty good. Just very, very tired.
I am looking forward to having the next five days off, with a good excuse to just lie around the house doing nothing.
11/24/08
Spending my last hours bonding with my gallbladder
Today has been predictably crazy. It was my only day at work this week. The next 6 days will be the most consecutive days I have had off of work since I started there a year ago. (And I haven't told them yet that I have booked a 7 night trip to Disney World this summer!)
So this morning I had to go to the hospital for bloodwork. At least that's what they told me when I spent half an hour on the phone with them last week doing all the pre-admit crap for my gallbladder surgery tomorrow. They also told me I would be in and out quickly--especially if I went in early. So I left my house at 7:15 this morning to be at the hospital by 7:30. Where I waited for half a freakin' hour before I saw anybody. Then I had to go over a ton of the preadmit crap that I had already spent an half an hour going over last week. I was peeved about making the effort to get there early just to be stuck waiting and was not particularly nice to the preadmit girl (ok, I was a total bitch.) But I had a report that I had worked on over the weekend and really wanted to have waiting on Big Boss's desk when he arrived--and they were making me late to work and enduring that wasn't gonna happen.
Of course, now I'm afraid that my bitchy karma is going to come back to haunt me and they are going to forget to give me pain meds or something tomorrow.
I ran my ass off the rest of the day, trying to make a couple of deadlines and get all of my loose ends wrapped up before I was out the rest of the week. I swear to god, if my secretary asks one more time, "does this have to go out today?" I am going to scream. Yes, it f'ing has to go out today or I wouldn't have told you that. I'm sorry that you have a lot to do. I have a lot to do, too and I don't have time to do both of our jobs.
I was afraid that I would be working late tonight--a problem because DH had plans and PS had gymnastics at 7:00. I called my nanny to see if she could take PS if I didn't make it on time. She said, "well, I don't know. I don't know if I can find it--I'm just not sure about that." WTF? Part of the reason that I pay for a nanny so that I have someone who can take the kids to all of their activities. I even pay her a gas allowance for this. She gets the gas allowance every week--even though she hasn't had to take the kids anywhere in almost a month.
Somehow, I managed to get all my crap together and out of the office by 5:30--in just enough time to run home, grab the girls, drop PS off at gymnastics and run get some dinner while bribing the twins with ice cream cones. Back to the gymnastics place, watch the end of PS's practice, then stop to grab her a burger, and home by 8:30--just in time for bed. Yelled repeatedly for the girls to brush their teeth, lay out clothes for tomorrow and hop in bed (no time for baths tonight--but at least it's getting cooler and they didn't have much time to run around and get stinky outdoors today.)
9:00--haven't heard a peep from DH. I am somewhat irritated with him for making his plans for tonight when I warned him that it was going to be a crazy day for me. I definitely do not mind him going out--today was just a really bad day and he was unreasonably resistant to changing his plans. I'm feeling not very high on his priority list lately.
So this morning I had to go to the hospital for bloodwork. At least that's what they told me when I spent half an hour on the phone with them last week doing all the pre-admit crap for my gallbladder surgery tomorrow. They also told me I would be in and out quickly--especially if I went in early. So I left my house at 7:15 this morning to be at the hospital by 7:30. Where I waited for half a freakin' hour before I saw anybody. Then I had to go over a ton of the preadmit crap that I had already spent an half an hour going over last week. I was peeved about making the effort to get there early just to be stuck waiting and was not particularly nice to the preadmit girl (ok, I was a total bitch.) But I had a report that I had worked on over the weekend and really wanted to have waiting on Big Boss's desk when he arrived--and they were making me late to work and enduring that wasn't gonna happen.
Of course, now I'm afraid that my bitchy karma is going to come back to haunt me and they are going to forget to give me pain meds or something tomorrow.
I ran my ass off the rest of the day, trying to make a couple of deadlines and get all of my loose ends wrapped up before I was out the rest of the week. I swear to god, if my secretary asks one more time, "does this have to go out today?" I am going to scream. Yes, it f'ing has to go out today or I wouldn't have told you that. I'm sorry that you have a lot to do. I have a lot to do, too and I don't have time to do both of our jobs.
I was afraid that I would be working late tonight--a problem because DH had plans and PS had gymnastics at 7:00. I called my nanny to see if she could take PS if I didn't make it on time. She said, "well, I don't know. I don't know if I can find it--I'm just not sure about that." WTF? Part of the reason that I pay for a nanny so that I have someone who can take the kids to all of their activities. I even pay her a gas allowance for this. She gets the gas allowance every week--even though she hasn't had to take the kids anywhere in almost a month.
Somehow, I managed to get all my crap together and out of the office by 5:30--in just enough time to run home, grab the girls, drop PS off at gymnastics and run get some dinner while bribing the twins with ice cream cones. Back to the gymnastics place, watch the end of PS's practice, then stop to grab her a burger, and home by 8:30--just in time for bed. Yelled repeatedly for the girls to brush their teeth, lay out clothes for tomorrow and hop in bed (no time for baths tonight--but at least it's getting cooler and they didn't have much time to run around and get stinky outdoors today.)
9:00--haven't heard a peep from DH. I am somewhat irritated with him for making his plans for tonight when I warned him that it was going to be a crazy day for me. I definitely do not mind him going out--today was just a really bad day and he was unreasonably resistant to changing his plans. I'm feeling not very high on his priority list lately.
11/18/08
Helluva Day*
Or, a day in the life of a law mom...
Up at 4:15 this morning to leave the house a 5:15 to meet Big Boss at 6:00 to drive to the 9:30 prove-up hearing on the settlement agreement that has been a major pain in my ass for the last month in a town out in the sticks** 3 hours away.
Yeah, I was a tiny bit nervous about spending 6 hours in a car with Big Boss--but it really wasn't bad. He is very good at carrying a conversation, and imparted plenty of wisdom and lawyer gossip along the way. And on the way back he had conference calls most of the time. (At one point he had his phone in one hand, while checking his Blackberry with the other and driving with his knee.)
I expected to be the invisible sidekick once we arrived at the courthouse, but Big Boss surprised me by telling everyone that I had been doing all the work to pull this thing together and make it run smoothly.
This was my first time in federal court, and I was thrown off a little bit--forgetting that you use a podium in federal court. (Not that I was the one speaking--I'm not admitted in federal court. But Big Boss told me that I need to work on getting admitted into two of our local federal district courts!) Every prove-up I have ever attended has been at the bench. And even for lengthier hearings in state court, counsel remains seated at counsel tables. There is definitely more formality in federal court.
And I think I saved the day at the end of the hearing by pointing out that an important document hadn't been given to the judge.
I made it back to the office by 2:00 where I ran my tail off making sure I make a couple of deadlines and finalizing the details of another prove-up tomorrow. I left at 5:15, and headed to meet DH and the girls.
Although all 3 girls are in the same school, PS and the twins had events at different schools tonight. So DH left early to take PS to her event and I met him and grabbed the twins to take them to their event. Of course I arrived 5 minutes before it started and the cafetorium was packed and standing room only. And, of course, since I had a hearing this morning I am in a suit and 3 1/2 inch heels.
Finally made it home at 8:00, and threw the twins in the bath. Somehow, both of the cats also managed to make it into the bath. DH and PS arrived home a few minutes later, and I watched the video of her first orchestra concert, which was not nearly as terrible as I anticipated.
And, while everything else in my crazy day is going on I am dealing with a very close relative who has gotten into some deep shit. And the types of law that my relatives usually need help with are generally outside the scope of my expertise. But I am doing what I can to help out on the legal front and to be as supportive as possible.
Now I am going to collapse into bed and try to get a decent night's sleep before another marathon day tomorrow.
*I just noticed this is my 500th post. Am I supposed to do something special to celebrate 500th post day?
**Don't let the "sticks" part fool ya. This court is well known as a hotbed of high-end litigation of a particular genre--and the other courtroom was packed with more than a few well known lawyers.
Up at 4:15 this morning to leave the house a 5:15 to meet Big Boss at 6:00 to drive to the 9:30 prove-up hearing on the settlement agreement that has been a major pain in my ass for the last month in a town out in the sticks** 3 hours away.
Yeah, I was a tiny bit nervous about spending 6 hours in a car with Big Boss--but it really wasn't bad. He is very good at carrying a conversation, and imparted plenty of wisdom and lawyer gossip along the way. And on the way back he had conference calls most of the time. (At one point he had his phone in one hand, while checking his Blackberry with the other and driving with his knee.)
I expected to be the invisible sidekick once we arrived at the courthouse, but Big Boss surprised me by telling everyone that I had been doing all the work to pull this thing together and make it run smoothly.
This was my first time in federal court, and I was thrown off a little bit--forgetting that you use a podium in federal court. (Not that I was the one speaking--I'm not admitted in federal court. But Big Boss told me that I need to work on getting admitted into two of our local federal district courts!) Every prove-up I have ever attended has been at the bench. And even for lengthier hearings in state court, counsel remains seated at counsel tables. There is definitely more formality in federal court.
And I think I saved the day at the end of the hearing by pointing out that an important document hadn't been given to the judge.
I made it back to the office by 2:00 where I ran my tail off making sure I make a couple of deadlines and finalizing the details of another prove-up tomorrow. I left at 5:15, and headed to meet DH and the girls.
Although all 3 girls are in the same school, PS and the twins had events at different schools tonight. So DH left early to take PS to her event and I met him and grabbed the twins to take them to their event. Of course I arrived 5 minutes before it started and the cafetorium was packed and standing room only. And, of course, since I had a hearing this morning I am in a suit and 3 1/2 inch heels.
Finally made it home at 8:00, and threw the twins in the bath. Somehow, both of the cats also managed to make it into the bath. DH and PS arrived home a few minutes later, and I watched the video of her first orchestra concert, which was not nearly as terrible as I anticipated.
And, while everything else in my crazy day is going on I am dealing with a very close relative who has gotten into some deep shit. And the types of law that my relatives usually need help with are generally outside the scope of my expertise. But I am doing what I can to help out on the legal front and to be as supportive as possible.
Now I am going to collapse into bed and try to get a decent night's sleep before another marathon day tomorrow.
*I just noticed this is my 500th post. Am I supposed to do something special to celebrate 500th post day?
**Don't let the "sticks" part fool ya. This court is well known as a hotbed of high-end litigation of a particular genre--and the other courtroom was packed with more than a few well known lawyers.
11/15/08
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause
Last week the twins wrote letters to Santa while they were home with the nanny and promptly put them in the mailbox. (Yeah, I thought they were jumping the gun a little bit--thank you Wal-mart toybook.) Anyway, DH and I never saw the letters. We meant to pull them from the mailbox after the girls went to bed, but forgot. The next day, however, the letters were gone.
Today both girls received letters from Santa addressed to them. I have no idea where they come from. I guess the postman must must have a hookup with the big guy.
SS is so excited she has read her letter about five times and keeps dancing around the room with it. I just hope she doesn't think Santa is really going to bring the $225 Hannah Montana electric scooter that was on her list--'cause it ain't gonna happen.
Today both girls received letters from Santa addressed to them. I have no idea where they come from. I guess the postman must must have a hookup with the big guy.
SS is so excited she has read her letter about five times and keeps dancing around the room with it. I just hope she doesn't think Santa is really going to bring the $225 Hannah Montana electric scooter that was on her list--'cause it ain't gonna happen.
Thanksgiving
We're trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving. We live about 400 miles away from our families--but usually some of them come here and I cook. I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday--it is all about yummy food and relaxing. No worrying about buying gifts for people who already have too much crap anyway. (I love giving when I know it is something the recipient will really love--but I hate the pressure of coming up with some token gift just because it is a holiday.) And I don't get dragged to church.
But this year I have scheduled my gallbladder surgery two days before Thanksgiving (yes, so I won't miss work). Therefore, we won't be traveling and we haven't invited anyone here because I doubt that I will be up to preparing a big meal.
My preference would be to simply eat out--but it looks like most regular restaurants will be closed. Only fancy restaurants and hotels are offering Thanksgiving brunches or dinners. And my little suburb has no such places.
Another option is to order in dinner. But it would be rather expensive just for us (and a ton of food)--and I know that it wouldn't taste nearly as good as what I could prepare.
So, I'm thinking DH is going to be stuck cooking under my direction. We will keep it simple--perhaps preparing only a breast instead of a whole turkey, and cutting back on the sides. And no yummy homemade rolls. (I had to marry into the family to get MIL's roll recipe and they are the best!)
PS has suggested that we just have Turkey Pot Pie. She says, "you've got the turkey, you've got the pie, what else do you need?" Maybe she's right.
But this year I have scheduled my gallbladder surgery two days before Thanksgiving (yes, so I won't miss work). Therefore, we won't be traveling and we haven't invited anyone here because I doubt that I will be up to preparing a big meal.
My preference would be to simply eat out--but it looks like most regular restaurants will be closed. Only fancy restaurants and hotels are offering Thanksgiving brunches or dinners. And my little suburb has no such places.
Another option is to order in dinner. But it would be rather expensive just for us (and a ton of food)--and I know that it wouldn't taste nearly as good as what I could prepare.
So, I'm thinking DH is going to be stuck cooking under my direction. We will keep it simple--perhaps preparing only a breast instead of a whole turkey, and cutting back on the sides. And no yummy homemade rolls. (I had to marry into the family to get MIL's roll recipe and they are the best!)
PS has suggested that we just have Turkey Pot Pie. She says, "you've got the turkey, you've got the pie, what else do you need?" Maybe she's right.
Work
I am beginning to feel overwhelmed. I have been super-busy the last month or so. In fact, I was the top biller in my firm last month (we get statements each month of the most & least hours billed and the average--do all firms do this?) And I'm on track for a repeat performance. The thing is--I have no desire to be the top biller. One of the attractions of a smaller firm is more reasonable working hours. And up until recently I feel like my hours have been pretty reasonable and that I was doing pretty well maintaining the work/life balance. Not so much over the last two weeks--I have been working late and going in early--seriously cutting into my time with the girlies.
Part of the problem is that everyone in my office is extremely busy--and we are working on hiring more attorneys. But there was a huge response due on a very big case last month--I wasn't involved at all and I still outbilled the two guys working on it.
The other part of the problem is that Big Boss, who typically does a lot of traveling, has been in the office a lot lately and he has been piling the work on. And I keep taking it, because Big Boss allows me to work on bigger projects and gives me more responsibility than Partner.
I'm not sure Big Boss is aware of how much he as given me--he has no idea what I am doing for Partner (fortunately, Partner realizes that Big Boss is throwing a lot my way and has not been piling it on as well). And I have more stuff taking me out of the office--which means that I have less time to get stuff done in the office. It killed me to spend 4 hours in the car on both Wednesday and Thursday this week. Even though I can bill for my travel time, I can't get anything else done--so it felt like wasted time.
Next week I have two out-of-town prove-ups. Big Boss informed me that these are the only two that I will be accompanied on--and then I will be on my own. I think this is his way of telling me I will be traveling more. He also informed me that I will be getting a blackberry. Yeah, I know I am probably the only lawyer on the planet without one--but I was ok with that because I'm not so sure that I want to be available to my firm 24/7. (Actually, I have a Blackjack for my personal phone, but I wasn't about to put my work email on it.)
DH says I need to set some boundaries. And even Partner has warned that Big Boss will take over my life if I let him. But I still feel like I am proving myself--and I am just now getting do the things I have been wanting to--so I'm not quite ready to pull the reins yet.
Part of the problem is that everyone in my office is extremely busy--and we are working on hiring more attorneys. But there was a huge response due on a very big case last month--I wasn't involved at all and I still outbilled the two guys working on it.
The other part of the problem is that Big Boss, who typically does a lot of traveling, has been in the office a lot lately and he has been piling the work on. And I keep taking it, because Big Boss allows me to work on bigger projects and gives me more responsibility than Partner.
I'm not sure Big Boss is aware of how much he as given me--he has no idea what I am doing for Partner (fortunately, Partner realizes that Big Boss is throwing a lot my way and has not been piling it on as well). And I have more stuff taking me out of the office--which means that I have less time to get stuff done in the office. It killed me to spend 4 hours in the car on both Wednesday and Thursday this week. Even though I can bill for my travel time, I can't get anything else done--so it felt like wasted time.
Next week I have two out-of-town prove-ups. Big Boss informed me that these are the only two that I will be accompanied on--and then I will be on my own. I think this is his way of telling me I will be traveling more. He also informed me that I will be getting a blackberry. Yeah, I know I am probably the only lawyer on the planet without one--but I was ok with that because I'm not so sure that I want to be available to my firm 24/7. (Actually, I have a Blackjack for my personal phone, but I wasn't about to put my work email on it.)
DH says I need to set some boundaries. And even Partner has warned that Big Boss will take over my life if I let him. But I still feel like I am proving myself--and I am just now getting do the things I have been wanting to--so I'm not quite ready to pull the reins yet.
11/8/08
Socializing
This week I met my first MILP. I've never met anyone that I knew through the internet before. Probably because I am inherently non-trusting--but a fellow MILP seemed pretty safe. (No, I'm not telling you who it is, because her blog says where she was, and that would reveal the location of my super-secret bat cave. But if you read both blogs it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.)
I'm usually very quiet and shy when I first meet new people, but I'm afraid I might have talked her ear off. I guess 'cause its not really like meeting a "new" person. I already know what is going on in her life--so it was more like just catching up with an old friend.
And there were no freaky surprises--like horns, or finding out that she was not, in fact, a MILP but an 43-year old overweight balding man posing like a MILP just to pick up hot young lawyers.
She was exactly like you would expect from reading her blog.
We had dinner and drinks and chatted forever. I had a great time visiting with another law mom. Now I think we need to have MILP convention, where we abandon our children our studies and our jobs and party like rock-stars for a weekend.
I'm usually very quiet and shy when I first meet new people, but I'm afraid I might have talked her ear off. I guess 'cause its not really like meeting a "new" person. I already know what is going on in her life--so it was more like just catching up with an old friend.
And there were no freaky surprises--like horns, or finding out that she was not, in fact, a MILP but an 43-year old overweight balding man posing like a MILP just to pick up hot young lawyers.
She was exactly like you would expect from reading her blog.
We had dinner and drinks and chatted forever. I had a great time visiting with another law mom. Now I think we need to have MILP convention, where we abandon our children our studies and our jobs and party like rock-stars for a weekend.
I May Have Been Given Just Enough Rope to Hang Myself
So remember that list I posted earlier in the week about what I wanted to do in the next year? Well, I may be ticking things off more quickly than I anticipated.
On Wednesday, Partner told me that I was taking a corporate rep depo. On Thursday, Partner told me that he wanted to "shift responsibility" for three cases to me. This was after I informed him that we hadn't done something that we needed to do very soon. He seemed irritated, but I don't know if it was at himself or at me. But I couldn't have taken care of this particular task because I never saw the document that it related to--it went straight from Partner's desk to the file. Secretary is not allowed to give me documents without Partner's instruction.
I guess I am going to have to pin down Partner this week and tell him that while I am happy to take on more responsibility, he must allow Secretary to give me everything that comes in on these cases. I'm not going to be the scapegoat if a deadline is missed. Fortunately, I caught the other issue before it was too late.
So Friday, I spent most of the day doing the corp. rep. depo, and next week I am going to prep employees for the depositions that I will be doing later in the week. The following week I am accompanying Big Boss to two prove-ups for the Settlement Agreements I have spent the last month drafting and coordinating (BTW, Big Law A-hole has been less of a PITA lately. Maybe he reads my blog--ha!) And I am working on scheduling 3 more depos.
My inbox is overflowing and I can barely find the top of my desk, and all of these out-of the-office appointments are slowing me down further. My work load has picked up substantially in the last 2 months. But I guess it can't be a bad thing for my hours to shoot up right before bonuses are decided.
On Wednesday, Partner told me that I was taking a corporate rep depo. On Thursday, Partner told me that he wanted to "shift responsibility" for three cases to me. This was after I informed him that we hadn't done something that we needed to do very soon. He seemed irritated, but I don't know if it was at himself or at me. But I couldn't have taken care of this particular task because I never saw the document that it related to--it went straight from Partner's desk to the file. Secretary is not allowed to give me documents without Partner's instruction.
I guess I am going to have to pin down Partner this week and tell him that while I am happy to take on more responsibility, he must allow Secretary to give me everything that comes in on these cases. I'm not going to be the scapegoat if a deadline is missed. Fortunately, I caught the other issue before it was too late.
So Friday, I spent most of the day doing the corp. rep. depo, and next week I am going to prep employees for the depositions that I will be doing later in the week. The following week I am accompanying Big Boss to two prove-ups for the Settlement Agreements I have spent the last month drafting and coordinating (BTW, Big Law A-hole has been less of a PITA lately. Maybe he reads my blog--ha!) And I am working on scheduling 3 more depos.
My inbox is overflowing and I can barely find the top of my desk, and all of these out-of the-office appointments are slowing me down further. My work load has picked up substantially in the last 2 months. But I guess it can't be a bad thing for my hours to shoot up right before bonuses are decided.
11/4/08
More than just a little barfy
This is a very good account about living through a pregnancy with hyperemesis gravadarum. I suffered through HG for three pregnancies (my oldest, my twins, and a miscarriage in between). I discussed it briefly here and here-- but those posts are pretty long and it is a lot to filter through.
In short (or maybe not), HG is morning sickness to the 10th degree. With my oldest and the pregnancy, I spent about 6 weeks carrying around an IV pole at home to receive fluids. I vomited constantly (I kept a 32 oz. plastic cup by my bed and would fill it completely every couple of hours.) I didn't even try to eat, it was all bile. And I had the cup, because when you vomit that much and go that long without food, you simply don't have the energy to walk the 10 feet to the bathroom to barf in the toilet.
It was 1000 times worse with the twins. I was in the hospital for most of my first 20 weeks. My docs brought in a psychiatrist because they thought it was psychosomatic (even though I had been through this twice before, and this was very much a planned pregnancy). Then they told me to consider termination, because I was in the very real danger of starving to death. The put a feeding tube down my nose, which I barfed back up. Then they put a line into a major artery, right at my collarbone, to deliver more substantial nutrients than the IV in my arm was capable of. Finally, an awesome gastroenterologist discovered an experimental treatment involving massive doses of steroids. It took a couple of tries, and there were no studies indicating what the impact of the drugs might be on my unborn children, but it finally worked.
Unfortunately, although the HG finally cleared up my twins developed TTTS. My research after the twins were born leads me to believe that it was caused, or at least contributed to, by the HG. TTTS is a condition that only happens to identical twins, where shared blood vessels in the placenta shunt the majority of the nutrients to one twin. There is only a 30% survival rate for both twins, and 30% of twins who survive suffer brain damage.
Of course, my girls survived in perfect condition, but it was an extremely long and difficult pregnancy and underscores the potential consequences of HG.
In short (or maybe not), HG is morning sickness to the 10th degree. With my oldest and the pregnancy, I spent about 6 weeks carrying around an IV pole at home to receive fluids. I vomited constantly (I kept a 32 oz. plastic cup by my bed and would fill it completely every couple of hours.) I didn't even try to eat, it was all bile. And I had the cup, because when you vomit that much and go that long without food, you simply don't have the energy to walk the 10 feet to the bathroom to barf in the toilet.
It was 1000 times worse with the twins. I was in the hospital for most of my first 20 weeks. My docs brought in a psychiatrist because they thought it was psychosomatic (even though I had been through this twice before, and this was very much a planned pregnancy). Then they told me to consider termination, because I was in the very real danger of starving to death. The put a feeding tube down my nose, which I barfed back up. Then they put a line into a major artery, right at my collarbone, to deliver more substantial nutrients than the IV in my arm was capable of. Finally, an awesome gastroenterologist discovered an experimental treatment involving massive doses of steroids. It took a couple of tries, and there were no studies indicating what the impact of the drugs might be on my unborn children, but it finally worked.
Unfortunately, although the HG finally cleared up my twins developed TTTS. My research after the twins were born leads me to believe that it was caused, or at least contributed to, by the HG. TTTS is a condition that only happens to identical twins, where shared blood vessels in the placenta shunt the majority of the nutrients to one twin. There is only a 30% survival rate for both twins, and 30% of twins who survive suffer brain damage.
Of course, my girls survived in perfect condition, but it was an extremely long and difficult pregnancy and underscores the potential consequences of HG.
11/2/08
One Year
Today marks the one year anniversary of being a licensed attorney. So I guess tomorrow, I am officially a second-year. A lot has changed in the last year. This time last year, I was wondering if I would ever find a job and if I had just spent a hundred grand on the biggest mistake of my life. Or if I would be stuck doing a job that I hated because it was the only one that I could find.
But I did find a job--and one that I like. It wasn't my first choice. I really, really wanted to be a prosecutor and applied with every DA's office within a hundred-mile radius. But it just didn't happen. I felt a tiny pang of jealousy toward a group of baby-prosecutors at a CLE last week. They have what I wanted. And now my career-path is set. They don't exactly take laterals in the DA's office.
But mostly, I am ok with the way things worked out. My desire to work in the DA's office was to gain trial experience quickly. I'm not sure that I would have wanted to be a career prosecutor. And I definitely would not have wanted to switch to criminal defense.
I like what I do now. I like the kind of law I am practicing and the quality of cases that I get to work on. (Mostly products defense.) And while I do not have the trial experience that I would have preferred to have one year in, I have had increasing responsibility this year.
One year ago I did:
But I did find a job--and one that I like. It wasn't my first choice. I really, really wanted to be a prosecutor and applied with every DA's office within a hundred-mile radius. But it just didn't happen. I felt a tiny pang of jealousy toward a group of baby-prosecutors at a CLE last week. They have what I wanted. And now my career-path is set. They don't exactly take laterals in the DA's office.
But mostly, I am ok with the way things worked out. My desire to work in the DA's office was to gain trial experience quickly. I'm not sure that I would have wanted to be a career prosecutor. And I definitely would not have wanted to switch to criminal defense.
I like what I do now. I like the kind of law I am practicing and the quality of cases that I get to work on. (Mostly products defense.) And while I do not have the trial experience that I would have preferred to have one year in, I have had increasing responsibility this year.
One year ago I did:
- mostly research projects
- some motion drafting
- lots of depo summaries
- lots of document review
- no secretary or paralegal--and not much need for either
- and I was completely invisible to anybody outside the firm
- lots of reports to clients (not my favorite)
- less research
- some motion drafting
- lots of discovery drafting and responses
- drafting settlement agreements
- fewer depo summaries--general summaries are given to a paralegal, I do summaries when we are looking for something specific
- less document review--again, much of this is now given to my paralegal
- I have a secretary and a paralegal and have significantly increased my use of them over the last few months. Partners give me big projects and it is my job to direct the staff to ensure they are done properly and on time
- Communicating with other counsel to negotiate minor points & scheduling
- Attending minor hearings solo
- Meeting with clients occasionally
- Taking depositions on minor cases--and no experts yet
- Interviewing and communicating with experts
- Argue in court
- Take more depos--more important depos
- See my name on a pleading/motion
- More interaction with clients
- More authority to manage my cases
- My own cases (there are a few that are mostly mine, but I still run everything by Partner. This is also a double-edged sword. Any cases that I get will be minor cases--and I love working on the huge cases--even if it's just in the background. So I don't want to be buried in small cases to the exclusion of the big cases. Right now I have both. )
- Being pigeonholed--one attorney in my firm does only one type of case. Two others work only on one very big case. That would suck! I have a broad variety cases, and I like it that way.
10/31/08
What the hell were their parents thinking?
Per our annual protocol, I am staying home to hand out candy while DH and the rugrats canvas the neighborhood.
Two little girls just came to my door dressed like slutty pirates. They couldn't have been more than 12. In spaghetti straps, micro-miniskirts, fishnet stockings, bright red lipstick, and more eyeliner than I could use in a year.
Oh, and there was no adult in sight. Ugh! It makes me sick thinking about what could happen if these girls come across the wrong house.
For the record, my twins are out there dressed as Darth Vader and a Clone Trooper--not an ounce of skin showing! PS is Pocahontas--not her first choice, but I had to make her a Pocahontas costume for a school project last week, and dammit, it was gonna be worn again. Besides, I bought her a pair of fake Uggs to go with it, and that pretty much appeased her.
Two little girls just came to my door dressed like slutty pirates. They couldn't have been more than 12. In spaghetti straps, micro-miniskirts, fishnet stockings, bright red lipstick, and more eyeliner than I could use in a year.
Oh, and there was no adult in sight. Ugh! It makes me sick thinking about what could happen if these girls come across the wrong house.
For the record, my twins are out there dressed as Darth Vader and a Clone Trooper--not an ounce of skin showing! PS is Pocahontas--not her first choice, but I had to make her a Pocahontas costume for a school project last week, and dammit, it was gonna be worn again. Besides, I bought her a pair of fake Uggs to go with it, and that pretty much appeased her.
10/29/08
Mom stuff
Left work early today for a teacher conference. TT is doing awesome, which I already knew. Ran home grabbed the kids, went back to the school for another meeting. PS's class gets to go to camp for 3 days in the spring, so there was in information meeting for parents. I clearly remember doing the same thing when I was in the 5th grade--and having a blast.
I got home to find a message from PS's G/T teacher. PS said she thought she was calling parents for phone conferences.
Not quite. G/T teacher informs me that they reviewed TT's test scores and have decided to admit her into the G/T program. Both twins were tested at the end of last year on the recommendation of their teachers, but were not admitted. This mystified me, because both of their teachers told me that they were certain that they would make the cut. I had a lengthy meeting with the G/T teacher (who I think is a fruitcake anyway), but little came of it.
But our school system introduced a new standardized test that they took into consideration. And TT's new teacher has really been pushing for her admission into the G/T program.
So now one of my identical twins has been admitted, but not the other. How the hell am I supposed to handle this? To make it worse, two of my 3 children have been admitted. I am afraid SS is going to think she is the "dumb kid."
Her test scores are generally lower than her sister's, but only by a few points. On the most recent standardized test, TT was in the 92 percentile and SS was in the 89th. And truly, I don't think that TT is smarter than SS--they just exhibit their intelligence differently.
Stupid fruitcake teacher says to me, "Well, you know each child is an individual." Are you freaking kidding me? I am the mother of identical twins who most people can't tell apart--yet to me their personalities couldn't be more different. I know better than anybody how individual my children are.
Does being a parent ever get easy?
I got home to find a message from PS's G/T teacher. PS said she thought she was calling parents for phone conferences.
Not quite. G/T teacher informs me that they reviewed TT's test scores and have decided to admit her into the G/T program. Both twins were tested at the end of last year on the recommendation of their teachers, but were not admitted. This mystified me, because both of their teachers told me that they were certain that they would make the cut. I had a lengthy meeting with the G/T teacher (who I think is a fruitcake anyway), but little came of it.
But our school system introduced a new standardized test that they took into consideration. And TT's new teacher has really been pushing for her admission into the G/T program.
So now one of my identical twins has been admitted, but not the other. How the hell am I supposed to handle this? To make it worse, two of my 3 children have been admitted. I am afraid SS is going to think she is the "dumb kid."
Her test scores are generally lower than her sister's, but only by a few points. On the most recent standardized test, TT was in the 92 percentile and SS was in the 89th. And truly, I don't think that TT is smarter than SS--they just exhibit their intelligence differently.
Stupid fruitcake teacher says to me, "Well, you know each child is an individual." Are you freaking kidding me? I am the mother of identical twins who most people can't tell apart--yet to me their personalities couldn't be more different. I know better than anybody how individual my children are.
Does being a parent ever get easy?
10/28/08
F.U. Part 2
The little fucker did it again. They finally sent back redlined settlement documents (changing shit they had already agreed to), but didn't copy all parties. So I forwarded their revisions to the rest of the parties along with the corrections I made to the Addendum.
He wrote back (again copying everybody) "We're fine with all of the corrections--as long as you corrected the misspelling in the footer and the misuse of he/she in paragraph 2."
Ok, did you not read the fucking document I just sent? I made the damn corrections. But thanks for pointing it out--AGAIN.
It took a great deal of professional composure not to dash off a snotty response.
The good news is that Big Boss did not say a word to me. Probably because all hell is breaking loose in one of our massive cases. I am completely buried right now--I have never been so busy or been so behind.
But because everyone else is also crazy busy, I am also getting to be more visible. Usually I am hidden in the background being bcc'd on everything. I've also had to take on a much more managerial role with my secretary and paralegal. Big Boss has been pushing me to be bossier all along--and at this point I just can't get it all done by myself. They are grumbling and probably like me less than they did a couple of weeks ago. But I just remind them to be glad they have to deal with me and not Big Boss.
He wrote back (again copying everybody) "We're fine with all of the corrections--as long as you corrected the misspelling in the footer and the misuse of he/she in paragraph 2."
Ok, did you not read the fucking document I just sent? I made the damn corrections. But thanks for pointing it out--AGAIN.
It took a great deal of professional composure not to dash off a snotty response.
The good news is that Big Boss did not say a word to me. Probably because all hell is breaking loose in one of our massive cases. I am completely buried right now--I have never been so busy or been so behind.
But because everyone else is also crazy busy, I am also getting to be more visible. Usually I am hidden in the background being bcc'd on everything. I've also had to take on a much more managerial role with my secretary and paralegal. Big Boss has been pushing me to be bossier all along--and at this point I just can't get it all done by myself. They are grumbling and probably like me less than they did a couple of weeks ago. But I just remind them to be glad they have to deal with me and not Big Boss.
10/26/08
F.U.
I have spent the better part of the last month preparing settlement documents in a big case for a substantial settlement. This was my first time to ever prepare settlement documents, and I was pretty much left to wing it.
But I pulled it off. There are 5 parties involved in this settlement, and we had everybody in agreement by the 5th revision--and most of the changes were pretty minor. So I was feeling pretty good about getting it right on my first go 'round. In total, the settlement documents exceed 60 pages. I did 95% of the drafting--incorporating changes by the other parties as requested.
Then, an ad litem was appointed at the last minute who wanted to make several changes, including adding an addendum. So I spent half a day incorporating all of his changes, and again, submitted the agreement to all parties for final approval. Big Boss told me to ask the other parties to please make any changes they wanted and circulate them among the parties. (They have, so far, been submitting revisions to us and I have been making all changes.)
Within a couple of hours, one of the parties approved the new changes. But I just got an email (cc'd to about 10 people) from another party saying, "We're still reviewing the settlement documents, but you spelled 'Addendum' wrong in the footer of that document, and in paragraph 13 of [65 paragraph document] [one party out of about 17] is referred to as a he rather than a she."
Thank you very much Big Law a-hole. Because you couldn't have included those two mistakes that were admittedly mine in the list of the other changes that needed to be made (although seriously, in a footer with an 8 point font can you even tell the difference between an "n" and an "m"?) God knows I fixed some of your mistakes without advertising it to the world. Or are you just PO'd that we asked you to make your own changes this time?
I am sure to be bitched out on Monday about this. Big Boss will not be happy that I sent out a document with a spelling error.
Sigh--what a way to ruin a perfectly good Sunday afternoon.
P.S. Yes, I get the irony. If you spend any time at all on my blog you will find it riddled with typos. I spend minimal time proofing here. But I swear, I combed those documents. All 60 pages, line by line with a ruler. Guess I missed the footer. And the red squiggly line that Word should have put under my misspelling.
But I pulled it off. There are 5 parties involved in this settlement, and we had everybody in agreement by the 5th revision--and most of the changes were pretty minor. So I was feeling pretty good about getting it right on my first go 'round. In total, the settlement documents exceed 60 pages. I did 95% of the drafting--incorporating changes by the other parties as requested.
Then, an ad litem was appointed at the last minute who wanted to make several changes, including adding an addendum. So I spent half a day incorporating all of his changes, and again, submitted the agreement to all parties for final approval. Big Boss told me to ask the other parties to please make any changes they wanted and circulate them among the parties. (They have, so far, been submitting revisions to us and I have been making all changes.)
Within a couple of hours, one of the parties approved the new changes. But I just got an email (cc'd to about 10 people) from another party saying, "We're still reviewing the settlement documents, but you spelled 'Addendum' wrong in the footer of that document, and in paragraph 13 of [65 paragraph document] [one party out of about 17] is referred to as a he rather than a she."
Thank you very much Big Law a-hole. Because you couldn't have included those two mistakes that were admittedly mine in the list of the other changes that needed to be made (although seriously, in a footer with an 8 point font can you even tell the difference between an "n" and an "m"?) God knows I fixed some of your mistakes without advertising it to the world. Or are you just PO'd that we asked you to make your own changes this time?
I am sure to be bitched out on Monday about this. Big Boss will not be happy that I sent out a document with a spelling error.
Sigh--what a way to ruin a perfectly good Sunday afternoon.
P.S. Yes, I get the irony. If you spend any time at all on my blog you will find it riddled with typos. I spend minimal time proofing here. But I swear, I combed those documents. All 60 pages, line by line with a ruler. Guess I missed the footer. And the red squiggly line that Word should have put under my misspelling.
10/18/08
Date night --woohoo!
DH and I rarely ever go out without the kids. Because we work long hours and don't spend a lot of time with the kids during the week, we make it a point to spend a lot of family time together in the evening. And we spend enough on childcare that there is not much that will provoke us to drop another $80 or so on a babysitter so we can go out. Usually when we go out, it's for a concert (I just bought Eagles tix!! Last time it was the Foo Fighters). And we usually catch a couple of hockey games each season.
But tonight we're going to the movies. I can't even tell you the last grown-up movie I saw at a theater. PS was invited to a sleepover party and the twins are going to a Halloween-themed Kid's Night Out at our local gymnastics place. $40 for the twins, but they will have a blast and it's half what we would spend on a sitter.
It'll be nice to have some kid-free time together. (I know DH gets little mention on the blog, but we really do like each other.) Especially because he's taking off for Boston next week, leaving me as a single-parent all week.
But tonight we're going to the movies. I can't even tell you the last grown-up movie I saw at a theater. PS was invited to a sleepover party and the twins are going to a Halloween-themed Kid's Night Out at our local gymnastics place. $40 for the twins, but they will have a blast and it's half what we would spend on a sitter.
It'll be nice to have some kid-free time together. (I know DH gets little mention on the blog, but we really do like each other.) Especially because he's taking off for Boston next week, leaving me as a single-parent all week.
10/17/08
I have incestuous gay cats
So we kept two of the male kittens from the litter that we found in the flowerbeds. And they have always been very cozy. Soon after we gave their siblings away, we noticed that Voldy would pin Harley down to suckle his teats. This went on for a couple of weeks. And they groom each other and really like to cuddle.
But this morning, Voldy started, ummm grooming Harley's furry little naughty bits. Which Harley apparently enjoyed--a lot. DH and I were staring in shock when SS walked up and said, "Voldy must have hurt Harley because it looks like he's bleeding!" Yeah, cause Harley's tiny red pecker was out. I wasn't even going there at 7:30 in the morning when we were trying to get ready for our day so I just nodded and agreed, "umm, yeah, I guess he's hurt" and shooed the cats apart.
Is this normal cat behavior? I've never had a pair of cats before. We're pretty tolerant, but I could live without the kitty porn.
But this morning, Voldy started, ummm grooming Harley's furry little naughty bits. Which Harley apparently enjoyed--a lot. DH and I were staring in shock when SS walked up and said, "Voldy must have hurt Harley because it looks like he's bleeding!" Yeah, cause Harley's tiny red pecker was out. I wasn't even going there at 7:30 in the morning when we were trying to get ready for our day so I just nodded and agreed, "umm, yeah, I guess he's hurt" and shooed the cats apart.
Is this normal cat behavior? I've never had a pair of cats before. We're pretty tolerant, but I could live without the kitty porn.
10/15/08
The lawyer you don't want to be...
The Chatty Cathy. This is the lawyer who is apparently completely unconcerned about her billables, because she will spend excessively long stretches of time yapping your ear off if given the slightest opportunity. This isn't a friendly co-worker stopping by to say "hi" or to give you the 10 minute run-down on her date last night.
No, the Chatty Cathy parks it in your office and traps you there as she hashes out ever detail of her day--no matter how mundane. Oh--and you never get the chance to get a word in edgewise--its all about her. And she is oblivious to your not-so-subtle hints that she needs to get back to work. Like returning to your reading or typing. You find yourself praying that the phone will ring so that she has to leave, and plotting whether you can reach your Blackberry and email your secretary to call you without her noticing.
Whenever anyone else walks by, you yell out your door, "Oh, hi--were you looking for me--what do you need?" Of course, this random person is clueless unless she, too, has been trapped by the Chatty Cathy. Then the look of pleading in your eyes is all too familiar.
So, my words of wisdom as an almost-second-year lawyer--don't be the Chatty Cathy. Keep the chit-chat short--or make plans for lunch or drinks after work. Even if you may like working until midnight, I prefer to get my billables in during normal working hours. And pay attention to what is going on around you--if I start typing, it means I really don't have time for this right now.
No, the Chatty Cathy parks it in your office and traps you there as she hashes out ever detail of her day--no matter how mundane. Oh--and you never get the chance to get a word in edgewise--its all about her. And she is oblivious to your not-so-subtle hints that she needs to get back to work. Like returning to your reading or typing. You find yourself praying that the phone will ring so that she has to leave, and plotting whether you can reach your Blackberry and email your secretary to call you without her noticing.
Whenever anyone else walks by, you yell out your door, "Oh, hi--were you looking for me--what do you need?" Of course, this random person is clueless unless she, too, has been trapped by the Chatty Cathy. Then the look of pleading in your eyes is all too familiar.
So, my words of wisdom as an almost-second-year lawyer--don't be the Chatty Cathy. Keep the chit-chat short--or make plans for lunch or drinks after work. Even if you may like working until midnight, I prefer to get my billables in during normal working hours. And pay attention to what is going on around you--if I start typing, it means I really don't have time for this right now.
Boss's Day--WTF?
I grabbed a sandwich for lunch and decided to splurge on a cookie from the bakery in the basement of my building. As I approached the line I saw my secretary. I walked up behind her and tried to say something, but she was oblivious to my presence. Before I can catch her attention, she asks the bakery worker--"so what are you going to have available for Boss's day?" I hightail it out of there, before she notices me (I hope) in an effort to avoid an awkward situation.
SO, who the hell came up with this fake wannabe holiday? Is it just intended to create awkwardness? I don't want anything from my secretary and I'm sure not getting anything for my supervising attorneys. No one should be expected to buy gifts for the people they work for.
SO, who the hell came up with this fake wannabe holiday? Is it just intended to create awkwardness? I don't want anything from my secretary and I'm sure not getting anything for my supervising attorneys. No one should be expected to buy gifts for the people they work for.
10/10/08
Life
So posting has been light lately. Partly because life has just gotten busy with PS's gymnastics on Monday nights and TT's football practice on Thursday nights and all those other things that get crammed into a week.
Partly because it's the time of year where allergies are kicking in and my eyes hurt so badly by the end of the day that I want to scratch them and the thought of looking at a computer screen for one more second is pure torture.
Partly because there is a lot of stuff going on that I just can't blog about. Like work. I really wish I could blog more about what lawyer life is like, but a lot of it could be construed as negatively portraying my firm and, well, I'd like to keep my job. I'm anonymous, but not that anonymous and I know that anyone who really wanted to find me could. But I do wish I could give a more accurate portrayal of life as a new lawyer.
One thing I can say is that Big Boss and Partner took me to a swanky restaurant earlier this week to thank me for all the effort I've been putting in lately. We've been getting tons of new cases and I have had to help out quite a bit when one of our attorneys who was pregnant had her baby early. She usually doesn't have any help on her cases, and she hadn't yet briefed anyone on her caseload, so it has been a challenge to get up to speed on cases that I know absolutely nothing about--while trying not to step on her toes or give the impression that I am trying to take over her cases. (She is very quiet, and we don't know each other well.)
But overall, it is going ok--with a little craziness mixed in.
Partly because it's the time of year where allergies are kicking in and my eyes hurt so badly by the end of the day that I want to scratch them and the thought of looking at a computer screen for one more second is pure torture.
Partly because there is a lot of stuff going on that I just can't blog about. Like work. I really wish I could blog more about what lawyer life is like, but a lot of it could be construed as negatively portraying my firm and, well, I'd like to keep my job. I'm anonymous, but not that anonymous and I know that anyone who really wanted to find me could. But I do wish I could give a more accurate portrayal of life as a new lawyer.
One thing I can say is that Big Boss and Partner took me to a swanky restaurant earlier this week to thank me for all the effort I've been putting in lately. We've been getting tons of new cases and I have had to help out quite a bit when one of our attorneys who was pregnant had her baby early. She usually doesn't have any help on her cases, and she hadn't yet briefed anyone on her caseload, so it has been a challenge to get up to speed on cases that I know absolutely nothing about--while trying not to step on her toes or give the impression that I am trying to take over her cases. (She is very quiet, and we don't know each other well.)
But overall, it is going ok--with a little craziness mixed in.
Overheard
The twins just signed up for the chess club, so they dragged out our chess set and decided that they would start practicing.
I heard TT say, "I'll trade you my knight for your king."
"Ok, deal," SS responded.
I said, "I don't really think that's how you play chess."
To which TT replied, "We know, but Daddy won't get off his bottom and come help us because he's lazy."
Oops! It's really hard to lecture your children about being respectful to adults when you are laughing hysterically.
I heard TT say, "I'll trade you my knight for your king."
"Ok, deal," SS responded.
I said, "I don't really think that's how you play chess."
To which TT replied, "We know, but Daddy won't get off his bottom and come help us because he's lazy."
Oops! It's really hard to lecture your children about being respectful to adults when you are laughing hysterically.
10/2/08
Sucky, sucky, sucky day
Today just sucked. It was one of those days where everything is just off-kilter all day long. It started this morning, when I had to go into the school to drop the girls off and speak to the cranky ladies in the office. Then traffic sucked. Then I got to work, and before I even make it to my office my secretary informs me that I am on the naughty list.
The naughty list is the list that the office accountant sends out to the entire office every week informing us who doesn't have their time in. I am on it about half the time, because my time has to be approved by Partner before it is sent to accounting, and he tends to let it sit on his desk. The end of the month is the most important, because that is when the bills go out.
Of course, Partner had not approved by time, so I was on the list. And Partner was out of town this morning. I called the accountant the second I got to my office to explain the situation. He was a complete and total jackass to me on the phone. He gets this way a lot. Our 60 year old accountant has mood swings like a 14 year old girl. He is known for his pissy moods-but it usually isn't directed at me.
I mean, I would have understood irritation. I get that we are on a tight schedule at the first of the month--but he was really an asshole. A few minutes later Big Boss came in and I asked him to approve my time. In the meantime, Accountant blasted off two more office-wide emails informing everybody that I was the lone holdout in submitting my time. By 9:15 this morning my time was in. I dashed off an email, biting my tongue the whole time, politely telling the accountant that my time had been submitted.
He writes back, "was it approved." And I responded, "No, your temper tantrum terrified me into throwing caution to the wind and submitting my time, to hell with whether it had been approved or not." Then I added, "Of course it has been approved."
30 seconds later the phone rang. Accountant, "I need to know if your time is approved."
"I told you it was approved."
"How was it approved--did you get an email." Ok, he has never ever asked how my time is approved --and it is always approved orally. So now he is basically accusing me of lying. However, Big Boss just happens to be standing outside my office and hears this exchange.
Big Boss says, "Tell him I said your time is approved, it's done, he needs to do the billing."
So I relay that information to Accountant, who huffs, "I don't understand why you are being so ugly to me." To which I respond, "Ditto."
A couple of minutes later he sends another email complaining about my attitude. I didn't respond.
Ok, I'll admit, it was not a shining morning of professionalism. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. The secretaries were glad to see me stand up to him. He treats everybody like crap--but they couldn't get away with standing up to him.
The rest of the day went down hill from there. Big Boss was in the office, and throwing new projects at me all day. One of our attorneys just had her baby a month early, and he is freaking out and handing me her stuff. I'm not sure how happy she is about all this. I don't want to step on her toes, but I can't exactly refuse a project Big Boss hands me, so I am doing my best to copy her on email to keep her in the loop.
Then I made a pretty minor error in a letter to the client. But, as Partner pointed out, sending stuff to this client (who is in-house counsel) is like getting your homework graded. He catches freaking everything. So Partner was mildly irritated with me.
And then one of my kids' teachers won't respond to my notes and emails. And my kids' doctor won't let me take all three kids at once for their checkups (I think this is going to mean a new doctor.) And I'm going to have to go lawyer to get my claim paid from when my car was broken into.
And my glasses broke right across the bridge for no apparent reason. The good news is that they are under a breakage warranty, so it is only $20 to replace them. But while I was at the eyeglass store, I asked about my lenses which have developed these strange spots, where it looks like the lens coating is coming up. They said that for another $10 I could have the lenses replaced. I said that I have no problem paying for the broken frames because they don't know what happened (although, really, they literally just broke apart in my hands while I was cleaning them), but that the problem with the lens coating was clearly a manufacturing defect and I should not have to pay a copay to have them repaired. The huffy sales girl said, "well, I can't make that call--you have to talk to a manager." And then they tried to tell me that the only warranty they offer is the breakage warranty with a co-pay.
Of course I wanted to see this actual "warranty" and they didn't have one in the store. They had to get another store to fax it over. And of course it is not a warranty but a replacement plan, and thus is not intended to cover a manufacturing defect.
The girl said, "Well, this is the only warranty we offer." And I replied (much snottier than necessary), "actually it's not. Under the law, there is an implied warranty offered on all goods unless you specifically disclaim it--which you did not." And of course, I get the "we can't make that call" line again.
So I paid the $20, got new frames, and still don't have the lenses fixed. Yeah, I should have paid the damn $10--and probably would have if I hadn't already been in a royally shitty mood. But I'll take it up with the manager and get the lenses fixed and probably spend $500 worth of lawyer time doing it to save $10. Yeah--I'm totally logical when I'm pissy.
The bright spot in my day--a pair of fabulous red suede heels were sitting with the mail when I got home. So I changed into shorts and a tank top and wore my fabulous heels (they make me feel like Dorothy) around the kitchen while I busted into one of DH's beers and pulled dinner together before DH and the girls got home from football practice.
Thank god tomorrow's Friday. Darn right.
The naughty list is the list that the office accountant sends out to the entire office every week informing us who doesn't have their time in. I am on it about half the time, because my time has to be approved by Partner before it is sent to accounting, and he tends to let it sit on his desk. The end of the month is the most important, because that is when the bills go out.
Of course, Partner had not approved by time, so I was on the list. And Partner was out of town this morning. I called the accountant the second I got to my office to explain the situation. He was a complete and total jackass to me on the phone. He gets this way a lot. Our 60 year old accountant has mood swings like a 14 year old girl. He is known for his pissy moods-but it usually isn't directed at me.
I mean, I would have understood irritation. I get that we are on a tight schedule at the first of the month--but he was really an asshole. A few minutes later Big Boss came in and I asked him to approve my time. In the meantime, Accountant blasted off two more office-wide emails informing everybody that I was the lone holdout in submitting my time. By 9:15 this morning my time was in. I dashed off an email, biting my tongue the whole time, politely telling the accountant that my time had been submitted.
He writes back, "was it approved." And I responded, "No, your temper tantrum terrified me into throwing caution to the wind and submitting my time, to hell with whether it had been approved or not." Then I added, "Of course it has been approved."
30 seconds later the phone rang. Accountant, "I need to know if your time is approved."
"I told you it was approved."
"How was it approved--did you get an email." Ok, he has never ever asked how my time is approved --and it is always approved orally. So now he is basically accusing me of lying. However, Big Boss just happens to be standing outside my office and hears this exchange.
Big Boss says, "Tell him I said your time is approved, it's done, he needs to do the billing."
So I relay that information to Accountant, who huffs, "I don't understand why you are being so ugly to me." To which I respond, "Ditto."
A couple of minutes later he sends another email complaining about my attitude. I didn't respond.
Ok, I'll admit, it was not a shining morning of professionalism. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. The secretaries were glad to see me stand up to him. He treats everybody like crap--but they couldn't get away with standing up to him.
The rest of the day went down hill from there. Big Boss was in the office, and throwing new projects at me all day. One of our attorneys just had her baby a month early, and he is freaking out and handing me her stuff. I'm not sure how happy she is about all this. I don't want to step on her toes, but I can't exactly refuse a project Big Boss hands me, so I am doing my best to copy her on email to keep her in the loop.
Then I made a pretty minor error in a letter to the client. But, as Partner pointed out, sending stuff to this client (who is in-house counsel) is like getting your homework graded. He catches freaking everything. So Partner was mildly irritated with me.
And then one of my kids' teachers won't respond to my notes and emails. And my kids' doctor won't let me take all three kids at once for their checkups (I think this is going to mean a new doctor.) And I'm going to have to go lawyer to get my claim paid from when my car was broken into.
And my glasses broke right across the bridge for no apparent reason. The good news is that they are under a breakage warranty, so it is only $20 to replace them. But while I was at the eyeglass store, I asked about my lenses which have developed these strange spots, where it looks like the lens coating is coming up. They said that for another $10 I could have the lenses replaced. I said that I have no problem paying for the broken frames because they don't know what happened (although, really, they literally just broke apart in my hands while I was cleaning them), but that the problem with the lens coating was clearly a manufacturing defect and I should not have to pay a copay to have them repaired. The huffy sales girl said, "well, I can't make that call--you have to talk to a manager." And then they tried to tell me that the only warranty they offer is the breakage warranty with a co-pay.
Of course I wanted to see this actual "warranty" and they didn't have one in the store. They had to get another store to fax it over. And of course it is not a warranty but a replacement plan, and thus is not intended to cover a manufacturing defect.
The girl said, "Well, this is the only warranty we offer." And I replied (much snottier than necessary), "actually it's not. Under the law, there is an implied warranty offered on all goods unless you specifically disclaim it--which you did not." And of course, I get the "we can't make that call" line again.
So I paid the $20, got new frames, and still don't have the lenses fixed. Yeah, I should have paid the damn $10--and probably would have if I hadn't already been in a royally shitty mood. But I'll take it up with the manager and get the lenses fixed and probably spend $500 worth of lawyer time doing it to save $10. Yeah--I'm totally logical when I'm pissy.
The bright spot in my day--a pair of fabulous red suede heels were sitting with the mail when I got home. So I changed into shorts and a tank top and wore my fabulous heels (they make me feel like Dorothy) around the kitchen while I busted into one of DH's beers and pulled dinner together before DH and the girls got home from football practice.
Thank god tomorrow's Friday. Darn right.
9/28/08
The Talk
Last night we were finishing up dinner when I sent the twins out to get the mail. They were taking longer than I thought they should, so I went to check on them.
TT: "Hey mom, you got a movie."
SS: "We peeked at it."
TT: "It's 'Sex of the City.' That's a funny name for a movie."
SS: "TT, I think you said a bad word."
TT: "Sex isn't a bad word, it means . . ."
Me: "Hey, wait a minute. First, sex isn't a bad word. Second, TT, what do you think sex means?"
TT: "It means when grown-ups love each other."
Me: "Well, not exactly. Remember how we talked about when grown-ups love each other they give each other a special hug, and that's how babies get made? Well, that is called sex."
SS: "Yeah--but how does a hug make a baby?" Clearly they weren't going to let me off easy on this one.
Me: "Well, remember how we talked about girls and boys have different parts?"
TT: "Yeah--girls have a hole and boys have a wiener."
Me: "Umm, yeah. The girls part is called a vagina and the boys part is called a penis. So during the special hug the man puts his penis into the woman's vagina, and that's how a baby gets made."
SS: "Yeah, but how does the baby get in there?" Ok, these kids are really wanting the dots connected.
Me: "Well, the man has this juicy stuff inside his penis that has these little fishy things called sperm, and so the juicy stuff comes out inside the woman's vagina and meets with an egg and then they become a cell that grows and grows until it becomes a baby."
TT & SS: "Ewwwww."
TT: "So the cells just keep making more and more and more--like the germ video that we watched at school? It started with just one and then it kept making more and more and more?"
Me: "Yeah--kinda. The cells just keep multiplying just like with germs." I have now equated a baby with the flu.
TT: "But which part of the baby is made first--the stomach?"
Me: "Sort of. The baby starts out as a blob--so I guess it's kind of like the stomach. But as it keeps growing it starts to grow arms and legs and then fingers and toes. So, do y'all have any more questions."
TT: "What are the girl parts called again?"
I wasn't exactly planning to have this talk with the girls yet. I had had it with PS a while back, but the twins still seem so young. But the opportunity presented itself and they were curious. I would rather they get accurate (ok, semi-accurate) information from me than misinformation from other kids. And they were very open about this and not embarrassed to be talking about it--something I hope will continue as they get older.
DH and PS meanwhile were still lingering at the dinner table. Apparently once they caught wind of our conversation, PS went into the pantry and closed the door because she didn't want to hear it. DH, wasn't about to walk in on the middle of this conversation. He is just relieved that we have all girls and I am the one who gets to deal with this kind of thing.
Oh, and about the movie: I watched it last night and did not really like it. Spoiler alert--stop now if you haven't seen this movie and intend to.
I can't believe Carrie went back to Big after what he did. I mean, even if you aren't sure, you go through with the damn wedding that the whole worked knows about. Get divorced 2 weeks later. Or just don't ever sign the marriage certificate. By the end of the movie, she was blaming herself. Hello--he's an adult and could have put a stop to the big brou-ha-ha well ahead of time if that's not what he wanted. If he didn't care enough about her to not publicly humiliate her, then they had no business getting married in the first place.
TT: "Hey mom, you got a movie."
SS: "We peeked at it."
TT: "It's 'Sex of the City.' That's a funny name for a movie."
SS: "TT, I think you said a bad word."
TT: "Sex isn't a bad word, it means . . ."
Me: "Hey, wait a minute. First, sex isn't a bad word. Second, TT, what do you think sex means?"
TT: "It means when grown-ups love each other."
Me: "Well, not exactly. Remember how we talked about when grown-ups love each other they give each other a special hug, and that's how babies get made? Well, that is called sex."
SS: "Yeah--but how does a hug make a baby?" Clearly they weren't going to let me off easy on this one.
Me: "Well, remember how we talked about girls and boys have different parts?"
TT: "Yeah--girls have a hole and boys have a wiener."
Me: "Umm, yeah. The girls part is called a vagina and the boys part is called a penis. So during the special hug the man puts his penis into the woman's vagina, and that's how a baby gets made."
SS: "Yeah, but how does the baby get in there?" Ok, these kids are really wanting the dots connected.
Me: "Well, the man has this juicy stuff inside his penis that has these little fishy things called sperm, and so the juicy stuff comes out inside the woman's vagina and meets with an egg and then they become a cell that grows and grows until it becomes a baby."
TT & SS: "Ewwwww."
TT: "So the cells just keep making more and more and more--like the germ video that we watched at school? It started with just one and then it kept making more and more and more?"
Me: "Yeah--kinda. The cells just keep multiplying just like with germs." I have now equated a baby with the flu.
TT: "But which part of the baby is made first--the stomach?"
Me: "Sort of. The baby starts out as a blob--so I guess it's kind of like the stomach. But as it keeps growing it starts to grow arms and legs and then fingers and toes. So, do y'all have any more questions."
TT: "What are the girl parts called again?"
I wasn't exactly planning to have this talk with the girls yet. I had had it with PS a while back, but the twins still seem so young. But the opportunity presented itself and they were curious. I would rather they get accurate (ok, semi-accurate) information from me than misinformation from other kids. And they were very open about this and not embarrassed to be talking about it--something I hope will continue as they get older.
DH and PS meanwhile were still lingering at the dinner table. Apparently once they caught wind of our conversation, PS went into the pantry and closed the door because she didn't want to hear it. DH, wasn't about to walk in on the middle of this conversation. He is just relieved that we have all girls and I am the one who gets to deal with this kind of thing.
Oh, and about the movie: I watched it last night and did not really like it. Spoiler alert--stop now if you haven't seen this movie and intend to.
I can't believe Carrie went back to Big after what he did. I mean, even if you aren't sure, you go through with the damn wedding that the whole worked knows about. Get divorced 2 weeks later. Or just don't ever sign the marriage certificate. By the end of the movie, she was blaming herself. Hello--he's an adult and could have put a stop to the big brou-ha-ha well ahead of time if that's not what he wanted. If he didn't care enough about her to not publicly humiliate her, then they had no business getting married in the first place.
9/20/08
Yes, I am insane
I have 9 girls spending the night, in addition to my own three. I am trying to just stay out of the way and let them do their own thing--but provide enough structured activities to keep them from fighting or acting like crazy people.
It is mostly going ok. But after they made sundaes they decided that everyone should try to eat face first (yeah--these are 10 - 11 year olds, I thought they were past this kind of thing) and one managed to get chocolate all over her shirt and now swears that her mom is going to kill her. So I have stain treated it and am washing it, but after the first run-through, it's not looking good.
The pillowcase decorating went much better. There was a lot of talk about boys. Apparently they don't understand why their dads don't like it when they talk about boys ("They were boys once, they should know that we think boys are cute.") And at least two of them have preceded a confession with , "This is a secret and my mom told me not to tell anybody..." So, FYI ladies, your kids will rat you out.
Speaking of... one of the dad's called at 3:30 this afternoon to ask if he could drop his daughter off at 4:00--2 hours before the party. He said he got called in to work and she wouldn't be able to come otherwise. It was no biggie, so I said that was fine. While his daughter was helping decorate I off-handedly said, "so your dad got called in to work, huh?" And she said, "no, not really. Some of his soccer friends just called and wanted him to go to the lake." Oops!
Overall, this group of girls is getting along very well. There are a few that I have not met before, so I was a little concerned. And one of the ones who is supposed to be here didn't show--which may be a good thing because I heard from a couple of sources that she and another girl don't get along. Oh, the drama of being a 10 year old girl.
It is mostly going ok. But after they made sundaes they decided that everyone should try to eat face first (yeah--these are 10 - 11 year olds, I thought they were past this kind of thing) and one managed to get chocolate all over her shirt and now swears that her mom is going to kill her. So I have stain treated it and am washing it, but after the first run-through, it's not looking good.
The pillowcase decorating went much better. There was a lot of talk about boys. Apparently they don't understand why their dads don't like it when they talk about boys ("They were boys once, they should know that we think boys are cute.") And at least two of them have preceded a confession with , "This is a secret and my mom told me not to tell anybody..." So, FYI ladies, your kids will rat you out.
Speaking of... one of the dad's called at 3:30 this afternoon to ask if he could drop his daughter off at 4:00--2 hours before the party. He said he got called in to work and she wouldn't be able to come otherwise. It was no biggie, so I said that was fine. While his daughter was helping decorate I off-handedly said, "so your dad got called in to work, huh?" And she said, "no, not really. Some of his soccer friends just called and wanted him to go to the lake." Oops!
Overall, this group of girls is getting along very well. There are a few that I have not met before, so I was a little concerned. And one of the ones who is supposed to be here didn't show--which may be a good thing because I heard from a couple of sources that she and another girl don't get along. Oh, the drama of being a 10 year old girl.
9/17/08
My car is jinxed
First, it was broken into in my driveway (it is almost always in the garage--a total fluke that it was in the driveway) and DH's fancy HD radio was stolen. Then I got a crack in the windshield coming home from a work trip. Then the driver's side window spontaneously shattered while sitting in my garage overnight. And today, the passenger-side window was busted out and my GPS was stolen.
The Suburban was sitting in the parking garage at work. The one with gates that is supposedly patrolled by security personnel. It looks like someone just took a baseball bat and shoved took a swing at the window. For a freakin' $150 GPS. They didn't touch the fancy radio or the 20 or so CD's in the console. PS's Nintendo DS and our portable GPS that we use for geocaching were in the back, and they are still there, too. Really--how much does a basic GPS get on the black market?
And you would think with the previous break-in that I would have learned my lesson about leaving stuff in the car. I never leave the Suburban on the driveway anymore, and if I am out shopping, I hide the GPS and the radio faceplate in the console. But I guess I felt safe in my security-patrolled parking garage. Ugh!
The Suburban was sitting in the parking garage at work. The one with gates that is supposedly patrolled by security personnel. It looks like someone just took a baseball bat and shoved took a swing at the window. For a freakin' $150 GPS. They didn't touch the fancy radio or the 20 or so CD's in the console. PS's Nintendo DS and our portable GPS that we use for geocaching were in the back, and they are still there, too. Really--how much does a basic GPS get on the black market?
And you would think with the previous break-in that I would have learned my lesson about leaving stuff in the car. I never leave the Suburban on the driveway anymore, and if I am out shopping, I hide the GPS and the radio faceplate in the console. But I guess I felt safe in my security-patrolled parking garage. Ugh!
Every Freakin' Year...
My kids' school, like many schools around the country, have subscribed to the AR reading system. Basically, they test at the beginning of the year to determine their AR reading level. Then they are required to read books on their assigned AR level and take 10 question quizzes which allegedly test their comprehension (I have my doubts). Books are assigned point levels based on their level of difficulty, and kids are encouraged to rack up as many points as possible.
My problem with the AR system is that it limits what the kids are allowed to read. The teachers repeatedly tell my kids that they can only read books on their assigned AR level--and the assigned AR level is always way below what they are actually reading.
I take my kids to the library or bookstore just about every weekend. I know what books they are reading--heck, I can barely keep them in books because they are all speedy readers performing well-above their grade level. (Which means they zip through the books with age-appropriate subject matter in record time.)
And, honestly, I have come to the conclusion that the AR leveling test is completely inaccurate. Because it always puts my kids below the level they are actually on--when all of their standardized testing puts they years above their grade level (although how many years I'll never know because my school won't test more than 2 years out and all of my kids always max out the tests--but that's another battle.)
So again this year, just like every other year since PS started school, I have to go to the teachers and request that my children be allowed to read anything they want. If the subject matter is questionable, I will read the book with them. But I refuse to have my children limited. Some of the teachers have been great on this issue--but with a couple of them, this has been a major battle, which I completely don't understand. I guess we'll see what happens this go 'round.
My problem with the AR system is that it limits what the kids are allowed to read. The teachers repeatedly tell my kids that they can only read books on their assigned AR level--and the assigned AR level is always way below what they are actually reading.
I take my kids to the library or bookstore just about every weekend. I know what books they are reading--heck, I can barely keep them in books because they are all speedy readers performing well-above their grade level. (Which means they zip through the books with age-appropriate subject matter in record time.)
And, honestly, I have come to the conclusion that the AR leveling test is completely inaccurate. Because it always puts my kids below the level they are actually on--when all of their standardized testing puts they years above their grade level (although how many years I'll never know because my school won't test more than 2 years out and all of my kids always max out the tests--but that's another battle.)
So again this year, just like every other year since PS started school, I have to go to the teachers and request that my children be allowed to read anything they want. If the subject matter is questionable, I will read the book with them. But I refuse to have my children limited. Some of the teachers have been great on this issue--but with a couple of them, this has been a major battle, which I completely don't understand. I guess we'll see what happens this go 'round.
9/14/08
Parties and Projects
My Sunday is being spent helping the twins with a school project and prepping for PS's upcoming birthday party.
PS really wanted to go to a super-touristy spot that was going to cost a fortune to take even a couple of friends. I told her that if we did that she could only take 2 friends, and it would take all of the money that I budgeted to spend on her birthday, meaning no big presents. On the other hand, she could have a party at home we could come up with some fun stuff, she could invite as many friends as she wants, and there would still be money left over for me to buy her a present.
So we are doing the home party. The girls will be making pizzas and ice cream sundaes and I bought pillowcases and fabric markers to decorate them with. In the end, I'm not sure I've really saved that much over what the touristy place would have cost--but she'll get to have a lot more of her friends over.
I spent two hours creating invitations--vellum over shiny purple card stock, tied together with sparkly purple ribbon and dotted with star-shaped gemstones. For some reason, I am always compelled to make fantastic homemade invitations. I simply can't bring myself to buy them or print them on the computer. These were actually really simple put together--I've put in much more effort in years past--but they look really nice.
The twins' school project is driving me insane. I HATE school projects--because it always means work for me, although I have really tried to let go of my control-freakishness, and let the kids do the bulk of the work. Unfortunately, my kids are not especially driven and will not put forth their best effort if I am not hovering nearby. TT finally did a pretty good job on hers, after I helped just a bit, but SS's project is really half-assed.
Sigh--I just want her to get her stuff done so that I don't have to deal with it anymore.
PS really wanted to go to a super-touristy spot that was going to cost a fortune to take even a couple of friends. I told her that if we did that she could only take 2 friends, and it would take all of the money that I budgeted to spend on her birthday, meaning no big presents. On the other hand, she could have a party at home we could come up with some fun stuff, she could invite as many friends as she wants, and there would still be money left over for me to buy her a present.
So we are doing the home party. The girls will be making pizzas and ice cream sundaes and I bought pillowcases and fabric markers to decorate them with. In the end, I'm not sure I've really saved that much over what the touristy place would have cost--but she'll get to have a lot more of her friends over.
I spent two hours creating invitations--vellum over shiny purple card stock, tied together with sparkly purple ribbon and dotted with star-shaped gemstones. For some reason, I am always compelled to make fantastic homemade invitations. I simply can't bring myself to buy them or print them on the computer. These were actually really simple put together--I've put in much more effort in years past--but they look really nice.
The twins' school project is driving me insane. I HATE school projects--because it always means work for me, although I have really tried to let go of my control-freakishness, and let the kids do the bulk of the work. Unfortunately, my kids are not especially driven and will not put forth their best effort if I am not hovering nearby. TT finally did a pretty good job on hers, after I helped just a bit, but SS's project is really half-assed.
Sigh--I just want her to get her stuff done so that I don't have to deal with it anymore.
9/8/08
The time has come to sink or swim.
We have depositions coming up in one of our not-so-big cases. There are 5 plaintiffs and we are doing them all in one day. Partner told me a couple of weeks ago that I would sit in on all of the depositions, watch him do the first few and then do the last couple myself. Woo-hoo! I have never done a deposition before, and it was a milestone I was hoping to pass before my first-year-as-a-lawyer has ended. (Yeah, I know that for all you experienced lawyers depositions suck, take forever and are boring.) This seemed like a really good way to get me started.
Today, Partner informed me that I would be doing all of the depositions on Wednesday and that he won't be there.
As I mentioned before, I have never done a deposition. I have never even sat in on a deposition (except for when I was deposed when I was 16 and got sued for a car wreck). My only experience comes from reading (way too many) deposition transcripts.
Now, it won't totally be all on me--we have a co-defendant with whom we are pretty much aligned and they will take the lead. Except the co-defendant has only been on this case for about 2 months, and definitely don't have the familiarity with it that I have. (I know this because they call me all the time to ask me stuff about it.)
I know I can handle it. I just hope I don't make myself look like an idiot. Or that opposing counsel doesn't pick up on my baby lawyerness and try to take advantage of it.
Today, Partner informed me that I would be doing all of the depositions on Wednesday and that he won't be there.
As I mentioned before, I have never done a deposition. I have never even sat in on a deposition (except for when I was deposed when I was 16 and got sued for a car wreck). My only experience comes from reading (way too many) deposition transcripts.
Now, it won't totally be all on me--we have a co-defendant with whom we are pretty much aligned and they will take the lead. Except the co-defendant has only been on this case for about 2 months, and definitely don't have the familiarity with it that I have. (I know this because they call me all the time to ask me stuff about it.)
I know I can handle it. I just hope I don't make myself look like an idiot. Or that opposing counsel doesn't pick up on my baby lawyerness and try to take advantage of it.
9/5/08
Feeling Crappy
I had my endometrial ablation today. Accounts on the internet had led me to believe that this would be an easy breezy procedure and that I would be feeling great by dinner-time.
Not so much.
I am much crampier than I anticipated. I had a D&C following a miscarriage a few years ago, and asked the doctor if recovery would be similar. He responded that cramping was generally worse following a miscarriage and D&C than after this procedure. But I don't really remember having any cramping after the D&C, and I do remember feeling really well morning after (it surprised me because I am always really, really sick when I am pregnant and I was shocked at how quickly the nausea went away once I was no longer pregnant.) This is early-labor type cramping--except that it is constant rather than appearing every 5 minutes or so.
I'm also quite nauseated--probably from taking morphine on an empty stomach. But that's kind of a catch-22.
Here's hoping this all sorts itself overnight, because TT has her first football game in the morning, and I really want to be there for Mommy support.
Not so much.
I am much crampier than I anticipated. I had a D&C following a miscarriage a few years ago, and asked the doctor if recovery would be similar. He responded that cramping was generally worse following a miscarriage and D&C than after this procedure. But I don't really remember having any cramping after the D&C, and I do remember feeling really well morning after (it surprised me because I am always really, really sick when I am pregnant and I was shocked at how quickly the nausea went away once I was no longer pregnant.) This is early-labor type cramping--except that it is constant rather than appearing every 5 minutes or so.
I'm also quite nauseated--probably from taking morphine on an empty stomach. But that's kind of a catch-22.
Here's hoping this all sorts itself overnight, because TT has her first football game in the morning, and I really want to be there for Mommy support.
9/2/08
What the heck?
If you read my blog with any regularity you'll note that its pretty apolitical. I am generally apathetic about politics--mostly because I never like the choices. I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal, which means I don't fit neatly within either party. This year has been no different. Obama just doesn't sit quite right but McCain is becoming increasingly distasteful.
But I was so excited about the Palin pick. It is great to see a woman on the ticket--a working mom no less. I wasn't even bothered about her lack of experience. I'm pretty freakin' sick of old, rich, white men running our country (and law firms). They sure as hell haven't been dong a fabulous job. So maybe someone who hasn't been entrenched in our political system would be better than someone with 20 years' experience screwing it up. (But make no mistake, I would vote for no one based on their gender. There is no chance Hillary would have gotten my vote.)
But I'll admit that the pregnant teenager has given me pause. I mean--I get that stuff happens with teens. I have 3 daughters, my biggest fear is that one of my daughters will be a parent before she is ready. And I don't think that Palin's daughter's circumstances are a reflection on her mother. Teen pregnancy strikes across socio-economic borders and happens no matter how great the teen's parents are.
But I question Palin's judgment in agreeing to all this, knowing full well that it would throw her child's very personal life into the limelight. Yes, she has been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime--but is it worth handing her child to the wolves? (BTW, I think Obama has handled this very well.) And I question McCain's judgment in thinking this would be no big deal (especially if the news is released when a hurricane is going on, so hopefully no one will notice.) This feels like another Harriet Miers-style debacle.
And it just seems a little too right-wing conservative that the happy teenage couple are now planning to marry. Because if one of my daughters were to become a teenage mom, the last thing I would want her to do is compound her problems by marrying "because it's the right thing to do."
But I was so excited about the Palin pick. It is great to see a woman on the ticket--a working mom no less. I wasn't even bothered about her lack of experience. I'm pretty freakin' sick of old, rich, white men running our country (and law firms). They sure as hell haven't been dong a fabulous job. So maybe someone who hasn't been entrenched in our political system would be better than someone with 20 years' experience screwing it up. (But make no mistake, I would vote for no one based on their gender. There is no chance Hillary would have gotten my vote.)
But I'll admit that the pregnant teenager has given me pause. I mean--I get that stuff happens with teens. I have 3 daughters, my biggest fear is that one of my daughters will be a parent before she is ready. And I don't think that Palin's daughter's circumstances are a reflection on her mother. Teen pregnancy strikes across socio-economic borders and happens no matter how great the teen's parents are.
But I question Palin's judgment in agreeing to all this, knowing full well that it would throw her child's very personal life into the limelight. Yes, she has been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime--but is it worth handing her child to the wolves? (BTW, I think Obama has handled this very well.) And I question McCain's judgment in thinking this would be no big deal (especially if the news is released when a hurricane is going on, so hopefully no one will notice.) This feels like another Harriet Miers-style debacle.
And it just seems a little too right-wing conservative that the happy teenage couple are now planning to marry. Because if one of my daughters were to become a teenage mom, the last thing I would want her to do is compound her problems by marrying "because it's the right thing to do."
9/1/08
PSA - Watch out for your kiddos on your outdoor playsets
Much has been made on the news this summer about the heat that can gather in playground equipment. I had kept the girls indoors during the extreme heat, but yesterday morning, I wasn't even thinking about anything happening.PS's BFF got about a 2" square burn on her lower back/butt when she was over here yesterday --from going down the slide in my backyard!! She was wearing thin pajama shorts and it went all the way her shorts. And it was still fairly early in the day--temps here usually peak around 3-5 p.m.
I asked if she was sure it wasn't a scrape, but she really thought it was a burn, and her mom, who is a nurse, also thinks it is a burn.
This is the slide that we have (not my kid, taken from the manufacturer's site.) It is a dark green plastic-type slide--this was not a metal slide that burned her!
Anyway, just wanted to post this because I know I have at least 2 readers who live semi-near me where temperatures are similar. (I think you know who you are!) Be sure to watch out for your kiddos. This happened to an almost 11-year-old girl. I would really hate to see it happen to a much younger child who might not be able to react as quickly.
8/30/08
Sometimes I feel like my life is a sitcom
Like yesterday. I was in the Dr.'s office, located in the hospital, when the fire alarms started going off. They said, "no big deal, this happens all the time," and I was sent downstairs for blood work. About the time I got done there, the alarms quit sounding. But apparently they closed all the doors in all of the hallways as some kind of safety measure while the alarms were sounding. So the whole area was now completely unfamiliar. I got totally turned around and could not find my way back to the underground parking lot. I ended up in the basement of a totally different wing of the hospital--down where all the control rooms are. Finally a helpful guy leads me back to an elevator, where another very helpful (and extremely tall) guy in scrubs leads me back upstairs, through a restricted area and back to the general area where I came in.
Except I still couldn't get out of the building. There was a vestibule to go through, but then there was a big metal curtain preventing you from actually exiting the building. (Which makes total sense with all the fire alarms going off.) I finally took another elevator back upstairs, found the ground level parking lot, and managed to find an outside staircase back down to the underground garage. I thought I'd never get out of there.
Then today...
The two kittens that we kept have developed a weird skin disease. They look like the have stigmata, with red gunk leaking from their eyes. We have been in the vet's office each of the last 3 weeks. They are negative for ringworm, but the vet said they have cat herpes. (Apparently this is a fairly common cat condition, and not transmitted to people.) We were given $50 worth of cat antibiotics which have done absolutely nothing. This week they are trying to grow cultures to see of its fungal or viral. Or it could be an allergy. Yes, it's true, there is no such thing as a free animal. Thank goodness this condition didn't show up when we had 7 cats. (And, fortunately, one of the cats we gave away was to a girl in the vets office, and she said her cat has no signs of this.)
But anyway, it was about 15 minutes before the vet appointment, and the cats disappeared. All five of us are searching the house, under beds, in closets. Yelling, hoping to wake them if they are sleeping somewhere. Carrying around a can of food hoping to lure them. Five minutes after our scheduled appointment, TT finally finds the kittens hiding under my dresser (we had already looked there, but must have missed them.) And they will not come out. Guess they heard they were going to the vet. DH finally has to pull the entire dresser out to get to the kitties and haul them to the vet.
I have never lost Bob in the house before, but this is the second time this week we have lost the cats.
Except I still couldn't get out of the building. There was a vestibule to go through, but then there was a big metal curtain preventing you from actually exiting the building. (Which makes total sense with all the fire alarms going off.) I finally took another elevator back upstairs, found the ground level parking lot, and managed to find an outside staircase back down to the underground garage. I thought I'd never get out of there.
Then today...
The two kittens that we kept have developed a weird skin disease. They look like the have stigmata, with red gunk leaking from their eyes. We have been in the vet's office each of the last 3 weeks. They are negative for ringworm, but the vet said they have cat herpes. (Apparently this is a fairly common cat condition, and not transmitted to people.) We were given $50 worth of cat antibiotics which have done absolutely nothing. This week they are trying to grow cultures to see of its fungal or viral. Or it could be an allergy. Yes, it's true, there is no such thing as a free animal. Thank goodness this condition didn't show up when we had 7 cats. (And, fortunately, one of the cats we gave away was to a girl in the vets office, and she said her cat has no signs of this.)
But anyway, it was about 15 minutes before the vet appointment, and the cats disappeared. All five of us are searching the house, under beds, in closets. Yelling, hoping to wake them if they are sleeping somewhere. Carrying around a can of food hoping to lure them. Five minutes after our scheduled appointment, TT finally finds the kittens hiding under my dresser (we had already looked there, but must have missed them.) And they will not come out. Guess they heard they were going to the vet. DH finally has to pull the entire dresser out to get to the kitties and haul them to the vet.
I have never lost Bob in the house before, but this is the second time this week we have lost the cats.
8/29/08
I just have to say...
that I L-O-V-E that McCain picked a working mom of 5. I haven't read too much about her yet and know little about her politics, but I am still excited to see her on the ticket. (Ok, maybe partly because my redneck relatives will be forced to vote for a woman 'cause there's no way in heck they are voting for a black man with the middle name of--well, I think we all know by know. )
But she is going to have a lot of juggling to do. It is hard for me to balance 3 kids and a high-pressure job with long hours. I can't imagine balancing 5, including a special needs infant while on the campaign trail--or as VP. But I'm sure she can manage, and I look forward to reading more about how she does it all.
Go working moms!
But she is going to have a lot of juggling to do. It is hard for me to balance 3 kids and a high-pressure job with long hours. I can't imagine balancing 5, including a special needs infant while on the campaign trail--or as VP. But I'm sure she can manage, and I look forward to reading more about how she does it all.
Go working moms!
8/28/08
Busy day
After a slow start to the week, the last couple of days have been insanely busy at work. There may be layoffs everywhere else, but my firm has been hiring like crazy to keep with all of the new cases we have been taking on.
TT had her first football practice today. She is the only girl on the team (even though we had been told she would be put on a team with one of her classmates.) But I think she handled it ok, and her coaches seemed pretty cool. I somehow managed to volunteer myself to coordinate the snack schedule.
But there was bad news when I was checking the girls' homework folders. Every day they have marking on their conduct square. My girls always have perfect conduct. Always. I think once a couple of years ago PS got in trouble for talking in the hallway line to recess. But she is such a goody-goody I was actually kind of happy to see her breaking rules and acting like a kid.
But today PS's folder said in unhappy red ink "Throwing food in the lunch room." On the 4th day of school! I was stunned, and I'm afraid her teacher is going to think she's a trouble-maker, even though every teacher she has ever had has told me what a sweetie she is.
So I made her write notes of apology to the lunch ladies and her teacher promising never to throw food again. I think she might be grounded, too, but it's a long weekend, and that might just be torture for me.
TT had her first football practice today. She is the only girl on the team (even though we had been told she would be put on a team with one of her classmates.) But I think she handled it ok, and her coaches seemed pretty cool. I somehow managed to volunteer myself to coordinate the snack schedule.
But there was bad news when I was checking the girls' homework folders. Every day they have marking on their conduct square. My girls always have perfect conduct. Always. I think once a couple of years ago PS got in trouble for talking in the hallway line to recess. But she is such a goody-goody I was actually kind of happy to see her breaking rules and acting like a kid.
But today PS's folder said in unhappy red ink "Throwing food in the lunch room." On the 4th day of school! I was stunned, and I'm afraid her teacher is going to think she's a trouble-maker, even though every teacher she has ever had has told me what a sweetie she is.
So I made her write notes of apology to the lunch ladies and her teacher promising never to throw food again. I think she might be grounded, too, but it's a long weekend, and that might just be torture for me.
8/24/08
My football girl
DH took TT to buy a football yesterday, and she has been carrying the thing around ever since. I have to say, she never showed so much enthusiasm for soccer.
We are not a family known for its athleticism. DH and I are not jocks by any stretch of the imagination--although all of our parents were pretty athletic. So we have never put much emphasis on sports with our kids (perhaps, in my case at least, because my dad put so much emphasis on being an athlete, when it was never gonna happen with me). And I wasn't expecting much when we handed TT her football.
But DH showed her how to throw it and she got it instantly. She doesn't have much distance, but she has great accuracy and can put a pretty good spin on the ball. And she is doing pretty well with catching it, too. So maybe I haven't given her enough credit. It will be interesting to see how she does at her practice this week.
We are not a family known for its athleticism. DH and I are not jocks by any stretch of the imagination--although all of our parents were pretty athletic. So we have never put much emphasis on sports with our kids (perhaps, in my case at least, because my dad put so much emphasis on being an athlete, when it was never gonna happen with me). And I wasn't expecting much when we handed TT her football.
But DH showed her how to throw it and she got it instantly. She doesn't have much distance, but she has great accuracy and can put a pretty good spin on the ball. And she is doing pretty well with catching it, too. So maybe I haven't given her enough credit. It will be interesting to see how she does at her practice this week.
8/23/08
I cannot deal with the diving commentator
She reminds me of Nancy Grace. I enjoy diving, but that woman's voice grates on my last nerve.
Last weekend of freedom
The girlies start school on Monday. We did Meet the Teacher Friday night, and it looks like they all did pretty well. This year PS will be changing classes for the first time, so we had 4 teachers to meet. Her homeroom teacher is also her science teacher (PS's favorite subject) and also used to be a GT teacher, so I hope that all works to her advantage and that I don't have to push so hard to keep her challenged this year. I also really liked her Math teacher. She seems strict, but also like she will push the kids to reach their potential.
I did not, however, care for the English teacher. We walked in to meet her and she was chatting with another woman. Of course, that was no big deal, but I got the impression that this woman was one of her friends and didn't necessarily even have a kid in her class. And they were talking about hair dryers. We waited and waited for PS to meet her teacher. Finally, PS said, "I think we should go somewhere else." Then she yelled across the room at her sisters (who, as usual were making themselves at home) "Hey girls, we need to go." The teacher still did not even acknowledge us. I thought it was very unprofessional, not to mention poor manners. Even if it was a parent, after 10 minutes you need to disengage and speak to the other parents. And as a parent, I try not to take up too much of a teacher's time when I know that they have lots of other parents to deal with.
And one puzzling thing is that they had Reading and Language Arts as separate classes. Um, by 5th grade shouldn't you know how to read? These classes just seem so similar. Then again, I do recall a heavy emphasis on sentence diagramming in the 5th and 6th grades, and I would hate to see literature usurped by learning the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
I did not, however, care for the English teacher. We walked in to meet her and she was chatting with another woman. Of course, that was no big deal, but I got the impression that this woman was one of her friends and didn't necessarily even have a kid in her class. And they were talking about hair dryers. We waited and waited for PS to meet her teacher. Finally, PS said, "I think we should go somewhere else." Then she yelled across the room at her sisters (who, as usual were making themselves at home) "Hey girls, we need to go." The teacher still did not even acknowledge us. I thought it was very unprofessional, not to mention poor manners. Even if it was a parent, after 10 minutes you need to disengage and speak to the other parents. And as a parent, I try not to take up too much of a teacher's time when I know that they have lots of other parents to deal with.
And one puzzling thing is that they had Reading and Language Arts as separate classes. Um, by 5th grade shouldn't you know how to read? These classes just seem so similar. Then again, I do recall a heavy emphasis on sentence diagramming in the 5th and 6th grades, and I would hate to see literature usurped by learning the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
8/21/08
Nintendo CS is awesome!
We came home today to find the wii completely dead--no power at all. Tried turning it off and on and then tried unplugging it for a bit. Nothing. Looked at the owner's manual, and it said to do pretty much what we had just done.
We were already mourning the loss of our beloved wii when I found the cs 800 number in the back of the owner's manual. And miraculously, the line claimed to be open at 8:30! Still, I was prepared to settle in, sit on hold for half an hour to then be transferred to three guys in three different countries, none of whom spoke English as a native language. You know--kinda like the typical experience with Dell.
But there was none of that. I was on hold for less than 30 seconds. The first and only person I spoke with was friendly and pleasant and spoke English very well. Within 5 minutes, he had my problem fixed and my wii is operational again. Yea!
My only complaint was that the basic steps necessary to reset my system weren't in the owner's manual. So what is the secret ritual if your wii has no power?
1) unplug power cord from wall and wii
2) set cord aside away from wii
3) wait exactly 2 minutes
4) plug the power cord back into the wii
5) plug the power cord back into the wall
6) turn on the wii
The helpful phone guy said that the fuse in the power cord had tripped and it took two minutes. Plugging the unit back in in the above order is important so that the fuse doesn't get tripped again.
We were already mourning the loss of our beloved wii when I found the cs 800 number in the back of the owner's manual. And miraculously, the line claimed to be open at 8:30! Still, I was prepared to settle in, sit on hold for half an hour to then be transferred to three guys in three different countries, none of whom spoke English as a native language. You know--kinda like the typical experience with Dell.
But there was none of that. I was on hold for less than 30 seconds. The first and only person I spoke with was friendly and pleasant and spoke English very well. Within 5 minutes, he had my problem fixed and my wii is operational again. Yea!
My only complaint was that the basic steps necessary to reset my system weren't in the owner's manual. So what is the secret ritual if your wii has no power?
1) unplug power cord from wall and wii
2) set cord aside away from wii
3) wait exactly 2 minutes
4) plug the power cord back into the wii
5) plug the power cord back into the wall
6) turn on the wii
The helpful phone guy said that the fuse in the power cord had tripped and it took two minutes. Plugging the unit back in in the above order is important so that the fuse doesn't get tripped again.
8/19/08
Interesting Day
- I signed TT up for football. I emailed the league coordinator first to ask about the percentage of girls who played. There have been 4 girls sign up and 200 boys. But, she said that she could put TT on a team with another girl. And I found out later that it is one of their friends from school. Yea!
- DH got a call from a recruiter and has an interview on Friday. It would be a big pay increase and would substantially shorten his 1.5 hour commute (each way). He really likes where he is at right now, but it is worth looking into.
- I think I got a compliment from Big Boss. This morning he came in my office and said, "You know, sometimes I forget that you are fresh out of law school. We've given you a lot of stuff to handle and you've done a pretty good job with it."
- We got a letter from opposing counsel accusing us of unethically acquiring certain information and informing us that if we don't respond with an explanation of how we found this information she would take it to the judge. I responded as nicely as possible (ok, maybe not) that we took the information directly from the face of his very own pleading. And then cited back to the exact location in his pleading. Moron.
- I was contacted by a reporter about one of my blog posts.
- I received in the mail a photocopied 9 page handwritten letter from my cousin's almost ex who recently took off with the kids to her homeland half way around the world. I think it may be part of some 12 step program, but it reeked of crazy. It went something like, "I know I've been a crazed psychohosebeast. (Butyouallmademethisway.) I'm sorry I've been a psychotic bitch. (Butyoushouldallbesorrytoo.) I want to come back and mend fences. (ButIdontwantothearfromyouabouthowItotallyfuckedoveryourcousin.) I'm better now and don't want to air our dirty laundry anymore. (EventhoughI'mwritingthisbatshitcrazyletterandsendingittoeverybodyonmyChristmasCardList.) Oh yes, my family tree does runneth over with the crazies. I've probably spoken to this woman once or twice--ever. So she seriously must have sent this thing to everybody.
8/15/08
OMG!
We had terrible thunderstorms in the middle of the night last night. Lots of lightening and thunder that felt like it was right on top of us. One was so loud and so bright that I thought it hit out neighbors house.
We found out this morning that it actually did hit the house at the end of our block--about 8 houses down from us. (Don't ask me how we didn't hear the emergency vehicles, and you can't see from our house because the block curves.) The entire roof it gone. And it hit right over the little girl's bedroom--who is the same age as the twins. Fortunately, everybody got out ok.
I am totally freaked out by this. It is so close to home and could have just as easily been us. It has always worried me that the kids are all upstairs while our master is downstairs. When the kids were babies I would lay in bed at night planning how I would get them all out of the house in case of emergency. (I would also plan how to get 3 kids out of carseats if we ever flew into the water while crossing the bridge that separates our town from the rest of the world.)
And it does not help my freaked-outedness that I am working on a particularly tragic fire case right now. I did not realize going in that I would work more death cases in civil law than I did in crim law.
We found out this morning that it actually did hit the house at the end of our block--about 8 houses down from us. (Don't ask me how we didn't hear the emergency vehicles, and you can't see from our house because the block curves.) The entire roof it gone. And it hit right over the little girl's bedroom--who is the same age as the twins. Fortunately, everybody got out ok.
I am totally freaked out by this. It is so close to home and could have just as easily been us. It has always worried me that the kids are all upstairs while our master is downstairs. When the kids were babies I would lay in bed at night planning how I would get them all out of the house in case of emergency. (I would also plan how to get 3 kids out of carseats if we ever flew into the water while crossing the bridge that separates our town from the rest of the world.)
And it does not help my freaked-outedness that I am working on a particularly tragic fire case right now. I did not realize going in that I would work more death cases in civil law than I did in crim law.
8/11/08
The true test of a feminist
I was talking to the twins about which fall activity they wanted to do. TT asked what her choices were besides soccer--"Baseball?" she asked. "No, fall sports are soccer, football and cheerleading," I told her. Her top choice was cheerleading, but I missed the sign-up deadline. "Football," she said, "I want to play football."
I took a gulp and chose my words carefully, "you can do whatever sport you want, but I want you to know that football will be mostly boys."
"That's ok," she said.
"Ok," I said. "You can definitely do anything that the boys can do--but you will probably be the only girl on the team."
"That's ok," she said, "I want to play football."
And I copped out and said, "ok, I'll talk to your dad."
Because while the feminist part of me--the part of me that was the first girl to do plenty of activities when I was in high school and college--is battling the mama bear who wants to protect her babies.
I know that DD will be the only girl--even though technically they are co-ed teams. And I don't know what kind of reception she will get. They play in a pretty non-competitive church league--but still . . . I'm afraid that even at 7 there will be boys who have been taught that girls don't play football. And I don't want her to be teased or discouraged. And it might be easier if she were an awesome athletic talent who would kick the boys' tails--but she's not.
I know that I have to let her play, if that is what she really wants. It won't help her grow into the strong independent woman that I want her to be if I always shield her from everything that might hurt her.
Heehee--just as I was finishing up this post TT (who is supposed to be in bed) yelled down the stairs, "Mommm-eeeee! When I asked you to tell me what Daddy said, I meant right now." (It really wasn't in the bratty tone that this reads as.)
Guess she doesn't want to wait 'til tomorrow for an answer. So I told her she can do whatever she wants.
I took a gulp and chose my words carefully, "you can do whatever sport you want, but I want you to know that football will be mostly boys."
"That's ok," she said.
"Ok," I said. "You can definitely do anything that the boys can do--but you will probably be the only girl on the team."
"That's ok," she said, "I want to play football."
And I copped out and said, "ok, I'll talk to your dad."
Because while the feminist part of me--the part of me that was the first girl to do plenty of activities when I was in high school and college--is battling the mama bear who wants to protect her babies.
I know that DD will be the only girl--even though technically they are co-ed teams. And I don't know what kind of reception she will get. They play in a pretty non-competitive church league--but still . . . I'm afraid that even at 7 there will be boys who have been taught that girls don't play football. And I don't want her to be teased or discouraged. And it might be easier if she were an awesome athletic talent who would kick the boys' tails--but she's not.
I know that I have to let her play, if that is what she really wants. It won't help her grow into the strong independent woman that I want her to be if I always shield her from everything that might hurt her.
Heehee--just as I was finishing up this post TT (who is supposed to be in bed) yelled down the stairs, "Mommm-eeeee! When I asked you to tell me what Daddy said, I meant right now." (It really wasn't in the bratty tone that this reads as.)
Guess she doesn't want to wait 'til tomorrow for an answer. So I told her she can do whatever she wants.
8/9/08
Television as it was in the time of the dinosaurs.
This week one of the cable stations was doing marathons of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, which seemed like the perfect time to drag the kids away from Hannah Montana (blech!) and introduce them to the great classics.
The great part--they really liked these shows--even with their cheesy effects and dialog.
But the kids were complaining quite a bit when the first episode of Jeannie was in black-and-white. DH finally said, "Black-and-white is not the end of the world!" To which SS replied, without missing a beat, "No, it was the beginning of the world."
But they watched it anyway.
The great part--they really liked these shows--even with their cheesy effects and dialog.
But the kids were complaining quite a bit when the first episode of Jeannie was in black-and-white. DH finally said, "Black-and-white is not the end of the world!" To which SS replied, without missing a beat, "No, it was the beginning of the world."
But they watched it anyway.
Just call me Webster
I was drafting discovery this week, and it just struck me as odd that I could totally make up whatever definition I wanted for certain words to be used in my requests and their responses.
The case that I was working on involved an agricultural product that I know virtually nothing about. (Well, I know much more than the average person and much less than the average farmer.) But I needed to define the product. And there is no "Dictionary of Agricultural Terminology" sitting in my library. So I making shit up to define what I think this product is.
But it gets trickier than that--because you can't be too narrow in your definition, or your opponent will decide that he doesn't have to reveal everything. This I know, because I got some of those narrowly defined discovery requests a couple of weeks ago. And there were several documents my opponent didn't get because of the narrowness of their request.
I guess I'll see how my definition worked out when I get the responses back.
The case that I was working on involved an agricultural product that I know virtually nothing about. (Well, I know much more than the average person and much less than the average farmer.) But I needed to define the product. And there is no "Dictionary of Agricultural Terminology" sitting in my library. So I making shit up to define what I think this product is.
But it gets trickier than that--because you can't be too narrow in your definition, or your opponent will decide that he doesn't have to reveal everything. This I know, because I got some of those narrowly defined discovery requests a couple of weeks ago. And there were several documents my opponent didn't get because of the narrowness of their request.
I guess I'll see how my definition worked out when I get the responses back.
8/5/08
Blech.
Today was just royally shitty all the way around. Can't really go into details--which just sucks, 'cause what's the point of having a blog to vent on if you can't vent when you really need to? But I don't think I have ever been so happy to get the hell out of the office.
To top off my shitty day, the lady who was supposed to take the last kitten flaked on me--again. I could have given the darn thing away about 5 times to someone else already. First, she didn't show up at our agreed-upon meeting time (which wasn't especially convenient for me anyway). Then she asked if her husband could come by my house at 10:00 pm Sunday night. Ummm, no, I am not inviting strangers to my house at 10:00 pm. So I pulled a lawyer/mom stunt and limited her options to Mon. or Tues. at 7:30 pm, after that the kitten goes elsewhere. She just emailed to say she forgot she had to take her kids to the movies, can we reschedule? Nope, I am tired of dealing with you--go adopt a kitten from a freaking shelter.
I might have had more patience if I hadn't had opposing counsel trying to pull the same shit today. Really people, the world does not revolve around you.
To top off my shitty day, the lady who was supposed to take the last kitten flaked on me--again. I could have given the darn thing away about 5 times to someone else already. First, she didn't show up at our agreed-upon meeting time (which wasn't especially convenient for me anyway). Then she asked if her husband could come by my house at 10:00 pm Sunday night. Ummm, no, I am not inviting strangers to my house at 10:00 pm. So I pulled a lawyer/mom stunt and limited her options to Mon. or Tues. at 7:30 pm, after that the kitten goes elsewhere. She just emailed to say she forgot she had to take her kids to the movies, can we reschedule? Nope, I am tired of dealing with you--go adopt a kitten from a freaking shelter.
I might have had more patience if I hadn't had opposing counsel trying to pull the same shit today. Really people, the world does not revolve around you.
8/2/08
Meanest mom in the whole world
At least that's how I feel today.
We loaded up all the kitties and met a couple of people to adopt them out today. Unfortunately, the first two that we adopted out were PS's favorites. I didn't think it was a big deal, because she has really taken care of and played with them all. But she cried and cried when we gave away the little black one. She isn't usually emotional or overly dramatic, so I think it really hurt her that we gave that particular cat away. Really, if I had known that she had truly grown so attached to it I would have kept it home--but I just wanted to reduce the number of cats in the house and give away whichever ones we could get rid of first.
And in addition to being a mean mom, I am a terrible pet owner. Because we lost mama cat today. We were meeting people in the parking lot of a strip mall because I didn't want a bunch of strangers knowing where I live. So we put all the cats in a carrier and loaded them into the back of the Suburban. When we opened the carrier, inside the Suburban, mama cat spazzed and took off inside the car. She managed to hide in a crawlspace up under the dash. I was trying to coax her out when she jumped, right toward the open door (she has always been very skittish around us). I manages to grab her back leg, but she slipped away and took off in the very crowded parking lot. We looked for about 20 minutes (and it was 108 outside today), but could not spot her anywhere. We went back twice, and DH is about to go again, since the store is closed and we think she will be more likely to come out when there a fewer people around.
But I honestly don't think we have any chance of catching her. Even if we find her, I don't think she will come near us--she is very wary of people. So the wild, stray mama has gone back to being a wild stray. I hate to see the cycle start again, since we hadn't had her spayed yet. And there is so much traffic in that area, that I hope she can escape to a neighborhood where she will be a little safer. Sigh--I feel terrible that we lost the mama.
Meanwhile, we are down to three kittens, and I am meeting with someone tomorrow who wants one of them. The problem is that each of my children has declared a different kitten to be her favorite, so no matter which one I gave away, I am likely to have another child in tears. I knew it would be tough when it came time to give them away.
And since this post has been so depressing--a little funny:
We were driving to meet a potential adopter with the kids and the cats all loaded up. PS was drinking with a styrofoam cup and managed to poke her straw through the bottom of the foam cup, leaking Dr. Pepper everywhere (the kids get a max of 1 soda per week. I had to throw that in because I cringe when I see kids drinking soda all the time.) Of course, the carrier full of kittens was right beside her, and she got Dr. Pepper all over the poor kittens. When we arrived to meet the potential adopter, all of the kittens were soaked and sticky and looking like they had just come through a hurricane--poor little things. The adopter, fortunately, wasn't bothered by wet, sticky kittens, so we managed to give one away and took the others home for a bath.
P.S. Bathing kittens early gets them used to taking baths and supposedly helps tremendously with allergies.
P.P.S. I have never been a big fan of leather seats, but they are great when you have kids who spill sticky stuff all over the car. Just get butt warmers, which are awesome in the winter, and pretty freaking handy when you have PMS, too.
We loaded up all the kitties and met a couple of people to adopt them out today. Unfortunately, the first two that we adopted out were PS's favorites. I didn't think it was a big deal, because she has really taken care of and played with them all. But she cried and cried when we gave away the little black one. She isn't usually emotional or overly dramatic, so I think it really hurt her that we gave that particular cat away. Really, if I had known that she had truly grown so attached to it I would have kept it home--but I just wanted to reduce the number of cats in the house and give away whichever ones we could get rid of first.
And in addition to being a mean mom, I am a terrible pet owner. Because we lost mama cat today. We were meeting people in the parking lot of a strip mall because I didn't want a bunch of strangers knowing where I live. So we put all the cats in a carrier and loaded them into the back of the Suburban. When we opened the carrier, inside the Suburban, mama cat spazzed and took off inside the car. She managed to hide in a crawlspace up under the dash. I was trying to coax her out when she jumped, right toward the open door (she has always been very skittish around us). I manages to grab her back leg, but she slipped away and took off in the very crowded parking lot. We looked for about 20 minutes (and it was 108 outside today), but could not spot her anywhere. We went back twice, and DH is about to go again, since the store is closed and we think she will be more likely to come out when there a fewer people around.
But I honestly don't think we have any chance of catching her. Even if we find her, I don't think she will come near us--she is very wary of people. So the wild, stray mama has gone back to being a wild stray. I hate to see the cycle start again, since we hadn't had her spayed yet. And there is so much traffic in that area, that I hope she can escape to a neighborhood where she will be a little safer. Sigh--I feel terrible that we lost the mama.
Meanwhile, we are down to three kittens, and I am meeting with someone tomorrow who wants one of them. The problem is that each of my children has declared a different kitten to be her favorite, so no matter which one I gave away, I am likely to have another child in tears. I knew it would be tough when it came time to give them away.
And since this post has been so depressing--a little funny:
We were driving to meet a potential adopter with the kids and the cats all loaded up. PS was drinking with a styrofoam cup and managed to poke her straw through the bottom of the foam cup, leaking Dr. Pepper everywhere (the kids get a max of 1 soda per week. I had to throw that in because I cringe when I see kids drinking soda all the time.) Of course, the carrier full of kittens was right beside her, and she got Dr. Pepper all over the poor kittens. When we arrived to meet the potential adopter, all of the kittens were soaked and sticky and looking like they had just come through a hurricane--poor little things. The adopter, fortunately, wasn't bothered by wet, sticky kittens, so we managed to give one away and took the others home for a bath.
P.S. Bathing kittens early gets them used to taking baths and supposedly helps tremendously with allergies.
P.P.S. I have never been a big fan of leather seats, but they are great when you have kids who spill sticky stuff all over the car. Just get butt warmers, which are awesome in the winter, and pretty freaking handy when you have PMS, too.
Free kittens to good homes.
My goal this weekend is to find homes for the kittens. They are 8 weeks old now, and although they are all adorable and hilarious, I am really tired of feeding and cleaning up after 7 cats. I also think they need to be completely weaned from the mama, because she is soooo skinny.
We tried to work the people-we-know network first to find homes, but the only one we have given away is the calico. So last night I put them on Craigslist. I had 7 replies by this morning. (Half of which want the calico--I guess calicoes are popular.)
We have decided that the kids can keep two--one of which will probably be the mama, because I think she will be the hardest to find a home for. Of course, they all have their favorites, but I told them they are going to be stuck with the leftovers, because I will give away which ever ones I can. Besides the favorites are all male, and I would really prefer a female. As far as I can tell the only female is this one:
I love her little spilt face. But she drives DH crazy because she thinks he is a tree.
So here's hoping that not all of the Craigslist responders are freaks and flakes and that I can find good homes for these little sweeties.
7/31/08
Insane Week
It has been a late night every day this week. Big Boss has been out of town a lot lately, but now he is back and throwing stuff at me left and right. Meanwhile, I don't think Partner is aware of this, and keeps loading me up, too.
I lost half my day yesterday searching for 1000 pages of documents that we produced in a case back in March. I had half the administrative staff turning the office upside down looking for these documents that seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Turned out they were in the office of a paralegal that I didn't even think was working for us when we did that production and who nobody remembers giving the docs to. (It wasn't me--I wasn't giving orders to anybody back then.) After that fiasco, Big Boss has been giving me periodic lectures on how to manage the staff.
I had two assignments due by the end of the day, and I only got one done. And I have two more assignments due by tomorrow. Plus another CLE presentation for Partner. And a ton of other stuff.
And I have learned what kind of kind of law I definitely don't want to practice. Most of what I do is insurance defense, which I like. But I have one case where we are coverage counsel, and it sucks. I hate everything about that case. Coverage issues are hard, detailed and there are no real answers, even there are millions of coverage cases. Every time I have to research a coverage issue it takes hours. I keep hoping this case will just go away, but every week there is some new issue. I was complaining about it to another associate, and she said, there will always be one case that will drive you absolutely crazy. This is it for me.
I lost half my day yesterday searching for 1000 pages of documents that we produced in a case back in March. I had half the administrative staff turning the office upside down looking for these documents that seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Turned out they were in the office of a paralegal that I didn't even think was working for us when we did that production and who nobody remembers giving the docs to. (It wasn't me--I wasn't giving orders to anybody back then.) After that fiasco, Big Boss has been giving me periodic lectures on how to manage the staff.
I had two assignments due by the end of the day, and I only got one done. And I have two more assignments due by tomorrow. Plus another CLE presentation for Partner. And a ton of other stuff.
And I have learned what kind of kind of law I definitely don't want to practice. Most of what I do is insurance defense, which I like. But I have one case where we are coverage counsel, and it sucks. I hate everything about that case. Coverage issues are hard, detailed and there are no real answers, even there are millions of coverage cases. Every time I have to research a coverage issue it takes hours. I keep hoping this case will just go away, but every week there is some new issue. I was complaining about it to another associate, and she said, there will always be one case that will drive you absolutely crazy. This is it for me.
7/27/08
Feet at night
When PS was a baby her favorite book was "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. We read it so many times that we both had it memorized.
At night, when I tucked her in, I would always say, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. See you in the morning."
And one night she piped up, "Feet at night!"
I guess she thought I was saying "Feet in the morning," and was just repeating the next line of the book.
So even now, when we go through our nightly routine, we end with "feet at night."
At night, when I tucked her in, I would always say, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. See you in the morning."
And one night she piped up, "Feet at night!"
I guess she thought I was saying "Feet in the morning," and was just repeating the next line of the book.
So even now, when we go through our nightly routine, we end with "feet at night."
7/24/08
Today
July 24 has historically proved to be a day where I work hard, endure a lot of pain, but end up with awesome results. 7 years ago I gave birth to my twins. 1 year ago I took the bar--with an abscessed tooth that caused tremendous pain and a complete inability to sleep for the entire 3 days. Yet, against all odds, I managed to pass.
I'm not sure that there is much that could top the results of either of those days.
Today I had my first big screw-up at work. About a month ago Big Boss told me that I needed to notice two depos and include subpoenas ducas tecum (that just means to bring certain docs to the depo, for all you non-lawyer folk). Well, scheduling the depos took forever, and I got so caught up in scheduling that I completely forgot about he subpoenas. My depo notices went out Monday without the notices.
Big Boss asked to see the notices today and was pretty PO'd that I had forgotten the subpoenas. Because while regular old depos only require reasonable notice, the subpoenas require 30 days notice. And my depos are set in 2 1/2 weeks. So my depos will probably be quashed and I will be back to square 1. (And yes, even if I had remembered the subpoenas when the original notices when out on Monday I would still have been inside 30 days, and still screwed.)
Fortunately, he got over his irritation pretty quickly and seemed impressed that I got my amended notices turned around quickly. By the end of the day he told me that I had done a good job and not to worry about anything.
Now I'm just paranoid about another screw up where I might not be so easily forgiven.
And now I need to go to bed, because for the second time in 2 weeks I have to get up at 4:30. (4:30 is a time when one goes to bed after a long night, not a time when one gets up.) I have to meet a client in the middle of nowhere by 9:00 am. Convenient for them--not so much for me.
I'm not sure that there is much that could top the results of either of those days.
Today I had my first big screw-up at work. About a month ago Big Boss told me that I needed to notice two depos and include subpoenas ducas tecum (that just means to bring certain docs to the depo, for all you non-lawyer folk). Well, scheduling the depos took forever, and I got so caught up in scheduling that I completely forgot about he subpoenas. My depo notices went out Monday without the notices.
Big Boss asked to see the notices today and was pretty PO'd that I had forgotten the subpoenas. Because while regular old depos only require reasonable notice, the subpoenas require 30 days notice. And my depos are set in 2 1/2 weeks. So my depos will probably be quashed and I will be back to square 1. (And yes, even if I had remembered the subpoenas when the original notices when out on Monday I would still have been inside 30 days, and still screwed.)
Fortunately, he got over his irritation pretty quickly and seemed impressed that I got my amended notices turned around quickly. By the end of the day he told me that I had done a good job and not to worry about anything.
Now I'm just paranoid about another screw up where I might not be so easily forgiven.
And now I need to go to bed, because for the second time in 2 weeks I have to get up at 4:30. (4:30 is a time when one goes to bed after a long night, not a time when one gets up.) I have to meet a client in the middle of nowhere by 9:00 am. Convenient for them--not so much for me.
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