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.
8/28/08
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.
7/22/08
The Twenty-Year Meme
I was tagged by PT.
The Twenty-Year Meme
20 years ago I:
1. Was 13.
2. Kissed a boy for the first time at – wait for it –band camp. (Oh yeah, I was the cool kid!)
3. Was best friends with a girl whose name rhymes with mine and who sort of resembled me, so we would pretend we were twins when we went places.
4. Would hang out at best friend’s dad’s Harley shop after school.
5. Was a “mean girl” to some of my friends from elementary school (for which I now feel really, really terrible.)
6. Really, really wanted a boyfriend.
10 years ago I:
1. Had just graduated from college
2. Did not want children.
3. Was 7 months pregnant with PS.
4. Was trying to help DH find a job and freaking out that we were going to have to go on welfare because he didn’t graduate for another month and I was the primary bread-winner earning about $14k/year as a customer service rep for a satellite television company.
5. Moved to Big City – 3 weeks before PS was born, when it was 113 degrees outside.
6. Refused to buy girlie things for my baby because I didn’t want to pre-form her ideas about gender roles (can you tell I was a psych major?)
5 years ago I:
1. Was wrangling two-year-old twins and a 4 year-old.
2. Was fantasizing about running away from home because I was unhappy as a SAHM.
3. Took the LSAT to combat above fantasies.
4. Had my first hangover at – wait for it – a Mothers of Twins Convention. We also got threatened with getting kicked out of out hotel room because I used my almost-lawyer skills to wrangle the Presidential Suite, which turned into the Party Suite.
5. Was buying my first home—and driving the home-builder and my mortgage broker crazy with working out the details.
6. Found out that I did not get admitted to my top choice law school and cried.
3 years ago I:
1. Transferred from crappy law school to top choice law school (that’s really unfair, the first school wasn’t bad—it just wasn’t highly ranked and I would probably still be looking for a job if I had graduated from there.)
2. Was juggling 4 year old twins, a 6 year old and my second year of law school.
3. Interned for a civil court judge—which I loved.
4. Was no longer fantasizing about running away from home.
5. Celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary.
6. Turned 30, and went into a 6 month funk about being old.
So far this year I:
1. Finally got a damn job!
2. Started actually liking my job.
3. Have visited three of the most undesirable cities in the state for my job.
4. Have felt guilt about working too much and not seeing my children enough.
5. Watched my children grown in to funny and amazing little people, and realized that my babies aren’t babies anymore.
Yesterday I:
1. Went to work
2. Got my A/C fixed
3. Had an ultrasound of my gallbladder.
4. Scheduled an appointment with a surgeon because the gallbladder is full of stones.
5. Confirmed appointment for endometrial ablation and $350 deductible.
6. Tried to figure out how I am going to tell work that I need time off for two medical procedures.
Today I:
1. Went to work early because DH was able to drop the girls off.
2. Contemplated Starbucks and was amazed at my own willpower to resist.
3. Contemplated whether I should order the twins a cake for their birthday Thursday.
4. Found out that I will be traveling to yet another undesirable city for work on Friday.
5. Had chipotle-crusted steak and “Crash Hot Potatoes” made by DH for dinner. Yum!
6. Combed the girls’ hair after their baths and kissed their sweet little cheeks goodnight.
Tomorrow I will:
1. Go to work.
2. Find homes for the 7 cats still living in my powder room.
3. Order a birthday cake for the twins.
4. Call PS, who is visiting in Hometown, and tell her that I love her and that I miss her.
5. Gee, I just don’t have much on my plate for tomorrow.
In the next year I will:
1. Go to Disney World (we’re thinking Christmas.)
2. Have second graders—and a fifth grader (I can’t be that old!)
3. Will take a trip with just DH—no kids.
4. Will have been a lawyer for a year.
5. Gee, I don’t have much on my plate for the next year.
I tag who-ever wants to do this one. It takes a while and I know a bunch of y'all are studying for the bar. But if you need a study break, have at it--it's fun!
The Twenty-Year Meme
20 years ago I:
1. Was 13.
2. Kissed a boy for the first time at – wait for it –band camp. (Oh yeah, I was the cool kid!)
3. Was best friends with a girl whose name rhymes with mine and who sort of resembled me, so we would pretend we were twins when we went places.
4. Would hang out at best friend’s dad’s Harley shop after school.
5. Was a “mean girl” to some of my friends from elementary school (for which I now feel really, really terrible.)
6. Really, really wanted a boyfriend.
10 years ago I:
1. Had just graduated from college
2. Did not want children.
3. Was 7 months pregnant with PS.
4. Was trying to help DH find a job and freaking out that we were going to have to go on welfare because he didn’t graduate for another month and I was the primary bread-winner earning about $14k/year as a customer service rep for a satellite television company.
5. Moved to Big City – 3 weeks before PS was born, when it was 113 degrees outside.
6. Refused to buy girlie things for my baby because I didn’t want to pre-form her ideas about gender roles (can you tell I was a psych major?)
5 years ago I:
1. Was wrangling two-year-old twins and a 4 year-old.
2. Was fantasizing about running away from home because I was unhappy as a SAHM.
3. Took the LSAT to combat above fantasies.
4. Had my first hangover at – wait for it – a Mothers of Twins Convention. We also got threatened with getting kicked out of out hotel room because I used my almost-lawyer skills to wrangle the Presidential Suite, which turned into the Party Suite.
5. Was buying my first home—and driving the home-builder and my mortgage broker crazy with working out the details.
6. Found out that I did not get admitted to my top choice law school and cried.
3 years ago I:
1. Transferred from crappy law school to top choice law school (that’s really unfair, the first school wasn’t bad—it just wasn’t highly ranked and I would probably still be looking for a job if I had graduated from there.)
2. Was juggling 4 year old twins, a 6 year old and my second year of law school.
3. Interned for a civil court judge—which I loved.
4. Was no longer fantasizing about running away from home.
5. Celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary.
6. Turned 30, and went into a 6 month funk about being old.
So far this year I:
1. Finally got a damn job!
2. Started actually liking my job.
3. Have visited three of the most undesirable cities in the state for my job.
4. Have felt guilt about working too much and not seeing my children enough.
5. Watched my children grown in to funny and amazing little people, and realized that my babies aren’t babies anymore.
Yesterday I:
1. Went to work
2. Got my A/C fixed
3. Had an ultrasound of my gallbladder.
4. Scheduled an appointment with a surgeon because the gallbladder is full of stones.
5. Confirmed appointment for endometrial ablation and $350 deductible.
6. Tried to figure out how I am going to tell work that I need time off for two medical procedures.
Today I:
1. Went to work early because DH was able to drop the girls off.
2. Contemplated Starbucks and was amazed at my own willpower to resist.
3. Contemplated whether I should order the twins a cake for their birthday Thursday.
4. Found out that I will be traveling to yet another undesirable city for work on Friday.
5. Had chipotle-crusted steak and “Crash Hot Potatoes” made by DH for dinner. Yum!
6. Combed the girls’ hair after their baths and kissed their sweet little cheeks goodnight.
Tomorrow I will:
1. Go to work.
2. Find homes for the 7 cats still living in my powder room.
3. Order a birthday cake for the twins.
4. Call PS, who is visiting in Hometown, and tell her that I love her and that I miss her.
5. Gee, I just don’t have much on my plate for tomorrow.
In the next year I will:
1. Go to Disney World (we’re thinking Christmas.)
2. Have second graders—and a fifth grader (I can’t be that old!)
3. Will take a trip with just DH—no kids.
4. Will have been a lawyer for a year.
5. Gee, I don’t have much on my plate for the next year.
I tag who-ever wants to do this one. It takes a while and I know a bunch of y'all are studying for the bar. But if you need a study break, have at it--it's fun!
7/20/08
Grumble, Grumble
My regular nanny is in her mid-sixties. Her husband is retired, they live in a much nicer house than mine, she drives a Caddy and her last vacation was to Hawaii. I think that she works mostly to keep herself from getting bored.
With our commutes from the 'burbs to the city, DH and I are gone almost 11 hours a day. Recognizing that this makes for a really long day, 5 days a week, (and especially in light of her age) I asked my nanny at the beginning of the summer to let me bring someone else in part of the time. She reluctantly agreed and I hired a second nanny (Jenny) on the schedule recommended by first nanny (Lucy). Lucy works all day W, Th, Fri and Jenny works M, Tu.
But Jenny needed 3 weeks off in July for a previously planned trip, so to keep Lucy from having to work it all herself, I put the girls in a gymnastics day camp for one week, giving Lucy all last week off. I had told Lucy early in the summer that I would try to put the girls in a couple of camps over the summer so that they wouldn't get bored and to give her a bit of a break.
Well, the girls LOVED gymnastics camp. They were kept busy, did lots of fun things and made friends. The local gymnastics center basically has this "camp" all summer long, in morning and afternoon sessions (or all day like they did last week) at very reasonable rates. So I told the girls that I would sign them up for a few half day sessions over the rest of the summer.
So, I went ahead and signed them up for the morning session this M, Tu, and Wed. Jenny is still on vacation, so Lucy was to be watching them--even through M & Tu aren't her regular days. I called today to let her know that she would only need to watch the girls in the afternoon.
She was not happy--her response was, "well, maybe you just need to put them someplace like that all the time. It doesn't sound like you need me anymore the way you are cutting my hours, with giving me all last week off and then taking my hours this week."
WTH? I will admit that it was probably unfair to not give her more notice. But I am going to do what I feel is in the best interest of my children. When they are at the camp they are hanging out with other kids and being active. Most importantly, they are not watching tv, playing video games or on the computer. Additionally, I think the reduced hours (about 6 hours) are better for Lucy. The days when she watches the girls all day she looks exhausted when I come home.
Lucy is great for the twins. She is like a grandmother to them and I know that she genuinely loves them. She has never once called in sick or been late. But, I don't think that she is especially active with the kids. I think that she lets them watch too much tv, and leaves them to their own devices a little too much. I usually leave chores for the kids in the morning, and more and more often, she is not making sure that they do them. And she has had some run-ins with PS lately that I am not thrilled about. PS is moody and a know-it-all and I know that she can be hard to take sometimes, so I usually give Lucy the benefit of the doubt. But a couple of things lately have indicated a little too much preference for the twins and too little patience with PS.
So, the griping about her hours really kind of pissed me off. Because Lucy had done very well in the finance department this summer. I could have put my girls in day care all summer for about 60% of what I pay her. And honestly, budgeting for full-time child care this summer has severely impacted our budget in other areas.
But I don't see us replacing Lucy. The twins would be devastated. And she works very well during the school year, when her hours are shorter (and she and PS have to spend less time together.) And I know that I would never find anyone as dependable again. (Although I really need someone willing to do housework.) So I guess I'll just suck it up and bitch here.
With our commutes from the 'burbs to the city, DH and I are gone almost 11 hours a day. Recognizing that this makes for a really long day, 5 days a week, (and especially in light of her age) I asked my nanny at the beginning of the summer to let me bring someone else in part of the time. She reluctantly agreed and I hired a second nanny (Jenny) on the schedule recommended by first nanny (Lucy). Lucy works all day W, Th, Fri and Jenny works M, Tu.
But Jenny needed 3 weeks off in July for a previously planned trip, so to keep Lucy from having to work it all herself, I put the girls in a gymnastics day camp for one week, giving Lucy all last week off. I had told Lucy early in the summer that I would try to put the girls in a couple of camps over the summer so that they wouldn't get bored and to give her a bit of a break.
Well, the girls LOVED gymnastics camp. They were kept busy, did lots of fun things and made friends. The local gymnastics center basically has this "camp" all summer long, in morning and afternoon sessions (or all day like they did last week) at very reasonable rates. So I told the girls that I would sign them up for a few half day sessions over the rest of the summer.
So, I went ahead and signed them up for the morning session this M, Tu, and Wed. Jenny is still on vacation, so Lucy was to be watching them--even through M & Tu aren't her regular days. I called today to let her know that she would only need to watch the girls in the afternoon.
She was not happy--her response was, "well, maybe you just need to put them someplace like that all the time. It doesn't sound like you need me anymore the way you are cutting my hours, with giving me all last week off and then taking my hours this week."
WTH? I will admit that it was probably unfair to not give her more notice. But I am going to do what I feel is in the best interest of my children. When they are at the camp they are hanging out with other kids and being active. Most importantly, they are not watching tv, playing video games or on the computer. Additionally, I think the reduced hours (about 6 hours) are better for Lucy. The days when she watches the girls all day she looks exhausted when I come home.
Lucy is great for the twins. She is like a grandmother to them and I know that she genuinely loves them. She has never once called in sick or been late. But, I don't think that she is especially active with the kids. I think that she lets them watch too much tv, and leaves them to their own devices a little too much. I usually leave chores for the kids in the morning, and more and more often, she is not making sure that they do them. And she has had some run-ins with PS lately that I am not thrilled about. PS is moody and a know-it-all and I know that she can be hard to take sometimes, so I usually give Lucy the benefit of the doubt. But a couple of things lately have indicated a little too much preference for the twins and too little patience with PS.
So, the griping about her hours really kind of pissed me off. Because Lucy had done very well in the finance department this summer. I could have put my girls in day care all summer for about 60% of what I pay her. And honestly, budgeting for full-time child care this summer has severely impacted our budget in other areas.
But I don't see us replacing Lucy. The twins would be devastated. And she works very well during the school year, when her hours are shorter (and she and PS have to spend less time together.) And I know that I would never find anyone as dependable again. (Although I really need someone willing to do housework.) So I guess I'll just suck it up and bitch here.
Fabulous
I woke up early this morning hot. Usually I get cold in the middle of the night, so this seemed strange. But I thought that maybe it was because we slept with the door closed and the air wasn't circulating well. But in the hall, the thermostat read 80. And the upstairs thermostat read 85. And they both kept rising from there.
DH did a bit of poking around and it appears that our a/c is out. And, of course, it's Sunday, so we'd likely have to pay triple rates to get someone out today. And the average temperature this time of year is about 100 (yes, literally).
I swear it i getting hotter as I type (well, probably the laptop on my lap doesn't help.) I think we are going to have to get out of the house today and go camp out someplace with air conditioning.
DH did a bit of poking around and it appears that our a/c is out. And, of course, it's Sunday, so we'd likely have to pay triple rates to get someone out today. And the average temperature this time of year is about 100 (yes, literally).
I swear it i getting hotter as I type (well, probably the laptop on my lap doesn't help.) I think we are going to have to get out of the house today and go camp out someplace with air conditioning.
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