As part of my membership to the American Bar Association I get "the Young Lawyer," a newsletter with a lot of tips for us newbies. Here's a couple of my favorites from an article in the recent edition entitled "E[lectronic]-Discovery: A Survival Guide for New Lawyers"
Tip No. 1: Panic. "When you have a big problem, the first step is to admit it."
Tip No. 2: Take a deep breath. "Do not compound the problem by pushing this difficult assignment to the back of your desk ... You have to take responsibility[.]"
Great. Thanks, guys; glad I got those dues in on time! Don't want to miss any of these gems!
Sad but true: I ran across Tip One in the midst of researching an excruciating brief about the constitutionality of retroactively applying a statute. And seeing the word "panic" in print? Made me panic.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Awwww....
I have to admit it: I get a thrill when Henry prefers me to anyone else. Sorry, Jon, this goes for you, too.
As I mentioned, one of the hardest things about going to school again was watching my business affect my relationship with Henry. The night he wailed and reached out to Jon when he was upset was the night I died a thousand deaths.
But I've gotten my spot back as the go-to-gal. Tonight, Henry was having a hard time sleeping. I went in and rocked him a little bit.
"Do you want to go to bed, Henry?"
[shake of the head no]
So we rock and talk. Somewhere along the line I asked "Who is your mom?"
AND HE POINTED AT ME! And then he looked right in my eyes and smiled.
Sigh. :)
As I mentioned, one of the hardest things about going to school again was watching my business affect my relationship with Henry. The night he wailed and reached out to Jon when he was upset was the night I died a thousand deaths.
But I've gotten my spot back as the go-to-gal. Tonight, Henry was having a hard time sleeping. I went in and rocked him a little bit.
"Do you want to go to bed, Henry?"
[shake of the head no]
So we rock and talk. Somewhere along the line I asked "Who is your mom?"
AND HE POINTED AT ME! And then he looked right in my eyes and smiled.
Sigh. :)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Back home -- AWESOME!
I've sworn to end every post's title with that word. No, just kidding. But it is nice to be home.
-- One of the people we stayed with had fleas! (I'm not telling who)
-- Our dog also had fleas! But we have gotten rid of them, I think.
I know what you're thinking ... maybe we had fleas and our friend's house didn't? No. Because we got bites on our ankles only after staying there. So we can't blame Sabrina.
-- Over the week, one of the branches of the huge dead tree that extends over our house fell off onto a tire swing on its landlord-owner's property, minutes after the neighborhood children were called inside by their folks! (I called the owner, who's kvetching about how much it will cost and what a pain in the keister it is. My response: "Well, thank goodness no one was hurt."
Jerk. How much of a pain would a multimillion PI suit be, ya think?
-- The neighborhood's children's parents still let them play on the swing. Another honest quote: "Well, if something happened my life would be a lot quieter."
No, I couldn't summon a laugh for that one, either. It's like, buddy, I work with people contemplating untimely death, the dying, and the grieving for a living. It can happen to you, too. Now let me write your will.
-- Same neighbors discovered there's a nest? warren? den? of RATS in our shared flower beds! Yikes! A helpful neighbor (not me) left a note after seeing the rats while taking a nighttime stroll.
Our neighbor told us the news after we had been gardening at night for like, an hour. Glad we didn't stick our hands in any holes!
-- One of the people we stayed with had fleas! (I'm not telling who)
-- Our dog also had fleas! But we have gotten rid of them, I think.
I know what you're thinking ... maybe we had fleas and our friend's house didn't? No. Because we got bites on our ankles only after staying there. So we can't blame Sabrina.
-- Over the week, one of the branches of the huge dead tree that extends over our house fell off onto a tire swing on its landlord-owner's property, minutes after the neighborhood children were called inside by their folks! (I called the owner, who's kvetching about how much it will cost and what a pain in the keister it is. My response: "Well, thank goodness no one was hurt."
Jerk. How much of a pain would a multimillion PI suit be, ya think?
-- The neighborhood's children's parents still let them play on the swing. Another honest quote: "Well, if something happened my life would be a lot quieter."
No, I couldn't summon a laugh for that one, either. It's like, buddy, I work with people contemplating untimely death, the dying, and the grieving for a living. It can happen to you, too. Now let me write your will.
-- Same neighbors discovered there's a nest? warren? den? of RATS in our shared flower beds! Yikes! A helpful neighbor (not me) left a note after seeing the rats while taking a nighttime stroll.
Our neighbor told us the news after we had been gardening at night for like, an hour. Glad we didn't stick our hands in any holes!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
1st day of vacation -- AWESOME!!!
OK, so we're in Portland, OR, right now visiting frieds for a week, and let me just say, it's awesome. NO, we are not moving back -- everybody's asking me that, and no. Do I want' to take another bar? No! Do I want to pay like crazy for a house (more than we do already, I mean)? No! Do I want to find a job or set up another law firm? No, no and NO!
But it's sure a nice place to visit! :)
Day 1: for lunch, we went to Grand Central Bakery for the chicken and chutney sandwich. Just as good as ever. Because we wanted to give Henry some fun after yesterday's day-o'-plane, next we went to Mt. Scott Rec Park, with a huge kiddie pool complete with current pool, water fountains, and water slide, with the water heated to 88 degrees. Pretty cool.
I am proud of Henry. He was totally freaked by the water and would not go in at first, but we were able to graaadually habituate him and by the end he was jumping into the pool and wanting to go down the slide (maybe in a couple of years, Henry).
So far we've seen two of my friends. Both are doing great: in school, in relationships -- wonderful. It's fun to see what everybody's been doing.
The city is recognizable. It's a wierd feeling. Portland was my home for so many years. It's eerie knowing a place so well and it not being your home. Now we need to convince some Portlanders to relocate!
But it's sure a nice place to visit! :)
Day 1: for lunch, we went to Grand Central Bakery for the chicken and chutney sandwich. Just as good as ever. Because we wanted to give Henry some fun after yesterday's day-o'-plane, next we went to Mt. Scott Rec Park, with a huge kiddie pool complete with current pool, water fountains, and water slide, with the water heated to 88 degrees. Pretty cool.
I am proud of Henry. He was totally freaked by the water and would not go in at first, but we were able to graaadually habituate him and by the end he was jumping into the pool and wanting to go down the slide (maybe in a couple of years, Henry).
So far we've seen two of my friends. Both are doing great: in school, in relationships -- wonderful. It's fun to see what everybody's been doing.
The city is recognizable. It's a wierd feeling. Portland was my home for so many years. It's eerie knowing a place so well and it not being your home. Now we need to convince some Portlanders to relocate!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Madness!
Real Simple (magazine) has a new feature, "Moneywise: One Woman's Money Diary," in which a reader shares her finances and then a financial analyst swoops in to offer advice.
It's a new thing. Last month's woman made me feel slightly better about my life, although she owned their house outright -- in NEW YORK, NEW YORK! If you don't have a mortgage, where's the challenge, I say.
This month's woman, by contrast, made me feel terrible. Jennifer Hardwick is a stay at home mother of one with money to burn. They put $500/month in their kid's 529 plan, and her husband banks 12% of his paycheck in a 401(k) (matching, no doubt). Better yet, they just netted -- netted -- $285K on the sale of their house! I quote from the article: "'I rarely spend on myself,' Jennifer says wistfully. 'I wish I could.'"
Here's the part I don't get: even with their $2912 mortgage and the $500 401(k) contribution, their monthly expenses are only $4453 per month. This must be a lie!!! Guys, am I that off base? All expenses -- utilities, gas, food, clothing, insurance -- all for $1041 a month? I don't believe it. I can't believe it.
I live less than 100 miles from Jennifer. Our heat bills over the winter are staggering. Like, over $300 a month. And don't you tell me to turn down the heat -- it's down. Our parents had slow hands with the heat, and we learned their lesson.
Please, tell me I'm not crazy. Please tell me Jen cooked the books. Because if it is true, I am a crummy homemaker.
It's a new thing. Last month's woman made me feel slightly better about my life, although she owned their house outright -- in NEW YORK, NEW YORK! If you don't have a mortgage, where's the challenge, I say.
This month's woman, by contrast, made me feel terrible. Jennifer Hardwick is a stay at home mother of one with money to burn. They put $500/month in their kid's 529 plan, and her husband banks 12% of his paycheck in a 401(k) (matching, no doubt). Better yet, they just netted -- netted -- $285K on the sale of their house! I quote from the article: "'I rarely spend on myself,' Jennifer says wistfully. 'I wish I could.'"
Here's the part I don't get: even with their $2912 mortgage and the $500 401(k) contribution, their monthly expenses are only $4453 per month. This must be a lie!!! Guys, am I that off base? All expenses -- utilities, gas, food, clothing, insurance -- all for $1041 a month? I don't believe it. I can't believe it.
I live less than 100 miles from Jennifer. Our heat bills over the winter are staggering. Like, over $300 a month. And don't you tell me to turn down the heat -- it's down. Our parents had slow hands with the heat, and we learned their lesson.
Please, tell me I'm not crazy. Please tell me Jen cooked the books. Because if it is true, I am a crummy homemaker.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Differences between the east and west coast
On the east coast:
- it's okay for a businesswoman not to wear nylons with a skirt in the summer -- and to wear sandals.
- it's okay for an adult woman to wear black or navy nail polish (!)
- church doors are painted bright red
- people put away the somber colors in spring and summer. Pink coats, anyone?
(Personally, I haven't adapted to any of these yet. Jon keeps asking me why I am wearing winter clothes. They're not -- they are just dark colors!
- it's okay for a businesswoman not to wear nylons with a skirt in the summer -- and to wear sandals.
- it's okay for an adult woman to wear black or navy nail polish (!)
- church doors are painted bright red
- people put away the somber colors in spring and summer. Pink coats, anyone?
(Personally, I haven't adapted to any of these yet. Jon keeps asking me why I am wearing winter clothes. They're not -- they are just dark colors!
Almost out of my cave!
Finals end next week and I am SO excited. This has been a hard semester but really great. I've learned a lot, worked a lot outside of class (contract work and my own clients), and feel like I am really staring to put the pieces together.
Henry is doing great. He is such a neat kid to have around; so much fun.
He loves bubbles and says a version of "bubbles." They do bubbles at day care like, almost every day. They have a bubble machine, which is good because at home, Henry's idea of blowing bubbles is sticking the wand in the bubble solution and wiggling it around.
Henry also loves birds. He reallllly wants to touch one but none of the birds around here are having it. Whenever we go outside he points at everything in the sky and chases after all the birds as they are hunting for worms, one after another.
Henry has made friends with a couple of the girl babies in his room. We have a new protocol that requires us to wash our hands immediately upon getting into day care (here's crossing our fingers for fall and winter -- maybe it will do some good!). The bathroom is past the babies. Every morning Henry bursts out of the bathroom and goes to say hi to all his friends on the babies side.
He's also pretty helpful to them. If they drop something, he will pick it up and hand it to them. He also rocks them in their seats, and so on.
In Jon's news -- I don't know if I blogged about this, but Jon got a great job as an actuary. He likes it a lot. It's so nice to see him in a good mood every night, excited about his work, and comfortable in his position within the company.
Plus the benefits are pretty good! Hurrah for three weeks of vacation a year. Finally, we have time both to visit family and to go somewhere new.
More soon. Wish me luck!
Henry is doing great. He is such a neat kid to have around; so much fun.
He loves bubbles and says a version of "bubbles." They do bubbles at day care like, almost every day. They have a bubble machine, which is good because at home, Henry's idea of blowing bubbles is sticking the wand in the bubble solution and wiggling it around.
Henry also loves birds. He reallllly wants to touch one but none of the birds around here are having it. Whenever we go outside he points at everything in the sky and chases after all the birds as they are hunting for worms, one after another.
Henry has made friends with a couple of the girl babies in his room. We have a new protocol that requires us to wash our hands immediately upon getting into day care (here's crossing our fingers for fall and winter -- maybe it will do some good!). The bathroom is past the babies. Every morning Henry bursts out of the bathroom and goes to say hi to all his friends on the babies side.
He's also pretty helpful to them. If they drop something, he will pick it up and hand it to them. He also rocks them in their seats, and so on.
In Jon's news -- I don't know if I blogged about this, but Jon got a great job as an actuary. He likes it a lot. It's so nice to see him in a good mood every night, excited about his work, and comfortable in his position within the company.
Plus the benefits are pretty good! Hurrah for three weeks of vacation a year. Finally, we have time both to visit family and to go somewhere new.
More soon. Wish me luck!
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