Yeah, baby-- nice cars for sale on TV. Nuthin's better!
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
No-Office Weekend
Check this out....I went the whole 61-hour span between Friday at 7 and Monday at 8 without setting foot in the office. Props to me!
And what, in lieu of camping out at my desk on the third floor (northern exposure), occupied my time?
Well, there was the city-led fair on Saturday at which the firm sponsored a booth, and I spent a few hours there with a name-partner and another associate urging the local intestates to mend their ways and provide for their children. Work-related time, indeed, but outside the office, so it hardly counts.
And after I poured some Amoco Ultimate into the Toro and gave the string a good yank, I was rewarded with a running mower (not bad after its 5 month siesta), and a few minutes later, a cleaner, shorter lawn. Then off to a hibachi place for the 31st birthday of a classmate, and some catching up with fellow alums. The best gift? This, by far.
On Sunday, after a breakfast of fresh biscuits and honey, I washed cars at a local charity to raise money for its mentoring program. Several hours and a few callouses later, I had earned myself an evening with The New Yorker (or at least this good article fromthe issue I'm reading these days).
So, yeah, a good weekend, and a respite enough to conquer a Monday.
And what, in lieu of camping out at my desk on the third floor (northern exposure), occupied my time?
Well, there was the city-led fair on Saturday at which the firm sponsored a booth, and I spent a few hours there with a name-partner and another associate urging the local intestates to mend their ways and provide for their children. Work-related time, indeed, but outside the office, so it hardly counts.
And after I poured some Amoco Ultimate into the Toro and gave the string a good yank, I was rewarded with a running mower (not bad after its 5 month siesta), and a few minutes later, a cleaner, shorter lawn. Then off to a hibachi place for the 31st birthday of a classmate, and some catching up with fellow alums. The best gift? This, by far.
On Sunday, after a breakfast of fresh biscuits and honey, I washed cars at a local charity to raise money for its mentoring program. Several hours and a few callouses later, I had earned myself an evening with The New Yorker (or at least this good article fromthe issue I'm reading these days).
So, yeah, a good weekend, and a respite enough to conquer a Monday.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
I'm Feelin' Sloggy
So Wednesday was spent down in probate court...a rare full-day hearing on a proposed guardianship. Lots of lawyers present; plenty of family emotion, and a very unclear outcome...I don't envy the judge on this one...it's a tough call, even if I think my clients are on the right side.
I didn't sleep much the night before the hearing, or the night after, and tonight feels rather young, it seems, though it's just about midnight and I'm sipping Sleepytime Extra -with Valerian- in the hopes that I'll start getting drowsy soon. Litigation can be exciting, but it rattles my nerves; I'm a T&E-type--not a courtroom song-and-dancer.
Anyhow, "sloggy" means that the firm has loaded me up with a string of non-billable client projects...clean-up duty on old cases that have gone to pasture and need to be rounded up and put out of their misery...trouble is; it's miserable work, because all the old flaws in the cases make them ornery little cusses. And tomorrow, I'll be sloggin' toward the weekend.
And yes, I've got to leave you with some upbeats:
1) I picked LSU over Duke in the office pool (only three of us out of 25 brackets had the same idea). A lucky upset, indeed.
2) I went to see my last pro hockey game of the season, and the home team won in OT.
3) The grass in the yard has started growin' and they hyacinths are in full bloom...time to pull out the Toro and fire up the little-wheeled weekend warrior. Thank goodness for spring.
I didn't sleep much the night before the hearing, or the night after, and tonight feels rather young, it seems, though it's just about midnight and I'm sipping Sleepytime Extra -with Valerian- in the hopes that I'll start getting drowsy soon. Litigation can be exciting, but it rattles my nerves; I'm a T&E-type--not a courtroom song-and-dancer.
Anyhow, "sloggy" means that the firm has loaded me up with a string of non-billable client projects...clean-up duty on old cases that have gone to pasture and need to be rounded up and put out of their misery...trouble is; it's miserable work, because all the old flaws in the cases make them ornery little cusses. And tomorrow, I'll be sloggin' toward the weekend.
And yes, I've got to leave you with some upbeats:
1) I picked LSU over Duke in the office pool (only three of us out of 25 brackets had the same idea). A lucky upset, indeed.
2) I went to see my last pro hockey game of the season, and the home team won in OT.
3) The grass in the yard has started growin' and they hyacinths are in full bloom...time to pull out the Toro and fire up the little-wheeled weekend warrior. Thank goodness for spring.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Snorkle Needed Here
Doh; how time flies between posts...I've been trying valiantly to keep my head above water at the office, and I'm not quite ready for a scuba tank, but a snorkle would really be nice about now.
Actually, I caught a break today. The CLE seminar for which I've been frantically preparing written materials was cancelled and nobody bothered to let me know, so when I sheepishly called up today to request an extension, I got a humble apology from the coordinators. Bummer that I gave up two Sunday afternoons and a sleepless night without cause, but hallelu-ya about not needing to sacrifice the next couple of weekends working on that.
Saturday night, I went over to the house of a law school friend, one of a select few who knows I exist in the blogosphere. He said he's been searching for "wilted spinach" and couldn't find it...I let out a good laugh. Maybe now he'll pull up this humble diary...
Actually, I caught a break today. The CLE seminar for which I've been frantically preparing written materials was cancelled and nobody bothered to let me know, so when I sheepishly called up today to request an extension, I got a humble apology from the coordinators. Bummer that I gave up two Sunday afternoons and a sleepless night without cause, but hallelu-ya about not needing to sacrifice the next couple of weekends working on that.
Saturday night, I went over to the house of a law school friend, one of a select few who knows I exist in the blogosphere. He said he's been searching for "wilted spinach" and couldn't find it...I let out a good laugh. Maybe now he'll pull up this humble diary...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The Politico-military Campaign
Among other things, I've been mulling over this post in Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, in which he decries the participation of the military at a Republican political event in Laramie County, Colorado.
A follow-up newspaper article appears here.
I can see Marshall's point that it might be against the military branch's internal procedures, but I don't follow his rationale that recognizing the accomplishments of the U.S. armed forces, and demonstrating an appreciation for their efforts by applauding them at a political gathering amounts to the unfair use of the military to a political advantage.
Should we exclude members of the military from attending political events or advocating political viewpoints? No, that would deprive them of their rights as an American citizen.
And any chance we get to show our support for American soldiers should be taken to full advantage, not just on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day, but on all days. The military command structure, after all, does not allow the fighting troops to make decisions about which battles are to be fought.
Just like those of us in the civilian world, they can only express discontent by voting in favor of or in opposition to their elected leaders, and by participating in the form of representative democracy we have at the municipal, state, and federal levels.
From where I stand, politics and the military are fully intertwined, from governors' speeches at bases that they're trying to save from Congress' ax, to ROTC programs at colleges and high schools. I think it's a bad precedent to try to sterilize the military by keeping its members away from political events, just as it's bad precedent to expect religious entities to stay out of politics. If we can have a preacher give an invocation at the local meeting of Democrats, then dag-blast it if it's wrong to introduce a person on active duty, and let them know we recognize the role they play in preserving our freedoms.
A follow-up newspaper article appears here.
I can see Marshall's point that it might be against the military branch's internal procedures, but I don't follow his rationale that recognizing the accomplishments of the U.S. armed forces, and demonstrating an appreciation for their efforts by applauding them at a political gathering amounts to the unfair use of the military to a political advantage.
Should we exclude members of the military from attending political events or advocating political viewpoints? No, that would deprive them of their rights as an American citizen.
And any chance we get to show our support for American soldiers should be taken to full advantage, not just on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day, but on all days. The military command structure, after all, does not allow the fighting troops to make decisions about which battles are to be fought.
Just like those of us in the civilian world, they can only express discontent by voting in favor of or in opposition to their elected leaders, and by participating in the form of representative democracy we have at the municipal, state, and federal levels.
From where I stand, politics and the military are fully intertwined, from governors' speeches at bases that they're trying to save from Congress' ax, to ROTC programs at colleges and high schools. I think it's a bad precedent to try to sterilize the military by keeping its members away from political events, just as it's bad precedent to expect religious entities to stay out of politics. If we can have a preacher give an invocation at the local meeting of Democrats, then dag-blast it if it's wrong to introduce a person on active duty, and let them know we recognize the role they play in preserving our freedoms.
Monday, March 06, 2006
The days go flyin' by
So, Mr. Spinach, what have you been doing these past 12 days?
1) Trying to meet a monthly billable hour "goal" in a 28-day month.
Not quite... but almost.
2) Trying to cross things off the to-do list faster than adding to it.
Not quite...but almost.
3) Wedding plans (G. Spinach is tying the knot in just four short months).
Progress on this front, but there's plenty left to do.
4) Celebrating a parent's 60th birthday (earning 2416 Delta Sky Miles along the way).
Sorry, Mom, no grandkids. Not yet.
5) Touring the Celestial Seasonings tea factory.
The peppermint room is intoxicating.
1) Trying to meet a monthly billable hour "goal" in a 28-day month.
Not quite... but almost.
2) Trying to cross things off the to-do list faster than adding to it.
Not quite...but almost.
3) Wedding plans (G. Spinach is tying the knot in just four short months).
Progress on this front, but there's plenty left to do.
4) Celebrating a parent's 60th birthday (earning 2416 Delta Sky Miles along the way).
Sorry, Mom, no grandkids. Not yet.
5) Touring the Celestial Seasonings tea factory.
The peppermint room is intoxicating.
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