Lamb and Peas

Tough day at the office. Not busy enough to keep myself from obsessing over the world's problems and the challenges of A. and G. Spinach. Found myself at a networking lunch with a kid 6 months out of college and about as green an insurance agent as they come. At least he paid.

Three other bright spots today. Clients called in with good news in each case. Only down side there is that I have less work...a mixed blessing.

At home, la moglia has the blues. I'm crawling to November, counting on a post-election bounce. But I started a good novel: A Dwelling Place by Elizabeth Musser. 105 pages before I could put it down and wander into the office and blog.

Steak and Potato Salad

G. Spinach and la moglia shared a pretty decent weekend. Given the gasoline shortage that has thwarted random travel in this part of the country, we stayed pretty close to home.

Friday night was consumed with the presidential debate....I decided early on that it couldn't be watched completely sober. Trust me, it got funnier with rum and cranberry.

Sunday night, after a home-cooked meal of red meat and potato salad (mustard, mayo & sweet relish), we caught the 60 Minutes segment on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. That guy scares me, thinking he can single-handedly resolve years of poor bank decisions with a $700 billion dollar government check. Much as I'd like to see it happen, you can't always buy your way out of trouble. So color me 'still suspicious' about this whole financial bailout plan.

Cheap Wine and Pizza

Tonight was the planning session for our Kiwanis club's activities in the upcoming 12 months. We did the usual sniffling and snorting over committee assignments, roster placements, and project scheduling, but we also had a few laughs and really got a lot done in 90 minutes...so I'm happy. The treasurer brought beer, we pulled a bottle of Shiraz from the A. & G. Spinach wine cellar (i.e., the collection of client gift bottles tucked away in a break room cabinet), and we dined on Papa John's.

The workdays, however, have been a little bit of a drag this week. Partner A has jumped on the South Beach Diet, and our paralegal, the "Boss," has started a new gig with a personal trainer, so we're on our own for lunches. Oh, the horrors.

Truthfully, my superego has been a little neglected. I should be concentrating better and billing harder. I had two good spells of 45 minutes each today, but the rest of the day filled up with 12 minute phone calls, emails and administrivia. Fourteen different client contacts, and very little progress, because 14 x .2 is still less than three billable hours. Add that to the two 45 (ok, call it 48) minute spurts, and it's still not a day to brag to the banker about (so it helps that the banker came over for the Shiraz, right?).

mmm, buffalo zingers....

Not long ago, a spiffy-clean new Zaxby's opened up right by A. & G. Spinach's building.

That's all good, because in addition to the firm's tradition of chinese Fridays, we're developing a habit of chicken Mondays. Most of us go for the house Zalad, but today I needed chicken strips dunked in hot sauce....they call 'em Zingers.

The extra capsaicin cut off the frequently irresistable urge to order pizza during Monday Night Football. Bummer that the alarm blares in a little less than six hours, and the Broncos and Raiders haven't even hit halftime. I'll have to let Jay Cutler finish the job without my muffled roar.

The Juggle

The life of G. Spinach, ca. 2008, looks something like this:

1) The Firm - Two partners: A & G. Spinach. We started the firm right about the time I stopped blogging. We've got two associates now: the Therapist and the Brain. Both are loved; neither are overworked. We're not as busy as we were when we started; a frighteningly slow summer has ended, and we're picking up steam again.

2) The Family - It's me, la moglia, and one angelic little girl: the kidlet. She'll be 17 months old soon; again, a good reason to have let the blog slide.

3) The Club - I'll be stepping in as Pres. of the local Kiwanis Club starting Oct 1. A dubious honor, I assure you.

4) The Estate - Grandpa died five years ago with some acreage out West. My aunt and I have been trying to sell it ever since, and it hasn't worked out quite like we expected. Thanks to the squiggly economy.

5) The Contacts -- In the years since I left law school, I've met a bunch of folks, and there are splintered groups here and there. I try to go to some of the meetings, but it's been a scattershot thing.

6) The Friends - I neglect them terribly.

So what's missing? Well, my religious life has been pretty non-existent the past couple of years. I'd like to see a resurgence there. And my exercise routine...I once ran 10ks; the last was in 2005. I still belong to a gym, but I haven't been there since the kidlet showed up in our lives. Time to cancel the membership, dontcha think?

Back from RL

G. Spinach has neglected this space for too long. Time to get back into shape.

List of things to do:

1) Write more, spectate less
2) Lead by example