This Monday Just Plain Sucked!

The only way I can explain today is nothing went right and it was a battle to get anything accomplished. Computer problems, unscheduled hearings, printer problems, having to do work for the old job I transferred out of, co-worker problems, and more!

I went in yesterday (yes a Sunday) to get two stacks of files prepped. Since I had nothing on the calendar I honestly thought I would blow through the two piles and get them out of my office. How wrong I was. I barely got through half of the first pile.

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Even The President Doesn't Get Mail Today.

All those bills I wrote checks for last night should have gone out today. Oh wait, it's President's Day so the mail lady isn't making her rounds.

I had to work today, you think the post office would as well. Ya right.

As long as that bitch VISA gets her money I'll be fine. I hate late fees. I really hate them.

I Knew It Was Too Good To Be True!

I'm sorry I haven't posted much lately. I've been insanely busy with work. The hour commute to Small Town doesn't help. The weekends I've either been out of town or sick. It's just been a busy time. Very few hours aren't committed to something.



I also had one other distraction. We started to date a few years ago, then she gave me the let's just be friends speech. I decided I wanted nothing to do with her and that was that. Back in January I restarted my online personal ad. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do that, but I figured why not. She responded to my ad again. She said she thought of me the past 2 years and was curious if I wanted to reply.



We had some fun. We had a lot in common. I was patient with her slow get to know you process. The truth is she was awesome and I was pissed when suddenly she changed course and game me the let's be friends speech. I replied to her email.



We've meet a few times during the weeknights. Long enough to have a meal or do a quick activity. However she's a early to bed person so she started turning into a pumpkin around 8:30. Fair enough since everyone had to work the next mornings. I wasn't feeling any chemistry or vibes but she had such a weird style I wasn't sure if I should be concerned by that.

At this point we've gone out a few times in a month, but I'm no closer to figuring out what she wants. Is she wanting to be friends first and see if I'm "the one" or is this her slow steady style again. Of course she could just want me as a friend period. I finally just asked her. Nope she wants me just as a friend. "Couldn't you tell?" Given her screwy slow system and whatever weirdo rules involved in dating now, honestly no.

At least I have certainty. I know I don't really need to invest any energy into her. I just wish I wasn't a friend. She's way too great to be a friend. Cie la vie indeed. I knew it was too early to get back into the dating scene. Too much chaos at work, too much time involved there, and too much VISA debt. Yeah this sucks no matter what.

I Didn't Mean To Be Dead!

I'm doing insane hours to try to tidy up my job and try to have a head up on the new position. I want my old files to be as done as possible so no one has to touch them for a bit. Part time my ass! Whatever sickness I had I passed onto the Fabulously Gay Roommate. He's call in dead since Monday afternoon. Everyone seems to have this death germ.

Somehow I got the death germ back. Thursday I was so nonfunctional I simply slept once I got home. I thought I was better Friday morning, but the long drive down to Small Town proved me wrong. I was dying. I had fever and chills, along with a wonderful cough. I wanted to last until my one afternoon hearing, but I couldn't make it that far. I left before lunch and wanted to die.

My goal the past few days has been to sleep or rest as much as possible and to do as little work as possible. Given how crappy I felt this was an easy plan to do. I even found The Black Hole on tv. Oh dear that movie sucks once you account for all the scientific inaccuracies. I didn't believe it was possible to get tired doing nothing, but I needed a nap after that movie.

I think I turned the corner today, but I'm still going to rest as much as possible. I want to watch the SuperBowl and pray for a Giants victory over the evil Patriots. At least I'm able to eat solid food again. I want to know how the human body can produce gas with so little solid matter breaking down my intestines. Sounds like a job for the Mythbusters.

There Better Be A Payoff Soon.

I'm getting ready to transition into the other position. What's happening is I'm really working two jobs it seems! I shadow the person I'm replacing to observe those hearings while trying to do my own job. I've put in tons of overtimes to get my files up to shape before they're handed off to others or whoever they get to replace me. For a part time position I've been putting in more hours than anyone else there since after Thanksgiving.

I need a break soon or I'm burning out before I get transferred.

They See Me As Worthy!

The office in Small Town is going to have some turnover. Some of this was expected, but some was not. I didn't see any of this affecting me. I was wrong. For once I'm glad I was wrong. The bosses pow-wowed a bit and did some horse swapping. I'm going from a part time position that I work full time for already to a full time position. Hey I'll be getting paid for more of the hours I actually work! I'll even get benefits! I haven't had benefits in 5 years. I haven't had a vacation in 5 years. I haven't contributed to a retirement fund in 5 years.

Crap I've been royally screwed for 5 years!

Is this what good luck feels like? Feels weird so I need to double check.

This Is Supposed To Be Part Time Right?

I don't have to come in until after lunch. Sweet! Part time my ass!!!! At least the all the trials scheduled over the past few weeks were continued for various reasons. I'll consider all the unpaid overtime as trial prep once the damn things go through.

I think I'll watch the snow gently fall for a few minutes.

You Are The Reason These Things Never Work.

A No-Contact Order means NO FRIGGIN' CONTACT between the two parties. The problem is they're only one way contracts really. "Man shall not have contact with woman." What it really needs to say is, "You two need to stay away from each other. Period! Don't be weak and invite him back into your life."

I thought I had some leverage. The scumbag already had one case so I'm happy to see Invasion Of Privacy by violating a No Contact Order. Of course, some facts don't make it into the police report.

1. She invited him back into the apartment a few weeks ago.
2. They got into a verbal argument. I admit that's an improvement. No fists were involved this time.
3. Suddenly she realizes she has a No-Contact Order against him and the police can be called.

Sometimes victims are their own worse enemy. Sometimes victims know how to play the system. Sometimes victims leave out inconvenient facts when they talk with me. I don't mind a judge berating some bitch who wants to have it both ways. I do mind being yelled at for something that isn't my fault and I have no control over.

I'm not taking it personally, but I'm not happy about it either.

Such A Waste.

The Fabulously Gay Roommate tends to forget where he places things. Items such as cordless phones, his watch, his glasses, and other small items are found all over the place. This morning after I got out of the shower I found a coffee mug full over coffee on the kitchen counter. The steaming hot mug was next to the coffee maker and somehow he forgot to take the mug with him.

I wonder about FGR sometimes. What a waste of coffee!

Just Play What's On The Page.

LSU vs. Ohio State. I hope for the best, but I expect the Buckeyes to be down by 3 touchdowns by the 2nd quarter. This will by yet another boring BCS game to end the year.

I have a problem with the national anthem: no one actually plays it at a televised sporting event. It's always a funky version the band plays and the singer sings. Just find a good version and play what's on the page please. I want my national anthem quick, angry, and bombastic!

That is all.

Happy New Years

2007: the year that was.

Underemployed or unemployed for the vast majority of it. Quite frankly I was about to give up hope. My job hunt wasn't producing results at all. Even after putting the career consultant's fee onto my VISA I still seemed to have nothing but back luck. Living on $150 at a time on small jobs just wasn't working.

October I finally get a break and a job offer. It's a very imperfect job, but at least it's in my field. It's a good resume builder job. The pay sucks, but at least I won't slip any further in debt. The last few months have been hell just learning my job. I fear I've forgotten so much of my legal education. At least I'm learning something useful.

With luck 2008 will be the year I get to put my life back together. This is the first New Years where I have a hopeful outlook. It isn't based on a prayer that things have to get better, but the fact that finally some things are going my way.

2008: cautiously optimistic.

Die, Patriots, Die!

I hate them. Nearly everyone in football hates them. The Giants put up more fight than anyone expected, but those damn Patriots are still 16-0. Cheaters! Who did they videotape this season? Brady doesn't deserve the touchdown record. Unworthy! The man has no honor. All he does is date supermodels and knock them up.

Boston has used up all it's sports sympathy. Oh we hadn't won a World Series in forever. Whoopee, they still had those damned Patriots the last decade. The Red Sox won and one city should not be allowed to have multiple championships in one year.

The Jaguars are a very physical team. With luck they'll break Tom Brady's leg and tear Randy Moss in half.

Some Filing Systems Don't Work Well.

Boss comes into my office.

Boss: Wolfrham, do you have the such and such file?

Me: Yeah it's in that file cabinet.

Boss starts thumbing through the drawer looking for the file.

Boss: How do you find anything in here?

Me: It's all alphabetical order.

Boss: No wonder I can never find anything. I don't understand your filing system.

Me: The alphabet?

What Happened To All The Snow?

Last weekend we get around 8 inches of snow. This weekend it's in the 50s temperature wise. Somehow I doubt we're having a white Christmas by Tuesday. It's just too weird to walk downtown in Big City and be comfy in short sleeves. At least short sleeves for only a few minutes is comfy.

Only within the last few days have I wanted to hear Christmas music. It's Christmas, but I never seem to really get into the mood for the holiday. I love the time off, but it's not a very special day for me. I don't know why. I do like seeing the lights on other homes and around town. The Salvation Army bells always bring a smile. Even though I was insanely poor this year I try to put in a few coins. No matter how bad it was for me lots of people had it worse.

While I may not get into the spirit of Christmas at least I understand it.

The Good News About Snow & Ice.

At least the waves of snow and ice came on a weekend instead of before a Monday rush hour. The street crews had a few hours to push the snow and ice out of the way so I made it to the mall to finish up my Christmas shopping. I swear it was half as fun the week before Christmas as it normally is. SWEET! Most of my dad's gifts I ordered online, but my mom's gifts require shopping in person.

At least it is done now. I shall rest.

Shiny New Toy.

The new laptop is sweet! It arrived about a week ago. What can I say about it? It works! Just having a functional computer that I can use is a nice change of pace compared to the last month or so. The fact it runs modern software is nice. Modern antivirus softwares are such system hogs the old laptop couldn't handle it. Now I can run a scan in the background and continue on with my work and online play.

I haven't had a chance to see how fast it is yet. Word docs open up pretty quickly though. Perhaps I'll load up a game around Christmas and blow stuff up quickly. The biggest was figuring out how to hook up my old printer. New laptops don't have parallel ports anymore. Luckily Printer/USB converter cables do exist. At $15 quite a steal too. Now why did the printer driver load up in Spanish?

How Not To Start A Trial.

I hate having a jury trial dumped in my lap with slightly more than 2 weeks notice. Oh great. The last time I did a trial was my trial prep class a few years ago. On the plus side I've been teamed up with a senior attorney. I have help and guidance through this journey. Am I nervous? Hell yes! Do I know what I'm doing? Hell no!

Needless to say I would like to think I would have prepped a few things in the file differently had I been given it earlier. I would like to think I would have gotten some evidence ahead of time. Getting medical records is a pain. Do we need an actual medical witness or can we just use the records? Getting a medical witness around the holiday season is beyond pain. Many doctors love to take long vacations this time of year.

Why the hell did this case not plead? Is there any legitimate reason that will allow me to get a continuance until after the holidays? Bloody hell what are the rules of evidence again? Oh this will be a learning experience, but can I get some justice out of it?

Special Powers Can Be So Much Fun.

It's always good to have dinner with friends in downtown Big City. Working in Small Town is nice, but it has no friggin' culture at all. We left the Irish pub stuffed from Shepard's Pie and beer. Some of us, those without children, decided to head up a few blocks to a martini bar. The cold November air was nice. It made a nice counterpoint to my slightly beered up and warm condition.

Our conversation went something like this:
Friend: So Wolfrham congrats on the job. Does this mean you can arrest people now?

Me: Yeah, one of my special powers is that I CAN ARREST PEOPLE NOW!

About 10 feet in front of us two young black males, age 18-25, stopped what they were doing and looked around. The three of us walked right by.

Me: OMG! Did those two black guys just stop when I said I can arrest people?

Friend: YES! That was pretty cool. You should say that again loudly so we can see what people likely are troublemakers.

Christmas Comes The Day After Thanksgiving.

I bought my laptop before going back to school. It was a factory refurbished model to save a little money. The laptop is well over 5 years old and I wouldn't be surprised it it was 6 years old. In laptop years that is ancient. A 800 MHz Celeron with 384 MB of RAM (memory) simply can't handle modern antivirus software or modern webpages. If I could run an antivirus program without bringing the laptop to a grinding halt I would try to postpone buying a new laptop. The money isn't quite there for a decent replacement.

However what was 'old reliable' in law school is now quickly dying. While Dells kept dying among my classmates my Gateway hummed along. This week I had to salvage my data to an external hard drive and reformat and reinstall Windows. This is the second time in six months I've done that. While not chattering currently, I hear the hard drive chattering excessively this week. A few times this week Windows has booted up and shut down in the span of an hour instead of a few minutes. The Gateway is on life support even with my best tricks.

The internet is a beautiful thing. I brought up the websites for Gateway, Dell, and HP. Laptop shopping is like shopping for a car: you'll never get a true apples to apples comparison. It took some time but I managed to configure a laptop from each that was roughly the same. The Gateway I liked ended up $200 more than the HP. The Dell I created was $50 more than the HP. The HP had what I viewed as a superior processor, a new Core 2 Duo from Intel. It was the slowest version of that most current chip, but it is the most current tech out there. The HP had a separate video card with 128MB RAM so it wouldn't share memory with the system. A free upgrade to a 120GB hard drive. Built-in wireless LAN, USB 2.0 ports, and 2GB RAM so Microsuck Windows Vista will run nicely. Holy crap it was a great laptop! I'm amazed at the amount of hardware you can get for well under $1,000 these days. Even with shipping and handling it's still a 3 figure deal.

The killer part is my parents decided to make it my Christmas present. I was speechless. I give my parents grief at times. They love me but don't understand how my world works. The legal world and my life is so different than their simpler world. But they love me and they want to see me happy. I wish I could say a material possession like a new laptop isn't the key to my happiness, but right now it is. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Black Friday

No way in Hell am I going out near a shopping mall or a strip mall with a large big box like Best Buy or Buy More today.

Shopping online is my friend.