Monday, January 30, 2006

A Day in the Life of a New Lawyer

First off, Vegas was great...and I will write more about it later. But I don't have much time, so I thought I would share a page from the day-to-day "Lawyers" calendar that my mom got me for my birthday (Super Bowl Sunday, thankyouverymuch):

From Actual Court Records

Judge: Please begin.

Counsel: Thank you. (to witness) Miss, while you have, if you do have--you still--oh, you don't.

Judge: That was a great start, Counsel.


Yup. That pretty much sums it up.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Random Items for Discussion...

- I went to see "Brokeback Mountain" on Saturday with the other female attorney in my office. The best two words to describe it are "beautiful" and "heartbreaking." Beautiful = the scenery, the actors (yum.), and the love affair. Heartbreaking = the story of two people who had a love affair lasting over twenty years, but because of hatred and close-mindedness, were forced to live apart. I will not wax poetic about this movie, because, well, I don't write like that. But, needless to say, it was excellent and I recommend it to everyone.

- I am leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow with said female attorney who is a partner at the firm and practice in the same area as I do, as well as my mentor, the attorney who forever is torturing Amanda with his brilliant legal arguments. We are attending a conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Lake Las Vegas. The topic is Civil Rights & Governmental Liability - from a defense perspective - which is goodb b/c about 85 percent of practice consists section 1983 claims against the police department here in town. The seminar is Thursday and Friday, but we are staying through Sunday....YAY! I have never been to Vegas...any suggestions of what to do? We are going to Delmonico's (Emeril's steakhouse) one night for dinner, we are going to see "Mamma Mia" another night...should be a good time. So, if I am not blogging this week, you will know why.

- A wallpaper and paint crew is coming in tomorrow to remove the wallpaper and paint my office. I cannot tell you how excited I am about it. I am having it painted a lovely shade of gold. I will finally then be able to put up my certificates and diplomas and such!

- Quincy is doing well in his new home. His big sister, Bela, has decided he can stay and has taken to torturing him on a daily basis. She loves having a playmate. However, on more than one occasion this week I have made the comment that the reason Quincy has been allowed to live is because he is cute. He recently chewed up my new glasses...300 dollars down the crapper....almost as much as the dog. Oh, and he has worse gas than my husband...and that is saying a lot. I'm just sayin'.

I will fill you in on my Vegas adventures when I return!

Monday, January 23, 2006

Fours...

Thanks to Amanda for the tag, b/c I (like Robin) enjoy such things...
Oh, and sorry, H - for my mad "no one loves me" rant. :)

Four Jobs You've Had
(1) Singer/Dancer - Decatur Park Singers
I spent the summer after my freshman year in college singing and dancing my way through the Midwest. I was part of a 16 member perfoming group with full backup band. We traveled throughout Illinois and Missouri putting on a one to two hour shows at the local fairs and festivals in order to raise money for the Decatur Park District. Most shows were outside in the blistering sun of the day, or the terrible humidity of the evening. I swallowed about 300 bugs that summer. I lost about 30 pounds. I met amazing and interesting musicians from all over the country. It was probably one of the best summers of my life.

(2) Camp Counselor- "Camp I Can"/ Music Instructor - "Summer Arts Jamboree"
As part of the Decatur Park Singers program, all of the performers were required to have summer jobs through the Park District. Some were vocal directors and choreographers for elementary school-age performing groups (Best of Summer Stock), some were on crew and one girl was on laundry duty (she washed all our costumes). Another singer and I were assigned to Camp I Can and Summer Arts Jamboree. Camp I Can was a day camp for kids with special needs, aged 5-12. We did swimming and water safety, arts & crafts, and hippotherapy (horseback riding). We had kids with autism, Down's syndrome, and other afflictions. It was a difficult job, but extremely rewarding in the end. The second half of the summer, I taught music and dance at Summer Arts Jamboree, a day camp for kids with special needs, aged 13-21. There, the kids did art projects, took dance and music classes. This job proved to be much more difficult b/c the kids were required to perform on the last day of the Jamboree. That meant we had to find something that these kids could do. I had one kid sing "Crocodile Rock" while wearing a crocodile costume. One of my favorites, Ty, sang "I just can't wait to be king" from Lion King, while wearing the cutest lion suit ever. It took an enormous amount of effort to make accomodations for those kids who were wheelchair bound, or unable to communicate at all. I was probably at my most creative that summer!

(3) Barista - MT Cup
I worked at the MT Cup coffee cart at Ball Memorial Hospital while in college at Ball State. I loved working there b/c I got to know many of the doctors and their very particular orders. Many days I felt more like a bartender than a coffee cart girl - those persons who had relatives and friends in the hospital would come and talk to me about their lives while ordering up a latte or cappucino. It was certainly an interesting experience. And to this day, I still know how to make a "Milky Way."

(4) Sixth Grade Teacher
Well, that kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? After all, we have all been in sixth grade. I taught at a small, poor, rural elementary school in Delaware County. I loved my students. For the most part, they were a complete joy. They were at the age when they were just starting to come into who they were as people - they were sensitive and smart and funny as hell. I miss it to this day. But I certainly don't miss the paycheck!

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
This is another tough one, as I am a movie junkie - and love to watch them over and over again!
So I will pick four groups of movies!
(1) John Hughes movies - especially "Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink"
(2) Jane Austen movie adaptations - especially "Pride & Prejudice" (Colin Firth, the true Mr. Darcy) and "Sense & Sensibility"
(3) Films where Vince Vaughn cracks me up (i.e. "Dodgeball" & "Anchorman")
(4) Legal thrillers ("A Few Good Men," "The Firm" & "Pelican Brief")

Four Places You've Lived
(1) Collinsville, Illinois
(2) Mount Zion, Illinois
(3) Muncie, Indiana
(4) Fort Wayne, Indiana
- I am a Midwestern girl!

Four TV Shows You Like to Watch
(1) House
(2) Gilmore Girls
(3) Criminal Minds
(4) City Confidential

Four Places You've Been on Vacation
(1) Hong Kong
(2) Grand Cayman
(3) Disney World - a lot...three times in the past year.
(4) the Bahamas

Four Websites You Visit Daily
(1) My favorite blogs
(2) Television Without Pity
(3) Google
(4) Westlaw (I am a nerd.)

Four of Your Favorite Foods
(1) Mashed Potatoes
(2) Anything Italian
(3) Bread and Butter (real butter)
(4) Wine (as Amanda said, it is a food....sort of)

Four Places You'd Rather Be
(1) Home under a blanket reading a book.
(2) At my parents' house.
(3) On a cruise.
(4) Back in Hong Kong, at my in-laws' flat.

Four Albums You Can't Live Without
(1) Barenaked Ladies "Rock Spectacle"
(2) John Mayer "Room for Squares" (It got me through law school)
(3) Bela Fleck & the Flecktones "Live at the Quick" (It got me through the bar!)
(4) It is a three way tie....either Alison Krauss & Union Station's Live Album, "Wicked the Musical," or any compilation album of James Taylor's.

Four People to Tag
...yeah, I got nothin'. They've all been tagged!

Friday, January 20, 2006

A few items of TV note....

(1) I watched "Dancing with the Stars" last night. I think I am in love with that Keebler wrestler chick ...seriously. Her legs alone are taller than me...and what grace! I was impressed.

(2) I DV-R'ed the Golden Globes and just watched them. Now, I know you are thinking, what the hell? The results have already been published, why the hell would you want to watch them now? Well, duh. Fast-forward capabilities. No one cares about "Best Foreign Film" or who is this year's "Miss Golden Globes." I wanted to see the cluster f*ck acceptance speeches (Sandra Oh - god love her.), the tears-inspiring acceptance speeches (S. Epatha Merkerson and Felicity Huffman), and the rather clever acceptance speeches (Steve Carell and Hugh Laurie - two of my favorite guys from two of my favorite shows). Oh yeah, and I wanted to see Drew Barrymore's dress.

(Is there a lesbian theme going here or what?)

(3) Speaking of Sandra Oh - I have just recently began watching "Grey's Anatomy." What a great show! Clever, interesting, and, well, Patrick Dempsey is fab. But does anyone else think that that Ellen Pompeo chick (the "Grey" in Grey's Anatomy) looks like a bizarro Renee Zellweger. Very odd, indeed.

(4) I am hating the whole "April" storyline on "Gilmore Girls" - either get married or don't, Luke & Lorelai, I am getting bored. Where's Christopher when I need him? But does anyone else think that Sherilyn Fenn looks like a bizarro Lauren Graham? Also, quite odd.

(5) Finally, I DV-R'ed "Love Monkey" with Tom Cavanagh and Jason Priestley, but have not had a chance to watch it yet. Is it worth my time and my DV-R space?????

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Goodbye, Noah and Samantha...

...and Professor Cooper, who announced his retirement from the blogging world.

As Kelly said, Professor Cooper introduced our first year Civ Pro class to the concept of blogging and many of us have been thoroughly hooked since that day!

Best wishes, Professor!

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Meet Bela's new baby brother....















Quincy "Bones" P.

Quincy, or "the Q," as Mr. P. calls him, is a 16 pound three month old whippet puppy. He enjoys chewing, napping, and annoying the hell out of his big sister, Bela. We are quite excited that he is part of our household - although, right now, it feels a bit like we live in a zoo!

(For the origins of his names, see the below post about the campy and fabulous 70's TV show.)

Thursday, January 12, 2006

A random email from my dear friend J

Subject line: high school dance music

I wonder if they play romantic tunes like "Only a Woman" from the Team America soundtrack (a holiday gift I got this year)?


I like rain, I like ham

I like you
You're around, you're right here
So you'll do.

Yep, he's nuts.

(Amanda, this is from the same guy who said "What else is there to do in Sandusky but smoke crack and ride rides?" Truer words were never spoken.)

Oh yeah...

Check out the new Dave Attell quote....

You all know what he is talking about.

Especially you.

No, not him.

You.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

A Million Little Pieces of Bullsh*t

Amanda has a really good post about James Frey's supposed memoir, A Million Little Pieces. I have not read the book yet, but find her post to be brilliantly written and expresses much of the same thoughts that I have regarding the topic.

I still want to read the book - but I am sure that the book will certainly have a distinctively different impact on me now that I know what is most likely the truth versus what is wildly exaggerated half-truths and outright lies.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Incognito.

A big apology to my three readers. Things have been a bit busy here at my end. The other female (yep, there were only two female associates...and one female partner, in a firm of 30.... good times) and I have been stuck with the many messes she has left behind...one of them being a potential motion to compel if I don't get some discovery to plaintiff's counsel this month (yeah, they sent it to her in May...MAY, people!). Grrrrrrrr.

So, besides work, my time has been consumed with deciding on what breed of dog to get to keep Bela company....so far I have it narrowed down to a miniature schnauzer, a Labradoodle, or a whippet. The last one comes at the suggestion of my boss who has one of his own and loves it. Plus, it meets all my criteria: no barking, no shedding, low maintenance and kind of a couch potato...and that is the whippet. So we will see. The only problem with the whippet that I can see so far is that, every time I say the breed name, I sing the silly "Whip It!" song. Maybe I will name the dog "Devo." Hmmmmm....

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

"Gentlemen, what you are about to witness is the most fascinating sphere of police work - the world of Forensic Medicine..."

This weekend I went to Best Buy and bought Seasons 1 & 2 of Quincy M.E. on DVD.

I have almost watched all 16 episodes. My favorite so far is the episode where Quincy jump-starts a guy's heart with an extension cord and some Crisco.

I love Jack Klugman, with or without his voice box.

Seriously.

Stop laughing.