So the team leader and the lady who sits next to me and I did a little calculating today and figured out that with the number of documents we have to review, the number of attorneys on the project, and the speed we're going, there is NO WAY this job is going to last two weeks. I'm a little torn as to when I hope it ends exactly. Because if it ends Friday then I can go to Boston this weekend after all. But if it ends Saturday or Sunday then that's some extra time and a half pay hours. I figure if it really is going to end early, then they might as well tell us for sure by Friday so we can start lining up work for next week (and I'm hoping it's just that easy, although I have my doubts). And if it's going to end, well by all means, let me go to Boston at least since I won't be getting the 2 weeks of phat money I was expecting. Mama needs some lovin' with a letdown like that.
The team leader guy gave me the name of his contact at another staffing agency. They are apparently ramping up for more stuff too, so I'm hoping my myriad of agencies, plus this new one, can keep me busy in the coming weeks.
Your mind goes weird places sometimes when you're just sitting there for hours. For one, has anyone else ever noticed how the Cure has REALLY long song intros? Jason burned 2 Cure CDs for me and I promptly put them on my iPod so they're in heavy rotation now. Every time a Cure song comes on (except the ones I know from the radio) after about 2 minutes I start thinking, "Well, maybe it's an instrumental" and just as I go to skip it, Robert Smith starts singing. Every single song.
Another thing I've discovered is why my mom calls me Tigger. It's not that I'm really hyper exactly, just that there's a lot of energy pent up in me that makes me feel like I'm going to leap out of my skin if I don't move around enough. When I was small, my parents bought me a tiny little trampoline so I could bounce while we were watching TV. Now whenever my mom sees that caged wild animal look in my eyes because I've been still for too long she'll say, "Boing boing boing!"
Document review is not very conducive to soothing my savage beast, as it were. By the time I'm on the bus back to my apartment I feel like I could leap up and run up and down the aisle about 20 times. As it is I get off of the bus early so I'll have a longer walk home and then I throw on my workout clothes and turn on Denise Austin. Today it was a bit of kickboxing and abs (and my abs are SORE).
The money is great, but I really don't think I could do this full-time like some people in DC do. I need a real job. I know I'll be at a desk most of the time, but it's not the same. The firm I was at before had me running around a lot of the time, and that's how I like it.
So document review is good for self-discovery apparently. Padding the bank account a bit and self-discovery. They should have me write the ads.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Document Review Awards of the Day
It's funny what you come across during document review. Generally the documents in this case so far have been boring, tedious, and other words that mean something fills me with ennuis.
Every so often, though, something will pop up that makes for interesting reading.
Best term for blue-collar folk as quoted in a press release: Joe and Mary Lunchbucket
Best conversation sent over corporate email: two employees discussing whether they would train together for the upcoming half marathon, with one of them obviously over-impressed at the other's running prowess.
Best document ever: a single page with the word "HELP" in large letters across the top. I thought about printing it out and affixing it to the window.
For more interesting reading, I would refer you to Maria and Miss Nemesis's blogs about what not to say to single people. They're a hoot.
Every so often, though, something will pop up that makes for interesting reading.
Best term for blue-collar folk as quoted in a press release: Joe and Mary Lunchbucket
Best conversation sent over corporate email: two employees discussing whether they would train together for the upcoming half marathon, with one of them obviously over-impressed at the other's running prowess.
Best document ever: a single page with the word "HELP" in large letters across the top. I thought about printing it out and affixing it to the window.
For more interesting reading, I would refer you to Maria and Miss Nemesis's blogs about what not to say to single people. They're a hoot.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Wishing I Could Sleep Right
First off, my job got postponed. Well, actually we went in Friday, got all orientated, did 3-4 hours of document review, and then the person in charge from the firm realized the vendor had entered all the information into the system incorrectly. They told us to go home, take the weekend off, and come back Monday. So this fabulously paying job I was supposed to start last Tuesday has been postponed to Monday and I'm now just really hoping it happens Monday. I was expecting to have at least 3 days of pay coming to me this Thursday and now I only have 1 and money is getting tight because, you know, I haven't worked for an entire week basically. Kind of annoying. Kind of stressful. Thus the sleeping issues.
No matter when I go to sleep lately, my brain is waking me up at 5 or 6 AM. Yesterday it was 5 AM. Since I was rolling around all these thoughts about paying bills and getting organized, I just got up and paid the bills and started to get organized. Then I got online and emailed my resume out to a couple of people and did some job searching. Have I mentioned that no one wants to hire new attorneys? Yeah, they still don't.
5 hours later I managed to fall back asleep for a couple of hours.
Last night I went to sleep at about 2 AM and dutifully set my alarm for 9 so I could get up in time to have a nice leisurely shower and breakfast before church. My churning and whirling brain woke me up at 6 AM. This time I was thinking about money, but also moving. I'm trying really hard to not think about the fact that I have to move in 2 months until it gets much closer, but that whole putting off the thinking about it thing isn't really working. Because I'm a worrier. I'm also a planner. This is a bad combination when for the last 6 months or so there has been no way to have a concrete plan in my life. Everything is up in the air. Job, where I'm going to live, money.
I sent in a deferment for one of my loans yesterday and in my explanation as to why I couldn't make payments yet I basically said that my income is sporadic and over the last 6 months I've worked an average of 2 out of every 4 weeks. That sucks and also explains why I'm constantly calculating and recalculating my checking account balance with the bill payments due and strategically planning when to pay what in order to ensure that I don't get overdrawn.
I'm so tired of this. I just want a job that pays me enough to live my life and pay down my student loans. At this point, as an attorney, I never thought it would be this hard. I wonder if I'm the only person from my class at my school who is having this hard of a time. It seems like it. Everyone I knew well enough to discuss future plans with either had something lined up at graduation, or has since found something. I realize that my job search has been kind of sketchy due to my being unsure about where to look, but now that I'm focusing more definitely on Boston, I just worry that there still won't be anything, because so far, there just isn't anything.
No matter when I go to sleep lately, my brain is waking me up at 5 or 6 AM. Yesterday it was 5 AM. Since I was rolling around all these thoughts about paying bills and getting organized, I just got up and paid the bills and started to get organized. Then I got online and emailed my resume out to a couple of people and did some job searching. Have I mentioned that no one wants to hire new attorneys? Yeah, they still don't.
5 hours later I managed to fall back asleep for a couple of hours.
Last night I went to sleep at about 2 AM and dutifully set my alarm for 9 so I could get up in time to have a nice leisurely shower and breakfast before church. My churning and whirling brain woke me up at 6 AM. This time I was thinking about money, but also moving. I'm trying really hard to not think about the fact that I have to move in 2 months until it gets much closer, but that whole putting off the thinking about it thing isn't really working. Because I'm a worrier. I'm also a planner. This is a bad combination when for the last 6 months or so there has been no way to have a concrete plan in my life. Everything is up in the air. Job, where I'm going to live, money.
I sent in a deferment for one of my loans yesterday and in my explanation as to why I couldn't make payments yet I basically said that my income is sporadic and over the last 6 months I've worked an average of 2 out of every 4 weeks. That sucks and also explains why I'm constantly calculating and recalculating my checking account balance with the bill payments due and strategically planning when to pay what in order to ensure that I don't get overdrawn.
I'm so tired of this. I just want a job that pays me enough to live my life and pay down my student loans. At this point, as an attorney, I never thought it would be this hard. I wonder if I'm the only person from my class at my school who is having this hard of a time. It seems like it. Everyone I knew well enough to discuss future plans with either had something lined up at graduation, or has since found something. I realize that my job search has been kind of sketchy due to my being unsure about where to look, but now that I'm focusing more definitely on Boston, I just worry that there still won't be anything, because so far, there just isn't anything.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
**My First Car Accident**
(I thought some little hearts and flowers around the subject line would be appropriate a la a children's book like My First Trip to the Zoo or My First Pee-Pee in the Big Potty, but I don't know if there is an html way to do hearts and flowers so the asterisks will just have to do)
So I got in my first car accident today. Well, if you don't count the time I tapped a minivan in high school causing no damage to either car, which only formerly-Santa-Cruz-now-Cambridge Jenn knows about since she was there. Interestingly enough, this scenario played out just like the experience in high school. Basically, I got rear-ended because the lady thought I was turning, looked over her shoulder to check traffic, and turned back around to see that I hadn't turned and she was too late to stop. I've almost done the same thing forty-seven thousand times myself (including once last night in Jason's car. Shhh! Don't tell him!)
The bump was pretty hard and once it dawned on me that I had been hit, I started shaking. I'm not hurt at all and Bunny only has some scratches, but I didn't stop shaking until 10 minutes after I drove away. The lady asked if we could take care of it outside of insurance, which is fine with me and my high deductible. She's a colonel in the Army so I figure she's fairly trustworthy.
And now I'm going to watch a Netflix movie and maybe take a nap because I caught the 6:40 flight out of Boston this morning. No, actually I was supposed to catch the 6:40 flight, but fog in DC delayed us until 8:30, which just makes me wish there was some way they could know that before I get to the airport so that I could have slept for another hour or two.
So I got in my first car accident today. Well, if you don't count the time I tapped a minivan in high school causing no damage to either car, which only formerly-Santa-Cruz-now-Cambridge Jenn knows about since she was there. Interestingly enough, this scenario played out just like the experience in high school. Basically, I got rear-ended because the lady thought I was turning, looked over her shoulder to check traffic, and turned back around to see that I hadn't turned and she was too late to stop. I've almost done the same thing forty-seven thousand times myself (including once last night in Jason's car. Shhh! Don't tell him!)
The bump was pretty hard and once it dawned on me that I had been hit, I started shaking. I'm not hurt at all and Bunny only has some scratches, but I didn't stop shaking until 10 minutes after I drove away. The lady asked if we could take care of it outside of insurance, which is fine with me and my high deductible. She's a colonel in the Army so I figure she's fairly trustworthy.
And now I'm going to watch a Netflix movie and maybe take a nap because I caught the 6:40 flight out of Boston this morning. No, actually I was supposed to catch the 6:40 flight, but fog in DC delayed us until 8:30, which just makes me wish there was some way they could know that before I get to the airport so that I could have slept for another hour or two.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Still in Boston
Despite the high winds and all, I did make it to Boston Friday night. I actually left for the airport a little early considering my flight wasn't supposed to leave until 11, and I'm really glad I did. I walked up to the gate at 9:30 and suddenly they're announcing that they're boarding my flight. Yippee! Of course we didn't actually take off until 10:30, but somehow being on the plane at 9:45 made me feel like I was actually going to get to Boston that night.
Jet Blue is my new favorite airline, by the way. Especially on the leg between DC and Boston because they fly these smaller planes that have rows of two seats on both sides, which means everyone gets an aisle or a window. No poopy middle seats! Opa!
They also have Direct TV so the latest VH1 80's countdown can distract me from any turbulence and the fact that when flying into Boston you're over water until about 5 seconds before the plane touches down. Whoever decided it would be a great idea to have the runways jutting out into the Harbor was wrong.
Jason and I went out to dinner Saturday night for a late Valentine's Day/early Anniversary celebration. We had our first date 6 months ago yesterday. It's weird because for the longest time I felt like we had been dating a lot longer than we had. Like at 2 weeks or a month I could have sworn we'd been together for 6 months already. Now suddenly I don't really feel like we've been together that long. Especially as I consider my tentative plan of moving back to Boston in 6 months or so. By that point we would be up to a year of dating. But 6 months doesn't really seem so far away and still doesn't feel like we would have been dating that long. I don't really have an explanation for my changed perspective except for the fact that time is funny sometimes.
I got a call from the staffing agency yesterday telling me my job was postponed until Friday morning instead of this morning (Tuesday). I figured I could either go home and do job research or I could stay here and do job research AND catch a glimpse of Jason in the morning and at night as he dashed in between his apartment and work. The second option sounded more fun and would actually result in my getting back a little of the money I spent to change my ticket so I could leave Monday night instead of Tuesday morning (once again, I heart Jet Blue. So easy and cheap.)
Instead of doing much job research today though, I've actually spent most of the day cleaning. Well, cleaning and cuddling with the cat. Tiny is very snuggly. Part of the reason I cleaned is the one I told Jason's brother this morning and for which he thinks I'm a magnanimous and generous woman: to say thank you for letting me stay here. The other part of the reason is not so magnanimous, but since I can place the blame squarely on my mom I don't feel like too much of a twit for it. The other part of the reason is because they're boys and their place is kind of dirty and I've been coming here for 6 months and it just seems to get worse and my fingers were itching to clean the bathroom. Itching, I tell you! I would just like to say again that it's all my mother's fault. She taught me to clean young, and she taught me to clean well. Not that you can tell by my apartment excatly. I try to be clean, but I usually wind up with piles all over the place that my mother would never stand for. But sometimes the mood strikes and I just scour and disinfect and deodorize in a manner that would make her proud.
Jet Blue is my new favorite airline, by the way. Especially on the leg between DC and Boston because they fly these smaller planes that have rows of two seats on both sides, which means everyone gets an aisle or a window. No poopy middle seats! Opa!
They also have Direct TV so the latest VH1 80's countdown can distract me from any turbulence and the fact that when flying into Boston you're over water until about 5 seconds before the plane touches down. Whoever decided it would be a great idea to have the runways jutting out into the Harbor was wrong.
Jason and I went out to dinner Saturday night for a late Valentine's Day/early Anniversary celebration. We had our first date 6 months ago yesterday. It's weird because for the longest time I felt like we had been dating a lot longer than we had. Like at 2 weeks or a month I could have sworn we'd been together for 6 months already. Now suddenly I don't really feel like we've been together that long. Especially as I consider my tentative plan of moving back to Boston in 6 months or so. By that point we would be up to a year of dating. But 6 months doesn't really seem so far away and still doesn't feel like we would have been dating that long. I don't really have an explanation for my changed perspective except for the fact that time is funny sometimes.
I got a call from the staffing agency yesterday telling me my job was postponed until Friday morning instead of this morning (Tuesday). I figured I could either go home and do job research or I could stay here and do job research AND catch a glimpse of Jason in the morning and at night as he dashed in between his apartment and work. The second option sounded more fun and would actually result in my getting back a little of the money I spent to change my ticket so I could leave Monday night instead of Tuesday morning (once again, I heart Jet Blue. So easy and cheap.)
Instead of doing much job research today though, I've actually spent most of the day cleaning. Well, cleaning and cuddling with the cat. Tiny is very snuggly. Part of the reason I cleaned is the one I told Jason's brother this morning and for which he thinks I'm a magnanimous and generous woman: to say thank you for letting me stay here. The other part of the reason is not so magnanimous, but since I can place the blame squarely on my mom I don't feel like too much of a twit for it. The other part of the reason is because they're boys and their place is kind of dirty and I've been coming here for 6 months and it just seems to get worse and my fingers were itching to clean the bathroom. Itching, I tell you! I would just like to say again that it's all my mother's fault. She taught me to clean young, and she taught me to clean well. Not that you can tell by my apartment excatly. I try to be clean, but I usually wind up with piles all over the place that my mother would never stand for. But sometimes the mood strikes and I just scour and disinfect and deodorize in a manner that would make her proud.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Traveling
Everyone send some good vibes to the weather/travel gods on my behalf. My flight tonight is delayed 2 hours as of right now and I'm hoping it doesn't get delayed much more or they might cancel it altogether. And this weekend is the last time I get to see Jason for a month {whine whine whine}.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Good News!
I got a contract attorney job! It starts next week. It's going to be a killer. 2 weeks, 7 days a week, 10 hours a day.
Yeah.
Here are the benefits:
PHAT paycheck! (It requires the "ph". I'm sorry, but it just does)
Document review experience, which will make me more marketable for future document review projects.
The downside (besides being really really REALLY tired) is I have to cut my trip to Boston this weekend a little short. I also have to cancel my trip to Boston for the first weekend of March. This just pretty much solidifies for me that if I want things to work out with Jason, I need to move back to Boston. We actually talked a little about that last night. He's working a lot this coming semester, and will always have kind of a random schedule now and in the future what with doing research and such. No matter what job I end up getting, I'm sure I'll be working some long hours and won't be able to really plan to take off every other weekend. In order to keep this relationship from fizzling out, I think we need to be in the same city where we can work around each other's schedules. And since I'm the more mobile of the two of us...
I sent out some more networking emails today and have a couple of phone call appointments set up. Plus, I have some more people to contact from some initial Boston networking over the past couple of weeks. I only need to find one person who knows of one employer who wants to hire me. I just have to find that person and I hope I'm going about it the right way.
If you can't tell, I'm feeling a little better today. I have had more extreme highs and lows over the past 6 months than I think I ever have before. I'd really like to get a job and feel semi-balanced emotionally for once.
************************
Oh right, Happy Valentine's Day! As someone who has spent all but two prior Valentine's Days alone, I don't generally pay much homage to this day. However, there was an abundant supply of chocolate at work, which I admit to indulging in, and my boss gave all of his women little quilted coin purses (in my office there is my boss, a 59-year old Jewish man who likes to sprinkle his conversation liberally with Yiddish exclamations, and there are 4 20-something women, all of us sassy. I think he's trying to build his own force of Charlie's Angels).
You know the trendy quilted coin purses I'm talking about. You know the ones.
I ranted about this in an email earlier, but could someone please tell me what is up with the quilted bags. I'm okay with the tiny little ones, but does anyone else find it rather incongruous to see the super-chic, urban 20-somethings dressed in their Ann Taylor toting around giant countrified, chintzy quilted bags?
Yeah.
Here are the benefits:
PHAT paycheck! (It requires the "ph". I'm sorry, but it just does)
Document review experience, which will make me more marketable for future document review projects.
The downside (besides being really really REALLY tired) is I have to cut my trip to Boston this weekend a little short. I also have to cancel my trip to Boston for the first weekend of March. This just pretty much solidifies for me that if I want things to work out with Jason, I need to move back to Boston. We actually talked a little about that last night. He's working a lot this coming semester, and will always have kind of a random schedule now and in the future what with doing research and such. No matter what job I end up getting, I'm sure I'll be working some long hours and won't be able to really plan to take off every other weekend. In order to keep this relationship from fizzling out, I think we need to be in the same city where we can work around each other's schedules. And since I'm the more mobile of the two of us...
I sent out some more networking emails today and have a couple of phone call appointments set up. Plus, I have some more people to contact from some initial Boston networking over the past couple of weeks. I only need to find one person who knows of one employer who wants to hire me. I just have to find that person and I hope I'm going about it the right way.
If you can't tell, I'm feeling a little better today. I have had more extreme highs and lows over the past 6 months than I think I ever have before. I'd really like to get a job and feel semi-balanced emotionally for once.
************************
Oh right, Happy Valentine's Day! As someone who has spent all but two prior Valentine's Days alone, I don't generally pay much homage to this day. However, there was an abundant supply of chocolate at work, which I admit to indulging in, and my boss gave all of his women little quilted coin purses (in my office there is my boss, a 59-year old Jewish man who likes to sprinkle his conversation liberally with Yiddish exclamations, and there are 4 20-something women, all of us sassy. I think he's trying to build his own force of Charlie's Angels).
You know the trendy quilted coin purses I'm talking about. You know the ones.
I ranted about this in an email earlier, but could someone please tell me what is up with the quilted bags. I'm okay with the tiny little ones, but does anyone else find it rather incongruous to see the super-chic, urban 20-somethings dressed in their Ann Taylor toting around giant countrified, chintzy quilted bags?
Monday, February 13, 2006
Hyperventilating A Bit
I just found out that the lease on my apartment is up May 1, not June 1 like I thought. That's only 2 1/2 months!
Plus, one of my roommates just informed me that they basically only want to re-sign this lease with someone who is definitely going to be here the whole year. Which I can't promise, of course.
I was hoping that maybe I could stretch it out here through the end of the summer at least, hopefully get some contract attorney work and save some money/pay off some debts/set aside a bit to move back to Boston. Now I'm DC Bar pending, but I'm still getting the same line from the staffing agencies that I did before I was DC Bar pending. Basically, "thanks for letting us know you're still out there" and then silence. So what exactly did I pay $700 for?
No one in Boston who I've talked to has heard about ANY jobs. Plus, despite my having the impression that the DC market was somewhat better, one of my roommates just told me she probably knows of 30 or so people who have moved out here with law degrees in the past year, only to move back to where they came from 8 months or so later because they couldn't break into the DC legal scene.
WHY did I go to law school?! Am I really this big of an idiot to be 29 and to have completely ruined my life with debt and useless degrees?
Plus, one of my roommates just informed me that they basically only want to re-sign this lease with someone who is definitely going to be here the whole year. Which I can't promise, of course.
I was hoping that maybe I could stretch it out here through the end of the summer at least, hopefully get some contract attorney work and save some money/pay off some debts/set aside a bit to move back to Boston. Now I'm DC Bar pending, but I'm still getting the same line from the staffing agencies that I did before I was DC Bar pending. Basically, "thanks for letting us know you're still out there" and then silence. So what exactly did I pay $700 for?
No one in Boston who I've talked to has heard about ANY jobs. Plus, despite my having the impression that the DC market was somewhat better, one of my roommates just told me she probably knows of 30 or so people who have moved out here with law degrees in the past year, only to move back to where they came from 8 months or so later because they couldn't break into the DC legal scene.
WHY did I go to law school?! Am I really this big of an idiot to be 29 and to have completely ruined my life with debt and useless degrees?
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Bwahahahaha!
I just commented on someone's blog and the super-secret password to okay my comment was "ant pie." Hee hee.
I'm in Boston and it's snowing like crazy outside. They've upped the estimates from 8-12 inches to 16-24 inches. I just checked the FAA site and the Boston airport isn't closed so I probably will really be leaving tomorrow morning despite the weather.
Jason and I just went for a walk in the snow (pictures to follow when he emails them to me) and dug out his car a bit since we figured it would be better to do it now than at 6 AM tomorrow when he has to drive me to the airport. A member of the bishopric of Jason's ward emailed everyone last night and said they would be holding regular church services (I'm guessing they're probably the only ward in the area that did) and that we should follow the guidance of the Spirit to determine whether we should come or not. And, oh yeah, there's no parking on Brattle during a snow emergency so you can't drive to church.
I love those "You don't have to come, but if you really think about it the Spirit will tell you that you should" types of guidance/guilt trips from leadership.
I woke up this morning and looked out the window and told Jason the Spirit was giving me a big "N-O" on the whole church thing. Jason's brother Brandon said that's because I'm influenced by the spirit of evil (lest you all think he's a stick-in-the-mud, he was being sarcastic. He doesn't really think I'm evil. Not completely, at least). Whatever lets me sleep in and stay in my PJ's until 1 while the wind howls and the snow falls sounds like the right spirit to me.
You may wonder why if I'm in Boston I'm blogging rather than sitting on Jason's lap or something obnoxious like that. He's currently in the living room giving his sister lessons in basic Chinese since she leaves on a mission to Taiwan in a month. Yeah, he knows some Chinese. And he speaks Korean and German. And he's a molecular biologist. Have I mentioned how wicked smart he is?
Anyway, my point is, he and I don't have to be joined at the hip the entire time we're together. Only 2/3 of the time.
I'm in Boston and it's snowing like crazy outside. They've upped the estimates from 8-12 inches to 16-24 inches. I just checked the FAA site and the Boston airport isn't closed so I probably will really be leaving tomorrow morning despite the weather.
Jason and I just went for a walk in the snow (pictures to follow when he emails them to me) and dug out his car a bit since we figured it would be better to do it now than at 6 AM tomorrow when he has to drive me to the airport. A member of the bishopric of Jason's ward emailed everyone last night and said they would be holding regular church services (I'm guessing they're probably the only ward in the area that did) and that we should follow the guidance of the Spirit to determine whether we should come or not. And, oh yeah, there's no parking on Brattle during a snow emergency so you can't drive to church.
I love those "You don't have to come, but if you really think about it the Spirit will tell you that you should" types of guidance/guilt trips from leadership.
I woke up this morning and looked out the window and told Jason the Spirit was giving me a big "N-O" on the whole church thing. Jason's brother Brandon said that's because I'm influenced by the spirit of evil (lest you all think he's a stick-in-the-mud, he was being sarcastic. He doesn't really think I'm evil. Not completely, at least). Whatever lets me sleep in and stay in my PJ's until 1 while the wind howls and the snow falls sounds like the right spirit to me.
You may wonder why if I'm in Boston I'm blogging rather than sitting on Jason's lap or something obnoxious like that. He's currently in the living room giving his sister lessons in basic Chinese since she leaves on a mission to Taiwan in a month. Yeah, he knows some Chinese. And he speaks Korean and German. And he's a molecular biologist. Have I mentioned how wicked smart he is?
Anyway, my point is, he and I don't have to be joined at the hip the entire time we're together. Only 2/3 of the time.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Denise Austin Rocks My World
I have finally come to the terms with the fact that due to my lack of morning person-ness, and the utter failure of the Jason and Kelly Need to Get Off the Phone Before Midnight Campaign, I am never ever ever going to be able to get up every morning and exercise before work. It's just not going to happen.
So I have a new plan of attack. Every morning from 7-8 AM, Lifetime (Television for Women) shows 2 episodes of workouts with Denise Austin. I have now begun Tivoing those episodes and will be working out after work. Last night was my first night.
At first I thought Ms. Austin would annoy the crap out of me, frankly. Who wants a perky petite blond in spandex telling them to get up off that couch and exercise already? But I wound up liking her. She seems very sympathetic and I have a sneaking suspicion we could be friends. We could share smoothie recipes and such. She is WAY too upbeat for 7 AM, but at 7 PM she's just great.
And she doesn't mess around. I can already feel inklings of the inner thigh pain that will come to full fruition sometime tomorrow. But it's like she knew that inner thigh pain was exactly what I was looking for in a workout routine. Lots of squats and lunges and things.
**********
On another note, I am so excited about this big blizzard thing!* According to the weather folks it's not supposed to start snowing hard in either DC or Boston until tomorrow, so my flight should go out tonight. Which means that not only will I be able to play in a blizzard**, but I'll be able to cuddle with a boy during a blizzard, which I've never done before, but it sounds like ever so much fun.
* Kudos to whoever gets that movie reference.
** I discovered last year that walking around in the crazy whited-out world of a blizzard is really fun.
So I have a new plan of attack. Every morning from 7-8 AM, Lifetime (Television for Women) shows 2 episodes of workouts with Denise Austin. I have now begun Tivoing those episodes and will be working out after work. Last night was my first night.
At first I thought Ms. Austin would annoy the crap out of me, frankly. Who wants a perky petite blond in spandex telling them to get up off that couch and exercise already? But I wound up liking her. She seems very sympathetic and I have a sneaking suspicion we could be friends. We could share smoothie recipes and such. She is WAY too upbeat for 7 AM, but at 7 PM she's just great.
And she doesn't mess around. I can already feel inklings of the inner thigh pain that will come to full fruition sometime tomorrow. But it's like she knew that inner thigh pain was exactly what I was looking for in a workout routine. Lots of squats and lunges and things.
**********
On another note, I am so excited about this big blizzard thing!* According to the weather folks it's not supposed to start snowing hard in either DC or Boston until tomorrow, so my flight should go out tonight. Which means that not only will I be able to play in a blizzard**, but I'll be able to cuddle with a boy during a blizzard, which I've never done before, but it sounds like ever so much fun.
* Kudos to whoever gets that movie reference.
** I discovered last year that walking around in the crazy whited-out world of a blizzard is really fun.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Advise Me
I am by no means giving up on this whole attorney job search thing. But the truth is, unless you have real experience OR did a 2nd summer associateship OR found something before you left law school, finding a job afterwards is hard. There just aren't a lot of positions out there and it takes a lot of time to search all the job boards and do the extensive networking that is necessary to learn about those top-secret hidden positions. It's hard to dedicate the time when you also have to work a full-time job of some sort to pay for rent and food and silly things like that. If you're in law school, I say do all you can to find a job now.
Anyway, I'm still looking. I haven't exhausted all of my resources yet, not by a long shot. But here's my question: when do I give up and look for something different, admitting that the legal profession has beaten me? What if in a year I still don't have a job as an attorney? What are my other options?
When I was deciding to go to law school and when I was in law school, many people made comments to me to the effect of "Law school is such a great move because there are so many things you can do with a law degree."
Like what?
I am absolutely serious. What do you do with a law degree if you're not a lawyer? I suppose there's consulting if you can get hired. OK, so you can be a lawyer or a consultant. What else? What are my options if I just cannot get anyone to hire me as a real-life lawyer? Also, what are my options that will allow me to pay off my student loans at some point in my life?
Also, why do some people get so fired up about being called an "attorney" versus a "lawyer?"
Anyway, I'm still looking. I haven't exhausted all of my resources yet, not by a long shot. But here's my question: when do I give up and look for something different, admitting that the legal profession has beaten me? What if in a year I still don't have a job as an attorney? What are my other options?
When I was deciding to go to law school and when I was in law school, many people made comments to me to the effect of "Law school is such a great move because there are so many things you can do with a law degree."
Like what?
I am absolutely serious. What do you do with a law degree if you're not a lawyer? I suppose there's consulting if you can get hired. OK, so you can be a lawyer or a consultant. What else? What are my options if I just cannot get anyone to hire me as a real-life lawyer? Also, what are my options that will allow me to pay off my student loans at some point in my life?
Also, why do some people get so fired up about being called an "attorney" versus a "lawyer?"
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Exercise and the Bar
I did it! I got my lazy butt out of bed this morning and exercised. And it only took, um, about 5 weeks from my original planned start date of January 1. I didn't go swim because it was really cold and I am really flabby. No swimsuit for me right now. All my hard work from last summer is gone completely. I am flubbery and soft.
However, I do have a Bar pass to show for all my hard work last summer. Lately some people have been getting here via searches about the Bar so I'm going to tell you all what an attorney told me before I started Barbri and which I totally believe kept me from completely freaking out: work out every day. I usually made it 4-6 times a week during June and July. I would wake up, go swim 60-100 laps, come home and eat breakfast, go to Barbri, come home and eat lunch, study, eat dinner, study/watch TV, sleep, begin again.
My other tip: eat well. Don't eat crap, people. Lots of fruits and veggies, lots of protein, complex carbohydrates only.
I truly believe that taking care of my body primed my mind to take in all the information it needed and to endure for the 2-day test even though I had 2 hours of sleep the night before the MBE (I passed for Massachusetts and did well enough to waive into DC). Not only that, but swimming like a banshee helped me work out the stress that accumulated in all of my muscles during the course of the day. Plus I looked hot when it was all over despite having just taken the Bar.
However, I do have a Bar pass to show for all my hard work last summer. Lately some people have been getting here via searches about the Bar so I'm going to tell you all what an attorney told me before I started Barbri and which I totally believe kept me from completely freaking out: work out every day. I usually made it 4-6 times a week during June and July. I would wake up, go swim 60-100 laps, come home and eat breakfast, go to Barbri, come home and eat lunch, study, eat dinner, study/watch TV, sleep, begin again.
My other tip: eat well. Don't eat crap, people. Lots of fruits and veggies, lots of protein, complex carbohydrates only.
I truly believe that taking care of my body primed my mind to take in all the information it needed and to endure for the 2-day test even though I had 2 hours of sleep the night before the MBE (I passed for Massachusetts and did well enough to waive into DC). Not only that, but swimming like a banshee helped me work out the stress that accumulated in all of my muscles during the course of the day. Plus I looked hot when it was all over despite having just taken the Bar.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Thinking
This post over at Feminist Mormon Housewives on prayer really spoke to me because of how I myself have been struggling with the idea of prayer and answers and such. I've always understood prayer like I think most Mormons are taught to. You pray about something, you get your answer (burning in bosom or stupor of thought), you move forward in your life based on that answer.
Lately things aren't so cut and dry for me. I question the answers I thought I had received a lot lately. Other times I don't feel like there's any dialogue going on at all and that it's just me throwing out my hopes and needs to God without feeling anything in return.
There are several things that I'm not really understanding and am mulling over right now.
One, moving to DC felt so right. I really wanted to make the right decision. I made it with a lot of earnest prayer and a lot of looking in all places for answers to be sure it was right. Then I met Jason four days before I moved here. After our marathon first date when I recognized the connection we had and couldn't wait to see him again the next day and was already trying to figure out how to make that happen and wondering how desperate I would seem and deciding whether I should email him or call him, I remember saying my nightly prayers and asking God, "What EXACTLY am I supposed to do with this?"
Last Spring I felt like if I stayed in Boston I wouldn't be happy in a year. I felt like my future was in DC and I didn't plan to look back, except to keep in touch with friends, of course. Now I just wish I was back there so that Jason and I didn't have to play "normal couple," but could actually be a normal couple. I can come up with a couple of reasons why it's good that we've been long distance for some of this time, but it doesn't make it any easier. It also doesn't make me feel like less of a flake when I email all the attorneys I know in Boston and say, "Yeah, so remember how I was all excited about moving to DC and exploring health law and policy down here and I was so ready to leave Boston? Yeah? Just kidding. I want to come back."
Two, I received a blessing from my bishop after I decided to move to DC. In it he said that I had absolutely made the right decision to move to DC. He also said that I would have multiple job opportunities to choose from and would be greatly blessed with this decision. Well, maybe moving to DC was the right decision for the moment, but I went for 6 weeks without work after I got here, dragging myself into more debt. So far I've only had various temp assignments that I feel like I've had to fight tooth and nail for. I am finally doing something interesting and attorney-like, but it's still just temporary, and there aren't other jobs making themselves apparent. I'm extremely grateful to be working at all, even though I'm not making enough to make payments on my student loans. But what does it mean?
Three, on a less personal note, a girl in my ward passed away recently. I didn't know her, but a friend of mine is dating a guy who was pretty close with her. While she was in the hospital there were some pretty specific blessings given to her pronouncing that she would recover. What happened? According to my friend, her boyfriend is having a hard time dealing with that.
So in addition to prayer, I am also wondering about the nature of Priesthood blessings. Are they supposed to be soothsayings? Are we supposed to believe that the men in our lives who hold the Priesthood are transformed into fortune tellers for that brief period? Are specific predictions merely the vanity of mortals hoping they know the mind of God? I think I'd almost feel better if blessings just offered comfort rather than any specifics because that seems more likely to be what we will get.
I still pray all the time. At night, in the morning when I remember, before meals, when I'm worried or concerned about someone or something. I still pray for particular things. I don't know if the answers will come, but I'm slowly learning not to freak out about them as much if they don't. I try really hard to let the big things go, and trust them to God. Like worries I have about my family. I have no way to help those who are hurting or struggling, but I can pray for them and recognize that God wants the same peace for them that he so often gives me.
And I do feel that I get peace so often, even when nothing else seems to come together. When I open myself up, when I loosen my stranglehold on my need to control things and to have a plan, I often feel that peace come rushing in, almost like it was just waiting for me to allow a place for it in my heart. So maybe it's not about the concrete answers. Maybe, like one of the commentators to the Feminist Mormon Housewives post said,
Lately things aren't so cut and dry for me. I question the answers I thought I had received a lot lately. Other times I don't feel like there's any dialogue going on at all and that it's just me throwing out my hopes and needs to God without feeling anything in return.
There are several things that I'm not really understanding and am mulling over right now.
One, moving to DC felt so right. I really wanted to make the right decision. I made it with a lot of earnest prayer and a lot of looking in all places for answers to be sure it was right. Then I met Jason four days before I moved here. After our marathon first date when I recognized the connection we had and couldn't wait to see him again the next day and was already trying to figure out how to make that happen and wondering how desperate I would seem and deciding whether I should email him or call him, I remember saying my nightly prayers and asking God, "What EXACTLY am I supposed to do with this?"
Last Spring I felt like if I stayed in Boston I wouldn't be happy in a year. I felt like my future was in DC and I didn't plan to look back, except to keep in touch with friends, of course. Now I just wish I was back there so that Jason and I didn't have to play "normal couple," but could actually be a normal couple. I can come up with a couple of reasons why it's good that we've been long distance for some of this time, but it doesn't make it any easier. It also doesn't make me feel like less of a flake when I email all the attorneys I know in Boston and say, "Yeah, so remember how I was all excited about moving to DC and exploring health law and policy down here and I was so ready to leave Boston? Yeah? Just kidding. I want to come back."
Two, I received a blessing from my bishop after I decided to move to DC. In it he said that I had absolutely made the right decision to move to DC. He also said that I would have multiple job opportunities to choose from and would be greatly blessed with this decision. Well, maybe moving to DC was the right decision for the moment, but I went for 6 weeks without work after I got here, dragging myself into more debt. So far I've only had various temp assignments that I feel like I've had to fight tooth and nail for. I am finally doing something interesting and attorney-like, but it's still just temporary, and there aren't other jobs making themselves apparent. I'm extremely grateful to be working at all, even though I'm not making enough to make payments on my student loans. But what does it mean?
Three, on a less personal note, a girl in my ward passed away recently. I didn't know her, but a friend of mine is dating a guy who was pretty close with her. While she was in the hospital there were some pretty specific blessings given to her pronouncing that she would recover. What happened? According to my friend, her boyfriend is having a hard time dealing with that.
So in addition to prayer, I am also wondering about the nature of Priesthood blessings. Are they supposed to be soothsayings? Are we supposed to believe that the men in our lives who hold the Priesthood are transformed into fortune tellers for that brief period? Are specific predictions merely the vanity of mortals hoping they know the mind of God? I think I'd almost feel better if blessings just offered comfort rather than any specifics because that seems more likely to be what we will get.
I still pray all the time. At night, in the morning when I remember, before meals, when I'm worried or concerned about someone or something. I still pray for particular things. I don't know if the answers will come, but I'm slowly learning not to freak out about them as much if they don't. I try really hard to let the big things go, and trust them to God. Like worries I have about my family. I have no way to help those who are hurting or struggling, but I can pray for them and recognize that God wants the same peace for them that he so often gives me.
And I do feel that I get peace so often, even when nothing else seems to come together. When I open myself up, when I loosen my stranglehold on my need to control things and to have a plan, I often feel that peace come rushing in, almost like it was just waiting for me to allow a place for it in my heart. So maybe it's not about the concrete answers. Maybe, like one of the commentators to the Feminist Mormon Housewives post said,
"while God is present in our lives, the main offerings are support, peace, and understanding. I just think that our lives are journeys and God is there to provide support, not necessarily direct solutions."
You Know You Need A Job Bad AND You're A Total Geek When...
I'm applying for an attorney opening at a certain department that works with health publicly in Boston and I'm all excited about sending out my resume to an actual open position in actual health law.
Legal Writing
Anyone else remember their legal writing professor explaining how formal they needed to be and how you needed to sound all official and junk? The partner I'm working with just told me that I need to develop my own voice, and criticized another attorney's writing that is very official and cold. Okey-doke.
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