I'm back at work after a long 4-day weekend. We traveled this weekend to visit friends of ours a few states away. We got stuck in construction, cussed about the quality of the roads, had a close call with some tools falling off the back of a firetruck, and had a great time. I still haven't lost my fear of driving, so it makes for some interesting experiences when we switch drivers. I freak out over weird things. My spouse does a good job talking me down when I start to get that way. We came back last night to a ratty looking lawn, unpacked the car and went to bed. While I would have liked a day to recover, at least it's Tuesday already.Labels: vacation
I was forced into a lunch meeting at work yesterday. Since we now have a conference room at work, we have these mandatory weekly meetings where someone at the firm has to present something of note. Nothing I enjoy more than eating with people who rather not have anything to do with me. This week's presentation was about websites. Now mind you, I've been on the internet since 92. I've been through PINE, Lynx, Mosaic, old VAX systems, MUDs, MOOs, MUSHes, the dot-com boom, bust and YouTube. I've been blogging for years. What did I learn from this presentation that was taken from a seminar that a secretary and clerk attended? It'll cost us at least $25,000 to start up a firm webpage. It'll cost at least $200 a month for maintenance. That you need to pay extra to track the metrics of your site. You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep from laughing. Our firm needs a front page, maybe some bios. Ever heard of SiteMeter? $25K? I should submit a quote. Come in for a 1/5 of this imaginary number and code something that'll work just fine. But yeah, no one thinks I can do anything. And as far as blogging? It was discussed as some sort of nebulous thing that no one is sure how to do, and that will need far more research before there are conclusions. I bit my tongue until it nearly bled and ate my food. This firm deserves what it gets.Labels: job, websites
This week is going about as good as last week went. The office is like a seething pit, and everyone is afraid when the boss will go off again. The daily meetings we have (which are inconsequential at best) have become openly hostile toward me. To the point that other employees are questioning what I've done to brought this on myself. My answer, "I show up everyday." I feel like a punching bag most days. It's now most definitely effecting my home life. I'm subdued, angry, and quick to bite everyone's head off. I am physically ill before I go to work in the mornings, and leave work each day with a stress headache. I have resumes out, but it may not be enough. I may not survive this.Labels: job
We moved offices. And of course the new space was not exactly in move-in condition. Working in a work zone is always fun. The offices were covered in dust and whatnot, random people wandered in and out, and we tried to work. I proceeded to develop stomach flu by the second day and worked like a dog on Friday, only because I was stupid enough not to call in. I begged to go home halfway through the day, but was given such a friggin line about getting work done before the end of the day that I stayed. I'm a moron. Never mind the fact that the work that "had to be done" wasn't my own, but the clerk's who doesn't work on Friday. So yes, I'm below a secretary, I'm a clerk's helper. Yeah, a clerk's helper who works without food for fear of throwing up on the furniture.
I spent most of the weekend sleeping, or trying not to be ill. Monday arose with me having to explain to the clerk why I had to do the work on Friday. When I continued to be needled by this clerk, I finally cut the conversation short by explaining that I did not feel it necessary to explain myself to a clerk as to why I was doing my job. The clerk then went to the boss and blew me in. I was then called into the bosses' office and berated soundly for 15 minutes for bruising the ego of the clerk. The whole situation was so insane that at one point I actually chuckled. That made things worse. I could have really given a crap at that point, and nearly walked out of the office in mid-rant.
I have not been fired, because you know when you have indentured servant status it's hard to fire the scut worker. However, my attitude has gone much worse now. I barely speak to anyone, and while I serve my clients well, I do nothing for anyone here. There are no favors, there are no niceties. Because damn it, if you want to treat me like I'm something to be hated, I'll give you something to hate. Obviously punctual, diligent, and skillful gets you nowhere here.Labels: job, sick
Our firm is moving. Not far, but far enough to put the place into a status of discombobulation. As a result, things are up for grabs. Namely furniture pieces that aren't making the move. I had reviewed the possibility over the weekend, and had decided on two pieces. I made arrangements to collect them when it was necessary to do so. I now have neither of the two pieces. Why? I've been usurped by a clerk and a secretary. Why? Because they want them. No other reason. Now I have no idea how they're getting them out of the office in a timely manner, but that's not my problem. All I know is being a lawyer here means bubkes. I could get really indignant and pull an end-run, but I'm not going to. I'm better than that. I will however remember this, and file it away for later purposes. I have a very long memory. I'm an elephant.Labels: furniture, job
In law school certain cases stick in your head. Some have catchy titles, or something in the case strikes a chord that causes you to remember them. Loving v. Virginia was one of those cases I remember. I remember it because people in our class were absolutely stunned that there was laws against miscegenation. I was not one of those people, having been a History major. The reason for this flashback is that Mildred Loving died Friday. She was 68.
Sorry, I've been lax in my posting since the kitchen unveiling, but we took a small vacation to Arizona in the interim. Between work and tearing apart the house, we needed some downtime to recover. And it was a lot of fun. I now know more about cacti than any one not living in the desert should. We took in 3 rounds of golf, which helped to knock off the cobwebs from a long winter, and in the time we were away, we missed a whole bunch of spring. There's a law in our household that if we go away, the weather back home improves immeasurably, and it held on this trip. And the alternative, when we return it goes to crap. That also is true. Arizona is a lovely shade of beige, with lots of highways, and tons of good restaurants in Scottsdale. Not sure I would enjoy the place nearly as much at 110 degrees, but 85-95 is workable.Labels: vacation
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