Instincts

Ever feel the need to just see what else is out there? Luckily, the tanking economy hasn't dampened the job market for attorneys who are possibly looking to switch firms. I haven't applied to anything, and I don't know that I will any time soon. But I'm starting to feel pigeonholed and a bit taken for granted where I am, and it's always good to explore one's options, right? If I jumped ship right now, my firm would be royally screwed. They know it. I know it. And hopefully they know that I know it. We have more work than we can handle even though we just hired someone.

I'm skipping what is supposed to be easy cross training today. An ache has invaded what feels like my bones, and with the marathon now less than two weeks away, I feel the need to protect what I have left.

Did anyone else fall asleep during the debate on Friday? Just me? Ok. Thursday should be much more entertaining.

And in today's installment of "I am a huge dork":

This just got my heart thumping.

Wall Street

First of all, I'm not going to pretend I understand much beyond the basics about this financial crisis. Except for the fact that no investment banks have been housed on Wall Street for the past 15 years. They're all in midtown. Anyway.

Who am I supposed to really feel bad for here? Certainly not these jackoffs who have made New York City somewhat of a nightmare for the rest of us. I keep hearing, "god, it's so sad, we all know someone who lost his or her job, right?" Well, maybe. I definitely do, but those people (at least those I know) still get three months of bloated severance pay and have enough saved at the age of 27 to support themselves for a long time. So really, no, I don't feel bad for you.

Yes, the banks should not have loaned every single American and his poodle money for a mortgage. People with a miniscule income and no foresight should not have thought it was a grand idea to Become a Homeowner! with no down payment. The government should not have allowed the market to take care of itself. Because the market is run by greedy assholes who are rewarded with billions of dollars for complete and utter failure.

And now I have to fucking pay for it.

20 Miles. By The Numbers.

Miles: 20. Duh.
Gu Gels consumed: 4
Ounces of Gatorade consumed: ~ 16
Ounces of water consumed: ~ 32
Time: 3:55
Number of times I elbowed idiot tourists who shuffle along staring upward without a care in the world: 6
Temperature when I began: 53
Temperature when I finished: 64
Minutes it took to hail a cab to take me home because I couldn't walk another step: 10
Ounces of chocolate milk I drank post run: 8
Inches of a Subway sandwich I scarfed a few minutes ago: 12

For those who know NYC, I mapped out a pretty decent route (thank you Google maps!). Down the west side Hudson River parkway to the World Financial Center, across lower Manhattan at Chambers Street (past the courthouses I frequent all the time, which were kind of cool to see on a quiet empty Saturday morning), through part of Chinatown (where the majority of the elbowing of the tourists occurred), up the FDR Drive to 72nd Street, across the east side to Central Park, up 5th Avenue to 86th Street into the park, and a 4.5 mile loop in the park to finish. Yeah, there was no way in hell I was walking another 1.5 miles back home at that point.

Time to rest up, ice the shins, clean out the DVR a bit, and then drag myself up and out for a birthday party at which I will likely stay until 10:30 pm when I turn into a pumpkin.

This is my life?

I ran ten miles this morning.

I billed ten hours today.

I found a ten dollar bill on the sidewalk. (Wheeee!)

I'm now eating pizza and drinking wine after venturing to the corner store in my pajamas, Panther Football t-shirt and ponytail and being given a "Hey, beautiful" by a stranger.

I still hate Sarah Palin. Just putting it out there. Sorry. Can't help it.

Have we learned nothing?

Well, some of us haven't anyway.

Something happened today which I think will unfortunately affect my relationship with my new office mate. I know I don't need to have anything other than a working relationship with her, but let's face it: I like to chat about the news and politics. I don't need or want everyone to always agree with me, but I expect the level of discourse to be up to par. So. Behold:

I had to show ID at three different checkpoints in order to get into my office building today. There were more people in general and more security than last year. I didn't mind the inconveniences. Clearly, it's not a day to complain about the minutia of your own life. I had a 10 am deposition at the office, but because of the ceremony and resultant mass of people literally 15 feet from my building (the area for the families is separated from the area where the general public could be), the other parties were somewhat delayed getting through and getting upstairs. So I'm sitting there in the office chatting with Office Mate about how many people are outside. She says, and I quote: "Why are they even here? They're all foreigners - why do they even care?"

Breathe.

Me: "Uh, what do you mean? How could you know that at all?"

OM: "Oh I overheard a lot of them talking and, you know, just by looking at them."

Sigh.

That was the majority of our conversation for the rest of the day.

I emailed one of my best friends about it later on, and because she's awesome, here's part of her response:

whoa, WHAT? i'm glad you emailed me bc i was actually going to email you and ask how it was down there today, but WHAT?! first of all, her question is like asking why people who weren't personally affected by the holocaust visit auschwitz. um, they're there because it's a historical day/place and they're in the city and they're paying their goddamn respects and they want to experience it and be a part of it. second, by her logic, wtf does SHE care? does she have some personal tie to the attacks? it's like those people in the middle of missouri who have those goddamn stupid "never forget" bumper stickers. yes, as americans, we all experienced the effect of 9/11 to some degree, whether it's as little as your experience going through the shitshow that is airplane security nowadays or as great as the fact that you were actually fucking there (in WTC, or you, or my friend [X]). bc the people with closer ties to the attacks obviously felt/the effects deeper, how can you try to characterize or judge anyone's reaction or feelings about the attacks? it's unfair and everyone's allowed to feel exactly how they want to feel. it's a fucking tragedy. it's also retarded to think that it didn't affect people outside of america too--world's greatest superpower attacked on its own soil? helLOo, it's a big deal. slash, were these "foreigners" americans speaking another language (shock! we have a few of those in nyc!) or foreign nationals?

you didn't tell me she self-identifies as conservative. which is fine (i'm dating one! liberals are tolerant of conservatives!). but given the level of your interaction and the kind of relationship you have (pretty purely professional), it's inappropriate to talk about shit like that at work. you need to shut her down (nicely) if she brings it up again.

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So. We'll see. For now, I'm wary.

Maybe I am smart?

So I won a pretty big summary judgment motion today. The 5 page decision by the judge said that my arguments were "some of the most well-reasoned and articulate" that he had ever read on the issues involved. And then I got a congratulatory email from my boss (to the whole firm) as well as one from our client.

Basically, I kick ass.

There is no logic to my brain.

I had one of those unsettling dreams where people from various parts of my life are all interacting with each other and I don't know what the hell is going on. Why are my boss and my friend from middle school talking to each other? Huh?

Our new attorney started this past week, and while I'm STILL not happy about sharing an office, it's not horrid so far. She doesn't seem like an idiot as far as I can tell, so I think we'll be ok. Then again, it's been a week.

This whole "Sarah Palin doesn't need you talk to you media types - she can talk directly to the American people!" thing is bullshit. Unless I myself can ask her directly why she thinks we're doing "God's work" in Iraq, I have to rely on the media to question her. Get her on a Sunday morning talk show. Stat.

I did 18 miles yesterday in the horrible humidity of the pre-Hanna downpour. It was pretty terrible. But I did it.

It's fashion week in New York City. Which means I get to feel even less stylish than normal. Yay! It takes way too much effort to dress like a grown up professional. If I had my way I would get to wear jeans, tank tops, hoodies every day.

I want pancakes. Correction. I want someone else to make pancakes for me. Mmm.

Can someone explain to me why John McCain is such a "maverick"? I don't get it. Also, it just makes me think about Top Gun, and then I get sad remembering how Tom Cruise used to be awesome. Speaking of McCain, he's using the whole "I was a tortured POW" thing the way Giuliani used 9/11. An answer to every god damn question he's asked. It's really not ok. Yes, both men were faced with something extreme and horrifying. It doesn't make you qualified to be president.

Obama and McCain will appear together at Ground Zero on Thursday morning. Great. Which means I'll probablyhave to show ID thirty times in order to get into my office building. Is Andrea Mitchell wearing a brown LEATHER suit? Yikes. Alan Greenspan is a lucky guy.

Don't Leave Me.

I've had a bit of the writer's block as of late. Not that I've ever been interesting, but I've been feeling less able to articulate my thoughts lately, and basically want to respond to everything with gems such as "gimme a break", "nah ah!", "whatever", and "screw it".

So yeah. I suppose I'll watch Sarah Palin's speech tonight and try to refrain from rolling my eyes (too much).

And Daisy, if you're reading this, I'm a terrible person and am about three quarters through Beach Music, which I get to read only before bed each night because of all the damn legal crap I have to read during the majority of my waking hours. I hope to send you my comments within the next week. I do love it so.