Tried to Rip Me Off!

AEP is my electric company. My May-June bill was about $100. I thought it was a little high since my utility bill usually averages $35 a month but I figured the hike was because of running the a/c a few days out of that month. Keep in mind summer in Columbus is about 85º/65º so you can get away with opening windows. Then the bill for June-July came in a few days ago & it was $133! Now I was really pissed. I'm barely home during the day & I'm out most weekends & since it's cool at night, I practically did not run my a/c the entire month. So it didn't make sense for the current bill to be higher than the last month's when I'd used the a/c.

So I called AEP customer service & told them why I thought my bill was too high. Then the heifer told me with attitude, "well, I live in Columbus too & I know I was running my a/c the entire month. It was at least 98º on average everyday so there's no way your a/c could've been lower this month than last." Picture steam coming out of my ears. Trying to tell me that my bill is justified because she had her a/c running 24/7 so similarly, mine must've been running . . . who hires these idiots? But I resisted getting into a pissing match with her. She went on to tell me that my current bill was estimated so to go outside & get a reading from my meter. So I did & you know what the b* told me? "Well that reading is too low. There's no way you could have used such a little amount of energy." Unbef*&%$?#lievable. So I hang up the phone but called right back & spoke to someone else. Told them what had gone down & this new person said he'd send me a card in the mail that has little dials on it so I could draw the arrows as they appear on the meter. That way they get to read the numbers off the dials to make sure its an accurate reading. Idiot-proofing the process.

The card arrived a few days later. I drew the little dials in & mailed it right back to them. Fast forward five days later to today. I got an email that I had a bill from AEP. What was my balance you ask? $0. With a $35 credit to boot!!! This threw me off since I was just expecting my bill to be lowered not be obliterated. So I called them back to confirm this wasn't a typo. Turns out that when they received my card w/ the dials drawn in, the reading was so low that they sent someone to my house to double check the reading yesterday. And I was right. I had been wrongly billed for not one but 2 months! My May-June bill that was $100 should've been only $40 and this month's bill only about $35. They didn't get the memo that I'm very vigilanté about my bills. Nobody pulls a fast one on me! Except the mechanic . . .

Turns out I have to spend even more money on my car. Feel like I'm slowly rebuilding my car to a brand new old car. But even with this new diagnosis, I'm not convinced that it won't stall again. It refuses to stall for them so it's really a crap shoot of what could be the problem. But if it does, I just might file a small claims complaint against them to try & get some of my money back. Might as well start making use of my education. At a minimum, I'll be writing to their corporate office. You never know . . . might get some free oil changes from this little fiasco.

It Surely Did

My car stalled again yesterday! Called the shop that fixed it 2 weeks ago & told them I was having it towed right back in. As I was riding in the tow truck I noticed its engine was running very rough. Sure enough the nice tow man told me that the truck had stalled on him earlier that day. Great. It's 98º...my car is sitting on top of the truck...we're in the middle of nowhere...at the height of rush hour... was this really about to go down?

Movie Reviews:

1. Dark Knight - "A" Veeery creepy but very good.
2. Wanted - "B" Wee bit too matrix-like but decent.

Jog that almost was

Yesterday was supposed to be my first day of jogging. I'm trying to live up to Oprah's mantra: live your best life today (or whatever the heck it is). So anyway's, I was to get up at 5:30am then go walking/jogging along a trail by my house. But what time did the alarm go off? 6:30am! This is the time I usually get up to catch the bus so I forgot to reset it to the new & improved time. So we'll try it again tomorrow morning. No excuses this time which is why I'm sharing this with you my loyal readers. Makes me accountable in a cyber-sorta way.

Tomorrow I get to write my resignation letter. My last day is in a couple of weeks so we have to notify HR in writing that we are leaving. If you decide to stay on for the school year then no letter is needed. So yours truly will regrettably not be returning. I will not be able to free up 12-14 hrs which is what they require you to work at a minimum. I have about 5 classes scheduled and a judicial externship (clerking for a judge for the semester) for the fall semester so I can't work a regular schedule. I'll probably get a receptionist type job at the school since you can work whenever you have time e.g. in between classes.

This week has been slow at the office. So yesterday, showing initiative as usual, I went around asking folks if they had any work I could do. Didn't have any takers at first & then whack . . . even the secretaries wanted a piece of me. Now I'm deep into my eyeballs with the craziest array of stuff you can imagine. From copying to filing to drafting briefs - you name it I'm doing it. Prioritizing will be the name of this game.

Now about that New Yorker cover. Funny? Sure. Smart? Mmhm. Much ado about nothing? Yes. Satire? Yup. Until you realize how many Americans think that the cover depicted who Obama really is. Muslim, unpatriotic, madrasa-educated, etc. One guy put it best: "It is only satire if the cartoon is so absurd that no one would believe it as true." As ignorance surrounds us everywhere, this is not the case. That being said, shouldn't the blame fall on Obama for not educating/informing people about who he really is? If there are those who are still out there believing that Michelle & Obama are the people depicted on that cover why should the cartoonist have to take heat for their ignorance? Here's my unsolicited advice to Obama. Instead of taking out ads about how John McCain is 4 more years of W., he should be pounding it into our living rooms that he is an american-loving, non-turban wearing, harvard-educated, christian who did not get sworn into the senate on a Qur'an. And yes, that he loves muslims too.

My two favorite authors have books coming out within weeks of each other. Moscow Rules will be released on July 22 & Smoke Screen on August 12. Literary heaven.

July 18: I pre-ordered both books from Amazon. 40% off + free shipping + no tax = heck of a deal!

Crisis Averted

The bus that I take to work makes it to my stop at 7:18am. I usually leave my house at around 7:10am just in case the bus is a few minutes early (stop is less than 1 minute away). So this morning I left my house at the usual time. Then guess what I saw rolling past the bus stop? The freakin' bus. It was 8 minutes early. Picture me running towards the bus waving my arms frantically hoping the bus driver would see me & stop (they usually never stop unless its by a clearly marked bus stop). But she saw me from the corner of her eye & stopped. So I ran across the road, got in, & thanked her profusely, all the while thinking it was my lucky day.

So I get to work & couldn't wait to tell my office friend what had transpired. At about 3pm, I walked to her cubicle & relayed that morning's drama. I concluded by saying, "I don't know what I'd have done had that bus left me." She looked at me like I was going crazy and deadpanned, "you'd have driven your car like you normally do!"

Do you know up until that point it had not crossed my mind that I could've simply jumped into my car & driven to work had the bus driver refused to stop? Nooo. Instead, I'd have gone back to the house, waited an hour for the next bus to come along, and been late to work. Talk about having a brain fart.

TV: It's now 7pm Mon evening & am watching on ESPN Classic the repeat of yesterday's instant classic Wimbledon match btn Roger Federer & Rafa Nadal. This is after I watched the whole match yesterday but it was so good, I have to relieve it in its entirety (I started watching it at 9am Sun morning & the match didn't get done until about 5pm). Just classic.

Tonight is the season finale of the Bachelorette. I'm hooked on the show this year because the guys as well as the gal are compelling. I think I liked all the last 5 bachelors left so I'm super excited to see who she's going to pick. Must see t.v.

I'm Lovin' Sports!

1. Rafael Nadal - won wimbledon today!!!!

2. Spain - won Euro 2008

3. Boston Celtics - won the NBA championship

4. Tiger Woods - won the U.S. Open

5. Rafael Nadal - won the French Open

Ban Capital Punishment!

While the guy wasn't convicted of a capital crime, stories like this reaffirm my conviction there should be a ban on the death penalty. There are too many wrongly convicted folks sitting on death row to justify a punishment so irreversible. Considering that Dallas is a county in Texas, it's a shame that the state continues to lead the country in the number of inmates put to death.

* * *

DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- A Texas man who spent more than 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of kidnapping and robbery raised both arms skyward and collapsed in his mother's embrace Thursday after being told he was a free man.

Patrick Waller, along with Innocence Project director John Stickels, rejoices as the decision is announced.

Patrick Waller's sobs were the only sound at a crowded hearing attended by four other inmates also exonerated by DNA testing. "It's all right, honey," Patricia Cunningham told her son. "It's over. You're out of here. You're going home."

Waller had been behind bars since 1992 for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping stemming from the abduction of a Dallas couple. He was proved innocent by DNA testing late last year. "I feel vindicated," said Waller, 38. "I feel thankful. Most of all, I feel blessed."

His release had been all but certain since last week, when the Dallas County prosecutor's office announced that DNA evidence had cleared Waller and matched the profile of another man. That suspect identified his accomplice, and both men subsequently confessed in front of a grand jury, prosecutors said. Neither man is in prison, although one is on parole, and they won't face criminal charges because the statute of limitations has expired.

Waller is the 19th man in Dallas County since 2001 shown by DNA evidence to be innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. That's more than any county in the nation, according to The Innocence Project in New York, a legal center specializing in wrongful-conviction cases.

Four former inmates who collectively served nearly 100 years in prison before being exonerated lined the back wall of the crowded courtroom. The men freed by DNA testing in Dallas County have made a habit of showing up in court for exoneration hearings, and on Thursday they presented Waller with a prepaid cell phone as a gift. Their exoneration stories helped Waller during his incarceration.

"All these guys I just met, I have all their clippings," Waller said. "It always gave me hope that one day it would be my turn." Waller said he plans to ask the other exonoreated men about the challenges of rejoining society. He is also about 20 credit hours short of a degree.

John Stickels, an Innocence Project of Texas board member and a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said he wants to help Waller enroll at the suburban Dallas school.

Waller's ordeal began in 1992 when two men kidnapped a couple and stole several hundred dollars. The men also sexually assaulted the woman after tying up the man, District Attorney Mike Ware said. Another couple who drove up to the scene were also held at gunpoint. A security guard arrived and scared off the men, who fled in separate cars. Three of the four people abducted picked Waller in a photo lineup. The fourth later picked him out of a live lineup, Ware said.

Waller maintained his innocence and presented an alibi at trial but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He also pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated kidnapping, fearing more life sentences if he were convicted, said his lawyer, Gary Udashen.

In 2001, Waller requested post-conviction DNA testing under a new state law. The DA's office, then under different leadership, opposed the request, and it was denied by a judge. A second attempt in 2005 was also unsuccessful.

Bill Hill, who was the district attorney when Waller requested his DNA tests, did not return a message from The Associated Press.

Waller's 2007 request, which came after Craig Watkins had taken office as the new district attorney, was granted. Watkins has started a program in which law students, supervised by the Innocence Project of Texas, review old cases in which inmates have requested DNA testing. In Waller's case, DNA testing was paid for by the Innocence Project of Texas.

Things Annoying Me Today

1. We have this girl at the office who's graduated from lawschool but isn't licensed to practice since she hasn't taken the bar yet. So last Thu we got an assignment to write a pleading that was needed ASAP. We had 2 issues we had to tackle & she got to pick the one she wanted. I got done with my portion this morning & emailed it to her to combine it with hers. We agreed that when she combined both portions she'd send it back to me so I could proof it. About 4pm this afternoon, I got an email from her with the completed document attached. Also noticed that she'd copied the attorney who'd assigned it to us. When I opened the document to read her portion, what a disaster! Just sloppy writing through and through. This wouldn't have been as irritating had she not kept talking about how great she was at research/writing & had she given me the document to proof like we'd agreed. Guess she thought she had it in the bag.

2. I stayed up late last night so I had a splitting headache this morning. So I took some medicine from the office medicine cabinet that said "POWERFUL PAIN RELIEVER" on the package. No brand or anything. For the remainder of the day I felt like I was having an outer body experience. I think the pills had too much caffeine plus it didn't help that I washed them down with the coffee I'd been drinking to keep me awake.

3. People who keep calling without leaving voicemails drive me nuts. Someone did that all weekend. I hardly ever pick up calls from numbers I don't recognize. So you'd think the person calling would figure this out after the 7th unsuccessful try. But nooooo. Let's keep calling & see if she'll finally pick up. I admit that sometimes I do cave in if it gets to be stalkerish but a tongue lashing awaits the person on the other end. It usually jends up being some poor guy I gave my number to in a moment of temporary insanity. But you know what they say about karma. One day I'll be the one getting an earful from a guy I've been phone-stalking. Can't wait.

4. Seems like I'll have to partake in $4 gas by week's end. Noticed this evening that most gas stations have gone where no one in Columbus wanted them to go.

5. John McCain ads that are running on t.v. It's still June!!! Couldn't they have waited to run them after Labor Day weekend? This election is bound to get real ugly but I now have confidence that Obama will hold his own. Did you see Wes Clark on t.v. yesterday saying that being shot down & taken as a prisoner of war doesn't make McCain qualified to be commander-in-chief? Ouch. Even McCain didn't have a come-back to that one. What are you going to say to a 5-star General?! Signs of yummy things dems have in store for him.

And the Raspberry Award goes to . . .

Miami Vice (2006)! It has to be the worst movie I've seen in the last decade. Poor acting by Jamie Foxx & Colin Farrell & a plot that was even worse. I made it through the first 45 minutes but couldn't take it anymore. Just terrible on every level.

It's a travesty what's going on in Zimbabwe. Mugabe claiming a "land-slide" victory in a run-off where he was running un-opposed. It would be laughable if the situation wasn't so dire. I don't think though the violence will escalate to genocidal levels as I don't think Zimbabwean political affiliations are tied to ethnicity. However, the brutality going on against non-Mugabe supporters continues. So what does the world call for? Sanctions. I bet you if this was an oil producing country, W. would be drawing up the invasion plans for McCain to execute in 2009 as a welcome gift. But since it's nothing but the country with the highest inflation rate in the world, sanctions it is. It's a sad day when African presidents hang on to power damn the cost. But not to worry. I have a solution to all this madness . . . have an independent military (including police). Get a 5-person crew to command the troops. Have this 5-person crew appointed for life by other military/police brass so they aren't subject to the influence of whatever government is in power. They would oversee the elections & once the people have spoken, the military would step in to make sure there was a seamless transition of power. But since this would never happen, I hope to see Mugabe at the Hague being tried for crimes against humanity in the very near future. What he's done to that country over the years is downright criminal.

When my car was in the shop last week, I rode the bus to & from work. It's about a 20 minute "free" ride with my student ID. It's really not free since we pay about a $15 fee in our tuition for public transportation but let's not dwell on the technicalities. I got my car back but I plan to continue riding the bus so that I don't have to pay $110 next month for parking. So anyways, I listen to music as I ride & this motivated me to finally open my ipod shuffle that I received a few months ago from Westlaw (for points earned for using their legal search engine). The moral: I don't understand why people are so obsessed with everything ipod. First, I had to download itunes to get the software required for it. Then I had to charge the shuffle . . . using my computer! You have to sit the little bugger onto a docking station which then connects to your computer via a usb cable. So what happens when it runs out of juice & I'm not near a computer? Ridiculous. This compared to my current mp3 player that requires only a AA battery which lasts for about 50 hours of play time. It warns you when the battery is low & all I do is toss out the old one & insert the new. Only thing I like about the shuffle is it's size. I got a very bright color because it's miniscule. So I'll give it a one-week trial run then I'll toss it if it doesn't grow on me.

I only have one more month remaining at my summer job. The one attorney who gives me most of my work keeps asking me if I'll continue working through the Fall. I don't know yet. I'd like to but I'm not sure if my school schedule will let me work 10-20 hrs during the week. Plus during the school year I like to get jobs that are close enough to walk. But either way, the chips should fall into place in the next few weeks once I get my school schedule finalized.

Nothingness

My car stalled on Wednesday so I had it towed to a shop. It had been having an intermittent problem so I knew a complete stall was in the working. Found out the next day this would set me back $800. The price I was originally quoted was about $150 higher. But I asked the manager to fax me the estimate so I could talk it over with my husband. I guess there were some charges for which he couldn't justify because the estimate price was lower. I called one of my mechanics from craigslist & he told me that the price was justified because it was a very labor intensive problem. When I called to get an update on Saturday morning, they were still working on it. "Oh boy, the mechanic is having lots of fun with it." I think the manager was being sarcastic.

My birthday was on Thursday & the lovely people I work with brought in lots of food to celebrate. Even sang happy birthday for me & I got to take the first stab at the most yummy cake one of the secretaries had baked. It was just a lovely day which more than made up for the car fiasco I had dealt with the night before.

The weather here is just fabulous. It's probably been in the upper 70s for the past couple of weeks. Sunny with blue skies.

Fair Weather Fan

Boston Celtics won Game 4 last week against the Lakers. But I wasn't there to witness the 24-point deficit comeback. Why? Because I knew the Celtics were for sure going to lose when they were trailing by 20 or so points at the half. So what did I do? I told myself that I needed to go to bed because I had to be up early in the morning. Not so. I just couldn't stand seeing the Celtics getting it handed to them. Little did I know the greatest NBA come-back of all time was about to go down.

Round 3 of the U.S. Open golf tournament was yesterday & I stopped watching it when Tiger was at the 13th hole because I had to watch the re-run of Celtics-Lakers game 4 which was showing on ESPN classic simultaneously. Not so. The only reason I switched over was because Tiger kept hitting his ball into the rough & I just didn't want to see him keep bogeying the holes (he'd had a rough going). So what did I miss during the switch-over? Tiger made an eagle putt on the 13th hole & chipped the ball for a birdie on the 16th hole. Ugh. I was so upset that I had missed both those shots. But luckily, I switched back in time to see him make another eagle putt on the 18th hole & take the lead.

Lesson learned from my "fair-weathering" on these 2 occasions . . . weather-all. So the final round of the golf tournament was today & Tiger got off to a very rough start (double bogey & bogey on first two holes). What a nightmare. But I perservered on. Watched the entire 18 holes & was rewarded with the most dramatic birdie putt by Tiger on the final hole which moved him into a tie for the lead & forced an 18-hole playoff round tomorrow.

As I write this, it's Game 5 of the Celtics-Lakers series with 6:10 left in the 4th quarter. The Lakers are up 80-73. I'm off to bed. I have to be up real early in the morning!

Gone!

Today I'm standing with Senator Obama to say "Yes We Can!"
~Hillary Clinton~

Finally!

Feel Good Story of the Day!

Obama's Weekend Off: Date with Wife, Hosting Sleepover for Eight 7-Year Olds

After appearing here, Obama traveled to a rally in northern Virginia's D.C. suburbs, then headed back to his hometown of Chicago to take the weekend off. He's looking forward to "a date" tonight with his wife, Michelle, a round of golf on Saturday ("the best I can do is the low 80s," Obama said) and a bike ride with his children on Sunday.

Not that he is expecting it to be entirely relaxing. On Saturday night, Obama will face a challenge familiar to many American parents: Eight 7-year-olds are due at his house for a birthday sleepover in honor of his daughter, Sasha. "These kids are planning to make pizza so who knows what our kitchen will look like," Obama said. "They shouldn't call these sleepovers. They should call them wake-overs."

-Huffington Post-

Go Away Already!!!

Like a bad rash, Hillary Clinton refuses to go away. She said today she'll "suspend" her campaign & support Obama this Saturday (and this was only after the Dem leaders told her to hang it up). But yet she reserved the right to have her name on the nomination ballot at the Denver convention this August. WTF?! She should've endorsed Obama last night when he clinched the nomination but instead she gave one of the most classless speeches I've ever listened to. I knew it would go downhill when she was introduced as "the next president of the United States." She is a power hungry vindictive woman who refuses to recognize there's a new Sheriff in town. Obama. Get used to it!

Tax Woes

The goddamn IRS won't leave me alone! Found out I owe them about $1500 for unclaimed income. When I filed my taxes a couple years ago, I didn't claim interest I got from an investment account. Now Uncle Sam wants his money back plus interest. I just can't win. I must be on the "terrorist watch-list" equivalent with the IRS since this is like the third time I've gotten notice that I owe them money. I have friends who haven't filed taxes in years but they never get audited yet here I am - a law abiding citizen who files taxes every year yet I can't get a f*&%$#g break. Pisses me off.

On a cleaner note: I get my hair done every week. However, due to working over the summer I'm not able to visit the salon on my regular hours & so the people who get to do my hair are less than mediocre. The moral of this story: I've decided to be doing my own hair at home.

I ordered a portable hood dryer last week from Amazon ($40), bought styling products from Sally's ($15) and today took a stab at it. I washed & deep conditioned my hair. Then I put rollers which is not the easiest thing to do. It took me a little over an hour but I must say my roller set kicked a$$. Then I sat under the dryer for about 50 minutes. The dryer I bought rocks. It's fairly quiet, has four heat settings (I dried my hair under the medium setting), and the hood can adjust in a way that does not get heat in my face & I can watch tv. My hair turned out even better than it does when I go to the salon. Must've known that I'll be needing that money to pay off my outstanding taxes.

Coffee Club

Somebody at the office always makes a fresh pot of coffee in the morning to which I've been helping myself most everyday. It's some really nasty tasting coffee but it does it's job. So yesterday I filled my cup like usual but for some reason, I stopped & asked my secretary "is it ok to drink the coffee they make in the kitchen?" That's when she broke it down for me. The coffee was reserved for coffee club members. Huh?! Either that or ask the coffee brewer & she'll let you have a cup for 50¢. I don't think the smell emanating from my coffee mug wafted to her nose so I quickly slunk back into my cubicle. No one seems to know who the coffee clubbers are or how the membership works but they must have never seen me partaking in their brew or I'm sure I'd have heard about it. Gossip gets around the office like wildfire. Coincidentally, there's a water fountain that I'm yet to see someone drinking from. Hmm. Water club maybe?

Who's Your Genius?

So my wireless internet went out a few days ago. For some reason my laptop wasn't communicating with the modem at all. My desktop wasn't affected but it doesn't count since I never use it unless I want to print something so it felt like the internets (sic) had disappeared. Spent an hour on the phone with TWCable who's troubleshooting was pointless so they scheduled an appointment for this Saturday for one of their techies to come out & take a look. A whole 3 days away!!!! This bothered me all day at work. If one computer was working fine then why not the other? Began thinking that maybe all I needed to do was to input my network key again & everything else would be re-created. Didn't have it so I called TWC again & this time the guy was located in Manilla Phillipines (I always ask them where they're located - makes for good conversation). Anyway, he gave me the network key - which I found out is located on the back of my modem no less. I put it in, followed the prompts & just like that, the internets were back! They need to disband the TWC "tech support" crew. Took me all of 1 minute to fix the problem. Yup, genius.

Ridiculous item of the day: American airlines will start charging $15 for the first bag checked in starting June 15th! Delta Airlines has refused to match this nonsense. Said they'd find another way to offset the hit they're taking for rising gas prices. Good for them.

My favorite singles right now (after hearing them in the club):
1. Bust it baby - Plies & Neyo
2. Lollipop - Lil Wayne
3. Love in this club (Remix) - Usher

It's Here!

My tax rebate has finally made it into my bank account! At least Dubya was good for something. I have no current plans for it but I'm sure that'll be remedied shortly.

My job is coming along splendidly. I met my boss this morning & he took me for coffee since he's been out this past week after his wife had a baby. He seemed really laid back. Told me to shoot him an email if I needed to take a few days off over the summer. I'll be sure to take him up on that. There's this one attorney who keeps coming to give me work. Well, today he gave me an assignment which I have no idea where to start & it's due first thing next week. Hopefully whatever I come up with won't be too horrific - I'd like to keep my steady source of work relatively happy.

I had to go to court today to get some documents which is a good 25 minute brisk walk away. I've never gotten so many compliments during a walk as I did today . . . from the local low lifes & soon-to-be-convicts of Columbus. I had one guy walk with me a good half mile while he showered me with sweet nothings. He was really nice so I humored him & to show his appreciation, he told me of a place where they were giving away food vacuum sealers (the ones that suck out the air in ziploc bags so food stays fresh). Sure enough, on my way back, I passed by there & got myself not one but two vacuums.

An aside: My cubicle faces one of the secretaries. She's been answering all my nonstop questions about where the printers are, where to get supplies, etc. She's even been running around the office trying to get me a mouse pad for the past 3 days - she tells everyone who cares to listen how I'm suffering without one (apparently the govn is too cheap to have some in stock). So to repay her for being such a gem, when I got back from the court house, I asked her if she'd like to have one of my food vacuums. "YEEES"! She was so excited. Made me feel all warm & fuzzy.

I'll probably be going out tonight w/ my girls to spend some of that tax rebate money. So you all have yourselves a wonderful weekend.

1st Day . . .

on the job was interesting. It started w/ a 2 hour orientation, got a badge & was then thrown out to the wolves. I'll be doing mostly employment law related matters which is great. Last summer I got to dabble in a little bit of everything which makes you a jack of all trades but a master of none so I'm glad I'm assigned to just one practice area.

I'll be the only law clerk in this particular area so that's rather intimidating. No one to commiserate with when assignments go awry. However, I was assigned a mentor who's only been practicing since 2006 & she's great. She took me around to say hi to everyone which was about 15 attorneys & lots of paralegals & secretaries. But the attorneys were great even though most of them are on the older side. I have an inside cubicle which means I have no view of downtown unlike last year but at least I don't get to share it. All the attorneys though have offices with great views since we're on the 25th floor. Parking is the only hiccup. It's expensive & I have to pay for it.

So here are some differences between working for the government & a law firm: one, the secretaries at the firm do a ton more work than the government ones. I never did any filing, copying, etc at the firm but it seems like this will be part of my job this summer since none of them was assigned to me. I love secretaries so this was a bummer. Two, I have to pay for my own parking this time around. Three, no more getting projects that are fairly meaningless - these are projects that an attorney has been putting off all year just waiting for the summers to come in & complete them. All the work that I'll be doing this summer will be used in some fashion for ongoing litigation. But by far the biggest upside to working for the government is I don't have to attend functions & mingle with people that I'd rather never talk to again. I can't tell you how much I hated those outings. Schmoozing is so overrated. All in all, this should be a great learning experience. It's the first job I've held & not hated the first day. So we're off to a good start.

Happy Cinco de Mayo