Monday, January 29, 2007
This article quotes a family planning official as “envious” of only children for having more educational and financial resources from their parents since they don’t have to share with siblings. The official also assures the public that the “only children generation” is not as scary as one would think – they are not little emperors/titans/monsters who can’t tolerate authority. What about the other problems with being an only child ripe for spoiling by at least two parents and four grandparents, not to mention other extended family?
| Tags: irritation, news
Sunday, January 28, 2007
I went to the public library in Tustin yesterday to see their Books on CD collection. Slim pickings, compared to the tape section. I didn’t even look at those. My last Walkman is in a storage box somewhere.
After a few minutes perusing the CD’s and walking around the rest of the library looking for the Black Cauldron series by Lloyd Alexander (unsuccessful… the fiction section wasn’t very organized), I grabbed whatever books suited my fancy and got outta there. It was so weird to take books home with me without having to pay. I grew up going to public libraries, but still, it’s been a really long time.
Some of my temporary acquisitions:
- A Prairie Home Companion, 20th Anniversary Collection (CD)
- The Green Mile, by Stephen King (book)
- Moby Dick, by Herman Melville (CD)
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe (CD)
- The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde (CD)
- The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane (CD)
- 1001 Deductions & Tax Breaks 2007 (book)
- The Hobbit (graphic novel version)
I’m excited to read/listen to these, especially the Red Badge of Courage. When I first read it in 9th grade, I didn’t understand it at all. My reading and writing skills were not always what they are today. I got a “C” one quarter in 9th grade English. It wasn’t until 10th grade when I scored under 1200 on my PSAT’s that I resolved to study vocabulary and get better at writing. I began reading Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Time, and Newsweek religiously, and made flashcards out of unfamiliar words. I also took Latin I, for which I had a knack, and obtained a real understanding of English grammar.
The Latin studies were supposed to prepare me for pre-med. Instead, I became a lawyer…and it’s just as useful. God really knew what he was doing.
Oh yeah, and it’s a good thing I went to the library at all. I’ve had my Orange County library card since 2003, when I drove from Walnut to Santa Ana and back for a summer internship every day and needed to have something to listen to. Apparently, one of the books/CD’s were returned late (To Kill a Mockingbird) and there was a $4.50 fine owing on my account! I wonder if it had been compounding all this time…
| Tags: navel gazing
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
I started my new job yesterday. There’s a lot of downtime these first few days as I get trained. They block out entire mornings and afternoons for me to meet with certain people or observe court, but nothing takes the entire 3 or 4 hours, so afterward I just surf the web. Apparently many other attorneys surf the web too after court.
It has been… interesting. It’s shockingly different from my old job in a few respects. First of all, I have to get up at 5:00am. It’s not even the crack of dawn – it’s over an hour before sunrise. Dave, braveheart and sweetie that he is, has committed to waking up at the same time so we can have breakfast together before I leave for the 6:15am Metrolink. After I have my morning coffee, I feel more human. But I gotta say, the commute is a killer. It’s 1 hour 40 minutes door to door. I get home at 7:00pm, eat dinner, and get ready to sleep by 9:00pm.
Second, my office is definitely not as nice as the last. Lets list some of the downgrades:
- No window – a big minus. If I don’t leave the building during the workday, I will never see the light of day, because when I leave to go home after 5:00pm the sun is setting or at least no longer visible. It’s the luck of the draw. Other new people got windows.
- Metal desk, shelves, and file cabinets – at least it’s not squeaky and cutting into my flesh. There are lots of drawers and places to put things, so I can be organized (a big virtue at this job).
- A bucket chair with tweed covering that will wreak havoc on my back – um, yeah. Time to shop for a butt and lumbar cushion(s).
- A phone that rings when it’s not supposed to – very annoying and hopefully fixable, soon. The calls that come in through the main line for reception are ringing in my office. When I pick up, so does the receptionist and I can hear the whole conversation. The phone rings about every 2 minutes.
- No wall paintings – my last firm had nice paintings in every office. At least my office has wallpaper which makes it unique, because it used to be half of a conference room.
- Extreme heat – I sweated all of yesterday. It’s a little better today. There are major temperature issues in this building. But I’m not complaining, b/c I’m on my probation period.
Third, if I take work home, it doesn’t count. I’m on a schedule where I have to work 80 hours every pay period (2 weeks). The only hours that count are the ones when I’m physically in the office. You can see how that can be bad, especially for nerdy people who want to take reading material home. But it’s also good, b/c there are no billable hours in the private sector sense. So I can be sitting here blogging (as I am doing now) and it still counts.
Fourth, girls rule. Eighty percent of the attorneys are women, and most of us are in our late-twenties/early-thirties, either engaged, married, pregnant, with infants/young children, or some combination thereof. The guys eat lunch usually in their offices alone or in someone’s office. Several of the girls eat in the large conference room to the exclusion of extra testosterone. Having been to two of these lunches so far, I can see how the conversation can get sorta out there.
Fifth, the information technology system is even worse than at my old firm. I didn’t think that was possible. They use old versions of Windows and Internet Explorer, which is like “gag!!!” for a loyal Firefox user as myself. I haven’t talked to anyone yet who even knows what Firefox is. When I explained how it is far superior b/c it has tabbed browsing, they looked at me like I was crazy.
More later…
| Tags: young bureaucrat, young lawyerdom