Wednesday, July 31, 2013

that time plaintiff's counsel walked away with no money

I was scheduled for a trial which was supposed to start today. It was pushed back to next week-ish. Plaintiff's lawyer kept calling with lower demands until finally, today, he was willing to just give up and dismiss the case with prejudice and our client doesn't have to pay a penny! Say what? Not very common, but this is the second time I've seen it at my firm. 

Monday, July 29, 2013

wisdom from younger me

     I used to believe that strength meant steeling yourself and not letting anyone hurt you. It was shutting yourself off, walling yourself up, making yourself impermeable and impervious to everything around you.

    It took me some time to learn that strength starts with your own open, hopeful heart. It's being able to handle the pain that comes from being vulnerable. It's being strong enough to handle disappointment with grace and humility.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Be a woman.

My guy friend sent me this link today: http://justmytype.ca/11-differences-between-dating-a-boy-vs-a-man/

I thought he was giving me some brotherly advice about men, but turns out he was trying to tell me to stop being a girl and start being a woman. Thanks dude. Worth a read.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

non sequiturs

me: This opposing counsel was such a jerk.
CK: He might be hot. Was there tension?
me: This is not like that movie with the family law attorneys, you know with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones?
CK: Intolerable Cruelty?
me: I can't believe you know the name of that!

[minutes later]

CK: The worst thing you can do is rob a man of his time.
me: Okay now you're just talking about the Justin Timberlake movie, you know, the one with Amanda Siegfried?
CK: Life is not a movie. These situations are not movies!
me: Out of Time! That's what it was.

---

Clearly I cannot have a normal conversation without linking it to movies.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

catch-up post

      I was scheduled for three trials in July. They were scheduled for July 15, July 22, and July 31. Pretty much I was certain I was going to die.

     The July 15 one settled in late June. Right before 4th of July weekend, we won on MSJ for the July 22 trial. The only one pending is the one going forward on July 31. It's strange to so busy with trial prep and then being told to abruptly "lay down your tools" (partner's words). It happens so quickly. My last case settled right before I was going to take plaintiff's deposition. I was excited to do it too.

     I've been obsessed with looking for the cronut; more bakeries have them now. Semi-Sweet Bakery in LA was the first to have it, and I went that next at lunch time, but of course, they were all sold out.

     Vanessa and I went to the Bay the day after 4th of July. We spent 4th of July at a friend's bbq where there was a ton of grilled meat, guys, and a huge ole pie. Then illegal fireworks exploded everywhere, because we were purportedly in the 'hood. Vanessa repeatedly attempted to take pictures with her camera phone, but the shutter was too slow and all she got was blurred smudges of light. I can't tell you how many times she tried that night. Jake and his brother Nate decided to twerk in the kitchen at our behest. I hope someone has a video of that.

     We went to Escape from the Mysterious Room in SF while we were in the Bay. I bought some tickets from a guy off of Craigslist and made Jared and Matt come with me to get them. When the guy came out, he looked at Jared and asked, "Are you the muscle?" Jared laughed and I replied, "No, he's the guy who's going to run away and call the police if you try to murder me."

    The escape game was really fun; it spurred Yves and me to start playing online escape games. We would gchat each other for answers even though walk-throughs are easily available online. More fun to problem-solve with a friend, even though it is online. That place also had Japanese toilets, which had a water rinsing option. Yves was in the stall next to me and told me the front option felt like the back option and she told me to try it too. I didn't. I kind of wish I had, but I think it would have been too invigorating.

   Melissa delivered my bridesmaid dress yesterday. We went to UniqueLA and then HomeGoods. It kind of felt nice to have an afternoon shopping, something I don't do much anymore.

   I felt kind of inspired to write this post, because I went back to my old xanga, and I had a ton of these snippets of life with friends, which I haven't been keeping track of anymore. I guess adults don't narrate their lives the way college kids did back in my day. I'm kind weary of pithy FB updates and relying on photographs and check-ins to tell the story of where I've been. So here it is, an entry for later-me, with all the blanks filled in.