Don't make me use my handbag!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Blame Jeremy. Blame Jeremy.
With his beady little eyes, his flapping head so full of lies. Blame Jeremy...
Wait, sorry, that's much more vitriolic than is warranted. Besides, you haven't even stopped to listen to what we're blaming him for. I mean, gosh, how judgmental are you??? With friends like you guys, who needs... um... how does that go? Who needs lawyers? Heh.
But no, see, we're blaming Jeremy that I haven't blogged this week - because, of course, it logically can't be my fault. Trust me on that, I'm a lawyer. But I had written the title and the first few words of a blog on Wednesday night when LO AND BEHOLD (almost gets the blink tag for Gus, but not quite), Jeremy appeared at the flat. So NATURALLY I had to stop what I was doing and hang out with him.
Wednesday was a cool night, actually. I followed the weekly episode of LOST with a 30 minute videotape about my job (I've mentioned it before, it was on TV 1 last year). And honestly, wow. They interviewed four of our clients, and one of them in particular... you just can't help but want to cry. Poor guy. But it made what I do seem much more real and more important, so I'm so glad I saw it.
Anyway, after that, Jeremy came around like I said, and then we went to see the midnight screening of XMEN 3. And I really enjoyed it. I think it might even be my favourite of the three. The others were all ragging it, but that's because they're... purists, I guess. Which is the nice way of saying "comic book geeks". But I don't think it could have been any better, which is nice. Oh, and if you see it, make sure you stay for the clip after the end credits. Quite important.
So - the first blog from the new flat - it's been a while since I've written a blog offline, good ol' dial-up. Royal Terrace 2.0. Jeremy arrives today and the circle will be complete. Nothing can stop us now!
Except perhaps that leaky toilet. And the fact that we can't seem to figure out how to hook up the Sega Megadrive or Playstation 2 to the TV. Maybe we'll have more luck with the N64. Ah, the benefits of living in an all-guy flat. So long!
P.S. In response to Justin's question "Why can't you just make your lunch?" I offer two answers. The first is that it's not easy to find a place to eat brought lunch in town, especially in winter. But the real answer is that I've never made a brought lunch that I like. I mean, unless I got into the habit of eating pasta snacks at work... I don't like sandwiches, and fruit by itself doesn't fill me (trust me, I eat a LOT of fruit for morning tes). So, there y'are.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Did ya miss me?
I bet you did. I didn't. I didn't even notice I'd gone, that I hadn't blogged in a week. That's pretty crazy. I guess that's the way things go, some times.
I haven't signed up with a savings account yet, although I'm applying for a RaboPlus one. The ad swayed me. I HAVE seen The Da Vinci Code, though, and what you hear is true: it's dull. The book was a pretentious neo-gnostic trashy page-turner, the movie was the same. Except for the page-turner bit. And it took itself SO SERIOUSLY. Fortunately, I'd heard some nasty reviews before I saw it, so I was kinda expecting it. It's not worth seeing if you've read the book; conversely, once you've seen it, there's no need to read the book. My two cents (actually, five cents in New Zealand. Or ten, soon. Unless we're talking EFTPOS or the like).
I'm PLANNING on finally sleeping in the new flat tonight. I've just been too busy to do it until now. And too stressed - this has been an incredibly stressful week. Not in the worried, anxious sense. But in the overwhelmed kinda too-much-stuff-on-my-mind sense. So I needed a bit of time out, too. It kinda all crept up on me like a limping giant camoflagued spider.
Yep.
It's my birthday in two weeks. Twenty-four. Jinkies! I'm considering a flat-warming / birthday party joint, maybe over Queen's Birthday weekend. Or maybe I'll just let it slide by like a greased-up Apalachian duck.
Yep.
Surrealist similes are so hot right now. Plus, that would make an awesome name for a band. Think about it.
I've been at work for over three months now. I've bought lunch every single day. It doesn't look like there's any way around that. I just have to accept it. Surrender.
To spice up this post, here are some intriguing thoughts by the delectable Jack Handy. Go on, take a peek.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Money makes the world go round...
... a mark a yen a buck or a pound, it makes the world go rouuuuund!
Okay, (most of) you know that I don't believe that. But, in case I'm overestimating my likely living expenses over the next year or so, I've been looking into savings accounts. Particularly (New World's) Superbank and RaboPlus (the ad, with the guy hanging out with the bored (and boring) banker guy? At the waterfall, in bed with him etc.? Yeah, that one. I never paid any attention to what it was advertising, until know.) They both seem to have really good interest rates. I'm thinking of joining up with Raboplus. Has anything heard anything?
As of today, I am no longer paying to store any of my Dunedin stuff! Yeah, it's been moulding away in a $90 per month cage downtown, but NO MORE. Now I'm paying $145 a week to store it. :-) At the flat, that is. Yep, pops and I shifted all the stuff across to the new place. I'm not quite sure when I move in, but it'll be soon.
Oh right, I was going to talk about my 'sordid' work. First I'll say a brief apology for not blogging for almost a week. Sorry. Haven't felt like it. Too busy. Will try harder. Now, my job. We're involved in civil litigation (i.e. taking people to Court, but with the goal of getting money, not a criminal conviction) in historical abuse cases. That is, we have a HUGE (and increasing) number of clients who were abused (sexually, physically etc.) in the care of various institutions (Social Welfare, Psychiatric Hospitals, churches) back in the 1970s-1990s. It can be quite intense, but I think we all believe in the work we're doing, so that's good.
Oh, and there's ONE completely unrelated client that we're dealing with on the side, and I'm pretty interested in (because it IS criminal, and we're appealing a judgment, which gets me excited).
But yeah, sordid, I suppose. But very interesting.
In response to Bing's comment: it's nothing like The Office, I'm afraid. Although there's a lot of paperwork, we're always dealing with PEOPLE (usually historical records, or interview notes). That makes it less... banal. Our relationships at work are all very good. I'd be quite interested in discissing it all in more detail, but I know that as soon as I did, someone at work would find and read my blog. That's how it works. So I choose to write as I would if I knew they were reading it. Makes things safer.
I can't say that I've had any deep and meaningfuls with my workmates, per se, but our relationships are much tighter than they would be in bigger firms (there're only 8 or 9 of us in the office). We do the odd social thing together, and we do talk about non-superficial stuff quite often (although we try to keep it reasonably light, given that we're dealing with abuse all day). What's it like talking to the dictaphone all week? Quite fun, except for two things. One, I share an office with two others, which makes me quite self-conscious about what I say (especially considering I'm still learning how to do it all and always make mistakes. Secondly, our dictations are always done in first person, from the perspective of the client. Thus, it's not uncommon to be talking about an incident of abuse by saying "I was forced to x". That can be a little disturbing.
I don't know exactly what "ficus" means. It's from the quote. I think it's some kind of plant.
As for the movies, the Simpsons movie is sadly a long way off, and Take the Lead... is not my kind of film. In fact, we saw the trailer for it last night and... um... laughed at it. Sorry, Katie. :-) On the PLUS side, we saw a film called MATCH POINT - Woody Allen's latest (although you would NEVER guess it was his. It was very dark, with little humour and sexual weirdness. And it had no Woody. And it was long. And shot in Britain). Very very good film, a partial adaptation of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, which made me want to read it again. I recommend.
I slept in this morning. Slightly. I'm gonna have to see a doctor about this sleeping thing, again. It's horrible, becoming less and less awake as the week rolls on. And having people comment on it! Heh.
Til next time.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
I am a lawyer... flatting in Kelburn.
Yup, we signed the lease today. Wicked. We move in in a week (and move stuff in next weekend). Exciting! I got my third choice of room, but that's okay - Dave and I are paying $10 less a week than Reuben and Jeremy, which works for me. Man. It'll be so good to be flatting again, especially with those guys. Go us! Since we're not the Royal Boys any more, we need a name. Like "The Kelburn 4" or "The Glen Guys". Any thoughts?
No, "Your Face" is not an option.
Or is it? Hmm.
And tomorrow, we have the new girl starting at work (who I'm going to have to resist calling "Junior"), and that basically means my lawyerly work can begin. I get to sit on my red chair, at my off-white desk, with my blue stapler, and spend 9 hours telling a dictaphone about stuff that can't be repeated in polite conversation (actually, I'm learning that it can't actually be repeated in ANY conversation, except with workmates. Everyone goes strangely quiet. It's a bit frustrating, 'specially when I wanna vent. Oh well!). On that note, I went out to dinner last night with a huge group of randoms (and three people I knew), about 85% of whom were young lawyers (so I didn't feel so special. :-) ). But even they couldn't resist the sort of 'shocked stare' people seem to get when I tell them about our work. It's pretty funny.
I'm having the strangest suspicion that I haven't actually mentioned on my blog about what we do at work. Have I? Do those of you not in Wellington know what I do? I'm not sure... It's not like I can't talk about it (just not names), but I've got this strange resistance to blogging about it.
One thing I keep meaning to mention is something I think about every single day at work, and keep intending to write about it. See, we're on level 1 of a 6/7 story building. On the ground floor is a cafe (and a barber). What this means (apart from excessive amounts of lattes) is that whenever (particularly in the morning) we go into the stairwell (on the way to the bathroom), we get hit by a waft of more-often-than-not deliciously smelling warm air. SO GOOD. It makes me look forward to the first loo-trip of the day. Hah!
Oh, by the way, Pierre, you asked what you're supposed to call me now that I'm a lawyer. Sadly, there is no accepted epithet for New Zealand lawyers, although I'm considering adopting the American "Esquire", if only so that I can be like "Bill S. Preston, Esquire" (you guys know where that's from, yeah?). And as for paying to read my blog, I suppose I could charge the comparatively puny legal aid rate of $125 an hour... but of course, I'll let you know when that kicks in. :-)
Finally, I saw Mission Impossible 3 the other day. It was very cool, and as fun as I expected. And as intellectually stimulating as I expected, I suppose. AND it had the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 trailer attached (which I saw the day before). Also very, very cool. There are some very cool (yeah, I said cool three times. It's the best way to describe a movie you can geek out over regardless of its actual value or importance) movies coming out soon - Da Vinci Code (not so cool, but I'm looking forward to it), X-Men, Superman, um... um... okay, I'm out. I'm sure there's at least another. Oh, Pirates, of course. Bond! Yes, Casino Royale. Mmm, good.
I wonder if J and I will get around to making another movie this year, now that we're flatmates. I seriously considered a documentary about my job (not ABOUT my job, but about the issues and stories we deal with), but it would probably be too hard (and Miriama Kamo has already done it, and won awards for it. Gutted). Hmm.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I am a lawyer.
Wait, what?
As of today, I am a fully qualified, practising lawyer. No strings, no conditions. Nothing but lawyer. Can't get any more lawyery than this.
What?
APPARENTLY, because it takes so long for the District Law Society to actually process your practising certificate, you can practise from the day that you pay your ($850) bill. Which my boss paid for me. Today.
I KNOW.
You read it here first (and, save my parents and workmates, you're the first to know). No more - "I'm a qualified lawyer, but I'm waiting for blah blah blah before I can practise." No. I am a lawyer.
Look out, world.
Random filler post...
This post is filled with information that I wanted to put in the previous and the next posts, but I didn't want to ruin their individual effects. So I will post this miscellaneous post (and regret, later, posting three times in one day what I could have stretched out over several weeks).
First: My stapler is blue. I got to choose the colour myself, and it was more soothing than the red or black ones. And besides, when I watched OFFICE SPACE I felt... I dunno. Maybe I'm being too sensitive (which would be a first, or close to), but I thought the creators' mockery of the stapler-character (and those with similar mental/emotional/social issues) was cruel. It made me quite upset, to be honest (which still weirds me out), and totally spoiled the movie. Some things shouldn't be laughed at. Or maybe it was that I felt pity for him, which is more condescending than my previous explanation. Either way, not impressed. My view. Back on track, my desk arrived yesterday. It's big. And it has a red chair (darn it, why not blue! Now I'll CLAAAASH!)
Nextly: Gimp room - it kinda depends on what we do with it. If desks go in there, the floor will be quite cramped. But going by Chile standards, you could easily sleep eight. :-) I'll let you know, and I'll put my hand up for the 6-11 July 'weekend' for ya, Carms.
Thoidly: Finally, the show is good. I can be proud of it now. It still ain't no B&B, and it never will be (and I should stop saying that, comparing the two). And the music isn't as memorable or powerful. But, darn it, it could be really funny. And I'm pretty sure it will be, at least in parts. In the parts I've seen, at least. My concerns are melting away. And we'll be having our first cast social this Sunday afterevening, which always oils the old, um, machine-thing.
Lastly: Holy cow, it's bed time. That's it. Oh, okay, one more thing. Wanna watch that episode of LOST or DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES you missed? Don't worry! ABC is now streaming your favourite shows, for free viewing! Continental USA only, sadly. So, if you're from Hawaii (or some NON-USA country - as IF!), you'll be pleased to know that there's a rather complicated hack. Which I can't vouch for yet, but I'm hoping it works. When I have the resources (read: time) I will attend to this question (read: fiddle with my mother's computer). I'll also be keen to know whether the hack also applies to the Adult Swim's stream, containing such Carmilicious shows as The Brak Show and Sealab 2021!
01:02:03 04/05/06
I thought I'd stay up JUST SO I CAN POST THIS on this moment (meow? THUD!).
Okay, I'm lying, I slept through it. But I noticed you can trick blogger into thinking that you're posting at a particular time and date. Fun fact of the day.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Count Down, of Downsylvania.
Now, I everyone realises that in a little under 7 hours, a very special event is taking place. An event that will not occur again for A HUNDRED YEARS, when I will be 123 (if I'm alive). More details further down...
In other news, today I faxed off the required forms to obtain my practising certificate. And so the distance between Sam and Solicitor Sam narrows even more, with only two small steps to be taken. Watch this space. This one --->
Did you SEE that? No? That's because you WEREN'T WATCHING THAT SPACE!!! Gosh! That'll LEARN you.
Have I USED enough CAPITALISED WORDS in this post?
I should also mention that the flat finalisation appears to be going forward in a relatively hitchless fashion, which it possible. Also, in the GOOD NEWS box, the show (HOW TO SUCCEED) is certainly improving with each rehearsal. Why, it looks like it may be FUN AND FUNNY at the same time! Who knew?
Not me.
Okay, I'm just messing around, I don't have anything to blog about. Except, as promised, this highly publicised factoid: This morning, at 3 seconds past 1:02am, it will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. Except in America. This will NOT HAPPEN AGAIN until 2106. So I recommend you set your alarms, so that you can tell your grandchildren.
You know, if you remember about it when you have grandchildren. I know I intend to. That's why I'm tattooing it on my forearm.
Monday, May 01, 2006
We have found a flat.
You heard it here first. The Royal Terrace legacy WILL live on, with Jeremy, Dave and I - and Honorary Royal Terracian Reuben - will be flatting together in Kelburn. All going to plan, that is. But that's very positive news, and we will probably be moving in in a fortnight.
I am ambivalent.
I think a lot of my ambivalence lies in my current level of comfort. I need to keep reminding myself that living with the folks (cheap and somewhat easier) was always a temporary option. It won't be cheap living in Kelburn (especially if you add on whiteware rental/purchase, etc), nor that much closer to work and town (about 15 minutes walk vs. 15 minutes on the bus). There are many less obvious benefits, though. Tied for first place would be the fact that I'd be flatting instead of living at home (social and emotional benefits galore), and that I'd be flatting with, well, the guys I'm going to be flatting with.
All in all, I'm happy. I'll be happier once I've moved in, I presume. Although I can sense there might be a little conflict with room choosing! There'll be ways around it, I'm sure. It does mean that I'm going to have to seriously look at my budget, though, something I've been... not 'putting off' per se, just... conveniently forgetting about doing. There's a difference.
On the plus size - sorry, side (I'm still bemoaning my Easter weight-gain. Not really) - there is a gimp room. A smallish room that may well hold a few mattresses, should anyone ever want to visit (and, of course, there'll be plenty of free beds at my folks' place! :-) ).
Also, my boss has asked for my legal documentation today so that she can buy me a practicing certificate (I think they cost over $1,000 and I was anticipating having to pay for it) - which is the final step to me becoming a lawyer, officially. Watch this space. Did I mention that my stapler arrived today? My first piece of office stationary.
Oh dear, I've become a suit.
I'm off. Hopefully to pray before bed, but my discipline is at an all-time low (and spiralling worryingly downwards), so I can't be sure. I do need to, but...
But.
I just caught myself. That'll serve as some motivation for me... but will it be enough??? [Cue cheesey Batman music. You know, just because.]