Alright!!!

Posted on | August 31, 2011 | 27 Comments

The answer to the above picture is NO, you don’t have patience

Things are hectic and this is going to be a very short update. I’ll write more about it later.

I have a brand new job. Yep. I am now working for a Real Estate Mortgage Firm that has one in house counsel who only works there part-time and I am there full time to help him with the legal documents, etc. He is young, very nice and told me not to take this job seriously because the only way I would be terminated is if I lit the office on fire.

So- yea me!

Category: General

New Blogger!

Posted on | August 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

We have yet another blog to check out!

Adventures In Paralegalism

Check it out and tell them PH sent you!

Category: General

Good News

Posted on | August 30, 2011 | 9 Comments

I have great news, but I need patience from you! The next couple of days are going to be hectic, but I promise to keep you updated on everything soon!!

Category: General

Losing Friends Hurts Like Hell

Posted on | August 23, 2011 | 13 Comments

It’s devastating to learn that some of your friends no longer want to be a part of your life, no matter what the reason. But especially, when that reason has not been made clear.

I have always taken my friendships very seriously. Very. Seriously.

Indeed it is rare to find true friends that love you and accept you for all that you are and love you and accept you for all that you are not.

I guess that’s why it hurts so much when they are gone.

A true friend can know you better than you know yourself. A true friend is always forgiving and honest. A true friend can also see you for all you are worth even when you can’t see it in yourself. They are there for the good times, and there for the bad,they even call you out on your shit.

I hate to sound cliche but, “The Harder The Truth To Tell, The Truer The Friend That Tells It.” My closest friends, the ones I trust the most, would never let me leave the house in an outfit that isn’t flattering, and always tell me when I need a breath mint. They tell me when I am great and they certainly tell me when I am an asshole.

I think you are lucky if you find just ONE friend like that in this world.

Alas, I am writing this post with tears falling from my eyes and a very heavy heart. It seems that some of my truly valued friendships has come to an untimely and unexplained end. It has not been the same since I became divorced, but now, all ties are cut, and I don’t know why.

Many people expect that their friends will always be there. They expect friendship to last forever. Yet, I understand that friendships end and friends part company everyday. I know it is unfortunate, even the best maintained friendships can end. Many end because of a change in personality or lifestyle. Sometimes friends just drift apart and fade away with time. There is a retreat from self-disclosure and seeking out each other’s company. Avoidance begins. The friendship slowly loses importance and finally disappears.

I get that.

But here is what I don’t get. Usually, I can pin point the reason or circumstance as to the: when, where, what, why, and how the relationship was terminated. However, in this particular case, with these particular friends, I don’t know what was/is the cause that has led to the sudden demise of our friendship.

I believe that it is very important to hold myself accountable for my actions and to take full responsibility when I am in the wrong. So, for the last two weeks I have been making myself crazy. I have been analyzing every word and every action, while replaying every single conversation, and every single moment in time we spent together over the last 7 years, in my head. After much thought and scrutiny I am still left wondering what I may have said or done that drove my friends out of my life?

I don’t usually have this much trouble letting go of a friendship. Shit, I have cut people out of my life that I felt were toxic for me, and I never gave them a second thought. But at least I had the decency to give them the courtesy of a phone call, or to write them a good bye letter, giving an explanation as to WHY I would no longer be a participating member of the relationship.

These former friends, the ones who extended their hands in friendship, only to take it away, without warning or notice have been such an important role in my life that I am unable to walk away as easily. I know that I can not make someone stay friends with me, and I will respect their wishes. I just wish it didn’t hurt this bad.

I know I have other people I can lean on. I know that I am blessed with HSF and Mrs. Paralegal, and Janna who I can turn to.

But I miss them. A lot.

And, this…hurts.

I am trying to hold on to the fact that people will come in and out of my life for a various reason. Some are meant to stay forever. Others are here only temporarily to teach me a valuable lesson or to help me through something. Maybe they were in my life to teach me and that lesson has been learned and our time together is simply over.

Yet I still have no closure. And no answers. Maybe I never will. I guess it is important for me to grieve and feel the pain fully. Then maybe I can move on to enhance another friendship or build entirely new friendships.

But it is going to take some time to get used to this new empty place in my life that was once filled with their happy, smiling, faces and all the good times we had.

Category: General

What Is Going On At Preschool???

Posted on | August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

So, since I have no job, sit on the couch eating Cheetos until my fingers turn orange and watch Judge Judy all day, HSF thought it would be productive if I picked up our four year old from pre-school. Usually he does it, since his hours are better, but if it gets me out of the house, I was up for it.

We got home and I was emptying out her backpack when I came across an art project that she did that day. I was puzzled, then couldn’t stop laughing at the picture. I mean, well, it is all kinds of awesome!

After I collected myself, I asked our daughter what she learned in school that day. Like any four year old, she didn’t remember, so I showed her the picture and asked her about it. She looked at it and said “I don’t know what that is.” I asked her if she made it and she said yes, but she didn’t know what it was.

I had to get to the bottom of this picture. I mean, it couldn’t be what I thought it was, and they were way too young for the teacher to talk to them about sex education. I grilled her for about an hour when she finally said, “Oh- yeah, we were talking about bugs. Those are fire flies.”

So, I felt a little bad for having such a dirty mind about a sweet little girls fire fly picture, but come on.. what do these fire flies look like to you???

Admit it! You thought the same thing I did. I even asked her which way the picture was supposed to go and she hung it on our fridge exactly as you see it.

Yep. I am saving this picture for her slide show for her wedding!

Category: General

Interview Number #2

Posted on | August 18, 2011 | 16 Comments

So, my recruiter called and said there was a criminal attorney who worked NOT downtown who was looking for a paralegal to take care of all of her DWI/ALR Hearings. That was the whole job. I asked how much and she told me that the attorney was vauge on that, but with my experience in Criminal Law, salary shouldn’t be a problem.

I was actually excited about this job. Only handling DWI and ALR hearings? That is a walk in the park. Yes, you must be organized, know the time limits, get supenoas out on time, etc., but the job is easy. The bonus is getting the DWI CD’s from the police and watching them when you are bored. Good lord they are funny!

So, I met with the office manager who gave me a basic run down of the firm, the duties, introduced me to everyone, and then told me that the attorney was waiting to see me.

The interview went well. The attorney was well spoken, very nice, and was impressed with my knowledge of ALR hearings, the timelines, ODL’s, etc. At the end of the interview, she asked me when I could start.

Not wanting to sound too desperate, I told her in a week. She told me that would be great, that I would be a great addition to their firm and she looked forward to working with me.

WHUCK??? I asked her if she was offering me the position. She said yes and that I could finalize everything with her office manager….

This was VERY strange. I was glad that she was impressed with me, but what the hell?

I asked her about salary, and she honestly tried to dodge the question. I asked again and she said that she was paying $6.00 an hour for the position. I swear I laughed because I thought she was kidding. Well, she wasn’t. She asked if that was going to be a problem.

HA! I told her that yes, that if she expected a seasoned paralegal to do the work of ALR Hearings, etc. and only get paid $6.00 an hour, that she would be looking for a very long time to fill the position. I told her that even recent graduates of Paralegal schools would never accept that kind of salary and that maybe she could find a high school student who she was willing to train for the job, because that would be the only option for the ridiculous salary she was offering.

She tried to explain times are tough, blah, blah, blah, and she would be open to any suggestions. I asked her about her marketing budget, the office overhead and her salary. She gave me a hard, cold stare when I mentioned her salary and said that she had a family to provide for and there was no way she was going to cut her salary (she also drove a brand new Mercedes which I noticed in the parking lot ). I told her that I too had a family to support, without a huge car payment and that there was no way I could work for $6.00 an hour, especially when I know how much work she would be asking me to do. Hell, I could make more working at a department store, Hooters or a really sleazy strip club, but good luck with that search, asked her for my resume back, thanked her for her time and left.

Seriously, $6.00 an hour for all that work??? ALR Hearings, ODL’s, etc. is easy, but time consuming and deadlines must be met.

She didn’t seem crazy or a drug addict, but she needs to put the crack pipe away now if she wants any help for her firm. Wow- just- wow.

Category: General

I Loves Me Some TLC

Posted on | August 16, 2011 | 10 Comments

Nope, not the amazing rap/group from the 90′s (although No Scrubs is still one of my favorite songs- RIP Left Eye). I am talking about the TLC channel and one of my favorite shows. Hoarders.

For those of you who are not obsessed with incredibly depressing reality television shows, let me introduce you to one of my favorites…”Hoarding: Buried Alive”. This show tells the true stories of individuals whose lives are focused on a self-destructing behavior, from collecting knick-knacks that eventually force people to buy a second home just to have space to breathe, to people who hoard 85 animals in their homes, in which they live amongst lice, fleas, cockroaches, and feces everywhere in their home. I mean everywhere- even in the kitchen and the beds.

And man do I LOVE to watch them. My name is PH and I am addicted to Hoarders.

So, why do I love this show?

First, I think that these shows highlight how many families deal with these issues and have to keep quiet about them. Often there is an unsaid rule to never talk about your strung out sister, your alcoholic parent, or your “weird” aunt who seems to like being surrounded by trash. These shows make viewers going through these issues feel less alone, and more empowered to do something about the problem. I am positive you know someone who has these tendencies, just not to this extreme. My dad is kind of a pack rat. I have always told my brother that if my mother dies first, then he has to deal with Dad and the house. Hey- I thought of it first and called dibs, so it’s his problem now.

It also makes me feel SO good about the condition of our house. Feeling guilty about the laundry piling up, well watch an episode of Hoarders and you will feel like you are freaking Mr. Clean himself.

I try not to judge the people on the show because obviously they have a serious problem, but I have found myself becoming frustrated at the person’s inability to just change their ways through fierce will power. Just clean up the shit! God- go to therapy. Why are you looking through mounds of trash just to save a happy meal toy from 1989??? You seriously live in a house knee deep in used adult diapers and the cleaners have found a freaking dead cat skeleton under the mounds of crap, but you are worried about the movers losing some of your precious news clippings from 1945??? Yes, I yell at my TV a lot when this show is on.

It is truly a fascinating show and I am hooked. Once again, if you EVER feel bad because you didn’t clean your bathroom and do the laundry one weekend, seriously watch this show. You will feel like the cleanest person on earth.

Category: General

Super Fan or Really Bad Appearance Prize?

Posted on | August 12, 2011 | 5 Comments

Well, it looks I found someone who loves Judge Judy more than I do.. Check out the tat…

Do you think that he is a super fan, or this is what the “losers” get as a prize for appearing on the show?

Don’t forget to vote for your votes for your favorite Paralegal or Attorney blogs using the link below….

Use the Blawg 100 Amici form to tell us about a blawg——not your own——that you read regularly that you think other lawyers should know about. If there is more than one blawg you want to support, please send us additional amici through the form. We may include some of the best comments in our Blawg 100 coverage. But keep your remarks pithy——you have a 500-character limit.

Happy Friday!

Category: General

ABA List of Best Blogs

Posted on | August 11, 2011 | 11 Comments

So, here is an email I recieved from ABA….

We’re working on our list of the 100 best legal blogs, and we’d like your advice on which blawgs you think we should include and / or what practice areas you’d like to see represented in the Blawg 100.

Editors make the final decisions about what’s included in the Blawg 100; this isn’t a scenario in which the blawgs that receive the most amici are the ones that make the list.

Friend-of-the-blawg briefs are due no later than Friday, Sept. 9.

Thanks in advance for your insight. And keep posting!

So, I can’t vote for my own blog, but YOU can It would be nice to see some paralegal blogs listed instead of only attorney blogs. If you don’t want to vote for me, no worries because there are several amazing paralegal blogs out there now and you now have choices on different paralegal blogs! Just think, two years ago we only had a handful of paralegal blogs. I am so glad that has changed.

Anyway, vote for me, damn it!

Category: General

Interview Number 1

Posted on | August 10, 2011 | 10 Comments

Yesterday I had four interviews for paralegal positions in my area. Interviews are super fun, especially in the Texas heat which has been around 105 everyday and you have to wear a nice suit that you are sweating through the moment you exit your air conditioned car. Thank goodness for deodorant.

So, my first interview was with a PI firm. Why? I don’t know. I have NO experience with PI work, but my recruiter called and said the attorney wanted to interview me. The salary was good and it was not downtown, so I figured what the hell and drove down there.

My interview was at 9:30. I arrived about 10 minutes early (I HATE to be late anywhere) and was told that the attorney was in a staff meeting and that he would be with me shortly.

I sat down, looked for anything other than a law magazine to read (there was none), so I pulled out my Kindle and started reading. After about 10 minutes I hear someone screaming in the conference room. I mean at the top of your lungs screaming. Someone was yelling at the staff at how their lack of detail sucks, that revenue is down and that this needs to change NOW. I can only assume this would be the attorney I was about to meet, so I decided there is no way in hell I would be working for this man. I relaxed a bit more, since I didn’t have to “be on my toes” for a good interview and waited.

The screaming went on for about another 10 minutes and then the staff was let out, most of them streaming by me with looks of depression or resignation. Not a good sign. I asked the receptionist if this was normal and she said that it happens every once in a while when the attorney “gets in his moods”. Okay, strike two. Once in a while means every week in my book.

I was kept waiting for another 45 minutes and told the receptionist that I had another interview set up, so if I was not seen in the next 5 minutes I would have to leave. I didn’t tell her I would have to re-schedule because I wasn’t going to waste gas driving there again.

The receptionist called the attorney and three minutes later he blessed me with his presence and walked me to the conference room.

He had a notepad with him, but I noticed he did not have my resume, so I handed him another copy that I brought. He looked at it and asked if I brought my references with me as well. I did, but told him that I could email them to him later if he felt he needed them.

First off, this man had no personality. Zilch. Nothing. It was like talking to a wet mop. I don’t ask for much, but a smile or a sense of some kind of humor would be nice.

He began to ask me a ton of detailed PI questions, which I could not answer. He seemed to be getting frustrated and I told him that I had NO PI experience, that I never claimed to, that my recruiter sent him my resume and that he wanted to interview me anyway. He just grunted. Yes, grunted, like a pig, and then looked back down at my resume.

So- we were off to a fabulous start, wouldn’t you say?

After his questions, he started to get up to end the interview, telling me that I was highly skilled and he would like me to come back and meet the head paralegal. I thanked him, but told him that I would like to ask some questions as well. This irritated him, but he sat down and stared at me blankly.

I asked the regular questions, do you have billable hours, will their be overtime and if so is it with pay, do you expect your paralegals to work weekends, how long have your paralegals been with you, etc. He answered the questions and started to get up to leave when I said I had just one more question. I told him that I was in the lobby and that I heard every word of his “staff meeting”. I asked him what if I was a client that just walked in to see if I could make an appointment and had heard that. His response? I treat my staff the way I want. It is my firm and I am the boss. I honestly don’t care what a client hears.

Wow. Just wow.

He asked if I had any more questions and I stated that no, he answered everything I needed to know about him and how he runs the firm. I also thanked him for being honest because it just saved me a lot of time because I would not be a good match for his firm.

He actually looked stunned and asked why not. Good God! He was so clueless. I told him that in no way could I go to staff meetings every week and get yelled at. I also told him that I work with attorneys who care what their clients needs are and I felt that the treatment of his staff, while I was in the waiting room was very unprofessional, whether they deserved it or not, and they are better ways to handle situations like that. I told him it was his firm, he could yell all he wanted at his staff, but I would not be part of that abuse. I thanked him for his time, and walked out the door.

Here is the kicker. The receptionist called me about three hours later and said that the attorney wanted me to come back and meet with the lead Paralegal. I asked her if he had specifically told her to call me and ask me this after the interview and she said yes, that when I left he was upset that she didn’t schedule me to come in again.

I thanked her and told her that I did not think the firm and I would be a good match. I don’t work well with attorneys who yell at their staff every week. She said she understood and then actually said “Good choice”, then hung up.

I know I can’t be too picky because I really do need a job, but there is no way I am leaving the Death Star to work for another Death Star.

Interviews are so much fun!

Category: General

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Losing Friends Hurts Like Hell

What Is Going On At Preschool???

Interview Number #2

I Loves Me Some TLC

Super Fan or Really Bad Appearance Prize?

ABA List of Best Blogs

Interview Number 1

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