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Day 1236: Spring Loading
Feb. 28th, 2016 08:46 pmHoly frack, but the weather here continues to be crazy. Near-blizzard last week? Sixty degrees this week. Rolling around town with the windows down and actually sort of regretting wearing a jacket.
Monday was a pretty chill day. Brief court in the morning, brief court in the afternoon, brief home visit. Court in the morning could have been briefer if, you know, court hadn't been running nearly two hours behind, but I closed another case, so that's kind of a relief. Also a bit more of a relief because otherwise that case was going to transfer for a new worker, and those transfers always result in some kind of hiccup.
Tuesday was sort of back to back meetings and home visits, but I did get to hang out with the girls from work for a hot second, which was nice. I got caught up on my podcasts while I cruised all over the valley, which was nice. One of my team meetings was basically the monthly therapy session for foster mom. I don't think she actually needs therapy, but I think she's lonely and in a tough situation and she knows the caseworker and I are kind of a captive audience. She's running this fundraiser thing that involves delicious popcorn, and in the middle of the meeting one of the girls from the office said she'd checked my calendar and she knew what meeting I was at and could I get more popcorn? Foster mom was hilariously delighted about that, so that was kind of a fun, light note to end the meeting on. (My kid is gearing up to testify against her father at a nasty criminal trial, so we're all really worried for her.)
We had scouts that night, which involved us learning from mistakes previous. I'd baked cupcakes, and we bribed them with additional cupcakes if they could recite the scout oath and law from memory, but we learned, and they didn't get their hefty dose of sugar till after scouts was done. We had a brief lesson about police forensics - that was mostly them getting their little hands inky so they could look at their own fingerprints - and then, because it had been warm, we decided to go outside and play some ball tag in the neighbor's yard with the proviso that no playing would happen if it was muddy.
It wasn't muddy. But it was a veritable minefield of deer poop, because even if this place calls itself a city, deer feel free to roam the streets and invade people's gardens. Not our garden, because we have 'guard' dogs, but they just kinda wander the neighborhood as they please. I haven't played ball tag in at least four months, so I was pathetically winded when it was said and done.
Wednesday was a chill day, just three team meetings. One case is going badly, and my kid is doing great, but things are nasty enough at home that we can't send him back, and he's worked so hard, and it's not fair. My other two cases are going really well. One of them had been going awfully at the end of last year, and I'd had to get really mean with mom, and now that she's doing well meetings are briefer and more pleasant. I think my ability to go all bad cop on her really shook her up, and she remembers that. As much as I hate being bad cop, I think with her it was an effective tactic, and she's doing well, so I'm glad. The other half of that case has basically melted down, and I am not much pleased by it at all.
Dancing on Wednesday night was brutal. We weren't in our regular space - we were down in the art gallery, which was kind of cool, because we got to look at beautiful art while we danced, but there were also no mirrors, so we were sort of forced to internalize a lot more of dancing than we usually do. We made some pretty good headway on the choreography in beginner class. Oh man. Dancing with a basket on my head is hard, but it can't be any harder than dancing with a sword on my head, so I'm going to give it my best. Advanced class was brutal. We did floor drills for an hour straight, almost entirely with zills the entire time - it's a miracle my fingertips weren't permanently blue by the end of it. But apart from needing to adjust some of the solo choreography, we've almost completely finished the dance, and I'm excited. It's going to be so cool! We look pretty darn good, and we figured out a lot. Now we just need to polish so our lines and formations are clean. There are parts where we move as two separate units, as a whole, as soloists, and learning to make those transitions so the audience can feel the changes with us will be tough. But it'll be worth it.
Had a major breakthrough on a case on Thursday. So excited. One kid I was sure would never get to go home might be able to go home. We're planning on it. We're working toward it. It was tough and emotional, but we got through the meeting, and I think we came out of it on the other side with high hopes and a good plan. My meeting after that was a because because the mom didn't show. It was hilarious, though. I didn't have court that day, so of course I went casual - plain blue long sleeve shirt, jeans, my denim jacket of All the Pockets. It was at a social services office I don't usually go to because I'm more in south county and this was more central county, so I went up to the window and asked to see the caseworker who'd arranged the meeting. The girl behind the window gave me a really funny look, and a moment later the caseworker - and one of my fellow lawyers - popped out of the back, giggling like mad. Apparently the girl behind the window had not recognized me or realized who I was and had reported to the caseworker that a "biker chick" had asked for her. Apparently my black denim jacket decorated with Stargate, Harry Potter, and Supernatural patches makes me look super thug or something. My coworker had claimed it Super Casual Thursday and was sporting yoga pants and a superman shirt, more informal than I've ever seen her. I couldn't stop laughing. We giggled about it all day. Me. A biker chick.
I also crushed a teenaged boy's dreams. He wants to be emancipated. I ran the immediate math on his projected income and his projected income, and it didn't look good. He'd brought a couple of friends with him as support, and I spoke to them. None of them looked even vaguely chagrined that they were skipping school to meet with me. And when I checked in with the school district social worker, she very carefully did not disclose anything about specific students I should know, but did let me know what issues the kids were involved in, and yeah, it really didn't look good at all. So I told the kid no.
The day was kinda fun, because I got to cuddle babies, which is always cheery (except when both babies are cousins and both come from a history of heroin use), but it was also long. I came straight home, fired up the oven, made some cheap pizza rolls, and then took off for scouts. Only one of our Cubs was there, so they decided to wait till after the meal to do the skit. Our other scouts turned up late because they'd been misdirected about the time (oops). When I called Cody he'd forgotten about it altogether, so he had to bust out of the lab and come join me. I ended up sitting with some moms and we talked and it was nice. The day ended rough, with me telling this poor mother about all the ways her fourteen-year-old daughter could have died while she was on the run, so being able to vent a little with the ladies was nice.
Friday, by comparison, was super chill. First appointment of the day was cancelled, so I rolled into the office right before our staff meeting, and that was really fun. We ate food, talked, got caught up with each other, and then we lawyers engaged in case studies, or rather, confessing that some of our cases were stumping us and asking each other for help. I got some really great feedback from them, so after the meeting I went back to my desk and fired of soooo many emails to caseworkers making sure I was on top of things like team meetings. A couple of my cases got pulled for QCR, so that's going to be wonderful, but otherwise things are okay.
I was pretty darn peeved Thursday night when She Who Must Not Be Named emailed me asking for an extension on the discovery deadline for the dreaded five-day trial. I said no, that she got a de-facto three month extension when she lied to the judge and said the discovery deadline had been moved (after the other lawyer and I met it). She initially said she wanted to meet with her client and couldn't do it till Monday (poor planning on her part) and it wasn't right that we wouldn't grant her professional courtesy for a one day extension. I informed her that I'd granted her professional courtesy when I didn't rat her out to the judge for lying to said judge about when the discovery due date was, and then she whined and said now she had to work on her birthday. Boohoo. I worked through Thanksgiving to meet that stupid deadline she was too lazy to meet. She somehow, in her own deluded way, interpreted my email to mean that I stipulated to an extension. Because the other guy didn't, though, technically anything she turned in past the deadline she cannot use at trial. I wonder which of us will have to raise it, of course.
Saturday was a good day. Cleaned the church. Ran errands. Got way more done than I expected. Wrote. Cleaned lots. Also relaxed a little. Finally got caught up on The Flash again, which was nice.
Today was incredibly lazy. Spent most of it in bed, either reading or napping. Didn't get any writing done. I felt a spark of energy to work on some original fiction, and now...not so much. Still, it's been a good week.
One of the best parts of this week is that mom and dad are back, so I got to speak to them again for the first time in a long time, and that was nice. The pollution in China did no favors for mum though, so now she has pneumonia. I worry about her, but at least dad is there taking care of her.
Here's to a new week!
Monday was a pretty chill day. Brief court in the morning, brief court in the afternoon, brief home visit. Court in the morning could have been briefer if, you know, court hadn't been running nearly two hours behind, but I closed another case, so that's kind of a relief. Also a bit more of a relief because otherwise that case was going to transfer for a new worker, and those transfers always result in some kind of hiccup.
Tuesday was sort of back to back meetings and home visits, but I did get to hang out with the girls from work for a hot second, which was nice. I got caught up on my podcasts while I cruised all over the valley, which was nice. One of my team meetings was basically the monthly therapy session for foster mom. I don't think she actually needs therapy, but I think she's lonely and in a tough situation and she knows the caseworker and I are kind of a captive audience. She's running this fundraiser thing that involves delicious popcorn, and in the middle of the meeting one of the girls from the office said she'd checked my calendar and she knew what meeting I was at and could I get more popcorn? Foster mom was hilariously delighted about that, so that was kind of a fun, light note to end the meeting on. (My kid is gearing up to testify against her father at a nasty criminal trial, so we're all really worried for her.)
We had scouts that night, which involved us learning from mistakes previous. I'd baked cupcakes, and we bribed them with additional cupcakes if they could recite the scout oath and law from memory, but we learned, and they didn't get their hefty dose of sugar till after scouts was done. We had a brief lesson about police forensics - that was mostly them getting their little hands inky so they could look at their own fingerprints - and then, because it had been warm, we decided to go outside and play some ball tag in the neighbor's yard with the proviso that no playing would happen if it was muddy.
It wasn't muddy. But it was a veritable minefield of deer poop, because even if this place calls itself a city, deer feel free to roam the streets and invade people's gardens. Not our garden, because we have 'guard' dogs, but they just kinda wander the neighborhood as they please. I haven't played ball tag in at least four months, so I was pathetically winded when it was said and done.
Wednesday was a chill day, just three team meetings. One case is going badly, and my kid is doing great, but things are nasty enough at home that we can't send him back, and he's worked so hard, and it's not fair. My other two cases are going really well. One of them had been going awfully at the end of last year, and I'd had to get really mean with mom, and now that she's doing well meetings are briefer and more pleasant. I think my ability to go all bad cop on her really shook her up, and she remembers that. As much as I hate being bad cop, I think with her it was an effective tactic, and she's doing well, so I'm glad. The other half of that case has basically melted down, and I am not much pleased by it at all.
Dancing on Wednesday night was brutal. We weren't in our regular space - we were down in the art gallery, which was kind of cool, because we got to look at beautiful art while we danced, but there were also no mirrors, so we were sort of forced to internalize a lot more of dancing than we usually do. We made some pretty good headway on the choreography in beginner class. Oh man. Dancing with a basket on my head is hard, but it can't be any harder than dancing with a sword on my head, so I'm going to give it my best. Advanced class was brutal. We did floor drills for an hour straight, almost entirely with zills the entire time - it's a miracle my fingertips weren't permanently blue by the end of it. But apart from needing to adjust some of the solo choreography, we've almost completely finished the dance, and I'm excited. It's going to be so cool! We look pretty darn good, and we figured out a lot. Now we just need to polish so our lines and formations are clean. There are parts where we move as two separate units, as a whole, as soloists, and learning to make those transitions so the audience can feel the changes with us will be tough. But it'll be worth it.
Had a major breakthrough on a case on Thursday. So excited. One kid I was sure would never get to go home might be able to go home. We're planning on it. We're working toward it. It was tough and emotional, but we got through the meeting, and I think we came out of it on the other side with high hopes and a good plan. My meeting after that was a because because the mom didn't show. It was hilarious, though. I didn't have court that day, so of course I went casual - plain blue long sleeve shirt, jeans, my denim jacket of All the Pockets. It was at a social services office I don't usually go to because I'm more in south county and this was more central county, so I went up to the window and asked to see the caseworker who'd arranged the meeting. The girl behind the window gave me a really funny look, and a moment later the caseworker - and one of my fellow lawyers - popped out of the back, giggling like mad. Apparently the girl behind the window had not recognized me or realized who I was and had reported to the caseworker that a "biker chick" had asked for her. Apparently my black denim jacket decorated with Stargate, Harry Potter, and Supernatural patches makes me look super thug or something. My coworker had claimed it Super Casual Thursday and was sporting yoga pants and a superman shirt, more informal than I've ever seen her. I couldn't stop laughing. We giggled about it all day. Me. A biker chick.
I also crushed a teenaged boy's dreams. He wants to be emancipated. I ran the immediate math on his projected income and his projected income, and it didn't look good. He'd brought a couple of friends with him as support, and I spoke to them. None of them looked even vaguely chagrined that they were skipping school to meet with me. And when I checked in with the school district social worker, she very carefully did not disclose anything about specific students I should know, but did let me know what issues the kids were involved in, and yeah, it really didn't look good at all. So I told the kid no.
The day was kinda fun, because I got to cuddle babies, which is always cheery (except when both babies are cousins and both come from a history of heroin use), but it was also long. I came straight home, fired up the oven, made some cheap pizza rolls, and then took off for scouts. Only one of our Cubs was there, so they decided to wait till after the meal to do the skit. Our other scouts turned up late because they'd been misdirected about the time (oops). When I called Cody he'd forgotten about it altogether, so he had to bust out of the lab and come join me. I ended up sitting with some moms and we talked and it was nice. The day ended rough, with me telling this poor mother about all the ways her fourteen-year-old daughter could have died while she was on the run, so being able to vent a little with the ladies was nice.
Friday, by comparison, was super chill. First appointment of the day was cancelled, so I rolled into the office right before our staff meeting, and that was really fun. We ate food, talked, got caught up with each other, and then we lawyers engaged in case studies, or rather, confessing that some of our cases were stumping us and asking each other for help. I got some really great feedback from them, so after the meeting I went back to my desk and fired of soooo many emails to caseworkers making sure I was on top of things like team meetings. A couple of my cases got pulled for QCR, so that's going to be wonderful, but otherwise things are okay.
I was pretty darn peeved Thursday night when She Who Must Not Be Named emailed me asking for an extension on the discovery deadline for the dreaded five-day trial. I said no, that she got a de-facto three month extension when she lied to the judge and said the discovery deadline had been moved (after the other lawyer and I met it). She initially said she wanted to meet with her client and couldn't do it till Monday (poor planning on her part) and it wasn't right that we wouldn't grant her professional courtesy for a one day extension. I informed her that I'd granted her professional courtesy when I didn't rat her out to the judge for lying to said judge about when the discovery due date was, and then she whined and said now she had to work on her birthday. Boohoo. I worked through Thanksgiving to meet that stupid deadline she was too lazy to meet. She somehow, in her own deluded way, interpreted my email to mean that I stipulated to an extension. Because the other guy didn't, though, technically anything she turned in past the deadline she cannot use at trial. I wonder which of us will have to raise it, of course.
Saturday was a good day. Cleaned the church. Ran errands. Got way more done than I expected. Wrote. Cleaned lots. Also relaxed a little. Finally got caught up on The Flash again, which was nice.
Today was incredibly lazy. Spent most of it in bed, either reading or napping. Didn't get any writing done. I felt a spark of energy to work on some original fiction, and now...not so much. Still, it's been a good week.
One of the best parts of this week is that mom and dad are back, so I got to speak to them again for the first time in a long time, and that was nice. The pollution in China did no favors for mum though, so now she has pneumonia. I worry about her, but at least dad is there taking care of her.
Here's to a new week!
