Turkey Week in BookThree: Flight Log 2016

Weekend was okay. Went to Omaha for Pathfinder… which means a three hour trip down for five hours of gameplay and then a three hour trip back. But seeing friends, going to a real place, and getting the hell out of here is always worth while. Wife needed something from Fort Spring on Sunday; so we had to drive an hour out that way, grab some stuff (which took longer than expected) and drive an hour back. SO, in total, I spent 8 hours of my weekend just driving. Which, as much as I love being away from this place… even I see that as a waste. Because from almost any other location; all of that driving would be halved. It just takes so much extra time to get out of the vast isolation intentionally created by this county.

So I wake up today, ecstatic for Thursday/Friday off but still dreading coming into work. Not even because there IS or ISN’T stuff to do (as both are always true) but simply… I need/want the Board to give us news that we’re going to have a County Attorney. Not (right now) for my learning, or my comfort in knowing I won’t be expected to take on 12 times the work… but because this whole shit about the County Attorney and Assistant County Attorney working out of different offices in different cities with almost no contact is inefficient, stupid, and wasteful. I get into work and… should have known. It is “cold” here now. Like in the 20s. And in my building, the other offices (when occupied) are occupied by women, the youngest of which is still 30 years my senior. Thus… the furnace is on full blast. Because they get cold too fast, too often. Meanwhile, I’m sweating right now. Sarcastic Hoozah. Followed immediately by a phone call from a Powerhouse Attorney worried about his client… his client who drove from My Home (DM) up to here in order to slam his car into his ex-wife’s vehicle in order to do considerable damage to the house they once shared because he was mad about how the divorce proceedings were going. I’ve spoken with this attorney before on this matter… after the first phone call, I contacted my boss as it sounded more like something she would be responsible for. I still haven’t heard back from her about this. So when the attorney called this morning, I gave him Boss’ number. Because… seriously. This is the exact shit I am talking about. The Bare Minimum a community should expect from its elected officials is (1) well considered action; (2) communication. Neither of which gets done here. BUT the two professionals that I know in this community (a medical professional and a 30 year experience receptionist) helped me put it into perspective..... I consider that an elected official will do their job. Because I’m young, consider the value of future needs, and hope for a functioning world. But this county is overrun with the “Waiting to Die” demographic (their words). All they care about is being left alone, getting their social security check, and things not changing too much. So that is where the World View and Different Perspective come in. As a 32 year old lawyer… I’m expecting far more than the majority of citizens around me. Which makes sense and explains why things are so fucked around here. Because if I were aware that I could do whatever I wanted provided I didn’t mess up A, B, and C… I would prioritize things as A is first, B is second, C is third, I am fourth, everything else is last. Which is exactly how things are done here.

The job hunt is going the same. Indeed.com; DesMoinesHelpWanted.com; Attorney’s Council webpage; individual city/county webpages; LinkedIn.com.... I’m checking all of that almost every day. Still nothing. That isn’t true… DesMoinesHelpWanted.com e-mails me at least twice a week saying they can get me into a Temp Agency for secretarial work. Indeed.com e-mails me often with Retail, Secretarial, and House Keeping jobs. And they were very encouraging about me becoming a Librarian’s Aid for $13 an hour. In other words…

NoJoMo 19 was too depressing as was 21… so I’m throwing NOJOMO20 up here:

You have won $10 million in the currency of your choice. What is it and what do you do with it?

Of course I’ve thought about this often. If given X amount of money how to properly use it. Typically, I prefer operating in increments of 7.3 as it is easier to work with. Using 7.3 I’ve come up with a kind of Golden Ratio (though not technically a Golden Ratio) whereby 1.1 is invested; 1.1 is placed in the bank; .1 is gambling money; and 2.5 is used for immediate fun whereas the other 2.5 is used for charities. Given a straight 10 Million figure, the specifics of the ratio break down slightly. Thus, I would say (probably) 3 million would be allocated to housing. 1 million to charity. 1 million to transportation considerations (new car, etc). 2 million to investments. 1 million directly to a bank. 1 million reserved for travel and vacation (which Wife and I dearly need). The final million would be split between me, Wife, and Niece.... wife could do whatever she wanted, I’d probably buy a new wardrobe, and the niece’s share would go into a college fund.