From the Back to the Middle in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Last night, I was informed that I would have to go with Chinese Administrative Assistant (CAA) to the Ames office to interview a client and try to get a contract. The proposed client is screwed as he has a long history and is in a lot of trouble; but that is what this job is, apparently. Trying to convince someone who is screwed that, if they trust us, they might be less screwed. Of course, after last time, I was not about to let CAA drive; so I got my phone out and coordinated with him. He saw my phone (Samsung) and immediately said, “You need a new phone. You should not use that phone.” I laughed and asked if it was because my phone was so outdated. He very sternly said, “No. Samsung South Korean company. South Korea is very bad. South Korea is cause of many bad things in this world.” Again, I laughed (trying to keep things light) and suggested jokingly, “Don’t you mean North Korea?” That… was the wrong thing to say to this VERY pro-communism, pro-China individual. I “got” to listen to twenty minutes of how South Korea is the the real evil; how it shouldn’t even be considered a sovereign nation; how Korea would be better off as a unified country under North Korea’s rule, etcetera etcetera. After he was done, again trying not to beat this kid for his ignorance, I simply said, “Well… I’m a fan of South Korea. I appreciate that South Korea, China, and Japan all have similarities but their own distinct culture.” To which he replied, “South Korea and Japan are just lesser forms of China.” Oh. My. God. Kid… seriously? You’re not in China anymore. And I get that your parents’ money still has a lot of influence in the United States; but your Religious Devotion to the State of China, while a required part of being a Chinese Citizen, is really not the best foot to put forward here in the States.

The meeting was interesting. Long, but interesting. Problematic in that, as this was an initial meeting trying to convince the client to hire us- I don’t get to count it as billable hours. But on the other hand, it certainly appears to be the kind of case I like. The kid is CLEARLY at fault for a traffic accident. The kid should not have been driving as he had no insurance and his license was suspended. BUT… the kid is being hit with a large abundance of things that may not even make sense. So… the kind of case I like: Where I get to help someone; but also try to hold them responsible. In short: As a prosecutor, whatever the Police brought me, I had to prosecute. As a defense attorney; I can argue the bullshit and preserve the genuine. But… I’m still new. I may just be idealistic.

Unfortunately, middle of that meeting, I get a phone call. Definitely one I am returning today as it is another client; a 76 year old that claims he has never been in trouble before. He is charged with assaulting an officer; but the Trial Information hasn’t been filed. So we literally have no idea what they say happened. Ugh. I’ll of course give her a call because she needs to know that The Attorney is taking care of things; but these kinds of things suck. Where you get to say, “State is being ridiculous. I’ll do my best.” Oh well, though. The guy, after speaking with him, is charming as hell… so I really hope I can help him out!

Now I have a meeting with my bosses. Fingers crossed that it goes well. Again… not sure if I’m doing this job well(?) but I would certainly not like to get fired.

Good news: I’ve increased my average billable hours. I’ve worked (as of 1:30) a full 16 hours. Averaging 3.2 hours per day. Inching myself closer to a better payout as (before taxes) that is essentially $96 per day. Of course, in order to break even with expectations, I need to be making $116 per day… a total of adding only .7 more hours to my daily average. Oooorrr… since 16 hours means 3.2; than 3.5 hours more per week. But I also need to get more organized since I now have (just Criminal Court) 4 Criminal Cases and I’m working in 3 different counties. All without an office.

I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ETHICAL QUESTION I NEED FEEDBACK ABOUT
My friend, MBFITWW, has a birthday on Sunday. I am visiting him tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday for this birthday. I will get to his place rather late tonight. An old friend I haven’t seen since College lives in the area, and invited me for coffee on Saturday. Would it be remarkably shitty of me to excuse myself from MBFITWW to go grab a coffee with my other friend? Or is that acceptable since it is brief? Or is it rude because the original plan was to hang out together? These types of social situations, I’ve never quite done well with.

As I am genuinely looking for responses to the Ethical Question, I’ll end this there. If I care to discuss anything further; I’ll write a draft entry to publish tomorrow.