Oh Ok - 22.05.14 in Your Face

Had a fairly crappy day. One of my solicitors got her knickers in a knot over a sale of business that was settling today when she realised that she had no idea what she was doing or how to actually settle it. So it gets dumped in my lap, and I get to figure out what the heck is going on with this file I've never seen before, and to pull it together to settle it. Cue an argument with the solicitor about the transfer of business name, with her having absolutely no idea of the procedure and the information required to start the process, yet still arguing until she's blue in the face that it needs to be done before settlement.

She was wrong, plain and simple. She says to me, "Just fix it!" and hangs up the phone and I say to myself, "Sure!" and sit back in my chair, arms folded, because I know that I am right and it can't be fixed. About 3 minutes later my boss rings (who is also her boss) and says that we can settle without the business name transfer having started. I said I know we can, it is incredibly rare for someone to start the process to hand over their business name before they have the money in their hand, and besides, business sale contracts have a clause that provides that the transfer must be started within the seven days after settlement. Cranky solicitor is with my boss, and I am on speaker phone, so I know she heard it.

It's all nothing, and this is actually the woman I went to that wedding with recently, and I love her to bits - I just wish she'd listen to me sometimes! More often than not, I am right! But instead of talking things through logically, and discussing things, she wants to argue and refuse to hear what I have to say. We are fine, though. We both realise that our work relationship and our friendship are two separate things.

So, it settled, I made all the phone calls, attended settlement, disbursed the cheques and arranged for our client to collect hers. Cranky solicitor wouldn't even face the client because this morning they had attended the office and had a furious conversation with my boss about their legal fees. That makes me mad, too. Of course you're upset and don't want to see them, but don't be so gutless!

So then she was thrown for the rest of the afternoon and I got to deal with another one of her clients that she didn't want to face because he had the shits with her. Then I got to do all the follow up shit for that as well, while she giggled and texted on her phone. It's bullshit. If I had worked on these files before, sure thing, but I hadn't seen them before, I had other shit on my plate this afternoon, and instead I kissed that goodbye to clean up her messes. If I had been involved from the start, the legal fees would not have blown out so far (because, guess what! I'm actually pretty good at business sales and know how to do them) and it would have run a hell of a lot smoother than the disaster it ended up being.

Two more weeks, guys. That's the only reason I am able to keep my cool right now.

Got an email from M last night. He received the box I shipped, although it was a bit worse for wear. He said not to send any more money, he has a small buffer in the bank that he can increase a little bit before I come over. That is a relief, as I had not been sending money for the past couple of weeks while I worried about how much shipping the boxes will cost. I sent another two boxes today, and told the guy that I'll see him again next Thursday with two more.

I think I am finally getting excited to go. Work is coming to a close, I can almost see the finish line. I day dream about throwing my faded, worn work uniform in the garbage! The pile of boxes to ship has decreased markedly now that three boxes are gone, and my bank balance remains fairly stable, which is a relief. I eyed off some (cheap) suitcases at a department store the other day. I can't afford long lasting suitcases at the moment, so these will have to do to get me there, and then they can just be used for domestic travel.

But this is it, guys. I am starting to stock up on a few jars of Vegemite and Cheesybite when they go on sale. I scan the racks of shitty Australian themed stubby holders at every cheap store, so that I can have plenty of silly crap available to give to die hard Australian fans (of which there are a surprising number - I can safely say I have never desired a keyring with the American flag on it). I mentally pack my backpack every few days with stuff I will want on the planes, but doesn't weigh my bag down too much (clean t-shirt and knickers, toiletries, 1 book, array of migraine medication/antihistamines).