Where the Streets Have One Name in BookThree: Flight Log 2016

My mind sucks and I’m starting to think that maybe conversational therapy would be a good idea for me. Of course… that isn’t something available in this county. And every time I have a thought like that… my heart breaks a little bit more. Yeah, this county is small. The whole county is the population of the island of Nantucket.... but, y’know… not nearly as pretty.

But the big thing? This weekend was rough. Still no AC, the house is still not anywhere nearer completion as we wait for AC (both due to heat and due to the necessary construction to the floor/walls that will need to accompany the AC installation). Despite assurances to the contrary… Landlord isn’t making a move to help. But at least I have a plan on that. June was a month that we all agreed upfront would be LIVE & CONSTRUCTION. July? No such agreement. Therefore, he has until the end of that month before I start getting punitive. No, not litigious. I’d like to avoid that as I know he would like to avoid it. Were this area bigger, I’d certainly consider litigation… but as it is, I don’t want to start making any Civil Enemies just yet. But… certainly. I mean… some things can be overlooked. Lightbulbs not installed, our basement and garage filled with construction worker’s equipment… honestly, can be overlooked for now. But… two things I’m displeased that have been missing the last month? Air Conditioning (as you well know) and curtains. Hell, if they’d installed Curtain Rods, I could put a blanket or something up. But… not even curtain rods. Just… windows… windows everywhere… with no work as to how to prevent the outside from looking in? That’s… short sighted, shitty, and uncomfortable. Especially since… I know I’m not super attractive but I typically like being less encumbered by clothes. With no air conditioning, I would certainly like to be less encumbered by clothes. But with no curtains… that just isn’t something I can do.

So of course, over the weekends my mind goes to awful places. Yeah, I worked out… did some cooking… moved some stuff around… I didn’t completely waste my weekend. But… I was still able to get depressed about the situation… feel down about how isolated this entire place is… miss my friends… and worry about how unfulfilled I feel in my life, my marriage, and everything else. Just… not good.

So, you’d think I’d bound out of bed excited to get to work today! Except… not so much bound. I had entirely set my mind to it. I was going to leap out of bed, exercise some, and get to work early! In reality… I leapt out of bed, cracked my neck a few times, and… got grumbly. For over a decade, my morning routine was/has been… wake up, stretch, check Desktop for updates/e-mails/schedule, then exercise and whatnot. But… as I may have stated a number of times here… I have been without a desktop computer since I moved here. Yes, I have my work laptop (at work, typically) but… there are six places I need finished to feel comfortable. And my desktop computer area is certainly one of them (as is bed space, video game space, eating space, bathing space, and toilet space). So… yeah. I did get to work on time… but that is because I was certain I had a District Court Hearing this morning. Which… apparently… is next Monday. And it is at 1:30 pm. But… it is better to be early (even if by a week) than late (even by a minute).

Of course… all of that… and I wasted my morning. Not entirely wasted it, I guess? I did make a deal with a defense attorney on a potentially complicated Domestic Violence case.... and I started working on a Felony Trial Information (yeah… felony.... first years in most other places don’t do felony cases so… potentially huge for me… unless I completely cock it up. In which case, very very bad for me)… but as typical… the circular catastrophe of my brain prevents me from behaving appropriately. Because I start on something, hit a road block, try to figure it out, get frustrated that Boss is literally not in a position to be helpful, set the document aside as I try to clear my head, waste time on something else, return to the primary something, try to figure it out, get frustrated, etc. And that is why it takes me so long to do everything. BUT MOST OF ALL it is why I say that ONE competent, well-trained attorney is all this county needs. But for the last 30 years, they haven’t had a competent, well-trained attorney. And when Boss leaves… I certainly won’t qualify as a competent, well-trained attorney. And the cycle will start all over again.

Plus… how is this for fun (actually, it is… just… more proof of this town).... just received a GIANT package from the AG’s office. My boss requested that they send me everything they had on Up North County’s only Cold Case. A murder from 1981. So… we can tackle a murder case from 35 years ago but we can’t train me on how to do trials and other shit?
So… what I mean when I say “more proof of this town”… Using my boss and my Landlord as templates… “I don’t give a shit about logic if it competes with my priorities.” I mean… right? That’s the only way to explain it. Why else would a woman that doesn’t have “time nor ability” to update her document formats, learn a computer, or teach her new assistant… be focused and gung ho about a 35 year old case? Why else would a man building a house go out of his way to make sure the wooden accent bar was the exact shade of mahogany he wanted.... but not see to it that there was an air conditioner, working toilets, or curtains?

I was planning on going home for lunch. Because I didn’t eat breakfast. But… I worked through lunch again. And this is the kind of crap that is going to be hard to shake in order to live healthy. Because… I totally get absent minded like that a lot.
As for the rest of the day? Meh.
(1) Tried to cut a deal with a speeding ticket. Why? Because even though I was “hired to go to trial” I can honestly say… if I’m not going to get the support to go to trial, I don’t see why I have to risk my career doing it
(2) Wrote a deal for a Domestic Assault… those are tricky so getting a deal can sometimes be the best outcome
(3) Finished a difficult report alleging some pretty severe child abuse charges.
(4) Ran into some interesting legal specificity. “A person who commits an assault, as defined in section 708.1, with the intent to inflict a serious injury upon another, is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.” versus ” Any person who does an act which is not justified and which is intended to cause serious injury to another commits a Class D felony if the person causes bodily injury to another.” Those are two specifically different laws within the state as evidenced by the significantly different punishments. But… they sure read similarly.
(5) Syllogising it all… I’m left with an uncomfortable conclusion. Child Abuse… injury to an infant....... and I need trial experience. I’d like to go to trial but my boss recommended a plea. I’ll recommend the plea, but I don’t want to (a) come off looking soft; (b) piss off the police officers again; or (c) appear as though I will always (and only) offer deals
(6) And… shit. Just… shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. Here’s the semi-panic attack. Because it is the end of the day and there are still things I really wanted to get to but didn’t because I don’t know how to do them! It is… upsetting. Yeah, I know… “cut yourself some slack, you know a LOT more now than you did in April” and that is accurate. But the Police around here don’t care. The victims around here don’t care. The Bar Association won’t care. They’ll see an attorney who misses deadlines. One who pleads instead of goes to trial. And while a lot of that can be said to be an issue of the environment, lack of oversight, and absence of a classic Legal Mentor (which is seen as a requirement in practice).... none of that information will be “properly addressed” in considering my career as a whole. All that will be addressed is my seeming incompetence and ineptitude. Thus, even if I survive this crappy county… it will make it significantly difficult to get a position in a better county. BAH!

After today.... going back home… I figure humor would be good.
My Favorite Logic Joke: A Logician’s wife asked him to go the store one day and said, “Can you get a loaf of bread, and if they have eggs can you get a dozen?” So the Logician came back with 12 loaves of bread.
Also… some of these are pretty quality:
38 Tweets That Will Never Not Be Funny