Crossing of Fingers and Toes

Some calls have been made and hopefully some more will be made soon. Things are moving I just don’t know if it is more crab walk back and forth or if something is actually happening. I am not going to speculate as getting excited has always ended up making things fall apart.

This office is falling apart. Lois hasn’t paid rent in almost a year and the building us threatening to evict her. I am surprised they waited this long. Bob is trying to save the office but I don’t know why. He should take initiative and get with some collegues or just start his own office. He won’t, but that is his problem not mine.

I am terrified for finals but very excited to be done with my first year of law school. Here’s hoping that I do better on finals than on mid terms.

I need to find time to make a new web page. It would be nice if I could get in an infrastructure for Josh set up so that he can start being creative. I can tell that he misses projects.

I hope that girl’s friend calls him about filming and creating comercials and editing. That would be sweet.

Too much to do and always less time to do it in.

Anger and Frustration

Lois has reduced my pay on outrageous presumptions that I am not doing my job. She is rediculous and making me very angry. I do my job quickly and I do it well. Her problem is that I want paid. I hate her more and more daily.

I have been putting out my resume like crazy and it is getting me no where. I am stressing out. There are so many things that I can do now and I want to use my skills for something worthwhile. I want to be involved with a company that appreciates me and gives me a reason to stay.

Josh is stressed out because I talk about going on unemployment because I have not been paid and she is stressing me out more than I can stand. Some days I just want to walk out, curl into a ball, and work on dissapearing. She is a terrible person and I don’t know how much more I can stand. This economy is frustrating and I do hope that I find a new possition soon. I deserve better than this.

Outrageously Unfair

So, today I got one of the three checks my boss owes me. She arbitrarily changed my rate, lowering it by three dollars an hour! I am so angry.

Does she not realize the kind of work I am doing for her? I write motions, orders, enter appearances, do state and federal filing, not to mention general office duties! How dare she lower my rate when I had to wait more than 2 months for this pay check?

I want so badly to walk out. I wish I had another option. I am almost to the point where I don’t even care if I am getting law experience. How can someone be so self centered and conniving that they would abuse the people who make it all work?

She doesn’t write the complaints or orders or motions. She doesn’t file this stuff. She calls me. That is not going to happen if my pay is lowered. A lot will not happen if she insists on this line of action.

Heels

I like the way that heels make me feel. The way that you have to strut in them makes you feel feminine but powerful. I wonder if men have any piece of clothing that gives them confidence but makes them feel attractive. I doubt it, I think that , for the most part, only women want to have that doubled power. It is a fine line we walk between woman and professional. I hope that I am able to walk it successfully. Especially after I become a mother.

I am glad that I have chosen a profession where I can work my ass off and be completely absorbed. I am also glad that it is a profession that gives me the ability to do much from home and I will be able to watch my children grow up and be a part if their lives.

Now if only school didn’t take so long.

WordPress for my iPhone

I just found out that they have an app for wordpress on the iPhone. I am beyond excited about this find. There are so many things that happen during my day that I would write about.

Sometimes I do wonder how I survived before I had an iPhone technology is wonderful and amazing.

I want to find a job where I can use technology daily and utilize all of the things that my phone can do. With the power if this phone I could be one amazing personal assistant.

I think that is sufficient for my first blog from the phone.

Back With A New Objective

Since I last wrote much has happened in my life.  I have a horrible tendency to forget about this blog as it was started in a class and I am no longer in that class.  I want to remember, I want to build a page again.  Blogging is a salve to my soul, especially at this moment when life is so stressful.

I am in search for a job, again.  I feel disappointed with myself that I have not been able to find a position where I want to stay.  I am even more disappointed with the information that employers give when they interview a candidate. 

After getting into law school I immediately began searching for a job in Pittsburgh.  I wanted so badly to be involved in a law firm so that I could learn and appreciate the information that I was gaining in my classes.   I was successful in finding a position at a bankruptcy firm.  It was not what I imagined.

The job was unsatisfying and the pay was less than that.  For what the “case administrator” was responsible for the attorneys had little respect for us.  It is true, I was a glorified data entry clerk but that was phone calls and data that the attorney never had to worry about.  I prepared all of the paperwork of the attorney but received little compensation and was not treated well.  Within a month I had found another position.

This is the position that I am at currently.  I love all of the things that I have learned to do.  I can write and file most of the documents that are required for a case.  I never imagined that in such a short period of time I would have these set of skills. 

I have been given the opportunity to take advantage of my research skills and my independence.  I have more knowledge about filing than the attorney I work for and that feels good. 

Yet, this office is a nightmare.  The attorney in charge of it all is a self-serving terror.  Currently we are three pay checks behind and she doesn’t even care.  Every day I receive a call about some “emergency” because she forgot to file paperwork or hasn’t opened her mail in two weeks.  I cannot survive in this environment.  There are so many things that I know and I have no doubt that I can learn anything that is required of me.  I want to find a firm where I am appreciated, where I can learn everything, and where I can make a niche for myself.

My track record with keeping a job is much more impressive than a couple of months at each job.  I am loyal and I strive to learn every aspect that someone will teach to me.  I am frustrated that I have not been able to find this in Pittsburgh.  I thought I would find a place relatively easily.  I didn’t think there would be such strife for my daily. 

School is stressful because there is so much work to be done and I want to do it perfectly.  School will always be stressful because I am used to being the best with no effort.  The effort is worth it, I am loving law school.  I feel, more than ever, that I have chose the right path for me.

Luckily my social life is amazing.  The wedding planning is going very smoothly and is not stressful in the least.  Josh has been amazing through all of this and I am glad that I have him in my life. 

I am finally starting to make friends with students in class.  We are going out and laughing and arguing.  I like that we discuss everything about life.  It gives me an amazing opportuinty to talk with people who have strong, informed opinions on a plethora of topics so that I can better examine what I believe and think and why I think those things. 

I am hoping that by the end of the summer I will be in a much more stable position.  I would like to find a new job and spend the time in the summer becoming an expert at what I do.  I have no problem with over-time and plan to take advantage of it as much as possible.  I also want to find a place to volunteer ten or so hours a week.  I want to take full advantage of my summer. 

At the end of June I will be married, in August classes will start, and by December I want to feel like I have accomplished something since I have come to this city.

Changes are coming

I have been accepted to law school at Duquesne University. I am very excited about both the move and starting school again.

We will be moving to Pittsburgh in July, assuming that all goes well. I am a little nervous about getting a job and place to live but I am sure that we will find a way to manage. I am hoping to get involved with a law firm in some way so that I can gain vital experience and prepare myself for after school.

I have already started preparing for the bar exam, I know I am a little bit a of a freak. I feel better for taking the time to learn about it now though. I am sure that when it comes time for the class and the test I will not be half so worried as the other students and it will give me more of an opportunity to study and be prepared.

My other goal is to whip this site into shape. I started it in class and worked so hard and then let most everything fall by the wayside. This is not what I wanted to do and I hope that I am able to change it to meet my new needs. I have every intention of continuing to learn new things and keep a site that is accessible  to those who are interested in me, both professionally and personally.

It feels good to write on here and begin a more professional page. Myspace and Facebook are fun and great for getting attention but they are not the kind of site that shows an employer what kind of person you are professionally or what you are capable of.

-Liz

Productivity Problems

Since graduation I find that I have been rather lazy. It saddens me. I thought that I would get so much done when I only had a forty hour work week and no classes, this does not seem to be the case. I am adding to my new years resolution of loosing weight, it is a generic one anyways.

1) I will get into law school
2) I will finish my creative projects and give them away so that I can see people smile and start new projects
3) I will write more and finish my web page and make it work for me
4) I will get a job with a law firm once we move

I feel better for having written those down.

I am a self conscious person and I find that I am more and more aware of how I don’t stack up to those around me. Does everyone focus on this or is it only a select few? I mean, I know plenty of people who feel as if they are not good enough in some way but I feel that I am failing in all ways. I want so badly to be successful and to have my dreams come true. Productivity is probably part of the problem here.

Work is going very well, I would have no problems staying within the Barnes and Noble Corporation for my college career if I can not find a position with a law firm. Granted, a law firm would give me experience and the ability to be worth more once I graduate from law school but if I am not able to do that Barnes and Noble has been very good to me. Plus, you can’t shake a stick at the benefits available for both Josh and myself.

I do hope that we end up in Pittsburgh. It isn’t so far away that I can’t come home and feel like I am close to my family yet it gives Josh the opportunity to make something of himself and do something with his degree. He is a very smart guy and I know that he could do great things if he were given the chance. Unfortunately the chances aren’t available in Mansfield and he stuck around here for me. Now, however, I will go where ever he has an opportunity. It is my turn to make some sacrifices…as long as there is a law school it isn’t that great of a sacrifice.

Writing is soothing, writing where it is greatly possible that no one will see what has been put down is therapeutic.  So many times I feel I must edit for the masses but this blog is different. I am hoping that soon it will be more professional and about business or intellectual ideas that I have. Yet, I can’t help but be pleased that I have this available to me.

Today We Have Observers

Once again, just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you should do it. There are so many people who can make a web page but often the page comes out immature and unaccessible because they do not know how to make the page usable by their audience.

Take care with what type face you use, unbeknown to the creator the audience could be getting a difference message than you intended.

What exactly is fashion when you are considering web design and web pages?

Thus far we have focused on the content of what we are going to put in our web pages.

Behavioral response to design, what do you have to do to use the design. This doesn’t mean that it will always be used at intended but it will be used in some way. Not only is it easy to understand but how does it feel to do it? Is your user aggravated and annoyed with your site so that they will do anything possible that they may not return or do they enjoy being at your site and recommend it to others.

The initial response to a site will influence how the users feels about the rest of the page. If they do not like the original experience then going further into the site has the possibility of making this worse. You must have a positive respons at the beginning that the user is more likely to accept and enjoy the rest of the page.

Positive emotion can give the impression that something works better than it actually does. If you can use that to your advantage you have power over your user.

Design can seduce you…but like any lover there is a question of satisfaction after the initial excitement of something new.

OMG I have to design with a grid. It is exciting and I am nervous…so nervous!

Will You Remember Everything?

I have lost my flash drive. I don’t know what happened to it. I think that it must be at home because that is the last place that I remember having it but what if it is lost? I will be sad if someone took it because I forgot it in the computer at school. I think I will stop at the lab and ask them before I leave campus today. I think I am also going to have to empty out my book bag because maybe it is in there and I just can’t  find it because I have so many things in there.

I have never been this disorganized and it really bothers me. I just want to get everything together and have it done. ::sigh:: I feel like I am being pulled in about fifty directions!

Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity

Short class with lots of work and so not much to say. Perhaps more next week to fill your minds with awe and wonder.