A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day. - Calvin (as in, Calvin and Hobbes)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
End of and era
Today is the last day of the boiler-room-cum-sweat-shop for the summer. Alas, only one lackey is still in the room, which is quite sad after seeing the room start as a packed mad-house holding 8 interns. The advantage, of course, is that not only can I spread my stuff out all over the desk, not only is the temperature of the room 10 degrees lower than last week, but I have no need for polite office formalisms such as clothes and good language.
So here I am, cussing like a sailer and sitting in my skivies, finshing out the job that we all started. I'd like to say that we accomplished a lot, but I would want to give the MAN the satisfaction of thinking that we were tamed into doing his dirty work. maybe I have that backwards... maybe this whole summer was about fighting against the MAN and accomplishing a lot would actually be a huge blow to the MAN's enormous ego.
I'll let you, the reader, decide what happened this summer.
Monday, July 31, 2006
it's hot outside too
In a fit of empathy with the boiler room, the entire east coast (dare I
say the entire country) has decided to get really really really freaking
hot. I would have preferred the opposite - that the boiler room got
cooler to match the rest of the world, but beggers can't be choosers.
Quote of the day
“I can’t BELIEVE she made fun of my cantalopes.” – Sad and outraged anonymous intern
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
poooooool paaaaaarty!
We're heading out to the pool today to cool down a little bit.
Most of the office is betting that Mike is going to win the water slide
contest, and they are probably right.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
I'd love to see a panda
What's next? I'd love to see a panda. I hear they aren't paid overtime.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
it's hot outside too
Monday, July 17, 2006
ho-hum
Did you all get the classes that you wanted? Or do you know yet? Any other interesting tidbits - anything at all????
Friday, July 14, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
guess we won't be blogging during class ...
National Law Journal:
Many institutions, including the University of Michigan Law School and the
University of Virginia School of Law, have implemented mechanisms to limit
Internet access in their classes. This is accomplished by either setting up
wireless Internet blockers, allowing professors to regulate it via hardware
or software installed in the classrooms, or by software installed on the
wireless network that knows when a student is in class, and regulates
appropriately.
Here's the story:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1150880719004
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
chair found!
My chair was found in the office of a co-worker who is to remain
anonymous. This worker denies having responsibility for taking my
chair, but I have other ideas... but I won't press them. All I can say
is that I'm elated to be back sitting in "Old Glory," the chair of
chairs. Watch all of the other interns eat my dust as my productivity
rises while my backside relaxes.
After that last post, it's a good thing there weren't any of these around:
Monday, July 10, 2006
where the hell is my chair!
The one thing that made the boiler room bearable was my chair! And now
it is gone! Where oh where can my chair be?
Who wrote that last post?
Whoever you may have been, you have been replaced by a new boiler room lackey who is most likely far cooler than you.
Shucks... we miss you, ok.
Did You Think I Forgot Ya'll?
So, after 2 weeks of breaking the promise to continue blogging, the Nashville chapter of the boiler room would like to say HI!!!!
To show that I have been thinking of you all, here are a couple of tidbits:
FIRST: Mapquest has added an "Add a Stop" feature that I think Google Boy will find to be a good replacement for the oft-missed "Plan a Roadtrip" tool.
SECOND: This for all the VAL-gals - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/06/AR2006070601678.html
I read this and thought of you.
THIRD: R-Cubed - I think I emailed you back, but since I am just using WebMail, I sometimes wonder who I have emailed, and who just received the "mind-draft" rather than an actual email. In case it's the former, and in case you don't have telepathy, I would like to say that the Seminar in Ethical Values courses are good because you do somewhat regular-person reading, rather than lawyer reading. You also go to a prof's house every week, and I think there is usually food involved. At least that's what I am banking on. Anyways, it's only a credit for the whole year, but who doesn't like to sit around, eat, and discuss real world issues with a bunch of law geeks? I mean, if that's not a boiler room boon, then what is? I have signed up for one (yes, by 11:59 p.m. last night). I wish you all luck with playing the LawReg Dice Game. It does not get easier, even when you know that you will probably get everything you want because you get to go first.
FOURTH: On my first day here, my boss asked me if I knew how to use WestLaw. The insult was 2-fold. (1). I am the LEXIS lady!!!!! and (2) He meant that word "Westlaw" to be generic for "can you do legal research?" Ouch. We've moved beyond that initial sting, and I quite like the job, but that first moment made me wonder if I would be crying for the Boiler Room every moment of this 6 weeks.
All right - That's it for now. Although, I do have one question for Google Boy - What's the deal w/Grad-Lev - are they going to give me suggestions on my other loans too? Cause I've got nothing!
Friday, July 07, 2006
notes from afar
Will she be able to replace our lost intern? Where will the new intern sit? Will the intern at the buffet move to the table in an attempt to create a rigid boiler room hierarchy? Only time will tell in such dramas.
stay tuned for updates....
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
quote of the day
"we are not constrained by any ethical obligations."
lawyers without borders
One of our supervising attorneys will shortly be helping to mediate the human–elephant conflict (HEC) in sri lanka. (This is a conflict between humans and elephants, not a conflict involving elephants who are human.) Although much attention has been given to the other animal conflict in sri lanka (something about tigers?), amazingly little has been said about the elephants who are struggling against the human occupation.
Our attorney will be helping by measuring the dung of said elephants. Let us first say that we are extremely proud to be working with such a broad-minded, caring person, and we praise his initiative and sacrifice. You can't help but admire someone who chooses, for the sake of creature-kind, to measure dung during his hard-earned vacation.
But...what are we supposed to tell his clients during the month that he's away?? "Sorry, we can't help you with your Section 8 housing voucher because...?" Suggestions, let us know. We'll be brainstorming, too.
Monday, July 03, 2006
where did everyone go?
I thought we were supposed to be a hard and dedicated staff of people
willing to change the world regardless of the risks or pay. The boiler
room is surprisingly empty today - only one soul to hold the fort down
and fight the good fight for justice and the American way.
I'll just assume that everyone is out on assignment, scoring one for the
little guy.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Re-shout out
Let's give a nice big re-shout out to our comfy chairs. Rescuing them
from the attic might be some of the best work we've done all summer.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
boy are we going to miss mike
a week without mike is like a week without hope and joy. we'll miss you!
Go Shorty, it's your birthday.
Updating the boiler room on world news, part II
See video, “Flushes Make for Courthouse Blush”:
http://www.cnn.com/LAW/
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Let's tell lawyer jokes... I'll start
Warning Signs that you Might Need a Different Lawyer
- He tells you that his last good case was a Budweiser.
- When the prosecutors see who your lawyer is, they high-five each other.
- A prison guard is shaving your head.
Re: ensuring vocabularistic integrity
As it happens, this rule of grammar was instituted under the
totalitarian reign of Ancient Roman emperor Vocabularius, who would
invite people from as far as Cathay to his humble estate, known
simply as the "Vocabulum," at which point he would hold word-based
gladiator fights. The loser would be tied up in a burlap sack along
with a snake, a rat, and an angry cat, and then thrown off of a cliff
to the river below.
Vocabularius, though, would ensure the person had a proper burial.
popcorn has saved the day
Popcorn, glorious popcorn! yes... such a fine whole grain morsel
(microwaved, no less) has renewed our interest in our work and led us to
feel loved back here in the boilerroom. If only Kelly could be here to
rejoice with us.
Ensuring vocabularistic integrity
we are lost without kelly....
we're like a ship without a rudder.... a car without a steering wheel....
Ok, enough of the sappy stuff. The extra room kicks ass!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Our HERO
countdown until the celebration!
One body out of the boilerroom at the end of the day! Hurrah!
(this post has nothing to do with our happiness or unhappiness about
Kelly's departure, only joy at the extra space!)
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Sharky's, Tomorrow, 5:00 sharp!
Monday, June 19, 2006
quiet monday
What's the deal? No Kelly and we're all so quiet?
Alex isn't here - let's get this party started....
Friday, June 16, 2006
re: quickie poll
Clearly “Hot in Here” by Nelly.
It’s gettin hot in here (so hot!) so take off all your clothes.
Strike!
poltergeist in the room?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The way they treat us around here,
it's like we're all the same anonymous person. Like if one of us says
something, it might as well come from any of us.
Mike...
Thank you, Mike.
The reason i've gotten no work done in the past half hour
Gofugyourself.com sucked me in.
Q. Dear Aunt Fugly,
What does a girl wear to an annulment? Is
You complete me,
Afraid of Carbs
A. Dear You Had Me At I DON'T CARE,
You know, you people don't have real problems. I have real problems. I'm having Alan Partridge's baby and no I'm not yes I am no I'm not yes I am WHERE IS MY HAMBURGER? I WILL THROW THIS MICROPHONE STAND AT YOUR HEAD. No, I won't. See? It's just a banana. Banana. BANANA! B-A-N-A-N-A-N-A-N-A-N-A-N-A -- that reminds me, I have to call Stefani. Talk about people who can't DRESS. She makes ME look like -- hey, remember when I dressed all classy and shit? Like when I was in that movie with that guy from Cheers. Man, he had the best weed. I should call him except I totally don't remember his name anymore.
I'm going to take a nap now.
oppressive work environment
The yelling of the attorneys is starting to become background noise it happens so much. Don't they know that we're just students and haven't yet learned the intricacies of the federal rules of civil procedure or the ins-and-outs of Title VII claims or how to make a proper cup of coffee?
They're way too quiet in that boiler room.
For those of you who are work-starved, bored, attention-deficit,
celebrity-obsessed, or into some pretty good schadenfreude:
www.gofugyourself.com
Like they do in Nevada
I want to look into how difficult it would be to start our own gift shop. (It's a thought exercise, since I don't imagine there'd be much of a real-llife market.) We should consider selling:
1) 8 dark-brown heavy wooden chairs
2) half-used legal pads, cryptic notes included
3) our lunches
4) old but functioning nerf gun, 1 ball included
5) 1 old xerox copy machine (not sure if it works)
6) a couple of old bagels from the table in the waiting area
7) quite a large collection of attorneys' diplomas and licenses, already framed
and so forth. Any takers, contact us.
Keeping the boiler room up to date on important world news: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/15/naked.suitor.ap/index.html.
Word has it, Mike was in Ann Arbor yesterday.
New Printer
We're loving the fact that we can actually print again and don't have to
email everything to an attorney to print for us.
Until the new printer came in, I was thinking about filing a claim b/c
of the poor working conditions.
just a minute ago
Anonymous #1: It's really pleasant in here right now, temperature-wise.
Anonymous #2: It is.