Take this job and shove it...

I have a worker's comp review today. In March 2005 I fell and busted my sizeable ass outside work on the sidewalk after a snowstorm. I had been fussin' at the Director of Facilities all winter long about the fact that the sidewalk where most of the students and staff come in is rarely treated -- that morning was no different.

When I say I busted my ass, I mean, I busted my ass. There wasn't a spot on the right cheek of my tookas that wasn't bruised and my hip and back were thrown out of alignment pretty badly. I've been under the care of a chiropractor ever since, initially at three times per week, then down to two, and now one. I've had these reviews two other times now. The first one, about a year ago, the chiropractor that examined me concluded that would benefit from exactly six more treatments. The one I saw six months ago said I would benefit from exactly ten more. Interesting, because I didn't see a dart board in either one of their offices. I mean, they have to be using a dartboard to come up with the numbers, right? It's really more of an aggravation than anything else. I don't worry about them because, what happens, happens. It's just an ass-ache.

We had quite a few kids on Halloween. Of course we did, I only bought three bags of candy! In the past two years, I'd purchased 6-8 bags and only went through one so I couldn't see the sense in getting much more than I did. We ran out of candy in the first half hour. Then I started giving out Kashi granola bars. Then we went to microwave popcorn. I was looking in the cupboards for something, anything, that might go in a Halloween bag and spotted the large container of large, soft boullion cubes. We got laughing, the three of us, hootin' and guffawing about how funny it would be to put those big ol' cubes in the kids' bags, them thinking they were caramels, and their mother going through their bag and saying with incredulity, "You got boullion cubes?"

Tell me again how lucky I am to work here...I keep forgetting

I've been drowning in work and finally got caught up to the point where I could breathe again. Like I said to Lisa, I guess I don't hate my job, I hate the position they've put me in for staffing. We have two offices, that used to be staffed by two people each. After I lost an employee two years ago, they decided not to replace her, instead, the asshole that sold me down the river on not replacing the vacancy, managed to get a new position in his own office. He now has more secretaries on his staff in ONE office than I do people in my ENTIRE department, to staff TWO offices.

It really makes it hard to give a shit and I've gotten to where I don't give a shit about coverage for the offices any more. If they don't care, there's no point in me getting myself wound up over whether there's ample coverage for both offices. Last Friday one employee was off and the other called in sick. The other office was closed for the day. That happened a couple of weeks earlier, too. And, while the faculty complains to me about office closures, I merely tell them that complaining to me won't solve the problem, they have to pick up the phone and complain to the people who made the decision and, if they can't be bothered to make that call, I don't want to hear it. Pretty simple.

Lisa has also had some issues at work. She's lost her passion for her job and keeps saying that if the President of the company can't seem to care, it's hard for her to dredge up the sincerity to care as well. I think that if she thought she could get another job quickly, she'd resign today, without something lined up.

Got an email from my lawyer yesterday. It seems that the Assistant Attorney General's office called him, having "gotten wind of" the decision against us this past summer in our lawsuit against my employer. They asked if we're appealing, and if we want them to file an amicus brief on our behalf for the appeal.

For those of you that don't know what an amicus is, here's the legal definition:

Amicus Curiae

Definition: Latin term meaning "friend of the court". The name for a brief filed with the court by someone who is not a party to the case.

"... a phrase that literally means "friend of the court" -- someone who is not a party to the litigation, but who believes that the court's decision may affect its interest." William H. Rehnquist, The Supreme Court, page 89.

Amicus Curiae briefs are filed in many Supreme Court matters, both at the Petition for Writ of Certiorari stage, and when the Court is deciding a case on its merits. Some studies have shown a positive correlation between number of amicus briefs filed in support of granting certiorari, and the Court's decision to grant certiorari. Some friend of the court briefs provide valuable information about legal arguments, or how a case might affect people other than the parties to the case. Some organizations file friend of the court briefs in an attempt to "lobby" the Supreme Court, obtain media attention, or impress members.

"An amicus curiae brief that brings to the attention of the Court relevant matter not already brought to its attention by the parties may be of considerable help to the Court. An amicus curiae brief that does not serve this purpose burdens the Court, and its filing is not favored." Rule 37(1), Rules of the Supreme Court of the U.S.

"FRAP 29. BRIEF OF AN AMICUS CURIAE A brief of an amicus curiae may be filed only if accompanied by written consent of all parties, or by leave of court granted on motion or at the request of the court, except that consent or leave shall not be required when the brief is presented by the United States or an officer or agency thereof, or by a State, Territory or Commonwealth. The brief may be conditionally filed with the motion for leave. A motion for leave shall identify the interest of the applicant and shall state the reasons why a brief of an amicus curiae is desirable. Save as all parties otherwise consent, any amicus curiae shall file its brief within the time allowed the party whose position as to affirmance or reversal the amicus brief will support unless the court for cause shown shall grant leave for a later filing, in which event it shall specify within what period an opposing party may answer. A motion of an amicus curiae to participate in the oral argument will be granted only for extraordinary reasons." Rule 29. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

It would seem to me that this would be a real score for us, with it coming from the Attorney General's office. In addition, they will reference the opinion released by AG Eliot Spitzer in March of 2004 regarding same-sex marriages that originate outside the jurisdiction of NY State.

There's an interesting op-ed in the NY Times today about elitism in BOTH parties and how the rich and famous rarely send their children to war any more. It's a great read.

I'm off tomorrow. I've been taking the first Friday of each month off since I've been flying solo -- sort of a "recharge" day for me. My plan is to try to get at least 10 rows of knitting done (and with 296 stitches per row, that's a lot) .

Lisa's sister and niece are coming up from Pennsylvania tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. We're planning on going to the mall on the east side of the city (it's really big and just so much better than the ones nearer us). I'm putting on some "white chili" in the crock pot, and some Hawaiian sweet bread in the breadmaker for Saturday. Lisa's really jazzed about her sister coming up, as it'll be the first time she's been up since Lisa moved in with me six years ago.

Have a great weekend everyone!