Warning: Long, Rambling Post Ahead.

So, I gave notice at the job, and it's an issue up the East coast. I expect to be offered more money next week - that's about all they have to give. I'm getting 10% more money up front plus profit sharing on the new job, and there is no way they would match that. And there is no way money can fix this.

This is the right thing to do. The bottom line is that I am not happy staring down the barrel of 50 in 3 years and sitting in a damn cube worrying about using the right color file folder and billing enough hours on top of it, and getting told everybody's frigging bonus hangs in the balance. It's beyond insane. Did I mention that the office administrator was coming up next week to instruct me in the NINE new folders to use to organize cases? EVERY case gets a folder called "Medical Records." EVERY case gets a folder called "Pleadings," even though half of ours are not in suit when they are referred -we get them early and work them to head off the suit, because that is the smart thing to do. We are required to use these folders! Medical records? Uh, we do construction defect work, should we send the fucking building for x-rays? It's just so stupid, on a staggeringly Dilbertian level. Bad enough I spend too much time on admin work, but I'm just tired of dealing with such inane bullshit, and it is not what I want to do with my life.

So, Dennis has ticked just a wee wittle bit more to the East, and our weekend is predicted to be wet, windy and with the occasional tornado. Golly gee whiz, I wish I had a new roof. I had a roofer lassoed and eating out of my hand, almost tamed. He hasn't returned my calls this week. Neither has my insurance adjuster, an out-of-state guy they brought down to adjust hurricane damage who clearly didn't have clue one about the actual going roof rate in the local market, but who treated me condescendingly, because he's a Man and He Knows Construction. He gave me a shitty little check and won't return my calls. I'm a Chick Who Knows Construction, Construction Law AND Insurance, and isn't afraid to start screaming bad faith to the Insurance Commissioner, his boss, God and everybody. I've got a check for half a roof, even discounting the criminally high hurricane deductible we pay here - which is about a third of a new roof right off the top, if you'll pardon the expression. Oh, and I'm not alone in this situation - my neighbors across the street just got their roof done yesterday, and the house up the street has shingles and felt sitting on it, but no roofers installing it. We are still rebuilding from last year, and here comes the next round. I'm not playing drama queen, I don't think this one will be too bad here, but if we're having this much trouble getting contractors to rebuild the relatively minor damage, what the hell is the Panhandle going to do? There are people there in worse shape than I am still, and they are about to get seriously hammered. Again. And it's only early July.

An almost category 5 this early in the season is scary as hell. But just ask the Republicans, there ain't no such thing as Global Warming. It's a Liberal fairytale.

Which leads me to the next chapter of the rant - today I was on the sidelines for a conversation between two lawyers in the office - one is a Devout Neocon Republican, the other a Democrat. They were discussing the London bombings. Neocon Boy of course has already chalked it up to "al Qaida" terrorists because Faux News and the US Mainstream Media has, though at last report the Brits hadn't concluded this as a fact. They don't report the news, they report what they want you to know.

He was earnestly espousing a policy of converting the Muslim world to "Democracy" via invading and occupying them if necessary. Democrat guy was fairly speechless, and just kept repeating that you can't change people's government and world view at gunpoint, you just piss them off and create permanent enemies. I just sat there shaking my head - this neocon guy isn't evil, he's not frothing at the mouth like his idols on Faux News, (though as a human being, he is pretty much a dick - I see the way he treats his staff) but he's operating from a worldview that is so naive, so self-centered, it's impossible to have a conversation on the subject. And of course it took only about three or four sentences into the exchange before the name-calling started. "LIBERAL!" Anything the Dem said to him was dismissed as "Liberal Talk!" It's such a dirty word to them, they are so indoctrinated they really take it seriously, it's comical. Apparently the flipside of invading Muslim nations and making them into "democracies" because we think they should be, is "Oh, you say the US is always bad and we should go around apologizing for existing." There is no middle ground, there is no balance in that world, and really is no talking to them, but I admire the other guy for trying.

So cross your fingers that Boss gets some good news today....