"YES"vember

Proving once again that sometimes all you have to do is ask, November became a month of "yes's" for me, both personally and professionally.

After several months of career-limbo, I decided to put my fate in my own hands. I had been straddling departments at work, part time foreclosure part time litigation. I knew that foreclosure work would pigeon hole me and potentially ruin my shot at ever getting a different job. I also knew, through the grapevine, that they were considering hiring a new litigation attorney. (Turns out they weren't "considering" - they already had the ad running). If I had waited any longer, this blog would certainly be different. I can't remember the exact date, but I do know that I had a game plan for that day and when I arrived at work, I put it into motion.

I first went to the office of the head litigation attorney, Nancy. She is not a partner at the firm, but she was my first choice because I had to make sure she would want me in her department before I started making waves elsewhere. Immediately I knew I had done the right thing. "Yes" she said "We would love to have you." Together we formulated a game plane of who to talk to next and what to say. At 9:15, Steve arrived at work, and he was the next partner on my list to talk to. "Yes" he said. "I think it makes perfect sense to let you switch. I'll change the ad we have running. We'll replace you in your current foreclosure position." It was all going so smoothly I could hardly believe I was nervous to ask! Finally, I had to talk to my current boss, Doug, the partner in charge of foreclosure. Notorious for dodging "uncomfortable" situations, Doug was both my most difficult meeting and the easiest. I knew he would never say "No" because he can't, but I also knew that I couldn't necessarily take that what he would say as a "yes."

I left Doug's office feeling like I did all I could. He had said that he thought that my move would be "fine" and that was the most I could hope for. After several follow ups with the attorneys I had met with, it seemed all was on track for my move. (A month later, it still does. I have seen them interview several potential candidates AND I have been informed I'll be interviewing several litigation assistants for MYSELF in the very near future!!!)

With my career on the right path I was happy to hear I had more "yes" moments on the way. Specifically, I had confirmed that Devin would be coming home for Thanksgiving. My happiness was bittersweet, as it is always my hope that the ENTIRE family will be together. Though Dylan, Brandon and Amy were missed dearly, I had a wonderful week spent with mom, dad and Devin. Pictures to follow, as mom and Devin have done a good job of describing our adventures!

A Sober October

The celebration of September spilled over into the early weeks of October, as two of our friends from law school decided to engage in silly behavior and get married. I was happy for it because it meant a mini-law school reunion (Amanda flew in for the weekend) complete with free alcohol and food.

After the weekend I had revolving around the wedding, I was ready for a change. And so was my liver. I spent the next two weeks upholding a vow of sobriety. I enjoyed it. My face was less puffy and I think I might have lost some weight. But most importantly, I proved to myself that it isn't hard to pass up a drink every now and again. This explains the lack of action photos for October.

My plan was to bust out of sobriety just in time for Halloween but the calendar was not on my side this year. Halloween fell on a Wednesday and though we all had big plans, our work-centered lives overshadowed the hope of having a great time. Thank goodness we celebrated at work, otherwise it would've been a very hollow Halloween. The view from outside my office:

A Month Worth Marvelling

I won't say who has hounded me all week to blog...but it worked. Here you go.

It's no secret that this is my favorite month. Twenty-nine days lead up to the best day of the year, September 30. Who cares if that sounds self-indulgent. Anyone who has ever met me or spent any amount of time with me knows how important my bday is for me. But this month gave me lots of reasons to celebrate.

On September 12th I awoke to nauseau and butterflies. Missouri bar results were scheduled for release - mid-morning we were told. As a treat for what could be either the worst or best day of our life (relatively speaking), Katie and I went to Starbucks before we left for work. I rarely spend money on coffee - so this was a big deal. We gave each other a supportive hug and went on our respective ways to work. Lucky for me, Katie's work is a mere 10 minutes away and she arrived in time to check if results were posted before I had even made it half way to work. So when my cell phone rang at 8:15 that morning - and identified Katie as the caller - I knew it could only be one thing. I was thankful she could deliver the news to me, that I had passed, that she had passed...in fact anyone I knew that I took the bar with had passed. It was time to celebrate. Oh wait. It was time to go to work.

Twelve hours later, the celebration was winding down. Our behavior had detiorated from that of the most recent addition to a profession of the highest integrity, to...well, you can see for yourself:

(We're eating wings)

Eight days later, and I found myself in a much more respectable celebration. On Thursday, September 20 I took the Oath of Admission in Jefferson City, Missouri to uphold the honor and integrity of the legal profession. I was more overcome with emotion than I thought I would be and when we were directed to give a moment of thanks to our family who supported us through the journey, I was unable to hold back the tears as I turned to look at mom. Thank you for being there then and every day before.

Left: signing the attorney register - Right: mom and I minutes before I swore in

Not to be forgotten- the highlight of my month. We started my birthday weekend by going to the LCD/Arcade Fire concert at Starlight. It couldn't have been better weather or a better time.

Saturday night my roommates through me a party to be remembered. Mom and dad were there early in the evening. They know better than to stay past the time when I might become embarassing. The party took flight to one of my new favorite bars, Jilly's, on 18th and Main. 80's dance music + birthday Adrienne = one good time. Thanks to everyone for another wonderful birthday!! Here are some relatively self-explanatory pics of my night: