Squeaky Wheels, People. Squeaky Wheels!

That is clearly how you get things done in life: being a squeaky wheel. Being a squeaky wheel does NOT mean being insulting people or calling them names. It means not allowing people to walk on you if you're being mistreated or not getting something you paid for. It means asserting yourself calmly & trying to explain things in a way that people will want to help you.

Imagine my shock when I got a call today from the rep I'd spoken to at Michael Ginarais' office. I was skeptical that they were going to do much; after all, I've seen many a government worker & political office worker brush off me as well as others I helped. I do remember dealing with the would-be lobbyist & getting political doublespeak. I know platitudes when I see them, and I've certainly seen my fair share of them. I also have a very cynical view of government & politics to begin with. So I felt like I was being fed a platitude & they weren't really going to take action. Some people hand out platitudes like candy & con others into thinking they are sincere when they really aren't. I'm not sure if the lawyer thing has anything to do with it or maybe that I'm just a loudmouth who'll remind you that you can't treat me like some smelly fart. Ignoring me doesn't make me go away. That will just make me madder.

The rep I spoke to was helpful, gave me useful information & a direct method of contact in case I had future trouble. We also had our 4th Verizon tech arrive & find a problem no one else had. I'm hoping this will be the end of our little rain problem but I guess I won't know this until it rains. Thus far, I haven't lost my service again so that's good. I also had a very busy day yesterday. I attended a financial conference that a Twitter follower was conducting & invited me to. I wasn't sure I qualified as an investor but as I do have a business that should eventually get financing & an interest in doing more investing (because maybe you are one if you have a CD with a bank?), I figured since I was invited I may as well go since I could learn something new that might be practical for my business or for personal investing.

One significant observation: people at this event were much friendlier to me as a stranger than attorneys would be. People actually SPOKE to me & I networked. At lawyers events that aren't "networking events," you're lucky to get a "hello" from an attorney that doesn't know you. I went to a Vault Career Fair a few years back & there was a lunch with it.

This event also had a lunch where you sat with people at a table. The difference is people at this event actually spoke to me and we learned about what each other's work & involvement in the financial industry. I'm also glad to know that there are firms that advise corporations on making sure they are complying with proper corporate governance (such as making sure they have the proper number of independent directors on their boards) & that corporations use them.

I also didn't feel a vibe of snobbery & elitism like most people would expect. That vibe is something I pick up on quickly since I've experienced it so much & I know what I'm looking for.

At lunch, one person said my job was more interesting that hers but I pointed out that the downside is I don't get the financial security since my company's not financed. This is very true: if you work in entertainment, you're not going to get rich unless you're extremely passionate, motivated & willing to work for yourself. You have to seek out opportunities & work much harder than someone with a steady income and company. You'd expect people to immediately back away from me after that but it didn't happen.

The speakers also struck me as being human beings first & foremost i.e. approachable. Not something you'd expect or see much of. I also wasn't in dressy attire while most of the people attending were. I generally won't do that since I don't have to; I'm not here to put on airs or impress folks in that way. We're not in court & if there's no dress code, why shouldn't I dress for basic comfort?

Contrast this with me going to lawyer events that aren't formal networking events, especially if no one I know from a bar committee is there: you can feel the elitism & self-importance in the room. Only more recently have I felt truly comfortable at the bar associations I currently belong to. I still feel distant from folk there sometimes but that could because I'm doing something so different, even compared to other entertainment lawyers. I have much more confidence about it after higher ups in these places have told me to just be myself & meeting people who make me feel less like an outcast or an oddball. Even so, if I'm at an event where someone I know isn't there no one bothers to talk to me so I feel like "Why am I here?"

Bar associations could really take a lesson from sororities when it comes to integrating new members (mine, at least since I can't speak for others). They should view it as entertaining guests in your home & trying to make those guests feel comfortable. In sorority recruitment, you were not allowed to leave potential new members alone for the entire time they were attending your premises; the members had to talk to all of them & be gracious, even if you felt that girl had no business trying to pledge your house (ideally, you had multiple sisters talking to each girl so you could get a gauge of the girl's fit for your chapter). There was a basic standard of politeness expected that I imagine is still the norm today. I think making that effort would really help since not everyone can, in a psychological sense, go approach a group of strangers.

I do have to compliment one of my colleagues who is the president of one of these bar associations (NYCLA) since he does attend events & makes himself accessible to everyone, not just the seasoned members or the most high profile lawyers. The best things about the Vault Career Fair: the swag & networking with one of the lawyers representing a firm seeking applicants. Apparently, he'd been trying to pick me up while I was trying to network.

The other observation from this financial conference: I'm not as ignorant on matters of finance as I thought I was. I had some knowledge of what was being said & I could understand some of it. Taking Business Organizations in law school paid off!

Oh, and they also had some nice swag.

To finish out the day, I decided to go to my first community board meeting. Remember this whole Verizon debacle & how I said it seems I'm going to have to get involved in political matters reluctantly? I did.

One thought, though: is it just me or are forums where the public or others can advocate for their rights deliberately held in locations that are public transit nightmares? My husband's union meetings, for instance, are held in a location where it's a pain in the ass to get there unless you've got a car. I wonder how many people usually attend with that. I can't help but wonder if that's some kind of ploy to keep people from exercising their rights or using their voice. It wouldn't shock me if it was. See the cynical thoughts that come to my head? Not sure you can blame that on my being a lawyer.

Anyhow, I did go & turned out to be a good decision. For one thing, they have public comment at the beginning of the meeting. I was happy to see this since you normally hear about it being at the end & we all know what happens at the end of a meeting: people leave or zone out & won't listen to you. I never like to perform last in a show if others are doing what I'm doing (singing or acting). I got to speak first since the person signed up ahead of me wasn't present.

I was able to eloquently make my point in less than 3 minutes & learned that the chairman along with others in the room had had the same problem with Verizon. I also met members of the community board, one of whom introduced me to another attorney who as it turned out is the spouse of a manager my husband worked with at one point. I warned hubby that if I meet managerial folk from his job, I'd directly ask them about the whole promotions issue & why my husband is not being properly utilized. Everyone knows it's best not to have me meet the library's HR folk because I'll let them have it as the person in charge of HR in my own business (informally but I'm the only lawyer & I've done the interviews for positions that didn't require creative judgments). Same for that library director: I'll take him to task since he deserves it & screwing with my family means you're screwing with me.

Hopefully, the Verizon issue was resolved but I appreciate getting the help and information. It certainly may still be time for a block association considering that abandoned house sitting there & possibly now being a druggie hangout. I did also get the sense that the community board did try to help folk & cared about what was going on. My husband wants to go to the next meeting.

So, a lesson: bother your politicians & go to your community board meetings. Then you can complain about corruption & make an educated decision in casting votes. Squeaky wheels & all that. Plus, getting in people's faces will show them that their constituents are watching & will not let them forget if they screw up or don't take action on some major issue.

However, what I'm not sure is available but would love to see as a smartphone app is an app where you can find out about all your local campaigns, go to all the campaign websites & learn about the campaign contributions accepted by each candidate. There are websites for the campaign contribution monies but I don't know of any one set place where you can learn about everyone running for local office & what their platforms are on major issues, including how they would solve problems within the realm of the office. This could give an edge to candidates with less money, especially if they aren't taking corporate "bribes", appearing in TV ads or invited to televised debates, late night talk shows, etc.

Say, Buddy Roemer who seems like one of the only Republicans who isn't a woman hating, lunatic fringe scumbag who constantly makes "gaffes" and either needs or has had a lobotomy. I wouldn't trust most of the media darling GOP candidates to manage a piggy bank, much less a whole country.

Frugality vs. Miserly Acts

So, got some good news: hubby's not getting laid off this year. The financial picture is also looking better for me personally since I've been working at a paying temp job that keeps continuing longer than I thought it would. I keep getting good news to where I really should have a little confidence in my life being stable (or at least not feeling like I'm going to have to enact my doomsday plan).

Hey, if you're smart you have a doomsday plan. An agenda of what you'll do if your life completely falls apart & there's no incentive for you to follow law and order or care about anything. Maybe you parents can't relate since you'll have your kids to care for, but those who aren't should be able to. If you understand working toward a passion and knowing that if it fell apart tomorrow you'd never want to do anything else, then you definitely understand why one would have a doomsday plan. It's "doomsday" because you have no incentive to give a damn anymore. Some may be happy becoming homeless and not mind all the bullshit that comes with poverty but as long as I've got a brain, I'm going to have contingency plans.

When you plan for anything, though you know you're going to need money. Because of this and my perhaps paranoid nature, I'm a serious cheapskate (frugal, if you want to be nice). Now if you're able to show me the value in spending a little more or I experience this value firsthand, I'll spring a little.

Generally, though if it comes to something like eating out or going someplace that will cost me money, my knee jerk reaction is to say "No, we don't need to spend the money." I'm so bad on this that if my husband buys me something as a gift that I don't need, I'll tell him he didn't have to spend the $ on me.

One birthday, I was told to pick out some clothing & it was like pulling teeth to get me to get things. For one thing, I'm picky. My method of clothes shopping is I walk in & if something calls to me, I'll consider it. If it's unique enough, makes me look absolutely gorgeous & I can think of uses for it, I'll get it. I also felt things I saw were too expensive & that my hubby shouldn't be spending so much on me.

Once I get going, though, I can find more stuff I like that suits me & has the proper price. Doesn't help that I grew up with very little money. Most of the clothes I have I got through store discounts or on sale.

Trying on clothes recently though, I realized I desperately need to get some new stuff. This is because I'm freakishly tiny. How tiny? Apparently, I'm a size 0 if you look at one retailer's website (a clothing place I like due to the uniqueness of some of their items). My bust-hip-waist measurements match that size perfectly. It's eerie.

It also makes clothes shopping a bitch & a half, as I've stated before. The worst part is, I wasn't even fat in high school. I was being called skinny then & asked if I was anorexic. Can't imagine the flack I'd get now, especially when many of my classmates are larger than they were in high school. I must be the only person on Earth who loses weight during times when everyone else gains it.

Let's see: lost weight in college, lost weight after getting married (or at least haven't gained it), lost weight after moving to NYC. I've also never been a vegetarian or had what anyone would call the best diet ever, though I probably eat healthier than I did when I was younger (no soda & no fast food unless it's a chain I like that I can't get in my area). Hasn't changed a damn thing on me.

See why I keep my regime as it is? I also try to avoid too much exercise since I were thinner, I'd have to get clothes from the children's section.

As part of this, I feel like I'm becoming a miser if I don't get some new clothes. I consider one a miser if they could afford something but are just sticking to things that aren't fitting or have long outlived their usefulness. I'd like to think I'm not going to end up some recluse you see on Unsolved Mysteries who everyone thought was on hard times, doesn't talk to anyone about their personal life, then dies & you find out had millions of dollars they never used or enjoyed while they were alive.

I also saw family members throw money around like it was water. Couldn't save if their lives depended on it. I saw it as wasteful back when I was very young. Guess it also doesn't help that my mom borrowed money from me when I was a kid; she always said I should become a loan shark. My father also stole money from me to fund his drinking since I was the kid who saved allowances. Yeah, if only it were legal to be a loan shark! I could get some big strong guys to help me collect on debts. That would be fun.

Is it no wonder I'm an attorney? Is it no wonder I don't like wasting money?

As for my loans, got every intention to pay those when it's feasible to make a dent in it & will actually mean something in the grand scheme. Maybe loan providers should start helping get my business funded if they want their money that badly. Perhaps help these unemployed lawyers get work. Until then, shut the hell up & get with modern times. You aren't getting repaid by the students + the system itself is well documented as corrupt and not going to collapse with massive defaults. You've also brought it on yourselves.

I'd say as much to anyone trying to bitch at me for doing what I have to in order to survive & not worrying about kowtowing to a system where I'm not getting any kind of reward unless I follow an "all or nothing" scheme. Give me credit for what I can do (ex. partial payments) or expect me to do the bare minimum. It's the rational thing to do. Funny that even my law school bankruptcy professor said that credit card companies were evil; I wonder if he'd feel the same about student loan companies.