At the end of last week, a partner asked me to take a look at a motion and prepare a response. It's a motion involving attorney fees. Do you know what that means?! It involves....dun, dun, dun.... MATH! GROSS! Thankfully it also involved a good deal of legal research (my fave) to break up the math-monotony.
I love a lot of things about being a lawyer. But I mostly love the competition and creativity of motion briefing. One thing I have discovered is that there are a lot of lawyers who are lazy writers/legal researchers. It is not very fun to oppose a sloppy motion. When my opponent is crafty and creative and only border-line ethical, that's when the big guns come out.
There is nothing in the world better than pulling apart your opponent's arguments. Then when you find the MONEY case that supports your own argument, it's like pulling a tiny thread and unraveling an entire sweater. Even better than that is when case law on a subject is mixed and the judge could rule either way. The excitement of opening up the court order and reading the ruling while trying not to skip ahead to the outcome is even better than opening gifts on Christmas. Because you know that, if you win, it's the result of your own work, creatively crafted arguments, and excellent use of analogizing cases. It's called a litigator's high. It is better than sex. Yep.
So back to this weekend....I spent over 8 hours researching and writing a 12 page opposition brief. I broke this time out between the two days so that I didn't feel like I was neglecting my children. I wrote the brief at my kitchen table in my yoga pants in between tantrums, time-outs, meals, nap times, and simple cries for attention. It was frustrating to have to stop mid-argument to refill a water bottle or wipe someone's ass, but I managed somehow.
Then Saturday night, I met up with some friends for a night on the town. It was one of my friend's 30th birthday and we had high expectations for the night. I love taking friends from my city to Seattle. I am the honorary Seattle-ite since I work there and I get to show them around town. I also get to feel really important when people ask me simple things like "how do you catch a cab in Seattle," or "where is a good place to eat?" or "Is this neighborhood too sketchy to walk through this time of night?" I love playing tour guide because I love Seattle with a passion and I get to share my love and passion with others (whether they want me to or not!).
We started at one of my favorite bar, Bathtub Gin & Co. It's a tiny little bar and best-kept Seattle secret. The entrance is in an alleyway behind some office buildings. When you walk up to the entrance, an unassuming wooden door between homeless people and dumpsters, you have no idea if you are in the in the right place. One step inside the door and you feel like you've discovered a secret little world. The place is tiny and cramped but the dim lighting, the friendly people, and amazingly long list of cocktails make it the COOLEST place to get drunk in Seattle.
NOT Sketchy:
Our fancy custom-made receipt illustrated by our bartender.
We had a couple drinks, made friends with the bartender and other customers, had some interesting girl talk, then left to grab a bite to eat. We had our sights set on a romantic looking, upscale grill across the street. But as we left the bar at 8:45, one person in our group was already stumble-down drunk. So, we opted for nachos at the fast-food joint Taco Del-Mar where we were the only patrons and could enjoy the spanish game-show television, bright flourescent lights, and cartoon fish character decor all by ourselves.
My "I'm not drunk enough for fast-food nachos" face.
Me with the beautiful birthday girl
Luckily everyone sobered up in time for some dancing at a nearby club. Looking for a cool little pub? I'm your girl. Looking for a club? Forget it! But Google did not disppoint and we landed at Trinity Night Club with multiple dance floors and walls that vibrated from the mix of techno and pop songs. We drank, we dance, and OH BOY did we meet some of the creepiest men in the city. I don't remember men being so bold and shameless. I also don't remember men having no qualms about dancing like complete idiots. Men continued to want to girate on us even upon discovering we were married. We all took turns playing body guard though and it worked out pretty well.
At one point during the evening, this man (looking like an ugly Daniel Craig- trust me, it IS possible) bent over at a ninety degree angle, stuck his butt out, and danced with his rear jiggling and jiving up against me. WHAT? Since when do men dance like that? We all laughed at his expense and then quickly ditched him in the crowd.
I also had forgotten about the flocks of men that a group of women can attract. I haven't talked with so many people in my entire life! As much fun as I had, I couldn't help but feel a little detached from it all many times during the evening. I guess I'm just a lame-old mom. By 11:00, my knees were hurting from dancing and I just wanted to sit on my quiet couch and surf Pinterest (I realize how very sad I sound!). I was shocked to see men twice my age with more energy and interest in dancing. Can I blame my lame-ness on being a mom?
Can I go home now and drink tea?
We left the club a little after midnight, caught the 12:50 a.m. ferry and that got me home at 2 a.m. It was a very fun night! It wasn't so awesome, however, to be woken up at 6:30 by two hungry, energetic children and then have to spent 4 more hours finishing up my motion. But that is the life of a mommy lawyer!
P.S. Is it sad that the closest thing I could get to a clubbing outfit was an Ann Taylor Loft blouse?
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