All posts by Savvy Spoonie

I am an artist, writer, jeweler, and a Spoonie. Before becoming a Spoonie I was a very busy high achieving attorney and advocate bent on saving the world. Now I'm struggle to redefine my life to fit within my reduced energy level. Some days are better than others. I have fibromyalgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and chronic daily migraine.
Pets

Cat sucker…

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Le sigh….

Well, I dropped my daughter off at school this morning and upon leaving the grounds was greeted by a plaintive mew. Following the noise I saw a small black and cream mottled cat sitting by the massive marsh directly in front of the school. It mewed again. I said “Hello kitty” and at this point it wandered over, pushed against my leg, and seemed to say “I’m cold, and very, very, hungry. This is your problem now.”

Obviously, there is a small mottled cat in my upstairs bathroom who has a date with a vet. It ate a packet of cat food and resolutely began licking the enamel off the bowl. It was so small, and it’s little tummy was sooo very small, I couldn’t leave it there. I had hopes that it was a lost kitten, rather than a stray, but inquiries of the other moms when I picked Monkey up weren’t promising. It seems this little kitty has been at the marsh for quite some time.

It looks as though we have another cat.

It is not all my fault though. I have been dropping Monkey off at school all year, and not a single cat has targeted me for potential mom-hood. However, a few days ago, Lee suggested we get another cat for the kitten, as Chloe (our Siamese) has not befriended Rue. See, he let the universe know there was a potential opening in our house for a cat! This is his fault too.

Oddly, both Chloe and Rue were sitting side by side, hissing at the bathroom door hiding the cat. They seem to have bonded in adversity.

Cats are simply perverse.

So, off to the vet at five, may the cat please be healthy and not have a crazy illness.

M

Law

Swearing in…

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Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

For all those following the long, hard, and relatively tedious process of becoming an attorney, I have finished the final piece, and now, may sue and be sued.

I was sworn in at the Boettcher concert hall with many of my peers on the 23rd of October, 2006. My parents and Monkey were in attendance, though Lee had to stay in NJ to keep the homefires burning.

I doubt there can be a ceremony that truly makes one feel as though the three years of insane study, hundreds of thousands of dollars, months of exam preparation, and months of tense waiting were actually worthwhile. I really only remember the part when the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, Mary Mullarky, asked us to repeat after her. However, aspects of the day certainly improved the occasion, and made it memorable.

Nick, my stalwart study partner through the months of hell that were the bar exam, and I stood together during the ceremony. This allowed for his hug to be the first to usher me into the practice of law. Fitting as there would have been far more insanity, and quite possibly less success, if I had not been blessed with him as a study partner.

I got to share a moment with Mark, who helped keep me and Nick on the ball night after night, week after week, while we began to lose the urge to cram in “JUST ONE MORE RULE!!” Thanks for being there!! We did it!

Friends and loved ones came to swear and be sworn, to affirm and reaffirm, and to show more love and support for their newly minted lawyer friends. Eric and Caitlin, Ben and Sanjin, Scott and Sierra, Dara and many more came to share the day with me.

I got a few moments with Paul as well, whom I sat with in most of our law classes, and will miss terribly now that it is all over and I am miles away. Paul, our promises of monthly lunches downtown will have to be postponed until I can get the family back to your neck of the country.

Monkey was so proud she almost cried, but luckily Caitlin was there to keep her entertained, and extra cute.

I got a brief chance to do a victory dance with Jen as well. We shared a room during the exam, and gorged on crab cheese wontons and fried rice at Chan’s after each day. Jen!! We did it!! We have a date, after the baby is born, to be in a dark bar until we are on the verge of alcohol poisoning!!! (I still maintain that crabcheese wontons are brain food of the highest order.)

It is over! I am an attorney!! I wish I could say I don’t have to do any of this again, but I moved out of Colorado just days after the bar!! Therefore, in February, I take the bar in New Jersey. Sigh. I guess for now, I will sit on my laurels for a few weeks, and bask in the glow of possible litigation.

Love and Marriage

Swimming with the sharks…

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What does a lawyer do on her tropical honeymoon?

Swim with the Sharks of course!!

We went snorkeling in the Bahamas on our honeymoon. The final snorkel was a “shark dive.” Now, I have a fear of sharks, a rather impressive, illogical, irrational, they can get smart and grow legs and come eat me on land kind of fear. Therefore, I was not intending to get into the water while there were any sharks around at all. However, during one of the reef dives, there was a lone shark fairly near by, and he didn’t hunt me down with “jaws”-esque intensity so I began to relax. Lee said they weren’t going to attack a lawyer anyway, professional courtesy and all. Being our honeymoon, I decided to forgo the requisite violent response.

Then we got to the last dive. The shark dive. I looked into the water and saw an ocean teeming with sharks.

I felt faint, I felt certain this was a bad idea, I felt I had to do it anyway. (I never said I am always intelligent.)

Yes, in spite of my inner brain, which at this point was screaming loudly while attempting to make my arms and legs cling to the ship, I entered the shark infested waters.

I followed the rules, followed the rope out into the water, and looked down. There were a lot of sharks, about 20 – 30 of them investigating the bait box below. However, the bait box was really, really far below, about 30-40 feet deep, so the sharks weren’t so bad. I started to calm down. I spent some time ogling the fiercesome predators in their environment, I started to enjoy myself. Then I saw movement out of the corner of my right eye. I looked to the right…. and calmly ambling towards me with the best of intentions was a frackin shark! It was perhaps 10-15 feet away, near the surface of the water, peering at me as if to say “What’s all this then? Got any food?”

Well at this point I choked a little on seawater because one shouldn’t actually say “This is a F&*&ing bad idea” while snorkeling. (Who knew?)

So I began to edge towards the boat with an outward calm. It took far too long to get out of the water, but eventually I was on dry land again. Whew.

Then they called everyone in and pulled up the bait box. And fed them.

This is what a shark frenzy looks like…

This is what sharks do when they are being taunted with dead fish by young Bahamian divers.

Notice the surprising amount of boat underneath that shark! The sharks started coming up out of the water and onto the back of the boat. Yes my friends, it seemed as though they were indeed growing legs and coming to get me on dry land! But there were no legs, they were leaping on the to back end for the fish, and there was about 6 inches of boat wall between me and the sharks. Tee hee hee…. heh.

Anyway, I survived, and enjoyed it! Though the experience has not really eradicated my shark fear, but then again, I admitted it was irrational. I am not sure I would ever do this again, but I can certainly say I am pleased I was able to greet my fellow sharks personally, without the assistance of a set of cement galoshes.