cindy's world

I like this picture. This is from James’ bday shindig some weeks ago. I’m posting it because 1.) I think it’s artsy, being taken in only candlelight; 2.) it reminds me of happier times, before I was sick and sniffling, and before James abandoned us to his wanderlust in Japan; and 3.) if I hold my hands up real close to the photo, I *almost* feel the warmth of the candles, and it helps me ignore the roar of the air conditioning over my head. I can pretend. I mean, there ARE a lot of candles on that cake. Poor James. (Hey, I can torture him; he’s all the way across the globe and probably won’t even see this for WEEKS until he gets back.)

I think I caught a cold at the Formula-D event this Saturday. It was colder than I expected, overcast near the water, and the wind was blowing. It had crossed my mind that my body temperature might just take a dip long enough for some viruses to really grab on, but I hoped for the best. Sunday, I woke up with a sore lumpy throat (looked almost like tonsillitis) and got congested. I couldn’t sleep Sunday night because my body had temperature regulation issues; it was either too hot with the covers on, or too cold with them off, the pillow was either too high and cutting off my breathing, or too flat without it, and it seemed like there was a monstrous hole in the middle of the mattress trying to suck me into some bed bug abyss. Plus, I just wasn’t sleepy. I probably got an hour of sleep. It didn’t help that Monday (yesterday), work worked me beyond belief and I was sniffling with an itchy throat all day. I was able to get some shut-eye last nite, but today I come into work and the air conditioning is on full-blast so that it sounds like I’m in the middle of a blizzard. *sigh* Oh, in case you guys don’t know how A/C works in the building, here’s a short little ditty I’d written on it some time ago.

I had a cRaZy day! I’m taking a break from 5 very complicated sentencings to say hello out there to my blogger friends. I’ve got 2 more civil harassment cases to finish up.

Tonight is James’ belated birthday shindig. The weather turned unexpectedly very nice in Southern California today, so we’re gonna grab seats in the giant outdoors patio at Taps Brewery. (It was blue skies and sunshine when I left for the gym at lunch yesterday, but by the time we left the gym, there was a hurricane alert, it was dark and gray and pouring rain sideways in the wind. Leaves, twigs, and pine needles were flying sideways like a brown blizzard. My gym trainee had to throw her body weight against the gym door to open it into the wind, and we almost got blown over when we stepped out. Rain pelted me sideways in the wind so hard that I felt each individual drop, and I was drenched on the right side but not on the left. “Dang! Are we in Oz?” my trainee exclaimed.) The patio has heat lamps and 2 oversized fireplaces, so even if it gets cold we should be fine. Vanessa and I are gonna pick James up at 7:40p for meeting everyone at 8p. That way he can drink to his little heart’s delight. Actually, I can, too. Vanessa can’t, though. Haha. That’s the price of being a good friend, I guess. After we present him with his basket o’ loot, I’ll let you guys guess as to what you think each of the clues referred to, and I’ll give the answers.

I didn’t get to work out at lunch today since I attended a coworker’s retirement banquet instead. Great food! I got to bring Mr. W along as a guest date. That was fun. Obviously I can’t work out late tonight, either, so I’m busting my hump to finish my work and go straight to the gym. The most effective workout I can think of in a small amount of time is running the treadmill, so I’m gonna aim for at least a 3-mile run. As long as I can grab a treadmill, it doesn’t matter how busy the gym is after work hours today. *crossing fingers*

I seem to be insanely absent-minded lately. Earlier in the week, I forgot to put my earrings on after the gym at lunch, and they were dangling on some mesh outside of my gym bag, and by the time I remembered and went to look for the earrings, one was gone. The next day I asked the gym lost-and-found, but no one had turned them in. 🙁 It’s one of my favorite pairs. Actually, I think it IS my favorite pair. It’s a cone-shaped silver dangle with the Celtic trinity knot all over and under it. *sniffle* On the same day I lost the earring, I’d also lost my ID badge, which I wear clipped to the outside of my suit. I know I had it on when I walked from the parking structure to the courthouse, but somehow it disappeared after that. I luckily found it later on the floor of the parking structure. This morning, after stepping out of the shower, I realized I should cut my nails. As I was pressed for time, I cut my right index fingernail first since that’s the finger I use to put on my liquid foundation. I was gonna let the foundation set for 60 seconds (it’s the Revlon Colorstay sets-in-60-seconds foundation) as I was clipping my other fingernails, but after I applied the foundation, I totally forgot to finish clipping my nails so right now I have 9 longish fingernails and 1 short one. Seriously, what is WRONG with me lately? I hope I remember to pick up James tonight.

But no matter how “off” I am this week, at least I didn’t make the dumb decision that one of our defendants was sentenced for today. He went to a salon and got a haircut, asked for recommendations on hair products, brought those to the counter, and instead of paying for the haircut and products, he pulled a gun and stole them as well as the lady’s purse. He probably “saved” about $50 on that spree, but because this is his 2nd strike and he’d used a gun, he was sentenced to 21 years in state prison for that conviction. Score! (Gun enhancements by California law adds 10 years, and 2nd strike doubles the sentence he would’ve gotten for the original count.) He’s only 28, so he’d be in his late 40s when he gets out. My bailiff pointed out to him, “Hey, you’ll be about my age when you get out. There’s still a lot of life left at that age.” The defendant asked my bailiff, really concerned-like, “Do you still have sex?” My bailiff laughed and exclaimed, “ALL the time!” The guy looked relieved.

Okay, back to work. That was a nice little 20 minute break.

I heard the murmurings of something that sounded like the word “holiday” today, so I begged for clarification.

I have next Friday off! It’s Caesar Chavez Day! Yay! *rub rub* (It’s also commonly known by non-County workers as, “What the hell is that?! Are you guys just making up holidays to take off?!”)

I got my 2007 Houston Fire Fighters calendar today! Whoooooooo!

Uh. I mean, I got my receipt for my $18 donation to the Houston Fire Fighters Burned and Crippled Children’s Fund in the mail today. *side glance*

I let my reporter open the envelope to brighten her day. The result was a hearty suggestion from her, “Let’s all move to Houston and start a fire!” Yeah, bonfire in a hay barn! Let’s roast marshmallows! You’re all invited!

My court reporter is one of those inspirational people who always has great compassion and insight from having walked through hell herself. She’s also goofy and will make you feel good cuz she laughs at any joke you crack, no matter how lame you really are. She comes back to work tomorrow after being out the past 2 weeks. All the temporary relief reporters just made us miss her more.

She had taken the last two weeks off to take care of Coby, her white labrador retriever, who had leg surgery. I guess labs have thin leg bones and it’s common for big happy dogs to bounce their way into injury. She’d called two days after the surgery to let us know how things were going. The poor dog didn’t sleep well the first night due to all the pain. She said that aside from a couple of 45-minute intervals when he’d passed out, Coby cried and whimpered and shivered the whole night from pain. The pain pills the doctor gave my reporter to take home did nothing; she said she probably gave him three days’ worth in one night and he never got comfortable. No one slept those first few nights. She even called an emergency 24-hour vet, who couldn’t do anything in the middle of the night because they’re not mobile and could only give Coby a pain reliever shot if she brought him in, but a 90-pound dog who’s not mobile is not easy to carry around. The bandage was seeping blood still. With her daughters’ help, my reporter managed to get Coby into her SUV the next evening and drove him to his regular vet, who came out to the car and gave him a morphine shot. He slept better that second night. But he wasn’t able to go to the bathroom, as every time he leaned back on his haunches to go, the pain in his injured back leg made him leap back forward whimpering.

I can’t wait to see how Coby’s doing when we finally get our reporter back tomorrow. Here are some dog sayings in honor of Coby:

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
-Anonymous

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
-Will Rogers

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
-Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.
-M. Acklam

Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
-Franklin P. Jones

If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.
-Unknown

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That’s almost $21.00 in dog money.
-Joe Weinstein

Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come from a grocery with the most amazing haul, chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we’re the greatest hunters on earth!
-Anne Tyler

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.
-Roger Caras

Our trial was about a robbery that occurred at a hair salon really close (at least so it appears based on the address) to my ex’s optometry practice. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on the same block.

Last night I dreamt that I drove by the hair salon, saw that it’s 2 doors down from the ex’s optometry practice, and I thought to myself, “It IS the one I thought it was!” And then the salon owner, the woman whose hair products and purse were stolen by the defendant, came out with her family and they asked me the result of the trial. I told them the jury found the guy guilty of the robbery. They asked for the sentence, and I said he hasn’t been sentenced yet. I told them he’d be sentenced on April 10th.

This morning, we got the verdict. Guilty on second degree robbery, and the judge and the attorneys set the sentencing for…April 10th.

I’m claiming overtime for my dream.

(Public records will reflect all this information and more, but I’m redacting names and other identifying information anyway.)

Girl1 files a petition for a restraining order against Girl2, which was heard in my court this morning.

Girl1’s petition says she doesn’t know Girl2, but that Girl2 has been harassing her through the mail, Girl1’s work phone, home phone, and cell phone. Girl1 assumes that Girl2 got her address through a search and got her phone numbers through Girl2’s husband’s cell phone statements. (Hmm.) Girl1’s only actual contact with Girl2 was through phone calls made by Girl2 (allegedly 60+ calls), but Girl1 has a tape recording of some messages left by Girl2 (“slut” this and “slut” that, “your parents must hate you,” etc.) which she brought to court today, and a letter that Girl1 says Girl2 mailed to Girl1’s entire block of neighbors. She brought the letter with her today, too.

Girl2 filed a response, saying that Girl1 had conveniently failed to mention in her papers that Girl1 had initiated an affair with Girl2’s husband of 20 years, and that Girl1 knows of Girl2’s existence from that. I’ll now refer to Girl2 as “Wife,” to help make this less confusing. Wife admits to having contacted Girl by phone, saying after she found out about the affair, her husband had given her Girl’s phone number and “encouraged” her to call Girl with any questions. Wife admits to having called Girl obscenities in these phone calls, but claims she did not threaten Girl, nor call 60+ times, nor send any letters, nor did she know Girl’s address and other information. Wife said she doesn’t want to meet, learn anything about nor have anything to do with Girl, as Wife and her husband are reconciling and want to just put the affair behind them.

Wife did not come to court to defend herself today. Girl testified tearfully, saying she wants to apologize to Wife for the pain she cause in Wife’s marriage, but that the harassment has gone way above and beyond. The letter that Girl brought is apparently a folded bulk-mail type flyer with Girl’s address as the sender, and her neighbor’s address as the recipient, addressed to “RESIDENT”. Except this one letter, along with a few others, were returned by the post office as undeliverable, which is how Girl came to find out about these letters. It says:

Hi my name is [full name], I am your neighbor and I live at [street address]. I just want to let you know that I love having sex with married men, and I love giving head.
I am a desperate 38 year old home wrecker. Give me a call. Are you gonna come lay with me tonight?
Hm – [home #]
Cell – [cell #]
Are you gonna come lay with me tonight?

Girl describes, through her tears, how her phones ring off the hook with strange men calling, asking inappropriate personal questions, and she’d see strange men drive by her house, looking in her property, and she feels unsafe in her home. She doesn’t know if these are friends of Wife’s or if they’re people who’ve received the flyer, or both, but believes at least some of the rude and vile phone calls are from friends of Wife’s.

She did get the restraining order granted, but only for 1 year instead of the maximum 3, and it was just a no-contact order since there was no proof that Wife ever physically approached Girl.

Geez. Is this karma?

Oh, look. It’s before 1pm and Cindy’s blogging. What’s she doing in front of a computer instead of behind some gym equipment?, you may be wondering. A coworker I passed coming into the building earlier asked me that, too.

The fact is that I did go to the gym. After the judge ran late into lunch, after he didn’t get off the bench until past noon, I had to have him approve and sign a Restraining Order for a case earlier this morning (which I couldn’t do until after he got off the bench since he went right into our trial and ran late), then make copies and explain to the person waiting what to do with the copies. And then driving to the gym, I got stuck behind a car trying to make a left into a building from the left lane (not a left TURN lane, but the left lane), and I couldn’t change lanes to the right lane because of all the cars going by on the lane to my right. FINALLY, he turned and of course by then I missed all the lights. So I waited and waited, and when the light finally turned green, I couldn’t go because half a block away two ambulances were wailing their way over to cross my path. So I had to wait for them instead of turn. And when I finally make it to the gym, I got in the locker room, got undressed, put on my sport bra, my tanktop, and then dug around in my workout bag for…nothing. I didn’t bring workout pants or shorts. DAMN it. So I got redressed and decided to go salvage my lunchtime by grabbing something to eat. I checked my wallet. I have one dollar. So here I am, having a protein cookie that I had stashed away in the file cabinet, drinking water, and blogging.

If I’m really, really good, I’ll go to the gym tonight after I do my and my parents’ taxes.

I met Mr. W at the gym during lunch today and we took a yoga class together. I held off coughing through almost the entire hour by not “inhaling deeply” when the instructor told us to but taking shallow breaths, until the last relaxation pose. At the last pose, my body wanted to cough so badly that I was spasming. My throat was closing up, my lungs were involuntarily pushing the air out. I finally let out a cough, and once I did I couldn’t stop. The hacking echoed off the hardwood floors and mirrored walls, completely shattering the illusion of shaded tranquility in the room.

A minute ago, my bailiff, who had been reading a magazine at his desk, walked up toward me with an article and announced, “I’ve been doing some reading, and I know now why you’ve got that cough.” Curious, I let him show me an open page, which features a review on the Lexus IS 250, the lower version of my car. Compared to my IS 350, the 250 is the same car and body without the V6 engine, with 100 less horsepower. I was confused as he summarized the article. “It says here that the IS 250 has ‘top-notch handling and a firm suspension’, and that it ‘takes technological features to the next level’.” Right, I agree, but what’s that got to do with my cough? He continued to bullet other points in the article. “It says that the Lexus succeeds in ‘making complex features simple.’ And then it talks about all the luxury car comforts in the cabin. It says here ‘Exterior styling is on the muscular side — lean, not bulky — a departure for buttoned-down Lexus. Handling is taut… The base engine, which is strong but quiet, is a hair underpowered but makes up for it with great fuel economy’.”
“Yeah, but that’s the IS 250,” I said. “I have the 350, which has a stronger engine than what you’re reading there.”
“I know, wait a minute, but here’s where it talks about how you got your cough. The last sentence in the article says, ‘Those who want to notch up the power can cough up an extra four grand for the IS 350, which has a 306-horsepower V6.’ Have you been coughing ever since you bought that car?”

Oh my gawd.

Of course I had to blog it.

Oh, cites from the January/February 2007 issue of Westways magazine, published by Triple-A.