Delegated Authority

I’ve been accepted by

The University of Maryland!

I THINK I’M EXCITED!

No, really, I AM excited. . . now!  Once the work starts, maybe the excitement will dim…(probably!).

Since I have well over 200 credit hours from 6 various Colleges and Universities around this wonderful Country of ours, I dont think there should be any problem finding 90 to transfer to UMd., (120 generally gets you a Bachelors) at least, that’s what I’m counting on. . .90 is the key here.  Ninety is the most they will accept toward their Bachelor’s program.  I have to take 30 there, and with any luck, that is all I will have to take to get my degree.

Naturally, I’ve chosen a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies.  Was there any doubt in that?

Since work has been awfully boring this week, I’ve done a lot of web surfing and found out some very cool things that might make my upcoming educational jaunt a little easier:

1)  I may be qualified for 2 different scholarships.  One for being a Veteran, and one for being Phi Theta Kappa (the Jr. College version of Phi Beta Kappa, the National Honor Society); and

2)  UMd has a program where, in your Jr. year (I’ll either start in my 3rd or 4th year), you can apply to the UMd Law School, and if accepted, forgo your 4th year as an undergrad and go right to law school. . . you dont receive a Bachelors, but you complete your J.D. and can take the Bar Exam and practice law. . .  

Taking an extra year off the educational route at this time in my life doesnt sound like such a bad idea, if I could actually make it happen.  Who knows, the worst they can do is say no.  It is something I think I will be talking to my advisor about.

I dont plan on starting until September, although I could conceivably start this summer. . . I want to take the summer to get my ducks in a row and make sure I get everything mapped out.

Wish me luck!

So you’ve heard me profess how my husband and [adult*] children are computer geeks and wizards at what they do, and love every minute of it… (and make a good living at it, too!)

Now you can meet a Geek of a different kind… ME :) 

I LOVE LAW.  I love the premise of it, the inner workings of it, the sheer magnitude of it all.  It never ceases to fascinate me.  What so many others seem to find droll and boring, I find adrenaline charging and exciting!  Case in point:

Yesterday I was afforded the awesome opportunity to see my firms senior partner in action!  A tiny bit of background:  Reid Chambers pretty much wrote the book on Native American Law… literally… he co-authored Cohens Book on Native American Law, which is used in almost all law classes on Indian Law… he’s been published more times than most of us can count, and some 30-40 years ago, actually worked for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs, part of the Department of Interior), before he and Marvin Sonosky started this Firm.  Okay.  Now you know a little bit about Reid. (you can see more about our my Firm here, and also read Reid’s bio)

So we have a case on Appeal in the Federal Court of Appeals (one measely step away from the U.S. Supreme Court!) for one of our Tribes.  We’ve worked long and hard on this case and won in the lower court, but the Plaintiff appealed.  We were 3rd on the docket, and so we got to see the 3 Judges chew up and spit out the attorneys in the other 2 cases.  I was just amazed!  If there was a soft spot in their argument, those Judges found it and attacked.  I guess that’s why they get paid the big bucks!  You have a set time for your argument (20 minutes) and have timing lights in front of you the whole time, but once the Judges ask you questions, it can go longer. 

When Reid appeared and stated our argument for the Tribe, he was succinct and confident, and it showed… Even when the Judges asked questions, he was able to powerfully (and I do mean powerfully) answer them, and not leave opening for doubt.

I have to admit to being bias, but I believe he gave the best argument (and considering opposing counsel was chewed up and spit out), and believe our Tribe will prevail :) 

Naturally, they have to leave you hanging… we wont get a decision for 30-60 days.  Torture, I tell you!

I’ve been as giddy as a school girl since we left the courtroom!  It was definitely the most awesome [work related] experience I’ve had in my life.Š

* Since Jared will be 18 in just 39 days, I included him in that statement that they were all, now, adult children

It happened.

There was a horrific accident on the bay bridge yesterday.  It involved 7 vehicles, killed 3 people and injured a few more, some critically.  It took place on the westbound bridge, which is the “new” span.  Its 3 lanes, and at the time of day in question (late afternoon), it had the northernmost 2 lanes headed west and the southernmost lane headed east… typical, because of all the commuters headed home.  The “old” span is only 2 lanes and solely dedicated to eastbound traffic.

Apparently an SUV towing a trailer of some sort lost the trailer…and bridge pinball was “on” — suspended 216 feet above the Chesapeake Bay.  Not only did the unsuspecting drivers now have to dodge the trailer, the traffic next to them, but they had to dodge oncoming traffic AND keep themselves on the bridge!  How horrifying can it get?  By the time everything came to a rest, one passenger car was pinned between a tractor-trailer and the bridge railing (I always wondered if it was actually sturdy enough to hold in a vehicle, to keep it from going “over”.  I guess my question was answered.  {It doesnt really look like it would})

My commute was, obviously, longer than usual.  We left DC and got to Annapolis without a hitch.  Knowing what was ahead, no one was in a bad mood, and everyone was expressing concern for those involved with the accident, and of course, wondering how long it would take to get us to the east side of the bridge and our cars.  The bus driver was playing a dvd with Red Skelton shows :), and fortunately, we have a bathroom on the bus!  We moved quite slow from Annapolis to the toll booth, actually taking a little more than 2 hours to go the 8 or so miles.  We noticed quickly there was NO westbound traffic coming toward us, and I called the Bay Bridge hotline and found out that they were turning around ALL oncoming westbound traffic and telling them if they must get to the west side of the bay, they had to go north to Wilmington, DE and over to I-95 and down the other side, through Baltimore, there was No eta for the opening of the westbound lanes.  WOW.  As we got within probably 4 miles of the Bay Bridge, all the rescue vehicles, tow trucks, state troopers, etc., were driving east up the west bound lanes to get to the accident site on the bridge.

We passed the actual accident site at approximately 950 pm, which was nearly 6 hours after the accident… and they were just beginning to remove the vehicles.  From the eastbound bridge we could see the remains of the tractor-trailers and 3 of the small vehicles… which was not much… pretty scary. They still had plenty of clean up to do, and flood lights were everywhere.  Apparently Engineers were on and below the bridge at that time as well, checking the structural integrity of the bridge.

I’ll tell you what.  This whole thing really makes me think, and re-think.  I cross this bridge twice a day, 5 days a week, mostly on a bus that someone else is driving, but sometimes, at least a couple times a month, I drive myself.  Its time to stop zoning out and make sure I zone in.

The thought of being involved in an accident like that is just terrifying.

This link has a closer picture of the wreckage…if you want to see it.

I’ll add more if I can find them…

Here’s a slide show I found. Warning:  Graphic Content.

My most awesome Daughter-in-Law Megan passed her LCSW exam yesterday, and is now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker!

YAY!

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Somehow or another, I failed to post the fact that Adam and Megan came down for a visit last weekend.  Guess what?  Adam and Megan (and Moxie, too!) came down for a visit last weekend

It was kind of a post-birthday, birthday celebration, since both of their birthdays were the week before, but regardless of the reason, we were sure glad to have them visit!  As with all growing families, you tend to miss and relish the times when all of you can be in the same place at the same time.  This was one of those, and we are thankful for the time shared, for sure!!

Adam brought his Wii (video game console) and we all took turns playing - bowling, baseball, boxing… it was really a lot of fun! (i don’t think I’ve ever said that about video games before!)  You get to create characters… who play the games… they are called Mii’s ….and you pick their eyes, hair, etc. and Adam was making our “Mii’s” to try to look like us!  Very comical!  We all got some good laughs from that.  Especially when we saw the Mii’s he created for his & Megan’s pets, Moxie and Ollie, they were hysterical!  The Mii’s are almost as much fun as the games

Naturally we had the obligatory cake/pie ceremony.  But then on Saturday night we all headed for OC and Trader Lee’s where Dennis was running sound for a band called “Chocolate Box”.  We stayed for a while and listened to the band, but around 11:30 left Dennis and Justin to finish up with the band (they had to stay until 2am) while the rest of us weary travelers came home and got cozy with our pillows!!

Moxie and Chance enjoyed some “cousin” time together and Chance, being 6 years older, got the legs walked off her!  Moxie is definitely used to a more rigid and longer walking schedule… at first Chance loved it, but towards the end of the weekend, I think she was wondering just how much more she could take!!  Moxie, the 2 year old perpetual puppy, I think would never tire of walking!!

We were all sorry to see the weekend come to an end, but are definitely looking forward to the next time we can get together again!

For most of my life I thought chiropractors were quacks.  I mean, all of MY experiences with them just reinforced that!  They never fixed anything.  They did their best to take my money and that of my insurance company, tho, requesting x-rays time and time again, and scheduling useless “therapy” 2 and 3 times a week…. with no end in sight.  I have never, EVER met anyone who was ever “released” from treatment from a chiropractor, they just go and go, into perpetuity, or until they run out of money or insurance, which ever comes first.  The two times I had seen chiropractors at this point, I had ALWAYS come out worse than when I went in.

Then I met Dr. Blaise Lavorgna.  He came highly recommended, amidst a painful back crisis a few years ago.  While generally poo-poo-ing the thought that any chiropractor could possibly help me, I was in enough pain, and trusted the people recommending him to me enough, that I figured I’d try one last time.

The first thing he did was spend about an hour getting to know my medical history and physical activity/ability/range of motion.  He set out a plan of action, complete with recommended exercises, and took care of his end of the deal.  Once my stress level (a major factor in my back problems) lowered and I continued with my exercises, voila !!  I felt so much better! 

Dr. Lavorgna definitely changed my views on chiropractors - at least on what is and is not a good one!

Course- its been about 4 months, and I’ve done something to get myself out of whack, and no amount of exercise and stretching is helping, so I’ve called and set up an appointment with my miracle worker…. I like the fact I can see him once in 4 months, and wont have to see him again for 4 months, if I follow his directions….

He makes the money grubbing, insurance scheming jerks look exactly like what they are.  Fakes.

p.s.  My coworkers talked me into buying one of these in place of my chair at my desk.  We’ll see:  (1) if I can sit on it and not fall off, and (2) if it really does help your posture and back aches.  Wish me luck (especially on the not falling off part!)