Sunday, June 25, 2006

Update

Hello out there and thank you so much to anyone who is still reading this blog after over a month of absence! I have not been this busy EVER. I love my job, but we keep going 24/7! I work all day and then usually they have a social event for us in the evenings, so I leave my house at about 7 am and don't get back until midnight or later. So here is a quick update on what I have been doing this summer.

The Work- has been fabulous. Complex litigation stuff for big name clients, with actions pending all over the country. Exactly what I wanted. Now my difficult decision is do I want to practice general lit or labor and employment?

The Firm- Everyone has been really nice and fun. I've meet a lot of people that I get along with really well. Also, our clerk class got along really well, which apparently doesn't happen all the time. I know that if I come to work here I will have to work hard (2000+ billable hours a year). Other great things about the firm --> they have a great track record with retaining women and making them partners. I have worked with some amazing female partners while I am here. They are pretty family friendly too, seems like most people have kids and they spend a lot of time with them.

The Social Scene- Do you need to know anything about any restaurant near downtown Dallas? I will give a review. I go out to lunch EVERY DAY. I don't know how I haven't gained 200 lbs. I also go out to dinner about 4 times a week. We have had many great parties also. I think some people think it is weird that I don't drink, because alcohol is a big part of the social scene, but no one has said anything. We have gone to some cool locations in Dallas, as well as some of the partners' houses which are beautiful. I just wish that M could be here.

Ok, so you say, that is all well and good but you could have dropped us a line at some point! Which leads me to the other, darker side of my summer, which would be.....

THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE LOST MY PASSPORT!!!!!!

Yes folks, thats right. I am supposed to leave for my big India/Pakistan trip in 2 weeks and my passport is MIA. I sent it to the Pakistani Consulate to get my visa via express mail and the P.O. lost it on the way back. The thing has tracking numbers all over it and still they can't track it! ARRRGH. Well, that is only the first part of the story, because after battling the P.O. for about a week I realized that I needed to concentrate on replacing the passport and my visas. My mom, who is amazing, spent about 20 hrs one week researching the whole process and now my stuff is being expedited by a private service. Insha'Allah it should be here by Wed. or Thurs. Here's the kicker though: the whole thing is costing me about $650. Ouch!

The moral of the story, never send you passport via U.S. Mail, always use Fedex, UPS, or DHL. And when you send it, insure the dang thing for 1,000 bucks because that is how much it is going to cost to replace it.

Also, now I have to worry about identity theft, because I am sure that someone stole it from the P.O. So I have taken all the measures to prevent that. Fraud alert, etc.

Anyways, that is the summary of the past six weeks. I don't know when I will post again, but if you are still hanging around I appreciate it.

13 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've had a busy summer! It's terrible the PO lost your passport!! Of course they won't have to help you with the cost of a replacement, I'm sure. Aggravating! Hope the rest of trip is smooth.

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  2. Wow the passport thing sounds like a nightmare! I'll keep that in mind! Glad to see you post :)

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  3. Yay for a post from Southern Masala!!

    Thanks for the tips on the passport, I sent mine for Brasil throughthe post office but now I know better. Really those other corporations are big business with more to lose if they lose your stuff. Very good point.

    I noticed you said you wish M could be there. I thought his job was such he could come with you. Are you by yourself? (I know you hvae parents there though)

    I'm glad you're loving your job. That must make the whole angst of law school easier to know which direction you want to go to. Did you know you wanted to do litigation until you did this?

    Have fun in Pakistan and I hope things are going well. I am glad you did not give up on blogging.

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  4. I wonder if it has to do with the visa and they wanted to lose it because we do our passports through the mail uninsured...3 times this year. I hope it gets there and glad to hear you are well. Miss ya.

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  5. Sounds like things are going well. Hope you have fun on your trip. Sorry about your passport!:(

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  6. bummer about the passport

    glad your work is going well!

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  7. Sounds like you are one very busy woman these days. Good to see you post again.

    We send our passports by FedEx or UPS.

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  8. Sounds like you are having a blast and learning so much! Welcome back. Me hopes that passport soon resurfaces.

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  9. My goodness! What a busy summer!
    Mash Allah! I'm glad you're enjoying yourself.
    Sorry to hear about your passport fiasco! :( That's a real bummer!

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  10. That is so aweful to hear. Wohw just wow. 650 dollars. Jeesh. About the social scene, I'm reading Londonstani, and a character who really just makes a cameo about how the brokerage firm he worked at put on so many social events and encouraged dinners and such as a way of isolating the employees and making them feel, I don't know how to say it ah lost for words, uhm, like they need the company. I'm honestly not suggesting that that is the case here but I thought since i have the opportuinity to ask someone in a company that does these social things, what do they think?

    Khuda Hafiz

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  11. Thought of you when I heard this: THis woman, she blogs, she is a survivor from the King's Cross bombing last year on 7/7, and got her passport stolen at THE MEMORIAL SERVICE this year. Jeesh. Any, she has this vacation all worked out, but now she can't go cuz she can't get the passport quick enough. So there's a campaign out on the British blogosphere to help her out by pleading on her behalf to the Home Secretary John Reid. Thought you might like to lend your support. Just a though. Here's a link to a site that sums it up well

    http://europhobia.blogspot.com/2006/07/rachels-had-more-bad-luck-seemingly.html

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  12. Thanks to everyone for your support on the passport issues! Where there is a will there is a way! Unbelieveable thing is that the every next week, my parents had both their passports stolen in Amsterdam!

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