About Haiti and Another Good Thing about my Job

It started with murmurs around the office about the tragedy in Haiti. Stories of the bodies in the streets, the vast homelessness, the destruction beyond possible comprehension.

Then there were phone calls to the Managing Partner who has family there inquiring as to their safety and "how can we help?"

An email followed from Managing Partner to all The Firm, thanking them for the expressions of concern and listing three reputable organizations where we can donate funds if we so choose.

The Managing Partner's email started a barrage of emails with places to donate - Oxfam, various Jewish organizations, how to donate through a simple text message on your phone, and places holding food drives.

Once again the Firm rallied around things more important than legal precedent, contracts, billable hours or office politics. Once again the good people of My Firm reminded me why I like it here so much, (even if it's freezing in the winter) - because the people here care about more than themselves, more than the law.

We are "Big Law" and we do earn a lot of money - I admit it. It's nice to know that we're quick to give it away, too.

Won't you join us? Here are just a few of the choices available:

• American Red Cross P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013, or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at http://www.redcross.org/.
• http://crs.org/ Catholic Relief Services - see the "donate now" button on the top right of home page
• Oxfam: http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2010-01-13/large-earthquake-haiti
• American Jewish World Service (www.ajws.org/haitiearthquake);
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (http://www.jdc.org/),
• American Jewish Committee (www.ajc.org/haitifund)
• B'nai B'rith International (https://secure.ga1.org/05web_relief_donatins).
• The U.S. State Department has created a means to donate to the Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts. Simply text “90999” with the word “HAITI” and $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill.
• Via twitter, Haitian musician and UN Goodwill Ambassador Wyclef Jean is asking for donations to his organization Yele Haiti. Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to relief. You can also tweet the following message to spread the word: @wyclef: Haiti is in need of immediate AID please text Yele to 501 501 and donate $5 toward earthquake relief. Learn more about Yele Haiti’s work through an Americas Quarterly interview with Wyclef Jean.
• If you are interested in sponsoring a New York-based team of doctors and paramedics experienced in disaster relief who are working to get to Haiti, please contact aqinfo@as-coa.org.
  

Edited to add: The firm is matching our individual donations up to $50,000 which, given the size of our firm, should hopefully be accomplished easily. I think the firm also made a separate donation of $25,000, but I'm not positive. A certain not-so-accurate law blog which had the audacity to hijack one of my blog entries last summer reported the 25,000. Not sure what the source of info was.

How my bloggy friends are having crazy experiences while my kids try to kill me...

Sometimes when I think my life is a little crazy, I read my bloggy friends and realize my life is totally lame. Over in Japan Debbie is planning a kickass party. Out west katydidnot is having the usual fricks and clandestined trips to the doctor with unsuspecting kids and Suzy is putting up her tree and telling us stories. Just for starters.

Meanwhile at Casa de Next Door? I am knee deep getting ready for trial, traveling every other day (Ft lauderdale, yeah. Chicago. Ugh. Oklahoma - not sure how I feel about that one yet). wondering when if ever I am going to Christmas shop (apparently Black Friday was the one and only opportunity...who knew. OH wait the internet! Right!) and trying oh so trying to maintain my "Random Acts of Kindness" balance.

And how's that going?

Well, the kids decided, without knowing about my new resolve, to put me in the hole by 2,698 points when they got into a "tussle" [Son's word] and Daughter put her fist through the back window. By the Grace of God no one was hurt, not even the 3 puppies (why yes I did have DRD again last week - she's actually growing on me) when Daughter claimed to have vacuumed up the shattered glass but when I came home an hour later it was still scattered all along the baseboards and large chunks were found out in the hall. By the Grace of God I did not lose it.

Amazingly, my determination at Kindness prevented me from ripping off their heads and spitting down their necks. Yes, in a past life I just might have done that. But Valium Mom listened patiently first to Son and then to Daughter (individually while the other was banished from room) and passed no judgment. AND, I didn't yell or cuss or otherwise lose patience when I came home and crunched glass and called for Daughter to get her butt downstairs and finish cleaning up and she got all pissy and somehow that was MY FAULT. And then Valium mom made a nice dinner of ham and sweet potatoes and salad and said, "Let's sit down and discuss this and determine what the consequences of this should be." I started the meal as we often do - with a prayer. This one was about giving us patience and love and helping us to appreciate God's gifts to us. And then, it happened. They started laughing while I was praying. And my resolve to be all Random Acts Kindness??? Buh-Bye. Having arrived at well beyond ripping off heads at that point, I got up, put my dinner on the counter -um well I might have thrown it on the counter - and left. I went upstairs and started packing. And resolved never to speak to the urchins again.


And what was the tussle all about? who was going to finish bringing the recycle bin up from the curb. It went a little deeper into "he tries to run her life" and "she does things on her own schedule." But really folks. The RECYCLE BIN? Our driveway is 2 carlengths. Maybe.

And then I left them.

OK so it was a preplanned weekend and Ex had the kids. But still it was so satisfactory to pretend I was packing and leaving them all spontaneous-like and letting someone else deal with their teenage moments. Can someone out there give me a "BadMom"? Yeah, thanks.

Despite the Urchins' best efforts to sabotage my Random Kindness, I think I'm pretty much in the black. I gave up my seat on my flight back last night and let everyone else go in front of me and waited 40 mintues for them to rebook me b/c the poor lady behind the ticketcounter was going nuts while everyone shouted "Me first me first." And I smiled as the girl at the parking lot overcharged me the wrong amount and had me get out of the car in the freezing rain and go inside to the office to fix it. True I was coming off 3 days sailing in the Miami-Keys area, so I was feeling mighty relaxed and happy. But the old me would've been much more impatient. Inside I was still a little impatient. But I'm beginning to like this new, less-impatient me. OH I still yelled at my boss today when he wasn't understanding that my plane was leaving and no I couldn't get on a conference call and do just one more thing for him. And I sniped off my assistant's head when, despite her clearly knowing that I was racing the clock and asked her to do 2 very specific tasks, one of which included not giving me back the edits I just handed her handed me back the edits I just gave her. Hmmm. She's too darned fast and I should've been grateful, not pissy. I apologized.

So How are your Random Acts working out?!