Will Work for Cookies

Cubicle Nation. This is where I live during the daylight hours. Look, I even have a nameplate. That's for when they finally drive me over the edge of insanity, I'll remember where I'm supposed to be.  I've been working for 30+ years now and I have to say this is the smallest space I've ever spent my workdays. As you can see, I'm cut off from the rest of my office peeps, which is maybe a good thing because I honestly like them all and I'd really rather exchange recipes and visit with them about things other than legal stuff. As you can see I have lots of little post it notes up above my computer screen. I have a hard time remembering just exactly how to type out a cite Smith v. Jones, 128 Pac. 2d. p.1068, (1962) (this may or may not be right, I need my notes!!) or I have these certain words that my attorney dictates that I can't understand what he's saying so I have it written in front of me to remind me 'oh yeah, that's what he's saying'. He likes to use the word effect a lot and I always type it wrong, ie. affect v. effect, so I have the definitions of those 2 words up there on the post-it notes. It doesn't help that I have the definitions in front of me, I still get it wrong, but he's very forgiving.  Another word my attorney likes to say is kindly.  I love that word.  I knew we were going to be a good team the first time he dictated a letter and in it he says "Would your office kindly return the conformed copy ...."  Who wouldn't love working for someone who uses the word kindly? I mean seriously! In this world of cold, rude people ... a little kindly kindness goes a long way.  Another word my attorney uses is "accordingly". I love that word too. It just sounds so ... well ... legal-like and proper.  When I worked for criminal attorneys, accordingly was not even in their vocabulary. Hmmm .. I wonder why not?   Civil work uses monied ($$$) words.  Criminal work is simple ... fast ... good enough .... get it filed.  Civil work is carefully thought-out, elegant, polished, drafted, redrafted and revised accordingly.   I also have a little sign up there in my cubicle that says "Will Work for Cookies".  There's a story behind that. My boss orders these scrumpious, little spicy flavored cookies, individually wrapped, called Biscoff and one day he gave me one to try. I am hooked now. I seriously will work for cookies.  He orders them once or twice a year and he always gives me a handful to put up in my cupboard behind the post-it notes. They never last very long in there, you can't eat just one. Our senior partner, who died suddenly and unexpectly last May, really liked Biscoff too and when he found out where my stash was, I had to move them.  I'm typically not a selfish person but those cookies are tiny little things and DRR was a mountain of a man and I knew one little cookie wasn't going to cut it for him.  Halloween is fast approaching and I can't help but think about DRR. The last two years I've been at this office, on Halloween at about 4:00 p.m. he would sneak up behind the secretaries with a big, hairy mask on and reach into his jacket for a Hershey's candy bar. It was always just slightly melted. Last year, we forgot to tell Caroline, our newest legal assistant, about DRR's hairy mask and when he snuck up behind her at her cubicle, we were all witness to a little scream of fright and then, of course, DRR's laughter. Bosses Day is coming up next week and it just won't be quite the same without DRR.


Ah, life in a cubicle.