Random Updates and Thoughts

1) So on the extradition of Guatemalan ex-president, Alfonso Portillo: it seems like the United States is actually going to issue an extradition order. But isn't it curious that just as a US court is preparing the paperwork for his extradition, he gets sick and has to be hospitalized! Ahhhh what a lucky coincidence!

2) Some of you might remember Jeff's car getting flooded. For those of you who have been sitting at the edge of your seats wondering what happened, wait no longer! The insurance actually considered it a total loss, so they paid off what remained on the loan, and gave us the difference of the value. It's actually been a blessing in disguise. The only reason we're ok with the situation is because Jeff's been using his brother's car (who's in Germany, so no need for the car...), so we didn't have to worry right now about buying another car. The money we got is probably going towards paying off some credit cards, but for now it's been great to have some cushion money in our account and not have to freak out about having enough for rent or something.

3) On the work front, things are getting busy. The workload is endless, which is good. We're trying to make sure cases get pushed through so we don't just have them stacking up somewhere, but it's a lot harder to do than you would think! What's frustrating is that the second I think I've got a file I can complete and file, there's some random little issue with it and it has to sit on my desk for another few days until I figure out where to go from there. I guess I'll either figure out how to solve those little problems, or get used to have tons of files on my desk.

There's a song that states: "sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers." I was thinking about that on my way home tonight. See, the job that I really wanted out of law school, doing public interest work, would be paying me about half of what I'm making now. To give you an idea of how much I wanted this job: I actually cried when I didn't get it, Katie (whom I was studying for the bar with at the time) brought me flowers and a card telling me I was still amazing, and Jeff dropped what he was doing to join me at Starbucks and tell me everything was going to be ok, life would keep going, and other jobs were out there. Now that I'm working and making decent money, but still barely getting by, I think: how did I possibly think I was going to make a living off of the salary they were offering me?!

This job has also introduced me to some pretty cool people (which I think will be a blog of its own). There's been a constant stream of new people lately, but I think we're all getting comfortable with each other and becoming slightly more like friends than just co-workers. So although it wasn't what I was expecting, I think it's been a blessing in disguise as well. Stayed tuned for further updates!