I Heart Ikea!!

Wednesday was the grand opening of a brand-spankin new Ikea store. It just happens to be 2 streets down from my house (literally!), so of course I had to go. Ikea has some sweet deals on good furniture and odds and ends for your home. I love it. So, I went there with my friend Dano who just bought a condo and has no furniture whatsoever and needs to buy everything. It was fun to go with her b/c she liked to look at everything, just like me. And when I say everything, I mean everything! We were there for 5 hours. It was wonderful. I love shopping. I went to find a bookcase b/c we are in desperate need of extra space for books. There was this one specific brand/style that I loved. It came in all different shapes and sizes in the dark wood I was looking for. But, the one size I really liked and wanted was $130 and I could only afford about $60. So, I wasn't going to buy anything and I was going to bring Elliott back to see if he really liked it and maybe we could reallocate our bookcase budget to get this one I really wanted. Well, just before we were going to leave (both empty handed), we saw the "As-Is" section. This section has furniture already put together and was either a showroom piece or has some sort of damage to it. We browsed through, and what should appear, but my desired bookcase! And, it only had a few scratches, but nothing a nifty furniture pen wouldn't help! It was 50% off!! So, I bought it for $65...I was so happy b/c it was the exact one I wanted and in our original allotted budget! I love finding good deals! Oh, and my friend found a beautiful full size mirror with a pretty frame at 1/2 off too! Here's a pic of my beauty:


And I so love that I have room to grow into this bookcase! I love books, and Elliott has 3 1/2 more years of school, which help add to the collection. Yay for Ikea!

Miami = far away

Elliott and I had never driven to Miami since we moved here. Yesterday was the first time I made the trip, and wow....that would be one heck of a commute! The office was 34 miles from my home, and it took me a good 45 minutes without traffic (I went at an off traffic time). The guy I interviewed with said it'll be 1 1/2 hour drive with the traffic. Blah!!! To get there and back took a whole 1/4 tank of gas, so it would be expensive if I got this job.

As for the interview, it went pretty well, I guess. It was kinda weird. He didn't want to talk about my experiences very much or about my qualifications. Instead, we talked for an hour about sports. Interesting topic for a job interview, but I just happen to like sports, so I was okay with it. He wanted to know if I liked them, what teams I liked, if I liked college football, and if I was a competitor. I told him I was very competitive, and that I played volleyball for 8 years. He seemed satisfied. He said he liked my resume because I wasn't "cookie-cutter Florida law school graduate"...whatever that means. As long as he liked it, I guess I don't care.

The job seems really interesting. It's federal law subject matter, which means I'd be arguing in the fancy federal courthouses (WAY nicer than state courthouses), and that I'd have to take 2 more bar exams...these are easier exams though, b/c you just learn the federal rules (uh, already know those, thanks) and take a test specifically on those rules. The office was really nice...on the 28th floor of a skyrise in downtown Miami. I liked the firm b/c it is small. There are only 4 attorneys, so I'd be the 5th. I like small firms because I think you can learn more and have better working relationships. They are offering "between $50,000 and $60,000" plus benefits. I was a little bummed at the salary especially considering I'd have to spend so much on gas for the commute, but it is a good salary considering the size of the firm.

They have a pool of applicants, so he said he'd get back to me within a week to let me know if I should come for a 2nd interview with the other partner. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because at least they have shown interest. I don't really have any other options, and beggars can't be choosers. Plus, I think I'd learn a lot since each file they have they assign to one partner and one associate. So that means I'd be working side by side with a partner which is such a great way to learn. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Another Interview

I got another interview! Yay! It's tomorrow with a firm that does Maritime law work. What is Maritime law? Well, I know very little about it, but it involves the law on the open sea/waterways. The firm I'm interviewing with represents yacht owners and shipowners. They help with financing it, or any personal injury claims that may be raised against them (for instance, if the company owns a boat that takes divers out for scubadiving and something should happen). It sounds so interesting to me, so I'm way excited. It's all the way in the heart of Miami, so the commute would be kinda bad. However, salaries in Miami are like $20K or more higher than Fort Lauderdale, so I think I can deal with a commute! I'm excited, and I'll fill you in after the interview! Yay!

My First Turkey

Why is it that people are afraid of making/preparing turkeys? I was definitely scared. I was scared I was going to screw it all up, that it'd be too dry, that it wasn't the correct 180 degree temperature and thus that I was going to poison my friends. You may be asking yourself why on earth I would be making a turkey in October. Well, Columbus Day (this last Monday) is Canadian Thanksgiving. No, I'm not Canadian, but our friend Pete is and he and his wife always celebrate it. At first, they invited us over for a nice dinner with other friends, and only asked that I bring my famous candied yams. No prob. But, the people who were going to do the turkey bailed on them due to scheduling conflicts, and since both Pete and Barbara work, they asked me to do it. (Since, you know, I have no job and have nothing better to do than fuss over a turkey all day.) Barbara wanted me to use this special orange glaze on the turkey, stuff the turkey with dressing, and make the gravy. I agreed, but I admit I was a little bit put-off at all the work. The turkey, after all, IS the dinner and the work. Plus, I had the added pressure of never having done a turkey in my life. This combination made me have a few meltdowns during the cooking process. But, in the end, the turkey tasted good. Everyone complimented me and Pete and Barbara were very thankful. I personally thought it was a little dry. I couldn't use a turkey bag b/c Barbara wanted me to use the glaze (I had to baste it every hour), and that turkey bag makes all the difference in the juicy-ness of the turkey. The stuffing was pretty good, though definitely not up to my mom's. (She doesn't stuff the turkey with her dressing, she makes it all from scratch). And the gravy...well, it was orange-y from the glaze. Overall, I'd rate it just okay. Luckily, I had the experience before I throw my own Thanksgiving dinner. Since Elliott has tests before and after Thanksgiving, we won't be going home for it. Instead, I'm having all the optometry couples over and making a full blown turkey dinner. Now, I'm not as scared of the turkey. I now know what those giblets are and what a turkey neck looks like. I know exactly what to expect now, and my 2nd turkey is going to be lots better!

P.S. Thanks, Mom, for being on emergency turkey on-call. Sorry for disrupting your day so many times, but turkey carcasses are a little scary. :) I couldn't have done it without you!

Is it fall yet?

Because I can't tell down here in Florida! It's still really hot. And humid. And hot. And humid. My body feels like it should be changing temperature, but it's not. It's so wierd! And I'd like to change wardrobes, considering I've been wearing the same 4 shorts for the past 5 months. But, I'm pretty sure I'd die if I wore pants and a sweater. And oh, how I miss my big poofy jackets. I love wearing those. Guess I won't be needing them here.

Happy Birthday Shelby!!

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since my cutie niece Shelby was born. She was just so tiny:


And beautiful,
And now she's a year old,
and still beautiful!
We love you Shelby! Happy Birthday! Your Aunt Molly and Uncle Elliott miss you tons!

1st Interview

FINALLY!! Finally someone wanted to interview me! I tell you what, this job search is annoying. But, I finally had an interview with a recruiting company. What they do is interview you first and then recommend you to the company you'd actually be working for. Then you interview with the real company and if they like you, you get hired as a temp through the recruiting company. So while you are a temp, the recruiting company pays you hourly. Then if the actual company decides they like you, you get the permanent position with them and get on salary/benefits with them and the recruiting company goes away.

With that said, my interview with the recruiting company went really well. It was really relaxed and the man interviewing me totally loved me. :) The job they have in mind for me is with a public adjusting company, not a law firm. So I'd be in-house counsel for them. What they do is when there is a natural disaster (let's say a hurricane), and someone loses their roof, they go to their insurance company. The insurance company says "oh, um your policy doesn't cover this." But it really does, the poor roofless person would go get a public adjustor to measure the damage and then I would contact the insurance company and try to settle or go to court over it. Sounds pretty fun to me, though it is not my first choice. I'd really like to do real estate law or family law, but so far this is my only opportunity that has opened up and it may be a good way to get some experience and get my foot in the door. Plus, it sounds interesting for me! It also doesn't hurt that starting salary is $70,000 and benefits!! I'll let you know if I get that second interview; I sure hope so!