...Izee's Thread

[Izee]

...One of the most POWERFUL songs, and scenes in Musical Dramas.

...https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=F899DC48FC5C97417198F899DC48FC5C97417198&q=john cullum 1776 bibles to rum&shtp=GetUrl&shid=2ab992d8-3908-4d54-aa4c-0bd4ce5033ad&shtk=MTc3NiAtIE1vbGFzc2VzIFRvIFJ1bQ%3D%3D&shdk=MTc3NigxOTcyKSBzZXQgdG8gU2hlcm1hbiBFZHdhcmRzIE1vbGFzc2VzIFRvIFJ1bSBwZXJmb3JtZWQgYnkgSm9obiBDdWxsdW0gLUl0IGlzIGZhaXJseSBzYWZlIHRvIHNheSB0aGF0IE1vbGFzc2VzIFRvIFJ1bSBpcyBvbmUgb2YgdGhlIG9ubHkgc29uZ3MgZXZlciB3cml0dGVuIGFib3V0IHRoZSB0cmlhbmdsZSB0cmFkZS5UaGUgcG93ZXJmdWwgc29uZyBub3Qgb25seSBkZWx2ZXMgaW50byB0aGUgaG9ycm9ycyBvZiB0aGUgc2xhdmUgdHJhZGUgYnV0IGFsc28gYWRkcmVzc2VzIHRoZSBoeXBvY3Jpc3kgb2YgdGhlIE5vcnRoZXJuIGNvbG9uaWVzIGJ5IGNhbGxpbmcgYXR0ZW50aW9uIHRvIHRoZWlyIC4uLg%3D%3D&shhk=xpt8BtAn4kepy7dHWCC6iEVS%2FnWt9uX9EO%2Ft04N%2Fzz0%3D&form=VDSHOT&shth=OVP.xPqcxF1VuRo-qaf33FblVQHgFo

...I was in the pit orchestra a few times when we performed this.  I LOVED the Musical!!!  I would giggle and laugh a few times, as I sawed on my cello, listening to the dialogue and singers.  During this one...I was silent...just carefully moving my bow, to shape the notes.  It made me think of our history...but to realize that life back then wasn't what it is, now.  We can't judge them by our modern standards...but the GD simple minded Libs are doing that!!!  They are pulling statues down, all over the US, because they want to 'protect the children.'  DAMMIT!!!  My parents wanted me to be EDUCATED!!!  And so I read history and looked at Family Artifacts.  I have an ancient dagger, that  my Aunts in Texas said belonged to Pancho Villa.  They were highly respected as historians, and healers.  I also have an old doll that they gave me, it is named 'Santo Nino'.  It is said to have 'healing properties.'  When people got sick, they would come to my Aunts, pray with them, and then take the doll with them and set it beside the ill person...and...often...the person would get better.     People in Mexico would send for it...my Aunts let them take it...and they would bring it back after a month, or two, and give them some coin.

[MageNathaniel1]

Agreed on the liberals. The statues serve as a reminder of history. History is not there to be liked or disliked, it is there to learn from. Cool on the music and helmet.

[Izee]

...Almost getting the crap beat out of me in the Courthouse...

...I was representing the Plaintiff in a large business dispute.  He made a good choice of Lawyers...ME!!!!...also being a CPA...I could understand the financials, and follow what their expert witness was saying.  I didn't have to ask for a brief recess so I could consult with my expert, I just stood and WORKED OVER their Expert in a Trial or a deposition.  After all, I had lived with the case for months, or a year, and looked at ALL documents and Financials that I could grab by subpoena...or by my claws.      Their Expert just had what they gave him, and since Experts are expensive, they never got EVERYTHING!!!

...There was a CPA that the other side had hired, and he really thought that he was the Man who had invented numbers, and his Lawyer was just as bad.  I did my perfected 'Bewildered Female Act'...(You Men just have NO IDEA OF HOW WE OPERATE!!!  You think that you are tracking us down to marry us by following the breadcrumbs we leave, or to have a nice weekend, or an afternoon...and... we aren't just leaving breadcrumbs...we are tossing loaves of French Bread behind us as we slowly meander down the trail.)

...I did my 'I don't really understand numbers act' during discovery, and they hadn't bothered to check my profile.  I just had 'Esq' after my name on my letterhead, and on my business card.  They bought my act, and as I sat during the Trial, pretending that I was having trouble sorting my briefcase back into order...(I had loaded it with unrelated stuff, including makeup), at the end of my Cross Exam...they were VERY UPSET!!!   I had torn the CPA into mini bytes...he hadn't seen the documents that I had been digesting...and I made him look like a store bought discount expert.  The Jury was smiling at me when I was done.

...I headed towards the elevator after I was packed, and saw that the Expert, the Plaintiff and his Attorney were in it.  They were glaring at me...and I figured that if I got in...it could get ugly.  I didn't want the elevator to stop in the basement, and I would be laying against a corner of the elevator...barely concious.  So, I just smiled and waved at them and said, "I use the stairs, gotta keep my figure."  I was very familiar with the Courthouse, I was a Judge Pro Tem, and used my key to get me into the back area, and used the private stairs to get out a side entrance.  I did see the three standing, looking back at the Courthouse.  Maybe they wouldn't have assaulted me...but I really didn't want to get into a yelling contest.  I was doing my best to generate a respected business law practice...and the Partners would be VERY UNHAPPY with me if I was verbally brawling in public.

...But, I was chuckling...driving home.  My 'Act' had sucked them in, and they weren't prepared for the Trial.  I had spent late evenings going through 'stuff'...and digesting it.  At times...my dreams would be about me reading the documents.  A few times, the dreams did help me.  I would wake up, groggy, because my mind had been awake all night, and as I had my cup of coffee and a couple breakfast pastries...the dream would meld with reality...and I had a new insight on how to proceed with the Trial.

...I would feel confident as I drove in, planning on what I WAS GOING TO DO TO THEM!!!   

...I wasn't worried about what they would...*yawn*  TRY to do to me.   

...(What goes on in a Trial Attorneys mind...or...what 'passes for thought'.)   

[MageNathaniel1]

Sounds like you had fun in the trial. My weapon against attorneys opposing ne while on the stand has always been the same tell the truth and be consistent with answers no matter how many times they reword and reask the question which has always driven them bonkers.

[Izee]

...*G*...I encountered Experts, but very few, like you.

...I would rage and do my best to trip them up in a deposition, and it usually worked.  The other side would call me, and we would work out a settlement that I LIKED.

...But, I would encounter an Expert like you describe, and sit in my Office after the deposition, and write up my notes...

...I would call the client, and simply say,

..."We HAVE TO SETTLE THIS CASE...if that guy gets on the stand...all is LOST!!!!

...They usually respected my advice, but a few times, and goddamn INSURANCE ADJUSTER would order me to proceed with the trial. 

...A few times, I just kept my butt in my chair, and didn't write any notes, and just said....after the Expert testified...

..."No questions, your Honor."

...I just wanted to get their Experts  ass out of the Courtroom as soon as possible.  I had MY WITNESSES lined up...

...And they were better...

[Izee]

...I felt that keeping my butt in my chair, and not taking notes, showed that I didn't care what the Expert was saying...and I hoped that the Jury was watching me and thinking the same thing.   

...Putting on a Jury Trial was like putting on a 'Play'.  I would make up a 'Theme'...and do my best to produce it and sell it to the Jury...

...    I was VERY GOOD!!!!

[Izee]

...OK, OK, OK...CLOSE to TAX FRAUD!!!   

...But, the Statute of Limitations is LONG over...

...I was a very conservative accountant, my Father had taught me to keep books, and showed me the ways that you could make numbers 'dance' when I was a teenager.  Later, I went to night school and got my JD...(Juris Doctor)...and passed the Bar Exam on my first try.  But, I was watching over the books of the Vertically Structured Construction Company, and sat in my office, late at night, and into the morning hours, looking over the numbers, and making Journal Entries that I would give to the Computer People I supervised to enter into the records.

...I was sitting, late at night, drinking a Tab...and struggling.  The annual audit was coming up, and I needed to close the books for the year...and...

...WE HAD TOO MUCH INCOME!!!!!   

...But, we had very little cash...   

...I sat, and pondered, and finished the Tab...and then opened my drawer...and took out the small bottle of wine...and drank it.

...I got an inspiration...and wrote out the Journal Entry...and left it in the basket as I went home and got to sleep.

...I had 'written off' a 980 Front Loader...it should have been placed in 'Fixed assets', and depreciated...but I just buried it in the costs of a job.  I was happy, we didn't pay much in taxes that year.  I did tell the President of what I did, and he just nodded...he didn't like paying taxes. either.

...We had our usual audit by the Bank and Bonding Company, and the IRS.  I sat with them, did my best to look innocent and charming...I ordered nice pastries and such for snacks, and made nice conversations and smiled, giggled, and laughed a lot.

...They MISSED what I had done...

...The 'Power of a Pencil' is true...I could steal more from the Gov't with my Pencil than a crook entering a bank. 

...But, I didn't see it as 'theft'...I was just doing what I could to keep the money in the hands of the people who EARNED IT!!!   

...OK, I finished my confession...I will go and kneel at the Altar, and say a LOT of Our Fathers, and Hail Maries...

[MageNathaniel1]

No one likes paying taxes we all look for any deduction we can get lol.   Good play on more or less ignoring the expert and moving on in the trial and yes, a trial is much like a play with the jury as the audience.

[Izee]

...The Baby Bar...

I have been reading that a celebrity is delighted...she passed the 'Baby Bar' after FOUR TRIES!!!!

It is a test, in Ca, that you have to pass after your first year of Law School, when you are attending an uncredentialed Law School, or studying on your own.  I had to take it...I was accepted into several credentialed schools...but could not attend them.  I would have had to quit my job, so I enrolled in an uncredentialed school.  I drove to a nearby city after work, three days a week, the school was an hour away, and would get home around 11:00 pm.  I did well, and was not too worried about the 'Baby Bar'...I had passed the CPA exam on my first try...that was a three day test...and figured that one day would be a breeze.

Problem was...I forgot about 'time management'.  There were four questions in the afternoon, that required an essay answer.  I approached them as I did in school...I would first write out an outline, and then write out my formal answer, and fill in the facts to support my analysis, and my answer.  I did a deep analysis, and wrote nice summaries of the first two tasks...but I only had 70 minutes to complete the second two.  that portion of the test lasted 4 hours...and I had not monitored my time.  I started to panic...and quickly analyzed the next case, and wrote out my answer.  I then looked at my watch...and I just had 25 minutes to answer the last case.

I panicked, and almost fainted a few times.  I would read the question, and carefully write what I could, and then lay my head on the table and try to breathe.  I would pick it up, blink my eyes, and look at the case, and what I had written, and carefully write out more...and lay my head back on the table.  I just sat for a while, after the Monitors picked up the tests, and laid my head back down...and then stood, almost falling.  My friend had to help me out of the Hall, and load me into his car, and drove me home.  I had to get him to pull over a few times, as I opened the door and threw up. 

I was TOTALLY DEPRESSED for a while...I figured that I would need to repeat my 1st year...but...I got my score...and...

...I GOT A 'B'...

EVERYONE was impressed...almost everyone got 'C's'...only a handful of people got 'B's and 'A's' were unknown. 

Back at school, the students and professors were impressed, and complimented me.  I laughed and said...

..."I could have gotten an 'A'...but I passed out halfway through."

My friend, and others, put on a play about me taking the exam.  The 'me' was sitting, face down on the table, and they were slapping me, and saying, "You know the Rule against Perpetuities...just WRITE IT DOWN".  The 'me' would sit up...scribble some words down...and put my head back down.

...I did laugh...but I wasn't having any fun during the actual event...that was actually what I was doing...

[Izee]

...I played this musical a few times.  I enjoyed this song...we were playing a waltz...and the ConcertMistress was playing the solos. 

The man playing Jefferson was a natural redhead, and was a Lawyer that I often tangled with.  Once, I just walked out of a deposition...I WAS FURIOUS...and so was he!!!  He called me later, and we met in the local park...he brought me ice cream.  (Really...he DID!!!)  I ate it, and we talked about the case, and calmed down.  We agreed on certain issues, and the case did settle. 

Litigation was always amazing...I would bully the other side, and get what I wanted...and fight the other side.

But, that was the only time that I was bought off...

...BY ICE CREAM!!!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=E254F4A4A056616CA219E254F4A4A056616CA219&q=john&shtp=GetUrl&shid=56d3b4c1-5f9d-471d-b667-fcb33dd9b2a6&shtk=MTc3NiAtIEhlIFBsYXlzIHRoZSBWaW9saW4%3D&shdk=RnJvbSB0aGUgbXVzaWNhbCAxNzc2IGNvbWVzIHRoaXMgbWVtb3JhYmxlIHR1bmUsIFwiSGUgUGxheXMgdGhlIFZpb2xpbi5cIiBJdCBpcyBoZXJlIHN1bmcgYnkgdGhlIGltbWVuc2VseSB0YWxlbnRlZCBTYW5keSBUYXlsb3IgYXMgTWFydGhhIEplZmZlcnNvbi4gQWNjb21wYW55aW5nIGhlciBpcyBEYXZpZCBDYW50b3IgYXMgSm9obiBBZGFtcyBhbmQgTWljaGFlbCBLcm9sbCBhcyBCZW5qYW1pbiBGcmFua2xpbi4gVGhlIHByb2R1Y3Rpb24gaXMgc3RhZ2VkIGF0IEVkaXNvbiwgTmV3IEplcnNleSdzIFBsYXlzLWluLXRoZS1QYXJrLiBEaXJlY3RlZCBieSBHYXJ5IENvaGVuLCBDaG9yZW9ncmFwaGVkIGJ5IC4uLg%3D%3D&shhk=BzRQmnK%2BlAeVg%2Fer6lkDfvT2pt2Q%2BYiDfdSisDN2kZQ%3D&form=VDSHOT&shth=OVP.Ec0OZeWEOK-QeGU4zhqWaQHgFo

[MageNathaniel1]

Cool how you passed the exam. I am studying for my board exams now for full licensure now that I habe my PhD.

Ice cream is an incredible incentive. Smiles

[Izee]

...*S*...Congrats...Nate...on your PhD.     Or, I guess that I should address you as 'Dr. Nate' now.  (I will, if you will address me as Dr. Izee'...I have the JD,  "Juris Doctor")

...When I studied for the BAR Exam, I took a 6 week review course.     I moved back in with my parents...let my H watch over our Apt...and studied.  I especially worked on my physical Health...I had neglected it when I took the Baby Bar. (But I did pass it the first time...it didn't take me four tries...although it felt like I had sat for it six consecutive times when I was helped out of the Hall.)  So, I prepared differently.  The classes were in the evening, so, I would wake up at 7:00 am, and go out for a 30 minute walk, and then come back, and have breakfast, and then study.  I would make myself take a break every hour, and then have a nice lunch, and play my cello.  I would study again, eat dinner, and then go to class.  I would stay up until midnight, rewriting the notes I had taken, and organizing them, and then go to bed. 

...So, the BAR Exam was easy.  I was relaxed, I had my Grandfathers pocket watch in front of me...I sensed that he was saying..."Go on, Grandchild"...it calmed me down, looking at it.  I just did a VERY Brief outline, and then wrote down my answer, and let my alert mind add details as I wrote...and then...would put THAT question behind me, and focus on the next.  There were a few answers that I felt I had answered well...but not with my usual BRILLIANCY!!!  I mean, the Con Law Prof at the school said that my answer to a 'Substantive Due Process' test question was the best he had ever seen.  I knew that I had passed...and when I hosted some friends at my home for a dinner...I burned ALL of my notes from the course.  They were horrified, saying, "if you don't pass, won't you need them?"  I just laughed, drank some wine, and said...

..."If I don't pass, I guess that I will see if I can just stay home, and let my H support me...in the way that I have supported him."

[MageNathaniel1]

Exams like your bar exam and the board exam I will be taking certainly require a lot of study and preparation to pass. I am taking a exam prep course at present.

[Izee]

...I will, and am sending you studying thoughts, Nate.  Preparing for such a test takes a lot of self discipline.  But, I see why they have those tests to get a Professional Certification and License to practice.  My life really came alive when I passed my tests, and had a more interesting way of making a living...and made more money.  I practiced Law and Accounting, and saved money.  They want people who have shown that they can handle challenges...and we bought a new house...saw it being built.  I would go in and pick up ALL of the scraps on the floor on weekends  (I ignored the 'Do Not Trespass' sign...I mean...they were building MY HOUSE!!!), and pile them in a pile, and pile them into the trunk of my car...and take them to the Apt...FOR FIREWOOD...I MEAN...I HAD PAID FOR IT...SO I WAS GOING TO USE IT!!!!   

...Just a bit of a rant...

...I encountered people who had graduated from Harvard, Stanford, and other top Law Schools in Trial.  They would be dismissive of me, seeing that I had graduated from a night Law School...but...

...I KICKED THEIR ASS...EVEN IN THE LAW AND MOTION ASPECT!!!!

...(Law and Motion is a part of setting the rules of the Trial...I would get their papers...and send them MINE!!!  They would be astonished...me...from an unaccredited school KICKED THEIR ASS!!!  They would scramble, filing more motions, and I would reply.  I would sit at the table...ready for a TRIAL!!!!   I had shut down some of their motions, and excluded some of their witnesses.  I just sat, calm...but the 'Panther Huntress' was ready...with Her bow aimed.  If they tried something...I shot it down...usually. So much for about a 'calm' Jury Trial.)

...But I was calm, I did dress well, and did keep a small smile on my face...unless I thought that the other side was off the rules...and I would frown, and make an objection.  I would also frown, at times, and rise, and make a borderline objection, and not care how the Judge ruled.  I was putting on a play, and the Asshole with the Elevated Degree (The guy with the Harvard Degree) was trying to show how important HE was!!!   I was always trying to get the Jury to feel sorry for my CLIENT!!!   I would just thank the Judge, and sit down...regardless of how He or She ruled. (And hide a smile...I saw the Jury glaring and frowning at the other attorney.  I always tried to get the Jury to SMILE at me...and would relax, after my closing argument, if some smiled at me.  I almost melted down, after a large class action lawsuit...and I had gotten  INTENSE...and three women looked at me...smiled, and nodded.  I comforted my client as I drank a little bottle of wine back at my office, and said..."I think that you are out...we will let the others fend for themselves. 

We got the verdict, and he drank some wine, and I called his Family to take him home.

My client was dismissed

The others were hit for millions. 

The plaintiffs thought that they were facing an 'Undereducated Foolish Panther Girl'...they had NO IDEA of what they were facing. 

...I was sitting, late at night, in my wrinkled skirt and blouse...in my drab little office...

...And...

...I was SMILING

...They weren't, the next morning...

...*Shrugs*   

[Izee]

...I was sitting in my Office...wrinkled dress and such...but...

...I had been working full time as a CPA and Treasurer of a Large Construction Company...and signing checks for MILLIONS of dollars...

...Just 'cause I was a frumpy night school grad didn't place me below the polished Harvard Grads.

...They had NO IDEA of what they were tangling with...

...Just shows that 'Overeducated Fools' could be taken down by an 'Undereducated Fool'

...I would take my win to the Clerk, and file it...and SMILE!!!