...Izee's Thread

[MageNathaniel1]

Yoy should go back to fyling smiles

[Izee]

...When I 'torpedoed' a Class Action Lawsuit...

...I won't go into the details, but 4 people were suing a lot of companies and people over a personal injury claim.  I was handed the job of representing one of the defendants, and the GODDAM JUNIOR PARTNER told me to MILK the deal.  An Insurance company was paying our bill, so he told me do do a lot of discovery, and we would collect a LOT of money from the Insurance Company, and even more during the trial.  We defendants met, several times, and a High Jaded Guy, who's name was on the letterhead of a famous firm, took control, and told us what we should do.

...Well, I have NEVER reacted well when TOLD to do something, unless I agreed with the decision...(And except when I tried to be a bond on Gor...the Master killed me off...I guess that men just don't like my Chars)...and so I analyzed the facts of the case, and spoke to my client.  He was SCARED STIFF...he was a small businessman, and hadn't done ANYTHING to hurt the GD plaintiffs.  He was worried about losing his business, and his house and savings.  I did my best to calm him, but my usual phrase, "Don't worry, this is now MY problem" didn't work.  He smiled, but his shoulders were slumped as he left my office.

...We finished discovery, and the GD Junior Partner told me to prepare for trial.  I listened, and nodded...and went into my office. There was no F----ing way that I was going to put my client through a Trial, just to make money for the Firm.    I called the plaintiff attorneys, and reached a settlement...my Insurance Company would pay...would pay...would pay...$750!!!!!!  The Insurance Company was delighted, and my client was relieved.  I had to get the Court to approve my Motion for a 'GOOD FAITH SETTLEMENT'...and the Court did.  The other DEFENDANTS opposed my motion, arguing that my client wasn't paying a  'fair share'.  I just stared at them as they argued against me.  I was chuckling as I carried the signed order, that got my client out of the case, to the Clerk, got it filed, and gave a copy to my client.

...The other defense attorneys 'milked' their clients, taking more depositions...one was of MY CLIENT...(As a WITNESS!!!!  )...and I sat beside him and gave my 'baleful look' at them.  The Court Reporter told me, after the deposition, that I 'scared her' with my eyes.  I am usually described as soft, and dollish, but I guess that 'Chucky' entered me at that time.  I was REALLY pissed off!!!!   

...And, the GD Junior Partner didn't congradulate me for doing a good job for our client...our CLIENT was the man who had his LIFE SAVINGS invested in a business...who could continue, and NOT WORRY about a GD lawsuit taking everything away from him...and not the INSURANCE COMPANY who would send me $250 for every hour I billed.   The GD Junior Partner yelled at me for not milking more money from the Insurance Company.

...Anyway, another thing I have done in this life.      The client sent me a fruit basket on my birthday for several years....I always took it home, it was delivered to my office...and I DID NOT SHARE IT WITH THE GD JUNIOR PARTNER!!!!

[Izee]

...I just had to add this...

...Decades ago, MEN WERE MEN!!!!  They FOUGHT to defend our countries, and protected we women...and they didn't whimper and get embarrassed if some high class Bitch or Bastard called them out for being IMPOLITE because they said a bad word, or were...impolite.     In the USA, the wimps have taken over our education, and they are teaching our boys that they need to be 'sensitive', and not 'offend' anyone.     Hells Bells, boys run into mud puddles, beat each other up, cuss, and throw things around...and they turn out to be fine young men, and go on to become businessmen, doctors, scientists...and many other things.

...I like to think that we were designed by God, and men and women were designed to be different.  I, actually, have difficulty comprehending 'evolution'...I mean...how the HELL did some single cell creatures appear?...and they were ALIVE!!!...stuff can exist...but LIFE is unique...and then evolve into we humans?, and the plethora of animals, plants, and stuff that is on our planet?  And then decide that creatures had to have sexes?...I mean...animals are male and female.

...And, among we humans, there are those that stand out.  We ALL play a part in this World, and I believe that ALL of us have a Center Stage, at least once in our lives.  It is when we help another human, or ourselves to exceed.  Of course, there are diseased humans, who kill and do unmentionable things, but, we are all alive.

...This is a Man that I admire very much.  The PC Idiots in our time put him down, and try to bury his History...but...he was a Historical Figure who helped save his Nation.  I have spoken to survivors of WW2, who lived in London.  One women described how, when she heard the sirens, she and her family would RUSH into the subway tunnels and stations, and hear, and feel, the bombs dropping around them.  They would emerge, and pray that their homes and businesses were still standing.  She said that listening to "Winnie", gave them hope and courage to hang on, and believe that they would win.  And...they did WIN!

https://youtu.be/Kx3W4F80L04

[Izee]

...I sobbed my eyes out...watching this...

...https://youtu.be/vPi8CkQZTRE

[Izee]

...When I called off the Campus Police...

...I was the President of the Music Sorority, and it came time to 'indoctrinate' the Pledges.  I really didn't like planning the event, part of the night long event was to humiliate the Pledges...challenge their knowledge of music...and themselves...and then after they were sitting alone, in practice rooms for an hour, we would bring them out onto the stage, and welcome them into the Sorority.  We would then take them to IHOP, and pig out on pancakes.

...Part of the event was for them to perform their music, and we would jeer and laugh at them...it was fun.  That one year, two of the Sisters were overseeing the event, and well...they pretty much undressed themselves as they stood over the Pledges, and directed them.  They were wearing just a little bit of trashy underwear, and were painted like whores, and they minced all over the stage and teased the Pledges.  I was sitting in the audience, closing my eyes at times...what they were doing wasn't something that appealed to me.  But...I recalled that the same had been done to me.  I had been sitting in a chair, facing the audience, trying to play the 3rd Bach Prelude on my cello, as two Sisters danced around me, wearing very little clothing.

...I was nudged by the girl beside me, and I looked over my shoulder, and TWO CAMPUS COPS were standing at the back of the Hall, looking at the stage.  I had used the key, that I had been entrusted with to just enter the practice rooms, and I had led the female mob into the closed Hall at 3:45 am.  I stood, and walked over to the Cops, and introduced myself, as President of the Sorority.  They looked at me, and asked..."How the Hell did you get in here, this Hall is shut down at 11:00."  I held up the key, and said, "I sorta had permission.  Don't worry, we are initiating the girls, we will leave in an hour, and I will lock up."  They looked back at the half naked girls who were dancing, and said, "Well, OK."  They did have me pull out my Student ID, and wrote my name and Student ID number on a pad, and then they left.

...I was having trouble eating my waffle, later.  I figured that an 'interesting' event would be attached to my personal history records that the school maintained.  My resume' would read...

..."BA, JD, CPA, Attorney at Law, Purveyor of female flesh'...

...Well, even we studious and serious students have to have a 'hobby'...mine was a bit more colorful than most others...

[MageNathaniel1]

Lol and now I know why I was never part of greek life

[Izee]

...*Just cracks up*...you be correct, Nate  I heard that the Frats did worse.

I walked back to my apt, after my initiation.  I was leaving pads in my prints, and was trying to see myself back home.  They had taken away my glasses, and I had my left eye shut...I saw better out of my right eye.  I barely made it down the deep path...usually, I walked/slid down it...this time I fell onto my butt, and rolled over a few times.  I laid at the bottom, and laughed.

I got myself back up, and closed my left eye, and looked towards the apts where I lived. 

...I made it back, and my two roommates asked me what had happened.  I was a mess, covered in dirt and my eyes were confused.  I drew myself some coffee, sipped it, and said...

...'Talk about it on tha morrow'...I went to bed...and slept

[MageNathaniel1]

Sounds like me coming home from an all night rp marathon lol

[Izee]

...Performing on the cello...(Psst...the piano is easier)...Note Shaping...

...The great pianist, Glenn Gould, was a MASTER at shaping musical notes.  You would think that the piano is easy, just pound the right key, and the note comes out.  But, the  way you use your fingers, your hands, and your arms makes the note sound so different.  Just watch one of his videos, they often show his hands, and they enrapture me.  At times the fingers are just dropping down, other times they just caress the keys...sometimes they pounce...other times they ATTACK!!!!  (Hey, I think that I just described a sex act... ).  Anyway, back to reality.  I did the different strokes when I played the piano.  I would sit in the closet sized practice rooms for hours, at a decreptid upright piano, that was slightly out of tune, and try all different ways to shape a note.  Once, my Professor of Piano stopped me...saying..."That was so beautiful".  I was playing a Brahms rhapsody, and my hands were doing well.  I had come down from a passage where, at times, I would raise my hands to my shoulders, and POUND the keys...and had wound down to where I was leaning over the keyboard, my face just above my hands, as they gently stroked the keys, my hands were just above the keys, only the fingers moving.

...The cello was WORSE...my cellos were VERY DEMANDING in order for me to get the proper note out of them.  The left hand has to hit the note, and the amount of pressure you put on your finger makes the note sound different.  And, of course, there is the damn VIBRATO!!!  You need to use it, just holding the finger on the note may be in tune, but there is little beauty to it.  People accused me of being too theatrical when I performed on the cello...but...that is just me.  At times...I would just play a slow passage without vibrato...it sounded very stark.  I would then rev up my vibrato afterwards, so the music sounded different.  And, my vibrato, once I kinda mastered it, was varied.  I could move my forearm quickly, and the vibrato was vibrant, and alive, or, I could move my arm slower, and the vibrato was dark, and sad.  But, then, there was...

...THE GD BOW!!!!!

(Finish below)

[Izee]

...For all you non string players, the bow of a string instrument is as important as the instrument!!!  It is NOT just a piece of wood with some horsehair on it!!!  A good quality bow can cost tens of thousands of dollars...and it is WORTH IT!!!  I have never owned one that expensive, but I experienced using an expensive bow for a month.  I had broken the tip of my Performance Bow during a concert...(I got carried away, and wanted to hammer the note...but landed wrong).  My private teacher loaned me an expensive bow...and I was astonished!!!  I sounded so much better, and it seemed that they bow was coaching my left hand.  It was also working with my right hand.  Holding a bow isn't simple, just where you hold it makes the instrument sound different.  When playing loud, and dramatic, I hold it at the 'frog', my fingers close together.  When playing soft, I will hold the bow above the 'frog', and spread out my fingers...I can shape the note by pressing on my first, or little finger.  And, a bow will fall in love with an instrument, or vice versa, or it is mutual.     For some reason, the bow will get the cello to resonate better, than another bow.  I have bought bows several times, and after trying out several, the Luthier let me take three of them home, and I tried them all out, and picked the one that made my cellos sound the best.  I would return the other two, and pay for the one I kept.

...I spent more time practicing the cello, and so much of the time was playing a passage slow, and looking where to place my left hand, and adjust my fingers, and looking at my right hand.

...And, Oh...a confession!!!!     We string players usually don't agree on what a note should sound like!!!  REALLY!!!!  I mean, think of it...you have a blank piece of lumber, and you have to place your finger down where the note needs to be.  Plus, our fingers aren't all the same, some people have fingers that taper at the ends, others, like me, have FAT FINGERS, they are pretty much the same circumference from the base to the tip.  So, when I plop my fat beasts down where I think a D# should be, it will sound different than where the 5'2", eyes of blue, kootchy coo, little woman places her dainty, tapered finger. That is why you really need three cellists playing together to get a wonderful sound.  When they each hit where they think a B natural should be, the slightly different sounds are rich, and pleasing.  Plus, I will intentionally slightly vary the note, depending on what I am trying to express.  Just playing a passage 'perfectly' in tune sounds stark, and soul less.  Playing it sharply sharp, or flat, gives the notes some character.  I was coaching a high school cello section, and they were having trouble with a lyrical passage.  I demonstrated how different it sounded, depending on how you shaped the notes. 

...They then ALL tried to shape the passage.  I listened, and then I just packed up my cello...and quickly left when the Period was over...

[Izee]

...I gotta find out where I can buy some of these, because...

...I HAVE LOST MY MARBLES!!!!   

...Perhaps my r/p shows this.   

...https://youtu.be/1cXy7gxUtbU

...I was a lonely child as a young girl, we moved a lot, and I spoke a bit different than the people in CA.  I had an unusual accent, and was sent to speech therapy in grammar school to get me to speak more normally.  I was very reserved, and shy, and didn't mix well with the other kids.  I would try, and usually get chased away and laughed at.  (Probably why I became a good trial attorney...I would gather up all of my old resentments...and aim it at the other side.  I wasn't a mean, yelling bitch...I just set traps for the other side, while smiling...I mean...the other kids would smile at me as they set me up for some sort of humiliation...and I would run away, crying.  I would just smile when I got the Jury Verdict, and wave at the other attorney as I walked away.)  Anyway, back to the marbles.   

...I got a pouch of those little, glass marbles as part of the goods in my Christmas stocking.  I had actually read about playing 'marbles' in some youth novels I was reading, and so I practiced, by myself, in the back yard.  There are all kinds of games to play with marbles, I got bored shooting them into holes in the ground, and tried other games.  I made up a few, and after one particular game, by myself, I would spend a while hunting all 50 marbles down. I had shot them all over the back yard.  I had divided them into five teams, by colors, and well, they DECLARED WAR ON EACH OTHER!!!     I actually developed some calluses on my right hand from shooting the marbles.

...Well, I actually got delinquent in grammar school.     The teachers said that we could not play marbles on school grounds, and if they caught us with some, they would scold us and take them away.  So...we would go WAY out to the edge of the playground, and recover our marbles.  We had them hidden in a hole near a tree.  If we saw teachers approaching, we would hide the marbles and play some stupid game.  We would then get back to playing when the teacher left.

...We usually played the simple game.  We would draw a circle in the ground, and we would each put five marbles inside.  We would then take turns, using our 'Shooters', to hit another persons marble out of the circle, and then keep it, and shoot again.  When all of the marbles were out, the person with the most was the winner, and we would sort them out, and get our marbles back.

...One time, we were playing, and a 6th grade guy walked up to us.  There were six of us, 3rd grade girls, and he watched, and laughed.  He said, "You girls have no idea what you are doing."  He joined the game, and was good...but he wasn't as good as me.  Even at that young age, I came up with a great idea, and held back my skills.  He beat us all, and laughed, and said, "You girls are no good, you should play 'Keepers'. " We stared at him, and asked what that was, and he said, "Well, it is simple, you keep the marbles that you shoot out of the circle.  But, you are all too chicken to play that."  He looked around at us, challenging us, and my friends shook their heads, "No".  He looked at me, and I looked down, and said, "I only have these marbles."  He laughed, and said, "Are you chicken, come on. we each put 10 marbles in, and if you shoot one out, you shoot again."  I swallowed, and said..."OK".

...Well, he and I played three games...and I walked away with ALL of HIS marbles...

...But, a teacher caught us as we were leaving, and I handed them over to her, and got a lecture...

[MageNathaniel1]

 There is a technique to the piano as well, hiw hard the key is pressed and timing affects the sound. Though, yes one has more control over the sound with stinged instuments as I played piano when I was younger and learned guitar but never mastered it. It is like the difference between an automatic transmission and a manual in a car.

[Izee]

...Here is a picture of my cello, 'Pavane'.  The man playing it is Janos Starker, a very famous Concert Cellist, who performed all over the World, and made many records and other recordings of his works.  I can't quite remember the date, but it was a few decades ago.  I was attending the International Cello Congress, and had brought my cello, 'Katherine' with me.  I was staying in the same dorm as the woman who made Pavane, Dawyne Haddad.  She and I walked to breakfast together, and she mentioned that she was a Luthier, and had a cello for sale.  I stopped by where she was, and looked at the cello, and tried it out, but said that it was a bit out of my price range, ($20K).  My H and I were just starting our lives together, and only had about 1K in the bank.  My private teacher, Ariel, was with me, and she knew Dawyne.  Word got out that Starker liked the cello, and would recommend that his students buy her instruments.  Ariel insisted that I should buy it, that it was a good investment, and I would sound better when I played.  I fought with my mind for several days...my 'responsible mind' was saying, "You don't really need another cello, wait 10 years, or so, when you are established, and then buy an expensive instrument."  But, my 'Izee Mind' was saying..."BUY the damn thing...we will figure SOME WAY to pay for it."

So, I drove back to Fresno, from Phoenix, with Katherine strapped in the passenger seat of my old VW Bug, and Pavane was strapped down in the back seat.  My H didn't quite 'welcome' me when I got home...but...I got a 2nd Mortgage on our house, and paid for Pavane.  We did well, I sat Principal Cellist in several Semi Professional Orchestras, and did perform in a Chamber Orchestra, and several Quartets. 

I believe that I have told this tale before, but this is a slightly different rendition.  I didn't stop on the drive home, I just didn't want to be seen hauling two cellos into a Motel 6.  I left in the early morning, and arrived when it was dark.  So, there I was, a broke young woman, just starting a professional career, with $22K worth of instruments in an old, VW Bug, driving across the desert, with the windows down.  (The VW didn't have air conditioning... )  And I only had $1K in the bank.

I did giggle at times, driving back.  I mean, here I was, on the Freeway, holding a Big Mac in my right hand, and chewing on it as I drove very safely with my left hand, and praying that the old car would not break down...and trying to figure out how I was gonna explain this 'impulsive purchase' to my H.  He was NOT a musician, and had no idea of the close relationship that a musician has with her instruments.  (Plus...we REALLY couldn't afford it...but I made it work.    )  I did promise him that I would discuss any such expensive items with him, BEFORE I signed a contract. 

[Izee]

...http://www.dawnehaddad.co.za/html/gal15_pic.htm

...Here is the picture...

[Izee]

...https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=carnivorous+plants&ufn=carnivorous+plants&stid=ba8dc47f-6361-6a0f-7cd6-09dacf6a3ba5&cbn=EntityAnswer&cbi=0&form=IARRTH&first=1&disoverlay=1

...I know that I am babbling, but I am in that mood.  And, there is no activity in the r/p sites I like.

...I was a 'special child' in grammar school.  I didn't ride the short bus, but was monitored by the adults.  I was sick a lot, and missed a LOT of school.  I had asthma, and would get very bad attacks, and would just stay home for several days, trying to breathe.  Both of my parents smoked, very heavily, in the home, and they didn't understand that cigarette smoke would affect my lungs...and my Mother would smoke MORE when I was home, worried about me.  However, I LOVED to read, and read all kinds of books.  I read novels, and a lot of science books.  I was very unpopular in grammar school, and would be bullied.  When I was one on one...I could hold my own...and was usually pulled off of the other girl.  I got hauled to the Principal when I decked a guy...I hit him on the chin with a focused fist, and, like the movies...he fell back on his ass.  I was standing over him, kicking him, and screaming..."GET UP...GET UP...GET UP!!!"...I REALLY wanted to land that punch on him again.  The Yard Supervisors hauled me off to the Principal.  I just sat...and stared at him.  He sighed, and said, "Don't get into a fight, again, or I will have to suspend you."  I just nodded. So, the other kids called me "The mean girl".

But, *shrugs*...bullies go in gangs...so I would be faced with 5 or 6 girls...and would have to run away, after getting a good pounding.  I would get home, and usually not cry...but get angry.  And the next time they came after me, I would pound the shit out of the first girl, and then run away.  They would usually chase me down, and I would get home all bruised and bloodied.  As we all got older, that physical brutality stopped, but the verbal abuse rose high.  So, in H.S., I was a nerd, I didn't date...although there were guys that I wished would ask me out...and I just focused on scholastics, and playing the cello.  I just stayed away from everyone.  I was used to someone being friendly to me...and then leading me to where I either got beaten, or humiliated.

Anyway, in 4th grade, the teacher was teaching about plants, and told us all to grow some, and bring them in.  The boys and girls brought in flowers and vegetables. I emptied one of my 10 gallon aquariums, and put in layers of sphagnum moss, and planted carnivorous plants.  I had flytraps, sundews, and several different types of pitcher plants. 

I carried the aquarium to school, and put a label on it...

...CAUTION!!!  THESE PLANTS WILL EAT YOU...THEY LIKE MEAT!!!

The school did call my parents. 

I just did my 'Big Innocent Eyes Act' when they asked me what was going on.