Posts from the “Etiquette” Category

Good opinion, once lost…

Posted on October 8th, 2012

After dropping Pea off at school, I took M to the lab (it is a holiday for federal employees but not for kids). It was a tiny setup, and in the waiting area (total seating: 5), I ended up sitting next to a Very Prominent Attorney (M even recognized him from the bar publications). Very Prominent Attorney did not recognize me, to my relief. Very Prominent Attorney did not wait patiently. Much sighing. Very Prominent Attorney did not stand up for the older woman who entered (M glared at him and then did). Very Prominent Attorney flatulated in front of the entire tiny waiting room. All I can say is I really will not be able to look at that guy again the same…

Categories: Advice, Etiquette, Law

What not to wear (to court)

Posted on August 20th, 2012

This is really hard to admit, even pseudonymously. But once, right after Pea was born, I accidentally wore Crocs to court. I say accidentally because I had heels with me. But my feet still hurt, so I wore the Crocs in the car. And I was brain dead from lack of sleep. I forgot to put the heels on and didn’t realize I was wearing the Crocs until after I’d gone up, signed myself in for ex parte, waited my turn, gone in to chat with the judge, and then left chambers. And then, in open court, I looked down and said in front of everyone else waiting for ex parte, “Oh, shit.” Sure, this was one of the most laid back judges in…

Categories: Advice, Etiquette, Law, Not crazy...yet

The joke’s on meson

Posted on August 15th, 2012

The other day at the local science museum, where I spend a lot of time (especially when it’s hot, because membership = free planetarium shows = nice air conditioning), I came down like a hammer on two boys, ages 8-10, who were interacting with Pea in ways that annoyed me. The first was at the multiple gravity well table. I’ve spent a lot of time at this table. When Pea was 2 1/2, she would spin the wooden balls around the table for — if I let her — hours. It was like meditation for me, at least when I was not enforcing the rules of the multiple gravity well table. Because there’s an etiquette to it. There are two places where the balls…

Categories: Etiquette, Too much to ask?

More on door etiquette

Posted on April 21st, 2012

I covered this once before. But yesterday at Powell’s, Pea held the door open for about a dozen people at the NW entrance. We were in a hurry to go to pick up Gman, but she’d been taught to hold the door open, and so she did. One person said thank you. One person out of twelve or more. Unbelievable. I realize that most of those people were busy staring at their smart phones and couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge the sweetness of her gesture, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to kick them all in the shins, or secretly hoping Pea’s grasp on the door might slip and slam a few of them in the face. So again, for the sake of…

Categories: Etiquette

The Attorney At Large’s Guide to Urban Manners, Part XIV: Keep It In Your Pants

Posted on March 13th, 2012

A Pulitzer-winning editor for the Oregonian died after having sex with a 23-year-old woman, not his wife, whom he had previously provided money for books and “other things” in exchange for sex. The Oregonian originally reported that he’d died in his car. They then published the corrected version of events, and that is how most people learned the salacious nature of his death. Apparently, this isn’t out of character for this guy. I ache for his wife and daughters, who have his miserable coda to live with for the rest of their lives. (I just read his wife’s gracious statement. That’s strength.) I don’t know; maybe they knew. Maybe they were OK with it. Personally, I don’t care if he made it rain Pulitzers…

Categories: Advice, Etiquette, Portlandia

The last time I sent Christmas cards

Posted on December 10th, 2011

I spent most of today baking holiday goodies to give away, which made me think about the last time I sent Christmas cards: the summer of 2009. You read that correctly. Back in 2009, I had it together enough before M had surgery number 2, to “make” cards via iPhoto and send them out in the summer, because I thought I would be in no condition to mail anything later in the year. (I was right; it was a hellish few months.) Because I was so self-conscious about sending them when I did, I only sent them to a couple of dozen people who knew what we were going through that year, anyway. It was mostly an excuse to put a bunch of cute…

Categories: Etiquette, Too much to ask?

A holiday dilemma

Posted on December 2nd, 2011

I brought out the electric pink and blue trees today and they’ve helped put me in a better frame of mind. Pea was so excited to see them after preschool today that I realized, hell, even though it’s a lean year ($50 budget, all for her), she’s so young she won’t know the difference. Also, she’s blissfully happy about the lopsided scarf I’m knitting her (my first knitting project since I was 10). Four is a great age. In my mail today was a large, padded envelope from my mother to Pea. It contained a couple of Scholastic books (lest you think she spent money, I’m sure these are freebies) and a card to Pea. The last time I spoke to my mother was…

Categories: Etiquette, Not crazy...yet, Too much to ask?

How to break the ice

Posted on November 29th, 2011

Blurting out that you’ve been Botoxed is one of the most random conversation starters out there, but it does break the ice nicely.

Categories: Etiquette

The Attorney At Large’s Guide to Urban Manners, Part XIII: The Five Interactions Rule

Posted on October 25th, 2011

Disclaimer: I am irritated. I have a child who slept until 11:30 AM who is refusing to go to sleep as I type this, and I am in the midst of altering my brain chemistry (under doctor’s orders) to avoid a potentially fatal drug interaction, which also makes me irritable. (And as we know, I am the chick who gets the random and weird side effects.) I know there are people out there with 500+ friends on Facebook. And I know that if someone has that many friends, he or she simply can’t interact with all of them. Here’s the problem: for those of us who are more selective, when we comment or “like” or share things with someone and that person doesn’t ever…

Categories: Advice, Etiquette, Too much to ask?

Fall is our quiet season

Posted on October 3rd, 2011

I love so many things about fall that I really don’t know where to start. Right now, I am loving the quiet that comes with limited HVAC usage on the building next to us, the one we overlook. Those restaurant HVAC systems are loud, and until they shut off (anywhere from 9 to midnight, depending on the day of the week and the restaurant in question), they add a LOT of white noise, at least when the windows are open. (That probably makes my neighbors happy, though, especially since we had the brilliant idea of buying Pea a harmonica.) And of course with fall, we keep fewer of our big bank o’ windows open, so it’s quieter that way, too. In a few weeks,…

Categories: Etiquette, Portlandia, Too much to ask?