First off, thank you for being a straight shooter. Being in corporate America, you get a lot of sugar-coated milk duds but we all know its not milk duds. (Hell, I know I've been guilty of some of that too.) I do try not to say too much, 'cause I don't know if W is lurking, although, I am pretty sure she would not be trolling through DB sites, because she's planned the D for a while and there is no repairing this train wreck (I had a fleeting glimmer of hope, but that was foolhardy - any thoughts of being a 'failure' aside.).
Having said that, you are right, she is nuts. I thought she was a 'difficult' or high-maintenance person, but I didn't feel she was quite nuts until she got me taken out of my home, thereby giving me a chance to be separated from the day-to-day enough to look at our R from an arms-length perspective. What the hell was I thinking??
Well, enough about that. I am pretty much a stable guy; level headed; don't get upset too easy; work well under pressure; try to be funny, but usually come off as corny - the usual stuff. What does get me riled up, though, is the court system. I have never worked in such a deceitful, conniving, incestuous environment in my LIFE. I come from the biz world, where you seek to provide an environment conducive to good relationships, strong negotiations and a win-win (read: respect) situation for all the parties at the table.
This is not how the court system works. You have these Ls lying about each others clients, lobbing unsubstantiated 'bombs' at each other, then smiling in the waiting room, chatting up the next case, where their roles are reversed. (Defendants attorney today, plaintiffs L tomorrow and Law Guardian next week!) All while enjoying a cup of coffee and returning calls about other cases, ON YOUR DIME!!!
I actually told my L that we had matters to discuss to please check on calls after we were through and he was bothered by it. WTH?!?!
Alright, getting a little hot under the collar and off topic. Well I didn't know the game (hate like hell that I'm forced to learn it, because that is so not me) so now I have to play catch up. I think you are right, I need to really kiss ass and kill them all with kindness, especially since I inadvertently found a way to show just how nuts the W is. (Maybe I'll touch on this in my next post.)
On the networking and church comments, I have received similar wise counsel from close friends and relatives, so I've ramped that up. I now go to a different church (feel MUCH more comfortable there too) where friends that I hadn't been in contact with for a while attend. They do not know my sitch, so it was easy to relate and answer generic questions with generic replies. Also, I've been able to line up some friends and neighbors who are willing to go to bat for me, should it come to that.
Wow long rant... guess my next point to ponder may be (the real) GAL. :-} Scary...
