So I'm working in this small firm with just 2 partners. One of whom started this firm about 25 years ago, and is the senior partner whose work I'm primarily doing today. And I've only been here for 8 weeks, but I've seen just how unuseful anything I ever learnt in law school has been in real practice. So it's been a very humbling experience. And I mean that in a gross understatement kind of way.

Just now, however, after hours of drafting up contracts and letters that I did not understand, I made a suggestion to include one sentence referring to something we received from the other side's solicitors on the fax this afternoon, and got a monotone "good idea", which had the same effect on me as would a pat on the head to a gratefully panting dog wanting approval for picking up a small stick that was never thrown in the first place. (Believe me, they're not big on encouragements here. Or feedback, for that matter. It was by far the most comprehensive feedback - positive, or negative - that I've ever had on my work.)

Is this sad?! Who am I becoming? Some stupid little child desperately in need of affirmation? Wow, I can spell a client's name right! I can even put stamps on envelopes! ... HELP ME!!! =)

Oh and thank you to all the people who have dropped in to say hello already! It is so nice to re-discover friends. I'm not sure if what I write will be worth reading, much. Hopefully it won't always be about work *cough*

And I'm going to make this post even more mushy and pathetic and cliched by attaching a photo of my fiance and myself at a ball last year. Nampambulisti has already seen him, as he kindly edited a photo of us at the snow a while back, but I expect some may be mildly curious about this person I've chosen to pledge myself to for the rest of my life. Not that a photo says a great deal, but hey, I always find it fun comparing mental pictures of people to the reality when I read their posts and stories, so I thought I'd at least afford the same opportunity.

Hoping to come visit everybody when I finish this silly contract shortly! Yay! Real people, with non-legal issues. (*fingers crossed*)

is anybody else confused?

Australia pledged $10million in aid when news of New Orleans hit our shores.

Australia pledged $5 million in aid 3 days after we find the death toll of Pakistan's earthquakes had reached over 30,000. [stepped up to 10 as of today as numbers of injured and fatalies continue to climb.]

I understand that both countries were/are needy, with rescue and aid desperately and urgently required.

But America devotes how much of its money to subsidising big corporations that pollute the environment, electoral campaigns,  paying its movie and sports stars extraordinary amounts of money, has and continues to develop the most advanced space exploration program in the world and invests how much money in weaponry?

And in Pakistan, where they didn't even have ROADS leading to many of the mountainous areas where victims still lay buried? Where they couldn't exactly bring home their helicopters from overseas wars to deliver food and shelter, because...oh, that's right, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY?! (i'm exaggerating here, obviously.)

I'm not ranting about the fact that America chooses to spend its taxpayers money as the people decide (it is, after all, the apparent epitomisation of 'democracy', right?) ... but I'm slightly confused as to how Australia ranked need and priority in allocating aid.

Is it just me? Or does Australia value lives differently?

Oh sorry - that's right...America is our ally, we only got screwed over in the so-called Free Trade Agreement. So 1 friend's life is worth about 1000 of someone else's who hasn't sought to exploit (inter alia) our agricultural and media industries. Riiiiiiiight. 

...curiouser and curiouser.  

[sorry - i edited this a few times due to grammatical and factual errors, so my sincerest apologies to subbers who probably didn't want to receive this rant once, much less 3 times!]