I suppose if you're going to have a I you have to have a II, but I don't feel like writing about last weekend anymore. The wedding was absurd; everyone was morose. Twenty people showed up. The groom had a pink poodle and he's a dog breeder. Enough said. Remind me never to get married unless I have enough friends to justify the ceremony.

Also, you may be sick of hearing about my trips to the bar. I don't blame you. In my immediate parental family, what most people would describe as "drunk to the point of permanent retardation" is what we would call "joie de vivre." And my readership are the ones who have to suffer. Sue me.

My boss at the law firm has hired an attorney to come in and help out with two cases I've been solely responsible for. She felt I was overwhelmed; she was right. One case is a personal injury suit against a homeowner's insurer and it's causing no end of headaches, partly because the defense is too recalcitrant to actually comply with our discovery requests (I know this is more interesting for you than my trips to the bar.) The other is a labyrinthine defense case involving two cross-claimants (i.e., people who want to pass the buck to our client) and a monstrous estate.

Anyway, the Attorney-for-hire, who is a nice, ebullient woman, came in this morning and asked me what I'd been doing as far as Case #1. I told her that I thought we should file a Motion for Consolidation (because Case #1 consisted of two separate but coequal actions). Attorney-for-hire said she thought that was a good idea, and after a little chat, we moved onto discussing Case #2.

A little while later, my boss walked in and asked what we were doing on Case #1. Before I could say a word, Attorney-for-hire jumped in.

"I had a really good idea."

Boss: "What's that?"

AFH: "I was thinking we could file a MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE. Wouldn't that make everyone's life easier? Don't you think, seastreet?"

Boss: "What a wonderful idea! AFH, good thing we hired you, etc etc..."

I HATE it when people who get paid three times as much as I do steal my ideas and do not give me credit. As much as I like AFH- and I do like her, she's been giving me career advice on how to get into electoral law and she's actually been to Estonia- I spent the next ten minutes imagining her doing endless and useless legal research in, say, the fourth circle of hell, along with all other practicioners of avarice in the workplace.

Fortunately, there is justice in this world. I had the Motion forms ready, which I suspect made it clear that it had been my idea all along.