Happy endings, birthdays,and background music

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Friday was my last day at the D.A.’s office. Part of me was rather sad that it was my last day. The rest of me was glad I was getting out of that nut house. My replacement… Oh My Gods! She certainly was not hired because of her ability to work. In a week of “training”, she managed to learn maybe 10% of the job, and I am being generous. She spent more time yakking with the HR person who is a friend than learning the Job. On Friday, she wasn’t there 20 minutes when she started to complain about her back. She spent more time on the phone than she did working. She was gone by 10:30am. This left Pattie and I to do all the work. Pattie left for a job interview at 3pm. I was by myself most of the afternoon. The A.D.A. and the HR person asked me what I thought of the job, etc. I didn’t tell them much of anything, except that their file security was rotten. I pick up my paycheck on Tuesday.

Saturday was a lazy day. We slept in! Around 2pm, Dan and I went to Pueblo to do the regular payday shopping. It took forever! Not that there were tons of people or that it was hectic, we were just sloooow. We ate dinner at Chile’s. Yummmmm…. There was also a stop at Barnes & Noble. Yeahhhh!

Sunday was another lazy day. I think that my body did the whole “ok, I’m not working so now I’m going to flake out.” My feet were so sore! You’d think I’d run 90 miles. We spent most of the evening watching Babylon 5. It was also Erin’s 26th birthday.

Monday… Woke up with a headache. Finally got up around 10am. I wrote my articles for the newspaper, ran down to the D.A. Office to see Pattie. I helped her copy her private files and then headed off to Pauline’s. She is trying to move out of her house. I helped her pack about 20 boxes… I came home around 6pm. This headache and I are going to bed early. It is Jimmer’s birthday today.

In the background I’ve got Dan choosing the music… Freebird, Nightwish, Asia, Godsmack. A rather odd mix as he is looking for specific music. Good thing I’m not too picky.

Soap Opera Week

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Where else can you find drama? Embezzlement? Fraud? Office backstabbing and kindergarten behavior? Easy… Right here in Rural Colorado. Yep! And that’s just in the DA’s side. We won’t even think about what goes on on the jail side of the building.

Monday… the air conditioning is acting up. It recycles the air and so smells from one part of the building invade other sections. This would have been fine except for the fact that some one in the staff area bathroom had the bowel movement from hell. Ten minutes later, you could smell it in our office and at the front door. Awwwgh…

Tuesday’s saga…. The “HR/Victims advocate” walked in wearing a perfume that just ripped my lungs up. Asthma. I had to call Dan to bring me my inhaler. Meanwhile, the ADA was dodging phone calls from lawyers, and was late for court yet again. I think he’s been on time once. I dealt with my asthma, Pattie goes off for an interview because she wants out of this office, and life is quiet for a few hours.

We have a 17yo that stole a car in Texas, and got caught here. We can’t hold him because he’s a juvenile. So, we send him to Pueblo Youth Center. We tell Texas where he is. They can’t understand why we can’t hold him, because in Texas, he’s an adult. (sigh) They are on the road to pick him up in Pueblo when we get a call that he is now in Colorado Springs, as they ran out of room… I get a half assed message to that effect, and tell Dee, who tries to call Texas in route. She finally gets a hold of the Texas base who relays the info to the traveling sheriff.

One of the ex-DA’s stopped in to visit. He is now a private lawyer. They were chatting about what idiots the ADA and DA were. He of course left crayons and a a coloring book on the desk of the ADA who plays solitaire instead of working on his cases. Oh that went over like a lead balloon!

After lunch, I get back to find that Pattie has laid into the HR gal about the perfume while I was gone when she asked rather snottily where I was. (I left a little early for lunch) When I next see the HR gal, it is obvious that she has “washed off” her perfume. She tried to tell Pattie that she had worn the same perfume all the time. I told Pattie, no, and that she had washed, as my nose is rather sensitive to scent.

Meanwhile, we are working on cases that the ADA has ‘finished’. He let an arson case go, dismissed almost 20 tickets without fines being paid, (keep in mind that the DA’s office generates money via fines) and

allowed felonies to be pleaded down to misdemeanors. (One of them had 4 separate files generated in 2 days) Pattie gets a phone call from the woman who had from the job I have. The benefits company won’t pay her as the DA’s office hasn’t paid them. (although the DA’s office took out the money from their paychecks) Apparently, this is history repeating itself. In fact, the CBI was here the other day to get testimony on the previous time that this same thing happened. Pattie and Dee are going to be monitoring their pay stubs to see if they are being robbed of the interest that should have been accruing if the benefits had been paid. The DA prior to the one in office now, spent 3 of his 4 years in office screwing up the budget to the point where people couldn’t cash their paycheck, bills weren’t being paid, etc. Oh, and this guy is running for office again and is the BEST candidate for the job!

The local sheriff and all of his staff detest the DA and ADA. They hand them case after case that should go straight through the court system and end in convictions, and the lawyers botch them. Which means that the same offenders are out on the street faster than we can process the paperwork. Remember that comment I made that the same 4-5 families do all the crime? Well, part of that same bunch got off scott free Tuesday.

Then extradition case to New Mexico. A woman who is 8 months preggers was wanted in New Mexico. So, we were going to send her. However, she had 2 cases here pending that needed cleared before she could go. New Mexico was on their way to pick her up and guess what ADA hadn’t cleared the cases…..

Wednesday. A quiet day. 11 tickets, a hysterical man in the outer office, a report from Dan and Karen and lots of boredom. The hysterical man had a dog which got into a dog fight at one of the bars. The owner of the other dog kicked it and stabbed it in the skull with a knife. Dog gets taken to the vet, and the man waits to see if he is going to get charged with having a violent animal. Unfortunately, the vet is the most expensive one in the county and won’t release the dog until the bill is paid. Someone liked this guy. The cops and DA dropped all charges and some Samaritan paid the nearly $300 vet bill. Then the cops took him out to pick up his dog, which will live.

Dan and Karen came by with a map showing the area they could cover with a cheap repeater and that equaled nearly 95% of the county. The sheriff and head deputy were in heaven. This county has a long history of communication issues due to geography. That may have just been solved.

Today started out ok. Then Pattie did something to piss off the ADA and the next thing we knew, Pattie was being sent home for being rude and childish. (right…) So, I had the office to myself for most of the day. I also learned that my stint of work at the office will be over by July 11th. My replacement comes in next week and will train in Trinidad. (hmm…. interesting….) By 3pm, Mike decided to go home. In order to cover his tracks, he let the rest of us go home too. Wheeee!

Tonight we are having a wake for Tirion/Sir Starhelm. Dan is making his meat roll things. Fun bit is he is in the kitchen pounding away with the meat tenderizer in beat to the music. Tomorrow Dan and I are invited to a 4th of July party that will be as much business as fun. Pauline lives up on this ranch with Mike and Gloria, and that is where the party will be.

Oh! Almost forgot. Dan and I both got paid today. I had my Starry Skies column in the Huerfano Journal, and Dan had both his Tech Savvy article as well as one about the ARRLS field day. (ham radio play day) http://huerfanojournal.com/extra.php

I’m really enjoying writing for the Journal. Dan is also publishing his articles on his LiveJournal. http://ujoronen.livejournal.com/

See ya!

Lawyers and paperwork and dogs Oh My!

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Here it is Saturday, and I finally have more than a few minutes to read my email and GASP!!! , write in my journal. I have been at the D.A.’s office for a week now. Technically, I don’t have a contract any more, but that is fine by me. Don’t like to sign contracts during Mercury in Retrograde. Lee, the D.A., said I’m to come to work on Tuesday, so that is fine by me. I guess that I will work the whole week and then find out if I have the full time job.

Everyone at the office thinks that Linda, the “HR person” is daft to hire me for a couple of weeks and then let me go. Stupid to re-train a totally new person. However, no one ever said she was intelligent. I like the job. There are some daft things about it though.

I know I was thrown in at the deep end of things, but I have managed to cope with it all. I know that there are still some bits of the job I’m a tad shaky on, but not surprising all considered. I’ve learned some crazy facts about this county. They’d probably be true of any small town…

  • 75-80% of the crimes are committed by 4 or 5 families. The same names keep popping up. Sometimes the same last name, other times the same exact name. Some of these people have 6-7 files all at the same time! Some people never learn!
  • Not all lawyers are as portrayed on TV…. (duh!) One of them plays solitaire instead of working. Another needs his ‘mommy’ to dress him! Came in with an unironed shirt on! All I could think of was no wonder things screw up in court if these are the people responsible for interpreting the law! I know that there have to be good ones out there, but OMHGS! One of them is also missing a can and the plastic ringy thing to hold the sixpack together!
  • Paperwork will eat you alive! I think in a week I personally went through 4 reams of paper. I probably handled 16 or 18 reams of paper. It’s everywhere and multiplies in the dark!
  • There are NO SECRETS IN SMALL TOWNS!!! I was trying to be polite and not mention names when talking about people when the other secretary said “oh yeah, you mean…..” and then filled me in on all the other bits I hadn’t known about that particular person. Gossip, thy name is the D.A. office and dispatch center!
  • Keystone cops don’t exist just in movies! We had cops trying to pull a suspect out from under a car, and couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t move! That’s when they discovered that two different cops had two different limbs and were pulling from two different sides of the car!
  • I have a very strong stomach. My fellow office mates were worried that I would be upset by pictures of dead bodies, dead animals or sexual case photos. I had to assure them that they don’t bother me. (which is true) I also learned that neither of them can cope with pictures of dead animals. sigh…. I guess I will be handling all the road kill pictures.

Last but not least, the person that hired me lost my application for the full time job. So, I frantically had to reassemble everything and fill out a new form for application on Wednesday during my lunch hour, because the Assistant D.A. was holding interviews that afternoon. In the middle of all of this, Daniel called and wanted me to be home at 5pm on the dot to meet his girlfriend’s mom. I told him I’d try, but that I was rather busy.

I had my interview, which I think went well, and made it home in time to find Daniel and Breanna waiting for me outside with her mom. Oh, and a very SMALL puppy. Breanna was sad that Daniel lost Oscar, and wanted to give him one of the puppies that her dog had had about 7 weeks ago. This puppy is a chihuahua miniture bulldog mix. Probably weighs 2 pounds. Which is really funny, because there has been a 7 week old puppy running around the sheriff’s office all week that we have been playing with. His name is Mongo. He weighs 25 pounds, is 7 weeks old and is a mastiff great dane mix.  Mongo’s head is bigger than the other puppy.

Of course, in light of Breanna wanting to give Daniel a puppy, I didn’t have the heart to say no. So, Daniel is now the proud “parent” of a dog named Fatty. He was the fattest in the litter. (omhgs!) John fumed, but gave in.

Today, I did sleep in a bit! Huzzah! Working 8 to 5 has been a challenge, as my system was set to non-school time! However, my parents came into town on Thursday and we are cleaning the sewers for 408, 520 and 203 today. Dan and I will be stinky!! ewwwww…..

Is it really Thursday?

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Gads! The last two days have been a blurr. Lots of files and papers dancing in my headspace. It has been an interesting two days at the DA’s office. Wednesday was hectic and yet I did very well. Cleared a huge backlog of files. I thought that it was about a week’s worth only to find that it was nearly three weeks of work! OMG!

The phone still gives me the fits. Not surprised. However, I think I’ll get it. Not only did I clear up all that filing, I diagnosed the computer problem, and ferreted out the computer service company and got the part ordered. Oh, and I almost got blown away in the wind! It was fierce on Wednesday. I had to run over to the Court House twice. Once to be introduced to everyone and once to take files for the assistant DA who grabbed the wrong pile of files! He seems nice, but sort of daft too. We shall see.

Today, I did some more filing, cleaned up the “dead file” where they keep closed files for six months and then move them to storage. I also learned how to make files. Wheee…. There have got to be easier ways to do it. Oh, and I fixed the computer. The part came in and I had it up in a minute. Hardest part was running all of the virus scans and cleaning all of the previous secretary’s junk out of it. OMHG’s!!! Tons of personal stuff. Sorry, but that doesn’t belong on an office computer. She should have cleaned it up before she left, but…. oh well. If I’d been on a service call, that would have been bout $75 to $100 billable.

Tomorrow I will attack the felony file cases. What a mess!!! And, I’ve decided that should they not desire to keep me on, I will put an application in at the Housing Authority which is advertising for help. The apps deadline is June 27th, and I should know by then or just before then if the DA’s office will keep me.

A hot Tuesday afternoon

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And what may be my last quiet day for a while. On Monday I went to an interview at the D.A.’s office. I was hoping to have a full time job there. However, it seems that there are other candidates with more clerical experience than me. Therefore I was interviewed for the part time job. I was suppose to go meet the D.A. tomorrow and see if he “liked” me. However, the woman I interviewed with called me this afternoon and asked if I could start tomorrow. I said yes! Granted, it is part time. 8 to 5, M-F for at least 3 weeks, or until such time as the full time person is ready/in place/etc. $8 an hour too. After that, they’ll decide if I will be kept on part time or what. I’m hoping that they find I’m just what they need. Fingers crossed!!

Also this afternoon, Dan and I went to a meeting at the Huerfano Journal. Chere Cuz Gretchen and Hubby Brian’s newspaper. The other local paper is about to take a nose dive, and they are trying to get ready to pick up the slack. :> Dan writes the Tech Savvy articles for the paper and I went along because it’s family and I help on the tech articles every once in a while. During the discussion, other columns were brought up.  Some being the Moon Talk and Weirdness Beat. Of course, just previous to that I had mentioned that we needed a Huerfanology column to cover all the odd things that go on in the county. Of course, I said I’d help with the Moon Talk column, and then Gretchen asked who would like to do the Weirdness Beat and they all looked straight at ME! So, I get to write two columns!!! It will probably be once a month for both, but that doesn’t bother me a bit. teeheehee… I get to cover weird lights in the sky, tarantula and tortoise migrations and all things Weird. :>

We also talked about doing humorous columns about life in Huerfano County. I think I’ll submit the story about John being upset that I was related to everyone except the postman, only to have the postman walk up and say, “hello Cuz!”

Today I’m going to finish up various bits here at 520, like painting doors and then some laundry before I head off to bed. 6:45am is going to come very early. I’m going to baby my knee a but too. I tripped yesterday and bashed my right knee rather nastily. sigh….. I am such a klutz at times. Dan and Brandy both tried to help me up. Poor pup! She may not have thumbs, but she is loving.