Forties Going on Fourteen...Ugh!

OK, so I am sitting here killing a few minutes waiting for my assistant to prepare my files and lunch to get here so I can go meet with my clients later today, so right now seems like a fine time to point out something so utterly childish that I can't even believe it has become an issue, much less the consequences it wrought.

Most of the work that I do is primarily done in a single court. In the back area behind the court there is a small room with a refrigerator, sink, etc. This room is for staff and employees to use to eat and relax, and sometimes when we have lunch at the court, it's where the food is kept. Let me start by saying that the only way I have ever used this room and/or refrigerator is during times where the court has lunch there (meaning I have chipped in money for the food and drinks and I am therefore entitled to eat) or to keep my diet sodas cold (got to have caffeine and I don't do coffee).

So I go in this morning to confer with the DA regarding the cases on tomorrow's docket (Thursday is my long day, I am in court all day with lunch in between) and attempt to put up my soda in the fridge, only to find that a lock has been installed on the refirgerator! I don't care that much really, but I did ask someone out of curiosity why this has been done, and in garbled diplo-speak that would have done the U.N. proud, it was not-so-discreetly insinuated that the lock on the fridge was somehow a result of my actions...this is patently untrue and I am not happy.

In this particular office (happily NOT the same office in which I work, where the people are wonderful), there is constant backbiting, gossip, and sometimes outright throwing people under the bus. It has even cost a couple of employees their respective jobs there. It isn't like this is a bunch of teenage interns or folks fresh out of school, these people are mostly middle aged women for crying out loud...how sad it is that they haven't progressed beyond the social and professional maturity level of your average 14 year old. Such a poisonous work atmosphere does not concern me in the slightest, until this juvenile behavior is pointed in my direction. I simply won't stand for it, and I plan to speak with the judge and clerk in charge of this court at my earliest opportunity to prevent the problem from metastasizing into something more serious.

The crux of this issue comes down to a pair of issues: 1.) On occasion, when the deputy clerks are busy, I sometimes go and get my warrants out to make copies or to discuss with the DA. I do this to save time, money, and to prevent these women from having to stop what they are doing just to do something I am fully capable of. 2.) When we do have lunch at the court, it is usually a combination of homemade food and things from stores or restaurants, and it is always good, most of the time better than what I eat on a day-to-day basis. Accordingly, I eat sizable, but not unreasonable, portions, and am roundly teased for it. Nevermind that I am consistently smart about what I eat and take steps to reduce bad fat and excessive calories in my diet and only indulge occasionally, like when I get a chance to eat very good food. I am no Brad Pitt, but I have lost the 20 pounds I gained in law school since I began this job because I watch what I eat and work out regularly to keep myself in good shape. I am certainly not such an overeater that I feel the need to surreptitiously eat other people's food out of the refrigerator, lol. It is also, I believe, of note that most of the people who work there are, shall we say, substantially less fit than I.

The bottom line: these individuals have one little sliver of power and influence in the universe, and they will meet even the slightest threat, real or perceived, to that power with all the zeal of a jilted middle school prom date. Further, I believe I now can empathize with the experiences of attractive women in certain situations, namely being ostracized and singled out because of my physique. The whole situation is ridiculous, petty, and nonsensical, and I was (incorrectly) hopeful that my becoming a professional would relieve me of dealing with things like this.

It is a mere annoyance for now, and I certainly will not lose a moment of sleep nor will I quit my job over it, but that doesn't mean I have to like or tolerate it either. The judge in that court is great to work with, as is the head Clerk of Court, but all other things being equal, if anyone is curious why no one sticks around there (staff and/or attorneys) more than a year or two, they need look no further than this incident to see why.