A Little More . . . .

Oh, about 18 years ago--or something like that--I was working a freelance temp job at a law firm here in town, and I was typing some documents concerning the case of a woman who had been involved in a hot air balloon accident which resulted in a nasty knee injury--I think she even needed surgery to repair the knee. She sued the balloon company for causing her injuries, and her deposition had just been taken by the attorney I was temping for.

The funny thing was that the injured woman worked for another local law firm--a law firm I had recently heard about. In fact, I was looking for a full time position at the time, and I had already sent that law firm my resume. As it turned out, I was hired not too long afterward, and here it is, many years later, and I'm still with the same firm.

And the balloon accident the woman was involved in? It was on the occasion of another of our firm's annual mystery events. Odd, isn't it?

Would you like to hear a little bit more about our firm's annual events? Two of the more outrageous events occurred before I joined the firm. One involved hot air ballooning in the Napa Valley. I'm kind of glad I didn't work there at the time, since I'm not too excited about heights--and, of course, there WAS the fact that one of the balloons went down and landed in some power lines, balanced on a fence. Yeah, I don't think I would have had fun at that one. I think that event also involved wine tasting. Wine tasting seems to be a recurring theme!

The other outrageous event? Helicopters landed somewhere and picked everyone up and whisked them away to a winery. From what I've heard, it looked a little like a scene out of Apocalypse Now. An epic firm legend revolves around that event and one of the female attorneys--who was no longer with the firm by the time I started--who wore absolutely NOTHING but the event T-shirt that day--and there was something about climbing some kind of open metal staircases. Quite memorable, apparently!

One of the best events I DID get to attend? We were given directions to an old hotel in the Delta area--one that had been in existence at the time of Prohibition and mobsters and had some kind of involvement with both, according to the old stories. That afternoon, we played team golf on the hotel's 9-hole course and each team had to share one golf club. We didn't much care, though, because there was a fully-stocked golf cart/bar that made its way from team to team all afternoon long. That night, we all dressed up in formal gowns and tuxes for dinner and dancing, and then we spent the night at the hotel. We gathered for brunch in the morning before leaving to go our separate ways.

Every now and then, there's a family event. One year we met at the local railroad museum. From there, we boarded a train for a short ride--we were held up by Wild West outlaws, and the kids loved it. Afterward, we had lunch in the courtyard of a lovely restaurant and there were games and prizes for the kids and tarot card reading for the adults.

One event I would have LIKED to attend but couldn't--I think it was one of the years when I was working the quilt show--was a bus trip to San Francisco, followed by a scavenger hunt at one of the shopping areas along the wharf. Afterward, everyone boarded a ship for a dinner cruise on the Bay before returning back to Sacramento by bus.

Yep, each year it's something different and you're right--it's a great place to work! Over the years, our office, like most offices, has cut back on some of the benefits offered, but despite changes in the economy, they have always maintained some of the traditions that make it a unique and special place to work. Seriously, I think I'd be happier if I'd been born rich or won the lottery and could just play with fabric all day long, but if I have to work? Well, I think I'm at the right place!