jodiet.com Blog

T’was the night before New Years when all through the day
I was thinking and thinking of a resolution to say.
It needed to be easy so I had a chance;
So I wouldn’t be stuck with should haves and can’ts.

I sat at my desk and stared at the wall;
I munched leftover cookies and thought of it all.
I sipped cold milky coffee, pondering my life,
And a headache formed, like it was stabbed with a knife.

When out of the blue I heard a loud crash;
I sprang from my chair brushing crumbs in the trash.
Away to the door, I grabbed at the knob.
I twisted it hoping I could handle the job.
The kitchen was strewn with sugar and flour;
It looked like it had been hit with a giant snow shower.

When what to my bewildered eyes did appear
But a miniature ghost with white ear to ear.
With a dust cloud so close behind,
I clenched my fist and braced for the whine.

More rapid than bunnies she shouted my name,
“I’m sorry, Mommy! I’m not to blame!”
“I didn’t mean it, I promise,” she said.
She grimaced and held her hands to her head.
“Now before you get mad, please listen, please.”
Then she rubbed her nose and let out a sneeze.

As whirlwind ensued disturbing the dust,
She flailed her arms as she cried and she fussed.
The whole scene got to me, I thought I would bust.

Like in slow motion, it all hit the floor;
The eggs, the milk, everything from the store;
I dropped my head, could take it no more.

As I covered my head and was turning around
My little girl stood without making a sound.
She stood like a statue all covered in soot;
Flour dust settled slowly from her head to her foot.
White handprints adorned her little black slacks;
She looked like a panda bear performing for snacks.

Her eyes – how they teared! Her mouth – how it crinkled!
Her hair was a mess, her clothing all wrinkled.
Her mouth opened wide but nothing came out;
Speak up, I wanted to holler and shout.
I tried to gather my thoughts behind my clenched teeth;
I contemplated punishment as I started to seethe.
The timer alarmed shrill through the air;
We both just stood stiff in our stare.

“I just wanted to help.” I heard her little voice crack;
“I thought as you work, you might want a snack.”
She opened the fridge and pulled out a plate.
“I made this for you.” She gave me a piece and I ate.
It tasted awful but she went to such work;
I smiled as I chewed so as not to look like a jerk.
“I made a resolution to help more and started a bit early.”
Then I knew what I must do; knew nothing so surely.

I pulled my daughter tight in my arm.
I hugged her real close and said, “There’s no harm.”
I laughed out loud right through my tear,
No resolutions for me; what I need is right here.

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, it has been another fun-filled year in my life so I thought I’d bring you up-to-date with my holiday letter. I’ll begin where I left off last year.

As you know, those two big humans with whom I share this abode brought in another roommate without so much as even mentioning it to me, let alone asking me if it was okay a couple of months before last year’s letter. Remember how I was looking forward to Christmas morning last year? The tree was more loaded with packages than it had ever been and I was sure I would be lavished with yarn balls, fish treats, and that nip that just gets me crazy. Well, Christmas morning came and as soon as first light crept in the room from behind the blinds, I extracted myself from beneath Jon’s legs because he’d rudely taken over the bed and ran down the stairs as fast as I could. Oh, what a sight to see!! The tree was lit beautifully with even more presents scattered around the floor. I was so happy I danced in circles. I couldn’t wait for Jon and Lucy so I screamed up the stairs; they didn’t hear so I jumped on them and screamed in their faces. I was beside myself with anticipation but they wouldn’t budge; they were splayed out snoring like dogs. So I thought of Josephine; maybe this new roommate would be good for something after all. So I went to her room and started to mock her; I really played it up telling her it wasn’t fair she had to be imprisoned in that cell while I got to roam free and it did the trick. Soon she started wailing and Jon and Lucy came running.

I ran down the stairs right on their heels under their feet. “Oh boy”, I thought, “here we go”. But they sat down and stuck a bottle in Josephine’s mouth. Not a bad idea to have a snack before tearing into all those packages, so I thought I’d get me a bite myself. I should’ve known how the rest of the day would proceed when I found my bowl empty without a single kernel of food or drop of water; even the cookies they had left out for that fat man were gone. I returned and lay down by the packages and waited. Finally, Jon began pulling presents from under the tree. I waited and waited but do you know what? They had pulled out every single package and didn’t give me a single one. I looked and looked but found no other packages. I didn’t get one ball of yarn, fish treat or even a cheesy laser-light which we all know is actually a gift to themselves they can use to torture me.

Well, kitties, it went all downhill from there. I was forgotten and replaced by Josephine. I just cannot figure out why. Take toileting for example; they have to wipe disgusting messes from Josephine’s bottom and cover it with some absorbent plastic covered underwear. Come on! She is not even litter box trained. I do my business in the same spot every day; all they do is scoop it out and get rid of it. And eating. Josephine eats the most grossening slop you’ve ever seen and more of it ends up sprayed on the wall like the doughboy had been murdered than gets into her mouth. All they have to do for me is pour some kibble in a bowl and I take care of myself. I just don’t get it. What does SHE have that I don’t? It can’t be love. Waking the whole household up at 3 a.m. just because you want a little snack does not show love! Now jumping in your lap, snuggling in and allowing you to pet my fur; that is love. Josephine doesn’t even purr!! She just whines and cries and poops and pukes! Yuck!

For awhile, things did get better. I stopped glaring at Josephine trying to figure out how I could steal her breath like they show on that movie and just accepted the fact I was forgotten. It wasn’t all bad; it was kind of nice to be left alone. I could sleep wherever I wanted or walk around the countertops without being noticed. And they quit dressing me up in those stupid sweaters and trying to make me go for a walk like I was some common mutt. Ol’ Josephine got to endure that torture. But get this; while they tried to make me walk, SHE gets to ride in a fancy pet carrier without sides. I thought for a moment perhaps it would be worth dressing up in silly costumes to go for a ride in that contraption but then when I noticed they were collecting evidence to display and share, I decided no fancy ride is worth that. So things were okay. They had a big party with cake, balloons and more presents a year to the day after Josephine moved in but by then I was used to getting the shaft.

Then one day shortly after the party, like a miracle, Josephine rose up from all fours and started moving around just like Jon and Lucy. I couldn’t believe it. At first I thought, “This is great; if Josephine is getting to be more like Jon and Lucy maybe she will start to pet me, cuddle with me and fill my food bowl”. So one day I tried to make friends. She was sitting on the floor and I rubbed up against her leg. Boy was that a mistake! Suddenly I felt an excruciating pain in my back side; I wailed and tried to run away but she just kept swinging and cackling. I finally got away but Josephine, the little masochist, must have enjoyed it because she started chasing me around the house. Now I can’t get within ten feet of her without her screeching “kitty” and trying to steal my fur or my tail. She’s even got Jon and Lucy brainwashed; they don’t even try to stop it. They just say, “No, no, Josephine” and pat her on her grubby little head.

So here it is almost Christmas again and I don’t think I can take it another day. What’s worse is Lucy’s lap is shrinking which is what happened right before Josephine showed up. So I’m not going to wait around just to subject myself to more hell. So I am out of this kitty condo. I’m movin’ on; going to try life on my own for awhile. It can’t be any worse than this year has been. I wish you well; wish me luck.

Lovingly,
Your adoring feline,
Harry the Cat

A lot of work is involved in starting a business, even for such a straight-forward simple sole-proprietor business such as Jodie Toohey Information Innovations or JTII. I have almost no business experience so my first step was research. As with almost all research I do, my first stop was the internet. I then enrolled and completed a two hour “Starting Your Business” class and a full Saturday “Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs” class offered through the local community college and small business development center. I think I learned more in each of these classes than I did in entire semesters of classes at college. This is likely due to a combination of the high quality of the classes and my total lack of knowledge in the class subjects.

After the first class, I had my to-do list set: Get an EIN (even though I technically didn’t need one), get insurance, and write a business plan. Getting an EIN was easy; I went on-line, applied and received the number immediately free of charge. I e-mailed my insurance agent inquiring into business endorsements for my auto and homeowners’ policies and professional liability insurance to cover me in the event someone sues me. The endorsements were easy; I need a small one for my auto policy to cover the occasional use of my personal vehicle for business but I don’t need one for the homeowners’ policy because all of my equipment is used for business and personal tasks. After checking around for a couple of days, my insurance agent returned a quote of $2,000 for professional liability insurance which I feared may scrap my plans.

I recalled from my paralegal education around the turn of the century a sort of controversy regarding the need for paralegals to carry professional liability insurance. By definition, paralegals must be supervised by an attorney which, therefore, transfers any liability for a paralegal mistake to the attorney’s responsibility. There was some discussion if a paralegal really screwed up, he or she could be held personally liable for their mistakes. So, in theory, a paralegal could be sued personally for legal malpractice but at that time and to present to my knowledge, there has been no such case. Finding $2,000 for a policy which nearly certainly would never be used and which has historically never been used a little inflated, I sought a second opinion.

Apparently, this is an issue that has indeed never materialized and an idea foreign in these parts. My e-mail to a large well-known local insurance agency was never answered. One of my e-mails to the paralegal associations I sent replied advising they did not offer professional liability insurance through their organization but $2,000 sounded typical. I received a very helpful and much appreciated e-mail from a freelance paralegal associated with the other organization who advised as long as the attorneys with whom I work carry legal malpractice insurance (which almost always covers work by paralegals), I should not need my own professional liability insurance. Therefore, without that expense weighing down my bottom line, I forged ahead.

I am in the middle of writing my business plan. I designed a logo and ordered business cards. I have partially updated my web-site and created some of the forms I will need to run the business. I’ve made essential business purchases such as a computer, printer with scan and fax capabilities, a real office chair and my own coffee. I created my office space by relocating the scrapbooking portion of my dual-purpose craft room/office to a room in the basement making that area a multi-purpose craft/scrapbooking/exercise room. Bit by bit, I’ve been relocating the mounds of personal stuff I’ve accumulated at my current office over the past nearly nine years to my home office. I still have not figured out how to maintain my office as just my office and not my office/catch-all area. I’ve installed and am learning Quicken to hopefully keep adequate track of my personal and business finances. I’ve figured out how and when to pay my estimated self-employment taxes.

I have a few more tasks to complete. I need to finish cleaning out my office and my business plan. And, of course, it is important I have just the right sweats to wear when I settle into my office chair and switch on the neon “open” sign.

After blogging for nearly eight months, I’ve finally decided on a focus at least for a portion of my posts. I invite you to join me as I embark on the journey to small business ownership and entrepreneurship. It is sure to be, if not an exciting journey, at least not a boring journey. My journey is scheduled to officially begin with the coming new year but it has, as necessary, already begun. As with any journey, I must make sure I pack everything I think I may need and account for all weather variations. Of course I realize I will inevitably forget something but the more I can plan and prepare, the less I will have to interrupt my journey to find a store where I can purchase whatever I forgot or didn’t think to pack.

My journey began a little more than three years ago. At that time, I didn’t really know where I was going. As I was peripherally witnessing a friend at work battle breast cancer, I began to examine my life and wondered if something happened where I couldn’t complete my life or I was sidelined from participating in it for a significant time what I would leave undone. I had written since I was a pre-teen myself and had always wanted to write a book. So I just hopped in and took off. My book of for pre-teen and teen girls, Crush and Other Love Poems for Girls, completed publication in December, 2007. In 2008, despite the lack of Twilight-proportion sales, I found myself enjoying promoting my book. I enjoyed the book signings, appearance on a local television news-magazine program, building my web-site, and creating business cards, bookmarks and other promotional materials.

This year, I completed a manuscript for a young adult novel, began research for a young adult historical novel and an outline for a young adult how-to book. This fantastical of idea of making my living out of writing festered and grew into a puss-filled abscess which if it didn’t burst, would eventually sicken me. I reduced my hours at work to thirty per week starting in July, 2008. As most of this year progressed, I tried to devise a way to write more without it overpowering my time or dragging me into financial ruin because though the hope is to eventually make enough money from writing to live, I knew if it ever happened, it would take a long, long time.

As autumn of this year approached, colon cancer took control of another friend and fellow paralegal at work and won the war twenty years after the death of my cousin on September 5th. I saw this as a sort of sign and calling. I had the what but still had no how. Then I came up with the following.

On January 1, 2010, Jodie Toohey Information Innovations will open for business. It will be comprised of two divisions, Writing Innovations and Paralegal Innovations. Through Writing Innovations, I will produce written material, including but not limited to, novels, non-fiction books, articles, brochures, and manuals. I will work as a Freelance or Contract Paralegal through Paralegal Innovations. This proverbial light bulb ding sounded toward the last third of September, this year. It took me until November 4th to submit my proposal and resignation to my current employer. My hesitance was due to fear. I knew people would think I’m crazy–quitting a good, good-paying job at a stable company to go out into the unknown–and I thought they were probably correct. And despite my over eight and a half years with the company, their fair treatment in the past and our mutual respect and loyalty, I was afraid they’d say “No.” Then I’d be without a job and a built-in initial client and, on principle, wouldn’t recant. However, after a couple of meetings by the management committee, I learned last Tuesday my proposal was successful and sent the following to my co-workers:

“I am writing to advise you of my resignation as of December 31, 2009. Starting January 1, 2010, I will be available to perform tasks on an independent contractor basis through the Paralegal Innovations division of my sole proprietorship business, Jodie Toohey Information Innovations. I am in the process of developing my web-site, business cards and an assignment form which I will distribute as the end of the year approaches.

I have made this decision for a variety of reasons but essentially it is a compromise I’ve negotiated with myself to allow more time for my writing endeavors but not jump off the cliff without a security rope. In answer to some of the questions you may have: Yes, I’m afraid I’ll fail; Yes, I know good & good-paying jobs are at a premium in this economy; Yes, I’m taking a big risk; Yes, I know I will most likely need to work harder owning my own business; and Yes, I just might be crazy. But I also know I only get one chance to live my life, that life may be shorter than I ever thought possible or would have hoped for, and that even if it all blows up, I can say I at least tried and gave it my best shot. And that will make for an interesting chapter in my memoir. Actually, it makes good financial sense to utilize a contract paralegal and I don’t feel like I am leaving anyone “in a lurch” or not pulling my paralegal weight.

This arrangement will also allow me to stay connected with the firm and its people which have been a significant part of my life for the past nearly nine years. The one quality I have appreciated the most about this company which very few other companies have is the fact the people who work here want and strive to do the best job they can do, not because of raises or fear of discipline but because it is an intrinsic quality and part of who they are. Of course, this company and its people have numerous other admirable qualities which I will miss but I am so glad to be able to continue our relationship on a contract basis and not have to completely sever our ties.

Thank you for all of the assistance, guidance and opportunity you have provided to me over the years. Thank you in advance for your continued support. I looked forward to our new relationship.”

Next week: How the preparations for JTII are progressing.