Diana's Settlement Attorney

From: Diana Hamasaki
Date: September 8, 2011


 Dear Counsel, Thanks for your email. I am presently living in South Korea and My ex husband Craig Hamasaki lives in your jurisdiction. My ex and I agreed under the Settlement Agreement attached to this email for a one-time cash settlement of $623,000.00 to his credit, he has paid me $122,000.00 but still owing $501.000.00. He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions. 
I have already advised him I am planning on retaining your firm. Proceed and send me a copy of your service retainer fee agreement so I can preview and go through the terms and conditions of your firm also send along the mode of remittance. Thank you and awaits your soonest response. 
Best Regards, 
 Diana Hamasaki 


 Address: 209 Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea Tel. 82-31-656 7883

Black Stick Men

The world of the paranormal sometimes seems unending. Supernatural beings spring from folklore and urban legends and chance encounters on dark roads at night.  Sometimes, these stories seem so real they can be unnerving.  The stories that people tell of encounters with black eyed children, ghosts, demons and shadow men are chilling and make you reluctant to wander alone at night.   Other times, the stories of paranormal beings just leave you scratching your head.

I feel this way about black stick men.   I keep an open mind, but the stories I've heard of these paranormal entities leave me wondering.  Black stick men are a relatively new phenomena.    According to witnesses, these men are unnaturally tall and so thin that they are two dimensional.   They look like stick figures drawn by a small child in kindergarten class.  They have no facial features and are a blank slate.  They are said to watch people.  They don't move fast or attack their victim, but instead slowly follow behind them from a distance.   Those who have seen them describe feeling overwhelmed by fear and indicate that ignoring the creatures seems to be the fastest way to get them to leave you alone.   One gentleman described seeing one of these stick men on a walk at night.    He glimpsed the stick man with the light of a flashlight.  He didn't describe any fear or action on the part of the figure.  He only described it as there, watching him.  This tends to be the standard description of these phantom creatures.  They watch and they wait and what their purpose could be is as mysterious as the creatures themselves.

There are many theories as to what these stick men are.  Some say they are ghosts or demons and others say they are alien visitors sent to observe us.   I'm not sure what they could be, but this is one paranormal creature I tend to think might exist more firmly in the mind of the observer than in the real world.  Of course, I am often wrong.

The Ghost Train

Some settings lend themselves to ghost stories.  The swamps of Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, and Alabama seem to call to ghosts with their moist, muddy fingers.   The lonely castles of old Europe whisper of secret histories that feel like a sanctuary for ghosts.  The darkened streets of Chicago with its history of mob rule and murder, bring to life the ghosts of all those that have died there in fire and tragedy.  And to the North, the icy landscape of Canada brings to mind ghosts lost in fog and snow.

The Ghost Train in Saskatchewan is one of the most famous ghost stories in Canada.   Saskatchewan is one of the warmer provinces of Canada.  It receives more sunlight than any other province and its summer temperatures can be almost as high as the temperatures in the United States.  This warmth doesn't stop St. Louis, Saskatchewan from being home to a famous ghost train, however.    In 1929, a CNR engineer was checking the train tracks by St. Louis.    He was taken by surprise and hit by a train.  He was lost in the headlights of the train and his ghost is said to wander the tracks to this day.

A multitude of people have described seeing ghostly lights by this stretch of track for over 80 years.  These lights are attributed to a phantom train that has been brought back by the dead engineer's ghost.  Late at night, travellers and explorers who stand by the track can see lights coming down the tracks and then vanishing into the mist.   These lights have been described by skeptics and believers and have even been caught on film.   Nonbelievers look for some earthly cause to explain the lights, but many say this will never be found.   The ghost train comes in the night and for many the only explanation imaginable is that this stretch of track is haunted.

Don'tgiveafuck

For some classes, you tab. For others, you read the footnotes. And for many, you don't do jackshit.

Or maybe that's just me.

Forgive my absence for the past few days. I started working on a cartoon outlining one of the many reasons I hate law students. And then I realized I cannot draw. Which means that my attempt at a cartoon will come soon. And I will have warned you. (So don't bitch at me when my stick-figure lady has lopsided boobs or is drawn to a physically impossible scale.)

As I was writing earlier: different classes (even those not in law school) require different things. The more you like a class, the more willing you are to do those things. In the vein of honesty, though, I'd like to clarify something regarding these so called "lovable" classes: people generally don't love classes because of the subject matter. They also don't love them because "they learned so much." Many will credit the teacher for a class being amazing. My opinion? Classes are dependent upon the people in them.

Take, for instance, one of my criminal classes. Don't get me wrong: I love criminal work. Love getting my hands dirty, learning the gory details, then figuring out the pieces to the puzzle. But this particular criminal class? I would rather gouge out my eyes while setting myself on fire and jumping off a cliff ala Denethor of LOTR than be present. The people, quite simply, make me shudder to even think of the next class period. Perhaps it isn't the people singularly, but as a whole. Or perhaps I just need a cocktail to enjoy the class a little bit more, especially if people are going to twist my words when I note certain things that are detrimental to a prosecution's case. I really think the thing that makes this class so unbearable is the fact that I would otherwise absolutely love the course if it weren't subjected to a complete lack of don'tgiveafuck from those around me. Or, you know, if they'd read the GD BOOK.

Then there's the classes in which I don'tgiveafuck. For those, I do try to read. I do not, however, attempt to answer questions. Because I understand that my don'tgiveafuck can be annoying to others. If I am forced to answer a question, I do so quickly. But since we know that no professor asks me a question (go back and read "The Plan" if you need to know more about my tactics), that doesn't happen. See? I strive to make the learning experience pleasant for those around me.

Clinic classes are also completely dependent upon those in your group. I'm lucky enough to have some great teachers for those classes. For the most part, the people in them are pretty good too....because it's hard to have a case of don'tgiveafuck when people's futures are literally in your hands. I can honestly say, however, if I ask a question to a peer hoping for a real answer while in said clinic, the answer "I don't know" while not looking up from their texting does piss me off. Particularly when they do know but don'tgiveafuck enough to take two seconds to simply process my answer and respond intelligently.

I hope don'tgiveafuck ain't catching.

Because I hear 3Ls are particularly susceptible to this condition......

The Ghosts Lost in Time at the Petit Trianon

 

The French Aristocracy spent a considerable amount of time trying to get away from the people they ruled.  The first French palaces, where the kings would live, were in the center of Paris.   The need to escape the mob drove the ruling class to construct the palaces that are now The Louvre, which was on the outskirts of the city.  When the city pressed to tightly on these palaces,  the French kings moved to Versailles, which is quite far from the city.   Finally, even Versailles was too much for Marie Antoinette,  who decided to have her own Petit Trianon built.   In a time of financial strife, when the people were starving, the little Marie spent a small fortune creating a refuge for herself far from the people.  Maybe this is why the French Monarchy came to such a dark end,  the monarchy seemed to spend more tax money trying to escape the people than trying to help the people.  The people starved, suffered and died but the monarchy and aristocracy just kept building more and more expensive palaces further and further from anyplace they could see the suffering of the people.

The Petit Trianon is amazingly beautiful.  Marie Antoinette made it a little piece of heaven, but it is soaked in blood and forever a symbol of the aristocratic oppression of the French people.  It is not surprising that this disquieting place in known to be haunted and lost in time.  It is not only known for its numerous ghosts, but also for its strange time slips.   A plethora of ghosts have been seen wandering the serene grounds of this sanctuary.  Workers in eighteenth-century clothing are seen milling about.   Marie Antoinette  and her many visitors and friends have been seen in the building and gardens.   Strange noises have been reported throughout the Petit Trianon.  Phantoms call this small palace home.

One of the most interesting stories from the Petit Trianon involve a group of people that went into the building at the turn of last century for a tour.  The building, which had once been crowded with people, suddenly became very empty.   The silence was uncanny and the group wandered for what seemed like forever trying to figure out what had happened.  Finally, a lovely lady appeared seated on a terrace.  As they approached the lady, a footman came and drove them out off the terrace into a crowd of people.   As they left, they realized that not only had no time passed since their arrival and their departure, but the woman they had seen on the terrace matched the picture of Marie Antoinette perfectly.

K Attorney Rises

From: Gary Hossa Subject: Breach Matter Date: September 4, 2011 12:28:25 AM PDT Hello Counsel, I am inquiring about the possibility of your firm representing me in the litigation of a loan matter. Debtor: Eric Madison Amount: $288,000.00 Amount 80,000 Balance $208,000.00 plus 7.75% annual interest. If you or your firm can be of any assistance, please get back to me at your earliest convenience so I can send you related documents. Your's Truly Gary Hossa Tel: 289-888-1869 Email: garyhossa240@gmail.com

A Real Friend

Just when I thought nothing much was happening as far as my writing was going, something turned up. I have quite a few submissions 'out there' to magazines, competitions and agents but nothing has come back for a while. Even a rejection would be almost welcome just to prove my entries aren't disappearing into some Royal Mail black hole.



Then Saturday morning I had a reply from People's Friend. Not an acceptance unfortunately but not an outright rejection either. The first thing that impresses me with PF is their response time. I posted my submission second class on Tuesday and received the reply just four days later. Previous recent submissions have also been acknowledged (rejected) within a week so this wasn't just a one-off.



The letter from Shirley Blair explained very clearly what they liked about the story but also why it wasn't quite suitable for PF. Some suggestions were offered for the dialogue and the ending and I have been encouraged to amend the script and resubmit. I'm not aware of any other magazines that do this.



I must admit I've found it hard to find the right balance with PF. They have a traditional readership but still deal with themes such as crime and hardship. It's not all domestic issues and romance. So I suppose I'd better get on with it. Hopefully my first story in PF isn't too far away.