The absence of anything particularly interesting to do at work gives lawyers plenty of opportunity to record time (not chargeable to clients you understand, but we still have to fill our timesheets with something that sounds productive) doing legal "research".
Which doesn't exactly explain how I came across this article, but what the hell... it appealed to my puerile sense of humour today.
Back to doing proper research tomorrow. Maybe.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Creeping boredom
Life is slow at present. Hence how I find myself blogging in the middle of the working day.
The credit crunch has hit Dubai, contrary to what the local media would have you believe. As a real estate lawyer in Dubai, what little work I have at present (none today) now involves pulling deals apart rather than putting them together. Many of the outlandish projects that had been launched or announced a few months back have been quietly shelved/scrapped. Don't be fooled by Piers Morgan's recent ITV show, which in my view was more a reflection (in its optimism) of how Dubai was 3 or so years ago.
Problem for me is - I'm trapped at present. We have a house which has sunk in value despite not yet having finished being built (now delayed until September) which we would be foolish to sell. We have extortionate rent to pay on our current property. And now is arguably not the time to be looking for work elsewhere, despite a growing concern that the lack of work in our office cannot sustain the number of lawyers currently sitting around twiddling thumbs / blogging forever. What to do...
However, on a happier note (if that is the right word) we had 17 marauding 3 and 4 year olds rampaging through our house last Friday for Jack's 4th birthday party. A 3 hour party that took a further 3 hours to clean up from. Fortunately, the weather being as reliable as it is, we could throw them out in the garden for most of the afternoon. I hope Jack enjoyed it - the photos would seems to suggest he did.
Will try to be happier in my next post.
The credit crunch has hit Dubai, contrary to what the local media would have you believe. As a real estate lawyer in Dubai, what little work I have at present (none today) now involves pulling deals apart rather than putting them together. Many of the outlandish projects that had been launched or announced a few months back have been quietly shelved/scrapped. Don't be fooled by Piers Morgan's recent ITV show, which in my view was more a reflection (in its optimism) of how Dubai was 3 or so years ago.
Problem for me is - I'm trapped at present. We have a house which has sunk in value despite not yet having finished being built (now delayed until September) which we would be foolish to sell. We have extortionate rent to pay on our current property. And now is arguably not the time to be looking for work elsewhere, despite a growing concern that the lack of work in our office cannot sustain the number of lawyers currently sitting around twiddling thumbs / blogging forever. What to do...
However, on a happier note (if that is the right word) we had 17 marauding 3 and 4 year olds rampaging through our house last Friday for Jack's 4th birthday party. A 3 hour party that took a further 3 hours to clean up from. Fortunately, the weather being as reliable as it is, we could throw them out in the garden for most of the afternoon. I hope Jack enjoyed it - the photos would seems to suggest he did.
Will try to be happier in my next post.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
...should be taken more as an instruction to all than as a song lyric.
Obviously there is no snow in Dubai today (or, to be honest, ever). And the pictures of the heaviest snowfall in Southern England for 18 years are making me very envious of those at home. But I expect that there are the usual army of snow-haters who are, like the joy-killing grit lorries, out in force decrying the snow as bad for British business.
Oh, get over yourselves! Snow is, let's face it, great fun. You don't need to be a kid to have a great snowball fight. And since it happens so infrequently nowadays, why can't the whole country be declared (on last minute notice) a national holiday? Believe me, it would happen here (as it did when George Bush came to town and the whole road network throughout the city was closed for a day without notice!).
Surely if everyone were to stay at home rather than feel compelled to try to get to work (or, unforgiveably, WANT to get to work), it would save on road accidents, on most businesses having their staff trickle slowly in throughout the morning, and on the incessant rage when those same commuters all have to try to leave to get home at the same time only to find cancelled trains leave them stranded at work miles away from their children who are desperate for Daddy to get home to have that snowball fight....
Were it not for the guilt that one feels about having to show that some effort was made to get to work, everyone would surely feel much happier if all meetings, client appointments and the good of the national economy were all put on hold in the name of one day's impromptu fun?
I'm sure somebody somewhere will today be quoting the precise cost to the national economy of people staying at home on holiday for 1 day (and doing so, strangely, without either offering or being asked to provide an explanation for how or where such figures are corroborated). But what of it? I for one never believe such figures as anything other than a doom-mongering irrelevancy. If the national economy takes a hit, well... it is what it is. The economy can and should be able, like all things in life, to enjoy a little downtime now and then.
Besides, being outside in the fresh air and the snow has to be better for the collective national health (the cold temperature notwithstanding, but put extra thick gloves on) so there is an obvious beneficial trade off.
In short, I miss snow. And will happily blizzard on the parade of anyone who complains about it.
Obviously there is no snow in Dubai today (or, to be honest, ever). And the pictures of the heaviest snowfall in Southern England for 18 years are making me very envious of those at home. But I expect that there are the usual army of snow-haters who are, like the joy-killing grit lorries, out in force decrying the snow as bad for British business.
Oh, get over yourselves! Snow is, let's face it, great fun. You don't need to be a kid to have a great snowball fight. And since it happens so infrequently nowadays, why can't the whole country be declared (on last minute notice) a national holiday? Believe me, it would happen here (as it did when George Bush came to town and the whole road network throughout the city was closed for a day without notice!).
Surely if everyone were to stay at home rather than feel compelled to try to get to work (or, unforgiveably, WANT to get to work), it would save on road accidents, on most businesses having their staff trickle slowly in throughout the morning, and on the incessant rage when those same commuters all have to try to leave to get home at the same time only to find cancelled trains leave them stranded at work miles away from their children who are desperate for Daddy to get home to have that snowball fight....
Were it not for the guilt that one feels about having to show that some effort was made to get to work, everyone would surely feel much happier if all meetings, client appointments and the good of the national economy were all put on hold in the name of one day's impromptu fun?
I'm sure somebody somewhere will today be quoting the precise cost to the national economy of people staying at home on holiday for 1 day (and doing so, strangely, without either offering or being asked to provide an explanation for how or where such figures are corroborated). But what of it? I for one never believe such figures as anything other than a doom-mongering irrelevancy. If the national economy takes a hit, well... it is what it is. The economy can and should be able, like all things in life, to enjoy a little downtime now and then.
Besides, being outside in the fresh air and the snow has to be better for the collective national health (the cold temperature notwithstanding, but put extra thick gloves on) so there is an obvious beneficial trade off.
In short, I miss snow. And will happily blizzard on the parade of anyone who complains about it.
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