Holiday Weekend Open Thread
Something on your mind? Chat about it here.
Pictured: Woodland turkey shot glass, available at Kritters in the Mailbox for $4.75 each. (If you like it, order fast — quantities are limited.)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! It's been a short week, so we're going to skip our article round-up and just open the open thread. We will (hopefully) post a thread on Friday and on Monday for deals we see (probably just focusing on deals we think are noteworthy, not a comprehensive round-up of every brand or store). Please e-mail us if you see something we should include — editor@corporette.com. Thanks to all!
I need help finding chocolate (almost black) brown shoes. Anyone have any suggestions? Also, what other color shoes would you recommend wearing with my chocolate suit? I’m new to brown …
I’d go with taupe or burgundy or, depending on your workplace, a metallic or dark purple shade.
I would go with a metallic color (maybe a copper or a muted gold or something) as browns can be tough to match. I also like the suggestions of adding color but that probably depends on your office. One of my favorite suits is chocolate brown and I typically wear it with metallic heels (muted though, not shiny metallic).
Personally, I would not match my shoes to my suit in a deep chocolate brown. Instead, I would play with color. Deep reds, greens, and even in the brown spectrum. Of course, my shoe choice would depend on what I wore with the suit.
I love these in the orange color – http://www.amazon.com/Nine-West-Womens-Babealish-Pump/dp/B002EVQ2AK/ref=sr_1_385?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1259184991&sr=1-385
These are delightful in a deep redish color with some interest – http://www.amazon.com/Via-Spiga-Womens-Acora-Pump/dp/B002OHE90O/ref=sr_1_418?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1259185015&sr=1-418
But, I can see a rich saddle brown pair of shoes going well – http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Ralph-Womens-Tappi-Pump/dp/B001N0LTCO/ref=sr_1_209?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1259184809&sr=1-209
Or even in taupe like these – http://www.amazon.com/ALDO-Moos-Women-Career-Shoes/dp/B002GT6E2Q/ref=sr_1_519?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1259185164&sr=1-519
I did find these that seem to be similar to the color you’re looking for – http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Ralph-Womens-Platform-Pebble/dp/B002BH4N3U/ref=sr_1_96?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1259184702&sr=1-96
But, I always look at shoes as being a way to add some pizzaz to a suit. Men get ties, we get shoes.
Thanks for the helpful suggestions!
LOVED these suggestions! I have a chocolate suit as well and after seeing these lovely options have realized my black pumps were a no-go this whole time!
I’m new to the hours of biglaw, and I am having a hard time focusing the day after a night of only 2-3 hours of sleep. Does anyone have suggestions about how to stay alert and focused during these busy stretches?
I find that if I’m only going to get 2-3 hours of sleep it is better to not go to sleep at all. I find that I can go about 36-40 hours and then I have to get a full nights sleep. Only getting a couple of hours here and there doesn’t cut it for me – well, anymore. I used to be able to pull that off more, but as I have gotten older, it has changed. Hahah.
You need to actually get up from your chair and do something (small) every 25 minutes or so… Walk a couple circles around your office. Do some neck and shoulder stretches. Do ten jumping jacks. Stretch your legs, handstrings, etc. Rinse your hands in cold water, then pat your face. Drink cold liquids. Invest in Emergen-C… It’s fantastic and healthy. Allow yourself 3 FULL MINUTES of your distraction activity each half hour (you’re only taking a 6 min break every hour).
Oh, and Good Luck. :)
When you’re in a stretch of getting that little sleep, nap theory applies — try to sleep according to your REM cycle. It’s personal, but for me, 2 hours leaves me more energized than 3 does.
Seconding the take a lap / cold water advice. Once you’re in the ‘groove’ mentally, switching gears to a break activity can cause more trouble than it’s worth, but a few minutes of physical ANYTHING can definitely help.
I started to make a habit of taking a walk outside every evening, right when I’m starting to feel that I can’t continue. I never had the “time” to do it, but I decided that if people can find time for cigarette breaks, I can take 15 minutes to be a human. Drinking a constant infusion of green tea (made fresh, not the junk in the bottles) helps me stay more alert without making me feel as sick as massive amounts of coffee does. Last, I realized that I am not a robot and am only a human being. I actually do sleep. Even if they are trying to cram work down my throat, I do put my foot down at a certain point.
I find that it’s really important to maintain good nutrition during busy stretches and this will help you maintain your focus. I worked M&A in Biglaw for 8 years and sometimes those busy days would be many, many days in a row. Try to drink water instead of coffee or limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day. Avoid the big yummy carbs like bagels at breakfast, pasta and potatoes. While it’s tempting to order the big meals that the boys do, aim for salads with a protein on top like salmon or lean steak. Always make sure to eat “balanced” meals with protein, good carbs such as vegetables, and good fats. Don’t overeat at meals or else you will drag – protein the size of your fist and and then double that size for veggies. Skip the dessert and candy and try to have healthy snack throughout the day – keep almonds, cashews or pistachios with you and eat them with some fruit like half an apple. Eating every 3-4 hours will keep your brain energized. I second the Emergen-C suggestion – one packet in the morning, one in the evening. Also, B12 tablets are great sources of good energy – one tablet at lunch and, if it’s going to be a long night, one tablet with dinner.
Sorry for the length of this but I wanted to share what I learned after too many weeks at the printer or in a conference room with catered meals.
After many years of trying, I learned that I’m not physically able to endure all nighters and do good work. Or be a good wife and mom. Or live without anti-depressants. So I’ve had to find a way to practice law in a different way.
Was it hard to come to this decision? What sort of practice do you do now? Was it hard to find a job that worked for you?
I am just curious b/c I think I may be headed in this direction.
@Anonymous – It was heart-wrenching to come to this decision. The ideal of making partner at a big firm was the model of success that I felt like I had to achieve or I was a failure. I look around at my law school classmates around years 6-8, and noticed that people were finding success in other avenues — going to the business side in corporations, starting their own companies, heading up industry and trade associations. I had to forgive myself for “failing” and recognize that I’d set up a false measure. I went in-house at a tech company (and did VERY well with my stock options, which was a complete surprise!) and now I have my own small firm. I’m also interested in politics and have pursued joining the Obama administration. There are *so* many choices, and you’ll see that everyone’s career has a different trajectory: “Big Time Partners” may go in-house or go into government or become a founder of a start-up. Not to sound like Oprah, but find your authentic self. Listen to the voice inside you; it will guide you if you listen.
I couldn’t (or more accurately didn’t want to) do that any longer, either. I’ve been in-house for 14 years now and am much, much happier.
Alot of it is personal to you but (if you can) try 15-20 minutes of napping a couple of times a day. In theory if you nap for 20 minutes every 6 hours you can manage without sleeping at night at all. That’s in theory – I’ve not tried it.
I had a friend in law school whose prior job required 24-36 hour shirts. She told me 20 minute or 90 minute naps were the best way to go. If you try a 2-hour nap it doesn’t work quite right with your sleep cycle and you just end up more groggy.
I used to do 18hrs on, 6 off (with 2 meals to eat, personal hygiene to sort and a weapon to clean in that 6 hrs) so I can manage on 4 hrs sleep no problem. For days when it stretched to 24 or 36 on napping helps. I’ve never stretched past about 52hrs without crashing out to sleep for about 8 hrs after. But if anyone gets the napping theory to beyond three days and to feel good on it I’d love to hear about it.
This may sound ridiculous, but because I’ve found the “allow yourself a few minutes of distraction” to be VERY good advice, I keep colorful pens and highlighters around (I’d keep paint around if I could!) and actually color — if scribbling designs with colored pens counts — for a few minutes. When pulling long hours, I can’t tolerate reading the news or even a regular book as a distraction: the activity is too similar to what I’ve been doing. Doing something totally different that gets the creative juices flowing is key!!
That’s a great idea… I also subscribe to the “few minutes of distraction” theory and find that I cannot do anything on the computer (including Corporette-ing).
I actually do keep art supplies in my office for when I need a little break. I have a small watercolor kit (I mean really small) that I can play with for 5 minutes with a cup of water. I buy those watercolor postcards and can dash off one in that time. Friends love receiving them. I also keep drawing pencils for some thumbnail sketching when I’m working out some ideas for a painting. I keep a small sketchpad in my car console and force myself to do a quick sketch at a red light. I tend to draw too tightly and these very short timed sketches force me to get just the large shapes and gestures, hopefully loosening me up a little! For a fun outing in your town, check out sketchcrawl.com.
Ughh. Finals. So happy this will be my last. fall. semester. ever.
Me too! I definitely feel your pain. Gotta live writing a seminar paper on Thanksgiving day…
Yeah, I felt that way too….and then Sill me thought, why not add an MBA…..
I’m so jealous! I have one more. Law school seems like it will never end.
I wolfed down some turkey and pie this afternoon and am now writing quite the masterpiece about fraudulent concealment for the law review. Grrr!
I do plan to go to some sales early, but will be studying evidence flash cards while waiting in line.
I’m working on a seminar paper and studying for Evidence for Thanksgiving too! Can’t wait to actually enjoy a vacation without school work!
Enjoy the schooling! As much as it sucks to study for exams, it’s such a great rush when it’s finally over & then you have a fantastic long break! Working is great & all, but you don’t get the long vacations with nothing to do anymore . . . Enjoy them while you can!
Oh, and best of luck!!!
*love*, sorry
HAPPY THANKSGIVING Everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating all those things in your life you are thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving….
Happy Thanksgiving, all. I am so thankful Corporette exists.
I’m spending Thanksgiving with just hubby for the first time ever, and I’m so glad! No family drama, no friends with THEIR family drama, just a quiet meal at a local restaurant. Am I the only one who grateful to be just “two” for this holiday?
Not quite just two, but home, no travel etc… and its nice. I did cook but it was just for us so…..
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m stuck here at law school this weekend, and it’s my first holiday ever away from home. :(
Not too happy, but maybe I’ll take a bit of a break from studying to hit up Black Friday sales tomorrow.
Well I’m over here in Asia and at work, getting ready to go give a big presentation to our CEO on EU competition law, while my entire extended family is at this moment finishing their Thanksgiving dinner…It is times like these that I wish I was back in the States. But I am thankful nonetheless for the life I lead, I will be back there eventually and can look back on this time with a sense of achievement. Happy Thanksgiving everyone – no matter where you are or how you are celebrating.
PS – Yes, I am thankful for Corporette too! :)
“As we express our gratitude today, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
– John F. Kennedy
I’m in a fairly close-knit master’s program of about 25 people and we are doing a Secret Santa exchange before our holiday party next week. Unfortunately, I don’t like the person whose name I drew from the hat. I don’t mean that I find her kind of annoying, but rather that I think she is a genuinely awful person and take steps to have as little interaction with her as possible. What I should have done was pretend that I drew my own name and then tried again, but it is too late for that now and I’m hoping that people can give me some suggestions for gift ideas.
I’ve considered just giving her a cop-out present like a Starbucks card, but last year most people got quite creative with their presents and I feel like if I give a gift cart it will be obvious that I put absolutely no thought or effort into it. We have a $10-$15 price limit and I appreciate any suggestions y’all have.
Totally easy for me to ‘fantasize’ being “above it all” so if this following makes you gag, I totally get it. I don’t know where all my sweetness is coming from – must be Thanksgiving.
Try to imagine what would make you feel good right now and ask if she might be in the same place. If your feet are cold, remember that she too has feet and get her some nice socks. Are you missing your family? She has family – get her a pretty picture frame. Feeling busy and wishing someone would cook for you? Give her a GC for a restaurant with carry out or a grocery store with a prepared foods deli and a note telling her to treat herself next time cooking seems like too much.
The point is: think of how you and she DO share something – common humanity. It will make you feel better to focus on that, rather than how awful she is – a gift to yourself that will last at least until the next time she does you find unforgivable.
Now, if I were only good at taking my own advice.
Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, ya’ll.
Do you have a person in the program you could switch with? Someone who would understand your feelings but maybe doesn’t find the person so odious?
Or, go generic, and live with it. You don’t love her. Starbucks cards are always nice (unless she is allergic to coffee, and then it would be kind of awesome, if she really is that bad).
Just give her something nice, but generic, that requires a little more thought than a gift card. Like a pretty mug and a bag of nice coffee, a fruit basket, or a matching hat and gloves. You’re stuck with her now and may as well make yourself look gracious – if you give her a thoughtless or cheap gift, you look bad too.
For 10-15 dollars you can probably find some monogrammed notes or writing paper at a local card shop. Somewhat personal but distant, useful, and likely welcome for all those of us who still “write.” If you avoid the odious tin of cookies or popcorn, you won’t be on her short list of targets, which may help you maintain the distance. Who knows, she might be touched in some way by something “personal” and turn happy a bit. Worth a chance, esp. if you’re out buying cards or gift wrap anyway.
My grandmother has given me Starbucks gift cards. I wasn’t offended, nor did I think it was impersonal. I just enjoyed the lattes!
@KH, your advice sounds like the kind I give to my daughter, particularly when I struggle personally with the same challenges that she faces. You can’t tell your kids: “Screw her; get her a crappy gift and be done with it.” Ha. Having kids does make us better human beings, doesn’t it? :-)