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Coffee Break: Rounded Horn Sunglasses

Wild Love in Africa Rounded Horn SunglassesI normally try to avoid spending a ton of money on sunglasses, but these gorgeous, deep blue shades are calling my name. I love the white/gray/brown horn frames, which are hard to imagine not being flattering against almost all skintones. They're $225, exclusively online at Anthropologie. Wild Love in Africa Rounded Horn Sunglasses (L-2)

Sales of note for 12.2.24 (Happy Cyber Monday!! See our full sale listing here!)

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

117 Comments

  1. (Reposting from the morning thread to get some additional thoughts on things to do in Chicago — Thanks Moonstone, AEK, and jc for the recommendation to stay in River North!)

    I’m heading out to Chicago for an interview next Friday and staying for the weekend. I’m going to stay with a friend for the weekend but in a hotel Thursday night (to be well-rested before the interview and not impose on my friend during the week). What neighborhood should I stay in? Any particular hotel recommendations? My interview is near Grant Park, although it’s not until the afternoon so proximity is less important. Also, I haven’t been to Chicago since I was 10 and really want to explore the city (since I may be moving there!). Does anyone have any recommendations for where to go/what to see/where to eat/etc.? Thanks in advance :)

    1. Re: things to do, I recommend skipping the Willis (Sears) Tower observatory and instead getting a drink at the lounge on top of the Hancock. Equally beautiful view, and instead of shelling out $22 for just a view, you shell out $12 for the view AND a cocktail or glass of wine (or two :) ).

      If you’re into shopping, Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave. north of the river) has an amazing variety of stores.

      For fancy food and drink, go to the west loop – it’s really hard to get a table, but it’s worth going early at places like Girl and the Goat, Avec, Blackbird, Publican, etc. and putting in your name. Plenty of bars in that area to get a drink at while you wait. Wicker Park is also a great option for going out – the Violet Hour has some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had, though you have to go quite early to avoid the line (you can’t put your name down in advance). Big Star, across the street from there, is my favorite for tacos.

      1. or a drink on the deck at Trump.

        and I know this gets recommended a lot, but the architectual boat tour is really cool — and it is an especially nice thing to do when the weather is nice and if you are by yourself. i still take folks on this every time they are new to town and i never get sick of it.

        1. I was going to recommend this too, but it’s been chilly for this time of year there lately!

    2. And make sure you use the washroom while you’re at the Hancock. Best view from a bathroom ever.

      1. This was my go-to activity in college. Get a $12 drink at the top of the hancock and star out the ladies room window. And also drink miller lite in fraternity basements.

    1. Very interesting article. I read something similar a few years ago and started noticing it was particularly common on conference calls. If two people started talking at the same time it was usually the woman who backed off and let the man make his point first. Determined not to continue doing this myself, on my next conference call I resolved to just keep talking until I was heard. I was shocked when this happened twice in the span of about 3 minutes and not only did the male attorney continue to speak over me, but no one else on the call acknowledged that I was speaking. Then I realized I was on mute.

  3. Yay! I need sun glasse’sfor our boating outing at the manageing partner’s–thank’s for reminding me, but I think these might make me look a littel to much like an old lady — I am to young to look like Grandma Leyeh or Grandma Trudy! FOOEY! I prefer to have Rayban Wayfarer’s, even tho they are a littel dated, I perfer to look like Kelley Macgilles or Madonna when she was young! YAY!!!!!

    The manageing partner’s brother texted me to say we should eat tonite, but I REALY want to go to L&T. How can I get rid of him w/o geting him mad at me? He is in the city on some busness, and want’s to meet me. I wonder if he would want to go to the insider’s sale at L&T? Im sure his wife went there and he should have gone in all the year’s they were married, at least I think they were married for along time b/c Harold is out of college — tho he just skateboard’s around all the time. I think his dad is payeing for his apartement like mine did b/f I got a real job. Mabye I can get him to meet and eat with Harold. They then can fight over me w/o me haveing to be there! YAY!

    Myrna’s uncle is also comeing back this weekend and want’s to meet again. He is a littel grabbey–there is no need for me haveing to deal with another tuchus grabber at this point in my life. Men need to step back and ask before they grab at your tuchus. That is onley fair. I would not want to grab their stuff. FOOEY!

    2. Ive always been “against” colored lenses, but I recently saw someone in electric blue chanel glasses that I know I would have never picked up, but literally looked AMAZING.

      Re-evaluating my stance.

    3. I’m not a huge fan of coloured lenses but I’m even less of a fan of mirrored lenses. They look a bit creepy and also on certain frames can make you look like a bug, I think.

  5. Thank you to every one who replied to my thread on the morning post about sending flowers/something to the lawyer that worked on my case. Now I’m searching for a gift basket and am paralyzed with indecision on which company to go with and which basket to choose. :) So many choices! Any recommendations from people who have received gift baskets? I don’t really have a preference for what is in it, I just want something nice.

    1. We receive these every year and they are always a big hit. No idea about delivery area though (we are in the SE but not in Nashville).

      http://www.christiecookies.com/

      Om nom nom.

      Also for the record, I do not like edible arrangements. I love fruit and eat plenty of it, but I don’t want it cut into shapes and stuck into a planter. Thank me with delicious butter and sugar, not fruit, please :)

      1. +1 to no Edible Arrangments. I’m sure I’m an outlier, but I can’t see one of those things without thinking “Oh, a pretty bouquet of listeria and/or salmonella.”

        1. Yeah I think they’re a good gift if someone just ran a marathon because then they’re like “Who care about salmonella I’m so hungry I’ll eat meat off the ground.” But otherwise I dislike them.

          1. Add me to the “not a fan” club. Not even for the germ reasons, I just don’t think the fruit they use is good and most of it usually goes to waste.

        2. No to Edible Arrangements. It goes bad too fast and looks like (to me) a germ buffet.

        3. This is how I feel about Edible Arrangements, too.
          I get them every now and then from a relative who loves Edible Arrangements – this means that they are sent to our home, and our family can’t eat it in one night. Cue bacteria and spoilage.
          I guess it is an acceptable gift for a (not one’s own) workplace where there is a lot of people and it would get eaten quickly.

      2. +1 I love fruit but I think this is such a stupid, overpriced way to serve small pieces of mediocre fruit.

        1. Oh now this is right up my alley. I want to order some for myself! I think I’ll go this route. Thank you all for the suggestions!!

    2. I’ve received Edible Arrangements before, and enjoyed them. I’ve also sent Harry & David gift baskets to a friend after her children’s births, and she loved them so much that she has done the same for other friends. I also sent a gift basket to another friend post-childbirth from this company called Mouth, which has more artisanal/NYC-area products, and I think it was well-received.

    3. Zingerman’s (or local equivalent), Dean & Deluca, Williams Sonoma all have prepared food / dessert / fruit baskets.

  6. Has anyone ever left a firm to go work for a competitor? I’m fairly young so this would be my first job switch. I’m excited about the new opportunity, pay, etc but I’m also afraid of burning bridges. I know that companies aren’t looking out for the employees so we must do what’s best for ourselves but is it normal to feel somewhat guilty?

    Also, how do I tell my boss? At my firm, if we are going to a competitor, we have to leave the same day.

    1. Yes, I did this a couple years ago. In my industry though, almost every other firm is a competitor so this is pretty unavoidable unless you’re changing careers.

      As long as you give notice in a respectful & professional manner, don’t worry about burning bridges. People find new jobs and quit all the time, this is likely not as big of a deal as you think it is. Type up a letter stating the date you gave notice and how many more days you plan to work (two weeks is standard courtesy). Sign it and have it ready to go when you ask to meet with your manager. When the two of you meet face to face, tell him/her you’ve enjoyed working at the company and have decided it’s time to move on.

      If they make you leave that same day (my old firm did), hopefully they’ll pay you out for your two weeks notice and you can have a nice staycation before beginning your new job.

    2. Yes, and when I gave notice, they told me not to work the two weeks. Two different partners warned me that it’s a small community. I responded that yes, it certainly is, and stared them down. I think I got my point across not to bad mouth me and I wouldn’t tell about their unquestionably illegal conduct.

    3. When you’re about to leave a job and need to give notice, think about your current projects and what the next person might need to know about/be ready to do if you were to have to walk out the door. (I’ve done this, as it is standard in my industry also). Write up a report just as if you were going on vacation – status, to do items, follow up items, contact info, info sources/names. Have your files in order. This will do the most to make people more comfortable with your departure.

      Remove the candy bars from your desk drawer and move any personal items that you can (without causing panic by totally clearing your work space). Clean out old files and shred/recycle old reports, policies and such that would not be valuable to you or your replacement so that your desk is organized. Drive to work (if you usually take public transit) and find/bring a paper-ream cardboard box or other box to put your personal items in.

      Then write up a nice letter stating that you are leaving with two weeks notice and that you appreciated the opportunity to learn from the work/people/deals at current employer. Walk in and tell your boss and hand over the letter. Then happily take the two weeks’ severance pay and start the new job right away (bonus earnings!) or take a break, depending on the needs of the new job. It is common to be nervous – good luck!

  7. Kat -why do we have to be overacheiving? So many of us are just trying to survive.

    1. Do you go on espn and ask them to talk about something else besides sports?

      I mean… you dont have to be overachieving. But thats what she wants her blog to be…

      1. Hee – I am tempted to write a letter to ESPN to let them know that I would watch more often if they included more non-sports programming. :)

    3. Define “overachieving.”
      “Just trying to survive” may–on closer examination–be more like “holding on by one’s fingernails, but with panache, dignity, and compassion for fellow/sister travelers.”

      1. I’m just achieving. Nothing “over” about it. But they let me hang out here anyway.

  9. asked to present at a workshop at the state political party convention. really unsure what to wear. I’m not a delegate or anything. I am a board member of a local nonprofit who has been asked to speak/present on our specific issue/”special interest”

    I haven’t been to one before, and this is in the South.

    I am thinking that suit is overkill, right?

    Suggestions?

    1. Suit. It’s not overkill. It says you and your organization this the opportunity to address this group is important.

      1. I agree. My first instinct to your question is to suggest wearing a suit. It definitely projects “board member” and authority on the issue you are speaking about.

        1. All the power ladies in politics are wearing brightly colored suit jackets these days, if you really wanna knock it out of the park.

    2. If this is a state party convention, like the big annual one in a giant convention center with several thousand attendees, a suit is definitely overkill. If this is the state board or state steering committee (less than 50 people), then a suit is fine.

      1. yes. this is the big annual one with several thousand attendees. It’s not a state board/state steering committee.

    3. Also, most state political parties have facebook pages, or at least photo galleries on their websites. Look at what presenters were wearing in previous years. At my state’s Republican and Democrat party conventions, suit dresses sans jackets are about as dressy as the women speakers get.

  10. Can someone please explain to me what shape the bottom of a shirt/top must be for it to be appropriate to leave it untucked? Must it go straight across? Can it be slightly curved and longer in the front and back than the sides? What about those button-downs that dip down noticeably in the front and back and are higher-cut on the sides? Would it ever be approriate to leave those untucked? Thanks for your fashion advice on this one.

    1. I don’t tuck shirts ever, whether they have a curved (shirttail) hem or not. I think the fit of the shirt itself determines whether it looks OK untucked. It should be fitted, not loose. You can tuck a loose shirt and even blouse it a little and it will look good, but you can’t leave a loose shirt untucked without looking sloppy.

    2. For me it depends on the outfit. If I’m wearing a jacket or cardigan, I stick to shirts with straight hems. With skinny pants, I like shirts that are slightly longer in the back. I agree that untucked shirts look better when they’re fitted.

  11. Absolutely don’t mean to start a “thing,” and let me head you off by saying I’m not bitter, love attending weddings, etc etc etc. BUT- am I the only person who thinks that wedding registries are super tacky- including (and especially) ones where you chip in for honeymoon, bathroom remodels, and the like? Everyone I know getting married already lives with their SO and already has a decent lifestyle. It’s not that when I get married I don’t want pretty things- but I would feel so weird asking other people to buy them for me. I’m open to changing my mind but at this point I’m pretty sure if I have to “register” it will be for a charity donation.

    1. I think guests like registries a lot because it takes the guesswork out of gift-buying. I don’t think most guests find them tacky, and the ones who do find them tacky don’t have to use them.

      I don’t see the need to “register” for something that’s essentially cash (like a bathroom remodel). Some guests give cash anyway, depending on your location and ethnicity. If people want to give cash, they already know how.

      1. I totally see your point, and it makes me think that my reservations about registries might not have that much to do with the registry itself, but rather the idea of lavishing expensive gifts on a couple who is already so blessed in life and already has all the necessary items to set up a household. Giving a birthday gift or even a baby shower gift feels very different to me for some reason.

        1. to add to my comment above, I’m generally a fairly generous gift-giver when it comes to birthdays, graduations, mothers/fathers day, christmas, etc. So I’m not a scrooge. just wondering if anyone else feels the same.

        2. It sounds like you think the purpose of a wedding gift is to help young, just-starting-out couple build a household, which was pretty much the prevailing attitude a generation ago. But I think the more prevailing attitude towards a wedding gift these days is to congratulate a couple, of whatever age and circumstance, on a significant event in their lives.

          1. +1. Are people less deserving of a gift in your eyes if they get married later in life? Jeez.

        3. There is no right answer when it comes to wedding registries — it’s sort of become an impossible thing to navigate. I got married at 38 after living with my significant other for a number of years, and I did feel like it was a bit tacky to have a registry. But my husband’s family unexpectedly freaked out at the possibility of us not having a registry and kept bugging me about it, and I did feel like asking for a donation to charity was sort of humblebraggy, so we had a small registry and it was fine. But I have to say, to the extent that you’re implying that we did not deserve wedding gifts because we got married later in life and already had plenty of household items, I disagree — although I guess my worry was that people would have those feelings about our registry. But I do view wedding gifts like Anon at 4:48 — they are a way to congratulate people on an important event in their lives.

    2. All wedding stuff is a “thing” and insults someone. Registries have their place and honestly, yes most of us are grown ups and capable of buying our own sh*t. But really, when Aunt Edna calls for the 100th time asking you what you want, you register for a set of towels, solely to make people stop hounding you.

      If you try to do something one way, you’ll inevitably piss off someone. Just the way weddings are. If you think it’s tacky, don’t bother. Seriously, you’re an adult.

      1. I found that it worked fairly well to just tell everyone that we didn’t want any gifts. We even printed it on the invitation–I know that’s considered gauche, but it was more important to me to be clear about it. I felt that traveling to our wedding was plenty to ask of our guests, both as a gesture and as an expense.

        1. Honestly, I tried that and it got so overwhelming because people were still trying to buy us things and kept pestering us. I think its a “know your family” thing. We had family members who we knew would buy us something and would keep calling us until we *told* them what to buy. They are this way at Christmas, birthdays, and the wedding wasn’t going to be any exception. So we bit the bullet, registered for some new things and donated a bunch.

          I think no matter the way you slice it, someone is going to be irritated by something.

    3. It doesn’t bother me. I’m going to give a gift regardless, and if the couple would love to have a pair of entry tickets to the Tower of London for their honeymoon trip, or a camping stove, or 5 tubes of grout, then I’m all for it.

      Close friends married recently and registered exclusively for honeymoon things since they already had an established household. Their thank you notes were postcards from the different locations/events, and it was actually quite lovely and much more personal than the “thanks for the toaster oven!” type cards.

      3. +1
        Registries are great because they are a great way to tell people what you actually need (especially now that so many of us already live together or on our own), and to show your taste. Often I only know one of the two well-enough to guess correctly. I’d much rather give the couple something they both like and want.
        Also, I enjoy buying my friends things like tickets to a concert for their birthday. Why would it be any different with a wedding? I’d rather give them a memory than a blender they are just going to return or stick in the highest shelf of the pantry and never use.
        Why is donating to a charity better? It is still a cash-equivalent. They can either use the $100 I give them to pay the restaurant check, and their own $100 to donate, or vice versa.

    4. It’s not tacky, it’s helpful to your guests so that they don’t have to wrack their brains to figure out what would be useful to you. You’re not forcing anyone to buy off the registry, it’s an option. My sister did not register and ended up getting a gazillion religious icons that are still sitting in a box in her garage.

    5. The idea is not the the registry is a demand list. The idea is that a wedding is customarily a gift-giving occasion, and the registry is a way for the wedding couple to make their desires known through a third-party, so that those who are inclined to give a gift may give a gift with reasonable certainty that it will be something the recipients will use and enjoy. Buying off the registry has never been obligatory, and it has never been considered “asking other people to buy [things].”

      That said, if you don’t want to register, then by all means don’t register. And if you don’t want to give wedding gifts to your friends, I suppose you don’t have to do that, either. Although you will certainly be in violation of the social contract if you attend the wedding and don’t send or give at least a token gift.

      1. Uh, not to invite a huge controversy, but Miss Manners would disagree with your “social contract” argument.

        1. Really? I am aware that theoretically no gifts are every obligatory, which is what I suppose Miss Manners’s position is. But I still think that wedding gifts are, in point of actual fact in the real world in most social circules, expected (in the ordinary sense of the word — one expects one’s guests will send or bring gifts). So if one attends the weddings of all one’s friends and never brings a gift, one should expect that to be noticed and discussed.

          1. That may be true, but it is “tacky” to expect a gift because you’ve invited someone to your wedding. You can create a registry which will guide people who want to give you gifts, but you cannot expect gifts.

            Your wedding is supposed to be a celebration of your love and a party that you throw will all the people you want to be there. It should not be a monetary exchange thing whereby a guest attends a wedding and then gives a gift that equals the price of attendance.

            And I say this as someone who always gives a gift and always does it before the wedding even takes place.

          2. I don’t disagree that it’s tacky to expect a gift (in the sense of “I believe I am entitled to a gift”). I do, however, think that in fact, people do expect gifts (in the sense of “predict accurately that people will give them gifts”). I don’t at all believe in “cover your plate,” but I do think it’s a little gauche to make a practice of attending weddings and never giving gifts.

            And I say that as somebody who really would prefer that nobody ever gave me gifts, pretty much for any reason. ;)

    6. Many of my friends have balked at the new honeymoon trend and feel like it’s tacky, apparently on the basis that maybe you should have a cheaper wedding so you could afford a honeymoon. I’m not sure whether that is valid or not, but my friend who did this and spent $3000 on her wedding and asked for contributions might think it is not.

      I guess it all started based on the fact that since you are getting married, some/most people will want to buy you something, so you might as well direct them to something you actually need/want instead of people buying you five toasters when you already live with your SO, so I can see the logic in it. That said, I’ve never heard of a bathroom remodel in this scenario and that does sound like it’s getting totally out of control – it’s completely unrelated to you getting married so why should other people pay for this?

      Personally, I don’t really mind them seeing as I’ve never felt particular pressure to buy people expensive presents since I’m already spending a lot of money going to their weddings most of the time and I don’t see my friends getting too upset about this, but I can see how it can turn into a big can of evil worms.

      For the record, I’m not married and I have no idea what I would do if/when I do get married, but interested in seeing the views.

    7. I think charity registries are tacky. Just don’t register and donate any cash you receive to a charity if you want, no need to show it off. I like traditional registries because I enjoy buying a couple something they might still be using 50 years from now. If you don’t want any of that, fine, I’ll write a card and send a check. I don’t need any further instructions from the couple to give cash.

      1. I enjoy donating to the charities requested by a couple. I think it’s weird to buy housewares for other people my same age – I figured that was all for great aunt edna – but I’m happy to donate to an awesome cause to recognize the occasion.

      2. Agree! It’s like the new humblebrag. Or just a brag. “I’M SELFLESS.”
        Not to mention that usually it just means you’re wealthy enough to already have every physical item you could ever want.

        1. I like the idea of a charity registry. Not necessarily a brag thing but a genuinely selfless thing for people who have been married before, have been living together and already have the house set up, etc. I am 47 and 2x married and I would do it if I ever married again – I don’t need another smoothie maker I won’t use, thanks v much.

          The only registry I ever objected to was one where the only “choice” of registry was to buy the couple a gift certificate to Crate & Barrel. Now THAT seemed in poor taste to me. At least if they have a normal registry at Macy’s and a couple of other stores you have some choices, you can get things on sale, etc.

      3. Really? I was thinking of asking our guests to donate to a few select charities in lieu of gifts (we live in a small apartment and have most of the “things” we need & I cannot get comfortable with a honeymoon registry), but don’t want to rub anyone the wrong way.

        I would be most comfortable not getting gifts at all, but people have been insisting and asking where we’re registered, so I’m not sure what to do. As a wedding guest, I love registries (it makes gift giving so easy & I also love giving presents), but it makes me hugely uncomfortable as the wedding host/gift recipient.

        1. I say, you’re the one getting married – do what makes you happy! Congratulations.

    8. I love registries. Sure, I roll my eyes at some stuff (just as I’m sure some people rolled their eyes at certain items on my registry), but it makes it so much easier to buy a gift for a bridal shower. I appreciate not having to put any thought into what types of glasses or plates or artwork etc. that a couple may want. And, having not had a child yet, I would have no idea what to buy an expectant mother for a baby shower. I probably would not contribute directly to a honeymoon registry or a bathroom remodel, but since I give cash for a wedding gift, I assume the bride and groom will use it however they see fit (and if it’s paying off the honeymoon or bathroom that’s their choice).

    9. I actually like when people do honeymoon registries. Realistically, a lot of people don’t need stuff these days when they get married because yes, they already have it (though perhaps they want to upgrade or whatever), so I’d rather buy people an “experience” rather than an item. If that happens to be part of their honeymoon, then ok. Theoretically you could use cash you receive as a wedding gift to help pay for the honeymoon, but I’m from the South, where no one from my parent’s generation would ever gives cash as a gift because it’s considered tacky (they would probably also balk at the honeymoon registry since it’s basically just cash, but it makes it slightly more palatable, especially if it’s one of the ones where you designate particular items on the trip for people to buy, like a dinner or a sailboat ride or whatever people do).

    10. As a guest, I don’t think wedding registries are tacky and I really like them since I love giving gifts and it is much easier when I have ideas on exactly what they want. As an engaged person, I still don’t find them tacky but I do find it slightly uncomfortable to so blatantly ask for specific items. I’ve drawn my personal line at the honeymoon registry although my fiance likes the idea of it. Our registry is likely going to be fairly small since we already have everything we need and are planning to just upgrade some things.

      I have received certain gifts in the past that reminds me of the person who gave them to me every time I use them and gives me a little smile. I like the idea of being reminded of a loved one every time I use the knife set they gave us or the nice stainless steel pot.

    11. I love wedding registries because I can guarantee that the couple will have a use for my gift. I don’t like clutter so don’t want to give useless items.

    12. OP – I completely agree with you, and I know we’re in the minority. I buy my wealthy friends (who have just doubled or tripled their income by getting married) gifts from their registries, but I don’t like doing it. It makes me feel like the only way I will ever get such nice things is if I get married. And I’d like to get married one day, but what if I don’t. $hit outta luck, I guess.

    13. Oh everyone thinks the honeymoon registries are tacky. Its all I hear about from people. I am kind of against registries in general too but I get their utility.

    14. To give another perspective.
      In my part of the world, spouses only live together post marriage so they have to furnish a home from scratch. Yet wedding registries are not very common, so they find themselves with an empty apartment and tons of plates, tea sets and blankets.

  12. I just realized I screwed up reporting my hours for May such that I just barely met my billable goal, whereas in reality, I’ve been kicking butt. Bills have already gone out to clients. I’ve been at this firm for six months, and I had to learn a new area of law, so I do have some slack in billable/nonbillable, but I am so disappointed because I really put my nose to the grindstone this month.

    Anyone with more experience have any advice? As far as I see it, the only benefit is showing I exceeded the goal, but huge downside of having to admit that there were billable hours that went unbilled. I don’t know what to do…but I’m leaning towards calling it a learning opportunity and pushing the butt kicking back to next month. Any thoughts?

    1. um what? just tell accounting that you need to submit a revised report? why on earth wouldn’t you bill for hours you worked?

      1. because (1) partners likely won’t be able to send out a revised bill – if they did, they make the firm look disorganized to the client and also, of course, the number will be higher, and while the higher number might not have caused any issues had it been billed the first time, now the client’s paying more attention to it, and (2) if Anon submits her extra time late, then the partner’s alternative is just to write it off, which is annoying to the partner (and depending on the firm, may hurt your billables too), and (3) given the central importance of billing your time, Anon risks looking bad if she even brings it up. Definitely a valid question.

        best case scenario: partner tells Anon to put her time in (while annoyed that it wasn’t correct), and it gets billed out.

        worst case: Anon tells the partner, gets judged, AND doesn’t get credit for the time.

        1. Yes exactly – so I’m thinking I just eat it and call it a life lesson.

          1. No – that’s the firm’s money, not yours. The life lesson is the one you get from falling on your sword and explaining this to the partner.

        2. No way. The Op needs to tell the partner that she missed some billing and ask the partner what to do. The OP is getting judged anyway because the partner currently thinks that the OP slacked off during May. I’d rather be judged for missing an administrative task than for not working.

    2. How on earth did you screw this up? Is it all for one client? I might go see the billing partner and explain “I clicked button x instead of button y and just realized. This means 25 hours of my time which should have been billed for the client. How would you like me to handle this?”

      But if you were just lazy and didn’t enter your time I’d silently eat the hours loss.

      1. I seriously have no idea. We use a software that you manually enter your time, which I do every day. I have no explanation other than maybe I thought I pressed save and I didn’t? I am absolutely shocked that it happened, trust me.

        Not all for one client, and does your advice still stand even though the bills have already gone out?

        1. It’s very partner sensitive but on at least some of my matters it would just get added to the next bill. And the partner would be annoyed to lose money by not billing time worked. If we are talking 25 hours spread across multiple clients I would say nothing. 100 hours I think I would bite the bullet and say something but either way is risky.

        2. I think the answer to your question depends on the size/culture of your firm, the number of hours you’re talking about, the particular clients, the partners you work for, etc. I’m sorry I’m not being more helpful here. If it’s 25/30 hours spread over different clients and you met your minimum billing requirements for the month, I would probably not say anything, because of the risk of annoying partners/making a negative impression that will stick with them longer than the fact that you worked hard in May. And then figure out your billing software to ensure it does not happen again.

        3. As a partner, I would want to know this happened. What if there’s a problem with the software and it’s happening a lot but all the associates are too ashamed/embarassed/afraid to report it? I say report it and get your computer checked out for a glitch in the program.

        4. Are you really sure that the May bills have already gone out? That seems like a really, really quick turn around time to me. At my firm, the bills with the May time on them would not go out until the end of June–this allows time for the bills to be prepared and for partners time to review the bills and make any necessary adjustments. So the first thing I would do would be to check and see if the bills with the may time have in fact already gone out. If not, check with your accounting department (if you have one) to see if you can amend your time entries. Then, if you can’t handle it directly with accounting, go to the billing partner(s) and explain what happened. I don’t think it will make you look bad so long as you act ASAP, especially since it sounds like you were trying to be diligent but either you made a clerical error or there is something wrong with the software. I think it would be much worse for the time not to get billed and then have it come out later than you were aware of this and didn’t try to correct it or let the partners know.

    3. Your firm is really on top of things to have the May. Ills out already! Do you have some kind of proof you worked the additional hours (notepad, extra lRge brief)? Do you have some kind of plausible excuse why this hsppend? Eg you were in meeting all day the last several dYs of the month. If so I would go to a more senior person and ask what they would prefer you to do. That wY you at least get some anecdata credit if not objective numbers on your record. Or they will send corrected bills out.

    4. I agree with the above posters that it depends on ‘why’. If it was a genuine mistake, it’s quite different than if you just didn’t bother recording your time.

      For example, in my firm bonuses are related to not only billables, but receivables, so if you consistently get time written off because of your own disorganisation putting time in late, your bonus will suffer.

      Probably it cannot now be billed to the client, but if it was a genuine mistake and you can demonstrate what you spent the time on, I agree speak to someone and explain it and ask how they would like you to handle it, as you might still be able to get the billables towards your target, even if they can’t be billed.

      But this really depends on your firm and how scary the partner in question is!

      1. Also I should include a caveat here that my firm is BigLaw and a lot of people put their time in late unnoticed, but in a smaller team/firm, this is more difficult to get away with.

    5. I know two partners at my firm who didn’t get time in punctually (one due to a secretarial mistake, the other due to travel). Both put the time in and both got chewed out by the billing partners, who weren’t willing to bill the clients late, so the billing partners had to write off the time. I’d just eat the time if I were you unless you know bills haven’t gone out yet.

    6. Client here. Our electronic billing and payment system would flag your time if it was for the previous billing period and if it came to me as an exception I would not pay it. Nothing personal, but those are our rules and if you expect to be paid hundreds of dollars an hour for your time you need to follow them. I would encourage you to report them, though, so your billing partner could show that she is writing them off in her next bill to us–that would look good for the firm.

      1. another client here & I would pay the time. I understand billing glitches happen & I wouldn’t expect the firm to eat it.

        1. PS – there’s no way I’d let it go uncorrected at a firm. At most, it’s a minor “looks bad” moment that is likely to be forgotten, whereas being low on time at year end is much worse. Billing is rewarded. I would never just eat hours.

    7. As a partner who has had to explain to an associate to record all her time, yes, ALL her time and let me judge if it gets billed, I’d talk to the partner(s) about it. Say you don’t know what happened, but will talk to your assistant/IT/billing coordinator to try to figure it out. Say you’re willing to eat the time, but you wanted to give them the option since they are the one who is ultimately responsible for what gets billed to the client.

      1. +1 to this. I’ve worked in big and small firms as an associate, and always been told to bill everything and let the person responsible for editing the bills sort it out, since that person’s more up on what the client does/doesn’t pay for, how the client will react to certain things, etc.

      2. This. OP, it isn’t your call – I’m sorry, I understand the concern on your end, but that’s not your money. You need to explain it to the partners and let the partner make the decision.

  13. When are you obligated to buy a gift for someone you work with? I work in a corporate office of approx. 15 people all of which get along pretty well. I’ve only been here for a year so don’t want to set off any “I don’t fit in here” sirens. Everyone is always taking each other out to lunch for birthdays, so and so got married so that required a gift, someone had a baby. They ask us to give money to send boxes to soldiers overseas, etc. I’m a really generous person and give nice gifts to my family and friends but I have to draw the line somewhere. So far I’ve just been going along with the crowd but I’m not excited about it.

    FWIW – I feel like most of the people I work with have different $ goals than I have. They all eat out everyday and have the latest and greatest vehicles and such. I, on the other hand, eat out once per week and drive a ten year old car. I’m not judging them for the way they spend their money but it seems like it’s really free flowing in this office. Most people here are paid really well (great salary, stock options, profit sharing, etc.) but I’d like to save that extra money so that I don’t have to work until I’m 88. Just my opinion.

    Any advice or just commiseration?

    1. I think this depends. How much is often? Are we talking about $20 once a month? If so, I’d eat the cost (depending upon your salary and rank in the org). If we’re talking about $100/month, then I think I’d talk to HR or a manager and suggest a new way of doing things. Eg: “I feel really badly that my schedule won’t let make it out to X, Y, and Z’s individual birthday lunches this month. Have we ever thought about doing a group lunch once a month to recognize all the birthdays in June?”

    2. I know Ask A Manager has covered giving in the work place, so that’s another source to look at.

      Alternately, you could always say “it’s not in my budget this month” if the amounts get to be to frequent. I probably wouldn’t duck out completely if it is the office culture, but maybe sit out the fundraisers and some of the lunches out?

    3. I also really watch my pennies but I consider things like eating out per office culture to be business expenses. I do think it’s worth taking a stab at something like an annual or monthly birthday fund, but if that doesn’t fly then I think it’s worse for your long-term financial stability to be perceived as a non-team-player by all your well-compensated colleagues than to spring for some lunches out. Nobody’s expecting you to buy a fancy car, but going to lunch, even daily, isn’t going to break the bank.

  14. It seems to me that with a fifteen-person office, chipping in for major life occasions and birthday lunches can’t amount to that much money per year that it would significantly impact your retirement savings, especially if you have a great salary, benefits, etc. My advice would be to continue to participate in and contribute to these events — it sounds like it’s part of your office culture. But I think it’s perfectly fine to limit regular lunches out, if it’s not in your budget. Is there a deeper issue here re: fitting in? Despite your disclaimer, it does sound like you are judging them a bit. I understand it can be uncomfortable if you feel like you don’t fit in to what seems to be your fellow employee’s perceived lifestyle, but I don’t think the gift contributions could be so excessive that they are the real problem.

  15. Has anyone used the learnvest financial advice that you pay for and liked it? I like the idea but figure I can learn just as much from reading the internet for free, so then it’d be a bad financial decision to pay for it.

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