I'm so upset right now, and in so much pain, that I don't even know whether I should post about this. I went to my regular dentist this morning, after finding out that the endodontist that he wanted to send me to is, wait for it, away for the weekend. He proceeded to tell me that he had talked to the bad-bedside-manner endodontist whom I had visited twice previously, and that that guy wanted me to come to his office so that he could do the root canal.

Fine.

So I zip over to Bloomfield and proceed to have this asswipe poke and prod and use heat and cold and take more x-rays and then tell me that he "just can't figure out which tooth it is" and that it would be irresponsible for him to start a root canal that way. After I pressed him for some resolution to the increasing pain, he called my regular dentist, and they agreed that I should just "wait it out" and "see if the pain localizes."

This is bullshit. This has been going on for over four weeks now, and I've been to the dentist six times. I can't eat anything hot or even remotely hard or crunchy. I have constant throbbing pain in both my teeth and my jaw, and sharp pain if I happen to chew the wrong way. The Vicodin I got yesterday didn't even kill the pain completely.

I'm sick of this.

Let me preface this entry by saying that I'm already in a horrible mood because after being given the runaround by a stupid endodontist who happens to be the only local one in my insurance plan and now being forced as a result of GREAT FREAKING PAIN to have root canal tomorrow by an endodontist who is most certainly not in my insurance plan.

Last night, I was flipping around the channels and happened upon the ending sequence of this special by Diane Sawyer. Now, I understand that the purported motive for such a special was to show the strength and resolve of the widows/mothers and to give people hope for the future by getting to see the 63 fatherless babies who have been born since September 11, but really, it felt sickeningly exploitative to me. The sequence I saw was a montage of footage of the babies, interspersed with photos of their dead fathers, all to the accompaniment of a very sad song by Lone Star.

I mean, if you read the lyrics, it's an incredibly manipulative song to use for such a thing. Is it necessary to remind all of us, and all of those mothers, of the last moments of the lives of their loved ones? Is it something that America needs to imagine right now, as the anniversary of the attacks approaches?

Now, I'm the last person on earth to say that these people shouldn't be remembered, and that their lives and the unintentional or intentional sacrifices that they made on that horrible day aren't worthy of respect or admiration or even just sorrow, but I don't think the world needed that special. Do you?

I thought for a long time that watching and listening to as much as I could about the attacks, and especially about the World Trade Center, given our proximity and to Dave's former commuting path, would somehow help me to get past the point where the tears well up unconsciously and where I can't talk because I'm crying, but you know what? It hasn't. I'm starting to avoid those stories now, simply because the heartache and the sorrow really isn't all that much less now than it was 353 days ago. I often wonder how long it's going to take before even just a glimpse of those two buildings in a commercial or a movie makes me catch my breath. Is it normal that I, a person who didn't lose anyone whom I knew or loved in those attacks, still can't seem to get over the sadness?

It's nice to see in this article about a fugitive former Satanist on the lam with his 12-year-old daughter that the Satanists mentioned "don't stand for" rape and forcible sodomy on children.

I'm sure my Satanist readers will have a field day with this one.

I cannot for the life of me believe that Jennifer Capriati doesn't know what Title IX is. I know she didn't go to school like other kids because of her tennis, but really, that gap in knowledge is completely inexcusable.

110 Stories. Read it.

Outside counsel meeting. All day. At the office at 7:45. To Newark at 8:30. Working lunch. Back to the office at 6:45. Still here.

Shoot me.

Let it be known that there is little I hate more than someone, personally or professionally, who assumes that their needs are the only needs that I have to deal with, and who, regardless of this faulty assumption, proceed to drop things in my lap at the very last second and expect me to complete them with a smile.

Don't take me for granted, and don't take advantage of my desire for a good outcome. Don't mistake my willingness to accommodate your poor planning or shitty attitude as a validation of your methods. Most of all, DON'T DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

So far, this week has been one of those where I'm not at my desk for more than, say, ten minutes at a time, running up and down the halls from double-booked meetings, dealing with good news and crises all at the same time.

I love my job, but honestly, I'm exhausted.

I swear that I posted this last night, but it appears to have disappeared into the ether.

Reason number 598,436,109 why I love my husband: He goes out and gets me Haagen-Dazs when I'm cranky and whiny and hormonal, and manages to crack me up in the process by introducing the phrase "beamed up to Planet Batshit" to my lexicon.

This isn't going to mean anything to anyone who didn't grow up in Philadelphia (sorry for the, like, quintuple negative there), but Larry Kane of KYW has been kicked off the 11 pm newscast to make room for (formerly of WPVI, Channel 6, ACTION NEWS) anchor Marc Howard, who's been on Channel 6 since 1983.

I know it's stupid, but that's practically scandalous in news media gossip terms.

Here's an interesting one: Woman walking along interstate in Wyoming is hit and killed by a pickup truck in 1980. Because she has no identification on her, she is entered into a missing-persons database as Lynn Doe, based on a note found with the body indicating her first name. The driver of the truck had fled but was traced through pieces of debris left at the scene.

Fast forward 14 years. The body is exhumed as a result of discrepancies in her file, and she is identified through dental records as Lynn Knowles, and her father and two children were still living.

So what happens next? Of course! Litigation! Knowles' father files a wrongful death suit against the driver of the truck that killed his daughter, and an appellate court allowed the suit to proceed, ruling that the statute of limitations had not expired because the body had only recently been identified. A district court ruled that the driver was 52 percent responsible for the accident, and that Knowles, the victim, was 48 percent responsible.

No damages were awarded to the family of the victim. Wyoming law does not allow recovery for emotional damages or the grief of survivors. It allows compensation only for the monetary rewards, or the benefits of care and companionship that a plaintiff was denied by the death.

From this week's Onion, as pointed out to me by my husband, who really needs to update:

Lazy FDA Approves X-Ray Vision Pills
WASHINGTON, DC -- Citing the hot weather and a desire to go home for the day, FDA officials approved American Products Limited's "X-Ray Vision Pills" for commercial sale in the U.S. Monday. "After evaluating this and regulating that for months, we were really dying to cut out early, so we were all just like, 'Fuck it. Let's just approve this,'" FDA deputy commissioner Lester Crawford said. "Besides, nobody could think of a real good reason why X-ray-vision pills would be unsafe."

Sorry for the dearth of entries this week. Work has thrown several unexpected curveballs my way, and although those mean good things in the future, they also are creating general chaos in my life at the moment. Couple that with my tooth issue still being unidentified and a low-level virus type thing which has attacked me this weekend, and you'll understand why sitting in front of the computer is one of the last things I want to be doing.

Although I took a "vacation day" on Friday, I still ended up fielding several voicemails and emails, and had to review some promotional material today for a deadline tomorrow. I'm trying to catch up on some interesting legal tidbits that I saved over the past week, so you're seeing a bunch of those today.

I think I need a nap.

Plaintiffs in a class action suit against pharma giant Johnson and Johnson are entitled to company-wide discovery, despite defense objections that this is too burdensome, a federal court has ruled.

The suit, in which plaintiffs allege that J&J discriminated against Hispanic and black employees throughout the pharmaceutical company and its subsidiaries, specifically sought discovery on compensation claims by Hispanic professionals at a New Brunswick, NJ site, and to promotion claims by African-American managers at a subsidiary in Somerville, NJ.

I know most of the legal bloggers have hit this one already, but as I've been out of town, I wanted to note that Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison is offering to pay some first-year associates as much as $3000 per month unitl January 2004... TO STAY HOME.

Yes, that's right, because the firm has seen a decline in work, they decided to ask their incoming associates to push off their arrival dates until then. About 30 will start in October and the remainder have the option of starting in March 2003 or as late as January 2004. Those starting in March would receive health benefits. Associates who wait until January will receive a $2,000 monthly stipend to travel or pursue other interests. If they take a public interest job, they will receive $3,000 per month.

I wish I could get a deal like that.

Some of you might remember my posting about Marnie Rose, one of the physicians featured on ABC's reality series Houston Medical. I was saddened to read this morning that Marnie Rose died Friday afternoon, at the age of 28. She was a second-year resident at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and suffered from a rare form of brain cancer.

Well, I made it back alive from the Windy City, and on an earlier flight to boot. This morning, I paid yet another visit to the endodontist where they poked and tapped and held hot things to my teeth and STILL can't figure out what the hell the problem is. Now it seems I'm going back to my regular dentist to have him put in a "temporary sedative filling," whatever that is.

I have lots of stories to post, but for right now, I need to go back to bed. I'm exhausted.

Well, I'm here, nicely ensconced at the Four Seasons. I got pulled out for a random search AGAIN at the gate, and then my flight was diverted to Cleveland after a person in First Class apparently suffered a heart attack. Scary stuff. Off to the White Sox game tonight!

A little earlier this evening, I remembered that I had forgotten to turn on my "Out of Office" message in my email, so I decided to dial up from the laptop and fix it before I leave for Chicago tomorrow.

I managed to trip over the phone line, pulling the laptop onto the hardwood floor, and completely cracking the display. I am so freaking pissed off at myself for being such a klutz. The "Help Desk" isn't around, and apparently doesn't operate any sort of contingency plans for emergencies such as this, so I am left with getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow and driving out to the office in hopes that someone will be available to swap my hard drive out into another laptop.

The good news, if there is any, is that I am not expected in Chicago until 5 pm, so the fact that I am almost certain to miss my 10:45 flight isn't such a big deal.

I'm an idiot.

The story about the murder and kidnapping in Virginia last week keeps getting weirder and weirder. They've had no sightings of the daughter, correct?

American Airlines has decided to stop flying pit bills and other dogs it considers to be too aggressive after a pit bull escaped from its cage in the cargo hold and chewed through a Boeing 757's wiring. Other dogs now forbidden to fly American's friendly skies include Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, American Staffordshire Terriers and Bull Terriers. The pit bull had no comment.

WARNING: THIS COLUMN IS INTENDED FOR READING PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT USE THIS COLUMN AS A TOURNIQUET.

First of all, just let me say that I cannot believe that I am up this early on a Saturday. I'm driving down to PA to meet some friends for lunch later on, but I can't remember the last time I was up this early voluntarily on a weekend.

This article, about a leasing company's liability for vicarious negligence on the part of a lessee driver, caught my interest, because part of my job is to deal with any accidents or violations which occur in the company cars that we lease from a leasing company for our sales reps and other employees. Of course, we indemnify the leasing company as a matter of course in our agreement with them, but it's interesting to see that the court used the leasing company's level of insurance as part of the process for imputing liability.

Many days, I feel like the kid in this cartoon.

I found this article by Margaret Heffernan on "The Female CEO ca. 2002" through Denise at Bag and Baggage, and I thought it was worth noting over here as well. I happened to hear this woman on NPR the other day doing an editorial on the same topic on Marketplace, where she pondered whether female CEOs and their management style vs. that of male CEOs result in better or more ethical decisionmaking.

And really, what kind of world would it be if a fan couldn't tell a baseball player that he has a big ass?

I hate 8 am meetings.

Another link from the super Sua Sponte, a great treatise on what NOT to do when you get to law school.

I just got a little newsletter email from Coach about the new trends in fall footwear. Is it just me, or are most of those shoes really darned ugly?

"Like 249 of the 250 in attendance, members of the bridal party expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the $200,000 affair."

Infamous gossip columnist Neal Travis has died. Page Six will never be the same.

OK, so it's well-known to our friends and family, that Dave is Of the Star Trek People, and I am most certainly not. However, due to his deference to my Trading Spaces episodes and my predilection for reality TV and Buffy, I put up with his habit. Anyway. Like everyone else in the universe, I read Wil Wheaton's weblog. And today, I read this. And, oddly enough, it made me sad.

Take The Princess Quiz by Azure Eyes

You are The Princess of Quite a Bit

Your kingdom is comprised of modest crafts and tradesmen.
Though your title of Princess is mostly honourary, you still manage to take advantage of the freedom and privileges your sovereignity provides.
You have time to enjoy the finer things in life, but keep your indulgences to a minimal level, beleiving that one should waste not, want not.
You never forget your prestigieous heritage, but you prefer to mingle with the commoners, relishing in the special freedoms they have.
Your life revolves around tradition and celebration, spending those times with the ones you love.
Level-headed and considerate, you are well liked by all your subjects.
Your crown is a thin band of jewels.
Your throne is a simple chair that sits beside your mother’s throne.

This is really amusing, because I have a magnet of Mary Engelbreit's Princess of Quite-A-Lot on the fridge.

Today, anything and everything that can possibly go wrong has gone wrong. It's hot, I'm tired, I'm cranky, work is insane, and people all over are giving me attitude. I can't stand it.

I am completely unmotivated to go into work today. Unfortunately, I have back-to-back-to-back meetings again in the middle of the day, so playing hooky is not an option. The only plus about work this week is that there's air conditioning there. Living in an almost 100-year-old house is wonderful most of the time, but not when it's 98 with 85% humidity.

You can always tell how busy I am by how sporadic the blog entries are.

I'm going to bed right now, but not before I tell you my shock at finding out that Miranda is not only sporting prosthetic breasts, but that she's also wearing A FAKE ASS.

From Fractious Times: USA Today is running a multi-part series on how pilots and air traffic controllers were forced to react on September 11, and the stories are completely compelling. Part One of the story is here, and Part Two is here. There's also an excellent interactive documentary.

Want to live in the Sopranos' house? Now, you can get the blueprints (free registration required).

I'll admit that we've driven down to North Caldwell to see the house, because when we first moved here, one of my friends whose husband is a contractor showed me where it is. It's a little hard to find, but we took a peek anyway.

I would give almost anything -- eyeteeth, money, whatever -- to be one of those people who doesn't worry. About anything. Work, family, money, the environment, plane crashes, nuclear war, abandoned kittens, you name it.

I'm in a crappy mood today, because I'm worried. It doesn't even matter what I'm worrying about -- I'm shaky and feeling ill and on the verge of tears because I simply can't stop myself from worrying.

I try so hard to let things slide, to relinquish control over my own fears and doubts and everything else, but it always comes back to this.

I hate it.

Jason Priestley has been seriously injured in a crash during a practice run for a race at the Kentucky Speedway. He was flown to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, where he is in serious condition.

I've gone ahead and joinedThe Blawg Ring, set up by the fabulous authoress of Sua Sponte, as a ring for the "legally-inclined." Check it out.

A jury today acquitted Kenneth Powell of manslaughter in the drunk-driving case I mentioned here last week. Powell had driven a friend back to his car after the friend was arrested for DUI, and the friend got into an accident on his way home, killing himself and another man. The case was a first of its kind in attempting to hold a third party responsible for manslaughter for a drunk-driving death.

Dawn linked to this wonderful article that captures some of the feelings that I had about the WTC before September 11, and which raises some excellent points to be considered for the rebuilding process.

In other news, Florida women are challenging a new law which is a part of revised Florida adoption requirements enacted last year that require a birth mother to make an exhaustive effort to locate the birth father to notify him about adoption proceedings.

When background searches don't work, a birth mother must place legal notices about the adoption in a local newspaper where the baby was conceived. In the newspaper notice, the mother must list her name, describe herself, name or describe the possible father and list the date and the city or county of conception.

Six women have already persuaded a circuit judge to declare the notification requirement unconstitutional in cases where women were forcibly raped; now they are challenging the law as an unconstitutional invasion of their privacy.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson today issued the first-ever comprehensive federal regulation that gives patients sweeping protections over the privacy of their medical records. The final regulation, which takes effect April 14, 2003, will ensure strong privacy protections without interfering with Americans' access to quality health care, according to a press release from HHS. The new regulations, as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), contain provisions that would mean that hospitals and doctors can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, unlike the Clinton administration's former proposal. The decision was quickly denounced by privacy advocates.

The EEOC, investigating complaints from three African American employees at Xerox's Cincinnati facilities, has found that the employees suffered as victims of discrimination, and those workers plan to file a lawsuit in federal court in the next few weeks.

I note this with interest mainly because my father was part of a layoff from Xerox in 1994, three months prior to his massive stroke, that included what many of the laid off contended was a disproportionate number of older workers, including my dad. The company, of course, denied the allegations. I'll definitely be keeping abreast of developments in this one.

Thank goodness it's Friday. This week has crawled along sooooooo sloooooooowly. Generally, I don't like it when Le Boss is on vacation, because it's inevitable that something will blow up while he's gone and I will have no choice but to have to bother him while he's away. This week was just full of hassle after hassle after hassle, even with the nicer weather. I'm just hoping that next week isn't nearly as crappy as this one has been.

"Scalpel. Suction. Hey, hang on, I'll be right back."

I subscribe to Slate's email service, and so every day I get an interesting article or two from them, which I generally peruse briefly and delete. Yesterday's mailing, however, concerned a mother, the daughter whom she conceived via artificial insemination, and the donor, and their long journey to find each other. It's an incredibly touching story about family ties, genetic or not, and the lengths to which people will aspire in order to find a sense of belonging.

Could someone please feed Jennifer Love Hewitt? Jeez Louise.

I've joined the Quartz BBS bandwagon and made one of these little Friends Quizzes. Mine is definitely difficult.

NOTE: The link is fixed now. Please pardon my dumbassedness. And let me know how you scored!

There are now funeral homes which offer theaterlike sets upon which your loved ones can be displayed during a personalized funeral.

"...if the situation warrants, you can have Dad laid out near a La-Z-Boy lounger, television, remote control, and faux cigar in the ashtray. The movie buff gets popcorn. For the outdoors type, there is the option of a barbecue pit and grill, complete with special effects..."

I'm thinking that every time someone shows up in my office unscheduled or unannounced to ask for help, I'm going to make them pay me a dollar. At least I'd have lunch money.

You are 38% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator. Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend. You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines! Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals! You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Man puts curse on sewer system, but will remove it if city apologizes. Umm, OK.

Abbott Labs has been dinged by the FDA for not reporting adverse drug reactions appropriately.

Deborah from Television Without Pity actually got to sit down and interview my Trading Spaces hero, Vern Yip. Jealous? Me? Nah. Well, maybe a little teeny bit.

The Washington Post had an interesting article this past weekend about counterdetailing, where pharmacy benefits management companies send paid consultants out to physicians' offices in an attempt to control costs, to encourage formulary compliance and to provide physicians with accurate information about pharmaceutical products.

A Little League coach in Kearny, NJ has been suspended for "inappropriate comments'' suggesting that his team intentionally lose a big game to a crosstown rival. The coaches of both teams are denying the allegations.

Why is nothing ever simple?

I went to the endodontist first thing this morning, and after a plethora of xrays and no small amount of heat and cold sensitivity testing and bite analysis, he *still* couldn't figure out what is going on with my teeth. He suggested that I wait it out for a while and see his partner on the 23rd, but oh, in the meantime, he'd be happy to refill my Tylenol 3 prescription.

Which would be great, if I could even contemplate taking it during the day, which I can't, because it knocks me on my butt.

Joy.

It's not that there's nothing to say; it's more that there's just no time to say it.

The Washington Post has a lengthy article on the recent murders at Fort Bragg. The article ends with the following passage:

Family advocates at Fort Bragg warn wives to tell their returning husbands about seemingly insignificant changes such as haircuts.

"He might be thinking about running his hands through that long, luxuriant hair," said Martha Brown, an Army Community Services deployment coordinator. "We tell them, 'Don't surprise your husband.' "

Um, has Fort Bragg slipped through a time warp back into the 1950s? If the Army seriously is advising women that a haircut might result in their husbands snapping and murdering them, and if the wives actually believe that crap, a disservice is being done to that entire community.

It really sucks a lot when your entire existence gets planned around the terrible but as-yet-unidentified pain in your tooth. One of my lower left molars started throbbing and being incredibly sensitive to heat (although oddly not to cold) somewhere around Tuesday or Wednesday; my dentist wasn't able to fit me in until Friday evening, when x-rays were taken and my teeth were poked and subjected to hot and cold liquid to no avail. What does this mean?

A referral to..."The Root Canal Guy."

Yeah. I'm thrilled, obviously. Tuesday morning, I get to find out what the hell is going on. The filling in the subject tooth is intact, and the x-rays showed nothing amiss. My regular dentist suspects that I've cracked something inside the tooth, which would most likely mean root canal. Anyone want to share their root canal stories? I'm a wimp about dental stuff, so be gentle.

Oh, this is nice. About 75 WorldCom employees in New York City will be enjoying an all-expenses-paid booze cruise around Manhattan this week, including Norwegian salmon, filet mignon, prime rib, roast filet of ostrich and hand-dipped chocolate strawberries for them to munch on. Bad PR, party of one, your table is now available.

In one of the first trials of its kind, a Dallas, TX jury rejected a $700 million defamation suit filed by an Internet company that claimed it was harmed by negative comments posted by a competitor's employee on an electronic message board. These messages, the company claimed, caused its stock price to drop and destroyed the company's ability to market its product.

Dave was kind enough to send over this hilarious ESPN.com article which matches up GMs from the NHL with the designers from Trading Spaces. Somehow, I have a hard time seeing Lou Lamoriello getting on well with the...uh...effervescent Frank Bielec -- although I guess there is a slight resemblance there!

As if the American public isn't pissed off enough at Major League Baseball, we got this gem yesterday from Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden: "If players want to strike, they ought to just pick Sept. 11, because that's what it's going to do to the game. I don't think there's going to be a work stoppage. I don't think anybody's that dumb. If they do walk out, make sure it's Sept. 11. Be symbolic. Let Donald Fehr drive the plane right into the building, if that's what they want to do.''

Bowden later apologized for his remarks.

This morning, I got an offer for free luxury suite tickets to the Mets-D'backs game at Shea on Sunday. I realized how deeply the rift between MLB and the fans has gone when my sweet, baseball-adoring husband turned down the offer almost without blinking an eye. It's sad, really. We'll probably end up at a New Jersey Jackals game instead, and I bet that we'll enjoy it more.

UPDATE: The oft-reviled Bud Selig has fined Bowden for his remarks.

A man entered an apartment in Center City Philadelphia, raped both occupants and robbed them, and then drank beer, *made toast*, and also called a few friends. Christ on a cracker.

Most pharmaceutical companies, including the one which employs me, offer free or low-cost prescription medication to people with low incomes. NeedyMeds is a great information source on companies who participate in these types of programs.

John and Patsy Ramsey, parents of murdered Jon-Benet, have been sued by an Atlanta law firm which claims that the Ramseys owe it more than $38,000 in attorney's fees related to their son Burke's settlement of a libel case against a tabloid.

The Ramseys contend that the fees owed shouldn't be taken from "the estate of a child of tender years." Like the Ramseys don't have enough money to pay the bill? Please.

We've introduced a new little sidebar feature here at Held In Contempt -- please take a gander at ¡Es La Ley! If you've got any really odd laws or legal tidbits to contribute, drop me a line!

Like it's not bad enough that animals are in shelters in the first place...now they want to make them wear sweaters?