The Cheapies: O.N. Redux

With recent discounts of 30% off newly arrived items, I couldn't resist taking another look at that wonderful house o' cheap: Old Navy.

This tank has a beautiful burn-out design and sports the hottest color for Spring 2009--citrus yellow. Pair it with a light grey boyfriend cardi and white pants--instant fresher-than-febreeze chic.

This light jacket is my absolute favorite item of near all time. Kick-ass design, classic and modern, laid back and sophisticated, timeless and so-very-of-the-moment. Who woulda' thunk you didn't get it from DKNY for 200 bucks?

Another great classic trench in a new updated color. Dare I wear so much magenta?! If not, there's always this never-fail color:

Cheapies: Sweet Summer Nothin'

Another Friday night, another night alone--the hazards of being a ping-pong widow. But you know what that means...another edition of the Cheapies!

Today's Cheapie is awarded in the category of:

Sweet Summer Nothin'
Light and airy numbers that make relaxation while looking good a true art form.

And what better retailer to bring these high-notes of casualness for our consideration than that favorite of mid-western teens everywhere (or at least in the mid-west): Delia's

Isn't this just the sweetest little flowery tank you ever saw?! Cool enough for the warmest Summer day and yet pretty enough for all occassions.

This picture does NOT do this dress justice. On the website you can zoom in and see the gorgeous eyelet cutout patterns that give other pricier brands a run for their money (think: J.Crew on half the dime!)

I know I already featured a tank, but this one is so pretty it bears repeating. And what a nice alternative to wife-beaters!

This little blouse is just sweet and ruffley. A perfect compliment to something denim and frayed...and nothing says Summer like cut-offs!

The easiest way to get into the whole Hollywood Boho-chic vibe. Lindsay Lohan, anyone?

What casual wardrobe can be complete without grey sweats...but pretty and wittified to make the list.

The Cheapies

Perhaps it's because we are in the throes of award season.

Perhaps it's because our down economy is bringing out the recessionista in me.

Perhaps it's because I live a sad life of corporate work and this is my only frivolous indulgence.

Whatever the reason, I bring you...

The Cheapies
A new blog series on the best cheap clothes out on the interwebs.

And what better way to kick off the series than with some excellent Spring 2009 arrivals from the quintessential house of cheap--Old Navy.

This trench is chic, vibrant, and timelessly classic--it even has a back flap with a button! And for just under 40 bucks, a definite Cheapie contender.

Another fun and classic nautical look for a song. The SF flagship store has a secret version of this (not on sale on the internet) in khaki and white--can't decide which is better...

Excellent all around Spring/Summer jacket for chilly mornings and evenings. Looks just like pricier items with those gorgeous tortoise-shell-like buttons, but definitely better for the wallet.

Which of these pieces do you think deserves to win the Cheapie?

Litigation: 1, Corporate: 0

I have to admit, in at least one aspect of work, litigation kicks corporate's butt.

(Aside for my non-lawyer readers: there are basically two flavors of lawyers--litigation and corporate. Litigators get called in when someone is suing someone. Their job is to seek and destroy the opponent. Corporate lawyers get called in when someone wants to do a deal with someone. Their job is to make the deal happen. Is it any wonder then that I'm a corporate lawyer? I'm a dealer, not a fighter.)

But there's one thing about corporate law that I hate. I hate hate hate. Like bane-of-my-existence hate. HATE!

The utter unpredictability. At any moment, at the drop of a hat, the client can call and say: GO, JUMP, NOW! And you have to pull out the trampoline, drop everything, and work like a dog until the deal is done. (Litigators, I hear, for the most part, don't have this issue. They have a court schedule, they know what's coming usually.)


A mid-level corporate associate, let's call her Betty, once told me that she had planned a romantic getaway weekend with her hubby months in advance only to have it ruined by a sudden client emergency. The reservations were unrefundable too. But that's not the worst part...

"Oh no?" you say, "What could be worse than having your unrefundable deposits and plane tickets wasted and your well-deserved and much anticipated vacation ruined to bits?"

Hang on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, because this is the REALLY perverse thing about corporate law...

She ended up NOT having to work that weekend after all!

Junior associates are expected to pre-emptorily cancel their plans on the off-chance that they are likely to be needed by the partner. Asking the partner to explicitly specify whether they will actually need you is bad form (so I've been told after I asked a partner to explicitly specify whether I would be needed for a late night once).

You're not supposed to ask. The phrase, "It never hurts to ask" does NOT apply to interchanges between junior associates and partners.

So when the partner says, "This client might need us this weekend." That's your cue to cancel the trip, sit in your office, and wait. And wait. And wait. And if the call never comes, it never comes.

Although I haven't had the same awful experience as Betty, I definitely feel the pressure on my non-work life. I'm afraid to plan things with friends. If someone is going to come visit from out of town, I'm deathly afraid that I might have to be the worst hostess ever and leave them watching tv in my home alone for days or touring the city by themselves. I never know if I'll make dinners, parties, even Christmas is not guaranteed!

Doctors can sort of sympathize since it's like being on-call. But the difference is corporate lawyers are ALWAYS on-call. It sucks. I feel like I live in a figurative 10 by 10 jail cell of life.

You never allow yourself to look forward to things too much, because you know...one buzz of that blackberry...

And you're afraid to make plans with people. People don't understand. You run the risk of being forever thought of as a jerk should you have to cancel too often on too short notice.

And so inevitably you start to make plans with the only other kind of person in the world who would understand, a fellow corporate lawyer.

A sad breed indeed.

Brother can you spare some work?

Work has been slow.

I mean really slow. I mean like I-haven't-done-any-legitimate-work-in-21-days-and-counting slow. Like, why-get-dressed-in-the-morning-and-continue-the-pretense-that-I-am-anything-but-a-very-expensive-piece-of-office-decor sloooooooow.

I understand that the nature of corporate work is to be hot and cold. I've had these periods of slow-downs before. But they usually only last a few days, a week at most. Not 4 weeks! 4 WEEKS!

And the irony is I can't even put all this free time to good use. All day long this awful dread in my gut is sucking the lifeblood out of me. There are so many things I'd like to do (like find a doctor, go to Monterey, take music lessons) but I just don't have the motivation. I'm too occupied waiting for the sky to fall down on me--or more accurately, the axe.

This isn't tenable is it? During these tough economic times when firm after firm is freezing salaries and laying-off workers, when the unemployment rate is creeping up into double-digits, when California can't even pay their tax returns?!?!?!

How can my firm hold on to an absolutely idle worker?

Better

2009 Resolutions

(1) Join an Asian legal association in hopes of finding a mentor.
Likelihood of keeping resolution (LOKR): 90%

(2) Subscribe to a business magazine (and read it!)
LOKR: 90%

(3) Read TIME from cover to cover.
LOKR: 70%

(4) Learn more Chinese.
LOKR: 45%

(5) Use an electronic toothbrush.
LOKR: 50%

(6) Floss daily.
LOKR: 65%

(7) Spend under $1k on things to wear.
LOKR: 99%

(8) Take singing lessons.
LOKR: 90%