Coming and Going

Coming and Going

This weekend was all about Kim’s Encore vocal group show. She had performances on both Friday and Saturday nights and each one lasted for 2 hours+. I went to both shows, as is my habit with her performances. The first night we had friends Oswaldo & Gary, Sam & Chris, sister Kathy & Bennett as well as nephew Josh, Haj, JJ and Leila, who drove down from Pasadena. In addition to several other friends from the neighborhood and Kim’s trainer, I figure we had a team attendance of about 15 for the show. Seven of us went out to dinner at Cucina Amalfi near the venue before the show and we all made an evening of it, completely enjoying the 80’s Mixed Tape show with 80’s Pop music, 80’s show tunes, 80’s TV show tunes and 80’s TV commercials for a touch of nostalgic levity. That was Friday night and I got to do it all over again on Saturday. This time I had friends Mike & Melisa, Faraj & Yasuko join me for dinner at the Rancho Santa Fe Bistro. We were joined at the show by Kim’s sister Sharon & Woo as well as her brother Jeff & Lisa, as well as nephew Will & Ashley. There were several other neighborhood friends in attendance, so I figure we were at about a combined strength of 15 again. That means we marshaled 30 audience members. If everyone in Encore did the same,we would have had more than a full house of 1,500 over two days. Since we were lucky if we had a third of that, I can only assume that others have a harder time generating that level of attendance interest.

I think we can turn them out for several reasons. First and foremost is the fact that everyone loves Kim so much and finds her singing so beautiful that they wouldn’t miss it. We are also lucky to have so many family members within striking distance of where she holds her shows. The fact that we have expanded our local friend network helps a lot as well. I actually think that everyone looks forward to these shows after having attended a few of these shows by now. We all think Kim is the best of the performers, but we might be considered a bit biased. I have been driving here and there, picking people up and dropping them off after the show. And we have been welcoming guests at the house with the hot sheet program, turning over the guest rooms to accommodate everyone. And of course, we build in other festivities around the weekend. The weekend started on Thursday at noon with lunch at the house and then dinner at the Sideyard. Today, we have extended with a Persian lunch hosted by Faraj and Yasuko and we are now gathered at our house for a pizza dinner with Kim’s visiting family members. Why not turn a semi-annual choral event into a four-day weekend?

While all of this has been going on, I have been stealing away blocks of time to write an expert witness report for which I have a fairly short hop. I got handed this case pretty much ten days ago and have snuck out 48 hours so far out of an otherwise busy socializing schedule. I’ve read, researched and written a thirty-page report with forty footnote citations and two appendices. The case is predicated on 75 documents that I have been provided. This is a relatively light discovery load and there are really only two opinions (really three combined into two) that I have been asked to render. I have found them relatively easy and compelling opinions from an evidentiary standpoint and I always prefer being on the side of the widows and orphans rather than the big bad corporations, so I have found this an easy report to write and easy opinions to substantiate.

I knew that I had only a little over two weeks to do this initial report writing, so I got to it immediately and simultaneously organized the data while I ws rendering the opinions in the report. Usually I prefer to do all the research and then come to my conclusions, but the combination of the short timeframe allowed us and the compelling nature of the case (from our side and in my opinion), made it possible to do the research and writing contemporaneously. Nothing I learned from the research did anything but reinforce my opinions, so I feel that I chose wisely in writing as I went. I often find that structuring the report in that ongoing way helps me to focus my thinking and makes me more efficient. I would suggest that at this time I have produced a report in about 70% of the normal time, though that is for both reasons of the multi-tasking approach and the simplicity of the case. What has also helped is that we have taken an all-hands-on-deck approach to the project and I have been able to coordinate some of the data gathering (we do not coordinate opinions) with the damages expert from our team assigned to the case. That data gathering is being done by two associates who do all the research heavy lifting for us. Some of that is gathering outside data resources and some of it is translating existing data provided us into more usable charts and graphs. I would suggest that 80% of what is needed in regard to the research is already done and filed in our collective Dropbox, so as to be usable both by me and the damages expert. The rest should flow in the next few days and that will allow me to put my finishing touches on the report.

This is a busy work month for me. I have two cases for which I need to make meaningful progress. I was worried that I would get jammed up and then one of the cases got pushed back about six weeks which was a big relief. It is always nice when I can spread my workload out more evenly. This push-back will allow me to do some work on that case this month, some next month and some in August. August was otherwise a month when I wasn’t sure there would be any work due. Now that gap is filled and it leaves me this month to focus on writing the report for this other case. The way the process works, after filing the report, I will need to read and review the report from the opposition. I presume I will be asked to write a rebuttal to that report as well as to comment on the rebuttal of my report by the opposing expert. Then there will be a deposition and all the preparation that that entails. I think these two cases will take me through September with enough work to fill my dance-card as much as I like it to be filled.

I have two more cases that are in between the deposition and testimony stages and are likely to come to the fore in the fall. The way I see that, my current roster of four cases, plus the other one or two that are still “on the hoof” and which might find their way to me at any moment will keep me busy for the rest of 2023. I like that because I like this type of work.

It strikes me that life is about things coming and going in many different ways. Life work comes and goes. The ebb and flow of work is important because it gives meaning and it can give pressure. Too little and we feel aimless and at a loss. Too much and we feel like we are not retired and have done something wrong. Friends and family come and go. Sometimes it is short term and sometimes it is for good. Too little time with family and we feel disconnected. Too much time and we feel bothered. What that all means to me is that having work and family and friends come and go on a regular basis is all for the best and keeps things fresh.