Sieck's Smatterings

A Perfect Weekend

2008-05-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Although I am exhausted -- both from the four weeks at trial in Santa Ana and the up early, up late, being "on" of the last weekend -- I am happy. The NALS of Arizona meeting this weekend was more than I could have asked for. The welcome party was the best -- the food was delicious, the company was fabulous, and the set up was perfect. Thank you Barbara, chef extraordinaire and Constance, the perfect party assistant. You guys are the greatest! The seminars were great. I learned a lot about how I'm setting myself up for identity theft, learned about leadership in Oz, and learned about collaborative divorce, which is a concept I knew nothing about, but would recommend in certain situations. The speakers were extremely knowledgeable and I appreciate their taking time from their busy schedules to spend part of their Saturday with us. Thank you Cindy and Tara for getting the speakers organized. The vendors were all fun. We learned a lot about different businesses, got lots of free stuff, and even got to play bingo! Thank you Linda for getting the vendors and keeping track of all of that. There are so many other people who had a part in the conference -- Constance whose fantastic photography graced the cover of the program; Tanya who kept track of registrations, nametags, etc. etc.; Barbara M., Barbara L., and Amy who put together one of the best raffles ever (even though I didn't win either of the premium prizes!); Tara for generally overseeing and keeping us all on track; and most of all Karen and Delana for putting together the installation using my Wizard of Oz theme. It was beyond any expectations I could have possibly had. It was -- very simply -- amazing. To those of you who missed it - you missed a lot and I'm sorry you missed it.

Now for some exciting news! The Board of NALS of Arizona has decided to investigate the possibility of going to two meetings a year. We will work out details at the retreat to be held on May 31. If you are interested in attending the retreat, please contact me for details.

I can't say it enough - thank you, thank you, thank you to the members of NALS of Phoenix who started us on our journey down the yellow brick road and to all my friends -- old (or seasoned) and new -- who joined me (in person or in spirit) to begin the journey. You are all very important to me!

Retirement . . .

2008-03-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

Am I really old enough to retire? I don't think so. What would I do with myself? I'm not even really thinking about retirement (although I probably should be), but these questions hit me hard this week when my sister (who is two years YOUNGER than I am) told me she was retiring from her job at the Library. She has 30 years in and just thought it was time. Retirement . . . I'm not sure what to think. She is planning on getting another job, but she can do what she wants to do since she'll have the retirement check coming in every month, the new job is gravy. It's for paying off the house and the car so she and her husband can travel around the country. Am I jealous? Hell yeah. Am I sorry I didn't get a government job and spend 30 years there so I can retire instead of spending 28 years in private law firms and many years before that as a construction secretary? At times. Would I rather be doing anything other than what I'm doing? A lot! BUT then my passionate self takes over and I know that although my job is stressful, frustrating, even downright ridiculous at times, I really do love what I do. Other legal secretaries and paralegals think I've lost my mind. Maybe I have, but my job is also rewarding, challenging, and we have fun with each other. Would I like for it to be just a little less stressful, frustrating, and ridiculous? Yes. This is when I start to feel like retirement may not be so far away. I am getting older (I guess I have to admit it since I have six grandchildren and I remember my grandma was ALWAYS old!) and I won't be able to go at this frenetic pace I seem to keep up for another 18 years!! Goodness help me! So for now, I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing and trying to find ways to enjoy my life on the side before it all passes me by and find small ways to quit being the one who is always available, always willing, and always wanting to please them all that the people at work have come to expect.

Hello to blogging!

2008-02-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

I decided to start blogging to get thoughts on "paper" and hopefully get people as excited about NALS of Arizona as I am. We had our educational conference this weekend. For those of you who missed it, you missed a lot. In addition to the fabulous legal education (who would have thought you could learn so much about social security?), on Friday, Jessica Yingling gave us lots of great ideas about marketing NALS to potential young members and on Saturday, Tara Hughes and Amy Nash gave us specific ideas about marketing NALS online. Tara and Amy both know that as members of my own chapter (NALS of Phoenix), I often refer to them as the "young uns." That is one benefit of age, people are a little more lenient with your weirdness. I have tons of respect for all of our young uns. In this "get it now and don't make me work for it" world, they are all interested in their profession and in learning as much and networking as much as they can. They come to meetings and conferences, they learn, they teach, they lead -- they participate. They are the best! Our "young uns" are our future. We need to target them, not only so we can help them choose and embrace our career, but so they can teach us the things that they know.

I'm looking forward to the NALS Leadership Conference in Tulsa -- which I found out this past weekend is less than two weeks away. I guess I need a calendar that shows the whole year on one page so I don't think things are another whole month away because I can't see them! We always come away from Tulsa pumped up and ready to get everyone else excited about NALS! I love the feeling! Not to mention seeing so many friends I've made through the years. I can't wait. If you haven't ever been, plan to attend in 2009. It is an experience that can't be beat.

I'm excited about my year as President of NALS of Arizona, although I worry that I will forget to do things and delay doing things that are important - but I have lots of support, lots of great ideas, and lots of people in NALS of Arizona who are excited too and will help keep me in line! My goal for next year is FUN! We will have it, we will promote it, and we will still get things done. I will need lots of help and ask any of my NALS of Arizona members who are interested in having fun this year to let me know.