The salt... criticism?

The end of the story is that today, my wife confronted me after countless conversations on this topic that she feels that she is giving 100% and that I am being overly critical by telling her when something bothers me.

The most recent mini fight in which she flew off a handle was the salt.  I picked it up while preparing lunch in the morning before I ran off to my document review project, and it was slimy from the night before when she cooked the kids matzoh brei, a dish the kids LOVE.

I didn't think much about it, except that we have been married for four years and this has never happened, but I've asked her a few times to wash off the dish soap after she uses it (and the honey for that matter) so that the dish soap isn't all slimy when I pick it up to wash out the blender after using it each morning.  I just don't like sticky stuff.  I certainly wasn't angry.  I just didn't want a new habit being formed, and so I told her about it conversationally since she was standing next to me when the salt bottle slipped out of my hand.  She started yelling that I'm too critical, and that I don't think she's a good wife, and that I always have to criticize her about everything she does wrong.  I thought she was nuts because I certainly do not criticize her about everything -- moments before that, when I opened the fridge, the soy milk flew out and spilled on the floor because she stuffed it into the fridge on top of a pot of leftovers rather than putting it in its place which is on the refrigerator door.  This annoyed me because it has happened before and I've mentioned it to her to be more careful about it and it happened again.  However, with a quick swipe of a paper towel, the problem went away so I didn't say anything.

To skip ahead a bit, we've been fighting these past few days, and recently, she's been trying to be mean to me to hurt my feelings which hurt my feelings because I've never done anything to her to intentionally hurt her, ever, and here she's actively trying to hurt me.

Today she wanted me to take an extra hour off of work so that I can accompany her to the passport agency.  Yes, it's her newest necessity to visit her Safta in Israel who is ill.  No biggie.  Anyway, in the car, she started screaming at me that she is going to cause me the pain that I've been causing her, and that "you'll see what it feels like to have someone criticize you when you're already giving 100%."  As an example, she brought up the salt.  I told her that I wasn't criticizing her, and that most of the things that bother me, I let them slide and I don't say anything because I don't want to start a fight.  But when something is important, I say it.  I told her that when I say something, it's not that I am criticizing her.  There's a huge difference between telling someone that it would mean a lot to you if their behavior in a certain circumstance would be different, and telling someone that they are flawed because they neglected to do the behavior you asked them to do.  In short, I told her that I didn't want her to leave the salt shaker oily and I wanted her to clean it up after herself.  I wasn't saying she was a bad person or a sucky housewife because she left the salt shaker oily.  Obviously this is not the case.

She then started persisting why did I even marry her if she is such a terrible person, and if she does so many of these things that upset me?  I told her that had I known she did all these things, I may have considered them as factors in weighing whether I wanted to marry her, but its a little bit too late now, and one doesn't divorce his wife because she doesn't clean up after herself.  I told her that we're married now and those are things I will have to live with if I cannot convince her to change them.  She then went back into the "why do you want to change who I am?" conversation, when really I felt and still feel that asking someone to change a behavior (e.g., clean up after yourself) is not the same thing as changing who the person is.

We got to the post office, and it was closed.  She neglected to check the hours it was open.  I didn't dare say a word.  [I had to work an hour extra today because of it, but I'm pretending that it was open and we accomplished our purpose in having me go along with her.]

Shalom Bayis Issues -- Maybe because my wife missed the candlelighting time for Shabbos.

What a bad few days these past few days have been.  There has been almost no Shalom Bayis.

The issue has been my desire and my NEED for my wife to appreciate that when she comes up with a new thousand-dollar expense which "must" be done because it is a necessary, she owes me a duty to be at least sympathetic towards my feelings of loss.  Because while I've been saving up for something to further our family goals, she finds something that benefits *her* and thus we end up spending the money I saved up on her newest expense.

I usually don't disagree with her that her expense is not important, and I usually don't disagree with her or claim that it is not necessary.  But for G-d's sake, at least have some understanding that I will be sad that the thirty or so evenings that I put in five or six hours each night staying late in order to save up to pay for some goal have been lost because she found a new way to spend the money we have just finished saving up.  After all, I could have left at a regular time like everyone else and I could have come home at a normal hour, sat down by a television to watch whatever sports game is playing or play Nintendo Wii (we don't have a TV in the house or a Wii, by the way).  But no, I spent all that time saving up, and now it is lost... again.

So we had a really difficult few days.  For the first time in our marriage, my wife missed Shabbos candlelighting.  For those of you frum women, you're probably gasping.  I was horrified too.  Its not like she forgot; she just waited until the last minute and then calculated the time wrong because I told her an hour earlier that shabbos was at 5:05pm rather than 5:03pm (I was looking at the wrong week).

The gravity of this error is that according to our customs (and I believe according to Jewish law), for the rest of our lives, my wife will need to add an additional candle each erev Shabbos (Friday night) to make up for the one time she forgot as she did last week.

Naturally I was a little upset and I was embarrassed on her behalf, but I made sure not to say anything.  Her missing candle lighting (which is 18 minutes before Shabbos -- this is known and practiced by ALL JEWS, even those that are non-religious, non-observant, or reform) was the result of a long time fight of ours where I told her so many times that she is not allowed to wait until just before Shabbos to light candles.  Men typically use the 18 minutes to Shower, vacuum, and drive to shul because they do not have the candle lighting commandment to worry about because their wives are lighting.  My wife feels that she is also entitled to use the 18 minutes as she wishes.  We've fought about this so many times, but she would not listen.

Anyway, to my credit, I didn't say anything.  Not a critical word.  She started blaming me that it was my fault she missed the candlelighting time because of my error, and I told her that I would gladly take the blame for this.  Then she accused me about being so non-chalant and non-caring about this serious transgression.  I told her I was taking it seriously, but I'm staying quiet.  A few minutes later she was still going at it.  When I came into the room to see if she needed any kind words to make her feel better (I came up with some explanation that the candle she would have to add is to bring light to the world for the light that the world was denied through our error), she again accused me of taking this lightly, as if I didn't care about it.

At that point, thinking that it would be to her consolation and that it would help her to feel better about the whole situation if I was harsh to her (because I was really in a kind mood at that moment), I answered her accusation that "I'm really shocked and horrified that this happened, and I heard you vacuuming minutes before Shabbos and I thought you were psycho for waiting until the last few minutes before Shabbos came in."  To my surprise, this set her off on a rampage of screaming, the part of which that affected me was that she screamed that I am wrong for using the 18 minutes, and that she has just as much a right to use it as I do.  This was an ignition of our old fight, and I told her emphatically that woman are not allowed to delay the lighting of the candles once the 18 minutes have come up.  When she screamed something back to me, I told her she was crazy.  At that point, she lost it and started screaming that I should leave and never come back, or something like that.

I was already dressed to go to shul, and I was happy to leave, but even with my key, I believed that she would lock me out (we have two locks on our door), and I wasn't in the mood to be banging on our door looking like the guy who was kicked out of his own home.  It was also a very hot and humid evening, and I didn't want to spend it sleeping outside with the ants and the garbage in my shabbos clothes.  So I decided that I didn't trust her not to lock me out and I didn't leave.  A few seconds later, I decided again that if this is G-d's will, then I'll take the punishment.  After all, it was because I came home late in the first place [because I was taking my time] that I accidentally read the wrong Shabbos time from the calendar after I got home.

My afternoon rant. Now the bad part... Wife rant.

A little side issue that has been bugging me is that I feel as if my wife does not appreciate the time I've been spending working.  A fight we had this morning was that I told her that she cannot treat my project as a stable job because likely any day, it will end.  I also told her that when "shopping," there is nothing wrong with getting what is necessary, but if she spends money on something that is outside our budget, as a consequence of her momentary gain of pleasure by making the purchase, she is taking away from our long-term savings and my ability to provide for us.  Our agreement upon starting the project was that until we have at least six months expenses and rent saved up, any extra money that I make needs to be saved so that I can start working full time on the law firm.  So far I have ZERO saved since I've started this project. 

I also told her that even if she spends money on expensive items outside our budget, she must understand that we need to earn (and I consequently need to work for) whatever she buys.  The context of this was that we had a huge fight last week over her not being sensitive to my feelings of loss when I hesitated her taking a trip to Israel to visit her sick grandmother.  Basically, she just assumed I would come up with the money or work to pay for the trip, and I was hurt that she did not acknowledge the many hours *I alone* would have to put in to finance that trip.  I was also sad that she didn't even acknowledge that her trip would be a huge financial setback in our plans to save up to start the law firm.  She didn't even consider that I was sad about this and it took a fight to get her to acknowledge this.

So on a smaller scale and as recent as this morning, when we took the kids to the zoo on Sunday and she wanted to buy a monkey doll with the zoo's logo, "just so that our child can remember the experience," I told her that I'd rather buy that same monkey doll at Wal*Mart for $10 rather than $30 at the gift shop.  Later on as we were leaving, she disappeared and after taking a few minutes to find her, we found her purchasing the monkey doll from the gift shop.  "There we go," I thought. "That will cost me around an extra hour of work sitting at my computer in the torturous and boring document review project."  I agreed that it was a nice gift, but it wasn't until this morning that I told her that I was upset that she bought the doll after I told her not to.  "I wasn't asking for your permission," she barked back.  I told her that we are already barely making ends meet even with my project, and that the extra money she spent will force me to work extra time just to dig ourselves out of the hole that the extra $30 purchase.  I told her that I wasn't upset about the purchase, but I was upset that she was disregarding the fact that someone (namely, me) will have to work and toil to pay for that extra purchase, and I thought it was insensitive to force me to be the one that has to cover it, especially after I told her that I didn't want her to buy it in the first place.

"Well I want to live a regular life, and regular people buy things," she said.  I told her that we are not regular people; that Hashem has not given us a job, but only temporary income, and that we need to respect the money we are given and not waste it on frivolities.  On top of that, I need to work to pay for everything she's buying, and I'm not in the mood to kill myself to pay for wasteful purchases that have no value.  "Well I'm going to live a regular life," she said. 

At that point I lost it.  I asked her if she was crazy, and whether she understood that I am the one that needs to pay for everything she buys, and that she cannot live a regular life because we cannot afford to pay for the things she is purchasing.  I also told her that I was upset that she didn't acknowledge or pay any sensitivity to the fact that I am the one that has to work to pay for all this, and that I'm not working to pay for a stupid doll!

At that point, I found myself on the verge of tears, and I couldn't hold back my shaky voice.  I was about to start crying, so I walked away.  I kissed my kids goodbye, and without saying good bye to my wife, once again I walked out of the house and left to my work.

It occurred to me that she was being sarcastic this morning, especially since we had an all-out fight on this very topic just before Shabbos.  Although I wasn't sure.  I texted her shortly afterwords, "Hi honey, apparently my phone does still have some battery life.  I realized after I left that you were joking about" ...and then I left the rest of the e-mail blank because I couldn't think of a way to phrase it, and either way, I wasn't so sure she was joking.  To my unsurprise, she didn't write me back.

I hate having this distance between us.  I hate not liking her.  It hurts every time I think of our fights.  I wish she understood what was really going on.  I wish she knew how her actions affected our family and our shalom bayis.  I wish she was more sensitive to these issues.  I'm sure I'll get a "what were you talking about, I always save money" comment from her in a few days when we finally resolve this.

I just wish we were operating from the same place.  I wish we were a team, rather than me being the silent supporter of our affairs, obviously no pun intended.

My afternoon rant. First, the good part, sort of.

Much has happened these past few weeks since I wrote that chippery and overly positive piece of garbage I call a plan of action.  My document review project, which I accepted under the rationalization that I will utilize it to the best of my ability to maximize my ability to support my family while I pay the bills and start my law practice; well, let's just say that like so many things, it is not working out the way I planned.  The initial plan was to get to work each day at 7am, put in 8 hours (the required minimum).  Early afternoon, I would head off to a law library or to Starbucks to do legal research on how to practice the areas of law that I have chosen for myself and my practice.

That worked for a few days, until they ran out of documents for us to review and I was let go for a few days.  Then I was called back for one or two days, and then let go again because again.  It seems as if the people behind the document review project can't get their documents in order for us fifty attorneys to review them.  In other words, they were overzealous in their hiring so many attorneys when really they only had the workload to keep just a few of us working.

Then a week or so they called me back again, this time for a different project for the same client.  I worked my butt off to help them make their deadlines, often working well into the night.  I practically killed myself (staying all hours into the evening, and even coming in on a Sunday all in one block of time) thinking that all these extra hours would really help us out financially.  It was the financial boost I was looking for.  Then came Tisha b'Av and I had to take off that day.  I resumed the following day with the crazy hours and over the rest of the week I finished off the project.  But, it turned out that with all the days the week before that I was out because they had no work for me (I was off half of the week the week before), plus the day I had to take off for Tisha b'Av, I averaged 40 hours for each of the two weeks -- in short, the minimum number of hours I would have worked had I just shown up each morning and left at 3:30pm to work on my law practice.

Wow was that a disappointment.  On top of that, the project provides no benefits, no overtime, no soda or snacks (I really don't care about that, but it was something I noticed about the project right away), and in short, the guys next to me call the floor we work on a sweat shop.

So as of yesterday, I resolved to only work the minimum amount of hours and to resume the studying to start the law firm practice.  I hope that soon I'll be able to move from studying about how to practice to generating clients and actually practicing law.  The goal here is to get enough clients so that I can walk away from the document review project and start focusing full-time on my law practice.

Reader asks why I complain about money problems while I send my kids to daycare and offer my wife a maid.

In moderating the blog's posts, I came across a reader who made the comment that it makes absolutely NO SENSE to have a STAY-AT-HOME MOM and yet send the kids to DAYCARE (a.k.a., "SCHOOL") while at the same time complaining about money.  There was a maid comment in there somewhere also.

[The comment was a reply to my posting here.]

In short, I couldn't agree with you more.  My wife has this crazy idea that she deserves to have the kids in childcare as soon as they're old enough to walk, and that she deserves a maid to help her with the housework.  From a sympathetic point of view, I understand that with three kids under three-years-old, they could be a bit much to handle.  But then again, why have them if you are not going to take care of them?  I don't remember my parents shipping us off to daycare until at least Gan.

In my wife's defense, she does an amazing job taking care of them, and the reason we send them to daycare is because it really is too much for her to take care of all three at the same time.  So far only our oldest (now three years old) is in daycare.  In September, our oldest girl (almost two years old) will be starting daycare.  The goal here is the selfish goal to give my wife some breathing room so that she can read her books and spend more time with the youngest one, who is now trying to learn to crawl.

Additionally, the benefit of school (a.k.a., "daycare") is to develop our childrens' social skills and to get them to interact with other children.  Could she do this without me spending an arm and a leg on tuition this early on in our lives?  Of course.  Would she?  Not a chance.  She'd have regular play dates, but the truth is that if the kids are not at school, they'd be playing with their toys or watching Baby Einstein videos over and over again (by the way, no I don't recommend them).  What I omitted to say is that above and beyond the social skills, the kids benefit from being immersed in a Jewish environment where they learn Torah and are taught things they likely would not learn through osmosis in our home.  We obviously spend time with chinuch, but not for five hours a day.  Plus, I'm not even around during most of the day because for now, I'm working.

Bottom line, I am not so upset the kids are in daycare.  Really it is beyond my wife's interest level or emotional capacity to handle them full-time.  When the kids are in daycare, my wife is human and is able to eek out a smile once in a while at the end of the day.  I don't think my daughter needs to be in daycare, but she is ready to have friends to play with.

As for a maid or a sitter, we pay for one when we need one.  So far my wife has been pretty good about this and has only invoked the sitter from time to time.  She's been holding off on the maid for now.

This is the nicest answer I can answer at the moment.  I'm a bit upset at her now as we speak.

Recap: Links showing what I was doing with all this goal setting, and why I shut down the blog for these past few weeks.

Just in case you are wonder what in the world I've been doing today with all of these goal setting posts, please feel free to CLICK HERE to the "Goal Setting" post which explains everything I'm doing and why I'm doing it.

Since I'm sure you know that for a short period of time, I put the blog on hold and made it "INVITE ONLY," allow me to explain.  I actually just put a lock and a freeze on the blog because I wasn't sure whether I wanted to delete all old content or not.  A lot of what I wrote is a liability to me as an attorney, and should I ever need to divulge this blog in a law suit or in a disciplinary proceeding, I believe that much of what I wrote may be damning to me and my reputation.  Even though I have unlocked the blog and you can see this again, I am still unsure of what I should do with the old content.  My first post this morning after unlocking the blog can be found by CLICKING HERE.

I welcome your comments, and I welcome your input.  I will make the decision as to what to do with the old content in the coming days and weeks.

Warm regards,
Zoe Strickman

GOALSETTING: LAW PRACTICE ATTORNEY VISION

• Vision: I am an attorney who has successfully set up my own law practice.  I am disciplined; I work smart, and I focus my attention taking part in revenue-producing activities.  I make my own hours, and I make it a priority to let Hashem fill my coffers with cash and abundance, and I focus on doing what I need to do to return my attention to my family, Torah, and Hashem.  I *am* a dynamo.  I am a patent litigator; a patent prosecutor; an engineer.  I help people defend their homes against foreclosure, and I help them restructure their affairs through lawsuits or bankruptcy to allow them to have a fighting chance to get back on their feet so that they can life long, fruitful and meaningful lives.  I love the patent litigation cases, and I pride myself in being a federal litigation attorney.  I am an expert in federal procedure and I am an expert in the ins and outs of the areas of patent law, patent litigation, foreclosures, and bankruptcy law.  I am the go-to guy when someone gets in trouble.

I have a multijurisdictional practice in both Texas, New York, Israel, and China, and I travel back and forth to each to monitor the attorneys who are part of my firm.  I have monthly management team meetings, and I have advisers of all kinds at my meetings.

I started my practice immediately after I saved enough money working document review projects to have six months of salary to keep my family comfortable while I built my practice.  I started off in my home office which was equipped with state-of-the-art and smart technology (smart doesn't mean expensive).  I kept my files digital and electronic, and I had systems in place to handle all aspects of my practice.

Shortly after working a few cases, I built up enough savings to move into a shared office.  I worked there and grew my practice, hiring a number of paralegals and an assistant to handle my caseload. 

From there, I expanded my practice and hired one attorney in New York, and one attorney in Colorado to replace the work I was doing so that I can grow the law firm and focus on the good cases.  I went on to grow the practice with more and more attorneys until I was a functioning law firm which operated independent of my efforts.  I am financially independent, and I move into fringe areas of law which bring juice and excitement to my life and to the lives of those around me.

• Purpose: Working my own practice gives me the freedom to be the master of my own salary.  The work I put in is commensurate with the benefits I reap.  I am able to work on terms which allow me to prioritize religious holidays and family, and there are no bosses which I need to clash with to enforce my religious practices.  I am able to be near home and to be a father and a husband, and I am able to work on cases which are exciting to me in the area of law I have chosen to practice.

• Roles: Attorney, Patent Attorney, Patent Litigation Attorney, Patent Protector, Patent Protector, Giver of the Home Shield, Protector of the home, Bankruptcy expert, Litigator, Friend of the people, enemy of the banks and of  those who brake the law.

• 3 to Thrive: Learn areas of practice, Set up office & web presence, Work on client's files.

• Resources: CLE courses, other attorneys, state bar.

• Qtr Goals: Save up six months worth of expenses.

• 1yr Goals: Transition into 100% private law firm practice, cash positive, positive cash flow, steady flow of clients.

GOALSETTING: YIDDISHKEIT VISION

• Vision: I am comfortable with my levels of chassidishkeit and observance, both when I am alone (and standing before Hashem) and in view of my community.  I am a regular guy, and I do what every Jew should do.  I have all of the activities that a Jew should do as a habit, and I take an enjoyment with being a Jew.  I am comfortable with my relationship with Hashem, and I always strive to answer questions and to always deepen my understanding of Hashem, the spiritual and physical realms, life as we see it, and ourselves and our souls.

Every morning I wake up and say Modeh Ani, and I happily wash negelvasser which I prepared for myself and my family the night before.  I say the morning berachos and daven Shachris.  I make sure to stop each day before sundown and daven Mincha with a gartel and a hittel.  I study torah each day, including Chitas, Rambam, and each week I have a set time where I learn chassidus, nigleh, and halacha.  I take time each day to devote myself to teaching or reinforcing a law or concept to each of my children, and each evening, I daven maariv before attending to my evening activities, which sometimes includes Farbrengens, shiurim, or community events.  I make sure to go to bed while I still have energy to prepare for the following morning and to say kerias shema al ha mita.  I go to bed and review the events of the day, and I make note as to where I could have been stronger, and where I succeeded.  I thank Hashem for giving me this day, and I go to bed to sleep and dream.

• Purpose: I am a Jew, I should act and be who I am.  I have an obligation to Hashem and to all other Jews to be the person I was made to be.  I have no right to let anyone down by affecting them spiritually through my lackings.  By strengthening my observances, I bring berachos down to myself, my family, and to all around me and beyond.  I sustain the world from destruction.  I give others the ability to enjoy their lives in a world that is more friendly and kinder to its inhabitants. 

I fear G-d, and I fear retribution and punishment for my inequities.  I do not want to be punished physically or spiritually, and I fear the effects NOT doing everything I can can bring upon myself, my family, and my community. 

I desire reward.  I desire to be one of those who are helping out and who are doing what they should rather than being one throwing a monkey wrench into G-d's plan.  I desire peace of mind and peace in my heart and soul.  I want to know why Jews historically have kept their faith, and I want to contribute to the survival of my people and our covenant with Hashem. 

I want spiritual knowledge of the unknown.  I want to understand and grasp the concept of G-d so that what I learn can change me into the person I desire to become.  I want to be able to feel when something is spiritually wrong and I want to be attracted to actions, events and activities which are spiritually uplifting and beneficial to me and my family.

• 3 to Thrive: Berachos in their proper time, Torah study in all its forms, Community Activities

• Resources: Rabbi, Community, Torah

• Qtr Goals: To daven 3x/day, berachos, kerias shema; negelvasser; Chitas & Rambam, set times for learning chassidus, nigleh with a Chevrusa; to make it a habit to spend time each day teaching my children.

• 1yr Goals: AGAIN:
NEGELVASSER IN THE MORNING
PRAYER -- MORNING BERACHOS, SHACHRIS, MINCHA, MARIV, BENCHING, KERIAT SHEMA.LEARNING TORAH -- CHITAS, CHASSIDUS, NIGLEH (CHEVRUSA), HALACHA
CHINUCH (CHILDREN'S EDUCATION)
COMMUNITY -- ATTENDING EVENTS, SHIURIM, FARBRENGENS
-AND-
TO GO TO THE OHEL ON 3 TAMMUZ.

Wow, this goal setting thing is quite tiring.  My brain is physically exhausted.  I'm going to keep plugging and chugging along.  Let's see how much of this I can bang out. -Zoe

GOALSETTING: FINANCIAL AUTOMATION VISION

• Vision: I am financially independent.  I have no need to worry about finances.  The amount of money I bring in each month easily and effortlessly covers any expenses we may have.  Our lifestyle is well within our earning capacity.  We live comfortably; we take time to enjoy ourselves, and to provide for ourselves the environment to create meaningful experiences for ourselves and our children.

My bank accounts are filled with cash and our retirement accounts are funded.  We have safety accounts and money set aside for any contingencies, and life events are planned for and funded before they occur.

Financial management is simply a matter of monitoring the automated systems that are already in place.  Money comes in and goes out according to the plan we have set out, and money is spent according to our value.  We use money to improve ourselves and our lives; we do not waste it on frivolities that will satisfy a momentary urge.

• Purpose: To feel the juice of life.  To experience meaningful experiences.  To create an environment and to place ourselves and our children in scenarios which teach them about Hashem, about family, about love, and about the value of life.  To teach our children concepts so that they can be financially independent, and to be financially competent so that they will never have money worries and so they can life a life of peace of mind and peace of heart.

• 3 to Thrive: Automate income and expenses, set up monitors and tracking systems for when we are close to going beyond what we want to spend, create ways to enjoy the money we have to create meaningful experiences.

• Resources: Wife, Internet, Communication.

• Qtr Goals: To have enough capital saved up to start a working law practice that pays the bills.

• 1yr Goals: Have the law firm provide us with enough of an income to allow us to plan a vacation which will be meaningful to both my wife and my children.

GOALSETTING: CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS VISION

• Vision: To my wife, I am the man of her dreams.  I am strong, witty, loving, supportive, caring, and I make her feel like a woman.  I help her reach her potential, and she helps me reach mine.  We lean on each other, and we care about and think about each other regularly.  My wife thanks G-d and me that I am in her life.

To my children: I am the roll model they need.  I am strong, and they know without a doubt that I love them completely and infinitely.  I support them and show them by example of who I am the kind of people they want to be.  They aspire to follow on Hashem's path, and I am a roll model to help them achieve this goal.  I take time to teach them and to play with them and to challenge them to grow and expand their minds, their hearts, and their souls to be the best they can be and to live their lives according to the principal of CANI (constant and never ending improvement). 

To my parents: I am the son they never thought they could have.  I show them that in spite of a parent's failures, children can and do correct their paths.  I inspire them and I show them that living the path of Hashem IS the correct path, and that a life with compromises leads to grief.  I show them that they are loved, and I make them desire to be better people. 

To my brother: I am an endless source of love and compassion.  I forgive when others would burn bridges.  I am kind and sharing.

To my in-laws: I am the father of their grandchildren.  I am a part of their family.  I am their daughter's other half.  They feel comfortable with me, and me with them. 

• Purpose: For my wife: To add meaning to my wife's life.  To make her feel cherished, important, and loved.  To fill her needs and overwhelm her with more than she could ever have asked for out of life.

For my children: To inspire them to be strong where I was weak, to feel comfort where I felt none, and to have such a strong foundation that they are able to confront and overcome life's challenges with ease and joy.  To teach them how to be a Jew, and how to walk the path of Hashem and to act in the footsteps of the Lubavicher Rebbe.  To inspire them to be religious, well rounded, confident, mature, and learned.

For my parents: To teach them that there IS redemption.  To teach them that love happens not because of what they do, but because of who they are.  To inspire them to each day be better.  To inspire a burning desire within them to be part of our children's lives.

For my brother: To show him the secular world that he lives in is garbage, and to inspire him to become a better, more responsible and mature person.  To lead by example and show that having a happy family while being religious is possible and is the better way to live a life.

For my in-laws: To give and enforce the notion that we are family, and that they are accepted and loved at all times.  To eliminate any fears that they are outside the family circle because of any kind of religious observance on our part, and that they will have an important role to share in the growth of our children.

• Roles: For my wife: Pillar of support, quiet speaker, unending attention giver, all ears, careful listener.  Lover, care free and calm lover of life.  Appreciator. 

For my parents: Loving son.

For my brother: Forgiving brother.

• 3 to Thrive: Stay in touch with each at least weekly.  Invite over for events; visit when possible.  Share meaningful experiences over the phone / video.

• Resources: Wife, Children, Rabbi

• Qtr Goals: To have each feel loved and accepted by me.  To smooth out any feelings of adversity felt by each.  To inspire talk of a visit for an upcoming event.  For in-laws, to maintain a feeling of equality and equal footing.  To eliminate any feelings of charity on their part, and to inspire in them a comfort that their daughter and her family will be safe in my hands.

• 1yr Goals: Have each share their meaningful experiences with me.  Have each feel close to me as if I am someone who cares about what they feel and we are part of their lives.

GOALSETTING: WELLNESS VISION

Now I'm going to set my vision and my goals for each category.

GOALSETTING: WELLNESS VISION
• Vision: I am a well sculpted, strong, healthy, fit machine of a man, and I am full of life.  People call me a dynamo.  I wake up each day with pure boundless energy and breath to run in step with the physical world with a smile and with ease.  I am a carefully sculpted and am a strong powerhouse of a man, built like a tank and strong.  I am ultimately flexible, and am in the shape of my life.  At sixty-years old, I am fully of healthy pure vitality, my body is as strong and young as a thirty year old, and I am wise and well.  I love the adrenaline rush of a good run, and I love sweat while those of my age group begin to age and shrivel.  My mind is at its peak performance, and life is clear and meaningful.  I grow old gracefully, and I pass from the world with a tear and a smile that I lived my life full of purpose.

• Purpose: I see my children grow up.  I see them become parents.  I see them raise their children.  I share many meaningful experiences with them -- the juice of life.  I stay a man and a pillar of support both physically, materially, emotionally, and spiritually for my wife.  I get to know my maker, and I rectify my blemishes.  At the end of life, I feel an inner calm that I have done my part to fill my purpose on this Earth, and I have protected and preserved my body so that I can do them with vigor and excitement.

• Roles: Dynamo, Fitness Expert, Lover of Life, Breather of Life, Strong Father, Healthy Husband, Body-Mind Synergist.

• 3 to Thrive: Drink 3L of Water/Day, Daily Sprout Green Veggie Drinks, Daily Sweat and Adrenaline.

• Resources: Pete Egoscue, Fitness Books, Family Support

• Qtr Goals: Reach 225 lbs., Doctor clean bill of health, Daily Routine = Habit.

• 1yr Goals: Achieve and maintain 215 lbs., Habitualize goals.  Buy new clothes to fit new size.

GOALSETTING

So... I've been listening to taped by Dave Allen and Tony Robbins' "Time of Your Life" course that I bought years ago, and I've become a sort of "to do list" freak.  I tried and REALLY ADOPTED Gina @ Lifehacker.com's TODO.TXT software (I got it running on Windows XP using cygwin which is considerably slower than it was using .sh on Linux), but this is what I deal with using Windows now that I decided to have a law practice.  Running a law practice on the Ubuntu Linux operating system was really difficult to accomplish, so I had to switch back to the evil Windows XP (I wouldn't even try Windows 7 on my slow X41 Tablet laptop).

So the TODO.TXT works well, and I like the idea of having everything in a text file which is the crash-proof option of preserving work without relying on a piece of software's proprietary software format.  The problem is that even with tweaking the code and applying add-ons to allow for listing to-do tasks by project (+LawFirm @Home, etc.), it still doesn't allow me to work with my tasks in a way any other than a to-do list.

So in short, I'm doing a life planning session right now, and so I figured since I'm typing it anyway, I'll put it on the blog and I'll share it with you.

SO FAR, the CATEGORIES of my life (with descriptive titles to excite me) are:

PERSONAL: WELLNESS MACHINE, CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS, FINANCE AUTOMATION, YIDDISHKEIT, MIND FOOD, PEACE OF MIND.

LAW PROFESSIONAL: PRACTICE RESEARCH, OFFICE FORMATION, ETHICS CHECK, CUSTOMER MAGNET, NETWORKING, RAINMAKING, BRINGIN' HOME THE SCHNITZEL.

Okay, now let's go into depth the areas each category covers:

WELLNESS MACHINE (HEALTH):
FITNESS MACHINE (EXERCISE)
WELLNESS GURU (LEARNING)
CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH (MEDICAL)
SLEEP PATTERNS MANAGED
NUTRITION / DIET HABITUALIZED

CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS:
AS A HUSBAND (PROVIDER, SUPPORTER, LOVER)
AS A FATHER (STRENGTH, LOVING, TENDER, DISCIPLINE, TEACHER, ROLE MODEL)
AS A SON (JUST CALL MY MOM AND DAD)
AS A SIBLING (RECONCILE RELATIONSHIP)
AS AN IN-LAW (SUPPORT, BITTUL, COMPLIMENTS)

FINANCE AUTOMATION:
SAVINGS -- FOR HOME PURCHASE, FOR MINIVAN PURCHASE
BILLS PAID AUTOMATICALLY (TO THE CORRECT CHECKING ACCOUNTS)
STOCKS / RETIREMENT / IRA / 401K (NOT SITTING IDLY)
STUDENT LOANS PAID (FREE & CLEAR)
JOB / INCOME STREAM EXCEED EXPENSES.

AS A JEW (YIDDISHKEIT, in no particular order):
NEGELVASSER IN THE MORNING
PRAYER -- MORNING BERACHOS, SHACHRIS, MINCHA, MARIV, BENCHING, KERIAT SHEMA.LEARNING TORAH -- CHITAS, CHASSIDUS, NIGLEH (CHEVRUSA), HALACHA
CHINUCH (CHILDREN'S EDUCATION)
COMMUNITY -- ATTENDING EVENTS, SHIURIM, FARBRENGENS

PROFESSIONAL:
RESEARCH AREAS OF PRACTICE (PATENT, PATENT LITIGATION, FORECLOSURES, BANKRUPTCY)
LAW PRACTICE EQUIPMENT
LAW FIRM WEB SITE
SPEAKER
RAINMAKER
RESOLVE ETHICAL ISSUES (E.G., MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL PRACTICE, CLE IN OTHER STATES ADMITTED, ETC.)
ADVERTISING / SEO
TAKE REQUIRED INTRODUCTORY ATTORNEY COURSE

Let me know if I've forgotten anything.

We're back up and running.

Okay, so what happened... I went to an attorney seminar where they were talking about the dangers of blogging.  Usually, the attorney -- thinking his blog is private -- tells all sorts of stuff about himself that later on gets him in trouble with a malpractice suit or a disciplinary action.  Hearing this, and hearing someone in my community chide me about my feelings about my son's lack of payis the day after the upsherin, I froze the blog.

So I'm in a "what the hell" mood, so after a few e-mails from readers and an indulgence into my ego of having people enjoy what I write, I decided to put the blog back up.

I feel a bit like a failure, and yet a bit like the protector of my family.  Just days after getting admitted in New York, passing the character and fitness interview, winning and being cleared of the whole ethics / unauthorized practice of law charge that I was accused of, and being literally days away from getting my law practice started, I received a phone call from a recruiter I have been hounding for months to help me find a temporary document review position.  I couldn't turn down the offer.  The pay isn't that great, and all it will do is pay our bills and buy us months of time until the financial bad times have subsided, but what it essentially did is take me out of the solo practice business for the time being.

I'm really hurting about this because I've been gearing up to getting going for months now, and just as I was about to hit the ground running, I took the safe road to ensure that I am providing for my family and paying for our children's education.  Now with our daughter old enough to go to school, our yeshiva tuition bills just doubled which for me is a shocker because even with the scholarships, tuition for our kids is almost as much as a mortgage payment would be.

The project is hell too.  No internet, no phones, everything is locked down.  The fellow reviewers call this place the sweat shop, because the air conditioning often breaks down, we are shoulder-to-shoulder in front of our terminals, and there are no free drinks (sodas, etc.) or anything given to us.  No overtime, no dinners, no taxi cabs, etc.  On top of this, the subject matter is B-O-R-I-N-G.  I feel like wood chopper who was told that he would be paid nicely for standing in an empty room with his axe and makes the motions of chopping all day long... but with no wood.  I learned some time ago from my Rabbi that a person needs to have a purpose, and making purposeless movements all day long can drive a person crazy, even if he's well paid for it.

Anyway, the hours are limited, but we're allowed to come in early and leave early, as long as we put in the minimum 40 hours each week. So what I've been doing is coming in at 6:30am and leaving at 3:30pm (we have to take an unpaid one hour break each day), and at 3:30pm, I've been jumping on a subway and flying over to a local law library where I've been doing research on the areas of law I want to practice once I get started.

The way things look, this may be a longterm project, but I expect that I'll know when the right time is to leave and start my practice.  After I have everything set up with regard to researching the areas of law I want to practice and buying the essential law office equipment, I'll seek out clients that I can service in the afternoons and evenings, and as soon as I have enough of a client base, I'll transition over to the solo law practice.  It's a good thing I'm a patent attorney; with this area of law I'll be able to work evenings.

This is difficult on my family, but my wife appreciates the efforts I'm putting in.  I expect that it won't be for long.  She's already endured the NY bar exam study and the months of unemployment, so this is a positive change for her.  I've also told her that she can spend as much as she wants for a maid, as long as it's within reason and as long as she understands that there is only a certain amount coming in and going out, and if we want to add expenses, they have to come from somewhere.  Something's gotta give.  So she found a few corners she can cut, and for around a week, she hired a nanny to watch our kids while she took a job at a local hospital.  However, the work wasn't what she wanted and the hours took her away from the kids for too long, so she resumed the position of being CEO of our household.  I'm the CFO.  At least now she's doing it because she wants to and not because she has too.

I support her in her endeavor in trying to find outside work, but when we learned that she was doing it because she wanted the paycheck and the experience, and not to get a break from watching the kids, I told her that she was free to decide whether to work and how much to work.  As much as I was sad to have her paycheck disappear as soon as her first week's paycheck came in (it was a nice one), I was happy that it was her that made the decision to choose family over money because now I think she's come to the realization that it's not such a bad thing to live on less and to have a more meaningful relationship with our kids.  I was also happy that it was her that made the decision so that she can own it.  On my end, I was a bit saddened that the money went away, and along with the money went the freedom to work on and grow the practice.  And, on went the shackles of the J.O.B. (just over broke) document review JOB.  Now I'm forced to work as much as I can because the yoke of paying our bills and keeping us afloat is back on my weary shoulders.  But I am happy my wife is happy about being home with the kids as her profession, because my dogmatic religious training says that the wife should be home and the husband should be out working.  Of course my wife can and probably should get a part time job for her own sanity.  Many women do.

BY THE WAY, where I get this dogmatic belief:  The story happened one day two years ago when I was in the presence of a very well respected Rabbi, someone who was very close to the Lubavicher Rebbe.  Him and I had a close but awkward relationship because he wanted me to be the best I can be, and he saw my weaknesses and tried to help me overcome them but I kept stumbling and this caused him pain in his heart, and in turn, in mine.  I looked up to him as a father figure, and I trusted what he said because based on his actions and the way he lived his life, he was (and IS) a truly good man who I miss whenever I think of him.  The day this occurred, I was talking to him about my wife who wanted to accept a job.  He was saddened by this because he felt that with two children [at the time, now three] at home under three-years-old, a woman should spend all her energies benefiting the family and the home.  A career woman doesn't make for an easy chassidic home, he said in some words.  He didn't tell me this directly, but from his attempts to elicit ways for her to stay at home and NOT to take a full-time job, I got his message loud and clear.  He also meant only good by this statement.

THE RESULT AND THE "WHAT DO I DO NOW?" FEELINGS.

Okay, so I went to shul and cried to Hashem.  I asked him why I can't get a normal job, and why I can't have a normal relationship with my wife, and why can't we think along the same lines, etc.  I finished davening, packed my stuff, and was heading home.  Before I left my wife said she'd look up plans about taking a trip either to NJ or Connecticut because there are a bunch of things to do there that my mom would enjoy doing.

As I walked out, one of the rabbis stopped me and reminded me about the whole wrapping-our-son-in-a-tallis-and-taking-him-to-cheder thing.  I planned on attending minyan in the morning at 8am to discuss this with them, but after the whole fight with my wife, I forgot about this and showed up to shul after minyan ended and I pretty much davened alone.  I'm glad that I was flagged down and reminded about this by the Rabbi before I left.  He told me that Lubavichers don't lick the honey off of an Aleph-Bais, but instead, they use a laminated enlarged version of the first page of the Tanya.  "Cute," I thought.  They allowed me to borrow one to take home so that I'll have one with me when I bring my son to cheder the following day.

I came home feeling pretty good about myself and ready to spend the day with my wife, mom, and kids.  When I got home, nothing was done, nobody was ready to leave.  My wife was in her pissy mood, and when I asked her if she looked up places to stay or things to do, she said she didn't because she was taking care of our kids.  I brushed off the insinuation that me being at minyan left her alone with the kids and thus I wasn't doing my part of the parenting.  I put the laminated Tanya page on the bookshelf in full view hoping that my wife would notice it and be appreciative that I took care of this because a few days beforehand, she accused me of not knowing what I was doing with regard to the upsherin.  I wanted to let her know that I was on top of it all, just as I *WAS* on top of everything that had to be done the day before, even though she accused me of ignorance about that topic as well.

I half hoped that my wife would have taken the initiative to take my son to fix his haircut as we spoke about this morning before the fight broke out, but apparently she had no intention of doing so.  I joined her in the privacy of our own room and asked her if she had any response to anything I said earlier that day, because I didn't feel like driving to Connecticut if we didn't resolve our bad feelings from earlier that day.  She said that there was nothing to say and that she flatly disagreed with pretty much everything I said and that she thought I was a moron and that I didn't know what I was talking about.  She understood that everything I said was a criticism of her, and that I just went on and on about how I was upset about the haircut.

TO SAY THE LEAST, I WAS FLOORED. 

At this point, I didn't know what to do.  Obviously I wasn't going to go on a day trip if my wife and I didn't resolve such an important argument as we had this morning.  When I told her this, she said, "I have absolutely no interest in going around with you or showing your mom a good time.  Don't think that you're doing ANYTHING for me by taking me us out today."  I was so saddened at hearing this because I was so sure she wanted to go do everything we planned, and *I* WAS THE KIND ONE THAT I WAS TAKING OFF FROM MY LAW OFFICE FORMATION EFFORTS TO SPEND TIME WITH THE FAMILY, AND I WAS ACTUALLY A BIT UPSET DURING DAVENING THAT MY WIFE DIDN'T CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE OF ME WORKING TODAY AND INSTEAD ONLY WAS INTERESTED IN HER TRIP TO CONNECTICUT.

So now I just spent the past two hours shut in our bedroom with the laptop battery about to run out.  I feel sad, and I feel alone.  My wife is not interested in my feelings, and she is not interested in hearing anything I have to say about the upbringing of our family.  She has completely ignored me since I came back, and I'm about to burst into tears because I don't know what to do.  Do I pull her aside and have my mom watch the kids while I make nice to her?  Do I talk to my mom and get words of wisdom and advice on what to do? Do I call my rabbi who will only tell me that I'm right, but that I have to give in to keep shalom bayis?

I feel like the whole situation is helpless, and that I don't have anywhere to turn.  I really feel that this has been a breakdown of communication, and that we really need to see a marriage counselor.  I feel so violated and hurt.  I have never been more floored by today at her uncaring and cavalier attitude towards our marriage or our relationship.  I've always given her the benefit of the doubt, but there is no excuse here, no way to explain her way out of this one.  She simply doesn't care. :(  What do I do?

THE HEATED ARGUMENT THE MORNING AFTERWARDS

Okay, I'm taking a deep breathe and pushing myself to finish this blog entry.  Really what I want to do is call my Rabbi / mashpia / adviser and cry to find out what to do to rectify this situation.

In short, after clearly explaining to her that she cut off the payos and even though it's not that big of a deal, we need to give our son a proper haircut so that he fit into the community as a Jewish boy rather than one of the Israeli kids who's parents don't respect halacha.  She agreed that the haircut was inappropriate, but admitted that the cuteness of our son wearing that haircut was growing on her, and hence the haircut was growing on her.  I told her to keep her head straight and not get seduced by our son's cuteness, and that the funky haircut was growing on me too since we both love our son so much.

Then after a few hints that maybe she should hear me out about my feelings about the haircut and the upsherin and my experiences, she allowed me to speak.  I told her how wonderful the event was.  Then all hell broke out when I told her about her father and how much it bothered me that he cut a lock off the peyos after I told him not to.  She denied this vehemently and defended her father over my statement, and then tried to shut me up when I was telling her about how I felt as a father when she took our son to the barber and cut off his payos after me making such a big deal about it the whole day before.

In short, my mom got involved which was the fuel that was poured on our flaming conversation and the whole conversation erupted into a shouting match.  My wife walked out and I finished giving my mom my opinion about the whole thing.  I then decided to take a shower and cool off.

In the shower, I clarified my thoughts that I wasn't upset at the peyos nor was I upset about the haircut in general.  I was upset that I felt that my voice wasn't being heard and that I felt shut out with regard to how to run my OWN family and I felt that I had a right to have a say in what goes on, particularly with regard to how my son looks when he goes to shul or school.  I also clarified that I was feeling that my own feelings weren't being attended to, and instead of calling my wife heartless and spewing words of hatred towards my wife, I softly told her how I was feeling and that I felt that I wasn't being listened to and that I was hurting because I felt that my wife wasn't prioritizing my needs and that she was ignoring things I was saying as unimportant and this has been hurting me lately.  I did this in the privacy of our own room so as not to allow it to elevate again with my mom involved.  In short, I softly bared my soul to my wife and made myself completely vulnerable so that we can have shalom bayis even though what I really wanted to do was rip her head off.

I left to go to minyan, and I expected that everything would be better when I returned.  My mom intervened again as I was leaving and she fanned the flames fighting my wife's side as I was leaving.  I felt that this was inappropriate, especially since I just made myself look better to my wife by sharing my feelings of vulnerability and here my mom again made me look like a monster by comparing me to her husband.

Last part of the story in the last post...

THE HAIRCUT AFTER THE UPSHERIN

Okay, part two.  The haircut.

I didn't think much about the haircut after the upsherin.  I knew what needed to be done -- a regular haircut and leave the payis and let us determine how long or short to make them.  My wife asked me if I wanted to go, because I didn't want to leave my dad alone with either my mom (they're divorced and it wouldn't be tznius) or to leave my dad alone with my wife (for some reason I had it in my head that it would have been a yichud issue, although at this point I can't remember what my reasoning was -- I was feeling ill and tired at this point, so with hindsight, there likely was no yichud issue, but I thought there would be).  All this being said, I thought my mom would enjoy the experience and I trusted my wife that she knew what to do.

Oops.  First of all, I was slightly upset that I knew that my wife wouldn't tolerate the local religious guy to give our son his haircut.  So I was fine with her taking our son to Supercuts as I often do with reservation (I don't feel good about it when I go).  However, apparently she didn't know what to do because she let the barber COMPLETELY cut off our son's payis.  Plus, he gave our son a goyishe haircut.

Now this is horrible to say, but in our community there are the frum guys, and there are the non-frum guys.  Usually the non-frum guys are the Israelis who don't respect halacha and do whatever they want.  They make up their own rules and don't follow Lubavich minhagim (or any minhagim for that matter) and so I see what haircut they and the other non-religious parents give their kids.  That's the haircut my wife gave our son.

When I saw this, I was horrified, but I didn't say anything [until this morning.]  I'm getting tired at this point, and I'm really now upset at myself for going into all this detail and I don't think I have the energy to write the final blog post which is the WHOLE REASON I wrote everything up until now.

In short, when I told my wife that I was upset that she didn't consult with me before cutting off the peyos, she insisted that she kept the sideburns which are peyos.  When I exclaimed to her that they weren't, and when I told her she gave our son a goyishe haircut, she refused to hear me out.  This really hurt me because I was already hurt from her not listening to my input on so many issues until now.  In short, to spite me, she will not fix his hair and is keeping the goyishe haircut just to spite me.

THE UPSHERIN EVENT

First, the upsherin.  Yesterday was my son's birthday and hence his upsherin.  Mazal tov to everyone involved, including me, my wife, and our son.  My wife worked very hard planning the whole thing.  She made a big party, served a bunch of food, rented a hall, etc.  All of this in my estimation was much bigger and gaudier than it had to be.  I had in mind just clearing out the couch and the table in our apartment and having people come and go here like a revolving-door party.  I thought the whole idea of a "big" event thing was a dumb idea since we are terribly unemployed and in a really bad financial position, and thus I thought throwing a big party now was a waste of money.  However, I went along with it nonetheless because it was important to my wife because she had in her mind that it was important to my son who I don't know whether he would have remembered either way where he had is party or its size.  I suppose I'm a minimalist in many ways, and I carry that mentality to many areas of my life.  Simpler and cleaner is always better.  More fancy usually means more cluttered and thus no longer so comfy.  Either way, my wife is usually more realistic about things and so she usually pumps them up in size to what is appropriate. 



So the party was a hit; everybody had a great time.  The rabbis of the community showed up, and I'm sure my son had a great time.  What would have been just an average event if I did it ended up being a large community event, and it looks to me as if a lot of people had a great time.  I smiled a lot, waved, and said hello to a lot of people, and I was proud of my son.


One thing in particular that upset me was that I kept speaking to everyone who was cutting the hair to cut the back, the front, etc. but not to cut off the payis.  Obviously Lubavichers don't keep the payis, but I wanted it to be my wife and my choice how long or short to cut them.  Everyone agreed with me and cut around the payis except my wife's father who completely ignored what I said, disagreed with me, and took a large snip of my son's payis RIGHT AFTER I TOLD HIM NOT TO.  Wow was I upset, but I shrugged it off and said to myself that maybe he didn't understand me or maybe he didn't comprehend the importance of what I was saying.  Maybe he didn't even hear me because he wasn't listening because he was so happy for us on our joyous occasion.

Then it came time for the party to be over.  Nobody was leaving, and there was a big mess on the tables because nobody was cleaning up.  So I took a few garbage bags and started cleaning off the tables.  It was innocuous.  Nobody minded.  My wife's dad and my dad both noticed that I started cleaning up and so at first without my knowing, they started breaking down tables.  I didn't think much about it because they were not kicking anyone out and I knew my wife would freak if she thought that we were kicking people out because she has a firm belief that guests should leave on their own and not be escorted out and I respect her opinion.  After a while when I noticed people started leaving and congregating by the exit doors (with the exception of a few groups who were still sitting and chatting), I also started breaking down tables and moving the chairs against the wall.  After everything was over and the tables were broken down my wife came over to me inflamed why I was kicking out our guests, but I told her that I had nothing to do with that and it was her own father that started breaking down the tables.  She backed off.

The whole day I was feeling ill from a stomach virus that I got from going over one of my wife's friend's houses a few days beforehand.  For the past few days, I've been vomiting and I've been dizzy and nauseous, but I pulled myself together to help my wife out in any way she needed to set up for this event.  After the event ended (we only rented the hall for a specific few hours and we noted those hours in our invitations), however, nobody was leaving and a few of my wife's college buddies started to show up.  My wife's parents were also ignoring the time limits of our stay there, and they were wasting time playing around.  My daughter was being pushed around on a skateboard, and my son was running around with his grandfather.  Obviously since nobody was going anywhere and I was feeling sick as hell (I was dripping wet from sweat), I spoke to my mom and she told me that she didn't feel as if there was anything wrong with me excusing myself and going home.  That's what I did.  I spoke to my wife, and she agreed that I should go home and get some rest since the event [even though it was over] wasn't ending any time soon.

Instead of going to bed and resting when I got home, I spent some time cleaning up the house and getting it back in order because it was a wreck by the time we left for the event.   Feeling faint, I whipped up a vegetable shake in the blender to get some nutrients into me, thinking that maybe it will clear up my head and give me some energy to make it through the day.  My wife walked in at this point, she saw me and snarled, and then commented that "if I was well enough to be making smoothies, then I should have stayed behind and not left her alone at the event."  I explained to her that I really wasn't feeling well, and that in addition to her dad and mom helping out, I also left my dad and brother behind to help out as well (as they did because within the hour they were all here at the house.)  Fair enough.

Then it came time to cut the hair.... [next blog post].

I feel at a loss for words; I feel alone.  I can't complain to you about my wife because then I'm the bad guy, and I can't talk to anyone around me because I've surrounded myself with her family and her friends.  I can't go to marital counseling because every time I've suggested it she throws the money issue in my face and then finds reasons why the person I picked is too close to the community and she doesn't want to be embarrassed having a community member know our business.  I'll discuss this in the coming posts.

Just complainin' about a bad day with the Misses.

In my experience it's usually a bad idea to write blog entries when you're in a bad (sad) mood.  So here we go.

I passed the New York bar exam.  Woohoo.  Now I get to start my own practice.  I won't limit it to intellectual property / patent law, although that will certainly be part of it.  I'll make it a "bread and butter" practice, doing anything that pays the bills.  I'm listening to generalist courses right now on how to run a practice from the point of view of family law, employment, etc.  Should be fun.

On another note, I had a rather upsetting conversation with my wife today.  I told her that if she wants me to have my office here in the apartment and if she wants me to forgo renting office space, she needs to understand that I'm at work even when I'm not sitting at the computer in our small closet.  I need to be at work at 8am and not 10:30am or 11am as has been the case these past two weeks.  I can't be taking our son to school or babysitting a screaming toddler who needs attention while she goes shopping as if she only has a newborn.  If I am going to do this (start a practice), then I need to do it wholeheartedly.  That means that she needs to treat me as if I'm working even when I take a break or walk around the house.  Much of being productive happens when you're not typing away at the computer, or making phone calls.  It's the downtime that allows for so much uptime, I told her.  She coldly looked at me and said, "okay, if you're at work, then I'm getting a maid."  I told her to do whatever she wants to do, so I suppose we're getting a maid now.  Wouldn't it be nice if I had the income to make that possible?  So far it's zilch.

On top of that, we've been having disagreements all night.  It seems that everything I say irks her and that's not fair because I don't want to be shut up every time I want to have a conversation with her.  She treats me nastily and I don't know how to react -- do I react with sadness? anger? do I stand up and leave?  For most of the evening, I shook off the anger she was throwing at me.  When I asked her why she was acting so angry (she was looking at job postings all night), she retorted with some witty angry comment.  If I was a bit less tired, I would have been hurt, but instead, I stood up and walked into my office (yes, I'm sitting on the floor of our walk-in closet in our two-bedroom apartment.)  I think it all started this afternoon when I was reminding her that whatever we pay into day care, she needs to match in income by the end of the year, or else we lose all of the income tax deduction, as we did this year.  We lost out on hundreds of dollars because my wife didn't work.  I wasn't criticizing her, but nevertheless she still blew a fuse.

She started accusing me of judging her and criticizing her when that was the furthest thing from my mind, just as she accused me earlier in the day of judging our Shabbos guests when I was just trying to have a discussion as to what brought them to be in the situation they were in at this moment.  I wasn't judging them just as I wasn't judging my wife, but she took it that way even though I flatly told her where I was coming from.  No, I was wrong according to her.  I was judging her.  Whatever.  Making $6,000 in a year is not such a big deal anyway, especially for someone of her caliber with her degree.  It would be like a check mark on a to-do list.  Really I wasn't even asking her to get a job - I was just talking with her about what was on my mind and the fact that we missed that deduction was on my mind -- it was a random thought. 

Anyway, this was one of many attempted conversations.  Another was me asking her to cover her hair when we are together.  I don't know, but there's something wrong about a religious woman walking around the house with uncovered mezuzahs and her hair being uncovered.  I was particularly annoyed because I've spoken to her about it just earlier in the day and somehow she was defying me by not wearing anything, as if that really made my day or not.  I just felt that to maintain the level of piety that we have in the house, it is inappropriate for her to be walking around without a head covering, just as it would be inappropriate for me to be walking around without pants in my tidy whiteys, topless, or without a yarmulke or tzitzis.

Anyway, it's not the end of the world that we're not getting along tonight.  So she's having a bad day, that's it.  Life doesn't end when she has a bad day and takes it out on everyone around her.  I just wish she confided in me more and was more expressive of her emotions or her needs.

This evening while job searching, she asked me whether I thought she should be looking for just any job in her profession or a job that was in her particular specialty field.  I told her that if looking, she should be looking for any job.  Really I had no idea what she was looking for, but she gets things into her head and comes up with conclusions without talking to me about them.  I know we started speaking about whether she should get a job while I start a law practice and the consensus was that it was a good idea (probably), but I am torn as to whether she should work or not.  I wish she'd do what she's supposed to do and be a stay-at-home mother rather than looking for work.  But she doesn't trust me that I can make everything work out.  She doesn't have faith that I'll succeed.  Otherwise why would she be looking for a job?

Lastly, I've been sad these past few days because just about everyone I know forgot my birthday.  My wife made me and my son a cake (for a shared birthday), and her parents got us a juicer after we told them we didn't want one (we have a vita-mix which juices just fine), but other than that, she really treated me like dirt all day long.  I got no affection, no love, and no thoughtful gestures.  A few weeks back my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday.  I told her, "just love me and be nice to me."  That was too much for her.

Hashem handed us a financial life preserver and a death warning.

First of all, everybody, thank you for your blessings, your comments, and your good wishes.  I started moderating the comments (and I have received them all via e-mail, but I have been unable time-wise to login and approve them).  Sorry for not posting them online sooner.

Interestingly enough, with the exception of those of you who know my true identity, I am happy to say that I have been logging into blogger via JonDo which I paid for a 1-year subscription (it wasn't expensive) anonymously so that the evil Google empire (obviously I'm kidding somewhat) doesn't link my IP address on the Frumpter account to the Google address I use with my real identity. 

Anyway, regarding the last post, all job opportunities and document review projects slipped through our fingers.  It was a horrifying feeling relying for so long on the coming of projects which never came.  So we slipped closer and closer to breaking point -- we've never dug so low into our reserves to the point that we literally had only a few hundred dollars left in the bank account and then kazaam!

We literally were days before hitting bottom before Hashem kicked in to everyone's surprise.  After the project in 12/2009 (right before NY bar review), we lost unemployment because the unemployment office claimed that I quit the project when I said it ended.  I appealed the decision and continued filing for unemployment all the way until 3/2010, even though not one penny was paid to us.  To our surprise, last week we won the hearing and this morning, unemployment paid us all the backpay since 12/2009 to the tune of $7,000!  On top of that, I e-filed taxes last week, and to my surprise, we didn't owe taxes, but were getting a refund of $1,000 federal and almost $800 from the state.  Putting this all together, this is exactly what we needed to pay off our credit card bills and keep us running for another few months.

On a sad note, I had a physical from the doctor and the blood-work showed some anomalies which made the doctor come to the conclusion that I'm running head first into having a stroke or a heart attack imminently unless I make some drastic life changes TODAY.  So I started going to the gym almost daily and I bought a Vita-Mix blender and an EasyGreen Mikrofarm automatic sprouting machine.  We're going to start growing and eating superfoods and vegetables, and we're moving to a RAW diet.  I was 205 lbs. in 2005 when I spent the summer in China, and now I'm 251 almost five years later (and after almost four years of marriage).  It can't be that hard to get back down so my lab work returns to normal.

So in sum, Hashem handed us a financial life preserver and a death warning if I don't get into shape.  I'm still unemployed and am looking for work.  I'm not receiving unemployment anymore (it has run out), but because of my recent work a few months back, I'm eligible for employment in the state I worked (which is around $200 less per week) which I applied for and am waiting for now as we speak.  My rent has increased as of May an ADDITIONAL $200/month and we have just a few months of survival money left.  I got some health food equipment and am making changes in my lifestyle with regard to diet and exercise.  I am waiting the results from the February NY Bar Exam and I have to pass character & fitness before I'm admitted so I can't practice any law until I've cleared those hurdles.  I am still determined to start my own patent practice, but it'll be difficult giving up the security of unemployment, but as of now I'm not receiving any and if I do, it's much less than I received in my previous state.

In other words, we're still alive, still kicking, still making it financially.  Our home (metaphorically) is still in order, and my wife and I B"H still have shalom bayis in the home.  We spend a lot of time with the 3 kids, and I'm asking Hashem every day for a job and strength so that I can keep a daily and weekly seder and learning schedule.  I haven't written the Lubavicher Rebbe yet about the health condition; I'll get to that as soon as I can.

Almost hitting bottom financially. Almost no reserves left.

Okay, so how do I feel... two document review project opportunities in one week and both fall through.

I was in touch with a recruiter who has been telling me for around two months that he expects a document review project to begin that I would be wonderful for, but that the temp position would pay moderately well and it would last for months. I was totally game for this, and I was looking forward to this, because they were specifically looking for an IP attorney with my experience.

Just last week, I received a phone call from another recruiter that another document review position opened up midtown Manhattan, and that it wasn't my area, but they asked for me specifically since I've worked with that law firm before. So I was all excited. She said they were interested in me, and that the position starts Monday. I told her that I couldn't start until Wednesday because Monday and Tuesday were a Jewish holiday (last days of Pesach). She called me a few hours later and told me the deal was off; they filled the position with attorneys who can start on Monday.

At this point my wife asked, "What was the meaning of this?" "I can't figure out why Hashem would give something like this to us, and then so quickly take it away!" My answer was easy -- Hashem was testing us to see whether we would cave in and whether we would work on yom tov. It was an easy test for us. The answer was simply no. I waited for the other opening that I was hearing about.

Now I always check my e-mail, but last night for some reason after the chag I didn't. We sat down and watched Survivor on our laptops. This morning, same deal. I opened the e-mail, but I was interrupted and I didn't end up checking my e-mails. I got annoyed at my wife (who at the time was still asleep) for leaving her laptop out on the couch for the zillionth time and having our daughter sit there and pick off each of the keys from the keyboard until I recognized the sound from the other room [click, click, crack... click, click, crack] -- I ran out, and stopped her from removing whatever keys were left. I took the laptop, and flung it on my wife's bed along with the keys that were broken off and I said, "I told you a million times not to leave the laptop out for the kids to break it. This is the third laptop that has had its keyboard broken because you left it out.  This is unacceptable." I was pissed.

Around 10:30am, I was having coffee and my wife noticed that the recruiter left a voicemail this morning at 8:30am telling me that the document review position I have been waiting for this past month or so was finally here, and they need two people right away. The recruiter also mentioned that he left a voicemail on my other phone number and that he left two e-mails. I couldn't believe I didn't see them until now! I glanced at my e-mail which was already open and there were his two e-mails. I couldn't believe it.

I thought to myself, "OH NO! I'VE BLOWN THE BERACHAS THAT WERE COMING OUR WAY!" I quickly called him back, left a message, and sent a reply that I'm still very interested in the project and that I am available. I then immediately davened with talis and tefillin with full kavanah, I said tehillim, and in my heart I apologized for my sins that morning and I asked for forgiveness. I got an e-mail back as soon as I was finished that he's excited that I'm interested, and he'll check with the law firm just to make sure they were still looking for someone (even though he thought I had the position in the bag, as did I). I said tehillim, and when my wife asked my why I wasn't nervous, I said, "because I did everything I am supposed to do. Now it's up to G-d."

We went shopping at BJ's (a store akin to Price Costco) to restock the kitchen and we bought food. When we arrived home, I ran to the e-mail, and I saw that there was an e-mail from the recruiter.  When shopping earlier that day, and again while opening up the e-mail, I kept thinking about how nice it would be to put a down payment on the minivan my wife has been talking about for months now (right now the three car seats for our three kids are shoulder-to-shoulder in our back seat), now that income would be finally coming in.  I could pay our bills, buy food, pay full tuition at our son's yeshiva instead of the discount rate paupers such as we currently get, and we could allocate just enough to cover payments for a van so that my wife can get around with the kids.  I opened the e-mail and started reading.  Expecting the e-mail to contain a starting date, instructions, and an address to show up to, it said, "they already filled the position. Sorry."

Now I'm sulking, and I'm wondering what I did wrong. Are my sins so grave that they're enough to remove any blessings that were to have come my way? What have I done to cause the berachas to have disappeared, and what can I do to reverse this? My family and I are so close to running out of money (we've been living on our backup cash for almost a year now which barely has a month left of reserves and then there is NOTHING saved after this.) How can Hashem let us go so close to going broke? What is his plan for us? What will happen? I am so scared, because in my mind this project has been my backup for months now, and now it is gone. All I can do at this point is scrape together some kind of temporary something and hope something comes through or we're on the street.

Feeling Static.

I've been experiencing a lot of static lately.  I've been having a difficult time because life has put me in a position where I am unable to move and I am bound and unable to break free of this. 

First of all, professionally, I am unable to move.  I am not licensed in New York, and thus I cannot practice law here until I am admitted.  So I can't get a job except for document review, and so far I seem to not be able to get on any projects since I left my last one.  I am a patent attorney and so I can potentially try to develop a business and take clients in this area of practice, but my hands are tied because I cannot accept unemployment if I start up my own business.  The problem is that I am not on unemployment, but I am not off of it either.

I stopped receiving unemployment benefits after my last project ended in a way that it is uncertain to the unemployment office whether I am still eligible.  So they're holding hearings with my former employers, having me submit documents, etc. and going through the whole appeals process having me prove that I am eligible for unemployment.  The problem during all this is that 1) they are not paying anything, but I keep filing for unemployment as they have instructed me to, 2) we are running out of savings, and I mean that we have never been this low EVER, and 3) I am unable to start a business because I'll lose the unemployment eligibility that I'm fighting so hard to recover.

On another note, I'm hurting to the point of crying because of the things I think my wife thinks about me.  I feel that she feels that I am a loser for being unemployed, and when I am working on the computer (whether I am paying bills, filing for unemployment, doing law research for the current lawsuits I am involved in, or answering e-mails), she thinks I am playing and she treats what I'm doing as if it is meaningless.  What she doesn't realize is that we wouldn't have a car, internet, electricity running, healthcare, school loans handled, or taxes filed and paid if it weren't for me taking care of all of this.  I pay all the bills and handle all the finances in the house, and I handle all errands that need to be run in the family.  I take care of all the problems.  I call people and resolve any disputes that happen.  I handle the legal aspects of our life, our contracts and agreements, our banking.  I interact with the insurance company to make sure we have health insurance and that our COBRA is paid and in order, and I make sure all claims are tracked and resolved properly.  Her sole responsibility is to take care of the kids, cook food, take the kids to their appointments, and keep the house in order.  I see it as my side of the responsibility, and her side.  The problem is that I feel that she sees my side as non-existent, and she sees her side as if she's saving the universe.

On top of that, I cross over onto her side very frequently if not regularly to wash dishes, do laundry, watch the kids, play with the kids, change diapers if needed, endlessly insert pacifiers and hold crying children, and I wake up in the middle of the night and too early in the morning more times than I would like to.  She appreciates all this when it happens, but then after time passes, or the ONE TIME I tell her NO to helping her with something, she forgets everything I do and accuses me of being an unemployed loser.

*YOU CAN SKIP THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH BECAUSE IT DETAILS MY DAY*
Today (well, combining today and yesterday's events), I woke up and took care of the kids while she slept.  She got the kids ready and made lunches while I watched the news online drinking coffee, and then I took our oldest to school.  On the way to school, I picked something up from the store and I remembered that we hired a maid for the day so I went to the bank to withdraw enough money to pay the maid.  I dropped off my son at school, and came home.  On my way home, I checked the mail in the mail room and came home.  My wife was cleaning the home, and I canceled a membership that was costing us money.  I confirmed that our daughter was properly added to our insurance plan with my ex-employer, and I made multiple calls to the hospital to take care of the insurance portion of the multi-thousand-dollar bill.  I then started making phone calls to specialists to make an appointment for an injury that has been bothering me for a few weeks now and has since become bothersome.  I sat down and answered a few e-mails and checked our bank balances and made sure that everything was scheduled.  I downloaded tax forms for a bank I forgot about on my tax return, and I added to my list of things to do.  My wife was frantic because we don't have food in the house, but instead of buying some like she said she would, she decided to continue in her Pesach cleaning chores.  She took a rag to the bookshelf (not sure why since there were bigger things to take care of) and didn't shop like she said she would.  I continued taking care of things on my end until she asked me to help her with the beds.  I lifted each of our beds while she added skirts to them (because not having skirts was bothering her).  Then it came time to pick up our son.  My wife then tried to get out of it by telling me that I better pick him up or else I'll have to change our child's poo diaper.  I reluctantly agreed, and on my way out, she sent me on an errand to the Judaica bookstore to buy books for Passover.  I remembered that I told her I'd pick up a few more bedikas chometz kits and so I picked up those as well. 

This afternoon, my wife was supposed to take our son to the doctor for a hearing ear test -- something the school wanted us to look into.  She asked me to go instead of her so that she can clean, but I didn't want to.  I told her that I feel that she is bullying me around and that I haven't even had a chance to shower yet.  She then made some kind of comment that I could have showered earlier while I was wasting time on the computer (I actually wasn't), but had I known she wanted me to take him, I would have showered beforehand, and I would have been happy to.  However, I felt that the way she approached it was sneaky and I don't like her changing plans on me last minute because things ALWAYS go wrong when she pulls something like this on me.  (Perfect example: this Sunday, we were attending a family event.  In the middle of the event, she needed to feed our newborn daughter so she took her back to the car; I watched the kids which after about five seconds became a disaster because our daughter decided that she wanted to go swimming in a lake and my son started eating messy cake and it was hard dealing with two squirming kids.  She disappeared for almost an hour and when she returned, instead of throwing a temper tantrum like I really wanted to, I sucked it all in, smiled, and continued our day.  I did let her know that I thought it was excessive for her to ditch me with the kids in the park for almost an hour, but I kept the conversation calm.)  In short, when she changes plans on me, I ALWAYS get screwed.

Returning to today, she asked me to take our son to the doctor.  I was happy to but I didn't like her timing or the way she asked me, and I was in the middle of another task which I didn't want to drop at the moment.  I told her I needed a minute and I told her that I was reluctant to start changing plans around.  She's had this on the schedule for weeks now, and she's the one that interacts with the school teachers about our son.  Plus, I thought that since she deals with the doctors and taking kids to the appointments (I often tag along), that's her territory and I wouldn't know what to answer the doctors if they asked things of me.  This is her area.  She then threw a temper tantrum and stormed out before giving us a chance to discuss it. 

Now I'm all upset and hurt from her actions.  So many feelings of inadequacy and hurt are bubbling up inside of me and I'm feeling myself shut down from the anger of feeling that it is not fair that she disregards everything I do the one time I don't do something the way she wants me to.

So I'm no longer in the mood of being upset.  It's been nearly an hour that I've been sulking and have been writing this post, and I've decided to pick myself up and move on.  While I would normally delete a post like this, I'm going to keep it, post it, and I'll probably delete it later the next time I feel bad about trashing my wife on my blog, something I resolved not to do; so read this while it's fresh because I'll probably take it down later.  I'm going to pick up and continue my day as if we weren't fighting.  Bottom line, she's right that I should have said yes to taking our son to the doctor, but she's wrong in how she approached it.  I'm going to hit "publish" on this article, and I'm going to continue working on things that I said that I would do.  I'll try not to think of my hurt feelings and how I feel she steps on me and manipulates me.

Purim Seudah

I had an interesting time at the Purim seudah. It was nice to be among friends. It was interesting looking across the table at people I respected, but I wasn't so sure they know yet who I am. One thing I learned the last place we lived was to be authentic in our yiddishkeit. Don't try to be something you're not. And don't try not to be something you are.

I am Lubavich, no question about it. I am frum, no question about it. However, I do have quirks that would make some people doubt my authenticity if I put on a persona or a show pretending to be something I am not.

I make no secret of my shyness. I make no excuse for hiding from people for sometimes weeks at a time. It's just one of those quirky things about me. Yiddishkeit is at the center of my being. My relationship with G-d is one of the most turbulent relationships I have. We fight quite often, that's just the way it is. As a result, I withdraw from the community only temporarily until I can muster the strength to step back in, apologize for my absence, and stay engaged for as long as I can. Inevitably, I always get overwhelmed and I withdraw again. People wonder where I go, what I do. Really, I'm just hiding out and busying myself with being a father, a husband, and a spouse. I don't fry out -- I do everything I would do if I were engaged with the community -- I just do it alone.

That being said, I was thinking to myself that the guys around me are truly good guys, and I appreciate that Hashem has brought me to a place where I can develop a trust for those in my community. I also thought to myself that there is nothing that stops me from breaking past my limitations and changing who I am. Today I might be the shy one in the room, tomorrow I could be on the table dancing and singing. Only I can dictate who I am at any moment. I thought that thought was quite profound.

My reflection on how I did on the bar, and what to do now.

I'm very relieved to be back at home with my two children and our newborn. Just a week or so ago it seemed so difficult to have everything under control because one was crying or climbing on the table while the other one needed to be changed. Now my wife and I have adopted the "zone defense" strategy. If the new baby is asleep, we assist each other with the two (or one takes care of them and the other takes care of chores or housework, etc. I don't mind the housework; I just do as much as I can (which is certainly helpful) and I leave the hard parts for my wife.) *evil grin*. I'm only half kidding.

In my estimation the bar was a success. I explained to my wife last night that I believe that when I left on Sunday or Monday to the hotel (rather than the Thursday of the week before as planned), that I was [in my own estimation] around 53% ready for the exam (assuming that I needed to be at least 65% ready to pass the exam on this scale). Spending those days at the hotel cramming non-stop and being able to study on my own schedule of when I had energy and relaxing when I didn't, I believe I was able to walk into the exam about 70% prepared.

The first time I took the bar in Colorado, I remember reviewing the bar materials before the exam, and it went like this. I asked myself, "do I know this?" and if I did, I just reviewed it quickly. If it was a topic I wasn't prepared for and it would take a while to learn it, I'd just pass it over and hope I didn't get tested on it. In all sincerity, the day before the exam is not the time to be learning new concepts. If I didn't get it by now, I simply wasn't going to learn it and I'd move on.

So again, the first time around when reviewing my materials when I first took the bar and passed, it went something like this, "know this, know this, I know that, I know that... oops, not sure about that... okay, know this, know this, know this..." This was how I went through my materials the day before the exam.

This time around, it went something like this. "Don't know this, um, understand this but can't remember the elements, know this, know this, don't know this, don't know this, don't know this, oh! I remember this! Okay, know this, didn't know this, etc." In other words, I was not nearly as prepared as I was the first time around.

All this being said, I truly believe that the hotel brought me from a place where I likely would have failed to a place where I can confidently believe that I passed. So now in a few months, I'll be a New York attorney.

Now the question is what to do until then... I suppose I'll take a few needed days to rest and to give my wife the needed brake that she needs. I'll be helpful around the house and will help get our systems in order. I will relax a bit and spend some good time with my kids and will establish for myself a daily routine that has been seriously lacking these past few months that will include things such as minyanim (prayer), shiurim (learning sessions), and working out at the gym.

I'm guessing after the few days of doing this will have passed, I'll start looking for a document review position and will send out resumes for jobs to fill the time gap until I get admitted. The goal is simply to survive and to tie up loose ends. I have a few lawsuits to take care of, to defend against, and to file against those who have done things which I've been meaning to sue over these past few months. A few examples include suing my past landlord for still not returning our security deposit now after 10 months, suing General Motors for not giving the $500 rebate they promised me when I bought our car two years ago (the statute of limitations possibly passed on this one), and defending against the most heinous accusation for which every time today when I stomped my feet and booed when Haman's name was mentioned I could think of nobody else except for the person that filed the false complaint against me.

When I was reading the story of Haman, I couldn't think except to picture the person who did this to us, and I tried many times to distract myself from my feelings of hurt, worry, and betrayal over this slimy piece of garbage. I hope Hashem builds a symbolic tree and holds him up on high making him think he's prevailed so that when the truth comes out about what he did, he will share Haman's fate. Y'machshimo on both of their names.