Mojo31

When I was young, a minimum of 2,000 billable hours was required to keep a law firm job, and 2400 billable hours was the requirement at the larger firms. Of course, working the minimum billable hours in a year would not get you onto partner track.

While 2,000 hours sounds like 40 hours per week times 50 weeks, that is not the case. You had to add onto that time writing the CLE talk that your assigned partner was going to make, recruitment time, client development time, attendance at the optional mandatory firm dinners and other events, and everything else you were required to do that was not billable. A 2400 hour billable requirement translates to a 10 to 15 hour work day Monday through Thursday, maybe out by 7:00 pm on Friday, work from 8:00 to 6:00 on Saturdays, and work most of the day on Sunday. A 2,000 hour requirement translated to about 60 to 80 hours per week most weeks.

There were some crazy times in my youthful years. I recall one day being told at about 4:00 pm that I was booked on a 6:00 flight to Philly, and I was to be at some office the first thing the next day to pick up an insurance policy so that I could be back by 4:00 pm to meet a deal deadline.

Another time I got chewed out royally for taking a one-week vacation (my first in three years with the firm) even though I billed 200 hours in the other three weeks of the month.

I can't recommend a "big law" career to anyone who wants to have a life.

big john

I imagine there are lawyers who thrive on a schedule like that. I have worked with men like that in my trade. One guy who is now 71 and still on the job!!! is a prime example. When I was still there he would work at least 6 days per week for years and convinced them to let him work Sundays when there were a lot of new cars to get ready. He had his own keys to the shop and was always the first one in and most of the time the last one out at night. Never went to lunch, never stopped to chat with the other guys. Just work, work, work.

I went through the lack of vacation a lot. I was told at one dealer I could never take a vacation if I was going to be the only one doing my type of work. I put up with that for a few years.

LesterOfPuppets

I thought I was being organized about a week ago when I gathered up all my water bottles out of the van, off all the bikes and in various rooms in the house and put them in one place.

Where is that place? NFC.

Guess I gotta roll VV style or strap on the hydration pack.

Velo Vol 

Guess we can cross "Research Scientist" off your list of possible jobs.
I often do. Guess it's because I'm young at heart.

Or because I sometimes don't like having the volume loud to understand what they're saying. Also, I pick up information better when I read it.
Seems like it would have been easier to DocuSign it.

Velo Vol 

Oh noes. A ride without a water bottle. You might die!

Bah Humbug

Always have, always will. I have sensitive hearing that sometimes garbles things, and it's much harder to process things I hear than read. I sometimes forget it's not automatic when I see someone else's TV.

Also likely a genetic thing, since my mother does the same even though we both started watching TV separately and developed the habit independently.

Mojo31

There was no docusign in 1984.

The policy was a life policy that was a deliverable in the deal closing. I carried the premium check, and picked up the policy. Docusign would not have helped. Wiring was not a thing either which was why i carried a cashiers check. The deadline to close and deliver the policy was 5:00 the next day.

That was just one day in the life of a first year associate.

Mojo31

There was no thriving on that. It's just was you had to do to reach "fame and fortune."

big john

But there are people who are workaholics and can't get enough. I asked that guy why he didn't retire. He had enough money to do so and his wife's job paid for lifetime medical. He said he would get bored if he retired. I told him I would rather be bored than be miserable at work.

datlas 

We had a good ride today. It feels like spring, even if VV says otherwise. We had 14 riders today and the pace was pretty quick. After the ride, four of us went for another 30 miles. I had expected that ride to be slower, but it was just about as fast as the first ride. I came home and took a 1 hour nap with Jackie and now feel much better/rested.

Mojo31

Agree on the workaholic.

I've never been like that. I don't like to work for work's sake. I will work for lots of money though. 😜

I'm with you on being bored over miserable.

datlas 

On today’s ride my Garmin 530 would not turn on. I tried a hard reset by holding the on button for 10 seconds. Nada. I plugged it in when I got home and it showed the fully empty/discharged battery icon. I have no idea how that happened, I had fully charged it 2 days ago. My fingers are crossed that this was a one-time fluke.

Eric F 

The majority owner of my company is 85. He could have retired comfortably a long time ago. He still comes into the office most days, and micro-manages the **** of people. I hope I don't end up like that.

Bah Humbug

I can't even listen to him. It's like pouring a typhoon of glass and caltrops in my ears.

genejockey 

I'm generally contractually obligated NOT to share my findings, at least not outside of A Small Circle Of Friends.

big john

I guess he doesn't know what to do with himself. I worked at a dealer where the owner had a cattle ranch and just buttloads of wealth. He was sick from smoking and still came to work (I don't know if he did anything) but he had to tow a little cart with an oxygen bottle on it. He would come into the shop and park his oxygen and have a cigarette.
Seems like there could have been a better way to spend his last days.

Trsnrtr

I worked long hours with no overtime (salaried). By the time I started having some health issues, I was already burned out from the job. A year or two later, I was offered early retirement and jumped on it. I was 54.

I continued doing contract work for a few years but I set my own terms and the money was great. When health issues flared up again, I retired for good. I was 58. I’ve never looked back.

Eric F 

I think that's part of it. The thing is, his wife of 50+ years passed away about 5 years ago, and he recently married a much-younger woman (that's a hole different story). I have encouraged him to take her somewhere and have some fun, while he still can. So far...nope.

LesterOfPuppets

On the way to the coffee shop I was waiting to cross the street when I see a youngster trying to push his friend's late 90s Sentra around the corner, up and over the train tracks. So I pleaned my bike against a light pole and helped push. He said "Thanks dude. You're an absolute legend."

Kids today and their out-of-control hyperbole.

Damn, it's been a while since I've had a really good coffee. Took me to another realm on the first sip.

Velo Vol 

I get what you are saying, to a lesser degree.

I'm pretty sure both you and your mom started watching TV in the pre-CC era, though.
I'm old enough to remember life before the internets. But increasingly it seems like a very inefficient way to roll. I don't know how we survived.

genejockey 

We expected less. Most "labor saving devices" turn out not to save labor so much as they increase expectations. Business correspondence used to take days, so you'd have time to think and respond. Now, if you don't answer an email THAT DAY, you often get your elbow joggled the next day.

bampilot06

So I posted my woes with it skipping and ghost shifting in the mechanics section. They said it’s the cassette or free hub. I did threshold intervals today and thankfully no issues during the intervals. During the cool down it randomly started skipping pretty bad. Worst part, I was going through an intersection, and lost all forward pressure.

I decided to put the cassette on these wheels to narrow down the issue.

Of course this creates a new issue. The front brake caliper brake shoe drop outs don’t go low enough. The brake pads on the front wheel are hitting the top of the rim. Sigh. Can’t catch a brake.

DougRNS

...and now you can savor my quality content from the comfort of your home. What a world.

DougRNS

Interesting.

mschwett 

i think there are two ways to go on this. 1, do something you love, and as long as you’re physically/mentally able to do it well, there’s no real internal pressure to stop doing it. 2, do something that doesn’t make you totally miserable, you may not love it but pays so well that the rest of your life greatly benefits and you can stop working at a reasonably young age, e.g. while you can still enjoy it.

i’m probably slightly more in the “1” camp, and don’t really ever want to stop doing what i do - but i would like the financial freedom to do it a bit different. fire all the assclowns, not deal with the most obnoxious clients myself, etc.

our firm’s partnership agreement has mandatory retirement at 65, so changes would be afoot anyway. the 85 year old wandering around micromanaging everyone can’t happen.