When I was in college, I didn't think that much of working all night if there was something to be turned in that couldn't be otherwise completed. I thought I'd outgrown that, but that was me a couple of days ago (and about forty years later) spending 36 straight hours of billable time finishing a complicated map and sitting in on the mediation process between the litigants in connection with the matter that was the subject of the survey.
If you'd asked me a couple of years ago, I'd have put the odds that I'd be working for a solid 36 hours at zero. I guess that was then. :>
Last one I did... I was preparing a 10-page subdivision plat, and the submittial date was approx. 32 days away...
plenty of time...
when the client came in that morning (Wednesday) and "requested" we make the submittial date 2 days (Friday 10am) away.... I locked my office, turned off the phones & worked from 7am Wednesday until 2am Thurs morning, went home & slept 2-3 hrs in recliner, returned to the office at 6am and worked until 11pm Thurs night.
Back at the office by 5am Friday... Final checks, plotting...
The plat made the Friday 10am submittial deadline.... B-)
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you...
When I started surveying, I worked on a crew during the day and inked drawings at night.
I've had a home office since 1972 when I was in college. It started out with a drafting table in the living room so I could bring the drawings home.
I go thru periods of working at night and relying on phone messages to stay on track with all the daily interferences that can distract my attention.
My phone rang at 4am this morning from a client that drunk calls me. I did not answer it because I've been waiting for him to bring me the info he told me he had two months ago. He keeps wanting me to show up blind (no records and not knowing what property) and he will show me what he wants.
Some projects take proper attention with little or no interruptions, even sleep.
> When I was in college, I didn't think that much of working all night if there was something to be turned in that couldn't be otherwise completed. I thought I'd outgrown that, but that was me a couple of days ago (and about forty years later) spending 36 straight hours of billable time finishing a complicated map and sitting in on the mediation process between the litigants in connection with the matter that was the subject of the survey.
>
> If you'd asked me a couple of years ago, I'd have put the odds that I'd be working for a solid 36 hours at zero. I guess that was then. :>
36 hours is impressive.
It's been well over a decade since I worked through the night. I discovered that while productivity seemed to be on pace, the quality of my work after about 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. suffered greatly.
As for sitting in on a mediation after working through the night, I would just sit as I probably wouldn't be able to contribute anything remotely comprehendible.
[flash width=420 height=315] http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/1-Taae2zLfA?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0 [/flash]
I have seen Junior a few times and have a 45rpm of his called "Ice Storm" which is a song about the great Ice Storm in the Delta in the early 90's.
He is also highlighted in the movie "Deep Blues"
Anyway enjoy..
BTW, I noticed a few years back that if I did any kind of all-night that it now takes 2-3 to 4 days to recover from it.:-(
Sometimes my most creatively active time is between 11 pm and 4 am. I can get a buttload of report writing and problem solving done during what I call the "witching hours".
But, as others have pointed out, recovery can get painful as age increases. I've heard the term "DOMS", Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness. I prefer to think of it as Delayed Onset of Mental Soreness.
> Sometimes my most creatively active time is between 11 pm and 4 am. I can get a buttload of report writing and problem solving done during what I call the "witching hours".
Yes, I also get the best work done late at night and early in the morning. The most valuable time for some problem solving is a continuous block of it without any interruptions.
> spending 36 straight hours of billable time finishing a complicated map and sitting in on the mediation process between the litigants in connection with the matter that was the subject of the survey.
>
This is an old lawyer joke but your post reminds me of it…
I changed it around to avoid politics. ?
There was grand banquet in Heaven honoring 3 newly admitted members to the pearly gates.
They were a fireperson, doctor and a lawyer. They each were praised and welcomed by St. Peter and all the other saints.
The fire person was honored because he gave up his life by running into a burning building repeatedly and rescuing a family until the fire overtook him. The doctor was honored for working in a war torn area in Africa serving refugees until he was caught in a massacre and died. The lawyer was honored for his work in personal injury cases and died of natural causes.
After the banquet the lawyer was perplexed about why he was honored. He approached St. Peter and asked him ” why?”. St. Peter responded and said that he had reviewed his ‘billable hours’ for the past year of his life and noticed that they amounted to about 8000 hours.
St. Peter said “That is nearly 22 hours a day and we thought that you must have died by your undying devotion to your clients”
Some of my 36 hours, the nine in the mediation, were entertaining enough that I almost feel guilty about billing them. "Almost" is the key word there. My client's side of things had two attorneys, one of whom during a waiting period while the mediator was with the other party was telling about a matter for which he'd just obtained a summary judgment. The judgment included attorney's fees to the tune of $157k that the plaintiff apparently didn't have since the plaintiff had filed a affidavit to the effect that he was a pauper, listing assets, including a "nice" Harley Davidson, that didn't come close to satisfying the judgment. Attorney observed that he'd be riding that Harley next week after levying on it, among other property.
The other attorney took great delight in explaining why he wouldn't be able to levy on the Harley and showed him the applicable rule. It was highly entertaining to watch the would-be Harley owner have his new motorcycle snatched from his grasp in the space of about ten minutes in a mediator's office.
I do more all-niters now than I did in college, but now they involve playing music and drinking.:-/ o.O
> I do more all-niters now than I did in college, but now they involve playing music and drinking.
I envy your good sense. :>