~One of the Most Cleverest ;) ~

I cant stand 2 types of people; proud and rude.

Next to terrorists, these people rank the second in the most dangerous people list. They should be annihilated from the face of the earth, and all of them can just eat soil!

I'm working hard on a divorce case. Thus i'm introduced to the legal culture.. which include the drivers of the law.. lawyers.

Initially.. yeah.. i was impressed by the confidence and aura that they haf. They intimidate, very sure of what they're saying and of coz.. authoritative. Which can be good for clients AND their social workers. Their lack of empathy in their communication and making it 'legal'... blew me away.

***wait wait. I've been using the word 'they' while its actually just ONE lawyer. I shall stick to 'they' as it preserves neutrality. So continue...***

So, here i am.. a newbie (actually not so new... but i consider 1-year in the profession still new ar), lost in the new culture, trying to understand new jargons.

I'm supposed to help my client fulfill some checklist. The checklist indicated 'statement...'

My understanding of statement is.. u fill in a form, u sign, and voila! That can be a statement already. What exactly does this lawyer want?

Naturally, i called the office. The assistant picked up. I asked her the question. The person didnt give satisfying answer. So i asked again. And the assisstant asked the lawyer.

Irritated, the lawyer took the phone and kinda scolded me saying heshe was busy and heshe couldnt understand why i cant understand a simple term.

HAAALLLLOOOO!!! You brag about your 14 years of handling these type of legal cases. For 14 years, you should know that not everyone is a lawyer dammit. For 14 years, you should know who should do the stupid affidavit! Just because this case is aided by the legal bureau and you're not gaining profit from it, doesnt mean you can shove your tasks for me to do!!!

Sheeshhh!!!

And what makes you think that you're busy that you cannot answer my questions politely? As a PROFESSIONAL who has been in the line for 14 years, using busy-ness as an excuse to be rude supposed to command respect? You command my loathe.

Yes, i reacted emotionally. It totally spoilt my momentum with my client.

Because I feel insulted and I feel stupid by your comments. And that make me sad. I know you can handle this matter in a different and less insulting way. Two different professionals working together require respect. And i dun get that.

Being a typical social worker, i need to end this with ermm.. a positive and 'lessons-learnt' mode.

My client and i bond closer ties fighting our emotional pain with this god-sent-to-test-our-patience person. We shall go through the process together, developing better trust with one another, insyaAllah.

I hope from this experience, i become stronger when facing buggers like these. Heh.. no lar~ actually.. i hope i become more knowledgable in matters pertaining professionalism. At least now i know the attitudes that i cant accept. I am determined not to be the very person i loathe.

Another good thing about the incident was; i realise that MSN is a CRUCIAL support system in my work. Just after the horrendous phone conversation, i straight away type to anyone whom i first click the cursor on and blurted out wad happened. Someone responded very well to my crisis. Thank you for saying the sweetest thing :: "Zakiah... you are one of the most cleverest and smartest friends i have in my contact list":: It made me cry, and smile.... Thank you.

Humaira
One of the MOST cleverest and smartest