On the Record Tonight

 

A stock photo of a video deposition.
It doesn't look like that for me.

I'm back on a deposition this evening.

As usual, I can't provide any details, except to say it's a job that began when I logged on before 6:45.

For the record, that's 6:45 p.m.

There are pluses and minuses to this situation but it's worth noting that we officially started the depo right around 8 p.m.

If you know anything about depositions, it can take hours.

So, if you're following along, we'll be here for a while.

I've been told to prepare to keep going until 4 a.m.

I first started doing this position in Sep 2020. It was literally just after Mom died and, of course, I was a bit lost. But through two friends (Craig, who I knew, and Dan), I picked up something of value. It was something that I found that I could and, with my ability to multitask, I was able to make it all work.

I went to the office for an interview one day and came back the next day for training. Three days after that, I was on a case while being monitored. Just after that, I was on my own.

Though, in truth, you're never on your own. Dan, in particular, will always wake up or even check on you if you're doing an overnighter.

One day, while doing a case in the office, Dan mentioned to me that an overnight case had come in. The witness would be in a far-off place via Zoom but the job remained the same.

Feeling confident or wanting to be helpful, I suggested that I'd be willing to give it a shot. Honestly, I expected to be turned down.

And so, I logged in at 7 p.m. and, according to my notes, I finished at 3:10 a.m. I think I got to Mahopac around four in the morning.

This continued several times over the next few weeks, with the latest end time being 3:40 a.m. I stumbled home around 4:30, basking in empty roads before collapsing in bed.

I also remember I was supposed to go in one night and fell asleep that afternoon. Now, I'm one to sleep for a few minutes, recognize I need to go and get right back up. My internal clock is good like that. Except, not in this case. In the process, I caused concern for Dan and Craig, both of whom were so supportive of me, especially then. They kept calling me and I kept sleeping right through it.

Eventually, they got me, I confirmed I was fine, and that I'd be in ASAP. I think Dan started the meeting but I made it in time for the case to begin. Dan probably bought me dinner as well.

In November, the guys decided that I should have a setup at home, especially with winter on the way. Thus, I built a setup with their help that created a workstation in Mahopac.

Oh, we had adventures there also. One night, we lost power long enough for the Zoom connection to drop. Frantically, I worked with the people on the case that night to restore everything and we carried on. Everyone was gracious and we were all quite close for that stretch. It was the same people every night, from the concierge and court reporter to the lawyers as well.

I remember another time when I blew a fuse in the house. I went to fix it and discovered we were out of fuses. I had another case coming up the following morning but we also had a snowstorm coming in. So I flew to a Lowe's in Yorktown first thing in the morning, got fuses, and installed it in time for the case.

Thanks to my normally insane schedule, I've been a bit busy and that makes it difficult to do more depositions. I commit to other things before them.

I have a chart of all of these crazy hours that I've done. One job I recall was not long after we moved to Greenwich. I went to the office for that one, returning home at 4:30 a.m. after a very short drive. Once the home office was sufficiently set up, I took on more cases from here again, including one that had me waking up at 3 a.m. So, if you're keeping track, I had to wake up even earlier than that.

There will soon be a new location for this setup and we'll carry on. Perhaps Sean will be able to do some home cases as well. He's becoming a pro at them also.

And so, here we are. It's almost 10 p.m. and we're a few hours in. I should add that I learned of the passing of Willie Mays tonight and I'm quite certain we will address that on the radio a few times over the next few days. I'll be bleary-eyed for "The Clubhouse" tomorrow night.

While I'm laser-focused on the case, my multitasking ability allows me to keep an eye on the Yankees as well as Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I remember keeping my iPad handy to watch the World Series during other night jobs.

But I'm normally wearing a headset and can still do other things as needed.

It's when those things are over that it gets a little tougher to stay awake. The dead of the night is real. That's when I try to stretch and walk around -- even if it's just to the kitchen.

I can use all good juju, mojo, and whatever other thoughts you'd like to pass along for me to survive and, eventually, get to bed.

But this is work. And it's good work.

Sleep is overrated.

(Update: It is 6:11 am and we just finished)