Sick Day

I took my first sick day today in my new Job. Its kinda sweet I have unlimited sick days so long as I don't abuse them.

I have been feeling blah all week, but I had a ton of work so I felt bad.
Last night I could hardly sleep because my throat was killing me. I woke up feeling like I had a golf ball in my throat. So I decided to get to the Dr before the weekend, in case I needed antibiotic. So I called in sick.

Turns out I am just sick. No prescription necessary. My Dr. did suggest I take Motrin Sinus so I went to get some. Wow, Did this trip to the pharmacy turn into a mini drama!

I asked my mom if she needed anything. Turns out she had two prescriptions that I needed to pick up. They had computer issues and I had to go to a different place. Basically I spent a lot of time today roaming the aisles. I made some interesting observations.

-Why are all the sexual items located near the pharmacy, from lube to condoms etc... It's weird, all there and then arthritis and blood pressure meds.

-Also they have the condoms at the end of the aisle, and to the left are the muscles rubs and relaxant. Like Ben-gay and IceyHot. Are they trying to tell us something? Who comes up with aisle placements?

-To the right is metamucil and other fiber things. This worries me, anyone else?

I had more but I forget now. I think its nap and tea time... Have a great weekend.

Oh yeah, the Dr said I could still exercise, which is good because I have the Scottish Run on Sunday. 10K baby!

Everything Bagels

I like everything bagels. They taste good and I like that they have the crunch of all the stuff on top. [side note, I also like, poppy, salt ,garlic and onion bagels, but oddly not sesame, although sesame seeds are on everything bagels... Something to ponder] But I don't like when the little things get stuck in my teeth.

So I have a proposal.

Lets make everything cream cheese. You can put in on a plain bagel and get the same taste and texture as if you were having an everything bagel with cream cheese, but the little things wont get stuck in your front teeth.

Any takers?

Now I am hungry..

Oh and I spilled diet coke on the carpet in my office which is like abeigey/taupe and spent 20 min cleaning it up, and its still not clean and I am sure bc of the sugar things will be crawling all over it tomorrow. Not, Happy.


Lastly, our fridge got fixed!!!!

Fridge Woes

Our fridge broke yesterday.
We have one of those that the freezer is on the bottom, and the top part just stopped working. So first we emptied out everything onto our porch (thank g-d it was Sunday and it wasn't fully stocked yet, just leftovers from the weekend) but then it wasn't so cold. So we took the stuff to our downstairs fridge. Which is smaller, and quite annoying, because it is downstairs.
We couldn't find a repair place open on Sunday, and my Mom works on Monday's so I guess we are looking at Tuesday the earliest, which is not going to be fun since G-Ma be coming in... Luckily, I was invited to the BF's house for din last night and I tonight to Nacho's because of her sister's marriage. So I am all set, and of course my Dad is out of the country. So although with the holiday's looming its not the best timing, its not the worst.

Now for some reason over the past few weeks I have been asked way to many times for it to be a coincidence for my recipe for Caesar salad dressing, so I figured I would just post it. Now I normally don't measure when I cook (bad bad habit) so its really difficult to give recipes out. But I tried the best I could here...

Caesar Dressing (No Cheese)

1 medium white onion (preferably sweet) or 1/2 a large, depending on your onion taste preference
3 + cloves garlic (depending on your preference)
1 can anchovies, drained
Mayonnaise (1 cup probably but I cant be sure)
apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar (2 + tablespoons depending on your taste and consistency needs)
mustard powder
paprika
pepper

chop onion and garlic in food processor add anchovies, vinegar and mayonnaise till desired consistency is reached.
Add paprika, mustard powder, and pepper to taste.

Serve over romaine lettuce with or without croutons.

Any questions?

My own discovery channel

I made an interesting discovery while in the shower this morning.
I found the spot where a drop to the right and its too cold and a drop left its too hot. The inbeetween zone I call it. There is none. No matter how small or measured the movement, the temp is not right. So today I took a "too hot" shower. I suspect that as the weather changes I will begin to take a "too cold" shower. Even though I should be taking that kind anyway, since its better for the hair and skin, I just cant bring myself to suffer like that yet for beauty. Waxing, yes, gym yes, cold shower? NOPE!

In other news... I played the second to last game of the season for us last night. It was 3 very very close games. We won 1/3. No chance to make it to the championships but we did much better than last season. And I am happy to report that next season the Bf will be joining the ranks of Spiked Punch!

I also get to leave work at 2:00pm today. The boss went away for the weekend with the family so we get time off too!!! I think I will use this time productively.... I'm thinking Pedicure!!!
Plus I learned in the Summer we leave at 2:00 on Friday and that we get thanksgiving week off, and the first and last week of the year off. I really love this job!

Have a great weekend!

Definitions

I once had a friend who used to love to correct people's grammar. He also liked to point out my spelling faults and use big words. During this friendship I signed up for one of those word of the day email things and we would exchange the ones we thought were cute/funny/special etc... Well that friendship is long gone, but alas the emails live on. Mostly because I can not be bothered to open one, scroll down and click on that little "if you wish to unsubscribe, click here" link. [You know what I am talking about] So I thought to share with you some recent email word of the days along with some definitions of every day words that I felt would be useful/interesting:

Word of the Day for Thursday March 23, 2006 paterfamilias \pay-tuhr-fuh-MIL-ee-uhs; pat-uhr-; pah-\, noun; plural patresfamilias \pay-treez-; pat-reez-; pah-treez-\: The male head of a household or the father of a family.


blog Part of Speech: noun. Definition: an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log. Example: Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. Etymology: shortened form of Weblog. Usage: blog, blogged, blogging v, blogger n.

Venti From the latin word meaning 20. [not large]

Word of the Day for Wednesday March 22, 2006 succor \SUH-kuhr\, noun: 1. Aid; help; assistance; especially, assistance that relieves and delivers from difficulty, want, or distress. 2. The person or thing that brings relief.

Have a great day! Use your words wisely!

What a Day!

So Sheila called me at work today.
She had her character interview today up in Albany. They do it differently up there, [ding?] they interview and get sworn in on the same day. So she is now fully admitted in NY and CT!
I am so happy for her.
She also has a second interview somewhere tomorrow, so good luck!
Cant wait to post about it.

I am going to try and call the character people today, I need my interview, this is killing me!!!!
I am stressing about this and my $ situation with loans etc... Way too much, I need a vacation :-)

A different kind of post

Not funny or amusing (well it may be) but its serious, to me... ** (After much thought I have put in my editorial comments in {} next to some things, after thought and re-reading I have some new insights, see sometimes you just have to vent)

I can’t make decisions. I realize this may come as a shock to those of you who personally know me, but it’s true. I cannot make a decision. This is a problem I may have to deal withm its not good.

Lets start with the everyday/obvious.
I am a channel surfer to no end. I now have XM radio in my car and I flip through that thing like it was going out of style, because I cannot chose what station to stay on. Same holds mostly true for TV. {but then again, I may have ADD.}

I am being serious. Lets start with my current life and move backwards. [only "important life decisions" will be discussed, not my inability to pick out shoes/bags]

I have a job. Technically I chose my job, but was it really a choice? I had been out of work for almost 8 months by the time the offer came in. There were none other on the table. So I took it. Its not like I was fending them off and had to chose between a few and weight my options. I took what came my way and that’s all. I happen to really like it here. I have a great set up and I look forward to going almost everyday. But do you see what I am getting at? {ok so I cou ld have stayed home and done the job search thing more vigorously and I probobly would have a job by now, maybe I am just lucky and not decisionally challeneged}

Law school. So I chose my school, or more like my school chose me. It was the only place where I got in and lets face it the price was right. That’s it. No choice, decision practically made for me.

Undergrad. Ok maybe I had a hand in this, but I did not choose it for the reasons you think. I hate change. So I chose my college to have a similar life to what I had in high school. I didn’t want to leave the comfortable and familiar so I chose a school that would not break the routine I was used to from high school. Not a choice per-say, but rather a lets not rock the boat option. {ok I did chose my college, in fact I fought for it, long and hard with my parents... I take this paragprah back}

Israel. In between high school and college I spent a year studying abroad in Israel. Now the schools “we” went to ,you had to apply and get interviewed. It was an ordeal. I applied to 3 schools. (that’s a lot, most people apply to 1, the one they want) Because I wanted different things. Plus I am insecure, so I didn’t think I would get into them all, I figured, I would get into one like everyone else and my decision would be made. Yeah, I got into all three and I had to make a choice! Once again not really a choice. One school had a bunch of girls going that there was no way in hell I was going to be near so that was out. And the school I ended up at, had a gate with an armed guard, curfew and 3 meals a day (as opposed to an open campus and environment with 1 meal, optional per day) no brainer. Mom and dad paying, mom and dad decide. Jail in a foreign country with prepared gruel it was. That’s not to say I didn’t have the best year ever, or that it was the wrong choice, not at all. It was absolutely the right thing for me. I do not regret anything!

High school. Yes in my day, we applied to high school much like colleges and it was a nerve racking experience with interviews and competition galore. I had a first choice and it was not where I ended up. Why not? Simple, no way to get there. I would have been an early adopter so to speak, that’s how new of an idea the school I wanted to go to was. It was so out of the realm that there was no bussing. My mom would have to drive me 20 minutes to catch the bus with the kids from queens, every day. So yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. So I went to the best school that was closest to me, and had bussing, End of story.

Even in undergrad when I was involved it was kind of by default. I may have run for things, but I was always unopposed. I never actually ran against anyone. I was mostly just appointed. The same thing happened in Law school. I was a last minute addition. I did my jobs splendidly, but it wasn’t really a decision.

So what do I do now? I have many potentially life altering and earth shattering decisions that lay ahead. How am I going to live if I cant make a choice? Maybe that’s why I am still single? {not dingle persay, bc I have the bestes BF ever, but meaning not permamently attahced, althought I am seeing how marriage is less and less permanent in today's day and age. G-d when did I become synical?}Because I cant just step up and make a decision? Who knows, but I do know that its good I have identified this and now I must tackle it. As with any problem head on is the way to go. Like people who are afraid of heights and climb Mt. Everest, so to will I. I will be a lean mean decision making machine…

Now what should I do for lunch ;-)?

Quote of the Day

I was in starbucks this morning. I had a late night, Nach’s sister got married!!!! So I needed my caffeine. I was getting a tea, (I love their tea, I usually go with wild sweet orange, but I decided to live on the wild side and go with Zen green tea instead, rebel I know) my usual order, Venti, two tea bags. Then I remembered that for some reason their tea is always ung-dly hot (law suit waiting to happen) so I asked for a double cup, no sleeve. The reply I got was, “Oh you must go to the other starbucks” yes, because there are only two of you…. ?!?!?
He said it to me, I looked at him weirdly and like five min later he figured out the joke. A good start to my morning….

WF seeks TSBF

White female seeks tax season boyfriend

I got the big news today….

Billing requirements are up to 70 hours a week. (Yes Ray, there are that many hours in a week, sadly)
So I am accepting resumes/applications to be my tax season boyfriend.

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a picture references, and gift:
1. NAME _______________________________ DATE OF BIRTH ________________
2. HEIGHT ____________________ WEIGHT __________ I.Q _______ G.P.A.______
3. SOCIAL SECURITY # _____________ DRIVERS LICENSE # __________________
4. HOME ADDRESS _________________ CITY/STATE ___________ ZIP _________
5. Do you own a van? ______ A truck with oversized tires? ______ A waterbed? _______ Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly button ring? A tattoo_________________ ? [if yes to any of the above ABORT]
6. In 50 words or less, what does
a) "LATE" mean to you?
b) “CREATIVE” mean to you?
c) “ROMANTIC” mean to you ?
7. Answer by filling in the blank: please answer freely. ALL answers are confidential (That means I won't tell anyone-ever-I promise.)
a) If I were shot the last place on my body I would want wounded is ________
b) If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my ________________
c) A woman's place is in the ________________________________________
d) The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is _____________
e) When I first meet a girl, the first thing I notice about her is her ______________
f) If I could be any vegetable/animal/shape in the world I would be a (please answer for each category and why) _______________________________________________
8. My idea of the perfect date is____________________________________________
9. Do own a vehicle? ________________________________________________
10. Do you currently have a valid driver’s license?
I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, NATIVE AMERICAN ANT TORTURE, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE, RED HOT POKERS, AND HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.
________________________________________ Signature ( That means your name, moron)Thank you for your interest Please allow time for processing. You will be notified in writing you are approved. If your application is rejected I may have someone else who is perfect for you :-)

To do List

Tis tax season and while we make the effort to go out, there is inevitably this list of things “we should do someday”. So in taking his great advice I am writing down the list, and I will probably add to it as I remember more. Please suggestions/comments welcome.
And so it goes: (in no particular order)

• Planetarium
• Aquarium
• Tennis/other sports
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Watch me do trapeze school
• Go carting
• Bistro Grill
• Prime grill (we liked it)
• Frisbee
• Learn to crack eggs
• Coney Island
• Vegas
• Beach/Jersey Shore (even though I hate sand)
• Mini golf
• Paintball
• Zoo
• Auto Show
• ice skating

Obviously some of these are more likely than others to occur…

Disbarred already???

I had a sobering experience this morning.
Yesterday I came home to a message from some lady from the Committee on Character and Fitness for New York State Bar. She said there was some problem with my application and I should call back.
So first thing this morning I call. She says I did not answer question 13b, and I could do so verbally over the phone. It was like how many unpaid traffic tickets do I have? So I said none. Then she was like, “did you call me from work?” So I said yes. To which she replied, “You signed the back of your application and had it notarized, which clearly states that this is an ongoing application and you must inform us of all new employment” I was freaking out. I started crying. I told her I would send it out right away, and I was new. I thought I was going to be disbarred before I got barred.
So I printed out the employment affidavit, ran it upstairs, watched as my boss filled it out, had it notarized and mailed it.
I really hope this isn’t a sign, because it scared the crap out of me.

Waiting for my interview date…..

15K

My 15k
Yesterday, I ran my first ever 15k. (That’s 9.3 Miles for the metrically challenged) I was running with my mate Cara.
Sat night the BF (bestest ever) treated me to pasta and I have to say I think it really made all the difference in my run.
The last official race I ran was back in October? And it was a mere 5 miles. Let me tell you I did ok on that one (avg 10 min mile) but after I was broken.
So this was scary for me. I attempted to train, since my ultimate goal is a marathon. I did ok. I ran three times the week before and I had wanted to do 6 miles at once, but the most I got was 4. So going in I was nervous.
Cara picked me up. The second she turned into my driveway it began to rain. The news said it wasn’t supposed to rain till noon, so we were hoping it was early and would stop by race time.
We found our special spot and got ready to go. On the way we met our other friends, Jeanine and Stephanie. It was cold, so Jeanine lent me her zip up because they had run the 4 mile before and were done. We would meet them later. Little did I know that I would be forever grateful for that meeting.
We were not so lucky. It was sprinkling at the start, Not bad at all and I would have been happy had it stayed that way.
It was not to be. It pretty much rained the whole time. I think around mile 4-6 it wasn’t that bad. But mile 7, SOAKING. My skirt (yes I run in a skirt) was two different colors and I could ring out my clothing. The rain soaked through my 4 layers of shirts. It was crazy.
But the important thing was that I finished. And I am happy with my time. 1:47 approx. It’s a 11:33 min mile. With the distance and the rain I am pleased.
I have a lovely souvenir from this race. I know its gross, but because my shoes and socks were soaking wet I got these HUGE blisters on my arches. Soooooooooo painful and gross.

After the race Cara was prepared. We had dry shirts and I borrowed some dry pants, since a wet skirt is about as comfortable as wet jeans (So I have been told)
Then we grabbed some hot choclate and were on our way home.

All in all not a bad way to spend Sunday.

My next race is April 2. Its only 6.2 miles, Piece of cake ;-)

New Goal

Apparently I have taken on a new challenge. Unbeknownst to be, I have made it my mission to try every variety of Pepperidge Farm chocolate chunk cookies. So far I have limited myself to the crispy ones, but who knows, I may go soft soon.
It all started the Monday after I took the Connecticut bar.
I was supposed to bake cookies to celebrate, but alas, I ran out of time, or was just too tired and I didn’t do it. So I did the next best thing, I purchased cookies.
In my infinite wisdom, I decide to purchase a flavor I don’t like [Dark chocolate something] so as to avoid eating them. Sounds like a good idea right?
BACKFIRE!
No one ate them, because they weren’t opened. So I opened them and tried one. Not bad. Result? Its sad but I ended up eating the whole bag. Thank g-d not at once, but like within a week.
Now I got addicted. So I got a different flavor next. I figured lets try the Milk chocolate, so I got Milk Chocolate Cashew. Not so good. But I did finish those as well. Slower than the first.
I just finished the next bag of cookies which was Milk Chocolate Macadamia. Good!
And I got White Chocolate Macadamia which I will not start until tomorrow (or try not to)
Can you believe, there are still more that I have no yet tried…
Double Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dark Chocolate Pecan. The possibilities are endless.

Slavery?

SoI told you my friends DD and Ari had a baby.
Well turns out the kid is almost a month old! Oh the time flies.
So how do I know this?
(Partly becuase I am a great friend who tries to remember b-days) But really its becuase when the oldest born son is a momth old there is a little ceremony that takes place. (or is it just an excuse for our people to eat?)
Basically, when the kid is born he really belongs to the Priests, so when he is a month old the parents have to either give him to them or buy him back for a few gold/silver coins.
Yeah its weird to me too, but hey its free food :-)

They had chinese, which always makes me feel hungry 1/2 hour laters. So I stuffed myself with the only other chaquita present, Abby.

Bonus- the two guys Ari set me up with were also there, one with his new Fiance! [ya, no one told me]

Afterwards I visited the BF, bc frankly tax season sucks....
Then went home and crashed.

Tonight I have volleyball and I am going to try and get in some running before I hope at least 4.5 miles. Wish me luck..
GO SPIKED PUNCH!!!

Recent Law Graduate

You know you are a recent law school graduate when…..***

• You get excited about doing a summons and complaint under VTL 523 because you get to serve the secretary of state.
• You explain what the RAP (rule against perpetuities) is to someone, comprehend it, and understand why it was created in the first place.
• When asked the same question that elicited the above response, you can no longer answer it, because the information has since fallen out of your brain, and in turn you now know the number of the character committee by heart.
• You miss surfing LexisNexis. (and the points, and free stuff)
• You still use the BarBri travel mug.
• You call your friend excitedly and state, “Oh my g-d I just lived my own commercial paper essay!”
• You watch the news, and they mention Iraq, you still do a double take and wonder what Issue, Rule, Analysis and Conclusion has to do with the army?

*** I realize this may not be humorous for all of you, but I am sure you each know someone who will find this funny and explain it to you, so pass it on, share the love :-)

Spring is in the Air

How do I know? I have some tell-tale personalized tests.
1) Ice Coffee- I even went out on a limb and tried a new flavor. Caramel. At Dunkin Donuts they have 9 flavors. I usually go with French Vanilla, standard, but I was daring today. I don’t really like it. But heck, its ICE COFFEE!!! Bring on the spring!
2) Windows/Sunroof- I drove with my windows open and my sunroof open. Not just tilted like I do sometimes in the winter because I am odd, but full blown open. Come and get me spring.
3) Running- my season has commenced. I have begun training and have my first official race, qualifying for the 2007 marathon this Sunday in central park. Its 15k or 9 miles for those of you who don’t do metric (“I’m American can you do feet/Fahrenheit?”, love ya Nach). Wish me luck!

So those are some of my tests. I have others but since they are not applicable at this time I reserve my right to privacy.
No get out and enjoy the day, before someone realizes its still March and it snows!

Loopy Me

So my boss owns a boat. And from what I gather, it’s a nice one. I was actually already invited to a party on the boat this summer so I am excited.
Apparently much preparation goes into this boat.
Today the wife was cleaning windows for the boat. They are like plastic and come off.
Anyway where does this take place? In my work space!
The fumes are horrible. They don’t smell bad, they smell like lemon cleaning stuff but it’s a lot and gross. So I opened a window (See Aaron it is the solution for everything) and now I am cold. To make it worse the stuff travels and the upstairs office is now contaminated as well so they opened the window.
Moral of the story? It is very difficult to type with gloves on…

y i luv my job

So I am doing Personal Injury law. Had anyone asked me during law school what kind of law I wanted to do, my response was always the same, “I am not sure, but I know what I don’t want to do, Personal Injury” So I guess it ironic. More ironic is that the class that I had the most trouble with overall, throughout law school was Torts. Ask Sheila and Professor Doernberg. Trust me, I have a mental block towards it, so its kinda funny that right now its what I practice.
I love work for many reasons.
First its close to home. I drive to work and usually it takes about 20 min. Case in point, I forgot to set my alarm and woke up late. Like 1 hr later than normal. And I left about 20 min later than usual. Yet I managed to make it to work on time.
Then when I got to work we had a 20 min discussion about nothing. We discussed death, the plagues, snow and I think cookies.
I like it.
I start at 9 and leave at 5. No evenings, no early, no weekends!
Plus, I was just informed that we may have early dismissal due to the snow.
It doesn’t get much better….

Volleyball update
I played last night the worst I have ever played. But I served better than I ever have. I guess it a trade off. We lost all 3 but had more points per game than ever. The scores were like 12-15 etc. So it was close. I did almost kill the other team with a serve…. But I was tired.
The week before we won all 3 so we aren’t that bad. Next season the BF wants to join, so hopefully we get better.
Cant wait for next weeks game!

Athena

My saga/drama has at last come to an end.
I got my car. I love it.
So different than my other car, but worth it.
Its an SUV and my theory is as follows:
If one is supposed to dress for the job they want, and not the job they have (but I don't think rule applies to aspiring strippers currently working as nursery teachers) why not get a car not for the life they have, but for the life they want?

I wanted to name it after a Greek g-d. And its a female car, my old one was male, but this feels girly and I have to say it, pretty.

So I did some web research (of course while at work) and this is what I found- (from: http://www.mythweb.com/) [things in brakets are my own editorial thoughts]

ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh; Roman name Minerva) was the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She was originally the Great Goddess in the form of a bird. By the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom.
Zeus was once married to Metis, a daughter of Ocean who was renowned for her wisdom. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had usurped his own father's throne.
So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus (or, some say, the Titan Prometheus). Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena sprang forth fully armed.

http://www.mythweb.com/gods/sub/birth_of_athena.html- Image

The poet Hesiod tells the story to account for Zeus's great wisdom, since he can be said to have literally incorporated Metis. One can also read into the myth wishful thinking on the part of the mythmakers who replaced the worship of the Great Goddess, mother of all growing things, for that of the male sky-god Zeus. Zeus gave birth to Athena himself, as if to say, Who needs a woman in order to bring forth new life? [This is the only party I am not happy with]
Athena aided the heroes Perseus, Jason, Cadmus, Odysseus and Heracles in their quests. [You go Girl!]
Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be patron deity of Athens. To prove her worthiness for the honor, Athena caused an olive tree to spring up on the citadel of Athens, the Acropolis. Poseidon sought to outdo her by striking the ground with his trident and causing a spring of water to gush forth. But as he was god of the sea, the water was salty. Athena's gift to the Athenians was considered to be more useful, so she became the city's patron deity. [Ya she did]
Athena sponsored Perseus in his quest to slay Medusa because she wanted the Gorgon's head to decorate her shield.

More: www.pantheon.org/articles/a/athena.html

Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. She was the favorite child of Zeus. She had sprung fully grown out of her father's head. Her mother was Metis, goddess of wisdom and Zeus' first wife. In fear that Metis would bear a son mightier than himself. Zeus swallowed her and she began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter. The hammering of the helmet caused Zeus great pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Skilled Hephaestus ran to his father and split his skull open and from it emerged Athena, fully grown and wearing her mother's robe and helmet. She is the virgin mother of Erichthnonius.

Athena and her uncle Poseidon were both very fond of a certain city in Greece. Both of them claimed the city and it was decided that the one that could give the finest gift should have it. Leading a procession of citizens, the two gods mounted the Acropolis. Poseidon struck the side of the cliff with his trident and a spring welled up. The people marveled, but the water was as salty as Poseidon's sea and it was not very useful. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood. Athena named her city Athens.
Athena's companion was the goddess of victory, Nike, and her usual attribute is the owl. Athena possessed the Aegis.