The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • The Undeniable Recap of 2015

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    Ruth Carter

    Geez! 2015 was an insane year for Rosie and me. I spent over a month on the road this year, and Rosie and I had an unofficial competition to see who could run up the highest medical bill (too bad I can’t claim her as a dependent on my taxes).

    Per blogging tradition, I’ve had the joy of looking back over the last 12 months and have compiled a list of the top events from my year.

    Visiting the Seattle Troll
    Visiting the Seattle Troll

    1. The Undeniable Tour. I did a two-week sponsored road trip from San Diego to Seattle, staying mostly at hostels, and speaking to lawyers and law students about how to improve their careers with social media. The Undeniable Tour was an incredible trip – I met so many amazing people, saw so many incredible things, and I got to see a few friends in the mix too. I’m glad I did it – but I’ll probably never do something like this again. Planning the tour was a full-time job by itself. Hat tip to Jason Zook and his course How to Get Sponsorship for Anything that helped me make this all happen.

    Love this Dog
    Love this Dog

    2. Rosie Became a Pirate. My sweet basset hound was diagnosed with glaucoma this year. We had to remove her right eye, and it will only be a matter of time before she goes completely blind. She has been such a trooper with the surgery and taking eye drops every day that cause tunnel vision. Her medical situation changed my life now that she’s on three medications. My daily schedule revolves around her. And with her eventual blindness, I’m more cognizant about making her life awesome. We spent a long weekend at Long Beach visiting the dog beach and dog-friendly restaurants.

    3. I Joined Venjuris. At the beginning of 2015, I became Of Counsel at Venjuris – a business and IP boutique law firm. It’s probably the best career move I could have made. By combining forces, I get to take on more complex and litigation cases, and now it’s easier for my clients to get help with their patent needs. I love the people I work with and it’s definitely taken my skills as a lawyer to the next level.

    4. Modeling. Starting this summer, I got to do a bit of modeling this year – portrait work, underwater work, milk bath, and bodyscaping. Modeling lets me be expressive in a whole new way, and the resulting photos are amazing. There are some exceptionally talented photographers in Phoenix. As a bonus, one of the photos – a compilation of 13 images of me – is the new postcard for Carter Law Firm.

    5. Medical Mystery/Heart Problems. 2014 ended with a medical mystery for me – night sweats, dizziness, fatigue, and chest pain. Three cardiologists, two ultrasounds, and a transesophageal echocardiogram later, they determined I have a hole in my heart – a defect from birth – but this wasn’t the cause of my medical problems. My doctor ran every blood test he could think of and everything came back “normal.” Our best guess is I’m prone to severe costochondritis and anxiety.

    6. Seeing Friends. The Undeniable Recap usually lists the top five events from the year, but I want to add a bonus event. It’s not really an event but one of the benefits of traveling so much this year – I got to see so many friends that don’t live near me. That was probably the best part of this year; almost everywhere I went, there were familiar faces. If I had to name my favorite moment from 2015, it would be hugging my former voice coach Richard Weidlich in New York.

    With Sheila Dee in London and my Signature Sickle Foot, Photo by Evo Terra
    With Sheila Dee in London and my Signature Sickle Foot, Photo by Evo Terra

    Firsts in 2015
    DNF race
    Transesophageal Echocardiogram (with Propofol)
    Making Cornbread
    Stay in a Hostel
    Ride on BART
    Skinny Jeans
    Couchsurfing
    Episcleritis
    Sticking Gum on a Wall
    Scone with Clotted Cream
    Solo International Trip – to London
    Sitting Second Chair
    Sights: Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Times Square, Central Park, “Free” Stamp Sculpture, Fork in the Road, LucasFilms, Ballard Locks, Seattle Troll
    Events: Content Marketing World, Periscope Community Summit, Ungagged, Dad 2.0 Summit

    Meeting R2D2 at LucasFilms
    Meeting R2D2 at LucasFilms – Still with my Sickle Foot

    Celebrity Sightings
    R2D2
    Anderson Cooper
    Michael McDonald
    John Cleese
    Scott Sigler
    Colin Wright

    In Memoriam
    Leonard Nimoy
    Joseph Cherapan
    Sandy Askland
    Atticus VanSlyke
    Trixie Ortmeyer

  • Because I Said I Would

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    Ruth Carter

    Rosie's Dog Beach
    Rosie’s Dog Beach
    Happy Puppy by the Sea
    Happy Puppy

    Earlier this year, Rosie’s lost an eye to glaucoma. When the vet told me that it was only a matter of time before she went completely blind, I decided to make sure her life is awesome. I’ve always wanted to take Rosie to the beach and see how she reacts to the crashing waves. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I started looking for off-leash dog beaches in southern California. When I discovered Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach, I took that as a sign and made a reservation at a dog-friendly hotel to celebrate her upcoming birthday. (My baby girl is turning 8 this month.)

    Rosie and I spent two days at Rosie’s Dog Beach and she loved it. She loved laying on the sand and walking up to strangers to request pets and belly rubs. She wasn’t too keen on the water at first. I think the crashing of the waves scared her a bit, and there’s was so way she was going to go swimming like some of the other dogs. By the end of the second day, she was happily running along the water’s edge with my friends’ dog and didn’t seem too upset when incoming waves brushed her paws and undercarriage.

    Long Beach is a remarkably dog-friendly city. Several businesses on 2nd Street had water bowls next to their doors and many restaurants had dog-friendly patios. One restaurant, The Attic, even had a dog menu so Rosie enjoyed some sliced sausage while I had a veggie burger. We also stopped by Pussy and Pooch where Rosie was treated to a birthday paw bowl of duck with pumpkin sauce and chia seeds.

    Sleepy Puppy
    Sleepy Puppy

    The main downside of Long Beach is its lack of parking. Rosie was so tired from playing at the beach that I put her in her utility wagon and pulled her the three blocks to Eggs Etc. from our parking spot because she seemed too tired to walk. (She had the spring back in her step after downing two bowls of water, resting at my feet, and eating the bacon from my combo meal.)

    This was a wonderful trip to give Rosie. Every night when we got back to our room, she fell into her bed for a long deep sleep after the day’s excitement. (Yes, I brought her big plushy bed with us. I swear traveling with a dog requires almost as much stuff as traveling with a toddler.) It was so cute to watch her crash out after having so many adventures.

  • Day 81/90 – Simple Pleasures

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    Ruth Carter

    Day 81 of the 90 Days of Awesome is in the bank! What made today awesome? I didn’t hurt myself when I kicked Rosie’s bone.

    Rosie Loves her Rawhide Bone!
    Rosie Loves her Rawhide Bone!

    Today was pretty unremarkable. I’ve been really tired of this week so I opted not to torture myself by going for a run this morning. I went to the office and cranked on client work all morning before attending a CLE for women lawyers about having “true grit.” I don’t consider myself to be someone who has any issues in this area, but I went to the CLE (1) to meet other cool lawyers and (2) because it was free. I will admit, I was underwhelmed by the program but the more neophyte lawyers seem to appreciate it.

    So what made today awesome? To be honest, the best thing that happened today was the fact that something didn’t happen. After taking Rosie for her evening walk, I was walking through the bedroom when I kicked one of her rawhide bones. Thankfully, I was still wearing my sneakers so it didn’t hurt. Have you ever stepped on or kicked a rawhide bone with bare feet after it’s gnarled from your dog chewing on it? It hurts like a bitch! I was relieved when my sneakers spared me from that pain and annoyance.

    In case you missed it: Day 80 of the 90 Days of Awesome – I got to talk about my non-traditional legal career with prospective law students.