The Months Before The Hearing

   I had been working on my case steadily for months before the January 17th, 2012 hearing date. I'd stayed up late going over mine and Sharon's Affidavits dating back 15 yrs. This included working on the never ending Motions to Expunge material of mine that was deemed unfavorable by my ex-wife Sharon and her attourney (this simply meant that Sharon and her atty were trying to have many if not all of my recent statements permanently erased from the case records so that these points could not be discussed again in the future). More time and money spent.

  Writing an argument summary for the January hearing was especially hard.
  I did not know which type of hearing I was going to have until 2 days prior. 1) a Discovery type trial is where we would each ask the other side questions 2) an argument type scenario is where we each argue our case to the Judge without questioning each other.
  I was asked by my sister Krista on Sunday, January 15th what type of hearing I was having. This question floored me as I had assumed it would be a regular hearing where both sides ask each other questions. I had done most of my prep work for that type of  court format. How was I to know what type of format it was going to be? At that moment I saw "red". I was so pissed off at the legal system in general and everyone and everything that had any connection to it. I felt as though I had wasted so much precious time. It is not a friendly climate for self represented folks. Purposeful?
  No time to feel sorry for myself now. I switched gears after I vented to my wife B by phone. So much to do yet.

  I worked feverishly for hours. Krista eventually pointed me in the right direction re: the format of Argument.  I had no experience in debating nor arguing so I felt lost as to how to set up my position in a coherent order that made sense to the Judge. I persisted despite how I felt.
  On Monday, my brother Steve called and asked if he could help in any way. I immediately said yes. When he arrived he was ready to do what ever I needed him to.  He was expecting to assist with legal paper work and as a carpenter, he was not accustomed to this. I think he was relieved when I asked him to go to Staples and run some other errands for me the night before THE HEARING. Without their help I would have run out of time. Thanks guys!
   So at midnight, the night before my hearing, I laid down my pen, pads and documents.

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