It was the single worse telephone conversation that I have had in my life when seeking information, and I am 66 yo, and have been a lot of places and interfaced with a lot of different systems. In my history I worked in the field of Long Term Care Ombudsmanship, I was a trained mediator through Kenneth Cloke, I was an internationally recognized Ombuds Scholar mentored by Stanley V. Anderson and was a published author and conference presenter.
My last paper was accepted into the Harvard Law Negotiation Journal (I was shifting careers, and moved on). I am neurodivergent on a "gifted" spectrum, and what I experienced, for me personally, I experienced as assaultive I had a stress reaction and my body went into shock, and it began to shake... etc.
He asked inappropriately who my attorney had been, after I was destabilized.
He used a process of not answering the two questions I was attempting to ask directly, and went back and forth, and told me I was all over the place, which, in abuse terminology is called DARVO. It was a projection of his behavior.
For anyone who is a survivor of domestic violence, I would suggest, steer clear. My first goal was simple, advisement on whether or not moving forward with a DOJ administrative hearing would be beneficial or not. He expressed clearly he isn't interested in this type of case. I said, well, maybe I'll just have to do it myself, hung up, and sent a note to my treating doctor about the experience who is helping me as I process leaving 33 years of Domestic Violence and Coercive Control.
Additionally, I worked in a receptionist capacity for 14 years with a firm that specialized in Litigation, Real Estate Formation, Estate Planning, and Corporate Formation. NEVER EVER EVER was a client treated in this fashion. NEVER!
I was responsible for juggling calls, did some transcription work, client relations going in and out of the office, many things, and NEVER in a thousand years would those 8 attorneys and of counsel attorneys act in such an assaultive way to a prospective client.
I was working multiple vocations, and this was juggling my community service to the local arts community, national, and international arts community. I volunteered my work to the foundation I created and was of service to my own work, and to artists from Israel, Turkey, Austria, Slovenia, other countries producing festivals on the West Coast, the East Coast, in Europe. My first art award was as a student, I was a soloist in a dance film, that won a CINE Golden Eagle Award, associated with the likes of Spielberg and Oprah. My first professional review working for a professional local dance company coined my work, "astonishingly gifted".
Publication in Conflict Management Higher Education Report: https://www.creducation.net/resources/cmher_vol_4_1_kelly.pdf
United States Ombudsman Association: Listed as Creator of Stanley V. Anderson Library Collection:
https://www.usombudsman.org/ombudsman-library/stanley-v-anderson-collection/
Publications about the Creative Work (which paired with the law firm receptionist work)
https://stanceondance.com/tag/misa-kelly/
One of 10 "Kliping" from a 7 year process with artists working in different countries/cities with national and international news including National Slovenian Television.
https://www.mladina.si/167298/plesno-gledaliski-projekt-o-almi-karlin/
Article Written by Former Speech Writer For Harry Truman Commending Spearheading founding a foundation (I had support from local WEV and one good friend to help)
https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-barbara-news-press-santa-barbara-n/184394257/
This individual made it seem like my ideas were flighty and idealistic, and that other clients were happy with the outcome, charges dismissed, and that I should just accept that there is not turning back time, when actually there is, called equitable tolling I believe for the one possible path.
He did nothave the intellectual capacity to grasp the situation effectively in a short period of time. He did not have the capacity to hear and understand that I wanted to focus on one thing, an administrative hearing, assessing if it was worth it go.
It was not what I was expecting, I had used my "giftedness" to create a possible possible paths forward for my primary goal. I had simply wanted to make an appointment to come in and show the two legal briefs I had prepared based on my own research. It was the same research modality that led to an invitation from Stanford University to apply for a phd track in economics, the same modality for the Ombuds research, etc., etc,
It seemed like some weird showmanship with him saying he'd tried a case this way and that way, which wasn't what I was looking for. He digressed, and I was so off guard by the approach, I was not able to bring him back what my primary goal was.
I am tracking how long it took my nervous system to become regulated. We spoke at 10:30 am and it is now 4:37 and slowly, things are settling. read more
