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Justia Dockets & Filings Seventh Circuit Indiana Southern District CERAJESKI v. ZOELLER Filing 119
CERAJESKI v. ZOELLER
ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES. The Court GRANTS IN PART Ms. Cerajeski's requests for attorneys' fees, [Filing No. 84; Filing No. 110], and awards her $102,437.50 in attorneys' fees. A Second Amended Final Judgment shall issue accordingly. (See order.) Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 2/29/2016. (BGT)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION KATHERINE CERAJESKI, Guardian for Walter Cerajeski, Plaintiff, vs. GREG ZOELLER Attorney General of the State of Indiana, KELLY MITCHELL Treasurer of the State of Indiana, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. 1:11-cv-01705-JMS-DKL ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES Presently pending before the Court is Plaintiff Katherine Cerajeski's Supplemental Motion for Attorneys' Fees. [Filing No. 110.] Ms. Cerajeski requests attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, and this request supplements her previously filed First Motion for Attorneys' Fees. [Filing No. 84.] State Defendants Greg Zoeller, Attorney General of the State of Indiana, and Kelly Mitchell, Treasurer of the State of Indiana (collectively, the "State") oppose Ms. Cerajeski's requests. [Filing No. 88; Filing No. 114.] For the reasons that follow, the Court grants in part Ms. Cerajeski's request for attorneys' fees. I. GENERALLY APPLICABLE LAW 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b) provides, in relevant part, that "the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs." Typically the district court "is in the best position to make the 'contextual and fact-specific' assessment of what fees are reasonable." 1 Montanez v. Simon, 755 F.3d 547, 553 (7th Cir. 2014). Although the district court's discretion is not boundless, the United States Supreme Court "has said that there is hardly any 'sphere of judicial decisionmaking in which appellate micromanagement has less to recommend.'" Id. (quoting Fox v. Vice, 131 S.Ct. 2205, 2216 (2011)). The Court "generally begins the fee calculation by computing a 'lodestar': the product of the hours reasonably expended on the case multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate." Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553. "Although the lodestar yields a presumptively reasonable fee," the Court may still adjust that fee based on factors not included in the computation. Id. (citing Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 434 (1983)). Ultimately, "the guiding inquiry is whether 'the plaintiff achieved a level of success that makes the hours reasonably expended a satisfactory basis for making a fee award.'" Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553 (quoting Hensley, 461 U.S. at 434). In calculating the lodestar, the Court "need not, and indeed should not, become green-eyeshade accountants. The essential goal in shifting fees (to either party) is to do rough justice, not to achieve auditing perfection." Fox, 131 S. Ct. at 2216. Accordingly, the Court "may take into account their overall sense of a suit, and may use estimates in calculating and allocating an attorney's time." Id. II. RELEVANT BACKGROUND Addressing Ms. Cerajeski's fee request requires the Court to set forth an abbreviated history of this case. Ms. Cerajeski has pursued this action as the guardian of Walter Cerajeski, seeking relief from what the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed was an unconstitutional 1 Given that the majority of the fees sought here are for appellate work, in this circumstance the district court may not actually be in the "best position." 2 taking of the interest the State earned on $10.65 of Ms. Cerajeski's unclaimed property held by the State pursuant to the Indiana Unclaimed Property Act (the "UPA"). See Cerajeski v. Zoeller, 735 F.3d 577 (7th. Cir. 2013) ("Cerajeski I"). The Seventh Circuit ended Cerajeski I by holding that "plaintiff is entitled to just compensation from the state when she files her claim to Cerajeski's account, but the amount of that just compensation has yet to be determined. . . . The availability and propriety of injunctive relief are other issues to be resolved by the district judge in the first instance." Id. at 583. On remand, Ms. Cerajeski initially sought leave to amend her complaint to revise certain legal claims and assert a class action. [Filing No. 60.] Ms. Cerajeski withdrew that request, however, after Indiana amended its UPA in response to Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 77 at 2.] Specifically, effective July 1, 2014, the UPA's definition of "interest bearing property" was modified and an owner making a claim under the UPA "is now entitled to 'interest that accrues on the property from the date of payment or delivery.'" [Filing No. 65 at 11 (quoting Ind. Code § 3234-1-9.1 (2014) and Ind. Code § 32-34-1-30(a) (2014)).] The State moved to dismiss Ms. Cerajeski's action, contending that Indiana's amendment to the sections of the UPA at issue had mooted Ms. Cerajeski's claim. [Filing No. 65 at 11.] Ms. Cerajeski opposed that request, [Filing No. 77], but the Court agreed with the State after concluding that Ms. Cerajeski's claims were moot because she only sought prospective relief for the statutory provisions at issue and those provisions were no longer in effect, [Filing No. 82 at 8]. The Court disagreed with Ms. Cerajeski that dismissing her claim as moot would be tantamount to ignoring the Seventh Circuit's mandate because "the Seventh Circuit did not remand Ms. Cerajeski's case with an order for this Court to immediately enter judgment in her favor." [Filing No. 82 at 8-9 (quoting Cerajeski I, 735 F.3d at 583).] 3 Per Ms. Cerajeski's request, the Court set a briefing schedule on her request for attorneys' fees. [Filing No. 82 at 10.] Ms. Cerajeski's First Motion for Attorneys' Fees requested that the Court award $258,462.50 in fees for appellate counsel's work on Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 85 at 1.] Ms. Cerajeski did not seek any attorneys' fees for time spent litigating the case in the district court proceedings either preceding or following the appeal. [Filing No. 85 at 1.] Ms. Cerajeski asked to be compensated for 375.75 hours that her appellate counsel spent on Cerajeski I—specifically, 304.25 hours that attorney Terry Saunders spent at a rate of $700 per hour; 48.25 hours that attorney Arthur Susman spent at a rate of $750 per hour; and 23.25 hours of time that attorney Glenn Hara spent at a rate of $400 per hour. [Filing No. 85-2 at 6; Filing No. 85-2 at 15-21; Filing No. 85-3 at 15; Filing No. 85-3 at 17.] The State opposed Ms. Cerajeski's request, contending, among other things, that Ms. Cerajeski was not the prevailing party for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1988. [Filing No. 88 at 6-10.] The Court denied Ms. Cerajeski's first attorneys' fees request. [Filing No. 90 at 8-12.] Although it recognized that "[i]t is beyond dispute that Ms. Cerajeski received a favorable decision from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals," the Court denied the attorneys' fee request because "[that] decision in Ms. Cerajeski's appeal was not sufficiently final to render her the prevailing party for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1988." [Filing No. 90 at 10-11.] Ms. Cerajeski appealed the Court's denial of her attorneys' fee request, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this Court's decision. See Cerajeski v. Zoeller, 794 F.3d 828 (7th Cir. 2015) ("Cerajeski II"). The Seventh Circuit concluded its decision as follows: We therefore reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case for a determination of the amount of attorneys' fees to which the plaintiff is entitled. We offer the tentative view that the amount sought—$258,462.50 for 375.75 hours— is excessive, both in the amount of time for which fees are sought and in the average hourly billing rate ($687.86). Remember that this was just time spent on the appeal (the first, not the present, appeal), and the high average billing rate implies that few 4 junior members of the two law firms who handled the appeal for the plaintiff could have been assigned to work on the appeal. In fact it appears that law-firm partners billed more than 93 percent of the total hours billed. The plaintiff asks us to determine the amount of attorneys' fees to which she is entitled, but we think it a task better left to the district court. District judges have more experience than appellate judges in determining reasonable awards of attorneys' fees. Id. at 832. On remand, the assigned magistrate judge held a settlement conference that did not resolve the case and set a briefing schedule for Ms. Cerajeski to supplement her attorneys' fee request. [Filing No. 109.] On November 20, 2015, Ms. Cerajeski filed a Supplemental Motion for Attorneys' Fees, asking the Court to award her $272,550. [Filing No. 110.] Ms. Cerajeski seeks fees for counsel's time spent working on the appeals for Cerajeski I and Cerajeski II, as well as for time spent working on the second remand. [Filing No. 110 at 1 (supplementing initial fee request at Filing No. 84).] The State opposes Ms. Cerajeski's request for attorneys' fees. [Filing No. 114.] After the motion was fully briefed, the Court ordered the State to file a notice setting forth the aggregate amount of interest paid by the State and the number of claims on which it was paid since the UPA was amended to provide for payment of interest on claimed property. [Filing No. 117 at 1.] The State subsequently filed a Notice stating that since July 1, 2014, the State has paid 5,780 claims with interest and the interest paid on those claims totals $24,400.71. [Filing No. 118.] III. DISCUSSION Ms. Cerajeski asks this Court to award her $272,550 in attorneys' fees as the prevailing party in this litigation. [Filing No. 110.] "[M]indful of the Seventh Circuit's 'tentative view' regarding the excessive nature of counsel's rates and time spent on Cerajeski I," Ms. Cerajeski's 5 supplemental fee request "reduces the fee[s] requested in our initial petition for the first appeal and for this supplemental petition to 80 percent" of the hours worked and the hourly rate requested. [Filing No. 111 at 4.] As support for the reasonable nature of her request, Ms. Cerajeski submits a declaration from Loyola University Chicago School of Law Professor Barry Sullivan, [Filing No. 110-1], and also relies on the declaration of University of Texas School of Law Professor Charles Silver that she submitted with her initial fee request, [Filing No. 85-1]. In response, the State argues that this case is "the type of 'windfall to attorneys' not intended by § 1988." [Filing No. 114 at 1.] The State emphasizes that this is not a class action and that from the outset, Ms. Cerajeski's attorneys knew that the maximum amount of damages obtainable "was an insignificant amount of interest on a bank account valued at $10.65." [Filing No. 114 at 1-2.] Given that this "equates to about a 10 cent recovery" and that Ms. Cerajeski "has not even filed a claim for her interest," the State contends that Ms. Cerajeski should not receive any attorneys' fees. [Filing No. 114 at 5-6 (citing Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103 (1992)).] Alternatively, the State contends that the requested amount of fees is excessive and that the proposed 20% reduction is insufficient to make them reasonable. [Filing No. 114 at 9-18.] The State emphasizes that Ms. Cerajeski only succeeded on one claim on appeal, that counsel has not demonstrated an experience with civil rights litigation to justify their proposed high rates, and that counsel spent an unreasonable amount of hours on this litigation. [Filing No. 114 at 9-18.] In reply, Ms. Cerajeski disputes the State's contention that she is not entitled to any fees and contends that it ignores the Seventh Circuit's conclusion in Cerajeski II. [Filing No. 115 at 2.] Ms. Cerajeski emphasizes her "difficult, complex and risky case with the purpose of effecting a change in what [was] correctly believed to be an unconstitutional provision of state law." [Filing No. 115 at 3.] She contends that her reduced fee request is not unreasonable in light of the public 6 goal that was accomplished by the efforts and "the new approach to a complex question of constitutional law—with no precedent to aid them—to . . . have a chance to succeed in the Court of Appeals." [Filing No. 115 at 3.] Ms. Cerajeski argues that the State does not offer a serious objection to the time spent on Cerajeski II or the remand thereafter. [Filing No. 115 at 7-8.] A. Applicability of Farrar The Court first must address the State's argument that Ms. Cerajeski's victory was purely nominal and, thus, that she is not entitled to any attorneys' fees under § 1988. [Filing No. 114 at 5-9.] The State is correct that a party that obtains a purely nominal victory is not entitled to any attorneys' fees. See Farrar v. Hobby, 506 U.S. 103, 115 (1992); Richardson v. City of Chicago, 740 F.3d 1099, 1102 (7th Cir. 2014) (summarizing the holding of Farrar as "establishing [that] an entitlement to nominal damages does not justify an award of attorneys' fees under § 1988"). Farrar directs the Court to consider three factors "in awarding attorney fees to a prevailing party: (1) the difference between the amount of damages sought and the amount actually awarded; (2) the legal significance of the issue being litigated; and (3) the public purpose (if any) of the litigation." Walker v. City of Chicago, 513 F. App'x 593, 596 (7th Cir. 2013) (citing Farrar, 506 U.S. at 121-22). The Court is understandably bothered by two things: 1) that the damages at issue in this litigation have always been the amount of interest—approximately $0.10—that the State is retaining on $10.65 of Mr. Cerajeski's money being held by the State pursuant to the UPA; and 2) that Ms. Cerajeski apparently cares so little about Mr. Cerajeski's damages that she has yet to make a claim for his money despite the fact she was certainly entitled to do so when the UPA was amended approximately 18 months ago. Despite these misgivings, the Court disagrees with the 7 State that Ms. Cerajeski's victory is purely nominal because it is undisputed that the Indiana legislature amended the UPA in direct response to Cerajeski I. As the Seventh Circuit noted in Cerajeski II, Ms. Cerajeski "obtained a judgment which compelled a change in state law that gave her compensation equal to the damages she was seeking, and it was a result brought about by the efforts of her lawyers." 2 Cerajeski II, 794 F.3d at 831. While the actual effect of her litigation is materially less than Ms. Cerajeski claims, 3 it is not nominal and certainly serves a public purpose, as exhibited by the 5,780 property claims paid with interest since the UPA's amendment. [Filing No. 118.] For these reasons, the Court concludes that Ms. Cerajeski is entitled to some attorneys' fees as the prevailing party in this litigation pursuant to § 1988. B. Lodestar Amount Ms. Cerajeski asks this Court to award her $272,550 in attorneys' fees for the time counsel spent working on the appeals for Cerajeski I and Cerajeski II, as well as for time spent on the remand to this Court following Cerajeski II. [Filing No. 110 at 1.] Ms. Cerajeski emphasizes that she is requesting compensation for 80% of her attorneys' actual hours and billable rates to address the Seventh Circuit's "tentative view" in Cerajeski II that the rates and hours billed for Cerajeski I were "excessive." [Filing No. 111 at 4 (referencing Cerajeski, 794 F.3d at 832).] The State contends that even with a 20% reduction, the rates and hours billed are still unreasonable and not the actual lodestar amount. [Filing No. 114 at 9-18.] 2 Given that Ms. Cerajeski obtained what she was seeking, the Court rejects the State's argument that the fee award should be reduced because the Seventh Circuit did not discuss her due process challenge in providing her relief. [Filing No. 114 at 9-10.] 3 Ms. Cerajeski estimated that the amendment to the UPA in light of Cerajeski I would result in compensation "to claimants over the next ten years [] in the millions of dollars." [Filing No. 85 at 13.] In the eighteen months following the amendment, however, the State actually paid $24,400.71 in interest on the claims made. [Filing No. 118.] At that rate, it would take approximately 61 years for the State to pay $1,000,000 in interest as a result of the change made to the UPA because of Cerajeski I. The Court cautions counsel to avoid making unsupported representations. 8 1) Reasonableness of Hourly Rates The Court will first address the reasonableness of Ms. Cerajeski's counsel's requested rates—$700 per hour for Ms. Saunders, $750 per hour for Mr. Susman, and $400 per hour for Mr. Hara. [Filing No. 85-2 at 6; Filing No. 85-2 at 15-21; Filing No. 85-3 at 15; Filing No. 85-3 at 17.] In disputing the reasonableness of those rates, the State emphasizes Ms. Cerajeski's counsel's lack of experience with civil rights litigation and argues that an hourly rate around $300 per hour would be more reasonable. [Filing No. 114 at 11-14.] a) Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman "A reasonable hourly rate is based on the local market rate for the attorney's services." Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553 (citation omitted). "The best evidence of the market rate is the amount the attorney actually bills for similar work." Id. "An attorney's self-serving affidavit alone cannot satisfy the plaintiff's burden of establishing the market rate for that attorney's services." Spegon v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 175 F.3d 544, 556 (7th Cir. 1999). Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman emphasize that the rates they request were their regular hourly rates in effect at the time that the initial fee petition was filed. [Filing No. 110-2 (Ms. Saunders' affidavit); Filing No. 110-3 at 3 (Mr. Susman's affidavit).] They each submit a resume highlighting experience attained during their lengthy legal careers—approximately 40 years for Ms. Saunders and 45 years for Mr. Susman. [Filing No. 85-2 at 9-12 (Ms. Saunders); Filing No. 85-3 at 10-11 (Mr. Susman).] While Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman are undoubtedly experienced litigators, their litigation experience involves securities law, class actions, antitrust law, ERISA law, and complex business litigation. [Filing No. 85-2 at 9 (Ms. Saunders' biography, noting that she "has concentrated her law practice in the areas of securities, class action, antitrust and other complex business litigation"); Filing No. 85-3 at 10 (Mr. Susman's resume, noting that he is 9 "published in the securities law field" and "has participated in over 70 lawsuits involving derivative, corporate, and securities matters and Chapter X corporate reorganizations and has achieved a reputation as a specialist in the field of minority shareholder representation").] What is missing for purposes of establishing that their typical hourly rates should be used for Ms. Cerajeski's case, however, is any relevant appellate, constitutional, and civil rights litigation experience. The Seventh Circuit recognized this significance in a strikingly similar example: Suppose the best lawyer in the United States charges $1,000 an hour and is worth every cent of it. Only his practice has nothing to do with civil rights; he is, let us say, an antitrust trial lawyer. He is requested to represent an indigent civil rights plaintiff, and he does so, giving the case his best shot and, despite his inexperience in civil rights litigation, doing a superb job. Would he be entitled to an award of fees at the rate of $1,000 an hour? Not if the judge could have procured competent counsel for the plaintiff at a much lower rate. It is no more reasonable to pay a lawyer $1,000 an hour for services that can be obtained at $200 an hour than it is to pay $1,000 for an automobile hood ornament that you could buy elsewhere for $200. Judges have to be careful when they are spending other people's money. Cooper v. Casey, 97 F.3d 914, 920 (7th Cir. 1996). Because Ms. Saunders' and Mr. Susman's primary practice areas are not similar to Ms. Cerajeski's appellate constitutional challenge to Indiana's treatment of unclaimed property, their general hourly rates are not "the best evidence" of a reasonable hourly rate for this action. See Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553 ("The best evidence of the market rate is the amount the attorney actually bills for similar work . . . .") (emphasis added). When there is no evidence of what counsel actually billed for similar work, then the Court "may rely on evidence of rates charged by similarly experienced attorneys in the community and evidence of rates set for the attorney in similar cases." Id. (citing Johnson v. GDF, Inc., 668 F.3d 927, 933 (7th Cir. 2012)). Ms. Cerajeski argues that a national market is the relevant "community" to consider in the context of her Chicago counsel, despite the fact this litigation challenged the constitutionality an Indiana statute. [Filing No. 111 at 6 (citing Jeffboat, LLC. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 553 F.3d 487 10 (7th Cir. 2009)).] She relies on Jeffboat, which is a case where the Seventh Circuit affirmed an ALJ's decision to award plaintiff's counsel his higher, out-of-town rate for litigation conducted in Indiana, despite the fact plaintiff had not first shown he could not retain local counsel. 553 F.3d at 490-91. Ms. Cerajeski ignores, however, that the Seventh Circuit repeatedly emphasized the ALJ's discretion to determine a reasonable hourly rate, emphasizing that "the judge could adjust an out-of-town attorney's rate downward when calculating the lodestar amount if local counsel could have provided comparably effective legal services and the rate of the out-of-town practitioner was higher than the local market rate [because] the decision to do so was within the discretion of the judge making the award." Jeffboat, 553 F.3d at 490 (citing Mathur v. Board of Trustees of S. Ill. Univ., 317 F.3d 738, 743-44 (7th Cir. 2003)). Thus, despite Ms. Cerajeski's arguments, Jeffboat does not require this Court to automatically accept Ms. Cerajeski's counsel's proposed rates as being on par with an allegedly national market. In fact, as described more fully below, the Court finds that local counsel could have provided comparably effective—and likely more efficient—legal services at a lower market rate. Even assuming a national market is at play, Ms. Cerajeski has presented no evidence that her counsel were part of it. Ms. Cerajeski admits in her reply brief that "[t]he market here is for attorneys with experience and skill in prosecuting complex litigation and constitutional cases at the federal appellate court level in Chicago and other cities throughout the country." [Filing No. 115 at 5.] But as the Court has already concluded, Ms. Cerajeski presents no evidence that Ms. 11 Saunders and Mr. Susman were part of that market, given that there is no evidence that they had any previous experience in federal constitutional appellate law. 4 The parties' extreme positions leave the Court with little guidance, but all is not lost. "The party seeking a fee award bears the burden of establishing the market rate for the work; if the lawyers fail to carry that burden, the district court can independently determine the appropriate rate." Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553. Given that Ms. Cerajeski has not included evidence supporting the requested rates for her counsel, the Court will turn to the "next best evidence," which may be "evidence of rates similarly experienced attorneys in the community charge paying clients for similar work and evidence of fee awards the attorney has received in similar cases." Johnson, 668 F.3d at 933. One of the most experienced trial and appellate constitutional civil rights attorneys in Indianapolis is Ken Falk, who is the Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana ("Indiana ACLU"). Over the past decade, Gavin Rose, a Senior Staff Attorney for the Indiana ACLU, has frequently served as Mr. Falk's co-counsel in these cases. This Court has had much experience with Mr. Falk and Mr. Rose, as have other courts in Indiana. For example, in Wirtz v. City of South Bend, Mr. Falk and Mr. Rose represented four individual plaintiffs 4 This conclusion also undercuts the declarations Ms. Cerajeski submits as evidence of rate reasonableness from Loyola University Chicago School of Law Professor Barry Sullivan, [Filing No. 110-1], and University of Texas School of Law Professor Charles Silver, [Filing No. 85-1]. Both professors assumed that Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman were part of a national market for appellate constitutional legal services, which the Court concludes they are not. Again, while Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman are undoubtedly experienced litigators in the securities and antitrust context, there is no evidence they had prior experience in constitutional appellate or civil rights litigation. Thus, the Court gives the Sullivan and Silver declarations little weight. See Pickett v. Sheridan Health Care Ctr., --- F.3d ---, 2016 WL 612129, at *3 (7th Cir. Feb. 16, 2016) ("The district court was free to reconsider the affidavits and afford them whatever weight it deemed appropriate. . . . . A district court is entitled to determine the probative value of each evidentiary submission."). 12 challenging the transfer of a parcel of land by the City of South Bend to a local Catholic Diocese overseeing a private Catholic school, allegedly for below market value. [Cause No. 3:11-cv-325RLM-CAN, Dkt. 1 (alleging that the city paid $1,200,000 for the property but planned to transfer it for $1.00).] The plaintiffs in Wirtz argued that the land transfer violated both the state and federal constitutions and sought an injunction prohibiting the transfer. [Cause No. 3:11-cv-325-RLMCAN, Dkt. 1.] The district court agreed that the land transfer would violate plaintiffs' rights under the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, and it entered an injunction prohibiting the transfer. Wirtz v. City of S. Bend, 813 F. Supp. 2d 1051 (N.D. Ind. 2011). Plaintiffs subsequently moved for an award of attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, requesting an hourly rate of $400 for Mr. Falk and $275 for Mr. Rose. Wirtz v. City of S. Bend, 2012 WL 589454 at *1 (N.D. Ind. 2012). The city did not challenge the reasonableness of Mr. Rose's hourly rate, but it did contend that Mr. Falk's hourly rate of $400 was excessive. Id. In ruling on the city's challenge, the district court noted that "Mr. Falk has immense experience in the exact subject matter at hand, the range of local area rates[—$200 to $550—]exceeds what he requests, and [that] he should be near the high side of that range according to his credentials." Id. at *2. Thus, the district court concluded that $400 was a reasonable hourly rate for Mr. Falk's work on the case. Id. The Court finds the rates at issue in Wirtz to be relevant because, like Ms. Cerajeski's case, Wirtz involved a successful constitutional challenge to a government action and a subsequent request that the public entity pay the prevailing plaintiff's attorneys' fees. Comparing counsel, however, it is beyond dispute that Mr. Falk—charging $400 per hour in 2012—had more salient experience than Ms. Saunders or Mr. Susman had when litigating Ms. Cerajeski's case. It is also beyond dispute that Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman had each been litigators for approximately four 13 decades, while at the time of the Wirtz fee award, Mr. Rose—charging $275 per hour in 2012— had been litigating for approximately six years. Given that Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman are no Mr. Falk but that they had decades more litigation experience than Mr. Rose, the Court finds a reasonable hourly rate for Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman in this litigation to be $350. The Court reached that number by averaging $400 and $275 and adjusting the result slightly upward to account for the rates at issue in Wirtz being from 2012 and the work at issue herein occurring after that time. b) Mr. Hara Mr. Hara was an associate with Mr. Susman's firm during Cerajeski I. 5 Ms. Cerajeski asserts that a reasonable rate for Mr. Hara is $400. The parties spend little time focusing on the reasonableness of Mr. Hara's hourly rate, and the Court will follow their lead. Interestingly, it appears that Mr. Hara actually had the most relevant experience to Ms. Cerajeski's case because he had "litigated a number of class actions on behalf of owners of unclaimed property against state governments." [Filing No. 85-3 at 8.] In fact, Mr. Hara had "successfully argued before the Ohio Supreme Court, resulting in a unanimous decision holding that the state's failure to pay interest is unconstitutional." [Filing No. 85-3 at 8.] Keeping in mind the Court's prior discussion regarding reasonable rates, the Court notes that Mr. Hara had much less litigation experience than Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman, but he had three more years of experience than Mr. Rose had in 2012. Mr. Hara also had particularly relevant experience, given that he had previously successfully challenged at least one state unclaimed property statute. Thus, the Court finds that a rate higher than Mr. Rose's but lower than Ms. 5 Mr. Hara left Mr. Susman's firm after Cerajeski I, and this Court granted his Motion for Leave to Withdraw Appearance in July 2013. [Filing No. 42.] 14 Saunders' and Mr. Susman's is appropriate, concluding that a reasonable hourly rate for Mr. Hara is $300. 2) Reasonableness of Hours Worked As the party seeking fees, Ms. Cerajeski "bears the burden of proving the reasonableness of the hours worked." Spegon v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 175 F.3d 544, 550 (7th Cir. 1999) (quoting Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 433 (1983)). In fact, the Court "has an obligation to exclude from this initial fee calculation hours that were not reasonably expended on the litigation." Id. The parties dispute the reasonableness of the hours Ms. Cerajeski's counsel spent working on the first appeal, the second appeal, and on the second remand. Ms. Cerajeski contends that her counsel spent a reasonable amount of time on each stage of this litigation, but the State disagrees. The State primarily challenges the amount of hours spent on Cerajeski I, emphasizing the relatively succinct paper record from the district court and contending that the amount of time counsel spent briefing the appeals and preparing for the oral arguments was excessive. [Filing No. 88 at 11-14; Filing No. 114 at 15-18 (estimating approximate cost per page).] In reply, Ms. Cerajeski defends the number of hours her counsel spent. 6 [Filing No. 89 at 10-13; Filing No. 115 at 6-8.] The Court 6 Ms. Cerajeski cites the declarations of Professors Sullivan and Silver to support the alleged reasonableness of the time her counsel spent on her case, [Filing No. 111 (citing Filing No. 85-1 (Silver declaration) and Filing No. 110-1 (Sullivan declaration)]. Because the Court has already concluded that those professors based their conclusions on the erroneous assumption that Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman were part of a national market for appellate constitutional legal services, the Court gives little weight to their opinions when analyzing the reasonableness of time spent on this litigation. See Pickett, --- F.3d ---, 2016 WL 612129, at *3 ("The district court was free to reconsider the affidavits and afford them whatever weight it deemed appropriate. . . . . A district court is entitled to determine the probative value of each evidentiary submission."). 15 will address the reasonableness of the number of hours counsel expended on Cerajeski I, Cerajeski II, and on the second remand, in turn. a) Cerajeski I In remanding for a fee determination, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals offered its "tentative view" that "the amount of time for which fees are sought" for Cerajeski I was "excessive." Cerajeski II, 794 F.3d at 832. The Court gives weight to this comment, particularly in light of the Seventh Circuit's obvious familiarity with the time it takes to do appellate work, a subject with which this Court—a trial court—has limited experience. See also Charles v. Daley, 846 F.2d 1057, 1077 (7th Cir. 1988) ("Aware as we are of the sound rationale for customarily deferring to the fee awards of district courts, such routine deference seems less justified when fees incurred in connection with appellate work, an aspect of legal practice with which we are intimately familiar, are in dispute.") (original emphasis). Although Ms. Cerajeski argues that the Seventh Circuit's "tentative view does not withstand closer scrutiny," she nevertheless "reduced the fee requested to 80 percent" of the time expended in response. [Filing No. 111 at 4, 7-10.] But Ms. Cerajeski cites no authority for an across the board percentage reduction being the appropriate remedy, especially for what she concedes are a "number of hours . . . [that] may at first blush appear high." [Filing No. 111 at 3.] The Court will instead analyze the hours spent briefing and preparing for the oral argument in Cerajeski I and reduce them as necessary to reflect what it believes to be reasonable. Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman spent 352.5 hours total working on Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 85-2 at 6.] The State argues in response that 100 to 150 hours would have been reasonable. [Filing No. 114 at 17.] The State emphasizes that Cerajeski I was an appeal from this Court's decision to grant a motion to dismiss; thus, it was a paper record with no discovery, depositions, exhibits, or 16 trial transcripts. [Filing No. 114 at 17.] The Court finds this observation to be well-taken. Although Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman were hired as appellate counsel after this Court granted the initial motion to dismiss and understandably spent some time getting up to speed with the case, the Court finds the time it took them to do that, brief the appeal, and prepare for oral argument to be excessive. This is consistent with the Court's prior observation that Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman, while experienced litigators in other respects, had little experience with federal constitutional appeals based on the resume evidence they submitted. While the Court has reduced their requested hourly rates accordingly, it will also keep their lack of experience in mind when determining a reasonable amount of time that counsel should have spent on the various appellate tasks. Ms. Saunders spent 144.25 hours drafting the opening brief in Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 114 at 15 (State's calculation); Filing No. 115 (not challenged on reply).] The Court has reviewed the appellate record in Cerajeski I and finds that 64 hours—approximately 1.5 working weeks— would have been a reasonable amount of time for Ms. Saunders to review the district court record, research the relevant issues, and draft the opening brief, especially if she had more heavily relied on Mr. Hara's salient experience on the issues surrounding state unclaimed property statutes. Ms. Saunders spent 48 hours drafting the reply brief in Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 114 at 15 (State's calculation); Filing No. 115 (not challenged on reply).] The Court finds that 30 hours would have been a reasonable amount of time to review the State's appellee's brief and draft a reply. Ms. Saunders spent 29.5 hours drafting a seven-page supplemental brief about escheat in response to the Seventh Circuit's invitation to the parties to file supplemental memoranda addressing that topic after the oral argument. [Filing No. 114 at 16 (State's calculation); Filing 17 No. 115 (not challenged on reply).] The Court finds that 16 hours would have been a reasonable amount of time it should have taken counsel to research and brief this supplemental issue on appeal. Ms. Saunders spent between 60 and 65 hours preparing for and presenting the oral argument in Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 110-1 at 12 (Professor Sullivan's calculation); Filing No. 114 at 15 (State's calculation); Filing No. 115 (not challenged on reply).] The Court finds this amount of time to be significantly excessive, especially given that Ms. Saunders took the lead drafting both the opening and reply briefs on appeal and, thus, was already well-versed on the relevant issues before oral argument. See United States v. Tarkowski, 2002 WL 460831, at *3 (N.D. Ill. 2002) ("Having researched the factual and legal issues in preparing their brief, there was no need to reinvent the wheel to prepare for argument."). The Court finds that 20 hours would have been a reasonable amount of time for Ms. Saunders to prepare for and present oral argument in Cerajeski I. See, e.g., Ustrak v. Fairman, 851 F.2d 983, 987 (7th Cir. 1988) (determining that "[a]lmost a week's work is far too much for preparing to argue an appeal in a case involving simple facts, a three-day trial, and legal issues of limited (though not trivial) scope and novelty" and, instead, allowing 16 hours for preparation); Shula v. Lawent, 2004 WL 2044279, at *2 (N.D. Ill. 2004) (reducing 35 hours requested for Seventh Circuit oral argument to 20); Johnson v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 2000 WL 34229775, at *1 (W.D. Wis. 2000) (reducing 40 hours requested for Seventh Circuit oral argument to 20). Mr. Susman expended 48.25 total hours assisting Ms. Saunders with Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 85-3 at 6; Filing No. 114 at 15 (State's calculation).] As the State notes in its response, it is difficult to attribute some of Mr. Susman's time to specific tasks because his time entries are often very general. [Filing No. 114 at 15 (noting that Mr. Susman's time "could not easily be attributable 18 to specific tasks").] It is clear that Mr. Susman spent 1.25 hours helping Ms. Saunders prepare for oral argument and 4.75 hours attending the oral argument. [Filing No. 85-3 at 14.] The Court finds those 6.0 hours to be a reasonable amount of time spent by co-counsel assisting with oral argument. As for the other 42.25 hours, the Court finds that a reasonable amount of time for Mr. Susman to expend assisting Ms. Saunders with Cerajeski I would have been an additional 20 hours. It is clear that Ms. Saunders took the lead and invested the vast majority of the time on Ms. Cerajeski's litigation and that Mr. Hara provided some key assistance on the topics at hand during Cerajeski I before leaving Mr. Susman's firm. Thus, from what the Court can discern from Mr. Susman's entries, a reasonable amount of time for him to spend assisting her on Cerajeski I would have been 26 hours total. The State briefly challenges the reasonableness of the 23.25 hours that Mr. Hara spent working on Cerajeski I. [Filing No. 88 at 13.] The Court concludes, however, that given Mr. Hara's prior experience challenging the constitutionality of unclaimed property statutes, he probably should have been more involved with Cerajeski I to reduce the average billing rate and increase counsel's overall efficiency. See also Cerajeski II, 794 F.3d at 832 (commenting with regard to the time requested for Cerajeski I that "the high average billing rate [of Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman] implies that few junior members of the two law firms who handled the appeal could have been assigned to work on the appeal"). Thus, the Court concludes that the 23.25 hours Mr. Hara spent working on Cerajeski I was reasonable. Based on these conclusions, the Court finds that 179.25 total hours was a reasonable amount of time for Ms. Cerajeski's counsel to expend on Cerajeski I. 19 b) Cerajeski II Ms. Cerajeski requests attorneys' fees for 82 total hours of work her counsel spent on Cerajeski II. [Filing No. 110-2 at 3; Filing No. 111 at 9.] The State disputes the reasonableness of this request but does not specify the amount of time it believes would have been reasonable. 7 [Filing No. 114 at 18-19.] Instead, the State generally criticizes the 45 hours it took counsel to draft the appellant's brief in Cerajeski II (noting that at least some of it repeated the history of Cerajeski I) as well as 2.5 hours of time that Mr. Susman spent researching issues between the Seventh Circuit oral argument and its decision. [Filing No. 114 at 18.] Ms. Cerajeski characterizes this as "not offer[ing] any serious objection to the time spent on the second appeal" and disputes the State's limited challenge. [Filing No. 115 at 7.] The Court will only address the reasonableness of the time Ms. Cerajeski's counsel spent on Cerajeski II that the State specifically challenged. The Court does not find it unreasonable for counsel to have spent 2.5 hours researching various issues raised at the oral argument. The Court does find the 45 hours spent briefing the appellant's brief to be a bit excessive and concludes, instead, that given counsel's general familiarity with the case after Cerajeski I, spending 40 hours doing so would have been reasonable. For these reasons, the Court subtracts 5 hours from counsel's request and finds that 77 total hours was a reasonable amount of time for Ms. Cerajeski's counsel to expend on Cerajeski II. 7 The State calculates Ms. Cerajeski's time spent on Cerajeski II to be 90.5 hours but does not cite to the record for that calculation. [Filing No. 114 at 18.] Given that Ms. Cerajeski's opening brief makes clear that her request "is based on 82 hours of work on the second appeal," [Filing No. 111 at 9], the Court will use that number. 20 c) Second Remand Ms. Cerajeski requests attorneys' fees for 39.75 hours of work her counsel spent on the second remand. [Filing No. 111 at 9.] The State disputes the reasonableness of this request but does not specify the amount of time it believes would have been reasonable. [Filing No. 114 at 18-19.] The State claims that the "only matter of substance on remand was a short settlement conference which lasted less than half a day." [Filing No. 114 at 19.] Ms. Cerajeski defends her request in reply, noting that the Court ordered the settlement conference and that counsel had to file a settlement brief and travel to Indianapolis to attend the conference. [Filing No. 115 at 7-8.] Ms. Cerajeski also points out that the State ignores the time it took counsel to prepare its supplemental fee petition after the settlement conference did not resolve the case. [Filing No. 115 at 8.] The Court agrees with Ms. Cerajeski that her counsel spent a reasonable amount of time on the second remand, given the Court-ordered settlement conference and the necessity of a settlement brief and subsequent supplemental fee petition. Thus, the Court finds that 39.75 total hours was a reasonable amount of time for Ms. Cerajeski's counsel to spend on the second remand. C. Final Result As previously stated, the lodestar figure is "the product of the hours reasonably expended on the case multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate." Montanez, 755 F.3d at 553. The Court has concluded that reasonable hourly rates for Ms. Cerajeski's counsel are $350 for Ms. Saunders, $350 for Mr. Susman, and $300 for Mr. Hara. The Court has also concluded that a reasonable amount of time to spend on this litigation is as follows: 156 total hours on Cerajeski I for Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman ($54,600 total); 23.25 total hours on Cerajeski I for Mr. Hara ($6,975 total); 77 total hours on Cerajeski II for Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman ($26,950 total); and 39.75 21 total hours on the second remand for Ms. Saunders and Mr. Susman ($13,912.50 total). Using these figures, the Court finds the lodestar amount of attorneys' fees for this litigation to be $102,437.50. Although it is not conclusive, "there is a strong presumption that the lodestar figure is reasonable." Perdue v. Kenny A. ex rel. Winn, 559 U.S. 542, 554 (2010). "[T]hat presumption may be overcome in those rare circumstances in which the lodestar does not adequately take into account a factor that may properly be considered in determining a reasonable fee." Id. Among "other considerations that may lead the district court to adjust the fee upward or downward [is] the important factor of the results obtained." Sottoriva v. Claps, 617 F.3d 971, 975 (7th Cir. 2010). While the Court cannot forget that this litigation began as a fight over the interest that the State is holding on $10.65 of Mr. Cerajeski's property—an amount that Ms. Cerajeski apparently cares so little about that she has yet to file a claim for it on his behalf—the Court also cannot ignore that as a direct result of Cerajeski I, the Indiana legislature amended the UPA so that all individuals can now obtain interest on certain types unclaimed property the State is holding. As a result, the State has already paid $24,400.71 in interest on claims filed in the first 18 months following the amendment. [Filing No. 118.] While that amount is less than the "millions of dollars" Ms. Cerajeski's counsel guessed would result in the decade following the amendment, [Filing No. 85 at 13], it is not nominal and certainly serves a public purpose, as exhibited by the 5,780 property claims paid with interest since the UPA's amendment. [Filing No. 118.] For these reasons, the Court finds the lodestar figure to be reasonable and awards Ms. Cerajeski $102,437.50 in attorneys' fees. 22 IV. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated herein, the Court GRANTS IN PART Ms. Cerajeski's requests for attorneys' fees, [Filing No. 84; Filing No. 110], and awards her $102,437.50 in attorneys' fees. A Second Amended Final Judgment shall issue accordingly. _______________________________ Date: February 29, 2016 Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge United States District Court Southern District of Indiana Electronic Distribution via CM/ECF: Benjamin Myron Lane Jones INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL benjamin.jones@atg.in.gov Jonathan Paul Nagy INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL jonathan.nagy@atg.in.gov Kenneth Lawson Joel INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL kenneth.joel@atg.in.gov Arthur T. Susman LAW OFFICES OF ARTHUR SUSMAN arthur@susman-law.com Caryn Nieman Szyper OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL caryn.nieman@atg.in.gov Terry Rose Saunders THE SAUNDERS LAW FIRM tsaunders@saunders-lawfirm.com 23


Detailed information about Hotel zum Spalenbrunnen on PensionHotel. You will find the hotel description, prices, location, number of beds, available services, attractions. The hotel can be booked directly through the contacts or use the booking form. Before booking see availability Hotel zum Spalenbrunnen.
Occupying a medieval building next to the historic Spalen Gate, this 3-star hotel is just a 5-minute walk from Basel's Old Town. Wi-Fi is free of charge. All rooms at Hotel zum Spalenbrunnen feature cable TV, a minibar, and a bathroom. The Spalenbrunnen Hotel features a Swiss restaurant and a bar.
If you expect to arrive outside reception opening hours, please inform Hotel zum Spalenbrunnen in advance and leave your mobile phone number so that Hotel can contact you.


text:
You asked: Are Canadians or Americans nicer?
Are Canadian people nicer than American people?
Are Canadians the friendliest?
Are Canadians polite than Americans?
Is Canada the most polite country?
Is Canada the kindest country?
Which part of Canada has the nicest people?
Are Canadians scared of the dark?
What is considered rude in Canada?
In a confirmation of the stereotype, it seems that Canadians really are nicer to each other than Americans — at least on Twitter. An academic study that examined nearly 40 million tweets found evidence to suggest that Canadians were considerate, polite and positive while Americans were pushy, rude and negative.
In a recent study by a reliable survey company about how people from different nations interact with others globally, the analysis revealed that on twitter, Canadians are the friendliest people in the world.
Science proves that Canadians are way more polite than Americans. It is a generally assumed principle, much like the sun rising in the east or bears hibernating in the winter, that Canadians are an unfailingly polite people. They don't like to argue; they apologize for mistakes that others make.
It's official – Canadians really are friendly. Our nation was recently named the friendliest country in the world by Klear, a social analytics company. … So basically Canada wants to be friends with everyone, while the United States thinks everyone wants to be their friend.
According to 82 percent of the respondents, Canada is one of the friendliest places in general. … This could be due, among other reasons, to Canadians' friendly attitude towards foreigners, which is rated positively by 81 percent of expats, far above the global average (67%).
IT IS IMPORTANT: Can Canadian PR be rejected?
Canada's top 20 friendliest places
Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia.
Digby, Nova Scotia.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
Drumheller, Alberta.
Saint John, New Brunswick.
Gatineau, Quebec.
Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Given our population and density and size of the country we probably have more dark space than most anywhere. Of course I'm Canadian so can't really speak for others. As many have said it's fairly natural for most people to be afraid of the dark despite their nationality.
Canadian Attitudes Towards Time
Lateness of more than 15 minutes is considered rude, and an apology or explanation will be expected. Likewise, earliness of more than 15 minutes is usually considered presumptuous and may cause an awkward surprise for a host who is not yet ready.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Final stretch of our three week adventure now brings us to Vietnam. Please see blog entries "Part 1 of 3: Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in Three Weeks" for pictures of narrative and pictures of our time in Thailand; And see, "Part 2 of 3: Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in Three Weeks" for our time in Laos.
Ho Chi Minh City. So, I will update and add more pictures as we go along. Steve has arranged for another International Teaching School Tour before we depart back to the States. So far... I am liking Vietnam. It reminds me of Bangkok mixed with some India, and then its own uniqueness. Happy New Year!
Just past New Year's, very early morning here in Hanoi: Steve and I just returned from a wonderful night out walking around the Old Quarter, and eventually found a creepy entrance with a spiral stair case that went up and up and up. It led us to the Geko Bar and Restaurant. Quite a fun scene. So, as I sit here on New Years Day in Hanoi, all I can say to myself is "wow." Who would have thought I would rate my night here as my #1 New Years of all time... On the appearance Hanoi is a chaotic city and not a place that we would naturally gravitate to. None-the-less, yes, this is it, only to be topped by some other adventure in some other time. Tonight I say this must be it. Here's to being continually lost and still having fun.
Happy New Year! May the adventure only continue!!!
January 1, 2010: Morning. Steve and I took another walk around the little lake. It is nicknamed the liquid heart of the Old Quarter. Despite the pollution and often risking your life to cross a street, Hanoi has certainly grown on us. We are finding our way around now, at least if we don't venture too far out. There is terrible pollution at times, and the exhaust from all the vehicles (cars and motorbikes) and and smoke from outdoor cookeries can make you certainly start hacking like the locals, however it is exciting, fun, and always an adventure. We fly out this early afternoon to Da Nang, then will taxi it to Hoi An. I will include some more photos in a day or two.
We will continue to rest and try to take it easy. We head off to Phu Quoc Island. We will be staying in a Garden Bungalow in some ocean resort for 3 nights. Hopefully, the sun and rest will help Steve get over this thing. So we will venture out to get some dinner, but basically will be held up in our hotel. We do have two full days to explore Saigon when we return from the island, and have Steve's friend, Jered, who has made plans to show us around. Steve also has plans to visit the International Teaching School, so we will hope he feels better for that. But, our adventure continues... rain or shine, and in sickness and health. I will add some pictures a bit later... dinner calls.
A little embarrassing... it is really nice!
tropics, and being near a lovely ocean, our next tropical adventure just may be to rent a bungalow on a small island in Thailand for two months. I will add some more photos from our time here on the Phu Quac Island, and some city scenes of Saigon, but will call this good for the narrative of our three week adventure to Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Happy Travels! Thanks for tuning into this latest adventure.


text:
Eliza's triathlon feat brings in funds for trust
Eliza poses with her medal after completing the Garfield Triathlon at Castle Howard.
A youngster from North Newbald recently completed her first triathlon and raised more than £400 for a wildlife trust.
Eliza Loftus, 8, took on the Garfield Triathlon at Castle Howard, raising £435 for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
She completed a 100m swim in the lake, a 4km bike ride and a 1.3km run, completing the event in 45 minutes and 55 seconds.
She had prepared well for the event, attending a junior Parkrun in Leeds, biking up hills, learning how to stop and start, and running with her bike.
Eliza started outdoor swimming in June, which was by far her biggest challenge.
Eliza said: "I chose to raise money for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust because I love animals, whether it's pets or wildlife in the garden and elsewhere.
"I feel really happy knowing the money raised will help wildlife in my local area, as it is so important. The fundraising kept me going on the day, as it was quite daunting being in the lake on my own!"
Her mum Rachel said: "Eliza couldn't believe she had completed the triathlon and her first words were 'I want to do another one!'
"We are really proud of her for raising so much money and she can't wait to do another one for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust."
Allen's winning day at 60th John Smith's Cup meeting


Paper creation and correction are always related to stress and anxiety. In general, studying is a nervous matter. The specialists of our site want to reduce the possible harm and will gladly do your assignments for you. The finest online paper editing is provided at essay-editor.net. Here you will get competent assistance and support with any type of written assignments, including college papers, presentations, ESL tasks, etc. In order to be more useful, our experts, i.e. writers, editors, correctors have prepared several pieces of advice on how to stop being nervous about studies and overcome anxiety before an important event such as an exam or public speaking. Check them out right now.
School and college life is full of worries. It is necessary to read a book and get prepared to answer, to write a test, to pass the final and entry exams, to try not to fail the examination period, to write a good term paper, to conduct scientific research, to get a degree, etc. All these periods influence us differently but, one way or another, they involve excitement (usually in its negative meaning). Our expert team has conducted research and is ready to tell how to stop being nervous about studies or before an important event. Also, it will explain what to do when anxiety becomes your constant companion.
Learn to distinguish the feeling of anxiety and increased nervousness. The first one appears once and is considered to be normal. However, if ordinary anxiety turns into chronic nervousness (with the reason and without it), it becomes a problem.
Sweaty palms, increased heartbeat, it gets hot, it is hard to focus – your body sends signals about a problem. The reason can be about human physiology, in this case, this is the fear for one's life. However, usually the reason for fear is psychology, i.e. the fear to fail or look stupid in peoples' eyes. This is the moment of the release of adrenaline that makes us either act or hinder. There is a good Swedish proverb: "Anxiety makes the shadows of little things look big". By the way, if proverbs and idioms interest you, we have a post devoted to the issue of English idioms and analogues.
Is it harmful to get nervous?
It is harder to focus and think calmly in stressful situations, especially when it is necessary to use the head. For instance, it is harder to recollect the necessary information during an exam or to answer in front of the public. If you get nervous about trivial matters or drive yourself crazy, you risk becoming a pessimist. Some people develop bad habits because of nervousness. Of course, this is not good for health.
However, the things are not as terrible as it might seem. Psychologists have proved that nervousness is not always harmful. Sometimes it becomes a push to development. An experienced fear can motivate to work on oneself. A student, having been criticized, will either quit studying or start performing better. When creative people experience the agony of creativity, they produce masterpieces. Finally, experienced stressful situations add life experience. If the same or similar situations occur, a person already knows how to handle them. Simply put, what does not kill us makes us stronger. Read some more additional tips from our specialists: http://essay-editor.net/blog/the-best-proofread-paper-company-helps-avoid-stress.
When does ordinary anxiety turn into increased nervousness? Only a doctor can define this transmission. However, there are the signs that will help understand whether it is necessary to appeal to a specialist. A depressed state, reduced activity, constant worry – these are the alarm bells. People with increased nervousness suffer from insomnia, headaches, and heartaches. In this situation, the main task is to notice in time that something is wrong and ask for help. In some cases, excessive anxiety can be the symptom of various diseases.
How to stop being nervous before an important event?
1) Do not give yourself troubles. Anxiety cannot be avoided when you are going to pass an exam unprepared. That is why it is better to plan the things in advance and use time correctly to learn the subject as well as it is necessary. In such a way, you will save many nervous cells.
2) Be determined to receive positive. Focus on the positive things. For instance: "The exam is important. The grade will influence my performance / admission / scholarship. I will cope with it because I have learned everything needed. Thousands of students before me have already passed this exam so I can do this as well". Treat an important event as one of the little challenges on your life path where you need to present yourself in the best light. There will be many important events so preserve your nervous system.
If you want to learn to control your emotions, read the following books: "The Worry Cure" by Robert L. Leahy, "Emotional Agility" by Susan David, or "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson.
3) What does not kill us makes us stronger. In order to change life for the better, change your treatment of a situation. Think about the possible scenarios and do not exclude the probability of failure. For instance, you can think as following: "If I do not manage to get a high enough grade, I will have to apply to another college where a lower grade is okay" or "I will retake the exam, I will try to learn everything necessary and the next time I will perform better". Solve the problems instead of suffering from them.
4) Do not keep the worries inside you. It is easier to get a grip when you share emotions with others. Before an exam, you can discuss some points, support each other, wish luck, etc. Review the materials and pay attention to the most difficult points. In such a way, you will manage to forget about the nervous shiver for a while.
5) Learn to breathe correctly. If an event is about to begin and your nerves are going up, use a trick. There is an effective breathing exercise that helps calm down. Breathe air counting to 4, hold your breath for 2 seconds. Then, breathe out counting to 4 and hold your breath for 2 seconds again. If lung capacity is bigger, you can increase the intervals (6 to 3 or 8 to 4). During the relaxing exercises, it is important to breathe not with your chest but stomach. It will help calm down the physiologic signs of nervousness faster.
6) Focus. In order to stop being nervous, sometimes it is enough to get your head together and focus on an important event. Check whether you have taken everything you need, make up a plan of the coming situation and play it in your mind. If this is an exam, do not panic but read the questions thoughtfully and try to recollect the material. Writing down the facts gradually, you will manage to trigger visual memory and rote learning and recollect much more theory than it has seemed to you in the beginning.
How not to be nervous about studies?
One of the most important life stages (at least 10-11 years) is spent studying. Most anxiety and stress experienced by school and college students are caused by studies. Worries about the grades, exams, admissions, graduation, relationships with the professors and class(group)mates are just the tip of the iceberg. We know what to do to reduce the negative influence and make studies easier and more pleasant.
1) Do not be afraid of being mistaken. We go to school or college to get knowledge. It is okay to make mistakes at this stage. Do not be embarrassed to speak publicly in front of your groupmates. This is just the preparation for your future life and training of your skills to overcome stress. You will definitely need this skill at work.
2) Do not chase after the grades. For many students, studying is the chase after the grades. However, sometimes a student with an average performance achieves greater heights compared to a high achiever because he (or she) has focused on knowledge (not the grades). Of course, this statement does not work for the seniors because the grades are really important for them. In any case, you need to care for the quality of knowledge. This is what will help you enter a good college, the one you are dreaming about.
3) Quit the stereotypes. A classic stereotype looks as following: a pupil goes to the 1st form, studies diligently for 11 years, finishes school with the good grades, and enters a college easily. It does not mean that you must do the same. You can go your own way. For instance, after college, you can get other several higher educations, or work in a field not related to your specialty, or start working right after school. Quit the stereotypes and look for your own ways of development.
4) Solve the problems when they appear. Learn to plan your day so that you could allocate time for the preparation to the exams, home assignments, term paper writing, etc. In such a way, you can be sure that you will have enough time for everything. You will also manage to avoid the last-minute rush and stay calm before an important event. Essay-editor professionals shall help you save time doing your assignments for you: http://essay-editor.net/blog/academic-editing-is-the-best-way-to-fix-your-papers.
5) Do not forget about the rest. Of course, have some time to rest. Sometimes, in order to calm down the nerves, it is necessary to unwind. The deserved rest can be your favorite hobby, meeting with friends, watching movies, or just a good sleep. After reloading, you will look at everything afresh and get prepared more effectively.
What to do if you get nervous all the time?
1) Find the reason for nervousness. If your health is okay and your body receives enough useful substances, the reason is hidden somewhere else. The nerves are often bad because of fatigue or personal and everyday issues. The surefire way to overcome the problems is to switch to another thing. A good anti-stress is to attend a cultural event, shopping, cooking, meeting with friends, etc. When nervousness appears because of fatigue, it is better to leave all the businesses for later and have a good sleep, take a bath, or have a massage.
2) Eat right and healthy. Your nervous system will thank you if you eat foods containing vitamins B (В1, В6, В9, В12), А, Е, D.
3) Do not be limited to one-time rest. As they say, a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. That is why a regular sleep, sports, outdoor exercise, and proper nutrition will solve the problem of stress.
It is hard to overcome nervousness at once. It will be necessary to work hard on yourself. We hope our pieces of advice will be a good start and help cope with anxiety in any life situation.


When it comes to Tennis Clothing and shoes, there's no one on the North Shore with a greater selection. We've loaded the shop with collections from Asics, Bolle, Tail, LaCoste, Nike, Sofibella, and many more! And we stock whites... oh soooo many whites. And when it comes to shoes, we don't know the meaning of overkill. We couldn't decide on a few brands so every one was invited... We've got current models from, Asics, Babolat, Head, K-Swiss, New Balance, Nike, Prince, and Wilson.


I seem to have a problem with the funciton list, I want to limit what the frontend storeadmin can do to just basic product updates. No prices, attributes or images. I have disabled these in the function list under the storeadmin column and pressed 'save permissions' yet everything still shows at the frontend anyway. I have tried this over and over but it doesn't work.
I have searched the forums and found that other people have the same problem yet no one seems to have a solution yet. Can anyone help?


text:
Roaring Fork Weekly Journal
AspenDailyNews
Greenbelt plans praised and questioned
Gay for Good continues to do good
Council leaning toward rebate, mill levy question
Storytelling around the fire
98 days of heartbreak: Our experience covering the Lake Christine Fire
School's out, now what?
Gratifying and Grateful: BHS Celebrates Class of 2019
Field guide to surviving freshman year
Graduates, in their own words
Gongs, signing days and success
Epic runoff will lead to big mid-summer, autumn fishing
Water activity picking up as temperatures rise
Basalt track blazed trail at states
Springtime: A season for Roaring Fork growth
Basalt spring sports hit a homer
What makes Basalt unique?
Rock Canyon Coffee: Neither bitter nor burned
Bestselling author shares tips at Basalt Chamber workshop
New year, new body?
The downvalley shuffle
Proposed arts center at Willits Town Center gets a sizable financial boost
Shakespeare in the Park makes its Basalt debut
Breakfast in America going strong after 20 years
God Bless Americana
The Butch is back!
Columns Letters to the Editor Submit a letter to the editor
Half-Hearted Fanatic: Common Ground
8162X: No place I'd rather be
Mountain 101: A climatological rose by any other name
Kiss My Ass: A note to double flag flyers
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World of holiday tradition comes together in Mid-Valley
M. John Fayhee
Updated: Dec. 20, 2018, 3:01 a.m.
It would be easy for more provincial minds to think that there is only one true way to celebrate Christmas: the American way. An orgy of early-morning present unfurling. Turkey-and-dressing-based torpor. A mad inventory of swag with the idea of ascertaining what items need returning on Dec. 26, the second-busiest shopping day of the year.
But the Roaring Fork Valley is a true melting pot, with residents and visitors alike hailing from the far reaches of the globe. Ergo: There lie among us many different perspectives toward Christmas.
With that in mind, we thought it might be fun, and maybe even illuminating, to interview a handful of foreigners living and working in the area, to ask about their Christmas traditions back home and to learn what they think of the holiday season, American style.
What we learned is that, though we clearly dominate on the early-morning present orgy-front, we are middle of the road when it comes to holiday-season gluttony.
Monika Oginski-Blanchard - Poland
Monika Olinski-Blanchard, owner of Faboo in Basalt, says in her native Poland, a chair is left empty at Christmas Eve dinner, symbolizing that there is always room at the table for one more. - photo by M. John Fayhee
Though, as a child, Mary Chalverus ping-ponged between Puerto Rico, where she was born, and Seattle, it wasn't until she was 20 years old that she ever spent a Christmas on the mainland.
"We moved to the mainland originally when I was 2, but I went back and forth," says Chalverus, who works as an escrow officer at Stewart Title in Basalt. "My mom is Puerto Rican and was born in Puerto Rico. We moved to Seattle, but my parents got divorced. We moved back to Puerto Rico when I was 4, stayed there through when I was 6, moved back to Seattle when I was 7, moved back to Puerto Rico when I was 8 and 9. I went to all-Spanish Catholic school there and public schools over here.
"In Puerto Rico, Noche Buena — Christmas Eve — is when you really celebrate," Chalverus continues. "We eat a lot of roasted pig — lechon asado — we drink a lot, eat a lot of pasteles, which are really common during Christmas time. Pasteles are almost like a tamale, but the masa is made out of plantain instead of corn.
"People get together and you've got a lot of caroling, people playing the guiro, which is a musical instrument you scrape. There are maracas and guitar players. It's a big, fun, party. You bring your music and your party to your neighbors. It's a lot more lively than Christmas Eve here. Some people do go to Midnight Mass."
Christmas morning is at least partially dedicated to the time-honored holiday tradition — known the world over — of recovering from the previous night's indiscretions.
"We do open gifts on Christmas morning, just like here," Chalverus says. "We have Santa Claus, but we don't have many chimneys in Puerto Rico. Santa Claus gets in through the front door, which we leave a little bit open. We have Christmas music, but it's not like here. It's more lively."
Chalverus has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for a year-and-a-half.
My fiancé convinced me to move here," she says. "I love the sunshine. Seattle was grey. But I am used to spending Christmas on the beach. I am getting used to remoteness, not being able to get certain types of food."
Fortunately for Chalverus, she has a lot of family flying in for Christmas. One brother is bringing a Puerto Rican Christmas staple — pork shoulder with skin, which is apparently unavailable in these parts.
Another brother is bringing an additional Puerto Rican holiday favorite: blood sausage.
"A really big day of the holiday season is Jan. 6, Three Kings Day," Chalverus says. "It's epiphany. It's a huge tradition, almost as important as Christmas. When you're a kid, you get a shoebox and you go get grass and put it in the shoebox and set it next to your bed because the camels are coming and camels have to eat. The Three Wise Men come and leave gifts and the camels eat the grass. You typically wake up with more presents and then there'll be a little path of grass to the outside. Parents sneak in during the night and spread the grass so it looks like the camels did it."
Stephen Isberian - Armenia
Stephen Isberian is the owner of the Isberian Rug Company in Basalt's South Side. Pictured with his wife Heather and daughter Taline, Isberian holds a rug upon which the Lord's Prayer is written in Armenian. - photo by M. John Fayhee
Here's the thing about Stephen Isberian, owner of Isberian Rug Company in Basalt's South Side (he also has a store in Aspen): He was born in Chicago, not Armenia. He considers that fact to be a telling component of any narrative centered upon his ancestral homeland. Between 1914 and 1923, Armenia, located in the Caucasus region of Asia, was subjected to one of the most intense genocidal ethnic cleansings in the bloody history of mankind. Historians refer to it as the "Armenian Holocaust."
"It's a long story, but most of the genocide took place in 1915," Isberian says. "The Ottoman Empire, which was in decline, essentially instigated a holocaust on Armenians, who were citizens of the empire. As a result, a significant percentage of the population became extremely displaced. The bulk ended up spread throughout the Middle East and eventually many came to the U.S. and Canada. Wherever we went, we maintained as many of our traditions as we could."
Faith continues to play a big role in the Armenian culture's celebration of Christmas.
"Armenia is the oldest Christian nationality in the world," Isberian says. "In the year 301, Armenia accepted Christianity as the national religion. That was prior to Constantine. Our form of Christianity is Orthodox, with all the bells and whistles. Therefore, we primarily celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6, the day of the Epiphany. But we as a culture have always been good at assimilation. Therefore, in America, we also celebrate on Dec. 24 and 25."
Isberian has lived in the Roaring fork Valley for 51 years. He first came west after his dad passed away.
"I just needed to get out of Chicago," Isberian says. "I wanted to go somewhere I didn't know anybody, so a friend and I went to Aspen. I loved it and decided to move here. I was lucky because I had a trade. My family has been in the rug business for generations. Naturally, I opened a rug shop. A lot of people come here without a trade and end up scraping by."
At this point, Isberian Rug Company, which has custumers all over the world, is one of the longest-tenured locally owned businesses in the entire Roaring Fork Valley.
"Because we raised our kids here, we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 like everyone else," says Isberian, who has traveled all over Asia — including Armenia — as part of his rug business. (He proposed to his wife, Heather, in Afghanistan.)
"We put up a tree, open presents, have stockings," he continues. "We still do all that. But we like to maintain as many Armenian traditions as possible. We cook special foods and visit the homes of our friends. We go to church in Denver on Jan. 6. It's a Greek church that allows us to use it. There are about 300 or 400 Armenian families in Denver. It is important for us to remember where we came from and how we came to be here."
Isabel Catalan - Puebla, Mexico
Isabel Catalan, with her husband Daniel and daughters Olivia and Elena, says one of the Christmas season delicacies in her native Puebla is a codfish concoction that includes tomato, potato, olives and almonds.
Isabel Catalan came to the Roaring Fork Valley two years ago when her husband Daniel got a cooking gig at Sure Thing Burger in Willits. While Daniel hails from the state of Guerrero, where Acapulco is located, Isabel is from the colonial city of Puebla.
Like most of Mexico, the Christmas traditions in Puebla cover several weeks, beginning on Dec. 12 with the celebration of el dia de la virgin de Guadalupe — the patron saint of Mexico.
Though there are regional variations — including a hajj-like pilgrimage by many people to the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City — consistencies include the obligatory visit to the local Catholic church, the setting off of firecrackers, parades, musical performances and copious quantities of recreational imbibing, the latter of which is considered a sign of showing respect to the virgin de Guadalupe.
The holiday-season festivities re-commence on Dec. 16 with the advent of posadas — which translates to "lodging," but, in this context, refers to the inn that plays a leading role in the nativity.
"It's a big party," says Catalan, who lives in El Jebel and, in addition to raising two infant daughters, has started a company making baby clothes and accessories. "There are parades and people sing and take candles and walk around the streets symbolically asking for lodging. There is a long piñata filled with fruit. We make chalupas and a hot, sweet fruit drink."
A few days before Christmas proper, families start to gather to make what can charitably be called a copious amount of comida. One of the main dishes is bocalao, a codfish concoction that includes tomato, potato, olives and almonds.
According to Catalan, in the territory of her husband, whom she met in culinary school in Mexico, turkey is the traditional Christmas meal.
Christmas Eve usually includes a visit to church and a trip to grandma's house.
"We put baby Jesus into the manger with a piece of candy and sing a lullaby and pray for the baby Jesus and all people and family," Catalan says. "Then we have a family dinner that includes spaghetti and apple salad. We will sometimes exchange some gifts between family members."
On Christmas morning, the family eats leftovers and plays games.
More presents, which are brought by the Three Wise Men instead of Santa, are exchanged on Jan. 6. This in when rosca de reyes — a type of pastry — is baked. Inside is placed a figurine of Jesus and whoever finds it is obligated to host and dinner and make tamales for their guests. The Jesus figurine must be taken to a church by Feb. 2.
Catalan expects that, the longer her family continues to live in the Roaring Fork Valley, the more it will trend toward the American way of celebrating the holiday season.
Kate (Harris) Staskauskas - England
Kate (Harris) Staskauskas (right) says she misses Christmas pantomimes back in England, in which men dress up in drag. Mary Chalverus (left) misses pork shoulder with skin and blood sausage, both staples in her native Puerto Rico that are unavailable in the Roaring Fork Valley. - photo by M. John Fayhee
On the surface, it might seem that holiday traditions in England would not be that dissimilar from those in the U.S. But, even though we mostly speak the same language, there are indeed some differences, including, but not limited to, pre-holiday men in drag and listening intently to the monarch give what amounts to a state-of-the-union address.
Staskauskas, a native of Devon married, as her surname might indicate, to a Lithuanian, has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley since 1999, when she was recruited to work at the Little Nell in Aspen.
She says Christmas in Merry Old England begins with a traditional activity well known in the U.S., but not quite the same.
"The kids will write their letters to Santa a couple weeks before Christmas," says Staskauskas, who is a senior escrow officer at Stewart Title in Basalt. "Then you throw them on the fire and supposedly the ashes get to him that way."
So, no adding additional burdens to what is assuredly an already-stressed postal service in the North Pole.
During the run-up to Christmas, there are these things called "pantomimes," which are apparently somewhat difficult to explain.
"They take, say, "Jack in the Beanstalk' or 'Aladdin' and it's a lot of comedy that pretty much always has a man in drag," Staskauskas says. "It's a play, but all pretty much ad-libbed. You know the story and they throw random stuff in. It's everywhere. They switch it up. If they do 'Peter Pan,' it will be a female Peter Pan.
"On Christmas Eve, a lot of us go to church," she continues. "When I was in school, the last day of school before Christmas break, we would go down to the local church and sing."
Presents are opened on Christmas morning, pretty much the same as in the States. The mythology is basically the same: Santa shimmies his corpulent posterior down the chimney. Stocking are hung.
"Good kids get oranges, while kids that have been naughty get lumps of coal," Staskauskas says, with a wry grin.
"On Christmas day, dinner is usually at 2 p.m.," she continues. "We have a goose, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. Then everyone will pretty much be in front of the television at 3 for the Queen's speech."
According to Staskauskas, "The Queen talks about the year and what she expects in the year ahead. She talks for about 15 minutes."
Christmas dinner includes a festive addition called Christmas crackers that are essentially fireworks.
"You pull them apart with a neighbor at dinner," Staskauskas says. "They definitely go 'bang' when you pull them apart. Inside them is a gift, a hat and a joke and everybody kind of wears their hat around the table."
A nice addition to the British Christmas is Boxing Day, which takes place Dec. 26. Historically, this is when the lords of the manor boxed up the leftovers to give to the servants. These days, it's dedicated to having family members over to gnaw on those leftovers, servants be damned.
"There used to be a big fox hunt on Boxing Day, after which everyone would go down to the pub," Staskauskas says. "Then they would go home and eat more leftovers. There's definitely a lot of alcohol involved for Christmas."
Having lived in the States now for 20 years, Staskauskas, her husband and their 11-year-old daughter have gone native on the Christmas celebration front.
But Staskauskas misses some of the traditions of the Motherland.
"In England, Christmas is really a public holiday, here I wish you had another day to recover, most of the businesses close those two weeks. Not many places stay open at Christmas. It's hard in this valley because everyone is working during Christmas, so you can't spend as much time with family. Nobody would be working at home."
This Christmas will afford Staskauskas and her family the opportunity to rub elbows with those old traditions of posting wish lists to Santa via fire and setting off explosives at the dinner table. For the first time in 18 years, she is flying home for Christmas.
Mary Chalverus - Puerto Rico
Javier Gonzalez-Bringas - Spain
Javier Gonzalez-Bringas, owner of Tempranillo in Basalt, says people back in Madrid drink until 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve. He adds that people consequently sleep late on Christmas morning. - photo by M. John Fayhee
Javier Gonzalez-Bringas has owned Tempranillo Restaurant in downtown Basalt for 12 years. A native of Madrid, Spain, he has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for 30 years.
"I came to open Mezzaluna in Aspen," he says. "I was a working at the Mezzaluna in New York and the owner asked me to come here to help. I came for one winter and decided to stay. The owner, a very good friend, was happy for me. I've gotten married since I've been here and have two kids. It's all good."
Gonzalez-Bringas says the Christmas in his native land really kicks off, like so many places, on Dec. 24.
"There is a late dinner that is very elaborate, with six or seven courses," Gonzalez-Bringas says. "We start to eat at maybe 10 o'clock. Normally you start with some type of consommé, followed by some cold seafood, maybe some lamb. Or you can have langostinos, baby eels, suckling pig. The meal usually goes till midnight."
Once dessert is finished, do these nocturnal residents of the Spanish capital then retire to aid their digestion? Emphatically, no.
"Normally, we go to visit friends after dinner," Gonzalez-Bringas says. "We stay out until 2 or 3 o'clock Christmas morning drinking wine and champagne the whole time. We start with white wine, then red wine, then champagne."
Not surprisingly, on Christmas proper, "People get up very late. Young people go to party while older people go to church," Gonzalez-Bringas says.
The exchange of presents is not a big part of the Christmas tradition in Spain.
"Santa Claus does not come to Spain," Gonzalez-Bringas. "He stops in Belgium and Holland. Traditionally, we don't have trees like here. We normally have a nativity. We call it a 'belen.' It can be very elaborate, very artistic. They can fill up a whole room. There can be real rivers, camels for the Three Kings, a little house for mules and of course a Virgin. Or the whole thing can be very simple. Most every house has a belen."
Like many places in Europe, the Christmas season extends into January.
"On Jan. 5, the Three Kings bring some presents," Gonzalez-Bringas says. "We get up in the morning and go to the family room where all the presents are. The night before, we put a plate of food out for the Kings and milk for camels. We don't have reindeer in Spain.
"Later on Jan. 5, we have a huge procession that goes through whole Madrid," he continues. "It's kind of like Mardis Gras. There are real camels from the park, a lot of music and singing and shepherds with sheep."
Having spent three decades in the States and having raised a family in the Roaring Fork Valley, Gonzalez-Bringas has pretty much gone native with the way he celebrates Christmas.
"We do it American style," he says. "Santa comes to my house. We do the tree, the presents, everything."
His kids have never had the pleasure of experiencing Christmas in their father's native land.
"There are issues working around school, and we have a restaurant," Gonzalez-Bringas says. "It's a very busy time of year. It would be nice to take them to Spain for Christmas some time because it's very festive."
Sabina Kamadjieva - Bulgaria
Sabina Kamadjieva still adheres to many holiday traditions from her native Bulgaria, including saving a spot at the table for people who are deceased. - photo by M. John Fayhee
The Christmas season in Bulgaria is dominated by symbolism.
A native of the capital city of Sofia, Sabina Kamadjieva, who works as a server at Tempranillo Restaurant, has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for 14 years.
"I was on my way from New York to California and never made it there," she says. "I was 19 when I moved to New York on a student exchange program. I met my husband, who is also Bulgarian, in New York. I have two boys who were born and raised in the Valley."
Unlike many people from foreign realms who have adopted the American way of celebrating Christmas, Kamadjieva has strived to retain as many Bulgarian customs as possible.
"Christmas is one of our biggest holidays," she says. "It comes at the end of a 40-day period when there's no meat eating. It's kind of like Lent. On Christmas Eve, it's the last day of no meat, but there are no animal products of any kind. No eggs, no milk.
"On Christmas Eve, you've got to put on the table either seven, nine or 11 dishes, and they have to include dishes that are growing bigger when you cook them," Kamadjieva continues. "Like rice, barley and beans. You have to have red wine. You have to have nuts that are still in the shell so they can represent the fullness of the year ahead of you, and in each corner of the room where you have dinner, you put one un-opened walnut in each corner to represent hope that all four corners of the world are filled up."
In addition, the meal has to include honey, so the year ahead can be sweet.
Probably the most important thing, according to Kamadjieva, is the homemade bread.
Which is where we get to the part about the dead people.
"It is simple — basically baking soda, water and flour, and you have to put one silver coin in it," she says. "Whoever gets the coin will be the most-prosperous, healthy and luckiest person. When everyone sits at the table, the oldest male in the house will break the bread. You don't cut it; you have to break it. The first piece is for the Virgin and the deceased. The second piece goes to the house. That piece is traditionally put near the fireplace because back in the day we didn't do trees. But now more people are doing trees, so we put that piece of bread under the tree."
This inclusion of the dearly departed in the Christmas Eve festivities does not end with one piece of bread.
"The most important part of Christmas Eve is that, when you set up the table, you always put an extra setting," Kamadjieva says. "This is for the deceased. You never ever clean up the table after Christmas Eve dinner because we believe the decreased will come and feast with us after we go to bed. You pour the deceased a little bit of red wine. You don't put food for them on the plate. Just leave it on the table. My father passed away when I was 9. I still do it for him.
"Back in the day, the youngest males not married yet but willing to get married in the next year, they go and find a three-year oak tree and they put it in the fire and the fire has to go the whole night," she continues.
There is additional symbolism in the realm of liquid refreshment.
"We make a special drink on Christmas Eve where we boil all sorts of dried fruit, like apples, apricots and plums, which we mix with sugar and make juice. This represents how winter dries out everything and we are getting ready for spring," Kamadjieva says.
Bulgarians exchange presents on Christmas morning, but it's not the major-league to-do like in the U.S.
On Christmas Day, the family, many members of which have been surviving on lean rations for the past 40 days, start cooking lunch and dinner, which is big and festive, and which most definitely includes much in the way of animal products.
"This is one of the few holidays that I will keep the tradition as long as I can with my family," Kamadjieva says. "With my husband being Bulgarian too, it makes it easier."
Beto Gamboa and family - Nayarit, Mexico
Beto Gamboa, his son Tito and sister-in-law Evelia Montoya, make operating El Korita Mexican Restaurant in Willits a family affair.
Beto Gamboa has owned and operated, along with a cast of family members, El Korita Mexican restaurant in Willits for 11 years. For nine years before that, he ran the restaurant near City Market.
He has been in the States for 38 years. He first came to California from a small mountain village in the Mexican state of Nayarit, which is basically in the same part of the country as Puerto Vallarta. He moved to the Roaring Fork Valley because he had family connections in the area.
Like virtually all of his countrymen, Gamboa grew up looking at the holiday season as a multi-week celebration.
"We did it all," he says with a wide grin. "We went to church on Dec. 12th — the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. We made all the traditional types of food — tamales, posole and buñuelos. On the 12th, we also had dances."
At midnight on Christmas Eve, family members hug and wish each other Merry Christmas.
"On Christmas morning, the kids open their presents," Gamboa says. "That's also when we eat the leftovers."
After almost four decades north of the border, Gamboa and his family have acclimated to American holiday traditions. As such, he wanted to wish everyone in the Roaring Fork Valley a hearty Feliz Navidad.
"We are so thankful for the support we have received from this community over the years," he says.