TGIF

You know, it's been a long time since I've really felt that anything I've done warranted a heart-felt "TGIF". These past five weeks working full-time, toiling in the vineyards of The Man, have focused me, a lot, on the value of weekends. I have one more week (four days) left on this current engagement, and those last four days (Monday through Thursday this coming week) ought to be wild and wooly (quarter-end, and I'm supporting a sales organization) (end of quarter = deals = commissions for the sales force)...

However, since I haven't had adequate time to be the Domestic Goddess that I've become over the past couple/few years, my house looks like a homeless encampment (no disrespect to the homeless), there have been precious few cooked-from-scratch meals, and the clothes I've worn this week are piled on the bench in front of the window. Shame on me. At least I got the dishwasher loaded and ran it last night. And thank goodness for my spouse, who went to the store and bought milk and other necessities!

Various thoughts have occurred to me this week:

First, two double lattes a day are simply not a good idea for me, regardless of how tasty the coffee is. (Believe me, I pay for it at about 1:00AM when I wake up, eyes wide open, heart pounding -- I really ought not to drink more than one double, and for sure not drink ANY coffee after noon.)

Second, 30 years of practicing law come in quite handy when figuring out what to do on a given issue, and mentoring the more junior folks.

Third, it's really unattractive to whine constantly about how stressed you are (not me, but another member of the team).

Fourth, working ridiculous hours never, ever results in any well-deserved accolades from management and will only give rise to resentment on the part of your spouse and your kid(s). I've been attempting to drum that into the head of one of the younger folks on the team.

Fifth, I need more grown-up girl clothes for the office. (And why, pray tell, are women these days wearing shoes without hose?) (Don't their feet hurt/sweat/get blisters?)

And, bottom line, I really do enjoy being a lawyer and hanging out with folks in a work environment. And, if the work is at least minimally interesting, that's a bonus. OK, yes, and I get paid -- "ice cream money" comes in handy.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to get out there (it was getting pretty dicey there for a while), and to know I've still got my chops. A couple of skills are a bit rusty, and I need to work on that, but I'm still smarter than the average bear, and full of professional savvy and interpersonal skills. (Yes, and I'm humble, too.) I find that, from time to time, I have less patience with nonsense, but I've learned not to lash out (via email or otherwise), and to always be polite.

Oh, yes, and not to fire off emails when someone has really pissed me off. Some things are really important to learn, early! :-)

Other than that, I'm also savoring sitting here on my sofa, with all the doors and windows open, enjoying the glorious early Summer weather here in Northern California. And also enjoying my Cosmo. I've earned it.

May you all have a great weekend!

Thursday Night Ramblings

How did it get to be Thursday already . . . and, not only that, it's now officially Summer . . . What the heck? I'm just now sort of ready for Christmas. OK, maybe Ground Hog Day. Whatever. I don't do time well any more, I guess. It passes without me knowing.

The past few days, I've been listening to stories about the latest flood crisis in the middle of the country. This time, it's the town (city?) of Minot, North Dakota facing an innundation (due to a cosmic combination of forces). The news stories kept referring to the river that's about to flood the town. I found out today (because a news broadcaster spelled the name of the river) that it's the "Souris" River (as in the French word for "mouse")... (As in, Mouse River.) I could have sworn on a stack of Victoria's Secret catalogs that it was the "Tsuris" River (as in, the river of trouble). I thought that the name, Tsuris River, was terrifically apt and was astonished that it was in North Dakota, of all places . . . Like, wow, what a progressive place! I was a tad disappointed to find out that it was "Souris"... Ah, well... I guess it's the lingering influence of growing up in Da Bronx... (I still think it ought to be the Tsuris River, but that's a whole other issue.)

I've been at my current lawyer engagement for almost a full five weeks now. It's like I've been there for a lot longer. Perhaps I have chameleon DNA somewhere along the line -- I seem to take on the "coloration" of whatever environment I'm in -- been doing that for years! But, it's a congenial environment, the work is just interesting and challenging enough that I'm not bored beyond tolerance, and I get paid for it, too! The gig wraps up on the 30th, and I must admit (in my heart of hearts) that I'm looking forward to a little break. Having been "on the beach" for three years, I really was anxious to go back to work. But, now that I've been there, every day, for nine hours or so, I'm re-thinking my nostalgia for the workplace. Working for The Man is, at bottom, soul-sucking. I am so damn lucky that I don't HAVE to do it (i.e., work), but that I can choose to do it... I am blessed... But, it's fun enough for a couple/few months at a time...

There are several further opportunities floating around, all of them different, but all of them involving travel (OK, local within the SF Bay Area, but still). One is in San Francisco (a daily commute of about 1-1/2 hours), one in the East Bay (also a commute of about 1-1/2 hours), and the other out in the boonies (commute of 2+ hours). But, on the up side, the East Bay and the boonies engagements would not be full-time onsite, so that's a bit of a blessing. We shall see what pops up.

I'm sharing a photo (above) of today's snack extravaganza at the office. (These are "cake pops" -- lollipops made out of cake batter... I think these were lemon cake, with outrageously sweet icing -- after everyone indulged, they were then called "cake bombs"...) (The sugar crash in the late morning was a very unpleasant thing to observe...)

One of the attorneys with whom I work is a monster baker, and loves to share goodies with the team. Luckily, I can't eat any of them (I'm gluten-free), so I content myself with sniffing all the goodies. (OK, it's a bit weird, but it works.) And, one of the other attorneys also brings in fresh donuts regularly. Although I'd never want to eat them (the donuts), damn they smell totally yummy. If I were able to indulge, I'd be huge by now!!!

It was wildly hot here the past few days -- right on time for the first day of Summer. As someone said, we went right from whining (about the protracted cool, rainy weather) to Summer. Down here in the South Bay, it was close to 100 degrees for both days, which is just way too hot for me. Today, it was lovely again, and reminded me why I just love living here... Cool at night, warm during the day, bright blue sky, fluffy white clouds, ahhh... Yes, it is in fact the good life. And, yes, as a NYC expat, I have gotten soft. Too bad.

Other than that, life just goes on... Considering the alternatives, it's not so bad. I wish all of you the same.