Thursday, June 23, 2011

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.

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