12.5 hour day.

Shhh...don't tell Dr. McDreamy, who would probably sigh and tell me to slow down. As if I am doing this by choice.

Only 5 of the hours were at the new job, which really does (knocking wood while typing) seem to be a winner. Love the new boss, what a nice man! I actually do not report directly to him. I officially report to a young lawyer who is around my son's age, and so damn adorable I want to adopt her. We seem to have a tacit agreement that the "reporting chain" is for corporate convenience and we both think it's kinda weird but we're playing along. In actual practice we pretend it isn't there. I like her, I like the other young lawyer on the team, the other paralegal is a sweetheart - we hit it off instantly, she's smart and capable and non-territorial and easygoing. I see a good working relationship on this team - they all check their egos at the door, and have a sense of humor.


Her boss (the team boss) is a great guy. He gave me a contract and asked for a summary, and I spent a couple of days trying to translate the international nuances to familiar real estate practices, and yesterday I asked him, "Can we sit down and talk about this, because I can't even tell which of these events is the closing!" (One of the great advantages of being an old and experienced paralegal is I am way past the fear of looking stupid. When I know them better, I write comments like "WTF?" in the margins.) He is open and welcoming to coming in and sitting down and discussing, and I came out with a lot of background that made some of the crazy make sense, and he saw some of the crazy the same way I did but local counsel swears it's cool so we're going with it, we don't know local custom, and I pointed out a concern that he hadn't thought about and he jotted a note so he could take a look at it. It was a good meeting - I floated out happy about the work I'll be doing. It's so cool to be a Crotchety Old Paralegal and still on a fresh, new, challenging learning curve in sophisticated work. We had a good discussion, I learned a lot, I feel good about the new company and the team I'm on. Makes the pay cut and the long commute worth it - intellectually, though my budget will not see it that way. I wonder if my mortgage company will take a check written on a job satisfaction account?

Then, after getting out of "work" early, I spent the next 7 hours dealing with my mother's issues - she's getting a new bed, I am taking the old one and I'll try to offload it in the neighborhood full of kids, somebody may want it. It's an expensive bed. She is getting a new bed, custom planned by the sainted manager of the local Original Mattress Factory store. Can't say enough good things about them. Then I got my tool bag from my house and disassmbled the frame of the old bed and the box spring and mattress on the floor is the right height for her (same height bed her granddaughter had at 2). She's so small, so frail, she can't push herself into a regular bed, even a lowered one. The manager at the Original Mattress Factory cooked up a custom designed full sized bed for her, with the mattress of her choice, and crunched numbers to make it cheaper. She's a happy camper now. She told me I was sent from heaven. I told her we would not discuss where she came from. She actually laughed.

Damn, the days of this week have been brutally long. I leave the house before 7 and get home at 6. Murphy is Old Man Iron Bladder, he's glad to see me but so far my carpet has not suffered, so he gets a high five for adjusting so fast. I get two days of this 3 day weekend for my own business, but not for fun. My house is still a wreck, I've had little time off for a month. Sunday is booked for visiting my mother's house and starting the prep to get it on the market. Monday - I want Monday to be mine. Maybe buy more clothes. Maybe sit on my ass and watch whatever marathon TNT or USA is running, and knit, and zone out, and rest, and do laundry and clean the pond and maybe a little yard work. Did I mention lately that I am totally over home ownership?

Linen shawl on the home stretch. This weekend, for sure. Honest. Really.