Ha!
So you thought I'd never post again.
You were probably right. But here I am, with a free morning at last, and all sorts of things to think about.
On my mind today: how to make a career decision.
Like the puppy chasing cars--what does it expect to do when it catches one?
After decades of wrestling with "you can be whatever you want to be," I finally decided to be a Lawyer. Now I find that I still have to decide what I want to be. And this in a seriously down economy.
I have been offered an opportunity to put off actual practice as a lawyer for another year, and gain experience in the criminal law side of things. The pay is low, as lawyering-pay goes, but it is a job, which is a real big deal in this down-market. And the experience would be good. But I won't be doing actual law practice yet, so that means that if people ask me for legal help (as some have already done), I will have to say no to them still. But (like Tevye, I'm running out of hands here) taking this opportunity allows me to avoid for another year the world of the billable hour.
I'm still trying to figure out the whole life-family-work-balance thing. There's still an elementary school age child here at home. I am not terribly fond of the commuting, though I adore what I do and who I work with. With the exception of getting a certain someone to Activity Days (I think we're going to have to ask for help with that), I feel we're doing alright on the keeping a parent-at-the-crossroads goal.
I also have a tendency to misjudge my abilities and what I have to offer--I tend to discount, when I should probably be thinking bigger. What would happen if, instead of being my usual timid and fearful, I were bold and creative? Am I making this decision for the wrong reasons, like FEAR -- fear of making a mistake, of offending someone, of having the wrong priorities, of being unemployed, or employed at the wrong place, or of having to shell out for liability insurance with no income? Do I have a vision for where I should be and what I should do?
Anyway, I've realized that I don't have any idea how to make this decision. Mr. Coffinberry, bless his heart, has resolved that I need to think this through for myself. He will listen, but not advise (at least not yet... he knows me well).
____
On another subject: getting ready for Trek. Gotta build up stamina and make this lumpy dumpling fit for the trail. To that end, Mr. Coffinberry got me a Wii-Fit for Christmas, and I have exercised on it 17 days since (I was sick for a while there, and of course, no Sundays--the trick is getting up at 5:00 AM so as to have time to fit it in the schedule). Anyway, this morning I went a'running around the island (not bad, for in the basement, in the dark, not waking up the boys who had a sleepover) I managed to do a mile-and-a-half in 10 minutes. Ok, so it's only running in place, but for me, that is huge (I never ever could do it faster than 15 minutes in Fatness-for-Death class at BYU).
The Wii-Fit also taught me something this past couple of weeks: I thought I had completely healed from the broken leg back in 2000. I was wrong. I have no strength and stability in the (formerly broken) left leg and ankle. The rest of my body has been compensating around it, leading to all kinds of trouble. Amazing.
Did I mention I like my Wii-Fit?
You were probably right. But here I am, with a free morning at last, and all sorts of things to think about.
On my mind today: how to make a career decision.
Like the puppy chasing cars--what does it expect to do when it catches one?
After decades of wrestling with "you can be whatever you want to be," I finally decided to be a Lawyer. Now I find that I still have to decide what I want to be. And this in a seriously down economy.
I have been offered an opportunity to put off actual practice as a lawyer for another year, and gain experience in the criminal law side of things. The pay is low, as lawyering-pay goes, but it is a job, which is a real big deal in this down-market. And the experience would be good. But I won't be doing actual law practice yet, so that means that if people ask me for legal help (as some have already done), I will have to say no to them still. But (like Tevye, I'm running out of hands here) taking this opportunity allows me to avoid for another year the world of the billable hour.
I'm still trying to figure out the whole life-family-work-balance thing. There's still an elementary school age child here at home. I am not terribly fond of the commuting, though I adore what I do and who I work with. With the exception of getting a certain someone to Activity Days (I think we're going to have to ask for help with that), I feel we're doing alright on the keeping a parent-at-the-crossroads goal.
I also have a tendency to misjudge my abilities and what I have to offer--I tend to discount, when I should probably be thinking bigger. What would happen if, instead of being my usual timid and fearful, I were bold and creative? Am I making this decision for the wrong reasons, like FEAR -- fear of making a mistake, of offending someone, of having the wrong priorities, of being unemployed, or employed at the wrong place, or of having to shell out for liability insurance with no income? Do I have a vision for where I should be and what I should do?
Anyway, I've realized that I don't have any idea how to make this decision. Mr. Coffinberry, bless his heart, has resolved that I need to think this through for myself. He will listen, but not advise (at least not yet... he knows me well).
____
On another subject: getting ready for Trek. Gotta build up stamina and make this lumpy dumpling fit for the trail. To that end, Mr. Coffinberry got me a Wii-Fit for Christmas, and I have exercised on it 17 days since (I was sick for a while there, and of course, no Sundays--the trick is getting up at 5:00 AM so as to have time to fit it in the schedule). Anyway, this morning I went a'running around the island (not bad, for in the basement, in the dark, not waking up the boys who had a sleepover) I managed to do a mile-and-a-half in 10 minutes. Ok, so it's only running in place, but for me, that is huge (I never ever could do it faster than 15 minutes in Fatness-for-Death class at BYU).
The Wii-Fit also taught me something this past couple of weeks: I thought I had completely healed from the broken leg back in 2000. I was wrong. I have no strength and stability in the (formerly broken) left leg and ankle. The rest of my body has been compensating around it, leading to all kinds of trouble. Amazing.
Did I mention I like my Wii-Fit?
Comments
The other Wii game I enjoy is Dance Dance Revolution. If you haven't tried it, you need to come over and play sometime. You would really like it.
Regarding your lawyer decision, best of luck with that. I know that has to be hard. As a friend, let me just say that if you are worried about not being good enough for whatever it is you are thinking about -- let me just say that I have yet to see you do something that was not done well. You seem to be good at everything you try.
But maybe I'm biased, because I happen to really like you!
Oh, and I like your song!