Hi-ho, hi-ho

... it's off to work I go (tomorrow). And very pleased about it I am too.

Having moaned at length here (and to anyone who would listen) about how I wished I could find some sort of suitable work in my field, I've lowered my expectations a bit and taken a leap sideways. I'm returning to my old firm two days per week, but to work primarily on my boss' personal injury files rather than managing my own criminal ones. I might do the odd criminal appeal but that will be all.

I forsee good and bad things about this: the good - it's work! It will get me out of the house every Tuesday and Thursday, dressed in something other than jeans, to talk to adults and think about things other than how to persuade a toddler to eat, and when I should try to make her sleep, and which book we've read less than a dozen times in the last twenty four hours. It's also pretty good money - not essential but it will be nice to be able to have a few luxuries we would have otherwise delayed. The bulk of the work I will be doing is discrete tasks on files managed by someone else. I've only ever managed my own files, which is good in some ways, but is also a big responsibility. I'm looking forward to the chance to use existing skills in a new way, and to do so in a relatively low stress environment.

The bad - I suspect my boss is going to be a frustrating person to work directly under. Previously I chatted to him every now and then about how my files were going, and occasionally asked for help, but that was it. Whole days could pass where we didn't do more than say hello in the kitchen. All the people who I saw try to work directly under him had a hard time. That being said, they were all a lot more junior than me and were struggling to learn basic skills at the same time as work for someone who's impatient, doesn't suffer fools, and has very high standards. I'm arrogant enough to think that I can manage better than others have.


I'm not really feeling sad or worried about leaving E, I think because I know she's going to be in such good hands (my Mum on Tuesdays and David's parents on Thursdays). That being said, we'll see how I feel tomorrow!