Mid-Week Update

Today is my third day at the office and I still don't feel like I'm back at work. Maybe that's because I haven't billed a single minute to actually working. Maybe that's because I'm in a new office with new people. At any rate, I'm happy.

My first day, I showed up to the office with my computer, my pump and my purse. After setting them down in my new office, I had a few hours of orientation. As it turns out, this consisted largely of being walked around the office on a tour and being introduced to every single attorney. Amazing. Made my goal of introducing myself to everyone in the first week VERY easy. I was introduced as "Leo, our new associate from LA. She is interested in doing corporate work."

I was taken out to lunch as part of this orientation and then set free for the afternoon. The office is apparently slow right now, so I don't have an assignment. Since I was out for 4.5 months, I don't have any projects left over from my old office. I have been getting into work on the later side, leaving on the early side and watching a lot of MCLE videos in between. Also, taking breaks to pump and meet people. It's a pretty easy life. I'm enjoying that while it lasts.

It's very strange to be in another office of the firm. Everything is the same. But so much is different too. This office has about 1/4 the number of attorneys and it is about 1/5 the size in terms of space. There are far fewer fancy amenities (i.e. gym, coffee shop and cafeteria with a chef) but in exchange, things are easier. Parking is no longer tandem/valet and I pay half as much per month. My commute is about 15 minutes instead of an hour. People here seem to leave pretty early to get home to their families. It is also more personal. Monday afternoon, HR put a huge basket of baked goods outside my office and sent an email out to all the attorneys, telling them to stop by for a treat and welcome me to their office. It's not like you were just a number in the bigger office, but you definitely didn't know everyone by name. Here, everyone knows everyone and their background. I like this office. I miss the old one.

I am loving getting dressed up every day and having some time to myself. I feel anxious to start doing some real work. So far, I have not found myself really thinking about or missing my kids during the day. It's more like when I get home at night, I suddenly realize I wish that I could have had more time with them during the day. This all just convinces me that I would have much less trouble finding the right work-life balance if I had a 9-5 job with no night/weekend work.

I don't think I am one of those moms who freaks out when she is not there for one of her baby's "firsts" but I find it funny that when I checked in with my mom on day one, she answered the phone with "she's going to be crawling soon, she just rolled like three times and she is scooting backwards when she's on tummy time!" Since this is my second baby, I know that the first time she does something is really picking which action in a range of actions along the spectrum qualifies as rolling or crawling or standing. It doesn't matter if I see it the very first time she rolls. But that sure did make me a little bit sad to acknowledge she is growing up so fast and I'm going to be missing a lot of time with her during her waking hours.