The Horrible Wonderful Week.

I've never been so happy to for a week to end:

Monday: worked from home on a project for a partner that I haven't worked with yet. After work, I rushed to meet my husband in Seattle for a comedy-type show. Lesson learned: I am too old to go out on weeknights. We slunk back to my mom's house and I went to bed around midnight. The next morning I was definitely quesitoning my recent caffeine strike.

Tuesday: when I got to the office, my boss informed me that the partner I helped out the day before sent an email to all the partners praising my work. I tried so hard not to beam when I heard that. Who doesn't love being told they are doing work?! The rest of the day is a blur. Who cares what happened after that awesome email, right?

Wednesday: I was supposed to work from my mom's house but a partner had asked me to cover a medical exam for him in Seattle so I drove to work instead. In the afternoon, I nearly got lost getting to the medical exam....(I will never live in a big city!). But it was so awesome to finally be able to watch an expert medical exam after reading so many medical reports. I definitely learned a lot. Mostly, that exam doctors dictate everything the client says AS she says it. So annoying. Unfortunately, the doctor started an hour late and took an hour longer than expected. I sat in horrible traffic on the way home (traveled 2 miles in 25 minutes at one point) and switched back and forth between hyperventilating and crying when I realized I wouldn't get to the kids in time for trick-or-treating. It worked out in the end but I was total mess for the 2.5 hours it took me to get to where the kids were. Watching the kids dress up and hunt for candy almost made up for my crazy commute, however.

Thursday: I was interviewed for a story about the ferries and even made it in the local paper (celebrity-hood!). The rest of the day went well except for the part where I worked late again. Thank goodness I DID work late because right before I left, a partner walked in my office, handed me a folder and said, "Here are the documents you will need for that hearing tomorrow. Thanks for covering it for me." Wait...what!? HOLY SHIT! I had totally forgotten that I agreed to cover an oral argument the next day! If I had gone home at normal time...shudder at the thought. So, I hopped on the ferry, read the motion papers, and outlined my arguments. I got home to the worst tantrum Jacob has ever had. He was so extremely tired that he was scream-yelling for at least an hour straight. This happened at the same moment I was trying to get Ryan to sleep. That. Night. Sucked.

Friday: This morning, I got up early, put on my court suit, helped my husband get the kids out the door, grabbed my briefcase, and walked outside. As soon as the door slammed shut behind me, I immediately realized that I had locked myself out and that my car keys were still inside! I let out a string of four-letter words, tryinging so hard not to keel over and have a major anxiety attack. Then I frantically called my husband to rescue me. He was only a couple minutes away and thankfully he was able to turn around and let me in the house before I was late to court.

I practiced my oral arguments out loud in the car the entire way to the courthouse. I know I looked crazy to the people driving next to me. Especially because I talk with a lot of hand gestures (yes, even when driving). Oh and did I mention this was my first ever oral argument? And I was basically doing it on the fly? Thankfully, I don't really get nervous for court appearances. In fact, I don't really get outwardly nervous for anything. Talking in public used to make my heart pound in my chest. It used to make me want to run away and cry. Now, I pretty much don't even think about it. Of course I get uncomfortable doing new things, I just don't really think about being nervous anymore. Usually, I just don't have time to be nervous. My new mentality: shit needs to get done, go and do it.

As I sat in the courtroom waiting for my case to be called, I made friends with a young local attorney sitting next to me. We both went to the same law school and graduated the same year. It was really refreshing to commiserate about practicing law with a total stranger with whom I had so much in common. When my case was called, I approached the bench, listened to the attorney for the other side give her argument. When it was my turn to go, I totally blacked out. I know I was speaking because my lips were moving and people were looking and listening to me. But I have NO IDEA what I said. Honest to god! Whatever I said must have been competent because the hearing outcome was as expected.

When I got back to the office, I spent three hours staring at a computer screen and going cross-eyed over some wacky and confusing statutes. I typed like a madwoman to complete a 5 page memo to hand to my boss. (I'm now an expert on survival and wrongful death statutes in my state- which, for some reason are not written in any English that I understand). I finished the memo just in time for a client meeting with a partner. During that meeting, a crazy thing happened. In front of the client, the partner asked for MY advice! I felt like a real lawyer or something. It was crazy.

When the clock hit 5pm (my fourth late night this week--I'm supposed to be working only 6 hours a day)!, I hopped in my car to head home. Traffic SUCKED and it took me an entire hour to get out of downtown Seattle. Thanks radio, for covering a compelling story about two teenage boys being shunned by the diving community for hunting an octopus (insert sarcasm). Then it took me an hour and a half to drive home. I finally walked into the house at 7:30pm.

The ups and downs of this week have been intense. Oddly, almost all the highlights came from actual lawyer work. I got to do a lot of new things, I learned a lot, stretched my comfort zone, and received compliments on my work. The low points were related to home, commuting or me being a major dumbass. I'm pretty sure (and seriously hope) there is no direct relationship between these things. Because, I can't handle another week like this.

Thank GOD this horrible, wonderful week is finally over.