My Job - #1

(NOTE ABOUT PICTURES:  The first one is my desk - messy but "home" - the second is my boss - a truly wonderful employer and friend)

Well - I was going to start writing about my friends but I decided to write about my jobs instead.  I have three of them.  This is my "main" job - the job that pays most of my bills.

Monday through Friday I am a paralegal to one of the finest attorneys in the business.  Now yes, I am partial, but I'm also honest.  My boss is great.  Ours is a small office - just him and me.  We are the business.  I do everything from answering the phones, to scheduling appointments, to collecting fees, to depositing his money, to paying his bills (business and personal), to going to court with him, making court appearances for him (just to let the judge know if he is sick or in another court - I don't represent our clients in court), doing research, preparing legal documents, ordering supplies, and oh yes - I vaccum and make coffee.

Now the legal business is never the same day twice.  We have clients who are great, some not so great, and some are just plain nuts!  Most of the people who walk into our office are either very sad, very scared or very angry.  You learn how to deal with them.  You don't argue - it gets you nowhere.  What you try to do is figure out why they are sad, scared or angry, and what, if anything, you can do to either fix the situation or defuse it.  I can't always fix it, but I'm pretty good at defusing.

I live about 5 minutes from my job.  It is GREAT working so close to home.  It is also great to be able to handle a lot of personal business during my lunch hour, like paying phone bills, electric and gas bills, going to the post office, etc. - oh yes, and eating lunch.

I don't make the "big bucks" at this job.  I could possibly finda job that would pay me more money and give me benefits - that's right - I have no insurance.  I do get paid vacation and sick days, although I have never used a sick day since I have worked for him (1993), but no health insurance.  But I could NEVER find a better person to work for who is so flexible.  If I need time off to do something, he has never said no.  I don't abuse it, and he knows that.  AND I try to schedule this things so that he is not inconvenienced.  He is just a nice guy.  I had known him as a fellow thespian before I came to work for him.  We get along well.

My office here is "mine" - it is interesting.  I spend more time here than I do at home,thus a have a lot of things in my office that I like so that I can enjoy them.  The top of my desk is covered in stuffed animals that have been gifts to me that I love.  I have a collection of beanie babies and I rotate them about my office.

More on jobs later - time to go home.