Be Thankful For What You've Got

I had a bit of an insomnia-driven freak out session last night, probably induced by too much beer. I realized that in less than five days, it'll be a year since I decided to "take some time off from the law" to write a novel. I began wondering where all the time went. An irrational part of me began whispering that I've done nothing for the last year, it was completely wasted, and that I'll never get a job again since taking a year off in this market makes you a pariah. The rational part made a valiant effort to remind me that I did write a novel (so no, the year wasn't completely wasted), and that this freak-out session is probably driven by insomnia and too much beer.

I'm feeling much better in the light of day, especially now that I realize everyone I know who is still in the law absolutely hates it. I had lunch on Friday with a buddy of mine who works at my former Big Law, and he said morale was really low. Another buddy of mine just got screwed over at the first Big Law I worked at - the firm basically negged his bump in income. And yet another friend at the first Big Law - who is supposed to only be working part time but is putting in the same crap hours as everyone else - said she was thinking about me (no, not in any physical sense- more in the "He managed to escape sense") because she really hates the law. Hmmmmm, should I really be sad that none of the headhunter leads have worked out? Or as a paralegal at my former Big Law put it, "Hey, it's like the abattoir telling you that there's no more room for you."