Off to the races.

I started to write a post about Halloween. I wrote about the craziness of Halloween in New York City - the way New Yorkers become incredibly outgoing, fun-loving people, talking to any stranger in the street, and making friends left and right. People in my building smiled when I walked into the lobby and commented on my (rather clever) Amelia Earhart costume. I started to write this post, but then. Then two weeks passed, and I decided it's too late to post about Halloween. So I won't. Check out facebook for costume photos.

Moving on.

I signed up for my first half marathon last week. Well, I entered the lottery, so I will train for the next few months, with the hope that I am given the grand opportunity of running my very first half marathon in March. And if I am not given said opportunity, I will just be in kick-ass shape, so I guess it's a win-win situation. I was totally inspired by my co-worker slash friend, Nittany J, who ran the ING NYC marathon a few weeks ago. I went out on Marathon Sunday, donning my Nike dunks and some leggings, ready to show off if I needed to. I met up with Co-Worker A and some others and did a bit of cheering. I caught up with Nittany J around mile 18 and joined in the race for about a mile. Wow, what a rush! Aaaand, I don't mean to brag, but Nittany J's stats indicated the mile I ran with her was her fastest mile of the 26.2. Wahoo!

Do you remember the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"? I remember being read the book before I could read, then reading it on my own. It was around the same time in life when "Where the Wild Things Are" was huge. I don't recall the specifics, but it was probably something about a kid having a bad - like, really bad - day. Then he wakes up, and finds out it was all a dream. Or he goes to bed, wakes up the next morning, and everything is better. Whichever path the story takes, it's meant to teach the kiddies that things generally aren't as bad as you think they are; things get better; tomorrow's a new day; blah blah blah. Well, this week has been one of those weeks where every night I've gone to bed hoping I'll wake up in the morning and discover the few days before were just a dream. But unfortunately, that doesn't happen often in real life. In children's books and sitcom episodes, yes. In real life, not so much. I won't go into detail, but let's just say, Point Number One of my Four Point Plan (which those of you who see me regularly know about, and those who are reading this and don't even know me have never heard of) deserves some acceleration. Okay, I'll elaborate a bit.

Working at a big law firm has taught me several things. One thing is that my time doesn't matter. Wait, that's not right. My time spent doing things other than billing hours doesn't matter. Like when I email a partner a draft at 11am and request comments or approval to send it out, for an external deadline that night, and the partner ignores my 11am email, my follow-up 3pm email, and my further 6pm email. Oh, and the partner is working from home. Per usual. I call the partner at home at 615pm, and I get no answer and no voicemail. I am ready to leave the office, figuring if the partner doesn't care about it, why should I, when I receive a call from the partner asking why I was looking for the partner. I then work until 12am, when I send the revised draft out. Repeat. Daily. Not too fun, eh? But I will stop the sob story right there. My Four Point Plan, and several pep talks from my co-workers (not to mention, amazing chocolate chip banana bread and Hermione Granger, our newest associate on the hall), will get me through the tough week, right? Sure.

On to the Four Point Plan. Point Number One: think about (and I mean seriously think about) what I want to do when I grow up (career-wise) and how best to get that rolling. (See immediately preceding paragraph for why this Point has to be accelerated. See future posts for Points Two through Four.)

I feel like a fifth grader on the last day of school before Christmas vacation. Tomorrow is my last day of work for a whole week. Yes, I am taking an entire week off. Well, our office is "closed" Thursday and Friday. But yes, I am taking Monday through Wednesday off. I will see Sister. I will enjoy the late fall foliage of rural Vermont. I will spend a lovely weekend in the company of The Famous Auntie Bevy. I will stuff myself full of turkey and pumpkin deliciousness. I will go Black Friday shopping.

I guess tomorrow really is a new day.