the ocean

1.       It involves crime. I mean, not committing it, and not solving it exactly, but at least reading about it. And that’s never exactly boring. How can you not get caught up in the saga of an elderly hammer murderer? Or a guy who tried to poison his business partner’s coffee and burn down her house? Or a guy who tried to get rid of the evidence of his crime by throwing it in the river, but forgot that it was winter and the water would be frozen? These may or may not all be the same guy, by the way.

2.       Sometimes the files contain letters from “the real killer.” That are written in handwriting suspiciously similar to that of the convicted killer. And contain dramatic phrases like “think about it – we completely violated your rights and walked away scot free.”

3.       There’s a food court in the building. With a Taco Bell Express.

4.       I frequently go the whole day without the phone ringing once. And most of the emails I get are from companies that want me to take their continuing legal education. It’s a far cry from the angry weekend email rants I once knew.

5.       I get to do a lot of writing, and no one edits it to make it worse. It’s kind of nice to know that you’re not going to be overruled by someone whose only knowledge of the case comes from a bullet point summary you gave them three months ago.

6.       Sometimes there is step dancing in the food court. Not that I participate, but it’s nice to live in a world where people can step dance a few yards away from an Arby’s. Let me stress that I am not making this up.