I’m in the right job.

I’ve had a lot of cool sounding jobs, and jobs that were great opportunities, and jobs where I learned a lot. But almost always, sooner than I hoped, I hit the cynical stage, and the job no longer seemed as cool as it had looked during the interview.

With this job, I’m now MORE excited about it than I was during the interviews.

A lot of the day to day part will probably become routine and not so exciting over time, but right now, I’m really present to the importance of it.

When people use their email and/or Internet access accounts to commit crimes, my work helps them get caught. And some of those crimes are serious and scary, and I’m proud to be helping them get caught. My work seems more useful than it ever has before.

The other part of my job is bigger picture. I’m going to be learning new areas of privacy law and getting certified as a privacy professional. I’m learning more about the myriad of other legal issues that come up in all companies, but that aren’t “we’re being sued” or “the contract has to say X.” Over time, more and more of those things are going to land on my plate, which will keep the job fresh and interesting.

And I’m back in the world of having an office.

When you’re a lawyer, you pretty much expect to have an office. But when you work in big corporate world, you pretty much get a cubicle, until, eventually, if you’re lucky, you reach office level. On the business side, I was not almost there. I was years from getting an office.

But I have an office. I can close my door and my blinds (my window faces an interior hallway) and pump right there instead of hauling my gear to the common pumping room. I can hang pictures and diplomas. I can close the door and concentrate. I don’t have to book a room to have a conversation with someone that doesn’t annoy my neighbors.
And I’m exercising my lawyerbrain, which I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed.