Since my last post, my wife and I decided that since all I need to continue working is my laptop and and internet connection, that it would be a nice thing if we could go visit my wife's family in California. So we booked tickets, and since for the past week, I've been sitting in their kitchen working while my wife and her family coo, cuddle, and play with the baby.
I'm not sad about this arrangement, and although I've been working non-stop, it is nice to see my wife playing with her little sister and interacting with her parents. They are also getting an enormous amount of pleasure playing with the baby who has recently started smiling, laughing, and responding to our voices. Last night, after he wouldn't stop crying, I put him on my shoulder and he relaxed to sleep within seconds -- it was the cutest thing.
Otherwise, my life has been work-work-work, without a break. I am working remotely over the VPN, where they are sending me patents to kill, but the patents have been quite difficult lately. It is hard working day and night knowing that you won't get paid on a file you're already put 50 hours into unless you find prior patents which make the current patent obvious or invalid, and then only making $300 *IF* you are able to kill all the claims in the patent. I would do anything for a job right now, and I mean it! I've even been looking to relocate to other states to find a position as an attorney, even if that means going into another field.
Alternatively, I have been talking with my wife and considering going back to school to pick up the degree I am so dearly missing. While I have a chemistry background (through coursework only, not by major), my wife and I were talking about even going back to school to get an electrical engineering, chemistry, or related degree so that I can be more marketable within the workplace.
