Material Girl

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have posted that jigsaw puzzle. Now the page seems to load slowly. Oh, well. It'll move to archives eventually.

Meanwhile, this morning was bright, sunny, and cold, another of those lovely autumn days. It could become a boring theme to blog about though pleasant to experience. Right now, in the afternoon, it's not quite so sunny, a little overcast.

Tonight I have class at Whatcom Community College, Real Estate Law, part of my paralegal program. Last night, in my Intro to Paralegal Studies class, we were learning about how not to do the unauthorized practice of law. Basically, when you're under a lawyer's supervision you can do a lot of legal stuff, because the lawyer you work for is responsible for whatever comes out of his or her office. But if you're not working for a lawyer, you can't do much legal stuff. I've had people say, when they hear I'm preparing for paralegal work, that after a few years' experience with a lawyer I could set up on my own and do minor legal tasks for people, to save them the expense of a lawyer. Nope. Only two people can peform legal tasks for an individual: him/herself (acting pro se) or a lawyer. Anyone who does legal work for someone else has to be licensed by the Bar to do so.

Not that I wanted to set up a practice of my own anyway. I've been self-employed, off and on, for about nine years now, and I'm sick of it. I fantasize about a regular, predictable paycheck, about benefits that someone else pays for, using office equipment that someone else bought, and regular office hours. Mmmmm. What a delightful prospect.

Although I hear that paralegals often work overtime. But they're also always hourly employees and so get overtime pay. Paychecks! Yea!

Tonight my parents come home from an out-of-state visit to one of my siblings. I'll pick them up after class, so I'll be driving their Caddy to class. A larger car than I'm used to parking at WCC, but also with a spacious interior for my folks and their luggage.