Back At Work - Daydreaming of Big Ole' Jet Airliners.

First day back at work. I went to Surgeon for a follow-up this morning. She said all looks well. I had endometriosis - something about cells being where they shouldn't. The problem may recur throughout my life, but that just means surgery every few years... which may be the closest thing to a vacation I'm going to get in the legal field for at least 20 years (see below). If it takes disability to get the good assignments and time off... Lex says bring it.

The Boss is out of the office for the rest of the week. He was invited to fly off on a politician's private jet. I asked Office Manager how long The Boss was working before this kinda stuff started happening. Twenty years. Nineteen and 3/4 years left for Ms. Fori before jet invitations come rolling in. Fair enough.

The on pain medication memo went over well. The Boss sent me a 4 word email after receiving it. "Lex: good job. Thanks." Apparently, he also ran the problem by an 'of counsel' attorney we work with. She came up with the same information that I did, which made me feel a million times better. Save for the part where it took her twenty minutes compared to my 5 hours. I spent the first half-hour scouring WestLaw with nothing coming up and feared I would have to send him a "no answer" memo. Those memos are the absolute worst. Almost as bad as "sorry, your legal theory is against all authority and considered retarded by most circuits" memo. I had to write one of those in a past job and got a super-terse "See Me" email followed by a super-uncomfortable "If I convince my law clerk I am right, maybe the law will magically change" conversation.

As to CECU's questions regarding the legalities involved in The Boss handing off assignments while at home, I have no idea what the law actually is here. But I am more than happy to offer groundless conjecture. First, even if I had a relapse, I think that my prior history would make it very difficult to prove that the home assignment caused any increased severity of my illness. I think this would be one of those "who can give me money since I am too sick to make it myself" fishing expeditions, and any jury or Worker's Comp Administrative Law Judge would see that stat. Also, he put it in very "if you think you can" type terms. I am certain that had I told him I was physically incapable of working and it was directly against doctor's orders, he would have backed off and not ever mentioned it again. Certainly he would keep it in mind when my review and renegotiation came up, but it would never receive voice. Honestly, I am so grateful that he didn't fire me for all of this (I'm pretty sure I haven't been employed long enough for protective statutes to protect my ailing ass), that I was more than happy to do some relatively straightforward work from home.

Thank you so much to everyone who offered supportive comments and telephone calls. It's not flowers you cheap bastards, but it sure helps

;)