21

No, that is not or the number of pairs of shoes I own (that number is greater, I must confess). Nor is it the number of shots I did on that birthday (that number is fewer, thankfully, though I came close) - my, how old I feel now! No, 21 is the number of new projects I was put on today.

Now, it isn't unusual for me to be on 21 matters at a time. That, or more, is normal for my chosen career. But it is mindblowing to receive 21 new ones in one day - actually, within 30 seconds of opening my email account this morning. Mindblowing in an erase-the-long-weekend way. Mindblowing in a put-my-head-in-my-hands way. Mindblowing in a way that makes me wonder if I should just head for the exits now. Incidentally, as we all gathered in a conference room to watch the Inauguration at midday, I found Obama's words spurring me on to quit, to seek a life with greater purpose, to seek a life doing greater good.

However, rather than poetically leaving the glass conference room in a bold statement of Change!, I simply returned to my desk to start practicing my juggling, since it will take a great deal of agility to keep these balls in the air for the next three months until my boss comes back from maternity leave. This is my same boss who doesn't even want to go out on leave and keeps moaning about how bored she'll be and how she feels useless staying at home. I'll save THAT for another day when I have a less desperate need for a homemade brownie sundae...