March melded into April this year with a barrage of pages.

I still took the time to vote in the Canadian federal election:

Obligatory cat pic:

Unusual lizard:

So many people tried to gaslight me into thinking this is just a normal Yucatecan iguana, which it is not — the head is different.

Somehow managed to complete another bag kit between work, Pilates, and cooking:

This one is similar to the “Picotin.” I LOVE this bag and it’s my most commonly used one for a quick errand. It replaced a similar-sized grey bag in vinyl.

April is when I started with a new client whose jobs hit me in the face with an epiphany.

I think most people want a life that matters, a job that makes an impact, even those who say they don’t.  Well, I wanted that, and I found it. I got into the transcript field as it seemed something easy to get started in, never expecting it to transition into a meaningful career that I could look back on as my Life’s Work.

I work on a lot of frivolous cases. I mean, how many times can someone sue a grocery store for slipping on a grape?! But I also work on watershed-type cases that will have a ripple effect into the future. No one will know I worked on these cases, my name will be lost to time, but some of the transcripts I helped create will be referred to a hundred years from now and help a judge make a decision.

I wish I could feel more comfortable talking about the specific cases I work on, especially when they’re a matter of public record, but I can’t. Just know that they are huge, sometimes so huge Netflix needed two seasons to even scratch at the surface of the story of a recent case, and sometimes so important that they are rewriting the law on the subject. And sometimes, for a bit of fun, I have all the juicy details in a big name celebrity custody battle or family feud.

Since April, I’ve worked on three death penalty cases out of Florida, and I am set to work on several more. This kind of work isn’t for everyone. I did a lot of law enforcement transcription before transitioning to editing court reporter transcripts. I’m desensitised to a lot now. Like a seasoned homicide detective, I can look over gory exhibit photos while eating lunch. I do get worn down by a day’s testimony of what was done to a child, but do not really lose sleep over it thanks to an ability to compartmentalise my thoughts. I have the kind of brain that has the empathy needed to work these cases, but not so much empathy that it breaks me down.  The world needs people like me who care deeply, who can work these cases and not be destroyed by the darkness of the world in their fight for a semblance of justice for the most vulnerable.

This quote from the latest Cormoran Strike novel really hit home the other night:

Yes, there is so much to do. And I won’t apologise for how important my Work is to me.