I got in to work today to find a voice mail from Ike. (You can read about Ike in that entry from a year and a half ago. Ike is an attorney who used to be a partner at the law firm where I worked after my second year of law school. Ike opened his own office about a year and a half ago, and is apparently doing very well.)

"Hi, Jessie, this is Ike. I got my copy of the new Sullivan's [the directory of Illinois lawyers], and I looked you up, and thought I would give you a call. I'm wondering if you would be interested in...making a change. And if not, well, maybe we can just get together for lunch."

I am excited and afraid to be excited at the same time. This is the third time (in four years) that Ike and I have talked about me working for him. Each of the other times (like this time), I was amazed at his good timing. I felt like something great had just fallen into my lap. And then it turned out that nothing had fallen into my lap at all. So I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. In my voicemails to him (in response to his message from Friday, I left a voicemail, then he left one, then I left one, then he left one, then I finally got him in person), I tried to convey "eager but not needy," but maybe it doesn't matter too much. This is the man who said, a year and a half ago, when I asked him if he wanted me to send him a resume, "Oh, no, I don't need a resume from you. You're a known quantity. You don't need to prove anything to me."

And did I tell you that my old friend and boss Andrew called me the other day to ask me what I remembered about a case that had resurfaced, and I ended up saying to him, "Oh, when you talk about writing a responsive brief, it makes me sad, because I miss doing that." Did you hear that? I miss writing briefs. (I also miss going to court, but I try not to even focus on that.)

Ike and I are having lunch this Friday at 12:30. Wish me luck, ok?