6. Wine And Dine

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One of my writing quirks is to prominently address a unique or under the radar spot within the city of the story (see: Sebastian Joe's in "Playing By The Rules"). The choice here is Lazy Bear, a restaurant unlike many others in the world. What sets it apart? Read on to find out!
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Returning to Armstrong & Lynch on Monday felt like a brand new experience. I was still dedicated towards completing my work to the best of my abilities, but no longer at the expense of my personal time. I didn't feel the urge to be the first to enter and the last to leave. The emergence of Penny made me realize that I had to redistribute my time. Work was important, but so was spending time with people that I enjoyed seeing.

It should be a fifty-fifty split, but at this moment, the latter definitely had priority over the former.

It didn't feel like much had changed. I still came into work every morning at eight o'clock sharp and worked on my cases with an unrelenting dedication for the rest of the day. The only difference was that I left at the end of my scheduled shift as opposed to extending my stay into the late hours of the evening. A very subtle change, but not one that went unnoticed by my colleagues at work.

A few days into my new routine, there was a knock on my door, followed by a polite, "Can I come in?"

I looked up from my files and saw Paul standing in the doorway, the slightest hint of a smile evident on the corner of his lips. His benevolent figure was always a welcomed presence.

"Come in," I called out to Paul, quickly setting aside the files on my table to make space.

Paul strolled in and took a seat on the other side of my desk. His expression was relaxed. The gentle wrinkles that denoted his age like tree rings were hardly discernable. Paul seemed to be delighted today.

"How's the McKinnon case coming along?" Paul asked, referring to my current project.

"Smoothly," I replied. "We're right on schedule with where we're supposed to be."

"As expected. You're always on top of your projects."

"I do my best."

"I know," Paul acknowledged, before slowly angling the conversation towards the main subject. "It looks like having some time off was helpful for you."

Reflecting back on our initial conversation, my reluctance to take this break seemed foolish. I was long overdue for some changes in my daily routine, and resetting my perspective - with some help from Penny - made me more well rounded. It even made me feel more productive at work.

"You were right," I admitted. "I needed a break from work. There's so much more out there for me."

I wholeheartedly stood behind that last sentence. It wasn't just about Penny, although she was undeniably a huge influence on my understanding of proper work-life balance. It was also the plethora of experiences that I was missing out on, and the tiny daily interactions that I was overlooking, because of my narrow focus.

There was a Chinese story about a frog that dwelled at the bottom of a well, and how its perspective of the world was hampered by the limiting structure, leading to unintended ignorance. I found myself in a similar predicament. In my case, an extreme dedication to work was the metaphorical well, obstructing my view of everything that was around me and limiting my knowledge to that which existed within the confines of my well.

Paul's decision to let me out, even though I protested the notion at first, was a blessing in disguise. It opened my eyes to the many sights and sounds that made San Francisco unique. There were many reasons why the city was a famed visitor destination, most of which I didn't know up until these past two weeks.

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