George Carlin, R.I.P.

It's been a lousy couple weeks. First Tim Russert dies during the most exciting election cycle in recent memory, leaving our national political discourse rudderless and in the hands of hacks like Hannity and Blitzer. And now this. One of my heroes - a champion of free speech and free thinking, hilarious, offensive, challenging, brilliant, crass, depressing, and honest - is gone. God bless you George Carlin (even though you were convinced He didn't exist). You told us the truth, even when it was ugly or stupid or unpopular. You challenged us to look at the world, and in the mirror, with a critical eye. You loved language and words. You had a bullshit meter like nobody else. And you were damn funny. The world is definitely a dimmer place today without you.

Gun for hire

Times are tough. The official statistics may suggest otherwise (unemployment is down!) but I believe there are more people out of work than the government is letting on. Just because you're not applying for unemployment benefits or looking for jobs doesn't necessarily mean you're fully employed - it may just mean you've given up hope and stopped trying. Funny how the stats don't account for that. And besides, statistics are irrelevant as to any one individual - either you've got a job or you don't. In my case, unemployment is at an all time high of 100%. So go ahead and chalk up another one to the lousy economy: I've been unemployed for almost two months now. And it sucks. You might think I'd have been posting a lot more, what with all the free time being out of work offers. Turns out looking for a job is a full time job in itself.

And since the only people who would ever possibly come across this blog are already aware of my situation, it's probably redundant to mention that I've also spent the last couple months jumping the final hurdles to the bar and am now licensed to practice law in Colorado. (Just in case, there ya go.) So far, the biggest change is one of perception. I've been in between jobs before, but for the first time in my life, I can potentially end it all simply by declaring myself open for business. Just in the last week, I've been approached by a couple friends and acquaintances asking for a little legal advice about this or that, and I'm happy to help out of course. It's only after I've spent the better part of an hour listening to their problems, analyzing their situation and discussing potential courses of action toward a solution, that it occurs to me - I should totally be charging for this! Very strange to think that your time is worth actual cash money (50, 100, 200 bucks an hour?!) and that a conversation you would have had at a bar over a couple beers trying to help a buddy sort out a sticky situation is now an offer of professional consulting services for a fee, to be paid within 30 days by cash, check or credit, thankyouverymuch. Still, it is pretty cool to come home from Kinko's with a stack of business cards that look very much like the real deal. Wait, they ARE the real deal. This is gonna take some getting used to...

So I guess the real question is, have you or someone you know been injured in an auto accident?