La La La

Ok, so I've been slightly uninspired lately.  But, recently a friend of mine Facebook chatted me and was all like "Dewd, wtf?! Where has your blogging skillz gone?"  and I replied with something like "Getz off mah cases.  Inspiration cannot be forced."

Well, I decided to just start writing and see where it took me.

Being the basketball nut that I am, I get a lot of questions like "how about them Knicks? eh eh? haha!" (there is always a good thigh slap in there too).  Anyway, because I don't have cable, and because my NBA broadband blacks out local games, I haven't really watched a knicks game yet :-/.  Talk about EM-BARE-ASSING.

I'm working tonight, then going to LA for two weeks on Monday morning.  I've got my apartment listed on www.roomorama.com and www.airbnb.com to rent it out during the days when I'm not here.  I've had some interest but nobody to "seal to deal" if you know.... what... I mean....

Repayment

I was listening to Elliot Smith then realized that today, all of my student loans go into repayment.  Coincidence?

Benefits

One of the awesome benefits of semi/under/sporadic/part-time employment is being able to see movies without lines/crowds/terribleness.

This afternoon I went with my friend Joey (also an unemployed lawyer) to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Life is good.

Wowwwwie, our bad

Hey everyone.

So sorry about the lack of posting.  I've been absurdly busy and Fletch has been out of town.

We have also been discussing some changes around here.  And we've had a slight problem with the ads.

Hopefully we can clear things up in the next few days and start posting again.

Tyler's Tree NYC

Dear residents of the Tri-State Area,

I want to bring to your attention a really cool service.  Its called Tyler's Trees.  It. Is. Awesome.  And can be found at www.tylerstreesnyc.com. 

It is a no-hassle Christmas Tree delivery service, and they deliver to anywhere in the tri-state area.  They have different options for sizes and types of trees and all included in the price you pay you get: deliver, set-up, a tree stand, and tree-skirt.  Check them out, they have various pricing options and are sure to have something to FIT YOUR NEEDS.

Its a serious no brainer for those living life at New York speeds.

(Full disclosure: We got NO MONEY for this post.  We just think its an awesome site and service).

Housekeeping Too

Hey friends,

Here are some housekeeping issues:

1) Sorry about the lack of posting this week.  There are some behind the scenes things we are dealing with.  Hopefully sooner rather than later we will get this ball rolling again.

2) We really appreciate all the ad clicks.  Its amazing to see the support.

3) As a follow-up to this classic post: Why I...Why I... Splurge on Expensive Coffee Beans I will be buying  new 1lb bag of expensive beans.  I really liked the Stumptown Holler Mountain beans I got last time, but I'm thinking I want to change it up.  Maybe some Intelligensia beans this time?  Or see if Abraco is selling their own beans?  Oh joy!

4)  This is super duper uper important.  We even posted about it earlier: Support Your Local Blogger.  If you re going to purchase something through amazon (and we KNOW you will with the approaching Holiday Season), come to HireUsPlease.Com and access Amazon through the Amazon.com sidebar.  We get a referral percentage of your purchase, and it simply adds one extra click to your process of getting there.  It would really be incredible if you supported us in that manner.

Anyway, to my fellow NYers, lets enjoy this beautiful fall weather while we can, and to our readers outside LA, I hope your Autumn is turning out spendidly.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Well, maybe not an Italian Restaurant exactly, but I love Billy Joel, and that's one of his best songs.  Really, these are scenes from my job working at a bar:

- I overheard two separate patrons make comments about me.  The first "that is the skinniest bouncer I've ever seen."  The second, "that is the best-dressed bouncer I've ever seen."  So apparently, the jury is still out on me.

- At one point, a woman with an eastern European accent literally tried to stare me down and intimidate me into letting her in, despite the fact that there was really nothing I could do.  It was kind of incredible. It was a straight up "Evil Eye", and comically so.  All I could do was be polite back.

- Some people were nice and respectful, some people not so much.  Who do you think I was more likely to go out of my way for?

- Having a job where 95% of it is interacting with customers is super refreshing after law school/the bar where 95% of it is spent alone in thought.

- There is a really cool camaraderie among the staff.  It reminds me how much I miss being part of a team.

Why I... renewed my subscription to NBA broadband

This is the next installment in a series called "Why I..." in which I explain why I do certain things that might seem irrational given my current lack of any real income.


In a former life, I was defined first and foremost as a basketball player.  I mean that in the "college admissions" sense of "what are you?"  It was my life, plain and simple.  I was quite good too.  I played on a high school team that won several regional championships out in California, and we were the California State Runners-up one season (yes, that means we lost in the State Championship.  While I've yet to watch a video of the game (would you?), I'm positive we got jobbed by home-town refs).  I was even co-captain along with a friend of mine who has played professionally the past few years in and around Europe.

So what happened you ask?  Well, when it came time to decide what to do post high school, I decided to hang-up the sneakers competitively and go have a normal (non-athlete) college experience.  Well, within four years of that, I had blown out my knee playing pickup games (torn ACL), had surgery on my knee, started playing again too soon after surgery, threw out my back, and had surgery on my back.  This was all back when I still lived in LA.

I moved to NY in the summer of '07 determined to get back on the court.  And I did, for about a year.  Well, eventually, I twisted my ankle up real bad and came to the realization that I just was not meant to play basketball anymore.  Period.  End of Paragraph.  Devastating.

Getting back to the point of this post.  At the heart of the "Why I..." series is ways I treat myself to certain things despite my relative cash poverty (see former post here: Cash Poor).  While I'm tracking every dollar I spend, these are the things that the subjective value I derive from them so far outstrips the actual monetary value that despite my belt tightening (and there has been a ton), I'm just not about to give up.

So, NBA Broadband is a service provided by the NBA, wherein, all non-nationally televised games are viewable online.  Mostly, I watch as many Laker games as I can.  But, I also try to catch as many non-Laker games as I can too.  Beyond being intellectually stimulating (which I find it), watching basketball reconnects me with the former life I wrote about above.

Normally, when I think about not being able to play ball anymore, I get pretty emotional.  Its not something I'm happy about.  At all.  But watching the games, is different.  I'm not thinking about the game and getting pissed off at the person who stepped on my foot causing my knee to pop and depriving me of one of my greatest joys in life, because that hasn't happened yet.  When I watch I'm still 16, I still in good health, and I can still hoop.

Being able to reconnect like that without the disappointment is well worth the $100.

---- Add on by Fletch

I love baseball.  Playing, watching, attending, heckling and the modern drunken softball version of the game we played when younger.

Bobby has a legacy of playing basketball that I can't pretend I have with baseball.  Because of swimming and diving, I stopped playing baseball in high school, but never lost my adoration for the game.  Is there anything better then having a catch?  Honestly?

So I pay MLB.com every year for access to my beloved Philadelphia Phillies.  And usually I buy the next year in December of the previous at a discount.  Subjectively worth it, even if that means a few more ramen meals. Plus, I can watch on my iphone now or listen to the hometown radio call. Awesome.

Pretending I can hit a major league fastball or throw out a runner on second.  Well worth the $120.00.

Support Your Local Bloggers

 (Despite being posted from Bobby's account, the authorship of this post should be attributed to both Fletch and Bobby)

Hello readers!!  How are you doing out there!?!?!?  We Can't heeeaaaarrrr yoouuuuuuu!!  We SAID, How are you doing out there!?!?

 Well, sorry for the lack of posting over the past 24ish hours.  We've been feverishly trying to figure out a new way for us to make $$$ off this blog.

If you look on the sidebar, there is a new Amazon.com gadget.  If you access Amazon.com through that widget and make a purchase, we here at HireUsPlease.com get a small percentage of your purchase.  Especially with the approaching Holidays, purchasing your gifts through amazon can be one of the most convenient ways to buy all those wonderful gifts for your loved ones.

McNulty: Because, why not right?

Wait, what?  Does this hurt me in any way?

No dear hypothetical reader, it does not.  You're purchase price is completely unaffected by accessing Amazon through our site.  Also, once you're on the Amazon site, your experience there will be completely unaffected.

Ok.  So what do I do?

Its simple.  Verrrrrrry simple.  Instead of accessing www.Amazon.com directly, you simply come to www.hireusplease.com first.  From here, you click on the Amazon widget, which will link you over to Amazon.  That's it.  Seriously, that's it.  Its one simple click of your mouse.

So, Support Your Local Bloggers shop on Amazon through our noble site.  And just for fun, we've added a link to the complete series of The Wire, and a picture of Jimmy McNulty.


Thanks!

Lo Siento Amigos

Sorry for the lack of posting today.  Both of the esteemed bloggers of this site have been pretty busy today.

Anyone care to submit a contribution?  We'd love to hear/publish your story.

What is... a PROFESSIONAL (cont'd)

This post is a follow up to the classic post What is... a PROFESSIONAL from my blogging counterpart Fletch.  If you're new to the blog, check it out.  its a good'un.

Anyway, so I was out last night for a friend's birthday.  As is common here, upon meeting a new people, I was asked: What do you do?  Now, I can be quite loquacious at parties like this, but I really have no idea how to answer that question in a sufficiently succinct style appropriate for cocktail conversation.  My answer was usually "well, that is an interesting question..." and then try to change the subject.

Really, how many people want to hear this when you first meet me: "I graduated from law school in May, and I actually just found out I passed the bar this weekend.  But, I've been having some problems finding work as a lawyer.  To pay my bills I'm working the door at a bar, I'm doing some work as a personal assistant a few hour a week too.  Oh, and I also have a blog where my friends are kind enough to click the ads whenever they can... I do actually, sort of do legal work though, I intern two days a week down at the court house.  But that's unpaid.  And I suppose if other opportunities to earn some money I'd like to take those jobs too.  So, ya, I'm a lawyer I guess."

We've Got Time to Help

Last week, a really awesome organization was brought to my attention.  It called "We've Got Time to Help" (www.wevegottimetohelp.org).  The essence of the project is a website, whereon, people who need help post what they need help with, and people who have time (the unemployed basically) and want to be of service can get in touch with those in need.  As an analogy, its kind of like craigslist for charity.

You can get more details on how it got started here, but here is my quick version if you don't want to click another link (because your index finger is tired out from clicking our ads, duh):  After sinking into depression because of extended unemployment, Seth Reams decided to step away from the job search and go be of service in his community (he also needed a good kick in the behind from his girlfriend Michelle King).  This started the process which resulted in We've Got Time to Help.

When I heard about this project, I was blown away at how obvious it is.  The beauty of the site is that it dramatically lowers the barriers between those who want to help and those who need it.  Unemployment can be really bleak, and despite Fletch's assertion that you need to treat searching for work like a job (which is true), the process, when you're struggling to make traction can be really isolating.  What's a great way to break the depression/isolation cycle?  By stopping the active job search, but that's not enough.  You need to get out and do.  It doesn't matter, but you need to do something.  Preferably something social, and fulfilling.  And there is really nothing more fulfilling than being of service. 

I'm guessing the majority of our readers are in the NY area.  Right now, the site isn't operating in NY, but as I understand it, work is being done to get it going. 

But, the truth is, you don't need a site to be of service.  Fletch and I started this blog nine (9) days ago.  At the time, if you asked me why I were doing it, I'd probably have answered with something like "I don't know, I'm bored and I need to do something."  But, as we started writing more and more, I think a pretty clear tone is taking shape.  Writing everyday about the experience of our relative levels of unemployment (I say relative because for the time being, I am employed, just not as an attorney) really forces us to think about being unemployed.  And in thinking about it, the importance of our support systems (friends, family, loved ones, generous strangers) really starts to shine through.  There is no way I'd be as ok as I am with the uncertainty in my life right now without my support system.  But, again, the most important person in our support system is ourselves.  And no matter how wonderful those around us are, if, internally, we are not well, than the uncertainty of these times can eat you up from the inside.  And, one of the most incredible ways to maintain that necessary inner equilibrium is to go help somebody else.  Its incredible how well it work.

No One Man Should Have All That Power

The most powerful words I know are "I'll try again tomorrow."

Risk: A Game of World Conquest

The headline of this post is probably wrong.  I know the tagline for Risk (tm) is something along the lines of what I've got up, there but I don't really want to look it up.  Oh Well.

Anyway, I wanted to write this post about taking risks.  This blog is inherently solipsistic because the only thing I can write about with any authenticity (and that authenticity is what keeps you coming back and clicking ads) is my own experience.  Well, right now, I am 26 years old.  I am single.  I've been a student my whole life (until this summer) so the standard of living I'm accustomed to is relatively cheap to continue.

What does this mean for me now?  It means that the only person I need to take care of is me.  Sure, I've got an astronomical amount of debt.  But, its such an absurd amount, that I'm not too worried about it right now.  I'm going to pay it best I can, but unlike a few of my BigLaw employed friends, there is almost no possible way for me to pay it down.  So I'm not going to concern myself too much with it.

What I'm doing is setting the state for my life.  I have almost nothing, and thats a very good thing.  Tomorrow, I could buy a plane ticket and move to Paris, or Shanghai, or anywhere.  I have nothing to lose.  I am in a position where I can take absurd risk.  Not only from a material standpoint, but energetically.  I'm young; I'm hungry.

For me, now is the time for risk taking.  And if you're anything like me, and I feel that most people reading this are, than now is the time for you to take risks too.

I passed the bar, but to get into the bar, you need to get past me.

I'm off to put in an honest nights work.  But, I know NY Bar results came out tonight, and it would be cruel to post and keep my results secret.

I passed.  I'm really excited about it.  But, work calls.

If you find yourself in the E. Village tonight, and you're a friend of mine, shoot me a text, I'll let you know where I'm working, and you can come by and say hello.

Concrete Jungle, of which, Dreams are Made

We both live in NYC, and both love living here (did I just end a sentence with a proposition?).  There are like two billion reasons why we love where we live, but here are 50 provided by the ever clever Village Voice:

50 Reasons to Be Pretty Damn Euphoric You Live in New York City

Morning!

Gooooooood Morning readers!

And how are you on this gray morning? (its gray in NYC at least, I don't know what the weather is like in the other places we have readers, like Saudi Arabia).

I'm drinking my coffee, as I'm sure you've come to expect, sitting in bed, and listening to a Leonard Cohen station on Pandora.  Does it get more perfect?

I know I've posted a lot about our page views in the past few days, and for hopefully a little while, this will be the last one, but we broke the 1000 page view mark last night.  Our site hasn't been up a full week.  We started blogging last Friday on a whim.  Fletch and I were finishing up lunch and didn't know what to do with the rest of our day.  So we set up the site and bought www.hireusplease.com for $12.  We can't say that 1000 pageviews in less than a week blew away our expectations, because we didn't have expectations.

By way of comparison,  consider the underpants gnomes episode of South Park.  The gnomes business model (btw, the Arrested Development-watching-readers just giggled) looked something like:

Step 1:  Steal underpants
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Make $.

By Comparison, here is our business model:
Step 1: Start blog
Step 2: ?
Step 3: ?

We had less expectations than the UNDERPANTS GNOMES!  So, a few hours shorts of a full week later, we've had over 1000 hits, and readers in such distant places as South Korea, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia.

Ok, so here is how my day is looking.  I don't know how much time I'm going to have to write.  I've agreed (for money!) to help a friend out with some clerical work around her office for a few hours.  Then later tonight, I'm putting in another shift at The Bar (again for money!).  So, I'm going to be busy, but I'll try to get something up in the few hours between these two commitments.

Please keep up the support, keep reading, keep clicking ads.  Its so appreciated.

Housekeeping

Just a few house keeping matters:
1) We have had about 930 pageviews so far.  Awesome.

2) We have the capability to find out where our pageviews come from, location-wise.  We have had 2 from Sri Lanka.

3)  We have had a number of people express interest in making contributions.  If your interested, we'd love to have you write something.  It doesn't have to be a finished work, or doesn't have to be thought out, it doesn't even have to be true.  Just tell a story.

4) We love contributions, but we love ad clicks more.

5) Whats Xanga?  We had a number of hits from that site last night.

6) Please pass this site along to anyone who you think would be interested in it, or even those who might not be interested.

Networking is... riding the bus.

I'd like to tell a networking story...

In the summer of 2009, I rode the Jitney out to the beach for a weekend of "fun in the sun," if you know what I mean?  Well, on the ride out I sat next to a woman who happened to be an attorney.

Over the next three hours we had a remarkably pleasant conversation, on a number of diverse topics, notably: law, taking the bar, family, basketball, NY v. LA.  One of the topics in particular we spoke about was a book my dad had written a few years before.  Its called "A Message From Jakie" and is about my late mother.

A few weeks later, I received an email from this woman, telling me how much she enjoyed the book.  After that, we exchanged the occasional email, and they were all wonderful.

Earlier, this summer, I reached out.  I asked if she could help me in the job search.  That email I sent to her lead directly to my current internship.  Ess you see see ee ess ess spells SUCCESS!

Anyway, that is a "networking" story, but really its mostly a story about being friendly and polite to people.  And following through.

Fan Mail

Five days in and we are already getting messages of support and appreciation from our readers.  Some of these have been edited for the sake of brevity and to protect the innocent.

Via Facebook:  "The blog is pretty cool. Someone who knows someone should get it to one of the a.m. news/talk shows in NYC and get these guys on air.Yesterday at 2:51pm · "

Via Facebook:  "Great stuff - witty, upbeat, with a touch of hipster caché ... write on!"

Via Gmail: [Title: love the blog!]... just read through it. will definitely include it on my blogroll in the mornings! hope all is well (errr aside from job searching)..."

Via Comments: "Hey, great blog guys. This is something very relate-able. I'll be reading."

Thank you so much for the kind words. 

Picture Me Rolling

There has been some clamoring from several independent sources (both male and female) for more picture of the two of us.  A common refrain has been "Hey, your little sidebar there says you guys are handsome, well, prove it!"

Once we figure this whole interwebs thing out we will make some of these pictures more prominent in the masthead, but Mick Jagger once told me, "give The People what they want."

Bobby, thats not what Mick said at all.  I think its actually the exact opposite of what Mick said.

Whatever.

Since Fletch has pulled an Ultimate Warrior and returned to "Places Unknown" (late 80s WWF wrestling reference? anybody? Bueller? Bueller?), I can only speak for myself on this one.  So, without too much more jabbering, here are some pictures of me!

This is me looking pensive as I wait for my noodles at Momofuku.  The sepia tone was added by Hipstomatic for the Iphone.

To show that my California roots are unimpeachable, here is me eating a Double-Double Animal Style

The four Weinberger boys (l-r): Joe, Dave, Eli, Bobby

All grown up (l-r): Dave, Joe, Pops, Bobby, Eli

The Fam

The Ladies of The (Page)View

Fletch and I launched this blog last Friday, October 30th.

Since then, in rather remarkable fashion we have had 557 pages views.  From out perspective, this is absolutely insane.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by (keep coming back), and thank you for everyone for all your encouragement. 

I've heard from a few friends in a similar boat that they really like what we are doing, and are really enjoying our writing.  One friend, in fact, BBM'ed me and said that he was passing along the blog to all of his friends from his law school (he did not go to Cardozo), and that he will be upset when I actually get a job, because the blogging might stop

Mad Men

Sterling Cooper Draper Price we are not.  But nonetheless, clicking our advertisements when you visit our Exception, Stupendous, Extraordinary blog helps us immensely.

Hire Us Please is nothing without our readers.

Thank you everyone for your past and continued support.

And a reminder, to anyone in a similar situation, if you want to tell your story, you've got a platform right here to do so.

Update Re: Today

Shalom Dearest Readers.

I will not be posting much today or tomorrow.  Wednesdays and Thursdays I work an unpaid internship down at the courthouse.  Hopefully Fletch can pick up the weigh, and maybe we might even get a guest contributor.

I will tell you that I did work my first night working the door at the bar (No, not that bar, an actual bar, like one where they serve drinks).  I spent about 7 hours mostly mostly on my feet and mostly outside, with the occasional romp inside.  I had an absolute blast.  Really, I did.  Law School and studying for the bar is an inherently isolating condition.  The majority of time is spent in one's own head.  Whether its reading (its usually reading), preparing, thinking, etc.  What I found so enjoyable about my night was that the job was exclusively interacting with people.  It reminds me that my interpersonal skills are actually quite excellent.  I'm looking forward to the next night when I can work.

A few more things:  1) Besides my hands (from checking IDs), I really didn't get very cold.  I guess that means I layered my clothes appropriately. 2) Chap-Stik will be ESSENTIAL next time.  I gets dry outside! Very very dry! 3) I was on my feet most of the time so my back and my left hip and my left knee are kinda sore this morning.  4)  Polite-ness makes a huge difference.

Pride is Expensive

I think Fletch's post below really hits on something remarkable.

Pride is expensive.  If you need help, ask for help.  Those around you and who love you will only be too happy to give it.

And, when the time comes, when you are in a position to help, pay it forward.

Remote Office Blogging

Today, Fletch and I will be blogging from the B-Cup Coffeeshop on 13th St and Ave B in Alphabet City.  This is fun.  Sam Cooke is playing.  That makes me happy. 


One of the stated purposes of this blog is to chronicle our experiences as we search for work.  Today, we venture out of the solitude of our respective apartments and decide to be social!  While some of the things we write about will be unique experiences, this one, spending the afternoon in a local non-corporate coffee shop, is probably one of the most universal experiences we will write about (you know, besides getting rejection letters).

Since, I don't quite know where else to take this post, I'll list some things I look for when picking a coffee shop:

1) Good Coffee.  If you've read my previous posts, this is important to me.  Today, I bought a coffee, and its pretty good.

2) Comfy Chairs.  Unless you're reading a really difficult, old, nonsensical British case from like the 1600s where you need a really uncomfortable chair to keep you from falling asleep, comfy chairs are a must.

3) Non-corporate.  I like to support my local small business owners.  All things being equal, if a non-corporate coffee shop is across the street from Starbucks, I'll go with the small place every time.

4) Music.  I love music.  If the music sucks at a place, im going to put in my head phones, and tune out the world. And that kinda defeats the purpose of working in a coffee shop. So far, I've heard some Sam Cooke, some bloc party, some Zepplin, some Hendrix, and some Johnny Cash.

Cash Poor

I think it was my Dad who made this point to me, and I found it to be exellent.

I'm cash poor at the moment.  That's all.

You know those times when all your assets are locked up in investments and for whatever reason you can't/don't want to sell the asset.  That's how I am right now.  All my cash is tied up in my biggest asset: me, and I'm non-fungible.  I've invested heavily in myself.  I put myself in roughly $200k in debt to get my JD.  This limbo period will be brief in the long-run, and is all part of the game we signed up for..  Right now, its just a matter of tightening my belt, keeping my feet moving, being open-minded, and keeping a positive outlook.

The assets are there, the problem right now, is figuring out a way to monetize.

WE GOT JOBS!!

(Although this is being posted from Bobby's account, it is a "Joint Post" and authorship should be attributed to both Fletch and Bobby)

Big News everyone, We got jobs!!  Yep! Thats Right!! WE HAVE JOBS!

Ok, so maybe these jobs aren't as attorneys, but thats ok right!?!?

And, maybe these jobs aren't full time, but thats ok right!?!?

And, maybe these jobs aren't really even part time, but thats ok right!?!?

And, maybe these jobs are both really for only two days (or nights for Bobby) in November, but thats ok right!?!?

And, maybe Fletch is working the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and Bobby is working the door at an East Village bar, but thats ok right!?!?

Why are you guys taking such a nasty tone?  You should feel fortunate to have these opportunities!

Now, don't read the sarcastic tone of this post and think we don't appreciate these jobs. We really appreciate having them.  We feel fortunate.  Seriously, you should have heard how excited we were to tell our respective parents (and each other!) about our good luck.

Good, so stop complaining.  I thought these weren't victim's stories, right?

Well, this is where we are trying to walk a thin line.  We do feel fortunate.  We need this work.  We want to keep roofs over our heads, and with winter coming, heat seems important.  But, its difficult not to view this scene with a certain sense of detached amusement for some pretty obvious reasons.  That's all.

Got it.  Well, I suppose that makes sense.

By the way, Mr. Italic's Voice as A Lame Rhetorical Device, who are you?

I'm your better selves calling you forward to be better.


Then why do you have my Nintendo Wii, and a bunch of my DVDs? 

Uhh, gotta go!

Whats the Story Morning Glory?

Morning Everyone!

I've had friends say "If I were unemployed, I'd sleep till like noon everyday!"

That doesn't work for me.  I like to be up early.  It makes me feel better.

Right now I'm sipping some home-brewed french-pressed coffee.  Simple pleasure.

What is... a PROFESSIONAL

What is… (to be determined)?

So here’s a section much like the previously begun “Why I…”

Like everything else in our blog, we haven’t a clue what it’ll become, but here we go.

What is a professional?

I was talking with my mother this weekend right after we had launched the blog when I noticed the adsense stats said we had made $0.85.  We made 85 cents!!  I quipped that we were now professional bloggers, and to my mother’s delight she joyously proclaimed she now had something to tell her friends. 

Then I thought what makes someone a professional? 

This seems like a simple question, right?  A professional is someone who does something regularly for a fee that requires specific skills.  Right?

On my first day of drama school at Carnegie Mellon, I remember a professor starting his welcome by saying we were all now professionals and welcome to the profession.  At that moment I thought, “if I’m paying to attend, how does that make me a professional? Professionals get paid!” 

So I decided to see what the dictionary might add.

From Merriam-Webster website:

Professional: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession, or engaged in one of the learned professions. 

Learned professions: a calling required specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.

So did I just spend three years, acquire $200K of debt, to be a professional blogger about spending three years and acquiring $200k of debt?  Love that circular logic.

Most of the artists I’ve known seem to say you become a professional once you get paid.  Okay.  I like that.  However, before law school, I got paid doing odd jobs, selling t-shirts, building sets, selling computers and even painting.  Yet I would never call myself a professional at any of these activities (especially painting, because that skill seems rather illusive).  Whenever asked I’d say “I’m a professional actor, but this is how I’m paying my rent.”

How many of us have said these things before? 

Well, if it makes my mother happy to say her unemployed overeducated deeply indebted son is a professional because he’s been paid about enough to cover the electric bills for the time spent online blogging, then great!  For you mom, I’m a professional.

So for all the mother’s out there, I say let’s embrace that definition and apply it all around.  I will now consider all those people who work, in whatever field they are employed as professionals in that field. 

Therefore here in New York City, that means every waiter is not only a professional actor, each bartender is not just a professional musician, however every Barnes & Noble employee is still just a professional graduate student.

So as we continue our search for work, share with us what you do as a professional.   What’s your profession?

Mark Ronson and the Business Intl

This has been my morning music.  Check it out, its highly enjoyable.

The Myth of the Post-Bar Jobs

You hear it uttered casually as if its fact.  I've heard it from the mouths of school administrators, friends, family, young lawyers, older lawyers, people down at the courthouse, and people hired by the school to talk to us about getting jobs.  It goes something like this, "once you've, like, passed the bar, employers will tots be like 'here's some money in exchange for the goods and/or services you've supplied for me today!'" (while I presented that as a direct quote it was actually more of a paraphrase).

There is an old saying in politics, that if you say something enough it becomes truth.  Well, right now, among other people similarly situated as unemployed, recently graduated, bar-results awaiting young adults, the story that jobs will appear once bar results are released is the effing gospel.  Except, unlike other oft-cited potential untruths, like the Yeti is Saskatawani (we all know he's British Colombian), W. Bush ran a successful business, and women are just as smart as men ( I kid, I kid, we all know women are WAYYY smarter than men), this one will have a day of reckoning very soon. 

And I really hope this one is true!

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Monday Mornings

Monday mornings are a weird beast when you are unemployed.  For the working folks out here, Monday mornings seem to have a multi-faceted association: there is dread for a new work week, anticipation for the unknown, and a re-focusing of oneself after the weekend.

For me, Monday mornings have all that too.  But, its different.  I also have a sense of dread, except its "another week without a job", there is anticipation, except its "maybe this week I'll get the job!", and there is definitely refocusing, except its "I'm gunna stay on top of my shit this week!"

So far this morning, I've walked Lilly (I'm dogsitting for the weekend), made coffee (see below), and breakfast.  I've cleaned my apt, and written about 15 emails.  Soon, I'm going to check my usual job listings to see if anything worth pursuing has been listed (and then check again 5 mins later because you NEVER KNOW!).

The thing is though, at some point there just isn't any more cleaning to do, no more emails I can write today, and once you hit the point, it leaves you with a "huh, now how am I going to spend the day while attempting to spend $0?"  And that is the point where after spending the energy refocusing from the weekend, the wind can get let out of your sails and discouragement can sink in.  It can be a major let down, and I've been there.  But today, it aint happening.  I dont know what I'm going to do once I hit that weird point, but its gunna be AWESOME.

If you've got any suggestions, lets me know!

Why I... Splurge on Expensive Coffee Beans

This is the first post in a series called "Why I..." in which I explain why I do certain things that might seem irrational given my current lack of any real income.

Starting off my day with one or two giant cups of coffee really makes me happy. I started drinking it back when I was in college, and boy do I really love it.  Not just the caffeine kick, but the whole experience.  Making it, the smell, the first sip.  Its a major part of my morning routine.

As any coffee drinker knows, the economics of coffee can get pritaaaay pritaaay scary (quick sidebar: how does one type in a Larry David voice? Any suggestions are strongly encouraged). Lets crunch some numbers: If you buy 1 cup per day, each day of the year, and the average cup of coffee costs $3 than you've spent a staggering $1,095 dollars on coffee in a year. Now, I don't know how to multiply a number that I just multiplied other numbers to get to, but if you drink, more than one cup of coffee a day, that yearly number starts to get bigger.

So, where does this leave me? My coffee is not a compromise I'm willing to make. I'll crash on someone's floor or eat ramen noodles for a week, but keep your dirty f'in hands off my coffee.

And its not just that I want coffee, I want GOOD coffee. And since I'm already saving a buttload of money by home-brewing, I'm gunna spend some of that money on a bag of excellent coffee beans. And really, its not that much money. After conducting extensive market research, and by that I mean, remembering things, I've found that Dunkin Donuts beans cost around $8.99/lb, the same amount of vastly superior Stumptown or intelligensia beans cost roughly $15/lb. So really, when I'm drinking several cups of the stuff a day, I'm still saving potentially thousands of dollars a year by using the good stuff.

To connect this to something bigger, right now when things have the potential to get bleak, treating yourself well is probably the most important thing you can do. And for me, that means a delicious cup of hot french-pressed Stumptown Holler Mountain coffee (half + half, no sugar) each morning.

Ahhh to be young...

Gavin McInnes on todays young:

"Today’s kids are the best. They are savvier, better connected, more informed, less consumerist and more capable of everything—including partying—than my generation or yours. Believe me, cassette tapes were a [f-ing] pain in the a--."

You know, just saying.

Allow myself to introduce.... myself...

Hello dearest readers!

I like to get introductions out of the way early and often.

The picture on the right is me and my dad on my graduation day. And I'd like to get this on the record now, but my dad is the coolest person I know.

My name is Bobby Weinberger. I'm originally from the Los Angeles area (Sherman Oaks what what!!) and I'm an alumnus of the University of Southern California (Go Trojans what what!!). I now reside in the New York City area (East Village what what!!).

In May of 2010, I graduated with a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. I am currently unemployed.

I grew up playing basketball semi-religiously but I've since had to force myself into retirement. I love sports, music, and good food. I read mostly non-fiction and my beverage of choice is whatever you're buying (hey, like I said, I'm unemployed).

You will learn more about me as I post more, but this seems like a pretty good jumping off point.