Aaron Ewer
Aaron Ewers thoughts about everything

If Letterman is on the TV then I’m up too late and the next day is going to be a bear with me tired from not enough sleep. The problem is, I really like the show. I’ve been watching it for years. I think he’s been on the air for almost 30 years by now. Isn’t that amazing?

One of the funniest things he’s done is the Top 10 List. The writers have an incredible imagination to come up with those lists, night after night. They are always topical and at least 3 or 4 from every list will make me laugh out loud.

We had a regional manager’s meeting this week which is something I always look forward to because it gives us face time with all the regional managers. You can get a lot more done with people are face to face instead of trading emails or voice mail messages. They men are always on the go and put in such long hectic days that it is really hard to reach any of them on the first try.

The managers from the west coast were really pumped up - they have been the most successful the first two quarters of the year. The guys from the midwest are hot on their trail.

I haven’t seen Bob since before Christmas and although he looks good, I did a double take and realized that he looks unusually good. Then I realized, he’s had a little work done. It’s not really obvious to the casual observer, but since I’ve worked closely with Bob for over 10 years, I could tell when I looked closely and its really for the better. When we had some time alone I asked him about it and he was glad to tell me about it. Bob found a top notch plastic surgeon and had his nose fixed. The technical term is rhinoplasty. He said he was only out of commission for about 4 days and that he only regrets he hadn’t done it sooner.

So that has me thinking about the same thing. I’ve heard about a great facial plastic surgeon in Cincinnati, Dr. Donath, and since that’s just a short drive from here, it would be worth finding a few things for the wife to do in Cincinnati while I have the surgery done and hang out in a nice hotel for a few days during the recovery. I found him easily by searching for Cincinnati Rhinoplasty and read Dr. Donath’s website to check him out. I guess the next step is to just call his office and make an appointment for a consultation before making any further plans.

How strange that there was a big earthquake in the Los Angeles area today. I think it was a 5.8 magnitude. The center of the quake was actually about 30-35 miles east of downtown L.A., but a quake that strong is felt for many miles away. I heard that people in San Diego felt the tremors.

First reports say that there was minimal damage and that only a few people suffered minor injuries. That’s a blessing. I hope the early reports stand true. Often in a natural disaster the injury and damage reports increase dramatically over the first 24 hours.

Usually it’s northern California that gets more earthquake action, but there are serious fault lines that run down the entire length of the state. I checked the USGS web site and there have been 67 aftershocks today in that same immediate area. Those poor people must be frantic by now.

The “Legally Speaking” show has a variety of legal specialties represented on the show, so callers have a good chance of reaching someone who can answer just about any kind of question. One of the lawyers on the radio show specializes in personal injury cases and he handled a call the other night while I was listening that brought up some issues that I hadn’t considered but he must hear it all the time. What happens after a car wreck and you can’t work and have to pay your bills?

Obviously the common advice is to have set aside savings to carry you through emergencies like this. But I know a lot of people, if not most people, just don’t have the money to put enough away to handle a serious emergency. If the accident is not your fault, then most people are going to want to get a lawyer and sue the other people and their insurance company. But that can take over a year to get to court. So what do you do in the meantime?

What the lawyer suggested was getting in touch with a company that provides funding based on their opinion of whether you have a good enough case to win in court. It;s not that hard to look at the other court cases out there and see what kind of settlements they have awarded and compare the facts of your case to the ones that have already been successful. So if this lawsuit finance company thinks you have a good case, they advance you the money you need to pay your house payment or rent, keep the lights one, etc.

Finished the web site for the lawyers radio show, called “Legally Speaking,” and it’s up!

That was quite the process. I met with each attorney in his own office to write the biography and copy. Then I had a photo shoot of them during a live show. I just took my pocket digital camera, no extra lights, and shot about 100 photos - some posed and some candids.

I think it turned out great. And now I listen to the show as much as I can on Saturday nights, and I’ve even called in a few times to pose questions for my microphone shy friends.