Like many people looking for employment at the moment, I have been doing my fair share of soul searching. Inevitably, this means dusting off long neglected questions such as: What am I passionate about? Helping people. What makes me happy? Helping people. And fire. What did I always say I wanted to be when I grew up? An evil genius? No, after that. A fireman. Yes, that’s right. I can no longer deny what should have been evident all along. I was made to be a fireman.

I have to be honest. The high element of danger alone would make it worth it. But that’s just gravy. You get to wear cool, reflective clothing. You’re honored every year at the 4th of July parade. And if Farenheit 451 is any indication of what the future holds, one day we’ll get to preside over massive book burnings. In South Pasadena, the average salary for a firefighter is $62,000. Nice chunk of change, huh? Well, I’ve got some applications to go fill out. If you’re interested in becoming a fireman also, I will leave you with some links to investigate.

• How to become a fireman
• How to fight a fire, and when not to
• History of firefighting
• Famous fires

It’s about to get hot up in here. Stay tuned for regular updates as I blog my way through the training program. (I can promise you, my writing will be on fire!)

I’m beginning to see that looking for work in the heart of a recession is going to require a healthy sense of humor. Every time I turn on the radio, I am assailed by new reports of increasing levels of unemployment and unremitting confusion about how to stop our economy’s current tailspin. Today I caught the end of an interview with Scott Adams on Marketplace. I’m not a regular reader of Dilbert, so I wasn’t aware that he had been fired; maybe I’ll start following the comic strip so I can see how he deals with his new situation. There’s a superstitious part of me that is slightly afraid to make fun of the recession, lest I inappropriately crack a joke at the expense of someone who’s in more dire straits than myself. However, we must laugh. Seriously bad habits did lead us as a nation into this crisis; yet if we can’t laugh at ourselves, how then can we break the trance in which those bad habits have held us for so long?

Dilbert interviews