4/21/24

Hello Blog Readers,

Well, I’ve been back home here in California for two months now, and let’s just say that it’s exactly as overpriced and politically insane as imagined. In fact, in less than 60 days, here I find myself shored up – homeless, twitchy, and in Humboldt County over 4/20 weekend.

I kid! Things are crazy here price wise, and yes, I am here in Eureka for the weekend (but not because of 4/20…just a coincidence, I swear!). The actual reason that I’m here is because I AM homeless for the weekend because my short term lease back in Red Bluff came with a caveat to it…my place was already rented out for rodeo weekend! Oi vey.

So, while rodeo is happening back home (and it looks amazing as usual), I decided to take a short working retreat out here to the Pacific Coast (I brought a bunch of work with me to work through in my hotel room between my beach excursions). And as for feeling twitchy? Yeah, I’m kind of twitchy at the moment. It’s a spiritual battle. Although I must say that Eureka and the surrounding area have been beautiful this weekend and offering a lot of courage for the road ahead. Can’t ask for a better getaway spot.

So what’s going on? What’s this twitching all about? I wish that I could get into it in full…but I can’t because a lot of it involves private matters. What I can say is that in a weird twist of fate, over the past few weeks I went from a (still building my civil practice) level of about 25% litigation, to being one of the busiest litigation attorneys in Northern California with around a 95% litigation based practice. And it’s intense…

From a professional standpoint, I should be rejoicing. I should be grateful with this overly full practice! Too much business is good business, right?

But I’ve been down this road, as many know, so many times before I’ve been down this road, and it’s not where I want to be because, frankly? (And it’s a tough thing to admit…) being an all around trial attorney causes me just an endless amount of stress and anxiety. It’s on a physiological level. I can’t put the cases away in my mind even when I leave work. My body remains in a state of stress with a heartbeat well above my resting average, and that stress wears on me in ugly ways… Heck, I’ve lost a beautiful woman over that stress in years’ past because I couldn’t put it away when trying to spend time with her.

Anyways…I’m realizing that I came here to love and help my Northern California home, however I can in a political, strategizing, advisory, structuring, and spiritual role, in planning estates and businesses, in structuring transactions, in building the future first, but not necessarily as an all-around, full-docket trial lawyer. And so…as I near 40 years of age, with no wife, no kids, heck…no house right now, just this career, it’s time to have a really difficult conversation with the powers that be in Red Bluff and all of Northern California, to see whether I have any rights at this point to build the practice and to do the things that I’m dreaming of accomplishing in the North State, or whether I’m just destined for endless courtrooms and trials if I remain in this place. We will see…it could be a fascinating few months ahead.

In the meantime, here’s to being one of the busiest trial attorneys in the North State! 😊

Cheers,

-Rob