What do I want to do when I grow up?

Now that I am free to give this a little thought, I have pondered what it really is that I should do with myself (job-wise).

Do I want to return to the world of cube farms, corporate-speak, and pointless meetings? Sure, there are the good points, such as steady income, co-workers, and benefits, but is this what I am meant to do?

Confession - I printed out a job posting for TV and movie extras. Now I am not thinking that I am going to become a star, but it could be fun to hang around a set and act like a (fill-in-the-blank). The odds of being "discovered" are as low as my winning the lottery (especially since I don't buy tickets), but it could be fun being a professional background person. Who knows? Maybe I could get an opportunity to actually say something!

Let's go back to reality. Do I really have the guts to leave the comfort of the corporate world? I would have to change my spending habits... and break away from what I thought I would do for the rest of my working years... could it be done? To be sure, my corporate experience has not been that bad. I enjoyed many aspects of writing, presenting and creating that I have done in my previous work life.

What other possibilities lie outside the corporate box? And do I have the guts to go for it?

Drug advertising

Now I am a civil libertarian. I believe in the Bill of Rights (along with the rest of the Constitution) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I believe in freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly, and so on...

However, there is one thing I could do without - drug advertising.

I actually just saw an ad on TV for some prescription medication, and the entire ad was nothing but legal disclaimers. I could not even catch what condition the medication was supposed to treat!

Now, I do not want the government to ban advertising for legal products (this would fly in the face of the whole civil liberties thing, wouldn't it?). Also, I am well aware that I am a beneficiary of the pharmaceutical industry and the research and development they do with all the money they get from their sales.

How do you get sales? Advertising. I know, I know.

I just don't feel comfortable having the drug companies push their wares on people who cannot legally purchase the products without 10+ years of college and training. I am also not particually thrilled when I learn how drug companies market their products to doctors (but that may be a topic for another post).

There's just so much one should know before just jumping into a course of prescription therapy, and no matter how fast those actors speak, there's no way they could possibly describe everything (including alternative therapies and effective diagnoses, besides just some possible side effects) in 30 to 60 seconds.

So, how do I balance the rights of companies to advertise with my unease with those very advertisements? It would help if the ad would at least indicate what the medical condition is that the drug treats!