Month: March 2001

There’s a lot of money in the music business. Some of it is clean money, some is not clean at all, and some is pretty questionable. Salon is featuring a revealing article about who gets money when it comes to radio play, at least for the Top-40. It’s just another reason to listen to Public Radio.

My friends did a good job of keeping me busy this weekend. I’m incredibly thankful to everyone who made my birthday enjoyable.

On Saturday, Darren, Ali, Alissa, and I drove into Philadelphia to go to The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. Our meals consisted of a salad, a cheese fondue appetizer, an entree of New Orleans-style meat in a vegetable broth fondue, and a chocolate fondue dessert. If you’ve never eaten at one of these restaurants, you should check it out.

Sunday was the big day. In the early afternoon, the crowd from the previous night, minus Ali but including Stacey, Jen, and Josh (who came up from Wilmington), went to play laser tag at Laser Park. It was the first time we had ever played (except for Josh, I believe), and it was lots of fun. We split up on two two teams (boys against girls) and had some help from a group of kids who were there for a seven-year-old’s birthday party. After three 20-minute games, we were kind of tired.

To kill some time before we were expect back at Ali’s and Darren’s, we played a little bit of frisbee at Mercer County Park. We quickly decided that it was far too windy to play well, so we headed over to the house.

Ali had a party waiting for us, full of games like Picture Bingo (there were only four columns on the cards so it was more like Bing), Pin The Tail On The Donkey (while blindfolded), and Twister. We ate pizza, chocolate cake with pink icing, and watched a DVD of Bring It On, the best and only movie I know of about competitive cheerleading. All in all, the day was a great introduction to the second quarter-century of my life.

Now I am dealing with the aftermath of laser tag: my legs are in pain. I really should get more exercise. Plus, I really should have followed the “no running” rule.

Thanks to all my wonderful friends who made me smile and helped me have an excessive amount of fun on my birthday. Quick review of the first quarter-century of my life: so far, so good. I’ll write more about today at some other point…

Have you ever had one of those days that just feels a little off from the very beginning… and then no matter what you do, you can’t make everyone — or even anyone — happy? This seems to be one of those days. Unfortunately, my horoscope seems to be of no use:

Listen to your inner voice. It’s the vehicle through which you receive inspiration. Join forces with a partner or your mate and begin secret projects with land, property, or real estate. Try to stay in control of the content and quality of discussions. That will keep you on safe ground yet allow you to indulge your excitement. A partner or your mate may be feeling especially vulnerable about expressing a talent or making an investment. Be patient and try not to lose your temper.

How does that help me today? Thanks a lot, Yahoo. No wonder your stock is plummetting.

Apparently there’s a new live-action Scooby Doo Where Are You movie set to be released. I had a picture of the cast here but I had to remove it since it seemed to keep disappearing off the server.

Earlier tonight, my coworkers took me out to a classy establishment for dinner. The particular restaurant was chosen by Kristen. I had been to one of these restaurants before, back in my “fraternity” days. Anyway, it was nice to spend time with everyone from work, outside of the office.

There was a guy sitting at the bar at the restaurant who was wearing a fox on his head for a hat. He got a lot of attention…

At work I have one of those hydraulic Fabric Chairs from Staples. Throughout the day I, it seems as if my computer monitor is getting shorter and shorter. However, that is probably not the case. For some reason, my chair slowly raises itself throughout the day. By the mid afternoon, my knees are almost on top of my desk. My the time I leave, the top of my head is brushing against the ceiling. Something has got to be done about this chair, though it is rather comfortable…

• Introducing Gwen, originally from Lancaster, PA, now living in Washington, DC.
• Oy, a typical Jewish mother who misses her daughter
• Another school shooting only a few days since the one in California
• Today’s horoscope: Your renewed drive could lead you to take risks that will have positive results in the long run.

Two Killed, 13 Hurt in California School Shooting.

Police said the suspect — a high school freshman treated like a weakling by some of his classmates because of his small frame and scrawny looks — used a .22 caliber revolver, which he reloaded once after emptying its chambers to shoot people at random in a hallway and boys’ bathroom of Santana High School.

The shooter had apparently told several friends over the weekend of his plans but no one believed him or reported him to authorities, according to accounts from students.

Reynolds said the suspect was often the butt of jokes at school, but that he usually replied with a joke and smile. ”He’s a kid who gets picked on a lot because he does not stand up for himself. Most of the time he just takes it. He is joking around about it … I didn’t think he was serious.”

President George W. Bush decried the shooting as “a disgraceful act of cowardice.”

I have a couple of things to say about this. First of all, if this kid’s motivation was the fact he was being picked on, where was his family to teach him that other kids are cruel and it doesn’t matter what they say? My next point is that I hope you can understand why there is a teacher shortage in this country. When a person weighs the pros and cons of teaching — whether to put his or her life on the line because of the few students that are out of control, or to take that risk due to the love of having an influence on kids (maybe even being able to reach out in some small way to the ones that need the most help) — most are going to choose to value the safety of their own life.

Many kids are missing out on having great experiences with great teachers who no longer have any desire to set foot in a classroom. If parents are not able to teach children the difference between reality and television (or between reality and video games) at an earlier age, then the teacher’s job, like an object being sucked into a black hole, quickly approaches the singularity of impossibility.

Taking into account media sensionalization, I can realize that not every school has incidents like this, but it’s enough to keep myself out of the school buildings for now. I know I can be a great music teacher, and I know that I can, and that I have the desire to, touch the lives of young people in a way that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. But until parents start shaping up, getting involved in their kids’ lives, and caring about what their students are learning, my would-be students will just have to do without me.

As you probably know by now — especially if you live in my general area — there was not much of a storm, certainly not the foot of snow that some people were calling for. That didn’t stop the craziness. Just a few days ago Darren mentioned getting ripped off at a gas station. Well it almost happened to me tonight. On the way home from work, I stopped to fill up at the place I normally do. He put $12.00 worth of gas in my car and put in a quart of oil. Now I’ll stop here and say that if New Jersey allowed people to pump their own gas, like the rest of the civilized world, we wouldn’t run into these problems. Anyway, he comes back with the credit card receipt for me to sign and it’s $16.00. I looked it over — it doesn’t break down between fuel and other items, so I asked how much the oil cost. He said $3.00. First of all, that’s pretty expensive for a quart of oil. Second of all, unless I’m horribly confused by modern mathematics, 12 plus 3 does not equal 16. I pointed this out to him and he handed me a one dollar bill, as if I got a prize for being the smartest in the class.