Month: February 2004

Why I Have No Passion

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No, I’m not going to see the movie, The Passion of the Christ. I will not give into the hype for a movie that by most accounts is dreadful. A newspaper film critic posted an honest review of the film, and was blasted by readers who (one) haven’t seen the film yet and (two) thought that a bad review of the movie reflects commentary on the “real” Christ. The film critic’s response was published/posted in the NY Daily News. What is the purpose of a movie that shows immense, graphic, painful physical suffering? I believe it has something to do with guilt. Read the review. This critic is not the only one who felt this way. There’s no way I can support a movie that is so blatanly anti-Semitic.

As I’m writing this, Mitch and Mickey are performing A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow on the Academy Awards. That’s just awesome. On top of that, it’s being followed by Belleville Rendez-vous. Nice… and the musicians are playing on bicycle parts.

It Is Finished

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I gave my two weeks’ notice today.

Okay, let’s rewind a bit for curious readers. Over the last couple of weeks or so I have been interviewing for a teaching position (assistant instrumental music teacher) at a high school — a large high school — a large high school with one of the best music programs in southern New Jersey. It’s really the only type of teaching position that I would have considered applying for at this point. My first interview went pretty well, suprisingly. I was asked back for a second interview, where I was one of the three finalists for the position. That interview went even better, for some reason.

Then I received a letter saying that they had decided not to hire until the fall. I mentioned this to the other music teacher there, and he got quite upset about the situation, as the hole has been open for a while and he’s having a hard time working with all of the students himself. He spoke to the union, and the next day I received a call from the director of personnel inviting me back for a final interview.

It was pretty tough to schedule all of these interviews. I had to come up with some pretty clever excuses to get out of work for the morning. The final interview was tough. I thought there was no chance they would hire me. They asked me questions about my curriculum and for every good answer I gave, I gave a really bad one or was just incoherent. They said they’d let me know in a few days. I thought that was the end of it.

A few hours later — and this was yesterday — the director of personnel called to offer me the position. I told him I’d need a day to think about it and promised him an answer by 8:00 this morning. I made my decision to take the position last night.

I wanted to wait until the end of today just in case they were going to change their mind or something would go wrong when giving my boss the two weeks’ notice… but here I am, soon to be officially employed as a high school music teacher. Time to brush up a little.

Given A Choice

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Today I was given a choice. In two weeks and one day (which, as Stacey just pointed out to me, is my birthday — odd coincidence), my life may be on a completely different path. It would probably be a more difficult path. You might say that it would be back on an old path. But within the next 20 hours I have to make a decision and it’s going to be very, very difficult for me. It’s going to involve lists of pros and cons, talking to people I respect… not to get the answer from them, but to help me seek the answer within myself. I think this is big.

You can expect a follow-up with more details tomorrow morning after 8:00 am. For the moment, I am starving, so I’m going to grab some food.

Hypothetic-oil Question

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Here’s a hypothetical situation for all my reader-thinkers, especially those who read and don’t comment often or at all. As population continues to increase exponentially, so will demand for energy in the form of oil. However, suppose the world will hit its peak in oil production in 2015, and after that the supply can only diminish. Oil fuels everything we do on this planet, but is a non-renewable resource — once it’s gone, it’s gone. Any alternative energy source (which, by the way, there are none feasible at the moment) depends on oil to an extent, as well. What would you start doing differently in your life now?

Found Words

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“When he treat a man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we
treat him as if he were what he potentially coule be, we make him what he
should be.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I just found that quote as part of my .signature in a message I wrote two years ago. I still like it.

It’s Tempting

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Theoretically, I can look online this morning at this week’s paycheck to see my bonus and raise. My boss was supposed to meet with me first to tell me the numbers and go through an annual review, but he still hasn’t done that yet. So it’s very tempting to just look it up and find out for myself, but I think I’ll wait until the end of the day. Maybe I’ll have my review by then, who knows.

We’re in the middle of planning a big event right now, and for my boss, it’s right in the middle of a huge international deal that may or may not go through in the end.

Could Use A Little Assistance

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My plans currently call for traveling to the Dallas/Fort Worth area this spring for Bryan and Lyn’s wedding and being there April 10 through 17. This is only if some kind soul(s) in the area is(are) willing to have a houseguest for some (or even all!) of that time. I don’t know if this website has more than one DFW reader, but if someone is willing to host me I’ll buy dinner, cook, or do whatever the person would like. I plan on renting a car so transportation won’t be an issue, I can find my own entertainment, and I won’t get in the way.

Another A+

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I better not get used to this. I had another great weekend over the past few days. Barb came up to visit and we walked around New York City a bunch. We had lunch at Hakata and caught great seats for Fiddler on the Roof (TKTS didn’t have anything interesting). Afterwards, we walked up to Ellen’s Stardust Diner and enjoyed the entertainment provided by singing waiters and waitresses.

It’s going to be dangerous if I get used to having great weekends.

Unfortunately, I went into work today for about four hours. It was convenient though, as I needed to drop my father and his girlfriend off at the airport so they could catch a flight to Paris and London.