Now Change

Amy and I went to the very cold New York City last night to see I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (turn down your volume before you click). At first, when she told me about the musical, I thought she was trying to send a message.

The musical was cute. The songs weren’t magnificent, but some were memorable and the performers (a cast of four playing multiple characters) were very good.

Before the show, we had dinner in a small barbecue place down the street from the theater. The food was great but the drinks had way too much alcohol. It was a nice end to a full weekend. I had originally planned to take off from work today to extend my time, but decided not to and save the vacation day for another time, preferrably when Amy doesn’t have an appointment with her dentist. But there isn’t much going on in the office. The boss is out because she, like Amy, sliced her hand with a knife this weekend. There must be something going around.

Update Time

I suppose it’s time for an update. I find it hard to believe that people still visit this site looking for updated content. Perhaps they’re just looking for my links to other places. Or maybe they are actually interested in what goes on in my life.

In the slight chance that it is the latter, here are some updates.

I think I’m the only person in this country who watches the Olympics. I haven’t watched much, but I did catch some great moments. There’s something about young people performing at the ultimate level that really interests me. There is so much emotion whether it’s athletics, music, or anything else at the highest level of performance. It beats watching overpaid athletes who are more interested in posturing and getting the multimillion-dollar salary than performing.

I’m finally doing something about getting into better shape. It’s not much, but I’m being consistent with it and I have plans to get even more exercise. I’m eating better and cooking more. I haven’t had a microwaveable dinner in a long time, but I still have junk once in a while, like Tuna Helper.

I should be done with my master’s degree in September, and I can’t wait. All I can say right now is that the experience has not been good and I’m happy I have to pay for only a small portion of the tuition. I just hope even that small expense ends up being worth my time. I don’t know what that means… maybe a better job, maybe a feeling that I’ve actually learned something worthwhile other than how to be a mid-level manager in a corporation. At least the class I’m taking now deals a little with something interesting: behavioral psychology.

Most of my remaining classes will be self-directed or one-on-one, so perhaps my experiences will change. The administration is absolutely horrible. I’m assigned a new financial counselor about once a month, and the outgoing one doesn’t bring the new one up to speed. My invoices are incorrect every class, which makes it a pain dealing with the new counselor and getting things done quickly so I can get reimbursed by my company. They can’t determine my full schedule because the version of my program is outdated — that’s what I get for taking a year off while I was teaching.

We have facilitators, not professors. There’s nothing to profess — the individuals who lead the class (although they tend to have great credentials) just facilitate discussion as far as I can tell. In general, for a program where writing is such a key ingredient, you would think the facilitors would have much better writing skills. I don’t think “noun-verb agreement” is a “foreign concept.”

Don’t get me started on trying to determine exactly how some of my classmates graduated high school, let alone got accepted into a graduate program. The learning experience should not be like this.

Let’s see, what else. My lease is up in June and I need to decide where I’m going. I can’t bear to live another year here, so it’s time to get out.

That’s it for now.

Four Things

I think this proves you wrong.

Four jobs you’ve had in your life:

* Salesperson at RadioShack
* Associate program director in a non-profit organization
* Music teacher
* Accounting associate

Four movies you can watch over and over:

* Amadeus (Director’s Cut)
* Clue
* A Mighty Wind
* State and Main

Four places you have lived:

* Newark, Delaware
* Brooklyn, New York
* Latham, New York
* West Paterson, New Jersey

Four TV shows you love to watch:

* The West Wing (haven’t seen anything this season)
* The Daily Show (haven’t seen any since I reduced cable)
* American Idol (first time watching since first season)
* Skating With Celebrities (something about schadenfreude)

Four places you have been on vacation:

* San Diego, California
* San Francisco, California
* Phoenix/Sedona/Grand Canyon, Arizona
* Williamsburg, Virginia

Four websites you visit daily:

* My other blog
* Bloglines
* School
* Work’s intranet website

Four of your favorite foods:

* The “French Quarter” from The Melting Pot… well, the entire meal
* Filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes
* Chicken and pasta
* Sherbet

Four places you would rather be right now:

* In my bed
* California
* Europe
* Any place I haven’t been

Four bloggers you’re tagging (who are under no obligation to continue):

* Doob
* Jimmy
* Schtacey
* Amy