Friday, June 17, 2011

A New Dawn... of the Dead

What happens when you take an actor + a blowout fight with his only source of income - a job + an unpaid gig?

The answer is a big problem. A problem not even Chinese third grade math whizzes can solve (and trust me, they're still trying).

Here's the situation- I failed a class in my last semester of college. To be fair, it was because of my atypically busy schedule and my own undertaking of too many obligations in one semester. However, I only failed philosophy by 5% of the grade, and when I offered to do extra credit, the teacher, a lovely, lovely man, insulted me and refused. Now I'm not saying he's a bad person, I'm only saying he's a misogynist half-wit who lacks compassion or human emotions. I'm not bitter.

So what to do about this little dilemma? Obviously, the answer is to commit myself to a show that doesn't pay and eats up time during the day that could be occupied by a job. Now, if I didn't have to pay $900 for a philosophy class, I wouldn't have to turn down projects that are directly related to my degree (not bitter). Especially not turning them down in order to study something that is trivial and unrelated to anything I will have any use for (does anyone else taste dark chocolate?). Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to realize that $900 does not, contrary to popular belief, simply materialize when needed, else wouldn't all of the NJ housewives be saved?

So I took the non-paying job, only to discover now that I have an excellent opportunity to make money. Yes, money- the green stuff that philosophy teachers don't make (seriously, dark chocolate? Coffee maybe?). I find myself in quite a pickle- and not the kind I'd normally enjoy (minds OUT of the gutter, thank you). I'm going to have to, now two rehearsals in, back out of a project... which only makes me look bad. All because a visiting professor who is a huge Kant couldn't let me make up 5% of my grade. Now I don't want to be offensive or libel and go tarnishing this man's name. I will only say he was a visiting professor at Montclair State University teaching an Introduction to Philosophy course in the Spring of 2011. He may also, at this time, have been the chairperson of the Philosophy Department at Nyack College in NY, and/or written a book entitled "Eyes That See, Ears That Hear". Just a few biographical facts.

So this modern philosopher (which I'm sure is the equivalent of a 17th Century rocket scientist) has now effectively come between me and my first passion- performing. I don't take this lightly. I don't take anything lightly, else I wouldn't constantly be on a diet.

So you can understand why these days posts are less frequent and more aggressive. Unfortunately, turds that choose to be self-important are not the same as professors. I think a professor would have chosen to have a positive impact on a student who is not even committed, by their degree, to the professor's class. I think they also would have been able to assess that a well written, insightful paper discussing the topics of the course and their practical application to the student's own views was enough to warrant a second chance at making good. To my dismay, these points are frequently overlooked by men with small penises... like philosophers.

Not bitter.

<3
Peace

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Across the Universe

It has been a ROUGH couple of weeks, everyone.

Let me tell you, graduating (or not...) is not an easy process to go through. Suddenly coming home for what seems like forever, being a little trapped, being fooled into thinking it's just summer vacation... it sucks.

I found a temporary job which, for the moment, looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. I'll be teaching theatre to kids at a camp in a neighboring town, ages 8-14 for about six weeks. I'm so excited to get to share what I've learned and loved about theatre with young people- let's hope they're as excited as I am.

Unfortunately, the battle of the dueling philosophies continues. Oh, have I not told you this story yet? Well, that's going to be a separate post. There is FAR too much information to squeeze into this one. But trust me, I have been jerked around one-too-many times by the good old crew over in the Philosophy department at MSU. Trust me, I will be pulling NO punches in my description of that fiasco, especially considering the fact that I have the entire thing well documented.

So for the time being, just know that I am slowly but surely solving the problem, trying to be the better man, but taking no prisoners. This one has been a particularly nasty fight, but I have faith that I'll be the one coming out on top in the end. No homo.

Ok, yes homo.

<3
Peace