Yay October!

I love this time of year. It's not just autumn, it's October. The nights are cooler and the days can still be pleasant. Halloween's approaching, and I like to watch as many scary movies as I possibly can during the month. Movies like H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer, The Crow: City of Angel, The Haunting in Connecticut, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, The Wolfman (Original), Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Dead Snow, Jeepers Creepers, Frankenstein (Original), The Crazies, Final Destination, Paranormal Activity, The Wolfman, and Candy Man, to name a few.

I guess I should say horror movies because not all of the above films were actually scary. Dead Snow was an amazingly entertaining foreign nazi zombie flick. H.H. Holmes was a documentary about America's 1st documented serial killer. Paranormal Activity sucked! (I hear the sequel's supposed to be good but the 1st one was a snore.) We have 2 more nights for horror films, although I don't restrict my horror film watching to only October it definitely is concentrated during these 31 days.

Tonight we're invited to a few different parties, we have to finalize our costume ideas, carve a pumpkin, and figure out when were going to go and see the niece & nephew's Halloween outfits, if we can. We should also probably clean up the apartment a little, on this wonderful October day.

A New Look/A New Attitude?

So I decided to update my look a little here on the blog. Why? I don't know really. Maybe I'm bored. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe I need to try something small in hopes of sparking some kind of creative spark!

What does that mean?

Lately I've sunken into a funk, I think it would be safe to say. I am not actively writing/developing any of my creative projects. I have been turning down prospective theatrical productions because I don't really feel motivated to make such a time-consuming commitment. I am choosing to stay home, mope around the apartment and be antisocial in many instances. I am consumed by an overwhelming feeling of pessimism, and self doubt. That is not who I am.

Well, okay, I've always been a bit of a negative person but it was amusing. I was creative in my naysaying. The title of this blog is all about my ability to laugh at the negative things in life, to mock the aspects of life that I take grievances with... but in a fun, hopefully entertaining way. Lately it has not been a productive trait of my personality.

It exhausting being this much of a bummer day in and day out. I shoot down ideas left and right. I already have an answer as to why certain resolutions are doomed to fail. I claim to be unaffected by certain goings on in my life but then bottle up the anger and resentment. I am always stressed out - about money, about debt, about my commute, about my future, about my family, about my lack of progress through this footrace we call life. I hate always feeling sorry for myself.

I am confused daily by the turn of events that have led me to my present. The decisions that I have made, and the obstacles that have arisen in the last few years hover around my head, and constantly buzz in my ear. I was going to be an actor. I was going to be a writer. I was going to be a teacher. I was going to have some stability. It turns out that I have unfinished manuscripts, unpaid bills, a blog and just as many questions as ever.

So I decided to change the appearance of my blog. It's a baby step but one hopefully taken in the right direction. I'm still not going to audition for productions that I am not interested in, but hopefully I will be more open to being approached by interested parties. Hopefully I will get of my butt, dust off some of my manuscripts and start sending them out again. Ideally, I will not let my life be defined by the +3 hours a day I spend sitting in traffic to get to my low-paying job or the hemorrhaging banks accounts, both of which could be cured by mysteriously winning the lottery one day.

In the meantime, I will work on slowly bettering my attitude. The motif of books you see in the background here is something that makes me smile. I love to read. I love books. I love the endless possibilities represented by an unopened book. Hopefully, this will help to inspire me in in these uninspiring times.

Douchebaggery!

1st let me say that in my time I have, admittedly, probably been less than cordial to many people in my lifetime. It would also be fair to say that I have been known to act obnoxious or indecent on occasion. I've also wronged many people in various and numerous ways that I am not proud of BUT I am pretty certain that I would not be classifiable as a Douchebag. (Maybe I'm wrong.)

I do find that these days I am quick to anger at people I perceive as Douchbags! Whether they be deadbeat fathers, reality television 'celebrities', or even just your everyday joe schmoes yelling at the bank worker because the door scratched their arm on the way out I am instantly annoyed. I grit my teeth, and fight my rising blood pressure. It's funny. Why should it bother me so much.

I should develop a tougher skin. 'It's only fantasy football... I guess it's fine if you want to act like a douchebag.' 'Of course you should make Douchbag profile updates on your facebook page. I understand that you're delusional about your talent level, stage presence, and/or performances. Oh, and did I mention it's community theatre?' 'It's completely fine if you want to drive on the shoulder of the Beltway to the next exit because you can't be bothered to wait in the traffic jam caused by a fatal car accident with all of the rest of us working stiffs. That's not Douchey at all!'

Or maybe it is! Maybe you shouldn't! Maybe you should just up and die, Douchebags!

PS. A truck carrying a tank of water crashes, head on, with a truck carrying a tank of vinegar! ->DOUCHE<-

10/10/10

It's the 10th day of the 10th month in the 10th year of the century. What does that mean? Well, that's a good question. There are several theories.

I, however, tend to think of it as a beautiful October day when there are several couples that we know exchanging wedding vows. Off the top of my head, I know of four different weddings happening today in Iowa, Illinois, Delaware and here in Maryland. Sara and I will soon be off to attend a friend's wedding up in Baltimore. So Congratulations to you all and I'm sure this day will always be remembered fondly.

That's Not Right

The landlords have the worst possible timing when it comes to having work done on the house. Maybe they're doing it on purpose now. I've mentioned before how they had the siding replaced when I was on Spring Break, and I was woken up every morning by the work men pounding on the house. A contractor was here for several days over the Summer when I was trying to relax. This morning at 8:30 or so I hear a chainsaw starting up. Workmen came to trim some of the trees on our property, at 8:30 in the morning! I'm baffled by the pattern.

Really?

Through my recent change in job titles at the school I have had the opportunity to go out into the community several times a week. My student has a job-site where he learns to perform necessary tasks, develop a good work ethic, and get an idea about what it takes to work for a living. In this case the job-site in question is a very popular shoe store. It's not always the most interesting work but I have seen some sights, and come to some conclusions about societies' shopping habits that I've found a bit alarming.

Before I started teaching I worked some retail jobs and I also served some time, many years in the hospitality industry. So I guess I shouldn't have been shocked today but I was. People ransacked that store! We're out on the floor and some areas looked like a tornado had blown through! Is it really necessary to try on multiple sets of shoes, and then leave everything out on the floor. Is it acceptable to not clean up after yourselves even just a little bit? Really? Shoes were out of boxes, and mix-matched. Boxes were strewn across the floor, crumpled papers flung in ever direction, and shoe boxes carried to the opposite side of the store and abandoned by shoe gremlins!

I felt horrible for the workers. 1 of the employees told me, after I'd apologized for all of humanity, that she remembered and everyone joked about this 1 woman and her 2 teenage daughters who made such a mess it took the staff 2 hours to clean up after them. That's ridiculous! Are people that self-involved? I would be embarrassed to leave such a huge mess after me and walk out the door.

I also noticed that people don't have any respect for personal space when shopping for shoes. There was an old Russian couple whom appeared to be going out of their way to interfere with our student workers. They were constantly backing us into corners, brushing by us as we worked, or hovering over us. A woman on a blue-tooth practically growled into her phone when she couldn't get down the crowded aisle, and shot our students a salty look as she pushed by. Aisles would become instantly clogged as our students worked to straighten up, and we would find ourselves trapped against a wall or in a corner and people were just oblivious to our situation.

The job sites are supposed to help our students experience different work environments and possible employment opportunities. I wonder if they also walk away wondering what's wrong with some people.

Cheerio Adam!

Just got off the phone with my best friend. He's sitting at the airport waiting to board his flight to England. He's never enjoyed flying or been out of the country, as far as I know. He's heading over for a classic automobile race or something, and is anxious to drive on the 'wrong side of the road'.

I am so jealous.

Again?

Yet another high school friend of mine has announced on Facebook that they are soon to be a grandparent. I AM 35 YEARS OLD! Grandparents by the mid 30's? What is this the medieval times? Are we experiencing the dark ages all over again? Unbelievable.

Oh yeah, that reminds me. We're trying to plan a trip to the Renaissance Fair.

How I Wonder...

...About the huge dude sitting on the Orange Line Metro with a sweaty lip, Hawaiian shirt, and girly arm tats. Badly inked playboy bunnies, and naked ladies adorn each of his beefy forearms. His breathing is labored. His belly overwhelms his belt. He wears slip on loafers and his big calves are criss-crossed with spider veins. He does not seem healthy or happy. I wonder where he was in his life when he had the tattoos inked. What is his story?

The Week In Review

The cracked radiator was replaced by yours truly, and Adam, this past Sunday. We decided this was a repair we might be able to do on our own. (We've made that mistake before.) In this case it proved to be true. We bought the radiator, and did all of the labor ourselves essentially saving hundreds of dollars. The car seems to be running fine, and made it through the 1st week of my commute for the 2010-2011 school year without even the slightest twinge on the temperature gauge.

The school year has officially started and I have been relocated. Sort of. I'm still at the same school but because of staffing needs I have been traded to a different program. I am now working as a one to one for an older student who will be transitioning out of the school in the next few years. It is an interesting change of pace. My work day now has the added features of job sites 3 times a week, and more of a focus on independent living skills then on academics. I am excited to see how this year goes.

I was called in for a sudden audition at a local theatre company here in Annapolis. They were having a hard time casting their current show and my name had been thrown out there as some local talent worth checking out. I wasn't really interested in the beginning. [Since I've been in Maryland I have been really choosing my productions carefully. Gone are the days of auditioning left and right for numerous productions, and just crossing my fingers to work on a show, any show because I wanted to be on stage. Now I only audition when it's something I really want to work on.] I decided to audition for a few reasons.

1) It would've been an equity show. Union. Paid acting work.
2) Rehearsals would not have interfered with my other 2 jobs.
3) The director works for a professional theatre in the area Sara and I are hoping to relocate to soon.

So I auditioned not having read the script, and showing up without a headshot and a resume because I wasn't planning on auditioning 20 minutes prior to showing up. I had a pretty good audition. I didn't get it. They needed me to be available earlier in the day that was possible for me. I was strongly complimented, asked to audition in the future, and sent on my way.

Wednesday was a big old mess. The hostage situation in Silver Spring screwed up traffic patterns all around DC and it took me over 3 hours to get home from work that day. Fortunately, I now drive a coworker to work most days so his presence helps keep me relatively sane when I'm sitting in bumper to bumper traffic all damn afternoon. I know that I am coming across extremely self-absorbed to minimize the tragic events at the Discovery Channel building down to messing up my commute but that's what happened. Yes, several people were held hostage for many hours, and a man died but I was more upset by my personal inconvenience at the time. So what?

The rest of the week was fine. Hurricane Earl didn't affect us at all after all of the hubbub. 3 day weekend is here and Sara and I are sitting out on our porch drinking coffee and reading a book. We'll get to hang out with some family this weekend, enjoy the cooler weather, and maybe even see a free concert.