I have been rejected by the Jewelry Television Network.
***
Let us all have a moment of silence for my dignity, as it has now totally shriveled into non-existence.
This may or may not be worse than the time I was rejected during my freshman year of college for re-hire by Blockbuster Video -- for whom I worked all through-out high school -- because I failed to pass their computer questionnaire. C'mon guys, I mean 30 pages of psychological/personality questions? I can fake a good personality for 10, maybe 15, pages. But any more than that is out of the question.
Imagine this hypothetical situation and respond whether you agree or disagree:
Question number 274: At work, a customer you are helping is being rude and offensive. Your response is to maintain a professional attitude and continue to behave pleasantly as though you have no soul nor any standards for social behavior.
Disagree.
Disagree disagree disagree forever and ever.
And I offer no aplogies. I have standards.
Anyway, here's the thing: the Jew TV job only involved a 5-minute phone interview. I undoubtedly displayed my prowess with the English language during said interview. And I was polite/personable enough. What could it possibly have been, then?
My attainment of - not only a high-school diploma - but two f*ing college degrees may have been just too much for them to handle. Or perhaps one of their Jewelry TV trolls happened upon my second-to-last blog entry and feared my potential for fisticuffs with old ladies. Whatever. I'm sure this is for the best in the long run. Because, truly, I would have lasted 4 hours into my first day in that job before I would have thrown myself out the nearest window. But it was fun entertaining the thought of my working that job in any case. And the prospect of finally earning money again was good while it lasted. But the fact remains that I need a job. And fast! Gah!
In related news, I had my clarinet masterclass (aka. none-too-subtly veiled attempt to recruit private students for my studio...) at Halls High School earlier today. It was a good time. It's been a while since I've taught beginner/intermediate level students - let alone a group of them - so it took me about 20 minutes to warm up and settle into a groove. Before too long, though, I felt them starting to warm up to me and vice-versa. We talked mostly about breathing and tone development through long-tone exercises, and also touched upon embouchure and finger/hand position. It was hard since I had only an hour to work with them and I had several things I wanted to cover. By the way, my personal highlight of the masterclass was at the end of the hour when I asked if anybody had any clarinet-related questions for me, and a little red-headed kid in the back asked, "Can you play Star Wars?" Little boy, if you only knew.... Oh, and also after the masterclass ended and the students had left the auditorium, two maintenance guys came up to me and were like, "Are you a student here?" Hahaha. Boy, that never gets old, let me tell you.
Anyway, so we'll see if any of the kids liked/was impressed by me enough to call me up for lessons. And they better, if they know what's good for them.......
***
In short, my little facade about being good-natured about this penniless/starving artist's life I have going on must apparently continue for at least a little while longer. Blah. This is getting very old very fast. My next two job prospects are:
a) Coordinator/receptionist for a beauty salon
pro: free haircuts!
con: intermingling with catty beauty salon folk
b) Nanny for newborn and toddler
pro: $300 a week! I'd be rolling in riches with that kind of wage!
con: I think you can all imagine... (hint: it rhymes with goopy viapers)
*Sigh* And so the ongoing quest for employment continues............
9.14.2005
9.13.2005
A lush, eh?
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of:
I do like a good martini every now and then. But I prefer to identify with the old-school, classic aspect of the drink. "You're a total lush." HA! The most dangerous drink I've had in the last month is coffee. And lots of it.
...Oh wait. I did have a margarita at dinner with Ben this evening. But I couldn't even finish it since:
a) it was quite strong.
b) I inhaled the meal so quickly that the entire cavity of my stomach had been filled with delicious Mexican goodness before I could finish the beverage.
Mmmm.... margarita.
| You Are a Martini |
 There's no other way to say it: you're a total lush. You hold your liquor well, and you hold a lot of it! |
I do like a good martini every now and then. But I prefer to identify with the old-school, classic aspect of the drink. "You're a total lush." HA! The most dangerous drink I've had in the last month is coffee. And lots of it.
...Oh wait. I did have a margarita at dinner with Ben this evening. But I couldn't even finish it since:
a) it was quite strong.
b) I inhaled the meal so quickly that the entire cavity of my stomach had been filled with delicious Mexican goodness before I could finish the beverage.
Mmmm.... margarita.
9.10.2005
I knew there was a reason I ended up a musician!!
Ok, so yesterday I had a job interview while soaking wet and wearing nothing but a towel.
HA!
Let me clarify. When I returned to Tennessee from my glorious trip to the homeland, I sent in an application to work customer service at this company in Knoxville called the Jewelry Television Network. Basically, the job entails answering phone calls from rich old ladies who have nothing better to do with their money but buy ridiculously gaudy pieces of jewelry 24 hours a day from the comfort of their own home. The prospect of me working this job is humorous and/or tragic for a variety of reasons:
First of all, I hate hate hate working customer service. It's not that I think I'm above it in any way. In fact, I respect tremendously people that not only can do it, but do a respectable job at it. I've worked three or four different customer service jobs myself. And here is what I have learned from working said jobs: I am bad at it. Not just bad, but nightmarishly bad. Although those who know me may think I have a sunny enough disposition (Greg, discount those first 5 or 6 years you were dating my sister and I had a perpetual scowl on my face...), the one thing I am frankly incapable of doing is behaving pleasantly when I. don't. want. to. Like when you're working and a customer is rude to you. For no reason. Now, a better person would be able to let it go and just continue to be as polite as was required minimally by common workplace decorum until that particular exchange was completed. I, however, am not one of those people and am completely unable to mask my feelings of utter disapproval and unappreciation for the lack of mutual respect and good manners shown on their part. I instantly become filled with a sense of duty, not just for myself, but for the whole community of customer service workers - I'll even go as far as to say, all of humanity - to let that person know that it is not okay to mess with me. I have provided for you here a dramatic re-enactment:
Actual past customer service run-in:
Me (17 years old, working for large video rental corporation): "Sir, this computer shows that you have a $(ridiculously low amount of money) balance on your account."
Bitter and petty evil customer with horns growing out of his skull: "That's a mistake. Take it off."
Me: "I'm sorry, I unfortunately don't have the authority to do that. Our system does show that ______ movie was returned late on ________ day."
Evil customer: "Um, no it doesn't."
Me: "Yes it does, sir. The screen is right in front of my face."
Evil customer: "WHAT, ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR??!! You're just an idiot who works in a video store. Now take the late fee off because I'm not paying it."
Me: "Are you seriously going to get in an argument with me over (ridiculously low amount of money) ?? I'm not lying. I don't care enough about this to lie about it! I'm telling you, this shows that you have a balance. Now, would you like to talk with my manager?"
Evil customer (storming out of store): "I'm going to call your manager and tell them that they have a liar working here."
Me (amused): "Alright, dude..."
Do you see what I mean? I'm completely inept in this situation.
Oh, and other reasons why this Jew TV job will most likely prove to be a disaster? Not only do I hate talking on the phone, but I also have a severe case of Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to work. Frankly, the mere thought of sitting for 9 hours at a time, performing the same menial task over and over (i.e. answering phone calls...) day in and day out is enough to make me break out in hives. I mean, it wouldn't be out of the question to find out that I tend to start arguments with customers, not just as a matter of principle, but because I'm bored and it's something to do. So in my reckoning, my avoidance of the customer service realm is really my generous way of doing any potential retail employee of mine a favor and saving them from my inevitable driving-away of any customers. Right?
Ugh. But at this particular juncture in my life, I need to suck it up and work any job I can get because:
a) My level of patheticness has sunk so low that in the past week I had to call on my younger, computer-engineering brother more than once to help me out with some bills this month. If any amount of showering could cleanse me of my feelings of inadequacy and guilt about having to do this, I would be in the bathroom right now, scrubbing my shame away to my heart's content. However, as I have found this method to be ineffective, I will have to resort to working a nightmare job in order to pay him back, as well as give him a bonus gift as a token of my gratitude - namely, several suitcases full of Goo Goo Clusters.
b) Also, it is about damn time that I entered the adult portion of my life, completely and wholly, not just partially or temporarily, and finally start supporting myself once and for all - amidst much kicking and screaming, no doubt - without having to call on various wonderful and supportive and patient and understanding etc. etc. family members for help.
So anyway, back to my job interview.... I had been playing a lovely game of phone tag with my contact at the Jew TV Network for several days. Immediately after stepping out of the shower yesterday, I decided to try calling again for the 5th or 6th time that morning and actually got through! I was then told that, since I had applied for a call center position, I would have to do a phone interview. So I did it right then. Pretty easy and harmless, of course. The highlight of the interview, by the way, was when the interviewer was reviewing my application with me and this happened:
Interviewer: "Alright, and do you have a high school diplom-- .........oh."
Ahhahah ahaha ha haha. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry in devastation.
The good thing is, if this job really is a nightmare (and who knows, maybe it won't be....), I can quit the job as soon as I can get enough private students to make a living. Until then, if I do get hired by the Jew TV Network, I will be working 5 days a week (2 of which have to be Saturday and Sunday) from 3-11pm everyday. Try to imagine how much I will be loathing life at that point. But, as has been the musician's mantra since time immemorial: "Hey, as long as it pays the bills..."
*sigh*
Well, at least I'll have my teaching gig at Halls High School to help me keep some modicum of self-respect. In the meantime, I will try to get in as few fights with rich little old ladies as possible. But I offer no promises.
HA!
Let me clarify. When I returned to Tennessee from my glorious trip to the homeland, I sent in an application to work customer service at this company in Knoxville called the Jewelry Television Network. Basically, the job entails answering phone calls from rich old ladies who have nothing better to do with their money but buy ridiculously gaudy pieces of jewelry 24 hours a day from the comfort of their own home. The prospect of me working this job is humorous and/or tragic for a variety of reasons:
First of all, I hate hate hate working customer service. It's not that I think I'm above it in any way. In fact, I respect tremendously people that not only can do it, but do a respectable job at it. I've worked three or four different customer service jobs myself. And here is what I have learned from working said jobs: I am bad at it. Not just bad, but nightmarishly bad. Although those who know me may think I have a sunny enough disposition (Greg, discount those first 5 or 6 years you were dating my sister and I had a perpetual scowl on my face...), the one thing I am frankly incapable of doing is behaving pleasantly when I. don't. want. to. Like when you're working and a customer is rude to you. For no reason. Now, a better person would be able to let it go and just continue to be as polite as was required minimally by common workplace decorum until that particular exchange was completed. I, however, am not one of those people and am completely unable to mask my feelings of utter disapproval and unappreciation for the lack of mutual respect and good manners shown on their part. I instantly become filled with a sense of duty, not just for myself, but for the whole community of customer service workers - I'll even go as far as to say, all of humanity - to let that person know that it is not okay to mess with me. I have provided for you here a dramatic re-enactment:
Actual past customer service run-in:
Me (17 years old, working for large video rental corporation): "Sir, this computer shows that you have a $(ridiculously low amount of money) balance on your account."
Bitter and petty evil customer with horns growing out of his skull: "That's a mistake. Take it off."
Me: "I'm sorry, I unfortunately don't have the authority to do that. Our system does show that ______ movie was returned late on ________ day."
Evil customer: "Um, no it doesn't."
Me: "Yes it does, sir. The screen is right in front of my face."
Evil customer: "WHAT, ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR??!! You're just an idiot who works in a video store. Now take the late fee off because I'm not paying it."
Me: "Are you seriously going to get in an argument with me over (ridiculously low amount of money) ?? I'm not lying. I don't care enough about this to lie about it! I'm telling you, this shows that you have a balance. Now, would you like to talk with my manager?"
Evil customer (storming out of store): "I'm going to call your manager and tell them that they have a liar working here."
Me (amused): "Alright, dude..."
Do you see what I mean? I'm completely inept in this situation.
Oh, and other reasons why this Jew TV job will most likely prove to be a disaster? Not only do I hate talking on the phone, but I also have a severe case of Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to work. Frankly, the mere thought of sitting for 9 hours at a time, performing the same menial task over and over (i.e. answering phone calls...) day in and day out is enough to make me break out in hives. I mean, it wouldn't be out of the question to find out that I tend to start arguments with customers, not just as a matter of principle, but because I'm bored and it's something to do. So in my reckoning, my avoidance of the customer service realm is really my generous way of doing any potential retail employee of mine a favor and saving them from my inevitable driving-away of any customers. Right?
Ugh. But at this particular juncture in my life, I need to suck it up and work any job I can get because:
a) My level of patheticness has sunk so low that in the past week I had to call on my younger, computer-engineering brother more than once to help me out with some bills this month. If any amount of showering could cleanse me of my feelings of inadequacy and guilt about having to do this, I would be in the bathroom right now, scrubbing my shame away to my heart's content. However, as I have found this method to be ineffective, I will have to resort to working a nightmare job in order to pay him back, as well as give him a bonus gift as a token of my gratitude - namely, several suitcases full of Goo Goo Clusters.
b) Also, it is about damn time that I entered the adult portion of my life, completely and wholly, not just partially or temporarily, and finally start supporting myself once and for all - amidst much kicking and screaming, no doubt - without having to call on various wonderful and supportive and patient and understanding etc. etc. family members for help.
So anyway, back to my job interview.... I had been playing a lovely game of phone tag with my contact at the Jew TV Network for several days. Immediately after stepping out of the shower yesterday, I decided to try calling again for the 5th or 6th time that morning and actually got through! I was then told that, since I had applied for a call center position, I would have to do a phone interview. So I did it right then. Pretty easy and harmless, of course. The highlight of the interview, by the way, was when the interviewer was reviewing my application with me and this happened:
Interviewer: "Alright, and do you have a high school diplom-- .........oh."
Ahhahah ahaha ha haha. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry in devastation.
The good thing is, if this job really is a nightmare (and who knows, maybe it won't be....), I can quit the job as soon as I can get enough private students to make a living. Until then, if I do get hired by the Jew TV Network, I will be working 5 days a week (2 of which have to be Saturday and Sunday) from 3-11pm everyday. Try to imagine how much I will be loathing life at that point. But, as has been the musician's mantra since time immemorial: "Hey, as long as it pays the bills..."
*sigh*
Well, at least I'll have my teaching gig at Halls High School to help me keep some modicum of self-respect. In the meantime, I will try to get in as few fights with rich little old ladies as possible. But I offer no promises.
9.05.2005
Bush lovers: keep out!
I got this in an email from a former teacher. I am posting this on my blog for three distinct reasons:
1. I thought it was about time that I posted something of thought-provoking content in this blog -- even though I know all you all really want are more of my awesome self-portraits courtesy of Microsoft Paint. Don't worry, I'll go back to my usual format soon.
2. While I had originally wanted to just forward this to certain people, I couldn't figure out how to enter the addresses from my address book when forwarding an email....
3. I am currently undergoing a major life crisis bought about by my recently recieving a Master's degree in music performance and not knowing what the f* to do with my life. It is loads of fun having random emotional meltdowns and I couldn't bear to take even a few moments break from my current self-pitying state, so I'm posting some other (more emotionally stable and clear-headed) individual's thoughts instead.
The Two Americas
By Marjorie Cohn
Perspective Saturday 03 September 2005
Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.
What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go."
"Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
"Merely sticking people in a stadium is unthinkable" in Cuba, Valdes said. "Shelters all have medical personnel, from the neighborhood. They have family doctors in Cuba, who evacuate together with the neighborhood, and already know, for example, who needs insulin."
They also evacuate animals and veterinarians, TV sets and refrigerators, "so that people aren't reluctant to leave because people might steal their stuff," Valdes observed.
After Hurricane Ivan, the United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction cited Cuba as a model for hurricane preparation. ISDR director Salvano Briceno said, "The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does."
Our federal and local governments had more than ample warning that hurricanes, which are growing in intensity thanks to global warming, could destroy New Orleans. Yet, instead of heeding those warnings, Bush set about to prevent states from controlling global warming, weaken FEMA, and cut the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for levee construction in New Orleans by $71.2 million, a 44 percent reduction.
Bush sent nearly half our National Guard troops and high-water Humvees to fight in an unnecessary war in Iraq. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Paris in New Orleans, noted a year ago, "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."
An Editor and Publisher article Wednesday said the Army Corps of Engineers "never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security - coming at the same time as federal tax cuts - was the reason for the strain," which caused a slowdown of work on flood control and sinking levees.
"This storm was much greater than protection we were authorized to provide," said Alfred C. Naomi, a senior project manager in the New Orleans district of the corps.
Unlike in Cuba, where homeland security means keeping the country secure from deadly natural disasters as well as foreign invasions, Bush has failed to keep our people safe. "On a fundamental level," Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday's New York Times, "our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on prevention measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice."
During the 2004 election campaign, vice presidential candidate John Edwards spoke of "the two Americas." It seems unfathomable how people can shoot at rescue workers. Yet, after the beating of Rodney King aired on televisions across the country, poor, desperate, hungry people in Watts took over their neighborhoods, burning and looting. Their anger, which had seethed below the surface for so long, erupted. That's what's happening now in New Orleans. And we, mostly white, people of privilege, rarely catch a glimpse of this other America.
"I think a lot of it has to do with race and class," said Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. "The people affected were largely poor people. Poor, black people."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reached a breaking point Thursday night. "You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources we need? Come on, man!"
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had boasted earlier in the day that FEMA and other federal agencies have done a "magnificent job" under the circumstances.
But, said, Nagin, "They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying. Get off your asses and let's do something!"
When asked about the looting, the mayor said that except for a few "knuckleheads," it is the result of desperate people trying to find food and water to survive.
Nagin blamed the outbreak of violence and crime on drug addicts who have been cut off from their drug supplies, wandering the city, "looking to take the edge off their jones." When Hurricane Ivan hit Cuba, no curfew was imposed; yet, no looting or violence took place. Everyone was in the same boat.
Fidel Castro, who has compared his government's preparations for Hurricane Ivan to the island's long-standing preparations for an invasion by the United States, said, "We've been preparing for this for 45 years."
On Thursday, Cuba's National Assembly sent a message of solidarity to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It says the Cuban people have followed closely the news of the hurricane damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and the news has caused pain and sadness. The message notes that the hardest hit are African-Americans, Latino workers, and the poor, who still wait to be rescued and taken to secure places, and who have suffered the most fatalities and homelessness. The message concludes by saying that the entire world must feel this tragedy as its own.
Marjorie Cohn, a contributing editor to t r u t h o u t, is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, and the US representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists.
1. I thought it was about time that I posted something of thought-provoking content in this blog -- even though I know all you all really want are more of my awesome self-portraits courtesy of Microsoft Paint. Don't worry, I'll go back to my usual format soon.
2. While I had originally wanted to just forward this to certain people, I couldn't figure out how to enter the addresses from my address book when forwarding an email....
3. I am currently undergoing a major life crisis bought about by my recently recieving a Master's degree in music performance and not knowing what the f* to do with my life. It is loads of fun having random emotional meltdowns and I couldn't bear to take even a few moments break from my current self-pitying state, so I'm posting some other (more emotionally stable and clear-headed) individual's thoughts instead.
The Two Americas
By Marjorie Cohn
Perspective Saturday 03 September 2005
Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.
What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go."
"Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
"Merely sticking people in a stadium is unthinkable" in Cuba, Valdes said. "Shelters all have medical personnel, from the neighborhood. They have family doctors in Cuba, who evacuate together with the neighborhood, and already know, for example, who needs insulin."
They also evacuate animals and veterinarians, TV sets and refrigerators, "so that people aren't reluctant to leave because people might steal their stuff," Valdes observed.
After Hurricane Ivan, the United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction cited Cuba as a model for hurricane preparation. ISDR director Salvano Briceno said, "The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does."
Our federal and local governments had more than ample warning that hurricanes, which are growing in intensity thanks to global warming, could destroy New Orleans. Yet, instead of heeding those warnings, Bush set about to prevent states from controlling global warming, weaken FEMA, and cut the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for levee construction in New Orleans by $71.2 million, a 44 percent reduction.
Bush sent nearly half our National Guard troops and high-water Humvees to fight in an unnecessary war in Iraq. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Paris in New Orleans, noted a year ago, "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."
An Editor and Publisher article Wednesday said the Army Corps of Engineers "never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security - coming at the same time as federal tax cuts - was the reason for the strain," which caused a slowdown of work on flood control and sinking levees.
"This storm was much greater than protection we were authorized to provide," said Alfred C. Naomi, a senior project manager in the New Orleans district of the corps.
Unlike in Cuba, where homeland security means keeping the country secure from deadly natural disasters as well as foreign invasions, Bush has failed to keep our people safe. "On a fundamental level," Paul Krugman wrote in yesterday's New York Times, "our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on prevention measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice."
During the 2004 election campaign, vice presidential candidate John Edwards spoke of "the two Americas." It seems unfathomable how people can shoot at rescue workers. Yet, after the beating of Rodney King aired on televisions across the country, poor, desperate, hungry people in Watts took over their neighborhoods, burning and looting. Their anger, which had seethed below the surface for so long, erupted. That's what's happening now in New Orleans. And we, mostly white, people of privilege, rarely catch a glimpse of this other America.
"I think a lot of it has to do with race and class," said Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. "The people affected were largely poor people. Poor, black people."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reached a breaking point Thursday night. "You mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources we need? Come on, man!"
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had boasted earlier in the day that FEMA and other federal agencies have done a "magnificent job" under the circumstances.
But, said, Nagin, "They're feeding the people a line of bull, and they are spinning and people are dying. Get off your asses and let's do something!"
When asked about the looting, the mayor said that except for a few "knuckleheads," it is the result of desperate people trying to find food and water to survive.
Nagin blamed the outbreak of violence and crime on drug addicts who have been cut off from their drug supplies, wandering the city, "looking to take the edge off their jones." When Hurricane Ivan hit Cuba, no curfew was imposed; yet, no looting or violence took place. Everyone was in the same boat.
Fidel Castro, who has compared his government's preparations for Hurricane Ivan to the island's long-standing preparations for an invasion by the United States, said, "We've been preparing for this for 45 years."
On Thursday, Cuba's National Assembly sent a message of solidarity to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It says the Cuban people have followed closely the news of the hurricane damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and the news has caused pain and sadness. The message notes that the hardest hit are African-Americans, Latino workers, and the poor, who still wait to be rescued and taken to secure places, and who have suffered the most fatalities and homelessness. The message concludes by saying that the entire world must feel this tragedy as its own.
Marjorie Cohn, a contributing editor to t r u t h o u t, is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, and the US representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists.
9.01.2005
I'm updating this damn blogizzle*
Big ups to Sarah P., Sarah L. and Robyn who seem to be the only ones on my links list updating consistently at the moment...
I've decided to finally sit myself down and end this dry spell that I have been in since the visit to my homeland last month. Here is a list of the unbearably exciting things that have happened to me during the past couple of weeks:
1. I cut my hair!!!!!
Or I should say, my sister - with the assistance and critical eye of my 4-year old - cutest EVER!!!!!!! - niece (neice? neese? Ugh, I can't spell anymore...) - cut my hair. I believe I asked for a mere 3 inches to be taken off, and ended up with what seems like 10 inches gone. Hahaha. Just kidding, Kristina. My sister did a good job. I think it's a ratio thing, actually. Because 3 inches to a normal-sized human being probably wouldn't amount to much. Especially if their hair were as long and luxurious (and by "long and luxurious," I mean "gross and unmanageable") as mine was a few weeks ago. However, if you are a pocket-sized human like myself, I guess 3 inches just makes more of a difference. In any case, I have provided for you a very dramatic - and not at all exaggerated in any way - artistic rendering of my before-and-after:
I've decided to finally sit myself down and end this dry spell that I have been in since the visit to my homeland last month. Here is a list of the unbearably exciting things that have happened to me during the past couple of weeks:
1. I cut my hair!!!!!
Or I should say, my sister - with the assistance and critical eye of my 4-year old - cutest EVER!!!!!!! - niece (neice? neese? Ugh, I can't spell anymore...) - cut my hair. I believe I asked for a mere 3 inches to be taken off, and ended up with what seems like 10 inches gone. Hahaha. Just kidding, Kristina. My sister did a good job. I think it's a ratio thing, actually. Because 3 inches to a normal-sized human being probably wouldn't amount to much. Especially if their hair were as long and luxurious (and by "long and luxurious," I mean "gross and unmanageable") as mine was a few weeks ago. However, if you are a pocket-sized human like myself, I guess 3 inches just makes more of a difference. In any case, I have provided for you a very dramatic - and not at all exaggerated in any way - artistic rendering of my before-and-after:
Before.
In my made-up universe, my previous hair was so dead sexy that it literally shone with the light of a thousand stars. Especially when its unworldly power wasn't confined in a ponytail and was free to spread its beauty to everyone who happened to cross my path. In reality, however, I had neither the patience nor the energy to style my hair, so it was usually piled on the back of my head in some free-form hairball.
After.
Hahaha. Apparently, losing a few inches off my hair caused me to become a gap-toothed, crazy-eyed ogre. Damn.
2. I went on a Target excursion this afternoon.
Remember at the beginning of summer when I was so bored out of my gourd that I went to Target everyday? And I would write about buying Kleenex and toilet paper because that was exciting in comparison to everything else I did that day? Yeah. Today I bought some Drano (even with the shorter hair, I still clog up the shower drain at an alarmingly fast rate!) and, uh, some feminine hygiene-related products... Classes at UT have started and I'm actually jealous that people get to go to class everyday. Jealous. What the hell is wrong with me? All these years, I thought of myself as the type of carefree, relaxed person that would kill to have nothing to do all day. But apparently, I start to go crazy after two days of having no school or work. I'm like a shark, people! If I really were a shark, here is how I would look:
Ah hahahah hahahha. Dear God, I need help.
3. .....................
Ok, so a haircut and a visit to Target. These were the only things of any consequence that have happened lately. That explains why I haven't been updating this blog. This is really something. I haven't even been back to Knoxville more than a week and I'm already going out of my mind with boredom. I met with the band director of Halls High School on Tuesday and I will be teaching clarinet there in a couple weeks (yay!) Also, I sent in an application to work a normal-person job (i.e. Ysabel's worst nightmare...) yesterday. So the good news is that I will probably have a couple of jobs soon. And the sooner the better because I have about 2 pennies left to my name (you think I'm exaggerating, don't you?) and 2 cents will only get you so far, especially with gas prices the way they are. Here is my personal thought about the increasing gas prices:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
So I think I'll be fine in about 3 weeks, both mentally and financially. The upside is that I have all the goddamn live-long day for the next few weeks to practice the devil stick.... and I actually am! Just let it be known that there is a fair chance that I may go clinically insane between now and the end of the month. The good thing is that if I do happen to become psychotic, it will give me something to write about.
* "Blogizzle." Benjamin G. Gessel. AOL Instant Messenger chat. September 1, 2005, 3:11pm.
8.15.2005
Return to civilization
Things Ysabel does when she visits her family in California:
1. Eat
2. Sleep
3. Drink coffee
4. Eat
5. Do tons of laundry... 'cause it's FREE!!!!
6. Raid my dad's CD collection
7. Eat
Having been essentially a college student for the past 7 years, it is always a (wonderfully pleasant) shock to my senses when, everytime I open the door to my parents' or sister's refrigerator, I find it completely full of delicious leftovers skillfully crafted the previous night or so from actual scratch ingredients by actual human beings. Instead of various processed food products made to eat directly out of the box or "cooked" in the microwave. Which is essentially what my diet has consisted of since August of 1998. Even during the last two weeks in Bear Valley, I consumed a frightening amount of instant noodles as, during the fateful morning of my departure for the music festival, I was hazily wandering the aisles of the local grocery store (As I was warned, you soon learn that eating out in Bear Valley involves a commitment of at least $20 for every meal, so, unless you want to spend your entire festival paycheck on food, musicians know to bring groceries from home...) completely distracted by my anxiety over the as-yet missing eb clarinet and trying to hold a conversation on the phone with Scott. Hence, I ended up leaving for Bear Valley with grocery bags containing bananas, a bag of bagels and about 20 packages of Ramen instant noodles...
I didn't quite comprehend the horror of my situation until I got to Bear Valley and saw all the thoughtfully planned out foods my housemates had brought. Tons of fresh produce, pastas, etc. Luckily, my friend Erin was wonderful and pretty much fed me the whole time we were there. Thanks, E!
Anyway, I'm back here at the parents' house in Santa Rosa and am well on my way to completely emptying out the contents of their fridge. It's glorious. I have to find something to do while I'm waiting for my (FREE!!) laundry to finish, right? If I work efficiently enough, I will finish the job tomorrow morning in just enough time to drive to my sister's house in Sacramento and annihilate their food supply as well. MWAHAhahaha!!! I did enough walking in Bear Valley so I can afford to..... Also, coffee (along with a variety of flavored creamers) is always abundant at both of these dwellings so, despite my annual springtime attempts to break free from the addiction, I always fly back to Knoxville completely dependent on the delicious delicious caffeinated liquid crack.
I'm not doing too badly, yet. It is still early in the afternoon of my first full day here and I've only had 3 cups.
...Damnit.
1. Eat
2. Sleep
3. Drink coffee
4. Eat
5. Do tons of laundry... 'cause it's FREE!!!!
6. Raid my dad's CD collection
7. Eat
Having been essentially a college student for the past 7 years, it is always a (wonderfully pleasant) shock to my senses when, everytime I open the door to my parents' or sister's refrigerator, I find it completely full of delicious leftovers skillfully crafted the previous night or so from actual scratch ingredients by actual human beings. Instead of various processed food products made to eat directly out of the box or "cooked" in the microwave. Which is essentially what my diet has consisted of since August of 1998. Even during the last two weeks in Bear Valley, I consumed a frightening amount of instant noodles as, during the fateful morning of my departure for the music festival, I was hazily wandering the aisles of the local grocery store (As I was warned, you soon learn that eating out in Bear Valley involves a commitment of at least $20 for every meal, so, unless you want to spend your entire festival paycheck on food, musicians know to bring groceries from home...) completely distracted by my anxiety over the as-yet missing eb clarinet and trying to hold a conversation on the phone with Scott. Hence, I ended up leaving for Bear Valley with grocery bags containing bananas, a bag of bagels and about 20 packages of Ramen instant noodles...
I didn't quite comprehend the horror of my situation until I got to Bear Valley and saw all the thoughtfully planned out foods my housemates had brought. Tons of fresh produce, pastas, etc. Luckily, my friend Erin was wonderful and pretty much fed me the whole time we were there. Thanks, E!
Anyway, I'm back here at the parents' house in Santa Rosa and am well on my way to completely emptying out the contents of their fridge. It's glorious. I have to find something to do while I'm waiting for my (FREE!!) laundry to finish, right? If I work efficiently enough, I will finish the job tomorrow morning in just enough time to drive to my sister's house in Sacramento and annihilate their food supply as well. MWAHAhahaha!!! I did enough walking in Bear Valley so I can afford to..... Also, coffee (along with a variety of flavored creamers) is always abundant at both of these dwellings so, despite my annual springtime attempts to break free from the addiction, I always fly back to Knoxville completely dependent on the delicious delicious caffeinated liquid crack.
I'm not doing too badly, yet. It is still early in the afternoon of my first full day here and I've only had 3 cups.
...Damnit.
8.11.2005
Bear with me, I'm a musician"
Hahaha! That quote comes from a baseball cap they sell here at the Bear Valley Music Festival. I thought it was really cute, but I couldn't very well picture myself wearing a baseball cap that said that. Too much rolling of the eyes from my friends (as well as the general public), I would expect. I'm in the middle of my second week here in Bear Valley. I've taken over my housemate's computer (with which we were able to tap into some nearby cabin's wireless internet -- huzzah!) while she is practicing in her room so I've decided to do a quick update of my blog.
The first few days of this festival, I was not sure if I was going to like it or not. Being thrust into a new and strange living environment with new and strange people (musicians, no less... *shudder*) always makes me uneasy, but it seems my housemates and I are now finally beginning to settle in with each other. I'm sharing this house with Kurt (principal cello from Indiana), Cindy (2nd violin from Phoenix) and Sarah (2nd basson from Santa Barbara). Two people were here only last week and have since moved out: Erin, my good friend from UOP (bass clarinet) and Michael (a hilarious trumpet player from Britain, now working in northern California). Tomorrow, a harpist is moving in with us who is coming just to play Scheherazade this weekend.
I've had a really fun time getting to play some great repertoire, most of which I hadn't had the opportunity to play before (Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, William Schuman's New England Triptych, Rach Piano Concerto 4, Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Shostakovich 5, etc etc.). These next few days we get to play Brahms 4, Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun, Scheherazade, as well as The Barber of Seville and a few other things. The constant playing has been really good for me, as far as reconfirming my conviction that playing the clarinet really is what I want to do. And that I can actually make it in this business ... somehow. (And, goshdarnit, people like me!) Regardless of the fact that I just graduated with my Master's degree and am tragically bountiless in the job-prospects department. Whatevs. I will hit the pavement hard the minute I set foot back in Knoxville, dammit (...maybe I'll give myself that weekend to take things easy, first...)!! And I WILL find a way to make a living as a bona-fide musician (...or at least find a way to make a living while still being a bona-fide musican...)!!!
Anyway, this place is beautiful. Picture Lake Tahoe, but on a smaller scale. And our house has a breathtaking view of Bear Lake right from our balcony. It's gorgeous. Maybe when I get back home I'll post some pictures here. When you take a walk around the lake, you can smell the pine trees and it makes you realize how great it is to smell the actual trees and flowers instead of air fresheners. The only thing I've had to sacrifice from being here is the use of my precious cell phone (but I'm actually getting to like not having to cater to the demands of a cell phone...) and the full-capacity use of my already pathetically weak lungs (we're up at over 7,000 feet). I stopped in at the Bear Valley sports shop in between rehearsals today and got to chatting with the nice man who works there, Lance. I was telling him how I was a bit shocked about the lack of cell phone reception when I first got here, and he gave me the heads up on three spots where he is able to get a signal on his phone: the driveway of Basecamp (the local pub), the gas station (yes, Bear Valley only has one gas station: $2.99 an f*ing gallon!!!!!!!!!!), and the intersection at the top of the trail leading to the beach right by my house. I tried the first two this afternoon but was unsuccessful. Damn you, Cingular!!! But I will try the beach spot tomorrow (seeing as how we have only a morning rehearsal and an evening concert, I have the entire midday to go relax by the lake ... ah, what a hard life this is...).
Also, my lack of oxygen intake was in full-force in our afternoon rehearsal today as I was not exactly in my peak physical condition (long story.... violin party at my house last night, avoided it by going to Basecamp and having a STRONG gin & tonic with dinner -- by the way, me and alcohol at this altitude: not smart --, dropped by the tent to catch some of the County Line Trio concert that was going on that night -- bluegrass...reminded me of Tennessee --, came back home to find the house invaded by many crazy, drunken violinists and spent the rest of the night hibernating under the sheets in my bed up in the loft making excuses not to go with said crazy, drunken violinists down to the beach to build a bonfire...). Needless to say, this afternoon's rehearsal was spent by me alternately playing bits of Debussy and Brahms and then putting my head between my legs in an attempt to not pass out from the lightheadedness.
It's also been fun/funny reuniting with some old faculty members from UOP who are also here in Bear Valley. Especially my old music history mentor, George Nemeth, who was my own personal writing/grammar Nazi during my former life as a Music History major during my undergrad, and who plays horn in this festival. I was at a wine-tasting booth with him a couple of nights ago and I was instantly transformed back into my 19-year old self as he berated me for using "me" improperly instead of "I." And then he laughed as the wine-makers at the booth scolded me for having chewing gum in my mouth while I was tasting their wine. As Dr. Nemeth said, "Some things never change." (What was that supposed to mean??!!)
Well, folks. I think that's pretty much it for my update. Hope you are all having a great summer!
ps. Heather, on my day off this past Monday I visited my sister and her family in Sacramento and, subsequently, brought the e-fer there for safekeeping for the remainder of this festival. So unless some stealthy bandits (SGS! Haha!) go in and rummage through her coat closet and kidnap the eb clarinet, you can rest assured I will not lose or otherwise harm your instrument any further.
pps. Speaking of thieving bandits, I found out during my second day here in BV that my Visa card had been used without my authorization during my 4tet's fabulous trip in Tokyo and that my bank account had been overdrawn by several hundred dollars!! Try sorting that entire mess out with no cell phone or internet access.... It was quite the nightmare. But hopefully it is almost all straightened out...
ppps. I better get asked back to do Bear Valley next summer. And you all better plan on coming with me because this is too much fun not to have anyone close to share it with.
pppps. I love Scott Atchison. *sigh*
ppppps. Jim Snyder, you can stop rolling your eyes.
The first few days of this festival, I was not sure if I was going to like it or not. Being thrust into a new and strange living environment with new and strange people (musicians, no less... *shudder*) always makes me uneasy, but it seems my housemates and I are now finally beginning to settle in with each other. I'm sharing this house with Kurt (principal cello from Indiana), Cindy (2nd violin from Phoenix) and Sarah (2nd basson from Santa Barbara). Two people were here only last week and have since moved out: Erin, my good friend from UOP (bass clarinet) and Michael (a hilarious trumpet player from Britain, now working in northern California). Tomorrow, a harpist is moving in with us who is coming just to play Scheherazade this weekend.
I've had a really fun time getting to play some great repertoire, most of which I hadn't had the opportunity to play before (Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, William Schuman's New England Triptych, Rach Piano Concerto 4, Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Shostakovich 5, etc etc.). These next few days we get to play Brahms 4, Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun, Scheherazade, as well as The Barber of Seville and a few other things. The constant playing has been really good for me, as far as reconfirming my conviction that playing the clarinet really is what I want to do. And that I can actually make it in this business ... somehow. (And, goshdarnit, people like me!) Regardless of the fact that I just graduated with my Master's degree and am tragically bountiless in the job-prospects department. Whatevs. I will hit the pavement hard the minute I set foot back in Knoxville, dammit (...maybe I'll give myself that weekend to take things easy, first...)!! And I WILL find a way to make a living as a bona-fide musician (...or at least find a way to make a living while still being a bona-fide musican...)!!!
Anyway, this place is beautiful. Picture Lake Tahoe, but on a smaller scale. And our house has a breathtaking view of Bear Lake right from our balcony. It's gorgeous. Maybe when I get back home I'll post some pictures here. When you take a walk around the lake, you can smell the pine trees and it makes you realize how great it is to smell the actual trees and flowers instead of air fresheners. The only thing I've had to sacrifice from being here is the use of my precious cell phone (but I'm actually getting to like not having to cater to the demands of a cell phone...) and the full-capacity use of my already pathetically weak lungs (we're up at over 7,000 feet). I stopped in at the Bear Valley sports shop in between rehearsals today and got to chatting with the nice man who works there, Lance. I was telling him how I was a bit shocked about the lack of cell phone reception when I first got here, and he gave me the heads up on three spots where he is able to get a signal on his phone: the driveway of Basecamp (the local pub), the gas station (yes, Bear Valley only has one gas station: $2.99 an f*ing gallon!!!!!!!!!!), and the intersection at the top of the trail leading to the beach right by my house. I tried the first two this afternoon but was unsuccessful. Damn you, Cingular!!! But I will try the beach spot tomorrow (seeing as how we have only a morning rehearsal and an evening concert, I have the entire midday to go relax by the lake ... ah, what a hard life this is...).
Also, my lack of oxygen intake was in full-force in our afternoon rehearsal today as I was not exactly in my peak physical condition (long story.... violin party at my house last night, avoided it by going to Basecamp and having a STRONG gin & tonic with dinner -- by the way, me and alcohol at this altitude: not smart --, dropped by the tent to catch some of the County Line Trio concert that was going on that night -- bluegrass...reminded me of Tennessee --, came back home to find the house invaded by many crazy, drunken violinists and spent the rest of the night hibernating under the sheets in my bed up in the loft making excuses not to go with said crazy, drunken violinists down to the beach to build a bonfire...). Needless to say, this afternoon's rehearsal was spent by me alternately playing bits of Debussy and Brahms and then putting my head between my legs in an attempt to not pass out from the lightheadedness.
It's also been fun/funny reuniting with some old faculty members from UOP who are also here in Bear Valley. Especially my old music history mentor, George Nemeth, who was my own personal writing/grammar Nazi during my former life as a Music History major during my undergrad, and who plays horn in this festival. I was at a wine-tasting booth with him a couple of nights ago and I was instantly transformed back into my 19-year old self as he berated me for using "me" improperly instead of "I." And then he laughed as the wine-makers at the booth scolded me for having chewing gum in my mouth while I was tasting their wine. As Dr. Nemeth said, "Some things never change." (What was that supposed to mean??!!)
Well, folks. I think that's pretty much it for my update. Hope you are all having a great summer!
ps. Heather, on my day off this past Monday I visited my sister and her family in Sacramento and, subsequently, brought the e-fer there for safekeeping for the remainder of this festival. So unless some stealthy bandits (SGS! Haha!) go in and rummage through her coat closet and kidnap the eb clarinet, you can rest assured I will not lose or otherwise harm your instrument any further.
pps. Speaking of thieving bandits, I found out during my second day here in BV that my Visa card had been used without my authorization during my 4tet's fabulous trip in Tokyo and that my bank account had been overdrawn by several hundred dollars!! Try sorting that entire mess out with no cell phone or internet access.... It was quite the nightmare. But hopefully it is almost all straightened out...
ppps. I better get asked back to do Bear Valley next summer. And you all better plan on coming with me because this is too much fun not to have anyone close to share it with.
pppps. I love Scott Atchison. *sigh*
ppppps. Jim Snyder, you can stop rolling your eyes.
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