It is not by design that I am writing a life update upon the new season (though I could make it be). I truly have neglected this blog in the past few months, only recently picking it up to write about how shitty the architecture was in the 1950s-1960s-1970s. I also wrote the "Why I Won't Have Kids Until I am 30" post.
First and foremost, in my last "Life Update" post I was discussing my progress in working on my MFA in Poetry materials. Now, I have completed that process. I feel it is an adequate accomplishment.
Working on my portfolio was difficult because I had a lot of filler and a lot of poems that needed heavy revision or needed to be replaced. Thankfully, with help of Monique Kluczykowski, a professor at GSC I had who also partakes in facebook and is also looking to getting her MFA at Iowa, I was able to create some necessary deadlines and write poems that are reasonably reflective of the themes I wish to use in the future and the poems turned out to be pretty decent. I gave her a deadline in December to have 5 poems and ended up writing 8, many of which landed in my portfolio. My deadline for my portfolio being done was December 15th, which was the first deadline for Vanderbilt. I decided to apply to Vanderbilt because not only is it a good program and not only does it have a good financial aid package, but the application is also free. Plus the deadline gave me a reason to get the portfolio done and it would give me an idea of how the MFA application process would be.
As I started applying my choice of schools started differing. I also need to backtrack a bit and explain something that I decided before I began this process in earnest. For awhile I've been contemplating the MAT in Secondary Education program as well, but I finally decided to not do it. I've been trying to prioritize whether I really want to live in Georgia for another two years and get a degree that is very narrow, or a degree that will help me prepare for both my interest in writing and my interest in higher education. In my previous posts, most recently in my "What I Won't Have Kids" post, I discussed my "30 List" and how I really want to move out of state for a bit. I love Georgia; this is my home and I will die a Braves fan. That being said, I've never left home and I'm growing to have some cabin fever. I could move to Atlanta or Athens and get away from the small town but I don't think that's quite it. I'm disappointed in what I'm seeing in the state, with city and region planning, and most especially with education. Ultimately, either at the college/university or secondary levels, I will be involved in education. Therefore I want to be in a state that cares about education. I don't feel Georgia does. There's evidence in the budget cuts, the heavy push for charter schools (which I highly frown upon), but also in the disillusionment in the most passionate teachers that I've seen and seeing what curriculum they are given. For instance, 4th graders that I've substituted are supposed to know the difference between point of view and perspective of an author of a written work. What is the difference? I don't know. I felt very inadequate in not being able to help them, then I realized there really isn't a difference. Now, this is a national thing, unfortunately, but I feel like the conservatism and apathy of Georgia has provoked me to move out of state for a bit, to gain perspective about Georgia. I feel before settling somewhere one should live somewhere else and be damn sure he or she wants to spend the rest of his or her life there.
With this in mind, I decided that moving out is a priority. It is necessary to do something for my future in whatever career I choose, but my priority is moving out. This is a goal I had when I graduated; I set a deadline, August 2013, to move out of my parents' house. I intend to keep this goal and expanding it to moving out of state, if possible (and I intend to make it possible). I'm looking primarily at North Carolina, but also the Chicago/Illinois & Indiana areas, and I may look at some other areas out of my comfort zone (Wisconsin, anyone?). I am looking at areas that have good education programs; UNC-Chapel Hill has a MAT in English that is one year, so I would still get my certification and master's in time.
I intend to place my optimism in getting accepted into a MFA program. I applied to no programs in the state of Georgia. All of the programs I applied to are fully funded for all students. Instead of 4 or 5 MFA programs, as I had initially intended, I applied to 7. Many of my schools changed. I applied to LSU, U of Mississippi, NC State, NC-Greensboro, Purdue, Florida, and Vanderbilt. It cost $500, give or take.
That's right, $500+/-. Why? Most of these schools had an average of $50-60 cost to apply, but there's other elements at play as well. For instance, to send a transcript for your institution you have to pay a fee and most of the MFA programs require two official transcripts from every school. I went to two institutions so I had to pay around $20 for these transcripts each time. That's reasonable. To send GRE scores, however, you had to pay $25 per institution. Because I sent two of my freebie GRE scores to MAT programs, I had to pay that for 5 institutions. So to apply to an institution I would end up paying close to $80 and $90 per university. It sucked for me because it was during the Christmas break, which meant because I am a substitute teacher I wouldn't get a gig until late Janurary and because I work at the library, which pays once a month, I just saw my back account go down and down and down. It was wretched for a miser like me. That being said, I certainly understand that financial cost is about the commitment you have for doing this and I am definitely committed to getting into one of these MFA programs.
What will I do if I don't get in? My hope is that given my experience in education and library services, two fields that transcend state lines, I may actually get a job in another state. I will move out regardless. That is a certainty.
The bittersweet part of this is whether or not I will have money. See, most people before moving out will save up a bunch of money. I am frugal, but I also decided to travel big before this period. I am going to Peru, and I intend to backpack in Peru and Argentina. So there's that.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Sunday, October 7, 2012
First Post of the Fall; A Simple Life Update
I haven't posted on this blog in nearly a month, since I was dreadfully overcome with a sinus infection, so I think it's high time for a new post, and I'm in a self-indulgent mood so I'll talk about what's been going on.
Things are starting to move forward. A symbolic gesture toward progress was made earlier in the week when I sold my 1992 Toyota Corolla, which I have had since 2006 (ie a junior in high school). Even though I am still without my desired car, the 1996 Ford Contour that has been in the shop for a long time (which was fine until August), I discovered that the Toyota had some residual issues from when it got too hot in the middle of Braselton traffic. After it got hot it affected my transmission or head; in any case one of my 4 cylinders wasn't working and the car couldn't get enough power so I was dragging as I drove, barely making it up hills. The issue could be fixed but it wasn't worth it and I was happy to sell it to a 19 year old auto mechanic student so he could fix it up for his girlfriend. It was very much a symbolic gesture as it represents cutting things loose and moving on.
I've been reflecting on specific goals I set myself last year around the same time. It was around October that I began my first non theatre position as a film extra while pursuing my interest in education, applying to a variety of different schools with the hopes of moving out. Ultimately I decided to stay at home, though. My strategy was to stay in Habersham because my best chance of getting a job in education and making education contacts was with the contacts I knew in Habersham's schools; this worked because I am a substitute but ultimately it didn't lead into a full time teaching position due to the "Highly Qualified" status necessitated through certification. It sucks because theoretically (and from what I've heard in actuality) it means that a Physicist with a PhD and 20 years of Physics research and lecturing experience wouldn't get a job teaching Physics or math in high school because he or she doesn't have a MAT or BSEd.
Tangent aside, staying in Habersham has been a positive thing; I've rekindled with a great deal of people, including principals, that will serve well in the future as contacts, I've gotten a method of working as a substitute down and therefore understand practical classroom management, and through working at the library and this position as well as keen personal management I've been able to earn a decent living. This being said, I'm still living at home. At the beginning of the Summer I faced two ultimate decisions that I could move out and survive and live on my income pretty well or that if I wanted to do extensive travelling abroad and backpack into the Andean South America I would have to live at home. My decision was made when my mom, diagnosed with breast cancer, said I should live at home because she needed someone to support her (and frankly, my dad is too desensitized to do so). My goal is to have $2,000 in my bank account by the end of the year. With that I will pay for my ticket to Lima, Peru for three weeks, give or take. Then I will try to have $2,500 in my account by June.
That being said, some interesting changes are to be contemplated and tactfully drawn out. I have decided that getting into a MFA in Creative Writing will be my priority (in reality I decided this a few posts before, but I will reiterate it). I still intend to apply to MAT programs, but the MFA will suit my needs best. I will teach, but my interest in writing will be nurtured in an environment with peers that share my love and interest in similar subjects. Mainly, though, it will help me with a couple of goals that I set last October and last year. For one, I want to move out. Period. I gave my mom and my interest in going to South America this year, but I made it a goal to move out, even if it is in Habersham, within 2 years ie by a August 2013 deadline. The MFA will give me a job and I only intend to apply to programs that are fully funded so I can afford housing. I also have a goal of living outside of Georgia; I love Georgia and I wouldn't mind settling here but I made this goal because even though I have traveled outside of this state I want the experience of living outside of it for proper perspective. I owe myself this opportunity; I don't want to be 40 and hating Georgia but not being able to do anything about it because I have obligations and expenses to worry about.
The MAT program will give me less of that but I'm tiptoeing into being ok with it. I have a special friend who has given me optimism by working as a tutor and doing well in the program. I will have to stay in the state of Georgia to get in-state tuition. Make no mistake; I view the MAT as an undergraduate experience, which I don't care to have, but I have optimism that if I apply to a big university I can have the opportunity to work at something a little more useful in my goals than being a waiter and I think the extra year will help me by having experience that will help me get a job quicker. In short: the MAT isn't my ideal prospect but I am becoming a little less militant in opposition to it.
I do want to comment on an experience I had with Teach for America. I decided to reapply because I felt that it was a good way to teach and get certification while not fully being in a MAT experience. It didn't work out; I made it past the first stage, but the phone interview didn't go so well even though the interviewer was 15 minutes late in calling me and the questions were extremely vague. Some people have had a positive experience with the program, others haven't. Ultimately, I doubt I would have. I am not a fan of charter schools. I will have to elaborate on that in a future post, but I feel charter schools are not doing anything truly positive to enrich students' lives that's tangible. They're sentimental, emotional, but they don't actually improve students' performances, they dilute money from public schools, they dilute attention from public schools, and they destabilize teachers thinking that teachers are the problem (they're not, Michelle Rhee). Teach for America is essentially a recruiting force for charter schools and like charter schools they place preference on emotional qualities such as passion and drive for change. Of course every teacher wants to make a difference in a child's life; that's what most teachers go in to do. There's a difference between a teacher who can teach and a Havard grad who led the Chess Club and chooses to boost his resume by suffering one year with a class full of lower-income students. That maybe bitterness talking, but I realized this was not how I wanted to get into my career in between the TFA stages and I think I sabotaged my own opportunity. Oh well. I will be fine. Probably. (As I said I'm starting to articulate an opinion on charter schools to be posted later).
Also, coming on the 18th will be my GRE test date. So the prospect of Graduate School is looming. Starting this week until the 18th I intend to study, but I also intend to develop my portfolio. I looked up the deadlines for the programs I am most interested in and noted them today. Changes will begin. It will be nice.
Things are starting to move forward. A symbolic gesture toward progress was made earlier in the week when I sold my 1992 Toyota Corolla, which I have had since 2006 (ie a junior in high school). Even though I am still without my desired car, the 1996 Ford Contour that has been in the shop for a long time (which was fine until August), I discovered that the Toyota had some residual issues from when it got too hot in the middle of Braselton traffic. After it got hot it affected my transmission or head; in any case one of my 4 cylinders wasn't working and the car couldn't get enough power so I was dragging as I drove, barely making it up hills. The issue could be fixed but it wasn't worth it and I was happy to sell it to a 19 year old auto mechanic student so he could fix it up for his girlfriend. It was very much a symbolic gesture as it represents cutting things loose and moving on.
I've been reflecting on specific goals I set myself last year around the same time. It was around October that I began my first non theatre position as a film extra while pursuing my interest in education, applying to a variety of different schools with the hopes of moving out. Ultimately I decided to stay at home, though. My strategy was to stay in Habersham because my best chance of getting a job in education and making education contacts was with the contacts I knew in Habersham's schools; this worked because I am a substitute but ultimately it didn't lead into a full time teaching position due to the "Highly Qualified" status necessitated through certification. It sucks because theoretically (and from what I've heard in actuality) it means that a Physicist with a PhD and 20 years of Physics research and lecturing experience wouldn't get a job teaching Physics or math in high school because he or she doesn't have a MAT or BSEd.
Tangent aside, staying in Habersham has been a positive thing; I've rekindled with a great deal of people, including principals, that will serve well in the future as contacts, I've gotten a method of working as a substitute down and therefore understand practical classroom management, and through working at the library and this position as well as keen personal management I've been able to earn a decent living. This being said, I'm still living at home. At the beginning of the Summer I faced two ultimate decisions that I could move out and survive and live on my income pretty well or that if I wanted to do extensive travelling abroad and backpack into the Andean South America I would have to live at home. My decision was made when my mom, diagnosed with breast cancer, said I should live at home because she needed someone to support her (and frankly, my dad is too desensitized to do so). My goal is to have $2,000 in my bank account by the end of the year. With that I will pay for my ticket to Lima, Peru for three weeks, give or take. Then I will try to have $2,500 in my account by June.
That being said, some interesting changes are to be contemplated and tactfully drawn out. I have decided that getting into a MFA in Creative Writing will be my priority (in reality I decided this a few posts before, but I will reiterate it). I still intend to apply to MAT programs, but the MFA will suit my needs best. I will teach, but my interest in writing will be nurtured in an environment with peers that share my love and interest in similar subjects. Mainly, though, it will help me with a couple of goals that I set last October and last year. For one, I want to move out. Period. I gave my mom and my interest in going to South America this year, but I made it a goal to move out, even if it is in Habersham, within 2 years ie by a August 2013 deadline. The MFA will give me a job and I only intend to apply to programs that are fully funded so I can afford housing. I also have a goal of living outside of Georgia; I love Georgia and I wouldn't mind settling here but I made this goal because even though I have traveled outside of this state I want the experience of living outside of it for proper perspective. I owe myself this opportunity; I don't want to be 40 and hating Georgia but not being able to do anything about it because I have obligations and expenses to worry about.
The MAT program will give me less of that but I'm tiptoeing into being ok with it. I have a special friend who has given me optimism by working as a tutor and doing well in the program. I will have to stay in the state of Georgia to get in-state tuition. Make no mistake; I view the MAT as an undergraduate experience, which I don't care to have, but I have optimism that if I apply to a big university I can have the opportunity to work at something a little more useful in my goals than being a waiter and I think the extra year will help me by having experience that will help me get a job quicker. In short: the MAT isn't my ideal prospect but I am becoming a little less militant in opposition to it.
I do want to comment on an experience I had with Teach for America. I decided to reapply because I felt that it was a good way to teach and get certification while not fully being in a MAT experience. It didn't work out; I made it past the first stage, but the phone interview didn't go so well even though the interviewer was 15 minutes late in calling me and the questions were extremely vague. Some people have had a positive experience with the program, others haven't. Ultimately, I doubt I would have. I am not a fan of charter schools. I will have to elaborate on that in a future post, but I feel charter schools are not doing anything truly positive to enrich students' lives that's tangible. They're sentimental, emotional, but they don't actually improve students' performances, they dilute money from public schools, they dilute attention from public schools, and they destabilize teachers thinking that teachers are the problem (they're not, Michelle Rhee). Teach for America is essentially a recruiting force for charter schools and like charter schools they place preference on emotional qualities such as passion and drive for change. Of course every teacher wants to make a difference in a child's life; that's what most teachers go in to do. There's a difference between a teacher who can teach and a Havard grad who led the Chess Club and chooses to boost his resume by suffering one year with a class full of lower-income students. That maybe bitterness talking, but I realized this was not how I wanted to get into my career in between the TFA stages and I think I sabotaged my own opportunity. Oh well. I will be fine. Probably. (As I said I'm starting to articulate an opinion on charter schools to be posted later).
Also, coming on the 18th will be my GRE test date. So the prospect of Graduate School is looming. Starting this week until the 18th I intend to study, but I also intend to develop my portfolio. I looked up the deadlines for the programs I am most interested in and noted them today. Changes will begin. It will be nice.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
New Term: Haughty Suffering Complex
This week, I shall attempt to describe new terms that are apt in appropriately conveying specific situations or individuals; some may be funny, most will not be. My hope, humbly, is to accurate describe a situation that many people undergo. Many of these contain snark, something that may be on the rise as I suffer through my biannual sinus infection.
What is Haughty Suffering Complex?
Obviously it has to do with individuals looking down upon other people, hence the placement of "haughty."
The definition I use for Haughty Suffering Complex is that HSC is where people believe in a quantitative measure of suffering, ie an individual thinks he or she suffers more than you regardless of what you are going through.
A typical conversation might be like this:
"Man, I'm really having a bad day. I got a fever and a cold and couldn't go into work today; all I did was stay up all night and sit around."
"Pst. Please. You think you're having a bad day? I got a fever, and a cold, and AIDS, and I had to go into work today and work with a 106 degree temperature and a diminishing immune system."
As you can see from the previous conversation, even though person A is having a bad day person B is not impressed by said bad day because they suffer more, always.
My dad is a notorious with his HSC. Whatever you've done, my dad has had worse. Had to wash a lot of dishes at work? My dad had to wash 7,000 dishes while on the USS La Salle. Have a cyst on your rear? My dad had a cyst somewhere worse. Get sunburned for a week? My dad got water blisters while in Bahrain.
People who have HSC always suffer more, and if you complain they will ensure you that they suffer more.
Truth is, of course, suffering isn't quantitative. It is qualitative. Therefore, having a haughtiness about your suffering is asinine because suffering is a) fairly relative and b) everyone suffers. There's a brilliant Monty Python skit, "The Fire Yorkshiremen," that expresses HSC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo.
There is a sub sect of HSC, where people who have HSC are specific in their HSC through age. For instance one may say "It's hard eating just ____" and an older person says "In my day we were lucky to have any food at all. You kids are spoiled."
This is called 'Andy Rooney Complex.'
What is Haughty Suffering Complex?
Obviously it has to do with individuals looking down upon other people, hence the placement of "haughty."
The definition I use for Haughty Suffering Complex is that HSC is where people believe in a quantitative measure of suffering, ie an individual thinks he or she suffers more than you regardless of what you are going through.
A typical conversation might be like this:
"Man, I'm really having a bad day. I got a fever and a cold and couldn't go into work today; all I did was stay up all night and sit around."
"Pst. Please. You think you're having a bad day? I got a fever, and a cold, and AIDS, and I had to go into work today and work with a 106 degree temperature and a diminishing immune system."
As you can see from the previous conversation, even though person A is having a bad day person B is not impressed by said bad day because they suffer more, always.
My dad is a notorious with his HSC. Whatever you've done, my dad has had worse. Had to wash a lot of dishes at work? My dad had to wash 7,000 dishes while on the USS La Salle. Have a cyst on your rear? My dad had a cyst somewhere worse. Get sunburned for a week? My dad got water blisters while in Bahrain.
People who have HSC always suffer more, and if you complain they will ensure you that they suffer more.
Truth is, of course, suffering isn't quantitative. It is qualitative. Therefore, having a haughtiness about your suffering is asinine because suffering is a) fairly relative and b) everyone suffers. There's a brilliant Monty Python skit, "The Fire Yorkshiremen," that expresses HSC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo.
There is a sub sect of HSC, where people who have HSC are specific in their HSC through age. For instance one may say "It's hard eating just ____" and an older person says "In my day we were lucky to have any food at all. You kids are spoiled."
This is called 'Andy Rooney Complex.'
Saturday, September 8, 2012
On Post-College
Don't avoid real life. It's not too shabby.
You have to face it sometime. Just jump in. It'll suck, you'll have struggles. I did, most certainly. It's how you find out what you're made of, though. You realize you're doing the right profession, or the wrong profession. It helps you figure out what you want to do better than college because when you're facing back rent, student loan debt, or whatever, you begin to realize if you're making the right decision, or if you need to change your direction. It helps you prioritize what you want to do in life, whether it helps fuel your drive to succeed in your current pursuit or if it makes you decide to explore options.
Then there's graduate school. Graduate school isn't for the faint of heart. Graduate school is designed for people who know what they want. If you do not know what you want, you should not go to graduate school. And unless you have experience working in a profession in the real world, I'm inclined to not be sure if you know what you want. It's, in a simplistic metaphor, like buying shoes that you're not sure if they fit. And graduate school is a really expensive pair of shoes. You certainly want to make sure they fit, especially knowing that graduate school WILL NOT guarantee you a job.
When you do get a job that's nice, you'll see that it is quite nice. There's nothing lovelier than spending your day earning money and having a social life afterwards, rather than going to classes and being in debt or poor to have a social life or working your ass off at a job.
My advice to graduating or upcoming graduating classes; 22 is a nice young age. Explore yourself. Explore your options. Don't settle down yet, but have enough self awareness to have direction or objectives. Don't be aimless in just working odd jobs.
My advice to graduating or upcoming graduating classes; 22 is a nice young age. Explore yourself. Explore your options. Don't settle down yet, but have enough self awareness to have direction or objectives. Don't be aimless in just working odd jobs.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Graduate School Progress
Based on my previous posts a few things about my graduate school views are becoming clear. I have reached the point to where I recognize further schooling will be necessary. I remain reticent at the prospect of MAT programs, therefore MFA in Creative Programs are my priority. Based on my prose output this Summer (and really ever) my poetry stands as the strongest representation of my potential as a writer, therefore my focus shall be on MFA in Poetry.
My choice of MFA schools change every day or every other day if I'm lucky. Consequently I have decided to develop a criteria for MFA colleges. For one, they should be areas I'd like to settle in; this means the Atlantic South, the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior areas (within the vicinity of Chicago), and New England. Secondly, the college should be in a place that doesn't require a huge amount of car expenses. I am weary of the prospect of having to drive around to get anywhere, or at least doing it excessively. Therefore I am looking at institutions in cities that are developed to have fully functioning and overarching transit systems, or college towns that aren't huge and catered to a specific college crowd. Third, programs should be fully funded, which for a MFA program to be worth it in this economy, it should be.
I intend to apply to 3 MFA schools. I have about six prospects: U of Miami, U of South Carolina, U of Florida, U of Minnesota, U of Illinois, and UMass-Amherst. Amherst, Columbia, and Urbana-Champaign are college-oriented areas that are pretty accessible and not too hectic, and Minneapolis, Miami, and Boston fulfill the prospect of substantial city qualities. U of Miami and Minnesota are my top choices, but this could change tomorrow; NC State has been on my radar for a while but Raleigh is a bit sprawled out for my interest, as Central Florida in Orlando might be. Wisconsin is also on my radar.
This is all well and good, but I need a good portfolio and I am facing a crisis of portfolio choices. I have written many poems, with many of them of pretty decent quality, and many of them fairly rancid. I have tried to delete the rancid poems, which serve as a means of helping me get through writer's block.
I have tried to retrieve poems from my output over the years, and I feel like I have 17 potential portfolio candidates, to fill about ten portfolio spots. Five of them are good quality and are definitely going to be in my portfolio. Therefore I have five spots for the other 12 poems I have in my arsenal.
The intention of portfolio is to reflect the themes I intend to communicate through my poems as well as communicating the state of myself as an artist. This means going through poems that I have written that I find outdated, usually poems written in a confessional free verse style. I have a poem, for instance, where I describe the sort of hazy moment of the awkwardness of seeing someone I don't want to see, but I feel it doesn't accurately portray my output. On the other hand, I have another poem similar, but I am thinking of including it due to how it holds up themes that I still carry.
I will probably still continue to write poems, but my priority between now and December 1st is primping up my portfolio and mending/revising various poems here and there.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Dear Gary Bettman: Please Quit
Hockey is my sport.
This seems odd, given that I am a Georgian, that I live in a state infatuated if not religiously devoted to college football and that I also live in a state who has given up not one but two hockey franchises to...Canada. It certainly creates a fish out of water feeling, just...in my own water.
Consequently the NHL and my love of a sport that few seem to take in for its brilliance has been subject to anguish. By being an Atlanta Thrashers fan by itself I saw my team endure losing, hopeless seasons as it turned away fans because of the apathy and ineptitude if not outright malice of the front office, where Atlanta Spirit never made an effort to cultivate a fan base (like Carolina, Dallas, other Sun Belt cities), never built any defensive depth for long term (playoff) goals, and never fired Don Waddell. Then when the Atlanta Thrashers were pursued by True North to be moved to Winnipeg, the fans, not the front office, took the brunt of the media's scolding.
This isn't about the Thrashers, though.
I certainly could articulate my frustration about the Thrashers' move further, but I am a year too late and I have moved on, with unwavering love for this sport.
Yet, my love wavers now, for the NHL is threatening a lockout...again. This is unacceptable.
I understand the owner's interest, and their demand for a revenue share that is closer to an equal share is fair enough.
Demanding that the players' share of the revenue be 43%, with a $450 million loss, is asinine.
The NHL Players' Union even showed their iniative and interest in negotiation but putting forth a Collective Bargaining Agreement that not only dwindles the revenue the players earn (losing them money) but also puts in a provision, one which makes it worthwhile to me, that the NHL would set up a revenue sharing system similar to the NFL to help boost and keep afloat smaller market teams, like Florida, Columbus, and-if this were 2010-Atlanta.
What was Bettman's response? No deal. Not even close. We will lockout if no deal by September 15th.
Gary Bettman: You need to go.
You represent the Owner's interest and the Owner's interest alone. You do not represent the fan's interest. Bettman, you may counter that by saying the Player's Union only acts in their interest and that their reluctance to accept the NHL's deal is indicative of apathy towards fans and selfishness, but they presented a deal to you in which they would LOSE money in the long term, while asking for a revenue sharing system that would benefit teams that are in smaller markets and have a dedicated fan base that isn't as broad as, say, the New York Rangers.
This is not just business, but politics. This is about the NHL having a deal that Bettman came up with, or one that the owners came up with, and not one the Players' Union came up with. This is just like the Democrats putting in a provision in a bill that Republicans favor and conceived and then the Republicans voting against said bill (or vice versa, the Democrats not voting for a Republican bill, etc). If the NHL Players' Union gave Bettman a CBA that he wanted, he'd still reject it. It's not about the fans, not about hockey, not about the players. It's Bettman; he knows that NHL fans will take in their product because there is no competition for professional hockey. He is acting like the cinema owners from my post about giving a shit.
Bettman needs to be fired by the board of directors, trustees, owners, whatever. If his hubris is so large that he can automatically put the lockout on the table as a first option, then he's far too dangerous for the sport. It is representative of short term thinking, not realizing that all of this will begin to turn away fans, especially young fans or new fans. It is within the self-interest of the league in the long run to be able to continue creating new markets for sport, which Bettman might point out it has done with the 'Winter Classic.' Yet, the NHL rose because of players like Ovechkin and Crosby, and because dedicated fans went back. It will be hard to foster new markets when there's a strike or lockout every six years that sets the NHL back.
Bettman is not good for the long term growth of hockey, and, really, he's not too wonderful for the short term.
When you watch the Super Bowl, no one completely boos Roger Goodell. Yet, take a look at this clip from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iHJuBECBkU.
You may think, this was in Vancouver, where Vancouver just lost a hard fought final to Boston, but take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQqkjxNSWZ0. He's not just booed at Stanley Cup Finals, but drafts. DRAFTS!
The NHL should do the following:
1) Make the CBA good for 8-12 years. We've had 2 lockouts already in the past 20 years.
2) Create a revenue sharing system, so small market franchises can survive and develop depth in their roster. If you want a good fan base, you have to have good teams and success. No shit.
3) Fire Gary Bettman.
This seems odd, given that I am a Georgian, that I live in a state infatuated if not religiously devoted to college football and that I also live in a state who has given up not one but two hockey franchises to...Canada. It certainly creates a fish out of water feeling, just...in my own water.
Consequently the NHL and my love of a sport that few seem to take in for its brilliance has been subject to anguish. By being an Atlanta Thrashers fan by itself I saw my team endure losing, hopeless seasons as it turned away fans because of the apathy and ineptitude if not outright malice of the front office, where Atlanta Spirit never made an effort to cultivate a fan base (like Carolina, Dallas, other Sun Belt cities), never built any defensive depth for long term (playoff) goals, and never fired Don Waddell. Then when the Atlanta Thrashers were pursued by True North to be moved to Winnipeg, the fans, not the front office, took the brunt of the media's scolding.
This isn't about the Thrashers, though.
I certainly could articulate my frustration about the Thrashers' move further, but I am a year too late and I have moved on, with unwavering love for this sport.
Yet, my love wavers now, for the NHL is threatening a lockout...again. This is unacceptable.
I understand the owner's interest, and their demand for a revenue share that is closer to an equal share is fair enough.
Demanding that the players' share of the revenue be 43%, with a $450 million loss, is asinine.
The NHL Players' Union even showed their iniative and interest in negotiation but putting forth a Collective Bargaining Agreement that not only dwindles the revenue the players earn (losing them money) but also puts in a provision, one which makes it worthwhile to me, that the NHL would set up a revenue sharing system similar to the NFL to help boost and keep afloat smaller market teams, like Florida, Columbus, and-if this were 2010-Atlanta.
What was Bettman's response? No deal. Not even close. We will lockout if no deal by September 15th.
Gary Bettman: You need to go.
You represent the Owner's interest and the Owner's interest alone. You do not represent the fan's interest. Bettman, you may counter that by saying the Player's Union only acts in their interest and that their reluctance to accept the NHL's deal is indicative of apathy towards fans and selfishness, but they presented a deal to you in which they would LOSE money in the long term, while asking for a revenue sharing system that would benefit teams that are in smaller markets and have a dedicated fan base that isn't as broad as, say, the New York Rangers.
This is not just business, but politics. This is about the NHL having a deal that Bettman came up with, or one that the owners came up with, and not one the Players' Union came up with. This is just like the Democrats putting in a provision in a bill that Republicans favor and conceived and then the Republicans voting against said bill (or vice versa, the Democrats not voting for a Republican bill, etc). If the NHL Players' Union gave Bettman a CBA that he wanted, he'd still reject it. It's not about the fans, not about hockey, not about the players. It's Bettman; he knows that NHL fans will take in their product because there is no competition for professional hockey. He is acting like the cinema owners from my post about giving a shit.
Bettman needs to be fired by the board of directors, trustees, owners, whatever. If his hubris is so large that he can automatically put the lockout on the table as a first option, then he's far too dangerous for the sport. It is representative of short term thinking, not realizing that all of this will begin to turn away fans, especially young fans or new fans. It is within the self-interest of the league in the long run to be able to continue creating new markets for sport, which Bettman might point out it has done with the 'Winter Classic.' Yet, the NHL rose because of players like Ovechkin and Crosby, and because dedicated fans went back. It will be hard to foster new markets when there's a strike or lockout every six years that sets the NHL back.
Bettman is not good for the long term growth of hockey, and, really, he's not too wonderful for the short term.
When you watch the Super Bowl, no one completely boos Roger Goodell. Yet, take a look at this clip from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iHJuBECBkU.
You may think, this was in Vancouver, where Vancouver just lost a hard fought final to Boston, but take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQqkjxNSWZ0. He's not just booed at Stanley Cup Finals, but drafts. DRAFTS!
The NHL should do the following:
1) Make the CBA good for 8-12 years. We've had 2 lockouts already in the past 20 years.
2) Create a revenue sharing system, so small market franchises can survive and develop depth in their roster. If you want a good fan base, you have to have good teams and success. No shit.
3) Fire Gary Bettman.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
An Update on Portfolio Work and Life
I'm closing in on the first day of school next week, which will ultimately bring me back to 40 hour weeks to its benefit (yay money) and to the detriment of my writing output. High time to give myself a self-awareness check.
This summer wasn't quite as a fruitful in prose. I do have a few 3 page stories, though a couple of them are pretty rough. I do have an 8 page story, about an elderly man driven to extremes at a country buffet, that I think has a great deal of potential. I still have the ten page story that is 'country noir' that I want to complete by next Thursday. I also want to make another piece of flash fiction. We'll see how this goes. Lately I've been playing with elements of the grotesque, as per my Flannery O'Connor and South Park influence. I am starting to find something a thematic groove, as my sense of place in Northeast Georgia and Southern Appalachia has become something of an enabler, lending me some wonderful characters. I do think my character work has gotten better. Hopefully if I can get a couple of stories in before Thursday I can at least revise some material that I've got. I still think my "Teeth" story has some potential, so I do think it'll help in the long run to have that piece. I also still have the 'Hostage' piece, about the kids who take their classmate hostage. There's some problems in the late acts that I need to revise.
I have realized, though, I need to get back to writing some scripts, which will happen soon. I have also realized that poetry is more enjoyable for me to write, and consequently my output has more weight. Much like my prose this Summer, my poetry has been something of an exploration of my region and place and I've received some positive feedback from friends on certain poems. I certainly feel that "Alabama Coastal Plain" has some potential in being published, as does "Thunderstorms." I do feel like it would be worth my while to place the emphasis of my portfolio on my poetry.
Besides publication, my poetry and prose are going to be hopefully important soon in my attempts to graduate school.
I had hoped to explore the option of getting a teacher position while not certified, but unfortunately the position I was most qualified for, and for the school I have experience and contacts with, did not come to me. I did not get interviewed. I have not been interviewed for any teaching job. So graduate school will have to be a priority.
I had hoped to explore the option of getting a teacher position while not certified, but unfortunately the position I was most qualified for, and for the school I have experience and contacts with, did not come to me. I did not get interviewed. I have not been interviewed for any teaching job. So graduate school will have to be a priority.
I intend to continue substitute teaching because it is the best thing for me, but I am looking at grad programs now. I hate this, because the MAT just seems incredibly expensive and incredibly risky given the job market for teachers. I do hope that another year (and hopefully more) of sub teaching will contribute to me having some room for work due to my experience. I know this; if I'm going into a MAT program I want look into expanding my contacts. That means somewhere outside Gainesville and Habersham; no Brenau and no Piedmont. North Georgia and Georgia State are my top two. Georgia State has the best vibe to me; the person I emailed was wonderful, their instruction is based on developing constructivist curriculum, and they are near Decatur, which I wouldn't mind living at. Plus it is in an urban setting, which is something that might be able to get me jobs in Chicago or Seattle if that comes up. North Georgia has the benefit of a really quick program, low costs, and proximity to both the rural mountains and to really high paying teaching jobs in Forsyth County and, in a good drive, to North Fulton. They also give certification in the first year and they have a post grad program, but I'm not sure if I'll do that; there is no Government funding for that program, which means out of pocket and private loans.
I am, however, determined to explore the option of fully funded graduate programs, though. This means MFA programs, like NC State, Oregon State, and Oregon, as well as PhD programs like the PhD in CW at University of Illinois in Chicago. UGA also has a PhD program, but I think I'd like to look at getting out.
I am quite optimistic. That may change.
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