Today I saw a dear friend arrested. Several years ago, he retired from a long and honorable career in the Department of Corrections. Law enforcement officers and first responders suffer from a higher incidence of depression and other mental illness such as PTSD than the societal average. This is because their job is so stressful and it goes on for as long as they are in their career. Three years ago my buddy had a psychotic episode where he detached from reality, lost hope and despaired, and sometimes spoke of ending his life. He never threatened anybody nor spoke of using his guns.
On a couple of occasions the police were called to his home by his family due to their fearing for his life. On at least one of those occasions a was "5150-ed" (put on an involuntary psychiatric hold) and his guns shipped out to other family and friends. Pursuant to WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODESECTION 8100-8108 he became prohibited from possessing any firearm, either his own or another person's firearm in his private life or in the course of employment. Consequently, he lost his job as a armed security guard. Not long after all this he returned to normal and has been fine for the three years since.
Within a year or so of those events, he felt it was ridiculous for him to not be able to exercise his Second Amendment rights. Therefore, he got his guns back from family and friends. I felt at the time and still feel that was a mistake on multiple levels. I felt and still feel that as a Christian, he ought to have simply obeyed the laws of the land where they didn't force him to go against the word of God. Also, he simply needed to be patient more than he needed those guns back. In two more years he would have been good to go. Finally, given we do not know what triggered his meltdown, as far as we know it could happen again. In that case, how could it have been good for him to get his guns back prematurely?
Fast-forward to today and my friend was paid an unexpected visit by the California Department of Justice (DOJ). Two or three officers arrived to conduct a check of his compliance with W & I 8100-8108. Upon finding his full complement of weapons and ammo they seized it all and arrested him. I watched him hauled off in handcuffs. My friend, retired LE officer and law-abiding citizen. I was disturbed by this and on a number of levels.
I was frustrated with my friend for foolishly failing to comply with a law that was ultimately designed with the public good (including his own) in mind. He ought to have waited to get his guns and ammo back when his ban ended. I was also frustrated with his not moving them back out of the house lately as he had noted a similar sweep as caught up him was recently reported in the local media in Santa Barbara County. If he was so worried about it (and he was) then he ought to have acted decisively. I can't conscion ambivalence and wish-washiness.
However, the more hours he spent being processed at the county jailhouse and the more I thought about the big picture, I increasingly became aware that despite my friend's foolishness, he was also being F-ed in the A by the system. A single one-size-fits-all law was being applied to a situation to which it did not well-fit. Surely there had to be more significant threats to the common weal than my friend. This began to feel like oppression and repression of a gun owner and a slap in the face to an honorable officer of the law, now in retirement. And it does seem to be a bit of a gun-grab by a Liberal-minded government bureaucracy.
I'm aware that family murder-suicides are a bigger problem than school and workplace shootings and the powers that be must cover their arses. However, this particular law and policy seems excessive and misguided. My honorable friend now must appear before a judge and face a fine. He was fortunate that he found favor with the DOJ officers who arrested him. They bent over backwards to go as easy on him as they could, filing only misdemeanor charges. However, I'm disturbed that there could have been felony charges. Something stinks in California.
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool LIII
In an Eclectic Arcania first, I have posted Random Musings columns on consecutive days. Tonight's installment is different as it will be a reflection of this day now coming to a close. Typically with this column I am inspired to varying degrees by the structure of Herb Caen's column which I so enjoyed when I discovered it in the early 1990's in its twilight years.
As I revealed in the previous Random Musings column, today I was supposed to take the CSET Social Sciences Subtest III. This was to occur in Santa Maria, CA, at a test center at 2 p.m. (Note: Santa Maria is the murder capital of the Central Coast) Today was also President's Day and holiday traffic moving along Highway 101 through the Central Coast was noticeably more pronounced. In fact, it was even worse than typical for a Monday on a holiday weekend.
Right before I left my house to drive down to take the test, I heard on my scanner a dispatch for fire and medics to a traffic collision on northbound Highway 101 at the 13th Street bridge. When I got on Highway 101 southbound from 17th Street in Paso Robles I noticed that the traffic accident I had just heard about on the scanner was blocking traffic on the northbound side creating a rapidly-lengthening of congestion extending southward. I would later learn that this was a matter involving a semi-truck rear-ending a travel trailer which created a huge mess lasting most of the afternoon.
The trend of jacked-up holiday traffic congestion of one sort or another continued the entire drive down to Santa Maria (and back) with some such zones being due to ongoing traffic collisions/mishaps, or due to earlier accidents by-then-cleared but with phantom congestion continuing, or simply due to the sheer volume of traffic overwhelming particular sections of highway.
The ongoing, unseasonable, un-El Niño-esque, mid-winter heatwave continued today with Santa Maria crushing the previous daily high temperature mark by 4° F to 88° F while Arroyo Grande (through which I drove going and coming) hit 90° F.
I got to the Pearson testing site about 45 minutes early so I would have time to study and time to get signed in and set up before starting at the assigned time. I tried to study in the waiting room but they didn't want my text books in the room (lame rule) so I headed back out to my car to study. If only I had checked my wallet before leaving the office at that moment and saved myself 45 more wasted minutes... or had checked my wallet before leaving my house earlier.... or before leaving the testing center at Cal Poly four days ago where I apparently left my drivers license after taking it out of my wallet, but not returning it prior to leaving the building.
That's right, four days ago when I took the CSET Subtest II at the Cal Poly test center, I had to show a government-issued proof of identity because the testers don't want ringers coming in and taking tests for people. I was only allowed to bring to my testing computer my drivers license and a key to a locker containing everything I brought to the test other than the clothes on my back. After the test, when I was gathering all my stuff from the locker and getting ready to rush off to a stressful mid-term test in my Nuclear Science & Society class, I somehow left my drivers license there. Therefore, in the four days since then, I have been driving around without a drivers license on my person. I always keep my license in my wallet so I never thought to check for it in my wallet before leaving for Santa Maria this morning.
Upon realizing my error, I was forced to confront the unpleasant reality that I had burned $99 for nothing (the cost to take the test which is not refundable) as well as the cost of my gasoline and wear and tear on my car as well as the cost of my time which was also an opportunity cost of whatever I did not accomplish with that time instead had I elected to do something different during that time slot.
At this point something interesting happened. I didn't sweat it. I accepted what happened and moved on by getting in my car and driving home the way I came. Of course, I was concerned not to get pulled over by the constabulary now that I realized I was driving without carrying on my person my drivers license. Aside from that I simply let go and reasoned that God had me in that spot for a reason. "What was it?", I internally asked Him.
My first concern was that I was operating outside His perfect will and being subject to a lack of blessing or perhaps more seriously had erred in some way and was suffering slap-on-the-hand consequences. I started with that possibility (Ecclesiastes 7:14) and soon was able to eliminate that possibility and thus moved on to other possibilities. Was to I meet somebody in my path and talk to them? Was I to drive up on a traffic collision right after it happened and render aid and change somebody's life? Or was I simply to get out and take a drive and clear my flustered head on the open road like I used to do in my youth all the while awash in a bath of photons streaming in from the sun on this glorious summer-like day and just listen to Him and realize my personal growth and grow yet more? Yep!
This internal process caused me to realize something: I have changed over the course of the past several years. My zen-like reaction to this day's events was tangible evidence of growth in my being and character over the course of recent years. Dare I call it a measure of spiritual maturation? I'm afraid to jinx myself and get all self-congratulatory and then go fall on my face in spectacular fashion in short order. However, I have grown and I don't typically respond to minor adversities in ways I usually used to. I'm far from perfect and still sometimes overreact to disappointments or setbacks by feeling sorry for myself or feeling exasperated or being tempted to despair. However, I don't usually react in those ways and I did not today.
But wait.... there's more! I noticed yet more about myself. On the drive home I soon realized there was a traffic back-up in Atascadero just north of San Anselmo Road. Without hesitation I did not follow the herd into the morass of traffic and jumped off northbound Highway 101 at the aforementioned road and got onto northbound El Camino Real and paralled the freeway around the problem site (an overturned car resulting from a tire blowout) and then jumped back on the northbound Highway 101 in the clear...
.....until I approached North Main Street in Templeton, CA, and espied an even worse traffic back-up. Again, without mentally skipping a beat, I automatically responded to the situation by choosing not to be a lemming and follow what was before me, but rather I jumped off of the freeway and zipped over the overpass and got onto northbound Theater Drive to go around the traffic and get on Highway 46 West a short distance and then turn northbound onto the South Vine Street frontage road in Paso Robles. I soon encountered gridlock in and around the big Target Shopping Center up that road and near unto the Highway 101/46W intersection. This told me the traffic gridlock (as in not one iota of visible forward motion by any vehicle) extended from in front of Target up Theater Drive around the bend adjacent to the hotels and OSH and through the intersection of Theater Drive and Highway 46 West.
Once again, without the slightest hesitation or dithering, I flipped an illegal U-turn and proceeded back to North Main Street and got back on the freeway southbound to the next exit at Las Tablas Road in Templeton, where I left the freeway and headed west to Bethel Road turning north and taking it to Highway 46 West further out to the west of the congestion having gone entirely around it.... but not entirely. No sooner had I turned eastbound onto Highway 46 than I noticed gridlock up ahead..... meaning the gridlock extended miles east to the 101.... headed towards the back of the back-up and was just barely able to angle turn left onto northbound Arbor Road and took it through the countryside, sometimes on pavement, sometimes on dirt roadbed, to Kiler Canyon Road which I took eastbound back to South Vine just south of First Street/Niblick Road in Paso Robles, CA.
From there it was smooth sailing back home. By now it was apparent to me that the previous accident on Highway 101 many hours ago at the 13th Street Bridge was the culprit of all the gridlock on the waning afternoon of a holiday weekend Monday. This was confirmed when I soon headed back to mom's house in Atascadero. I got back on the 101 Freeway at 17th Street as I did earlier in the day. As I headed south I noticed CALTRANS retrieving all the cones closing down right lane. With the increased road load as people headed home from the holiday at the end of the way, the back-up was even worse now as it extended from about 13th Street in Paso Robles all the way southward through Templeton to just south of Vineyard Ave.... something I have seen before.
Through all these successful detours, I realized a few things. I inherited the tendency from my mother's side of the family to be a great and imaginative driver, if not a bit impulsive and restless. I noticed that I am in many ways, not just in my driving, that I am not so much a follower-type but rather a free-thinker and leader-type. What happened here was allegorical of that in addition to being an expression of it directly. Most importantly, I realized there was symbolism in all the days setbacks and detours and yet I was constantly moving forward and yet staying safe and getting other things done, merely not the ones for which I planned.... just like my life has been more generally in recent years and undoubtedly will continue to be.
God is good.
A Day of Detours
As I revealed in the previous Random Musings column, today I was supposed to take the CSET Social Sciences Subtest III. This was to occur in Santa Maria, CA, at a test center at 2 p.m. (Note: Santa Maria is the murder capital of the Central Coast) Today was also President's Day and holiday traffic moving along Highway 101 through the Central Coast was noticeably more pronounced. In fact, it was even worse than typical for a Monday on a holiday weekend.
Right before I left my house to drive down to take the test, I heard on my scanner a dispatch for fire and medics to a traffic collision on northbound Highway 101 at the 13th Street bridge. When I got on Highway 101 southbound from 17th Street in Paso Robles I noticed that the traffic accident I had just heard about on the scanner was blocking traffic on the northbound side creating a rapidly-lengthening of congestion extending southward. I would later learn that this was a matter involving a semi-truck rear-ending a travel trailer which created a huge mess lasting most of the afternoon.
The trend of jacked-up holiday traffic congestion of one sort or another continued the entire drive down to Santa Maria (and back) with some such zones being due to ongoing traffic collisions/mishaps, or due to earlier accidents by-then-cleared but with phantom congestion continuing, or simply due to the sheer volume of traffic overwhelming particular sections of highway.
The ongoing, unseasonable, un-El Niño-esque, mid-winter heatwave continued today with Santa Maria crushing the previous daily high temperature mark by 4° F to 88° F while Arroyo Grande (through which I drove going and coming) hit 90° F.
I got to the Pearson testing site about 45 minutes early so I would have time to study and time to get signed in and set up before starting at the assigned time. I tried to study in the waiting room but they didn't want my text books in the room (lame rule) so I headed back out to my car to study. If only I had checked my wallet before leaving the office at that moment and saved myself 45 more wasted minutes... or had checked my wallet before leaving my house earlier.... or before leaving the testing center at Cal Poly four days ago where I apparently left my drivers license after taking it out of my wallet, but not returning it prior to leaving the building.
That's right, four days ago when I took the CSET Subtest II at the Cal Poly test center, I had to show a government-issued proof of identity because the testers don't want ringers coming in and taking tests for people. I was only allowed to bring to my testing computer my drivers license and a key to a locker containing everything I brought to the test other than the clothes on my back. After the test, when I was gathering all my stuff from the locker and getting ready to rush off to a stressful mid-term test in my Nuclear Science & Society class, I somehow left my drivers license there. Therefore, in the four days since then, I have been driving around without a drivers license on my person. I always keep my license in my wallet so I never thought to check for it in my wallet before leaving for Santa Maria this morning.
Upon realizing my error, I was forced to confront the unpleasant reality that I had burned $99 for nothing (the cost to take the test which is not refundable) as well as the cost of my gasoline and wear and tear on my car as well as the cost of my time which was also an opportunity cost of whatever I did not accomplish with that time instead had I elected to do something different during that time slot.
At this point something interesting happened. I didn't sweat it. I accepted what happened and moved on by getting in my car and driving home the way I came. Of course, I was concerned not to get pulled over by the constabulary now that I realized I was driving without carrying on my person my drivers license. Aside from that I simply let go and reasoned that God had me in that spot for a reason. "What was it?", I internally asked Him.
My first concern was that I was operating outside His perfect will and being subject to a lack of blessing or perhaps more seriously had erred in some way and was suffering slap-on-the-hand consequences. I started with that possibility (Ecclesiastes 7:14) and soon was able to eliminate that possibility and thus moved on to other possibilities. Was to I meet somebody in my path and talk to them? Was I to drive up on a traffic collision right after it happened and render aid and change somebody's life? Or was I simply to get out and take a drive and clear my flustered head on the open road like I used to do in my youth all the while awash in a bath of photons streaming in from the sun on this glorious summer-like day and just listen to Him and realize my personal growth and grow yet more? Yep!
This internal process caused me to realize something: I have changed over the course of the past several years. My zen-like reaction to this day's events was tangible evidence of growth in my being and character over the course of recent years. Dare I call it a measure of spiritual maturation? I'm afraid to jinx myself and get all self-congratulatory and then go fall on my face in spectacular fashion in short order. However, I have grown and I don't typically respond to minor adversities in ways I usually used to. I'm far from perfect and still sometimes overreact to disappointments or setbacks by feeling sorry for myself or feeling exasperated or being tempted to despair. However, I don't usually react in those ways and I did not today.
But wait.... there's more! I noticed yet more about myself. On the drive home I soon realized there was a traffic back-up in Atascadero just north of San Anselmo Road. Without hesitation I did not follow the herd into the morass of traffic and jumped off northbound Highway 101 at the aforementioned road and got onto northbound El Camino Real and paralled the freeway around the problem site (an overturned car resulting from a tire blowout) and then jumped back on the northbound Highway 101 in the clear...
.....until I approached North Main Street in Templeton, CA, and espied an even worse traffic back-up. Again, without mentally skipping a beat, I automatically responded to the situation by choosing not to be a lemming and follow what was before me, but rather I jumped off of the freeway and zipped over the overpass and got onto northbound Theater Drive to go around the traffic and get on Highway 46 West a short distance and then turn northbound onto the South Vine Street frontage road in Paso Robles. I soon encountered gridlock in and around the big Target Shopping Center up that road and near unto the Highway 101/46W intersection. This told me the traffic gridlock (as in not one iota of visible forward motion by any vehicle) extended from in front of Target up Theater Drive around the bend adjacent to the hotels and OSH and through the intersection of Theater Drive and Highway 46 West.
Once again, without the slightest hesitation or dithering, I flipped an illegal U-turn and proceeded back to North Main Street and got back on the freeway southbound to the next exit at Las Tablas Road in Templeton, where I left the freeway and headed west to Bethel Road turning north and taking it to Highway 46 West further out to the west of the congestion having gone entirely around it.... but not entirely. No sooner had I turned eastbound onto Highway 46 than I noticed gridlock up ahead..... meaning the gridlock extended miles east to the 101.... headed towards the back of the back-up and was just barely able to angle turn left onto northbound Arbor Road and took it through the countryside, sometimes on pavement, sometimes on dirt roadbed, to Kiler Canyon Road which I took eastbound back to South Vine just south of First Street/Niblick Road in Paso Robles, CA.
From there it was smooth sailing back home. By now it was apparent to me that the previous accident on Highway 101 many hours ago at the 13th Street Bridge was the culprit of all the gridlock on the waning afternoon of a holiday weekend Monday. This was confirmed when I soon headed back to mom's house in Atascadero. I got back on the 101 Freeway at 17th Street as I did earlier in the day. As I headed south I noticed CALTRANS retrieving all the cones closing down right lane. With the increased road load as people headed home from the holiday at the end of the way, the back-up was even worse now as it extended from about 13th Street in Paso Robles all the way southward through Templeton to just south of Vineyard Ave.... something I have seen before.
Through all these successful detours, I realized a few things. I inherited the tendency from my mother's side of the family to be a great and imaginative driver, if not a bit impulsive and restless. I noticed that I am in many ways, not just in my driving, that I am not so much a follower-type but rather a free-thinker and leader-type. What happened here was allegorical of that in addition to being an expression of it directly. Most importantly, I realized there was symbolism in all the days setbacks and detours and yet I was constantly moving forward and yet staying safe and getting other things done, merely not the ones for which I planned.... just like my life has been more generally in recent years and undoubtedly will continue to be.
God is good.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool LII
It has been nearly two months since the previous Random Musings was posted which is an unusually short interval in recent times. During that span this blog has received over 25,000 distinct visits. This edition will only feature the latest stuff going on with me which unfortunately seems the trend of late with these columns unlike a few years ago when I often included my observations or shared interesting factoids about a variety of topics. Next time which is soon, I plan to return to that model with this column. In the meantime, here's the latest on my efforts at getting from the classroom (where I learn) into the classroom (where I teach).
I am now mid-way through the current quarter at Cal Poly. This term took longer to get settled into than it has ever taken me in any term at any level of higher education. This was due to my inability to get into the four-unit Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) class which I had initially attempted to add during my official sign-up period late last quarter. At that time I was automatically blocked from taking it due to KINE 250 being considered equivalent to Multicultural Health (Kinesiology 255). At Cuesta College I took a multicultural health class that was transferable to Cal Poly as the equivalent of KINE255. I also was informed not to worry about the block as I would be able to easily add it by crashing the class the first day and receiving an "add" code from the instructor. However, this did not work as the block persisted and I was informed in no uncertain terms that I would not be allowed in the class. For the teaching credential I must take either KINE 250 (which is no longer an option) or Health Education For Teachers (Kinesiology 443). The single-subject history teaching credential grad program prefers students take KINE 443 (which includes first-aid and CPR unlike KINE250 or 255), but allows for KINE250, too. Whereas, the multi-subject teaching credential grad program through the Education Department at Cal Poly only accepts KINE443. For some reason my buddy Blake who has been my wing-man at Cal Poly, was able to get into KINE 250 after taking the same multicultural health class at Cuesta College. The only explanation I can come up with is that since he took KINE250 a year ago there has been some sort of requirement change.
In any case, by the time I realized all of this, Week One had ended. I looked into crashing KINE443 a week late, but it is only offered as an evening class in a bad time slot in the week for me and thus is not an option quarter. Later, I discovered that it is not even offered at all next quarter, my graduation quarter. Fortunately, I am allowed to take it concurrently with my teaching credential course-load next year. However, my inability to take one or the other of the kinesiology classes created a problem for me. I need to be taking 12 or more units per quarter to receive the maximum amount of grant and loan money with which to attend Cal Poly. Without a kinesiology class this quarter, I was stuck at 10 units. I scrambled to switch the two education-related classes I ideally need to take before entering the teaching credential grad program, to wit, exchange Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) in place of KINE443. The time slot worked and there was room for me in the class, but the two instructors were out of town at a conference and being un-tech-savvy were unable to reach their emails until their return at nearly the end of Week Two by which time I had missed the deadline to get into a class without applying for a special waiver costing $20. Fortunately, I did get into the class being granted my waiver but was by that point two weeks behind everybody else. I am doing well in the class but am still getting caught up. I absolutely love my two instructors, to wit, Dr. Frances Mayer and Dr. Sidonie Wiedenkeller.
This quarter I am also taking the four-unit History of Prostitution (History 421) with Dr. Christina Firpo (with whom I took Research & Writing Seminar In History or History 303 during my first quarter at Cal Poly). This class "double-counts" as it satisfies my requirement that I take (and pass) three 400-level history classes and three non-European/non-American history classes in addition to a host of other requirements. This class focuses on prostitution and other forms of "unfree" labor in Southeast Asia, mostly during the Colonial Period but reaching back often to what existed before Colonialism as it pertains to the changes that Colonialism wrought. I am also taking the first half of my senior project, to wit, History 460 or Senior Project I which is good for two units and is the research half of the project. I am very behind in that class unfortunately. Fortunately, I am taking it with Dr. Lewis Call who understands my situation and what I am having to deal with both with school and my ongoing family dramas and traumas. I am also taking a class I have had my eye on since I first arrives on campus over a year ago, to wit, Nuclear Science & Society or SCM335 (Science & Math 335) with Dr. Jim Eickemeyer. This class has thus far been fascinating and the most useful class this quarter. In it next week I shall be giving a PowerPoint presentation on the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in Japan.
Last week, I signed up for my classes next quarter, my final quarter as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly. I will be taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call again as well as my last history major requirement which I neglected to take a year ago this quarter when I should have, to wit, Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) with Dr. Cameron Jones, one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly. I will also be taking Introduction to Shakespeare (English 339) a Dr. Fitzhenry whom everybody seems to agree is wonderful. This class will satisfy my C4 requirement (Literature/Philosophy/Arts Upper Division Course). I had hoped to get into either of the two movie classes which involved watching movies and writing papers on them, to wit, Film Styles and Genres (English 371) or Film Directors (English 372). Unfortunately and rather surprisingly, neither is offered the last quarter of this academic year when seniors could most use them. Lastly, in order to remain at full-time student status (12+ units) I have signed up for the Air & Space class I have heard about (AERO310).
One of the requirements of for completing the teaching credential grad program is to sit on on classes and observe and if asked, assist the instructor. However, I feel this is probably more relevant to the lower grades where multi-subject teaching is occurring and instructors can use more hands on deck to help in the classroom. In any case, I had to be LiveScanned and checked per Megan's Law as well as take a TB test to make certain I have not been exposed to the disease. I occurred to me that I could probably get that done at no additional coast in the campus health center and I was correct. While I was in getting that done I elected to go ahead and get my long-overdue tetanus shot which I upgraded to a Tdap vaccination at no additional cost to me.
In the case of Paso Robles Unified School District, they seem to realize they have had some problems and seem to be taking solid steps to address those issues. They have also had to deal with a great many retirements in recent times and that is not unique to PRUSD. It appears that now is the best time in a very long time to get into teaching before the window of opportunity shuts again when hiring catches up to demand or when the economy goes in the crapper next time which it will given that capitalism is a boom & bust cycle-driven system.
While talking to the admin at PRHS regarding sitting on on classes I was given a bit of a hiring pitch from the assistant principal whom I really like.... he's a cool but no-nonsense sort of guy. The principal recently left so there is a temporary management situation there which seems to have the assistant principal probably having to do more than usual. He made it clear to me that they like teachers who are willing to do extra stuff like coach or lead in some other activity when I told him I wanted to help coach. He also informed me that the health care package is about to get better at PRUSD. The head headhunter at human resources in the PRUSD in the district offices I had to go into as part of the process of getting on campus was very cool and she seemed keenly interested in me and even gave me her card and asked that I keep in touch with her.
Given I was given no such pitch at the Atascadero Unified School District offices or at Atascadero High School and that there seem to be no openings there I suspect I will not be working in Atascadero fresh out of grad school. However, things can change and over a year from now who knows how the battlefield will look? It's also possible the only places hiring will be junior high schools or middle schools upon my graduation from the teaching credential program. I might be facing the option of leaving the area or at least the North County to teach high school or else settle to teach junior high or middle school in order to stay in this area.
In Week Five I finally got in to observe some classrooms being taught. I got accepted into Paso Robles High School first so I checked out two classes there, Mr. Land's standard U.S. government and civics class and Mr. Bradford's Honors world history class. Both seem to be effective teachers and showed me how different things are done now compared to when I was in high school.
In California, sophomores take world history, juniors take U.S. history, and seniors take a semester each of econ and civics which I believe was the case when I was there 1985-1989. Within that horizontal framework of class track by grade level there is a framework of three levels of ascending difficulty: standard, honors, and advanced placement (AP).
In Week Six (last week), I finally got into Atascadero High School (my alma mater) and stayed all day watching four class sessions. I watched two consecutive sessions of my old school mate and teammate David Donati teach standard world history to sophomores. Then I watched Ben Tomasini teach AP world history and finished the day in Christine Williams' AP civics class. All four class sessions and all three teachers taught me something(s) useful. I also spent the lunch period talking to Athletic Director Sam DeRose who was an assistant varsity football coach back when I was in high school playing varsity football for Larry Welsh. Sam gave me some interesting insights and it was good that I let him know I'm getting into the teaching career locally and soon.
Last week I also attended a Paso Robles Unified School District Board meeting and I wasn't bored. They welcomed two new hires to the athletic department, including a former Greyhound football star who went on to some success in Arena League Football. They also went over some generalities regarding remodeling and new construction at various district facilities within the context of a bond measure. They also discussed and congratulated themselves over how the district handled a recent student death. That death turned out to be a 12 year-old girl killing herself after being bullied by other girls, at least one of whom was a freshman at the high school and was heard to say something to the effect of "good, she deserved to die." This is hardly the first and surely won't be the last such case but for some reason this one bothered me more than most.
I worked an event at the Colony Inn in Atascadero last Friday night. There, one of the important organizers of the performing arts event was Kathy Hannemann, a long-time educator within Atascadero Unified School District. She and I hit it off and I learned a lot from her in a short time while just chatting with her and I got to network with her and let her know I'm getting into the biz just so word can get spread via yet one more avenue. Also notable there was that a very nice lady representing Rio Seco Winery was pouring her wine at intermission. Carol Hinkle and I talked at length during the show about local schools and such as she, too, is well-connected locally to a lot of what is going on and who matters so yet another score for me and I hope she was entertained by her chat with me.
Last month I took the CSET Social Studies Subtest I. Last week I got back the results which are that I passed the test. It is worth noting that I took the test "cold" which is to say, I did not study for it. Last week I took Subest II and I took it cold, but by accident. I thought that test was for civics so I reviewed my old textbook from Cuesta College. However, as it turned out, that test is history so my studying did me no good. Apparently, Subtest I is world history and geography whereas Subtest II is American history. I have to wait about a month for the results from that test. Tomorrow I take Subtest III which I have learned is civics and economics but focusing on the U.S. and California. I shall study for it tonight and tomorrow morning by reviewing my political science and macroeconomics textbooks from Cuesta College and bone up on my U.S. Constitution again as I did before Subtest II last week. After I take my third of three CSET tests tomorrow, I plan to sign up to take my CBEST test which is also required in order to get into the teaching credential grad program. It is worth noting that each of these tests cost me $99 and I am supposed to have them all passed by April 30, 2016, despite the fact that one wait 30-45 days to get results before knowing if one need retake a test. At least on have one of them knocked out.
Winter 2016 Mid-Term Update
I am now mid-way through the current quarter at Cal Poly. This term took longer to get settled into than it has ever taken me in any term at any level of higher education. This was due to my inability to get into the four-unit Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) class which I had initially attempted to add during my official sign-up period late last quarter. At that time I was automatically blocked from taking it due to KINE 250 being considered equivalent to Multicultural Health (Kinesiology 255). At Cuesta College I took a multicultural health class that was transferable to Cal Poly as the equivalent of KINE255. I also was informed not to worry about the block as I would be able to easily add it by crashing the class the first day and receiving an "add" code from the instructor. However, this did not work as the block persisted and I was informed in no uncertain terms that I would not be allowed in the class. For the teaching credential I must take either KINE 250 (which is no longer an option) or Health Education For Teachers (Kinesiology 443). The single-subject history teaching credential grad program prefers students take KINE 443 (which includes first-aid and CPR unlike KINE250 or 255), but allows for KINE250, too. Whereas, the multi-subject teaching credential grad program through the Education Department at Cal Poly only accepts KINE443. For some reason my buddy Blake who has been my wing-man at Cal Poly, was able to get into KINE 250 after taking the same multicultural health class at Cuesta College. The only explanation I can come up with is that since he took KINE250 a year ago there has been some sort of requirement change.
In any case, by the time I realized all of this, Week One had ended. I looked into crashing KINE443 a week late, but it is only offered as an evening class in a bad time slot in the week for me and thus is not an option quarter. Later, I discovered that it is not even offered at all next quarter, my graduation quarter. Fortunately, I am allowed to take it concurrently with my teaching credential course-load next year. However, my inability to take one or the other of the kinesiology classes created a problem for me. I need to be taking 12 or more units per quarter to receive the maximum amount of grant and loan money with which to attend Cal Poly. Without a kinesiology class this quarter, I was stuck at 10 units. I scrambled to switch the two education-related classes I ideally need to take before entering the teaching credential grad program, to wit, exchange Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) in place of KINE443. The time slot worked and there was room for me in the class, but the two instructors were out of town at a conference and being un-tech-savvy were unable to reach their emails until their return at nearly the end of Week Two by which time I had missed the deadline to get into a class without applying for a special waiver costing $20. Fortunately, I did get into the class being granted my waiver but was by that point two weeks behind everybody else. I am doing well in the class but am still getting caught up. I absolutely love my two instructors, to wit, Dr. Frances Mayer and Dr. Sidonie Wiedenkeller.
This quarter I am also taking the four-unit History of Prostitution (History 421) with Dr. Christina Firpo (with whom I took Research & Writing Seminar In History or History 303 during my first quarter at Cal Poly). This class "double-counts" as it satisfies my requirement that I take (and pass) three 400-level history classes and three non-European/non-American history classes in addition to a host of other requirements. This class focuses on prostitution and other forms of "unfree" labor in Southeast Asia, mostly during the Colonial Period but reaching back often to what existed before Colonialism as it pertains to the changes that Colonialism wrought. I am also taking the first half of my senior project, to wit, History 460 or Senior Project I which is good for two units and is the research half of the project. I am very behind in that class unfortunately. Fortunately, I am taking it with Dr. Lewis Call who understands my situation and what I am having to deal with both with school and my ongoing family dramas and traumas. I am also taking a class I have had my eye on since I first arrives on campus over a year ago, to wit, Nuclear Science & Society or SCM335 (Science & Math 335) with Dr. Jim Eickemeyer. This class has thus far been fascinating and the most useful class this quarter. In it next week I shall be giving a PowerPoint presentation on the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident in Japan.
Last week, I signed up for my classes next quarter, my final quarter as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly. I will be taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call again as well as my last history major requirement which I neglected to take a year ago this quarter when I should have, to wit, Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) with Dr. Cameron Jones, one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly. I will also be taking Introduction to Shakespeare (English 339) a Dr. Fitzhenry whom everybody seems to agree is wonderful. This class will satisfy my C4 requirement (Literature/Philosophy/Arts Upper Division Course). I had hoped to get into either of the two movie classes which involved watching movies and writing papers on them, to wit, Film Styles and Genres (English 371) or Film Directors (English 372). Unfortunately and rather surprisingly, neither is offered the last quarter of this academic year when seniors could most use them. Lastly, in order to remain at full-time student status (12+ units) I have signed up for the Air & Space class I have heard about (AERO310).
Getting Into The Classroom
One of the requirements of for completing the teaching credential grad program is to sit on on classes and observe and if asked, assist the instructor. However, I feel this is probably more relevant to the lower grades where multi-subject teaching is occurring and instructors can use more hands on deck to help in the classroom. In any case, I had to be LiveScanned and checked per Megan's Law as well as take a TB test to make certain I have not been exposed to the disease. I occurred to me that I could probably get that done at no additional coast in the campus health center and I was correct. While I was in getting that done I elected to go ahead and get my long-overdue tetanus shot which I upgraded to a Tdap vaccination at no additional cost to me.
They Like Me, They Really Like Me
In the case of Paso Robles Unified School District, they seem to realize they have had some problems and seem to be taking solid steps to address those issues. They have also had to deal with a great many retirements in recent times and that is not unique to PRUSD. It appears that now is the best time in a very long time to get into teaching before the window of opportunity shuts again when hiring catches up to demand or when the economy goes in the crapper next time which it will given that capitalism is a boom & bust cycle-driven system.
While talking to the admin at PRHS regarding sitting on on classes I was given a bit of a hiring pitch from the assistant principal whom I really like.... he's a cool but no-nonsense sort of guy. The principal recently left so there is a temporary management situation there which seems to have the assistant principal probably having to do more than usual. He made it clear to me that they like teachers who are willing to do extra stuff like coach or lead in some other activity when I told him I wanted to help coach. He also informed me that the health care package is about to get better at PRUSD. The head headhunter at human resources in the PRUSD in the district offices I had to go into as part of the process of getting on campus was very cool and she seemed keenly interested in me and even gave me her card and asked that I keep in touch with her.
Given I was given no such pitch at the Atascadero Unified School District offices or at Atascadero High School and that there seem to be no openings there I suspect I will not be working in Atascadero fresh out of grad school. However, things can change and over a year from now who knows how the battlefield will look? It's also possible the only places hiring will be junior high schools or middle schools upon my graduation from the teaching credential program. I might be facing the option of leaving the area or at least the North County to teach high school or else settle to teach junior high or middle school in order to stay in this area.
Finally In The Classroom....
In Week Five I finally got in to observe some classrooms being taught. I got accepted into Paso Robles High School first so I checked out two classes there, Mr. Land's standard U.S. government and civics class and Mr. Bradford's Honors world history class. Both seem to be effective teachers and showed me how different things are done now compared to when I was in high school.
In California, sophomores take world history, juniors take U.S. history, and seniors take a semester each of econ and civics which I believe was the case when I was there 1985-1989. Within that horizontal framework of class track by grade level there is a framework of three levels of ascending difficulty: standard, honors, and advanced placement (AP).
In Week Six (last week), I finally got into Atascadero High School (my alma mater) and stayed all day watching four class sessions. I watched two consecutive sessions of my old school mate and teammate David Donati teach standard world history to sophomores. Then I watched Ben Tomasini teach AP world history and finished the day in Christine Williams' AP civics class. All four class sessions and all three teachers taught me something(s) useful. I also spent the lunch period talking to Athletic Director Sam DeRose who was an assistant varsity football coach back when I was in high school playing varsity football for Larry Welsh. Sam gave me some interesting insights and it was good that I let him know I'm getting into the teaching career locally and soon.
....And At A School Board Meeting
Last week I also attended a Paso Robles Unified School District Board meeting and I wasn't bored. They welcomed two new hires to the athletic department, including a former Greyhound football star who went on to some success in Arena League Football. They also went over some generalities regarding remodeling and new construction at various district facilities within the context of a bond measure. They also discussed and congratulated themselves over how the district handled a recent student death. That death turned out to be a 12 year-old girl killing herself after being bullied by other girls, at least one of whom was a freshman at the high school and was heard to say something to the effect of "good, she deserved to die." This is hardly the first and surely won't be the last such case but for some reason this one bothered me more than most.
Networking Baby!
I worked an event at the Colony Inn in Atascadero last Friday night. There, one of the important organizers of the performing arts event was Kathy Hannemann, a long-time educator within Atascadero Unified School District. She and I hit it off and I learned a lot from her in a short time while just chatting with her and I got to network with her and let her know I'm getting into the biz just so word can get spread via yet one more avenue. Also notable there was that a very nice lady representing Rio Seco Winery was pouring her wine at intermission. Carol Hinkle and I talked at length during the show about local schools and such as she, too, is well-connected locally to a lot of what is going on and who matters so yet another score for me and I hope she was entertained by her chat with me.
Of CSETs & CBESTs
Last month I took the CSET Social Studies Subtest I. Last week I got back the results which are that I passed the test. It is worth noting that I took the test "cold" which is to say, I did not study for it. Last week I took Subest II and I took it cold, but by accident. I thought that test was for civics so I reviewed my old textbook from Cuesta College. However, as it turned out, that test is history so my studying did me no good. Apparently, Subtest I is world history and geography whereas Subtest II is American history. I have to wait about a month for the results from that test. Tomorrow I take Subtest III which I have learned is civics and economics but focusing on the U.S. and California. I shall study for it tonight and tomorrow morning by reviewing my political science and macroeconomics textbooks from Cuesta College and bone up on my U.S. Constitution again as I did before Subtest II last week. After I take my third of three CSET tests tomorrow, I plan to sign up to take my CBEST test which is also required in order to get into the teaching credential grad program. It is worth noting that each of these tests cost me $99 and I am supposed to have them all passed by April 30, 2016, despite the fact that one wait 30-45 days to get results before knowing if one need retake a test. At least on have one of them knocked out.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool LI
It has been four days past a year since I last checked in with this column. In that period of time this blog has reached over 557,000 distinct visits and 1,800 posts. A year ago this blog was at 456,000 distinct visits and 1,509 posts. Over the course of 2015 I found difficulty consistently blogging to the degree I have in previous years, especially 2014. Now that autumn 2015 is coming to a close and a grueling fall 2015 quarter ended a week ago I hope to get back in the rhythm of daily blogging. I have a lot of catching up to do here as much has happened this year in my life of which only a small amount I have shared. Note: in the above title the LI is the Roman numeral for the Arabic numeral 51.
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However, I'm glad I did take only 12 units as I had all I could handle with a 3-hour-a-week, but 4-unit Historiography class taught by Cal Poly's history teacher of the year Dr. Matthew Hopper (History 304) which required a lot of reading and not a little writing and some research towards the end for a 3-part/20 page paper.
I also took my terminal Spanish class Intermediate Spanish I (Spanish 201) which is a subject I struggle with at my age and as you recall I got a C in the Spanish class the previous quarter. Fortunately for me Dr. Fernando Fabio Sánchez is a wonderful professor and I thrived in his 4-unit class.
Finally, I took History of Modern America (History 322) with Dr. Sarah Bridger who is an engaging instructor and the class covered some of my preferred subject matter in history and thus I thoroughly enjoyed the 4-unit class even if I felt I should have gotten a better grade.
Aside from the distracting but magical trip to San Diego as well as my usual mild case of wintertime S.A.D. I also was struck around the time of finals week by the horrible distraction of substance abuse/addiction problems in somebody very close to me for which I had to drive them down south to detoxify and all the while worry about their survival.
Despite all this I managed to stumble my way into a B in History 304 although I was capable of getting an A in the class but failed to earn it, a B in Spanish 201 which was the best I could have hoped to do in that class, and a B+ in History 322 in which I felt I should have gotten an A- or A.
The Spring 2015 quarter continued the pattern of mental-emotional turmoil from the substance abuse of the aforementioned individual, but due to the change in the seasons and my own growing sense of optimism and confidence I had my best quarter at Cal Poly to date. This was my first time ever taking as many as 16 units at any level be it Cuesta Community College or California Polytechnic State University SLO. It was also my first quarter at Cal Poly in which I made the Dean's List.
I took Dr. Tom Trice's Lure of the Sea 4-unit course (History 317) which is about the history of human activity on the seas and in the adjacent littoral zones. I thoroughly enjoyed that class and the professor is wonderful.
I took history department chair Dr. Lewis Call's History of Network Technology 4-unit course (History 354) which was the high point of the quarter and one of the most fascinating classes I have taken at Cal Poly which focuses on the history of the internet and operating systems and some ancillary issues like hacking and cybernetics and such.
I also took Dr. Cameron Jones' Topics & Issues in Latin America 4-unit class (History 442) which focuses on subversion in Latin American history of which there has been much. Dr. Jones (which I always call him in an ominous Indiana Jones villain voice) is one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly and yet given his lecturer status makes as much money as I will be making as a high school teacher soon. This is wrong.
Lastly, I took new professor Dr. Eileen Peña's Cultural Geography 4-unit class (Geography 150) towards getting my minor. This professor was high-strung and insecure which showed often and her inflexibility about late homework assignments cost me a solid A in her class.
Once again the aforementioned person close to me had a slip and I had to take them to detox down south around the time of my finals week to go with the fact I was taking 16 units for the first time. Despite all this I managed to get A's in History 317 and History 354 and A-'s in History 442 and Geography 150.
For the first time ever I took a college/university summer course which in my case was a class I had hoped to be able to take while at Cal Poly but feared I would not: Fire & Society (Natural Resources 308). Although the foreshortened summer session with Dr. Christopher Dicus is not as intensive and scholarly (not as much reading of books by Dr. Stephen Pine and such) as are the regular sessions of the class) it was nonetheless a fascinating overview of fire and American society and to a lesser extent Australian society as a counterpoint to the American relationship with wildfire. It was also a de facto history of wildfire in America so I loved the class given my interest in both history and wildfire, After a slow start I ran away with the class and earned a solid A while once again dealing with drama from the previously-mentioned person close to me and their ongoing addiction problem.
The fall 2015 quarter saw me back at 16 units trying to squeeze in a geography minor to go with my history major by graduation time next June. I unwittingly took a history class I did not need to take instead of a geography class I needed to take in order to complete my minor by graduation day in June 2016. The only way to fix this would be I were to take an extra quarter (Summer 2016 quarter) to graduate just to capture that minor, but then I would not be able to walk with my class in June. Between what God was telling me and my own cost-benefit analysis I elected to drop the minor during this quarter which in my case requires nothing on my part other than to stop taking geography classes.
Given that I began the quarter planning on acquiring the minor, I did take Dr. Thomas Keese's Geography of Resource Utilization 4-unit class (Geography 301) which was challenging but informative in an integrative sort of way and showed me a glimpse of how many careers may be had with a geography degree. I co-wrote and co-presented an overview of Clear Lake in Northern California which my partner and I aced.
I took the fun but one-too-many history course Britain at War: The British, the Americans and the Struggle for Freedom, 1939-1945 (History 336) which was a 4-unit class taught by Dr. Mike Carver, the only professor I have ever heard throw F-bombs in class (usually in the same sentence with Nazis) to which I salute him.
I took Dr. Kate Murphy's fascinating but difficult 4-unit History of the Scientific Revolution (History 350) which was as engaging and instructive as Dr. Call's History of Network Technology last spring. Unfortunately, my ongoing struggles with deadlines and Dr. Murphy's inflexibility with deadlines combined to make the final grade on this class less than satisfying.
Finally, I took Dr. James Tejani's 4-unit History of the American West, Southwest Borderlands, and California (History 433) which I thoroughly enjoyed and found most fascinating given my interest in the American West since I was a child. Thankfully, Dr. Tejani was much more flexible with deadlines but nonetheless my worsening issues with deadlines caused me to turn in late the three largest and most important papers in the class which when penalties were applied prevented me from achieving my full potential in the class quite unfortunately,
In a disturbing continuance of a year-long pattern, as as if on cue, the that person close to me once again fell of the wagon during my finals week but this time did so near the end although I smelt trouble all through the week which did distract me somewhat. However, it was my fault for leaving so much work to be done until the last week of school which included to in-class finals as well as a paper due Monday I turned in Tuesday and a paper due a few weeks earlier I turned in Wednesday and a paper due Friday morning I worked Thursday into early Friday morning and a paper due Thursday I turned in early on Saturday morning. I need to get over my paper phobia and start getting on these things early and often as next up is my senior project which will be a 30-page paper.
Anywho, despite my own self-created drama and the drama of my deeply troubled dear one, to go along with my annual touch of S.A.D. down the stretch as the days shortened and the sun sunk in the sky, I managed to eke out B+'s in History 350 and History 433 and I achieved A's in History 336 and Geography 301. My Cal Poly G.P.A. now stands at 3.486 and my overall G.P.A. is 3.536.
My general career plan upon graduating next June had been through much of this year to try to get into emergency management first choice or write content for some internet-based company second choice. Becoming a journalist after all (back in late high school and my first year at Cuesta College circa 1989-1990 I had thought I would become a sports writer) was probably my third choice while teaching was in the cellar at fourth choice.
However, I received from God an epiphany about this last September when I realized that I am and always was supposed to be a teacher (high school and perhaps even some community college). For years people told me I should go to college and I always poo-poo'ed that idea time and again. Subsequently, I went back to school and completed Cuesta College career picking up two Associate of Arts degrees (History and Social & Behavioral Sciences). My parents both have bachelor's degrees and my brother has at least one Associate of Arts degree and a nursing certificate of some sort. I have been the odd man out heretofore in regards to education.
Of course, just because somebody says something does not automatically make it true. However, in my case in regards to going back to school such people were right as they were merely pointing out the obvious. Well, the same goes for my natural ability to teach to which I have been in denial for years as people have often told me I should be a teacher and I poo-poo'd that as well. However, like the Holocaust, never again. My mom's mother was a schoolteacher by trade. My mother was educated to be a schoolteacher but ended up not liking it and instead going into the mom and wife business. My father was educated to be a history teacher but went off in a different direction, initially working for NSA and later installing television antennas, the latter of which got him killed. I realize that just because other generations in my family did something or were educated to do something or should have done something does not automatically mean I should do those things. However, sometimes God does call families to particular careers spread over multiple generations. I am supposed to be a teacher (and coach) and that is all I know for now.
With this in mind I have contacted various people about it and have received some marvelous counsel of which much of it God has directed me to implement. Currently there is a dearth of school teachers in California and on the Central Coast in particular. That makes my career move seem all the more prudent at this time. On top of that, my two preferred schools at which to teach, Paso Robles High School and Atascadero High School need teacher-coaches.
I was already contemplating for some time now to volunteer locally as an assistant football coach at either of the aforementioned schools just for shits and giggles long before I ever contemplated teaching. I was told by wise counsel to absolutely do that self-same thing starting this spring practice. By doing so I would already be involved volunteering in a local school district and if I could get a coach to pay me even $1 then I would technically already be employed as a coach. It also helps that I know both head varsity football coaches at Paso Robles High School and Atascadero High School having been coached by Rich Shimpke (head varsity football coach at Paso Robles High School) back when he coached me at Atascadero High School in junior varsity football and both frosh and junior varsity basketball and youth basketball in eight grade. Head varsity football coach Vic Cooper at Atascadero High School played varsity football there while I played junior varsity but was called up to play in the playoffs his senior year. I also played varsity with his younger brother Christian who is also now a coach and teacher at AHS. My dear friend of mine named Marty is a Rotarian and knows the superintendent of Paso Robles Unified School District (Chis Williams) who is also a Rotarian and whom Marty has told about me and is interested to hear from me I am told. I also know the athletic director Sam DeRose at AHS who was one of my varsity football coaches at AHS and is currently a part-time co-worker at Vino Vice. Atascadero High School is especially noted for its use of alumni who come back home to teach/coach.
Now you're probably asking why I am listing all of this minutiae? Well, the explanation is simple. This area despite its population growth still functions much like a small town and so much that happens and is transacted happens through the good 'ole boy network for better and for worse. Needless to say, I will be contacting these various personages after the upcoming holidays have past.
Upon graduating Cal Poly next June, Lord-willing, I shall begin the teaching credential program there next fall and hopefully have my own classroom by academic year 2017-2018.
It is rather quite serendipitous that I dropped the geography minor when I did because the class slots that decision opened up will become fully filled by classes I absolutely must take before I can start the teaching credential program next fall.
This next quarter I am signed up to begin my senior project with Senior Project I (History 460) with history department chair Dr. Lewis Call being my project adviser. That is a 2-unit class focused on the research end of my project.
I'm also signed up for Dr. Christina Firpo's History of Prostitution 4-unit class (History 421) which will double-count for both my third of three required 400-level history classes and my third of three required non-European/non-U.S. history classes.
For nearly my entire time at Cal Poly I have been aware of wanted to take Nuclear Science & Society (Science & Math 335) given my interest in nuclear war and the growing specter of its threat returning as well as the fact the only operating nuclear power plant in California is located 45 minutes' drive from my house.
I could not sign up for so I must crash a Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) 4-unit class required for my teaching credential. These courses add up to 14 units in total.
The plan at present for my final quarter of undergrad work at Cal Poly is to take four final classes for 14 units just like I hope to have achieved the quarter previous.
I plan on taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call which will also be 2 units but will focus on the writing end of my senior project. The finished paper should be about 30 pages long and in it I ask the question as to why there is such a prevalence of End-of-the-Age-themed movies and television shows and literary works
I'm also planning on taking Dr. Cameron Jones' Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) 4-unit required course which I unsuccessfully crashed the first day of Winter 2015 quarter nearly a year ago.
To graduate I must take a writing-intensive English class and being the movie buff I am I have elected to sign up for Film Styles and Genres (English 371) in lieu of Film Directors (English 372) the other film-related English class which is even harder to get into from what I have heard. Both 4-unit classes are high-demand but at Cal Poly there is a special privilege afforded seniors in the quarter immediately preceding graduation to help speed them through. Needless to say, I shall not "check my privilege" to get into that class.
My last remaining course slot to fill will be filled with Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) which is the second of two required 4-unit courses for me to complete before I can enroll in the teaching credential program.
Last month I received an email from one of my history professors at Cuesta College (Dr. Christopher Nielson) in regards to a paid position at Cuesta College as an embedded tutor helping instructors in the classroom. I conveyed interest in this opportunity and await word back as to if there will be a scheduling conflict or not (I sure hope not).
Since last I shared here, I decided to apply for the Masters program in the history department at Cal Poly. That plan is on hold as it appears it is not feasible to be in a Masters program simultaneously with being in a teaching credential program. I still fully intend to get the Masters degree later on after I am securely in a teaching career. I want to do this both because I want to have a Masters since I won't be going for a PhD as that is too much time and money to start this late in life and, more importantly, I believe it is not God's will for me. A Masters degree is a nice compromise and consolation prize and it will get me paid more money as a teacher. Some have suggested it is better not to have the M.A. when applying for a teaching job anyway as school admins are looking to hire cheap.
For the second consecutive year I worked security (crowd control really) at the June 2015 Cal Poly Graduation. In 2014 it felt unreal that I would actually even be attending Cal Poly. This year it felt real, of course, but graduating still felt a long way off and perhaps a bit unreal. Now that I am about six months away from graduation and have all my remaining classes mapped out it feels a bit more real now. At this pace I will not be working the June 2016 Graduation at Cal Poly because rather I shall be IN the ceremony (with any luck at all).
This year I never did get around to volunteering to work on the Rose Parade Float as I had originally wanted to do when I first entered Cal Poly. It simply is not convenient to do such things when not living on-campus or nearby but rather living 30 miles up the highway from campus.
I did check to see if the on-campus Christian group was meeting when (11 a.m. on Thursday mornings) and where (northwest corner of Dexter Lawn) they claim to on their sandwich sign that is often visible in that part of campus.
I have also not yet used the free athletic club on campus which is one of the nicest in the state at any public school. I also haven't yet attended any athletic event or artistic event or academic event. I had planned on attending a couple of talks this Fall (one on the Cold War and one on the California Drought) but for various reasons neither worked out for me to attend,
I have managed to sans any effort on my part form a clique of friends/acquaintances with whom I hold court in a particular part of campus on a daily basis (second floor of Kennedy Library near Julian's).
No, I have not yet dated anybody I've met at Cal Poly (staff or student) but there is still time. Actually, I have not dated anybody since the night of Vine Street Victorian Christmas in Paso Robles in December 2012.
As previously revealed, I made the Dean's List last spring, but did not achieve that this fall quarter.
I have not managed to loose any weight this year (especially in the summer) as I did in 2014 when I lost 25 lbs. to go from 265 down to 240 lbs which I gained back my first quarter at Cal Poly. What I did manage to do this year is gain 25 lbs. placing me at a whopping 290 lbs., the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Although I am heavy I carry this weight fairly well and visually pass for being less albeit still overweight. However, this is not a good development in my life and will kill me eventually if I do not take corrective action. I do not exercise nearly enough. I do avoid processed foods and carbs to a reasonable degree, but I also eat for energy quite often and during times I am not exercising but rather studying. I also do not sleep right by being a night owl and often not getting enough hours of sleep per night. All of this contributes to my weight gain. This has become a battle for my life.
Winter 2015 Cal Poly Quarter Synopsis
The Winter 2015 quarter began and ended oddly for me. In the first few weeks I was invited to go visit a dying childhood friend awaiting a heart transplant in San Diego who seemed to be giving up living after many disappointments and setbacks and a long wait for a new heart. I was invited over the MLK holiday weekend to join childhood friend Jannine and her mom Patsy to visit Jon Marsh which experience I shared HERE back at the time. This quarter I took on only 12 units which is the minimum to maintain full-time student status. Click to view my Fall 2014 Quarter review..
However, I'm glad I did take only 12 units as I had all I could handle with a 3-hour-a-week, but 4-unit Historiography class taught by Cal Poly's history teacher of the year Dr. Matthew Hopper (History 304) which required a lot of reading and not a little writing and some research towards the end for a 3-part/20 page paper.
I also took my terminal Spanish class Intermediate Spanish I (Spanish 201) which is a subject I struggle with at my age and as you recall I got a C in the Spanish class the previous quarter. Fortunately for me Dr. Fernando Fabio Sánchez is a wonderful professor and I thrived in his 4-unit class.
Finally, I took History of Modern America (History 322) with Dr. Sarah Bridger who is an engaging instructor and the class covered some of my preferred subject matter in history and thus I thoroughly enjoyed the 4-unit class even if I felt I should have gotten a better grade.
Aside from the distracting but magical trip to San Diego as well as my usual mild case of wintertime S.A.D. I also was struck around the time of finals week by the horrible distraction of substance abuse/addiction problems in somebody very close to me for which I had to drive them down south to detoxify and all the while worry about their survival.
Despite all this I managed to stumble my way into a B in History 304 although I was capable of getting an A in the class but failed to earn it, a B in Spanish 201 which was the best I could have hoped to do in that class, and a B+ in History 322 in which I felt I should have gotten an A- or A.
Spring 2015 Cal Poly Quarter Synopsis
The Spring 2015 quarter continued the pattern of mental-emotional turmoil from the substance abuse of the aforementioned individual, but due to the change in the seasons and my own growing sense of optimism and confidence I had my best quarter at Cal Poly to date. This was my first time ever taking as many as 16 units at any level be it Cuesta Community College or California Polytechnic State University SLO. It was also my first quarter at Cal Poly in which I made the Dean's List.
I took Dr. Tom Trice's Lure of the Sea 4-unit course (History 317) which is about the history of human activity on the seas and in the adjacent littoral zones. I thoroughly enjoyed that class and the professor is wonderful.
I took history department chair Dr. Lewis Call's History of Network Technology 4-unit course (History 354) which was the high point of the quarter and one of the most fascinating classes I have taken at Cal Poly which focuses on the history of the internet and operating systems and some ancillary issues like hacking and cybernetics and such.
I also took Dr. Cameron Jones' Topics & Issues in Latin America 4-unit class (History 442) which focuses on subversion in Latin American history of which there has been much. Dr. Jones (which I always call him in an ominous Indiana Jones villain voice) is one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly and yet given his lecturer status makes as much money as I will be making as a high school teacher soon. This is wrong.
Lastly, I took new professor Dr. Eileen Peña's Cultural Geography 4-unit class (Geography 150) towards getting my minor. This professor was high-strung and insecure which showed often and her inflexibility about late homework assignments cost me a solid A in her class.
Once again the aforementioned person close to me had a slip and I had to take them to detox down south around the time of my finals week to go with the fact I was taking 16 units for the first time. Despite all this I managed to get A's in History 317 and History 354 and A-'s in History 442 and Geography 150.
Summer 2015 Cal Poly Quarter Synopsis
For the first time ever I took a college/university summer course which in my case was a class I had hoped to be able to take while at Cal Poly but feared I would not: Fire & Society (Natural Resources 308). Although the foreshortened summer session with Dr. Christopher Dicus is not as intensive and scholarly (not as much reading of books by Dr. Stephen Pine and such) as are the regular sessions of the class) it was nonetheless a fascinating overview of fire and American society and to a lesser extent Australian society as a counterpoint to the American relationship with wildfire. It was also a de facto history of wildfire in America so I loved the class given my interest in both history and wildfire, After a slow start I ran away with the class and earned a solid A while once again dealing with drama from the previously-mentioned person close to me and their ongoing addiction problem.
Fall 2015 Cal Poly Quarter Synopsis
The fall 2015 quarter saw me back at 16 units trying to squeeze in a geography minor to go with my history major by graduation time next June. I unwittingly took a history class I did not need to take instead of a geography class I needed to take in order to complete my minor by graduation day in June 2016. The only way to fix this would be I were to take an extra quarter (Summer 2016 quarter) to graduate just to capture that minor, but then I would not be able to walk with my class in June. Between what God was telling me and my own cost-benefit analysis I elected to drop the minor during this quarter which in my case requires nothing on my part other than to stop taking geography classes.
Given that I began the quarter planning on acquiring the minor, I did take Dr. Thomas Keese's Geography of Resource Utilization 4-unit class (Geography 301) which was challenging but informative in an integrative sort of way and showed me a glimpse of how many careers may be had with a geography degree. I co-wrote and co-presented an overview of Clear Lake in Northern California which my partner and I aced.
I took the fun but one-too-many history course Britain at War: The British, the Americans and the Struggle for Freedom, 1939-1945 (History 336) which was a 4-unit class taught by Dr. Mike Carver, the only professor I have ever heard throw F-bombs in class (usually in the same sentence with Nazis) to which I salute him.
I took Dr. Kate Murphy's fascinating but difficult 4-unit History of the Scientific Revolution (History 350) which was as engaging and instructive as Dr. Call's History of Network Technology last spring. Unfortunately, my ongoing struggles with deadlines and Dr. Murphy's inflexibility with deadlines combined to make the final grade on this class less than satisfying.
Finally, I took Dr. James Tejani's 4-unit History of the American West, Southwest Borderlands, and California (History 433) which I thoroughly enjoyed and found most fascinating given my interest in the American West since I was a child. Thankfully, Dr. Tejani was much more flexible with deadlines but nonetheless my worsening issues with deadlines caused me to turn in late the three largest and most important papers in the class which when penalties were applied prevented me from achieving my full potential in the class quite unfortunately,
In a disturbing continuance of a year-long pattern, as as if on cue, the that person close to me once again fell of the wagon during my finals week but this time did so near the end although I smelt trouble all through the week which did distract me somewhat. However, it was my fault for leaving so much work to be done until the last week of school which included to in-class finals as well as a paper due Monday I turned in Tuesday and a paper due a few weeks earlier I turned in Wednesday and a paper due Friday morning I worked Thursday into early Friday morning and a paper due Thursday I turned in early on Saturday morning. I need to get over my paper phobia and start getting on these things early and often as next up is my senior project which will be a 30-page paper.
Anywho, despite my own self-created drama and the drama of my deeply troubled dear one, to go along with my annual touch of S.A.D. down the stretch as the days shortened and the sun sunk in the sky, I managed to eke out B+'s in History 350 and History 433 and I achieved A's in History 336 and Geography 301. My Cal Poly G.P.A. now stands at 3.486 and my overall G.P.A. is 3.536.
My Career Goals Narrow, Solidify
My general career plan upon graduating next June had been through much of this year to try to get into emergency management first choice or write content for some internet-based company second choice. Becoming a journalist after all (back in late high school and my first year at Cuesta College circa 1989-1990 I had thought I would become a sports writer) was probably my third choice while teaching was in the cellar at fourth choice.
However, I received from God an epiphany about this last September when I realized that I am and always was supposed to be a teacher (high school and perhaps even some community college). For years people told me I should go to college and I always poo-poo'ed that idea time and again. Subsequently, I went back to school and completed Cuesta College career picking up two Associate of Arts degrees (History and Social & Behavioral Sciences). My parents both have bachelor's degrees and my brother has at least one Associate of Arts degree and a nursing certificate of some sort. I have been the odd man out heretofore in regards to education.
Of course, just because somebody says something does not automatically make it true. However, in my case in regards to going back to school such people were right as they were merely pointing out the obvious. Well, the same goes for my natural ability to teach to which I have been in denial for years as people have often told me I should be a teacher and I poo-poo'd that as well. However, like the Holocaust, never again. My mom's mother was a schoolteacher by trade. My mother was educated to be a schoolteacher but ended up not liking it and instead going into the mom and wife business. My father was educated to be a history teacher but went off in a different direction, initially working for NSA and later installing television antennas, the latter of which got him killed. I realize that just because other generations in my family did something or were educated to do something or should have done something does not automatically mean I should do those things. However, sometimes God does call families to particular careers spread over multiple generations. I am supposed to be a teacher (and coach) and that is all I know for now.
With this in mind I have contacted various people about it and have received some marvelous counsel of which much of it God has directed me to implement. Currently there is a dearth of school teachers in California and on the Central Coast in particular. That makes my career move seem all the more prudent at this time. On top of that, my two preferred schools at which to teach, Paso Robles High School and Atascadero High School need teacher-coaches.
I was already contemplating for some time now to volunteer locally as an assistant football coach at either of the aforementioned schools just for shits and giggles long before I ever contemplated teaching. I was told by wise counsel to absolutely do that self-same thing starting this spring practice. By doing so I would already be involved volunteering in a local school district and if I could get a coach to pay me even $1 then I would technically already be employed as a coach. It also helps that I know both head varsity football coaches at Paso Robles High School and Atascadero High School having been coached by Rich Shimpke (head varsity football coach at Paso Robles High School) back when he coached me at Atascadero High School in junior varsity football and both frosh and junior varsity basketball and youth basketball in eight grade. Head varsity football coach Vic Cooper at Atascadero High School played varsity football there while I played junior varsity but was called up to play in the playoffs his senior year. I also played varsity with his younger brother Christian who is also now a coach and teacher at AHS. My dear friend of mine named Marty is a Rotarian and knows the superintendent of Paso Robles Unified School District (Chis Williams) who is also a Rotarian and whom Marty has told about me and is interested to hear from me I am told. I also know the athletic director Sam DeRose at AHS who was one of my varsity football coaches at AHS and is currently a part-time co-worker at Vino Vice. Atascadero High School is especially noted for its use of alumni who come back home to teach/coach.
Now you're probably asking why I am listing all of this minutiae? Well, the explanation is simple. This area despite its population growth still functions much like a small town and so much that happens and is transacted happens through the good 'ole boy network for better and for worse. Needless to say, I will be contacting these various personages after the upcoming holidays have past.
Upon graduating Cal Poly next June, Lord-willing, I shall begin the teaching credential program there next fall and hopefully have my own classroom by academic year 2017-2018.
Winter 2016 Quarter Preview
It is rather quite serendipitous that I dropped the geography minor when I did because the class slots that decision opened up will become fully filled by classes I absolutely must take before I can start the teaching credential program next fall.
This next quarter I am signed up to begin my senior project with Senior Project I (History 460) with history department chair Dr. Lewis Call being my project adviser. That is a 2-unit class focused on the research end of my project.
I'm also signed up for Dr. Christina Firpo's History of Prostitution 4-unit class (History 421) which will double-count for both my third of three required 400-level history classes and my third of three required non-European/non-U.S. history classes.
For nearly my entire time at Cal Poly I have been aware of wanted to take Nuclear Science & Society (Science & Math 335) given my interest in nuclear war and the growing specter of its threat returning as well as the fact the only operating nuclear power plant in California is located 45 minutes' drive from my house.
I could not sign up for so I must crash a Healthy Living (Kinesiology 250) 4-unit class required for my teaching credential. These courses add up to 14 units in total.
Spring 2016 Quarter Preview
The plan at present for my final quarter of undergrad work at Cal Poly is to take four final classes for 14 units just like I hope to have achieved the quarter previous.
I plan on taking Senior Project II (History 461) with Dr. Call which will also be 2 units but will focus on the writing end of my senior project. The finished paper should be about 30 pages long and in it I ask the question as to why there is such a prevalence of End-of-the-Age-themed movies and television shows and literary works
I'm also planning on taking Dr. Cameron Jones' Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East (History 214) 4-unit required course which I unsuccessfully crashed the first day of Winter 2015 quarter nearly a year ago.
To graduate I must take a writing-intensive English class and being the movie buff I am I have elected to sign up for Film Styles and Genres (English 371) in lieu of Film Directors (English 372) the other film-related English class which is even harder to get into from what I have heard. Both 4-unit classes are high-demand but at Cal Poly there is a special privilege afforded seniors in the quarter immediately preceding graduation to help speed them through. Needless to say, I shall not "check my privilege" to get into that class.
My last remaining course slot to fill will be filled with Historical, Philosophical, and Social Foundations of Public Education (Education 300) which is the second of two required 4-unit courses for me to complete before I can enroll in the teaching credential program.
My First Intership Offer
Last month I received an email from one of my history professors at Cuesta College (Dr. Christopher Nielson) in regards to a paid position at Cuesta College as an embedded tutor helping instructors in the classroom. I conveyed interest in this opportunity and await word back as to if there will be a scheduling conflict or not (I sure hope not).
Ixnay the M.A. (For Now)
Since last I shared here, I decided to apply for the Masters program in the history department at Cal Poly. That plan is on hold as it appears it is not feasible to be in a Masters program simultaneously with being in a teaching credential program. I still fully intend to get the Masters degree later on after I am securely in a teaching career. I want to do this both because I want to have a Masters since I won't be going for a PhD as that is too much time and money to start this late in life and, more importantly, I believe it is not God's will for me. A Masters degree is a nice compromise and consolation prize and it will get me paid more money as a teacher. Some have suggested it is better not to have the M.A. when applying for a teaching job anyway as school admins are looking to hire cheap.
Things I've Done OR Still Haven't Done At Cal Poly
For the second consecutive year I worked security (crowd control really) at the June 2015 Cal Poly Graduation. In 2014 it felt unreal that I would actually even be attending Cal Poly. This year it felt real, of course, but graduating still felt a long way off and perhaps a bit unreal. Now that I am about six months away from graduation and have all my remaining classes mapped out it feels a bit more real now. At this pace I will not be working the June 2016 Graduation at Cal Poly because rather I shall be IN the ceremony (with any luck at all).
This year I never did get around to volunteering to work on the Rose Parade Float as I had originally wanted to do when I first entered Cal Poly. It simply is not convenient to do such things when not living on-campus or nearby but rather living 30 miles up the highway from campus.
I did check to see if the on-campus Christian group was meeting when (11 a.m. on Thursday mornings) and where (northwest corner of Dexter Lawn) they claim to on their sandwich sign that is often visible in that part of campus.
I have also not yet used the free athletic club on campus which is one of the nicest in the state at any public school. I also haven't yet attended any athletic event or artistic event or academic event. I had planned on attending a couple of talks this Fall (one on the Cold War and one on the California Drought) but for various reasons neither worked out for me to attend,
I have managed to sans any effort on my part form a clique of friends/acquaintances with whom I hold court in a particular part of campus on a daily basis (second floor of Kennedy Library near Julian's).
No, I have not yet dated anybody I've met at Cal Poly (staff or student) but there is still time. Actually, I have not dated anybody since the night of Vine Street Victorian Christmas in Paso Robles in December 2012.
As previously revealed, I made the Dean's List last spring, but did not achieve that this fall quarter.
Something Else I Didn't Do But Instead Did Do
I have not managed to loose any weight this year (especially in the summer) as I did in 2014 when I lost 25 lbs. to go from 265 down to 240 lbs which I gained back my first quarter at Cal Poly. What I did manage to do this year is gain 25 lbs. placing me at a whopping 290 lbs., the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Although I am heavy I carry this weight fairly well and visually pass for being less albeit still overweight. However, this is not a good development in my life and will kill me eventually if I do not take corrective action. I do not exercise nearly enough. I do avoid processed foods and carbs to a reasonable degree, but I also eat for energy quite often and during times I am not exercising but rather studying. I also do not sleep right by being a night owl and often not getting enough hours of sleep per night. All of this contributes to my weight gain. This has become a battle for my life.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool L
Almost half a year (5-1/2 months) has transpired since I last posted one of these columns. For those of you who don't know it, the L in the title above is the Roman numeral for the number 50. This blog has picked up over 70,000 more visits and added 209 additional posts since last June 30th's Random Musings. During that time my monthly productivity never dropped below 30 posts per month whereas there were four months in the first half of this year which saw monthly post totals in the teens. July to August saw individual visits to this blog exceed 13,000 each month. This edition of Random Musings will be more Kim-centric than I'd like but I must get you all caught up on things with me since last I opined upon such things here.
Last week was finals week at Cal Poly. This is my first week of Christmas vacation which I am thoroughly enjoying. So what happened this just-ended quarter at Cal Poly? I took 15 units which is considered a bit heavy a course load for the first quarter of a transfer from a community college. What courses did I take?
I took a 2-unit History 100 (Introduction to the Study (and Practice) of History) with Dr. Kathleen Murphy. This class is a prerequisite for taking any additional history classes at Cal Poly as it teaches one the basics of how to study history. In this class I started my research on the Cal Poly Plane Crash which I intend to pursue further in my senior project and Master's thesis. In this class I earned an A-.
I took a 4-unit Spanish 103 (Elementary Spanish III) with Dr. Anthony Rector. I could have taken this course at Cuesta College but it would have required I go to the SLO campus four or five days a week which was a non-starter for me. Consequently, I had to take it at Cal Poly. It is a prerequisite for taking Spanish 201 which I am signed up for next quarter and is a terminal level Spanish class for me (meaning it is as high as I have to go to get a bachelor's degree). I struggled in this class as I do not have an aptitude for learning new languages and my 44 year-old mind is not at the stage of life where it is most apt to learn a new language. Also, I did not work as hard in this class as I could have or should have in hind-sight. In this class I earned a C.
I took a 5-unit History 303 (Research and Writing Seminar in History) with Dr. Christina Firpo. There were two versions of this course offered this past quarter. I took the one which sounded less interesting, to wit, "Race, Sex, and Orientalism in Colonial Southeast Asia." It was the one with available openings although the other version of the class with Dr. Trice sounded more interesting subject matter-wise, but was full. Dr. Firpo's class was the hardest class I have ever experienced and any grade in it (I feel) is equivalent to the next letter grade up if all other factors are considered equal. I also learned more in that class than in any other class I have ever experienced. Dr. Firpo forced me to become a better writer and added multiple additional facets to my writing ability for which I am forever indebted to her. That is true despite the fact I was miserable at times during the class as I was forced out of my comfort zone which was what I needed in order to get better. She also taught me some neat-o research tricks which will be useful to me. In this class I earned a B which feels like an A and I am proud of that B.
I took a 4-unit Geography 308 (Global Geography) with Dr. Peter Osterroth initially and down the stretch with Dr. Meg Streiff. This class started out slow and a bit weird as an over-the-hill and long-in-the-tooth German language instructor who happened to be a geography PhD from way back when filled in for the instructor who usually taught the class as she went on sabbatical. He also taught some sociology classes. As the quarter progressed he got more erratic and began to conflate the curriculae of his geography and sociology classes. Enough complaints filtered in that they shit-canned him mid-quarter and brought back the instructor who went on sabbatical. She rocked and geography clicked so much with me I have decided to make it my minor instead of political science. In this class I earned an easy A.
I ended the Fall 2014 quarter with a 3.093 GPA.
I had planned on joining the team of volunteers for the Rose Bowl Float this fall, but due to my time constraints with school and with work for Vino Vice, Inc. I could not make it work. I hope that next fall it will work out for me to volunteer for that project. I also did not make it to a single meeting of the on-campus Christian club this past quarter which met on the Dexter Lawn each Thursday morning at 11 a.m. I fully intend to start making these meetings when my schedule allows sometime next year. Winter 2015 quarter does not look promising, unfortunately, given my schedule. I did not date a Poly Dolly. Perhaps I'm too old for that sort of thing and given I am limiting myself to Christian ladies that may thoroughly eliminate any such possibility... which is fine with me if that is God's will.... but there's nothing wrong with wishing.
Last August I attended SOAR (Student Orientation And Registration) voluntarily, but did not attend WOW (Week of Welcome) last September. However, I just discovered via Twitter that starting next fall it will be mandatory for all incoming students to attend both. SOAR is an absolute must for any incoming student which makes this pronouncement a wise thing. However, I'm less certain about WOW. As a 44 year-old single guy I felt that my presence there might have held a creepy factor. I am old enough to be these nascent Polly Dolly's daddy and hanging out with new students and their parents didn't seem appetizing to a guy already slightly self-conscious of his age going back to school and for whom being a multi-decadal local made orientation less useful.
I have signed up for four classes worth 16 units in Winter 2015 quarter. I am enrolled in a 4-unit Spanish 201 (Intermediate Spanish I). I am on the waiting list for a 4-unit History 214 (Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East). I am enrolled in a 4-unit History 304 (Historiography) which is the next and final history prerequisite for me. It will study historical writing including historical theory such as those of Marx and Foucualt. I am also enrolled in a 4-unit History 322 (History of Modern America). If I don't get into History 214 I will still be doing 12 units in three challenging classes and a slight break might not be a bad thing for me.
Vino Vice changed hands as the founding owner Jim Davis sold it to my friend Geoff Auslen. This change will allow for continued growth of the business as is already being manifested. Before the change I seemed on track to become a supervisor and that seems to still be the case. Work for this company has been a convenient and invaluable augmentation to my student loans and grants and has offset the loss of my job with Rocks & Relics early last year.
Climatologists still haven't officially declared an El Niño as the atmosphere does not seem to yet agree with what the Pacific Ocean itself is suggesting about current state of ENSO. However, we are in a wet pattern the likes we have not seen since at least 2005, the last time we got a good El Niño soaking... although that was a weak El Niño like the current one if it even officially becomes one. Just to confuse things it is worth noting that 2009-2010 was a moderate El Niño rainy season, the last previous season for El Niño. No memorable rain patterns or singular storms occurred then such as we have been experiencing in recent weeks in California. Cleary, if we get a lot of rain or not is much more complex a dynamic than merely to El Niño, or not to El Niño.
*Note: I have many more things to discuss in this space but not the time to do it tonight. Hopefully I will post another Random Musings before the New Year.
Fall 2014 Cal Poly Quarter Synopsis
Last week was finals week at Cal Poly. This is my first week of Christmas vacation which I am thoroughly enjoying. So what happened this just-ended quarter at Cal Poly? I took 15 units which is considered a bit heavy a course load for the first quarter of a transfer from a community college. What courses did I take?
I took a 2-unit History 100 (Introduction to the Study (and Practice) of History) with Dr. Kathleen Murphy. This class is a prerequisite for taking any additional history classes at Cal Poly as it teaches one the basics of how to study history. In this class I started my research on the Cal Poly Plane Crash which I intend to pursue further in my senior project and Master's thesis. In this class I earned an A-.
I took a 4-unit Spanish 103 (Elementary Spanish III) with Dr. Anthony Rector. I could have taken this course at Cuesta College but it would have required I go to the SLO campus four or five days a week which was a non-starter for me. Consequently, I had to take it at Cal Poly. It is a prerequisite for taking Spanish 201 which I am signed up for next quarter and is a terminal level Spanish class for me (meaning it is as high as I have to go to get a bachelor's degree). I struggled in this class as I do not have an aptitude for learning new languages and my 44 year-old mind is not at the stage of life where it is most apt to learn a new language. Also, I did not work as hard in this class as I could have or should have in hind-sight. In this class I earned a C.
I took a 5-unit History 303 (Research and Writing Seminar in History) with Dr. Christina Firpo. There were two versions of this course offered this past quarter. I took the one which sounded less interesting, to wit, "Race, Sex, and Orientalism in Colonial Southeast Asia." It was the one with available openings although the other version of the class with Dr. Trice sounded more interesting subject matter-wise, but was full. Dr. Firpo's class was the hardest class I have ever experienced and any grade in it (I feel) is equivalent to the next letter grade up if all other factors are considered equal. I also learned more in that class than in any other class I have ever experienced. Dr. Firpo forced me to become a better writer and added multiple additional facets to my writing ability for which I am forever indebted to her. That is true despite the fact I was miserable at times during the class as I was forced out of my comfort zone which was what I needed in order to get better. She also taught me some neat-o research tricks which will be useful to me. In this class I earned a B which feels like an A and I am proud of that B.
I took a 4-unit Geography 308 (Global Geography) with Dr. Peter Osterroth initially and down the stretch with Dr. Meg Streiff. This class started out slow and a bit weird as an over-the-hill and long-in-the-tooth German language instructor who happened to be a geography PhD from way back when filled in for the instructor who usually taught the class as she went on sabbatical. He also taught some sociology classes. As the quarter progressed he got more erratic and began to conflate the curriculae of his geography and sociology classes. Enough complaints filtered in that they shit-canned him mid-quarter and brought back the instructor who went on sabbatical. She rocked and geography clicked so much with me I have decided to make it my minor instead of political science. In this class I earned an easy A.
I ended the Fall 2014 quarter with a 3.093 GPA.
Things I Didn't Do At Cal Poly
I had planned on joining the team of volunteers for the Rose Bowl Float this fall, but due to my time constraints with school and with work for Vino Vice, Inc. I could not make it work. I hope that next fall it will work out for me to volunteer for that project. I also did not make it to a single meeting of the on-campus Christian club this past quarter which met on the Dexter Lawn each Thursday morning at 11 a.m. I fully intend to start making these meetings when my schedule allows sometime next year. Winter 2015 quarter does not look promising, unfortunately, given my schedule. I did not date a Poly Dolly. Perhaps I'm too old for that sort of thing and given I am limiting myself to Christian ladies that may thoroughly eliminate any such possibility... which is fine with me if that is God's will.... but there's nothing wrong with wishing.
I SOARed But Didn't WOW
Last August I attended SOAR (Student Orientation And Registration) voluntarily, but did not attend WOW (Week of Welcome) last September. However, I just discovered via Twitter that starting next fall it will be mandatory for all incoming students to attend both. SOAR is an absolute must for any incoming student which makes this pronouncement a wise thing. However, I'm less certain about WOW. As a 44 year-old single guy I felt that my presence there might have held a creepy factor. I am old enough to be these nascent Polly Dolly's daddy and hanging out with new students and their parents didn't seem appetizing to a guy already slightly self-conscious of his age going back to school and for whom being a multi-decadal local made orientation less useful.
What's Next For Me At Cal Poly
I have signed up for four classes worth 16 units in Winter 2015 quarter. I am enrolled in a 4-unit Spanish 201 (Intermediate Spanish I). I am on the waiting list for a 4-unit History 214 (Political Economy of Latin America and the Middle East). I am enrolled in a 4-unit History 304 (Historiography) which is the next and final history prerequisite for me. It will study historical writing including historical theory such as those of Marx and Foucualt. I am also enrolled in a 4-unit History 322 (History of Modern America). If I don't get into History 214 I will still be doing 12 units in three challenging classes and a slight break might not be a bad thing for me.
Big Changes at Vino Vice
Vino Vice changed hands as the founding owner Jim Davis sold it to my friend Geoff Auslen. This change will allow for continued growth of the business as is already being manifested. Before the change I seemed on track to become a supervisor and that seems to still be the case. Work for this company has been a convenient and invaluable augmentation to my student loans and grants and has offset the loss of my job with Rocks & Relics early last year.
El Niño Or Not, It's Raining Bunches
Climatologists still haven't officially declared an El Niño as the atmosphere does not seem to yet agree with what the Pacific Ocean itself is suggesting about current state of ENSO. However, we are in a wet pattern the likes we have not seen since at least 2005, the last time we got a good El Niño soaking... although that was a weak El Niño like the current one if it even officially becomes one. Just to confuse things it is worth noting that 2009-2010 was a moderate El Niño rainy season, the last previous season for El Niño. No memorable rain patterns or singular storms occurred then such as we have been experiencing in recent weeks in California. Cleary, if we get a lot of rain or not is much more complex a dynamic than merely to El Niño, or not to El Niño.
*Note: I have many more things to discuss in this space but not the time to do it tonight. Hopefully I will post another Random Musings before the New Year.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLIX
Here I am again after an all-too-long interval since I last checked in with you about my life and general observations. The previous interval was about 7-1/2 months which is way too long and the interval this time since the previous Random Musings posting is a few days short of 8 months. A great deal has transpired in that time and I will attempt to cover a decent amount of it here. I realize I keep promising to post this column more frequently so I won't even bother to make that promise and instead just do it. Oh snap, that means I just made the promise again, no?
Anywho, this blog has now reached nearly 386,000 distinct visits to 1,330 postings. Some of the postings on this blog have became internet favorites as people hit them frequently each and every day in some cases (like the ones about my late grandfather) and others relating to book reviews (get hit during academic quarters and semesters as students refer to my blog presumably for ideas and inspiration.
I gave Google Ads a try but not a single referral was generated here so they dropped me automatically after a few months. I do not regret making the attempt. Therefore it appears this blog shall remain un-monetized for the foreseeable future.
For a great many weeks so far this year I have fallen out of the habit of blogging every day and in one instance in the merry month of March a whole 18 days transpired between postings which saw the monthly total of distinct visits here drop under 9,000 for the first time since May 2011. This month which ends tonight will have my blog down to under 8,000 visits for the month as a result of my lack of posting new content.
Last time we talked about my doings at Cuesta College it was the Fall 2013 semester and I was whining about how hard MATH232 (college algebra ergo terminal level pre-calculus) was and how I nearly dropped the class but elected to gut it out. Well, I did that and eked out a C in the class to go with A's in History 204A (Western Civilization Semester A) and Biology 220 (Environmental Biology).
Last month I completed my final semester (Spring 2014) at Cuesta College. I took and successfully completed 12 units with six of those being in two 3-unit classes at the North County Campus in Paso Robles, CA, (History 204B (Western Civilization Semester B) and English 231 (Creative Writing)).
I also bit the bullet and took two 3-unit classes at the main campus in San Luis Obispo (Political Science 206 (Comparative Government) and Sociology 201 (Intro to Sociology)), something I had successfully avoided heretofore since coming back to school in the Fall 2010 Semester.
I had worried about gas consumption and wear and tear on my care and even time lost in-commute as I headed into the semester which things had also discouraged me from taking Main Campus courses previously since 2010. As it turns out I worried for nothing as most of the semester I commuted down and took the public bus home. Before the carpool developed with a returning student two of my classes (he is even older than I am) I had been taking the bus down to class as well. For the first few weeks I did drive my own car until car trouble forced me to look to alternatives and once the car was fixed I never took it down and back again until the very last day of finals last week when I needed to drive directly to work at Santa Margarita Ranch immediately after my last final at Cuesta College.
As for grades... drum-roll... I achieved straight A's in those four classes, a first for me on a single report card in my college career (not the straight A's part but rather having four A's as opposed to three A's or two A's). Next up, I await word as to if I was awarded the two degrees to which I previously applied and have qualified for per every counselor I talked to heretofore. Last year I qualified to earn an Associate of Arts degree in Social & Behavior Sciences but made a rookie mistake filling out the form for it despite walking at graduation. This year I earned the units necessary to qualify for an A.A. in History and hope in the coming weeks I am mailed my two diplomas.
Along the way I completed units I had told Cal Poly I was taking this semester when I applied there last November 30th in order to be accepted there for the Fall 2014 Quarter. That brings me to the next topic: my plot to get into Cal Poly.
Last year for the second year in a row I applied to California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and to my surprise both times was accepted. I feared my declining their offer last year would hurt me if I attempted it again which was unfounded, quite fortunately. As it turns out, I found out that my original conditional acceptance to Cal Poly was contingent upon my having a 200-level math class which I did not and at the time I thought I had slipped through the cracks. Subsequently, I learned that had I not declined my original conditional acceptance they would have withdrawn it anyway over that mathmatical detail so it did not matter in the end that I declined initial acceptance.
I applied again and was accepted again but this time I had not only completed MATH 232 but enough additional units to make my application even more weighty and got more units out of the way cheaper at Cuesta College. In fact, I played chicken with the system and stayed at Cuesta College getting so many units out of the way that I came close to the boundary of not being accepted to Cal Poly for having too many units under my belt since they want me to take a certain minimum number of units with them en route to a degree with them. In any case I am currently headed for Cal Poly this September and will receive a generous financial aid package of both grants and low interest (3.86%) and non-interest loans.
My hope is that I may be able to live off of all that and what I make at Vino Vice and working general labor for my clients all the while continuing to live in Paso Robles. If any or all of that does not work out in conjunction with attending Cal Poly then I shall make necessary adjustments such as moving to San Luis Obispo and/or finding more work.
In the past month I have sent Cal Poly my final Cuesta College transcript showing those four A's and just today I RSVP'd and paid for SOAR (Summer Orientation And Registration) in August in which I shall be debriefed on all the minutia I shall need to know heading into the Fall quarter of this year. At that time I shall also enroll in classes based upon the counsel of my department faculty.
I began working security for this company 13 months ago starting at the bottom and working much of last year sans a guard card which often relegated me to parking duties but not always so. As I last reported in this column, I acquired my guard card late last year. Since that previous report I have worked my way up in the company in both seniority (turnover seems high given how many guards are looking for full-time work elsewhere and this is a strictly event-specific company meaning part-time work) as well as respect from my boss and co-workers. There is consistent talk of my becoming a supervisor at some point in the not-too-distant future. I choose not to think about that too much in case it does not happen and because it is of no relevance unless and until it happens. In any case, given how the path of my journey in life has meandered it is a pleasant feeling starting at the bottom of something and working my up by virtue of grit and determination and devotion.
As we all are well aware there are some rather potent stereotypes of the rich as being prone to conspicuous consumption and acting overbearing and elitist with those beneath them in the socio-economic food chain. There are those sorts of people out there amongst the rich who act like that. However, I have found while working security for Vino Vice, Inc. at what now feels like a myriad of events featuring elite Americans at play at weddings and winery events not one iota of that to be quite honest. Most of these people have been rather quite decent and not merely because they are getting their way but even when things have not been going their way in various sorts of minor crisis like being stuck in the mud and such. I have always been treated with decency and respect and in times of near hyperthermia and dehydration or hypothermia and being soaked like a dog I have received unsolicited care and concern from such people in regards to my well-being and likewise when I have appeared to be left all alone out in the dark while they are at play. Some might suggest that is a quirk of the local rich here on the Central Coast but so many of these people I have encountered have been visiting from outside the area. This trend seems to be endemic of the local vineyard and winery people as reinforced yet again at work this past weekend but also part of a larger trend that flies in the face of old stereotypes and class warfare rhetoric.
Last Saturday evening I worked a wine pickup party at Record Family Wine's Paso de Record Vineyard out east of San Miguel with my buddy Mike. From start to finish and in between the Record Family treated us with decency and kindness and respect both with words and in their actions culminating in feeding us and sending us home with bottles of of their red table wine, "Randy's Red". Mike and I agreed that was the best feeling of any gig we have worked since starting this job and that is high praise because we have often left a job with a great feeling from the place and its people. I'm hoarding that bottle for now but will share here what I think of it when I do get around to trying it.
Currently in my church home group I am leading reading and analysis of C.S. Lewis' classic "Mere Christianity". I profoundly love it to my surprise. I tend to hate religious books which I thought this was. Actually, it is collection of radio programs that were an appeal to non-believers utilizing logic in the tradition of ancient Greek logic and debate and rhetoric. I enjoy his intellectual approach. The spiritual elements to God and Christianity are so deeply rooted that it is hard for me to talk about them viscerally to unbelievers who are dead on many of the levels I am alive and their frame of reference and mine are so different I sometimes despair to know how to approach them when discussing these matters. "Mere Christianity" addresses this very matter this very way.
I realize I have not talked much about my relationship with God thus far this year (maybe not at all) nor much down the stretch last year. The same goes for my once and former and yet future column "Scripture of the Day". You will see it again soon! I have not lapsed in my relationship with God and continue to grow but chronic sloppiness in time management generally and specifically in regards to setting time aside each just for me and my Creator to commune both in prayer and in reading Scripture has led to some stunted growth issues. However, that is not to say I have not been growing and moving forward within God's plan and generally getting closer to him even if at times it has been an ugly and asymmetrical process to watch.
This past April 15th I turned 44. It feels strange now being over five years older than my father lived to be. BTW, I can assure you 44 is the new 24. Just sayin'.
I have begun to hear my peers refer to themselves (and worse yet, ME) as "middle aged". What dolts! Everybody knows middle age begins at 50... oh fuck, that is in six years. Nevermind! I'm depressed.
....my celibacy. I was not cut out for it... tis not a gift God gave me. My life has been one giant white knuckle experiment in celibate terror. If at any time you find me grumpy and abrasive now you know why. Of course, I don't exactly plan to go out and fornicate because the only thing that would make me feel worse than my ongoing self-imposed squandering of my sexual vitality would be to have unwholesome and unmeaningful sex with someone I am not madly in love AND lust with and with whom God does not approve I be with both generally and physically. That being said, although I don't have pending egg expiration issues like my lady friends my age, I do really, really wish to enjoy sex while everything still optimally works and I don't know how much longer that will be the case. Whatever! Thanks for bearing with me while I got that TMI off my chest.
As some of you well know, I can be a real pain in the neck online when people are speaking or acting stupid. Just today I got accused of being a troll by some social conservatives who not once addressed the substance of anything I said... but at least they did not block me or unfriend me or report me. I generally don't suffer fools gladly.... well, except my own self quite obviously. I have noted that in very general terms with the understanding there are plenty of exceptions, that a great many Conservatives are pig-headed and stubborn not to mention more likely to be less-educated than their smarty and smug Liberal counterparts. Conservatives seem more prone to arguing to the bitter end even when they are dead wrong and getting exposed as such. However, with that being said, I have also noted a rather quite distinctive behavioral trend and cultural personality trait in Liberals: they are complete pussies! I am losing track of how many of them have unfriended me on Facebook or blocked me on Twitter or banned me from their Yahoo Group or their sub-reddit on Reddit. At least Conservatives, for all their flaws, will face you and take their lickings instead of taking their ball and going home like petulant children.
There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the ongoing evolving El Nino Southern Oscillation condition in the Pacific Ocean. It has great promise and at times this past spring looked even more potent (to an ominous degree) than the 1997 event at the same time of year. That being said, we are in the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and when that goes on El Ninos are less frequent and less potent than in the positive phase of same. The 1990's was during the positive phase and we all remember all the El Nino winters of 1991-1993 and the infamous El Nino of 1997-1998. By 2009 we were in the negative phase of the PDO and guess what happend to the El Nino that year? It got gobbled up by the PDO and nothing noteworthy happened precipitation-wise in California that Winter. That is not to say this El Nino will suffer a similar fate but it does mean we should not count our chicken before they hatch in regards to the precipitation possibilities this coming rain season.
The Santa Lucia Rockhound's show committee voted tonight to move our 24th Annual Rockhounds Roundup show (of which I am it's chairman/director) from the Pioneer Park and adjacent Pioneer Museum (where it was held the previous 23 years) up the street to the Mid-State Fairgrounds. This has set in motion a great number of tasks for me as planning for his change will begin in the morning when I meet our club president at the fairgrounds to discuss our options with the fairground management.
Anywho, this blog has now reached nearly 386,000 distinct visits to 1,330 postings. Some of the postings on this blog have became internet favorites as people hit them frequently each and every day in some cases (like the ones about my late grandfather) and others relating to book reviews (get hit during academic quarters and semesters as students refer to my blog presumably for ideas and inspiration.
I gave Google Ads a try but not a single referral was generated here so they dropped me automatically after a few months. I do not regret making the attempt. Therefore it appears this blog shall remain un-monetized for the foreseeable future.
For a great many weeks so far this year I have fallen out of the habit of blogging every day and in one instance in the merry month of March a whole 18 days transpired between postings which saw the monthly total of distinct visits here drop under 9,000 for the first time since May 2011. This month which ends tonight will have my blog down to under 8,000 visits for the month as a result of my lack of posting new content.
Cuesta Career Past
Last time we talked about my doings at Cuesta College it was the Fall 2013 semester and I was whining about how hard MATH232 (college algebra ergo terminal level pre-calculus) was and how I nearly dropped the class but elected to gut it out. Well, I did that and eked out a C in the class to go with A's in History 204A (Western Civilization Semester A) and Biology 220 (Environmental Biology).
Cuesta College Career Concluded
Last month I completed my final semester (Spring 2014) at Cuesta College. I took and successfully completed 12 units with six of those being in two 3-unit classes at the North County Campus in Paso Robles, CA, (History 204B (Western Civilization Semester B) and English 231 (Creative Writing)).
I also bit the bullet and took two 3-unit classes at the main campus in San Luis Obispo (Political Science 206 (Comparative Government) and Sociology 201 (Intro to Sociology)), something I had successfully avoided heretofore since coming back to school in the Fall 2010 Semester.
I had worried about gas consumption and wear and tear on my care and even time lost in-commute as I headed into the semester which things had also discouraged me from taking Main Campus courses previously since 2010. As it turns out I worried for nothing as most of the semester I commuted down and took the public bus home. Before the carpool developed with a returning student two of my classes (he is even older than I am) I had been taking the bus down to class as well. For the first few weeks I did drive my own car until car trouble forced me to look to alternatives and once the car was fixed I never took it down and back again until the very last day of finals last week when I needed to drive directly to work at Santa Margarita Ranch immediately after my last final at Cuesta College.
As for grades... drum-roll... I achieved straight A's in those four classes, a first for me on a single report card in my college career (not the straight A's part but rather having four A's as opposed to three A's or two A's). Next up, I await word as to if I was awarded the two degrees to which I previously applied and have qualified for per every counselor I talked to heretofore. Last year I qualified to earn an Associate of Arts degree in Social & Behavior Sciences but made a rookie mistake filling out the form for it despite walking at graduation. This year I earned the units necessary to qualify for an A.A. in History and hope in the coming weeks I am mailed my two diplomas.
Along the way I completed units I had told Cal Poly I was taking this semester when I applied there last November 30th in order to be accepted there for the Fall 2014 Quarter. That brings me to the next topic: my plot to get into Cal Poly.
I Am Officially A Mustang!
Last year for the second year in a row I applied to California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and to my surprise both times was accepted. I feared my declining their offer last year would hurt me if I attempted it again which was unfounded, quite fortunately. As it turns out, I found out that my original conditional acceptance to Cal Poly was contingent upon my having a 200-level math class which I did not and at the time I thought I had slipped through the cracks. Subsequently, I learned that had I not declined my original conditional acceptance they would have withdrawn it anyway over that mathmatical detail so it did not matter in the end that I declined initial acceptance.
I applied again and was accepted again but this time I had not only completed MATH 232 but enough additional units to make my application even more weighty and got more units out of the way cheaper at Cuesta College. In fact, I played chicken with the system and stayed at Cuesta College getting so many units out of the way that I came close to the boundary of not being accepted to Cal Poly for having too many units under my belt since they want me to take a certain minimum number of units with them en route to a degree with them. In any case I am currently headed for Cal Poly this September and will receive a generous financial aid package of both grants and low interest (3.86%) and non-interest loans.
My hope is that I may be able to live off of all that and what I make at Vino Vice and working general labor for my clients all the while continuing to live in Paso Robles. If any or all of that does not work out in conjunction with attending Cal Poly then I shall make necessary adjustments such as moving to San Luis Obispo and/or finding more work.
In the past month I have sent Cal Poly my final Cuesta College transcript showing those four A's and just today I RSVP'd and paid for SOAR (Summer Orientation And Registration) in August in which I shall be debriefed on all the minutia I shall need to know heading into the Fall quarter of this year. At that time I shall also enroll in classes based upon the counsel of my department faculty.
On The Vino Vice Front
I began working security for this company 13 months ago starting at the bottom and working much of last year sans a guard card which often relegated me to parking duties but not always so. As I last reported in this column, I acquired my guard card late last year. Since that previous report I have worked my way up in the company in both seniority (turnover seems high given how many guards are looking for full-time work elsewhere and this is a strictly event-specific company meaning part-time work) as well as respect from my boss and co-workers. There is consistent talk of my becoming a supervisor at some point in the not-too-distant future. I choose not to think about that too much in case it does not happen and because it is of no relevance unless and until it happens. In any case, given how the path of my journey in life has meandered it is a pleasant feeling starting at the bottom of something and working my up by virtue of grit and determination and devotion.
A Wealthy Observation
As we all are well aware there are some rather potent stereotypes of the rich as being prone to conspicuous consumption and acting overbearing and elitist with those beneath them in the socio-economic food chain. There are those sorts of people out there amongst the rich who act like that. However, I have found while working security for Vino Vice, Inc. at what now feels like a myriad of events featuring elite Americans at play at weddings and winery events not one iota of that to be quite honest. Most of these people have been rather quite decent and not merely because they are getting their way but even when things have not been going their way in various sorts of minor crisis like being stuck in the mud and such. I have always been treated with decency and respect and in times of near hyperthermia and dehydration or hypothermia and being soaked like a dog I have received unsolicited care and concern from such people in regards to my well-being and likewise when I have appeared to be left all alone out in the dark while they are at play. Some might suggest that is a quirk of the local rich here on the Central Coast but so many of these people I have encountered have been visiting from outside the area. This trend seems to be endemic of the local vineyard and winery people as reinforced yet again at work this past weekend but also part of a larger trend that flies in the face of old stereotypes and class warfare rhetoric.
For The Record Family
Last Saturday evening I worked a wine pickup party at Record Family Wine's Paso de Record Vineyard out east of San Miguel with my buddy Mike. From start to finish and in between the Record Family treated us with decency and kindness and respect both with words and in their actions culminating in feeding us and sending us home with bottles of of their red table wine, "Randy's Red". Mike and I agreed that was the best feeling of any gig we have worked since starting this job and that is high praise because we have often left a job with a great feeling from the place and its people. I'm hoarding that bottle for now but will share here what I think of it when I do get around to trying it.
Mere Christianity
Currently in my church home group I am leading reading and analysis of C.S. Lewis' classic "Mere Christianity". I profoundly love it to my surprise. I tend to hate religious books which I thought this was. Actually, it is collection of radio programs that were an appeal to non-believers utilizing logic in the tradition of ancient Greek logic and debate and rhetoric. I enjoy his intellectual approach. The spiritual elements to God and Christianity are so deeply rooted that it is hard for me to talk about them viscerally to unbelievers who are dead on many of the levels I am alive and their frame of reference and mine are so different I sometimes despair to know how to approach them when discussing these matters. "Mere Christianity" addresses this very matter this very way.
Speaking of God And All That
I realize I have not talked much about my relationship with God thus far this year (maybe not at all) nor much down the stretch last year. The same goes for my once and former and yet future column "Scripture of the Day". You will see it again soon! I have not lapsed in my relationship with God and continue to grow but chronic sloppiness in time management generally and specifically in regards to setting time aside each just for me and my Creator to commune both in prayer and in reading Scripture has led to some stunted growth issues. However, that is not to say I have not been growing and moving forward within God's plan and generally getting closer to him even if at times it has been an ugly and asymmetrical process to watch.
Older Than Dad Ever Was
This past April 15th I turned 44. It feels strange now being over five years older than my father lived to be. BTW, I can assure you 44 is the new 24. Just sayin'.
Oh the Horror!
I have begun to hear my peers refer to themselves (and worse yet, ME) as "middle aged". What dolts! Everybody knows middle age begins at 50... oh fuck, that is in six years. Nevermind! I'm depressed.
Something I'm Sick Of...
....my celibacy. I was not cut out for it... tis not a gift God gave me. My life has been one giant white knuckle experiment in celibate terror. If at any time you find me grumpy and abrasive now you know why. Of course, I don't exactly plan to go out and fornicate because the only thing that would make me feel worse than my ongoing self-imposed squandering of my sexual vitality would be to have unwholesome and unmeaningful sex with someone I am not madly in love AND lust with and with whom God does not approve I be with both generally and physically. That being said, although I don't have pending egg expiration issues like my lady friends my age, I do really, really wish to enjoy sex while everything still optimally works and I don't know how much longer that will be the case. Whatever! Thanks for bearing with me while I got that TMI off my chest.
Personality Patterns In Conservatives & Liberals
As some of you well know, I can be a real pain in the neck online when people are speaking or acting stupid. Just today I got accused of being a troll by some social conservatives who not once addressed the substance of anything I said... but at least they did not block me or unfriend me or report me. I generally don't suffer fools gladly.... well, except my own self quite obviously. I have noted that in very general terms with the understanding there are plenty of exceptions, that a great many Conservatives are pig-headed and stubborn not to mention more likely to be less-educated than their smarty and smug Liberal counterparts. Conservatives seem more prone to arguing to the bitter end even when they are dead wrong and getting exposed as such. However, with that being said, I have also noted a rather quite distinctive behavioral trend and cultural personality trait in Liberals: they are complete pussies! I am losing track of how many of them have unfriended me on Facebook or blocked me on Twitter or banned me from their Yahoo Group or their sub-reddit on Reddit. At least Conservatives, for all their flaws, will face you and take their lickings instead of taking their ball and going home like petulant children.
Don't Assume A Rainy Winter
There has been a lot of talk in recent months about the ongoing evolving El Nino Southern Oscillation condition in the Pacific Ocean. It has great promise and at times this past spring looked even more potent (to an ominous degree) than the 1997 event at the same time of year. That being said, we are in the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and when that goes on El Ninos are less frequent and less potent than in the positive phase of same. The 1990's was during the positive phase and we all remember all the El Nino winters of 1991-1993 and the infamous El Nino of 1997-1998. By 2009 we were in the negative phase of the PDO and guess what happend to the El Nino that year? It got gobbled up by the PDO and nothing noteworthy happened precipitation-wise in California that Winter. That is not to say this El Nino will suffer a similar fate but it does mean we should not count our chicken before they hatch in regards to the precipitation possibilities this coming rain season.
Rockhounds Roundup Is Moving!
The Santa Lucia Rockhound's show committee voted tonight to move our 24th Annual Rockhounds Roundup show (of which I am it's chairman/director) from the Pioneer Park and adjacent Pioneer Museum (where it was held the previous 23 years) up the street to the Mid-State Fairgrounds. This has set in motion a great number of tasks for me as planning for his change will begin in the morning when I meet our club president at the fairgrounds to discuss our options with the fairground management.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLVIII
Well here we are again: another long over-due Random Musings column as in it has been seven months since my last one here to get you all up to speed on my prosaic little life. By the way: this blog has now received over 298,000 distinct visits. I thank everybody who takes the time to read this blog regardless if they do it randomly one time only or with any semblance of regularity. It is my desire in the future to move it to a different blog-hosting service and start generating ad revenue. It seems fair to get a little remuneration out of my time and effort invested in this blog. I have much upon which to comment but this go-around of this column will be more Kim-focused than I like simply as a practical matter of getting you all caught up on my particulars. Next time will be soon I hope and I have much upon which to opine about not relating to me directly. I actually don't enjoy talking about myself.
Since we last talked I earned enough general education credits to earn an Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences degree at Cuesta College. However, when filling out the application papers to receive it I erred. I was not walked through the process by anybody and had never done it before contributing in my error. By checking the wrong box on a form I did not receive that degree but will do so this coming May. At that time I should pick up a second degree, to wit, an Associate of Arts in History. In the next month I am going to reapply to Cal Poly and see if God really wants me there or not. As you may or may not recall I applied a year ago and was accepted. I did not take Cal Poly up on their offer due to some important logistical issues such as housing and commuting and a desire to pick up additional units less expensively at Cuesta before making the big leap. More importantly, I knew in my bones that God did not want me to make that jump quite yet for whatever reason(s). By next summer there is a strong possibility I will be able to move into my mother's house in Atascadero cutting the commute to Cal Poly in half and cutting down on my housing costs tremendously from where they are now which is already incredibly low for what I'm getting due to the generosity of a dear friend. I've known this friend since junior high school and he is paying forward to me a good deed done him by a long-time friend of his who helped him out during his own transition from being stuck to moving forward. Anywho, I might also apply to Fresno State and UCSB as well just for kicks and see what happens. However, if I do not get into Cal Poly this time around it has occurred to me to perhaps get more heavily employed and take a one-year break from school and then reapply to Cal Poly a year from now. I would need to take that before my Creator and inquire as to His will in this matter.
I am currently struggling in my college algebra course this semester. I recently achieved my first ever "F" on a test in any subject my entire life from Kindergarten onwards to the present. This happened even after working hard to be prepared for the class as well as consistently working hard in the math lab on my homework. I must confess that over the past several semesters I have been attending Cuesta College either part-time or full-time I have been largely skating along on accumulated smarts and natural talent and not investing the sort of time and effort and focus that is necessary to be successful at the university level. Doing that the past three semesters earned me an A-, and two B's in classes (MATH07 / MATH123 / MATH127, respectively) that were largely refreshers courses for me. However, this semester I'm in MATH232 which is called "College Algebra" but is essentially Pre-Calculus sans a few concepts that would be broached in this class if it were for students planning to go on up the ladder and take more math (in which case it would be MATH242 and be five units). However, this class is a terminus math class for those of us for whom only one three-unit 200-level math course is required to graduate and/or transfer as is the case with me. I have long been haunted by the theme of those in a struggle or conflict whom encounter great setback but lacking the adequate nerve to succeed fail to knuckle down and hang in there and see things through to the brutal end. Most poignantly stuck in my mind as a sterling example of this is the premature panic and errant suicide of Cassius in the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E. when he erroneously heard that Brutus' army had been defeated (when in fact Brutus had soundly defeated Octavian in their first engagement). Cassius' jumping the gun then caused his army and Brutus' in combination to be defeated once and for all. We see this concept repeated time and again in usually less-climactic and realm-changing circumstances all the time. I nearly did that myself in withdrawing from this math class and retaking in the Spring. I'm glad I did not as mom pointed out the folly of it in concept and in practical matters I realized that by simply working harder and doing better on the remaining three unit tests plus the final I can bring my average from three test scores (70, 63, and 47) up. Not only that, but with perfect attendance (which I'm on track for) my instructor will add 20 points and she takes our worst unit test score and replaces it with our score on our cumulative course final if it is superior. By being able to state truthfully that I'm in a 200-level math class when I apply to Cal Poly this month my case will look stronger, too.
I am now officially a licensed security guard employed by Vino Vice, Inc., having passed the mandatory minimum initial eight-hour online no-fail course and submitted my Livescan with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and submitted an application to the California Bureau of Security and Investigation Services (BSIS) which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. I must now complete online another 16 hours of online instruction in less than a month's time and another 16 hours of online instruction in the next six months in order for my license to be more than merely provisional as it is now. This curriculum is broken up into modules which makes it easier and it also is all non-fail. This weekend I will be working an event (a release party) at Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles, CA, on Saturday and "Giddy Up Round Up" Family Fun Day at Santa Margarita Ranch this Sunday. A week from this Saturday I shall be working perhaps the last public event ever at Windfall Farms (the old Cardiff Stud Farms out in Creston, CA, formerly owned by Alex Trabek of "Jeopardy" fame), to wit, the Garagiste Festival. The corporate owners of the property don't care to do many if any events there in the future as they move in another direction with the property from how it has been managed in its recent history. Soon, however, events will quiet down for the Winter and work will dry up until the Spring so I hope to catch some season work this coming Holiday season.
In the morning I'll be attending the first ever meeting of the North San Luis Obispo County CERT. I'll have to leave early to go work but I hope to catch the first 45 minutes of it and then attend the make-up meeting for those who could not make this one. I plan to join the team having already passed the basic CERT course offered by the North San Luis Obispo County CERT program. At the morrow's meeting I also plan to inquire as to the next CPR & First Aid class offered locally so I can renew my certifications which expired last May. I'm already certified for Mental Health First Aid as of last April as I shared here previously as well.
They hired me last spring as you might or might not recall from my initial report. It turns out they intentionally over-hired initially and then simply called a select group out of the total to come work and blew off the rest of us. That is not how I do business nor anything with which I wish to be associated. I'm not willing to ingratiate myself in order to work AFTER I've already been hired nor, for that matter, at all ever under any circumstances. Either hire me or don't hire me but don't jerk me around! I consider working at a venue like Vina Robles an honor and privilege. I likewise feel that it is an honor and privilege for such a place to employ me. It is up to them to see my potential and exploit it to their benefit... or not. Given how a typical concert there means about six hours (max) per concert at starting pay of $8/hour and be jerked around as to if I'm actually employed there versus working with honor and respect and for a longer annual season with starting pay of $11.50/hour at VinoVice with many more hours at stake plus sometimes overtime guess where my loyalty lays? Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the very brief experience I had there and feel honored to have worked the first ever concert there.
Today my late father, James Gordon Noyes, would have turned 67, but instead died later this month 28 years ago at age 39 and nearly one month. I'm now over 43 and six months of age so I'm in a strange place as I realize dad was never my current age. He is now eternal and immortal and beyond sin and suffering and has avoided all the shit that I have plowed through since his ascension that cold, dark, damp, foggy late November morning early my freshman year of high school. God took him away and I know why which is more than most people take away from such a tragic event. I count myself blessed in this regard. God has used that happenstance and what followed to shape me into the thing He has planned for me to become which metamorphosis is still underway.
This year has been spiritually challenging for me and most of that has been self-inflicted. Simply put, I have not been in God's Word this year to the degree I have been in the past and need to be all the time. My schedule is busy and I tend to rush out of bed and get into my day without setting time aside for God to give to prayer and reading scripture in putting on the armor that will sustain me. It's all about tithing time not just money and making God a priority in this respect and I continue to struggle in this regard. I am a creature of habit which can be to my benefit or my bane. The dearth of "Scripture of the Day" postings here lately directly correlates with this phenomenon. That being said, I have been growing in Christ nonetheless and moving along spiritually, but perhaps not as quickly as if I'd had my nose in the Word every day along the way. I choose to change that. That is my power. All of that refers to my private relationship with God or rather "vertical" worship. My relationship with God through fellow believers or rather "horizonal" worship is doing better than ever after my 20-year hiatus from attending church and being involved with other believers. I continue to worship regularly at North County Christian Fellowship as that is where God has assigned me for now and I am content to be there. A Thursday evening "home group" from that church is my adopted spiritual family. I am also now lately visiting a second bible study group Thursday evenings that is populated by Paso Robles Bible Church members which church I have attended off and on over the past few years.
My wonderful mother Lynda seems to be moving forward in her life and big things seem to be on the near horizon for her which are rather momentous and exciting. She is a private person so I won't divulge much but for what I am willing to share stay tuned! My Grandma Noyes is also doing quite well, but must ambulate with a walker which is a relatively new development. She is thriving in her post-married life and she and I have never gotten along better than now following many troubled years in our relationship both during and after the demise of Grandpa Noyes. Grandma and I love each other as always but now we like each other as well. Her husband was in my estimation a wicked man with a religious facade but no reality of Christ within him. He failed to lead our family and caused me much pain and hurt over the course of my life. I know his son (up until his death) felt that way to the point of tears. Forgiving him has been a spiritual battle for me. Since Grandpa Noyes shed this mortal coil his wife has thrived as I never could have imagined. This follows the pattern her mother followed who after marrying an unsatisfactory man in like manner then thrived following his demise. My brother Andrew continues to live in work in Flagstaff, Arizona. We hardly ever talk as he desires no relationship with either me or his mother. The loss is his as I have formed my own new family. Who says you can't pick your family?
A former untermensch roommate of mine from the late 2000's period of my life recently revealed to me the degree to which my ex-girlfriend blabbed very private details of our relationship with people who were even enemies. The same ex-girlfriend also made patently false accusations to a mutual friend regarding my character back nearer the time of the break-up (breakup was in 2009 and the ugliness came out of the blue in 2010). Given that I at no time during or since our breakup disparaged her behind her back to anyone or murdered her reputation in any way, shape, or form as she has done me it seems terribly cruel and unfair a development which it is. However, that merely revealed to me the true nature of the person in question whom I never really knew as well as I believed at the time (nor she, me, I suppose). I hope she is doing much better these days and is not now the same essential person who did those things a few years ago just as I am no longer the same person I once was who at times failed on my part in our relationship causing her hurt. However, from the get-go I took ownership of that shit and fell on my sword in and around the time of the breakup. Unfortunately, there has never been any reciprocity in this respect.
The aforementioned untermensch who shall go unnamed here as he does not deserve to be mentioned continues to stalk this blog (and perhaps beyond that). He periodically trolls in the comments section of specific postings. It was obvious back in the day from fairly early when I lived with him that he had absolutely no class nor character. He manner was so piss-poor that he caused me to start suspecting he is some sort of sociopathic individual. His actions since continue to confirm that suspicion. Someday he will die alone and nobody will care, least of all me. It sucks to be him.
At the recent Cayucos Gem & Mineral Show at which I am one of the organizers and was in attendance part of the weekend I inevitably ran into my old boss/former friend with whom I had a falling out earlier this year as I shared on this blog (I'm intentionally not providing links to the postings but you can find them if you really wish to read them). The whole saga is rather sad and actually quite egregious. Anywho, he and I exchanged strained pleasantries and platitudes but that was it. He was too proud and stubborn and selfish to reach out and make any attempt to heal the rift. He, too, will die alone someday and that will be fully on him. He betrayed our friendship and the supposedly inviolable trust that bound it. He is like that you know. So many people get stuck in their own lives and don't even know it. God showed grace on me and delivered me from myself in this regard.
Education Update
Since we last talked I earned enough general education credits to earn an Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences degree at Cuesta College. However, when filling out the application papers to receive it I erred. I was not walked through the process by anybody and had never done it before contributing in my error. By checking the wrong box on a form I did not receive that degree but will do so this coming May. At that time I should pick up a second degree, to wit, an Associate of Arts in History. In the next month I am going to reapply to Cal Poly and see if God really wants me there or not. As you may or may not recall I applied a year ago and was accepted. I did not take Cal Poly up on their offer due to some important logistical issues such as housing and commuting and a desire to pick up additional units less expensively at Cuesta before making the big leap. More importantly, I knew in my bones that God did not want me to make that jump quite yet for whatever reason(s). By next summer there is a strong possibility I will be able to move into my mother's house in Atascadero cutting the commute to Cal Poly in half and cutting down on my housing costs tremendously from where they are now which is already incredibly low for what I'm getting due to the generosity of a dear friend. I've known this friend since junior high school and he is paying forward to me a good deed done him by a long-time friend of his who helped him out during his own transition from being stuck to moving forward. Anywho, I might also apply to Fresno State and UCSB as well just for kicks and see what happens. However, if I do not get into Cal Poly this time around it has occurred to me to perhaps get more heavily employed and take a one-year break from school and then reapply to Cal Poly a year from now. I would need to take that before my Creator and inquire as to His will in this matter.
Lessons From Defeat
I am currently struggling in my college algebra course this semester. I recently achieved my first ever "F" on a test in any subject my entire life from Kindergarten onwards to the present. This happened even after working hard to be prepared for the class as well as consistently working hard in the math lab on my homework. I must confess that over the past several semesters I have been attending Cuesta College either part-time or full-time I have been largely skating along on accumulated smarts and natural talent and not investing the sort of time and effort and focus that is necessary to be successful at the university level. Doing that the past three semesters earned me an A-, and two B's in classes (MATH07 / MATH123 / MATH127, respectively) that were largely refreshers courses for me. However, this semester I'm in MATH232 which is called "College Algebra" but is essentially Pre-Calculus sans a few concepts that would be broached in this class if it were for students planning to go on up the ladder and take more math (in which case it would be MATH242 and be five units). However, this class is a terminus math class for those of us for whom only one three-unit 200-level math course is required to graduate and/or transfer as is the case with me. I have long been haunted by the theme of those in a struggle or conflict whom encounter great setback but lacking the adequate nerve to succeed fail to knuckle down and hang in there and see things through to the brutal end. Most poignantly stuck in my mind as a sterling example of this is the premature panic and errant suicide of Cassius in the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C.E. when he erroneously heard that Brutus' army had been defeated (when in fact Brutus had soundly defeated Octavian in their first engagement). Cassius' jumping the gun then caused his army and Brutus' in combination to be defeated once and for all. We see this concept repeated time and again in usually less-climactic and realm-changing circumstances all the time. I nearly did that myself in withdrawing from this math class and retaking in the Spring. I'm glad I did not as mom pointed out the folly of it in concept and in practical matters I realized that by simply working harder and doing better on the remaining three unit tests plus the final I can bring my average from three test scores (70, 63, and 47) up. Not only that, but with perfect attendance (which I'm on track for) my instructor will add 20 points and she takes our worst unit test score and replaces it with our score on our cumulative course final if it is superior. By being able to state truthfully that I'm in a 200-level math class when I apply to Cal Poly this month my case will look stronger, too.
Guard Carded
I am now officially a licensed security guard employed by Vino Vice, Inc., having passed the mandatory minimum initial eight-hour online no-fail course and submitted my Livescan with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and submitted an application to the California Bureau of Security and Investigation Services (BSIS) which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. I must now complete online another 16 hours of online instruction in less than a month's time and another 16 hours of online instruction in the next six months in order for my license to be more than merely provisional as it is now. This curriculum is broken up into modules which makes it easier and it also is all non-fail. This weekend I will be working an event (a release party) at Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles, CA, on Saturday and "Giddy Up Round Up" Family Fun Day at Santa Margarita Ranch this Sunday. A week from this Saturday I shall be working perhaps the last public event ever at Windfall Farms (the old Cardiff Stud Farms out in Creston, CA, formerly owned by Alex Trabek of "Jeopardy" fame), to wit, the Garagiste Festival. The corporate owners of the property don't care to do many if any events there in the future as they move in another direction with the property from how it has been managed in its recent history. Soon, however, events will quiet down for the Winter and work will dry up until the Spring so I hope to catch some season work this coming Holiday season.
CERT-ified
In the morning I'll be attending the first ever meeting of the North San Luis Obispo County CERT. I'll have to leave early to go work but I hope to catch the first 45 minutes of it and then attend the make-up meeting for those who could not make this one. I plan to join the team having already passed the basic CERT course offered by the North San Luis Obispo County CERT program. At the morrow's meeting I also plan to inquire as to the next CPR & First Aid class offered locally so I can renew my certifications which expired last May. I'm already certified for Mental Health First Aid as of last April as I shared here previously as well.
I'm Not Vina Robles After All
They hired me last spring as you might or might not recall from my initial report. It turns out they intentionally over-hired initially and then simply called a select group out of the total to come work and blew off the rest of us. That is not how I do business nor anything with which I wish to be associated. I'm not willing to ingratiate myself in order to work AFTER I've already been hired nor, for that matter, at all ever under any circumstances. Either hire me or don't hire me but don't jerk me around! I consider working at a venue like Vina Robles an honor and privilege. I likewise feel that it is an honor and privilege for such a place to employ me. It is up to them to see my potential and exploit it to their benefit... or not. Given how a typical concert there means about six hours (max) per concert at starting pay of $8/hour and be jerked around as to if I'm actually employed there versus working with honor and respect and for a longer annual season with starting pay of $11.50/hour at VinoVice with many more hours at stake plus sometimes overtime guess where my loyalty lays? Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the very brief experience I had there and feel honored to have worked the first ever concert there.
I'm Older Than Dad Ever Was
Today my late father, James Gordon Noyes, would have turned 67, but instead died later this month 28 years ago at age 39 and nearly one month. I'm now over 43 and six months of age so I'm in a strange place as I realize dad was never my current age. He is now eternal and immortal and beyond sin and suffering and has avoided all the shit that I have plowed through since his ascension that cold, dark, damp, foggy late November morning early my freshman year of high school. God took him away and I know why which is more than most people take away from such a tragic event. I count myself blessed in this regard. God has used that happenstance and what followed to shape me into the thing He has planned for me to become which metamorphosis is still underway.
My Walk Of Late
This year has been spiritually challenging for me and most of that has been self-inflicted. Simply put, I have not been in God's Word this year to the degree I have been in the past and need to be all the time. My schedule is busy and I tend to rush out of bed and get into my day without setting time aside for God to give to prayer and reading scripture in putting on the armor that will sustain me. It's all about tithing time not just money and making God a priority in this respect and I continue to struggle in this regard. I am a creature of habit which can be to my benefit or my bane. The dearth of "Scripture of the Day" postings here lately directly correlates with this phenomenon. That being said, I have been growing in Christ nonetheless and moving along spiritually, but perhaps not as quickly as if I'd had my nose in the Word every day along the way. I choose to change that. That is my power. All of that refers to my private relationship with God or rather "vertical" worship. My relationship with God through fellow believers or rather "horizonal" worship is doing better than ever after my 20-year hiatus from attending church and being involved with other believers. I continue to worship regularly at North County Christian Fellowship as that is where God has assigned me for now and I am content to be there. A Thursday evening "home group" from that church is my adopted spiritual family. I am also now lately visiting a second bible study group Thursday evenings that is populated by Paso Robles Bible Church members which church I have attended off and on over the past few years.
My Family
My wonderful mother Lynda seems to be moving forward in her life and big things seem to be on the near horizon for her which are rather momentous and exciting. She is a private person so I won't divulge much but for what I am willing to share stay tuned! My Grandma Noyes is also doing quite well, but must ambulate with a walker which is a relatively new development. She is thriving in her post-married life and she and I have never gotten along better than now following many troubled years in our relationship both during and after the demise of Grandpa Noyes. Grandma and I love each other as always but now we like each other as well. Her husband was in my estimation a wicked man with a religious facade but no reality of Christ within him. He failed to lead our family and caused me much pain and hurt over the course of my life. I know his son (up until his death) felt that way to the point of tears. Forgiving him has been a spiritual battle for me. Since Grandpa Noyes shed this mortal coil his wife has thrived as I never could have imagined. This follows the pattern her mother followed who after marrying an unsatisfactory man in like manner then thrived following his demise. My brother Andrew continues to live in work in Flagstaff, Arizona. We hardly ever talk as he desires no relationship with either me or his mother. The loss is his as I have formed my own new family. Who says you can't pick your family?
People Can Be Disappointing
A former untermensch roommate of mine from the late 2000's period of my life recently revealed to me the degree to which my ex-girlfriend blabbed very private details of our relationship with people who were even enemies. The same ex-girlfriend also made patently false accusations to a mutual friend regarding my character back nearer the time of the break-up (breakup was in 2009 and the ugliness came out of the blue in 2010). Given that I at no time during or since our breakup disparaged her behind her back to anyone or murdered her reputation in any way, shape, or form as she has done me it seems terribly cruel and unfair a development which it is. However, that merely revealed to me the true nature of the person in question whom I never really knew as well as I believed at the time (nor she, me, I suppose). I hope she is doing much better these days and is not now the same essential person who did those things a few years ago just as I am no longer the same person I once was who at times failed on my part in our relationship causing her hurt. However, from the get-go I took ownership of that shit and fell on my sword in and around the time of the breakup. Unfortunately, there has never been any reciprocity in this respect.
My Stalker
The aforementioned untermensch who shall go unnamed here as he does not deserve to be mentioned continues to stalk this blog (and perhaps beyond that). He periodically trolls in the comments section of specific postings. It was obvious back in the day from fairly early when I lived with him that he had absolutely no class nor character. He manner was so piss-poor that he caused me to start suspecting he is some sort of sociopathic individual. His actions since continue to confirm that suspicion. Someday he will die alone and nobody will care, least of all me. It sucks to be him.
No Love Lost Apparently
At the recent Cayucos Gem & Mineral Show at which I am one of the organizers and was in attendance part of the weekend I inevitably ran into my old boss/former friend with whom I had a falling out earlier this year as I shared on this blog (I'm intentionally not providing links to the postings but you can find them if you really wish to read them). The whole saga is rather sad and actually quite egregious. Anywho, he and I exchanged strained pleasantries and platitudes but that was it. He was too proud and stubborn and selfish to reach out and make any attempt to heal the rift. He, too, will die alone someday and that will be fully on him. He betrayed our friendship and the supposedly inviolable trust that bound it. He is like that you know. So many people get stuck in their own lives and don't even know it. God showed grace on me and delivered me from myself in this regard.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XLVII
Well this is a first in a few years: two of these columns in "relatively" close succession. I have enough to say to warrant it without being too redundant and seemingly self-occupied.
WTF happened to me the past several months? I'm now up to 260 lbs! I suppose a lot of things converged to cause this. I have not been exercising this year as regularly as I have for most the past few years. I have been eating for convenience and immediate-term performance while going to school and not eating for long-term health. I have been comfort eating to deal with my mild S.A.D. and my general unhappiness in my work environment which I have managed to hide quite effectively aside from the weight gain. I have also not been exercising adequate time management skills in order to make the time in my daily routine to regularly fix healthy meals. Consequently, I have ballooned out a bit and have nearly reached my maximum weight I ever recorded (264 lbs. although that may very well not actually be the heaviest I've ever actually been as I might have reached higher but never recorded the peak). Anywho, in any case I need to turn this crap around right now as I feel this weight on my and don't like it one damned bit.
This morning I carpooled with friend and fellow-Santa Lucia Rockhounds member David Nelson up to the 5th annual Lemoore Gem & Mineral Show hosted by the local club there. This was my first visit to this show and after hearing much about it over the years from my friend Keith Olivas, owner of the Art of Jewelry. He had wanted me in it on its inaugural flight but for reasons I cannot recall I did not do it despite the fact that was the last year I did shows within the context of my now-defunct business (well, except for my dabbling my K&K Earthwerks eBay store). Anywho, we hung out a few hours and then returned to the North County (it's about an hour's drive up there and likewise the return). However, that was not before I got a laundry list of things accomplished. Of primary significance I received back signed contracts and money from some of the dealers there who will also be at our 22nd Annual Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show the first weekend in May. I also gave contracts to two other dealers there one of whom is definitely coming to our show and the other whom used to come and may send her son with some inventory as we need more lapidary equipment being sold in our show. I also was able to derive some fresh ideas for our show from things I observed (and in some cases photographed) at their show which I shall share with our show board. I also got to have a nice, long talk with Susan Chaisson-Walblom.
The revolution against the Old Guard at the California Federation of Minerological Societies (CFMS) is called off for now! For years I have heard of nothing but problems between the various gem amd mineral clubs around the state whom host federation shows and the federation itself which has often been ham-fisted and tone-deaf in its dealings with its constituent member clubs. A few weeks ago at the Ventura show I heard some new grievances and it all seemed to point to the Old Guard whom are employed or appointed at the CFMS and are not elected. These people seemed and seem from what I have heard from reliable sources to be old and out of touch and suffering from delusions of self-importance leading to condescension and obstructionism much like I've been hearing of for years. I experienced an epiphany of sorts at the Ventura show by way of the idea that the clubs should simply refuse to pay next year's club dues until the entire Old Guard resigned/retired. As a group the clubs could go get insurance apart from the CFMS it seemed to me. Today CFMS Past-President and friend Susan Chaisson-Walblom set me straight and convinced me that now is not the time for this as some seemingly-meaningful change seems to be occurring from within the system there as generational shifts play out over recent years. I will shelve promoting the idea unless/until I hear that the CFMS has systemically and institutionally gotten stuck again. In that event I would consider it an honor to play the role of Thomas Paine in fomenting a revolution against the CFMS establishment.
I marveled today at how dry are the grasses along the route between Paso Robles and Lemoore, CA. We are technically still in late winter and there is hardly any green grass to be seen, no wildflowers, and lots of brown grass... from last year's crop. Earlier this evening there was a one-acre grass fire out in the Parkhill area of northern SLO County. We are so screwed this coming fire season... which has apparently already begun... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say last year's fire season has transitioned into this year's fire season without without ever fully ending. Elsewhere in drought news.: parts of Colorado are burning and the entire state of New Mexico is under Red Flag Warnings and has begun experiencing consistent wildfire activity. Just a little further east and from north to south from the Dakotas down to Texas are areas of extreme drought some of which have been going on for multiple years now such as in the Lone Star State.
When my friend moved in next door in 1997 we hit it off fairly quickly and he become my older brother over the 15-1/2 years since then. At that time I was deeply in the throes of mental illness and the social isolation attendant unto it but was perhaps already into my long and gradual rise up out of it that would take another dozen years of my life to complete. Anywho, during those years of friendship with my friend he seemed a paragon of strength and self-confidence even if at times it came across as more bravado and braggadocio than actual foundational strength. However, even back then I noticed certain personality flaws and character defects and spiritual inadequacies which would intensify in their prominence in his life over the course of the years I knew him. Since these long-term shifts gradually played out over many years I did not recognize an overall deterioration until my friend retired from his state job. From that point onwards he seemed to emotionally tank upon retirement, a retirement he had long anticipated and believed would bring him the joy and peace he perpetually lacked.
By last year I noticed things that in hindsight now I must say were instances of the early advent of paranoid delusions and unstable hyper-sensitivity to imagined threats while not taking care of his affairs in the real world but that at the time I dismissed as my friend merely acting weak-minded and saying stupid things. Things are now in complete collapse in his life as he has lost his job and may not possess guns due to a suicidal episode. He is inconsolable and keeps repeating that his life is over and that he failed spiritually and in every other way and that there is no point in doing anything but awaiting the end. I employed my mental health first aid training today and empathetically listened to him and probed to see where his head was and if he was in danger or was a danger.
While he lay pouting on his sofa in his front room I asked him about his responsibility to provide for his wife and adult child who has developmental disabilities and he told me "they're gonna have to figure something out". I am in a quandry as to if I should be empathetic of his clearly suffering a deep and pervasive mental illness involving depression, narcissism, a bit of being paranoid delusional and quite possibly being bipolar. Bipolar would explain just about everything up to this point. Or should I should be outraged at his callous selfishness and lack of regard for his family responsibilities and his utter self-centeredness and wretched self-pitying? Do I treat him like a victim and try to further employ my mental health first aid en route to facilitating his institutionalization or do I need to chew his ass for being such a selfish coward and demand he gird up his loins like a man? At what point does the mental illness segue into spiritual ineptitude and a crisis of character?
Why am I so cursed that the two most prominent men in my life are to varying degrees crazy and don't act like men? I was once crazy but now am dangerously well. However, it seems so many around me (and not just the two aforementioned "men") are going crazy or perhaps they always were but I failed to recognize it through the fog of my own past unhealthiness.
I'm Not Fat; The World Shrank!
WTF happened to me the past several months? I'm now up to 260 lbs! I suppose a lot of things converged to cause this. I have not been exercising this year as regularly as I have for most the past few years. I have been eating for convenience and immediate-term performance while going to school and not eating for long-term health. I have been comfort eating to deal with my mild S.A.D. and my general unhappiness in my work environment which I have managed to hide quite effectively aside from the weight gain. I have also not been exercising adequate time management skills in order to make the time in my daily routine to regularly fix healthy meals. Consequently, I have ballooned out a bit and have nearly reached my maximum weight I ever recorded (264 lbs. although that may very well not actually be the heaviest I've ever actually been as I might have reached higher but never recorded the peak). Anywho, in any case I need to turn this crap around right now as I feel this weight on my and don't like it one damned bit.
Lemoore Gem & Mineral Show
This morning I carpooled with friend and fellow-Santa Lucia Rockhounds member David Nelson up to the 5th annual Lemoore Gem & Mineral Show hosted by the local club there. This was my first visit to this show and after hearing much about it over the years from my friend Keith Olivas, owner of the Art of Jewelry. He had wanted me in it on its inaugural flight but for reasons I cannot recall I did not do it despite the fact that was the last year I did shows within the context of my now-defunct business (well, except for my dabbling my K&K Earthwerks eBay store). Anywho, we hung out a few hours and then returned to the North County (it's about an hour's drive up there and likewise the return). However, that was not before I got a laundry list of things accomplished. Of primary significance I received back signed contracts and money from some of the dealers there who will also be at our 22nd Annual Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show the first weekend in May. I also gave contracts to two other dealers there one of whom is definitely coming to our show and the other whom used to come and may send her son with some inventory as we need more lapidary equipment being sold in our show. I also was able to derive some fresh ideas for our show from things I observed (and in some cases photographed) at their show which I shall share with our show board. I also got to have a nice, long talk with Susan Chaisson-Walblom.
Occupy CFMS Is Postponed (For Now)
The revolution against the Old Guard at the California Federation of Minerological Societies (CFMS) is called off for now! For years I have heard of nothing but problems between the various gem amd mineral clubs around the state whom host federation shows and the federation itself which has often been ham-fisted and tone-deaf in its dealings with its constituent member clubs. A few weeks ago at the Ventura show I heard some new grievances and it all seemed to point to the Old Guard whom are employed or appointed at the CFMS and are not elected. These people seemed and seem from what I have heard from reliable sources to be old and out of touch and suffering from delusions of self-importance leading to condescension and obstructionism much like I've been hearing of for years. I experienced an epiphany of sorts at the Ventura show by way of the idea that the clubs should simply refuse to pay next year's club dues until the entire Old Guard resigned/retired. As a group the clubs could go get insurance apart from the CFMS it seemed to me. Today CFMS Past-President and friend Susan Chaisson-Walblom set me straight and convinced me that now is not the time for this as some seemingly-meaningful change seems to be occurring from within the system there as generational shifts play out over recent years. I will shelve promoting the idea unless/until I hear that the CFMS has systemically and institutionally gotten stuck again. In that event I would consider it an honor to play the role of Thomas Paine in fomenting a revolution against the CFMS establishment.
The Drought Here Is Bad
I marveled today at how dry are the grasses along the route between Paso Robles and Lemoore, CA. We are technically still in late winter and there is hardly any green grass to be seen, no wildflowers, and lots of brown grass... from last year's crop. Earlier this evening there was a one-acre grass fire out in the Parkhill area of northern SLO County. We are so screwed this coming fire season... which has apparently already begun... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say last year's fire season has transitioned into this year's fire season without without ever fully ending. Elsewhere in drought news.: parts of Colorado are burning and the entire state of New Mexico is under Red Flag Warnings and has begun experiencing consistent wildfire activity. Just a little further east and from north to south from the Dakotas down to Texas are areas of extreme drought some of which have been going on for multiple years now such as in the Lone Star State.
A Strange Case of Roll Reversal
When my friend moved in next door in 1997 we hit it off fairly quickly and he become my older brother over the 15-1/2 years since then. At that time I was deeply in the throes of mental illness and the social isolation attendant unto it but was perhaps already into my long and gradual rise up out of it that would take another dozen years of my life to complete. Anywho, during those years of friendship with my friend he seemed a paragon of strength and self-confidence even if at times it came across as more bravado and braggadocio than actual foundational strength. However, even back then I noticed certain personality flaws and character defects and spiritual inadequacies which would intensify in their prominence in his life over the course of the years I knew him. Since these long-term shifts gradually played out over many years I did not recognize an overall deterioration until my friend retired from his state job. From that point onwards he seemed to emotionally tank upon retirement, a retirement he had long anticipated and believed would bring him the joy and peace he perpetually lacked.
By last year I noticed things that in hindsight now I must say were instances of the early advent of paranoid delusions and unstable hyper-sensitivity to imagined threats while not taking care of his affairs in the real world but that at the time I dismissed as my friend merely acting weak-minded and saying stupid things. Things are now in complete collapse in his life as he has lost his job and may not possess guns due to a suicidal episode. He is inconsolable and keeps repeating that his life is over and that he failed spiritually and in every other way and that there is no point in doing anything but awaiting the end. I employed my mental health first aid training today and empathetically listened to him and probed to see where his head was and if he was in danger or was a danger.
While he lay pouting on his sofa in his front room I asked him about his responsibility to provide for his wife and adult child who has developmental disabilities and he told me "they're gonna have to figure something out". I am in a quandry as to if I should be empathetic of his clearly suffering a deep and pervasive mental illness involving depression, narcissism, a bit of being paranoid delusional and quite possibly being bipolar. Bipolar would explain just about everything up to this point. Or should I should be outraged at his callous selfishness and lack of regard for his family responsibilities and his utter self-centeredness and wretched self-pitying? Do I treat him like a victim and try to further employ my mental health first aid en route to facilitating his institutionalization or do I need to chew his ass for being such a selfish coward and demand he gird up his loins like a man? At what point does the mental illness segue into spiritual ineptitude and a crisis of character?
Why am I so cursed that the two most prominent men in my life are to varying degrees crazy and don't act like men? I was once crazy but now am dangerously well. However, it seems so many around me (and not just the two aforementioned "men") are going crazy or perhaps they always were but I failed to recognize it through the fog of my own past unhealthiness.
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