Where on Earth Have I Been?

As I reboot my blog, I guess the best place to start is filling in the gaps as to where the heck I've been the last two-and-a-half years. I fully intend to use this blog as a creative medium for my writings, thoughts on the affairs of our world, and maybe even a movie or book review here or there. But an equally important purpose this blog will serve is to host the good old-fashioned update. So now I begin the unenviable task of deciding the most important bits of information to share since last writing in this format. There is so much to choose from, but I don't want to bore you. So, here goes nothing.

I left Los Angeles in January of 2008. I had run out of money and opportunities and life was beginning to get scary. So, with nothing but a suitcase of clothes and a box of DVDs and books, I left the City of Angels and the beaches of Southern California in my rear-view mirror and headed east. At the time, I was chasing down a teaching job in Tarboro, NC, so my plan was to head towards North Carolina on Interstate 40 and show up just in time to interview and, of course, get the job. I made it as far as Little Rock when I found out that that wasn't going to happen. So I turned my sights north and returned to what had been home for the better part of a decade: West Michigan. This would be my "staging area" as I prepared for the next chapter in my life. And I would be incredibly remiss if I didn't mention the kindness and generosity of my dear friends Jon and Tara Reibel. They gave me their basement to stay in as I regrouped and got myself back on my feet. I truly don't know where I would be without their love and support. I've often been called a "survivor" and it is honestly for no other reason than having friends like them that I have made it this far.

After only a month of looking for jobs in Michigan (which is, sadly, an exercise in futility...unemployment takes on a new definition of bad in that state) I was able to secure a teaching position in Lexington, NC. I would be teaching US History and Civics and Economics to 10th and 11th graders at Lexington Senior High School. So I packed the car again with the bare essentials and headed south to the state of my youth. I left on a Thursday, Valentines Day, and began working the very next day. Another thank you goes to another dear friend, Caleb Youngblood, for letting me crash on his couch in Winston-Salem until I found a place of my own.

Let me now take the time to say this about the profession of teaching. It is the most difficult, stressful, exhausting and thankless job ever conceived on this earth. I literally wanted to quit after the first day. I don't say that to complain...instead I say that to point out that if you have encountered a teacher who is effective and genuinely loves their job, then you have encountered a modern-day saint. I'm not kidding. So, stop what you are doing right now and call your favorite teacher and thank him or her. And while you are at it, call your least favorite and thank them too.

I worked at Lexington Senior High through the end of that school year and then transferred to Ledford Middle School, in the hopes that the students there would more naturally respond to me as an authority figure. Who was I kidding? You know that part about good teachers being saints? Yeah, well, good middle school teachers are angels. Sadly, my tenure there only lasted a year. This was right at the time when teachers were getting cut all over the place...and no one was hiring. Luckily, just before the school year ended, the Internal Revenue Service hired me to be an administrative assistant. Less stressful work for the same pay. Not bad. I will say that I haven't ruled out returning to the classroom. I like a good challenge, after all. But the work at the IRS isn't bad and it's stable, so I'm not anxious to leave. Not to mention the promotion potential within the agency is insane, so I'm going to stick it out for a little while.

With the job at the IRS came a move from Winston-Salem to Greensboro, which is only a half hour east. I've lived with 3 roommates for the past year, which has been a growing experience for me, especially after having been on my own for almost 2 years. I have had to re-learn how to give up control of my surroundings, which is much easier said than done.

Besides living and working situations, four major events have characterized my last two-and-a-half years. The first one is a bit gruesome, but I chopped my left middle fingertip off. This happened very shortly after I had found my own place after living with Caleb for two months. How did I do this, you might ask? Well, it isn't anything cool like getting in a knife fight with a 10-foot man or saving a baby from the jaws of an alligator. No, I was trying to open my window in my apartment on a gorgeous April day, and the window slammed shut with all its might on my finger. Eight hours later, I was out of surgery with a shorter middle finger and enough vicodin to kill a horse. The reason I tell you this story is, well, not everyone loses a part of themselves in such a forceful way. But, more importantly, one of my passions is playing the guitar. I haven't been able to play the same since. But, I'm a survivor, and I am still re-learning how to play without any sensation in one of the more important fingers of the fret-hand. I'll get there with time.

Undoubtedly one of the most significant events in my life has been returning to the theatre. The summer after I left Lexington Senior High, I got involved in my first play/musical in 10 years. It was Seussical, which is a musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. I had so much fun and met some really talented and amazing people. And I became addicted. Since then, I have had roles in You Can't Take it With You, Reefer Madness, The Producers, Spider's Web, Leading Ladies, Sordid Lives, RENT and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I am so happy I decided to shake the rust off of my singing and acting "skills." I am truly at home when I am on the stage.

Fighting with my return to theatre for the title of "most significant" has been my "conversion" to Catholicism. I put the word conversion in quotations because I believe that it implies switching. I don't feel like I switched. Rather, I feel like I have aligned myself with a tradition that makes the most sense to me. In the end, though, its all about love. I firmly believe that what church we belonged to will matter much less at our time of judgment than what we did with our lives and how we used our talents and whether or not we loved one another. End of sermon.

Finally, I got a dog! Oh my goodness, if you have never owned a dog, get one! If you can rescue one, even better! He is a 10-month old Lab/Pit Bull mix. His name is Jackson and he is the sweetest, cutest, most loving creature I have ever encountered. My friend Chris rescued him off the street and gave him to me and my days have never been brighter. He still barks a little too much for my liking, but wrestling around with him and taking him on walks and just cuddling with him bring me a joy I can't put into words. There is something about taking a life into your own hands and taking full responsibility for it that can't be described. You just have to experience it. Maybe someday I will be lucky enough to help bring a child into this world. Until then, Jackson and I are having a blast. Here is a picture of my son, with whom I am well pleased. Enjoy.



Well, that about sums it up for me. If you are still reading, thanks. I realize that was a marathon of a posting. If you have a blog that you want me to check out, leave the address in my comments section and I will put a link to it on this blog so everyone can check it out if they want. Until next time!

Revival

It has been far too long since I have taken the time to sit down and write. We are talking years. And I don't mean writing for all the world to see, as I do in this format. I mean writing my thoughts PERIOD. And this isn't healthy, as so many wise people before me have discovered. And so, I sit down and I pick back up a hobby that has fallen by the wayside.

This is a new blog with an old address. The old posts have been deleted, the layout is different, and even the title has changed. I've chosen the title "My Monologues" simply because I love the theatre. I always have, though those of you who knew me in my college years might not have known how deep my love for all things theatrical was. A monologue is basically a speech the actor gives...sometimes on stage by him or herself, sometimes not. Sometimes he or she is speaking directly to the audience, while others, the actor simply ponders out loud. Either way, the monologue is the time for the actor to be heard. And so, I use this format to air out my thoughts, inform my loved ones of what is going on in my life, and to simply enjoy the beauty of words. As my friend Amelia once told me, and I agree: "I have a passion for eloquence." Here is where my own passion for eloquence takes shape.

Similarly, I've chosen the title for this posting from a popular Broadway term: revival. Basically, that's when a play or musical that used to be on Broadway comes back. Well, this is the revival of my blog. Corny, I know, but I'm having fun with this.

In my old blog (daveinlosangeles.blogspot.com) I wrote deliberately in a "Christian" context. That is to say, I purposefully sought out ways to bring Jesus into my writings. That isn't what I will be doing here. Now, I am a Christian who believes there is no possible way to separate the spiritual from the secular, so naturally my faith will seep into my writings. But this time, I will be less deliberate. My goal here is not to write mini-sermons, which could potentially alienate some for any number of reasons, as well as give me the bloated feeling of self-importance. No, my goal here is to simply write as life is thrown at me, and hope that those who read will enjoy what I have to say, and perhaps contribute their own verse.

So, if you are reading, thank you. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing. I look forward to keeping you up to speed.