Inaugural 2009

As some of you may know, I have been working for the Presidential Inaugural Committee Production Department. Things have been crawling along here, and its such a hassle trying to get straight answers from people. I'm surprised by the amount of chaos and misinformation that is flying around, and some of the misinformation is being released to the press to be published as credible facts......

I wish people would get their stories straight, and hire professionals, instead of appointing people because they worked for you on the campaign, and you feel you owe them a job..... Never hire some one because you owe them, only hire people who are qualified to do the jobs.... For the love of me!

Growing up

It seems like in the last few months, I have done a substantial amount of growing up. I feel as if I am a very different person, from 3 months ago, not to even mention 9 months ago before the tour, or a year ago. I'm thinking about buying a house, I'm doing some serious introspection, to attempt to improve my self, I've found my self reading a lot more, and avoiding watching tv. I have been finding my self being very worried about things like whether or not I will have insurance for the last half of next year, and/or what it will cost me. Also, trying to get on my own car insurance to try to lower my costs to make my budget more flexible. I have a serious desire to begin eating healthier, and lose some of this horrible belly fat.

Its a very strange feeling, having hit this point where I really do realize that I'm not a kid any more and I do have to make major life changes that may affect the rest of my life.

Gay Marriage

Why can't people just let people believe what they want and leave other peoples beliefs alone. If two gay individuals want to be married, why does it matter to a straight couple whether or not gays are married? The whole "well marriage is between a man and a woman" thing is so feeble. If you believe that, then do go marrying some one of the same gender. If you want to marry some one of the same gender, I say go to it. Lets just let people live their lives and not worry so much about what other people do in their personal lives. Focus on your self and we will all be a little better off.....

--J.

Prop guns can kill too people!

Today I was sent a couple of links (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,452811,00.html and http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10999643) to a story about a 17 year old in Utah who accidentally shot himself with a blank gun. While real prop guns are set up so that bullets are not supposed to be able to leave the barrel, they still release a gas discharge that is powerful enough to do major damage to body parts and also kill some one in some cases. There is a reason why you only put prop gun in the hands of trained professionals. Because even though there are freak accidents, trained professionals know how to limit the chances of said accidents from occurring. The fact that in this case the young man died of head injuries, leads me to believe he was not following the strict safety guidelines one should follow in the use of prop weapons. Especially, since the first thing I was taught was never to point a gun(prop or otherwise) at some one unless I actually was prepared to kill that individual. There is no reason the gun should have been close enough to his head to have killed him, in my opinion, but as I was not present and do not know the details, I can only speculate at this time.

Please, anyone out there listening! When dealing with weapons for theatre, please hire a trained professional to over see the use of the weapons. Do not intrust this duty to an untrained person no matter how intelligent they may seem!

20 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Sunday

What did I learn last week? – I've spent time learning that I want to be politically active. That I want to attempt to make a difference in my life and maybe the life of some one else, for the better that is.

What was my greatest accomplishment over the past week? – I wrote a letter to President-elect Obama, and asked him to spell out his opinions and plans for labour(organized and unorganized) in the U.S. and around the world. Also asking him to spell out his thoughts on certain changes to the NLRB under the Bush admin.

Which moment from last week was the most memorable and why? – I do not know. I think I have really enjoyed the response to the cake I baked for the cast and crew here.

What’s the #1 thing I need to accomplish this week? – Go to the gym at least 3 times next week. I need to get my self out of this slump of just sitting around the hotel room, slacking, and start working on improving my semi-flabby body.

What can I do right now to make the week less stressful? – I think the best thing I can do is start taking better care of my self, and start concentrating on being a better me, and worrying less about things that I should not worry so much about.

What have I struggled with in the past that might also affect the upcoming week? –

What was last week’s biggest time sink? – Spending a lot of time playing video games. I need to at least move to reading books instead of playing video games all day long. If not getting my self out of the hotel and exploring some.

Am I carrying any excess baggage into the week that can be dropped? – I think I have been carrying a large amount of baggage for some time. Its time for me to just let the past be the past and move on, learn from my mistakes but leave them behind and not obsess over them. Not saying its going to be an easy, instant thing, just saying its something I need to do.

What have I been avoiding that needs to get done? – I have been avoiding both working out, and bettering my mind by studying and teaching my self new things and that needs to halt. Its time to become a better me, mentally and physically.

What opportunities are still on the table? – Obviously I have lots of opportunities when I get back home. Hopefully jobs will continue to flow as they always have. I hope to have some other opportunities open up here shortly. Also I have a fairly major opportunity open up, of starting my own audio company. Start out renting smaller pieces of gear that I will begin picking up here and there, and eventually put together a full audio system, and start a full blow audio company.

Is there anyone I’ve been meaning to talk to? – Yes lots of people, I do not even know where to begin.... I will be beginning to address this once I get back home.

Is there anyone that deserves a big ‘Thank You’? –

How can I help someone else this coming week? –

What are my top 3 goals for the next 3 years? – Buying a place to live, putting together a little musical group(even if it is just a few people I just kind of riff with), Put my self into a situation where I will end up with a house audio job in a venue.

Have any of my recent actions moved me closer to my goals? – Going out on this tour has really allowed me to save some money(thus putting me closer to buying a place), and has created a major resume piece(thus making it that much easier to have the cred's to get a house job). I have not played my drums in 6+ months so perhaps that has hindered the 2nd goal, but who knows.

What’s the next step for each goal? –

What am I looking forward to during the upcoming week? –

What are my fears? – Spiders........yes I am afraid of spiders, but my biggest fear is a fear of failure.

What am I most grateful for? –

If I knew I only had one week to live, who would I spend my time with? – There are so many people I would want to spend time with. I enjoy hanging out with my friends a whole lot, and well I would have to see my family as much as possible. I would want it to not be a sad time, I would rather go out having fun with friends and family than be down about having to die...

Ok enough for now, Ill fill in the rest later.

--J.