What Crisis?
So far I have yet to be effected by the economic crisis in any measurable way. I think somebody might be pulling my leg. From what I gather, the crisis is that people aren't spending money left and right anymore. People are losing houses because they can't pay their mortgage. People can't buy houses because they can't get a mortgage. They need a mortgage because house prices have inflated because of the previous availability of mortgages to anyone. Stores are closing because way too many were built when economic times were good. People are no longer spending money they don't have so our economy is falling apart.
Here's my solution: let it fall apart. The bailout is simply trying to buy back this lifestyle so that we can all go back to living our comfortable lives. I don't really get how a nation can be trillions of dollars in debt. Who are we indebted to? All I know is printing more money can't be good for the plunging value of the dollar. If we keep putting bandaids on the system it will eventually explode in much graver ways than it might right now.
These words from Chelsea's grandfather offer a needed perspective through all of this:
I was born in 1934, in the midst of the depression. My father worked for an oil company (Humble Oil and Refining Company, which is now Exxon-Mobile), so we had enough to live on, but we drove the same car all through WW II; gasoline and tires were rationed, so we didn’t drive except when we had to. I got one new pair of blue jeans every year. It cost a quarter to go to the movie-matinee on Saturday afternoon. Nobody had any money to spend, but it was a good time to be alive unless you lost a family-member in the war.
It is a lot different now. People just throw pennies down on the sidewalk. Everybody has money for every electronic gadget they want. Every young couple buys whatever they want on credit, including houses and cars, instead of saving for many, many years, like they did when I was young. Nobody wants to go back, but I believe the old times and ways were better for the soul.
Please excuse my ramblings because I am no economist, these are just my observations. It really doesn't seem that bad to me. Maybe instead of throwing more money around trying to fix our lifestyle of throwing money around, we should slowly adjust to living within our means. Seems like it could work.
Looking Onward
I typically don’t enjoy the present. It’s not that I hate it, I just infrequently find it out of the ordinary. But the curious thing is that I have countless extraordinary memories of the past. Logic would deduce that non-enjoyable (not necessarily unenjoyable) memories in the present would retain that quality in the past. It strangely isn’t so.
One year ago, today, I was in Chicago with Sammy visiting our good friend Brandon O’Brien. It was my 22nd birthday and I wished that it wasn’t. I don’t usually like to be given extra attention, but I especially didn’t on this particular day. It was one of those days where the littlest things drive you nuts. Nonetheless, Sammy and I set out to make something of the day. We found ourselves at a cold Lake Michigan and Sammy suggested a birthday swim. I reluctantly got in with the handful of other loonies braving the frigid water. Not necessarily what I would have chosen to do, but now I can look back on it with fondness.
When something’s supposed to be special, I tend to get too caught up in it being so that I overlook its specialness. Though I do have tons of wonderful memories that are invitingly summoned to mind, I can’t help but think of how many things I miss or how much greater some of these memories could have been. This has been added to the list of things that I need to work on. Good thing I’m still less than a quarter century old.
A post, just to post
Hopefully some sort of inspiration will be found by the end of this. If not, I'm sorry that you had to read this. Let's see...
I've been back from West Texas for a couple of weeks now. I meant to write about my revelations but it never happened. The main revelation was this: no matter how busy or un-busy you are, time still must be made for those things you "never have enough time for". This post is a case in point. Oh, how I need to be more disciplined.
Last week I endured placement exams, auditions, and parking tickets. Now that that's all out of my system I am beginning "classes" this week. Classes is in quotes because my classes are really just rehearsals and lessons; quite a change from undergrad work.
Yesterday Chelsea and I ate at Mr. Chopsticks and I had a really great curry. If you're ever up in the Denton area I will treat you to some tasty chopstickable food. Speaking of chopsticks...
A Quick Update
It's hard to believe that almost a year (10 months) has gone by since I left with Sammy to go traveling. Those care-free days seem very distant. Now I couldn't even imagine going a week without being on my computer. That's all I do these days. It's not that I don't enjoy doing web development; I just feel like an important part of me is being tucked away in a corner.
Come fall, though, I'll be starting graduate school at UNT for voice. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. I've been out of school for a year now. But I know I don't want to continue web development full-time and being around music and learning makes me happy.
The main decision-maker for me going to Ouachita was that they were offering me money and I was tired of looking at schools. That ended up being one of the best decisions. This is kinda the same situation. I've known that I wanted to go to grad school and this has opened up. So even though I'm uncertain at times, I feel this is the way to go.
All that to say, I'll be in Denton in the fall.
Musical Nostalgia
A lot of the time listening to music is only half that. The other half is reliving the different memories of people and places associated with each song. Here are a few of them:
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois. This takes me back to good ol' Sparkman, Arkansas. There was really no reason for anyone to be in this town unless you knew someone there (but then why were they there?) Brandon O'Brien lived out there for a time and I would go visit every once in a while and we would talk music and literature. One of my best memories is sitting in the study listening to "Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us!", trying to figure out what it meant, all the while being swept away by its sheer beauty.
Chris Thile: Not All Who Wander are Lost. Mark Hendrick let me borrow this CD on the flight to Germany for the Ouachita Singers/Wind Ensemble tour the summer after my freshman year. I think I was smiling the entire time I listened to it. Never had I heard melodies and harmonic progressions that were so near to perfection.
Jars of Clay: Much Afraid. I got this album for one of my birthdays (probably my 12th). We were at Applebee's and my parents gave me this and I remember being a bit disappointed. I guess I was hoping for the newest dc Talk or Newsboys album. Now this is probably my favorite album of theirs.
Macy Gray: On How Life Is. To get around New Zealand, Sammy and I rented a nifty camper van. We didn't have a cable to hook my iPod up to the stereo so we could only listen to CDs (of which we had none). After a $5/gallon fill-up Sammy surprised me with this album. I think we got through about 3 listens before we (or maybe just I) wanted to puncture the cones of the speakers.
This is fun. I think I could write a book of all the different memories I have with music. I'll have to write part 2 sometime soon.
the author
- Is it just me or has OS X been having more stability issues? In the last few months I've had to do at least a handful of hard reboots. 2012-01-04
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