Vengence is mine

A side from the fact the kid felt awful and I doubt any child will ever try to do something like that again I have another reason to feel vindicated. A little back story to catch all up. Last year I wrote the drill for the band and told Special K that if she didn't care for it that she didn't have to use me again. Just let me know. Fine whatever. So this year's band camp was coming up and she never talked to me about the show or writing it or anything. Again fine whatever. And when she hired someone else I didn't care that the person had been hired I just hate the fact I didn't even get a courtesy call saying no thanks. Then she told me he was coming to camp. I was like What are you fucking kidding me???? That was a nice slap in the face. This morning was the first time I was out there and saw this man, who by the way I have not been introduced to, doing more in fundamentals than I or the previous assistant ever have in our combined 9 years with the band. And then I came out to watch him teach drill which by the way he is awful at.

The real kicker came when the kids swarmed me to tell me how much they hate this guy and want him gone. Ding ding ding ding I am a winner. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I can be short with the kids when they get squirrelly and they know that but I also am nice to them and throw them a funny every once in a while and he didn't. Basically take my mean sarcastic remarks and actually mean them that was this guy. I swear I can tell the kids they are dead to me and they would laugh because they know I don't mean it. Does it make me small and petty to take this as a small victory in my "I told you so camp"? Maybe but I don't care.

Are you kidding me it's only Monday

So all the bullshit with Special K aside, today been truly heinous. So back story, the kids have always liked to play pranks or whatnot on me at Camp. Normally harmless stuff but last year parents got in on it and started letting kids into my room when I was out. I put the kibosh on that as quickly as I could. I thought I had dealt with pranking and brought it to a close. No, when I started getting calls from people interested in the house I was selling. Some brilliant child had put a for sale sign in my yard with my name and number not only was it grossly under priced, it had a completely incorrect description of the place. Now understand I don't own I rent. Now may landlords found out and thought I was try to pull a fraud scheme and had been repeatedly try to call me. If they hadn't heard from me by Tuesday they were going to call the cops. I frantically called them and apologized up and down. Luckily they were cool about it.

So then I set about finding out who did it. I found out and I know he didn't mean for to get out of hand but still. I am making him sweat at the moment. Because I got Special K to tell the kids that because of a prank I had to go back to Indy and deal with cops and my landlords which wasn't true. I ran back to the dorm got my keys and sped off. And then hung out at dennys for a couple of hours. The kids Dad (a lawyer and didn't know anything about this) called me to let me know he would meet me at my place and help straighten out the mess with the landlords and police. I explain that I am just teaching his son a lesson. I agreed and say to make him sweat. I do love many of these parents.

Don't get wrong I do enjoy a good prank however this went just a bit too far. A lot of the kids feel bad and the kid who did it feels awful as well he should and before it is over he will have a better understand of what not to do. It's a little after midnight the kids think I am in Indy possibly being arrested. All I have to say is don't fuck with me. :)

Band Camp day 1

Warning for those of you who are tired of me bitching about my job and a certian band director please go no further. But if you are intrigued about a certian band directors stupidity please read on.


So we have started out so very well. I didn't notice until we got here but the student who was sent home last year for smoking pot at the band camp is here. I didn't want to let him back into band but Special K let him and we had discussed that he should never be allowed to go on any over night trips. Well he is here. I am beyond furious with Kathy. That boy is a huge liability, not only to the band but also Special K and I. If he screws up again then it's our heads on the chopping block. Regardless whether she squared this away with the parents and the kid and the administration it was irresponsible not to have informed me. She is getting an earful tonight. I can't talk to her now because I am angry with her. How dare her I swear to god this woman doesn't think at all.Bitch.

What a great way to start this week when I don't even want to be here to begin with.

two things

First and most important, The Simpsons movie comes out today. Guess where I am going to be tonight? Now I know I am most likely going to be disappointed with the movie but I have to go. I have been a fan of them ever since they were on the Tracy Ulman show. God it has been a long time I believe I was in the 7^th grade when they first made their way onto the small screen. Now they are on the big screen. Yea!!!!!!!!!!!

The other thing I have to mention today is the strangest thing at the gym. So this guy, probably 70 something man came in and was wearing a powder blue suit jacket and dress pants. At first I thought oh he is checking out the gym or on his way to change. No he sat right down at a machine and started working out. Of course he took his straw hat off first luckily his toupee didn't come with it. Now an older person is not a strange thing at the Y but to be so dressed up to do so was. To make it a little funnier when he left, he actually had toilet paper trailing on the heel of his shoe. Now I am not sure where he got it from since he never made it to the restroom during his 10 minute workout. So I wonder how long that had been with him. Poor guy.

I really have to ask myself, how does one get toilet paper stuck to your shoe? I mean I know how it could but really how?

Ch ch ch changes

So the new way of living and taking care of me has been wonderful. I really haven't felt this good in a long time. I am still not where I want to be but I am getting there. The flab isn't coming off like I would have wanted it to but I am gaining muscle. By no means am I a ripped stallion, eh but who knows under all the flab.

Another change in my life is on the financial side. I am finally in a better place. Again could I do better yes but for now I will be content with what I have. Being full time is nice and I am looking forward to this. Some remind me of this blog when 4 weeks from now I am cursing the existence of high schoolers and a certain band director best left nameless.

The one area I am still having trouble with is socially. I have great friends and many of them, most of whom do not live in this city let alone this state. I don't make friends at work because well lets face it, it's hard to get chummy when you are gay and teaching at a catholic school. People get that weird look like I am going to start molesting kids any second. So that's just not a pool to build a social network. Right now it feels like I have no common thread for all my friends here in town. In the past all my friends had a commonality like Band or Fraternity or whatever but now I really don't have that external entity bringing everyone together. It is amazing how something like that can have an effect on social networks. I don't know if I need something like that but I feel I do. Does this make sense to anyone else?

As my friend was saying last night, we like having all of our friends get along and it's hard when they don't. Because I have diverse interests I have diverse groups of friends and sometimes they don't blend as well.

I think it is funny that I had a small gathering on the 4^th and had two distinct groups and they just didn't mesh. I was to say the least a bit disappointed. I was commenting on this and my friend Rod said "Who are you Charles do you have to have all your friends get along?" I hadn't thought about it but it was a very Charles thing of me to do and say. But yes I do want all my friends to get along is that so wrong??????

Harry Potter

Don't worry I am not going to say anything about the book specifically.

It was very good I sat down Sunday night and read a lot of it till early Monday morning. I would have finished it but I needed to be at school. By the time I got home on Monday night I had to finish it I was very close so, I finished it off before going to bed. I really love a good story. This isn't really a deep philosophical book but it is a good story. It did do the sappy ending stuff I am not terribly fond of but I did wrap up all the loose ends. And a few of my predictions were right (kudos) and some of them were way off base. I figured that would happen. Overall a very good read.

It's official it's over

My summer has come to a close. I always knew this was going to happen. Sigh. No more leisurely days sitting by the pool sunning myself while Andre brings me those drinks with the umbrellas in them... Wait that wasn't me at all. Thank god I have most everything I wanted to get done, done this summer. Though I will not complain that my summer has been busy, because some of you would hurl a shoe or two in my direction. But I have kept myself busy and I have been to the gym a lot so that mission accomplished I just need to keep up with that. If anyone wants to harass me and ask if I have been going please do. I need the help sometimes. I have syllabi for all my classes and I have a lot of good lesson plans done. I am ready for this year to start lots of new things I have a new theory class to teach and am discovering a lot of students I enjoy will be in that class. I am so looking forward to the String Orchestra I really want this to be a good year for them. I always felt they were neglected and treated like second class citizens but no more.

I will miss the getting up and going to bed when I want I have never been a morning person and the moment summer hit I was back into my college routine. I don't know what it is about my sleep schedule that is so wonky. Ah well.

The mini camps are this week and Band camp starts Sunday and then school starts the week we get back. So yes it is over buh bye summer see you next year.

Strange night

Made stranger by the light of day. So Last night I was drug to one of my least favorite bars in the city. It's not the scenery that makes it so unappealing, though the place is a bit of a dive. It's not the cliental, though I feel very pretty after having been there. It's mostly the weak drinks and the bad country music karaoke. If you know me then you know how much love I have for country. And the drag is pretty bad. Not to say there is usually good drag anywhere, there are just degrees. Much like the levels of hell some are not as bad as others but, you are still in hell.

Truth be told of this place is that I have never been harassed by any of the people there. Though we may not share the same taste in music or dental hygiene they are nice enough people.

With all that said I was talked into going because one of the performers was retiring from being a drag queen. Does anyone ever really retire?? Anyway there were a few things that just kind of catch your attention and you are not really sure what to make of it. Example one this drag queen, who is on the conservative side 70 years old, had her son present and his wife and their daughter, you the drag queens granddaughter. Ya wrap your head around that. She kind of looks like the Heat Miser, from "A Year without Santa Clause" So that makes it better.

The other fun part was the random, I assume it was, drag queen sitting next to us with a peacock feathered masquerade mask covering her face. The funny part, right like that wouldn't be enough, she kept pulling out this giant hand mirror to check the mask and her lipstick. Not a compact, a hand mirror like the ones stylists use to show the back of your head to you.

Now this whole thing became stranger today when I went to the band picnic and one of my parents started telling me about her neighbor Miss Rikki and that she was this old retired military man who did drag but everyone called Miss Rikki and the only man that could kiss her husband and he wasn't going to deck. I laughed to myself for this is the same person we went the night before to see retire.

What a bizarre, twisted and small world.

This one is for you Amy... sorta

Ah Drill writing. I have been doing the past couple of days. I am never satisfied with my end result when I finish it but later I look back and I am not displeased. I was thinking that I had to have this done by friday, but when Amy called on Thursday and said no she would take it on Sunday, my first thought was great I can relax and change a few things. My change a few things became scrap the whole thing and start again. now I didn't throw away the others... yet. But I did start all over. Granted this is not a difficult of drill as I have done before. Since she is new band and they are very young kids (a lot of 7th and 8th graders) I thought I would keep it easy. The other "fun" thing is they are 25 on the field strong. This is up from the 13 on the field strong last year(I saw the dvd). Like all band kids everywhere I am sure they will be an eager and hard working group. I wanted to give them something attainable and nice to look at. I think I did it. I love writing drill but I am probably not very good at it. So anytime I get to work on that skill I am excited. No one teaches this really in college or anywhere you just kind of have to learn it by trial and error and thank you to those brave band directors who have let me try in the past.:)


I was going to explain about last night but I will save that for yet another posting.

A wee bit tipsy

Though many of you have expressed a great deal of interest in my drunken tiraids this is not one of them. I may be, how shall we say enibriated I am not on a rant. Though I am sure I could come up with something. I was watching a movie the other day from, shock and surprise, Netflix and I was extremely dissapointed in the ending. For those of you who may not find the idea of two men romantically envolved appealing I am sorry but I do. Not romantically as in NC 17 Rating just good old fashioned PG 13, not that PG 13 is "old fashioned" at all since I remember when that rating came out. I am sorry for straight readers but imagine if 99% of all films you saw ended with the boy getting the boy or god forbid the girl getting the girl. It would be refreshing and nice to see a well done film about a boy and a girl. I get it, kinda :). Where as I am a sucker boy gets girl films, really anything with Audrey Hepburn, or Moulin Rogue(though not happy ending). I do on occassion like a nice wholesom boy gets boy film. I must say most of them are terrible and play into the worst stereotypes there are, a few and I mean few that are sweet actually, and well done. But what I really hate more than a tacky gay film is when they set you up the entire film with an openly gay man and a not so sure guy and he ends up with the girl. Ugh are you kidding me you are Lionsgate Studios for godsake.

Again I am sorry if you don't think two men together can be sweet, it's ok I think a guy and a girl is a little gross:) And lets not talk about the unholy union of two women. Just kidding.:)

So there you have it my thoughts on recent gay cinema. It's usually bad at best but for the forseeable future that's the best I get.

Drinks tonight 4 Jack and cokes, 3 cosmos I think my spelling is decent go me.!!!

low motivation

Today of all days when I am in need of being motivated I am not. I am sure it will kick in soon.

I love the gym

I really only enjoy going to the gym when no one is there. I need to get over that if I am going to keep this up once school starts. The few times I do go when it is busier I have found myself hating people. Not really hating just annoyed. I hate when people take the cleaning bottles from the racks and keep it with them. It's unavoidable the other day there were none left on the rack 3 people were toting them around blithely unaware that others may want to use them too.
Another fun example was the guy who sat on a machine and carried on a 20 minute conversation with a YMCA employee. It didn't help that I was eventually going to want to use it myself. I have a routine when I go. I have all the machines I want to use that day in mind. Now I can change the order around somewhat. But I was coming to the end of my work out and he was still there. Ikept moving closer and closer and glaring at them. Finally she walked away and he used it and then left but really I spend a good 40 minutes in the gym and they were talking when I got there so really it could have been longer that 20.
I like to get on a machine use it and move on. Some people just sit there for 5 minutes do a set, sit there for another 5 minutes and do another set.... basically taking 20 minutes to use one machine. I see this as highly inefficiant. Of couse I am using my strength training as cardio to by moving quickly between exercises and keeping my heart rate up, but that is just me.
Over all I do like my gym it's within walking distance and the people that work there are generally very nice. Now we will see how well I keep up with this when I don't have all day to go to the gym.

Netflix

As many of you know I don't have cable and while I don't watch much tv but I do enjoy throwing in a DVD and watching a movie from time to time. Ok like all the time. So I have been using netflix to pick up movies or tv shows I haven't seen but had a mild interest. Or in some cases a morbid curiousity. So I have a very long list and some are good and quite a few have been bad but hey it was cheaper than seeing them in the movie theater. The last two movies I recieved I have very mixed feelings about. The first was "Heavenly Creatures" It was a Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings) film and Kate Wisletts first film role. If I liked girls I would totally be in love with Kate. The roles she picks have been great and she has done a fantastic job every single time. This was no exception and the fact she was probably 17 or 18 at the time she had great maturity in her acting for her age. The film was superb however the story was based on a true story and it was fucked up.

The next film was "Wit". Oh my god I love Emma Thompson. She is yet another actress I would love to be friends with. Actually just be around. I have a feeling she would make me feel stupid all the time but I love those types of people. This movie was incrediblly moving and painful at the end. Also in it was Audra McDonald who is one of the most gifted voices of our generation. It was really funny 'cause I didn't figure out that is who she was till the fianl credits rolled but during the film they played a piece by Henryk Gorecki that she had sung on a recording I own. I even said out loud to myself "That's Gorecki and it's Audra McDonald singing" I am such a dork but hey if you are reading this you knew that. Anyway great film highly recommend but not if you are already depressed just gonna make it worse.

And for full disclosure the last movie I saw off netflix was "Ultimate Avengers 2". Yes a cartoon about Marvel superheros. Huge nerd. But I believe in a well rounded education.

Ok Seriously

So I was in the drive thru line and the brand new Escalade in front of me starts pouring out a can of diet coke, whatever. And then, and then she dropped it on the ground. Seriously the trash can was 20 feet ahead of her and she just dropped it on the ground so I started yelling out my window about she could just have driven up 20 feet and tossed it there. But nooooo. I was pretty loud because when I made it to the window the girl was laughing. I said I was sorry to her and she said no problem. Then it gets worse because the bitch in the car starts to drive away but stops just a foot beyond the trash can and tossed her straw wrapper out. At that point I just honked my horn and yelled "Bitch pick it up."

The girl at the window was really laugh at this point when she hands me my food. I smiled rolled my eyes and left. I tried to get up next to her at the light and inform her that she had dropped a few things back there but just missed her. I was turning and she was going straight I half thought about following her but I said, "No, that would be stalking and probably prosecutable.

Side note I did pick up the can and toss it. The wrapper had blown away.

Busy summer

For the time of year that my schedule really lightens up I have been awfully busy. Not really with anything from school though I have done quite a bit. There was Pride in Indy, Pride in Chicago, A weekend in Iowa and weekend in Michigan coming up as well as yet another trip to Chicago all of this in like two months time. Oh and I had people over for the 4th. I guess having people over a lot really helps keep my house clean.*Mental note*

With all of this I have been on a stratigic planning committee for school, got most of my music not only picked out but copied for Jazz Band and Orchestra. I have also started on Lesson plans for all my classes.

I have also been going to the gym on a regular basis. All in all I feel very productive this summer. Now the trick is can I keep that motivation going for the fall.

So much to write about.

I am a bit behind on writing and I have so much to write about. This is the first weekend out of 3 that I have remained home. Two weeks ago I was in Chicago for Pride. Yea lots to talk about there. Last weekend I went to Iowa to visit Jamie. This weekend Jamie is here to visit. But before I ever dive into any of those things I must say.

Oh Holy Jesus, what the fuck happened in the 3rd installment of Spiderman. Yes dispite warnings from friends not to go see it I went anyway. I am a nerd and not seeing it wasn't really an option for me. But now I wish I hadn't. It was awful. I don't exagerate here. I mean really bad. The first hour or so was actually ok. It had promise though they kept bringing in storyline after storyline. I mean really there were 4 movies in that one. and with 45 minutes left I think they thought oh shit we have to tie these together and finish this movie. And what was up with Harry's butler was this really Marvels answer for Alfred. Move over Sir Michael Cain this guy may beat you out for an oscar. I mean really WTF. I really enjoyed the first two and was really looking forward to Venom because really that is one of my favorite parts of spiderman.

Oh and Stan Lee I know you created Spiderman and all but really just stay in a non talking roll.

Two notes on what I did enjoy. The return of goofy nieve Harry, James Franco is much cuter when he doesn't have that evil look or was that constipation I am not really sure. And Bruce Campbell, I love this actor but I swear he either has something on Sam Rahmi or he is sleeping with him because Bruce is in everything that man does and almost nothing else.

There is my rant and warning for anyone else if you can live with not seeing it please do. If not godspeed my friends.