Transitions

Making transitions can be hard; they can be downright painful. And they are happening to us all the time. Sometimes they are small, such as the neighbor moved and now, what will the new neighbor be like? Or, they can be huge such as getting fired from a job or starting a new one. As most humans I'm experiencing both right now. I'm about to accept a new job and have some trepidation about it. I thought I was on the path to working part-time and doing some writing on the side OR possibly becoming trained as a coach. Now I'll have to figure out how to make some of that happen, regardless of the new job. I also have a new housemate moving in around the same time. What will she be like and will we get along? So many unknowns. Then the New Year will soon be upon us and we are all facing getting a year older. The main thing is that during those transitions how can we ride them like a surfer on a wave instead of getting smacked in the face or drowning. I think the key is attitude and flexibility. The better our attitude about change and the more open we are to what may be, the better able we will be to weather whatever happens to us.

August Rush

A born conductor with an ear that hears like no other, August Rush, is a boy and a film you must see. Raised in an orphanage for boys, we are introduced to August when he is still Evan. He has no desire to be adopted because he knows his parents are out there looking for him; and somehow the music he hears and the stars above are his guidepost to them and to him. We get a glimpse of his parents--how they met and how they parted and we ache for them. We see the incredible genius of this boy wonder as he hears music in everything around him. He leaves his boyhood home mesmerized by a prepubescient, African American guitar player playing in the middle of Washington Square in NY City. It's the tale of--if you want something badly enough and you have the talent--you will be led to the place you were meant to be. Through a series of circumstances Evan (August) comes in touch with Robin Williams a caring, throw away kid once himself who teaches, protects, and collects half the take of the musical kids under his care including the African American guitar player who Evan (August) follows home (an old, usused theater). Evan becomes Williams personal project and he names him August Rush after a bus logo that passes them by--he sees his talent and wants to profit off of it. After a series of circumstances August ends up at Julliard (you have to suspend your disbelieve in how he gets there) with the chance to conduct his own symphony. Through his music he ultimately gets what he really wants--the parents he always knew were there. Inspiring as it is poignant, run don't walk to this fabulous, feel good film.

Jewish Gospel?

That's right ... such a thing exists. I spent two summers with Sharon Alexander at the Jewish Renewal Kallah learning how to sing Jewish Gospel. Actually, it was a class she taught and then at the end of the Kallah, we had the opportunity to perform it. You can hear a sampling right here. If you look closely you'll be able to see me in a brown no sleeve top on the right hand side of the video clip.



The energy was simply amazing! Let me know if you agree? If you want to hear more, simply go to YouTube and search for Jewish Gospel. I'd love to bring her to Seattle so we could have our very own lessons and community performance.

Job Interviews

So I"m about to go on another job interview. They interviewed me last week by phone since I was so sick. The crazy thing about it is; I really don't want the job. My G-d ... they expect me to raise almost a million dollars for a conference that I believe takes places some time next summer. That's just insane. Unless the pharmaceutical companies are going to be knocking my door down, I don't know how that is doable. It must be if they did it last year, but who knows.

I went on another job interview yesterday and met a lovely woman who would be my boss. That job was to be a health care recruiter, something I know virtually nothing about. I think I would love working with her, but then there is the awful commute to Bellevue and the 8am start. I think anything before 9am is inhuman or inhumane ... however you want to phrase it.

Anyway, I think the whole idea of it's not applying for jobs that gets you the job it's who you know is a bunch of bullshit. I called a woman today who would be my boss for 2 jobs that I saw and she told me she wasn't even the one who would be doing the screening ... and she told me that she thought I was overqualified. So what is a gal to do.

All I can think is that the right this hasn't come along yet and when it does, they will snap me up and I'll be happy as a clam.

One can only hope!

The Last Night of Chanukkah

Being sick for the entire length of Chanukkah has been somewhat of a bummer. I didn't sit home the whole week, but I probably should have. In addition to going to see The Golden Compass which was awesome, I went to my friend Paulette's house with John to light the candles, share food, and play my guitar for the kids. I was beat by 7pm, but I'm glad I went.
We didn't have any latkes. So I'm still dying to have just one. I always have at least one during Chanukkah.

On another note, I was so touched today when my 8 year old nephew called me up to thank me for his Chanukkah present. I had just watched, Mitch Albom's One More Day and so cried my eyes out. I'm so sentimental. And then because it was the last night I called up my buddy Laurie and asked her to sing the prayers with me while I lit my menorah. Luckily my other good buddy Gail was there as well so we all sang together. Feeling a little bit like Typhoid Mary, it still felt good to be with them even if only by phone. It's amazing how important family is at this time of year. It's hard because when you live in another city as I have for so many years, it easy to feel disconnected. Creating family of my own here in Seattle has been incredibly important. And Laurie said that she's got the latke making down this year and has promised to make me some once I'm better. Now that's a true friend.

The Golden Compass

It was amazing our group of 6 were almost the only ones in the theater this past Saturday to view the opening of The Golden Compass with all the hype it's received. Maybe it was the mixed reviews. I had just read the book so it was fresh in my mind. Although the movie did not hold totally true to the book particularly at the end, the casting was superb, Dakota Blue who was a perfect fit for the wild, risk taking Lyra Belacqua and Nicole Kidman as the "Ice Queen" Mrs. Coulter. The opening scenes were reminiscent of Oliver Twist with kids running amok through some London streets. The juxtaposition of the animals with the people were seamless which added to the believability of this extraordinary fantasy. On the surface it's pure fun and beneath it all is the pull between the church and it's hold on society and it's desire to control our sexuality and as the book portends that "dust" which the church and the evil guys see as "evil" is probably really a good thing. The whole premise is that if we separate ourselves from our souls before they mature into adulthood, we can keep our sexuality at bay. This doesn't totally come out in the movie but likely will in the next. I'm anxious to get ahold of The Subtle Knife, the next book in the series to see where author, Phillip Pullman goes. It should be a wild ride. I'd love to hear some other takes on this movie, from others who have read the book and seen the flick. The Golden Compass in my mind was a great getaway from our everyday life.

Killer Cold Cures

I can't believe it's been an entire week and I still have the "Killer Cold". It just doesn't seem to want to go away. Luckily I had a good nights sleep and feel more energetic than I have all week long. But that doesn't mean the creeping crud isn't still doing it's nasty thing. I think that the viruses out there have gotten more powerful lately. It seems like a lot of people can't get over colds as quickly as they used to; they just seem to hang on and on. Now we have all kinds of meds to help us get over them more quickly; Zicam, Zinc lozenges, Echinacea, Saline Rinses, Sambucol, Emergency-C. Not to mention, the biggie for travellers, Airborne. We are either trying to prevent or get over a cold. And many of us march into the Drs office thinking that he/she will have some magic bullet. Well there isn't one. I for one think it's all the stupid antibiotics we've been taking for years and now the anti-bacterial soaps that are knocking out any chance for our immune systems to keep up to speed on doing what they do best. So when a funky cold virus comes along we just can't handle it. I know someone out there will say I'm mixing up my apples and oranges or rather viruses and bacteria and never the twain shall meet, but I don't think so. I'm of the mind that we shouldn't be protecting the rug rats from eating off the floor. That's how they build up their defenses. Anyone out there who has a better argument. I'm all ears.