This might be my fiftieth post

I'm not sure, but it might. Anyway, I need some advice.

I am being recommended for a position as an admissions rep with Hope. It does not mean that I have gotten the position or anything like that, just that there are people speaking to other appropriate people on my behalf. I am an education major, so does my taking a position like this make any kind of sense? Your thoughts and comments on this post are sincerely appreciated. If possible, please take a moment to e-mail me at andrew.meyers@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Saturday in the park

No I am not in the park. I actually just thought of the song as I was attempting to think of a clever title for today's post. Isn't the rest of the line "waiting for the 4th of July" or something like that? Anyone who can either confirm or deny the validity of that is more than welcome to do so. I am just way too lazy to even consider Googling it or anything like that.

It has been a more than eventful Saturday to say the least. I went down to the local coffee shop (newly remodeled, I might add) to enjoy a cup of joe and continue reading the first installment of the Harry Potter series. I have indeed jumped on the proverbial bandwagon when it comes to that particular collection of novels and I have no intention of falling off until I find out who the half-blood prince is. (Please don't tell me if you have already found out.)

I called my mother for a good little while and also talked to my little brother Ben. He is very cool and told me about all of his past week's summertime exploits. Then it was off to a very low class book fair (Scholastic would never approve) where I picked up a full copy of Handel's Messiah and the music to the musical The Secret Garden.

My thoughts for today have centered around the topic of redemption. It's a pretty heavy duty thing to be considering, but it has just struck me in this last little while. In everything there is an element of redemption, and it brings me back to the lyrics of the SCC song "All Things New."

You make all things new / You redeem and You transform / You renew and You restore

In all things, no matter how tiring and terrible, unjust and unfair (let's be honest, this world is chock full of these kind of things), God is there to redeem, if we choose to allow him to do so. Isn't that the most precious and comforting thought that we could ever have on our hearts, that God is a god of love and of mercy? I simply cannot imagine depending on anything else.

I'm not going to apologize

It has been a lengthy amount of time since I have last posted to this little weblog that has come to be known as "scenes from an italian restaurant", and if there is someone out there who will respond to this post with two reasons why that title is appropriate, then they will win the prize of feeling good about themselves for a good little while. (HINT: If you can't figure it out, then go ahead and read on in this post and you will probably figure out a way to answer my little riddle.)

One of the reasons why I haven't posted is that I have taken up a new glorious and exciting hobby which I will now take a few moments to share about. Golf. Now, I know what you all must be thinking, that's really great that you've taken up such a hip sport, Andrew, why don't you start drinking Metamucil and watching reruns of the People's Court as well? Well before you go off into some kind of rant about golf is an old person's sport, you should probably ask yourself: did I watch the young Tiger Woods win the British Open this past weekend? If the answer is anything but yes, then you should ask yourself another question: how is that I came to be so incredibly uninformed?

With that little rant out of the way, I would like to take some time to talk about my golf game. I purchased some kind of off-brand clubset from eBay and have since played 9 holes twice with the new equipment. I love the distance I can get off the tee with a good drive and my new enormous driver. I have been fairly successful in getting to the green in regulation, but my downfall has to be my ability to read putts and score well from a short distance. Hopefully, I can get out some more and practice around the putting green and whatnot.

Now for a little hinty about my aformentioned riddle (in the form of an abstract poem):

i work in a restaurant
and i like the piano man as well

That should help you out.

Bye bye.

Sometimes the answer is so simple...

We'll make a wish and do as dreamers do...



There are pieces of music in this world that can move you, change you so deeply that after listening to them you are never the same.

For me, it has always been music that highlights those qualities that make us human. It is music that is timeless. Music that stays with you from the minute you hear it and for the rest of your life.

Sometimes a song will come on the radio, and if it is a tune that is closely linked with a period of my life, I can't help but go back to that time and relive it in some way.

That, my friends, is what makes music so powerful. Its strong link to our memory helps us retain the important happenings in our lives, even after we feel as if we have long forgotten them.

I love music because it helps to grow by reminding us of where we came from. It reminds of lost loves, chances we never took, and the unforgettable promise of tomorrow.

There may be no greater reflection of our humanness than the music, the art that we create.



and all our wishes will come true.

Tough decisions are not easy

I know what you are thinking. Thank you, Captain Obvious. I don't remember missing that many classes in college. Occasionally I was ill or had some other kind of legitimate excuse for not being able to be there. There must have been one day centered around making adult decisions that I wasn't able to attend. Too bad, I could have used that information today.

Come with me now to last week Thursday when a school in Florida called to say that they were offering me a position. I had previously lost all interest in pursuing the position, but since I had just been turned down for another, I began to give it some serious thought. When push came to shove and after some questions asked of their principal, I realized that no amount of year-round golf or theme park-hopping could ever compensate for what wasn't a really great fit for me. I had to turn down the job. It was the right decision for me to make.

I am twenty-one years of age. I just graduated from college and I just feel like I have no business being picky. A job is offered to me and I turn it down. Is this okay? I am certain that something will come along, perhaps even in this area, but a position was within reach and I had no choice but to say no. It just wasn't a good fit for me, at least not good enough that I could hike myself all the way down to Florida for it.

At some point, we have to get this right. "They", whoever "they" are, need to realize that you only get out of something what you put in. You want effective teachers, teachers who want to teach in your district and are going to be around for a long time, then give them the tools they need to be successful. I don't claim to know the first thing about economics, but I do know things aren't great now. Even so, education reform has to start somewhere, and for my money, I believe it has to start with proper allocation of resources. Get your priorities straight, and things will start to turn around for you. I am all for athletics in the schools, but if you make that your priority, academics are going to be the first things to suffer. If you don't have the money to contribute to a program, you don't have any business keeping the program running. The kids are the ones that suffer. I'll find another job, but somewhere, some kids are losing out because they aren't on a level playing field with other students in this country. They lose and nobody wins.

I want to change our world for the better and I am patiently waiting for the chance to start.

My search has only just begun. I am ready to fly...