I'm not worried...

because God has got this one. No amount of anxiety is ever going to have a calming effect, so I am done with it right now. I'm simply going to do the right things and hope that I happen to land a job in the next couple of weeks.

God is bigger than __________. (insert everything here, including my job anxiety--thanks Karen).

You make all things new.

Two days in a row! Job search update...

Here we go with what it sure to be an interesting and fun-filled post about my current experience as a college graduate.

First, what it means to be a college graduate. As a college graduate, I have spent my days at the college library (probably more time than I was ever there during my actual stint in college) looking for jobs and hoping that one of them would pan out for me. Teaching jobs are funny because each district has a different, but equally confusing application process. This has proved to be incredibly time-consuming with little reward. However, I did have an interview last week with a school in Davenport, Florida called Four Corners Charter School. It is a K-8 school that is in need of a middle school music teacher. The interview was over the phone and I felt like it went pretty well. They said they would be making their decision by June 20, and also asked if I would be willing to fly down and visit. I said that I would have no problem making the sacrifice to fly down to Florida on a whim!

This week has been a little lazy in terms of the job search, simply because I am waiting out the results of this interview that I had last week. I truly hope that it pans out because it is a great area and the mix of classes is exactly what I am looking for: weighted heavily in general music with a choir class as well. I would be able to focus on what I really love, which is getting kids excited and involved in learning music.

So we will see what happens...if you happen to read this and feel inclined to do so, please take a minute and just shoot out a prayer for this, because I really feel like it is the opportunity for me and I am just looking for some kind of security about what it is going on for me in the fall. I would also like to start searching for apartments with palm trees and whatnot! Did I mention this school's proximity to Disney World? Well, nevermind...

As always, feel free to comment and share your thoughts on all of this! I look forward to all of your thoughts. Peace...

this is a swan 

A flippin' peacock 

Nice shot of the castle in Disneyland Paris! 

Space Mountain: Mission 2...pretty cool! 

My Disney-ness has gone international...me at Disneyland Paris! 

I want to be a better blogger...

I suppose that the fundamental purpose of a weblog is to provide a place where people you see on a regular basis (or more importantly, those you don't) can read up on all the ongoings of your life. A blog is a place where you can control what chapters individuals read of your "open book."

However, if you do not ever take the time to write on your blog it just becomes another piece of .html floating around in cyberspace, or something incredibly dramatic like that. Well friends, I am back in the game, and since I have plenty of minutes to play, here we go...

I spent the weekend basically alone for my roommate is and was in Aruba windsurfing with his brother and father. That is one nice life. I did, however, acquire a little piece of television history we like to call the MacGyver Season 2 on DVD. It has provided me with mucho entertainment and fun. I got to hang out with Krouton (not her real name) on Saturday night, did a little sing-sing at the church on Sunday morning, and watched the Pistons game (or massacre) and ate Chinese food with a few friends last night.

As for today, today has been a day of not a whole lot. I am anxiously waiting to hear from a school in Florida that I interviewed with last week via telephone. I really want them to offer me the job I applied for. It's a middle school music position that centers heavily on general music, which is quite exciting to me, so please keep that in your prayers this week as the powers that be deliberate and whatnot.

This evening will be a fun time at the 84 East and then who-knows-what. Some kind of cavorting no doubt.

For those that are interested, here is some new contact information that you may take advantage of:

My new e-mail is: andrew.meyers@gmail.com.
My new cellular device's number is: available when you e-mail me at the above address.

Have a wonderful evening and feel free to comment...thanks for being a part of these last eight minutes of my life. Cheers...

It was pretty darn sweet...

Yesterday the boys visited Jenison Junior and Senior High Schools for some impromptu performances. No setlists, just a lot of fun and hopefully some learning to for the students of those institutions. We headed over to sing for the 7-8-9 Male Chorus (of about 140 students), did about a 25-minute set with a little schtick. Then, we headed back to the senior high to sing for the 9th grade women and the 7th grade women of that hour ended up coming over to hear us. Both classes had a blast, and it was just a cryin' shame we couldn't have had the boys stay for the 4th, 5th, and 6th hours as well! Thanks to the members of 12th Street Harmony for taking time out of their day to come out and sing in Jenison...it was a blast!

The boys visit Jenison Junior High 

Disney might be a fun place to work

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I sent in a cover letter and résumé to the Walt Disney World Casting Center requesting that I be considered for a position with their "Magic Music Days" program. MMD brings performing groups (choirs, orchestras, bands) to WDW to perform for guests. Churchville (my alma mater) went their several times in the 90s. I want to work as a "talent coordinator" with the groups that come to perform for "the World." Please keep this in your prayers as I am really looking to hear back from them this week as I prepare to make some decisions. I am just hoping that my envelope gets in the right person's hands and they choose to respond in some way to me, and soon! I just feel that this has been on my heart for a long time and for good reason, so we will see what happens! Could be the most awesome thing that has ever happened to me...

Missing the magic... 

Reflections of genius... 

i feel like i can't control myself

So I took the "Super IQ Test" and...

"Andrew, your Super IQ score is 125

Your overall intelligence quotient is the result of a scientifically-tested formula based on how many questions you answered correctly. But it's only part of what we learned about you from your answers on the test. We also determined the way you process information.The way you think about things makes you a Complex Intellectual. This means you are highly intelligent and have extraordinarily strong verbal and math skills. Compared to others you are a highly conceptual and complex thinker and are able to understand information in an abstract form. You also show great attention to detail. In fact, it's hard to find something you're not good at."

It also said I should consider getting out more.

these darn Internet quizzes

According to the Personality Test at http://web.tickle.com,

"Andrew, you're a Poet!

You are complex and artistic with a rich inner life. Chances are you're a bit shy and quiet, and you enjoy peaceful, comfortable environments. You're an interesting person to know, full of insights and inspiration, even though you're sometimes hesitant to express them.You enjoy intense one-on-ones or small, intimate dinner parties. You don't always make friends easily and you relish the ones you have. You don't like to juggle too much at work and can get stressed out by major job upheavals.And that's just scratching the surface!"

Then, I got crazy and took the IQ test:

"Congratulations, Andrew! Your IQ score is 131...

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Precision Processor. This means you're exceptionally good at discovering quick solutions to problems, especially ones that involve math or logic. You're also resourceful and able to think on your feet. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results."

What a time! And it isn't even Friday night!

sometimes you feel like a nut

Let's get serious. God had it right when he created Eve.

There Adam was, hanging out in the Garden of Eden, with little to do except name all of the animals (is that where the dinosaurs lived too?) and hang out. I expect he probably prayed a lot and thanked God for the numerous gifts he had been given. Life was good. But, Adam was probably mildly bored with not having anyone mortal to talk to. He didn't know it, but he needed a woman. This is perhaps the greatest human metaphor; that without women, men are just not the same. As always and not surprisingly, God had it right. Now, had it not been for that first woman and the forbidden fruit, Adam might still be in the garden. He'd be twelve thousand or so years old and he probably would be wishing he had some fig leaves, but worst of all, he would be alone.

Forgive that paragraph if you will, for my theology is probably not particularly sound. But I think, for the most part, I was pretty on target. So what was God saying when he snuck one of Adam's ribs while he was asleep? You can't live by your lonesome buddy, and I am going to help you out.

Adam probably treated Eve well while they were going out, or married, or whatever they were. But there were probably times when slipped up and snapped at her or something (remember that forbidden fruit thing? He was probably pissed off about that). But it sounds to me like Eve still loved him through all of that. What a sweet lady...

Men need to learn how to love the woman they love, and they can't do it without God. Steven Curtis Chapman probably has it right:

Well you know it's not the first time
And it will not be the last
When you find me here on my knees
Praying for the storm to pass
But what I am really needing
Is much more than just relief
I am crying out for wisdom
Only you can give to me'
Cause it's such a mystery
I'm a clueless man when it comes
To knowing how to love a woman

Loving a woman is a journey it would seem. Men are not born to do it perfectly.

Thank you for looking past my flaws even when it is most difficult to do so.

top ten reasons that Christmas break equals greater frequency in posts

Fresh from "The Late Show with David Letterman" and everyone's favorite, Napoleon Dynamite...

Top Ten Signs You're Not The Most Popular Guy In Your High School (presented by Napoleon Dynamite)

10. Your yearbook photo caption reads, "Unidentified Sophomore."
9. Your only friend is the one you built in shop class.
8. School song includes phrase about how much you suck.
7. Every time you talk to a girl, the conversation inevitably drifts to your frequent nosebleeds.
6. The stupid kid who gets his tater tots stolen every day? He steals your tater tots.
5. Everyone's jealous of your tetherball skills.
4. Not only did you take your mom to the prom, you had to pay her 20 bucks.
3. You can't dance like this.
2. "Lord of the Rings" figurines-50, friends-0.
1. How would I know? I'm like the coolest kid in school.

Probably not as funny in print as it was on the program--check it out: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/#

Have a great day!

home sweet home

And now, I will continue my trend of proper capitalization...

Good evening. It is Tuesday, December 21, 2004 (the first day of winter) and the weather in good ol' Rochester was a balmy thirty-seven degree Fahrenheit. After a wonderful homecoming weekend with family and friends, I find myself happy, but sad. On the one hand, we continue to inch our way closer to the wonderful Christmas day, but today it also meant that I had to say goodbye to the one I love. This is never easy, but I should also be thankful that in just one week, I will be able to join her in sunny Dubuque, Iowa.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the so-called "dollar theatre" (it actually costs $1.50 for matinees and $2 on nights and weekends), where I viewed the film Napoleon Dynamite. It was very funny--one might even say zany--except I did not realize its hilarity until we got home and my brother started quoting it impeccably. Everyone must see this film. It will change their life.

Some things do change. My Wal*Mart. My beautiful Brockport Wal*Mart, where retail goodness and low prices abound, is not the mecca of holiday cheer that it once was. Nor is it the clean, inviting place to shop that the farm folk of Clarkson considered the destination of their annual vacation. Instead, it is now a slush-infested, cluttered, uninviting place that I probably will not attend in the near future. I consider this a real travesty, but I will surely move one with memories of what once was near and dear to my heart.

A special shout-out to a dear friend Miss Jeniffer Boone, who as of last evening, has become engaged to some guy whose last name I cannot spell. Congratulations, Booner! After five years of dating, I never would have expected this...

That is all for now I am afraid. Best wishes to you all during this holiday week and merry Christmas as well! My heart is with you, my travelling snow bunny! Be safe!

no title necessary

a throwback to an earlier may:

happy thanksgiving mariah carey all i want for christmas is you rugged man krispy kreme borders books and music i panera hy-vee exploits with the mom squanto massasoit forgot the lord's prayer who the hell is rutherford b. hayes ashley dan nicole alan morning macy's parade billy joel lp dinner time corn pudding homemade audio tapes the polar express or not the game keeping up with the jones' night time friday wal-mart hy-vee luncheon oreo fluff stop-light kisses target airplanes miguel switched coffees love best buy red-haired brian bye bye sarah happy joe's pizza the fugitive hinky hinky hinky the village inn pumpkin pie $5.00 coke float saturday grits and goodness iowa state on television montreat discussion the mall once more cookie slices diet coke kay the hunt for red october u.s. marshals culver's first presbyterian the big doors joys a and w curly mullet hugs and goodbye on the road again taco you future talk home.

stop-light kisses.

too long.

Preface: I will now attempt (in the hopes of lending credibility to this already credible blog) proper capitalization.

I have not posted to this wonderful piece of webspace in about three weeks. What follows is an unending sense of remorse, followed by the fervent hope that those who once cared about the ongoings of my life will again subscribe to what I intend to be a more frequently updated weblog.

My last post saw me at the beginning of my field placement. I now near the end of the placement not knowing where I really stand and wondering if I am truly ready for the real world. Part of me knows that I surely am, but the nature of these field placements is so very artificial, and knowing where one stands is not always clear. I remain optimistic, however, for it should become less artificial with each placement.

'Candide' opens on Friday--be there or be square! It should be an absolutely great time. We are in the midst of "teching" the show ('teching' is surely not a real verb). The process is often slow and tedious, but it allows us as actors to get our processes in line and truly understand how the show works. I am very excited for everyone that will see it this weekend! More than that, I hope the word gets out following the opening. I would not be surprised if we sold out some of the nights during the second week of the run. Maybe even this opening week as well! Get your tickets...

I am very excited for a Thanksgiving trip to Iowa, although it will be the first turkeyday in my entire life that I will not be eating my mother's pumpkin pie. With any luck, Mrs. Rev. Dr. Achtemeier will get the job done. I am sure she will! And she also said she was making sweet potatoes and they are my absolute favorite. Thanksgiving is wonderful.

With that, I am off to sing for what should surely be a receptive 'Encounter With The Arts' class where we will perform selections from the aforementioned musical. See you all soon.

Oh, and if anyone knows how to put cool links and things on the side frame of the blog, I would love to learn this process for my own blog.