Now that I don't have any classes to worry about I feel like I'm in a bit of a limbo time. Sure, I'm used to waiting a few months over the summer to resume classes, but in the past it has simply been a continuation of what was normal. Now I've made this major change, put a lot of things into motion, and now I'm just waiting...
But, I've been busy. It seems I always have plenty of things to do, and when all else fails there is always work around the house to be done. After a slow start to the year musically, it looks like things are picking up. I bought my first new releases this year recently, saw Kansas and Muse in the past two weeks, have some more concerts coming up, and hopefully Maiden and Rush should be announcing tour dates soon.
My radio show is back on the air after two months off, and it's so nice seeing everyone in that capacity again. Even though I see 95% of the listeners/chatters on the Dream Theater Forums it is a different experience sitting around listening to music and chatting about that and everything else.
Kinda a random post, but whatever...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Time to reavaluate
I've always found blogging to be very therapeutic, but for whatever reason I've sort of strayed away from it recently. I'm at a point in my life right now where major changes are kicking into action, and I think that's a good reason to start getting back into this, and keeping with it.
Since a lot of people reading this will be random strangers on the internet, I should probably give a bit of a back story. For the last 5+ years I've been working for a funeral home in Allentown, Pennsylvania. During that time I've had various side jobs, completed an Associates Degree in Accounting at a local community college, and taken courses towards a Bachelor's at a local university.
When I started at college I was a Political Science major, and for various reasons I ended up switching to Business, and after one semester of that (including a basic Accounting course and fantastic professor) I decided that Accounting would be my new career path of choice. Things went quite well from there, and I finished my degree on schedule. But then came the university...
I went to a college that is nice enough, but after having a fantastic experience at community college I ran into a continuous run of professors who I loathed. On top of that my experience with the administration while trying to get my transfer sorted in a fair manner was far from successful, despite a few people who really tried to fight for me. In time a sub-par faculty, especially in the business and accounting departments (with the exception of one professor) quickly took the excitement out of school for me. In the fall of '09 I found it difficult to pull myself out of bed in the morning, not because I didn't get enough sleep, but because I didn't want to go to a place that had become more a symbol of poor hiring decisions than higher education. You add to that the fact that the idea of doing Accounting 20 years from now, even though I was good at it was starting to scare me. Being good at something is one thing, but having a passion for it is another.
That is something I should have realized a lot sooner. All my life I have been successful, to some degree at least, at things I've been passionate about, or things that I've loved. For over 5 years I have happily helped families in need in the funeral service industry, and despite the depressing nature of the business I can really say I love my job. At the same time I worked in a restaurant for only two weeks, not because I couldn't handle the job, I actually got complimented from management the day I had decided to quit on what a great worker I was, but because my heart wasn't into the job. In the same vein I had worked about three weeks for a security company which basically required me to sit somewhere for a few hours or stand somewhere for a few hours, and despite that being possibly the easiest job on the face of the planet, it wasn't for me.
Despite all that, despite failing courses for the first time in my life due to poor attendance and general lack of interest, I told myself I had to do what needed to be done, that I was too far in to turn around, and I enrolled in courses for the Spring '10 semester. I went into the semester with the highest of spirits that things would be different, but after a week or two I had already hit a new low. I realized that no amount of money, or already completed work was worth being even partially unhappy for the rest of my life.
Even though my family and my girlfriend had in some way invested in the path I had laid out for myself, I knew I had to pave a new road, however difficult that might be. My new goal, in a general sense, was easy to pick out, but it was a matter of getting there that presented a problem. So for a week or two I sent emails around to different people at different places of importance and made my plan. My decision was made final when I announced it to my mother and girlfriend this past Friday.
I had decided to leave my current university immediately, getting whatever refund I could and using the rest of the semester to work and save money. Then I will take course at my old community college during the summer to get the last of my general education credits needed before going to another local community college with a special Funeral Service degree. Thanks to the number of credits I've already earned, and those I'll be taking over the summer, I will only need 33 credits at the new school, all Funeral Service specific, and I'll be able to take them over the Fall of '10 and Spring of '11.
This change of course is sure to cause a great deal of financial and personal turmoil, which has only started, but I have never felt more sure that it has to be done. I can see myself waking up every morning and wanting to do this, and that is not a feeling you can buy, and it's not a feeling other people can make you have. It will also be nice to know I'll have the full support of co-workers, many of which have suggested this to me in the past, and they would like nothing more than to see me succeed in this. I really wish I had listened to them sooner.
For now I have time to focus on work, on my home, and on catching up on many of the projects I've neglected due to being busy. Summer will be a hectic time, but I'm ready, I've never been more excited to meet a challenge, and the light at the end of the tunnel has never been brighter, despite the financial rewards being far less.
Since a lot of people reading this will be random strangers on the internet, I should probably give a bit of a back story. For the last 5+ years I've been working for a funeral home in Allentown, Pennsylvania. During that time I've had various side jobs, completed an Associates Degree in Accounting at a local community college, and taken courses towards a Bachelor's at a local university.
When I started at college I was a Political Science major, and for various reasons I ended up switching to Business, and after one semester of that (including a basic Accounting course and fantastic professor) I decided that Accounting would be my new career path of choice. Things went quite well from there, and I finished my degree on schedule. But then came the university...
I went to a college that is nice enough, but after having a fantastic experience at community college I ran into a continuous run of professors who I loathed. On top of that my experience with the administration while trying to get my transfer sorted in a fair manner was far from successful, despite a few people who really tried to fight for me. In time a sub-par faculty, especially in the business and accounting departments (with the exception of one professor) quickly took the excitement out of school for me. In the fall of '09 I found it difficult to pull myself out of bed in the morning, not because I didn't get enough sleep, but because I didn't want to go to a place that had become more a symbol of poor hiring decisions than higher education. You add to that the fact that the idea of doing Accounting 20 years from now, even though I was good at it was starting to scare me. Being good at something is one thing, but having a passion for it is another.
That is something I should have realized a lot sooner. All my life I have been successful, to some degree at least, at things I've been passionate about, or things that I've loved. For over 5 years I have happily helped families in need in the funeral service industry, and despite the depressing nature of the business I can really say I love my job. At the same time I worked in a restaurant for only two weeks, not because I couldn't handle the job, I actually got complimented from management the day I had decided to quit on what a great worker I was, but because my heart wasn't into the job. In the same vein I had worked about three weeks for a security company which basically required me to sit somewhere for a few hours or stand somewhere for a few hours, and despite that being possibly the easiest job on the face of the planet, it wasn't for me.
Despite all that, despite failing courses for the first time in my life due to poor attendance and general lack of interest, I told myself I had to do what needed to be done, that I was too far in to turn around, and I enrolled in courses for the Spring '10 semester. I went into the semester with the highest of spirits that things would be different, but after a week or two I had already hit a new low. I realized that no amount of money, or already completed work was worth being even partially unhappy for the rest of my life.
Even though my family and my girlfriend had in some way invested in the path I had laid out for myself, I knew I had to pave a new road, however difficult that might be. My new goal, in a general sense, was easy to pick out, but it was a matter of getting there that presented a problem. So for a week or two I sent emails around to different people at different places of importance and made my plan. My decision was made final when I announced it to my mother and girlfriend this past Friday.
I had decided to leave my current university immediately, getting whatever refund I could and using the rest of the semester to work and save money. Then I will take course at my old community college during the summer to get the last of my general education credits needed before going to another local community college with a special Funeral Service degree. Thanks to the number of credits I've already earned, and those I'll be taking over the summer, I will only need 33 credits at the new school, all Funeral Service specific, and I'll be able to take them over the Fall of '10 and Spring of '11.
This change of course is sure to cause a great deal of financial and personal turmoil, which has only started, but I have never felt more sure that it has to be done. I can see myself waking up every morning and wanting to do this, and that is not a feeling you can buy, and it's not a feeling other people can make you have. It will also be nice to know I'll have the full support of co-workers, many of which have suggested this to me in the past, and they would like nothing more than to see me succeed in this. I really wish I had listened to them sooner.
For now I have time to focus on work, on my home, and on catching up on many of the projects I've neglected due to being busy. Summer will be a hectic time, but I'm ready, I've never been more excited to meet a challenge, and the light at the end of the tunnel has never been brighter, despite the financial rewards being far less.
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