View from a Vista

New Beginnings

2006-02-23T17:49:00.000-06:00

New Year's eve is supposed mark then end of one era and the beginning of another. This new era often lasts a matter of days, and sometimes only minutes. Waking up with hangover and no memory of what fantastic plans you had for the coming year is hardly the best way to start something and the perfect way to slip back into what you were trying to leave behind. Someone should really do a study on the relationship between failed resolutions and hangovers.

My New Years came about two months late. I watched the ball drop, and tragically did not watch Prince chasing Lincoln chasing a Green Bay Packer. Nothing else really changed though. Everything I wanted to leave behind stuck with me, until last week.

Last week was the week of new beginnings. It felt like spring, even tough it was so cold I couldn't feel much, that is until I got back inside and any exposed skin let me know that it didn't appreciate the weather. But somehow, at a VISTA conference that I was not looking forward to, things turned around.

I met new people, I drank (for free), I wandered around swanky jazz club and was offered free food. Free wine and free food accompanied by live music; this sort of thing does not happen to people making $4 an hour. It was also amazing to be in a room with people making a difference, hearing their stories of success and struggle, and simply knowing that for every person burning a church or an embassy there were as many people creating positive change. I learned a little, met some people, watched the Olympics (at least until my retinas were scarred by the figure skating zebra man) and am ready for part two of the VISTA experience.

My VISTA work itself should be much better too, especially since I will have actual work to do. My new supervisor can't get much better. She has done more in a week than the old supervisor did in months. Most importantly, I am excited. The monotony of last year dragged well into this year, but spring showed up early.

Elliott Smith - Either/Or

2006-02-05T14:49:00.000-06:00

Sometime in November the sun goes down and never seems quite able to come up. It hangs at strange angle, trying as hard as it can to reach its deserved place directly over head, but it never makes it. Then it as if it stops trying, and the clouds move in, and the darkness lasts for months. We know the spring is coming, but we wonder if we will make it. But when the sun breaks through the clouds, even if the sun is far from where it should be, we remember the long warm days that are only a few short months away.

Elliott Smith spent his life in a cold, dark winter. Occasionally in his songs, the sun would break through the clouds, with a hint of hope, but not enough hope to make it to spring.
You can download this album by clicking here.

Those must have albums.

2006-01-28T12:42:00.000-06:00

Over the next few days, or until I come to the conclusion that my music collection isn't as great as I'd like to think, I will be discussing and sharing those albums that I consider "must-haves". Music appreciation is subjective of course. Some of these albums will not make many "best ever" lists, and they probably shouldn't. They are however the bed rock of my music collection, and have played a significant role in the evolution of my music taste.

Having said that, how about an album that I finally listened to the other day? Yes, I have been living in a hole for the last ten years. I often shy away from "hype". I'd rather not have my opinion shaped by others. If something is truly great, I'll come around to appreciating eventually, but when and how I want. I don't know enough about Radiohead to say if they are the greatest band ever, as many claim. I haven't listened to "The Bends" enough to know where I would rank this album on my personal list, or if it deserves its place on many "best lists". What I do know is that it is a very good album. Special thanks to the many bands who have covered the songs on this album. They gave me the opportunity to appreciate the songs as songs, without being associated with either deserved or undeserved hype.

You can download this album by clicking here.

Hiring a Boss

2006-01-25T17:33:00.000-06:00

Who knew that job interviews could be this fun? As a person that dreads job interviews, never knows what to say, and would generally rather live in a box on the street than have a job requiring multiple interviews, I was also dreading being on the other side of the table. In a way, it was also a job interview for me. My term is up at the end of August, and it'd be nice to work for the same organization and actually get paid.

Maybe I didn't realize that this was also a job interview for me, because I nailed it. I knew what to say, how to say it, seemed at least somewhat articulate, (you'll just have to believe me) and hopefully made a positive impression. Most importantly, it was my first opportunity to think on my feet in quite a while. I missed my brain.

What does this mean?

2006-01-23T21:30:00.000-06:00

Four light bulbs have burnt out in my room in the last week. Am I sending off bad vibes?

I'm a long way from Cape Town.

2006-01-21T21:06:00.000-06:00

If you asked me a year ago what I would be doing tonight, I would have said I'd be saying my last good byes before heading off to Cape Town. I sometimes wonder if I made the right decision not to go. I've made a lot of excuses for turning down the chance of a life time. Some of these are actually good reasons to not move to a developing country that couldn't be farther away. However, the real reason was fear. Maybe this is justified too? Regardless, I'm going to miss the music.

Download this album here.

Would you like some red tape with your bureaucratic non-sense?

2006-01-20T20:00:00.000-06:00

Helping about one thousand poor folks get a thousand dollars does not need to be this difficult. All I need to do is fill out one form, stand by the copier for longer than I really want to think about, and stuff mailboxes for a few days. That is all it would take. I don’t need a fancy degree or a theory about generational poverty. All I need is a supervisor that will accept that simple solutions do exist, and that everything does not require a “process”.

And no, I am not having one of my “know it all” moments. It really is this easy. Low-income people are eligible for tax credits worth an average of $2000. They are also eligible to have their taxes done for them for free. All we need to do is order the flyers (for free), make some copies (paper is close to free), and hand them out (the feds pay my “living allowance”, so I am basically free).

Many of our residents have trouble paying the rent. This is understandable because most of them earn less than $20,000/year. When residents don’t pay the rent, we lose money. If our residents could pay the rent, and one would think an extra thousand dollars might help, it makes a lot of sense to hang up some flyers.

For some reason this requires some sort of official process, several colors of tape, and one frustrated VISTA.

Clock Strikes 'Midnight Hour' on Life of Wilson Pickett

2006-01-20T19:59:00.000-06:00

Whenever my father and I drove somewhere, the radio was tuned to an oldies station. He was never one to try to share whatever wisdom he gained over the years, but he wanted to make sure I listened to good music. It also may have been that the music of the late 80’s and early 90’s was unlistenable to someone who had lived through the glory years of rock ‘n’ roll. Whatever the reason, when most of my friends were rocking out to Guns ‘n’ Roses, I was debating who recorded the definitive version of “Proud Mary” (Sorry Tina, it wasn’t you). I don’t know much about Wilson Pickett, but I knew the songs long before I stayed up past midnight.

King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan

2006-01-20T19:53:00.000-06:00

If more people listened to obscure gospel music from the early 20th century, there would be quite the controversy in the music world. King Britt, a New York DJ has remixed/technofied Sister Gertrude Morgan’s only album, and did so at the same time that the original album was re-released. Purists are complaining that Morgan is lost beneath the weight of King Brit. They feel is should be Sister Gertrude, her Tambourine, and the recording crew desperately trying to catch her impromptu performances on tape.While King Britt’s version sounds different than the original, he has made it more accessible, and has no doubt led many people to listen to the original. It may not be what Sister Gertrude expected 40 years ago when her street corner preaching/singing was first recognized by the masses, but undoubtedly she would want her message reaching new audiences. This album has done just that.
Download this album here.

So what will this be?

2006-01-20T19:51:00.000-06:00

If this site goes like my past attempts, I will write a few entries, lose interest, and eventually not even remember that this exists. However, considering that I earn a “living allowance” and do not really know that many people around here, I should have plenty of time to dump my thoughts onto here.Ultimately, that is what this site will most likely be; a general dumping ground for whatever is on my mind, whatever I’m listening to, and whatever recent supposed epiphanies I have about my life or the world in general.