Repent Amarillo

For anyone who doesn't know, Repent Amarillo is a fundamentalist group at best, a hate mongering group at worst. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in hate speech, just like I don't believe in a hate crime. All speech is protected, all crimes should be punished equally.

But that said, some groups don't have anything productive to add to the public discourse, and Repent Amarillo is one of them.

As I was clicking around Facebook, I noticed a group existed that was very anti-Repent Amarillo. Interestingly, it also has about ten times as many 'Likes' on Facebook, which kind of tells you how niche Repent Amarillo is. But sometimes is the vocal minority that get all the attention.

Anyway, the anti-Repent Amarillo Facebook group had some pictures snitched off the Repent Amarillo FB page and website, and this was one of them:

It's a pitcure of, presumably, the 'pastor' of the 'church', and what might be his family (not sure) praying over the Amarillo Lodge building, specifically at the cornerstone.

The reason I decided to share this was because of the extreme irony in this photo that I guarantee those posing in bad-album-cover form don't even realize. Within Amarillo lodge is where the Amarillo Commandery meets, which is the apex of the York Rite in the Amarillo area. To join the Commandery, you must be a Christian! The Commandery itself is an order of Christian knighthood. This is something their so called 'pastor' would know if he read books.

But to read books, you have to stop burning them first.

York Rite Freemasonry

A video relevant to my petitioning of the York Rite, and my earlier post. Does a pretty good job of explaining the Rite.

Collegiate Station, I Have No Kind Words

I'm getting the hell out if at all possible this summer.

It's been two and a half years of complete unprofessionalism from the management and much of the office. And today was the icing on the cake.

Yesterday, I was asked by the Vice President of Kappa Kappa Psi if I could reserve the Collegiate Station party room for a fraternity event this Saturday. Ok, no problem. It's kind of short notice, but I'll see what I can do. We've used it many times before, and have never had a problem with them regarding their party room, so I figured if it was open this Saturday, there wouldn't be an issue.

Let me make it clear, one of the primary reasons we've used it in the past is because it's the perfect size, and it's free to use provided the person reserving the room is a) a tenant at collegiate station, and b) a member of the organization reserving the room. I can think of at least seven times in the past four years where either Kappa Kappa Psi or Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia has used the room, and it's worked out perfectly. Most recently at the PMA Christmas party this past December.

So anyway, I swing by yesterday before the office closed, asked about reserving it. I was assured that it wouldn't be a problem, the room was open, just fill out the form, etc etc. I was told this by one of the office members who I trust. He's the guy who usually takes me rent/utilities, answers my questions, etc. Very reliable, respectable guy. Only caveat was that the manager wasn't in the office. (Her official hours, from what I've been told are 10:00 to 4:00 pm, typically. But I wouldn't know, because manager's hours aren't posted, and she's not always there during those times, and is typically very reluctant to meet after those hours.) She would have to approve the request, but of course, it shouldn't be a problem.

Ok, fine. Fill out the form, assured that it would be open Saturday evening.

Received a call just ten minutes ago from one of the office members. Apparently the manager came in and said that they would require a $200.00 deposit for us to use the room, in case something breaks. Or because it's after hours. Or something. He didn't seem clear on the point.

So I griped at him. (I hate griping at the messenger, but the manager didn't have the stones to call me herself.) This has never been the policy before, when did this change? Well, uh, in case something breaks... How am I supposed to come up with $200.00 in less than twenty four hours? Silence. We [Kappa Kappa Psi] have used the room at least four times in the past couple years, and we've never been charged before, nor was this mentioned yesterday. Why is there a charge now? More silence. Fine. I'll have to cancel. I can't pull $200.00 out of thin air.

Which leaves Alpha Psi without a place to hold their rush event Saturday.

My guess is the manager didn't want to bother with opening up and closing the room Saturday evening, and decided to arbitrarily put up a soft barrier to prevent us from using it, avoiding the hassle on her part. It may be a malicious assumption, but maybe not.

I still remember last semester, when we were trying to sort out a question regarding how much money, if any, I owed CS. I was asked to come in and talk to the manager about it, because she was the only one that could sort it out. That was when I learned she kept 10:00am to 4:00pm work hours. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that there's a lunch break in there. Of course, when I tried to explain to the girl working the office that I was student teaching, and I had work from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, she didn't quite seem to understand me. It was if I was supposed to some how adjust my ten hour work day to accommodate the manager's brutal six hour work day.

Since I moved in, there have been no less than three different managers in two and a half years, possibly four. Kind of hard to say when you rarely actually see the manager working. I have to base my judgement on the 'Under New Management!' signs that are routinely put out.

Well, I've learned my lesson. 'Under New Management!' ought to read, 'Caveat Emptor! Something is amiss here!' Either a good manager got the hell out of dodge, or the owner has a trend of hiring poor managers. My experiences here make me suspect the latter.

The York Rite

Yesterday, I submitted my petition to join the Amarillo area York Rite bodies. Very excited! Festival to be held Friday February 25th, and Saturday the 26th. Lots of anticipation between now and then. I'm glad to be continuing my Masonic journey.

It's Not Really Ben Franklin

Don't be confused.

Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome

Masons of Texas

I'm going to take just one post to promote the online blog and forum site Masons of Texas. It was designed with Texas Masons in mind, although we have brothers from all over the world who participate in discussion on the forums, and often times find those seeking information about joining a lodge. Family members of Masons are welcome as well.

I was recently asked to be a Moderator in the forums by the website's manager. I'm definitely honored by this, as this website hosts one of the best Masonic discussion forums on the web. Having been a Mason for such a relatively short time, I consider it even more of an honor. It's a great website, and I'm proud to serve it in what small manner that I can.

Back to Being a Graduate Student

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had applied to fill the vacancy left by Steve Baird when he passed away. I received a call back today to inform me that, given the circumstances, they opted to go with a high brass play to fill out the remainder of the year, as Steve himself was a French Horn player. Makes perfect sense, and honestly what I would have done in the head directors spot.

I was however encouraged to reapply this summer, as the position will reopen as a permanent spot, not as a long term sub.

So I imagine I will be reapplying this summer. Spring really, closer to April. And this time I'll be a little more prepared, as I'll have my application into CISD, and will very soon have my teaching certificate, and it will be on file, so there won't be any knocks against me, as I would be immediately employable. And then I'll start a new round of interviewing and hope for the best.

New Edition Of 'Huckleberry Finn' Will Eliminate Offensive Words : The Two-Way : NPR

New Edition Of 'Huckleberry Finn' Will Eliminate Offensive Words : The Two-Way : NPR: "Saying they want to publish a version that won't be banned from some schools because of its language, two scholars are editing Mark Twain's classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to eliminate uses of the 'N' word and replace it with 'slave,' Publishers Weekly writes."

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But you know, it's ok when rappers use it. Just not one of the most celebrated authors in American history. He's awful.

It's Been A Week

So this past Sunday I went home to visit my family once more this semester. I hadn't been able to see my family much last semester because of student teaching, and my holiday was cut short when I went to visit my girlfriend Sharon and see her off to her internship in Tennessee. They enjoy me being home, and it's certainly better to spend time with family than cooping myself up in my room in Canyon cut off from society. So, as I said, I went home to visit my parents Sunday with the intention of staying until this morning.

Yet this morning, I find myself here in Canyon, completely lacking that thing called sleep.

Unfortunately, I received a call early Monday that Steve Baird, one of the assistants at Canyon High School, directly over the Intermediate School Band (beginners) passed away that morning from a heart attack.

It was upsetting to say the least. I spent all of last semester student teaching with the Canyon High School Band, and Steve was someone that I came to know as a friend. While he was older, past middle aged, he was by no means old. And while he had a family history of heart problems that I knew about, he wasn't having any specific health issues last fall. He was always a source of humor among the staff, lightening the mood whenever things were tough. He was a source of insight for me personally, because of his many years of experience. He came to be someone I admired and honestly considered a friend, even though I only knew him a short while. He will be sorely missed.

That same afternoon, I received a call from Mike, the head director, asking if I was interested in applying to fill his position short term, with the possibility of it becoming a long term position. Long conversation short, I said absolutely. I'm not the only candidate applying, but it's a short list that is, so my odds are pretty good, I think. Hope. Pray.

So I've spent the last few days running my butt around Canyon trying to prepare myself, get my application in, get my resume and transcript in, and, this morning, go to an interview.

My first interview.

I don't remember the last time I was this stressed and wound up about something. May have been the worst I've worried yet in my life. Needless to say, I slept all of two hours last night, and still managed to wake up before my alarms went off today. The seven alarms I set. Yeah, really, seven. I was that worried about oversleeping. Silly me.

The interview, I think, went well. All of the interview studying I did last night was kind of for naught, however. Because I have such close ties to the program, the questions asked me were pretty specific to me, on the whole, and mostly unlike every bit of interview preparation I've received this past fall. (And I received a lot!) But, I think I handled myself well, and I'm hoping for the best.

The worst part is over. The interview had me unbelievably stressed. I'm still on edge, and will be for the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours when I receive a call back telling me whether or not I have the position. But it's nothing compared to last night. It was the longest night of my life.

Anyway, this week has not gone how I expected. Instead of a leisurely visit to my family, I lost a friend, and now find myself stressing over my application to fill his position.

For better or worse, I can't wait for the call. I feel like my heart might be the next to go after this week.

Motorola Xoom becomes official, headed to Verizon in Q1, upgradeable to 4G in Q2 -- Engadget

Be still my beating heart!

Motorola Xoom becomes official, headed to Verizon in Q1, upgradeable to 4G in Q2 -- Engadget: "l spec sheet are now embedded after the break. A 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 will power this 10.1-incher, while 4G connectivity will be made available as an update in Q2 following a Q1 launch. Other specs include a 1280 x 800 resolution, 5 megapixel camera, 720p video recording and 1080p video playback, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and finally, a healthy 32GB of onboard storage. The battery is rated to be capable of supporting 10 hours of video. Be still, our beating hearts!"