Summer and Rest

 As I am writing this, our school year has officially ended.  Finals have been given, and all that is left is a few administrative things to wrap up over the next day before I can officially enjoy my summer rest.  There are things that have been on my mind recently and I wanted to just pontificate a bit today if I could. 

After our sudden and tumultuous move from Hagerstown back in October, it has been a major objective to restore life back to as normal as possible, and there have been times that has been challenging.  But, amid the challenges, I have some new perspective on a few things.  It is some of that I wanted to talk about today, as it is more or less a rebuilding of my own life.

Over the past several years, some challenges have led me to end up in a bit of small debt, and thankfully very recently I am starting to get those loose ends tied up for good.  Living in a smaller place with less expenses is a good time to focus on that, and thankfully some of my creditors have provided some good settlements and I am slowly conquering everything in that regard.  Making a much better salary also helps, as I have the means to make some things happen.  By September, as a matter of fact, I plan on being pretty much on-track with everything, and that will be a huge boost. 

Another aspect of my re-establishment is my music collection.  As you know if you have followed this blog for a long time, I had a huge music collection of a lot of vintage recordings from classic dance bands, and in our move from Hagerstown a large portion of that was unfortunately lost.  I have been on a rebuilding effort of my collection, and thankfully I had a large number of my more collectible LPs salvaged and they are safely housed on a large shelf directly behind me in my room here.  I also am starting to get a recovered CD collection, and while I am not anticipating it to be very large this time like my previous one was, it is getting off to a good start.  I have slightly over 100 CDs again, most consolidated in two or three collections I was able to get, including the Time-Life big bands collection as well as the whole "Your Hit Parade" set, which has recordings dating from 1940 into the early 1960s and contains practically every important recording ever made during that timeframe.  I also did manage to recover some of my rarer vintage items, such as collections by pioneer orchestras such as Harold Yerkes, Joseph C Smith, the Six Brown Brothers, early Carl Fenton, James Reese Europe, Art Hickman, Ford Dabney, Wilbur Sweatman, very early Guy Lombardo and Fred Waring collections, Isham Jones, the Benson Orchestra of Chicago, W.C. Handy's Band, and others.  My next bigger acquisition will be a collection issued by Archeophone Records called the "Phonographic Yearbooks," which is a set of about 3 dozen CDs that feature major recordings made between the 1890s and 1923, with each volume focusing on one year in that span.  If I get those, the Time-Life "Your Hit Parade Collection" and the "Phonographic Yearbooks" together will constitute a chronological set of musical recordings that encompass several years - the only thing missing would be a set from the late 1920s and early 1930s, which I am wagering does not exist yet.  Additionally, the advent of the small flash drive has also made possible the acquisition of a ton of other stuff - including a lot of rare and obscure material - that almost replaces every recording I lost.  Like everything else in life, many things are merely material, and therefore they can be replaced.  However, the challenge in doing so can be an overwhelming task, but I know recovery is possible.  

Another aspect of the past few months has been Barbara.  As many know by now, although Barbara and I are divorced, we are still very close and are like a brother and sister.  We still look out for each other, and we now are even back under the same roof together.  In a way, this is probably a huge blessing especially for Barbara, who has been facing some serious health challenges.  Beginning in January, she has had issues with both her diabetes and her blood pressure, and three weeks ago she was hospitalized with a slight stroke.  She is very apprehensive now, because she also had lost her job and due to her health her driver's license is now threatened.  I really believe somehow this will all work out for her, but she does need a lot of prayers.  The events of the past few years have taken a huge toll on both of us, and there is recovery still needed.  But, so far, God has been in everything, and I see no need to doubt him now either.  

Now to talk about Cristo Rey.  I am not overly sure what to think about my experience there.  On one hand, it is the most money I have ever made, and I am thankful for that.  Also, it is my actual career choice, as I am teaching school full-time and have just completed my first academic year.  However, it can be stressful too - I am up against many challenges there, including some conflicting political sentiments, issues with some of the students (many of them are minority students, and some of them are a huge headache at times), and the fact the interim principal has been a bit of an issue.  The interim principal is a nice enough guy - as a matter of fact, you would not want to meet a better human being I don't believe.  However, as an administrator he can be a bit - and how should I say this kindly? - confusing.  He is obsessed with meetings, and also one of those individuals who has to overcomplicate things when there is no necessity for doing so (like myself, he is a Ph.D. too, so that may have something to do with it).  To be honest, working with him has been a significant percentage of the stress I have dealt with during the school year this year, and other teachers feel somewhat the same way about him.  Given I was sort of tossed into this mid-semester when I started, and I didn't have an established curriculum to work with, it was rough.  But, somehow I managed to get through even if I was flying by the seat of my pants.  Thankfully, next year a new principal is coming in, and given we also have a fantastic new department chair who got us standardized curriculum plans, I think a better year may be possible next year at the school.  However, I am also extremely grateful I get the summer to heal up from the past 8 months, because I really need it.  So, what are the plans for my summer?  I suppose a little preview is warranted here now.

One of the first things I want to do this summer is a little self-improvement.  I am planning on getting some dental care, tying up some proverbial loose ends with my finances, and I am also planning on my first overseas trip if all goes well - my destination is the Philippines, and I have a special reason I will share at some point for going there.  I also have a couple of other new things I wanted to give more detail on, so here those are now.

I mentioned about getting some more professional education to help with my teaching vocation, and a door opened up recently.  My alma mater, Liberty University, is offering a 21-credit certificate program in Curriculum and Instruction, and I am already registered to start that June 23.  That also means a little more funds in my hands as well, and that will be a tremendous help also.  It may prepare me for a possible assistant principal opportunity later.  I really didn't want to be doing more coursework, but in this case it will look good on a resume having it, so I am taking the opportunity while I can do so.  I will share more about that journey as I progress. 

The other thing that is significant is that my credit is going to be at a place soon where I can actually think about a new place of my own, and this time I am looking into buying my own house.  While living in this rowhouse in the heart of East Baltimore is a home for now, it is not what I would consider a "forever home."  I knew from the day I moved in that it would not be someplace I would be staying a long time, but it also was a good opportunity to recover a bit and regroup myself, and that is how I am viewing it.  The landlord is nice enough - one of the best I have ever had honestly - but there are other issues.  The house here for instance needs some serious work - there is a dangerously weak floor in the kitchen, and the wiring in the place is not the greatest either.  Also, there are bad neighbors - a group of people live on one side who are essentially halfway house residents, and they are a bit to handle at times.  One is a guy who I honestly thought was a lesbian when I first saw him, and there are cops there all the time and just a lot of activity that concerns us.  A couple of doors down in the other direction is a nosy old Black lady who fits the description of a "Karen" - she is constantly in our business, and she is always sending stupid emails to our landlord complaining about garbage, feeding local birds, etc.  I have a seriously low tolerance for any "Karens," and to be honest a "Karen" deserves to be destroyed. If this woman - her name is Mary - continues, she is going to get confronted about her meddling and told where to go.  I have enough things to deal with and honestly don't need a stupid "Karen" nitpicking us.  Also, a "Karen" can be potentially dangerous, especially if she is in some sort of leadership capacity.  I have been watching these videos about "HOA Karens" on YouTube recently, and some of those stories are frightening - there are stories of these "Karens" poisoning medications, burning down structures, and even endangering children all in the name of "maintaining property values and aesthetics."  I don't think our Mary "Karen" is that dangerous, but the fact these people exist does make one pause with concern.  And, that leads me to a bit of a rant.

Many people know about HOAs (homeowner associations) and the types of issues they pose.  The original purpose of an HOA was to represent residents in the communities that implemented them, but oftentimes HOAs get off on power trips and start doing some bizarre and downright invasive things to people who just want to live in peace on properties they rightfully own.  If you own a house, NO ONE has a right to tell you what to do or how to live in it - your hard-earned work and money went into getting that home, so you should be able to enjoy it how you choose.  Obviously, if you are planning a terrorist attack or trafficking illegal drugs, that would be a whole other issue, but most homeowners don't do that and are law-abiding citizens.  The HOA however tries to tell them how high their grass has to be, what color they should paint their own mailbox, etc. - it is frankly ridiculous.  If an HOA was what it is supposed to be, then its job should be to advocate for the residents, not to control them.  And, as the YouTube videos I have been watching demonstrate, the HOA is a breeding-ground for shrill, obnoxious control freaks called "Karens," and this is a potential risk.  "Karens" who want to stick their noses into other people's business and act like they are overlords have no place in an organization of any sort, whether it is a corporate environment or even a church committee.  Individuals like this have psychological or emotional issues and cannot exercise their responsibilities in a respectful way.  Luckily, in recent years with the rise in awareness of HOA abuse, governments have enacted regulations which constrict the authority and potential overreach of such bodies, and that is a good thing.  Also, the videos which bring this stuff to light are also catalytic in reining in authoritarian and abusive leadership so that the rights of all are respected.  While I still question the existence of formal HOAs, I think more informal resident associations would be more constructive and also would be able to preserve the common good without crossing lines they should not cross.  I will more than likely have more to say on that later, but you get the idea of where I stand. 

So, here is a summary - I am ending an academic year with my first teaching position, am anticipating a long relaxing summer break to rejuvenate myself, and I am in the process of getting my life re-established in a way that I can feel like myself again.  On the latter, there has been significant progress, and soon maybe even a home I can rightly call my own for good.  We all go through seasons in life where old chapters can abruptly close and we find ourselves thrust into a new chapter in life, but it's all for a reason.  Challenges are not necessarily bad either, as they are often a means by which God gets our attention - he uses those challenges we face to call us closer to him, a lesson I have mastered over the past year.  Life will never be completely perfect, but God created the human spirit to be resilient, and if we rise to the challenge the rewards are worth it.  I have been re-watching one of my favorite shows recently, Swamp People. This program - a huge hit on the History Channel - focuses on a 30-day timeframe in the region of south Louisiana where a number of Cajun, Creole, Indian, Black, and other hunters harvest alligators for a living.  Watching that, you see the challenges these very remarkable people face - they deal with weather, interference in their hunting domains, and tight timeframes to complete a season.  Each hunter invests in a number of tags, and as they catch a gator, they tag it before taking it to their buyers.  These tags are costly - if the hunter doesn't tag out, there are penalties for it, and many of these guys make their sole yearly incomes from this.  That naturally creates stress and tension, but when you see these guys succeed, you find yourself cheering them on because they are doing something many of us would not have the stamina to do.  I had the privilege 10 years ago of meeting one of these individuals, Troy Landry, when he was at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL.  Troy is perhaps the most loved and most popular hunter on the series, and he has a personality that instantly draws people to him.  When I got the privilege to meet him and actually shake his hand, what struck me was how tough and calloused his hand was - that dude wears his experience!  You have to marvel at that, because it is the merit badge of a hard-working individual who takes his responsibilities seriously.  There is definitely a spiritual lesson in Swamp People that can be gleaned, and one day I may tackle that.  I say that to say this - those gator hunters on Swamp People share much in common with us teachers - we both face limited deadlines, challenging product (the students I deal with can be as onery as some of those gators, believe me!), but when you start to reach that finish line, it is all worth it.  As my own year comes to a close, I think it is no accident that I am re-watching the entire series, as I am starting to see myself in a similar way as Troy does - hard work, but with its own rewards.  

Thank you for allowing me to share, and as I sign off because I have to make a trip with Barbara to take care of some business, I am looking forward to seeing you again next time.