[RK_lover]

Haven't been here in a while...how have you been doing? Is the teaching still going well?

Originally Posted by JayCarrFan

Trust me, what I did for Halloween was much more fun.

Intriguing....*hint hint*

I'm bored, I'm thinking of re-titling people's blogs with various song titles from the 1970s.

Feel free to mess with mine...it needs some kind of life.

[JayCarrFan]

Substitute Teaching is still going fairly well. Unfortunately, of the three schools I sub at, the one where I get the most days is the one I care for the least. On the plus side, I'm getting to know a few teachers and administrators here, and I know several students by name. Students really seem to freak out when you remember their names. Anyway, I still need to pick up assignments for the rest of the week, but I've got all of next week covered. It's funny how this business works. I also have a half day I picked up for Friday. Really, I shouldn't have taken a half day on Friday, because full day's are always available on Friday.

So, I filmed my first wedding Saturday, and I think I did really well with the ceremony. However, I filmed it in HD by accident, so I'm having a little trouble editing it with the proper hardware and software. Dallas was a lot of fun too. I can't say I would mind living in Texas.

Life has been so much better since I started bringing my laptop to work.

[JayCarrFan]

I'm subbing at my Alma Mater again. Usually, I enjoy the opportunity, but I'm subbing for the Band Director today, and it's really hard for me. It's not because the class is disorganized, or because the Band Program is a wreck with the director, it's just hard mentally. I mean, I was a Borderline Band-Nerd in high school. I dated the Color Guard Captain, led the trombone section, marched back when the band was over 300 people, it was a fun time.

And now, it's virtually pointless. That director is gone, the girl is gone, and surprisingly, some people here have heard of me. This is the first time I've felt really old. Now I'm stuck watching the Color Guard rehearse, and they are just awful, like a bunch of middle schoolers.

*sigh*

I hate how everytime I know I'm over my ex-girlfriend, I get stuck with these reminders. Overwhelming Nostalgia is not fun. Even worse, today marks six great months with my current girlfriend.

[JayCarrFan]

Ok, I'm substitute teaching for a High School Band Director, I'm a little bored.

Have I ever told you my thoughts on Music? Yes, Music, as a whole, not a band, not a song, not a genre, just Music.

Music frustrates me. I know it. I understand it, and most of the time, I can make it. But, I just never really can appreciate it. It eludes me somehow. If I try to play guitar, I get frustrated because it doesn't sound exactly like what I want it to. I get frustrated and want to quit more than I want to work on actually improving my quality. Right now, I'm sitting in the middle of the band room while the Color Guard works on a routine for the Christmas Parade with "Feliz Navidade", there's a trumpet soloist playing the jazz rendition of "Amazing Grace" in another room, and somewhere, some kid in here has an iPod playing some form of metal.

I hear it, I know the structure of it, but it never brings me any sort of emotional attachment. Good songs don't stir up some sort of emotion, doesn't make me wish I could play along, doesn't make me think that the artist is some sort of genius.

So, what am I? In an age where many people walk around attached to their iPods and where indie music has become a mainstream source of entertainment, I am what I would refer to as musically agnostic. It doesn't relax me, doesn't inspire me, and doesn't usually bring me any sort of pleasure.

Having said all that, it is a curse. I want to know more about it, I want to be able to play it, I want to experience the same feelings some people get from "Stars and Stripes" or "Teen Spirit".

And that's when it hit me...

Is this the way a lost person views real Christianity?

It's there, it's real. Other people all around you can experience it and tell you how great it is, but you find yourself on the outside. You can read the Bible, just like I can read music. You might even know a few verses by heart, just like I can play some chords on guitar. You may even go to a church and know all the right answers, but that's no different than if I named 12 Famous Romantic composers.

Hopefully that's something worth thinking about. And if you're dissatisfied with the seriousness and gravity of this blog post, here's a funny tidbit. The students in this class right now are struggling to use a cassette player. I guess the technology is too obsolete.

[Rainer.]

Deep thoughts from the band room...


Ironically sometimes I feel like music gets me in a more emotionally heightened state than "Christiany" things like hearing a powerful sermon (um yeah, it was good I guess) or hearing someone's testimony (good for them?). Werd.

[bravesfan007]

I would venture to say that you aren't the only one who feels no attachment to music. I feel no attachment to a lot of it. Some of it I get, but some I don't. I don't think I ever will and I'm OK with that. I do think that in some ways that's how a lost person views Christianity. I mean, they "know" Jesus and God, but they don't get it. If that makes any sense.

[JayCarrFan]

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Deep thoughts from the band room...


Ironically sometimes I feel like music gets me in a more emotionally heightened state than "Christiany" things like hearing a powerful sermon (um yeah, it was good I guess) or hearing someone's testimony (good for them?). Werd.

A lot of my friends are like that. I can appreciate music, but it really doesn't influence me. Sometimes, I think it would be easier if I would stop trying to analyze it, or if I were competely tone deaf.

Originally Posted by bravesfan007

I would venture to say that you aren't the only one who feels no attachment to music. I feel no attachment to a lot of it. Some of it I get, but some I don't. I don't think I ever will and I'm OK with that. I do think that in some ways that's how a lost person views Christianity. I mean, they "know" Jesus and God, but they don't get it. If that makes any sense.

I think you and are basically saying the same thing there.

Had a talk with a former teacher of mine, who's now a good friend. Unfortunately, the conversation turned into a really deep discussion of Educational Psychology, Classical vs Progressive Modern Education, and the dangers of a fully secular education. I would love to go into detail here, but I've already had two long posts of deep thoughts, and I don't see the need to add a third.