The Return To High School

These last two weeks of school tour have been a wonderful experience for me and for that insecure high-schooler still lingering inside me, and lets be honest, in all of us.

You know what... fuck it... I'll say it...

all of a sudden I'm Cool!

yeah. thats right these little fuckers think I'm cool. And it feels good.

Now, Im not so insecure that this is really news to me. I know im a smart, attractive, sweet, compassionate, caring, talented, loving, curious and above all humble person. I know that I have carved a well-rounded individual out of the primordial, pimply heap that was me in High School.

But to be "Cool"... to be "cool" by high school standards... I feel as though i have reached a summit that most vice principles, that most breast-enhanced women, that most large automobile owning douchebags are still trying to reach the top of.

With this new found coolness i am tempted to just enroll in the school. I mean really. The amazing new cool life i could lead!!

I could be prom king tomorrow and take the most attractive girl in school to the dance despite being openly gay. I could fuck her AND the captain of the football team at the same time on the basketball court. I mean... i'm THAT cool.

Ok... i got carried away there. To be honest, i'm not THAT cool. I know you were all about to support my re-enrolling in the 12th grade.

I would not return to those halls of awkwardness for anything.

But there is an endearing admiration that i feel coming from the students at Springfield High School. Having done two assemblies for the entire student body does make you a familiar face and there is the ability to really make an impact on those kids in the classes we are teaching.

I attended "Curious Savage" tonight at the Ensemble Theatre at SHS (Coincidentally the same acronym for my alma mater) and it was delightful. A true ensemble production of a mediocre play. There was so much heart, so much playing going on in the small blackbox with the heavily painted set. Young actors at work is so wonderful to watch. Truly some just "get it" more than others but those that don't get it try soo valiantly and bravely. I cried, i did, at the end. All through the show a girl carried around a doll that she said was her son. The story was set in a mental asylum and filled with all the wonderful character roles you don't need to see again. The final moment of the show gave the audience a glimpse of the "perfect world" that the crazies all imagined. All of a sudden the cutest 6 year old boy came out, dressed exactly like the doll, and sat near the girl. It was sappy, it was predictable, it totally worked. I cried.

Im very glad i attended and i really am humbled by the impact my presence at that show had on those kids.

Im glad to be able to return to the High School setting as a good example.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY i'm glad i'm cool!

My inner high schooler is saying:

"FUCK YOU KEVIN JACKSON!

WHO'S ON TOP AND WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW!?!

WHO'S ON TOP AND WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW!?!"

Focus

I don't think I'm focused enough to keep a proper blog. I am not a big writer, so sure, i think "I should do this to challenge myself". But what the fuck am i supposed to write about?

Starting a blog is one of about 50 things i have "committed" to doing now that i have time.

In the last 4 days i have also started transcribing my entire audio journal from my travels last year. An epic task. I have 6 books I'm still telling myself i will read on tour. I am trying to document as much of this tour as i can with photos and journals. I want to organize my pictures on my computer and sift through them. I also am planning my trip to Brazil etc etc etc.

Now that my world has gone from a packed schedule to a virtually easy schedule I'm a bit lost in the evenings.

I think I'm not alone when i set a series of goals and then consciously avoid them. I feel good about setting them, because... well... wow! How amazing would i be? What an amazing person it would take to do all of those things. And how much better would i be afterward for doing all of it!

But no. instead of those wonderful productive tasks or activities I resort to the ever comfy and welcoming Internet

It captures me in its stimulating, beautiful and endless series of pages.

Check the facebook, check the e-mail, check the bank, check the news, chat, watch YouTube. Its all the same, all brain draining...but damn if it isn't more important than all that other shit i told myself i would do. I mean i thought i knew how to waste time as a kid.... I would stand over the kitchen sink, "doing the dishes", and create epic water ballets or sink ships or make whirlpools... whatever i could do to waste time.

I am super focused when i comes to procrastinating. I will stay up late to procrastinate, i will be late to appointments because I'm busy focusing on procrastination. Rarely am i late due to actual conflicts in a schedule. So yes, i am a talented procrastinator. Kate would say "that's normal for a Taurus". OK... as long as its in the stars i can accept it.

But in fact, this post is productive. Yes! even though its a post about my talent for procrastinating it is proving that i can complete something somewhat productive... a blog that nobody is reading.

There is some focus that went into the writing of this. I did doze off a bit in the middle somewhere, so if you read the whole thing go ahead and leave a comment. let me know your out there.

I'm surprised if you did read all this... whoever you are, you must be procrastinating something.

Now I'm tired of writing. my focus has shifted. Now i will spend the next twenty minutes scrolling around.

At least the majority of my day was spent expanding young minds. that makes up for squandered time later.

That's all for now.

I will be a Motel connoisseur at the end of this tour, Jesus.

Rodeo Queens and Fruit Flies

Day 1 of the 2009 school tour took John and I to Myrtle Point High School, home of the bobcats.

The rainy day began with a hearty breakfast at the Cozy Kitchen, a block away from the Myrtle Trees Motel where we are staying. The amount of hash browns on my $4.98 breakfast plate was surprising at first but after realizing that this is a logging town it made sense. The number of broad-red-plaid-printed shirts matched with suspenders in this town is both charming and disturbing.

We pulled up to Myrtle HS in our OSF-magnet clad vehicle at about 8:40 am and were escorted to the Fair Building (Where the 4H does their cooking demos). The long, inverted-arc shaped building lined with photos of past Rodeo Queens (see image above) had a nice hardwood floor and at the far end a small demonstration area. We clearly should have prepared some kitchen sink drama since our stage was already set with more appliances than my apartment. Two large fridges, a full range and oven, sink and a dishwasher. Its really a shame we didn't prepare some Curse of the Starving Class.

A nice young man with a green Mohawk was quick to approach us and offer any help we may need. He was also excited to show me his cherished ticket from last seasons A Midsummer Night's Dream at OSF. "The best thing I've ever seen." he said. I felt the urge to apologize, but thought twice.

While the young Drama students set up the folding chairs, half of which were falling apart in their hands, John and I rehearsed our fight in the demo kitchen we had for a stage. We made adjustments so as to avoid striking any expensive appliances.

Then... Showtime.

No make-up

No set

No microphones

No lights

Seriously... the only lighting in the building was a series of fluorescent lights over the audience. The demo kitchen was actually quite dim.

The kids (grades 7-9) filed in and fought for the limited number of folding chairs, no one was willing to take the floor.

I would say there was around 75-100 students in attendance. An admirable showing for this small school. They did not compare however to the number of fruit flies that decided to attend.

Usually I would take swatting in the audience as a gesture for us to get off the demo kitchen stage, but in this case it was clearly self defense. They were everywhere and it wasn't until after our first performance that the principal spotted the guilty party, a neglected trash can in the corner.

We did two combination shows back to back to two very attentive audiences, the second group was grades 9-12. Then lunch and a nap back at the Myrtle Trees.

Overall the day was a success. With a few minor slip ups and a bit of rewriting of Shakespeare we made it through. The afternoon was spent trudging around the Elk's Golf course. John played 9 holes and i played caddy while drinking a Hamms and taking a few swings at the small white ball. Golf, what a game.

Tomorrow we perform for the elementary school in town. I hope the fruit flies don't follow us.

The Search Is On!

The Search begins!

...from the bed of a motel in Myrtle Point, Oregon; with a 2012 apocalypse program quietly spouting terrifying warnings in the background. From here does my search for awesomeness begin. I guess I've always sort of looked for it throughout my life, but not until this moment, on this bed in Myrtle Point have i made it a true and legitimate search.

Lets define awesome:

-Inspiring Awe

-Expressing Awe

-Remarkable, Outstanding (When used as slang)

What about the definition for awe?

- A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity or might.

So... officially... I'm in search of a mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity or might.

I think this is a search i can commit to.

The slang definition says I'm looking for something that is remarkable and outstanding. Now, not only am i looking for it outside of myself, but this quality of awesomeness is something i aspire to embody as well.

So let the inner and outer search begin....

I will begin by opening a book written by Jorge Amado called Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon.

Amado was born in Ilheus, Bahia in Brazil. Ilheus will be my first stop on my trip in Brazil and i plan on arriving in the country with some cultural knowledge.

this book better be awesome...

Meanwhile... in the background...

The only awesome quality about this 2012 program is its ability to inspire dread. Good god!

I want to be high on a mountain in a self-sustaining community of animistic believers when this shit goes down.