Terminated

Today - that is to say, the 25th - I was fired from my job.

Yes, it was anticipated, so it wasn't a complete shock. I had made several mistakes in processing transactions relatively close together - as well a few items that were not mistakes that I got blamed for anyway - that culminated in my termination.

Yes, I'll be fine. I haven't been fired before, but I have been reprimanded several times before this so I already knew how to handle it. At least I can chock the whole thing up to Life Experience and say that I've become a slightly stronger man because of it. I've had harder knocks than this before, and will likely have harder yet to come. This won't stop me from attempting my dream anymore than it will keep me from being my usual cheerful/cynical self.

No, I don't really resent my former employers. They did their jobs, I did mine, and I failed to meet their expectations and demands. Suffice it to say that I hated my job and I can now focus on other things now. Like finding a new job for example. Or writing more or something.

It's just another bump in the road on my one-way ticket ride.

-S.

Curtains!

So, remember how I didn't think it was going to work? I was only mostly wrong about that.

Not going to lie, I was kind of worried during this past week or tech rehearsals that the show wasn't going to go off without a hitch or three, but barring the scenery getting their last coat of paint, it's all ready. The actors are memorized - well, memorized enough to pull of a show - the changes are teched, the scenes are blocked and the major issues are dealt with. Anything else that will come up should only be temporary.

The problem comes in the level of talent the cast is bringing in, which - in my humble and outspoken opinion - is insufficient. Some of the cast can actually pull of the roles they are playing, but a couple of the others simply aren't up to snuff.

My biggest issue is the music. It's too...blunt? sometimes. The word is hard to find for it. It's like it wants so very hard to be incredible, but instead of making that leap to being incredible, it kind of laughs incredible off and is acceptable instead. That's just the music for the show itself, I'm not going to get into the performances yet. There's a song that a friend described to me as heart-wrenching and deeply emotional, but when I heard the music, all I thought was, "Was that it?". Don't get me wrong, there were some great phrases in it, but then the tone of the song changes and it's completely different than before. In the end, I was left with a feeling of bland disappointment. It doesn't help that the actor singing the number isn't as good as he might be thinking he is.

Now, for a community show, it's pretty good. The sets are cheap, but under Light they look okay. The sound is mediocre, but the actors shouldn't rely on the mercurial devices anyway. The costumes are about what you would expect for a decent high school performance. The actors are a little hit or miss, but on the whole they do well enough that I think people will keep coming, because they're at the standard for what the local crowd has come to expect I think.

So, if you're in the East Brunswick area of New Jersey any weekend in Febuary, I'd take a little time and see if you can drop by the show. It'll be entertaining certainly. I mean, how many hangings do you get to witness nowadays, right?

One last thing: There's more than one killer. Cheers!

-S.