Good Riddance Summer 09

Labor day has come and gone, which means the days of summer 2009 are waning…and fast. But in my opinion, the days aren’t ensuing fast enough. While the autumn brings crisp weather, vibrant colored leaves, the hope of a new school semester, and the quixotic love affair we often associate with the cooling temps, a recap of this past summer proves to be one of the less scintillating summers on record.

Joe Queenan’s piece in the Labor Day weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal recounts the ignominious summer, calling it “the least eventful summer since 1491.” I couldn’t agree more.

You see, nothing really happened. Health-care reform got nowhere. Obama picked no fights with anyone, refusing to demonize the health insurance corporations. Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination was confirmed, but with far less drama than I expected (or hoped for). The economy remained stagnant—growing neither worse nor better. More people were indicted on fraud charges (e.g. Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth). And Cash-for-Clunkers launched, making most of the headlines—indicative of just how boring this summer turned out to be. If it weren’t for the little incident with the cop and the black prof from Harvard up in Cambridge and the subsequent “beer summit,” coupled with the town-hall brawls, as it were, the headlines probably would have retreated to less stimulating topics, such as the increasing deficit or Tom DeLay’s debut on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Aside from the political and economic, Lance Armstrong didn’t win the Tour de France; the Yanks climbed to the best team in baseball (surprise, surprise); the Lakers won their 15^th championship; and all of the movies stunk (I haven’t seen “Inglorious Bastards”). Indeed, the only one who can claim to have had a busy summer is the Grim Reaper. Did everyone die this summer?

Personally this summer was a bit lackluster: No vacations! Notwithstanding a trip home, two trips to NYC, and a 36-hour excursion to the Maryland shore, I’ve found myself short of money and short of fun. Much to my chagrin, I studied for TWO standardized tests: GRE and LSAT. A poor decision, as the most effective approach most likely would have been to tackle one at a time. The result: overwhelming mediocrity on two important exams instead of quality performance on one. Hindsight is indeed 20/20, my friends.

On the up and up, I did fall in love with a wonderful young lady. But the distance is taxing to say the least. She’s at the University of Tenn., and I am still in Princeton. What’s more is that on my most recent visit a few weeks ago, she was “uninvited” to a wedding, because the bride and groom had to make “budgetary” cuts on non-married, non-engaged couples—though I had RSVP’d both of us months in advance. At the event, the wedding party showed up in stretch hummers and the recently married couple left in a helicopter. Since when are people (especially old friends) more expendable than open bars, air travel, and extravagant entrances? What a guy, huh?

But the summer is over. Class starts in a week and the hope of a new semester and a new year is abreast. Here’s to a better autumn and a hope that the future holds an exciting new frontier. And here’s to a summer that I say GOOD RIDDANCE!

Photography as Philology

My untrained eye, lack of creativity, unsteady hand, and crappy camera all come together in these photos. As such, I apologize. Sometimes I liken my photography (if I dare call it that) to my Hebrew and/or Greek translations. Both are a work of interpretation from an original to a representation. Both face the obstacle of inadequacy. Both never fully capture the import of the original presentation. Both forfeit the striking, salient features appreciated in their original context.

So what's been goin' on wich'ya?

Well, quite a bit actually. Notwithstanding my previous post, I have been largely mia, as it were, and for that I apologize to all my readers--and of course by 'readers' I mean to indicate those faithful few whom I can count on one hand.

So what's been going on, seriously?

I continue to vacillate between a PhD application and law school application. Law?! John, I thought we had moved past all that? Yes, we had. But alas! the latter has resurfaced only recently. "Why?" you ask? Indeed, queries into the matter often leave me vexed, but for the sake of my reader, that is for your sake, I'll run down the pros and cons. NB, however, a PhD in Religion is no doubt my first choice.

So as many (i.e. all) of you know, the economic climate has taken a turn for the worse, and we have all felt (and continue to feel) its repercussions in one form or another. Indeed, the ivory towers of higher education are not impervious to such consequences. The resultant effects are felt primarily in funding, which means no hiring and a paucity of PhD slots among institutions. As such, every school to which I am applying this Fall is taking ONE PhD candidate. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a solid student with high marks all around. But do I possess the makings to qualify for the one, particular spot? Do these schools really need one more white male? Broadly speaking, does society really need another less-capable, over-achieving, white male, seeking to add a word or two to the religious milieu of the day? In short: no, no, and no! But, as it stands, I am going to apply. At this point I feel as though I would be remiss, coming this far and working this hard, if I did not at least give it a shot. As such, I will be applying to the following: Princeton, Duke, Emory, Vandy, Notre Dame, and Baylor (and maybe Yale).

On the up and up, I almost have a 4.0 (3.94 to be exact) and have even been selected to teach as a graduate assistant next year in Hebrew. With a writing sample in the works, a couple faculty recommendations pending, and a plethora of GRE vocab cards, I continue to proceed with a hope and a dream.

If the aforementioned fails, I'm off to other options. I'm thinking law school or trying my hand in the micro-brewing business. The name of the micro-brewery: He-Brews.

And that's what's been goin' on.

Quintessential II

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Tyler Broome, a.k.a 'T-bone'.

During college, whenever someone would get overwhelmingly intoxicated and do something embarassing, my friends would say that that person pulled a 'T-bone'. Now that we've since graduated, at each wedding--when we all regather together--we eagerly wait to see who among us pulls a 'T-bone'.

For the record I'd like to say that I've never done so...at least not in the last few years.

Love ya', T-bone.

Quintessential

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Mike Bailey, ubiquitously known as MB, and to me as "The Big Cat."

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I simply look at this photo and envisage the title/superscription reading: "Adult ADD at its finest: if he's not tyrannizing, he's checked out."

happy hour...now there's a misnomer