this is life, isn't it? you try, and you work, and you hope, and you pray, cross your fingers... and things don't always work out. but it's all about how you handle the things that don't work out. i'm just going to have to handle this to the best of my abilities.
here's my situation: i want to be independent, more than i want to do theatre, more than i want to do anything else. the only way to do that is to buckle down, work more, earn as much money as i can, and get out. the way i've been doing things so far, though... well, i just can't keep doing what i've been doing.
without looking too far into the future, the thing i've been thinking that would be best to do is just to cease all superfluous activity that won't make me money for a long time. no more theater, no more concerts, no unnecessary outings (as much fun as they are.) i'm moving back into my house at Olathe (as much as it PAINS ME to type those words), i'm going to try to pick up another job, and save, save, save.
i was thinking i could try to be big mr. independent-theatre-guy right out of the gates of college. this just isn't so. theatre has become a very expensive hobby, both in time and money. the thing i have to remind myself is: it will always be there. it isn't going anywhere. i'm not going to take up one day and all the theaters are gone, "Oh no, I missed my chance!" but i'm not getting anymore financially stable staying involved in it. in fact, quite the opposite. i wanted to make theatre my career, i wanted to teach it. but right now it's taking up too much of my time and money and it's not helping me get on my feet. once i'm on my feet, then i can start thinking about a responsible way to participate in the art that i love so much.
but for right now, play time's over.
maybe this is an over-reaction to things falling apart around me.
maybe this is an over-reaction to things not going the way i thought they would.
maybe this is an over-reaction in response to excessive amounts of anger and stress that i've been experiencing in my life lately.
maybe it is.
but i need to point myself in some direction.
as of the past 2 weeks, i have had none.
so at least if i tell myself what i want to do, if i can wake up everyday and say to myself "you've got a plan, Corbin, you've got to stay the course..."
well...
then maybe i can make it out of this thing alive.
but as of right now...
i can't keep going the way i've been going.
thanks for listening,
Corbin
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
of no importance
Today I decided to just talk about what's going on in my life. It's sort of a way for me to get things in order, to reflect, to maybe take notice of where I should be putting more of my time and energy.
That's all.
Corbin.
- Currently reading: "Different Seasons" by Stephen King, "Rediscovering Catholocism" by Matthew Kelly, and "Proposals" by Neil Simon.
- Currently listening to lots of: The Naked and Famous (think M83 with more vocals, especially female, and a little poppier); Jonsi (lead singer of Sigur Ros, amazing CD); and Peter Fox (German rap/hip hop artist. Psh, yeah).
- Judged my first forensics tournament this weekend. It was a lot of fun! I'd love to do it again. I judged "Informative Speeches". Some were pretty rad, some not, but they all tried their hardest and did pretty decent jobs.
- Won $50 at a Super Bowl party last night from the final score numbers. Booyah.
- My room is still in a bit of disaray from the party I threw last weekend. Need to get that checked into today.
- My dream last night was that I was in a building where it was heaven upstairs, hell downstairs. You could only get downstairs by a really creepy ladder that came out of a hole in the floor. In heaven you could swim if you imagined the room was filled with water and fly if you imagined you were in the sky, and I got scared a few times because I started flying when I meant to swim... Oh yeah, and Satan was Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Green Hornet) and he was directing a play and I was the designer for lights and set. Huh.
- Been spending all my free time playing Tetris and watching movies on Netflix and old ones I downloaded ages ago but hadn't watched til just now. Of note are "The Road", "Vanilla Sky", and the PBS production of "Macbeth" with Patrick Stewart. All these movies are amazing. And my highest score on Tetris has been 93 lines.
That's all.
Corbin.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
i owe it to you, i owe it to myself
... to make a post.
For the past few weeks I've wanted to write, but had nothing to say. My motto is, if you don't have anything worth saying, shut your damn pie hole. Then a good friend (who's stunningly good looking, btw) asked me to blog, and as luck would have it, I did read an interesting article today I think sparked a little... what...? anger? resentment? that I felt would be worth saying a thing or two about.
No doubt that some of you have heard of this, or have already seen the video, but here it is. It's the sting operation done on Planned Parenthood. To be honest, I haven't seen the video myself because I've been at work, but this article which contains a link to the video explains a lot of what was said, and needless to say it's troubling.
Don't feel like going through all that trouble? Read on and I'll summarize a bit... What we have here is an organization dedicated to making sure as many abortions happen as possible. Period. That's their bottom line. They may claim that their intentions are good, that they want to 'help' poor young people in tough situations, etc, but their actions don't support this. They consistently break the law by ignoring cases of statutory rape and actual rape by accepting said cases and not telling parents and/or authorities. They break the law to keep their numbers up and make sure there's no trouble that could disrupt business. It's dirty, unlawful, irresponsible, and sickening to think that they'll stop at nothing just to make sure people can have abortions whenever they want it.
I guess it just bothers me that Catholics get so much shit sometimes. I guess it just bothers me that I know people or are even friends with people who think all Catholic priests are a bunch of child molesters but who support Planned Parenthood and their actions. Where are their torches and pitch forks for PP? Where are the Dateline specials? Where is the outrage, the protesting? Oh, but those dirty Catholics, gotta make sure that shit stops right now.
And you know what, you're right. And you know what, we're trying. And so are the priests involved. But you know what I don't see? Any guilt or amendments from Planned Parenthood. They know what they do is wrong, they know they're breaking the law. But no one cares. They don't care, their supporters don't care, and somehow the law doesn't even seem like they're going to take action, because PP's going to continue to get grants and funding for their work. At least Catholics know that the priest scandal was appalling and we're trying to fix it. But this? This shouldn't stand.
Just makes me sick is all.
Corbin
For the past few weeks I've wanted to write, but had nothing to say. My motto is, if you don't have anything worth saying, shut your damn pie hole. Then a good friend (who's stunningly good looking, btw) asked me to blog, and as luck would have it, I did read an interesting article today I think sparked a little... what...? anger? resentment? that I felt would be worth saying a thing or two about.
No doubt that some of you have heard of this, or have already seen the video, but here it is. It's the sting operation done on Planned Parenthood. To be honest, I haven't seen the video myself because I've been at work, but this article which contains a link to the video explains a lot of what was said, and needless to say it's troubling.
Don't feel like going through all that trouble? Read on and I'll summarize a bit... What we have here is an organization dedicated to making sure as many abortions happen as possible. Period. That's their bottom line. They may claim that their intentions are good, that they want to 'help' poor young people in tough situations, etc, but their actions don't support this. They consistently break the law by ignoring cases of statutory rape and actual rape by accepting said cases and not telling parents and/or authorities. They break the law to keep their numbers up and make sure there's no trouble that could disrupt business. It's dirty, unlawful, irresponsible, and sickening to think that they'll stop at nothing just to make sure people can have abortions whenever they want it.
I guess it just bothers me that Catholics get so much shit sometimes. I guess it just bothers me that I know people or are even friends with people who think all Catholic priests are a bunch of child molesters but who support Planned Parenthood and their actions. Where are their torches and pitch forks for PP? Where are the Dateline specials? Where is the outrage, the protesting? Oh, but those dirty Catholics, gotta make sure that shit stops right now.
And you know what, you're right. And you know what, we're trying. And so are the priests involved. But you know what I don't see? Any guilt or amendments from Planned Parenthood. They know what they do is wrong, they know they're breaking the law. But no one cares. They don't care, their supporters don't care, and somehow the law doesn't even seem like they're going to take action, because PP's going to continue to get grants and funding for their work. At least Catholics know that the priest scandal was appalling and we're trying to fix it. But this? This shouldn't stand.
Just makes me sick is all.
Corbin
Friday, January 7, 2011
the subtle way
i was having a wonderful conversation with my sister (over a few beers, of course, because that's how all the best conversations are made) about our roles as Christian artists. i coined a new term for myself, though i don't know if it's purely original. it has been said that we are called to be "Warriors for Christ", but i see myself more as a "Ninja for Christ". i'm not just saying this because i am a ninja (because i am) i'm saying this because in my profession -- that of the arts (not of the bank) -- my duties are to slip ideas into people heads. make them think about things. discuss things. question things. through questioning we can perhaps come to answers, if nowhere else but in ourselves. kind of like what ninjas do, only they slip shurikens into peoples heads. and the only thing a ninja will make you see within yourself is your insides when they become your outsides. the key point here is, subtlety.
well, maybe your entrails becoming your extrails isn't very subtle... but we all know what the key elements of being a ninja are. stealthy, quiet fierceness. the only way you know you've encountered a ninja is when you wake up dead and you're like "whoa what happened" and God's like "it was a ninja. don't worry about it. wanna hang out?" and then by that point it doesn't matter. but i like to think of myself not as a warrior, but a ninja for my faith. both fighters are key in winning this battle. but both have very different responsibilities.
take my mom, for instance. she owns the oldest online Catholic merchandise store in existence. she's written books on Catholic parenting. she's a warrior. me? i'm steeped into one of the most non-Christian-friendly zones a Christian could be in: Theatre. and lets not kid ourselves here. the arts in general aren't very Christian friendly zones. artists like to be free to express themselves in any way shape or form they want... well, almost any way they want. modern art is strewn with lewd and crewd attacks on Christianity, but anyone else...
but i digress. my point is, artists see churches as "institutions" with "rules" that hold back their ability to express. a "warrior for Christ" can't really survive in that kind of environment. as soon as he starts swinging his battle ax around, he'll get swarmed and outnumbered. because, lets not kid ourselves again, theatre isn't exactly a "hot spot" for Christians, either. anyway. the world of the arts -- especially theatre -- needs to be attacked in a subtle way. i need to show the people that i work with that not all Christians are raving right wing lunatics. i need to show them that Christians are loving, caring, kind, and happy people. i need to show them that most Christians are actually pretty down to earth people, people you can talk to.
but really, this whole analogy about "warriors" and "ninjas" is just silly. "attack", "enemies", etc, it's all kind of ridiculous. no one's really looking for a fight. the term "Warrior for Christ" really just implies not being afraid to show your faith. and i'm not. but screaming into someone's face about what you believe in will never, ever change anyone's mind. you can show how happy you are as a person -- how happy you really are knowing that Christ died for you and salvation is waiting for you if you really want it -- through your actions. through your attitude. and when people get to know me, when they find out that i'm Catholic and they can tell that there's something different about me, that's how i stand for my faith.
i am a happy person. i might be tired a lot, i might be grumpy a lot, but anyone who knows me knows that i am happy. i am hopeful. i am positive. or at least i try to be all these things. all they need to do is make the connection between me and my faith. my church. and maybe, just maybe... that will be how i can do my part.
a discrete, assimilating, but strong and determined man for my faith.
like a ninja.
or Batman.
-Corbin
well, maybe your entrails becoming your extrails isn't very subtle... but we all know what the key elements of being a ninja are. stealthy, quiet fierceness. the only way you know you've encountered a ninja is when you wake up dead and you're like "whoa what happened" and God's like "it was a ninja. don't worry about it. wanna hang out?" and then by that point it doesn't matter. but i like to think of myself not as a warrior, but a ninja for my faith. both fighters are key in winning this battle. but both have very different responsibilities.
take my mom, for instance. she owns the oldest online Catholic merchandise store in existence. she's written books on Catholic parenting. she's a warrior. me? i'm steeped into one of the most non-Christian-friendly zones a Christian could be in: Theatre. and lets not kid ourselves here. the arts in general aren't very Christian friendly zones. artists like to be free to express themselves in any way shape or form they want... well, almost any way they want. modern art is strewn with lewd and crewd attacks on Christianity, but anyone else...
 |
| I think this is a good way to sum things up. |
but really, this whole analogy about "warriors" and "ninjas" is just silly. "attack", "enemies", etc, it's all kind of ridiculous. no one's really looking for a fight. the term "Warrior for Christ" really just implies not being afraid to show your faith. and i'm not. but screaming into someone's face about what you believe in will never, ever change anyone's mind. you can show how happy you are as a person -- how happy you really are knowing that Christ died for you and salvation is waiting for you if you really want it -- through your actions. through your attitude. and when people get to know me, when they find out that i'm Catholic and they can tell that there's something different about me, that's how i stand for my faith.
i am a happy person. i might be tired a lot, i might be grumpy a lot, but anyone who knows me knows that i am happy. i am hopeful. i am positive. or at least i try to be all these things. all they need to do is make the connection between me and my faith. my church. and maybe, just maybe... that will be how i can do my part.
a discrete, assimilating, but strong and determined man for my faith.
like a ninja.
or Batman.
-Corbin
Friday, December 31, 2010
The hits (and misses) of 2010
Yes, it's time for some generic 2010 recap. This probably won't be as comprehensive as it should be. I'm basically gonna shoot off some albums, movies, etc in 2010 that I saw and that I enjoyed. I'm sure this will differ from other people's, but whatever.
Btw, I made this post primarily pictures so you didn't have to read the whole thing.
I got to experience a lot of really cool live music in 2010. I went to some good Buzz shows. Manchester Orchestra, Coheed and Cambria, and Weezer rocked Buzz Under the Stars. Manchester was great and really should've gone on longer, but their sound was a little ... darker? than the other bands, and so their place in the lineup was hard to justify.
Coheed was amazing, and I've seen them before, so that was a real treat. I exhausted myself in the mosh pit and barely had energy to last through Weezer, but I did.
I wasn't "disappointed" in Weezer but they weren't the best band I've ever seen live... Not because they're Weezer, but because of the music they've been putting out lately. If I had been able to see Weezer 10 years ago I'm sure I would've shit my pants from all the awesome.
Another Buzz Under the Stars was The Crash Kings, Against Me!, Devo, Silversun Pickups, and a little bit of Ben Folds. Crash Kings kicked major ass for being an opening band. Definitely should've been on longer. Against Me! was also very good, probably could've been on longer.
Devo, though... DAMN. Those guys freaking rocked. Could probably be old enough to be my grandpa up there, but damn.
Silversun was amazing. I was skeptical at first because I saw them play live on Jimmi Kimmel or something and I was less than impressed, but they were really cool and super energetic. Last up was Ben. Oh, Ben. I love you to death but your show sucked.
I saw Mae's "Goodbye, Goodnight" tour. It was a little less energetic than the last show I saw them play, but understandably so. It was bittersweet to know I would never get to see them live again. But it was a great show none-the-less.
Honorable mentions go to MGMT and Weird Al Yankovich. MGMT was really fun (despite being by myself) and Weird Al will never cease to impress me. Taking my kid neighbor along was really awesome too. Nothing like passing the torch. Saw some good local/lesser known talent, too, such as The Wheelers, One Blood, Poison Control Center, Unicycle Loves You, The Kinetics, and a bunch others that impressed me. KC has some good stuff.
As far as albums go, this sections gonna be a little biased. I know I didn't experience a lot of really great albums that came out this year, but I did my best to grab some good stuff.
So this post is HELLA long and it's time to wrap it up. Thanks to all the awesomeness of my friends this fun little transition year (graduation into the real world, etc) and I look forward to kickin' it with ya'll for many more years to come.
Sincerely,
Corbin Hernandez
Btw, I made this post primarily pictures so you didn't have to read the whole thing.
MUSIC
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| Oh baby |
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| I wish I was older when you were still cool. |
Another Buzz Under the Stars was The Crash Kings, Against Me!, Devo, Silversun Pickups, and a little bit of Ben Folds. Crash Kings kicked major ass for being an opening band. Definitely should've been on longer. Against Me! was also very good, probably could've been on longer.
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| LOOK AT THIS MAN |
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| Woops, too late. |
Silversun was amazing. I was skeptical at first because I saw them play live on Jimmi Kimmel or something and I was less than impressed, but they were really cool and super energetic. Last up was Ben. Oh, Ben. I love you to death but your show sucked.
I saw Mae's "Goodbye, Goodnight" tour. It was a little less energetic than the last show I saw them play, but understandably so. It was bittersweet to know I would never get to see them live again. But it was a great show none-the-less.
 |
| :( Bye guys.. |
As far as albums go, this sections gonna be a little biased. I know I didn't experience a lot of really great albums that came out this year, but I did my best to grab some good stuff.
Just picked this album up (literally) and I can tell this is one of the best albums to have come out this year. It rides along on the "Hipster/Indie/Folk" wave, but it's much, much more than that. Catchy, melodic, varying, deep, and rich are elements missing in a lot of this ridiculous Folk craze going on in music right now, and that's what this album captures in a tear-jerking way. The lyrics are wonderfully written, and the singer's voice is passionate and unique. I highly recommend it (which goes without saying seeing as how it's on this list...)
Oh baby. The female singer scene is a rich one, but this band really goes into a new world with it. Sleigh Bells - "Treats" is an album I was not expecting to love as much as I did when I started listening to it. I'm warming up to the genre of "noise rock", and anyone else with me needs to get this album in order to start falling in love. Rock - noise - electronic - industrial is a good way to describe it, and if that sounds "sweet" to you, I highly recommend this little "treat". HAH!
With every album the Gorillaz come out with, I fall in love a little more. Their past few albums have been great and getting better, but I'd always manage to only really like about %50-%75 of the album... But this one is really top notch. When I got it, I could do nothing but listen to the whole thing, from start to finish, no stops or skips along the way. That, my friends, is an experience, and the depth of this album will lead you into a whole new world. The Plastic Beach.
Linkin Park's newest shimmering diamond-encrusted masterpiece "A Thousand Suns" is also an experience. This album is best served going from start to finish with no stops or skips along the way. Although the album art kind of looks like a cartoon of a black face in profile screaming (look at it -- look at it -- got it? see it? RIGHT?) it's depth is something not to be ignored. I know I keep using that word "depth", but it's really important. Great art is something that gets digested over time, that's impossible to "understand" at first glance, and this album is a perfect example of something that cannot be ignored. I look forward to seeing them live in late January.
Oh. Oh my. Oh my goodness. The Arcade Fire has come out with some doozies in their day, but this one is a knockout. Their predominate theme so far as artists has always kind of been "suburbs", but when they finally titled their album "The Suburbs", they really took it and blew it out of the water. Catchy, timely, layered, varied, indie - a recipe for something exquisite, and it certainly satisfies. In my humble opinion, their best work to date.
I'm not the biggest MGMT fan on the planet, but I certainly enjoy their work. Seeing them live was a pretty rad experience (albeit lonely) and really led me to respect their work further. This little gem is something for the hippie that resides in all of us. The tripped out surfer dude with refinement that we all hold dear in our hearts. If you know that part of you has been ignored, give this lil thing a spin.
Now for some misses... Now, when I say "miss", I don't necessarily mean "total flops." These albums gave it a good shot, certainly had some good tracks, but overall, lacked a little something for me. I won't go into detail because what I just said is basically the case for all of these.
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| Neon Trees - "Habits" |
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| 30 Second to Mars - "This is War" |
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Coheed & Cambria - "Year of the Black Rainbow" |
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| Broken Social Scene - "Forgiveness Rock Record" |
MOVIES
This one's going to be a bit difficult. I see a lot of movies, but not always the year they came out. Before anyone who's a crazy movie buff gets all up in my Kool-Aid about my list, there were LOTS of movies I KNOW I haven't seen yet that I know would make this "list". Let's list a few of those right now:
- Rabbit Hole
- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- How to Train Your Dragon
- True Grit
Just to name a few. I'm sure I would've loved these movies, and I definitely plan on seeing them eventually.
Let's give it a shot anyway. (In no particular order..)
If you saw this movie, it needs no explanation. If you didn't.... I dare you. I double dog dare you.
A surprise hit indeed. Don't yell at me just yet. It's funny, it's fast, it's wonderfully and creatively written and filmed, it's a spectacle to watch, and it's funny. It's very, very, fucking funny. Don't hate until you've seen it.
BESIDES the fact that it was directed by David Fincher, BESIDES the fact that the music was done by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, BESIDES the fact that it stars Jessie Eisenberg -- this movie was just a great experience. An emotional rollercoaster of love, hate, sympathy, and disgust, you'll never get on facebook the same way again after seeing this film.
This one's more for posterity's sake. I liked it a lot, don't get me wrong, but it was just really "good", I didn't think it was "fantastic." Nothing will ever top the first movie - from plot to writing to voice acting, it was one of -- if not THE -- most well rounded animated film I've ever seen. But I definitely cried like a baby during Toy Story 3 (twice, same scene both times I saw it) and that's something I can't ignore when making this list.
and... in case you've been living under a rock or haven't talked to me this year... my ... favorite... movie...
It needs no introduction. It needs no explanation. It just needs you to see it if you haven't already.
As far as disappointments go, I don't have too many, because I don't really see movies unless I know they're going to be good. Or at least have a good feeling. The only two that pop into my head at the moment (movies that I thought might be good or at least o.k. but were kind of really not):
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| Tim Burton's slaughter of "Alice in Wonderland" |
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| Shyamalan's mediocre debacle |
MISC
You know what else rocked this year? And will continue to rock?
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| THESE GUYS |
And ...
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| THESE -- .. GIRLS |
So this post is HELLA long and it's time to wrap it up. Thanks to all the awesomeness of my friends this fun little transition year (graduation into the real world, etc) and I look forward to kickin' it with ya'll for many more years to come.
Sincerely,
Corbin Hernandez
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
just need to shout
ever had one of those days? you know what i mean. you're not necessarily angry -- or at least not enough to admit -- you just feel like you're walking down the street and everyone's bumping into you -- either on accident or on purpose -- and you're just minding your own business but you keep tripping over stuff on the sidewalk -- stuff you either should've seen anyway so you feel stupid for not seeing it or stuff that magically popped up right where you were walking -- and you're tired and hungry and you've been working all day and you won't stop working until you get home but you have to pack when you get home because you're trying to move out and be independent and start your own life but the universe seems bent on you living in your mom and dad's house for the rest of your life like a loser!
that came out a lot more complainy than it feels in my head.
and besides. most times i type upset things on the internet i stop being upset instantly after. it's a release thing (obviously.) if you see me or talk to me after you read this, don't worry, i'm fine now. i just needed to scream little. and who doesn't every once in a while, huh? i love theatre more than anything else you can do with your time, but not being able to do karate as a consequence has shut off a valve for physical stress relief and i think it's starting to take a toll. no free time at all, really, takes its toll.
and yet i find time to play Halo: Reach, don't i, corbin. and yet i find time to do a lot of stupid things.
sigh. what started out as a release post turned itself into a self-attack post. i should stop this right now, nip it in the bud.
so anyway. there it is. Christmas is over. where the fuck that even go, anyway? it's like i was waiting for 2 weeks and then it flew past me like a bullet. 2 weeks? wasn't advent 4? didn't feel like it.
is this the rest of my life?
Corbin
that came out a lot more complainy than it feels in my head.
and besides. most times i type upset things on the internet i stop being upset instantly after. it's a release thing (obviously.) if you see me or talk to me after you read this, don't worry, i'm fine now. i just needed to scream little. and who doesn't every once in a while, huh? i love theatre more than anything else you can do with your time, but not being able to do karate as a consequence has shut off a valve for physical stress relief and i think it's starting to take a toll. no free time at all, really, takes its toll.
and yet i find time to play Halo: Reach, don't i, corbin. and yet i find time to do a lot of stupid things.
sigh. what started out as a release post turned itself into a self-attack post. i should stop this right now, nip it in the bud.
so anyway. there it is. Christmas is over. where the fuck that even go, anyway? it's like i was waiting for 2 weeks and then it flew past me like a bullet. 2 weeks? wasn't advent 4? didn't feel like it.
is this the rest of my life?
Corbin
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
a difficult day.
I know I'm trying to work on my complaining. I'll try not to make this post so much about complaining... Then again, that might be impossible considering the subject matter...
When I was being interviewed for this job, they asked me a difficult question. "How do you feel about telling a customer 'no'?" Well, I thought about it, and I gave a pretty good answer (or so I thought). Look for solutions, don't just stop whenever you hit an obstacle. I thought to myself -- out of ignorance, of course -- that most problems customers will bring up to me will be something that we can work out together and find an alternate solution for. As I work here more and more, I find this is simply not the case.
No, there really isn't any other way to get around you trying to deposit a check which doesn't have a name on it that matches any names of the accounts. No, I can't cash your check when your account's in the red. No, we don't have Susan B. Anthony's, and I don't think anyone else does, either.
The more I work here, the more I realize how much of a minority I am in every day society. It's rare that things really bother me. I mean sure, there is Harry Potter, and Twilight, and the Disney Channel, but other than that, if things don't go my way chances are I wasn't really expecting they would. 9 times out of 10, whatever it is that I'm doing I don't actually expect for it to work out the way I planned.
In this moment of reflection, I wonder: is it that things have been going wrong in my life all the time? That, in fact, 9 times out of 10 things did go wrong? No. Actually, what I can really honestly say to myself is, the reason I'm -- Cautious? Have low expectations? I call it realistic -- is that the times in my life when things have gone wrong, they've gone almost cataclysmically wrong. Yeah, sure, there are the regular hiccups now and again, who doesn't have those, but I swear, those few times early on when I got burned, bad, have taught me to never expect life to go the way I want it to.
Anyway, where I was getting with this whole "minority" thing is that it simply doesn't seem to be the case with 7 out of 10 customers who come in here tyring to do something that just won't fly. "Sorry, sir, this check is made out to your business so I can't deposit it into your personal account." "WHY NOT?!" Whoa, there! You must've known that the name on the account and the name on this check do not match. You know this, because you know the name on your account, and you can see the name on this check does not match that name! You must've known you'd at least be taking a chance, hoping I wouldn't catch it or hoping I would make an exception. But those things haven't happened today, so please let me do my job and except it.
Whew. Well. That's really about it. Lighten up, everybody. Life is awesome, and it's great to be alive, and you should always thank God that you're here because this is the raddest time to ever be alive, but it doesn't always go smoothly. Don't need to be a Debbie Downer, don't need to be a pessimist, but just be cool whenever things go wrong, because just about every time things do go wrong, it's for a damn good reason that you probably don't understand and will most likely never understand.
Cool. Keep rockin'.
Corbin
When I was being interviewed for this job, they asked me a difficult question. "How do you feel about telling a customer 'no'?" Well, I thought about it, and I gave a pretty good answer (or so I thought). Look for solutions, don't just stop whenever you hit an obstacle. I thought to myself -- out of ignorance, of course -- that most problems customers will bring up to me will be something that we can work out together and find an alternate solution for. As I work here more and more, I find this is simply not the case.
No, there really isn't any other way to get around you trying to deposit a check which doesn't have a name on it that matches any names of the accounts. No, I can't cash your check when your account's in the red. No, we don't have Susan B. Anthony's, and I don't think anyone else does, either.
The more I work here, the more I realize how much of a minority I am in every day society. It's rare that things really bother me. I mean sure, there is Harry Potter, and Twilight, and the Disney Channel, but other than that, if things don't go my way chances are I wasn't really expecting they would. 9 times out of 10, whatever it is that I'm doing I don't actually expect for it to work out the way I planned.
In this moment of reflection, I wonder: is it that things have been going wrong in my life all the time? That, in fact, 9 times out of 10 things did go wrong? No. Actually, what I can really honestly say to myself is, the reason I'm -- Cautious? Have low expectations? I call it realistic -- is that the times in my life when things have gone wrong, they've gone almost cataclysmically wrong. Yeah, sure, there are the regular hiccups now and again, who doesn't have those, but I swear, those few times early on when I got burned, bad, have taught me to never expect life to go the way I want it to.
Anyway, where I was getting with this whole "minority" thing is that it simply doesn't seem to be the case with 7 out of 10 customers who come in here tyring to do something that just won't fly. "Sorry, sir, this check is made out to your business so I can't deposit it into your personal account." "WHY NOT?!" Whoa, there! You must've known that the name on the account and the name on this check do not match. You know this, because you know the name on your account, and you can see the name on this check does not match that name! You must've known you'd at least be taking a chance, hoping I wouldn't catch it or hoping I would make an exception. But those things haven't happened today, so please let me do my job and except it.
Whew. Well. That's really about it. Lighten up, everybody. Life is awesome, and it's great to be alive, and you should always thank God that you're here because this is the raddest time to ever be alive, but it doesn't always go smoothly. Don't need to be a Debbie Downer, don't need to be a pessimist, but just be cool whenever things go wrong, because just about every time things do go wrong, it's for a damn good reason that you probably don't understand and will most likely never understand.
Cool. Keep rockin'.
Corbin
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