Jack of All Trades

       

            I am a Graduate Student.

            That’s an odd way to identify yourself, especially the area in which I live where you are pretty much defined by your job. In the Washington, D. C. area, you identify yourself by your name and what you do. It’s like the same way some wild animals tend to identify themselves in the wild, each one kind of wondering who the Alpha actually is.

            “Hi, I’m John Smith, and I’m the Deputy Undersecretary to the Assistant Vice President of the Secretary’s Office.”

            Which means he could do anything from going to get coffee to being the only guy in the office who knows what happens when the printer jams. But not really descriptive of the alpha role.

            “Hi, I’m Jane Jones and I’m the Assistant to the Deputy President of Vice President Relations.”

            Again, impressive title, but at some point someone is just throwing out words until something sticks.

            So I don’t say that I’m a graduate student lightly, because over the past couple of years that’s been my main identity. Well, not a main identity, but the primary way I identify that nebulous question” What do you do.”

            While I was going to school while trying to get my Education Degree, I was a Senior Analyst. That was a very impressive title, despite the fact that I was not senior, nor was I much of an analyst. I did a lot of data entry. I didn’t mind the data entry, I just did a lot of it. Plus they were just on the cusp of reorganizing as I left, which means my title could have been just about anything at that point, I guess.

            Somewhere along the line, I stopped being much of anything other than a Graduate Student.  If you really want to know the number of jobs I do, I have a lot of them. I’m a part time swim coach, which mostly involves standing on the side of a pool and trying to get the one kid that doesn’t want to do the drill to actually do the drill. The 99% of other kids who just want to swim make it really worthwhile, to be honest with you. But if you asked me two years ago if I was going to be the “coach” of anything, I’d probably laugh while changing the show I was watching on Netflix. This was back before shows just automatically started. It was a dark time.

            I’m a private tutor as well. That part is really interesting, because I get to see a little bit of what life would have been like if I’d continued on the path of being a teacher, without all the extra paperwork. Also, I get to teach what I want, so when I assign my kids to watch a few episodes of Doctor Who to get a Thesis down correctly, then you’d better be sure they’re going to watch Doctor Who until they can memorize the episodes. Or at least the better ones. More Tom Baker and Peter Capaldi. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I’m still not really sure what was going on during Matt Smith’s reign as the Doctor.

            I also work at a University. The same one I’m going to, actually, advising students. I find that this is my favorite job of all of them, to be honest with you. Some one comes in with a problem, we talk, and I solve it. Or pass it on to someone who can, because, well, I’m not all knowing. I’m kind of like Lucy in the Peanuts with my little “Psychiatry – 5 cents” sign. Only they’re being charged WAY more than 5 cents for me to hang around. Also the last time I brought a beagle into work it did NOT go well.

            The truly amazing this is that I do even more that those jobs. I think I counted it out and I had six at last count, which I guess is pretty incredible. But the great news is I don’t really have to wear a tie, which is a major bonus. With the coaching one, I even get to wear flip flops, which is incredible thank you very much.

            My point for writing this? Well, to be honest with you, sometimes I write things that I want everyone to read. I want them to disseminate the information, and try to figure out what it is I’m thinking, and hopefully walk away with a better understanding of who I am, and who they are. But for today. I mentioned in my big “don’t call it a comeback I was never gone I was just resting my eyes” post that I needed a break. One of the reasons I needed a break was the fact that yes… I was working a lot of jobs. And the thing is this, it’s rough. I’m not going to lie. I go to sleep tired, and I don’t get much time for breaks. I don’t even really get much time for sick days.  

            But the thing is… I kind of love it. I love not having the exact same schedule. I love all of my co-workers. I love knowing that I’m making a difference. Plus, it cuts back on a lot of those bored times that you often have at work. Those late Friday afternoons or early Tuesday mornings when you’re having a meeting, or trying to fit in that sodoku puzzle in between checking Pintrest for healthy recipes you won’t actually make. It gives me a sense of purpose, so when I’m billing for those hours, I’m less likely to surf the internet or goof off. (Not that I don’t. I’m just LESS LIKELY to do it.)

            I just wanted to post something to remind myself that I do a lot. And that even though I'm tired, I love every minute of it. So, today's post is more for me, but thanks for reading.

            I wear it with pride. I am a Graduate Student. And I do a hell of a lot.

The Only Major Research Paper that Used the Phrase "Boxing Glove Arrow"

           In my most recent regeneration as an English Graduate Student, I’ve had to take a wider variety of classes other than ones with the broad term of “teaching” and “how to make kids listen to you.” They were great classes, but I’ve found the ability to take a class in say, film or Shakespeare, or whatever the hell a novella is, really interesting. It’s a cool thing, really to be able to explore those things I really want to explore and write about them.

            Unfortunately, with Graduate school being Graduate school, there are required classes, and this semester I had to take one on the ever so fascinating subject: Research. How to do it. How to write it up. How to cite it. Yeah. The stuff itself is as exciting as it sounds. Fortunately, for the final project, we were able to write about anything we want, so long as we have a coherent argument and did that research thing the class was about.

            Naturally, I wrote about comic books. (I was going to something about the spiritual representations in The Big Lebowski, but I’m saving that for my Thesis.)

            More specifically, I wrote about Green Arrow, a superhero that started out as a minor character but has gained more and more popularity over the years. And the thing is… he quickly became my favorite Superhero.

            The paper I did specifically focused on his reinvention in the 1970’s from fun loving, quipping, billionaire playboy to social anarchist and hero to the common folk. Let me put it this way: If anyone had tried this Affluenza defense (the defense that some people are too rich to go to jail) they would have found themselves in the business end of an arrow from the Emerald Archer.

            I gained a newfound respect for Green Arrow. He started pretty much as a joke, a hybrid Robin Hood/Happier version of Batman that showed up when they wanted Batman but they didn’t want the darkness involved with him. He’d attack bad guys with his non-lethal array of trick arrows, the most famous being a “Boxing Glove Arrow” that would knock the bad guys out. Yes, at one point firing boxing gloves at people’s faces was deemed an acceptable means to stop crime.

            Around the 1970’s he was changed. Not given a new character with newer origins for the sophisticated 1960’s audience like Green Lantern or the Flash. He wasn’t given a bold new look or an updated background or even new powers. In fact, he was just sort of… changed. One minute he was quippy Green Arrow. The Next he was threatening to beat up Green Lantern for threatening to send a kid to jail.

            That’s interesting to think about. Out of all the comics created in the 1940’s, only a handful of characters survive as we recognize them. Mild Mannered Reporter Clark Kent. Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne. Both of which have had multiple TV Shows, comic books, movies, action figures, appearances in other shows, and even breakfast cereals about them. If you show a kid in Africa who doesn’t speak English a Superman “S”, chances are he’ll know what it is. We technically can’t go a few years without naming a reigning actor to play Batman. (Although we’ve depleted enough of this resource to be all the way up to “Ben Affleck.”) So, it’s these guys and Green Arrow, most of people would identify as the latest gritty reboot of Robin Hood if they ever got a real look at them.

            The thing is, this “conscience” version of Green Arrow is the prevalent version of the character. The fact that he’s the moral center of the DC Universe- fighting outside the law, openly defying it if need be to do what is morally right – has been the character presented in modern pop culture. From the TV Show Arrow (which is the best Comic Book show on television now… sorry Daredevil fans.) to his appearances on Justice League Unlimited, where he’s recruited specifically to keep the Justice League in check, he’s more of a moral crusader, doing what is right in the face of an increasingly bitter or corrupt world. I’m starting to respect that more and more as the way a hero thinks.

            I guess I’m just saying I’ve grown to respect this character even more as time has gone on. I’ve grown to really like his story, and I’ve grown to see him as more than just a superhero with a bow and arrow. I’ve even grown to respect the boxing glove a little bit. Maybe more than before, but still not back up to actually try using one. (They seem very impractical. )

            It’s nice when research can come together.

Back To America: Land of the Free, and Home of the Whopper

Citizens of the Internet and Beyond… Bad Shakespeare is back!

That’s right, after a month of being Bad Shakespeare-less, all new posts return… well next week, really. I suppose there’s a bit of cruelty that comes with teasing you all about the return of Bad Shakespeare, but hey, that’s what comedy is all about. But hey, regular updates will continue starting Monday of Next Week!

No, this is more of a housekeeping post, to give you all a sneak preview of what is going to be coming up over on the blog over the next couple of weeks. As you all know, or maybe you’re just finding out because you’ve just decided to start reading this blog based on your adventures with me, I have been in England over the past month, studying the inner workings of the theatre scene over there, touring the great venues, looking at the Actual Shakespeare’s house (and hoping he doesn’t mind how I borrowed his name for my blog. His ghost didn’t attack me, that’s as good as a “yes” as far as I’m concerned), drinking my way through Scotland’s fine alcohol dispensaries, and stalking former cast members of Doctor Who. Turns out, I saw two. Didn’t realize it, but I did. 

I had quite the adventure while over there, studying under the tutelage of the wonderful and talented Rick Davis, who I might add in addition to being handsome hasn’t put the final grades in the book in just yet. Just sayin’. And I look forward to telling you all about them, which is why (as I announced on Facebook… and if you don’t like Bad Shakespeare on Facebook, what’s wrong with you?) I’m announcing Bad Shakespeare Takes London, which will run on the blog Wednesdays for the foreseeable future. Marvel as I talk about:

Visiting Shakespeare’s Birthplace, and the secret of Bubbles, the Shakespearean Cat.

I review the eleven (yes… eleven) plays that I witnessed, including Treasure Island at the National Theatre, which certain was a play as it was taking place on a stage, and featured one of the more uncomfortable kisses I’ve ever seen, ever. And I’ve seen people kiss Nicolas Cage.

Our class gets a visit from the cast members of the Scottsboro Boys!

Tours! So many tours.

The experience of visiting a laundromat in London. I’ll make that one more exciting than it sounds. 

Cardiff, Doctor Who, and Paddington Station… all in one day! (The Doctor Who Experience is in Cardiff, and I had to leave from Paddington Station. But it sounds more impressive this way.)

The totally true adventures of an American in a London Movie Theater. When commercials run for 45 minutes, you wonder why you’re the only one there for a little bit. Also, no butter.

My quest for a decent cheeseburger.

The Universal appeal of Zoidberg! You all have Zoidberg.

Kilt Buying for dummies. 

And much, much more. 

And that’s not all in the way of announcements. As you’ve all seen, the Oscars were announced, and you can bet your sweet bippy that Bad Shakespeare and Friends will be at the 2015 AMC Oscar Movie Showcase to enjoy all the showcase happenings, including guest appearances by Jerome the Steelers Dude and Cookie Queen Kim. (She’d better have cookies this year… she’d better.) Stay tuned for that as well!

And, of course, your usual assortment of general wackiness, including movie reviews, Book Reports, coverage of the Movie Dumping Ground Season, and of course, this whole Graduate School thing. I should probably work on that a little bit as I have two classes coming up.

My trip to England changed me in so many ways. I wasn’t prepared for the ways in which this particular trip was going to change me. I’m really looking forward to sharing that will all of you. I’m looking forward to recapping my adventures, and looking forward to the new year and all of the new adventures I have ahead of me. 

Thus Begins Chapter 94, or Something Like That...

I use this space for a lot of things. Sometimes it’s my silly thoughts on movies. Sometimes I just feel like writing something funky about James Franco and Nicolas Cage fighting over the soul of the world. And sometimes, I look back and try to figure out just how I got to this point in my life. 

Today marks my first day as an English Graduate Student. It’s not my first day as a graduate student. No, I did that for a while for Education, as I’ve mentioned many times before. In fact, this blog was supposed to chronicle my adventures in becoming an English Teacher, back before I realized I could get some laughs writing about movies and James Franco and Nicolas Cage fighting over the soul of he world. 

I guess this post is going to be a little more reflective than what I normally do. That being said, if you’re more into James Franco and Nicolas Cage fighting over the soul of the world type posts, I promise they won’t ALL be this reflective from here on out. But it’s what I need today. And I am the writer of Bad Shakespeare, the Blog. 

Last Saturday was an anniversary for me. It’s the anniversary of when things really started to change. Saturday marked one year since my contract was up with my previous office… which meant it’s now been one year since I put on a tie every day and went into an office and did office worker things: sitting at a computer, answering phones, and finding new and creative ways to pass the time by hiding pictures of Paula Deen in one person’s desk, or suran wrapping another person’s desk and putting up a biohazard sign over it. Good times. I’ll also have to tell you about the hand sanitizer at one point. That was one of my prouder moments.

Everything has changed so much since then. I had quit that job previously, then re-taken a position to hold me over up until I started my internship. Because of the pesky Praxis 2, which I also railed against during this time, I didn’t start it until January, but my contract was up in August, so there wasn’t much they could do. The people i worked for were already nice enough to not only hire me back, but extend my work an extra few months because they were that awesome. 

So yeah, no typical office job… I actually found another job that doing something I absolutely love part time. Also, I moved from a big house to a smaller apartment in a location I like. I decided I didn’t want to teach high school and moved on to English abruptly. Oh, and I found a pretty cool set of Supernatural Action figures, so I got that going for me too. Lil’ Cas is pretty awesome.

It’s just odd to think how much has changed. By this point I thought I’d be readying my own classroom, making lesson plans, getting tests ready, and welcoming a new crop of students. Instead, I’m putting on a swimsuit almost daily. I’m not worrying about the lawn. My ties have been sitting in a garbage bag on the bottom of my closet for the past few months because i haven’t needed them, except rare occasions where I have interviewed for the random job that looked interesting, but I apparently didn’t wow them. I’m also sitting waiting to take more Graduate Level classes, still unsure what to expect.

I’ve mentioned before that Secondary Education is more guided. Some of it is State Mandated, some of it is school mandated because it was for a Masters Degree. And with English, I can take a wide variety of classes as long as i take the two main classes. But sometimes I wonder if I’m smart enough, you know? Like maybe they made some kind of cosmic mistake letting me in. Maybe somewhere there’s a guy with a similar name to mine that got a rejection letter meant for me. It’s jut that little bit of fear that always creeps into your head once you get the reading list and you wonder if you’re going to understand all of it. 

Of course, Doc Sparky Sweets covered one of the books over at Thug Notes, so I’ll rely heavily on that for a little bit. 

I’ll get over it. It’s called an irrational fear, that being that it’s not a rational and can’t be wished away by saying “I’m smart and my name is unique enough that they couldn’t have messed it up completely.”It’s just tough for those first few days.

Some of it is all of the change in general hitting me in the face like so many fish at a Seattle Market. It’s just been a lot to process. 

Again, this is all reflection. I’m not trying to make any sense of it, just trying to process it. I’m not even sure where I’m going with all of this right now. I’m interested to see how the semester goes from this point on. Of course, I’ll keep you updated in between movie reviews and stories about James Franco and Nicolas Cage fighting for the soul of the world. 

But… let’s start my life. Chapter 94, or whatever we’re up to…