Watching "Bad Lieutenant" and contemplating my next move...

I have found myself at yet another crossroad.  I have a lot of potential opportunities for the upcoming months, but nothing is set in stone, and NOTHING is very current.  The best chance I have for success is my new book.  I have been working on traveling to the West Coast to do some networking and pitch a few scripts.  The problem is that I came down with a nasty cold this past weekend.  I have postponed my L.A. and S.F. trip until the head cold subsides. 

This is creating the crossroads I am talking about.  I have a lot of options, with regard to my artistic endeavors, but nothing substantial in the "real" world.  I don't mind being and following the artist in me, but I have to keep pushing forward or I am going to collapse under my own weight.

I began applying today for my M.A. in History at NEIU and my M.A. in Military and Diplomacy Studies at HPU.  I know I already have my M.A. in Communications, but I do love my history, and I do have a B.A. in that discipline also.  The way I see it is that I can borrow some money at a low interest rate, increase my knowledge, and hold off paying back the excessive student debt I have until a more suitable time when my government figures out how to fix my economy.  At this point, I have to think of all my options.  I am in a position to borrow money at a fixed 6.8% without having to pay interest on half of it while I am in school.  Can you do this?  I would venture to say the answer is no.  Even those with great credit scores wouldn't be able to do this.

I came home a little over 10 weeks ago, and the road to "redemption" is not what I expected it to be.  I have been on countless job interviews, and they seem to be all minimum wage positions, or sales positions.  The other aspect that keeps re-occurring is the lies in the advertising of these jobs.  I went on a job interview two weeks ago that said the company was looking for assembly/customer service reps/managers.  I assumed it was a warehouse job, but I was wrong.  It actually was a company that sold vacuum cleaners residential/door2door.  I asked in the interview, "how can you say this is customer service, if the people are not customers yet?"  Or where is the assembly?  The assembly was the building and selling the vacuum cleaners in the potential customer's home.  It was a total scam, and that is the current job hunt for a guy that spent the last 7 years attaining 4 degrees (A.A., 2 B.A.s, and a M.A.).  I graduated with honors for every degree, and the last one was the toughest, but I did it.

So here I am at a crossroads again.  It helps me be a better artist, because I have no choice but to create for myself.  The problem is that I am becoming more and more complacent with society.  The lies that the mainstream media (from both left and right) about the current state of affairs and our economy is getting better is starting to get on my nerves.  I am at the forefront of the truth, and what you see about more jobs being created, or less people on unemployment is being spun to persuade you to spend more money.  The spending is what the government expects to change the direction of the economy.  If you spend, then people have to build what you are buying, then more jobs are created, etc. ad nauseum.  It sickens me to death at this point.  The upside? Well, at least I am being motivated by anger, and anyone who knows me well enough, when I get pissed off, I get things done!


Well, the other stuff has a more positive feel to it.  I have been wanting to blog about everyday life but can't seem to find the time.  So I guess now is the time to catch up...

Gang-fight on Cicero Avenue right in front of my car from the Jeep Cherokee in front of me waiting for the light to change?
Flat-Irons, Bonnie's, Milwaukee Avenue from Logan Square to Wicker Park and Mexican food to Indiana with Marty and Todd?
$11 martini's at Martini Ranch on Chicago Avenue and the fact the bar has a ratio of 7 females to 1 male on Friday nights?
Pocket aces(mine) going all-in against pocket kings, and losing $400 in one hand, after being ahead $400 for the night, but rebounding with blackjack over the next 8 hours and leaving with $500 ahead?
My father about to be foreclosed on for his 3rd house in 4 years?
Working for Bobby G'z deli for free because I am a nice guy looking out for an old, great friend?  Upside: Getting a lot of free food, and a movie script, which brings us back to the L.A. trip...???
Realizing that my alternate persona is not capable of taking over my primary persona?
Putting $5.00 down on the craps table on a "sharp shooter" bet and the shooter (not me) hits 8 out of 10 points paying 100 to 1 on the bet?
Thinking about returning to Hawaii or NEIU for a 2nd M.A.?
Well, I have a lot of questions here, you can choose the story you want me to tell.  These stories are all true and are the topics over the past few weeks in Chicago since I got back to Chicago from Hawaii on March 17th, 2011.  I will expound on a few of these in separate blogs, but right now the meds I am taking for this cold is making me have to quit typing.  Just another day in the life...