Lunch break
Well, it is lunch break at work, so I decided to give the 'ol blog another go. The fact that it is lunch time is not really significant, as all I do during the day is crap around on the internet anyhow. There are moments when I might answer a phone call, but most of my time is spent reading the NYtimes website.
Let me explain a little further. This summer I am working at the San Bernardino County Government Building as a "graduate student intern" for Supervisor Dennis Hansberger. I got the job through my father's lawyer. The idea is that an air-conditioned office and a job-description somehow relevant to the political realm will be a good experience for me and a good resume-padder. And, those things it may be, but exciting it certainly is not. This damned office is full of scandal, controversy, and dirty fucking politics. People are worried that their phones are tapped, incriminating memos and emails routinely make their way to the local papers, and the 5 county supervisors hate each other so much that they can hardly speak with one another. These sentiments and happenings filter down to the respective staffs of the supervisors culminating in what can only be described as harmonious dysfunction. Harmonious because everyone here seems to accept the fact that this is just the way that administration works. They are calloused, bitter, and tired, but concurrently dedicated, ambitious, and intelligent. Truth be told, my first month here has really turned me off to politics more than anything else. If this sort of crap (interested in more? search google news for Jim Foster, San Bernardino Colonies Dispute) happens at the local level, I don't relish pondering on what goes on higher up. Sure, on the federal level there is a great deal more oversight, but those in power are exponentially more powerful (see: Karl Rove).
This wasn't always the plan. I flirted with Teach for America, where I was accepted and placed in the Bay Area to teach special education, and with working construction out in the 110 degree California sun. Teach for America, attractive an option as it was, I later turned down in favor of going to Oxford University in October to study for a Masters in Russian and East European Studies. And construction? I would have emerged buff and bronzed, and made more money that I will here, but seriously, what level of communication would I be able to reach with a bunch of thirty-something dudes more interested in the shape of a 2x4 than that of the current geopolitical landscape. So, here I am. Writing a friggin blog.
Luckily I have two outlets to maintain (or seek to reinstate) my sanity. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I drive into L.A. to take classes at the Groundlings School of improvisation. I can't tell you how excited I have been about this opportunity. I grew up watching the Groundlings company and I fancied the classes to be a for-certain life-changing experience. Tuesday was my first class, and it was good...but far short of amazing. The instructor, Roy Jenkins, is smart, witty, and very funny. I wish I could say the same for my classmates. There is one guy in my class named Greg, who I auditioned with, who is pretty impressive on stage. The others, however? Its not so much that they suck as it is that they are idiots. Seriously, a couple of these people did not know what a noun was. When asked to name an interesting fact about themselves, one said "I like Comedy" (uh...yeah...) and another informed us that he "dropped out of high school" (awesome, dude!). Another decided to use the word "fearingly" in a sentence ("Liberace wore ostentatious fearingly suits"). Whaaa?
So, what do I think? I think a subtle mixture of three things:
Let me explain a little further. This summer I am working at the San Bernardino County Government Building as a "graduate student intern" for Supervisor Dennis Hansberger. I got the job through my father's lawyer. The idea is that an air-conditioned office and a job-description somehow relevant to the political realm will be a good experience for me and a good resume-padder. And, those things it may be, but exciting it certainly is not. This damned office is full of scandal, controversy, and dirty fucking politics. People are worried that their phones are tapped, incriminating memos and emails routinely make their way to the local papers, and the 5 county supervisors hate each other so much that they can hardly speak with one another. These sentiments and happenings filter down to the respective staffs of the supervisors culminating in what can only be described as harmonious dysfunction. Harmonious because everyone here seems to accept the fact that this is just the way that administration works. They are calloused, bitter, and tired, but concurrently dedicated, ambitious, and intelligent. Truth be told, my first month here has really turned me off to politics more than anything else. If this sort of crap (interested in more? search google news for Jim Foster, San Bernardino Colonies Dispute) happens at the local level, I don't relish pondering on what goes on higher up. Sure, on the federal level there is a great deal more oversight, but those in power are exponentially more powerful (see: Karl Rove).
This wasn't always the plan. I flirted with Teach for America, where I was accepted and placed in the Bay Area to teach special education, and with working construction out in the 110 degree California sun. Teach for America, attractive an option as it was, I later turned down in favor of going to Oxford University in October to study for a Masters in Russian and East European Studies. And construction? I would have emerged buff and bronzed, and made more money that I will here, but seriously, what level of communication would I be able to reach with a bunch of thirty-something dudes more interested in the shape of a 2x4 than that of the current geopolitical landscape. So, here I am. Writing a friggin blog.
Luckily I have two outlets to maintain (or seek to reinstate) my sanity. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I drive into L.A. to take classes at the Groundlings School of improvisation. I can't tell you how excited I have been about this opportunity. I grew up watching the Groundlings company and I fancied the classes to be a for-certain life-changing experience. Tuesday was my first class, and it was good...but far short of amazing. The instructor, Roy Jenkins, is smart, witty, and very funny. I wish I could say the same for my classmates. There is one guy in my class named Greg, who I auditioned with, who is pretty impressive on stage. The others, however? Its not so much that they suck as it is that they are idiots. Seriously, a couple of these people did not know what a noun was. When asked to name an interesting fact about themselves, one said "I like Comedy" (uh...yeah...) and another informed us that he "dropped out of high school" (awesome, dude!). Another decided to use the word "fearingly" in a sentence ("Liberace wore ostentatious fearingly suits"). Whaaa?
So, what do I think? I think a subtle mixture of three things:
- LA is full of shitty actors and I, like them, and in no way special. I think I am, but such is the nature of the aspiring actor.
- My wit and intelligence (and rippling abs...yes, my abs ripple) set me far above the average LA dumbshit and bode well for my future in this town.
- I, again, have jumped to conclusions. These people are likely not as bad as I make them out to be, as I will find out as the classes wear on. I have a bad habit of judging people rather quickly, only to be proven wrong later on.
The second outlet is acting in Communicating Doors as Reese in a production of the Murrieta Repertory Theater. Just got the part, so not much to say on that yet.
Perhaps you wonder why I am alluding to the possibility of a future in acting for myself. Have I not already set my heart on Oxford? The answer is that I am as confused, and potentially more confused than you. Yeah, Oxford would be cool, but am I really ready to become a Russia specialist? I am 23 and I think I would rather do some more exploration first. Please, comment if you wish. As a side note, Dad is less than excited about me dishing off Oxford. In fact, the very notion has brought him to tears. Bummer, huh?
Well, a pretty sizable and comprehensive post methinks. Stay tuned, at some point I will get to all the girl shit and other things more interesting.
- Brad
posted by Bradford at 12:45 PM
1 Comments:
Bradford,
You are right on the money with what you have said in your blog. You are far too brilliant to be left undiscovered, but at the same time don't let your brilliance be your demise.
You are a different breed and I can't imagine how it must feel always being 15 steps ahead of the game. The one thing I would tell you... all the people that you perceive as dumb/idiots... don't dismiss them so easily, cuz even they have something to offer/teach you, whether it be their zest for life or how the simplest of things make them happy. If anything, you'll be able to use their stupidity in one of your sketches... and then who knows, you'll be eternally grateful to them for being dumb. Until your next blog, love always, your dumblond!
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