Thursday, April 9, 2009

re(verse)commend

hello friends.

this recommend will be a bit breif. it seems like this whole week is a bit breif.
i want to recommend one thing , and then i want to request a recommend from you the reader.

first to my recommend: there is a band that goes by the name of hoots and hellmouth. you can sample some of their music here http://www.myspace.com/hootshellmouth . their myspace music is ok, but their live show is amazing. real gosh darn great. now i am a bit biased because the one guy is a good friend of mine from growing up. but it really is great. and i know a lot of you like music - so this is a show you will most probably quite enjoy. one word of warning though - one guy in the band is a complete phoney. i dont like him none. i won't tell you which in case you go to the show... in which case i'd like to hear what you think. but the show and music is pretty inspiring and i stand behind it.

as you might've guessed, their show is heading nearby to where you fine folks live on a southeast tour. not in baltimore persay, but close enough for you to go if you are bored.... here's where:

Apr 9 2009 8:00P
Coffee East Easton, Maryland
Apr 28 2009 7:00P
Ram’s Head Tavern w/ The Greencards Annapolis, Maryland
Apr 29 2009 9:00P
Rock N Roll Hotel DC, Washington DC

anyways, thats my suggestion. go see the group. i think you'll enjoy their foot stomping qualities. if anyone does go, i'd love to get your thoughts.

and now for the recommend i need from you. today is the last day i have for a big decision. i won't go into all the details as it would be a bit boring. but basically, i got into an MFA program up in brooklyn for woodcutting. i definetely want to go at some point, but right now i think it might be a good time to stay in a good-paying job that i currently am hating-less.... seeing as my girlfriend is accidentally unemployed and this city will squeeze the quarter out of me during these economic woes... some people bounce quarters on butts and i dont really know why. but i am getting my quarter squeezed. so the question is... do i play the safe route? stay in a job that i kind of am ok with currently and allow it to fund me to live... and hopefully go to school in the future without hanging my head to low that i've grown old and velvettedly-hancuffed to the work-a-day world? or do i go to get my MFA now and deal with the life of a poor man. since i haven't heard from eri-chop in a while, and he's gone through this MFAing i believe, perhaps he could share some advice? its a lot to ask i know, but i didnt have much to recommend this week as my brain is stuck on this query.

are we getting a new recommends list to talk about soon adam? i'd love to stop talking about myself so much.

8 comments:

adam. said...

oh boy this is a big one. i feel weird giving friend advice via the blog comment, but this is what you asked for. before you consider doing an MFA, maybe remember the old rule of "i before e except after c." this is crucial to the spelling of "brief."

all joking aside, you do pose a real tough life question. on one hand you have the great job with the boss who sends you to switzerland free of charge and if you are liking it more these days, or as you say disliking it less, it is a pretty sweet job. the outsider says this, but does not know what goes on within the calvin klein photographing walls. an MFA will be there, but will the desire to go to the MFA remain? or will it be just as easy to leave said job come a year from now? i guess i dont have any real advice, just a long stream of questions. maybe i will post part two to this later this afternoon after me thinks about it some more.

oh, and another thing. all previous lists are up for grabs! we can always go back and comment on oldies but goodies.

t.j. said...

"oldy is moldy adam.... we want new lists!" - franz liszt

erichop said...

I never furthered my education past a BFA, and at that time I totally wasted the opportunity to just be able to paint all day and develop something. Currently I am in a job where I am bored out of my mind 8 hours a day, the whole time wishing I could actually use my brain for something. Usually something creative. BUT, I have a wife that works, so I don't feel any financial responsibilities. So my advice would be, if you have no form of income, and you really do plan on doing the MFA thing at some point. I would say do the safe thing. If you think there is a chance that you will never go back to school, and instead be stuck in boring office jobs, they you would probably kick yourself in 5 years for not doing the MFA thing and living at soup kitchens.

erichop said...

also, working for Calvin Klein probably looks better on a resume than getting a MFA in wood cutting. But I have also recently been questioning the importance of anything past a high school education.

ricksterb said...

My advice: get a lifecoach.

erichop said...

Another option would be to get you MFA in Baltimore and live at my parents house. It seems like the Hopkins parents don't care how long twenty somethings live in their house to get things like performance certificates.

h. van de mark said...

many things to say:
1. eric's last comment is HILARIOUS! hahahaha.

2. congratulations on getting in!!!

3. can you not do both? or take some sort of cut in work hours to do both? i've found my jobs were fairly flexible.

4. i'd say quit the job and go to school only if you plan to pursue this woodcut 100% passionately for the rest of your life and this is a life transition into a new career. otherwise, if it's just something you're interested in and would be a dedicated hobby, you might want to hold off.

5. i'd also only quit if you knew you had the moral and financial support from f to the iamma or your parents. i quit my terrible terrible job and was back in school, but between my savings and my parents, i kept a roof over my head. (plus consider what, if any, sort of loan, aid or scholarship you could get.)

6. if you quit, i will gladly keep your position at your current company warm for you until or if you decide to come back.

t.j. said...

oh man - you guys are great - i like these words of wisdom... chop, will your mom promise to make me lasagna every evening and keep that little glass bowl of chocolates filled to the brim if i come down to hiss ave?