Not quite the whole story, but it's a start

While I'm trying to digest my experiences at WABE, this article has been written. Catharsis is happening.

On a much lighter note, this is so awesome. That's all I'll say for you Early Music fans out there.

Saying Good-Bye

Last Friday I was told that I was being laid off from my job because they are going to combine the job I am currently doing with another co-worker's, and I am welcome to apply for the new job that will be posted in 2-3, maybe 4 weeks. This "new job" will not include hosting classical music from Noon-3pm. In fact, the machinations behind this decision are gruesome to say the least, and simply unfair. I'll be happy to give you the details privately. Just email me.

In my six-year tenure at WABE, I have produced countless interviews, created an internship program and nurtured three interns, created The Art of Song (which involves script writing and all digital production), masterminded Opera Classics, and so much more. All of this was way above and beyond my simple job description and salary, and my reward for all of this hard work: You're Fired. Not because I am incompetent, but the opposite.

I find it hard to say good-bye because I have loved this job so much, getting to touch people's lives with the beauty of classical music and hopefully helping them to love it as much as I do. Since the age of 6 I have known that I wanted to be a teacher, and my job was the perfect realization of a dream. Now the dream must change, but I'm not ready yet. I will continue to make music, but now will share it with thousands fewer people. It makes me sad. Good-byes are hard.

It has been nearly twenty-nine years

since we landed in Los Angeles as new immigrants in America, and as I voted this morning I was struck by the overwhelming dominance of Republican control in the time we've lived in the United States. Of these 29 years, we've had a Democratic President for only 8 of them, and those were some of the best in the last three decades. We need to turn the tide and work toward real change. While I will always be a Hilary supporter, it's important to not let the other side dominate any longer. The corruption of American work ethic, moral character, and economic policies have brought us to this uncomfortable and unsettling state.

I still remember the pride I felt sitting in Citizenship class in high school, believing that it was my duty to understand how government worked and to participate. While much jadedness has occurred over the years, once again I want to feel more connected to the political process.

After nearly 30 years of being an American, now there are only fleeting moments when I feel like a stranger: for instance, when I meet a listener who pauses for a moment to assess the fact that I am not Caucasian, as they have pictured in their minds. It's going to be a really good thing for people all over the world and here at home to not just picture an old white guy when we talk about the President of the United States. Instead, we'll see an African American male, or even a woman (GO HIL 2012!!!). To deny that external racial differences exist is just as ignorant as being a racist. What I hope to see and feel some day is that the typical image of someone in authority is not that of a white dude, and that maybe this will happen in the next 30 years? Here's to hoping and working for it.