The Invisible Parade

For approximately ten years I announced the Strawberry Festival in Garden Grove. Many groups were entertaining especially The Compton Sounders, a synchronized drum group, but no parade was as memorable as the invisible parade. No parade goes just as planned. Someone or some creature gets sick. A local politician is required to remain in an extended political session or a vehicle breaks down. Whatever the reason, there ends up being a variety of breaks throughout the parade. One year instead of continually announcing the events being held throughout the day and trying to find other topics to discuss; I instead created the invisible parade. The invisible parade had monkeys riding on the backs of elephants. The creature did flips and landed into a perfect handstand. There was a 300 piece band playing in unison and criss-crossing as they marched. Cheerleaders were leaping into pyramids and staying in form as they marched through the parade. What is my point? My point is that my best experience came from my head. This creation didn't cost anything, involve any clean up, or preparation. I have taken this philosophy into my life with my daughter. She and I make plans, but if they change or are cancelled we know we can always use our imagination. We know we won't be let down if we make up special days in our head because if we are bored we can just change the mental picture. The fun is always available to us thanks to the invisible parade!

Watch out blog world!

Last year I wrote one blog post and this year this will be my first. This does not make me a prolific blogger. I found that having your blog called Erratic Thoughts leads to a very unfocused blog and blog experience. This is why I changed my blog title to Modern Philosophy in a Virtual World. I have twelve followers; eleven if you recognize the fact that Paul Swendson is not two people. It would be nice if one of my blog readers could describe my blog in a sentence or two so others could have their interests piqued and become regular readers. What is most important is that I write about topics that pique my interest so that whether I gain readership or not; it is an enjoyable and informative experience for me. Here's to the future. Thoughts on the politics of education, fatherhood, sports, and how they all relate to the human experience are on the horizon. Look out virtual world, here I come!

From Jew to Unitarian and back to Jew again

I was born a Jew and will die a Jew, but in between I took a bit of a detour. In general Jews are a pretty open minded group and so I fit right in with Unitarian Universalists. As I studied in Hebrew School I found that if there was a lesson taught to the class that we didn't understand; we were encouraged to question. Also, if other religions presented their beliefs to us, we were to question them as well. That clearly made sense to me and I have felt comfortable with being Jewish most my existence. However about six or seven years ago I began questioning my Judaism and wanted to experiment with other belief systems. I now realize that although I appreciate them including Unitarian Universalism, but I feel most at home in a synagogue. Today, I went to the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center www.pjtc.net and I felt at home again.

I was greeted by Cara Jaffe who is in charge of rituals and was very helpful and engaging. The cantor Ruth Harris came over and greeted me while I enjoyed the wonderful lunch provided by the Bat Mitzvah girl Carmiya's family. Rabbi Joshua Levine-Grater sat at the table with me and discussed the temple with me and the other congregants I sat with made my day just feel glorious.

I feel there should be a plaque on the temple's wall that says something like Home is where the Synagogue is, but that seems a little wordy. Maybe instead "Don't be a fool, Go to Shul." or "Don't be Cruel, go to Shul." Either one works or I am sure there are many more out there that are far better. For now I will take it one Sabbath at a time.

What I am thankful for

As Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching I am quite thankful for where I am at in my life. Last year at this time I was looking for a job in accounting or a related business. As it got closer and closer to Labor Day this year I was willing to take on any form of labor. Although my most positive experiences in work were as a teacher and working in accounting; I just wanted a job. This is when I believe G-d put his hand out and guided me.

I went to the Verdugo Job Center in Glendale and signed up for job search assistance. After attending an orientation and a support group I met with a young woman named Deidra. I wemt to get help with my resume and how to better focus my job search. She gave me input that now seems so obvious to me, but until I met with Deidra I had not considered combining my two skill sets. The job counselors I had spoken with before encouraged me to either to apply for accounting jobs or start my own business. Deidra, instead, thought outside the box as they say. Her suggestion was for me to look at the EDD site and identify all the school that were training students in business. After I found the schools I contacted them and submitted my resume to many. Within a few weeks I had two interviews and was hired.

I love my job and it is an ideal position for me as it utilizes my skills. I am helping students learn about business and computer programs that will help them obtain jobs for themselves. I am happily paying it forward.

I am truly thankful to Deidra, family, friends and G-d who helped me through these difficult times and into a much better situation.

The Little Blog That Could

A little less than 2 months ago I decided to end this blog and start an advice blog. The two people I gave advice to really valued and utilized my advice. However, it is hard to have a daily advice column with that little response. In the meantime I have been busy looking for steady employment and continuing to settle in to my new home as well as spending valuable time with my fiancee. The solution to the advice column dilemma seems to be either finding a way to market it so others hear about it and write in or to not continue writing it. At this time I realize that I am no marketing genius nor do I wish to try and become one. So I am going to share my erratic thoughts here for myself and the readers whether there are 3, 3,000, or 3 million.

Recently I went on one of many interviews I have gone on. This was for a part time instructor position that I knew I would enjoy doing, but had no idea if I would get it. After one interview and a presentation in front of the other instructors and the administrator; they had me filling out paperwork such as a W4 that you only complete if you have the job. I asked them if it meant that I got the job and they indicated yes. It took all the control I have to refrain from screaming with job or jumping up and down. I am still looking for additional work as this is part time and at night, but most importantly it is steady work.

I believe strongly in the concepts in The Four Agreements and the concept that one's esteem needs to come from within. However, I couldn't help myself from feeling much better about myself due to the reinorcement and the fact I will have some place to go on every weekday. It feels good to provide a necessary skill to society.

Feelings are clearly not logical. Before and after getting the job I was the same person. The difference is having my personal confidence reinforced. I worked one day so far as a sub and as of tonight I will begin working every weekday or do I call it every weeknight? Either way it feels great to get back to work and know I am providing a necessary service to others and one that I am confident I can do well.

Advice to Self: Start an Advice Blog

I haven't written in a while mostly because I have been busy getting settled in to my new place and continuing my job search. One of the things that's been bothering me with this blog is that it does not seem to attract a large following. I have my small group of readers who I truly appreciate, but those are mainly people who happen to know me personally. The main problem is the fact that I chose to write about a variety of topics thus leading to my blog title "Erratic Thoughts". This has led me to wonder if I need to change my blog or open a new blog.

As I have been considering my new blog I have gone over a few different concepts. I thought about mental illness, but I already tried that and I found it a bit tedious and depressing at times. Another possibility is sports, but that is something I have become less and less interesting in plus there are many sportswriters out there. Entertainment is a possibility, but that involves having funds to go out to many events plus again in some ways my interests have lessened. As I continued to think of every kind of topic and shot them all down, I started to think about what do I most enjoy reading. Mystery novels are intriguing, but I am not planning on writing a novel at this time nor do I want to review them. I truly enjoy reading advice columns such as Dear Abby and Ask Amy. Wait a second! All the general advice columns I have read have been written by women. I have always been a good listener and one who many people have turned to for advice so this sounds like a thought. I don't claim to be an expert or a psychologist, but I have a lot of experiences and opinions. I figure this will be an interesting thing to do and hope to do it for fun and maybe help a few people in the meantime.

Don't Lose that Improv Feeling

If you can make it to a live improv comedy show I highly recommend The Groundlings on Melrose in West Hollywood, but if you can't make it there then check out these clips from the original Whose Line is it Anyway from the UK.



Over the last approximately 4 years I have been busy trying to find ways to make money and/or obtain gainful employment. Since I haven't been successful at finding anything with a consistent schedule I have chosen not to perform with any improv group. I performed for a little over 10 years with a very funny group from Orange County, CA called An Angry Mob. We performed very successful shows as headliners at The Original Comedy Store on Sunset as well as the one in La Jolla, The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, and The Ice House in Pasadena as well as many other locations. The problem was that we might perform 3 shows in a week then over the next 6 months perform just another 3. It's a tough business out there especially when you book your gigs yourselves.

My cousin Sue passed away 3 1/2 years ago after battling a debilitating disease. It was very difficult watching a woman who loved to chat and laugh forced to communicate only in writing since she had to have a tracheotomy. Her best friend and I switched off being at her bedside over a 3 month period so she almost always had a daily visitor. I don't mention this to pat myself on the back, but rather to explain why words she said have such meaning. Due to family discord that did not directly involve us, we had not been close until the last two years of her life. During this time she became very supportive of me as a person and enjoyed attending the group's performances. She encouraged me to keep performing even if it was just once or twice a year. I lived in L.A. for about a year from 2006 to 2007 and took classes with the well renowned Groundlings. I enjoyed the opportunity to perform although I did not make out of the first level through any of my three attempts. This is greatly due to the fact that I enjoy being a quick wit rather than being able to create characters which The Groundlings are known for (Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman was a Groundling, Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, and many many more).

There is such a camraderie felt when one is part of a comedy troupe or merely an improv comedy performance. The energy on the stage when shows go well is electric and it bonds the entire group. Even when shows don't go that well, the group can be bonded by blaming the audience, lighting, or the fact the girl in front had makeup that looked like it was put on by monkeys on crack. Of course there is the occasional time when the group doesn't get along, but with the right group it is all worth it in the end.

My cousin's answering machine allowed us to hear her voice from beyond the grave. When anyone called, Sue's voice would say "You Know What to Do." This message took us through difficult decisions her best friend and I had to make. These included carrying out her wishes when some of those were not made clear by her even though she had a living will and made me the executor of her estate. I know that I will jump up on an improv state again and hopefully sooner rather than later. One of the motivating factors will be knowing that somewhere my cousin will be smiling and laughing louder than anyone in the crowd. In addition, her words and spirit will always resonate with me letting me know that I know what to do.