SCAD disappointment rant

So this weekend Chris has been busting his butt to get a proposal put together for a grant he was nominated for. It's a pretty big deal, if his proposal is selected, he will get funding to do a pretty big photo project. And he had to be nominated to even submit the proposal. So of course he's taking this opportunity really seriously, and trying to do his best to get it right. But he's never written a proposal before, and doesn't really know how to put it together in a way that it will be taken seriously by the the judges.

So he's been trying since the beginning of the month to get some faculty from SCAD (where he goes to school) to help him out. However, everyone he's asked has just told him to ask someone else. Specifically, a couple of his professors just aren't interested in taking a little bit of time to help him out. One of them just says "Well, chances are you won't get it, so don't get your hopes up" and acts like because it's not a sure thing he shouldn't even try. Another professor told him to ask a woman who works at the campus library. Her job is to help faculty write proposals, so he figured she was the best person to ask for advice. So Chris emailed her, and she never wrote back. A couple weeks later he tried again, and the woman actually forwarded his email to the professor and to the head of the photo department saying "Why is this guy bugging me? Get him out of my hair." Then she just told Chris to ask someone from the photo department (where he started, and everyone told him to ask someone else). So basically, he's completely on his own for this. We've been trying our best to get this written the best way we can figure it out, but it's really frustrating that we're going way into debt for this school because it's supposed to be so great, and NO ONE can be bothered to DO THEIR JOB and help a student who has a good opportunity. I mean, if he gets this, it's good news for SCAD as a whole, because one of their students won the grant. So why won't anyone take a little bit of time to help him out?

So today is the day the proposal is due. He was up til 4 in the morning working on it, I got up this morning to proofread and add some suggestions. He printed out a few copies, and took it down to the photo building try to hunt down anyone he can to get some last minute input. I'm hoping if he's in their faces with a proposal, SOMEONE will feel obligated to give him 10 minutes of their life. Here's hoping.

Less Than Jake

Well, after a few months of trying to get an interview with Vinnie from Less Than Jake, we were finally able to sit down with him in their studio in Gainesville, FL yesterday evening. It went really well, and was definitely worth the drive, because he had lots to say about his hobby of collecting PEZ. This was the last big thing on our To Do list for the movie, so we had a great sense of accomplishment, especially since it was the FIRST thing on our To Do list when we decided to make the movie.

Considering I have a vivid memory of my friend Travis running around in French class when I was 16 or 17 with a Taz PEZ dispenser, all because LTJ liked PEZ so it was all cool and "old-skool" ... and that probably has something to do with why I had my first PEZ dispenser in the first place, which is somehow connected to why we have over 800 of the darned things now... it was pretty neat to be able to meet one of the guys. That, and, a LTJ concert was my first ever real concert right after my 18th birthday in Fort Myers. So there's all kinds of nostalgia connected to it. Kinda cool.

So anyways. Check out some photos from the interview.

apologies for the lack of posts

you know... life's busy, just haven't really had time to ramble. But here it goes... just the highlights.

We just got back from visiting family all over Florida for Christmas. We had a great time... it was good to get to see everyone, and considering we went to 5 different cities visiting family and friends, I do believe we got to see everyone. Good times, good times.

We randomly met the host of Street Smarts (a silly game show I used to watch way too much) in a New York style deli in the middle of Orlando with Amy. We were in line to order, and the guy in front of us looked really familiar, so I told Chris "that guy looks a little like the guy from Street Smarts." Chris said "hmm, if you say so." But the longer we waited in line, the more Chris started to agree. So before the guy left, Chris stopped him and asked if he was "that guy from..." and he said "Yeah, my name's Frank." He was at the Orlando Improv for the week. And he even offered to get us tickets for the show that night, but we had to be at my brother's place in Jacksonville that night, so had to turn it down. Very random encounter.

And... classes start for Chris on Thursday, and I start teaching again next Tuesday. So it's been a restful past few weeks, but the real world is about to start again. Looking forward to seeing what's next.