Battle of the Disney Remakes

A couple nights ago I finally got around to watching two of Disney's recent live-action remakes of classic animated films: Aladdin and The Lion King. I was cautiously optimistic, given that I’ve enjoyed some of the other remakes of late, but these two I had no idea what to think going in.

Aladdin vs The Lion King

First we watched The Lion King. Initial thoughts: there was hardly anything new in it. It seemed to me like almost a shot-for-shot remake (especially the opening scene). It was a weird experience. I obviously knew the story, the characters, and the songs, so it was a bit like seeing a familiar play, but with a different cast. Everything is the same except for the acting. The only re-cast role was James Earl Jones as Mufasa, who still gave a great performance, just not as energetic as his original vocal performance from 1994. The new Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was nowhere near as intimidating as Jeremy Irons, and his “Be Prepared” song was weird and short. I liked that the hyenas were scarier. Timon and Pumbaa were not as funny, nor was their singing as good as the originals. Their only scene I thought was really funny was when they starting singing “Be Our Guest” as a distraction for the hyenas. Donald Glover did a great job as Simba, as did Beyonce as Nala. I thought it odd that “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” did not take place at night. I liked the new song “Spirit”, but I would have liked if they also included a song or two from the Broadway musical (which I actually saw on Broadway back in 2009). I was sad that Mufasa’s face didn’t appear in the sky. The original effects in the 1994 film were awesome, so it was kind of a missed opportunity to me to not have that in this one. The animation was beautiful, but I didn’t like that the facial expressions were not as vibrant. I guess that’s what they get for trying to make the film look photorealistic. Really, to call this a “live-action” film is kind of stretching it; even the recent Golden Globe Awards nominated this film for Best Animated Feature (which it didn’t win by the way). This movie still managed to make me cry in all the usual places, but I still much prefer the original film.

After The Lion King ended, we had a short break, then put on Aladdin. I was already more excited for this than I was for The Lion King, mostly because this would truly be a “live-action” remake - like with people in it. I am glad to say the movie did not disappoint. One of my favorite aspects of the movie is that it truly was a retelling of the original animated movie. Sure it still had the same basic plot, but the way it went from plot point to plot point was different, which I very much appreciated. It also didn’t reuse almost the exact same dialogue like The Lion King did. The performances were all excellent. Though nothing can beat Robin Williams’ Genie, Will Smith didn’t try to, and instead made his own version, which I loved. Aladdin and Jasmine had great chemistry and were also decent singers. I really liked Jasmine’s new song, but it didn’t seem to fit in that well with the rest of the movie. Jafar didn’t seem as evil in this movie, but he still did a good job with the part. I couldn’t take Abu seriously because he looked so fake, and every time I saw Rajah I just kept having flashbacks to The Lion King, which I had just finished watching. I thought it cool that Jasmine was able to become the next Sultan - she deserved it. I also liked that when the Genie was freed from the lamp, it turned him human, which is a neat idea. I liked that he got to have his own happy ending with Jasmine’s handmaiden (a new character that I greatly enjoyed). In general, I liked this film just as much as the original - though I can’t say which I like better. I look forward to watching this again sometime for a second opinion.

(Short) Reviews of all the Disney Remakes (so far)

While I’m on the subject of these two Disney live-action remakes, I thought it would be fun to give a breakdown on all of the recent remakes. For this list, I am only including the recent remakes, starting with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. This list, therefore, does not include Stephen Sommers’ 1994 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book (which I really like by the way), or either of the 101 Dalmations films starring Glenn Close. For this list I am including a one-sentence review, my score out of 10, whether or not I would watch it again, and if I prefer the original or the remake better.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

6/10 - Weird, but entertaining. I would watch it again. I think I actually prefer this to the original.

Maleficent (2014)

7/10 - I remember liking how they changed the story. I would watch it again, though I still prefer the original.

Cinderella (2015)

9/10 - I highly recommend this beautiful, romantic retelling of the story. I would watch it again. I prefer this version.

The Jungle Book (2016)

6/10 - Visually pleasing (its effects won an Oscar), but otherwise just okay. I would probably watch it again, though I still prefer the original.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

4/10 - Even weirder than the first one, which is not a good thing. Someday maybe I’ll watch it again, though I’d rather just watch the original 1951 animated movie.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

7/10 - A decent adaptation, though a little much sometimes. I would watch it again, though I much prefer the original animated movie.

Christopher Robin (2018)

10/10 - Beautifully recaptures the magic of the original cartoons, and features some excellent live-action and voice acting. I would definitely watch this again, and I like it just as much, maybe even more than the original Winnie the Pooh movies.

Dumbo (2019)

?/10 - I haven’t seen this one, nor do I plan to. I never really liked the original movie, but maybe I should watch that again, since it’s been a long time since I last saw it.

Aladdin (2019)

9/10 - Highly enjoyable and refreshingly original. I would gladly watch it again, and I like it just as much as the original.

The Lion King (2019)

5/10 - Too similar the original film, to a fault. I might rewatch it someday, though I much prefer the original film.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

?/10 - I haven’t seen this one yet. It seems like an unnecessary sequel, but I may watch it someday if I catch it on TV or if it’s on a plane or something. I’ll need to rewatch the first Maleficent before I do so.

Lady and the Tramp (2019)

?/10 - Haven’t seen it yet, but I might if I’m bored one day. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the original, but I remember not liking it as much as the other Disney movies.

Upcoming remakes with release dates

Mulan - March 27, 2020

The trailer looks pretty good. It’s looking like it won’t be exactly the same as the animated film, which I’m glad about. Here’s hoping this will be a good one.

Cruella - May 28, 2021

Unless they go the comedy route like they did with the Glenn Close movies, I can’t see Disney making me feel for a character who wants to kill dogs just for their skins.

Upcoming remakes with no announced release date yet

The Little Mermaid

Lin-Manuel Miranda will be contributing some new music to this adaption starring Halle Bailey (not to be confused with Halle Berry). I’m excited for this one.

A sequel to The Jungle Book (apparently)

Not sure what they’re planning to do with this. I’d honestly much rather they make a sequel to Aladdin instead.

The Sword in the Stone

I remember liking the original movie as a kid, but I haven't seen it since then. Arthurian legend stories are cool, so they better not mess this one up.

Lilo & Stitch

I don't like the idea of seeing a "live-action" Stitch - I would think that would be creepy. The original movie is so beautifully animated, I would hate for them to massacre this one.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Seeing as Notre Dame was recently on fire, I don't know if this is good timing or bad timing. I love the music from the original movie, so I would hope this would be a musical as well.

Movies they really should actually do remakes of:

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

This movie is highly underrated, and would benefit greatly from the Disney live-action remake treatment. Moreso than other movies, this sci-fi adventure film would translate really well to live-action. Plus, the endearing characters make fan-casting this film a lot of fun. You'll see me at the Thursday night preview showing of this movie if they ever make it.

Treasure Planet

Another highly underrated movie, perhaps even more than Atlantis: The Lost Empire, this would also translate well to live-action. Unfortunately, this is a probably less likely to be made, since a larger budget would be required for all the space locations and alien characters.

(maybe) The Emperor’s New Groove

This one is iffy. The original film is one of my favorites, so it would be difficult to improve upon it. Kuzco's ability to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience is a bit like Deadpool, and those movies have done well at the box-office, so if Disney starts running out of ideas, they may turn to this one.

In Conclusion

Disney is, and will be for the foreseeable future, king of the box-office. That title was already pretty much guaranteed when all the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe films starting making tons of money. But when Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book both made about a billion dollars, Disney realized they had a new gold mine - remaking their old animated films. I'm okay with them, as long as they are more reinventions like Aladdin and Maleficent, instead of exact remakes like The Lion King.

Thanks to Wikipedia, where I got all my information. I like writing about this kind of stuff, but I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. Which Disney remakes do you like best? Are there any you prefer more than the originals? Are there any films you'd like them to remake, or any you hope they don't?

A Good Start

For the past several months my blog has been kind of dead, but then again, so have I. The quietness of my blog was due to the fact that I was not feeling up to writing anything. I was not in a great place - but now I have something to write about.

The last you heard from me, I had recently been fired (unfairly, in my opinion) from an after-school job. That had marked the third time in my life that I had been fired from a job. It's not something that looks great on a resume, nor is it something that inspires much confidence. That was April 11 last year. It was the start of a really awful six-month period in my life.

For the first couple months after losing my job I was continuing to pay my student loans, which ate through my savings extremely fast until I had nothing left. I then had to contact all the student loan companies to put all my payments on hold because I was unable to make any more payments. So I had no income whatsoever, but at least now I had nothing I had to pay.

Because I had no income (and at the suggestion of the very people who fired me) I applied for unemployment benefits shortly after losing my job. I waited a couple weeks, then found out that I had been denied. I knew I could have fought that decision and appealed to get my benefits, but I had assumed that it would take a lot of time and effort, possibly involving some kind of court hearings or something, so I did nothing. I realize now I should have fought anyway, but I guess I figured (or at least hoped) that I would be employed soon, or maybe I was just too depressed to care about it.

While looking into unemployment insurance, I came in contact with the local employment center - a free resource for job seekers in need of help. I ended up going there on a regular basis for several months, attending workshops and meeting with career coaches. In these workshops I learned valuable tips on how to improve my resume, how to better complete online applications, and how to succeed in interviews (especially when answering that pivotal question "Tell me about yourself"). I also learned from my career coach that eye contact is vitally important when meeting employers (or really when meeting anyone). This step, more than all the others, really helped me begin to regain some self-confidence.

At the same time I was visiting the employment center, I was also regularly applying for jobs online, visiting places in person, and even attending a few job fairs. I can't tell you how often I got the email saying something like "Thanks for applying but we've decided to go with someone else at this time." And out of the probably hundreds of applications I sent in, I only ever got around five job interviews.

It frustrated me (in fact, still frustrates me) how other people seem to find jobs so quickly and easily. Why can they get jobs and I can't? What's different about them? Or what's wrong with me? Even after all the help I had been receiving, I still wasn't seeming to make any progress. Weeks and weeks went by and though I was getting more confident in my job hunting abilities, I was only getting more and more depressed. It was now early October. I had now been unemployed for about six months.

Around that time, many businesses were beginning to hire seasonal workers to aid in the upcoming madness that is the holiday shopping season. Many of these companies had hiring events starting in early October, so I attended as many as I could.

On the morning of Friday, October 11, I attended a hiring event at Target. It was like many of the other hiring events I had attended: unorganized and frustrating. There were probably at least fifty people there hoping to get jobs, and everyone that attended was guaranteed an interview (which was the only way I was getting interviews anyway). Some stood better chances than others. Based on what I had learned in those workshops, I could tell just by looking around who was ready and who wasn't. I was ready. I had to wait almost three hours, but I eventually got my interview.

The interviewer started off by asking me about myself, a question I was well prepared for. I was then asked a few other questions, mostly about how well I get along with co-workers and with customers or guests. These questions I answered as well as I could, though I struggled a little. While waiting for those three hours, I had googled typical questions asked at Target interviews and was studying the best answers. I wrote down my own answers on my phone and had memorized them, which greatly helped. I thought the interview had gone as well as others I had, maybe a little better.

Apparently it was just good enough! The interviewer told me he would be moving me forward and then directed me to HR where I then discussed my schedule and when I might begin working there as a seasonal employee.

Finally, something good. After all this time, I finally won the job lottery. I was only hired seasonally, but I was happy to take literally any job. Part of me wondered "why now? Why did it have to take so long?", though most of me was just relieved my months and months of job searching had at last proven fruitful. Later that day I had another hiring event I was planning on attending - at Best Buy. I had my interview there as well, which I thought went just as well as my Target interview, but they did not hire me. It really honestly seems to me like a lottery.

It took a couple weeks after my successful interview before I actually had my orientation and began working. My official first day of work was Halloween (October 31). I was primarily trained to work the checkout lanes, though I was also taught self-checkout. On Thanksgiving I was scheduled for an eight-hour shift, which wasn't so bad because I was paid time and a half (1.5x my usual pay). I was also scheduled that day to work in Tech, an area I had expressed interest in when I first applied. I ended up working that day until 1:15am, which made me even more grateful that I was not scheduled to work that Friday (Black Friday).

After that busy evening working in Tech, I worked there several more times, including the entire week before Christmas, which was crazy busy. I worked full eight-hour days that whole week, so I was exhausted after all that. Fortunately I got to spend the entirety of Christmas day without having to leave the house. I worked the day after Christmas, and the day after that, but then I finally got more of a break.

As Christmas was approaching (and more so after Christmas), I began wondering what the state of my employment would be after Christmas. Seeing as I was hired seasonally, I was very unsure, and very worried, about what would happen to me once the store was no longer busy with holiday shoppers. Only a small number of seasonal employees are kept each year and I was really really hoping that I would be one of those. I could not stand to go back to where I was before.

On the 26th I asked one of the supervisors when decisions might be made about which seasonal employees would be staying on. She told me they had just had a meeting about it that day and would be letting people know next week.

Cut to about a week ago - New Year's Day. I was working a four hour shift when, near the end of my shift, one of the supervisors came into my checkout lane and told me that one of the managers needed to see me in his office for a meeting.

To say that I was nervous would be a huge understatement. I knew that sometime this week I would be finding out whether I would be staying or leaving, but the realization that I would be finding out in just a couple minutes had me shook.

As I walked down the hall, thoughts of all the mistakes I have made so far in this job came back to me, and did nothing to calm my nerves. I honestly had no idea which way the conversation was going to go. I certainly hoped I had done well enough - I certainly tried the very best I could. I hadn't missed a day of work, nor had I even been late for a shift, and I've always had a positive attitude while working my shifts. I just hoped that these qualities were enough to earn my keep here.

I entered the office, trying my best to hide my nervousness, and the conversation went something like this:

Manager: Well, I've got good news for you. As you know we only keep on a small number of seasonal employees, and based on your performance so far we'd like to keep you on. Would that work for you? Would you like to stay on?

Me (a little too quickly and eagerly): Yes!

I don't remember too much more of the conversation after that. He told me that my hours would be limited for the months of January through March (a slow time for them), but that I would still be staying on as a Guest Advocate (working in the checkout lanes). He also told me that I would able to pick up shifts in Tech as well, since I've worked several shifts there already. I shook his hand, clocked out, submitted a request for a new name tag (this time with my name engraved on it, rather than just a sticker on it, which is what I've had), then went to the parking lot and sat in the car for several minutes - still processing what had just transpired. I don't think I completely calmed down until after I got home.

I found out later that out of all the seasonal employees that were hired, only six were kept on. I cannot believe how fortunate I am.

TL;DR - I got hired seasonally at Target, but they decided to keep me on full time!

Finding out on the first day of the year that I am going to keep my current job is honestly a great way to start the new year. This is what I've been waiting for pretty much since graduating from Cedarville. After years and years I finally have a job that isn't temporary. It would be really easy right now for me to go on a large rant about how hard it is to find a job nowadays, but you don't need to hear that right now, and I don't need to think about that right now. I was trapped for so long in that dark place; now that I am finally finding my way out, I don't want to look back on where I've been. I feel like for a long long time I've been stuck. Now at last, I'm finally starting to budge. Sure, I'm 27 years old and still living with my parents, working a job that doesn't pay enough to support living on my own, BUT AT LEAST I HAVE A JOB. It's a good start.

In other news...

So how has my life been other than the usual vocational drama? I'm glad you asked.

In my last post, I expressed my desire to audition for a local production of Prince Caspian (since I missed out on auditions for the previous show, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe). In the midst of my dark times, one of the few things that brought light to my life was that production of Prince Caspian. I auditioned and was cast in the role of Doctor Cornelius, Prince Caspian's tutor. Ironically it was not the first time I had been cast as a half-dwarf character. At least this time I didn't have to act on my knees.

Me giving Prince Caspian the magic horn of Queen Susan

I had a great experience being a part of that cast and that theater company. One of my favorite parts of rehearsals was that we practiced acting and improv skills in addition to learning our blocking for our scenes. I also greatly enjoyed that we got to do some stage combat in this play - something that I hadn't had any practice in since I took the class at COS back in 2011. Doctor Cornelius isn't necessarily a character that fights, but they made exception for me because I had previous experience.

Another aspect of the show that I enjoyed was the venue. Because the Enchanted Playhouse Theater Company lost their theater where they had been performing (due to, I believe, someone buying it from them or something), they had to perform somewhere else - and they chose the historic Fox Theater in downtown Visalia. It's a beautiful old building that seats far more than the old theater used to. I also thought it was cool that just about a week after the show ended, Switchfoot held a concert on the same stage where I performed. I had never seen Switchfoot live before, and I enjoyed the concert very much.

Our seats were just as good as what we had for the Owl City concert last year!

One encouraging part of Prince Caspian was the reception. I had a few different people tell me I was their favorite character in the show, and at least one board member from the theater told me he hopes to see me continue in other shows with them. It's always nice to hear things like that. I still also get people that recognize me from other shows sometimes. Most recently, two different people at Target recognized me as Charlie Brown from Encore Theater's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown about a year ago.

In addition, both during Prince Caspian and afterwards I was contacted by people from both the Tulare Encore Theater and the Lindsay Community Theater about upcoming auditions for their shows, and how they wanted me to be in them. I have unfortunately had to turn down most of these acting opportunities, especially when I was searching for jobs, and even more so when I was in that period of limbo when I didn't know whether or not I would be staying at Target. I wanted to make sure I was available any and every day for work, just in case. Maybe now that I am officially staying at Target, I can once again help out in a stage production somewhere.

It's always nice to be wanted - I just wish that the people wanting me to be in their productions could pay me as well. I would still love one day to be able to do this kind of thing for a living, or at least as a side job that still pays money, but that is a nearly impossible dream. If it took me six months to even get a seasonal job, then another two months for them to decide they wanted to keep me on full time. By that math I won't get a job that I really really like and also pays well until I'm almost old enough to retire, and by then all my best years will have been spent. If I have to win a lottery just to be employed, how much more difficult will it be to get an actual career (especially one that I really enjoy)?

There I go talking about jobs again... As you can tell, I've got a lot to say about the subject. When I go off I really go off. I need prayer.

Prayer Requests

Pray that I would not listen to that evil little voice trying to create doubt and anxiety by planting questions in my brain like: "so how long do you think you'll last here before you get fired again?" Pray that I would be more receptive to hear the voice of truth instead. My mental health in general would be a good thing to pray for.

Pray that I would either be able to find an additional job to bring in more money, or just to be able to get more hours at Target. I very much desire independence. And also health insurance would be nice - I'd like to be able to go to the dentist again, or the optometrist. I would just like to have a steady, regular income so that I can begin to actually have a working budget.

Pray that I would pray more often. I still pray occasionally, most often when I'm feeling desperate, but I know I need to pray more than that. In general my relationship with God is not that great right now I guess. It's just kind of meh, which I know is probably not a good thing. I don't really learn much in church (and yes, I do pay attention to the sermon), and I haven't regularly read the Bible in a while. I attended a Bible study briefly last fall, which I enjoyed, but I was only able to make it to half the meetings (because of rehearsal for  Prince Caspian and also work).

Pray that I would be able to manage my time better. Because I work random hours and random days, I am unable to create a strict daily schedule, but I'd still like to have my days be more productive. I'd like to have time set aside for exercise, practicing guitar, and Bible reading. I don't even know when in the day to do those things.

Pray for my life. It's moving really slowly, and things are not happening the way I want them to. While yes, I am obviously extremely grateful and fortunate to be able to stay on at Target, I just find it annoying that it's taken me so long to get a job that others get at age 18 with no difficulty. I want my life to begin already - the way I want it to. God has given me dreams and abilities: when is he going to do something about them? I feel like I was made for more than what I am now. I can't stand to see others succeed when I have done basically nothing in comparison. Maybe I also need prayer to not compare myself to others - maybe that would make me happier. And patience - patience would probably be a good thing to pray for as well.

I have no idea who even reads my blog anymore, but thank you for reading and for praying!

Origin Story

It’s now been over a year since my last blog post. So as a refresher course of Me; here’s some of what you missed:

A Year in the Life

Last you heard about me was that I was working at the local Best Western checking people in and out (mostly doing the night shift). I was only there for a couple months before they fired me because “training didn’t work out,” whatever that means. This was after I had already turned down working in Hume Lake for the summer. I went from having two jobs, to having one job, and now I had no job. Turns out God’s timing is perfect, because a couple weeks later I found out about a job that had just opened up at the John Muir Lodge in King’s Canyon National Park. One of that summer’s ACMNP’s team members (remember that ministry I was a part of five years ago, back when I first started my blog?) had suddenly left the team, leaving a vacancy at the hotel and also on the team. It was fortuitous (and definitely a God thing) that I had just had a couple months of experience working in a hotel so that I could then easily take a job at a different hotel.

This picture was taken on the way to Redwood Canyon, where the team and I stayed overnight.

It was fun to be a part of ACMNP (A Christian Ministry in the National Parks) again. Last time I was in Sequoia National Park, this time I was the park right next to it - King’s Canyon National Park. Because I knew how to play guitar (having taught myself four years ago in Sequoia), I mostly just led the music for the services, but I also gave a couple messages. I enjoyed getting to know the other team members as well, though once again I haven’t kept in touch with any of them after the summer ended.

I was in the mountains from mid-May to about mid-September. ACMNP was only a summer ministry, but the job I had at John Muir Lodge was for as long as I wanted. In theory I could have stayed up there even until now (maybe I should have). The main reason I left the job up there was the distance. I was driving up and down the mountain almost once a week. I lived in employee housing while working there, but I also wanted to spend time with my family during the summer. Because I was torn between two places that summer, it finally got to the point where I had to make a choice. I decided to return to the valley.

During my last few weeks in the mountains I was also itching to be a part of another play or musical. That’s not the reason I left, it was just a benefit to returning home. During one of my days off I decided to go back down to the valley and audition for an upcoming musical one of the local theaters was putting on: Into the Woods. This was being done at the same theater where I played Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical. I knew that because of my job in the mountains I wouldn’t be able to make it to many rehearsals, therefore I wouldn’t be able to take on a main role, but I wanted to be a part of the show anyway. I was cast as Rapunzel’s Prince, a fun but small part, which I was glad to accept. My brother meanwhile had been cast as The Baker, my sister as Little Red Riding Hood, and my father as The Mysterious Man. With my Mom helping with the music, it became a fun family experience.

While rehearsals were still going on, one of my sisters and I went down to Anaheim for the day to visit Downtown Disney and see Owl City live in concert. Owl City is nowhere near as big as he used to be (you could almost consider him to be a one-hit wonder with “Fireflies”). But my family (especially my sisters and I) have been fans of his throughout his career. His latest album, Cinematic, may actually be my favorite album of his. This is the album he took on his recent tour. It was incredible seeing him performing these songs live. My favorite song on the album is actually called “Cinematic”, and is about how life is like a movie (the song also references Star Wars, which I like). Adam Young (the artist behind Owl City) excels at writing encouraging songs, and this one is no different. I also like that Adam Young writes about his Christian faith in some of his songs. I’d love to meet him someday.

A good close-up picture from the concert that my sister took.

A couple weeks after the Into the Woods cast had been announced and rehearsals had already begun I officially returned home. Now that I was able to make it to every rehearsal I was able to help out much more; which also meant I could now be a bigger character. The other Prince and I decided it would be best for the both of us if we switched parts. I was now playing Cinderella’s Prince - an equally fun character, but a much more important role. With this new part I had to learn several new lines, as well as another song, both of which didn’t take long. What made this musical even more memorable for me was that as a part of the choreography for “Any Moment”, I had my first on-stage kiss. What made it more amusing to me was that the character I kissed was the wife of my brother’s character.

The other prince and I doing our best smug faces. This picture was turned into a portrait that hung over the fireplace in Act II.

The musical ran for two weekends, though I almost wish it had gone on longer. It was tiring, but it was a blast. But now that it was over I could refocus my full attention on finding a job again. I had been looking for a job even before I left the mountains, but now I really needed something. Eventually, through a contact from church, I was able to get a job working for an after-school program. I was hired about mid-October, so I had only been about a month without a job. When I started I first worked in two different schools, one about 15 minutes away, the other about 20 minutes away. At these schools I taught computer science, or rather I was supposed to teach computer science. The curriculum we were given involved Lego Robotics (something I had always wanted to try). At one school we didn’t have enough tablets and robots to go around so we were only kind-of able to do the curriculum. At the other school we weren’t able to use the tablets or robots at all, so we just did engineering projects with the Legos (projects like building tall, structurally sound towers, as well as bridges that can hold a certain amount of weight). Once during those first couple months I was also able to help out with First Lego League (FLL), a Lego Robotics competition - something that I always wanted to try as a kid after seeing it on kids shows like Zoom.

During those first couple months at this job I found out about another upcoming local musical that interested me: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. This was being done at the same theatre where I did Big Fish, Pecos Bill, Oliver!, and Pippin. I auditioned and was pleasantly surprised to be cast as Charlie Brown. This was super fun musical that was unique in that it only had six cast members. I wasn’t familiar with this show before auditioning so it was a lot of work to learn all the songs and lines - including a long monologue at the beginning. This stuff comes pretty easy to me though, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Snoopy, Sally, Charlie Brown, Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus performing "Beethoven Day"

I know that music runs in the family, but apparently theater does as well. In 1981, when my dad was working as a high school teacher, he and some of the other faculty put on a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and my dad played Charlie. This version they did was slightly different than the one I was in, which was based on the Broadway revival. Still, it’s fun that I had the same part in the same play almost 40 years later. Maybe if I ever have a kid someday I’ll try to get him to play Charlie Brown.

That's my dad as Charlie Brown in the center and in the top left corner.

A couple weeks before Christmas, I had a break from work (because school was not in session), and also a break from Charlie Brown rehearsals. One of my favorite Christmas gifts was a fancy display case to hold Lego minifigures (of which I have many). After Christmas my siblings and one of our cousins did an escape room for the first time and also saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, both of which were excellent. Around this time my parents told us that we were finally officially planning on going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios, something we had been talking about for a while. They set a date in late March, which was then changed to early April because that worked better for everyone’s schedules (more on that later…).

After Christmas break ended, the after-school program sent me to a local school to help out for a couple weeks before I began teaching computer science again at the other two schools. But this school I was helping out with temporarily just happened to be within walking distance of my house, which is much more convenient for me travel-wise. I submitted a transfer request, which was quickly approved, and began helping out at the after-school program there (not teaching computer science, just working as an after-school program leader). I was now responsible for a group of about 20 kids for almost 4 hours every day. It was a challenge, but I was determined to take it on. After all, if I one day want to work as a film or stage director or something of that kind, I would need to have leadership experience.

Every day I signed kids in, played a game or two with them, took them to snack time, and led the kids for about an hour on a  specific program. When I first starting working there I took over for a teacher who was leading a class on Spheros, which are small spherical robots controlled by tablets (similar to the Lego robotics I had done before). After that ended, I then got to choose my own program to lead - I chose drama. This is something I know much more about; plus it would be good experience for me. The after-school programs are meant to be mainly student-led, so I had the class vote on a play out of a few options I chose for them. They opted to do a Scooby-Doo play, which I was super excited about. I found an episode of the classic show Scooby-Doo Where Are You? and converted its screenplay into a stage script - something else that was probably good practice for me.

During the later part of the Spheros program, I asked for a Friday off in early April for the Harry Potter trip. The supervisor said that should be fine. When it got to about a week before the trip, I got a message from the supervisor saying that she could not approve my time off request because one of the other teachers was still sick. The two-day tickets (Friday and Saturday) had already been purchased, and there was no way to get a refund. Plus if I only went on Saturday, I would have had to buy a whole new ticket, because the other tickets are specifically two-day passes. I explained this to the supervisor, and talked to a couple of the other after-school teachers about it. The other teachers said it shouldn’t be a problem to just take the day anyway, since it’s something my family had been planning for a while. The supervisor herself said she couldn’t stop me from going, but that it would just reflect poorly on any kind of employee evaluation. I figured this was alright; I hadn’t missed a single day of work, and Fridays are much more laid back because many kids don’t go to the after-school program on those days anyway. I explained that I was sorry, but I really couldn’t come on Friday.

Our family spent most of the first day in the Harry Potter part of Universal Studios. It was a little weird seeing all the buildings covered with “snow” while the temperature didn’t match, but overall it was exciting experiencing everything there. One of the rides, Flight of the Hippogriff, was short, but fun. After that ride we ate at the Three Broomsticks and had a delicious feast of chicken, ribs, and vegetables. We also tried the butterbeer, which I was not sure about at first but I actually liked it. The other main Harry Potter attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, had a long wait, but it was worth it. I got a little bit of a headache from screens that were a part of the ride, but my dad felt much worse. After getting off the ride he looked almost green. We figured, for my dad’s sake, that we should go on something nice and calm next. We decided to go on the Universal Studios Tour, which was one hour of just sitting on a bus taking a ride. I loved seeing all the sets and sound stages they took us past, which made me wish that one day I could return here not as a tourist on a ride, but as a filmmaker or actor. Unfortunately for my dad, we didn’t realize that there were a couple 3D experience parts to the ride, one of which nearly made my dad throw up. He was done with rides after that.

My siblings and I posing with the Scooby Gang.

Aside from the rides, we also did a Walking Dead walk-through attraction, saw a trained animal show and watched a special-effects show. One of the highlights of the trip for me however, was meeting Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne. I also met Frankenstein and shook his hand, though he didn’t have much to say. I saw Shrek and Princess Fiona, but unfortunately Lord Farquaad was nowhere to be found (they didn’t even have Farquaad merchandise in any of the stores). On the way out of the park I got myself a Jurassic Park mug, which I then broke the handle off when I tripped trying to go up the down escalator. I then accidentally cut my finger on a sharp shard of the mug’s handle and had to spend the whole trip back with a large bandage on my finger (the mug has since been repaired with glue).

We were all exhausted from the trip, but I was eager to tell my students about it, especially about how I met the characters from the play we would be performing. I returned to work on Monday, and everything seemed to be going fairly well. Then near the end of the day the supervisor’s supervisor approached me and told me I needed to attend a meeting at the main office the next day. From the way she told me about it, it didn’t sound like it was going to be a good meeting.

It wasn’t.

That Monday was my last day at the school, and the next day at the meeting was my last day of work with this after-school program.

I could have just told them I was sick that Friday, but that would have been lying. I did contact people to try to get someone else to cover for me on Friday, though no one could. I had perfect attendance up until then. That Friday was the only day I missed. Even in the short time I was there other after-school teachers had missed several days. Now I won’t get to see the Scooby-Doo play that I put all that work into, and I am now without a job…

…again.

The next week was spring break, so I wouldn’t have been working anyway. My dad, my sister, and I took a road trip out to Ohio to get my sister’s things from my Uncle and Aunt’s house. She had taken a semester off of college but has now decided to not return, so we needed to get everything she left behind. It was a long trip, but it was nice to be away for all that time.

We got back, celebrated Easter, watched Avengers: Endgame (twice), celebrated my 27th birthday, and now we’re here.

So now what?

Origin Story

I’ve titled this post Origin Story because, like nearly all superhero stories, this story has a sad beginning. I don’t mean to say I consider myself a superhero; I just mean that I am seeing my story from my point of view - and it’s not going so well right now.

Almost all superheroes have a sad beginning. Or maybe their life is going okay for a while, but then something sad happens to them. It’s at this point, when the hero is at their lowest point (or at least the lowest so far), that something amazing happens that turns their life around. Suddenly this hero can be who they were meant to be - who they were destined to be.

I’m still in that sad origin story part, waiting for something, anything to happen. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be waiting here.

I applied for unemployment, at the suggestion of the very people who made me unemployed. I’m still waiting to hear back.

I have no idea where to begin looking for a job, again. I feel like I can’t stay in this town anymore. There are too many people I have to avoid now - former employers and former fellow employees.

I know this isn’t nearly as important, but in terms of plays and musicals, I’m wanting to be a part of some stage production again. A local theater will be putting on a stage adaptation of Prince Caspian, following their recent play of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I love Narnia so I’d like to audition for this play, though I’d also like to be in a musical again as well. Though this all needs to take a backseat for now.

Prayers would be nice.

Memories of Polar

On Monday, April 16, the world lost a beautiful soul: my good dog, Polar. I wanted to post something sooner, but whenever I tried to write it I would start to tear up - it still felt too soon. It's been a couple weeks now, and though I still get misty-eyed thinking about him, I wanted to share these memories and pictures of my good boy.

Polar, shortly after we got him in 2007.

We got Polar in 2007, when he was one year old. A family from church was moving and they were not allowed to have dogs at their new place. So, unbeknownst to all but my dad, they gave Polar and his friend Hunny to us. (Yes, I spelled "Hunny" like that on purpose. That's how I've always spelled it). That was a bit of a surprise when I came home from school that day. Before they came along, our only dog was Abby, the floppy-eared corgi/terrier mix. We did have another dog, Bella, but she had been put to sleep a few months before Polar and Hunny came along. So after a few months of being the only dog, Abby had two new friends.

(left to right) Abby and her two new friends: Hunny and Polar

It took some getting used to going from two dogs, to one, to three, but Polar and Hunny quickly became beloved members of the family. But to me, Polar quickly became more like my dog.

Polar and I goofing around, summer 2010.

Polar's Personality

One thing I love about animals is that, just like people, they have distinct personalities.

He always was a goofy boy.

When Polar was younger especially, he liked to roll around on the grass and lay on his back. I often rolled around with him and "wrestled" with him.

Sometimes after lying down for a while, if he saw us by the screen door, he would come over and say hi, but not before stretching his legs. Whenever he stretched by the door like this it looked a little like he was bowing down to us, so we would always politely bow back.

Other times while sitting up he would scratch his belly with his back leg and it looked a little like he was dancing or something. It looked funny so we would laugh at him and he would get embarrassed and stop.

"Oh, you're taking a picture?!? Make sure I'm front and center!"

Polar also loved being the center of attention. If we were trying to take a picture of someone or something else, he loved getting in the way. And if we were paying too much attention to another dog, he came over and got right in-between, sometimes even stepping on feet and paws in the process.

Polar was always trying to "butt" in on pictures of Hunny and Abby

He also was a very jumpy dog, in both senses of the word. If he was about to get a biscuit by the kitchen sliding glass door, he jumped. If he was excited to see us, he jumped. If we stood by the door and jumped up and down and told him to jump with us, Polar gladly obeyed. He also would sometimes jump up behind the fence next to the orange grove. From the other side all you could see was a happy dog head suddenly appearing above the fence line. I know he gave at least a couple high-schoolers walking by a bit of a scare.

Hard to say how high off the ground he is here.
Maybe a foot or two? (No pun intended)

Polar was also jumpy in the sense that he was easily spooked by loud noises. In the rare case that we would get a thunderstorm, Polar would get nervous - but he was mostly afraid of fireworks. 4th of July was Polar's least favorite of the year. Even before the fireworks would start, he knew they were coming and he would start panting nervously, his heart beating three times faster than normal. Finally one year we got him what was called a "thunder shirt", which was like a compression jacket to help Polar feel more secure and safe during times he was nervous. It seemed to help a little, but I always liked to sit by him and comfort him anyway during the fireworks.

Poor buddy looks happy, but at this moment he was pretty stressed.

Polar was much happier with his "thunder shirt",
(and he looked pretty good in it too).

Gardener Day

Every Tuesday, especially in the summer, the gardener at the house behind us would arrive to work in their backyard. This was always the highlight of Polar's week. Once the gardener starting working, Polar would run along the length of the back fence barking happily the whole time. After several minutes of running back and forth in the hot sun it was then pool time, so long as nobody was watching. Maybe he thought he wasn't allowed to go in the pool or maybe he was embarrassed but for whatever reason Polar (for the most part) only went swimming if he thought nobody was watching. After doing a quick lap Polar would get out of the pool, shake off, roll around, then bark in contentment. Every now and then he would go back to barking at the gardener and start the whole routine all over again.

Only once and a while could we actually catch him in the act.

Polar barks contentedly to the sky after cooling off in the pool.

He was always so dirty after swimming in the pool then rolling in the dirt...

...but he didn't mind one bit.

Polar and the Cats

At our house it is a rule that cats are inside, dogs are outside. Because of this they hardly ever interact with each other, and only then by the screen doors. Abby and Hunny would sometimes watch the cats inside, or even bark at them, but Polar never saw them. It's not that he was blind or anything - his vision was perfect - maybe he just didn't know they were living creatures? Once and a while we would even hold a cat in front of him, or even take a cat into the backyard, but he still would look right past them like they weren't even there.

As hard as we tried, Polar never saw the cats...

...not even if we took them into the backyard with us.

Polar and his Family

Before Polar came to live with us, he lived on a ranch with his mother, Angel, and his brother, Grizzly. Apparently in the year between his birth and his coming to live with us, Polar's mom and brother wandered off. Where to, I don't know. The family lived kind-of in the country, so they could have gone anywhere. Around that same time Hunny wandered onto their property. The family doesn't know where she came from, but I'm glad she became a part of Polar's family, then later ours.

One thing I will miss about Polar is sitting in the back yard with him. If I went outside and sat cross-legged on the grass, Polar would almost always come over and sit right in my lap. He was a good hugging dog, and just the right size for it, too. If I was feeling sad, or if I just needed a break from the world, I would often go outside and embrace my good dog for a solid few seconds. That always made me feel better. Usually he would try to lick me in the face - sometimes I would let him.

Me dodging a lick in the face from Polar.

Polar also loved going on walks with us. He had a special vest that we would put on him for walks. This is so that he wouldn't be constantly choking himself when going over to sniff things. Polar loved that vest, and it sure looked good on him. Whenever I would walk into the backyard holding that vest and leash, Polar knew what was coming. He would trot over to the gate, and wait patiently while I buckled him into his vest. On our walks we would usually we would take him, along with Hunny and sometimes Abby, through the ag farm next to us, but sometimes we would wander through the neighborhood as well. One time we drove the dogs with us up to Rocky Hill, and walked around with them up there. They had a good time - but then, they would be happy walking anywhere - as long as we were with them.

Polar and Hunny walking in the ag farm.

Polar liked Rocky Hill.

I was glad that Polar and Hunny got along well with Abby. Despite Polar taking over as top dog of the pack (being the only male), Abby still got along well with them. A little more than a year ago, their little pack went from three to two as we had to say goodbye to Abby. She was getting pretty old, but also she was overweight and having trouble moving. Poor Polar and Hunny were confused that she never came back with us that day.

Polar saying goodbye to Abby :(

We tried to get Hunny to say goodbye to Polar before we took him to the vet, but she didn't know what was going on. And I might have taken a picture like this of Hunny and Polar, but I was not in the mood to take pictures that day.

Polar and the Vet

Up until these last couple months, Polar was always such a healthy boy that he hardly ever went to the vet. A few months ago we took Polar in to the vet because his ear was bothering him. It turns out he had a foxtail that had been buried in there for a while. Polar wasn't too happy about getting his ears cleaned, but at least they got the foxtail out.

He seems happy now, but this is before they cleaned out
his ear and found a foxtail deep in there :(

In the car outside the vet after his ears were cleaned.
Polar did not like having his ears cleaned.

While we were at the vet, we also asked them about his nose, which had been kinda crusty for almost a year. It didn't seem to bother Polar, so they just recommended putting vaseline on it, which we did. It didn't seem to do very much though.

Poor buddy had a crusty nose.

Other than his nose, they mentioned that Polar was looking very good for his age, which was nice to hear. Polar never seemed to age - he was always just a big puppy.

About a month ago we took Polar to the vet again. He had some sores on his arms and had been limping on different legs, likely because of arthritis. He also had lost some weight, and he was already a skinny boy. They ran some tests and found that Polar had an extremely high white blood cell count. They diagnosed it as lupus and gave us pills for him.

After a couple weeks on the pills, there was visible change, but not a good kind. Polar had been licking the sores on his arms, which irritated the skin, causing the fur to come off and leaving the skin raw. He had also lost even more weight, which causing some shivering. It pained me to see him looking so miserable. He had had an appointment scheduled for the end of the week, but it was decided he needed to see the vet much sooner, and he might not come back.

Polar, with his head resting in my lap, looking old and
tired just minutes before we took him to the vet.

There really wasn't anything that could have been done. The pills we had been giving him had not slowed down or helped his condition. The lupus that had affected his nose had spread to his legs and had likely already started to spread to his internal organs. He wasn't reacting to the medicine we gave him, and he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed from his food because his body was working so hard to fight the infection. The vet said there were other potential treatment options, but none of them would be guaranteed to work, and would only prolong his discomfort. As sad as it was, we agreed that it would be a kindness to end his suffering before it got worse. I hated seeing my boy in pain, so I knew that this would be best for him.

The vet gave him a sedative, which took away the pain. Polar was much happier and more relaxed after that, and eventually fell asleep, even before they gave him the next shot. We got an imprint in clay of his paw print, and were given a few minutes in the room with Polar before the vet came back. Even though he was sleeping we kept petting him, telling him he was a good boy and we loved him. We continued to do this as the vet came back and administered his last shot.

It was done. I don't know what my parents at that time, but eventually I noticed they had both left the room, as had the vet. I was alone in the room with my boy. I pet him and hugged him again.

The hardest part was turning around and walking out of the room. I knew that he was already gone, but it pained me to look away, knowing I wouldn't see him again. Somehow I did it. I left the examination room, exited the building, then went to the car, where I sobbed the whole way home.

I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's therapeutic, something I just needed to get off my chest. Or maybe I'm hoping I'll get some of you to tear up reading this, as I have been writing this. I know that losing a pet is something nearly everyone goes through at some point. Maybe these memories of Polar will remind you of happy memories with your own pets.

I still get a little choked-up if I see Polar's collar sitting on my shelf, or Polar's empty dog dish sitting inside by the dog food. But I'm focusing now on making sure we take care of Hunny, Polar's friend who now finds herself sole protector of the backyard. She is kind of overweight, so I'm taking her on more walks now. It's helpful for her to lose weight, but it's also helpful for the both of us emotionally. She misses her best friend, and I will always miss my good boy.

Polar
August 2006 - April 16, 2018
Rest in peace, my good boy <3