Interview Meme Redux: Cahwyguy's Answers
[Meme snarfed from, oh yeah, me (cahwyguy)]
Questions and Answers:
- Ask yourself five questions that you would ask yourself if you were interviewing yourself
- Update your LJ with the five questions answered
- Include this explanation
Questions and Answers:
- You're 44, about the time most guys have a mid-life crisis. Assuming there were no monetary limitations (i.e., considerations about family support), how would your mid-life crisis express itself?
I have given this some thought. No, I wouldn't go for the candy-red Porsche, nor would I go for the trophy wife (even with the occasional tzuris, I love the one I have). I think it would be something more along the line of a career change.
What career, you ask? I'd like something tied to one of my interests. I've thought about the Rabbinate (which, of course, would mean I would need to learn Hebrew). I do like answering questions and the study aspects. Yet I don't quite have the spirituality necessary, and I think you need personal spirituality in order to pass that on. The hours are also long, and although the rewards are great, the cost (in terms of one's personal life) is great as well. You also have to deal with Temple boards, and you couldn't pay me enough to do that.
I've thought about teaching. It's good to work with kids, if you can find the right ones. Middle-school would be good: the kids are neither old enough nor young enough to give you too much angst, yet you can still impart reasonable knowledge. Of course, it would be quite a hit in terms of pay. More significantly, you can't have fun teaching in today's environment of standardized testing, and school boards and school systems make life a living hell.
Another possibility might be something road related. I've though about doing something with Caltrans and history, but I wouldn't want the instability of state government.
On Memorial Day, I went to a party at ixixlix's. We talked about one's ideal career. A lot of folks wanted to open bookstores. In fact, I know one computer security "greybeard" (Marv Schaeffer), who did just that. This got me thinking. So, my choice for a career change from a mid-life crisis would be to open a game store, specializing in board and strategy games. Sort of like GameKeeper was, but not stocking the drek like 40 different versions of Monopoly. Rather, real games!
- Your postings and interests show an intense interest in musicals? How did this interest start, and what would you say is your favorite musical?
When I was young, my typical birthday party was to go to a movie musical (I remember going to see Oliver! and Dr. Doolittle, in particular). In 1972, my mother got sick one night and my father took me to see The Rothschilds at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. From then, I was hooked. As for my favorite: although there are lots of ones that I like quite a bit (such as Avenue Q and Hairspray), I'd have to say my favorite is Two Gentlemen of Verona, done by the same folks that did Hair. The music never fails to brighten my spirits. My favorite song is the "Follow The Rainbow/Where's North" combo.
- You've been very active on the Jewish internet for a long time, what with the FAQ and your reading list, as well as the web work you've done for congregations and UAHC. Yet, you profess to not be very spiritual. How do you reconcile this?
I don't. I'm fascinated by the history and culture. However, even though I believe in God in some sense, I find it difficult to make the spiritual connection. Surprisingly, camp is one of the few places where that can happen; there's something about praying outdoors that does it. This is one of the reasons I liked Rabbi Nosan-Blank (now at Or Rishon in Orangevale) so much: she was able to create that connection. Yet I'll note that Judaism does not require such a spiritual connection (for some, it may never happen). All there needs to be is the underlying belief, knowledge, and practice.
- What characteristics of yourself don't come across in Livejournal or your web presence?
Because I'm aware that my journal will be read by coworkers and family, my raunchier side pretty much remains suppressed. Folks who know me well know how my mind works :-), and how I have to occasionally drag it up to the gutter. I've given a clue when I reference the lyrics to the Cy Coleman song I Love My Wife:
My thoughts may stray / My eyes may roam
The neighbor's grass may seem much greener / Than the grass right here at home
If pretty girls excite me / Well, that's life
But just in case, you didn't know / I love my wife
My mind at times / May dwell on sex
If someone's rating dreams / Then most of mine I guess are double X
So dimpled knees delight me / Well, that's life
But just in case, you hadn't heard / I love my wife
Like bait that wriggles / Makes catfish bite
A lady jiggles...
My eyes gotta light / Upon so sweet a sight
And if I shake / Break out in spots
Don't fret, it's not swine fever dear / Your swine has merely got the hots
If rosy lips invite me / Well, that's life
But just in case, you couldn't guess / I love my wife
Yet I'd never list such aspects in an interest list. That's private.
- If you had to succinctly impart some advice to your daughter to serve her in life, what would it be?
Jokingly, I might impart the advice that Dr. Daniel Berry (now at Univ. of Waterloo) used to give: "Be good. If you can't be good, be careful. If you can't be careful, name it after me."
Seriously, I would advise her to be a good and fair person. Think about the impact of what you do and say on others and on society as a whole. Do your best to be a mensch. Then again, that's effectively the same thing as Dan's advice.
- (Bonus Question) You've been given the ability to change one physical or mental characteristic of yourself, without penalty. What would it be, and why?
I'd make myself more open and willing to change. I'm very hesitant and cautious about change, which is one of the reasons I've been in the same job for 18+ years, and the same house for slightly less time. Its why I've been in the same city all my life.