A few days ago I rekindled my newly formed metaphorical maxim "Ford 'em Till You Find the King's Bridge" based on my old commute to work. It was about trudging through the drudgery of feeling trapped by a job until something more promising appears. At the time I was commuting a minimum of 140 minutes daily, and on that particular day and others like it, I had commuted 280 minutes. I was also less than enthused about my job. In Japan I had a similar situation, where sometimes I didn't feel enthused by one job or another, but I could handle it because I had two different jobs. I didn't feel like either one owned me. I didn't feel beholden to anybody. I was living my life and happened to do work for two different companies.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is celebrated today, and I finally found a bridge to get away from this feeling of dependency on the job that doesn't particularly challenge beyond the basic human battles of dealing with stress and standing on your feet while accomplishing some feat. I surpassed 700 on the SAT Math and qualified to work for a tutoring company. It's not a guarantee of employment, as I still have to survive training and an assessment that shows I can tutor well. I'm not worried about English, but math is clearly a different story. So even though I've been doing SAT Math questions during much of my "three day weekend," and only breaking on Sunday to teach my class, I still have to keep doing Math SAT's for the next two weeks so I am fully prepared for students. I need to be the master for them to have confidence in me.
Then again, it can only get better. I've had a nasty head cold ever since I woke up three days ago, and it has barely subsided. Doing math after breaking for a decade and then re-learning it with a head cold is a less than ideal situation, so it should only get easier after this.
As far as Dr. King is concerned, I thank him for what I understand of his passion, efforts, resilience, sweat, tears and blood, although I can't fathom just how much it involved.
I would also like to thank him for the synchronicity of metaphors that his legacy provided me. The second time I took the SAT Math, two weeks ago, I decided to go above ground at the corner of Martin Luther King and St. Nicholas, and I realized I had scheduled the test for two weeks later, on Martin Luther King Day. St. Nicholas brought me a belated Christmas present today. It's still an uphill climb, and it's slow, but I continue to elevate.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is celebrated today, and I finally found a bridge to get away from this feeling of dependency on the job that doesn't particularly challenge beyond the basic human battles of dealing with stress and standing on your feet while accomplishing some feat. I surpassed 700 on the SAT Math and qualified to work for a tutoring company. It's not a guarantee of employment, as I still have to survive training and an assessment that shows I can tutor well. I'm not worried about English, but math is clearly a different story. So even though I've been doing SAT Math questions during much of my "three day weekend," and only breaking on Sunday to teach my class, I still have to keep doing Math SAT's for the next two weeks so I am fully prepared for students. I need to be the master for them to have confidence in me.
Then again, it can only get better. I've had a nasty head cold ever since I woke up three days ago, and it has barely subsided. Doing math after breaking for a decade and then re-learning it with a head cold is a less than ideal situation, so it should only get easier after this.
As far as Dr. King is concerned, I thank him for what I understand of his passion, efforts, resilience, sweat, tears and blood, although I can't fathom just how much it involved.
I would also like to thank him for the synchronicity of metaphors that his legacy provided me. The second time I took the SAT Math, two weeks ago, I decided to go above ground at the corner of Martin Luther King and St. Nicholas, and I realized I had scheduled the test for two weeks later, on Martin Luther King Day. St. Nicholas brought me a belated Christmas present today. It's still an uphill climb, and it's slow, but I continue to elevate.
Just as I cannot quite understand the battle Dr. King fought not only for his people, but for all people, I cannot quite fathom the power behind this song. Even so, like Dr. King, the beautiful music of the voice inspires me.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go blow my nose.
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