coolmite

I’m a couple of days behind on this, but I’d just like to say the following to fans of Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Everton and the rest of the contenders for the Champions League next year.

Right now, they can all suck it.

Tottenham Hotspur has thrashed Arsenal, scored a point from Man U and Everton and taken the Carling Cup from Chelsea–six months ago they were to be relegated!  Ha!  Fat chance of that now.  Big ups to Juande Ramos, the new manager of Spurs and his attacking and shifting style of play.

Come on you Spurs!

I still can’t believe I’m a soccer fan now!

This year is my 20 year high school reunion.  Since the advent of the internet as a mainstream communications tool, it’s been easier to keep track of people and remember different moments about that time of life.  I was looking at my class reunion web site and noticed that one of my classmates had listed some memories of his that were not so fun–even calling out a fellow classmate and offering him forgiveness for past transgressions.

Look, that classmate wasn’t me, but I just have to say, that I was also guilty of the sarcastic tease once or twice in my life.  After making a crude remark to said individual after English class, the last thing I remember was the back of my head hitting the wall.  He picked me up by my neck and let me know that my comment wasn’t appreciated.  Message received.  Loud and clear.  Hopefully, the apology was accepted.

This individual has done well for himself and has nothing to prove to anyone.  My advice to him would be to let go of the grudges.  High school was hard enough in terms of carrying baggage.  It can’t haunt you anymore.  I was surprised during my ten year reunion that everyone had matured a great deal since 1988–and guess what?  So did I.   Just enjoy those moments as nothing more than moments and revel in the fact that for the most part, the rest of us have grown up just like you.  It will be good to see you at the reunion.

I became a fundraiser pretty much by accident.  Circa 2000, I worked for a dot-bomb called Mascot Network.  It was a great company with really bright people and a really accessible web portal for college students.  It missed MySpace by a few years and got punished by Campus Pipeline.  Thus, I was unemployed in 2001.  I was marketing this product at college campuses in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  I really enjoyed being back in that atmosphere.

So, on my brother’s advice, I decided to look for a job in alumni relations or development.   I found a job in alumni at Northwestern University.  It was a great job.  I interacted with many brilliant NU grads, helped them build alumni clubs, and learned a lot.  If I could have gotten college free, I’d have gone to school while I was there for my master’s degree.

Then, Karyn and I got pregnant.  We always said we’d move back to Ohio to have kids.  She’s from Streetsboro and I’m from Canfield, so naturally, northeast Ohio would become our home again.  I needed a new job, so I used a contact of mine from Kent State to parlay into a job in development.

I started at the ground floor working on projects.  Fundraising is NOT easy.  It’s not rocket science, as my brother, Tim, likes to remind me, but it’s not easy.  You have to really be persistent and work hard.  There are good days and bad days.  Plus, you have to be able to wrangle or manage deans, professors, and volunteers to help you close major gifts.  Ultimately, you need to know who you’re working for and really believe in what you’re selling.   It’s not about you; it’s about the institution.

I worked at Kent State for five years.  With a new president and some turmoil in the level of management above me, I decided to move on.  The Cleveland Clinic hired me in May 2007.  I work at one of their regional hospitals.  So far, it’s been really great and rewarding.  I think I’ve found my niche, which is something I couldn’t say five years ago.

Attention American Idol hopefuls!

Should you have the opportunity to go to an American Idol audition, I want you to remember three things when in front of Paula, Simon and Randy.

One:  GETTING THROUGH HOLLYWOOD SHOULD BE YOUR FIRST GOAL.   It’s like getting to the $32,000 or $100,000 level of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”  That’s your safety.  Remember, you have Myspace and facebook to build your cred.  If this Josiah Leming (whom I actually liked before he imploded) is smart, he’ll build his fan base, tour like hell, and perhaps get signed to a small label.

Two:  Don’t sing Queen unless you can pull it off.  A Queen song is the ultimate make or break for this group of judges.  The same held true for Rockstar: INXS, etc.  Michael Johns nailed Bohemian Rhapsody in Hollywood.  If you can pull off those vocal gymnastics with attitude, you’re in.  I don’t care if you’re a tree sloth, you’re in the final 24.  I would imagine the same holds true for songs by Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, but honestly, I’d put Freddie Mercury above both those ladies for clutch vocals time and time again.

Three: DO NOT ADD VOCAL HISTRIONICS!  This is mainly for R&B singers.  The judges do not want to hear ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee up and down the scale.  That’s not singing. That’s a party trick.  At best.

Finally, number four: DO NOT STRAY FROM ARRANGEMENTS unless you know what you are doing–Josiah?  This is for you.  Carrie Underwood or Chris Daughtry didn’t excuse the band to do an accapella ’special’ arrangement.  I’m stunned that this Leming did just that even though the band told him his arrangement was a loser.  The band knows the judges better than you.

Oh, I forgot number five.  When they tell you to stop, STOP!  Don’t say, “but just give me another chance.”  No.  They don’t have to.  They really don’t have time to indulge you, unless you are brilliant.   You got your chance. There are no do-overs.  Shut. Up. Don’t spontaneously break into song.  Listen to what they say, smile and say thank you.  If they ask you to try again, then try again, but only if they ask you to.

Do this and you’ll have a fine boost to your career.   Take it with a grain of salt, as I’m not an Idol auditioner, but I have auditioned for plays, musicals and bands.  I can tell you that the judges are always right.  It’s like an interview.  You don’t get the job by telling the boss he’s wrong.

I don’t want to jinx it, but my friend, Ab, who’s a screenwriter in L.A., says that the Guild is voting on the contract agreement that came from last minute negotiations.  He says it’s a good deal–certainly better than if they hadn’t struck at all. 

 Everyone should be back at work in Hollywood tomorrow.   We’ll get new shows in May.  At least there’s American Idol to keep us warm.  Congrats, Ab!  And Brian Stack!  I don’t want to forget him either.

I left for work this morning at approximately 7:20 a.m. I thought, “wow, the roads are pretty clear this morning!” This was peculiar to me since we, meaning northeast Ohio, were supposed to get six to seven inches of snow last night. 

Then, I hit route 480.  I went 10 miles an hour for roughly 20 miles.  You do the math.  No, actually, don’t do the math, because I can’t make it work without wasting a lot of time–like I did on route 480 this morning.  EVERYONE on the road drove as though they’d never seen snow!  Outrageous!  On the bright side, I did get to chug down some coffee, so the hour wasn’t totally lost. 

I’m going to lunch with my friend, Carol, who is leaving her job for an ostensibly better one.  She’s been in fundraising for 13 years and has been a V.P. of Advancement.  I was surprised when I heard she took a job as a Director of Development, like me, but I figured she had her reasons.  She’s still in the same town and all, but it kind of stinks seeing a friend move.  One of my best friends is packing up his family for Nebraska in two months.  This is a huge bombshell, because this guy, Tom, hasn’t lived outside of the Cleveland area–outside of an eight month gig in Columbus–EVER.  He has a great job opportunity and I wish him well, but his leaving makes me a little sad.  My brother did the same thing a year ago and it’s the same feeling–I wish I would have taken the time to see him and his family more often. 

Also, I’m getting a gift for my wife for Valentine’s Day today.  It’s something she likes and hopefully is not too expensive.  We’ll have to see what happens…

OK, follow my logic.  Before you do that, accept this sentence as though it were fact.

All politics is personal. 

If this is true, then Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Claire McCaskill, and all of the other legislative and celebrity endorsers must really not like Sen. Hillary Clinton.    To me, it seems that this side of the party wants Hill to lose–I mean REALLY wants her to lose.  If Sen. Obama does win, I’d venture to say that he wouldn’t even ask her, or her husband to stump for him in the general election.  Not to say that Pres. Clinton would.  He seems to have a long memory to me.   I think that’s the plan though–move the party to new blood and hope, AND isolate the Clintons at the same time.

This sounds like a great plan–if Sen. Obama wins.

If Hillary wins the general election, whoa, Mama!  Think about all of the mea culpas!  Sen. Kennedy and his clan, Sen. Kerry, Oprah, and everyone else on the Obama bandwagon will have to make nice with the Democratic nominee and junior Senator from New York.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

Will they?  Will they go for the party over all, or will they leave Hillary out to dry?  I can’t put my finger on it, but I think that the celebs and Sens. will keep their distance if Hillary wins.  I think that Sen. Obama would graciously stump for her.  One, he doesn’t seem petty, and two, he has a long career and another presidential shot ahead of him.

What do you as Dems and Indys think about this scenario?

Not only did Lt. Col. Gadson, from my previous post, get a win as a Giant, but my fave Premier League soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur, tied the ubiquitous Manchester United.  They should have won, but I’ll take the tie.  Any time you can tie a team in the top four of the table is a good day, especially since they tied Everton earlier in the week.

My heart goes out to Tom Brady (sniff) who will have to lounge about with his Supermodel girlfriend, as consolation for becoming a Super Bowl Loser last night.  Ah, schadenfreude!  I despise the New England Patriots.  By despise, I mean I cannot stand the sight of them, even though I begrudgingly have to respect their ability.  To paraphrase Freddie Coleman of ESPN Radio, Tom Brady might be a new father, but he’s been the Steelers’ daddy for a long time.  He’s won three AFC Championships against my Black and Gold.  Each win, of course, took the team to the Super Bowl, where they won.  Yecch.  Glad to see he’s just mortal.

Lt. Col. Greg Gadson is an American Hero.

This is one of the first feel-good stories about a man’s service to his country that has really hit home for me.  Normally, I hate reading stories about the war and its casualties–mainly because I’m still of the opinion that the War in Iraq was a war of choice–but this one got to me, because of friendship bonded between two players and the inspiration to come back from injury–whether in a boys’ game or from war.

Lt. Col. Gadson’s story means something to me–and let’s get this out of the way now: IN NO WAY AM I COMPARING MYSELF WITH AN AMERICAN HERO–as someone who has injured himself playing a boys’ game and come back to play again in football and in life.  I have never really been proud of personal achievements until I got married and become a successful father to my three children.  I am very proud of my marriage and how I’m raising my children today.  I look to my parents and in-laws as examples on how to do things.

I’ve never had or taken a really good example on coming back from adversity in my professions or in other aspects of life.  Coaches never inspired me.  Only one of my bosses up until now had been an inspiration to me–Hi, Katie Bender!–and I never really drew strength from the stories of success from my siblings or friends.  Their stories of achievement were their stories of achievement, not mine.

This guy inspires me.  He fought back from near death to come back and live life.  He lost both of his legs from injury to an IED and is now walking again.  Having torn an ACL back in the days where coming back to play again was not the certainty it is today, I can relate.  Coming back was tough.  The only support I had was from my family and from friends who were also going through therapy.  I never thought of it as anything heroic, but just as something you did.  You perservere in life no matter what it throws at you.    I’d like to write to this guy to tell him what his story means to me.  I’m also rooting for the Giants now, in part, for him.  I also hate the Patriots, but that’s another story for another time.