Pizza by the slice

I attended my final class last night. The University of Phoenix was nice enough to send a clerk from the academic advisors office with three Dominoes pizzas to congratulate us... "Two slices for you young man? But of course! That will be $30,000 please." Yes, in addition, to the sausage, could you sprinkle some gold flakes on mine?

I'm glad to be done but it was an anti-climactic finish. Maybe I'll feel different at the graduation ceremony in 3 weeks. Wait a minute, I'll get to wear that funny/cool square-hat-thing and a choir robe and THAT doesn't suck! They are having a member of the faculty speak and a student speaker and then a song or two and then read the 1000 names and turn us loose on the world. They aren't even getting a b-list local celebrity to speak! They did promise that the bagpipe regiment would be worth it. I've got a DJ gig Los Angeles the night before until well after midnight and will be driving like a mad man to get back to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale by 10AM.

I don't know if these statistics are correct, I didn't confirm them. There are less than 25% of the citizens of the U.S. that have bachelors degrees and less than 9% that have masters degrees. So I'm joining a rather small group of people who have put themselves through such stringent paces. I'm trying to make arrangements to have my son Javin come out with me from California because I want him to see that education is important and that it's something we make a fuss about as a people. We only wear those square hats on exceptionally special occasions such as this.

Side note: My sister is getting her Masters Degree at Northern Arizona University Skydome at 2PM that same day. I was thinking of driving like the dickens to get up there for hers after mine, but after a 6 hour all night drive from LA that doesn't sound too appealing. We'll have to have a celebration another time.

I graduated High School and left home at age 17 and had no clue about what insurance was and how to work a check book and I was ill-prepared for adult life which contributed to some terrible mistakes in relationships that I am still recovering from 25 years later. I have had a really good experience at UOP and I feel like I could contribute in a wonderful way to a business or a non-profit or a government agency, with some of the cool things I have learnt, coupled with my life experience, my DJ/entertainer career and 18 years in the reinforcing steel business, but I have no more interest in corporate America. As I look back at some experiences in business with a more classical training and perspective, I say, "You know what? I did that right!" I also think of a few other things that were accomplished only by shear force of will and there are smarter and easier methods. For the most part, it has given me a structure for otherwise crazy and ethereal thoughts. The structure makes me define better or even defend my position sometimes. It fleshes out alternate ideas and bridges gaps.

When a dog chases a car, I ask myself what that dog thinks he is going to do with that car if he catches it? Now I have a degree- and I wonder what I am going to do with it. I guess I'll start with the big job fair on Saturday morning. For the moment, I seem to be able to make a decent living as an entertainer and as long as it's fun, pays the bills and the customers keep calling, I'd love to just keep doing that for now.

This note may sound depressing and negative-- it isn't. I'm quite fond of life and I prefer not knowing what is around each corner. My life is a great balance of taking what I want and yet wanting only the simple things that life has given me naturally and freely. It is seemingly planned and yet entirely random simultaneously. Who knows what is around this next corner? Film at 11.