My Little CrockPot of News and Thoughts

School is over for me. Yesterday was my last day. ... Here's that painting that I talked about a few weeks ago. I call it Benny Oliver Exudes Confidence in His Mighty Red Shirt. I liked the way it came out. Hopefully I'll get to paint again soon. ... Operation: Pack Up All Our Stuff commences today. I'm not sure what we're taking... right now it'll just be the bare essentials.

These people are too kind. ... I broke the news about the new job to my classes yesterday. I was surprised to see genuine sadness from students. Of coarse my good, "they love me" feelings were shattered a few seconds later when they asked, "So who's gonna be our new teacher?". I know they're all pretty nervous that they will get a mean teacher... I hope they do. Then they'll really cherish my "Dictator/ Anarchy" approach to teaching in the classroom. People always miss controlled chaos when they don't have it anymore. ... Hi Elisa!

It's official. I have a new job. Amanda and I will be moving to Austin where I will begin working as an animator for Ignite! Learning . ... We went and watched The Passion of the Christ last night. It was powerful stuff. It's true, it is a graphic movie, but no more than many of the other films out there today. I think the subject of the movie makes it a lot more graphic for some people. People are so used to seeing "cleaned up" versions of Jesus' crucifixion in Plays and other movies, that seeing a realistic portrayal of it is hard to watch. It really shows what a huge sacrifice it was. I also liked that the filmmakers chose not to depict Jesus as an emotion-less saint. In the film he laughs, he's terrified, he's human. In short, it was a great film.

Amanda called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that her jeep was stuck in the mud and to ask me if I could come and help her out of it. I showed up, got behind the wheel and tried a few things but was unsuccessful. After several minutes of thinking and trying different solutions to her problem, she finally called her grandpa. He showed up, jumped in the truck, threw it into 4 wheel drive and drove it out of the mud with no problem. I slapped myself in the head. ... I was reading in the AWN Forums this morning and found a link to an interesting site. It's an online magazine called Sleepy Brain . I haven't had time to check the whole site out, but it seems like a nice magazine. Being based out of Australia, they cover the Melbourne animation scene a lot. I've been reading a nice interview with Australian animator, Adam Elliot. Elliot's short film, Harvie Krumpet, has been nominated in the Short Film category at the Oscars this year. ... Passions hits theaters today. Amanda and I will be watching it this evening. I'm excited to see it and a bit nervous at the same time. I don't know why I'm nervous... but I am just the same.

The TAKS test went down today. That's the test that the state requires jr high and high schoolers to take every year. As a matter of fact, if the juniors fail it, they have to keep re-taking it until they pass in order to graduate. The seniors and eighth graders didn't have to take it. The seniors got the day off and the eighth graders spent their morning in the gym... so did I. Myself and several other teachers had to keep a watchful eye over 80 jr high kids. At least it seemed like that many. It wasn't too bad. I only got hit in the head with a basketball once. ... Just when I thought my yard was beginning to dry out from the flood we got around Valentine's Day, it has started raining again... sigh... ... I'm famous.

From time to time, I wake up in the morning feeling as though I have been beaten in my sleep. The only explanation I can come up with is that some guy, using the blanket of darkness as his cover, must slip into my room at night and pummel me with a large, blunt object. That big, scary man paid me a visit again last night, because I feel like crap this morning. ... I had my interview in Austin on Friday. Since my interview was at 1pm, and because I had no idea of where I was going, I decided to leave around 10 that morning for my trek. Around 9:45am, I printed off the driving directions and hit the road. It's a good thing I left as early as I did. Although the trip should only have taken 1 1/2 to 2 hrs, my directions were wrong, so I got lost a couple of times. To make the long story short, I found where I needed to go around 1pm and walked into the office building at 1:05. The interview itself went well. I enjoyed meeting the folks that interviewed me. I was really impressed with their lead animator, Don Smith . He has done some great stuff in Flash. I should hear back from them at some point this week. I don't know if I got the job, but it was fun visiting them just the same. ... While in the CS (College Station), Amanda, my sister, a friend of hers, and myself went to go see the Adam Sandler's new movie, 50 First Dates. I really liked it. It was hilarious and sweet, in just the right amount a romantic comedy should have, I suppose... plus there was a vomiting walrus in it.

I don't know what to write about today. There really hasn't been anything big going on with me lately... if it had, I've already written about it. This afternoon, we head out to College Station. My big interview is tomorrow. I've got to get stuff lined up for the substitute tomorrow... I'd better do that now.

Kermit and Mickey are roommates... that's weird. ... Last night I sat down at my computer and started working on my website where I left off the day before. I'm in awe when I think about how much I've learned about Flash MX during the coarse of this project. My relationship with MX goes back for quite sometime, and during that time I've felt quite comfortable with the software. Give me something to do (just as long as it didn't require to much actionscripting) and I could get it done. A while back, my friend Bobby sent me some work to do for a website that he was working on. The project didn't require a whole lot of actionscripting other than cutting and pasting the script from another similar project. Like many things in life, I was fine until it didn't work out. Nothing about the project was working the way it should, so I was forced to go back and take a look at the actinscripting and really figure out what each part did and why. That was a blessing in disguise. It built my MX confidence up a lot and has helped me with the problems that arise from time to time with the new site... now if I can just figure out how cars work, I'll be in great shape. ... I talked to my pal Josh via email yesterday. He's a fellow SCAD Bee and animation student. I checked out his website yesterday and Man! He's got some great work. I can't wait to see the incredible things he's gonna do once he graduates.

Yesterday afternoon, I got to work on the new version of my website . This one is gonna be a lot better than the old version that I have up now. The new version will probably make the old version jealous. ... For the past several weeks, ABC has been running commercials on their station promoting Diane Sawyer's big interview with Mel Gibson on Primetime . The big event, though held several days prior, went down last night for the American audience. The reason for the interview was to get Gibson's take on his new film The Passion of the Christ and to talk about all the controversy it has been causing lately. For an hour I sat and watched, listening to every question Sawyer tossed at Gibson and impressed by the way in which he handled them. I felt he was very honest. He didn't try to dance around the questions or point any fingers at what his adversaries were saying or doing. Will I be going to see this movie, of coarse I will. Would I have gone if I heard things I didn't agree with come from Gibson's mouth, sure I would have, but after watching the interview, I have a peace about the film. I think, prior to having watched it and based only on what I've read and seen of Gibson and the actors in the film, that he has done what he set out to do; to show us God's love by giving us the Ultimate Gift, His Son. ... By the way, does anyone even read this blog? Are my efforts for nothing more than my own amusment? Email me if you do read this... I'd love to hear from you.

All the rain and snow from this weekend caused me to get stuck in my yard this morning. I don't know if the yard will ever recover. ... This Thursday, Amanda and I will be heading down to College Station to visit my brother and sister. I have an interview Friday afternoon with Ignite! Learning . They're looking for an assitant animator who knows Flash. It just so happens, I fit what they're looking for. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm still waiting to hear back from Texas A&M. I applied to their Viz Lab for Grad School. I should hear something back by the end of March... I find myself getting nervous about it sometimes. I'm ready to find out whether I got accepted or not. I can't think about it right now... I've got a class full of Jr high students to corral.

So long Snow, it's been nice knowing ya. Well, we awoke this morning to find the sun out and cleaning up the remains of yesterday's wintry gift. Everything is soaking wet... and muddy. Amanda gave our dog, Daisy, a bath this morning. First thing she did when she was let outside for a second was to run through the mud. sigh... Damn dog.

It's Valentine's Day... and it's SNOWING! The last time it snowed was three years ago on New Years' Day. We all spent the day out in the pasture on the sled. We had my friend BJ towing people around on his four wheeler while Mr. Bowie hauled groups of people on the tractor. It was one of the best days ever... of coarse, frost bite almost set in and I almost lost both my feet, one hand, an elbow and several more miscellaneous body parts. The snow has been coming down steadily ever since I woke up this morning. We've been showered with a few inches of the white stuff. I think it's starting to warm up a bit, so we should be up to our hips in water in just a few short hours. Oh well, it's been fun. I hope everyone is having a good Valentine's Day. This evening I think I'm gonna try and talk Amanda into watching the Peanuts V-Day special with me. She bought it for me last year when I was in Savannah. I hope everyone stays warm. I'm about to go and plaster someone with a boulder sized snowball. God bless 'em, they won't even see it coming. Happy Valentine's Day.

sniff, sniff... Do you smell that? That, my friend, is the scent of freedom. It's Friday. ... I don't know if you've been keeping up with the news lately, but if you haven't, you've been missing quite a showdown between cable company Comcast and entertainment force Disney... more specifically, Comcast and Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner. Let me give you the scoop in a condensed form: Eisner is looney. Comcast wants to buy Disney. Eisner shakes fist and says "No!". Comcast tries to go around Eisner, and talk to the Disney shareholders. Eisner plays fiddle while Disneyland burns. That's it in a nutshell... well, except the last part. That'll happen once Eisner looses his job and is forced out. I don't care what happens as long as Eisner steps down and Roy Disney is back in. You can help Roy's cause to drive the Devil (a.k.a. Eisner) out of the House of Mouse. Sign the petition at SaveDisney.com. ... Valentine's Day is tomorrow. I have a few plans for my sweetheart... maybe I'll talk about them later. ... Here's an intresting little tidbit that was reported at CartoonResearch.com. I'm kinda creeped out by the concept.

Valentine's Day is almost here! I really like Valentine's Day... for two reasons. The first, because I like doing nice things for Amanda. But Jared, you should do nice things for you wife year round. That's true and I'm happy to say that I do... or at least I try. Even with having said that, I still like the idea of having a single set date just to spoil your sweetheart. It's fun. The second reason is totally visual, and because I'm an artist and I'm married TO A WOMAN, I don't feel bad about saying this: I like the colors. I really enjoy the reds and pinks and how they compliment each other. Growing up, Valentine's day was one of the best of the year in school. The classroom was saturated in the warm colors of romance, school was cut short so that you as a class could have a party, and their was always cool specials on TV that night ( Peanuts Specials were and still are my favorite). Even though Valentine's Day is just that, only a day, you could still enjoy the spoils of the event for several weeks after by feasting on those tiny, message inscribed, chalk hearts. ... Going back to what I said earlier about the Peanuts TV Specials, I was incredibly excited to see that they have several online shorts that you can view from their website. When I was young, every holiday was marked by the Peanuts show I watched. For several of the holidays, the festivities never started for me until I watch the correlating special. The same holds true for me now.

I've recently discovered a new joy in my life: painting. Sure, I've painted before, but I've never really enjoyed it. The handful of paintings I've produced have all seemed like big efforts to finish, so by the time I'm done with them, I don't paint again for many, many months. This weekend, I picked up the old paint brush again. I worked on and off sporadically over three days, and by the time I was done, I had a painting that I really liked. I call it "Benny Oliver Exudes Confidence in His Mighty Red Shirt" . Shortly after that one, I started on a second. This one has been harder to complete... the paint just doesn't seem to go on as smooth as the previous painting did. I'll keep working with it though. Last night I had an idea for a third. Hopefully I'll be able to work on it soon, but not until I finish the one I'm working on. ... This morning I drank a Dr. Pepper. I've decided to quite calling it "Dr. Pepper" all together and instead refer to it as "Oh so Sweet Nectar of Life" . That describes it well and gives it just the right amount of Liberace flair that has been missing from the soft drink industry lately. Now, if I can just get the company to change from an aluminum can to a rhinestone encrusted goblet...

At different times in my life, I find myself with too many things to do and too little time in which to do them. Everyone, at some point or other, has experienced this problem. For me, right now is one of those times. I've got several plates spinning: work, applying to grad school, the start of a few freelance projects, my own projects, etc. Having all these things going on right now hasn't been a bad things at all. In fact, I've really enjoyed being busy. My downfall is the fact that I'm a big time procrastinated. There, I said it. It's out in the open for all to know. I don't have a problem working on things that excite me... things that don't excite me, however, take longer to complete. Amanda is the opposite of me. She's a total, 100% "Go Getter". She's so good at getting things done she makes me sick. To help me overcome this problem, I have decided to take an adrenaline shot to the heart every morning after I wake up. I'm putting off coming up with a solution for procrastination, and creating a temporary solution with a big jolt to my system. I'm excited. The adrenaline will give me the umph I need to get all my stuff done... plus I'll be able to pick up cars. ... The Grammys were this past Sunday. I didn't watch them... I really didn't care about them at all. Monday morning I was looking over a list of the winners. I was really excited to see that Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and Michael McKean won an award in the "Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" category for their song "A Mighty Wind" from the film of the same name. If you've never seen any of Christopher Guest's movies, you should. They are some of my favs.... particularly Waiting for Guffman.

It's Monday... (sigh)... Time has stolen my weekend from me and sentenced me to a week long term of tireless toil... or something like that. Actually, I had a really good weekend. Amanda and I were on both end of the spectrum this weekend. We attended a friend's wedding, celebrated my Mom's birthday, and discovered a new love for horror movies. My friend from Jr. High and High School, Jeff Chambers, tied the knot yesterday afternoon at a local church in town. The ceremony was small and short and very nice. A reception followed at their house, but because of other things that had to get done, we headed home after the wedding was over. Saturday was my Mom's birthday... she turned younger. To celebrate the festive day, the family drove down to Tyler to eat at a Mexican Food restaurant. Meeting us there were my younger brother and sister, who drove up from school in College Station. It was a lot of fun. The place we were eating happens to be a sister restaurant of my favorite restaurant. Needless to say, I stuffed myself on salsa and chimichanga. Yes, I was a bloated pig on the way home, but I was a happy bloated pig. Friday afternoon, my order from Overstock.com came in. Prior to this purchase, I had never experienced this online phenomena. I found a DVD set of 50, yes 50, old Horror movies for a mere $27. Because of the quantity of movies and their cheap price, I wasn't sure what to expect. I read some of the titles and recognized them, but overall was preparing myself for a dud of a set. You know what I'm talking about... you by a CD because you like a song and sure enough, that's the only descent song on the album... that what I felt like. Friday afternoon came, and my package was delivered. Amanda and I spent the evening watching Vincent Prices' The House on Haunted Hill and The Last Man on Earth and loved every minute of it. After that, on Saturday, we popped in The Killer Shrews followed by The Giant Gila Monster (both of which caused my Dad to be traumatized at an early age) and were again stunned by how much we loved it. Next came Night of the Living Dead, a cult classic. This one we both voted was the creepiest of the movies we had watched so far (with a strong second place coming from those damn shrews), but it was still great. Needless to say, we can't wait to watch the other 45 movies we have left. So that was my weekend. It was a full two days... only five more days until the next one.

Do you smell that? That hearty smell is the scent of my very own undercooked thoughts and undigested news. It's what this online journal is all about. What's going on in Jared's life? What does Jared think about the many different things he sees and reads on a daily basis? If you have ever asked yourself these questions... Which you probably haven't... I'll try and answer them here. With that having been said, let us begin... ... As of the end of January, I have taken a job as the new long term Art substitute at a local high school in town. Believe it or not, it's the same high school I graduated from just a few short years ago. The building has changed and the people are a bit older, but the overall feeling of the school is the same. That's a good thing, in case you were wondering. The job can be stressful at times, especially when trying to take role, answer fifty different questions, and keep a watchful eye out for the flying pencils that mysterious leave the hands of their owners and soar across the room at the heads of different students. In short, I have a newfound respect for teachers and the stuff they put up with. I was never in the Vietnam War. I was born many years after that event in American history was over, but with each passing day, I am beginning to notice that the horror stories I've heard from different veterans are sounding strangely familiar to my own tales of the classroom. Though my tenure in teaching has not been long, I am starting to feel fatigued... Thank God for the weekends!