Cirque du Soleil courtesy of Karley. Should be fantastic!

So I'm done with Hollywood Video. I turned in my two weeks' notice, but I just couldn't take working for two weeks in a place that I despised. I regret having to burn that particular bridge, but in this case I truly feel it was the best decision for me. Whenever I was not at work, I was worrying about work or about something related to it or ranting about my boss and the dumb things she did. I hated being that kind of person.

I had talked things over repeatedly with the district manager. His ultimate decision was not to take sides in the conflict between my boss and me, and that really caused me to lose respect for him. Whether he sided with me or not, I wish he had made some kind of decision. I'm sure he had his reasons for not taking sides, and since this blog is something public, I shall refrain from speculating as to those reasons.

I tried so hard to do the right thing during the entire conflict with my boss at Hollywood. When talking about my problems with her, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and not say mean things about her. The district manager asked me to wait more than a month in hopes that the situation would fix itself. I did, and it didn't. When that time was over, I got in touch with him again, asking what could be done about the situation. The answer he ultimately gave me is that there was nothing that could be done aside from staying and hoping the situation improved, or transfer somewhere else and basically take a demotion. Those were not acceptable choices.

By this point, I had the job offer from Cold Stone. I had started looking for work elsewhere because I was concerned that the district manager at Hollywood would tell me that there was nothing that could be done. When my fears were realized, I accepted the job at Cold Stone and turned in my notice.

However, I just couldn't take it. There was no incentive for me to stay. My pay would increase at Cold Stone, I'd have some real responsibility, and it was something I was looking forward to. The thing that made me decide to go ahead and leave, however, was that I felt ultimately the people at Hollywood had let me down. I had done everything I knew how to do to try and resolve my differences with the manager, and nothing worked. In the end, instead of offering solutions, the district manager basically told me to just deal with things as they were and hope they got better. Since they had not been there for me, I felt I did not owe it to them to be there any longer than absolutely necessary.

So I left before my two week notice was over. It was not entirely professional, I'll admit...but I'm glad it's done.

The same day I told the manager that I was leaving, one person walked out and another one gave notice that they were quitting in three days. I can't say I was entirely saddened by that turn of events. I felt like it validated my concerns. But anyway...at the moment I'm in Fayetteville, NC, refreshing my memory on exactly what happens in a Cold Stone on a daily basis.

I'm tired, so it's off to dreamland for me.

Facing the Giants was made by a church. They hired a film crew to do the technical things...light the sets, record the sound, and film the actors. The original intention was simply to produce a movie for their church. However, while they were seeking permission to include Christian music in their film, it wound up in the hands of a movie studio.

Undoubtedly hoping for another "Passion of the Christ," the movie studio released it. According to this site, it hade a budget of $100,000. It made more than $10,000,000 in theaters and has done a similar number in DVD sales. That's a rather nice profit, regardless of what they wound up spending to market the film.

From a business perspective, it was well worth it and made a ton of money. However, from a creative standpoint, this movie is horrible.

First and foremost there is bad acting. It's simply awful. However, they didn't have professional actors so this can be mostly overlooked.

The next problem that this movie has is that it tells you about major events instead of showing you. I understand that this is mostly due to limitations imposed by the budget, but there are ways around it. It just takes some creativity.

Going into the film, there is really no sense of tension. Since this is a Christian film about the "power of God," then I know that whatever happens, the major problems will be solved. I figured when the film began that the football team would win their title. When it was revealed that the main character, Grant, and his wife were childless, I knew that they would be expecting a child by the end of the film. There was no tension, and thus no reason to care or be involved with the characters.

The two assistant coaches are mostly there for comic relief. The only problem with this is that they weren't funny. At all.

The Christian music that was in the movie echoed badly for some reason.

There is a scene where Grant goes to the doctor and is told he cannot father children. The doctor says "This is a common problem for men," but never says what the common problem is. That is lazy writing. Come up with a reason!

After going home and telling his wife that he is the reason they are infertile, they cry together. Then in the next scene he begins reading his Bible. His wife kneels and prays. This must mean that things are going to improve.

The next morning, Grant goes out to the front yard to read his Bible and pray. He prays and says things like "I know you're on the throne!" Phrases like that are all well and good, but they mean nothing to nonchristians that may be watching the film. If, indeed, they've made it this far.
A few moments later the wife joins the husband. They hug and he poses the following question: "If the Lord never gives us children, will you still love him?"

This is the wrong question to ask. Any normal husband would ask this question instead: "If we never have children, will you still love me?"

One of the guys on the football team has a father that is in a wheelchair. Not only can this man not act, his character is poorly written and only exists to spout truisms. Anything that comes out of this guy's mouth can be expected to be true. For example, if he says that the sky is green you can expect the sky to be green in the very next scene. Fortunately for us all, he never says that.

Later on, there's a prophecy scene. I kid you not. Grant is sitting in his office, dejected, when an old man that prays for the school every morning shows up. He says "I felt led to tell you this" and then reads a Scripture that lines up with Grant's situation. Then he tells Grant not to give up.

It's fine to believe in prophecy...I do...I've experienced it...but you can't just toss something like that into a film with no explanation! Whenever you introduce any concept that the audience may be unfamiliar with, you need to explain what the heck is going on so that everyone is on board with what's going on.

Several times in the movie, it's implied that God wants this Christian school football team to win the championship. Why God cares about this is never explained. Why doesn't God care about any of the players on the other teams?

All sports movies have a scene where the coach delivers a motivational speech. This one is no different. The coach says, "I think that football is just one of the tools we use to honor God."

How do you honor God with football????

And then there are the cliches.

"God sent his son Jesus to die for us so we could live for Him."

"Your attitude is the aroma of your heart. If it stinks, so does everything else."

Also in the motivational speech, the coach tells his players, "We've got to honor God in everything. In our relationships, with our authorities, in the classroom...even when you alone at home surfing the internet." This ties back to earlier scenes where we see players disrespecting their parents and pulling classroom pranks. The only thing missing is a scene with young Billy surfing to Pen Island.

Anyway, after the motivational speech, Grant tells his players that they need to give everything they have when they play football. This is to honor God, somehow. This leads to the "Death Crawl" scene. In any other sports movie, it would fit right in. In this movie, it's merely out of place because it's so much better than the rest of the film.

The very next day, revival breaks out in the school. "Revival" is never explained to the audience. Grant is in his office and someone comes by to tell him that "revival" has started to happen. People have started to get "saved." This is yet another example of telling the audience about major plot points instead of showing them. I realize that budget constraints hamper what you can do, but with some writing and creativity this can be overcome.

Grant finds that one of his players has been revived, and wants to go apologize to his dad for being a bad kid. So without further ado, Grant takes the kid off school property to his dad's business so he can talk to his dad. Most schools would have a major problem with teachers taking kids away from the school...but then again these schools are not experiencing revival either.

Most of the football team winds up "getting right with God," though exactly what that entails is never explained. Apparently it gets you better grades, because in the very next scene we see some football players making perfect scores on their tests. Previously, these same players had gotten 57's on their tests. Personally I would have suspected them of cheating, revival or no.

Since the Eagles are now "right with God," they start winning football games. It is attributed to God's power, and has absolutely nothing to do with the players doing their very best on the field. Grant gets a raise. He goes home and is excited about it. This makes no sense. If God is the one doing all the work, why does Grant get the raise?

The Eagles go to the quarterfinals and...lose. Then they find out that the other team cheated by having players that were too old on their team. Grant calls his team together and tells them that they're back in the postseason. He says "I serve a big God who can do whatever He wants to do." Apparently God forced the other team to cheat so that the Eagles would go on to the semifinals and He (by He I mean God) would get all the "glory."

A few scenes later we see Grant's wife feeling nauseated. Could it mean she's pregnant???? She discusses things with a friend and decides to go to the doctor. The problem here is that we have never seen this person before! This person's identity and relation to Grant's wife is never explained.

So she goes to the doctor and discovers that she isn't pregnant. She's heartbroken and goes outside to her vehicle. She tearfully prays, "Lord, even if I never have children, I'll still love you!" Apparently God is moved by this, and we see the nurse noticing that her paperwork has been mixed up! The nurse runs outside to find Grant's wife and tell her that yes, she actually is pregnant! Grant's wife is so happy that she forgets to file a malpractice lawsuit.

The movie trudges on, and the Eagles play in the semifinals. This game determines if they go to the finals and face this team called The Giants. Since the title of the movie is Facing The Giants, I wasn't too worried that they would lose. However, for some reason, the filmmakers decide to show someone at home listening to the game! Nothing is shown from this pivotal moment in the film. It's yet another example of being told something instead of being shown something.

So yes, the Eagles win. They go on to play the Giants, and the game finally hinges on a backup kicker making a 50-some yard field goal. He's never made a field goal from that far away, but since he prays, God lets him make it.

The Eagles win, Grant finds out his wife is pregnant, and everything works out for everyone.

Because, after all, being a Christian is easy and fun. God does all the hard work for us, because he's God. We'll get the raise and win the championship without any effort on our part.

Technical issues aside, I don't like the film because of the view of Christianity it espouses. Win or lose, you label it God and try to figure out what's been going on. If you're infertile, it's because it's God's will. If you have a baby, it must mean God's happy with you. If your life sucks, it must be because it's what God wants to happen. However, if you just pray and read your Bible, life will get better because that's what good Christians are supposed to do. Who knows? If God likes you enough, revival may even break out on your Christian campus.

Karley gets down with her bad self at On The Border.

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I was offered the job at Cold Stone!

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So...she got married.

And I'm definitely free.

It's a good feeling.

Only because I promised my sister that I would, I watched "Facing the Giants," a Christian movie.

I don't have time to go into all the reasons I didn't like it, but when I have the chance I'll write a full review of what worked and what didn't.

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While at Wal-Mart, I came across an alphabet display that was missing a Q.

How could I not rearrange the alphabet?

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My life should be great. And really, it is. I have that which I have long desired, a girlfriend. She is wonderful, and we get along really well. I am not complaining at all about that.

The dark cloud on my horizon is my job. It's been frustrating. I've been working for someone that doesn't do a very good job managing. I like her as a person, but I simply don't respect her as a manager due to some decisions she's made and continues to make. It's difficult to work with someone you don't trust or respect.

I'm not being utilized to my full potential, and it's frustrating. For the past few months, I've been pretty frustrated in regards to my job. It is casting a shadow over everything else. Over the course of the past few weeks, whenever I think about work I've been getting stressed out. My stomach would churn and wouldn't let up for hours, even after leaving work.

Obviously, something has to change. I decided a few weeks ago to start looking for another job in case things at Hollywood do not improve.

It is quite possible I have found one. I saw a posting on Craigslist saying a manager for a Cold Stone Creamery was needed. Since I have experience working with Cold Stone, I decided to apply. The franchisee that needs a manager called me, and I had a job interview with her today.

Things did not end well at Cold Stone when I worked there before. I was burned out, and wound up being let go two weeks before I was ready to leave. I was upset at how I was treated, and up to that point I had had a great deal of respect for the people I worked for. To have them treat me like that in exchange for how much of myself I had given for that company was a great blow.

My interview today went well. It lasted for more than 90 minutes, and we talked about all sorts of things. I disclosed to the franchisee in my initial response to her job posting that I had been let go, and the specific reason I had been let go. I knew she would contact my former boss, and didn't want her to have any surprises.

The franchisee told me that she had indeed contacted my former employer, and he had only good things to say about me. She had also been talking to someone on the Cold Stone corporate team today, and mentioned she was interviewing me. This person remembered me, and also had good things to say. I feel that those two things, combined with the fact that I have experience in Cold Stone, puts me in the lead for this job.

I should be hearing back on Thursday about whether or not I have the job. I'm hoping that I do, because then I can extricate myself from Hollywood Video and take a better-paying job.

However, tomorrow the district manager for Hollywood is going to be coming to the store to talk with me and my manager about our problems. I've told him that I am not really willing to work with her anymore.

In his e-mail to me letting me know he's coming in on Wednesday, he thanked me for keeping him informed of my "views." That wording leads me to believe he's not on board with my complaints 100%. The bottom line, though, is that I'm simply not willing to stay in the situation I'm in. I'd prefer to stay with Hollywood, but if I can get a better-paying job without having to wait months on end for a position to open up, I'm going to take it.

After I went to an audition for Cold Stone back in 2003, they told us that they'd be contacting us within a 3-hour window to let us know if we were hired. I went home and put in a movie, convinced that I had nailed the interview and I'd be getting a job. Two and a half hours later, the phone rang. It was Cold Stone, letting me know I had made the cut.

Now I've had another interview for Cold Stone, and I feel like things went well. I'm wondering how things will turn out, but I'm not incredibly worried. The difficult thing is going to be dealing with my situation at Hollywood without acting as though this other job is a sure thing, because it isn't.

Anyway, that's tomorrow. We'll see how things go.

I filed my taxes today.

The Earned Income Credit is for people that don't make a whole lot of money. You qualify for the credit if you make $12,120 for all of 2006.

I made $12,158.

Oh, I was upset.

But I get a refund, so yay.