Tag Archives: Lowell

Why I go to mass

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I’ve been slacking on my mass attendance lately, only having gone a handful of times in the past six months.  I’ve felt bad about not going, and considering it’s now Lent, the Catholic guilt has been extra strong the past months.  I went to mass this morning, and it felt good.  Sitting there, as the church filled up, I thought about why I haven’t been going lately, why I felt guilty about not going yet chose not to go anyway, and why I had chosen to go to mass in the past.

I first went through a mass attendance drought when I first moved to Tallahassee in 2003.  The first two years I was in Florida, I lived right down the street from a church.  Literally, it was a block away.  But I didn’t really go much on Sundays.  There was something about the parish and about the space that didn’t sit well with me.  I guess I was thinking too much about my churchgoing experience in Chicago, which was nothing short of amazing.  The masses we had at Loyola at the campus chapel were great: I sang with great friends under the direction of an amazing musician (Miss you, Rudy!), the preaching was excellent (Miss you, too, Fr. Jerry!), and the space was great (Ah, Madonna della Strada).  So, I was comparing my Florida mass experience with my Chicago experience, and that just wasn’t fair: the life I started in Tallahassee was the next stage in my professional and personal lives, and so I (eventually) realized that it was unrealistic of me to have the same church experience in Florida as I did in Chicago.  Once I got over that, I found a parish in Tallahassee (Good Shepherd Catholic Church) and had a great experience there.

I went through a similar mode of thought here in Lowell.  It took a me a couple of months to find a parish that suited me.  I was delighted when eventually found St. Michael Parish last fall.  The priests are extraordinarily friendly and give wonderful sermons, the community seems very cohesive, and the music ministry is pretty good and has potential to be even better.  But, for reasons I just now discovered, I only went to mass consistently for about a month, then let my attendance fall by the wayside.  I’m not proud to admit this, but the main reason I didn’t go was because I was lazy.  No sugar-coating it, the dancing around that fact.  It was cold, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, and just plain didn’t want to go.  Not surprisingly, being raised in the Catholic tradition, the guilt about not going to mass–especially since I no longer had the “I-haven’t-found-the-right-parish” excuse–was always there.  Despite that guilt, I didn’t go regularly.  Maybe once a month, if that.  The laziness, I think, stemmed from a bout of selfishness.  I didn’t want to make paltry the sacrifice of a hour and a half every week, getting up (relatively) early, and driving through the snow.  Also, mentally and emotionally, I was so focused on myself and what was going on in my life (school, relationships, the fact that was I pretty lonely) that I couldn’t muster the energy or the discipline to go to mass.

After mass, the view of the inside of St. Michael Parish.
After mass, the view of the inside of St. Michael Parish.

But I found that energy this morning.  And it felt good.  I had forgotten that going to mass helps keep me centered.  The way I see it, it helps me put things into perspective; the preaching is good for me.  I don’t necessarily agree with everything that’s said in the homily, buy for the most part, lessons contained in the readings and sermons hit home, either directly or indirectly.  Going to mass also provides a bit of structure to my weekly schedule.  My personality is the type that needs structure and discipline otherwise I’d get nothing done; I actually do better when I’m busier because I don’t have the spare time to sit around.  Having lots of spare time inevitably leads me to wasting most of it doing nothing.  In addition to the structure, going to mass helps give me a sense of belonging, a sense of community.  I’ve struggled with that since I’ve moved up to Massachusetts because I don’t have many friends up here yet.  St. Michael is very welcoming, giving me a little of that sense of community.

Happy Birthday, Oreo!!

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Today is Oreo’s unofficial first birthday, ‘unofficial’ because I don’t know exactly what day she was born last year.  I know it was sometime in late January or early February, so I figured February 4th was as good a day as any.  I’ve had her for almost 10 months now, and I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without her, especially since I’ve moved up to Lowell.  Granted, getting up early to take her out in near-zero temperatures is not loveliest task to complete, but it’s a small sacrifice.  Here’s to many more birthdays in Oreo’s future!

In other news, I just found out I’ll be presenting at the IASPM-US Conference in San Diego at the end of May.  Woo hoo!  So, that’s makes two conferences in two weeks in May…I feel like I’m having deja vu, seeing as I did a conference tour two years ago.  No road trip for me this time, though, as the U2 Conference is in NYC from May 13-15, and the IASPM Conference is in San Diego from May 29-31.  Even though they’re two weeks apart, ain’t no way I’m driving to California from Massachusetts.  The way I see it, I’ll probably spend as much on gas and hotels along the way as I would on a plane ticket, so I’ll take the convenience of flying.

Top 10 things I’ll miss about Tallahassee

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My moving trailer arrived Wednesday, so it’s been a packing/loading fest since then.  My mom came into town help and has done a wonderful job.  With the apartment slowly, but surely, emptying, the upcoming to Lowell is, as Marty puts it, “gettin’ real.”  Really real.  I almost can’t believe it.  I’m packing up my computer in a few minutes, so I thought that my last entry as a Florida resident would a Top 10 list.  I’ve spent five good years in Tallahassee, so here are the Top 10 things I’ll miss about The ‘Heez (in no particular order).

1. The ranch dressing at The 4th Quarter.  Ranch dressing is just good in general, but the stuff at The 4th Quarter bar and grill is just something else entirely.

2. FSU.  I met a lot of great people at Florida State and made some really really good friends through the school.  Thanks, everyone.

3. Living costs.  As I quickly discovered, Lowell’s cost of living is dramatically higher than Tallahassee’s, so much so that my apartment in Massachusetts is going to cost me double what I’m paying in Florida.  Ouch.

4. The weather.  I hate the hot oppressive summer temperatures, but I will miss those lovely February days when the mercury hits 73.

5. The sports.  I’m a pro sports guy, but FSU is the first sports school that I’ve attended and it was great.  Gathering at Doak Campbell Stadium with 84,000 other fans was an experience I’ll miss dearly.

6. The hotties.  Tallahassee has an inordinate amount of very attractive people.  I mean, hott with two t’s.  In fact, I’d say the attractive-ness quotient is as high in Tally as it is low in Lowell (how ’bout that).  I guess the good news is that I won’t feel so bad at the gym.

7. The cheap drinking.  $1.75 draft beer for happy hour…how can you beat that?

8. The dog park.  Oreo liked running around unfettered with the other pups at Tom Brown.  Fortunately, Lowell just opened up the city’s first official dog park, so I’m hoping it’ll be a good one.

9. The proximity.  Everything essential is 15 minutes away, tops.

10. The food.  For a city of it’s size, there is a surprisingly high number of good restaurants.

Well, that’s all from Tallahassee, FL.  Another chapter ends, with one waiting to begin in Lowell.  I’m going to miss Tally for sure, but the way I see it, I’m moving on to bigger and better things.

It’s official

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Well, it’s official.  The wait is finally over.  My job search is complete.  I am the newest faculty member of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Music.  More than anything, more than happiness or joy or elation, the biggest emotion I feel right now is relief.  I smiled a lot when I accepted the position, but the big sigh of relief I let out afterwards is perhaps the most memorable reaction.

It’s been a strange process, this whole getting-a-job thing.  I was so excited last fall because it seemed like just about every school out there had an opening and my chances of landing a gig were great.  So I applied to numerous places, thinking I had a shot to land a pretty good job right off the bat.  But as the school year wore on, and I didn’t hear from anyone, I started to get a little worried.  There was a little lull in job openings, but kept my eyes and ears open, sending out my materials when I could.  Then, one weekend, out of the blue (while I was in Maine with Amy, of all times!), I was forwarded a job posting for a position up in Massachusetts.  “Lowell, MA??” I thought.  But I looked it up and it sounded great, so I sent off my materials.  Lo and behold, after a couple of phone interviews, they wanted to see me live and in person.  After scrambling for two days getting together a lesson plan, I flew up to Lowell, gave my teaching demos, met with the Dean and the search committee, flew back to Tally, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Now, it was only about a week and a half that I waited to hear from them, but it seemed like much longer than that.  I thought I nailed the interview, and since their school year was coming to a close, I knew they didn’t have that much time to interview other candidates and needed to fill the position.  Plus, I’m an impatient person by nature: I wanted to know, and I wanted to know ASAP.  So I waited (not so) patiently until the phone rang last week.  Awesome.

I think the most relieving aspect about this job is that it’s tenure-track, so I won’t have to go through this whole interview process again at least for a few years.  *WHEW*  The way I see it, I got lucky.  Very very lucky.  UML was looking for someone and one of the profs just happened to be talking with a prof at FSU.  My name was among those mentioned, and a month later, the job is mine.  The saying goes, “It’s better to be lucky than good.”  Amen.  I mean, I think I’m pretty decent, but in this case, Lady Luck was on my side.

Go River Hawks!!