New Blog

Well, I made the switch to Wordpress the other day. It's a much better blogging site that will allow me to build a page to use as a homepage for my freelance writing. The new site is:

http://matthew-andrews.com

Go there from now on. This blog will self-destruct in about a week or so.

Tips For Job Interviews

I've been doing a lot of interviews at work lately, and I'm set for another 4-hour marathon tomorrow. It's been a good experience for me; it's taught me a lot about proper conduct in an interview, and what employers are looking for in a candidate. So, I've composed a short list of tips of interview dos and donts for your reading pleasure.

1. Dress like you're going to an interview. Even if your interviewing for a crap-shoveler position and your local dairy farm, at least wear a nice shirt. If anything, it shows that you care about how you look.

2. Smile and show some enthusiasm. This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised. I've had a couple of interviews where I seriously thought I was talking to a coma victim or Wednesday from the Adams Family. People with no personality are not customer-friendly, and will probably no get hired.

3. Do a little research. Find out the manager's name or a bit of history on the company. Browse their website and figure out what they're all about. This impresses people. It shows that you have an interest in the company.

4. Don't swear. I once had a person respond to the question "Why would you like to work at Prime Shine?" with "Cuz I'll kick some fuckin' ass out there." Yeah...bad idea.

5. Extra reading materials (such as resumes, cover letters, recommendations, etc) are always good. It shows you are prepared and that you have taken time to present yourself as professional. But...

6. ...If you do go through all the trouble to make a resume and stuff, please make it look nice. Don't just crap something out in 5 minutes. A bad resume can be far more damaging that no resume.

7. If you've applied at some many places that you don't even remember giving me an application, don't make it obvious. Statements like "This is my fiftieth interview this week," and "Did I really drop off an application here?" are not winners in my book, nor in anyone else's.

8. Fill out an application completely and thoroughly. Nothing says "I'm lazy and will do nothing at work" like not filling out half of an application.

9. Don't complain about your past bosses. It makes you seem defiant and means I should anticipate you having problems with authority.

10. If I asked you a question ten minutes ago and you're still talking, shut up. Just shut up.

11. After an interview, one phone call is sufficient. Anything after that is irritating.

The Day That Started It All

It has been brought to my attention that I have yet to blog about the fact that I am getting married in just over three months, and that I also haven't blogged about my wife-to-be. I think it is all related to my natural aversion to writing about love. One of the things that plagues my writing and really acts as an obstacle is that I hate thinking that what I'm writing is unoriginal. I have taken whole pieces and thrown them away because I think they sound too much like whatever author I had been reading, or because I am borrowing phrases and words from related works. Love is hard to write about for this reason. It is the subject of an unfathomable amount of works of art (in any median) and has been explored from every image and metaphor I can conceive of. I am worried that whatever I put down will just consist of bits of everything else I've ever written, and it ultimately wouldn't be worthy of the heavenly person that Sarah is. I love you, Sarah, and one of these days (hopefully by November 17th) I will conceive of the perfect way to say it.

What I can do quite easily is tell the great story of how we became the dynamic duo we are today.

I honestly don't remember the first time I met Sarah, and I'm certain she doesn't remember the first time she met me. What I do know is that we did meet casually in a group of people a couple of times. I was familiar enough with her, and she with me. I had a girlfriend, and she thought I was way too young, so nothing ever went farther than casual conversations.

However, that changed on May 19, 2005. But let's jump back a few days earlier.

My dad was invited (that is, ordered by his boss) to go to a conference in Long Beach. After he mentioned this to me and discovered that I had a few days off at around that time, he invited me to come with him. Later that day, I was talking to my roommate Daniel, and he informed me that he was leaving that same day for another conference with a group of youth leaders, and that some of them were planning to see a midnight showing of Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith. I talked with my dad and arranged a plan whereby I would travel down with Daniel, see the movie, and then meet my dad at his hotel afterwards.

Daniel and I drove down to the theater and met Beth Wornack and Sarah Soon-To-Be-Andrews, who came down with the rest of the group in a big 15-passenger van. We watched the movie, and it turned out to be much better than I had expected. Once the movie was done (approximately 2:30am), he realize he have a problem with getting people home. We have no cash for a cab, and the girls needed to get to Azusa Pacific college, which was a bout 10-15 minutes away. Daniel drives a 2-seater Silverado. So, what we decided was Daniel would take Beth to the college, com back, take Sarah to the college, come back, take me to my hotel, and then drive himself back to the college.

Daniel left with Beth at about 2:45am. Sarah and I sat inside and waited, talking about random things. I think we got up to play some pinball for a while, but mostly we just talked. Pretty soon it was 3, and then 3:30, and we thought it might be a good idea to call Daniel. Once I get him on the phone, we find out that he is lost and has no idea where he is going. Furthermore, upon looking at a phone book map, we can't even find the streets he's naming off. And then our phone start to die.

So, 4am comes around, and that turns into 5am, and still no sign of Daniel. Sarah and I just talked most of the time, laughed at Daniel, laughed at our situation, and then consulted the phone book again to try mapping out a walking route. Finally, at around 6, as the sun is rust rising over the line of buildings, up pulls Daniel. Frustrated, he hurled his keys into the empty parking lot and told me to drive her home.

That's the story of how Sarah and I got to know one another. Nothing happened right away - I still had that pesky problem of the other girlfriend and she still thought I was too young - but it set a solid foundation for a friendship to ultimately blossom into a romance almost 7 months later.

But that's a story for another blog...

A Day in Portland

Saturday, 7:45 am:
Our plane lands at PDX. We (meaning me and my friend Taylor) had left the house at 4am to leave Sacramento at 6:30, and were still in the early stages of waking up. The guy sitting behind me makes a very vulgar comment regarding my Giants hat. I ignore it and move off the plane to collect my luggage and hit the town.

8:15am
We board the Tri-Met streetcar. I get very excited about places with excellent public transportation systems. Riding the bus is a hassle in a place like Modesto, but sure as hell beats driving in places like Portland and New York.

As we ride, we discover that Northwesterners are, in general, very friendly. We had a few random conversations with passengers, which proved beneficial since one of them ended up informing us that we had gotten on the wrong car. A while later, I see a group of Jehovah's Witnesses who end up being from Modesto. We got into a lengthy conversation (mostly about how we preferred the Portland rain over the Valley heat, which proved beneficial because it kept him from giving me flyers.

9am
We arrive at our destination - McMenamin's White Eagle Rock'N'Roll Hotel. First, a word about McMenamin's - it is a small chain of pubs/hotels in the Portland area that makes a habit of buying strange buildings (old mental institutions, whorehouses, elementary schools) and turning them into awesome pubs and European-style hotels. They have the best burgers and really good beer. Needless, to say, I was pretty excited to stay there. We knew that we were in for more hostel-like accommodations since the room (with bunk beds!) was only $30 a night.

The website describes it as being "nestled in the industrial district," but that didn't prepare me for the worn-down building located in the middle of an endless sea of factories, shop yards, and breweries. It was very out of place, but at the same time, it was very quiet and peaceful since it was 9am on a Saturday morning. We hauled our luggage a few blocks to the hotel to find the restaurant closed (which we had expected), and there being no way to get to our rooms. We knocked on the door a few times and finally called before we got someone to come out. Turns out they had no real "front desk," and that check-in wasn't even until 4pm. We managed to convince them to hang onto our luggage ("Just set it over there by the stage, it'll be fine") and set out to Downtown to find some breakfast.

9:45am
We arrive, via bus, in the Pearl District of Downtown Portland, and wander the streets looking from some breakfast. We saw some bars, some pubs, some taverns, talked about the differences between the three, and saw some more of each, but never really found a good place to eat breakfast. We passed by a French bakery, but knew that we would probably leave there still hungry. Finally, in order to better absorb the unique culture that is Portland, we settled on...

10:30am
...Baja Fresh. How lame is that. We actually sat outside and waited for it to open, like a pair of groupies. But the food was good, and we decided that is was more of an "early first lunch."

11:00am
The highlight of every trip to Portland - Powell's City of Books. It's designated as a city because it takes up an entire city block, and is a couple stories high. When you walk in, you have to grab a map to find your way around. For book nerds like myself, it's the closest thing to heaven on earth. They have an unparalleled collection of new and used books, which are all very fairly-priced, and, because it;s in Oregon, is entirely free of sales tax. I am both very proud, and at the same time, very ashamed, to admit that I have spent in excess of $150 here at one time, and would do the same every time I came in if I had the money. On this particular trip I did not have the money to spare, so, with a strict $20 limit, I grabbed We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch (in order to expand my growing library of books about Rwanda), and Chris Hedges' Losing Moses on the Freeway: The Ten Commandments in America.

12:00 pm
Not knowing what else to do, we started walking towards Portland State University. On the way, we passed by the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Historical Society, and a very large Farmer's Market. We also saw an ad that stated there were 193 countries in the world, and while we walked, we set about trying to name them all. The campus itself reminded me of NYU because it was a series of buildings downtown distinguished only by signs and small common areas. Nevertheless, it was very green and very pretty, and we started to get a light sprinkle of rain that felt pretty good on this warmer-than-average Portland day. We tried to explore some of the buildings but they were locked, so we hopped on a bus and headed north.

1:30pm
We got off near Powell's again because it was a landmark that I could recognize. While walking down the street, we passed by a unique place called The Living Room. It is a bar/cafe/movie theater dedicated to providing a comfortable atmosphere to view independent and foreign films that you don't get to see every day. I found this place to be incredible. We had an afternoon beer, and chatted while we waited for a movie to start.

2:30pm
We walked into the theater to watching Dreaming Lhasa, a documentary about Tibetan refugees that ended up being a fictional movie about a documentary about Tibetan refugees. It was slow moving and half in Tibetan, but was still very interesting. What impressed me most, however, was the theater. It had room for only 50 people, with plush seats, enough leg room to fit a footrest (which we did), and tables in the back so you could bring your drink and dinner. It was absolutely the most comfortable movie-going experience of my life.

5:00pm
We arrive back at the hotel to check in. Thankfully, our luggage is still at the base of the stage where a jazz trio has set up. We take out bags up to our room, which I'm pretty sure had to have been a jail cell at one time. It is a small bunk bed room with a sink and a table. It's probably no more than 10 or 12 feet wide and 8 feet long. Plus, we were right above the stage, so we could hear the music perfectly. However, because we knew we weren't in for a 5-star resort, we found our expectations oddly met. He unloaded our things and went downstairs to have dinner. On our way down, we ran into two guys with small electronic devices who were roaming the hallway looking for ghosts. We told me that the reading was off the chart and it was because of a dead hooker from about 100 years ago. I nodded curiously and then went downstairs.

6:00pm
We had burgers and tots while listening to the jazz band, along with a drink (or two, or three...). This lasted about two hours as we reminisced about the past and mused about the future.

8:00pm
Taylor regretted not buying a Korean comic, so we hop on the bus and head back to Powell's. We wander the halls with a pretty good buzz and I suddenly regret not buying more books.

10:00pm
After a brief stop at the corner store for water, Snickers and Gummy Savers, we head back to the hotel and crash in our room with the soothing sounds of the rock concert coming from below our floor.

Epilogue
I wake up to the most beautiful morning ever - an overcast sky, yet slightly warm, with a hint of a breeze making it just right. This, and a strange man sleeping on the floor outside my neighbor's door. They don't call it the Rock'N'Roll hotel for nothing, I guess.

How Derek Webb Challenges Me To Be a Real Christian

In the last year, Derek Webb has really become one of my heroes. His lyrics have this way of showing me every way I am falling short, every hypocrisy in my life, and every place I am trading Jesus for convenience, and he does it in a way that doesn't exclude himself from guilt, so it never comes across as arrogant. I'd like to share some of his lyrics that have personally affected me.

"I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those who I choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder it’s suicide"
- "This Too Shall Be Made Right"

"They'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear
They'll know us by the way we point and stare
At anyone whose sin looks worse than ours
Who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bare"
- "T-Shirts (What We Should Be Known For)"

"How can i kill the ones I'm supposed to love
My enemies are men like me...
Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
It's like telling someone murder is wrong
And then showing them by way of execution"
- "My Enemies Are Men Like Me"

"Could you love this bastard child?
No, I don't trust you to provide.
With one hand in a pot of gold
and the other in your side.
'Cause I am so easily satisfied.
With the call of a lover's soul as wild.
I would take a little cash
over your very flesh and blood."
- "Wedding Dress"

"I’ve got a killer instinct bringing out all of my best
I’ve got a poison conscience telling me to go with that
this may not work and I don’t guarantee that it will
but I’ve got no choice unless you tell me who Jesus would kill"
- "I For An I"

"You can render unto Caesar everything that’s his
You can trust in his power to come to your defense
It’s the way of the world, the way of the gun
It’s the trading of an evil for a lesser one"
- "A Savior on Capitol Hill"

"Here are two great lies that I've heard:
'The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die,'
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class Republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him"
- "A King & A Kingdom"

"I repent, I repent of my pursuit of America's dream
I repent, I repent of living like I deserve anything
Of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
In our suburb where we're safe and white...
And for the way I believe that I am living right
By trading sins for others that are easier to hide
I am wrong and of these things I repent"
- "I Repent"

"Poverty is so hard to see
hen it's only on your tv and twenty miles across town
Where we're all living so good
That we moved out of Jesus' neighborhood
Where he's hungry and not feeling so good
From going through our trash
He says, 'More than just your cash and coin
I want your time, I want your voice
I want the things you just can't give me"
- "Rich Young Ruler"

"Don't teach me about politics and government
Just tell me who to vote for
Don't teach me about truth and beauty
Just label my music
Don't teach me how to live like a free man
Just give me a new law...
Don't teach me about moderation and liberty
I prefer a shot of grape juice
Don't teach me about loving my enemies
Don't teach me how to listen to the Spirit
Just give me a new law"
- "A New Law"

"Are we defending life
When we just pick and choose
Lives acceptable to lose
And which ones to defend
'Cause you cannot choose your friends
But you choose your enemies
And what if they were one
One and the same"
- "Love Is Not Against the Law"

The Battle Between Creativity and Perfectionism Part 2

I decided that I needed some help in curbing my perfectionist tendencies, and I found the perfect way to do that - The International 3-Day Novel Competition.

I won't have time to worry about being perfect. I'll just have to be worried about finishing.

But that's not until Labor Day weekend. So until then...

Running With Perseverance

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12:1-3

This past weekend this oft-quoted Biblical analogy came to life for me. I've never pictured the "race" as something to be particularly grueling. Granted, races, especially marathons, require physical stamina, but I've always thought of it as a strange analogy for persevering through persecution and hardships, especially since New Testament authors were no strangers to real suffering at the hands of others, which was probably much more painful than running a marathon.

But on Sunday, I made my was up to Roseville to watch my mom cross the finish line of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. Now, this is no ordinary race. This is a trail run - not a paved run like most marathons - that goes from Squaw Valley in Tahoe to Auburn on a lengthy path through the Sierra Nevadas. Runners have to endure 18,000 feet of elevation gain and 22,000 feet of elevation loss, and this is often done in triple digit heat (the race always occupies the last weekend in June), and freezing temperatures at night. Hyperthermia, hypothermia, and dehydration are not uncommon among runners. If that's not enough, competitors also have to deal with rattlesnakes, mountain lions, bears, bees, and other dangerous wildlife. And all of this pales in comparison when considering the damage that can be done to your body for putting it through this hell. It takes many people between 20 and 30 hours of non-stop running in order to finish. Runners are warned well in advance that there is a chance that they could die running this race.

This is not a simple jog. There are doctor's at multiple checkpoints who examine all the runners to make sure they are healthy enough to continue. This year, more than a quarter of the runners either quit or were disqualified for health reasons. My mom was one of those people. She started vomiting at mile 50 and pretty much kept vomiting through mile 78, enduring extreme cold, fatigue, and dehydration. She was finally disqualified at about 4am.

While talking with her afterwards, and seeing the result of the grueling endeavor, I couldn't help but think of the passage in Hebrews. Suddenly, I began to greatly appreciate the analogy. My mom didn't want to quit; she had her eye on the finish line and was willing to endure the pain, the sickness, and the occasional wild animal. It was only when she was forced to quit by a doctor that she stopped running. I think this is a perfect example of how we should be. We need to run the race, often times we need to endure hell on earth, in order to make it to the finish line, where Jesus waits for us.

The Political Show

I had a discussion about politics with my family the other day, but it wasn't really about politics. It was about some of the candidates running for president, particularly Mr. Barack Obama, the popular Illinois Senator fighting for the Democratic nomination. I say it wasn't about politics because our conversation had nothing to do with Obama's qualifications as a president, but rather about his family heritage and ethnicity. My father claimed he would never vote for him because he was Middle Eastern (he is in fact of Kenyan descent) and that he was a Muslim (Obama was baptized into the Trinity United Church of Christ). We also discussed how Johnathon Edwards was a not a viable candidate because of his wife's physical condition, and McCain's ailing health was also discussed.

I was shocked that they could discriminate against a political candidate for reasons that had no bearing on their ability to serve in office, especially since some of the reasons were simply not true to begin with. It got me thinking, and I realized that it's probably no different in any household across the U.S. The presidential election, just like any popular election, is a popularity contest. People will vote for Edwards because he's a nice guy, minorities will vote for Obama because they can identify with him, McCain will get votes because he acts tough against terrorism, Clinton will attract fans of her husband simply because of their relationship, and so on and so forth. Their views on important issues are often unknown, or not completely known, to the average voter.

I got frustrated during the conversation, but I realized that I'm no different than my parents. I'm more inclined to be attracted to Edwards and Obama because of their openly religious beliefs, and their shared anti-Iraq attitude. I'm hesitant to side with my traditional Republican candidates because of the stigma attached with the Iraq war, since McCain and Gulianni seem ready to take over where Bush left off. However, I'm letting these hot button issues effect my judgement on other important issues. For example, Obama is pro-choice, which I strongly disagree with, while McCain is pro-life and has shown that though he supports the war on terrorism, he's not hesitant to expose the faults, such as his open criticism of the use of torture (or "questionable interrogation methods") by the Bush administration. I find that I'm not really taking the full spectrum of issues into consideration, and instead I'm focusing on the ones that get the most media attention.

I saw a political cartoon today that reiterated why a politician shouldn't be judged by their personal life. It had a priest baptizing McCain into a water that was labeled "Religion," with all the other candidates on shore anxiously awaiting their turn to be immersed. The message - religious faith goes a long way in this country, and any candidate claiming to be a Christian is going to tap into the reservoir of the Religious Right, the massive group that kept Bush in office in 2004. When I identify myself with Obama because of his proclaimed Christian faith and ignore the issues, I could be making my decision based on a facade. In a sense, I may be falling into the trap set by the army of publicists that surround each candidate.

Therefore, I've decided that I am going to be an issue-focused voter this election. I am going to put in the extra work to weigh the pros and cons of each person before I make my decision. I will do my best to ignore the candidate portrayed in the media and focus on the political record of each person. I believe that having the facts in hand and then aligning those facts with my faith is the best way to pick who I really support.

The Battle Between Creativity and Perfectionism

One thing I know I will definitely have to to get over is my perfectionism. Here is the way the writing process should work:

1. Writer comes up with an idea.

2. Writer craps everything out on paper

3. Writer reads over his crap, organizes and edits.

4. Writer is finished and is very happy.

However, it seems that this is how I work:

1. Matt comes up with an idea.

2. Matt tries to write the whole piece in his head.

3. Matt stares at a blank computer screen for an hour.

4. Matt spends another hour writing his first sentence.

5. Matt plays on Facebook for a while.

6. Matt finishes his opening paragraph by nightfall.

7. Matt gets frustrated and abandons the project for snacks and Playstation.

Obviously, there is a difference between my ideal and what actually goes on. I am usually satisfied with what I write once it is written, but it's getting to that point that is difficult for me. I seem to have a problem translating what's in my head to paper, and I'm not sure what to do about it.

Freewriting is hard for me. I hate spitting out sentences and paragraphs and knowing that they don't look anything like what they should, and it's hard for me to accept that. I'm a perfectionist, and it's stifling my creativity.

And that's all I have to report.