Tag Archives: education

A Much Needed Rant

October 25, 2014 D.A. Adams 7 Comments

For the last three plus years, I’ve lived every waking second in some degree of pain. Up until June of this year, I endured this pain and soldiered on because I held out some hope that maybe one day things would get better. Now, the pain gets so bad that sometimes I wonder if I can take it for much longer. Most nights, I awake from a dead sleep calling out in pain. My left hand is nearly useless from trembling, numbness, and constant twitching. I can barely walk because I literally cannot tell how high my feet are off the ground and because the muscle spasms make my legs hurt so badly that the very act of walking is painful. Now, any amount of physical exertion exhausts me within minutes.

I feel used up and discarded, and for the first time in my life, I regret moving back to East Tennessee to teach. This state does not value education or educators. It does not value literacy. I regret allowing some misguided ideology that I needed to come back here and teach because if not me then who would do it. I was a fool for not moving to New York or LA and writing for TV or the movies. I should have been selfish and gotten as far away from this backwards, pill-popping, illiterate state as I could. For the first time in my life, I’m truly ashamed to be from Tennessee. I’m ashamed of this place and the ignorance and corruption which govern it.

I’m angry and bitter, and I feel completely and utterly hopeless.

General Posts

Update on My Status

October 23, 2014 D.A. Adams 2 Comments

I just want to thank everyone who has helped out with the GoFundMe that Dave Mattingly started to help me while I deal with this neurological issue. The outpouring of love and generosity has been quite touching.

I got turned down for TennCare, mostly because the state of Tennessee, in its partisan nonsense to go against the president on every possible issue regardless of what that does to its citizens, decided not to accept the Medicaid expansion money. But that’s a different post for a different day. The end result is that in this state there is no safety net for someone like me, so I’m left without a confirmed diagnosis and without medical treatment. Because of that, I’m trying a few different alternative treatments for relief of my symptoms such as acupuncture and herbal supplements. So far, the acupuncture seems to have reduced the spasms somewhat. It’s not much, but at least it is a start.

I’m still not fully comfortable asking for help like this, but my current situation truly feels desperate. I don’t have my medical review for Social Security disability until December, and then who knows how long it will be before a decision is reached? In my current state, I can barely walk and cannot exert myself for more than a few minutes before I am completely exhausted. I’m also in serious pain every waking moment, which gets old. There are so many things I still need to accomplish, but I’m not even up to mowing my yard right now.

If you are able to donate to the GoFundMe, it would help me get through the next couple of months. My place currently has virtually no heat. The only thing I have that still works is one small electric heater that sits by my bed. My preference is to install a wood stove to keep the electric bill down, but it takes money to get everything I need for it. The ceiling also needs a lot more insulation before it gets much colder. A couple of friends have agreed to help me with the labor since I can’t do it myself, but the materials are beyond anything I can afford in my current circumstances. Also, I need money to continue with the acupuncture and to see a nutritionist who may be able to ease off some of the symptoms.

I’ve accepted that I will not get to have my kids for our regular time this winter because of my health and financial conditions, and everyone who knows me knows how much that hurts, but that’s my reality. For now, my goal is to focus on treating these symptoms until I feel well enough to work, and then getting back on my feet so I can see them either late spring or summer. No matter what, I will not give up fighting to get better because I still have too much to accomplish, like being an involved father until they are much older. If you are able to contribute, please help me through this difficult time.

http://www.gofundme.com/brotherhood

General Posts

Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail

September 22, 2014 D.A. Adams 1 Comment

As a general rule, I don’t like to write advice pieces because who am I and what have I done to warrant offering advice to others, but here’s something I want to share because it’s important:

If you are going to attempt to pass yourself off as a professional in a given field, you need to learn the ropes of your field before you feign a stance as an expert. We all go through growing pains as we find our footing in our careers, and we all make mistakes from time to time. However, if you are going to request to share your knowledge of a specific subject at a professional gathering, proceed to demonstrate zero knowledge of that specific subject, and then get called out publicly for not knowing what you are talking about, instead of acting pompous and superior, go back and do a little research into your profession. Furthermore, once you have revealed how little you know, just stop talking. Don’t proceed to paint yourself as an arrogant buffoon by attempting to explain your ignorance away. It’s better to save face by showing a modicum of humility than to keep saying ignorant things.

We live in a highly competitive country. Moreover, in this age, creative endeavors are some of the most difficult fields in which to establish one’s self. Fans who attend conventions tend to take things seriously and have high expectations for creative folks. Mediocrity will not last for long on the steep climb, and ignorant pomposity will be met harshly by fandom. It’s not a sin not to know something on the periphery of your specialty, but it is a sin to volunteer to share your knowledge specifically about that periphery and then show up empty-handed. In the information age, it is unpardonable to show up to a professional presentation and not even know the basic definitions of the topics you asked to discuss. If you are going to climb into the arena, you had best train for the fight ahead of time. If not, don’t be surprised by the ass-kicking you receive.

To all of my friends, readers, fellow writers, and former students, please know that I share these words of warning out of love because I want you to be successful in your endeavors. I’m not going to share details or name names, so please don’t ask, but the person who committed this particular blunder last weekend should be glad that it happened at a first year show with only a handful of audience members at the panel, and not at Dragon*Con with a packed room. The latter could be career suicide. The former will pass by mostly unnoticed, but it serves as a teachable moment. When you choose to represent yourself as a professional in any field and are in a public venue, please for the love of all that’s decent in this world, show up prepared.