AETHERPHON, global theremin family

Hello all,

Last summer I was buzzing with activity, with a couple of big plans 
simmering that I always wanted to do but never had the nerve to pursue. 
  I wanted to do two things, (a) start my own record label, and (b) 
start my own e-commerce store for theremin music.  Fictitious names were 
purchased, tax numbers acquired, supplies bought, hardware purchased, 
artists solicited, etc.

Suddenly at the end of October, I pulled the plug on all of it.  At the 
time, I was simply too embarassed to discuss what had happened.  I 
thought people wouldn't understand, or might try to talk me into 
continuing even when it was very inadvisable to do so.  I did it as 
quietly as I could.

A couple of weeks ago, I got to talking to some folks in the Cygnus 
Radio chat room, and I finally decided I should explain myself.  I was 
almost kinda half hoping that something would change that would permit 
me to reactivate my plans.

I teach technology for a living.  From 2002 to 2004, I worked on my 
graduate degree, a Master of Education in Educational Technology.  My 
school's administration gave it their blessing.  I had selected it 
specifically because I thought it would help my job working for them.  I 
finished it just as my daughter Maggie was turning 1, and I thought 
things were going to go swimmingly.  My son Eric was turning 5, starting 
full-time school, and I thought that the timing couldn't be better.

Then in October, I was told that the rules were changing.  My school is 
seeking to expand into new markets, states that have punitive laws 
against for-profit schools, and so the only way to do that was change 
their accreditation to the same organizations that state and private 
universities use.  To do that, the rule was changed that every faculty 
member had to have a Master's Degree in their field of discipline, or 
else they would be demoted, and the assumed stance there is that such 
instructor's positions would not necessarily be protected if hard times 
came.  We were given 18 months to do this, but they did not update the 
tuition reimbursement policy, which limited us to 6 credit hours per 
semester, 12 credit hours total reimbursable per year, and a yearly 
limit that had just been increased 25 percent -- to $3500 per year.

Do the math.  That doesn't come out.

I love my job, and I love the school I teach at, and the bean counters 
at HQ simply don't care about how this affects their staff.  So I was 
faced with a simple decision.  Do nothing, and pretty much write off my 
career, or go for it, at considerable personal expense with no guarantee 
I would ever recover my expenses, and hope I can do it fast enough that 
I stay off their radar screen.

I was angry, and personally embarassed, to be presented with this choice 
after I had been making preparations for the project of a lifetime.

So I have my school selected -- Missouri University Science and 
Technology (formerly University of Missouri - Rolla), my GRE is 
scheduled for Tuesday, and I'm preparing to start on-line courses in 
June.  If I time it right, for the reimbursements, I should only be in 
debt for about $16,000, and it should only add one year to my ability to 
get a raise and/or promotion.  It's not an ideal situation, but I'll 
deal with it.

Along with continuing to teach full time, and take care of my family, 
including my son who is not making good progress to being 
self-sufficient upon adulthood, and my daughter, who has a speech delay 
because of being brought up with two borderline autistic parents and a 
fully autistic brother (as far as anyone can tell, she is NOT autistic), 
I'm not even sure how I'm going to get done what really must get done.

I refuse to give up my radio show, because it's the one thing I still 
have fire in my belly for.  And I've given up so much more, I have to 
draw the line there.  My Sundays are for family and Spellbound, for the 
duration.  I've had a difficult time keeping my head up these last few 
months, but I'm hanging in there.

So perhaps some of you out there will forgive my ungracious and 
mysterious exit last year.


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DAVID VESEL -- synthetic music for humans
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Spellbound, a brief program of music for theremin
Sunday 10PM-12AM http://spellbound.purplenote.com