Monday, January 30, 2012

Raising Idiots

Wife and I went to see American Idiot. Wonderful music, great cast, engaging sets. The story is still haunting me 24 hours later.

I know my home is as far from broken as can be - I have these incredibly awesome children and a wife that tolerates my idiosyncrasies. Yet, this musical really makes a convincing argument that teens are destined for hardship. Not just by fate, they actively seek it out. Here's a wikipedia of the storyline, for those who can't be bothered with ticket-prices and venue transportation.

I'm disturbed because I'm focusing too much on the teenage pregnancy and heroin usage - rather, the optimist in me should realize that the children DO come home at the end, the protagonist DOES kick his addiction, and even though life throws too much, too soon, regular idiots can rise to the occasion. I remember when I left suburbia home (practically unheard of among tightly-knit, Chinese families) - how risky that must have seemed to my mom and dad. I'll definitely be worrying when I'm on the other-side of the moving van.

Oh Joy. There are plans to make this into a motion picture, so I'll most-likely be revisiting these scars again - and my kids will be even closer to their own teenage years.

Stupid groundbreaking Broadway musical. Hey, did you know "The Addams Family" is now a musical, too? Neither did I. No damn heroin junkies in that show - seriously. Morticia and Gomez are true parenting geniuses.

Where's my life right now? I'm still fixing Apple castoffs in my spare time. Two iPods with two more to go, plus an iPad 2. It's our intention that the tablet be used to augment my son's education (no eyerolling allowed!) I'll be watching over them this weekend in the midst of Superbowl Sunday.

Be safe you guys.