Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to explain myself. After our conversation this afternoon, I can see that disclosing my blog during our interview, and in particular my writing about the Performing Arts Center, would have been the appropriate thing to do. Why didn't I mention it? Because I just didn't consider it very important. The blog is not particularly interesting from a design perspective, and I regarded my writing about the Performing Arts Center on it as a thing of the past. The blog is one of several hobbies, and I use it to "think out loud" on a variety of issues, often without very much seriousness. Very early in my application process, I considered how the blog would relate to my application; I decided it wasn't particularly significant one way or the other, and didn't give it much further though. I certainly wasn't trying to hide anything; if so I would have removed Critical Miami from my resume, and/or removed the content pertaining to the Performing Arts Center from the site. I simply didn't think it was important enough to bring up.

I have, on the other hand, considered how the blog would relate to my job at the Center, and I would like to take the opportunity to share some of those thoughts with you. I have written about the Center on several occasions, including the following (I also used a photo of the construction as the blog's banner image until recently).

The tone of the articles is irreverent. However, I believe they are ultimately positive. I feel, and was trying to say, that while the process is not without problems, the end result is a good thing. In addition, the criticism was leveled at the planning and management of the construction, not at the project or the organization itself. The three posts I reference above grow progressively more positive; in the September 22 post I said: "While the project could have been better planned and managed, it’s going to be great, and we’re all going to benefit from it."

I hope you will take the opportunity to look at the blog a little more. It has been a wonderful experience for me; I've become more aware of and connected to the community because of it. I have met people. And my appreciation for the performing arts has grown because of it. Usually every Thursday or Friday I run a "what's happening this weekend" type of post, linking to music, theater, and art events around town.

I hope that you will be able to see my writing about the Performing Arts Center as having come from an interested citizen. As an employee of the Center, of course that role will change. It would be absurd for me to write anything negative (I didn't anticipate writing much more about the Performing Arts Center, regardless). I would probably mention the Center's programs when I perceived them as being of interest to me or my audience, although this is certainly up for discussion. If you want me to take down the above mentioned articles, I can do so by the end of the day.

Let me be clear about one thing: my enthusiasm for the Center during our interviews was 100% honest. I believe that the Performing Arts Center is great for Miami, and that this job would be great for me personally. I am very excited about being hired at MPAC and having the opportunity to be a part of this tremendous addition to the arts community in South Florida. I look forward to discussing this with you further to resolve your concerns.