Today was an interesting day. I was having a rough day. Nothing seemed to go right for me. It wasn't anything big, just little things that didn't set well with me. I had resigned myself to having this bad day until I picked up my iPod. I stared at the screen for what seemed to be an eternity. What do I want to listen to? We have all had that question in our heads at some point. You stare at four days worth of music and it comes down to one artist that will make or break your day. Now, that artist will be different for each and every one of us. Today, it was Frank Sinatra: Live at the Sands (If you like Jazz, get this album!). This is such a great album. It's the Chairman of the Board! how can this not cheer you up? When he broke into "Come Fly With Me," My mood started to change. The day was looking up. Then I got into Jazz Ensemble rehearsal. Our director, Utah, passed out one of my favorite charts of all time, "April In Paris," originally performed by Count Basie (It was in Blazing Saddles). We played this chart and my day took a 180 degree turn. Nothing else mattered. I was having fun playing music that I loved. I'm happy now! The day from this point on was different. It was a great day! That leads me to something that I was thinking about a few days ago, but couldn't get into words.....what defines me? What defines you? What makes that bad day good? It could be anything. It will differ from one person to the other. What matters is that it makes you happy. For me it is music. I would like to know, what in your life makes a bad day good?
Until next time......
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
New Age?
Wow, It's been almost a year since I wrote something....sorry to my 2 followers.
Recently, my wife and I have been watching the show 'Mad Men'. It is a great show if you haven't seen it. It is set in the late 50's and the 60's. It really shows how gender roles in our society were at the time. Women were expected to cook and clean and take care of the children, and the men went to work to make the money. Now, this attitude has changed, or has it? As many of you know, I enjoy cooking. I started from barely being able to cook toast to being able to put major meals on the table. I have never been very good at baking however, and I don't like not being able to do something. My wife loves Chocolate meringue pie. Tonight, I decided it was time to learn. I got the ingredients, and made a pie. I must say, it was wonderful and it made my wife very happy. I then made the mistake of putting a picture on facebook. This is where the gender role discussion happens. I have two friends that questioned my "manhood." I know they were just messing around, but it was a little offensive and it made me think......I thought society was past this. There was a movement that put women in the workplace and made them equal in society. The roles are not as they used to be, or are they? In our house, my wife is the primary bread winner. I am in school (not much longer now) and she works to support us. I do the cooking in the family. If we host company, I cook. Romantic dinner, I cook. I would consider myself a great cook. The contention tonight seemed to be this, if it was not done on the grill, the a man shouldn't be doing it. Did I get that right? Believe me, I can grill just fine. probably better than most people. So, does cooking in the kitchen make me less of a man? My other friend said something about showing him how to clean house and do the dishes (I would've gotten the exact quote, but apparently he deleted the comment). So what has changed? Women now work in the workplace. So, am I to believe that the progress that we have made on gender roles is that women are not only expected to bring home a paycheck, but also cook, clean, and take care of the kids? Now, I know my friends were just joking, but there is always some truth in a joke. The big reason to make a pie tonight was to make my wife happy. I live by the motto, "Happy wife, happy life." So, maybe we need to reexamine how we see gender roles in our society. I believe that cooking for my wife makes me more of a man, I will take your man card now.
Until next time.....
Recently, my wife and I have been watching the show 'Mad Men'. It is a great show if you haven't seen it. It is set in the late 50's and the 60's. It really shows how gender roles in our society were at the time. Women were expected to cook and clean and take care of the children, and the men went to work to make the money. Now, this attitude has changed, or has it? As many of you know, I enjoy cooking. I started from barely being able to cook toast to being able to put major meals on the table. I have never been very good at baking however, and I don't like not being able to do something. My wife loves Chocolate meringue pie. Tonight, I decided it was time to learn. I got the ingredients, and made a pie. I must say, it was wonderful and it made my wife very happy. I then made the mistake of putting a picture on facebook. This is where the gender role discussion happens. I have two friends that questioned my "manhood." I know they were just messing around, but it was a little offensive and it made me think......I thought society was past this. There was a movement that put women in the workplace and made them equal in society. The roles are not as they used to be, or are they? In our house, my wife is the primary bread winner. I am in school (not much longer now) and she works to support us. I do the cooking in the family. If we host company, I cook. Romantic dinner, I cook. I would consider myself a great cook. The contention tonight seemed to be this, if it was not done on the grill, the a man shouldn't be doing it. Did I get that right? Believe me, I can grill just fine. probably better than most people. So, does cooking in the kitchen make me less of a man? My other friend said something about showing him how to clean house and do the dishes (I would've gotten the exact quote, but apparently he deleted the comment). So what has changed? Women now work in the workplace. So, am I to believe that the progress that we have made on gender roles is that women are not only expected to bring home a paycheck, but also cook, clean, and take care of the kids? Now, I know my friends were just joking, but there is always some truth in a joke. The big reason to make a pie tonight was to make my wife happy. I live by the motto, "Happy wife, happy life." So, maybe we need to reexamine how we see gender roles in our society. I believe that cooking for my wife makes me more of a man, I will take your man card now.
Until next time.....
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