My dad sent me this today, via email, I might add. (Hey Dad! You can comment ON my blog!)
"...the thought occurs: do you live your life in such a way as will create good material for your blog?"
To be honest, I'm really not sure if it was a complete joke or a serious question or a little of both--another product of internet communication, huh? No tone of voice capability yet.
But, it got my head spinning in a certain area, so I'm going to write about it.
How do we live our lives- for how it will be to live them, or for how it will sound when we tell other people about them, whether that's on paper or out for drinks?
I remember when I was picking colleges I really wanted to go to Oberlin Conservatory because no one in my high school had heard of it. I mean really, I loved that it was obscure and different and I would look elite or something if I went there. Of course, looking back I realize all my classmates save my best friends could have given a damn where I went to school, but at the time it seemed important. Luckily I snapped out of it before May 1st, and instead of going to an obscure liberal college's conservatory that hadn't had a steady horn teacher in 10+ years, I went to a nearby, more middle of the road, state school that many of my high school classmates were also headed to with a fantastic, internationally recognized horn professor. I adored going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison pretty much every day I was there.
When I tell my music acquaintances where I went to school I often get little or a negative reaction. It's not a particularly renowned music school (not that Oberlin really is either). Side note: most of the horn players know otherwise. But I don't care, because I got a really good education and got good enough at the horn to make it as a freelancer and now I have a job. I made A LOT of good connections and am exactly where I want to be. I made the right decision.
It's fun to tell people I live in Mexico for the same reason I wanted to tell people I was going to Oberlin. They think I'm adventurous, brave, open-minded and fluent in another language. Although I hope those things are true, they don't necessarily have to be for me to live here. Many days they aren't true. But I like that people think that.
Honestly, the jury's still out on if the place is making me happy. I'm happy, but I don't give living in Mexico all the credit. More on that another day.
And if the life comes first and the blog later...
How do we talk about our life? I know people that have the most amazing things happen to them and they pass them off as somewhat ho-hum. I know people who have not much happen to them at all but can make a fantastic story about it. Does it matter what happens to us or does it matter how we tell the story? Which do we remember? Which do we live from?
Version 1:
There's always a lot that happens the week before going into a concert. One thing I really love about music is that once you're on stage it doesn't matter, the audience doesn't care, and it dissolves. You have to be present.
Tonight we are playing a Prokoffief March originally for Wind Ensemble; we were supposed to play the Chamber Orchestra version but the wrong parts arrived (or were ordered?) and now we're playing the Chamber Wind Ensemble version with a few parts missing- oboes playing trumpet parts, horns playing tenor sax parts, some ridiculous lengthy moments of nothing but repetitive boom-chicks. Then Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with an endearing young and shy violinist, who sounds like a machine and an angel singing depending on the passage. I'm crossing my fingers we can keep up with him. Then Brahms Symphony No. 4, which is fun to play second horn on, especially the second movement. I love how Brahms uses rhythms and makes the phrases flow into one another almost so you don't notice and it's just like one 20 minute phrase. We aren't really exploring either of those qualities in this performance, but I can still appreciate it cerebrally. Given the drama of today's particular rehearsal, it will be interesting to gauge the tension level once we get on stage tonight. We should have a color system like the terrorist warning thing in the states- Green: All the regulars are sick and the orchestra is made entirely of subs who haven't known eachother long enough to hold grudges. Yellow: Normal annoyance across the board, but no particular drama. Orange: Principal so and so just broke up with so and so violist, because so and so percussionist was caught yaddah yaddah yaddah. Red: Certain members are spacing out so much and so frequently that other members are playing spitefully consistently. I think the musicians that read this know exactly what I mean.
Version 2:
I'm playing a concert tonight. Wish me luck!
Know what I mean?
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2 comments:
"...the thought occurs: do you live your life in such a way as will create good material for your blog?"
I know that this is true in some respect for me. Since I started blogging one question I now find my brain considering when contemplating the possibility of a new experience is, "Will it make for any interesting blog material?" It's definitely not the only thing I consider or the first but it could tip the balance if I'm on the fence.
I don't think this is any different than the way a lot of people think, bloggers and non-bloggers alike. As my Dad is fond of saying when he tries to get me or my siblings to do something potentially risky or embarrassing, "Well, at least you'd have a good story to tell!"
You pose a good question. I've given it some thought, and I can tell you that I most likely don't live my life in such a way as to have good stories to tell.
Mainly, when I'm trying to think up decent content for my site, I'm in a state where I can contemplate such a thing... sitting in front of my computer for example, or standing around at work.
I certainly try not to evaluate each and every moment in terms of blog-worthiness. I used to do so, but I found it surreal-- like I was living for an audience instead of for myself. So I've made an effort this time around to write to the future me, as a journal, instead of for anyone who might be reading.
Although I admit to rare occasions that I do see something that I instantly know needs to be posted-- like that naughty picture of the Uncle Sam and Ronald McD floats. When I saw that, I KNEW I had to post it.
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