Friday, February 22, 2013

Food Preparers and Music Performers

Just a thought this morning:

There is a fundamental difference in how a chef approaches food preparation and how a baker does so; similar in nature to the fundamental difference in how a Jazz musician approaches the performance and how a concert musician does so.

In this simile, the chef is comparable to the jazz musician; the baker to the concert musician.

A chef will find a recipe that works, play with it, add a spice, take away an ingredient, and mix it up.  A jazz musician will find a tune that works, play with it, add a note, drop a chord, and mix it up.  The chef will taste the food to see if it continues to work together.  The chef will continue to re-work it until the chef is happy with it.  When the customer gives feedback, the chef continues with what works, and changes what doesn't.

The baker, on the other hand, must follow the recipe exactly.  A pinch too much salt, a bit too little flour, and the entire recipe tastes different, usually for the worse.  A baker cannot just add more cinnamon half-way through the baking process, the baker must be precise for the finished product to taste right.

A jazz musician can liven up the tune while on stage.  The jazz player can change something on a whim, and the other players barely bat an eye; they pick right up and change their parts right along with the other player; this is generally considered an attribute.  Each player complements the playing of all of the other players.

A concert musician must follow the exact notes in the score, at exactly the right time.  If a player misses one note, the entire audience can hear it.  If a concert musician has the audacity to suggest a different chord here or a movement there, that musician is probably already looking for a new position.

No moral to the story; no lesson to be learned, just some random thoughts.

Laura

Thursday, February 7, 2013

On "Making a good first impression"

In the midst of my busy day packed with housework, cooking, and studying, I occasionally do something less than productive.  Today, I started off by reading some Yahoo news, and came across this little gem: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/making-good-first-impression-153300242.html

Now, I'm not out looking for a job or anything, but I do like to see what the latest "expert" advice is on etiquette, charm, and class.  This article had a mixture of "Yeah, ok, that makes sense," and "Um--no."

1) Your feet do the talking Yes, it is true that footwear can say a lot about you as a person, and your mood of the day.  The shoes can make or break an outfit.  I am out and about in the world quite a bit (despite my being chained to my computer with school work), and I see a plethora of differing styles of "fashion" people have dared step out in public wearing.  I have even thought about taking pictures and starting a blog entitled, "You wore what?!" or "What were you thinking?"

Flip-flops belong on the beach (or, you know, your local politician), not "complimenting" an otherwise well-planned outfit.  Also, heels do not belong with a tube top (yes, people still wear those) and Daisy-Dukes.  Oh, and by-the-way, we can tell when you bought that pair of boots at W@l*M@rt.

Along with the advice about footwear, I would add in a bit about your watch.  I have always heard that people judge you most by your shoes and your watch.  This advice goes along with the occasion just as much as the footwear advice.  Don't wear your Tag-Heuer to your local water park, but don't wear your Swatch to an interview, either.

2) Cosmetic powers I admit, a little polishing can do a world of good, but (as the article says) don't go overboard.  I am amazed whenever I see someone with "tarantula eyes" that still expects to be taken seriously.  Personally, I don't wear make-up.  I think I'm attractive and so does my husband.  No one else needs to at this point.  But if I were headed out to an interview, you bet I would put on a bit of powder to polish the look!

That being said, did you notice who funded that "research" concerning the affects of a little blush and eye shadow?

3) Grin and bear it At first, I thought this was going to be all about putting on a smile to get the job (would have been better advice); alas, this advice was all about whitening and straightening your teeth.  Here again, I advise noticing just exactly who funded the "research" behind this little tidbit.

I have nothing against white and straight teeth, but just before a job interview is not the time to start thinking about that.  If you have a true dental problem, by all means, think about getting it fixed.  But we live in a world with too many fakes out there, we need more real people.  I do not have the most brilliant white teeth, nor do I have ruler-straight teeth.  Quite frankly, I don't feel the need to "fix" either, even if I were looking for a job.

4) The clothes make the woman This segment is all about how you should wear a skirt-suit.  I agree, a skirt-suit is better suited for many professional positions, but not all.  And just as a quick aside here, who says this article is specifically for women?  Some men out there might be reading this type of thing, too.  Anyway, back to my point: some positions are better suited to a lovely pant-suit as opposed to a skirt-suit.  It all depends on the personality of the woman, the type of work she does, and the people she works around.

For instance, an architect frequently on the construction site might feel more comfortable in a lovely pair of flat shoes (or a short heel) and a nice (but not too nice) pant suit as opposed to a set of 3" heels and a just-above-the-knee skirt suit.  That's not to say that same woman would not prefer to wear the second outfit to a meeting in a board-room (or an interview).  As I said, it all depends.

For the more masculine reader, the same advice applies:  A suit and tie ensemble might be better suited to the board room meeting than the architectural meeting at the construction site.  For the second type of meeting, I recommend a nice pair of blue-jeans, work boots (wolverines or redwings) a plain t-shirt under a long-sleeved chambray, and a hard-hat.  But that's just me.

5) Take up space I actually thought this one was going to be advice on how to gain weight or slouch, but I actually agree with the advice given in this segment: stand up tall, practice good posture, etc.

This reminds me of last November when my husband and I went to a local polling place to vote.  After voting, he was asked a few questions in front of a camera for a documentary (I wonder how that is going?).  Anyway, while he was on camera, I was standing off to the side, staying out of the picture, and pretty much minding my own business.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small group of (what I think were) tourists who seemed to be speaking an Asian language.  They were taking pictures and giggling amongst themselves.

Assuming they were tourists, I chalked it up to a bit of cultural gap, and didn't think much of it, until I noticed they were pointing at, laughing at, and taking pictures of me.  I always practice good posture, but this made me stand up straighter, take a deep breath (the whole "count to ten" thing) and purposely ignore them.  Seriously, what else was I going to do?  I suppose they thought the good posture was hilarious because they started laughing again, harder this time.  They were still laughing at me when my husband finished and we left the area.

Bad manners from others is no excuse for poor posture or manners from me.