Music is the Ultimate Emotional Trigger

Nothing moves me like music. 

I grew up watching girlfriends of mine cry at the drop of a hat and tended to think they were a bit over the top in dramatics.  Somehow I learned to suck it up early in life.  One time I can remember in particular--where everyone would've understood a good cry--was when I was about 12.  I accidentally batted a softball down into the sewer, and four of us girls lifted a manhole cover off with a crowbar to get it.  When we went to put the manhole cover back, I had a foot out too far and dropped it on my big toe--ooouuuccchhh!!!  Even then, I was reeling in pain, but managed to hop into the house away from the other kids before I would allow myself to cry, and still it was really more of a whimper...  

I think I was so good at sucking it up that it took my folks until the next day to think maybe we should get me to the hospital. When the doctor took an x-ray, it showed my toe had been broken into seven pieces...BUM.MER--that was it for track season!

Anyway, I have probably always had more of a logic-based than emotion-based personality...this is not to say I don't care about whatever the situation may be.  I am just more of an acknowledge the sadness, pray for God's peace and try to move on from it-type rather than a long-time wallower-type person.  When something not-so-pleasant happens, I will jokingly say to my husband, "Okay, let's allow five minutes of wallowing and then move on!"

That said--I've noticed over my life, however, that well-written, beautifully-performed music can bring me to my knees...

Sure, there have been moments when a well-matched music bed to a particularly emotion-packed scene in a movie has moved me to an over-the-top amount of tear-drowning.  I figure this is when I must be catching up from those moments in life where I've appeared to be strong and in control of my emotions!  I just needed a good cry. 

I also come from a family of musicians, so that might play a role in my emotional connection.  My dad was the youngest clarinetist in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, paid his way through college teaching clarinet lessons, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music, still gives clarinet performances at church, plays in orchestra pits for musicals, etc.  My oldest brother is a top-notch guitarist (currently in Blue House and the Rent-to-Own Horns), and has always been the type who could pick up an instrument, figure it out and start paying something on it in a matter of minutes. My middle brother played trumpet and piano growing up, and my mom played piano and sang, so there was always music around, and these are warm memories of mine from childhood.

But even just a well-done musical performance by someone I've never seen or heard--with nothing but the storyteller's facial expressions and the musical journey they're taking me on--can move me to tears. What is that about?!

I was reading The Science Of Music - Why Do Songs In A Minor Key Sound Sad? from NME Blog and found this explanation to be of interest:

"Let’s look at the nuts and bolts of sound. Tempo is obviously important. A simple minor chord (with three notes, also known as a ‘triad’) also uses a middle note that is closer to the tonic as compared to a major triad. Take for example the C triad chord (C, E, and G); in the minor version the middle note is E flat (closer to C) whereas in the major version we hear natural E (further away from C). The tonic (C) is the strongest note and draws more of our attention, so minor chords like this trigger more sensory dissonance, a kind of tension that stems from the clashing of closely spaced frequencies."

As a logic-based person, this dry scientific explanation as to what triggers emotion-based reactions is somewhat comical yet comforting to me.  Could it be some mathematical formula is dictating my emotions?  What complex AND simple creatures we can be! 

If you're like me, I'll bet the next time some musical performance moves you to tears, you'll be wondering about and maybe even checking on this major-minor key thing!

I would be remiss in writing anything about music without mentioning a wonderful organization to which I belong, and which has been a terrific outlet for me to scratch that entertainer itch I get on occasion!  Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of female singers committed to advancing the barbershop artform of four-part a cappella harmony through education, competition and performance.  

This ain't yer grandma's barbershop...the singing and dancing members of the Acappella Omaha chapter--to which I'm proud to belong--call it "Glee for grown-ups"!  It's great fun, and yes, I can still be moved to tears on the musical delivery side of performances as well--especially when I see tears welling up in the eyes of our director, who has a beautifully expressive face--so I really have to work at going to the edge of the cliff without jumping off! 

If you're a female in the Omaha, Nebraska area who loves to sing, Acappella Omaha offers a great opportunity to strut your stuff!  The chorus rehearses Mondays, 7:00 PM in the Presbyterian Church of the Master, 10710 Corby Circle (just three blocks south of Maple) in Omaha, Nebraska. Visitors are welcome!  Call (402) 932-0155.  

Today's Quote: 
"I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing."   
-- William James

Home Facelift a Creative Way to Add Curb Appeal

My husband Bret and I are HUGE Do-It-Yourselfers. We have saved many pennies over the years taking on this role as a hobby.  We love to line up multi-phased project goals, budget for supplies, plan designs, shop best prices, make relevant purchases, saw, assemble, hammer, paint, photograph and feel the sense of accomplishment which accompanies each finished result.  We've been embarking on journeys of this kind since we rented our first apartment together 25 years ago.

This past year, we took several steps toward finishing an exterior house facelift which began with an idea and a replacement of exterior lighting a few years back.  The idea was to bring more of a cottage look to our suburban home--complementing the gardens and sprinkling more of a playful joy into the curb appeal. Here are before and after pictures to show the transformation:

Curious as to how we did it? Another thing we both like to do is share helpful hints on what we've learned from our experiences in case others would like to do something similar, so here's the answer--or list of answers--to this question... 

After the lighting fixtures, we knew we wanted to replace our front door with a higher efficiency upgrade, so found a door to match our cottage flavor, and used the old door as a template to chisel out the hinge-areas, as shown here:

Spending every night after work for a week--obsessing online to find the ideal door knocker--yielded this fun friendly guy (plus a doorbell to match) to cheerfully greet our guests.  

A quick resewing and gathering of a set of curtain panels on pre-existing rods in the windows flanking the door--plus a cushion and pillows to spruce up an existing bench we repainted, and concrete stain on the stoop and steps--helped finish the front porch area from the outside. On the inside, we wanted to continue the storybook feel...

so we brought in red-orange whimsical rugs to match the existing orange art glass candle holders on an iron stand in the front entry, then hand-made a wreath to tie the red, orange and green palate together. The ribbon for the bow on the wreath was chosen to match the curtains on either side of the door.  

Then we also added a fun sign made with craft letters, glitter and a unique frame as shown.  BRet + INgra = BRIN Cottage!

Our first step for the overall exterior was to design a trim addition to add more of a cottage flavor, so I played on PhotoShop and we landed on a plan.  

Once we got all the trim cut and nailed up, we decided to cover the seam where the pieces met with a wooden version of a keystone. By the way, many don't know it really is "we" when I tell these stories--I always appreciate Bret allowing me to play Ingra-the-builder on occasion with his saw.  I enjoy doing something different every day, and he's a willing mentor in the power tools area!  

Once the trim and keystones were up, we wanted to find a paint closer to the taupe color I thought I had chosen when we first built the house 12 years ago.  For some reason, "light taupe" turned out to be "pale pink" once it was sprayed onto our house!  

Once we found the right shade of taupe, we played with different shades of burgundy, brown and plum for a trim color. We found a deep plum to be just the right fit--matching hues in the front door and drawing pink, burgundy and plum colors from surrounding plants in the front gardens.

A final touch on the front of the house was the inclusion of iron hinges and handles on the garage doors.  We've been taking our three dogs for Saturday morning rides through the Shadow Lake housing development in Papillion for the past several years to watch new houses being built, and have really liked the carriage door ironwork many of the homes are using, so we incorporated those in our cottage makeover.

The final project in this multi-phased transformation was to add an attached pergola to the south side of the house.  This has always been such a blank-looking side and it's the first thing folks see when they drive up, so we purchased a couple 4" x 4" pre-cut finial fence posts and cut them down to flank a box which holds a line of double-beveled spindles we cut in half for the top.  We finished the other end of the post by adding another finial, and used the cut-off portion as an angle brace. After playing with placement, we decided to line up the bottom of the pergola with the bottom of the front garage trim.

We've found the shadows this added structure makes at different times of the day to be an interesting aesthetic addition to a once bland view of the house. This project was a risk of sorts because we've never seen it done on the side of a house--only on the front over the garage--but we're very tickled with the results and are happy it worked out so well!

I hope sharing this journey has provided some ideas about how small changes here and there can add up to a fun facelift over time. It's always exciting to see folks working on their homes and gardens in some way. I personally feel it shows good stewardship of what God has entrusted in our care, and I hope it's also a favor to neighbors who have our home as their view!

Today's Quote:
"You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."
-- Maya Angelou

Please See ME--NOT My Job Status!

Due to a subsidiary merger eliminating my position, I am--as I write this--now among the 11.5 million Americans currently between jobs.  I have a strong faith and know I'm going through this for reasons which will probably become clear in about 20 years, but it's still been a difficult part of my life's journey--as can be expected with such.  Blah, blah, blah--poor me...okay, now I'm done!

One thing I've really found interesting is how my employment status is the overwhelming topic of choice when folks see me.  My job has never been of interest to many of these folks...until I didn't have one.  I know (or at least hope!) these job inquiries stem from their caring about me, and I do appreciate the thought behind the words, but this experience has taught me a lot about what's helpful--and what would never be missed if it weren't said--so I felt moved to share in case of interest to others:

Thank you to all my friends and family members who have NEVER...

- said the following to me:
   "Have you found a job yet?"
   Trust me, the WORLD will know when that happens!
   "You haven't found a job yet?"
   While I appreciate this might be a recognition of the wide range of skills I offer, it also can have a kind of blaming-the-victim flavor.    
   "I can't believe no one's hired you yet!"
   Me either, but how is this helpful?!  ;oD

- acted jealous I'm NOT dressed like I just got off work and rushed to meet them.
  As a person who tries to focus on the positives, the fact most of my current work is at my home office on a computer--where I can wear shorts and a cami--NOT having to wear a suit is definitely a positive!  Please expect to see me dressed as casually as is publicly acceptable during this time in my life's journey.

- acted like my life is so much less stressful than theirs.
  Other than not knowing where my next job will be...or whether I can fit more job searching, article-reading, social-media-learning and marketing-myself in today than I did yesterday...or whether--when I'm offered a job--I'll fit in or not...or whether it will come sooner rather than later...or whether I really have online access to the jobs  which best fit me...or whether I'll have to take a job where I'm not able to be as creative or affect change as I truly need in my work...or whether I'll have to worry about outshining somebody--or--worry about those who outshine me refusing to share their knowledge to help me succeed...or whether those in higher positions will be helpful or hurtful (haven't we all had both!)...or whether I can keep up with all these social media advancements and truly grasp how to best use them to market...or whether I'll have to take a pay cut...or whether our personal finances will be in jeopardy to the point we'll have to sell our house in which we plan to retire...or whether it will affect my relationships with those closest to me...yeah, other than all those worries constantly bubbling under the surface, my life really is so much less stressful than others' (twitch, twitch)...NOT!  ;oP

- asked me to take on extra new projects under the assumption I have more free time.
  Knowing I have a hard time turning down creative volunteer projects for the non profits I love--and I AM continuing with MOST of my long-term commitments through this time--I did make the decision I wasn't doing anything additional philanthropically until I have a job again. This has been tested several times, but I know it was a wise decision as I could easily be a full-time volunteer...unfortunately that's not going to pay the bills!

One positive outcome of this whole situation is I don't have a choice but to embrace being out there now.  Because of past unwanted attention (I refer to as "My Five Stalkings"), I have avoided the social media craze with a passion--which has been quite a challenge as I've been in marketing/public relations/sales positions for more than 25 years, and social media is fast becoming THE focus of many promotional campaigns nowadays.  I'm also a writer and knew I could become obsessed with all the writing opportunities online!  Luckily--or so I thought--I had been able to delegate social media duties to assistants over the years...until now.  Now, my full-time job is looking for work, and I've found nobody looks at anybody who isn't on LinkedIn, so that has been my first big social adventure--developing my LinkedIn profile.  Continuing this exercise in becoming more familiar with social media--and especially the top three most popular sites--I have also put together a website with links to a Twitter page, a YouTube channel, a Facebook page and now this, a Blog page--all created by yours truly.  If you follow these links, you'll find some sites are more personal and others less so, some seem more complete and others less so...but my main goal at this point is to learn the tools to help others in the future, so please pardon any in progress feel to anything you might see.

I don't know where all this will lead, but I'm praying for a position where I can be doing something different every day, helping promote the organization for whom I work in writing, designing, speaking, movie-making, tweeting, blogging, training staff--you name it--leading the way to showing the world this wonderful gem-of-a-company I've found.  In the meantime, thanks again to all who are seeing me and not my job status and, if you're out of work and reading this--or just curious how to be a help to others--I wish you great success in your journey as well. See ya on the flip side!

Today's Quote:
"We can rebuild (her).  We have the technology.  We can make (her) better than (she) was.  Better...stronger...faster!"
-- adapted from The Six Million Dollar Man intro (1974-1978)