Bland

President Obama is doing lots of things. Some I think are great, some not so great, and some only time will tell. One thing I'd like to get on his agenda is to return color to cars. I don't know about you, but I spend more than my share of time in traffic around the Bay Area. I consider myself fairly well versed on what the Silicon Valley crowd is driving these days. If you want to know what the latest models of luxury cars look like, cruise up and down 280 during rush hour. I see plenty of cars and can say with complete conviction that the majority of them are some variation on white, silver or beige/champagne. How stupefyingly dull and without personality! Are these the only colors they're making now? For quite a while I thought BMW only made silver cars. Once in a great while I'll see a blue or red one. Why have these horrid non-colors become so popular? Is this some indicator of the national psyche? Or has the auto industry been dictating public tastes for all these years and I never noticed before? Whatever it is, it needs to stop. It is unacceptable to be that displeasing to my eyes for so many hours every week. Perhaps a paintball gun is in order....

Real Men

Lately the concept of a "real man" has appeared on my radar quite a bit. Being a beneficiary of the 70's feminist movement but having more male friends than female, it is a question I've often wondered about, but maybe not in the way you think. I have always maintained, even through hormonal insanity and spending a small fortune on bras, that I'd rather be a woman in today's society than a man. Though complicated, women have more "acceptable" choices as to who to be than men. That's a bit of a generality, but I find it to be true.

I saw some fluff piece in a UK paper about now that there is a global recession and people are concerned about survival, the metrosexual image is going out of style because women now want a "broad-shouldered, strong provider type". This of course supposes that all women are needing or even looking for some man to protect them from the big, bad economy. I'm sure women in Canada are finding that hilarious since the majority of jobs that are being eliminated are traditionally male positions. Rentals of the old 80's movie "Mr. Mom" are sure to rise up there.

Then I saw this on Yahoo home page: What Is a Man? Well, I had to check that out! God knows Yahoo is known for their superb journalistic standards. Expecting another superficial piece of crap, I was surprised by the thoughtfulness of the list/article. Some of the stuff on there is a bit suspect in my opinion, but I think that may be simply because I'm female. (I try, but there will always be things about guys that I will never understand.) The thing that struck me most about this is the idea that a man should be thoughtful, observant and somewhat introspective. Such qualities are sorely missing from your usual sitcom, sporting event or advertising image. I also liked the slam on Mark McGuire about taking responsibility. My sentiments exactly.

And let's not leave out "The Nice Guy" concept. Poor, sweet, trying-so-hard Nice Guy who always finishes last. He's constantly the counterpoint to the womanizing asshole, but neither one of them ever appealed to me at all. I've always had a problem with Nice Guy but couldn't quite put my finger on it. This blogger, while criticizing a webcomic, does a nice job of giving voice to my nagging doubts about Nice Guy.

In 1982, Joe Jackson released the album "Night & Day". It's a wonderful album and contains the song "Real Men". I don't know Joe's sexual orientation, (he was once married, but what does that mean really?) but his examination of what being a man is about is still relevant. ("Trying to Cry" on "Laughter and Lust" is a good one, too.)

So what does this all mean? Can there be a monolithic definition of what a man or woman is outside of the biological? Is biological even a fit basis anymore? Humans have always tried to explain their world in absolutes, things that everyone can understand and act on. You would think we would be able to think in more abstract terms by now. Not unlike the way I choose to understand a higher power, I believe that men and women are whoever they want to be. Whatever best suits who you are should be what you do. If you're secure in what you're about, then go forth boldly and do your thing. Unfortunately, we just aren't there yet.

Since You've Been Gone

Does anyone remember that song? "Since you've been gone, since you've been gone, I'm outta my head, can't take it..." 70's or 80's? Who was that? Popped into my head while trying to come up with a title. Doesn't really fit because technically I'm the one who's been gone. Which is good for you because I have become the most boring person ever.

All I do these days is think about what I need to do next. I'm bored and frustrated with myself. It sucks. All day, every day it's finish revising my resume, do I have a box for that, do I want to ship that at all, should I look for a job now, I guess I need a picture for LinkedIn, I don't have any interview clothes, I think I should get a bigger storage space, will I be able to see a Sharks or Giants game before I leave, when should I decide about a moving company, how am I going to afford all this, gotta finish writing the Office Manager procedures for my replacement, gotta have more work done on the car soon, what else can I send via media mail, and on and on until I either cry or fall asleep. Poor Casey has heard nothing from me but a constantly changing laundry list of tasks. To his credit he is very understanding and tries to help, but there are some things you just have to do yourself, ya know? My job is easy compared to my personal life. Ugh. On the upside, I decided to lose some weight and that's going well. The dress that I bought for interviewing is a size smaller than my usual, and it's already fitting better. I hear you: "What kind of idiot buys a dress that's too small?" This idiot when a) it was on sale for $30 and b) I need some incentive for the weight loss. So there.

And finally a shout out to my godson Sam. His hockey team is 5th in the nation for the 18 year old bracket!!!! They made it to the national tournament in Pennsylvania, but couldn't make it past the top ranked team. I say huge congratulations to the Tri-Valley Blue Devils for getting that far!!! Don't know for sure, but I'd say this was quite a coup for a California ice hockey team. I'm proud of you guys!