Sunday, November 1, 2009
Relationship Status
I noticed the other day after a conversation with my boyfriend that things in relationships are pretty equal now, but they haven't always been this way. Now most couples expect responsibilities to be 50/50 and we think nothing of it. Not that things weren't equal before, I mean staying home and raising children can't be any easier than going out and having a job. But women aren't expected to do that anymore, they can, but in my relationship we both share financial responsibilities, I pay half the rent, half the bills, anything I want I buy. I think a lot of couples are becoming this way, independent from each other and equalized. Its a new age and some people my age don't even realize it.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Pets
I just adopted 2 kittens a little over a week ago, and every day I love them more and more than I thought I ever would. I don't know if it is because they crave my attention, or if because they are really cute, or because they depend on me, but I love them immensely! I wonder why people decided to domesticate animals. I mean yeah at first it was so they could put them to work, dogs pulling sleds and rounding up sheep, and cats eating mice or other rodents. At what point did they start breeding them as "pets" and why? Because they make great companions? If you think about it, after all the emotional stuff that's involved, the only thing getting a pet gets you is more work now a days, and not less! And whats with all this crazy breeding! There are so many different kinds of dogs and cats that never existed until humans got involved, it wasn't evolution, it was men creating animals...its pretty crazy if you think about it. Yes its definitely something to wonder about.
Driving
For my first "note" I would like to write a little on what I was thinking about the other night after class driving home. As I sat in my car all alone on the highway much like many other people in their cars around me, I thought, wow, what could be more isolating than sitting in your car. Yet there were hundreds of cars all around me, but your in your little bubble of your car and no one can touch you.
I often sing in my car, and a lot of people do, people that would never think to sing in front of other people. You feel so secure and isolated that you would just about do anything as if you were the only person in the world. I wonder what this daily commute does to our culture. People spend so much time by themselves, alone, in their cars. I thought back to a time where I was stuck on a bridge in my car because of an accident for 3 hours. I nearly had a panic attack. At first it wasn't so bad, I tried to be patient, but as time went by I couldn't explain why I felt anxious, I only knew I couldn't stand to be alone anymore. So how is it that people often feel so secure in their cars, yet in an instant they can turn into a trap.
I have found that if you want to have a meaningful conversation with someone, its often best to do it sitting in your car, people don't feel obligated to look at one another when they sit in a car, and this makes it easier for them to communicate. At least that is the case with me. Do people no longer feel comfortable having a conversation face to face? Or is it just easier for us to say what we really mean without having to look at the expression on the other persons face, as you may say something to hurt them.
Road rage is another behavior that you only see from people in cars. People that would never confront someone face to face will be screaming and cursing at another person from inside their car. I watched a show on pbs once that explained that this was caused by the lack of exchange of expression. If you were to bump into someone on the street, they wouldn't curse and scream at you, no, because without knowing it an apologetic expression appears on your face, and on theirs, and it only takes a microsecond for your brain to recognize that and go on your way. If your in a car however this does not happen.
So in this city especially where unlike New York, everyone drives, you practicably cant get anywhere without a car, and you would have to be really lucky to live somewhere nice that's next to your office, how does our culture differ from that of other places, just because of this slight difference?
Definitely something to think more about.
I often sing in my car, and a lot of people do, people that would never think to sing in front of other people. You feel so secure and isolated that you would just about do anything as if you were the only person in the world. I wonder what this daily commute does to our culture. People spend so much time by themselves, alone, in their cars. I thought back to a time where I was stuck on a bridge in my car because of an accident for 3 hours. I nearly had a panic attack. At first it wasn't so bad, I tried to be patient, but as time went by I couldn't explain why I felt anxious, I only knew I couldn't stand to be alone anymore. So how is it that people often feel so secure in their cars, yet in an instant they can turn into a trap.
I have found that if you want to have a meaningful conversation with someone, its often best to do it sitting in your car, people don't feel obligated to look at one another when they sit in a car, and this makes it easier for them to communicate. At least that is the case with me. Do people no longer feel comfortable having a conversation face to face? Or is it just easier for us to say what we really mean without having to look at the expression on the other persons face, as you may say something to hurt them.
Road rage is another behavior that you only see from people in cars. People that would never confront someone face to face will be screaming and cursing at another person from inside their car. I watched a show on pbs once that explained that this was caused by the lack of exchange of expression. If you were to bump into someone on the street, they wouldn't curse and scream at you, no, because without knowing it an apologetic expression appears on your face, and on theirs, and it only takes a microsecond for your brain to recognize that and go on your way. If your in a car however this does not happen.
So in this city especially where unlike New York, everyone drives, you practicably cant get anywhere without a car, and you would have to be really lucky to live somewhere nice that's next to your office, how does our culture differ from that of other places, just because of this slight difference?
Definitely something to think more about.
Welcome to my blog!
Well this final quarter at the Art Institute of Dallas I am in a class called Visual Anthropology, and I'm sure to my teacher's delight, I have created this blog. She is encouraging us to take field notes about our daily experiences and observe the culture around us. I thought that this blog would be a good way to share those notes with you and her, and also allow me to have a place to store them...Im bad with paper.... I figure I always have my computer but I can never seem to remember my notebook, so what better place to have 24/7 access to write my notes, and on the plus side you get to read them too! If I happen to write some things down though I'll be sure to share them on here anyway!