An unlikely fan
I've been quiet here for the last month or so. I've started to write a lot of posts but none of them make me happy. I started to write about the ineptitude of medical personnel and the rudeness they exude. I started to write about what it feels like to have a life stuck in limbo. I started to write about what it feels like when the only parent you have left is in peril. None of those were fun.
So I decided to take a break and go to my happy place for a day. I made the ride to Ocean City, New Jersey last week alone to go meet a friend and see the Indigo Girls play at the Music Pier. One of my favorite bands was playing in one of my favorite places. How could I be anything but happy?
Then I got to thinking about it. Why do I like the Indigo Girls (IG)? I'm not like the rest of their fan base. I'm not gay. I don't like folk music (at all). I do like female vocals (a lot). I had a lot of time to think about it on the ride up.
They were the first show I ever interpreted. I was assigned to Pink Floyd but because I had never ever seen an interpreted show before, I was placed on IG as an understudy. I learned what to and not to do as an interpreter at that show. Still, it felt foreign to me.
And I liked the music. This was a shock to me. I listened to rock/alternative music my whole life. I like lots of bass and drums and just plain loud. So this doesn't make sense.
More thinking.
They are sentimental to me. I've interpreted for them about a dozen times over the last 20 years. I know most of their music inside and out. I've associated their music with specific times in my life - during medical crisis, my divorce and my recovery back into single life.
My conclusion? It's their use of idioms. I hate idioms. When I'm interpreting, that stops and stumps me every freaking time. Every time. But I like it when they sing with all their weird and picturesque expressions. It challenges me. And I can make it work in ASL. And it makes me feel comfortable. I know it. My brain is happy when I hear it.
So there you go.
So I decided to take a break and go to my happy place for a day. I made the ride to Ocean City, New Jersey last week alone to go meet a friend and see the Indigo Girls play at the Music Pier. One of my favorite bands was playing in one of my favorite places. How could I be anything but happy?
Then I got to thinking about it. Why do I like the Indigo Girls (IG)? I'm not like the rest of their fan base. I'm not gay. I don't like folk music (at all). I do like female vocals (a lot). I had a lot of time to think about it on the ride up.
They were the first show I ever interpreted. I was assigned to Pink Floyd but because I had never ever seen an interpreted show before, I was placed on IG as an understudy. I learned what to and not to do as an interpreter at that show. Still, it felt foreign to me.
And I liked the music. This was a shock to me. I listened to rock/alternative music my whole life. I like lots of bass and drums and just plain loud. So this doesn't make sense.
More thinking.
They are sentimental to me. I've interpreted for them about a dozen times over the last 20 years. I know most of their music inside and out. I've associated their music with specific times in my life - during medical crisis, my divorce and my recovery back into single life.
My conclusion? It's their use of idioms. I hate idioms. When I'm interpreting, that stops and stumps me every freaking time. Every time. But I like it when they sing with all their weird and picturesque expressions. It challenges me. And I can make it work in ASL. And it makes me feel comfortable. I know it. My brain is happy when I hear it.
So there you go.
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