Why "The Oven"?

I googled "open oven pic" and found the background that now fits my blog. So the background has been appropriately changed to reflect the metaphor behind both my blog's name and purpose. 

So, why do I call this blog "The Oven"? The name has a few references to it:

1. It's an extension of a nickname my friend Cindy gave me. We met when I was in graduate school, and she's the type that makes up nicknames for everyone, and everything. When trying to figure out a nickname for me, I told her how I once called my former piano professor and college mentor - whose name is Fritz - "Fritzbiscuit". Once I said that, she called me "Jimmybiscuit", and calls me "Biscuit" for short. And it's probably my favorite nickname, but only she and that circle of friends are allowed to call me that.
   
   All that being said, biscuits are usually baked in an oven, and when they're done, they're ready to consume. So, I metaphorically refer to my mind as "the oven" where all my thoughts, opinions, and ideas come to fruition. Then they're ready to be shared with the world.
   
   
2. Ovens always heat up when in use. That's how they work. And they can heat up to various degrees of heat depending on what they have inside. This refers to my love for hot topics. I particularly love to discuss progressive versus conservative politics, such as marriage equality, social issues, and other things. I'll also discuss my views on religion at times. 

So, that's pretty much the gist behind the name of the blog.

But you know what? I've discovered something. Though professionally, I'm an elementary music teacher (I'm certified in Texas to teach PK-12th grade; I hold two degrees in music, as well as a certificate in Kodály pedagogy), I've discovered that I love writing. I love expressing myself through writing. Every time I post a blog, I feel like one of those writers who has a piece in an op-ed of a nationally renowned newspaper, like The Washington Post or The New York Times. Blogs allow people to put their thoughts into writing, and share them with both friends, and even strangers around the world. I love languages, and grammar, and spelling. I love using big words like "obfuscate". Yes, it's real. They used it on The X-Files, and I looked it up because the word confused me, and then I learned that its denotation did exactly that.

But if I'm a professional musician who's certified to teach, and has an advanced degree in music, what do I like to do musically? I love to sing, play piano, experiment with other instruments. My instruments are piano and voice, primarily. I usually have no problem bursting into song while shopping. I adore karaoke, and I don't need to get plastered to get up to sing. I love concerts, and playing popular, classical, or original music on my piano or iPhone. When I'm driving, I'll look at the road in front of me as if there's a camera, and I'm shooting a music video. I love to teach music because I love showing kids how music works, and then I get that amazing feeling when they finally read, understand, and perform the "dots on the page". I love teaching music. I'm good at it, and I get paid to do it.

So, as much as I love teaching music and being a musician, I also love the written word. I can spend hours on my computer reading article after article, and then reading all the comments from other readers. Then I can click on some readers to find their blogs, and read about what they have to say about any topic. I consider myself a very social person. I love to know what people think about all kinds of stuff. I love having those conversations, as they help you get to know someone far beyond the surface of small talk. I feel like blogging is a great way to keep that conversation going. Through blogging, you can also find out, as you read, with whom you can have deep, intellectual conversations, and with whom you can probably only have civil conversations. And yes, there's a BIG difference.

This blog is a mental playground. When you go to a regular, real-life playground, you hear the shouts of children playing together, laughing, running freely. The sounds of this playground are the sounds of every keystroke on the keyboard as I type. I hear each keystroke as if it was one of the ingredients for the concoction that's about to be released from "the oven". I also envision a sheet of paper, with a pen in hand, where my hand, through a few symbolic writings, communicates the thoughts that reside in my mind. I can liken this image to one of the lyrics in the song "Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick:

Two AM, and I'm still awake writing a song.
If I get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me,
threatening the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I'm naked in front of a crowd,
cause these words are my diary screamin' out loud,
and I know that you'll use them however you want to.

 That is SUCH a good song! 

So, anyway, that's why my blog is called "The Oven". I feel, also, that I communicate much better in writing than I do when I speak. I've been known, when speaking, to, well...not think before I speak. But when I write, I portray myself intelligently (I think), and if there's anything I probably shouldn't say, I can edit it before it's ready to be taken out of the oven of my mind.