Bedside Manner....

My optometrist is really weird. Every time I go in he asks me where I'm going to school and what I'm doing, and I'm always like, "I go to University of Cincinnati, I'm studying Jazz Trombone." And he always has some stupid comment like, "Oh that's cool! I have a friend who never went to school for music but he plays all these different instruments!"

Everyone I meet has a friend who plays an instrument for fun, or has four degrees of seperation between them and a professional musician who isn't famous, anyway. Like, if I went to a doctor, and he was like, "Yeah, I'm good friends with this guy, Michael Brecker. Do you know him?" or "Yeah I'm Michael Brecker's doctor, doesn't it suck that he has cancer?" (although that would probably violate the doctor-patient confidentiality), then I might be interested. But otherwise, I don't care.

Do people do this to doctors, lawyers, and businessmen? "Oh yeah my sister's, best friend's fiancee is a lawyer." I don't think so.

To top it of, as my family doctor was poking and prodding me this afternoon, she said, "Yeah my grandpa used to play jazz drums back in the 50's, he still likes to go to his basement and play for fun." Great. I bet he sucks.

What is it about artist/musician types that people feel like they have to find some weird 6th degree of seperation to relate to us? Shut the fuck up and finish poking me with needles so I can get the hell out of here.