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Parents often mean well, but please, PLEASE lay off sometimes.
Instruction to parent:
1. Do not try to iron my rayon suit. I know you usually know how to iron one without ruining it, but despite your confidence in your experience due to your age, you're not always right - like the time you told me to handwash a silk skirt, which is now misshapened. I am ok with paying for the $20 dry cleaning bill rather than having half of a $200 suit ruined.
2. Do not then tell me that it's still ok to wear the pants with the big iron mark because the mistake happened "near the bottom." If I know it's there and can see it's there, it doesn't matter that other people may not see it, because I will be forever self-conscious about it. That's why a good suit matters so much.
3. Do not also tell me that not everything has to be perfect. Someone gave me the genes to be anal-retentive and nit-picky, and that's why I was so great at my jobs, and my employers love me for it. I am a perfectionist and there's no way you can make me do less.
4. Do apologize when it's your mistake.
5. Do not try to "help" me by grabbing clothes from my closet for laundry. There's a reason why they're not in the laundry basket. Otherwise you wash things I haven't even worn yet, which is wasteful and makes the clothing deteriorate faster.
6. Do not feed me half-raw steak. Thank you for saving the meat for me, but I've repeatedly said I'm trying to eat vegetarian, and I really dislike meat, especially ones that are half pink and dripping with, well, blood, even if others (not necessarily you) may think it means it's juicy and delicious.
7. Otherwise you'd have me up, fuming, when I should be asleep. Aren't you always telling me to try and get a good night's sleep? Now that's something you can help me with by doing less of helping.
So, I got tagged a little while back by Olivia to reveal the secrets of my purse. Truthfully, you really wouldn't want to know what's in my regular bag because so much junk is in there! It probably has receipts and movie ticket stubs from years ago. But, here is a behind the scenes look at the purse I carried this past weekend - a sanitized version in several senses of the word!
* "Vintage" silver-toned purse. I call it vintage even though it is probably only about 30 years old. It belonged to my mom but I think she's long relinquished her claim to it. I've been in love with this bag for as long as I can remember. You can fold the chain so the purse stays close to your shoulder, or use it as a handbag, or allow the chain to drop so it falls to your hips. This was the first time the purse had left the closet in who knows how long.
* Train ticket to go and meet up with my friend N for dinner.
* Wallet/change purse. A woman I used to work with gave it to me as a souvenir of her Mexican vacation with her husband.
* Bracelet. Didn't have time to put it on before I went out the door. Yes, it says Dior. No, I don't remember when I got it.
* Cell phone.
* Blotting paper, from a store in Taiwan called Watson's. I think N gave this to me in either high school or college...I can't remember anymore. Yes, time to use it up.
* Pack of tissue. Very unglamorous packaging reminiscent of Mickey D's, but it was free. In Taiwan and Japan it is very popular for businesses to advertise on tissue packs, which are handed out freely when you walk on the streets. It is even more unglamorous as I tell you that it is advertising a dental clinic; you can see the map on there.
* Powder from the drugstore, with mirror. I won't tell you what brand just to save myself a teeny bit of embarassment, but it costs $2.99 and works so well. I'm a drugstore queen.
* Small decant of Burberry Brit EDT. I really wasn't planning on wearing it, but I was in a hurry and grabbed whatever.
* Rimmel blush in Berry.
* Altoids strips. Easier to carry than the tins when you're short on space. Coincidental that I was carrying so many items with a British origin.
* Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Raisin.
* Twist-up travel powder brush.
I am surprised I managed to fit all that stuff in the purse, though there were quite a few things I'd forgotten to put in there (like a pen and keys). Usually I carry humongous bags since I like to fit the kitchen sink in there, too.
If you are reading and feel like sharing the contents of your bag, consider yourself tagged!
I can't remember how many years ago it was when I first read Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. My memories of its many details faded over the years, but I always remember it as one of my favorite books.
A couple of days ago I finished reading it for the second time, and have a fresh recollection of why I adore this book. It seems too long since I sat up until 2 or 3 a.m., in bed, because I just had to read one more chapter. (Note: The last Harry Potter doesn't quite count, as I read it in about 10 hours, all in one go!)
This has got to be one of the greatest love stories out there, with a great happy ending and lots of fun thrown into the mix.
I also remember how the 2005 film adaptation has breathtaking cinematography, as well as the superb acting by the cast...and how Keira Knightly completely surprised me with her portrayal, since previously I was convinced she could barely act her way out of a paper bag. It is more than unfortunate that we don't have a DVD player in my house, but I managed to find a copy of it on YouTube today. I think I've watched it about 3 times already. The 1995 BBC mini version DVD sits in my living room, in want of a DVD player. I'm also addicted to certain P&P threads on IMDb, and have found a slew of fanfic sites with sequels to the book.
The current fascination with all things P&P may be fleeting, but words can hardly describe how nice it is to be able to read for pleasure again, to want to read something just because, and to allow myself to be engulfed by a story.
If you'll excuse me, I believe I have a movie to watch, and a few more things to read.
This week has also been full of Katies.
Katies Holmes and Suri - I won't go into that again. But last night signaled the first time Katie Couric - and the first time a woman - anchored evening news on one of the Big 3 networks. Apparently the rating skyrocketed for CBS - no doubt what it tried to accomplish, though it was more likely due to curiosity and hype than anything else.
I'll be honest and say that I'm biased against Katie. Can't stand the woman. She was way too giddy and full of toothy grin for me to take her seriously. On a slightly less superficial level, I should say that in general, I dislike anyone who has been overhyped. Katie, to me, is one of those overhyped people who doesn't outperform her colleagues, yet is somehow held to a higher esteem, as evidenced by the purported $15M she will receive per year.
$15M! Just for reading a prompter! Katie has stated that she refuses to travel to dangerous parts of the world for stories because of her children. That is her right, and CBS has a right not to have hired her based on that, but which big anchor has not put himself/herself at the front line of danger? Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Connie Chung, Barbara Walters...they all did it. Most of them have children, and you can't tell me the anchors who put themselves in danger cared about their families less. So why does Katie deserve all that pay?
The theory is that CBS hired Katie because she has personality. Ahem. To be fair, I gave her a chance tonight and watched her broadcast. While she was the picture of calmness and collection, the entire broadcast still exuded Katie, just as "Today" exuded Katie. True, she changed the format of the news program to introduce new segments that are exclusive to her show; some may even think that is a good move. But what bothered me was her repeated usage of the word "I." I'd like you to see this next story, I want you to hear what this person says, etc. Maybe I'm a traditionalist at heart, or maybe some things should be kept sacred (and forget about the supposed liberal bias of the media), but isn't good news coverage supposed to be unbiased reporting?
Every news anchor already reports differently because of his/her personality. You can't tell me that watching Peter Jennings is the same as watching Dan Rather. But I really don't want to be hit over the head with personality, and I don't want my news anchor to act as a consultant who suggests stories to me.
I've even seen some Katie fans accuse people of being sexist for not thinking Katie can do "hard news." Sorry, man, but that is about as ridiculous as calling someone an anti-Semite because one disapproves of Israel's actions. I'm all for women anchors. Elizabeth Vargas did a wonderful job before she went on maternity leave and stepped down. Heck, even the now sometimes ridiculed Connie Chung was great because she dared to ask questions that no one should ask. I would've loved to have seen Diane Sawyer as the first female anchor, but I guess either she's too old or her personality just isn't bubbly enough.
Though, CBS can do whatever the heck it wants with its money. And I, as part of the audience that CBS is trying court, can slam it for making a choice with which I heartily disagree.
Still, I'm just a peon of this world, and no one needs to care about what I say, but listen to what one commentator had to say on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (side note: talk about excellent, unbiased reporting). Traditionally, it has always been about the story making the news - even for greats like Walter Cronkite - and not the star who makes the news. Anchors have always had an unbiased approach and rarely interject themselves into the broadcast, but CBS was obviously looking for something/someone different. Ultimately, it has got to be the news driving the broadcast and not the star driving the broadcast.
For now, the star is bright, but stars do fade. Real news has to be made out of substance, not just presentation alone.
This week was full of babies.
Suri Cruise finally makes an appearance on Vanity Fair with her parents.
Ok, so that quashes the rumors that 1. Suri doesn't exist, 2. Suri is an alien, or 3. Suri is a black baby because European doctors who artificially inseminated Katie Holmes majorly goofed. However - and I'm no expert at babies - Suri sure looks a lot older than 3 months, not to mention quite alert, the time at which she was photographed in late July.
I still smell fish.
On the other hand, the Japanese imperial family now has a male heir. This now takes the pressure off of Crown Princess Masako to have a boy and quells the debate on changing the Japanese constitution.
Though it is not publicly discussed, I must wonder what kind of pressure was put on Prince Akishino and his wife to try to have a male baby so as to save Japan's future, so to speak.
Nice silver spoons they've got there.
