Judgemental

Sometimes I really don't "get" women even if I am one myself. I don't know if it is a side effect of getting old(er), but I have noticed that I am getting really impatient when women of my age still hysterically complain about their perceived imperfections the same they did when we were teenagers. Case in point 1, a classmate who feels like such a horrible hirsute grizzly bear that she has been dreaming about/saving up for IPL treatment for years because, in her opinion, her horrible hairy legs cannot otherwise be exposed to the general public (traditional methods like shaving or waxing apparently don't suffice) that she choses to stay indoors on most sunny days. 

Case in point 2, a colleague whose remark, when I complimented her on the dress she was wearing, was a 5-minute monologue along the lines of how "this is actually the only dress I can wear because all other cuts look just awful on me because of my ridiculously narrow shoulders and if they are any shorter you would see my ugly varicose veins...". While I cannot comment on those hidden away "ugly" veins, this lady is slim and has a really good figure.

What is it that so many attractive and smart women (of all ages) still have to put themselves down and are their own most relentless judges? Actually, it is the good looking and intelligent ones in particular who seem to be afflicted by this disease. So much energy is put into finding flaws about their appearance that I sometimes wish they could reinvest it into something positive, like not commenting about other women's outfits or bodies for a starter. 

So much for the theory anyway and I won't claim that I am the perfect poster girl for this "campaign" of mine just yet, but for once, I have long stopped highlighting my own flaws and can graciously accept a nice compliment when I get one. Not converting any opportunity that presents itself in the bitchy comment you have at the tip of your tongue is a little harder, but I like to think that I have improved in this regard (to the point where the Empress one remarked "ah, sorry, forgot that you don't bitch any more") even though I'll probably never get a halo fitted. Other than that, I am effing awesome, and so are YOU!