16 Random Things: No. 8, What Cartoon Character Do I Most Resemble?

Some time back I was tagged on my flickr site to reveal 16 Random Things About Myself. I was absolutely thrilled. Finally, I was Asked!

I wished it was 100, nay, 200 Random Things. In fact, I might decide to  keep the Random Thingy going indefinitely. 

Some people may feel that my attitude reveals a Chronic Case of Oversharing or maybe a Thoroughly Undeserved Sense of Self-Importance. Or Rampant Ego Inflation. Or a Desperate Need for Adulation & Acknowledgment. Or Flagrant Low-Self-Esteem. 

I'm probably all of those things & much much more. 

But the Cartoon character that I feel  most sums me up, is Donkey in 'Shrek'.  You know, he's the one jumping up & down on the spot at the back of the group that shouts out to Shrek, 'Pick Me! Pick Me!' 

I just want to be noticed. And to tell anyone who'd listen the Story of My Life in a Thousand Chapters. 

So I've just revealed Random Thing Number 8. If you could be bothered reading the first seven, just click on my flickr photostream.

Oh, you may be wondering why I posted that pic of me lovingly gazing up at the word 'Fearless'. It's because that's what I'm aiming to be. I don't want to be a Evil Knieval or a Harry Houdini or the type of person who would do my own stunts in a film or anything, but someone who was Quietly Fearless. 

Wouldn't that  be Fantastic? 

 

Memo to Self

The Satisfaction that Mild Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Can Create

My daughter, Billie-Mae, sent me a photo of her & her cupboard this evening. I was thrilled. 

Not only is everything organised in neat piles according to their species (e.g. shorts) but she has set up a Clothing Database on her computer which will help  keep tabs on her continually expanding wardrobe. Because she is a Scientific Person (concurrently studying two Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology & Geology), she loves nothing more than Spreadsheets & databases. I wouldn't know what a Spreadsheet looked like. She also mentioned a rather intricate system of Colour-Coding the Database which I thought sounded Genius, but I couldn't follow. Not that I'm trying to portray myself as dim. Heaven forbid!

All this Serendipitiously (possibly not a proper word, & if it is, certainly not a word I'm spelling correctly ) dovetails into a blog entry I read yesterday in Linda Grant's, The Thoughtful Dresser.

Linda waxed lyrical about this girls gadget that you can get for your iPhone. All you need to do is photograph your entire wardrobe including handbags & shoes etc & then you can arrange everything into outfits. You can also work out how much value for money you get for each item by recording every time you wear it. This is  a concept that was obviously stolen from that great late nineties film, 'Clueless', where the main character, played by Alicia Silverstone had a v. similar set up involving her bedroom computer & an automated wardrobe. I thought it was hilarious at the time. And I still think it is. 

But what a yawn to do it In Real Life. Who, in their Right Mind would be prepared to photograph every item of clothing they own, I ask?

As I type, I uncharacteristically realise how Silly I Sound.  Just about every stitch of clothing I put on my back is obsessively photographed & posted on my flickr site.

But back to Real Wardrobes.

I think that there is nothing quite like the Satisfaction gained from opening a Wardrobe Door & finding everything beautifully arranged. In my case, my mind is instantly tricked into thinking that I've got everything under control ,which is an Absolute Godsend.

 In Billie-Mae's case, I suspect she's observing her own behaviour with some bemusement. She wonders if perhaps  she has a Mild Case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I just think she is Wonderful.

Andy Warhol's Mother

It may interest you to know that I'm wearing a wig. A grey wig. I found it on a shelf in our staffroom & I just HAD to be photographed in it.

I'd like you to click on the image & enlarge it so you can see how I'm looking as if I'm about to run the Cake Stall at the Annual Church Fete.  Or maybe it's Andy Warhol as a middleagedwoman.

Truth be told (TBT), I'm really wearing the wig in the interests of Research. You see, in recent months, My Best Friend (MBF) decided she that she'd had a Gutload of constantly Policing Her Rapidly Expanding Crop of Grey Hairs & so stopped dying them. 

The result was that she became a Half-Grey Woman. Oddly enough, her husband Kenny was thrilled with the result as he saw her as an  Exciting & Edgy Maverick. She, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. 

Soon, her cast-iron result weakened & she once again reached for the Dye Pot. Kenny now sees her as an Unexciting Sell-Out.  

As I've told you numerous times, I don't have a single grey hair on my middleaged head. And my hair is still quite fair. All I have to do is spray it occasionally with 'Sun-In'.  It's my Crowning Achievement in Life. 

Perhaps soon I'll wake up one morning & find that I've turned White Overnight. Wouldn't that be exciting?

Anyway, I think grey looks fairly nondescript on fair, or should I say, mottled skin. My Other Friend, Rubber-Glove Jenny, who's a World Expert on Aging ,thinks that grey hair on my colouring makes one look Colourless or even worse, Sallow!

Quelle Horreur!

Maybe someone out there has some thoughts on the matter so I can complete my Research.

Take Back the Power.

I'm not really one for reading horoscopes. 

I'm supposed to be a Pisces, but because I'm adopted & so much of my birth was shrouded in secrecy, I don't quite believe I am. Pisceans are supposed to be dreamy & floaty & have a bit of an issue with their feet. I'm not really like that & I've spent my life paying v. little attention to my feet which I think is a shame.  As  I type,  I now feel quite sorry for my feet. They've done so much for me & I've hardly noticed them.

But today Princess Pip spent quite some time pouring over her horoscope.  In fact,  she was so taken with it that she cut it out & gave it to me. 

I instantly felt that it really should have been My Horoscope as well as hers. 

I just loved the bit about Obsession & taking Back the Power, which I soooo need to do. I'm sick of feeling like Betty Milquetoast. Don't you just love that word?

Soon the idea of Taking back the Power seemed to take on a life of it's own in the Staffroom. Goldie became so infused with it that she  wielded a Toy Sword around for a while & produced some interesting results involving spilt lattes & injured toes.

After a while, I became so powerful that I was able to manifest some new used clothes being dumped at my desk. Brava!

The Duchess has a Super Stylish Mother-in-Law called Queen Joy, who decided to cull her vast, impeccably maintained wardrobe. Knowing my great love of being given other people's cast-offs, Joy decided to throw them my way! I'm actually wearing a hot pink silk shirt which was hers & today's offering was a hounds tooth winter coat which you can see peeping out of the plastic bag. Just the ticket for the upcoming Heatwave!

Arachnochic

Here's me with my New Hair Cut. It's exactly the same as it was before, only a big shorter.
But I'm really showing off my Affinity with Spiders. I just couldn't resist this slightly slurryish hot pink top which I'm sure that Anna Della Whatever, the style maven from 'Vogue' wouldn't be caught dead in. I've teamed it with a whole slew of Nanna Necklaces bought at various market stalls over the years.

Wonder Women (& Men) at the 'Mad Men Dinner'

Season Two of 'Mad Men' has been an Absolute Godsend to me.
It's only on Cable TV & I'm the only person amongst my local pals who has cable. So, every sunday evening, I host a dinner where people bring food & I generally roast a chicken. We shovel in the food & then sit up & watch it.
This reminds me of a slightly Bittersweet Scenario from my early childhood.
When I was about three, TV finally arrived in Australia even though it had been going for centuries Elsewhere. My father had a business that sold TVs. So we got the first TV in the street. You can see where this story is going from a mile off, can't you?
For a short while, I was the most popular girl in the street. Every early evening, our living room was packed to the back gills with local boys & girls desperately awaiting the next instalment of 'The Mickey Mouse Club'. Even though I was three, I sensed it wasn't going to last. One by one, the kids fell away as their own families purchased the Beloved Box. Soon it was just me.

Hopefully, when 'Mad Men' finishes, my friends won't disappear. Maybe they'll be another compelling series on cable that will prolong our weekly dinners. 

Last night's episode was a Real Corker. We all sat & cheered when Betty shoved it up Lying Cheating Don & chucked him out of the house. We never thought she had it in her.

I hope you like my New Decorating Touch, photographed at last's week's 'Mad Men Dinner'. I've had the large statue of The Blessed Virgin, who sadly is missing both hands, for almost two decades. She  was in storage for a couple of years, but now She's Back looking over a couple of Genuine & Not-So Genuine Wonder Woman dolls in the kitchen.  In case you're wondering who the Young Man on the left is, it's Tyler, my wonderful step-son.

Can't wait for next week's episode. 

I wonder What Betty Will Do Next?