I guess this is an appropriate kick-off for Thanksgiving break. Sometimes, even a Simon Cowell can be surprised-- even someone who is, by admission, a jaded cynic can be reminded that good is left in the world. I have a friend who's leaving soon. Not leaving my life, I hope, but leaving the general area. As I was thinking about it today I realized that she is the kind of person who I believe is really and truly pure in heart. And damn, it is rare to find that anymore. She's not a malicious, hateful or snarky person. I'm not saying she can't be funny and raw at times but she's not as suspicious or skeptical as I am and that's one of the things I love about her. Part of this is that she has not yet been buffeted by the winds of bullshit, LOL, but I believe even when she is, it won't turn her bitter. In my own defense I will say that I am not always as adamantine as I might appear at first glance. I have another friend who has been a Scrooge for as long as I have known him and I have made it my goal to be his Nephew Fred this year. At the end of the day, I agree with Fred: the only person who suffers from your ill humor is yourself. I am genuinely excited for the holidays. It seems like most people have survived 2009 by clawing their way through it, tooth and nail. We need a little joy.
I went in today for my yearly "I'm burning half my face off" procedure and as I was leaving the dermatology office, a woman in the lobby stopped me and got, literally, all in my face. Normally, as you know, fair blog readers, I would abhor such an invasion of my space by a total stranger. But she was asking me about my skin and, release of personal information at random notwithstanding, I launched into my speech about how I am going to be 29 next week and yet I still have to do things to keep my acne away or else I would look like a teenaged kid with a face full of pimples. She stopped and looked taken aback and I had no idea what was about to come out of her mouth. She said, "I certainly would never have guessed you are about to be 29. You have done well for yourself." Vain as it sounds, it made my day. For me it all goes back to that concept of being comfortable in your own skin. It took a long time for me to reach this place and hell if I am not going to finally enjoy the way it feels. I spent the majority of my 20s feeling un-pretty, awkward, and trying too hard. Now that I am at a place of comfort, I want to drink in every moment of it. Even though my face is going to be red-purple for the next few days, I am certainly not going to let that stop me from doing anything and everything I want to do. If people don't like my red face, they don't have to look! Everyone ragged on Michael Douglas when he went out in public with what appeared to be evidence of healing plastic surgery on his face (see below)
but I say, "Go ahead on with your bad ass." Life is just too short to allow superficialities to keep you from doing what you want in life. As my friend, Marion, used to say, "If people look at you in judgment: consider the lookers." Touche, touche.
My friend, Robyn, gave me a little early gift today and told me she felt like I needed a little pick-me-up. And I really appreciated it because I definitely needed a pick-me-up after the week I have had. There have been some times where I have felt worn out, burned out, pissed on and generally mistreated. So it was nice today to encounter other people who were nice. It truly did remind me that just because some people are catty assholes doesn't mean everyone is.
Sometimes, even Simon can be surprised.
