Roughing it?
In the wake of yesterday's post, wherein I dispensed advice to the men of the nation on how not to chat up the ladyfolk, I started to wonder if I might not be getting a bit "diva" on it. Who am I to say how? Was I expecting rather too much of the collected male citizenry? I've always prided myself on being one of those mid- to low-maintenance kind of gals but maybe that's not true?
I say mid- to low-maintenance because I know that I'm definitely not of the "zero maintenance" variety. Although I am fiercely independent, preferring to do things for myself, I also like my creature comforts so can only stomach camping for a maximum of about three days, and when in a relationship need regular cuddles and compliments. My feeling is that these things constitute a base-line of "minimum system requirements" for the successful running of this particular piece of "Moata software".
Having said that, there is the small issue of "The Shoes". I have a lot of them and I do tend to refer to them as "the pretties", sometimes in the kind of cooing tones that most people reserve for their pets or possibly children. But in my defence, on my recent long weekend roadtrip I was sufficiently able to separate myself from them that I only took one pair of sturdy sneakers and a comfy pair of slippers with me. Similarly, despite the vast number of hair products I currently own (and a tendency towards "boofiness"), I left those at home too. I mean, hey, it's not like we were going to be swanking it up anywhere.
And then when I was slinging my backpack into Moose's car I spied her fantastic red boots in the back and I started to suspect that not everyone was on the same page as I was.
Sure enough, day two came and out of Moose's bag came a hairdryer! I didn't know we were doing hairdryers! There was some stress when her hair mousse could not be found, prompting Betsy to offer some anti-frizz creme. All this made me feel like I was in a really terrible film in which one of the Topp Twins accidentally enters a beauty paegant but remains plucky and lovable and ends up wearing a bush-shirt as formalwear and everyone learns to appreciate inner beauty and some over-manicured, skinny blonde chick ends up with a cream-pie to the face.
As beloved entertainers as they may be, I do not ever wish to relate to the Topp Twins on a fashion level. Stone me for that if you will, but as God is my witness I'll never wear chambray again (I don't believe that some fashion trends should stay in the eighties, I believe ALL of them should).
But in reality I'm not a Topp Twin and Betsy and Moose aren't over-primped divas. They were just doing exactly what I do when I'm at home. I just got this silly notion in my head that because I was away from home (and the shoes) for a couple of days, I was "roughing it". And it's not like I didn't take any "non-essentials" but who knows if you're going to be able to procure fresh mint leaves for your mojito when you're staying in a cottage in the middle of the woods? Quite possibly there are Daniel Boone types who have the necessary foraging skills for this but the only "hunting and gathering" I'm any good at is finding the last pair of size 10 sandals on a sale table at Ballantynes. As far as I'm concerned it's much more sensible to simply take these things with you.
So, what do you think? High maintenance, low or somewhere in the middle? How do you (or your significant other) measure up? What are the hallmarks of a diva?
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I too love my pretties. I'm pretty low maintenance though. I don't actually own any hair products other than shampoo. Hair products, and beauty products generally, mystify me. I've never been able to work out the point of them. Why would you want anything beyond basic hygiene and eyeliner? Maybe if you had frizzy hair to tame, I guess, but then a lot of women seem to have a vast array of entirely unnecessary products.
I'm not too sure how I'd define "diva", but expecting men to behave like civilised human beings wouldn't be it, I know that much. I think "diva" might mean not being able to grasp that there is much more to life than acrylic nails and lip gloss.
for shoe cooing purposes www.shoesofprey.com I like shoes too.. I like shoes a great deal.. they are infinitely easier to buy than clothes (at least at the moment).. Whats worse is I like expensive shoes.. I have not yet ordered shoes from the website but there are too many choices you'll see what I mean if you look... maybe I will buy some for my birthday..
As to the maintenance thing I think thats fairly middling styles you've described there... I am low, so long as I have clean clothes, a hairbrush, and two pairs of shoes I am good to go.. I can even go without my GHDs if theres no electricity.. actually I like camping...
Diva would be whinging every moment of the day and freaking out at the long drop, not being able to scrape together a mushy looking meal from packets, or freaking out because the only power available comes from the car battery and you can't use than unless you want to be stuck.
When it comes to home I am a diva. I work for what I have and like to have it!
But when travelling I do pack light. I'll wear the same stinky clothes for days (though insist on enough clean underwear to last the trip) and the GHD's do come with me. I'll swap the Kerastase shampoo for a shampoo bar from lush (which also doubles as clothes soap...) so I just try to be a bit more resourceful really.
Haven't been camping in years, but I was a scout and reckon I could kill my own dinner if necessary. So updhot is that I prefer my creature comforts, but can survive without moaning if I have to.
Somewhere in the middle here. I can rough it if need be :)
Hmm, I'd say I'm mid-maintenance. If we're going camping I will do without stuff like a hairdryer and hand cream but if you give me the choice I wont pick camping. So I'm sort of adaptable but have my preferences. One thing I wont ever go without though is music in some form - whether an ipod or a guitar I've got to have something musical going on.
Normally I'd place myself in the low-mid maintainance catergory as well, I'm not a girly-girl by any stretch of the imagination but I do put a small amount of effort into my appearance and also require the occasional bit of intelligent conversation from the significant other. Thus not exactly maintainance-free, apparently! Camping is another story. If I'm out there battling mosquitos, sunburn and less-than-reliable tent poles and expected to man up and deal with it? Then dammit, I'll man up. No make up, flat shoes, and the freedom to belch as loud as I want without even a raised eyebrow. Makes a nice change to be a GHD-free neanderthal for a few weeks a year :D
I have two pairs of shoes. One black leather for work and going out posh. One sneakers for not.
I hate shoes. I never had shoes when I was a kid ("Twelve 'us in cardboard box in midl'o roood") but I wore gumboots when it was wet and went barefoot when it wasn't.
Did you hear that the latest scientific thinking is that the rise in kids needing podiatry treatment is because they are forced to wear shoes all the time? Their foot muscles are weak as a result and they have podiatry problems. It's probably cos kids are fat too. Being overweight causes podiatry problems.
But back on topic - I'm low maintenace. My wife is generally low maintenance but she will not go camping - unless "camping" involves access to indoor plumbing including a hot shower - so she is a low maintenance diva.
I'm possibly middle, but only because I can tend towards both ends of the continuum, depending on the situation. When at home I would say I'm high, as I enjoy putting on make up and doing my hair and wearing pretty clothes. My ex has complained many times about how long it takes me to get ready (1 - 1.5 hours depending on the situation) but he always appreciated the end product and I am sure he wouldn't have enjoyed it if I went out on a date sans make up, styled hair or nice clothes. But when I'm camping (or if its the weekend and I have nothing planned) then I can happily go without a shower, without make up, with my hair in any form as long as its out of the way. Our last camping trip saw us in the middle of nowhere with no shower or means to wash. I easily lasted the three day trip, although I was quite happy to shower when I got home. AND I even have been knwon to help butcher a recently hunted animal. So I would say that away from civilisation I am very low maintenance. Making me, by my caluclations, somewhere in the middle
I guess I am somewhere in the middle. Depends where I am going. We go to the lake everywhere, waaaaaaaay across the other side where there are no creature comforts at all. I am quite happy having my body wash, facial loofah and a bar of natural laundry soap. Skipper sets up a 'thunder box' in the bush for our facilities, and we generally tend to live in our togs and light clothes that are easy to wash in the lake and dry tied to the back of the boat or on the stays :P
BUT if we're going away for a hol where there is electricity, I need at least 5 pairs of shoes, half my wardrobe, and my entire earring collection :P If I had a straightener I would take it too :P
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I take less when camping than my mister.
...but then, he moisturises his face. (I think he's a woman.)