Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The outer me

I have some very beautiful friends. Since they are my friends I can plainly say that ALL of them are beautiful on the inside. It's the outside that I am talking about today.

Japanese women are slim. I'd guess it is safe to say that none of my Japanese friends are larger than me. I could easily get a complex because I know I wear bigger clothes, and take up more space in the car etc and have a bigger appetite (that could be the problem...) I'm trying, but all my swimming is still not paying off... Anyway I always feel BIG in Japan. People will innocently say

"Well, I knew from a distance you were a foreigner because of your build."

Sometimes they mean it as a compliment and hint about wishing they had something to fill their blouses etc, but to me it always sounds like BIG.

I also don't take as much time to polish up my outer self as my friends do. I don't wear make-up. I don't dye nor style my hair. My wardrobe consists of 5 pairs of jeans two pairs of tennis shoes and some sweaters. I don't own a skirt. Many of my friends spend a lot on fashion or skin care or beauty salons. And a few of them have beautifully long polished nails that I so admire.

"My gosh Tanya. You ought to do a little more SOMETHING to make yourself pretty. DO you want to dye away the grey strands?"

Not really. I'm trying to convince myself that the increasing abundance of white on my head is just year round tinsel.

"Are you going to try acrylic nails?"

Oh heavens, no. I wouldn't be able to quilt with nails like that...

"You could stop off at the cosmetics counter and buy some goop. Or splurge on clothes."

Not at the prices I've seen! I've always been a "make do with what you've got" kind of girl and if this is all there is, this is all there is. Anyway I'd rather buy fabric.

I guess I'm just feeling middle aged and dumpy this week. I want to polish up something besides the bathroom mirror and feel feminine! Maybe I should go spritz myself with the ancient perfume I've been using to keep the cats away from the laundry room...

No comments:

Post a Comment