Thursday, June 22, 2006

Find the Funny & Accept Yourself!

Earlier this week a colleague commented that I am funny because I can laugh at myself without seeming… sad.

Laughing at yourself in a healthy manner is a sign of true acceptance. It is also representative of your ability to pull your life into perspective, to know what’s important, what’s not and what can provide a little FUNNY now and then.

In my life, there’s not much that is off limits. Bad hair days, bad choices in men, the very bad (& seemingly SLOW) sagging of my backside… It’s all fair game. And the funny comes in the reality of each situation. The humidity of St. Louis causes my hair to frizz out on any given day and while the actual hair may be laughable, it’s the agony of trying to tame that frizz down to a level acceptable for public viewing that provides the funny. My incompatibility with nearly every man living in the St. Louis metro area would be sad, if not for the funny that can be found in the reason why we’re not compatible. (And that reason is actually a laundry list that includes “I was graduating from high school when he was cutting his molars,” “The span of his ass is equal to the width of my left thigh,” and many other favorites.) As for the saggy butt… the visual alone should be enough to give you a chuckle.

Laughter truly is the best medicine for a healthy heart, for plucking yourself from the throw of a depression or for tightening up your abs. But finding the funny in a situation may also be the key to truly accepting who you are.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Men are like cake

Men are like cake. And I love cake.

But you can love cake and not taste every cake you see. In fact, some cake looks better than it tastes. You could spot a gorgeous cake, take a slice and sneak off into a corner to partake and on the first bite, discover that it's CARROT cake. On the other hand, some cake may appear slightly uneven or may be missing a little icing on top or perhaps it's even been hacked into by your greedy third cousin from Nowhere, Va. Upon tasting it however, you realize it might be the best cake you've ever eaten.

Some cake is simply nice to look at. But just because you are attracted to it... That doesn't mean you have to taste it. It's just nice to look at and think about and maybe even IMAGINE how it might taste. But that's enough. Tasting it would almost spoil the fantasy.

Then there's the cake that you would love to try but you can't have any. It's the cake that a department on the 8th floor of your building is having to celebrate an anniversary or a birthday and you work on the 7th floor so... it would be a bit inappropriate to swipe a piece. Afterall, it isn't YOUR cake. It belongs to someone else.

Some people pass on having a piece of cake because they know it isn't good for them or the calories are just going to attach themselves directly on already plump locations of their bodies. I can't just pass on cake because it might be bad for me. I have to try it and I might regret it later. I may even beat myself up about it. But I can't say no... to cake.

The greatest thing about cake is that it comes in all shapes and sizes and colors and flavors. There is a cake for everyone.

You could spend a fortune on a cake or buy it in a box and make it at home yourself. I guess that is where the comparisons to men stop though.

For the most part, though, men are like cake. And I love cake.