Mumblings on beauty

We little girls in the neighbourhood would sometimes sneak off with our mom's and elder sisters' clothes and cart them off to a friend's place. There we would pile them up and try them on for an impromptu fashion show. One of us, usually the eldest would act as the MC and she would call us out one by one and we would sashay on the kitchen floor.


One time, this girl, maybe a couple of years older than us, moved to the neighbourhood and we invited her to join our fashion show. Instead of wearing someone's mom's clothes, she draped a curtain round herself. We gawked at her elegant make-shift gown and her exaggerated poses on the kitchen walk. And then to top it all off, when the MC asked her where she came from, she threw her hands up in the air and cried, "I come to... CUBAAA!!"


That for us was the pinnacle of glamour. Never mind that our teachers taught us that the correct response when someone asks where we come from is "I come from..". We all wanted to come to (dramatic pause, hands thrown upwards) Cubaaa. Afterwards, we would suck up to whoever was the MC so that she would call us out first and we could claim Cuba. Being very sucky at sucking up, I came to Cuba just once, but oh, the utter divaesqueness of the moment! It didnt matter if youre born in the USA, or you come from the land down under, or you could fly yourself to the moon. Cuba was it. Original Cuban girl too could never afterwards match up to her debut performance. 


Often, I find myself wondering what makes a person attractive. Classical beauty aside, there are certain people who others are drawn to like sugar to ants. I once had a roomie who was quite frankly, certainly no raving beauty but every time we went out in a group, she always, ALWAYS, had at least two romeos who walked up to her on the street and who introduced themselves to her. Being prissy little teens then, we would wonder what the attraction was and surmised that she must've batted her scanty lashes at all the guys she passed (meowr). 


Looking back, I think now that it was her sheer exuberant, laugh out loud persona that was the attraction. Roomie had always been able to have a good laugh with even the dourest person, and even when she hooked up with the guy I and a friend had been heavily crushing on for months, she could still make us laugh our stomachs flat. I think that too was the attraction posed by Cuban girl. The curtainy gown and the posing were pretty good but in itself were nothing worth remembering after 20 years (omg 20!!!) And though I can't recall her face, I cant forget the starry look in her eyes, the exuberance in her raised arms and the total openness of her smile as she cried "Cubaaa!!" She made Cuba seem like a place where all was sunshiney and beautiful. Wonder what Fidel would make of her.


So, .. er, physical beauty aside, I guess attractiveness depends on the happiness that a person exudes. Which is why I think Victoria's Secret models are soo attractive. Apart from the slinky bods and the sexy lingeries, its the friendliness and the "I have fun" attitude which they exude that sets them apart from the other sulky-looking models out there.  
Still, I think batting one's scanty lashes would do the job pretty well too...

A little something to ensure my blog doesn't get all mouldy. A friend recently told me I was bipolar, when I thought I was just being indecisive. Admitting that I might be bipolar seemed to me like I was not taking responsibility for my actions. Blah
 I guess I really am bipolar because I started off all interested in the subject but now I find I no longer want to talk about it. Bleh.


I never thought I would run out of things to say. I guess age and ennui catches up with us all at some point. Ive never subscribed to those who say, "If you don't have anything worthwhile to say, then shut up". 
Now I guess I have no choice but to shut up- again.