Friday, April 25, 2008

The Bald Man

Yesterday on the train I saw a young man studying. Roughly, he looked to be in his mid-late twenties, had a gray hoodless sweatshirt, and was bald. I found myself oddly attracted.

He had a handsome face…more on the boyish side, (which doesn’t usually pique my interest) but still very masculine all at the same time. I’m pretty sure I was reading during my entire journey, but truth be told, I was struggling to keep my eyes off his beautiful bald head. My neck just might have snapped if a few glances hadn’t been stolen. The entire time he was chatting with some curly brown haired acquaintance he ran into coincidentally. Apparently they had attended school together in the past. I wonder if he was as good looking then too. (sans, bald head.)

The Bald Man wasn’t extraordinarily handsome,…he was one of those guys you would pass by on the street with maybe only a blip of interest and then proceed on your merry way. No one-eighty degree head turn necessary. (Not that I would do that or anything). The baldness up top was what upped his intrigue points. Noticeably, he could have had a full mane, (the faint shadow of brown on his scalp was a dead giveaway) but why sport locks like every other guy? This guy was bold.

Given, he has a nice, completely smooth, shiny head. Not a bump for miles. Even the most minor of imperfections can ruin a beautiful bald head, rendering it unsexy.

Here is the advice I can offer you men who dare to put hair to razor:

1. Must have a strong face structure. This is crucial, as a fat or

overly round face plus bald head will come off resembling a modern –day Buddha.)

2. Must have a decent bodily build. SKINNY MEN…do NOT attempt this. No hair on a man who is lacking the body to complement it… is not a flattering spectacle. If you are skinny, the only way to successfully pull this off is to have number 3.

3. Good sense of style. It’s true, the svelte can pull this off, but only with an impeccable sense of taste in clothing can this be accomplished. If you do have a nice build, you can actually get away with a bald head without the fashion sense as you will have the body to make up for it. But…paired together will make for a truly deadly sexy combo. Yum.

Baldness is a very particular aesthetic. Not everyone can pull this off. (BTW, when I say bald, I mean completely bald…not even a centimeters-worth of peach fuzz is permitted.) When a man decides to be bald, he is in a way castrating himself because normally, having hair is viewed as an asset. (Just think of all those poor souls sporting those vicious comb-overs in a last attempt to have a hair.) So if you are going to take away that asset, you hope to enhance your other positive traits as much as possible to restore balance back to the ying-yang effect of your self-image. Take something away on the one end, add some more to the other end. Voila. The scale is back to zero. This goes for both men and women alike. Looking good is a balance of all elements…and if you’re gonna shave it, then it’s about time you invest in that gym membership you’ve been wanting…or buy a simply smashing party outfit.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Cookout Weekend Mania


I cannot stress to you how important it is to do your laundry, walk your dog, keep batteries in the TV remote (VERY important), and most importantly....cook. This chick can no longer look to the microwave for gastrointestinal support.

As of late I've been working on upping my cooking skills...(for any of you that have played the popular EA game, The Sims... you'll know what gaining skills looks like...a little thermometer bar drifting overhead as your character spends time completing their task...and I'm pretty sure I've gained me some serious meter pointage! bua-ha.)

BEHOLD MY CREATIONS!!

(Above: Pasta salad with sundried tomatoes, olives, chicken, parsely, grape tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and pine nuts with balsalmic vinegar.)

Spicy Chicken & Cilantro Wontons...(pan-fried)...[these babies took me roughly 3 hours to whip up from scratch so y'all better a-p-p-r-e-c-i-a-t-e] -->

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Emails: The 1st Draft that Should get Sent

Ever since I've become a working-gal, I've learned that professionalism must be exercised all (or most) of the time...the way you dress, the way you carry yourself, the way you speak, what you say, and who you say it to, whether it be via phone, mono-a-mono, or through e-mail. ESPECIALLY email...because emails are not in anyway visually or audibly interactive...its hard to read how the person behind it is saying it. (IE: Sarcasm could easily be taken as an offensive quip by the receiving party if they do not share your sarcastic nature.)

K, so here's the email I would send to someone that owes me a certain piece of information due that day:

[sent: 9:00AM EST]
"Hello so-and-so,

In regards to the meeting today at the Dream house with Barbie, Midge and Ken, please send me the agenda with the attached background info at your soonest convenience.

Thanks!

Regards,
My Name Here"


It's polite, straight to the point and kindly asking for a piece of info. (notice the friendly exclamation points :) )
Receiving the info in a timely manner is crucial so that I may complete my end of the job and quickly move it to the "finished" pile of my brain.

I get no response for a few hours, thus preventing me from moving to step two of the operation. Lets call it operation "Dream House Cookout with Barbie".
So I send out a second plea for information. I mean hey...they probably didn't see email #1...we're all busy people. This time it says:

[sent 11:47AM EST]
"Hi so-and-so,

In reference to the meeting happening at 3PM today with Barbie, Midge and Ken,
please send me the agenda with the attached background info 1 hour prior to the conversation.

Thank you.

Regards,
My Name Here"


Sounds a little more blunt, (notice the "Thank YOU" and not "Thanks" along with the lack of a happy exclamation point) but it's getting close to the wire, so I'm breaking out into a minor sweat (no need for deodorant yet)...but I wish I could have sent my 1st draft that looked something like this:

[not-sent, but wished to have sent at 11:44AM EST]
"Hey so-and-so,

What's the hold up? Send over pronto the agenda and background info for us to scrutinize so we don't head into the Dream House conversation looking like morons. Do not mess up our straight-A game... let's put the pedal to the medal and make this happen, yeah?

Gracias.

-My Name Here"


As perfect as email #2 was, I needed to make some necessary edits to draft number 1. Ha-ha.

So still no response and its already 2:14PM...46 minutes to go before being thrown to Barbie's Dream House chihuahua-guard dogs.
Here's what gets sent (with mine and his superior CC'd):

[sent 2:14PM EST]
So-and-so,

To elaborate on the voicemail I left you, please send the info and agenda for the Dream House Cookout ASAP as the meeting is taking place at 3PM.

Thanks,
My Name Here


ANNDD draft numero uno:


Yo *so-and-so's abbreviated name here*

Tell me you haven't suffered a food coma at your desk! I NEED the Dream House info NOW. What are you doing....has your BlackBerry alerts and my incessant emails not pinged you into action? If you don't send it...so help me i will *^%$#@ kick your @#$% so far you will be working out of the Singapore office!!!

Friggin A,

-S


Not so nice...and probably will destroy a potentially beautiful business relationship.
Thus, remember folks....always be polite. And take off those sneakers and put on a decent pair of heels/ Kenneth Cole's for goodness sakes.
It's been a pleasure doing business with ya...I mean you.

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