Sunday, July 17, 2011

People Watching - Rude or Reality?

Come on we all do it! And alot of us love it - just sitting in a cafe, on a train, in a bar or on the beach watching the world go by and with it the people in it. Some of them inspire us, others make us envious, some make us cringe and some make us remember we dont have it so bad ourselves.

I am fascinated by others sense of style, poise and charisma - not so much to capture it on film for recongition but for personal inspiration. But then I wonder how does one properly people watch? I have family members - names for their own protection will be omitted - who actually turn around a follow the person they are observing. Surely the idea of observing is to be done subtly and not to be let the other person feel watching or worse stared at.

I once was on a girly weekend out in London with my cousin - who is a slender, tall, capivating - yet I am not jealous. As we went shopping down the Kings Road we caught the bus to save our soles (shoes of course) only to have a mother and daughter so intently stare at my cousin that she felt awkward unsure of herself. I being the outspoken, opinated person I am had to comment - my best comment was : 'My mother always told me not to stare, apparently yours didnt'. I know very clever right. But it made me angry - no matter what we personally think of another person's hair, shoes, handbag etc it should never be our intent to stare and make someone else feel uncomfortable. So at risk of sounding silly I do tell people if I think they have a particularly lovely handbag that I cant help but stare at (envy is tricky) something.

So please if you do stare not a problem but be gracious and acknowlegde it ...

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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Friend Envy

Maybe envy isnt the right word - maybe it is admiration.

Dont get me wrong I have the most amazing friends but you get into situations, go to parties and you see this amazing tight knit big group of friends. They have grown up together know each others strengths and weaknesses and as a person who is a global trotter my friends are spread all over. So seeing this huge group of friends makes me envious. Maybe I was daunted by the amount, maybe I havent calculated my number but because I dont have it I love the romance and history of childhood sandbox friends.

My girlfriends and I joke that we would love for our kids to play together but the undiscussed hint there is that the grown ups get to play too. Be it long boozy lunches or bbq sessions when the kids are asleep. Still issue in my daydreaming is that I am behind the curve on that one but that is the beauty daydreaming.

Its funny with so many films out right now dedicated to the friendship factor on so many levels... from the Hangover to Bridesmaids to even Harry Potter really - from my perspective I think because the magic is the fantastic stories - embarrassing, funny, touching, intimate, argumentative and of course drunken that friendship brings. It builds an indestructible bond that when you nourish it and acknowledge it and  cherish it friendship can last. I hope my friends know I cherish them, value them and appreciate them.

So even if I succumb to a bit of envy when I see the cool friend group and maybe in the moment forget my cool friends all it takes is a little blog for me to realise how special my friendship are.

much love x

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