Pretty is as Pretty Does

[Editor’s note: this Blog is not about the fishies, as promised. Hopefully next time. Try to contain your disappointment.]

Can we talk for a minute about the different classifications of a pleasing appearance?

It’s something I think about every now and again. I mean, I don’t think I’m completely unfortunate looking, but I don’t think I’m anything above average either. It always really surprises me when someone finds me attractive.

Now, wait a sec, before you jump on me for my lack of confidence. This isn’t exactly what you think it is. I’m used to being called “cute,” just not anything else.

Cute is one of those words that seems to be more a state of being than an actual state of appearance. I mean, cute kinda signifies small, short, and not ugly. Bunnies are cute, fawns are cute, etc. No one in their right mind would ever call…say…Angelina Jolie “cute.”

Pretty, to me, is more of a face/hair thing, like the opposite of a “butter face.” Someone with a less than spectacular body can be pretty, if he/she is rocking the hair and has a nicely proportioned face. Pretty is also a little bit old-fashioned, IMHO, something the friends of my grandparents like to call me…but only occasionally comes out of the mouths of people my own age.

Beautiful has a lot of different definitions. For one, it’s kind of pretty to the extreme. It works for both sexes, and it sometimes falls into the realm of love. Meaning simply that, often times, when you’re falling for a person he/she seems to get more and more beautiful as you spend more and more time with him/her. Beautiful also deals with art…and creation. “Beautiful painting”… “beautiful sunset”…you get the idea. There’s always an opinion level to beauty—eye of the beholder, and all the rest—but also the idea that inner beauty can sometimes overcome external plainness.

Hot/sexy/smoking usually is the opposite of pretty. It’s more about body measurements then facial structure. A truly “total package” girl/guy could be called this as well, but I’ve seen a lot of chicks get called hot just because they were thin and had big boobs and a nice ass.

Attractive, to me, is basically anyone who seems to attract the majority of people they come in contact with. Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp are attractive, and they really don’t fall under any of the other categories. The thing about attractive is, just because you can look at a person and say, “Yeah, he/she’s attractive,” doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily attracted to them.
Which leads me back to the beginning… I’m always surprised when people are attracted to me. It’s bad, in that every time I like someone, I get all nervous wondering whether or not I have a chance. (Not that looks are everything, but they are something.) On the other hand, it’s kind of lovely, because—every time it happens—it feels a little bit like Christmas morning.

For instance, when I was sitting, chatting with BILL…about A giving me shit about my customers not liking me so much as liking to look at me…and BILL smiled at me and said, “Well, yeah. You can’t help what you got.” I felt like someone had just handed me a present, and I think that might have been the moment that I went from liking BILL, to LIKE liking BILL.

And about BILL…

We hung out with his bro and a few of his brother’s friends down at the racetrack (dragtrack?) yesterday. It was a great day of just hanging out with a bunch of boys. There was silliness, drinking, and just general good-time camaraderie. Besides a mild sunburn, I couldn’t have asked for a better time. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, I guess…depending on your prospective) I’m becoming more and more infatuated with him. We chatted a lot about friendships and relationships.

I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see…

Quote of the Moment:
BILL’s Bro: “Damn it! Just put it in the hole!”
Ms. I: “That’s what she said.”
(Masse laughing)
Ms.I: “I’m sorry…(giggling).”
BILL’s Bro: “I just set that one up perfectly, didn’t I?”
Ms. I: “…the door just opened, and I just had to…”
BILL’s Bro: “Oh, no, you totally had to say it. I would have hit you, had you not.”

Soundtrack of the Moment: Britney Spears, Get Naked
TV/Movie Quote: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Elsa: It's perfectly obvious where the pages are. He's given them to Marcus Brody.
Professor Henry Jones: Marcus? You didn't drag poor Marcus along did you? He's not up to the challenge.
Walter Donovan: He sticks out like a sore thumb. We'll find him.
Indiana Jones: The hell you will. He's got a two day head start on you, which is more than he needs. Brody's got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see him again. With any luck, he's got the grail already.
[Cut to middle of fair in the Middle East, Marcus Brody wearing bright suit and white hat, sticking out like sore thumb]
Marcus Brody: Uh…Is there anyone here who speaks English? Or maybe even ancient Greek?