Material Possessions

My baby is back on the road! I bashed my car a couple of weeks ago and it had to go to the garage but I just picked it up so I’m mobile again!


You’re all going to have bear with me for a few days cos I have relationships on the brain at the moment. Plus I am hopelessly self absorbed and narcissistic. :-D
My topic for the day is material possessions.


Someone pointed out to me recently that I come across as being very high maintenance and not needing a guy because I am always very well groomed and seem to have it all. Clothes, my amazingly fabulous shoe collection, bags, a car, my own place and a great high paying job. Coupled with the fact that I am obviously very intelligent, I went to Ivy League schools and I’m very classy. (Loll – ok I exaggerate wildly but one can dream right?)


Anyways the point this person with all their kind intentions was trying to make is – guys find it hard to step up because I have all the right trappings. The impression they get is I either already have a guy (the one obviously buying me all this stuff making me a gold digger or trophy girlfriend) or I must be a lesbian. If by some odd twist of fate, I just happened to be hardworking and ambitious enough to earn the money to afford these things then I must be a tough ball breaker who will make them feel inadequate, otherwise known to some as a lesbian. So what’s a woman to do? I despair. Where have all the good, strong, secure-in-their-damn-selves men gone?


Switching the debate around – why are women soo obsessed with having the right trappings? The latest it-bag, shoes, designer clothes, address in “the right” part of town, oh and the latest must have – the diamond rock on the left hand? Why the need for the status symbols? Why the need to justify our worth through our possessions? Now I’m no saint. I believe in quality over quantity and would spend stupid amounts on something amazing (read classic) but I’m very far from being a fashion victim, a walking designer advert or a label/brand freak. We all know girls who would spend their rent money on buying the latest bag or max their credit card bills on things they can’t afford. I have a substance abuse problem with shoes – I model myself on Carrie in SATC – and admit to often overspending but I know that in the long run I can afford it. We also know the girls who are not fussy about who they date as long as he can afford to take them shopping down Sloane street.


Now I asked why women are obsessed, but men are just as bad. My boss recently got divorced and 6 weeks later, bought a brand new sporty 2 seater car. I know nothing about cars so can’t tell you which one it is but I do know it has no other functionality than to drive fast and look good. Men also love their gadgets – they have to own the latest phones, pc, sound system, playstation, home cinema etc. Again I have to admit to being big on gadgets – I love nothing better than to whip out my HTC universal and surf the net or use it as my sat nav in the car. I remember I used to drive this guy crazy cos I had a blackberry and he didn’t and he’d always come out with snide remarks about my being work whipped… but I digress. It’s not just gadgets, men (think David Beckham – whom I actually really like) are also very into fashion and accessories, plus let’s not even get into houses – MTV cribs is a prime example.


I don’t know much about the male psyche but I think with guys, it’s the age old rivalry of whose dick is larger. Women on the other hand … I don’t know. Some of the people I know who are obsessed about being one up on everyone else in having the best things tend to suffer from a sense of insecurity or may have low self esteem. I can’t however generalise and think this pertains to everyone. I just wonder how people feel when they hear the news about people starving in 3rd world countries, or better still see that homeless person on the street begging for change? I sometimes feel guilty when I’ve been shopping and I see the people on the street corners begging. I sometimes try and justify walking on to myself that I’d probably be feeding someone’s drug habit or that they’d probably try and mug me but it’s not always the case. What about all the countless charities asking for just £2 a month to do this or that? Let’s not even go into when I go to Nigeria and see the beggars on the streets. I dread getting stuck in traffic cos my heart breaks and I always have to give them something.


Ok I think I’ve rambled enough again. Sorry this has to end so abruptly but I need to get back to work before I get fired. Have a nice weekend people.