Heroes of the fictional variety...

So, I have very few "real life" heroes that come to mind when people ask me who I look up to. sure, there are a few, like my parents, a woman that I used to babysit for...that's probably it. I don't usually go for famous people heroes, because I feel like you see a really filtered version of them, and who knows if that is actually what they are like? There are people that I wish I could meet, like Nora Roberts, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, George Strait, Dale from Top Chef, Dog the Bounty Hunter (don't ask...), Dana White, But I wouldn't necessarily say that those people have characteristics that I relate to or would aspire to develop in myself. And for me, I need to relate to the people that I look up to. So here is kind of a weird topic, but I am going to introduce you to my fictional heroes... or heroines, rather...

My first fictional heroine is Elle Woods, of Legally Blonde fame. Why, you ask? I guess it started a few years ago with an offhand comment. I was volunteering for a program at school where they needed people to review resumes and facilitate some other programs for juniors and seniors in order to prepare them for job searching. We were supposed to wear "professional dress" because all of the students were supposed to dress for interviews. As myself and the other volunteers, a handful of graduate students in my program, stood in the front of the room waiting to be introduced my eyes scanned the outfits of the other volunteers. Hunter green pants suit with a zippered jacket on a female coworker (yes. a zippered jacket.) very nice black skirt suit on another, plain suits on a couple of guys. and then there was me. i had painstakingly picked out this outfit, and I thought I was rocking it, which I was: black nylons (not the 80's see-through ones, the ones that are like tights), black stilettos, knee-length black skirt, button-down with vertical stripes of different thicknsses in black and silver (thin stripes, totally acceptable), a black, cable-knit sweater vest with a subtle silver thread running through it, and my favorite siler earrings, which happened to be dangles. As I looked over the other volunteers, I began to doubt the professional quality of my outfit, even though I was still fully committed to its stylish quality. I leaned over to my friend, the wearer of the great black skirt suit, and asked "um, is this professional enough? what I am wearing?" her answer: "Of course it is. You are like the Elle Woods of the CSP prgram". I looked at her questioningly and she said "You know, you always look professional, but you look like, you know, you."

I was thrilled by this compliment. What a nice thing to say to someone! And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Elle has some great qualities, many of which I totally identify with. For example:

1. She is comletely not afraid to be a girl, even if that means head to toe pink outfits, scented stationary, embossed thank-you notes, whatever. However, this does not mean that she lets people take advantage of her or walk all over her. She can be a hard ass and stand up for herself.

2. I love how in the movie she just up and decides that she is going to go to harvard law. she makes up her mind, and there is no looking back. Sure, she initially goes because of a boy, but she relaizes in the end that doing it for herself is more important. She never once doubts that she will apply to harvard law, get in, and become a smashing success.

3. Elle accepts her ditziness, or blondeness, but never lets it get her down. Just because she says some dumb things (ask me sometime about my story about pamela anderson and the 'scary movie' she was in...) doesn't mean she's an idiot.

4. I also love how she kills people with kindness.

So my second heroine is Brenda Lee Johnson, of TNT network's The Closer, played by Kyra Sedgwick. If you do not already watch this show and enjoy cop shows/mysteries and women, you should really check it out. I completely relate to Brenda on a ton of different levels...

1. Brenda is another one who is a strong woman and doesn't let anyone give her any shit. On the show she plays a police interrogator, well-known for "closing" cases with her interrogation skills. Despite being a hard ass, she rocks floral patterned dresses, pastel suits, big heels, big hair, and makeup. Another thing I love is that her outfits don't always looks perfect...sometimes she will have the cutest dress on with a cartigan that doesn'y quite go, like when you get to work and realize that what you thougt was a good choice an hour ago just looks, well, weird.

2. Brenda is also always getting herself into trouble, mostly because she is going to do things her way and worry about everything later.

3. She routinely hides in her office and eats junk food with a look of pure intoxication that only those of us who have love affairs with anything chocolate at 3:00 in the afternoon can uinderstand. There was even one episode when she was ready to bite into a cookie when one of her coworkers walked in. She stuffed the cookie in the desk and you could tell that it was KILLING her.

4. In one episode she got in 2 car accidents in one day and they took away her driving priveleges by insisting that one of the other detectives drive er around. Um, I am the only perosn I know that actually has gotten into 2 fender benders in one day....

So, that is enough gushing about these two, and I hope ths helps you to get to know me a little better....

Peace.