Saturday, November 04, 2006

One of my top five all-time most unpleasant activities

One would be - sitting in a non-airconditioned car in the middle of a traffic jam on a hot, hot day, with no prospect of moving forwards and no cold drink sitting handily in the passenger seat.

When I was at the Bank, one of the most horrible events was the annual performance appraisal. Every year I was sure that this time I would be exposed as a pretender to geekiness, but every time I survived to fix yet more bug-ridden computer programmes.

Being my mum's taxi driver used to suck unimaginably. Waiting at the meat counter for hours while she fastidiously searched for the perfect pork shoulder, seemed to drained the life out of me. Funnily enough, it's not quite so bad any more. It's probably because seeing her and The Little Madam get along so well makes me feel happy.

Cleaning the toilet. Does anyone not hate this chore? I recently tried out a new toilet-cleaning product - you just squirt the stuff around the inside of the bowl and leave it for ten minutes or so before flushing it all away. Well, that toilet bowl is now looking almost as clean as the toilets you see on the television ads for - um - toilet cleaner. And I'm almost as joyful about it as the housewife on the ad, too.

But today, the rank of most unpleasant activity has to be - getting fitted for a bra.
Not only must I study my flabby self near-naked in bright light, with the added risk of the changing room curtain blowing aside to allow any loitering perv a full-on view of my fat rolls and skin blemishes, but I've got to let the bra-fitter see me in all my un-sexy glory as well. Usually the bra-fitter is a middle-aged or elderly woman, and somehow that makes the whole experience relatively unthreatening. But when the person dropping my boobs into their respective cups, is a nubile young woman who still has her figure and a social life, well it's pretty damned close to humiliating.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can relate to the first four things. Thankfully I can't relate to the last one which sounds the most unpleasant, ha,ha..

Michael C said...

Ok, I feel for you with the traffic thing living in Southern California, but just can't realte with the bra part, sorry ;-)

Violet said...

happyandblue2: I'm sure I'm seen a few males about who could do with a bra though ;-)

michael c: ditto!

beth: oh dear. I bet you get a lot of guys talking to your bosom too. I've heard of women who go down one or two cup sizes once they stop breastfeeding - there's hope for you!

Jon said...

I'm very much a clean freak when it comes to my place- I always mke sure the bathroom is constantly clean and that everything in my apartment is always put away and tidy. I also bathe quite thoroughly, using those Japanese course 'body towels' which are just slightly rough nylon and polyester fibers woven to form a cloth. great for a good scrub and exfoliating the body, and especially great for the back.

BUT- while many of my friends and family tease my about my over bathing and fussy cleaning habits, I do some things that many would find gross, ie rarely is ever washing jeans (the dirty denim effect lasts longer if you don't wash them) and just using Febreeze on them, and rarely/never dry blazers. I probably shouldn't admit this....

Zephra said...

Bra shopping/fitting...ah yes. I would put that right up there with bathing suit shopping and childbirth.

Violet said...

jon: well it is kinda weird to be so fastidious with your personal hygiene, and yet not wash/dryclean your jeans and blazers at all...

zephra: oh yeah, I forgot all about the horrors of childbirth!

The Skirt said...

Cleaning the toilet is so yucky I don't remember the last time I did it personally. School camp maybe? But what is the name of the magical cleaner?

Violet said...

Oh I don't remember these things, skirt - and I'm too lazy to go to the bathroom to check. But I can tell you it's one of those toilet duck jobbies, you know with the duckbill-shaped nozzle.