#xxfactor

[ideasmithy]

DUAL CITIZEN 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘷'06 I'm living on the edge. I don’t mean sex-and-drugs-and-rock-and-roll. I’m on a line of control, each side trying to yank me over. On one side is family me - the dilemmas of progressive thinking (career, independence) with the pressures of religion, rituals, decent middle-class girl with decorum & morals. On the other side is me as regards my friends, hobbies & ambitions. If I’m a good girl in the first, to the second, I’m a citizen of the Universe of Cool. It's a dual life, seasoned with practice. A friend says she'll commit suicide if she doesn't find a husband by 30. I thank my stars this isn't me. A colleague secretly lives in with her older boyfriend & I envy her freedom. I’ve been dating - boyfriends, flings, everything I could want & still so much to discover. My family remains blissfully unaware. I'm exploring & have no answers for them. In my other avatar (where it gets to be Jekyll & Hyde), I’m a prospective bride with a modern twist. We connect via a site, not a common relation. No chai-serving; we meet in coffee shops, talk on the phone & email. Some interactions later, we decide whether to spend the rest of our lives together or not. It worked for some; I'll try it. When I date a guy, I’m not sure whether I should be thinking of comittment, since its obvious he isn’t. When I meet a matrimonial match, I don’t know if it's right to enjoy the date. Fun doesn't seem proper. So on dates, I steer clear of boring/sensible topics & on matrimonial meets, I nimbly avoid references to my big city wild woman self. It's exhausting. I’m petrified I’ll miss a cue & start being ‘bride type’ with a date or ‘fun girl’ with a matrimonial match. I suspect that has happened & it has scared off the man. I find I have relief mixed with regret for another man over & done with. I can't share this with anyone. Everyone else made up their minds - prospective bride or hot date. I want to be both. I want it all. You can't live on an LOC forever, can you? The bullets are bound to get to you someday. One way or the other, I'll have to pick a nationality. Passport office, here I come! #TheMateHunt #XXFactor https://www.instagram.com/p/COmvqekJDN6/?igshid=1kd5qpwj83l8m

[ideasmithy]

HOW TO SAY HI TO STRANGE WOMEN A friend asks what's the best way to get to know a strange girl. I've had a full love life & I wasn't born with a little black book. Each one was a stranger at some point. So how did they get to know me? Once at college personality contest, I asked a competitor whose words he'd been spouting. He said "My own. I like to write". I said, "I like to read!" & a bond was born. Some people you just recognise as your people. Then there are the others. On my way to work, my morning snooze was interrupted by an eager male voice. I grunted, shifted & went back to sleep. For half an hour my dreams played the soundtrack of his ringtone, work calls punctuated by "I'll be there in 10 minutes & show you how to do it". I took out my waterbottle. Mr.Very-Important-Job put on a suave manner & asked"Is that rum?" I said "No, vodka but don't tell anyone. It's a dry day." Then I got off the bus. Early-morning flirtations aren't my favorite kickstart to the day. A pal of mine likes nice guys. Polite, courteous, god-fearing types. She can have them; they're the kind I avoid like the plague. She only smiles at a guy who apologizes for bothering her & asks if she would be kind enough to direct him to the airport. While I'd be likely to ask if he can't use Maps, what he's doing at an IT company. She likes them to 'make an effort' - dressing right, holding doors open for her, bringing her flowers....*yawwnnn* (wake me up when Mills n' Boon is over). I don't have a problem with eye candy but I like people who are fun for my mind. It isn't scientific but it takes just a few seconds to know if I'm going to like someone or not. On the other hand, I have been burnt by confident, articulate monsters. I guess, I can only say tell my friend to trying & keep their fingers crossed. You can't deny that one good start-of-something is worth a hundred other botched-up beginnings. #XXFactor - originally written on 30Sep'05 https://www.instagram.com/p/CNuoesDJ3uq/?igshid=1r61hn906e66s

[lizaboo]

It Me!

“I’d turned 18 right before school started. This was the first election I’d paid any attention to, and I knew just enough about Bill Clinton to find him slightly disappointing. I was a lot more excited about Hillary.” Well, not entirely. I *graduated* college the year Bill Clinton was elected, but I found him slightly disappointing but Hillary fascinating. And this cannot the money paragraph: “Here is what I’ve learned from watching Hillary since 1992: She refuses to be defined by what has happened to her, or by what other people have done. Again and again, she changes the subject back to what she wants to do, to what she can do, to the work at hand. She insists that what she does is who she is. And that gives her power no one has been able to take away, no matter how hard they’ve tried.“ Hillary Clinton Has a Power That No Man Can Take Away By Katherine Bell 

[ideasmithy]

Unboxing the #Cossetbox on #menstrualhealthday. Full video at: https://youtu.be/cp7O5lxsmR0 #vlog #Vlogging #menstrualcup #menstruation #menstrual #menstruation #period #periodtalk #xxfactor #girlpower #unbox #unboxing

[ideasmithy]

Unboxing the She Cup menstrual cup that @scrollsnink just bought. #vlog #Vlogging #menstrualcup #mhd #menstruation #menstrualhealthday #menstrual #shecup #period #periodtalk #xxfactor