Did her job brilliantly? Her job doesn't involve showing up on time or not making dozens of people with lives and other projects rearrange their schedules to suit her mania?
It's sort of interesting the way Diane Kruger's claim of unsophistication quietly echoes Kate Beckinsale's comment that she still feels horribly awkward and homely. The cynic in me wants to scoff at the idea that either of them should feel insecure about anything, but oddly enough, I actually think both women are being as honest as they are able.
I think the way people perceive you can sometimes be mind-bogglingly different from the way you perceive yourself. And for women who are in the public eye, this goes double. And there's this strange fucking phenomenon that there are strangers all over the world who have ideas and expectations about who you are and how you should feel about yourself. And none of it actually has any relation to your own sense of identity or self-worth. You're told you're beautiful, stunning, sexy, ravishing, but I imagine it can genuinely ring a little hollow when it's being commodified, and when you know how fucking haggard you look at 6 in the morning. And no matter how widely-travelled and well-educated you are, you'll always know people who seem far more accomplished and sophisticated than you'll ever, ever be. No one ever wins that race.
I dunno. I mean, I know I'm not saying anything radically insightful here, but still. Weird.
@A Small Turnip: And then you know they do all this stuff to your pictures before they print them which means they had to "fix" all the stuff about you they thought was broken. Yeah, that's probably good for the ego, especially if you were an awkward child and have that baggage.
people get pregnant in this day and age the same way they got pregnant back when you were in your teens.
i'm not going to comment about your declarations about jude law, either. perhaps now your granddaughter understands the basics about birth control and condom usage, but it's a shame nobody explained it to her years ago.
VF would likely have gotten letters either way, but I would have loved to see Mad Men get a cover. Blurgh. I mean, we've heard a lot about Michael Jackson (less about Farrah). But I understand why they did it, and will buy the issue for the Mad Men, and probably read at least some of the Farrah-MJ stuff.
I'm almost finished with Julie & Julia now, and I kind of hate it. I mean, it's an interesting story, but she's an incredibly whiny lush - This is SO HARD. I need VODKA. Oh, how do I cook and go to work HUNG OVER. My mom is CRAZY. I'm turning into MY MOM.
I'll see the movie, but I don't think I want to read anything else from her.
@electricbubbles: I wasn't crazy about it either; I just read it this summer, right after My Life In France, and the contrast was like a slap in the face. I was really bothered by the air of, "OMG, we're just two babies who can't do anything right! I'm so incompetent! Awful apartment! Terrible commutes! Job suckitude!" Just...fucking...don't live in New York if you're going to bitch about it; quit your job, act like a grownup. I hate when women's noisy incompetence is rewarded. The rest of us are really working hard and trying to prove we really are adult and competent, and somehow there's no book-and-movie deal at the end of that. I agree; I'm skipping anything else she writes.
@newyorkette: Seriously. Not to mention, the whole premise of AA is admitting that you can't drink responsibly and finding a support group to help you not drink at all without FUCKING JUDGMENT. Because the fucking judgment? That is part of what keeps people on a destructive path.
@newyorkette: I dunno, I've known a few drunks and addicts up close, and her quote sums up a lot of how I feel about them sometimes. I'm certainly sorry that they have a problem. But it's a bit much when they're being a narcissistic asshole for the umpteenth time and acting like you have to give them a free pass on that because of the booze/drugs/whatever. It gets really tiresome and hurtful, and I can definitely relate to where she's coming from.
Piss off lady, that was the self-obsessed Baby Boomers that gave birth to me. Generation Me, my ass.
I don't have time to hunt happiness, I'm too busy working my ass off to have 2/3's of the "having it all" I was assured I would get. Any happiness that I accidentally trip over on my way from point A to point B is entirely random.
Yeah, this smacks of that old-guard resentment. "What? You guys get to have families too? That's not fair! I didn't get to have a family! I had to choose! You shouldn't be allowed to have a family, either!"
Fuck you, old guard. The whole point of progress is that the new generation gets it better than you guys did.
@SarahMC: True. My hubby survived the ax at work, but he is actually more miserable now than before. And it spills over into our marriage and family life.
@SarahMC: Exactly, my brother has a very successful career with a good salary and opportunity for promotion in a creative field, and at 34 he feels he is desperately missing out because he is single and childless...
I on the other hand am single, childless and unemployed at 30 and try and enjoy the lack of pressure having no responsibility brings!
I worked for a medical company (we sold oxygen, which you may have noticed is free) and they came up with a "Mission Statement"
The BIG boss talked about how the senior execs had toiled (at a posh w/e retreat) to come up with 5 bullet points that exemplified the company, he then said " a lot of people put family as something that's important to us, but we don't have time for family so we didn't use that one" that helped me quit, mission accomplished!
A couple weeks ago I had a job interview at a nonprofit. I'm 30 and have two kids under the age of 5. The fact that I have young kids came up in the interview and they made a big freaking deal about it, and the fact that I wouldn't be able to work evenings since I had to pick them up from child care at 5:30. (I offered to come in at the crack of dawn instead so I could leave by 5:00 - I also offered to come in on weekends if they required over 45 hours/week). The office was all women in their 30s and 40s and nobody else had kids. I had four interviews and ended up not getting the job. My point: I want a family and a career, but I find that everyone acts very concerned about my ability to have both. I'm in a very liberal city, and yet people are constantly pushing me towards the "happiness" of my family and away from the "challenge" of my career. I desperately want the luxury to create my own balance, but unfortunately I have not been able to find an employer who is willing to let me do that.
@CretaKano: That really bugs me. You would think that employers would be more flexible in this day and age when it comes to working hours for people with and people without kids. The regular 9-5 doesn't work for anyone anymore.
@CretaKano: Well the NGO racket is a mess. So many of them want to hire people, usually pretty young, who they can work to death. (At least in DC). They can afford to be picky enough to say "we want you to speak 3 foreign languages, have at least a masters and 3 years experience, have published on a relevant topic, and be willing to work 60 hr weeks for 40k a year." I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but this may be what you are up against, especially now when the economy is so shitty and there are so many people unemployed. Unfortunately it just makes it easier to elimate based on other factors, like if you are willing to work late hours.
@CretaKano: That's really irritating. I know I couldn't have my boss's job (as a historic house site manager) right now because of the evening hours involved. I figure that once my kids are a little closer to the finish line, I can then consider it. Not that I especially want her job, either--she practically lives there.
The day care makes it really inflexible. Ours closes at 5:30. Unless you work locally and get off work at a traditional hour, it's useless.
@crazy_lady: Then again, I'm not thirty something(close enough to...)...so maybe the dreaded biological clock will slap me upside the head in due time and I'll be that carefree thirtysomething.
Or not.
You know, another thing. She's assuming these women are happy.
08/03/09
08/03/09
I think the way people perceive you can sometimes be mind-bogglingly different from the way you perceive yourself. And for women who are in the public eye, this goes double. And there's this strange fucking phenomenon that there are strangers all over the world who have ideas and expectations about who you are and how you should feel about yourself. And none of it actually has any relation to your own sense of identity or self-worth. You're told you're beautiful, stunning, sexy, ravishing, but I imagine it can genuinely ring a little hollow when it's being commodified, and when you know how fucking haggard you look at 6 in the morning. And no matter how widely-travelled and well-educated you are, you'll always know people who seem far more accomplished and sophisticated than you'll ever, ever be. No one ever wins that race.
I dunno. I mean, I know I'm not saying anything radically insightful here, but still. Weird.
08/03/09
08/03/09
people get pregnant in this day and age the same way they got pregnant back when you were in your teens.
i'm not going to comment about your declarations about jude law, either. perhaps now your granddaughter understands the basics about birth control and condom usage, but it's a shame nobody explained it to her years ago.
-rednrowdy
08/03/09
Hey, presto!
08/03/09
08/03/09
I'll see the movie, but I don't think I want to read anything else from her.
08/03/09
08/03/09
08/03/09
08/03/09
03/30/09
I don't have time to hunt happiness, I'm too busy working my ass off to have 2/3's of the "having it all" I was assured I would get. Any happiness that I accidentally trip over on my way from point A to point B is entirely random.
Grr. Today was not the day for me to read this.
03/30/09
03/30/09
Fuck you, old guard. The whole point of progress is that the new generation gets it better than you guys did.
03/30/09
03/30/09
03/30/09
03/30/09
I on the other hand am single, childless and unemployed at 30 and try and enjoy the lack of pressure having no responsibility brings!
03/30/09
03/30/09
The BIG boss talked about how the senior execs had toiled (at a posh w/e retreat) to come up with 5 bullet points that exemplified the company, he then said " a lot of people put family as something that's important to us, but we don't have time for family so we didn't use that one" that helped me quit, mission accomplished!
03/30/09
03/30/09
03/30/09
03/30/09
03/30/09
The day care makes it really inflexible. Ours closes at 5:30. Unless you work locally and get off work at a traditional hour, it's useless.
03/30/09
03/30/09
Happiness means different things to different women. Some might want families, some might like to work. Some might like both. Etc.
I plan to find a career that is "hard driving", and yet will bring me happiness. Don't want children.
We'll see where that gets me.
03/30/09
Or not.
You know, another thing. She's assuming these women are happy.
03/30/09