Keen as a Bean

Mrs.Bean, the world's best school bus driver, taped a sign in the bus window that said, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." What a doll. On the last day of school she gave us all copies of the quote that she'd printed out on small bits of paper and laminated. I promised myself I would keep it forever.

I would say "and it's still hanging up on my bedroom bulletin board to this very day," but I have just learned that my room has recently been swept of any last remnants of my existence so it can be transformed into a nursery for Baby Fitz. Somehow I doubt Mrs.Bean's small laminated message made the cut.

Hmmm...this says the author is unknown, but here it is credited to Alyssa Milano.
Who to believe?

Perhaps it's for the best that this dear childhood keepsake got the heave-ho. The more I think about the quote, the more I find it misleading. Indeed, being nice AND ALSO being important is the best outcome of them all. Why not strive for both?

Here are some tips for being nice and important that I've learned from my friends/fam.

Being Nice:

Scratch other people's arms or give them back massages when they ask. (Martha Foley)

If you have a car, be grateful and offer to give those without one a ride. (Tori Mueller)

Keep bandaids handy at all times so you can instantly offer them to the wounded. (Barbie and Char)

Being Important:

Type "sent from blackberry" or "sent from iPad" at the bottom of your emails. Much cheaper than actually buying one and it has the same image-boosting effect! (Andy)

Refer to yourself as "Doctor" when making a doctor appointment or asking the Verizon rep for a cell phone upgrade. It slices through bureaucracy like a Cutco knife through an avocado. (Nancy Padden)


Unfortunately, that's all I have at the moment. I've been struggling for blog topics in what has been the inevitable comedown from my Special K winnings. Luckily, I have something to look forward to. I'm going to go to Oxford (famous university for smart people in England) for a fancy dinner at the beginning of June. Talk about being important! Also, it's a chance to debut the dress.

Well, I'm off to trade the Edinburgh blood bank a pint of my blood for a fun-sized chocolate bar (several, actually). Worth it.

Bye,

Margaret

Suit Yourself

The other day we were playing the game "what would I buy you if I won the lottery".

I told Andy I would buy him a set of perfectly custom-tailored suits in the style of every decade since the 1920s.

What a nice gift, eh?

Well, all the Mad Men I've been watching lately has given me a new appreciation for mens' suits. It really is a sharp look. Classy. Powerful. Serious. Important.

As for the female suit- meh, I am not convinced. Actually, I think I might hate female-business-chic. Pencil skirts, white blouses, blazers. Doesn't work for me. Again, with Mad Men as my muse, I much prefer colorful and printed dresses. Old fashioned, maybe, but also more flattering and more fun.

On a completely unrelated note, I have come up with about a million potential dissertations that I prefer to my own. Some include:

1. A Winning Foreign "Ball-icy": How sports aids international diplomacy.

2. Candidate Mr. None of the Above: The history of politician name-changing for better ballot positioning.

3. The political ecosystem of national animals- the food chain from the Latvian White Wagtail to the Armenian Dragon.

4. Vitamin Addiction: A Mental Illness

Well, that's all for now. I am watching the health care bill votes via nytimes.com- vurrrry interesting.

Toodledo,

Mog