Come to think about it, Sex and the City throws an insane amount of wisdom out there for you to ponder on. True, you have to sift through a (very enjoyable) half-hour of mundane conversations between four seriously rich, stylish, sexy New Yorkers (everything you’re not) and a score of mindless ads (on American television at least), but more often than not, you come away with some serious stuff you can mull on with your friends. Of course, the same does not apply if you’re a man.
But if you’re a woman.. imagine how much you can talk about with your friends over something Sarah Jessica Parker aka Carrie Bradshaw says in the episode – ‘Why are we should-ing all over ourselves?’
Aren’t we all doing that? All the damned time? Consider half the FB status messages I’ve gone through this morning..
Why am I awake? It’s Sunday mornings. – T
Should have showered AFTER doing the dishes. – M
I should eat more chocolate. – A
My Frequent Flyer miles expire this month. I should go somewhere. – A
Time’s flying fast. I should slow down. – N
The guys above aren’t the only ones should-ing themselves. Here’s my list
Should jog/walk/run.
Should write more often.
Should smile more often.
Should be more patient with colleagues, however awful their work ethics. (Ugh)
Should vacuum the house today.
Should not be lazy in bed. (don’t ask)
Guilty as charged.
Throughout the episode, Carrie seems to saying, we shouldn’t be should-ing ourselves (ironic, eh), at least not as others would have us should-ing. She wonders whether she should be obsessing over having a baby, Miranda should be the ideal honeymooning bride, horny from dawn to dusk and back, and Samantha should be more upset about her breast cancer.
Of course, in the show, Carrie doesn’t care whether she has a baby or not. In a classic dialogue with Charlotte,
Ch. – You’re 38
Ca. – I know. But he’s had a vasectomy.
Ch. – Those are reversible, you know.
Ca. – But I don’t want to ask him to do that.
Ch. – But Carrie, you should be ready to talk to each other about these things if you think you guys can go far.
Ca. – Y’know, I just… I just don’t want to scare him away. And I don’t want him to think I would leave him all because he’s had a vasectomy.
Ch. – You’ll never know the baby you can have.
Ca. – But I shouldn’t be giving up the man I have for a baby I don’t know.
Of course, this is but a lamely transcribed version of the actual dialogue, but you get the gist.
So I was thinking. What kind of ‘should-ing’ have I been doing all over myself in life? I’m making this list for the first time (of course, I’ve thought these things over n over again in the last dozen years but haven’t put em down in letters). Here goes:
- Should become an astrophysicist. Well, we all know what happened to that one. Out the window, when I dropped scientific pursuits for literature.
- Should some day be something like the person Shampa and Purki and Angela are. Omg, these women are f-ing fantastic. Heart you, with all my heart.
- Should get married to a man of my choice – a non-MCP, a very intelligent, smart and sensitive guy, someone who shares my passion to explore and travel, and someone I love with all my heart. Yep, that happened. Very much so. After years of falling in love with the not-so-right guys, found my dimsum and married him pronto.
- Should wear jeans in my wedding. Yup, did that.
- Should become a writer of some sort. Well, I was a regular journalist for a short while. And still write once in a while.
- Should travel a lot. I did this a lot growing up. Army life rocks
. And I traveled a lot in the States. Now, it’s time to conquer the rest of the world. Wanna do Africa next. Let’s see if it happens.
