It’s been a rough weekend. Saturday evening I got sick and didn’t sleep all night. I stayed in bed all day Sunday which is the first time I’ve done that in about 20 years. Between sleeping and getting up to be sick again, I watched a little TV.
As I flipped through the channels, I finally came upon a show called “The Real Housewives of Orange County”. The show is basically a chance for a bunch of self involved women to talk about themselves and showcase all the “things” they have. A few of my favorite tidbits from watching:
-One woman claimed that about 85% of the women in her area have had breast implants
-On an “arranged” jewelry shopping trip, the ladies collectively spent over $44,000 on jewelry.
-One mother “Vicky” was mad at her son for using her American Express card (which apparently he has full access to) to purchase rock concert tickets for him and all his friends.
Believe me, these are just a few of the MANY examples of complete and total absurdity. This show is an ongoing saga of trying to keep up with your neighbors. I had to wonder how many of these people are living completely beyond their means. One woman, while on the jewelry shopping trip, had to soul search a whole bunch before justifying the purchase. She kept thinking that maybe she could be more productive at her sales job. That led me to believe what she makes, she spends.
I will confess I watched the shows (it was an all day, or at least a few hour marathon of shows), because it was a bit of a train wreck. I wish that I could show my daughter these shows (She’s 2) and have her realize how absurd it is. Unfortunately, with all the shows out there flaunting consumerism, it’s going to be a lot harder than that to teach her that it isn’t normal to go on jewelry shopping trips and have full access to her parents credit cards.