NICE GIRL

If I were to think of one word to describe how I am consistently, it would be this: Nice.

I know, I know -- it sounds so mediocre. It's like being called "cute" instead of "pretty," "beautiful," or preferably "drop-dead gorgeous." Cute, by the way, is how my guy friends would often describe me during my college days. It never failed to irk me; I'd figure they meant to say I wasn't exactly pretty, but not ugly either. Cute.

So nice could be interpreted the same way, I suppose; like I'm not really "good" in the way a good person would go out of her way to constantly perform good deeds and try to save humanity. But I'm not a bad person either, and I'm pleasant enough for people to want to deal with. So there you have it: I'm nice.

I'm usually unfailingly nice. I say "thank you" and "please" no matter whom I'm dealing with. It's not an affectation -- I feel rude when I forget to do so. And to me, being rude is a definite no-no; my hair bristles at the back of my neck when I have to deal with rudeness in any form, including my own.

When construction workers whistle and hoot as I pass by, I turn around, smile, and shout, "thank you!" I do this not only because -- well, let's be honest here -- I prefer to take their whoops as a compliment, but I find it also throws them off. it just ruins their fun if they hadn't been sincerely expressing approval in the first place. I probably wouldn't do very well in Paris, where I've heard people don't smile much unless they're nuts. I smile all the time, sometimes to my detriment. My ex, Wally, once told me he thought I was an airhead before we met because I smiled a lot. This coming from a guy named Wally.

I'm nice even when people are being stupid. One time, my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend showed up at my door and was crying on my shoulder about how devastated he was now that she was married to someone else, someone she barely knew. He broke her heart and now he was convinced he screwed up (which, yes, he had). So I listened while he talked -- even if Star Trek: The Next Generation was on and I'd never let anyone or anything get between me and my show. He must have felt awfully grateful after he unloaded his heavy heart -- because at one point, he looked deeply into my eyes, slowly leaned forward, and asked "What would you do if I kissed you right now?"

I wanted to snicker and say "Yeah right!" but instead I smiled, and softly said, "Thank you, I'm quite flattered -- but I don't think that would be a good idea." And I smiled again.

And a year after my ex broke MY heart, he came over to my apartment, crying over his girlfriend whom he just discovered had been cheating on him. Again, I listened to him speak and offered advice when he asked for it. He asked me how I managed to get over him (grrrr) and then started mentioning how long my hair had gotten and how fit I looked. He closed in for the kill -- but I gently took his hands off me and said, "This might be nice, but you don't really want to do this with me." I smiled at him again. "It's her you want to be with tonight so if you do this, you're only being unfair to me."

What I REALLY wanted to say was, "Hey baby, you had your chance before but you messed up so go back to your cheating whore and leave me alone." But I didn't; I just didn't have the heart to be rude.

I'm nice to salespeople because I know what it's like to be in their shoes. I'm nice to waiters even when service is slow because I empathize with the demands of their job. I'm nice to all the cleaning people in my building because I admire them for doing what I would not want to do. I'm really nice to all the folks in the Payroll department because -- let's face it -- no one should be dumb enough to mess around with the people who cut your paycheck. So, yes, I'm a nice girl.

But at this point in my life, I'd rather be cute.

Comments

[jorge]

in fairness, the post was rather cute :)

[Gigi]

Hi Jorge - Haha, I'll take that as a compliment; after visiting your blog, it's apparent you're completely straightforward and honest. :) Thanks for stopping by!

[mell]

i'll out do you yet jorge;the post was cute and nice! hmmmmm that was not too funny...

gigi,

wow, yet another exquisite peek inside you. quite a jungle safari you got in there... :D

[melissa]

Cute is way way better.

[Gigi]

Mell - Jungle safari eh? Now I have the soundtrack of the "Lion King" running through my mind this morning. :)

Melissa - Yes, most definitely!

[gary]

It was cute with style.

[Gigi]

Was? What do you mean "was?" :)
OK, I'll accept that anyway Gary -- still beats "never was," I suppose.

[Dave]

Hi Gigi, I just camr across your blog and i was immediately attracted to your SOUNDTRACK collection. Yes, were both still hooked on the 80's. This are the best times for the Martial-law babies! I'm adding you to my favorite blog-sites!

[Dave]

I just wanna share:
1. SPANDAU - Always been anybody's favorite if he had a chance to listen to just 1 album. Gold is my favorite.
2.M.BIANCO - This is where i 1st listen to Basia.
3.J.TAYLOR - I began to appreciate him way back in '76 when i started to learn guitar. He's every acoustic artist's philosopher.
4.5th DIMENSION - Aquarius & Up-up(away) are very nostalgic. Listen to D' ASSOCIATIONS' Never my love!

Hope to get in touch!

[Gigi]

Hi Dave!
I love it whenever I meet people who have strong memories or emotional connections to the same music that move me. Although there's nothing like '80s music (nothing really sounds like it, before or after), I'm quite attached to the '70s singer/songwriters. Like I keep saying, I skipped listening to children's songs and went straight to Carole King, James Taylor, David Gates, Burt Bacharach, and Carly Simon. When I'm at a karaoke joint with friends, I always find I know the 70s hits the best (and most of the time, I don't need to peek at the lyrics too!).

Thanks for stopping by; you've got an inspirational blog there, btw. :)

[Dave]

I used to own/operate a sports inspired restobar back in my hometown (Cagayan de Oro)for 5 years untill the Asian crisis hit me in 2000. So i have to close shop and move up to Cebu. That was the time when i hoarded a lot of albums. I learned searching for hard to find CDs of the 60s (mostly collections of various artists)in Quiapo, DV-Soria, Makati & Greenbelt. That's where i foumd Vic Damone, NK Cole, Sinatra,F. Mercer, F. Astaire,etc. Recently, I've been collecting MP3's for chilling out like Cafe' Del Mar collection, Tito Fuente, Starbucks collection, etc. Wow! there's so much to talk but very little time. I wonder what your kids are listening. . . . Nora Jones, perhaps!