"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances”…

…So said Oscar Wilde, and I’m inclined to agree with him. What else can you judge a person by, in this digital age, where one has to process vast amounts of information per second, per second? Acquaintances are made and lost in an instant, who has the time to get to know your pedigree? or your father’s father over a long chat and a cup of tea? Spot checks are the order of the day. Men have not quite mastered the art, but women can scan over a subject with the efficiency of an MRI in a nano second. Shoes check! Bag check! Wedding ring check! Watch check! Necklace check! Earrings check! All in the blink of an eye…having gathered it, how we process it and use it is an entirely different matter altogether.

What Car Are You?

Or  should the question really be WHY DO OUR CARS DEFINE US? Ridiculous???

Let me see – For example on arriving at a social function your car tends to determine how you’ll be parked…how well you’ll be received…and how you’ll be seated…or entertained. Because of this, your car, the quality, the model, or indeed the lack of one, affects many social interactions and business transactions at different levels of the economic strata.

 

Our cars define us because they, unlike our homes, are mobile. Thus they are perhaps the most visible marks of our wealth in a country which equates wealth with status. In a country where there are no real criteria for achievement other than wealth, our material possessions are the only markers of success.  Each high status possession symbolizes that we’re good enough, like gold stars in elementary school signifies the progress of a child or the gold medals on the breast of an army officer signify superiority.

Object of Desire - The Designer Car

Whenever I think about cars my thoughts immediately turn to an incident that happened while standing outside my office chatting with friends. I was about to take my leave and get into my car when another friend burst forth from a taxi wailing, "My car! My car!!" The men among us immediately rushed forward like a rapid response team helping a fatal crash victim, though it was quite evident that he was in perfect health. They clearly understood what was going down! The women on the other hand noting that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him hung back, waiting to hear exactly what it was about his car. With his hands on his head still wailing, no tears mind you, but clearly distraught he finally spluttered “My brand new BMW has been bashed!” Not totaled mind you, just dented (and as we found out later it wasn’t even that big a dent). Nevertheless he was inconsolable, but after a while he calmed down and taking stock of the situation looked at me calmly and said “I wish it was my arm that had been broken instead of my car…I love that car!”

The Lure of Luxury

Something even Osama Bin Laden couldn’t resist!  

Why spend your life hopping from cave to cave when you could prosecute your atrocities from a much more comfortable location?... is a thought that must have crossed OBL’s mind countless times. And indeed much to our collective surprise he was finally captured at his  $1,5 million mansion ( Yes you heard right $1.5 M-I-L-L-I-O-N ) in a high brow area of Ottaba , Pakistan.

But really, should we have been so surprised? Recent history has taught us that War Lords have a penchant for luxury living. Besides, we all know that hardship can be rather tiresome… and let’s face it, notoriously difficult to sustain if you have options.

Retail Therapy

People who say “Money isn’t everything!” just don’t know where to shop!  What could be more pleasurable than sitting in a shoe shop (preferably Louboutin or Manolo) kicking off ones last seasons (or two’s) must-haves and having the latest to-die-for new seasons must-haves eased gently unto your outstretched foot by an ingratiating attendant? And when the shoe fits? ...Ahhh! There you have a positive Cinderella moment! In an instant you are transformed from a mere muddled mortal to a Supernatural being of grace style and beauty (yes would you believe all this happens from the feet up until your whole body is entirely transformed) Yes indeed...Fellow shoppers who didn’t give you the time of day when you walked in are suddenly gazing at you intently in hushed silence. The more expensive the shoe, the longer the gaze. Like Moses in the Red Sea, shoppers miraculously part to allow you parade up and down. Your every movement is looked upon with admiration. Mundane fashion statements uttered by you are taken as unique pearls of wisdom. Whenever you laugh all laugh in unison. Assistants scurry about attending to your every whim (think Pretty Woman). Then when it is detected that you intend to buy...