BGSD Part II

I blogged the other night about "Bitches Get Stuff Done" and the inverse: Stuff Getting Done = Bitches. I clarified that by "bitches" I didn't mean "assholes," and wrote about the disconnect between a result (stuff getting done) and the work it takes to get those results. For example (specifically, the example I harped on): the food on one's plate has to be prepared, from ingredients that are purchased.

Another example came to mind by way of an otherwise/mostly not-bad date I went on the other night (it was initiated before I decided to take a break). The dude asked me what I did on Saturday, and I told him that a friend and I hit the Mile-Long Yard Sale. I didn't buy much; most of the stuff was overpriced for what it was and the condition it was in. My friend, who has a toddler, got a bunch of children's books. In response to this, and maybe some other comment I'd made (maybe about something being expensive), the guy noted--not in a derisive way, in his defense--that it sounded like I was "frugal." Would I agree with that?

I don't know. It's a silly question.

I live in a high-cost area and want to do things with my life--many of which cost money--so I manage my money and prioritize my spending. Is that frugal, or is it just savvy? Is looking for good prices and making trade-offs such a foreign concept to some people? I don't spend money on things that are unimportant to me (cable, cars, take-out) so I can spend money on things that are important to me (living where I want to live, travel, etc.). I don't deprive myself of experiences or stiff other people. Does this balance really require a label?

So an apt response to this dude who lives in a one-bedroom in west Arlington asking me whether I'm frugal would have been, Bitches Get Stuff Done. Stuff is, in this case, being able to buy a house in Alexandria on a modest single income. I'm not frugal enough to stomach living in west Arlington; to save the money to live where I want to live, I choose to be frugal about other things. So am I frugal? Who knows.

Stuff is, two vacations of a lifetime in one year. One year of not buying coffee at Starbucks covered my trip to South Africa. Maybe that's frugal, or maybe it's just living according to my priorities.

All of this got me thinking about other examples of BGSF. Maybe stuff is, one's goal body composition. It's the opposite of Gillian Flynn's "cool girl," who "jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2." Dudes (not all dudes) love a woman who eats anything, as long as she stays slim. We as a society tend to crap on people who eat nutritiously and/or hit the gym, but Bitches Get Stuff Done.