Accused and guilty of occasionally being an overachiever, I am sometimes unhappy with my underperformance. I would much rather be someone who under promises and overdelivers. Don’t misunderstand, I am not overcompensating for anything. I just like the feeling of overreaching, which sadly underscores my occasionally overexposed undertaking.
For instance I once had a dinner party, and I wore an understated ensemble with light grey undertones. Although I looked svelte in an oversized tunic, I was overheated when I found out that I accidentally overcooked the chicken and undercooked the potatoes, so my guests were completely underwhelmed. They weren’t overly dramatic about it, but I felt the need to overindulge them with dessert to make up for my overreach. They were oversaturated with alcohol anyway, so the whole mess was overlooked. (I was overjoyed!)
A lot of times I find myself in overdrive, trying to curate overpriced, over the top outfits which I tend to overpack in my carry-on that barely fits in the overhead compartment. (I’m so over it.) For trips overseas, I pray the flight is overbooked so I can cash in on an overlapping overnight flight but not have to overturn my whole travel schedule with the change.
For me the best vacations involve overcapitalized spending at overpoweringly fantastic stores mixed with a little beach time, as long as the undertow isn’t that overzealous when I’m underwater. I love to visit museums and landmarks, but I avoid peak times since they are so often overcrowded. And I always love to play a little tennis, although my overhand serve isn’t what it used to be. While on vacation, I mix overindulgent meals in with underpriced grab and go places, but I need to be mindful that I’m currently undertall and overweight. (Sigh) I no longer qualify for overflow sample sizes so I’m stuck with items that might have been overlooked by the overly confident women who are never overfed. Oy.
One time on a fabulous vacation in Paris an overzealous clerk purposely overcharged me for a cashmere undershirt I just loved. The underhandedness was unthinkable! She underestimated me checking the bill and I promptly reported her to the underboss of the store to oversee the refund. The manger claimed it was an oversight, that the clerk was overtired and asked for my understanding. So I asked that she oversee the overnighting of the item to my house and wave the overly expensive overseas shipping, which she did. Anything to underscore their sincere apologies.
Overall, I try to find a little balance in my life– every day can’t be overkill. And although I don’t want to overstate the point, I think I’m slightly overqualified to be incredibly mediocre, but I try to fly low under the radar.
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