A graceful woman

Found this through Ceci's Xanga:

A great scene of modern grace on '30 Rock' the other day:

Liz and Jack went out to dinner at a very chic restaurant. As they sat down at the table, Jack immediately moved the candle from the center of the setting to the side of the table. Liz looked at him kinda funny, not understanding why he did that but, not really caring either. Later, however, when Liz reached across the table to steal some of Jack's food (as she always does), she realized he moved the candle so her sleeve wouldn't catch fire when she reached across the table. Jack's manner and grace were so attuned to her as a friend, that he knew her moves before she did. That tiny gesture ended up becoming the pivotal moment of the episode and changed the course of their business relationship.

"A Graceful Man, A Gentleman." [Weblog entry.] The Sartorialist. 2 Feb. 2010. (http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2010/02/graceful-man-gentleman.html)

The whole post isn't very long, so I recommend that you follow the link and read it for yourself!

Reading that blog entry made me want to become more of a "graceful" woman.

One of the things I've always admired most about my mother is how since I was a child she has always been able to find/get me the best presents. And it's not just because I got things I really wanted! What I truly appreciated was knowing that she was able to find the "right" gifts for me because my mom really paid attention to my interests/likes/dislikes.

And it wasn't just related to gifts. Growing up we always had both orange and apple juice in our fridge because Nathan liked orange juice, but I preferred apple (I was OK with stuff like Sunny D, but I wasn't a fan of anything that had pulp and/or tasted like real oranges). And even now when I go back home for visits, my parents always have boxes of Cheerios ready for me to take back to Japan, and they always ask if I want to go out for steak.

Of course when you live with people for over 20 years it's only natural that you would figure out their preferences/habits and vice-versa, but simply having the information doesn't necessarily mean that you'll do anything with it, so...

In short, I want to show that kind of consideration to the people around me, too. I want to pay more attention to the (spoken & unspoken) needs/preferences of the people around me.