Press — 2002
The Evening Post (Wellington, NZ)
If I was a rich girl
by Amanda Nicolle
21 May 2002
An embarrassment of riches may so far have escaped you, but at least you can dream. Let's go shopping ...
IT IS often said money is the root of all evil and, while that may be true, it is also the root of a hell of a lot of good fun. Unfortunately there seems to be an increasing list of things to spend money on and rather a lack of supply which, judging by the national credit card debt figures published recently, seems to be a problem reaching epidemic proportions.
If you were to believe the motivational gurus who, of course, have made bucketloads of the stuff, you would know that if you visualise yourself surrounded by wealth and prosperity, then by some stroke of nature beyond mortal comprehension, you will in fact receive the riches you so desire and will never have to worry about being short of a dollar and be free of all the stresses a nil bank balance brings with it.
The Amway zealots of the 1980s encouraged their prospects to surround themselves with luxury, take expensive imported cars out for test drives, try on that two-carat rock in the jewellery store and drink the finest champagne to become familiar with the feeling of true wealth when they had sold their millionth bottle of cleaning product to a family member or an unsuspecting friend, and moved further "upline" into the Amway hall of fame. While all this visualisation may work, I would like to put my hand up as one this particular theory has thus far overlooked, and it occurred to me that perhaps I hadn't been doing it hard enough. I decided to seriously investigate the trappings of wealth and picture my life as if money was no object, and instead of following the path of frugality and shrewd investing, I would invest a day dreaming up ways to part with as much money as I possibly could.
This would be a theoretical exercise, naturally, but would be the grand-daddy of all visualisations and would make me ready for the day when the embarassment of riches would fall liberally upon my deserving head.
MY PERSONAL TRAINER/CHEF All the celebrities and the wealthy across the world seem to have their own personal trainer but I decided this, combined with someone to prepare my meals, would be the perfect combination and could in fact almost be perfect husband material. Oprah Winfrey made this concept fashionable and although her yo yo-ing weight problem is not always complimentary to the skills of the one employed to address the problem, one would have to presume she has more than the occasional flirtation with the dessert trolley on the sly. However, the temptation to stray from the straight line of fitness and good nutrition must surely be minimised with the thought of a fit and handsome young man to hold your hand while enduring the rigours of exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, and I was amazed that such a service was offered in Wellington by a gentleman exactly fitting that description. Life would cease to be a whirlwind of feeling guilt-ridden about my lack of exercise interspersed with a series of flavourless frozen pre-packaged meals, and for little more money than a week of takeaways I would be fit and be treated to breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared by another.
MY MASSEUSE As someone who believes having their back rubbed is better than anything on earth, yes anything, I would employ a full-time masseuse to ease away any fatigue from the new-found fitness regime and to keep the blood circulating to ensure my skin and body were in the peak of condition 24/7. Never having been in a situation of inexhaustible wealth, it is difficult to know whether these people suffer from stress, but if there were to be a degree or two on occasions it would soon be dealt with under the soothing hand of the masseuse who would be on hand day and night to pander to the needs and wishes of her employer. If faced with the choice of masseuse is daunting, you could go no better than to have Margaret Hema on the payroll, who will not only soothe away all the cricks and knots, but will introduce you to her wonderful range of oils which are hand-blended and 100 percent natural, and will ensure not only that your skin remains supple and fragrant at all times, but your brain remains alert with her wit and her quirky sense of humour. And to keep the face youthful and unlined, opt for the new La Mer skincare available from Kirkcaldie & Stains. I was lucky enough to be given some recently, and it is divine, and with my new-found wealth I will be slopping it around liberally at under $300 for a small jar.