I have always been known as a smart girl.  In school I was in the gifted program, had excellent grades, and scored highly on standardized tests.  I graduated Cum Laude from UCSD (and no...that is not a party school...you're thinking of San Diego State) and beat friends and family regularly at Scrabble.  One would think that I would be insulted that someone would look at me and think I am a beer model...but...in spite of my intelligence I am as insecure as the next girl.  And while I am very happy when people say I'm pretty smart, I am giddy when people say I'm pretty.

 

In February I got to go to the Super Bowl and to Maxim Magazine's Super Bowl party.  I was there with my husband who does business with the magazine.  When a very young gal who had high hopes of becoming the next "Hometown Hottie" asked me if I'd been IN the magazine I was flattered for a heartbeat.  Then I realized she was not only very young, she was very drunk.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  But, when said beholder is really intoxicated, beauty can take on a whole new meaning.  I could have looked like a tree stump and this girl might have thought I was a model.

 

Then some guy came walking up to me and another girl.  It was really loud at this party and so when he thrust a beer toward me and said something about, "Holding this beer," and, "Taking a picture," I thought he was asking me to hold his beer so that he could take a picture.  It turns out that he did want me to hold the beer so he could take a picture...of me holding the beer!  He was shooting product shots for Red Stripe Beer which was one of the sponsors of the event.  The other gal leaned in and explained that he wanted us to be "Product Models" for some publicity shots.

 

Me?  I was floored.  The other girl was young enough to be my daughter (well biologically she could have been...if I had been really stupid and irresponsible that is).  But, hey--if he thinks I can model, model I will.  And so, I did.  And while the experience did not raise my IQ any...it did boost my self esteem a few notches.  The guy snapped a few shots and then thanked us and moved on.  I was speechless or I would have thanked him as well.  He reminded me that "Pretty smart" is not an oxymoron--a gal can be both!