Technorati

82gmz6pyjs

Rise in nose jobs/rhinoplasty in Iran

Women in Iran are required to cover their whole bodies leaving only their face, so it makes sense that lots of makeup is donned as one way for that inner desire to feel beautiful and accepted. However, makeup is not the only way to make ourselves feel beautiful as we have seen Hollywood portray time and time again. Since the women of Iran cannot express themselves with beautiful clothes or jewelry, they have found another way to do so with plastic surgery.

The popularity of plastic surgery itself is rising all over the world and the nose is the most easily changed. As a result, Iran has the highest rate of nose surgery in the world. So popular, there are call centers to field nose job inquiry calls and imports have increased by 100% for rhinoplasty equipment with national conferences being held frequently.  Some surgeons even say European and US companies court Iran in order to sell the equipment, usually secondhand, to carry out such operations.

Iranian features have a distinct and bold nose often with plenty of height for women and width for men starting at the top, disturbed by a hump that decreases downwards. The ‘preferred’ nose, derived from their American counterparts in magazines and TV, is smaller, petite and cute-as-a-button. Moreover, another preference is a small upward ‘snooty’ shape at the end of the nose. Iranians refer to the perfectly formed button nose the surgery is meant to achieve as the “one million toman ($100) nose” (The Guardian, 2005).

Although precise figures are hard to establish, some predict that rhinoplasty’s have risen from about 10,000 to a confident 60-70,000 annually. Costs can range anywhere from $100 to $5,000US. Many surgeons even provide incentives to their nurses for a discount on the surgery for referral to others. Of course, the $100 surgeries are more often than not performed by unqualified and ill equipped ‘surgeons’.

There is a price to pay for those who are uninformed. As one dermatologist notes, many of his patients often come to him with this concern and ask him to do the surgery. If in the wrong hands, one can very easily ‘partner’ with a ‘surgeon’ to perform this surgery and split the money. Such jobs can be irreversible even with additional surgery and these victims then become a problem to themselves, their family and society, a very sad byproduct of this boom.

Because of this, Iran’s justice ministry has set up a special office for medical malpractice cases. There were 2,715 cases between 2001 and 2004 arising from cosmetic surgery that led to 459 doctors receiving written rebukes and 21 with suspensions for up to four years.

As the Guardian states, to some, that is little consolation. Sina Maadelat, 25, a Tehran taxi driver, has just paid £168 for his third nose operation, having been dissatisfied with his first two.

“The first time there was a lot of bleeding … I couldn’t breathe for two weeks,” he said.

“Then the doctor had problems removing the plaster cast and the stitching. The tip [of my nose] fell down again. I don’t think there was ever any problem with my nose. It was better before the operations.”

Many men also bring their daughters for surgery saying that they are not ‘marriageable’ or were divorced for this reason. Some women marry after a nose job and the ones without prefer not to marry.

Another man comments that he couldn’t hire any of the women who were auditioning for his play because all had a rhinoplasty, against the theory behind the story of the play. Another woman comments that even the men in her family have had their noses operated on and that perhaps only 2-3% of her family has not (most likely elderly members). Many Iranians travel back home from their foreign residences for the surgery because the cost is about 1/10 compared to the US.

Young people walk around the streets of Tehran with their bandages on proud display and some even do it without having had a surgery because it has become a status symbol. However all are not as frank about their reasons for having the surgery, many blame it on a childhood injury, breathing problems or some such excuse. Others say its simply boredom under the current restrictive regime with the lack of social activities.

Well, most of the wealth in the world is spent on materialistic items such as cars, houses, furniture, clothes and jewelry. Why not cosmetic surgery?

And to say that third world countries are more susceptible is to forget how many deaths we’ve had in the US from ‘simple’ cosmetic surgeries performed by un-licensed or mentally ill ‘surgeon’, or those clients who are caught in malicious self mutilating behavior with constant surgeries. Take Michael Jackson, Jocelyn Wildenstein or Michaela Romanini. They look scary and like they’re about to melt. Farrah Fawcett looked nothing like her original self. I hadn’t seen her in years, and upon the recent pictures before treatment deteriorated her looks, she hardly resembled herself.

Through my life, I’ve had issues with some of my looks, but I don’t ever recall it being to the point of obsession or wanting to change it. I remember in high school, I was big enough for people to think I had butt pads in my pants to enhance the derriere and now through the course of time, my butt is hardly existent. Sure I don’t have near enough cushioning to sit on hard chairs or bleachers without squirming, pants fit weird, but I don’t really turn around and look at my butt. I never ask the question “do I look fat in this?”

But to have boredom be the cause of plastic surgery because you can’t socialize under your country’s regime? This is absurd! Wait a minute, is that what happens with the rich society too? They have too much time on their hands and not enough ways to spend their money so they resort to drugs, buying islands, flying private jets, having items of status symbols (i.e. tiny dogs in your purse) and fixing their egos with plastic surgeries.

I guess our natural instinct is to like beauty, beauty that has been pre-defined for them by a carefully orchestrated Hollywood.

What is causing DC’s arrogance?

A little about me before I dive into this crazy blog. I did not much understand the idea of blogging, but I observe and talk a lot. I recently got married and in waiting for my work permit to come through I will go stark crazy if I don’t get out some of this BS.

I’ve lived in the US for the bulk of my life, with several blippy years in Toronto, Canada. Anyone know that place? It’s up north of USA. No, really……..REALLY. They created Blackberry. YES…seriously.

I’ve lived on every coast of this country. Houston, LA, San Francisco, North Carolina and Buffalo, New York. So anyone who has ever moved to Canada from the US can identify with my sheer shellshock over their backward, farce on democracy, overpriced, overtaxed ways (more about that in another blog).

So now one of my tasks sitting here in VA is to cook/clean/shop. That includes finding deals, coordinating coupons, sales and fitting our dietary needs and wants into our budget. At first, I told Jay NO problemo buddy, you’re looking at a world class el-cheapo trained by the king of   el-cheapo’s: my dad. I’ve been cheap all my life, rarely spending much money on any one item (except my blackberry, more on that later too).

So, we go on our first trip to what I’ve been told over and over is the cheapest grocery store here, Shoppers.
Hmm, the fruit is outrageously priced in summertime, canned beans cost $1 or more each, laundry items are equally expensive and so continued the pattern totaling $150 for our first batch of groceries. WHAT? Where is the land of the cheap America I grew up in and left as recently as Dec. 2007? I have never experienced this level of pricing in any other state.

Next stop, Wal-Mart Supercenter!!!!! Orrrrr so I thought.
Yes, in this tri-state area, the closest Wal-Mart Supercenter is an hour away, in Fredericksburg, where I’m not sure WHAT the logic was but anyway the Wal-Mart we do have sucks monkey’s balls.

You see I’m an analyst, a Market Research Analyst. At every point, I question tactics, my curious and sponge-like nature wondering and dissecting the ins, hows and whys of this wonderfully orchestrated phenomena (uh, not so wonderful anymore).

I can’t even bother going to the other grocery stores, they are so ridiculously overpriced. My beloved Wegman’s is way out of my price range down here…SIGH

Whine and complain… yes I do. Would you believe me when I say this area is more expensive then Canada? You would have had to pay my GST and PST to get me to believe that two months ago. Hey $1 bean cans? What is going on in this city?

As the weeks have passed, I notice that no-one seems to feel the economic pinch here; this is the only area that grows in bad economic times. What a weird catch-22. You would think that businesses would find ways to reduce logistical and internal costs and increase efficiencies or come up with incentives to bring down final product/service costs to attract customers. Guess what, they don’t have to. I was wondering how these expensive grocery stores were surviving, it’s because the fools still shop there.

Couple weeks ago, my husband and I went to the local festival where we stumbled upon a childhood friend of his. He said he had been working in carpet cleaning companies for 7 years and was ready to buy 2 trucks with Stanley Steamer. Great, now sell me on it! “Wouldn’t you want to have your carpet cleaned?”

Is this a new tactic type? 7 years in the business and THIS is how you sell me in 30 seconds or less? I have to sell myself on your products and services now?

“Well, just yesterday our company did $40k in business in this area”

That’s why he doesn’t need to sell.

We ARE in a recession right? I must have been dreaming that up.

In Canada, the reason everything is overpriced is because there is no competition. American companies are looked down upon and have to work furiously hard to get in and the government is complacently smirking disallowing competition to arise, while Canadian companies are merging (there is only one GSM and one CDMA company in the Toronto area), and the public can’t do much because of the intense and costly bureaucratic hassle and deaf ears involved. Canadians Tuning out, the best article I’ve seen on it. The only article I’ve seen on it.

What’s your excuse Washingtonians?

Last night, I was invited to dinner with my husband at their family friend’s house, thinking it was going to be yet another formality. It actually turned out to be a very pleasant conversation. One of the host’s aunts mentioned that her job as brought her an hour out this way from Gaithersburg, MD to Northern VA. We got to talking about how rude some of her clients are and it came up how rude Costco is.

Ah yes, Costco, I too am turned off by you. Costco has had the audacity to only accept cash, debit or American Express since I remember. This lady tried to purchase a $400 item unaware of the payment method policy. Boy, did she get the run around trying to pay for that thing:

“Uh ma’am you can apply for an American Express card and pay that way”

“Don’t you KNOW you can’t pay for it with a Master Card?”

How about you say “Sorry ma’am we don’t accept Master Cards, but is it ok if we help you apply for an American Express card?” She wasn’t buying your $3 cucumbers; it was a $400 machine! Much like I too, don’t get help while shopping or friendly smiles but instead an angry customer service associate because I was using my mother-in-law’s card to do her groceries. What a way to make me a customer.

I hear Costco doesn’t treat their employees well. Mr. CEO, won’t you take a deeper look? Or is your company like everyone else here working hard at closing that oh SO fat wallet…? It must be laborious. I too accidentally signed up for Costco thinking Sam’s Club has no gas station. Boy I smacked myself when I saw that hidden gas station at Sam’s Club.

I went to DSW before a highly anticipated Luray Caverns day trip hoping for some decent shoes for my ever aching feet. It was a treat from my hub-sand. Yes purposely mis-spelled.
The sheer number of rows of athletic shoes prompted me to question an associate as to which is best for hiking/trail. Her response? “Well, they’re all in this general area…” and I said to her “Yes, but I don’t need all of these, I need specific hiking/trail shoes” “Yes ma’am, they’re all in this area…”

Ok, I have zero knowledge on shoes, how the heck am I going to make an informed purchase of $100 shoes? I marched up to the main counter area where 4-5 associates were co-mingling and talking and said very loudly “Is there anybody here who actually knows shoes?” Only one person did, the manager. She took me straight to the one shoe designed for my specific need, it was on sale, $66 and some tax later, I was going home with the shoes I needed. One person in the whole store, and I actually had to be rude to get that attention.

I went to the mall today, actually walked out upset. Hundreds of thousands of square footage, and every store carrying the same jersey material, 80’s, flat color, same cut, style, design, fashion, material, price tag items. Shopping was B-O-R-I-N-G. Where is my shopping experience? I was happiest at Sephora, exchanging a badly recommended concealer shade for a closer match. Very easy to do so with very helpful associates. With a smile on my face, and items in my purse (having saved another bag from the landfill), I walked out, back into this boring mall, smile gone. Clearance here and there on items I can still not believe were ever on the full price rack at some point (who comes up with this nasty stuff and WHO wears it?) and seeing ridiculously tiny mannequins showcasing clothes that are ill designed for the average person (and I’m a size 4 saying this! The caveat is I have a big chest and wide hips) and nary a sign of incentive.

Sure, I should go to the big price tag stores for better fitting perhaps, but I don’t have that kind of money. Where is my mass-produced, affordable Charlotte Russe? Ah yes, lost in translation along with everyone else in the last couple of years. Weren’t these stores supposed to have individual ideas and interpretations of clothes, fashions, colors and prints? Weren’t they supposed to be different from the one two steps down? Mr. CEO, what are your employees doing? Are your managers managing? Are your designers designing? Are you CEO’ing? Or are you all just cop-cop copy-catting? Well, you must be making your company money otherwise you would have changed your strategy.

WHAT is going on?

Pretty much everywhere I go, stores and services act as if they don’t need my money because they have lines of people waiting to get in on their product or service. I don’t see the lines, but the businesses are still standing so the lines must be there and the fools must be buying still.

For now, I’ve settled for couponing up the yin-yang, and I mean that. Two weeks ago, a $70 CVS bill totaled $27 and I received $6 in CVS money. $50 in savings (God Bless America).

$20 off in coupons at shoppers on triple coupon days, oh boy, I save up my coupons when THAT party happens. God Bless Coupon Mom too. Boy have I learned a thing or two from that website about saving money! Other than that, I don’t really shop here for clothes etc unless I really need something, which is rare.
This is my life here in northern VA; I will be pressing my luck with my ongoing analysis of this city.