Kites and anchors

My friend N came up with a very interesting theory last night. Apparently successful women often look for men who are "kites" - who pull them higher by being amazingly funny or clever or successful, when in fact they'd be better off with "anchors" - men who ground them by being supportive and reliable. I definitely think I'm looking upwards for a kite, when apparently I should be "diving for pearls". (Shipbuilding by Elvis Costello is one of my favourite ever songs.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LNB6M7yTBo

The thing is, I love kites. Most of my friends are kites. I love being around people who are sparky and witty and funny. I did a Myers Briggs analysis which shows that I am an ESFJ, which means, amougst other things that "I may take affront at the aloof, detached nature of some people." Quiet people make me uneasy and angry, because I can't tell what they're thinking. I know I'm probably conflating anchors and quieter people, but for me they are synonymous.

Last night I said something incredibly, spectacularly stupid. (My excuse is that I'd been drinking a bit.) My friend N was talking about how painful her waxing had been, and said "I think it's because I'm a Jew." I looked puzzled and said "You're not Jewish." Of course what she'd actually said was "I think it's because I'm due (her period)." What a dickhead I am. That's almost as good as the time the Priest came to our school and started going on about "glorious mysteries" which is Catholic-speak for things which cannot be explained - like how the Virgin Mary got pregnant, or how people's souls get into heaven. So he asked us for examples of such glorious mysteries, and I piped up with "the mystery of whether there's a Loch Ness monster or not." It did not go down well.

Update: ElvisCostello was asked by Q magazine March 2008 if he still considered "Shipbuilding" to be the best lyrics that he'd ever written. He replied: "It's a pretty good lyric, yeah. The key line for me is, 'Diving for dear life, when we could be diving for pearls.' That we should be doing something beautiful, better than this. I wrote the lyric before the Belgrano (Argentinean Navy cruiser sunk by British forces during the 1982 Falklands conflict in controversial circumstances). I've been to see the monument, stood and read the names of all the men… well boys who died. Whatever you say about the conflict of war, that crime alone will see Thatcher in hell."