I was recently watching the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” and there’s that funny scene where Harry tells Sally that she’s high maintenance:

Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

Sally Albright: Which one am I?

Harry: You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance, but you think you're low maintenance.

Sally: I don't see that.

Harry: You don't see that? Waiter, I'll begin with a house salad, but I don't want the regular dressing. I'll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. “On the side” is a very big thing for you.

Sally: Well, I just want it the way I want it.

Harry: I know—high maintenance. 

In pop culture and our colloquial language, we use the terms “high maintenance” and “low maintenance” a lot.

And like Harry, we’re usually not talking about our cars. Instead, we’re talking about people—those we work with, live with, and have to deal with as part of the grand adventure of life.

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