Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

"No, I've been shopping."

Indeed I have. Been shopping all morning, in fact. Whee!

In honor of a new site I discovered, Obsessive Consumption, I decided to document my purchases.

First stop was my friendly neighborhood thrift store, where I made some absolutely fabulous finds, darling.

I found a white top with some really nice sleeves. I really hate sleeves that just hang there and look sloppy. The back is also cool: it has an open area and a tie. But I couldn't figure out how to photograph my back with my web cam. I'm also wearing a red beaded choker I got at the thrift store.

Considering that purple/violet is one of my favorite colors, I don't have much summer gear in that color. This is only a T-shirt, but the sleeves are fitted and it's in a really soft material. If you look carefully, you can barely see the red "V" on my forehead. I don't know what brought it out today; I'm in a good mood.

Clearly, this is a superb shirt. It does strange things to me, though. I think this might have been why my "V" came out.

This is just a normal teal and white striped tank top, not a glowing raver shirt as it might at first appear. Even in the middle of the day, I need to use the low light boost on my web cam. I almost like it better this way.

Although I have a rule that I never buy anything unless it already fits me -- no buying something, even in thrift stores, with the idea of "shrinking into it" — I will say that this halter top, while it fits me now, is going to look increasingly better as I continue to shape up.

Just a simple spandex black zippered top. This would have been perfect to wear when I went to see Matrix 2: Reloaded. I went dressed all in black, but only had a basic black T-shirt to wear.

This is a cute white blouse with lace at the bottom. It doesn't have any buttons, but that just makes it sleeker. I'm also wearing a white beaded choker I got at the thrift store.

The real reason I went to the thrift store today was to buy some shorts, since summer is starting and many of the shorts I wore last year are too big now. This is just a basic pair of navy shorts with an elastic waist. Kinda sporty.

These are a pair of madras shorts that I figure are slightly dressier. It's strange to see myself from this angle. This must be how a 5-year-old sees me.

I named this photo May31-madrasshorts.jpg which now strikes me as funny, in a Beavis and Butthead kind of way.

And finally, a pair of aqua Adidas shorts with white racing stripes on the side. Very sporty, yes? In junior high I wouldn't have been caught dead wearing Adidas because everyone knows what it stands for: All Day I Dream About Sex. Now, I don't care if people know the truth.

After the thrift store, I stopped at the grocery store, where I bought the following:

• Fresh strawberries
• Cherry tomatoes
• Honey roasted sunflower nuts
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Bananas
• Yellow apples
• Avocados
• Asparagus
• Lean Cuisine frozen dinners (7)
• Morningstar Chik Patties
• Morningstar Spicy Bean Veggie Burgers
• Mori-Nu Creamy Soy Soup (tomato)
• Harvest Bay vegetable chips
• Soft organic tofu
• Whole Fruit mango sorbet
• Smart Ones giant fudge bars
• Dole fruit juice bars variety pack
• Whole Fruit creamy coconut frozen fruit bars
• Slim-Fast, orange-strawberry-banana flavor (6-pack)
• Slim-Fast, apple-cranberry-raspberry flavor (6-pack)
• Slim-Fast, orange-pineapple flavor (6-pack)
• Olay Complete moisture lotion
• Alpo canned dog food (6)
• Pedigree Joint Care for dogs
• Chew 'n Clean dog toy (bacon flavor)

Already, Una refuses to chew on the new toy. It's supposed to taste like bacon, but that's not enough for her. She must suspect that it's good for you; maybe it really tastes like vitamins. She prefers plush toys that have absolutely no hygienic value.

After today's shopping excursion, I have several questions:

• Who invented shoulder pads, anyway? Apparently, they're designed to
  de-emphasize your waist by making your shoulders look freakishly large and squarish. When I try on shirts with shoulder pads, I have to tuck them behind my shoulders so I can see what it'll look like when I cut them out. For some reason, I've always kept the shoulder pads afterwards, as if they'll be useful someday. I wonder if Liza Minnelli would want them.
  
  
• Why do people, including myself, look first at the racks that are clearly too small? Half of the stuff I tried on was too small, which I would have avoided if I'd searched first for clothing in my actual size. I think we all labor under the belief that used clothing was stretched out a size or two by the previous owner.
  
  
• Why are grocery stores so cold? I like my tank top. I like my shorts. I don't want to cover up with a sweatshirt just because I'm coming inside. I do not enjoy being cold. Besides, it's a grocery store. If I get hot, I'll just stand in front of the ice-cream freezer for awhile and pretend I can't decide between regular vanilla and French vanilla.

Copyright 2003 by Alyce Wilson

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