12.05.2006
A geekgirl goes shopping
I finally put my finger on why I've barely been on my bike lately: I'm waiting for my balaclava to resurface, the one that fits under my helmet and warms my ears and keeps the wind from going down my collar. But it's been lost for a year and is probably gone for good and I need to ride my bike.
So today, after a crunchy-as-opposed-to-smooth job interview, retail therapy was just the thing and I was in the neighborhood anyway so I stopped by the huge evil outdoor store at the mall. I scanned the bike dept for bargains (none). I scoped out the Born display, to check; Born still isn't making the Blundstone-style boots I want, dammit (I still have my pair from three years ago but the dog kinda ate the top inch off the left one the third week he lived here).
I stood there between the longjohns display and the three aisles of hats, you'd thing there would be a gradation between underwear and hats where the base layer balaclavas would be, but no, so I asked a guy-in-store-smock where? He sent me upstairs to the alpine skiing department (haven't they heard that this is Nebraska?) I found my balaclava, no problem. Found one better than the last one, which was lightweight and perfect for Eugene; the new one is lightweight to ear level, fleece from there down. Uberdorky but very functional.
There in the snow department I tried on some gaiters, it's hard to justify a pair of nice boots just for snow (shh don't tell, this place is a desert), and it's hard to justify a pair of cheap and crappy boots for any reason, so gaiters over the everyday Keens are what I need for the nine days a year I need them. But not the ones I tried today, which had dumb dumb dumb fastenings/adjustings.
Hoping for better gaiter options, I wandered over to the hunting department. They had just the most beautiful things, hats with dangly leafy bits, and gaiters with snow camo printed on, and mossy oak hats and mossy oak t-shirts and mossy oak baby p.j.s and mossy oak boxers and mossy oak arm warmers (sold separately, $14 per)
and then I found the Filson. O my god why didn't anybody tell me? Beautiful beautiful beautiful wool flannel jackets, I've never seen anything so beautiful. Finished wool two layers thick, a cape merging into double-sleeves. I tried one on, naturally. When will the stores acknowlege the nerd girl customer who shops uni-sex-ly, who digs the boxy boyclothes but needs a mirror to see them in?
Too bad I don't have three hundred dollars to spend on a coat. Too bad that even if I spent that three hundred dollars, Filson's is a guy-only line and the sleeves would cover my thumbs.
Oh well. Someday.
There were deerhunter hats too, there in the deerhunter department. Who'd have thought?
So today, after a crunchy-as-opposed-to-smooth job interview, retail therapy was just the thing and I was in the neighborhood anyway so I stopped by the huge evil outdoor store at the mall. I scanned the bike dept for bargains (none). I scoped out the Born display, to check; Born still isn't making the Blundstone-style boots I want, dammit (I still have my pair from three years ago but the dog kinda ate the top inch off the left one the third week he lived here).
I stood there between the longjohns display and the three aisles of hats, you'd thing there would be a gradation between underwear and hats where the base layer balaclavas would be, but no, so I asked a guy-in-store-smock where? He sent me upstairs to the alpine skiing department (haven't they heard that this is Nebraska?) I found my balaclava, no problem. Found one better than the last one, which was lightweight and perfect for Eugene; the new one is lightweight to ear level, fleece from there down. Uberdorky but very functional.
There in the snow department I tried on some gaiters, it's hard to justify a pair of nice boots just for snow (shh don't tell, this place is a desert), and it's hard to justify a pair of cheap and crappy boots for any reason, so gaiters over the everyday Keens are what I need for the nine days a year I need them. But not the ones I tried today, which had dumb dumb dumb fastenings/adjustings.
Hoping for better gaiter options, I wandered over to the hunting department. They had just the most beautiful things, hats with dangly leafy bits, and gaiters with snow camo printed on, and mossy oak hats and mossy oak t-shirts and mossy oak baby p.j.s and mossy oak boxers and mossy oak arm warmers (sold separately, $14 per)
and then I found the Filson. O my god why didn't anybody tell me? Beautiful beautiful beautiful wool flannel jackets, I've never seen anything so beautiful. Finished wool two layers thick, a cape merging into double-sleeves. I tried one on, naturally. When will the stores acknowlege the nerd girl customer who shops uni-sex-ly, who digs the boxy boyclothes but needs a mirror to see them in?
Too bad I don't have three hundred dollars to spend on a coat. Too bad that even if I spent that three hundred dollars, Filson's is a guy-only line and the sleeves would cover my thumbs.
Oh well. Someday.
There were deerhunter hats too, there in the deerhunter department. Who'd have thought?
