The GAP and music make me happy
Sometimes, it's the little thing. The best thing I did for myself in the past few months is to buy a Zen Creative Micro (aka mini iPod's competition). For $229, I got 5 gb, an fm tuner, and other stuff I could care less about ;-), but it fits in the palm of my hand, which I do care alot about. I can't say I haven't had trouble with it, unfortunately. There was a problem with my Internet Explorer at the time I tried to download music, so I ended up doing it the loooooong way (it takes me about three hours to download 1500 tunes, the maximum, which isn't enough for me, but that's my problem, not the player's, of course, and it really IS a problem when 1500 songs aren't enough :-)). However, the other two issues involved the player itself, and I had to exchange it twice, the first time b/c the headphone jack stopped working, and the second time because it just died, which made no sense after a month. I did take out the battery (which you can't do w/ iPods but can do w/ Zen products) and replaced it, and nada, so I returned it. I got a blue one instead of silver, to give me better luck, I hoped, and thus far it has been fairly reliable. I find the tuning mechanism rather stiff, and I've had trouble switching from one album to another, but it's not problemmatic enough to bring back to Cambridge Soundworks to exchange it. I do NOT want to download my music again! Gah.
I'm currently hooked on U2's Greatest Hits, 1980-1990, for the gym, along w/ Keane's debut (I believe) CD, and "Garden State," The Thrills (the one featured on "Garden State"), Shivaree, Jack Johnson's latest, and Low Millions' "Ex-Girlfriends" at other times, though I do switch it off. There's NOTHING like having music in the palm of your hand, and it's amazing to get to choose what you'll listen to when in such a compact unit, and to even delete tunes you don't feel like listening to on a particular CD. I can't believe I ever lived without one (and I remember how excited I was to just get a walkman, and then a CD player about three years ago!). I walked all the way from my apartment to the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End today, about an hour and 40 minutes (walking pretty briskly), and the only thing that got me through was my mp3 player. After the play that Debbie and I ushered for and then watched, "Gargarin Way" (pretty good, but not as interesting as I would have hoped, and I had trouble understanding the Scottish brogues of the two main characters), I went to Copley Square to Victoria's Secret (awesome underwear) and the GAP.
Which brings me to the GAP. I love it. I just love it. I would shop there every day if I could. My sister Laural repeatedly tells me that I need to expand my repertoire, and ought to include department stores like Macy's, along w/ Banana Republic, the Loft, J. Crew, and other stores to look more sophisticates and less like a 20-something. While I understand her sentiments, there is just something so comfortable about the GAP (it's literally comfort clothing). I know how to shop it, and they have incredible sales. Today I got two white t-shirts (v. nice) for $10 each, three pairs of black socks (($9.50), a pretty green t-shirt for $6.99, bootcut jeans that actually fit (size 8, ankle) for $39.99, and a skyblue sweater for $14.99 (was $38, I believe), which looks very nice with the white t-shirt underneath it. I just feel so good in their clothing, and maybe it does make me feel younger (which I desperately need at this point) to wear the brand.
What I am doing is wearing tighter fitting things that show off my body in a positive way, rather than baggy sweaters, too-big t-shirts, and baggy pants. As I get down to a size 6 (and I WILL), I will keep seeking brighter clothing (rather than blacks and dark browns, my standard fare) that flatters (I do watch "What Not to Wear" on TLC Friday nights and I find much of what they say helpful, though I refuse to wear heels, and prefer my Fluevogs and Steve Maddens instead, though I compromise and wear Nine West flats at work). I also can't afford J. Crew and Banana, though I wish I could (not to mention Ann Taylor and The Loft), unless I'm with Laural at Sawgrass, the amazing outlet store area, in the Ft Lauderdale area.
So, I shopped today at the GAP and man, it made me feel happy. I can't wait to wear the new clothes (and am excited that I am firmly an 8, though sad that I'm not yet a 6). I don't intend to eat anything like the things I ate in NYC for a long time, and am really working out hard again (yesterday, 90 minutes at the gym, and today about 2 1/2 hours of walking, plus standing to user at the theatre, so I could see the play for free). I need my body and my mind to be free of excess weight, and am trying to be sensible about this but also dedicated. I like going to plays every weekend, believe me, but I can't say it doesn't make me a bit sad at times, too. They seem to be enjoying themselves so much on stage (especially at last night's BCA show, "Den of Thieves"--maybe not so much today, b/c it's a much tougher play to perform), and I want that chance, too. Sigh. Debbie was quite bummed about today about two of her plays being rejected from a festival in Alaska. Had she been accepted, she would have travelled there with her husband, and now she doesn't feel as if she can justify the cost.
I totally understand--I'm really sad about the Devanaughn Theatre, which also rejected her plays, not to mention the BPT (which I didn't submit to, as I had no plays ready in mid-December). It's harder for her than for me, b/c she isn't working and I, of course, have my job to keep me distracted. She seeks the validation, as I do, and it's so hard to swallow the rejection. One of her 10-minute plays in particular, "Cuts Like a Knife," is very strong, or so I feel, and I have to believe at least one festival will take it soon, but who knows? The theatre world is so damn unpredictable and fickle. Feh. Meanwhile, I consider to submit but am also going to start work on a new 10-minute play that I have some ideas about (I won't have time to work on it til next weekend, probably, but we'll see).
So, I sit in my living room, sipping Starbucks iced tea, munching on microwave popcorn, and watching the Red Sox play the Yankees in the first game of the season (could it actually be six months since they won the World Series?!). It feels so good to be the World Champions, and it's also nice that we're winning 1-0 (though that could change any minute). With the time change (now DST) and the fact that it's April, Spring seems imminent (even if it's only 44 degrees out with a bitterly cold wind). Ah. So happy about that! And maybe this is the week someone accepts one of my plays. In the meantime, it's nice to be able to work out again.
Over and out.
I'm currently hooked on U2's Greatest Hits, 1980-1990, for the gym, along w/ Keane's debut (I believe) CD, and "Garden State," The Thrills (the one featured on "Garden State"), Shivaree, Jack Johnson's latest, and Low Millions' "Ex-Girlfriends" at other times, though I do switch it off. There's NOTHING like having music in the palm of your hand, and it's amazing to get to choose what you'll listen to when in such a compact unit, and to even delete tunes you don't feel like listening to on a particular CD. I can't believe I ever lived without one (and I remember how excited I was to just get a walkman, and then a CD player about three years ago!). I walked all the way from my apartment to the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End today, about an hour and 40 minutes (walking pretty briskly), and the only thing that got me through was my mp3 player. After the play that Debbie and I ushered for and then watched, "Gargarin Way" (pretty good, but not as interesting as I would have hoped, and I had trouble understanding the Scottish brogues of the two main characters), I went to Copley Square to Victoria's Secret (awesome underwear) and the GAP.
Which brings me to the GAP. I love it. I just love it. I would shop there every day if I could. My sister Laural repeatedly tells me that I need to expand my repertoire, and ought to include department stores like Macy's, along w/ Banana Republic, the Loft, J. Crew, and other stores to look more sophisticates and less like a 20-something. While I understand her sentiments, there is just something so comfortable about the GAP (it's literally comfort clothing). I know how to shop it, and they have incredible sales. Today I got two white t-shirts (v. nice) for $10 each, three pairs of black socks (($9.50), a pretty green t-shirt for $6.99, bootcut jeans that actually fit (size 8, ankle) for $39.99, and a skyblue sweater for $14.99 (was $38, I believe), which looks very nice with the white t-shirt underneath it. I just feel so good in their clothing, and maybe it does make me feel younger (which I desperately need at this point) to wear the brand.
What I am doing is wearing tighter fitting things that show off my body in a positive way, rather than baggy sweaters, too-big t-shirts, and baggy pants. As I get down to a size 6 (and I WILL), I will keep seeking brighter clothing (rather than blacks and dark browns, my standard fare) that flatters (I do watch "What Not to Wear" on TLC Friday nights and I find much of what they say helpful, though I refuse to wear heels, and prefer my Fluevogs and Steve Maddens instead, though I compromise and wear Nine West flats at work). I also can't afford J. Crew and Banana, though I wish I could (not to mention Ann Taylor and The Loft), unless I'm with Laural at Sawgrass, the amazing outlet store area, in the Ft Lauderdale area.
So, I shopped today at the GAP and man, it made me feel happy. I can't wait to wear the new clothes (and am excited that I am firmly an 8, though sad that I'm not yet a 6). I don't intend to eat anything like the things I ate in NYC for a long time, and am really working out hard again (yesterday, 90 minutes at the gym, and today about 2 1/2 hours of walking, plus standing to user at the theatre, so I could see the play for free). I need my body and my mind to be free of excess weight, and am trying to be sensible about this but also dedicated. I like going to plays every weekend, believe me, but I can't say it doesn't make me a bit sad at times, too. They seem to be enjoying themselves so much on stage (especially at last night's BCA show, "Den of Thieves"--maybe not so much today, b/c it's a much tougher play to perform), and I want that chance, too. Sigh. Debbie was quite bummed about today about two of her plays being rejected from a festival in Alaska. Had she been accepted, she would have travelled there with her husband, and now she doesn't feel as if she can justify the cost.
I totally understand--I'm really sad about the Devanaughn Theatre, which also rejected her plays, not to mention the BPT (which I didn't submit to, as I had no plays ready in mid-December). It's harder for her than for me, b/c she isn't working and I, of course, have my job to keep me distracted. She seeks the validation, as I do, and it's so hard to swallow the rejection. One of her 10-minute plays in particular, "Cuts Like a Knife," is very strong, or so I feel, and I have to believe at least one festival will take it soon, but who knows? The theatre world is so damn unpredictable and fickle. Feh. Meanwhile, I consider to submit but am also going to start work on a new 10-minute play that I have some ideas about (I won't have time to work on it til next weekend, probably, but we'll see).
So, I sit in my living room, sipping Starbucks iced tea, munching on microwave popcorn, and watching the Red Sox play the Yankees in the first game of the season (could it actually be six months since they won the World Series?!). It feels so good to be the World Champions, and it's also nice that we're winning 1-0 (though that could change any minute). With the time change (now DST) and the fact that it's April, Spring seems imminent (even if it's only 44 degrees out with a bitterly cold wind). Ah. So happy about that! And maybe this is the week someone accepts one of my plays. In the meantime, it's nice to be able to work out again.
Over and out.
posted by Sue B at 4:40 PM
1 Comments:
Whenever I go thrifting, I always manage to come home with about 7 Gap items. Last time I went thrifting with one of my girl friends, I had a handful of Gap shirts and she said, "Maybe you should start buying more of your clothes at the Gap." And I actually replied with all seriousness, "No, I don't really like Gap." Natch, she laughed like crazy.
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