This has been a most interesting weekend, as far as weekends go. I didn’t start into it with any special expectations other than having a lot to do in a fairly short space of time. Now I’m reflecting on what has been a busy, strange, fun and surprising weekend.
I had a lot planned for this weekend. I mostly intended to catch up on all the little things I’d been neglecting while I was away working. Cleaning, paperwork, that sort of thing. I also wanted to continue a winter cleaning binge on my wardrobe and buy some new clothes that weren’t threadbare, too big or hopelessly unsuitable. I’d gone through some strange buying habits in previous years and had accumulated a peculiar assortment of, let’s face it, awful clothes. The sort of thing that my friends would comment on. The sort of thing my fashion aware friends would cringe away from. I’m sure you get the idea.
So one of my big plans was to get rid of the junk, donate what was wearable and turn the rest into rags. I was allowing myself plenty of time so that I wouldn’t just buy something for convenience and regret it later. I’ve wasted a lot of month that way in the past. No point spending the hard earned on a whim that I’d never wear, no matter what I thought at the time of purchase. I was brutul in my culling process. It was a challenge to admit to myself that certain purchases had been a colossal waste of money and I should learn from this so that I might never, or at least rarely, do it again. I was ready to hit the mall.
At this point I’d like to mention how expensive certain of the more girly items are. Manchester is frightfully expensive for something so simple. For those truly manly men out there, manchester is stuff that goes on the bed. That, at least, is my understanding of it though dictionary.com appears to only know about the city in England and the football club. Nonetheless, I bit the bullet and upgraded from the worn, aquatic print quilt cover to a more mature, plain colour. I think it’s called ‘mushroom’. I always thought it was a vegetable, but there you go.
Suffice to say that a fair whack of cash traded hands during the day, or at least the plastic facsimile thereof, and I struggled to the car under the cumulative weight of my purchases. I’m not a big proponent of the consumer culture, but I will say this: it’s worth spending a little extra to get something really nice that will last. Having some well made things, however few, is better than a house full of cheap junk. Fashion is fleeting, but classic items that will stand the test of time are something to aim for. That or I’ve been watching too much Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
There have also been some surprises for me this weekend. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by other people behaving in ways that I never would have thought possible. I’ve been surprised by the tolerance afforded me through friendships, but mostly I’ve been surprised by myself. I appears to be learning, albeit slowly, what makes me tick and how to deal with it. It’s still a hit and miss affair, but I’m hitting more than I miss for the first time in quite a while. It would appear that the thought and effort I’ve put in over the past several months is starting to pay off. With the results comes a reinforcement of the desire to continue on what appears to be a sensible path.
And so begins another week. I’ve set myself two new challenges. Firstly, I’m going to make use of the purchases I’ve made to dress well every day. Some effort on my own presentation as an aid to continuing the beautification of my soul. Secondly, I’m going to write this week instead of read. Last week I devoured the work of others and so this week I will endeavour to create some work of my own. The restaurant reviews won’t write themselves nor will my photos copy themselves to this website. I can’t guarantee that content will make its way to this page, what with the vagaries of network access, but I will be making a conscious effort to at least prepare the content for publication.
I have a lot to think about this week, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be smiling when I do.