Hello blogosphere,
I feel pretty bad for not having posted anything on this blog for a while. As I mentioned in a previous post, it is not that I do not have ideas for blog posts but rather that writing can be difficult for me. This time, my struggle was perfection. I have tons of amazing blog posts that remain unpublished because I felt that the grammar was bad, the writing was average, that it required more research etc, etc. ENOUGH! I have been reading great content on other people’s blogs and I am dying (not literally) to share some of my thoughts.
In sum, this blog post will be a collection of random anecdotes, thoughts and rants that I have had throughout the week; in other words, do not expect much coherence between each story. I will also be posting a “Things I’ve been digging”/ Favourites post either today or this weekend.
K, here it goes:
On Consignment Stores:
Over the past week, I went on an insane shopping spree spurred by a dress code that my soon-to-be-employer, agricultural firm B, had sent me. And by insane, I mean that it depleted my bank account. So I tried to be reasonable and to sell/consign a few of my ill fitting clothes to second hand stores. According to Wikihow, these were some guidelines to keep in mind:
- “Vintage” stores usually prefer clothing over 20 years old. This is a great way to profit from your families fashion disasters from the 70’s.
- “Contemporary/used” clothing stores usually prefer clothing currently in-style or less than a couple of years old.
- Consignment stores sell your clothes for you for a commission. Like the other stores they may only take in certain seasonal items at certain times. Call ahead. These stores are great for getting rid of formal gowns, bride’s maid dresses, etc.
- If you have clothes that are nearly new, then many cities in America have a Junior League “Nearly New” store. They are willing to pay a lot of money to get clothes that are basically new.
- Note: Thrift stores re-sell donated goods.
With all this information, I went off to sell my basically new clothing (most of them were acquired between September 2012 and January 2013) to consignment stores only to meet the most pretentious people I have ever (like emphasize the EVER) met in my life. They were like “Oh, we only take magical, decadent and colorful clothing. I would probably put those in the free pile” or “We want fall items or vintage” or “If it is not kooky then we don’t want it. ” Meanwhile, their stores had clothes that would make anyone scream with horror and they managed to keep a straight face while looking at my clothes with contempt!?! I wasted a whole two hours of my life and I missed an appointment with a personal trainer because of these trifling Vancouverites. I kid you not I even cried in frustration (cringe)
This incident not only made me realize that there is a lack of a re-use culture in Vancouver but also there is a lot of falseness and pretentiousness amongst people. So I am stuck with either donating my clothes or selling them on Ebay. In the end, I returned some of my purchased items because well, I could always use the money.
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On Sailing
The other day, my friend took me out sailing on Jericho Beach. I wish I had a picture but I am not that forward thinking yet. Sorry. Anyways, it was my first time sailing since high school; though, we were off to a rough start I must admit that there is something magical about being in nature. It even made me consider starting sailing or water sports as a hobby. Then again, there is the whole money-is-a-little-tight-now situation.
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On the colour black
The other day, Teju Cole, a famous Nigerian writer who tagged the expression “white saviour industrial complex, ” wrote an article and a series of tweets about ignorance and language. Before you read on (I’m surprised that you are still reading), you should take some time to check out some of the words here.
One of them stood out to me: MOCHA. Term used to describe black women’s skin. No other meaning known.
Which inspired me to write an entire Facebook status:
Things I don’t get:
When did “black” become a bad word? I am not talking about the N* words, but saying “I’m black, she’s black, he’s black, we’re black.” Have you notice how instead of saying “black people,” the media prefer referring to our skin colour either as food– “Her chocolate/mocha/caramel/cafe latte/ plain drip coffee skin” — or as woods (ebony, mahogany) . Even worse, the word, deep: “Oh we don’t carry makeup for deep tones.” Like why? What’s going on?
I know you don’t believe me. Check this out: Makeup Ideas for Deep Tones or Try Pintrest. And there is also that time, that someone was so afraid that the word black is politically incorrect that they called Nelson Mandela an African American. Houston, we have a problem.
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An update on Job-hunting
Ok, if you have managed to stick around until this point, you deserve a pat on the back. Because there were only words on a white screen (I know, how aesthetically draining, right?!?). I am just going to give a quick update on my job hunting. I have conducted three informational interviews which ranged from motivating, eye-opening and inspiring to slightly frustrating. Since I have a contract starting up soon, I have been slacking off a little on contacting people for informational interviews. It is just so damn difficult and apparently, it seems to people that I have no clue what I want to do. Which sucks. Oh and it reminds me I have a bunch of resumes/cover letters to send. Which also sucks. I start work next week at what the interviewers described as a data entry position.
On that note, I will wish you a pleasant Friday.
xox, S.
twentiesandhunting 