Vacation?

Last week I realized that my "extended New York vacation" is seeming less and less like a vacation every day that I go to work. In fact, it's starting to seem more and more like real life. Something must be done, I decided. I need a vacation from my vacation.

So, to solve the problem, I bought some plane tickets. This Friday morning I leave for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. And as a result, I spent the afternoon shopping for clothes to wear in Mexico. Now if you know me, you know that I hate shopping. I don't like spending money. I don't like clothes. Why would I ever want to combine those two horrors into one dreadful activity?

BUT, for some reason, I like spending money on clothes if they're cheap. Yes, in my short time in New York, I have discovered the joys of bargain shopping. It's like making new friends. And their names are H&M and Forever 21. The three of us get along grandly. Those two live across the street from each other and I work just around the corner. We like to have lunch together at least once a week. Usually, I get the tab.

Today I spent my lunch hour at Forever 21. Now, I’ve been to my fair share of Forever 21’s in LA and SF. But the Midtown Manhattan Forever 21 is awesome. And by that I mean it literally inspires awe in those that enter. I watched dumb-struck teenagers wander open-mouthed among three floors of unhealthy thin mannequins flaunting poorly made miniskirts.

After an hour of picking out and trying on clothes, I sidled up to the register to be reminded that, though the clothes may be cheap, when you buy many items, you end up spending lots of money. I left the store with a dress, a skirt, two tank tops, sunglasses, three pairs of underwear, a new bikini, and a pair of lacey leggings with pirates on them.

Now, where am I going to wear lacey pirate leggings? But they were only six dollars. I somehow convinced myself that I would be losing money if I didn’t buy them!

You know the post I wrote last week? The one about being anti-consumerism? This is why. But at least I have lots of fun stuff to wear in Mexico.