.Finally It's Fall.

Time for cold weather and warm beverages. <3

.Your Guide to Retail.

I have worked retail, in the area of apparel for many years. I have seen it all, heard it all and handled it all. Maybe I have done it for too long at this point, but I can't take the customer complaints anymore. Due to the time of year and influx of shoppers and impatience I have prepared a bit of a guide to help smooth the process. For those who have never worked for a corporate company I will answer the questions that are often somehow clouded in misconception. While in the store itself you are enjoying the most basic level of the company, the final culmination of many, many policies, procedures and decisions made by those you CANNOT SEE or TALK TO. The people (poor innocent people) you see smiling at you and greeting you are doing what they are told and the product you see has not been chosen by ANY OF THEM. We little peon workers do not decide a.) the return policy b.) the price of the clothing c.) what product and sizing are available. If you have made the choice to risk not buying something in the store until it goes on sale that is YOUR RISK. If it is no longer available we do not have the capability to magically have it appear or hire low waged workers to sew it for you in the back. I know...it's not ideal. Also, if you are making a LARGE and COMPLEX return, exchange, purchase, and/or have the desire to take your anger out on someone and have very little time on your hands...yelling and/or drumming your fingers on the counter cannot and will not speed up the time it takes to go through the process. Come back when you feel more relaxed and have more time. This also may come as a surprise, but most likely you are not the only person in the world who is shopping at that point in time and most likely you are not the only person who needs something...awkwardly enough the ratio of customer to sales associate is generally not equal, breathe deeply and stay calm. Until you have reached the counter and have paid with your choice of method, the clothing does not belong to you...taking it into the fitting room is a courtesy provided by the retailer and crumpling it up and throwing it on the floor is weird, rude and should embarrass you. It also does not help with the latter issue of inspiring happiness and willingness in those working to get you what you need. Lastly and most importantly, you are buying clothing not changing/saving the world, it is not life or death...if all your wildest dreams do not come true life will indeed go on. Please, do not ruin the day of the poor soul who has done nothing to personally wrong you, is underpaid and has probably done everything they can to find you that damned $39.95 top that you have waited and waited for to be marked down. Thank you for reading this PSA and happy shopping to all!

.Hello and Welcome!

I have just reached 100 followers and I wanted to welcome each and every one of you into my little corner of the internet! I appreciate you reading and I hope to start taking this little blog of mine a little more seriously!

Thanks for following and welcome!

.Two Great Loves.

If I am ever down and out, feeling off my game and/or just plain bummed out there is always a cure! Something that picks me up and takes me away from reality for a few minutes. Bob Dylan. The man and the music. He began making music many decades ago and it still translates today. I can understand that people may not enjoy his actual singing voice, but when folks tell me they "don't like Bob Dylan" I can not continue to talk to them. I honestly do not understand what that means. His music is universal and his writing is/was groundbreaking. To go even further I have "A Hard Rains Gonna Fall" tattooed on my thigh! Any conversation that turns negative should just not be had with me! I have read every book he's written, watched every documentary and listened to every artist that influenced him that he has mentioned.I love it all! Lately I've been feeling just a little off and my home, car and Ipod have been playing me some Dylan on repeat, so I thought I'd share it here!





Some of my all time favorite Dylan songs (very, very edited down I could go on FOREVER).

.The Stories I Could Tell.

Weheartit.com

The stories I could tell, the disappointments I've experienced and the distance I have run in hopes of never feeling that again are weighing down on me. He is right, I do deserve to "enjoy my life", but because he said it the words hurt my head. It wasn't fair and I didn't deserve any of it and in fact neither did she. Why us? Why her? Why this? WHY SO LONG? There are no answers and if offered them I probably wouldn't listen and/or it could never be enough. This should not even be written, because it should never be remembered. You said we all regret and I always laughed and said I regretted nothing, but now I do...I regret you.

.Banned from Real Life.

I had the opportunity to see the original line up of the legends of Bad Brains come together and play at The Mohawk here in Austin. I was well aware that H.R was no longer that kind of front man, but to see him moving in slow mo and not speaking real words...woah. Drugs are bad. Real bad. It was comical watching him speak to his imaginary friend behind a speaker, while wearing his bullet proof vest. Their set went 2 punk then 2 reggae and back again. It was so funny to see the kids really unsure what to do after The Regulator stopped and "jah la la looooo oooolooo (??)" started. The band was there, though it was just H.R. who is now a puppet who blows kisses every 2 minutes that was hard to watch. Over all though, it was enjoyable and I can't complain that I had the opportunity to hear those legendary tunes played by the originals...live.

.Happy Days are Here Again.

Everything has been going a little more my way..baby steps, but steps non the less. I tend to feel very up and down. I have very rarely in my life felt "content" and/or "happy" for extended periods of time. I have been trying my best to figure out why that is and to change it. It's been a bit of an uphill battle, seeing as how uprooting your life can make a process of finding contentment a little more out of reach. I am not even sure contentment is what I want, but I'd like to feel something like it. My tactics have been to really reach out and meet new people, exploring my new surroundings and trying new things. New, new and more new. It's all really working so far and I can feel myself letting go of the old, old and old. It's just taking time and all I got is time.