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I learned an important lesson at Goody's yesterday. Yeah, I know, it seems like all of life's important lessons happen at Goody's, but this was one that I've known for a long time, but it was really proven to me.
After buying like five shirts at Old Navy (before you judge me for spending lots of money on clothes, keep in mind that I almost never buy clothes, or much of anything else, for myself...these are my first new shorts in several years), I was looking for some shorts at Goody's. I only have two pair of shorts that I can/will wear in public, so I figured I probably need some more. I decided on two pair, got both of them in size 34, and headed to the dressing room.
I should explain something else here...I hate trying on clothes. No, that's not even a strong enough word...I absolustely, unconditionally loathe trying on clothes. And not in the self-consious way that some females do...I hate it because it's a lot of trouble. Normally when I shop for anything (except at Best Buy), I'm your typical guy...walk in, head straight for what I need, pay for it, and leave. Trying on clothes just prolongs my time in the store. But after several cases of buying shorts without trying them on and then having them end up either being too small in the waist or too short on the leg, I don't mess around with shorts. I never try on shirts, but shorts are a must. Fortunately, I had planned ahead...I wore my sandals, and one of my other two pair of shorts that I can/will wear in public...very easy to change out of.
I try on both pair of size 34 shorts, and I realize that I'm kidding myself. I slap my forehead as I then notice that the shorts I wore into the store were 36, not 34...my brain was trying to remember my size from the days before I was locked in a cubicle for 8 hours a day. So I head back out and grab the exact same two shorts, except in size 36.
Back in the dressing room, I try them on. I'm a little disappointed that they still feel a little too snug...I leave them on for a minute, try sitting down...I convince myself that they'll work. Yeah, they're a little too tight, but I can't bear the thought of going up to size 38, so these will have to do.
As I'm taking them back off so I can get dressed, I notice something. The size 36 shorts are still on their hangers. I had re-tried on the size 34 shorts.
I paused for a moment to make fun of myself and imagine about how I was going to write a rambling about this, then tried on the 36s. They were plenty big and fit fine, so I bought them and lived happily ever after.
So what was my lesson? That I'm way too good at convincing myself of things. Because I thought that those were 36s, I convinced myself that they fit, even though I had minutes earlier rejected the exact same shorts when I knew they were 34s. I wanted the 36s to fit so badly that I was willing to buy shorts that were too small for me.
Imagine how much fun you could have at a woman's clothing store by switching a few tags around!