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(This is not a picture of Grandma in her new wig.)
Last Wednesday, Grandma H decided we would add wig shopping to our to-do list.
Grandma H has a good head of hair, but she doesn’t like having to get it done every week. So she told me she would wear a wig in between hair appointments.
I’m on board because this sounds reasonable enough.
So we head to a wig store in Waterbury. Wigs range from $140-350. For a short haired wig?!
Are you kidding me?
I used to wig shop in LA and San Diego during my club kid days of some moons ago. A wig that went down to my bum cost me $50.
While we’re waiting to try on a wig, another shopper says to Grandma H, “That one looks good on you.”
I try not to laugh. Grandma H looks stunned.
I explain, “That’s her real hair.”
The lady looks suitably surprised. “Oh, well it looks nice.”
I love Grandma H but it looks overteased and hairsprayed. Nice is not in the realm of possibility.
Grandma H tries a few on to get an idea of the color and style she would like. But we can’t pay those kind of prices.
After the sticker shock, we decide to try another store. We head over to a less expensive hair place where the wigs go for $29.99. That’s reasonable.
Grandma H explains to me, “I plan to wear it like a hat. Just when I go out of the house.”
I try not to crack up at the image of her in a hair hat.
We end up finding two pretty nice wigs and get them for $58. (We got a little discount for buying both.)
Grandma H whispers, “I only have $40 on me.”
So I say, “I can spot you the money.”
Then I go make the purchase for her.
Later, we go to the scratch off place and Grandma H buys $20 in scratch offs. I forget that old ladies divide up their cash by their activities. God only knows how much she has in that purse divided amongst ten different purposes.
She ends up winning $50 recouping the cost of the ticket and one wig. It’s a good day for Grandma H.
Like this:
We slept around 6 hours. As I changed into my clothes, I noticed blood stains inside my I <3 HK T-shirt. Seeing no cut on my back, I freak that the airport giftshop sold me a bloody T-shirt.
We headed to breakfast in town. Natalie's near the Sugar Palms hotel had an American breakfast special for 180 baht and a continental breakfast special for 120 baht. Basically 10$US. Pricey for thailand, but in line with our budget.
We grabbed some water at the 7-11 and walked back to the hotel for a few hours of swimming…in our 11 pools. We tried out 5 of them. Black tiled fading pools. Overlooking Kata. From the higher ones you can see Kata beach.
Some were heated. Some had waterfalls. Some were wading pools, some deeper. All delighted goldielocks aka OL.
He leapt from pool to pool like a frog in late spring. So relaxing. Temperature was cooler than HK. Raining on/off and all afternoon.
After a two hour swim and rinse off in our shower, OL and I headed to Lucky Tom's which is the #1 restaurant in Phuket on TripAdvisor.
The walk there was treacherous since the sidewalk disappears and the vehicles on the roads don't seem to care about pedestrian lives. The second problem was that the are no street signs to indicate when we reached Tai Na Rd. Poor OL kept asking vendors if we were there yet.
Nope. We didn't overshoot it. Kept walking. Finally reached the street. Took in sites of Phuket along the way.
Finally found Lucky Tom's. It lived up to all the hype. The owner are Lucky and his wife, Tom. A lovely couple. They see to all your needs and genuinely care about whether or not you loved your meal.
I had the coconut and chicken soup. An absolute pleasure to eat. Fresh lemongrass and ginger with tomatoes and chicken.
For an entree, I had the peanut curry with chicken. Lip tingling and throat scaringly spicy.
OL had the green curry. For desert, I had mango with sticky rice. Reminded me of all my Thai dinners in college with friends.
We walked back completely satiated. The humidity increased. Sweat poured off me. We stopped at a few shops along the way. I picked up post cards and scarves. Eyeballed some cool statues but didn't make a purchase yet.
Realized 1/3 of the way home that spicy does not cool me off despite popular belief. Also it doesn't agree with me. Luckily, I make it home before tummie troubles begin.
Did some more swimming until 8 and then grabbed dinner at The Orchid next door to our hotel. The prices are the best in our area. Great service. Quick food arrival.
I had the deep fried prawns for 80 baht and the ginger chicken for 80 baht. And the deep friend banana and ice cream for 70 baht. My entire meal was under $10 including the coke light and the steamed rice.
OL had the sweet and sour pork and bananas in coconut milk. Definitely going back for breakfast tomorrow.
Today, my grandmother picked me up to go out on the town. She knows I have no car since I just moved back to CT 1.5 weeks ago. So she decided Wednesday will be our day to run errands and go galavanting. Grandma is my girl outing of the week.
She’s pretty cool. We run a few errands–register to vote, register the dog at town hall for me. Grandma loves the fall foliage btw. She points it out to me as she drives and I snap a few pics.
Then we head to the mall to window shop. She mentions that she needs a new bra. But she just wants to look and not buy.
To me, needing a new bra is a crisis situation. Deathcon 4. Not quite on the level of the Middle East peace crisis, but damn near close. I mean a bra is the centerpiece of any woman’s wardrobe. It affects how your clothes drape and how you feel about yourself, because let’s face it despite women’s liberation we all like to have a nice rack. No one wants them to sag or droop. And a good bra can correct a lot of the havoc mother nature is wrecking on your breasts.
I mention that I buy mine at Victoria’s Secret and that they make all kinds of bras. I stress the importance of investing in 2-3 bras that really fit well. So we go to Victoria’s Secret and they tell me they have done away with all there 40+ sizes. Unless you buy them online. Just so you know, grandma falls into this category. Right now, we need to try things on and figure out what style is right for grandma. So screw you Victoria’s Secret.
Next we end up at JCPenney. I’m thinking they will have bigger sizes and better prices anyway. We browse through but only see up to 38 in size. So I ask the sales lady and she looks at me like honey you can’t wear a 40 or higher. And I’m like no this is for grandma. She is still skeptical and measures grandma. We find out what the correct size is. Then she picks our 4 different styles and we convince grandma to try them on.
I go in and end up helping her with the clasps. Grandma tells me I should find a job as a bra fitter since I’m unemployed. I try my best to keep from laughing since it’s a bit of a change from auditor. We go through 7 bras before we find the one that fits right. Success!
Then I convince her to buy it. I push for two, but she holds firm. When we go to check out the store has a nice surprise for us–it’s buy 1 get a second one for 88 cents. Grandma leaves the store with two new bras for the price of one! She’s thrilled to get a deal and two well-fitting bras. I’m happy she’s happy.
Then we grab lunch and chat.
It’s funny, I always end up being a personal shopper to the ones I love. With OL, it was dress slacks. With grandma–bras. Wonder what Mom will have me picking out with her? 
While at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I noticed the zoom on my camera was sticking. Then I realized I’d had it 4 years and used it extensively. Time for a new model. So I went online and was quickly overwhelmed by all the choices.
I emailed Z (my go to tech friend) and begged him to find me a couple good options in my price range. I wanted 3 things: decent pics, midweight camera and a finger gripper so I could do one-handed shooting. He sends me links of ultracompact, lightweight, slick cameras that require both hands to shoot. UGH!
I was back at square one and figured screw it. I’ll just stick with my old camera. Then a series of things occurred last Friday and my day went from bad to craptastically unbearable. By the time I got off the subway I was a mess.
I knew if I went home, I’d just cry. So like any smart woman I distracted myself by shopping for a new camera. Without any research. I walked in J&R and talked to the best camera salesman (Victor M. Rodriguez Jr.) for an hour, trying out a dozen models. He listened to what I wanted and what irked me about different models. Staying within my price range, he presented me with my options. He never pressured me to make a decision, understanding that I had to evaluate each model. In the end, I went with a Panasonic Lumix FZ 35.
I got it home and checked the reviews online and it looks like a great model. For once not doing research paid off! But I lucked out in getting an awesome salesperson. I’ve tried it out this week and its super easy to use and very intuitive. I haven’t been this happy with a purchase in a long time.
As a side note, I went to see Clash of the Titans in 3-D. Not worth the money. The story was cool (caveat: I love Greek Mythology). The acting was okay. But the 3-D seemed pretty minimal. Nothing like Alice in Wonderland. I was definitely underwhelmed.
I should preface this post with a short explanation about handbags. I hate hate hate giant handbags. You know the ones that can double as an overnight bag? Perfect for transporting a turkey. Like anyone really needs that much space? I always have a smaller bag that holds the essentials. I’m a firm believer that it’s easier to find things when there is less space to search. I also love love love Vivienne Westwood bags.
Onto the story. So I am searching the Vivienne Westwood online shopfor a new handbag. I fall head over heels for the floral leather bag. I look at the price in pounds and think hmm not so bad, then I look at the conversion to dollars Price: $1,401.80. That is too big a splurge for this girl. So I keep browsing. I already have a plaid one that I love so I don’t want another one. Hmmm. Then I open up the link to the Bambi bag. It’s cute. it’s totally out there. And it’s $350. This is way more doable. So based on a quick look at the website, I am sure the bag is the same size as my other one. Of course, the measurements are there, but they are in centimeters for god’s sake. This is why math matters. Being able to do conversions is helpful in real life. Especially if you’re an international online shopper like me. If you want to buy stuff from anywhere that uses the metric system (so anywhere outside the 50 states), you have to know math. Or else you could be in for a bit of a nasty surprise.
I end up buying the bag and eagerly awaiting its arrival. When I unpacked it, I was speechless. Here’s why….
She’s a monstrosity. And just for perspective, here is the new bag beside my old bag (AKA the size I expected it to be)
This is when I realize that math really does matter. Maybe not calculus, but basic math. If I’d taken the time to convert or even heck guesstimate the inches, I might not have bought the ginormous Bambi bag.
Weirdest part? During the crazy rainstorms of the past week, the Bambi bag has been a lifesaver. I just shove stuff in it and it’s totally rain proof. Plus the bag itself is pretty light. Way lighter than the PVC coated canvas bag.
And I am slowly getting used to having a ridiculously huge handbag that can knock small children on their butts. I consider it an added benefit.
