I enjoy watching the 24 hour t-shirt sites. One of my favorites to watch is tee fury. I've been unwilling to buy from them because they will run a theme for a random number of days and every day I will think is this the BEST shirt for my fandom or will tomorrows be better? Also, I've heard bad things about their shirt sizing. All the 24 hour t-shirt places have sizing issues but I really heard about it with tee fury. Combine the two and I could never pull the trigger.... until Grab Bag day.
I'm a sucker for grab bags. The super secret surprise present in the mail is so tantalizing. Now I'm a sucker for them but I never buy them. My first and only grab bag, a yarn grab bag, back in 1996 was enough to keep me away forever. But this one came along when my defense was low and my susceptibility high. That's right, after a crappy day of work.
I logged on at 11:40 and there was only 20 minutes left until it was gone forever. I looked at the 60 possible designs on the shits. There were 25 I was very sad I missed and really really wanted. There were 10 I hated. The other 25 were plenty nice. The price was very very low. I could use this as a chance to try out the different shirt sizes without gambling on a shirt I loved. That was enough justification for me. With only 4 minutes left I was entering my credit card and looking up my new address to be sure I typed in right.
3 solid shirts. None from the 25 I wanted but no whammies either.
Galaxy Nails
I read on Ravelry that if you layer a China Glaze polish from the Prismatic Collection over black you get a Galaxy Nails look without the effort. I happen to have Liquid Crystal from that collection and last week I was wearing a blackened purple for the Halloween theme we have going all month at work. So Friday night I gave it a go. I try to do something extra fun for the weekends. I must have missed a step in the directions because it looked exactly like this. Except louder. It duochrome shifted pink to lavender in the sun and baby blue to aqua inside. It always flashed silver. Disco balls are subtle in comparison.
Games
Saturday I had lots of errands planned. I hoped to end up at Half Price books as a treat or maybe Dusty Bookshelf if I got the call about a meet up at the Yarn Barn. My t-shirt from Ript (another 24 hour t-shirt site) Horton Hears a Doctor Who, is always a hug hit in book stores and it's white and tones down the disco-fest on my nails just a little so it's a shoe-in for the day.
One stop was the neighborhood game shop to buy an expansion pack for the game Killerbunnies (all sold out at the supplier level, just sayn'). The staff was very helpful, the place wasn't full of boy teenyboppers playing Magic, and there wasn't a Captain Sweatpants in sight. As I was checking out I took a deep breath and asked if they had a dedicated board game night. Turns out they do, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
I get home and start doing my dull, mundane, weekend work. After two hours of that I had enough and I was bored silly. It was almost 6pm so really still 5 in the gaming world I'm sure. The pizza probably wasn't even ordered yet. Hmmmmm the rain had stopped. The owner should remember me from the afternoon. Ok, if I was to go, tonight would be it. Of course, while I wanted to go I also really didn't. New things in a questionable place with new people and this is the polar opposite of a yarn shop, well, staying home looked really good.
I checked myself out as I pshyc myself up. I can't change clothes because that is trying too hard and I would run the risk of not being recognized. That's ok since Horton Hears a Doctor Who is perfect, but the nails... too late to do anything about those. Might as well own being a girl.
I pack up my knitting since pick-up games can mean a whole lot of waiting for an opening. Hours sometimes. There is no way I won't knit. I cringe a little that my knitting is Baby Browncoat for Nerd Wars. That's coming off as maybe a little too strong and creepy and hard core but I decide to own that too. A place that displays action figures and has orc painting contests doesn't really have room to judge anther person's use of creative time.
I show up and there are about 10 people playing but there aren't any boardgames out, or any women. The pizza has been delivered and I can tell everyone has a plan and it looks more in line with orc painting than board games that night. The owner greats me and is shocked I'm there. However, he wips out a board game, rounds up a third player, and in less than 20 minutes we are immersed in Yggdrasil. It's a cooperative game that is put out by the same company as Pandemic, Z-Man Games.
No, I didn't know that before showing up. No, I don't even care a little. But I smiled and nodded and made eye contact as I listened because they were just telling me the gaming version of the information on yarn ball bands. This being polar opposite or rather exactly the same as a yarn shop.
And something else that was the same as a yarn shop. As the evening went on more and more people came in and I was still the only woman. I think the night topped out at 15. I had expected some women to come in and shop, or with a book, or even to play, but no
Everyone was super nice, no-one was weird or asked why I was there, but I spent the whole evening flushed, and sweaty, and sitting on my too bright fingernails to keep my hands from shaking so much. I hid it well and was chatty and involved in the game and only pushy with my viewpoint of the strategy a few times (We beat the game.). But I also kept an eye on the door so I could bolt if needed. I now completely understand the man that won't leave the doormat of the yarn store and needs the yarns brought over to him. It is terrifying to be the minority.
But not one person even blinked at my knitting.
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