'Tis the season, but I don't feel any compulsion for it. Certainly, it helps that I've not been automatically entered in one of those baffling secret Santa gift exchanges.
Mostly, it's because I've been hitting the stores constantly over the last two months. It all started with the search for new MadRocks (Made in China). I'd found myself back on the erstwhile Chinese site 淘宝 after locating a very reasonably priced shipping service.
By the first week of November, I'd spent some 200 dollars, which translates into about 900 Chinese yuan. Granted, more than a quarter of that went to financing the spanking new red Concept MadRocks. Those Science Friction soles turned out a little thicker than I'd hoped, but I guess that just means they'll wear down slower than my old ones did.
The rest of the monies went to the usual suspects - clothes, shoes and a leather bag. 13 items for me, seven for the venerable sibling. And yes, they do look pretty much as shown in the pictures.
I'm very happy with the sturdy brown bag because it's neither too big nor too small. Likewise the two pairs of shoes, which are of a good low height (4cm and less) and don't impart blisters.
Clothes are usually more prone to missing the mark than other products, since there are no virtual fitting rooms. I've had more luck with knits but didn't get any this time. With the exception of a frilly, billowy printed top from UK label atmosphere, the rest weren't too bad. Nothing a little alteration can't fix!
But can anything fix this moment of madness, short of a personality change or a completely new and taller body? Regrets can be valuable lessons too, even if they do come cheap. Ho ho ho.
