Saturday, April 30, 2005

The Funeral

Today is the funeral for my grandfather. It's going to be a hard day.

My eclectic family will be in attendance in all their confrontational glory. And I woke up looking like the corpse - face pale, eyes swollen and ringed in dark circles, lips white, hair knotted...this infection/abcess is sure a lot of fun! Even better, I have the sort of relatives who will whisper behind my back things like "She looks like she's been drinking..."

I'm one hot shower later, posting this with wet hair and wearing a towel. I guess it's time to move on.

I ventured into the world last night to find something to wear to the funeral. We went to Marshalls and TJ Maxx, two discount clothing outlets. Let me once again reaffirm my belief in these places.

Sure, they're messy and have mile long lines and piss-poor customer service. But I score big everytime I go. Last night I walked out with a seriously sexy wrap dress that exposes major cleavage, two crushed silk floral flirty skirts that should have been over $300 each and sold for $11.99 each. EH scored a designer label dress shirt, a pair of slacks that fit as if they were tailored for him and a tie by his favorite store (Tommy Bahama).

It's not just about money...even though we're always broke. For me, it's the thrill of the treasure hunt. It's patiently pawing through miles of racks of clothes strewn sloppily on an overstuffed rack to find that one special item. Sometimes it's a two piece DKNY suit that I find in just my size for 5% of the regulare retail price. Sometimes it's the sweet chocolate Ferragamo pumps I pick up for $10 or the Kate Spade handbag I dig out for $5. I love the hunt.

Guess I better go make an effort. I feel like shit and I am dreading the day. But I need to say goodbye to Grampa. I loved him very much.

Tomorrow he would have been 94. Today, we put him in the ground beside his wife.

Posted by Red :: 10:30 AM :: | ---------------------------------------