Weeklong challenge

Ideally Friday night is supposed to be a night to stay up and go party with friends, watch a movie or engage in a very long and time-consuming date. It perfectly warrants a certain reward for being able to gracefully survive the whole work week. But here in the comforts of my house, already freshened up, wearing my favorite aged pajamas and enjoying a microwave-heated chocolate cake beats any partying outside.

Mitch and I decided to kick in early after having a quick dinner at a nearby mall, which of course I initiated. I planned the whole thing because I had to pick up a dress that I am destined to wear tomorrow evening for my father's birthday party. Being a non-shopper, most of my clothes like the pajamas I am currently wearing, date back when I was still in college. Some even in highschool, don't be surprised when some key pieces are from grade school.

I'm not a shopper, and I really don't adhere to trends. It takes a lot of explaining to convince people that even considered as a woman, I don't like to shop for clothes. It involves too much effort. So whenever I shop, I either only go to trusted stores and I shop for a glaring reason. A couple of holes in my favorite shirt, an obviously visible dying fabric of a dress or pants, sizes that either too tight or loose are fair reasons enough. When my mother and father would notice that means it's gone to an alarming mode. Even in my age, when they practically give me all the independence I could muster, they still tend to remind me to buy new clothes as if they're embarrassed to be seen with me.

Hence, in special occasions where formality is at stake, I should be able to at least look presentable. I looked at my clothes this morning and it would torture me to go through the aimless pile again tomorrow without stressing myself out. It's either the clothes are already too tight for me or it completely lost its charms after all these years of usage. This morning, I decided to get something suitable to wear to save me the possible troubles for tomorrow.

So, I searched the internet at work and saw key pieces in one of my favorite stores. I took note of the collection and re-confirmed that they have it in stock. I finished my work, met Mitch and off we went to the mall for dinner and dress accomplishment.

In less than two hours, I was able to get a dress, pondered on its color, ate a chinese dinner, had a sugar free dessert and crossed the other building to buy some dog food for Rocky. Before 9:30, I was already freshened up, logged in and ready to hit steady mode. For the past couple of days, structure, schedules and transitions (literal and non-literal) kept me on my feet. I honestly felt my back is beginning to hurt from the psychological, physical and mental torture. As much as I want to relax this weekend, I still have one show to manage; and getting that dress tonight practically covered the majority of the grueling task. Work pressures are quite different from social ones. I need all the preparations and structure that I could muster.