"The Program"

Well, I think that I am well into the first leg of "the program".

I hope that friend E will not mind if I divulge a few of the major components of "the program". First, I went to see E's friend and hair stylist C. During the initial consultation with stylist C, he assured me that the.. ahem, gradual follicular attrition will not prevent me from getting a normal haircut. I have, however, resigned to the fact that eventually my hair will resemble that of George Costanza.


My father, who I have the utmost respect for, used the dreaded comb-over for at least 2 decades. He would always defend it as saying that he has never moved his part all of these years. But he finally relented and got rid of it a few years back.


Anyway, today we went shopping for jeans. I must admit that I was dreading this day a bit because I was warned about how expensive this might get. So we started off at the "low end" of the jean cost spectrum with the GAP where we didn't really find what we are looking for. As E describes me, I am 17 feet tall and about 3 inches in diameter, so it is a bit of a difficult task to find good, stylish jeans that are long enough for me. And so we went up the food chain to Lucky where we did find some jeans that were good, they were 150$, but I wasn't totally thrilled about them.

Next up, Octane. This was definitely what I would call, "high end". The friendly staffperson was quite helpful to E and I in providing jean suggestions I could be happy with actually fit at the same time. And, well, I guess you get what you paid for: I found a pair that I really liked, but, lets just say that you could almost buy a nice set of front rotors for same price as these jeans. I hadn't exactly accepted the fact that I could pay that much for a pair of jeans so the staff set them aside in case I returned to purchase them.

We then went on to search the other usual suspects: Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic. We didn't find anything remotely suitable at either, but I did pick up a vital item at UO for tonight's halloween costume.

But during this time, I began to slowly accept the fact that I could pay for jeans what would be the equivalent amount of a year's salary for the average laborer in most of the developing world. And so I bought a pair of size 30, dark wash, "big pickle-bear skin" Chip-pepper brand jeans. yeap. I think I am pretty pleased with them though.



I must say though that I've been kind of surprised to hear the different reactions of Journey kids when I tell them that I've started "the program". Some react in an encouraging way, "hey, wow, that's cool" sort of thing, but others kind of recoil in fear. They seem to think that friend E has magical superpowers to change who I am behind the super-chic jeans and greasy haircut. What's this a reflection of? Is my identity really how I look? is a change in my appearance representative of a change in my values? (such as before "the program" I looked geeky and frumpy, but now I am trendy and superficial)?

For all those naysayers out there about "the program": don't worry, I'm too old to drastically change from the geek we all know and love. So don't let the style fool you--I will forever be plaided and pleated on the inside.

Stay tuned.