Cold Comfort--What I Bought with my Election Bet
What I got instead of Kerry as President
Okay, on Election Night, as things started looking grim, I did three things:
--hit an election party held by some Scandinavian group,
--went and had sushi when the bar got too freaking crowded, and the news got too depressing, and
--made two bets over my cell phone with two friends.
Now, my first bet was with my friend Dan. He, too, had unfortunately drunk the Shiny Happy Kool Aid and was still convinced that Kerry would win by a landslide. Now, the Green Guerillas are $100 richer. By the way, I highly recommend giving to them if you live in the NYC area in any event. They were one of the few groups to sucessfully stand up to Giuliani's program of wrecking community gardens, and their works are some of the brightest spots in town. But I digress....
My other bet was with Gilly. Now, by the time I was on this second bet, the cocktails and hot sake' was sinking in. Gilly thought I was nuts -- same landslide talk.
Now, believe me, I wish beyond all wishing that I had lost the bet. But loose Kerry did, so when I met Gilly for my birthday dinner, he was waiting with a $50 gift certificate from LUSH . Now, as you all know, this is one of my most favorite stores in New York City. So, the following Monday, I took my butt down to Herald Square to wallow a bit and indulge in some feel-better shopping (which, take my word for it, feels even better if it's someone else's money).
So, I go in to the store after work, and the help all greets me in unison. I distract myself by looking at the new items. I spent maybe 45 minutes in there before making my purchases. Oh, happy day--if I spent over $70, I got a free gift worth $20. So, for only $20 more, I got three free bath bombs.
For the curious, here is what is pictured above, starting at the 2 o'clock position and going clockwise:
--My free gift, which was the Sun, Sea, and Sicily Bath Bomb Set
--an entire quarter-wheel of my total favorite, Karma (the soap)(I also have the perfume, body creme, solid shampoo, and dusting powder, but I digress...)(some day, I will drop $100 or so and get the whole wheel)
--a small bottle of Flying Fox, the new jasmine and honey bath gel
--a Floating Island bath melt
--a Candy Bar bubble bar
--two Karma bubble bars
--an "each peach and two's a pair" skin/massage/bath oil bar
Yeah, it's decadent. But that's not the funny part.
While I perused the goods, and gave the clerk my cell number so that she could tell me when all of the LUSH Holiday Super Special Goodies came in, only three men came into the whole place. One was a tweeny-something Hispanic guy and his girlfriend. Another was a twirtysomething Scandinavian tourist with his Mom. By the time the third guy came in, I was ready to check out. He was a youngish Black guy in Office Yuppie gear, complete with a trenchcoat that matched mine and a laptop bag. He was visibly uncomfortable, and very quickly took my and the clerk's suggestions for a musky massage bar. As the girl behind the counter rang me up, I took out the gift certificate. I told the guy not to be uncomfortable, that my friend was in here last week to get me the gift certificate.
The checkout girl immediatley perked up and went, "Oh, wait, is your pal Black and a little taller than you?"
I said yes, he was probably wearing a footbal jersey..."And a cap, and he sort of had a moustachey thing!" she cut in, almost immediatley. Yes, so few guys come in there, she actually remembered Gilly getting me the certificate the prior Friday. The guy next to me in the store was both amused and shocked. The rest of the staff had a good giggle.
In four years, I want to be the one geek girl in Best Buy, getting Gilly his $50 gift certificate. In the meantime, I sure hope that girl remembers to call me when the holiday stuff comes in.
Time for my bath....
Postscript--
Forgot to mention one other thing...as I was being checked out, the staff noted that "we've had to restock almost everything this week...after the election, SO MANY women came in to get something to make themselves feel better about everything...." I wonder if it would really impact the store's business a whole lot if they were affiliated with local "lefty" causes that are "cute," like community gardens, etc...which would of course raise awareness of local politics in general. I can't see an anti-choice, anti-sex, anti-freedom Rethug female using a "sexy" shower gel called "Flying Fox," or even marginally approving of the sensual nature and self-care nature of most of the stuff in the store anyway. There's a virtual PAC going on among the soaps--women in their twirties with jobs and income. Speculate away!
posted by Jenonymous @ 1:00:00 AM
