Defunkification

I've managed to banish my funk somewhat using two techniques perfected by gay men over the last century: consumerism and saturation with (as well as mocking of) pop-culture. When reality gets a bit too unpleasant, there's always a product, a TV show, a movie, or a trashy novel to distract you from it. While it's not exactly a transcendental solution, sometimes a bit of superficial salving does the trick. And sometimes there just isn't anything that can be done beyond a bit of escapism.

As for pop culture, I discovered the amazingly catty world of "Top Design" blogs. Meow! My personal favorite is Pink Navy. Also? While I thought Carissa was both obnoxious and unimpressive in her design skills for most of the season, she definitely had the better loft in the finale. Matt's looked ugly, bland, cluttered and sterile. Of course, combining clutter and sterility does take a unique kind of talent, so maybe that's why he won.

I think the most amusing part of the entire season of "Top Design" was finding out how much the furniture cost. And how freakin' ugly a lot of it was. It makes me sleep better at night knowing that, while I may have accumulated over a hundred thousand dollars in debt pursuing higher education (in my misguided hopes of climbing out of the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder) at least I haven't spent tens of thousands of dollars on a horrible couch or side table. Until "Top Design", I didn't realize such a thing was even possible. I do have friends with that kind of money, but they actually have taste -- which explains why they're my friends -- and so I didn't know that such hideousness managed to sell in that price range.

And speaking of money and taste... On the anti-Marxist side of things, I made a trip to Macy's and indulged myself in a bottle of Burberry London cologne. I'm completely infatuated with that fragrance - it's like Sexy Man in a Bottle. It's not as satisfying as having an actual Sexy Man to call my own, but a couple of spritzes is considerably easier to obtain and manage than a relationship. I also picked up a Kenneth Cole Reaction sweater for $10(!) and a thin Calvin Klein hooded sweatshirt for $25. I love the clearance rack. I also love rolled cuffs/hems, which are featured on both of my finds.