Let me begin at the beginning. As I reported a few nights ago in the "What Did You Buy Today" thread, I discovered my favorite store this past week, a mall store called Torrid. I went in there on Tuesday looking for a top to wear to this weekend's Kappa Beta meeting, and came out with a couple of different outfits (which I got to try on in the store, no less). In addition to the clothes, I picked up some jewelry and a pair of shoes.
Something about that visit galvanized me. It's like someone flipped a switch, and I've found a new source of energy. I was already excited at the prospect of attending another KB gathering, but this experience just served to ramp up my enthusiasm.
As I sat there Saturday morning, preparing to go out, I decided that I wanted to do something different this time around. The last two meetings, I've gotten dressed, gone to the meeting, then gone out to dinner and come home. There had to be something more for me to do.
I decided to go to the mall.
I know, I know. I've heard repeatedly that malls are bad places for us to go. That malls are populated by throngs of teenage girls who love to make sport of our kind. Well, I decided to tempt the fates. I decided that I have come too far in my personal growth to let a little thing like fear keep me from going where I want to go. Besides, I devised a whole slew of snappy comebacks just in case someone decided to out me.
I was dressed casually. A lot of the girls who come to these meetings dress up. They wear dresses or suits, like they're going to church or something. If we were going to eat someplace other than a gay sports bar/Irish pub, I might feel compelled to dress up, but not now. I wore my new (size 12!) Z. Cavaricci jeans, with a white tank top and this little red half-shirt. I wore my new brown wig and tasteful daytime makeup. I was trying out Revlon's Colorstay lip and eye colors, and they worked out great. I wore silver jewelry: three rings, chandelier earrings and a handful of bangle bracelets. My new brown wedges and a purse from WalMart completed the ensemble.
Torrid has two locations in Charlotte, and the nearest one to me is in Southpark Mall, which is the most upscale of all the malls in or around the city. Most of the stores there are too expensive for me, but Torrid would be the exception. I got there around 1:30pm. The mall was packed. I'm pretty set in my ways when it comes to parking, and my favorite parking area at Southpark is at Nordstrom, which is all the way at the other end of the mall (compared with Torrid).
I went into Nordstrom, rode the escalator up to 2 and went out into the mall. I tried to walk normally. I've found that if I take naturally long strides when I'm wearing heels, my hips sway of their own accord, so I didn't need to exaggerate or anything. I picked my way through the crowds until I reached the store. Both of the store managers recognized me from previous visits, and were tickled to see my femme side. When I told them that everything I was wearing came from their store, one of their associates asked me if I was a model. I said, "No," but I wouldn't refuse if they asked me. Before I left, I asked if they'd take my picture (using my digital), and they obliged. On the way out, I stopped at McDonalds and got an iced tea. Nobody so much as batted an eyelash. Going out of the mall I got a couple of odd looks, but nobody said a word to me.
I then went to the group's usual hotel, only to discover that the meeting wasn't being held there this month. I called the group's chairperson, and discovered that the function had been moved to another hotel. Luckily, the new place was just up the street.
I apparently missed the business portion of the meeting. By the time I arrived, everyone was socializing (and drinking - wine seems to be a big part of these events). There were some new faces there (new to me), as well as a few that were at my first meeting, but not at the last one. Come to find out, I'm the youngest person in the group (at 34). I got all sorts of compliments on various of my physical features (small hands, long legs, and "natural" cleavage). Everybody wanted to know where I got my bangle bracelets, and I let everyone try some of them on. I think I scored some future business for Torrid (maybe I should ask them about commissions - LOL).
Dinner was at Hartigan's, a gay-friendly Irish pub/sports bar. The food's good, and the staff are pretty friendly. I was given to understand that the place has a dance club downstairs on Fridays and Saturdays, and that sometimes they have theme nights, but this group likes a different venue.
After dinner, we adjourned back to the hotel, while some of the group went on to Liaisons, a local club. After a short rest at the hotel, where a couple of the girls changed clothes, we headed over to Liaisons. I have to say that I wasn't impressed. Cover was only $3, but there wasn't anything to do. Most everyone there was either smoking or drinking, or both. I don't smoke, and I hardly ever drink (I did have a Smirnoff Ice after dinner at Hartigan's, but that was the first drink I'd had in a month or so), and the conversation was a little thin. If I'm going to pay to get into someplace, there'd best be something for me to do: a dancefloor, karaoke, entertainment, video games, anything. I like this group, but I think I'll be cutting that particular place out of my itinerary. The next time I'm off, I might check out the club at Hartigan's, just to see it.
The end of the night wasn't great, but all in all it was a very good day.
