Shark Attack!

Half of my week is spent working at the coffee shop in the hospital. It's about as glamorous as it seems, but the coffee we make is still high quality, and I love the people I am surrounded by there. My co-workers are wonderful enough to be tolerated and enjoyed side-by-side in a glorified closet, and most of the customers are a real hoot. Still, it can't be a surprise that I don't have a lot fundamentally in common with the middle-aged nurses that overwhelm our clientele.

Here's an exchange I had with a very sweet customer as I pulled her some espresso, wearing my shark shirt:

Customer: I like your shirt! Did you get it on vacation?

Broke: Thank you! It's actually thrifted.

Customer: What?

Broke: Thrifted.

Customer: Where is that?

Broke: I got it from a thrift store.

Customer: Oh.

Broke: I sew, I bought it to cut the sharks out and applique them to other things, but I just can't stand to part the sharks from each other qiute yet.

Customer: They'd look great on a pillow or bed spread. For a little boy.

Broke: I'll probably put them on a dress.

Customer: ..............Oh.

Let's get it out of the way: I know this picture is ridiculous.

I want so badly to write a personal essay on the hidden meaning behind this exchange, how strange it must seem to some people that a GIRL! in a PRETTY FLORAL SKIRT! would wear a shirt covered in SHARKS! and dare to sew them onto something so feminine as a dress. But I won't, because it seems so cliche and obvious. Chances are if you read this, we share similar views on gender roles. So write your own damn essay!

Instead I'll tell you that this is an excellent example of how to remake your wardrobe for literally zero dollars. This t-shirt will stay in my rotation for as long as the magic lives, and then it will be transformed into something new and magical. For free! And there are so many sharks to use, I could probably create an entirely new, shark-based closet. Mmm hmm! (This also is a great way to extend the life of something dear but worn-out...simply cut out your favorite part(s) and reassign them to a newer t-shirt or skirt or bag or whatever you wish!)

Shirt: Thrifted, $.50

Skirt: Thrifted, $1.50

Leggings and Socks: Target, $6.00 and $2.00 respectively

Shoes: My beloved Justins, $4.38

Hair: Streaks of blue visible in the photo for once! Done by the very talented Kelsey Smart at the Fix Salon

Name tag: Required for work.

Approximate Outfit Cost: $16.50

So gender stereotypes, blah blah blah....After work I had a cafeteria dinner date with Jake (so romantic!), then went home to change out of my stinky attire for an evening of karaoke at Gatherings in the New Bo district. I'll close out with a few photo highlights:

Handsomest EKG tech you ever did see.

wa-POW! All I see is them legs and booty. Jessica sang Tina Turner at my request, Josh was her hype man.

Carissa proves that brown and black can look good when it's on a foxy lady. Not pictured: her yellow "safety flannel"

We spent a lot of time and energy taking glamour shots in these space dividers at Gatherings. Jake was a little uneasy and unbalanced, so we took a safety pose together. Black jeans, you are unflattering!

The back of the hoodie pictured above. Gifted to me for my birthday by my boo. This is made of 55% organic cotton and 45% recycled polyester, which makes it so soft and responsible! You can get one for yourself at Leslie Hall's site.