cheap shit rules
09 December, 2002 :: 8:52 a.m.
You know what kicks ass? Finding a hooded sweatshirt that says University at Albany Golden Eagles--why does it kick ass? Because the University at Albany's mascot is the Great Dane...and the sweatshirt correctly has the Great Dane's head with an Albany collar right next to "Golden Eagles." It's an embroidered patch sewn on the chest of the sweatshirt. Someone took a lot of time to design this thing and then I'm sure it took some time for these patches to be sewn on...then somebody realized that UatA is not the home of the Golden Eagles, but the Great Danes...but I have the sweatshirt that says otherwise. And yeah, maybe Golden Eagles sounds better, but the Great Dane the shirt is pretty fucking mean looking and damn cool. Thanks Pat.
Yes, that means that Pat and I once again went to the greatest place on earth--the Champion outlet store...home of great finds like my 76'ers warm-up shirt that looks like the uniform of a fast food worker and the jerseys of timeless players such as Ed O'bannon and Tom Waddle--both of whose jerseys Pat owns. For my part, I bought Pat a hoodie that has the mysterious NDNU on it. If Google is telling the truth, it is likely that the letters stand for Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA. Now had we known this, I don't know if Pat would have wanted it, but I told him he could just make up a story about where it's from.
Going to the Champion outlet store is a time consuming venture, but it has never not paid off. Pat also picked up the thinnest, most generic grey t-shirt ever that said, Davidson County Community College. 'Cos you know people from DC3 are proud to advertise... Then there was the CalPolyMom sweatshirt that I tried to convince him to pick up, but noooo. And the gorgeous grey sweatshirt with the bright blue MCC on it. When I asked Pat what it stood for he shrugged and just said, "Minority Community College?" Yeah, I know, you had to be there to appreciate it. The point is, if there is a Champion outlet near you and you aren't scavenging the racks for treasures such as North Dakota Physician's Assistant, you are missing out.
We then went to Coconuts which used to just be one of your typical overpriced cd stores, but now it's one of the greatest places to lose hours and hours of your life because it has become a used cd store! The problem, staff don't seem too worried about getting alphabetizing just right when the discs are $.99-7.99...so just like Champion, you have to pour through the racks to make sure you aren't missing a hidden treasure...I picked up The Best of The Posies and have been listening to it non-stop since then. They were one of those bands back in the 90's that were in my peripheral due to a friend, but I never really stopped to listen...now I can, now I can pick up their albums and I can't wait to do that. The songs are fantastic and it was $6 for a cd that lasts over an hour...not too many of those these days. When most of what they expose you to these days on radio and television is crapop, it's nice to have a store you can run to and pick up something you missed out on a few years ago and still have enough money for lunch and a pack of cigarettes afterwards. When you find that album that makes you emit that little hysterical sound of happiness and incredulity that you actually found it, you always have to stop and wonder, "Who the hell parted with this? and was the couple of bucks they got for it that important that they were willing to let this go?" I plan to spend many more hours sifting through discs and looking for gems...and taking chances on something that maybe I had heard of but not heard because for $2 or $3, why not take a shot?...I've spent far more than that on albums that I'd rather not admit to owning. Even at $6, if I'd remembered, "Oh yeah, that's right, I hated The Posies..." it really wouldn't have been that big a deal...and instead I'm all happy as hell like I learned one of those open secrets, the ones nobody comes out and says, but most people know--The Posies kick ass. So I'm gonna go lounge in my Golden Danes or Great Eagles sweatshirt, whatever the hell it is and listen to some Posies...later.