Well, after a week in Disney World and a week at Reserves on base (gas masks, chem gear, explosions - you know, fun stuff :)), I have a few things to spew here to "clear the room" in my head, so to speak.
First, at Disney World a few weeks ago, I saw a boy that had been dressed up. He was absolutely adorable!! I'm not sure of the specifics, but what I could glean from listening to the girls he was with (Find me a teenage girl that knows how to whisper. I defy you! :)), it was either a bet he lost or a dare or a promise. We were on the ferry boat to Epcot, which takes awhile. I was on the front bench seat and they were all standing in front of me. I saw a girl that seemed kind of shy and nervous. The girls were telling him things like, "Don't worry, no one knows." "You look totally perfect. No one will know. Mrs. Richards did an awesome job on you!" "You promised - the whole day!" "Epcot is the smallest park. There won't be that many people there."
Midway through all this, I began to get suspicious. I looked a little closer at the cute girls in front of me. Apparently, that week was some kind of world cheerleader competition, so the place was overflowing with cute teenage girls and, apparently, one brother or friend pressed into service as a cute teenage girl for the day. :)
Mrs. Richards, whoever she is, deserves a medal. I'm guessing she was a cosmetologist or something, because the makeup and hair were perfect. His hair was kind of long for a boy, but cut and styled like a girl's (wonder how she got him to agree to that). His brows definitely weren't hairy and shapeless like a normal boy's, but thinned and nicely arched. His makeup was perfect. If it weren't for the obviousness of the situation and the comments I overheard, I would never suspect that the pretty girl in front of me wasn't one of the cheerleaders - he was that cute!
He was wearing a short pair of multicolored cotton shorts, a cami, and a lacy cardigan with a cute belt (it was cold in Orlando a few weeks ago!). His nails weren't that long, but polished. He had on a necklace and a matching bracelet. He also had a cute pair of ballet flats to round it off, unfortunately. Disney World is not the place for cute shoes - especially thin little ballet flats! It's the place for functional well-padded shoes. :)
We docked at Epcot, and I scurried ahead to get through security and the turnstiles before them. I staked out a place near France once I saw they were going over the bridge that way and stood back to watch. I made sure to smile at them as they passed, and winked and gave a knowing smile at one of the straggler girls. Her eyes got big and she whispered to another girl. They looked back, but kept going.
I would have loved to have kept up with them to see how the lucky guy was coming along, but as I had gone back for my camcorder and had to meet my family, I pressed on. I did see them about four hours later near the Future World area. While the boy wasn't exactly totally comfortable as a girl, you could tell that much of the nervousness had left him and he was smiling and laughing with "the rest of the girls" in the group. I'm sure his appearance had a lot to do with it, not to mention that the girls with him weren't treating him like they had the upper hand, but like one of the girls. I sincerely hope that he found the experience as fun as I know many of us do.
The second thing rattling in my head is how much I love outlet malls - the ones in Orlando doubly so! With stores like Coach, bebe, Max Azaria, Anne Klein and so much more, it's part candy store, part religious experience (Joanne, you're a lucky girl!). This time, however, I had my family with me. The only dresses and skirts I was looking at were for my wife. Sure, I had picked up a few longingly, but a remark from my wife like, "We're looking for me, not you" or "If that skirt is for me, you better find an 8. We all can't all be size 0's like you" reminded me of my purpose - pack mule for my wife and her shopping purchases. Ah well, at least I can touch the pretties. Plus, we bought matching fragrances - Weekend by Burberry. Hopefully the men's version will look and smell enough like the women's that I can "goof" occasionally. :)
Finally, I have got to learn to keep my big trap shut! My admin (the one who invited me to a girl's night out last year) got a promotion and started dressing up for it starting this week. She made sure to tell me about her shopping, what she bought, etc. and how she thought of me when she saw a dress there (It would show off those awesome legs, GI Joe!). Today, she was complaining to me and another girl about how much her feet hurt. I said, "Well, let's see the shoes!" She pulled up her pants and showed us. I stupidly said, "Well, no wonder! You're not used to wearing heels and you're wearing slingbacks that high?! Slingbacks are hard. I mean, those are really cute, but you should start out in a pair of mid-heel pumps and go up from there." The admin knows of my girliness, but the woman we were with - well, from the look on her face, I guess she didn't, but she sure does now! :) Ah well, it's not as if I hide my nature by being extra-macho, or anything. Heck, can a 130 pound guy even look macho anyway? :)
There. That cleared my head a bit of the stuff rattling around. Lots of space in there now.
Kathi
