(no subject)

[vicarz]

I am suffering an acute bout of depression. That would explain it, if only I were sad.
I remain incredibly tired and am having a difficult time getting to the gym (I've also strained my back a little but should be ok shortly), haven't been social...for instance yesterday I did my bare minimum work-at-home 8 hours including the trip downtown to meet with officials at hq...dragging myself just to walk there. It makes no sense - haven't worked out, weather is great, not sick...dunno. It was all I could do to stay up to read Scott Pilgrim #2 and watch my power puff girls videos.
Yes, my entertainment life is cartoons from 10 years ago.
Mojo Jojo, that is me, who I am, the monkey that is Mojo Jojo, that is who I am known as because that is me who I am...

So today I OD'd on coffee for the hell of it. I od'd on good ccooffee.

WOW - amazing comparison to the disabled vs. scary deformities (hunchbacks, limping) done on NPR that just floored me on the way to work: Horror invoked by pretending to be "deformed" common Halloween theme:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130866241
It's not a guilt-you piece, but WOW does it make you think. Quick read, worth your time.

2 questions for today:
SHORT PEOPLE
I ask this here because most of the short people I know are in the closet, and I respect that. Anonymous replies accepted. There are a lot of prejudices against the short, and while I'm out I don't hold it against others who are trying to live in a world of tall the best they know how.
So, how do you get pants?
I just bought 6 pairs of 30x30 pants and they don't really fit. I've tubbed up slightly since this icon was taken, and I'm quite happy with my minor tummy flub - but it doesn't fit in my pants anymore, those 29x30 pants. Why do I care?
First, I credit the 29x30 to Jill. I used to wear 30x30, and she talked me into 29x30 so "she could see my ass." I thought it was about the pants being tight enough to show my figure, but the reality is a 30x30 cut isn't just a wider waist - but ... it's got a lower crotch. Not by much, but the difference is HUGE in terms of comfort. When I walk in 30x30, I have a minor harem pants effect where my legs are constrained from full range of motion by the low crotch. I can overcome this, but the effect is my pants pulled up to my belly button and that old man appearance as my pants are becoming a shirt - might as well wear overalls.
29x30 pants constrain my choco-loving belly and make a tucked in shirt...unsightly.
Is there some pants mystery I'm missing? It's easier to get casual pants that fit (cords, jeans, shorts with tights) than work-ok-pants. Help? Ideas other than $200 custom pants that require dry cleaning or worse...ironing?

SANE PEOPLE
Who is attending the rally for sanity, and in what capacity?
I'm thinking of going, and debating whether to be a sarcastic fake-winger/teabagger, or just be a rational person responding to "I'm not an extremist and I want to be heard" call to not-arms. You?

Comments

[bentrazor.livejournal.com]

Depression doesn't always manifest itself as sadness, often it's just what you desribed: inexplicable lack of enthusiasm, or just a general sense that something is wrong when it shouldn't be.

At 5'11" I am the world's second tallest Italian (the first one being my father at a towering 6') but I am going to the rally, probably hawking bootleg ass shirts if i get the screens done in time.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I don't really have a reason for sad. Odd. Or chemical.

What rally shirts are you making, ones I've seen or something rally specific?

[curvemudgeon.livejournal.com]

Who is attending the rally for sanity, and in what capacity?
I'm thinking of going, and debating whether to be a sarcastic fake-winger/teabagger, or just be a rational person responding to "I'm not an extremist and I want to be heard" call to not-arms. You?

I was toying with the idea of going as a Secret Muslin (got a bunch of fabric lying around here) but haven't been able to work up the energy. Mostly going for the lulz.

[feistydiva.livejournal.com]

I have problems with getting off-the-rack pants (and jeans) to fit as well, so I am not sure what to tell you. It is frustrating to have mutant proportions.

Maybe get some Man-Spanx so tucked-in shirts look better with the 29x30 pants?

http://www.spanx.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3955558

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I am actually considering button-expanders - but really I want some company to tell me pants that fit without charging me $80 each and require dry cleaning. Give me wash n' wear and don't make me broke.

I should be happy that I do have a size that fits though. I just have to be less fun with food/drink to do it.

[likethewatch.livejournal.com]

I wear 34x30s, and when I pick up 34x32s instead, the crotch is too low. Watch the length, not so much the waist, for harem crotch, I think.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

That's what is killing me - 29x30 fits, 30x30 has a lower crotch. SAME LENGTH!? Make no sense.

Frustrating that I'm not seen as skinny yet if I really had more belly I could find pants that fit easier. 32x30 and 34x30 are easy to find, and often you can get up to 40x30 or more. I'm not sure how harem-like they wind up though.

[likethewatch.livejournal.com]

Who doesn't think you're skinny? You could go without pants altogether. I've seen the pics of your abs. Anyone would think, hey, that guy shouldn't be naked! Then would look at your abs and relax and think, actually, that guy should be naked, weather permitting.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Oh I totally agree, but I don't see it as skinny - I've seen skinny, and I have muscles rather than boney chicken legs. I'd settle for wiry but I think of myself as muscular.
My abs pic is 5-7 lbs ago, and while that isn't much and I'm not unhappy with it, they're not all washboardy without not eating for hours, not drinking, flexing, posing, lighting, and selective pictures.

I even made a shirt with gold's gym logo on it that says "Skinny isn't fit."

[frontdoorangel.livejournal.com]

I have no advice for the pants. Unless I buy petite, they tend to drag the floor if I'm not wearing big shoes. However, after a lifetime of too long pants, petite just feels weird. Technically they fit but, feel too short? I don't know. Other than my 5 year old, I'm the shortest person in the house and I imagine she will outpace me soon enough since she's already over 4 feet tall.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I'm all about being able to move my legs - if I can't just lift a leg up and kick someone no years of practice will make it feel right. I had a short karate instructor who I saw spending time to break the habit of pulling up hits pants leg because it telegraphed his otherwise fast kicks.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I watch tv :) and while that's lazy, daily show/colbert report are pretty smart for that medium.

[joanarkham.livejournal.com]

1) Depression is not the same as being sad. It would be much easier if it was.

2) Ken has to either roll up his pants or get them hemmed. Land's End has nice work pants that they will hem for free. There is no such thing as "men's petite."

3) We will be at the rally, since we are totally morons who watch tv. We're not going to stay for the whole thing though, as I suspect Metro is going to be a giant clusterfuck.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Men's petite...it's a tough sell. Wording is paramount as we follow the machismo mantra.

Words that men might prefer (not like, but prefer to petite):
Squat
Husky elevation
Dwarf tossing loop (or HiHo version)
Italian pinky ring

[likethewatch.livejournal.com]

There are lots of words men may prefer to "petite," but that doesn't mean we would think to buy our pants from the "dwarf tossing loop," no matter our proportions.
There's the "Big & Tall" shops and catalogs... is there a "Little & Short" counterpart? No. So what you need is something "normal," but where normal includes your dimensions. Have you tried shopping for pants in an ethnic enclave of people tending to have smaller proportions? New Jersey might work, but maybe there's a Chinatown closer to you.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of brand sensitive. I also have bad luck with lower quality fabrics - I've gravitated towards brands like Jos because their quality has impressed me over time.

[greatevil.livejournal.com]

I bounce between 34 and 36 the difference in the geometry is very marked. My best suggestion is to try different stores and brands, I find Express to fit me very well but gap jeans to fit poorly.... YMMV

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Very good point - thanks! I have been hooked on JoSABank but if they don't suit me...

[feistydiva.livejournal.com]

Actually, a store can vary in sizing between seasons and cuts and styles, so try on lots of pants in different places! I have Express women's pants from a few years ago in size 2 that still fit fine, but now I seem to require their size 00 pants in this season's lineup. I did make the mistake a few months ago of just doing the grab-n-go with a pair of their size 2 pants, and then realized the error once I got them home and dressed for work (and looked like a child playing dress-up). Express also (for the most part) got rid of the different lengths option in their women's pants, but fortunately they also started making the basic length a little longer.

I love pants. I hate pants. Skirts are always so easy. ;-)

[drmathochist.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I'll be there. Colbert said to come as something he's said we should be scared of, so I've grown out the beard and I'm breaking out my regalia to show up as an ivy league liberal academic.

Drop a line.. My email is with gmail and uses my standard nickname. The same one that leads off my wordpress URL...

[(Anonymous)]

Calvin Klein makes a number of styles that tend to fit right in the crotch (I have the same problem). They're generally $60 (~$40 on sale), are machine washable, and are generally fine without ironing.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Plus they make we want to have sex with skinny peole in black and white, how can I not buy their pants to tear off with my teeth!

[fsfitz.livejournal.com]

I'm so on the fence about the rallies. Not a fan of large crowds and insanity on the Metro. OTHOH, I have an awesome McCain shirt that I don't wear enough.
I'll go if you do and there is chocolate.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I think choco is generally a good idea but a bit much work for one big day (I also have to hit a night party). Kirstin is going too! I think I'm going but I may wear a Palin for Prez shirt.

[sinnamongirl.livejournal.com]

1. Power Puff Girls never gets old.
2. Maybe try girl pants? The pockets are way small and basically useless, but I know a few short guys who've had success with the crotch issue, I think it just depends on the style you get. My dad accidentally wore a pair of my pants for months before I pointed it out; he never realized. I think they were just Levi's. As a short (5'2") girl with a big tummy and IBS problems, i.e., tight waistbands make my intestines hurt worse, I've been wearing guys pants for years (thanks grunge, for making that okay). I've discovered if I go buy the trendy low-waisted guys pants I get the nice wide hip circumference without the crotch dragging, which is a huge problem for me. I hate that extra 6 inches of crotch space :P

So, yeah.... girls' pants might be something to try on? If nothing else, it could be a good excuse to freak out the local gentry :D

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Unless I can grow a girl crotch I'm not going to make the pocket sacrifice on the pants. I do, on rare occasions now, wear girl's skirts or tight dresses. Totally works, but would be eyebrow raising in the office. Especially because the wear I wear them makes my not-girl gender obvious.

[jukebox-heroine.livejournal.com]

i have not found the secret to pants yet. i'm not quite 5'7", which is not quite short, but certainly not towering either. i'm also a statuesque beauty & apparently, panstmakers of the world either assume that i will be either squat & fat or an amazon with long legs because all my pants are dragging the floor. so i have to buy junior fat. which means that i always look like a slut from the waist down because no self respecting woman over 30 should wear low rise pants to work.

i will NOT be attending this rally because i do not care for a) rallies, b) large groups of people thinking they are funny & c) it's PRIME TIME to go to the whole foods in logan circle. NOBODY is going to be there.