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Amandablog update

So- my rotation now is at the San Jose Medical Center where I’m hanging out with family practice residents. I’m having a great time! I’m doing inpatient right now and I love the fact that we are doing some really hard core medicine (i.e. taking care of pretty sick people) but are doing it with this teamwork-oriented, low bullshit approach where patients and families’ psycho-social situation actually matters and gets talked about. We’re laughing a lot, too, which is nice. I asked them on Friday when they wanted me to come in for weekend rounds and they were like “Oh no! We would NEVER make a student come in on the weekends! Go home and have fun!!” So, I did. . .

WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND (so far):
The Vintage Fashion Expo!!! The Vintage Fashion World is a fun and fascinating subculture to study as an amateur anthropologist participant-observer. There are the lindy-hop, swing dance freaks (one of my very favorite links for that subcult is this clothing store Re-Vamp featuring remakes of retro clothes and tips on vintage style and etiquette, mostly for swing dance enthusiasts). There are way cool and sexy hot rockabilly types. The guys look like old-school motorcycle greaser types with fabulous haircuts (sideburns, pompadours, duck tails- lots of pomade) and beautiful tatts of hearts and crowns and bannered images with girlfriend or mom names. The women have Betty Page haircuts, bright red lipstick totally sexy fun outfits. Rockabilly music and cars- restoring and tricking out fabulous pre-1968 cars. There is awonderful event- The Blessing of the Cars, where Rockabilly types, low-riders, and other car culture folks get together and a fabulous ponytailed catholic priest with wonderful checkered flag and flamed vestments sprinkles holy water on cars while praying that they run well and keeps occupants safe. SO- I got jewelery and dresses and a FABULOUS navy blue forties suit for my residency interviews. One of my favorite moments was when I came into the group dressing room and a beautiful woman was trying on a cigarette girl costume (beautiful spangled and sequined leotard worn with fishnets) that an 80 year old vender had brought to sell- they were the ones that SHE had worn when she was a cigar girl so many years ago.

I had to get the suit skirt altered and went straight to the Escobar Brothers. I went to their office on the corner of Sutter and Stockton, took the elevator up to the seventh floor, shared by chinese businesses, immigration lawyers and a Russian travel agency. The Escobar Brother who helped me (I think the second from the left in the photo below) tugged here, smoothed there, pinning and making mysterious chalk marks on my hips and butt where the skirt was too tight or didn’t drape right. He unzipped the side and exposed my glow-in-the-dark alien underwear. It was amazing, though, he basically smoothed his hands all over my hips and ass. It felt intimate but comfortable and connecting and I was completely in awe of the mastery and skill involved in being a tailor. I felt womanly and beautiful to think that I will have something that is made to suit me and my particular curves perfectly. I wish that clothes were like this still- gorgeous fabrics, wonderfully made, attended to with skill, appreciated and cared for, adjusted to fit women in all of their different shapes and sizes. Getting clothing like this is so preferable to the very problematically globally mass produced crap clothing (the Gap!) that is obselete or non-functional right after it is bought, is made for skinny-ass women and ruins the environment and oppresses its piece workers to boot!

Some other retro links:
Atomic- Essential Guide to Retro Culture
Pin Ups! Yowie!
Folkwear Patterns- wonderful vintage and ethnic/cultural patterns
Costumer’s Manifesto with her Links for Period Weddings
Nose Art ! with the very famous Memphis Belle- maybe someday I’ll be wild enough to get a gorgeous nose-art type pinup girl tattooed on my upper arm!

So- a lazy fun Saturday here with Eli playing a computer game and doing laundry with the Girls lazing around. I may go running or I may just drink another beer do some yoga and burn CDs.

A out.