dollar-store

i found a pretty shop called “paper umbrella” in regina. the owner is very friendly. he sells pretty japanese paper as well as other stylish kitschy items. i bought a tiny japanese notebook made by kokuyo. it’s only 4 x 2 3/4″. of course, i bought a white one :)

among other things, i bought a bag of scrap japanese paper. i don’t make scrapbooks, but i can’t help being attracted by the idea of “scraps” - the useless and unwanted, full of imperfection. they could have been thrown away, but now they are with me. these strips of paper on only about 2-3cm wide. they’re the cutoff ends of bigger sheets of paper. i arranged the strips side by side, and took a photo of them. now they’re on my blog.

in a similar way, i find $1 store items very attractive. most of the stuff sold in dollar stores is, as you know, real junk. but some it is still very attractive to me. these cheap consumer goods weren’t made to be perfect. the workers were probably paid unfairly and had no time to make their products look good at all. but sometimes, their nonchalant efforts make a delicious item. for example, this emergency raincoat. i don’t know why they made this — i don’t even understand the concept of this design. and why is the guy running? but for some reason, this just looked delicious. i had to have it. now it sits on my desk in front of me.

someone’s junk is someone else’s treasure.

(click the image to view close up)

i counted. i have 36 of the same plastic doctor dolls. they’re each about 30cm tall, and their heads come off. they’re incredibly handsome. some people ask me if they are barbie’s boyfriend, ken. actually, they’re emergency doctor dolls that i found at a fancy $1 store in kingston, the one with the big red sign (now closed, says my insider information).

the doctor dolls came in plastic packages. they were nonchalantly hanging from the shelf. i instantly fell in love with them. so i bought three doctor dolls as well as two nurse dolls (like this one). when i got home, i regretted not buying more. i thought they’d all be sold by the next day, since i was worried everyone might find them attractive. at the dollar store, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

so i went back right after work. there were still 5 dolls left! that still wasn’t enough, so i asked the clerk to look in the back. she found a whole box. i bought them all.

on the way home, i ran into an acquaintance, a medical student. i was carrying a big plastic bag full of those doctor dolls and i had to try to have a normal conversation with him. “how was school?”, etc. i tried not to draw attention to the dolls, but it was impossible — the bag was too big. he asked me, “what’s in the bag?” i told him, “these are the doctor dolls i bought at the dollar store. they were so handsome i had to buy them all.” he said, “that’s great”, but he was smiling nervously.

i found this “emergency raincoat” at the dollar store in kingston. not the one with the fancy red sign but the one humbly located next to subway on princess street.

it’s raining hard today in saskatoon. i’ve noticed that canadians don’t like to use umbrellas. so tough. in japan, i never left home without my umbrella. never!! all japanese have to carry umbrellas every day — it’s required by the japanese constitution.

for people in other countries who don’t like to block the rain with mechanical devices such as an umbrella, this “emergency raincoat” would be an ideal substitute.

the downside of wearing raincoats is that it’s very hard to avoid looking lame. thanks to the recent improvements in fashion industry, there are more and more design-oriented raincoats available in canada. there are raincoats in bold, catchy colours, some with geometical patterns on them. that’s wonderful.

but may i say, they’re missing the whole point of raincoats? a stylish raincoat makes it too obvious that you’ve taken the time to find the perfect raincoat for a rainy day. and it’s clear that the only reason you’re carefree to walk down the street in the rain is because of that raincoat. other people, without raincoats, will say “if it weren’t for your raincoat, you’d be looking like a drowned rat, too!” by being obviously too well prepared, you deserve this sort of criticism.

the key point with raincoats is: keep it subtle. that’s why this emergency raincoat is made of transparent clear plastic. no-one will be able to tell that you’re wearing a raincoat (unless they get really close up). you’ll walk down the street in the rain like it’s just another beautiful sunny day. nonchalant, yet flawless. just like magic!

ladies will say: “who is this gentleman looking real sharp even in this heavy rain? what’s his secret?” gentlemen will say: “what a courageous lady, walking in the rain! i want her to be my wife.”

with this raincoat in your bag or in your pocket, you’re all set. you have no fear of the rain, and you’ll grab everyone’s hearts.

please, be prepared. if you do, you’ll be as proud as this happy man, walking in the rain.

(click the image to view close up)

a plastic nurse doll that i found at a $1 store in kingston. i don’t think the company that made the dolls paid any attention to details. so they all look a bit off. i think that’s the attractive part of these cheap dolls. i bought three of these nurse dolls.

i took this photo in front of the fridge in the middle of night. “be nice or leave. thank you” is a magnet that someone gave me.

i used to say “nice” a lot. i still do. nice, nice.