Weird day
Last weekend of September, I live in Boston, so, of course, it's seventy-five degrees out. Good thing I hadn't moved Michelle's summer things to the back of a drawer or closet quite yet. I already had some plans for the day, but figured I might as well enjoy the good weather while I could, and put on that goofy bikini instead of underwear. Then went for the shortest shorts she had, sandals, and a midriff-baring top. I'm sure a lot of guys reading this are thinking that they would never go in for dressing sexy if they were in my position, but it's actually a lot of fun. Just because this body is more or less wired to respond to men doesn't mean it completely overrides a lifetime of enjoyng the sight of a hot girl not wearing much, and I was definitely enjoying what I saw in the mirror. I can sort of disconnect myself from "her" and just be like, stick that butt out, shake it, now grab your breasts... That sort of thing. And then, when you go out in public, sure, there's a certain amount of shame from guys scoping you out, but after a while you do get to feeling like it's your body and taking some pride in it. And, if you've got the right temperment, knowing what they don't know about the girl they're checking out, that you're really a man inside, gives you a feeling of power. Even a girl as hot as Michelle can disappear if she wants to - get a lousy haircut, wear unflattering clothes, stare at the ground, mumble, and only a perceptive man who only exists in the movies will guess how nice she cleans up.

Anyway, speaking of movies, I opted to see Thirteen today. It's a pretty good movie, although not as shocking as some of the press might have you believe. I've got to admit, I had a weird perspective on it, sitting in my Daisy Duke shorts and watching junior high kids get themselves into trouble and try to look and act adult while still being kids inside. In some ways, I'm sort of an adolescent right now, dealing with a body that doesn't behave in the way I'm used to, fumbling through relationships without really knowing how I'm supposed to behave except for what I've picked up from observation... Of course, I'm more mature than the characters in the movie and think ahead, right?

I thought so... Until I realized I was sitting three rows behind Kurt and Denise. Seeing them there made me laugh at an inappropriate time: Kurt and I had never come to something sort of artsy like this - Lost In Translation was as close as we got, and that because it was the next thing starting - because I already knew what he liked, and thus never suggested it. Whereas Denise, working from a position of relative ignorance, was able to convince him to do something I wouldn't consider. It's funny, really.

They left before the credits were finished rolling, but Denise had to use the bathroom, so by the time I got up, they were just leaving the building, and I followed them.

Not terribly exciting. They walked down to the river, found a nice patch of grass near the MIT boathouse, and just laid there for a while. Denise had her shirt rolled up to get some sun, but wasn't as prepared as me, so to speak. I didn't take my shorts off, but it's not like that would have exposed a whole lot more surface area.

I couldn't really get a read on them. They talked, they touched, they seemed to enjoy each other's company, but how much? There didn't seem to be the sexual craving in Kurt's eyes that he always seemed to have around me, but then again, Denise is probably a cup size smaller than I am (with, I noticed, feet that are sort of funny looking). Or maybe I'm just hypersensitive to that sort of thing, what with my situation and all, and see stuff that isn't there, or isn't there as much as I think it is.

To not look like I was watching them, I spent some time watching the MIT kids in their sailboats - the Institute must have thirty of them, and they were spread across the width of the Charles River in front of me. One capsized, and the guy in it was dragged back to shore for a shower. I took a rowing class a couple summers ago, and they told me that the Charles is actually much cleaner than it used to be, so you're probably all right if you fall in, unless you touch bottom - all the crap that was dumped into the river over the years has accumulated in the riverbed, and if you stir it up... Well, it's bad.

I was so engrossed in this that I didn't notice Kurt and Denise had left. I looked around, and saw Denise's red hair up the street, and started jogging after them. Didn't even take the time to put my top on, just stuck it under one of the bikini top's strings. I'm surprised they didn't notice me; between this terrible job of tailing them and my lack of luck finding out anything on who Michelle really is and what she's doing in my body, I make a really lousy detective.

It was almost five o'clock by then, and I guess they were getting hungry, because they went to the Cambridgeside Galleria and went into the Cheesecake Factory. I suppose I could have gone in, sat at the bar or something, but I was afraid Kurt might spot me. I'm not really ready for a confrontation about this situation, and even if I were... Well, maybe it would be better to do it fully dressed.

Instead, I went into Best Buy to look around (needing to be reminded to put my top on; it's funny, you can walk around in a bikini top outside, but get into a climate controlled building and it's "no shirt, no sale"). After a while, looking at movies I couldn't play got frustrating, so I went up to the second floor, just planning to wander around the rest of the mall. Instead, I bought a DVD player.

It's the first sort of frivolous thing I've bought as Michelle. Groceries, new underwear, necessary apartment stuff, I've bought, but this was something for me. But, hey, who's been earning that salary over the past two months? Shouldn't I get something out of it?

It puts a hole in my "fly to Seattle and track 'me' down" fund, but only $100 or so (I bought some movies, too). It seems stupid, but I'd rented a movie last night and couldn't watch it. Just because I'm in Michelle's body shouldn't mean I have to settle with crappy pan-and-scan VHS from Blockbuster.

Of course, that meant having to take a taxi home, which drained my funds a little more. I was kind of amused when the guy at the store asked if I needed help setting it up. I wasn't sure whether to be amused because I've been hooking stereos and stuff up since before that kid started grade school, or irritated that he was patronizing me, like being attractive meant I was dumb.

Didn't hook it up right away, though - Sox were on. I really hate these end of season games that managers treat like spring training. They're boring to watch, and I imagine they must irritate the fans in attendance: They paid to see a major league game, the same price they paid in July, and you get the good players out by the fourth inning. Don & Jerry did announce that the Sox were holding a random drawing for the chance to buy Monster seats for the playoffs. I entered, of course, with both home and work emails and created a couple other accounts for the express purpose of getting around the "one entry per email address" rule. The game itself ended on a home run being called an out, which is about as weird as you can get.

Well, don't have to be at work or anything tomorrow, so might as well watch A Mighty Wind on my new DVD player.

-Martin
- posted 11:19 PM - - (archive use only)