the new, ridiculous hat

Coupang makes you lazy. What need is there to visit a physical store when you can order everything through your phone? I finally got myself a wider-brimmed hat than the one I've been using since 2017 on my long walks. Yeah, the hat is black, which might make it hotter, but the wider brim means more shade for my face and neck, and since this one is described as a rain hat, I ought to have slightly more protection from inclement weather. On my other hat, a single string wraps around the base of the crown, then feeds through holes on either side of the crown to become a single, adjustable chin strap. I've never liked that design because it requires me to fiddle with the entire length of string to make sure everything is hanging evenly. As you see below, the new hat has a string for a chin strap, and there's a separate, non-adjustable band going around the base of the crown that has nothing to do with the chin strap—much better. I no longer have to envy my fellow walkers when I see them bopping along with their wider-brimmed hats. I'm not going to throw the first hat away, but I am going to retire it with dignity. It served me well, but replacements happen.

I don't care how ridiculous I look, even if I look like a fat Korean Grim Reaper.

Speaking of retiring, I'm going to be retiring all my current walk tee shirts: I just ordered a mess of new tees from Teespring to replace my current shirts, many of which have weird bleach stains (how?) and awkward holes in them. It also goes without saying that the older shirts are now faded almost beyond recognition. I've long thought that a fun vanity project might be to get one or more of the used shirts framed as mementos for the various walks I've done, but I don't have enough wall space in my studio for that sort of project to make sense. If I lived in a big house and had a spare room, I might devote such a room to mementos—turn it into a museum of sorts. But I live in a shoebox, so the museum idea is out. Instead, I'll likely take my shirts down to our building's garbage area where there's a giant hamper, of sorts, devoted to the charitable donation of used clothing. I've got a bunch of shoes that need to be dumped as well. Lots of stuff to retire: years of accumulation.