我爸下周四就回家了，他从情人节当天到达、到现在，已经在这里停留了两个月了。刚开始，他不习惯，我们带他去周边的各种超市、图书馆、购物区等等。第一周在ROSS狂买二三十件，最后总价低于200美金。也去TJ Maxx狂买。Tj Maxx是我谋杀时间的最好去处之一 (another day, some cheap good fun)，经常关注他们的化妆品、护肤品、mens T恤和teen girls的区域。偶尔也买买袜子、内衣内裤之类的，曾经看到一整rack的skims的内衣，也没爆买，只是买了两件。现在想起来可能应该全都买下，哪怕转手卖也好。

化妆品、洗护用品经常有不错的亚洲品牌，亚洲品牌在这边不流行、经常很多滞销。但其实这类产品，韩国、日本做的比较好，比很多欧美大牌好。我没有特定的偏爱的品牌，一般各种轮换着尝试。我也喜欢买men's T恤，更准确地说是 Young Mens。最近比较沉迷买黑色、emo、印有蘑菇、叶子、毁灭世界内容的大艺术衫，也是便宜好穿。我不喜欢所谓的女式的衣服，尤其是夏季。好像不是可爱的、就是性感的，再不然就是拘谨的、正式的、死板的。这也让我很怀疑给女生设计衣服的这些人，他们给我们设计衣服甚至是以是否给予性暗示来分类的：有，还是没有？性感还是保守？

所以我经常去男生区，或者是青少年区。男生区的上装等。Polo等我也穿，虽然很多人吐槽穿polo的中年男性，但我想，我内心就是中年男性，不如外表服装也跟上。惊喜的是，这个区的男士的短袖上装通常面料透气、吸汗。虽然设计preppy，但Daiga说我穿preppy的衣服好看。我讨厌自己穿preppy的衣服，一副好好学习的乖小孩的印象。我不喜欢，我宁愿穿骷髅头。青春期女孩区也不错，不需要因为年纪、性别而拘泥于中年女性区购物。Teen girls区的的无袖背心总是设计新颖且便宜，有点Shushu / Tong 平替那意思。

到现在，我也不知道我爸到底喜欢这次来美国吗？有没有觉得有收获？我想，收获应该还是有的吧，他已经买满了两大箱50磅的托运，还有一个不小的随机箱。

ChatGPT translation:

My dad is going back home next Thursday. He arrived on Valentine’s Day, and it’s been two months since then. At first, he wasn’t used to things here, so we took him around to all the nearby supermarkets, libraries, shopping areas, and so on. During the first week, he went on a shopping spree at ROSS—bought 20 to 30 items, and the total was still under $200. He also went wild at TJ Maxx.

TJ Maxx is one of my favorite places to kill time (another day, some cheap good fun). I often check out their cosmetics, skincare, men’s T-shirts, and teen girls’ section. Sometimes I buy socks, underwear, or bras too. Once, I saw a whole rack of SKIMS underwear—didn’t go crazy, just got two pieces. In hindsight, I probably should’ve bought them all, even if just to resell later.

Their cosmetics and personal care section often carries good Asian brands. They’re not that popular here, so there’s often unsold stock. But honestly, Korean and Japanese brands do a better job with these kinds of products than many major Western labels. I don’t have a go-to favorite brand—I just rotate through different ones to try. I also like buying men’s T-shirts—more precisely, Young Men’s. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with black, emo-style, oversized artsy T-shirts with mushrooms, leaves, or apocalyptic themes on them. They’re cheap and comfy.

I don’t really like so-called women’s clothing, especially in summer. It always seems to fall into just a few categories: cute, sexy, or overly proper and stiff. It makes me wonder about the people designing women’s clothes—are they really designing based on whether it sends a sexual signal? Is it “sexy” or “conservative”?

So I often shop in the men’s or teen sections. I wear men’s tops too—Polo shirts and the like. Even though people love to mock middle-aged men who wear Polos, I think, well, I’m kind of a middle-aged man inside, so my outside might as well match. Surprisingly, the men’s short-sleeve tops in that section are often made of breathable, sweat-wicking fabrics. The designs are preppy, but Daiga says I look good in preppy clothes. The truth is, I hate wearing preppy clothes. They give off this image of a well-behaved kid who’s good at studying. I don’t like that. I’d rather wear skulls.

The teen girls’ section is great too. I don’t see why age or gender should limit me to shopping in the “middle-aged women” section. The sleeveless tops in the teen girls’ section always have fresh, fun designs and are super affordable. They kind of give off a Shushu/Tong vibe—like budget alternatives.

Even now, I’m not really sure if my dad actually enjoyed this trip to the US. Did he feel it was meaningful? I think he must have gotten something out of it. After all, he’s already filled up two 50-pound suitcases and an additional pretty big carry-on.