Stupid Co-worker Tricks, part eleventy-gazillion

[cupcake_goth]

"Is what you're wearing the traditional clothing of your country?"



... I swear, the temptation to answer "Yes it is" gets stronger and stronger each time someone asks me this. What country should I say I'm from? Ruritania? Galazon?

Comments

[icprncs.livejournal.com]

"Yes. It's what we wear in the Country of People Who Don't Ask Silly, Intrusive Questions."

[dporowski.livejournal.com]

Anvillania.

[butterflake.livejournal.com]

And here's our national anthem, as sung by Perry Coma!

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

::groans::

[butterflake.livejournal.com]

I'll second that groan... as it's now been stuck in my head for the last half hour.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

The land of might-have-been.

[savannarama.livejournal.com]

Gallifrey, home planet of Dr. Who.

Beetleburg, Romania - home city of Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius.

Formosa - the original non-native name for Taiwan, and the purported origin of French con artist George Psalmanazar (http://www.romanization.com/books/formosan_odyssey/psalmanaazaar.html).

Tonga or Bora Bora, simply because the idea is hilarious and who doesn't like saying either "Tonga" or "Bora Bora"? I could say it all day long, but Cheyenne would kill me.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like the Beetleburg, Romania answer a lot.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Me, too.

Another good imaginary country is Hy-Brasil.

[princekermit.livejournal.com]

I suppose "Transylvania" is out of the question?

[recalcitrant-lj.livejournal.com]

"Yes, it is. I'm from a far off land named Ballard."

[deliciouspear.livejournal.com]

That's fucking awesome.

If that's the dress-code, I'm moving to Jillania

[stephl.livejournal.com]

Tell them you're from Kissmyassistan.

[poetry-lady.livejournal.com]

"The Principality of Don'tGiveADamnWhatPeopleThink."

"The Island Nation of NoLemmingsHere."

"The Land of the Free doesn't have a single type of traditional clothing, we are all free to express ourselves in our own manner, within reason."

"The Merry Old Land of Oz."

"Halloweentown." (cliche', I know, but it had to be said)

Take in their outfit, and reply, "No, is yours?"

Or just say, with your best Miss Manners tone, "No, why do you ask?"

[water-of-fire.livejournal.com]

I second "No, why do you ask?" I dearly wish I could play in your closet. I want everything at Camden Gothic, and then I want the dedication-or-balls-or-something to actually wear it.

Hey. Where does one get velvety, gothy bedding? JC Penney dot com has recently sold out of the one I wanted (DAMN. IT.) and now I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Bed, Bath, and Beyond (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=105520&RN=29) has some nice burgundy velvet stuff. And while Overstock.com's ad campaign sets my teeth on edge, the also have decently-priced (http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=proframe&prod_id=822816) velvety bedding.

[pvcdiva.livejournal.com]

oh god no!!!!

was that the midnight something or other one with burnt out roses...my mum was going to get that for me when she was over in America this September...nuts!!!!

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

The 5th circle of Hell, sector 23.

[butterflake.livejournal.com]

That's the oddest question I've heard so far. People are dumb.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Oh, I get asked some version of it every time I'm at a new building at the Evil Empire. "Is it a holiday in your country?", "What country are you from?", stuff like that.

[the-monkey-king.livejournal.com]

Freedonia = Country of the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup
Latveria = home country of Dr. Doom, plus hey, sounds vaguely Eastern European
Wallachia = a real country, now a province of Romania. Also, birthplace of Vlad Tepes.

[heartsease.livejournal.com]

Gothenburg, Sweden.
A real place even.

[mahariel.livejournal.com]

At least they didn't ask if you were going caroling at a Christmas in July event.

-Victoria

[woadwarrior.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose you could just tazer the idiots...

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

Tell them you are from Lichtenstein (where money is actually made of GOLD).

COnversely, you could go a completely different tac, and tell them that it is not a national outfit but that you are a Devotee.

hit return to soon

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

the Devotee has that seriously vague but UBER religious sound to it. You do not have to tell them that you are a Devotee of the shiny sparkly things. ;)

And it should give them pause about asking you more questions in the future... as you know, religious talk at work is a big fat nono. :D

[ogremarco.livejournal.com]

What was the country Boris and Natasha are from?

[kajafoglio.livejournal.com]

These people are clearly...differently smart, but out of pure nosiness, I must ask...

How are they asking? Are they being jerks on purpose, thinking they're somehow funny, or are they seriously confused, well-meaning dimwits?

As someone who hopes to someday get around to dressing better than I do now, I'm curious.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

They are almost always confused but well-meaning dimwits. If they're trying to be funny, they tell me it's not Halloween yet.

::rolls eyes::

[kajafoglio.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Biting and original.

I'm glad they're mostly just dim, but...wow. I didn't realize...
I don't really have a lot of contact with the real world.

[wormtorturer.livejournal.com]

Although I am waaaay to lazy to dress Goth--and most of the time when I'm at Costco I'm in geek mode--I *always* compliment the Goth girl checking receipts. She is so sweet, and so cool, and always has something worth a comment. Yesterday I noticed her hair had these subtle purple highlights that just *blazed* when backlit by the sky outside the exit, and we chatted a bit about the balance between looking unique and keeping one's job.