Senses Working Overtime

And all the world is football-shaped

It’s just for me to kick in space

And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste

And I’ve got one, two, three, four, five

Senses working overtime

Trying to take this all in

I’ve got one, two, three, four, five

Senses working overtime

Trying to taste the difference ‘tween a lemon and a lime

Pain and pleasure and the church bells softly chime

Not to get too philosophical, but getting dressed adds another dimension to our lives, and activates our senses in different ways. 

We become mirror addicts, to check out our look (and to yes, verify to our eyes, that we are out dressed in public).

Perhaps we dab on perfume, to not only look pretty but to smell pretty.

The garments feel different on our skin, from our skin tight hose, or the straps and bands of the bra (or a corset) we are wearing, or the float of a skirt or dress on our legs. 

We become more aware of our surroundings, and are more focused if others are reacting differently to us. 

So yes, our senses do start working overtime.

But beyond that, Senses Working Overtime is a fabulous song by XTC, one of many favorites from their album, English Settlement, from many moons ago.

XTC never toured much, so I never had a chance to see them in person. They’re also a British band, so distance was another obstacle. 

Their former drummer is now touring–with the permission of the original members–with two other musicians, in a tribute band called, appropriately, ex-XTC. They were in St. Louis in early May, and I went. As I was by myself, of course I was going to load up my senses and go dressed.

I had one hurdle to clear. The Sun-Dee afternoon of the concert I played a competitive tennis match to play at an away club, one on the other side (from my house) of the concert venue. As I did not want to drive home to dress after the match, I needed a plan. Fortunately, the match was at a ritzy club with a large locker room, so I could shower and partially dress for my night out. The locker room was a bit exposed, but not too crowded. I donned my undies and fishnet stockings, and wore my girl jeans out of the club.

After a short drive to a nearby mall, I did my makeup in the car in the covered parking garage, as well as the rest of my conversion (wig, accessories, etc).

I don’t wear tops and jeans that often, but it was an easier exit from the tennis club. But it wasn’t a bad look either.

At the Nordstrom in the mall, I tried on a ruffled yellowish top with a tie, and liked the look, but I wasn’t quite ready to buy it (about a week later I did buy it). I also carried the skirt I was going to wear to the concert in my purse, and changed from jeans to the skirt in the change room. I also quite liked the multi-color top, short black skirt, fishnets and Red Keds look too.

Back at the car, I swapped into the black and white top, and my long black boots, for more of a rock girl look. The top was the one I wore to my first concert I went to dressed, U2 in 2017 (when there were about 15,000 more patrons than seeing Ex-XTC at a small venue).

It was a fun concert, with one minor distraction and disappointment. While the concert was on, the local ice hockey team (the Blues) were playing game seven of their opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. With two minutes left, they were two goals up, and with two seconds left, they were headed to the next round (as I surreptitiously watched on my phone). Winnipeg scored with 1.6 seconds left, then won in overtime, ending the Blues season.

And to quote Stana, so it goes.