So Far, So Good

Things are going well so far at the new job. Granted, it's only my second day. People seem nice. The office is in a great location. Dress code at the new office is business casual, though everyone is dressed a little more formally than we interpreted business casual back in Nebraska. But it doesn't appear pantyhose are required with dresses and skirts (hooray) and I have enough "formal" business casual clothes to get by for a bit. I already have a blister from one of my new pairs of shoes. Go figure.

One of my favorite new blouses for work, which I love because it looks like a scarf!  :-) 

Things are a little stressful and overwhelming, as they would be with any new job, but it feels good to be back on track. It's only my third night of doing so, but getting up early and getting to bed at a decent hour, instead of keeping an erratic schedule, certainly has its merits. (Sadly, I had to skip an 80s karaoke night last night, since I now have to be up early. I do hope I'll be able to squeeze one in every few weeks or so. Monday nights are either totally fun tourist crowds, full of folks ready to party on a weeknight, or totally quiet nights with very few singers, which are also fun because I get to sing a whole bunch of songs and almost no one is there to hear when I'm lousy.)

My boss took me out for lunch on Monday to an Asian restaurant, and this was the fortune in my fortune cookie. Sexist language aside, it's highly applicable at this moment in time for all sorts of reasons.

(Also appropriate because we're in Philadelphia and this is a Benjamin Franklin quote.) 

I planned to begin walking to and/or from work for the new job, but the heat wave and humidity this week are holding me back. I don't want to have to wring the sweat out of my clothes at work (ha!) after walking in the morning, and the hottest part of the day is usually between 4:00 and 6:00, which is when I would be walking home. I am somewhat of a pansy in the heat, so I'm grateful for SEPTA. Things are supposed to cool off a little over the weekend. Hopefully I can start walking (a.k.a. built-in exercise) next week.

Boycat had another little cystitis flare-up on my first day, but he's still on the buspirone, so we're just making sure he gets plenty of water and waiting it out.  (We did give him a little bit of pain medicine last night, too, but he is already doing better and I don't think he'll need it tonight.) Am I kidding myself to believe my return to full-time work caused him anxiety? I know he loves me and misses me. I really hope I am not the cause of his suffering.

I have no doubt the days will soon begin flying by. Heck, they kind of flew by even when I wasn't working full-time and could spend my time how I chose. Only two days in, and it already feels like I've slid back into the weekday groove I had for 2011 and the first eight months of 2012. I had no idea our move would essentially be an unplanned "gap year," but since I didn't get to take one after graduating high school or college, it was nice to have one in my 40s.

So, yeah. Kinda boring but I know some of you wanted to know how it's going. It's going well, and most importantly, it's going!  :-)

Uniforms and Dress Codes

Although this isn't a "My Favorite Things" post, let me state right off: I love uniforms. Military uniforms, police uniforms, nurse's and doctor's scrubs, UPS delivery person outfits, etc. I think school uniforms in particular are a great idea. Most of the schools here in Philly have a uniform of some kind, including the public schools, usually khakis and a polo or tee in school colors. School uniforms seem like a great equalizer, given the cliquishness, snobbery and, in larger urban areas, gang or neighborhood affiliation concerns that spring up around clothing for kids.

Choosing one's daily clothing can be a fun expression of creativity and individuality. It can also be a huge pain in the butt that wastes time and money and breeds insecurity, especially for women in the business world.

I worked at my old employer long enough to see its dress code transition from business formal to business casual to just plain casual, with most people at any given time not knowing exactly how they should dress. In the past we had such ridiculous dress code rules that required pantyhose (hated 'em!) for any skirt or dress shorter than bottom of the knee; forbade skirts shorter than a certain length above the knee; required ties for men (even in entry-level positions that didn't deal with the public); allowed skorts and "business shorts" so long as pantyhose were worn, then outlawed them a couple years later; required capri pants to be no shorter than mid-calf, etc.

Never again! 

Too much of everyone's time at work was spent reading the ever-changing dress code, determining if our own clothing adhered to it, monitoring the clothing choices of others and either reporting violations to their manager or having a conversation with them, if they were my employees.

Business formal appropriate footwear? I didn't think so. 

I also spent too much time and money purchasing appropriate clothes for the shifting dress codes and my own increasing responsibilities that required a more professional image. I bought as few suits and business-y dresses as I could get by with, and bought them as cheaply as I could. In my 20s, I sometimes used my work clothes as my "going out" clothes on weekends, when I couldn't afford to have a separate wardrobe just for off-duty wear. By the time the office dress code had relaxed to completely casual dress, I owned just two pairs of jeans, and was so much more comfortable wearing things other than jeans that I continued to do so most days.

Some people have a personal "uniform" they wear each day. Mr. 42 figured his out years ago, and it has greatly simplified his shopping and wardrobe storage needs. It basically consists of pants (jeans or flat-front khakis) and polo shirts (solid colors only, preference for no logo or not bigger than small pony/alligator, with pocket). In the summer, pants give way to shorts, also flat-front khakis. In the winter, polo shirts give way to solid-colored V-neck sweaters. 95% of the items in his wardrobe fall into those four categories. (He has a nice suit plus a few dress shirts and ties for the rare occasions that demand it, as well as a couple sports coats and a few items of clothing for specific needs like work-outs).

George Clooney modeling Mr. 42's uniform

End result: he is dressed and ready to go, looks polished, spends minimal time thinking about it each day and minimal time when shopping for new clothing. If a new polo gets bought, an old polo gets donated to the thrift store or thrown away if it's beyond usefulness. Same with pants.

I am SO jealous of this, and at the same time, I know it would never work for me. I really look awful in polo shirts. I also have a hard time finding jeans and pants that fit the way I want them to.

Totally my kind of outfit, from Soft Surroundings

I have developed a preference for loose, flowy palazzo pants and wide-leg styles that really don't go with polos. However, they do look great with the tunics and longer, looser tops I have also come to prefer. I like to wear blazers and cardigans, too, and I'm trying to figure out how to pull all this together into some kind of "uniform" for the dress code at my new job, about which I'm still unsure if it's officially business formal or business casual (not to mention how those terms are interpreted here in Philly). In other words ... plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Do you have a uniform, formal or informal, that you wear most days?