About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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July 14, 2008
The total quantity of matter and energy available in the universe is a fixed amount and never any more or less.
Accordingly, the total quantity of clothing available in my closet is also a fixed amount. It might not always happen in the same day or even involve the same type of clothing like this instance, but the total will generally stay constant despite my efforts to pare down.
I went home on Friday feeling *quite* guilty about spending thirty dollars on a basic, white, short sleeved button down shirt, and a cap sleeved shirt for work from Martin+Osa (thanks StackingPennies! :P). I justified, and rationalized, all the way up to hitting the “Order” button, and then felt bad for spending money. Later that night, my friends pointed out that my careless laundering had ruined yet another one of my semi-casual work tees.
Perfect.
Two weeks ago, my white kitten heel sandals broke, and I nearly broke my neck slipping on a sidewalk. A month before that, I’d bought those metallic sandals.
Either there’s really something to this theory, or I’m self sabotaging/selecting, and I can’t tell which is better.
After a few unanswered emails inquiring about the local Toastmasters meetings, I was advised to just go.
Ugh. Really? I have a thing about showing up to events uninvited, unexpected, and uncomfortable. It’s part of my whole thing about talking to people I don’t know.
My friend said “grow a spine, and just go.” With that encouraging push, I screwed up the courage, and drove myself over to the restaurant where I was directed to the back room.
Oy. I dragged my feet a bit, and came home feeling emotionally exhausted from the likely misplaced nervosity, but I’m glad I went. If only so I could come back and tell you that I did grow a spine and went!
They threatened to make me participate in the Table Topics, and gently ribbed me when I said that I couldn’t guarantee that I would not pass out if forced to speak at my very first meeting, and generally welcomed me to observe and explained each part of the meeting so I wouldn’t be too lost. Apparently it was a smaller than usual gathering, which was really nice for my first visit. I’m going to visit their meeting again in a few weeks, as well as some Wednesday night meetings to get a feel for the different clubs and find the one that fits me best.
So far, so good.
July 12, 2008
Ho boy. If this is how tired I am after a night and afternoon of socializing, I’m going to be in trouble at the end of this month when I’m going to be on the road for 8 days. I’m an inveterate correspondent, and I don’t even want to look at emails I intended to respond to, today. That’s how tired I am. My brain is *done* with talking to people. Well, why are you posting? you ask? Because you’re not just any people, you’re MY people. š
A girlfriend was back in town last night, and I haven’t seen her since the wedding in January when we certainly didn’t get a chance to really socialize at all. She invited everyone over to dinner, and five of us sat down to the most amazing home cooked dinner ever. When did we grow up and when did she learn to set a table like that??? It was in-cred-i-ble!!!
Picture this:
A platter of sliced beef, brisket style.
Baked beans in lightly spiced barbeque sauce.
Perfectly crisp green beans.
Fresh, crisp, sliced cucumbers, with a squeeze of lemon and dash of salt.
Ripe, red, succulent tomatoes.
Roasted baby potatoes.
Freshly baked, made from scratch, apple tart, with homemade bechamel sauce.
Heaven. Sheer gastronomic heaven. Everything was fresh, picked from the garden or from the farmer’s market. I made a total pig of myself, and doubled up on helpings of everything. And there were still leftovers! We had a red wine from Paso Robles, and an Australian white. Seriously, it’s one thing to pretend I’m an adult and drink wine with the grown-ups at work functions, but there’s something strikingly poignant about realizing that we were staging our very own dinner party. Nothing so formal and constrained as one with place cards and hostess gifts and such, but still the real deal. Conversation went ’round and ’round the table, taking everyone in turn, telling our stories, catching up on lives. There was a lot of love and a whole lot more laughter as everyone gave everyone else a hard time. It’s comforting to know that there are still relationships that are just easy after so many years.
Then, today, we had our little college reunion lunch. The college pal that I kept in touch with and I were kicking around ideas a few months ago and I proposed that we get the old gang together. It took a lot of coordination and calls, but we pulled it together and got six of our nine intended guests to show up for lunch today. Actually, that sounds like they weren’t interested, but I think everyone was happy that we’d put this together. I think it was quite a success: we laughed and talked for FOUR HOURS. We never even got around to catching up, we were just enjoying each others’ company and telling funny stories and picking on one another like the old days. It felt like hardly a day had passed since we graduated four years ago. Everyone’s changed a little. I could see it. We aren’t those gangly 20-year-olds anymore, and there was some complexity in their eyes, some sadness that wasn’t shared, and a little tentativeness that was only mostly covered up by banter. I think we’d all forgotten what it was like to have fun, just stupid, loud, dumb, funny, gratuitous fun. That might be why we were just happy to be together, and we’ll be doing it again.
If only I weren’t so busy for the next several weeks…. but I’m going to be out of town or otherwise engaged every weekend from next weekend through the end of August. Eeep! My schedule is actually pretty daunting, but I plan to milk it for all I can. Who knows how much longer I’ll be in the area or have a stable income from this job! Oh, don’t worry, I’m not trying to spend it all now or anything, I just want to reconnect to people and remember what it’s like to have a life. It’s going to be important to find that confidence again for interviews and finding a new job!
Anyway, I found myself unable to keep my eyes open after I finally got home after 4 pm. Eventually I caved to the inevitable and just napped. Mmmm…sleep….
July 11, 2008
Wachovia has a 7 month CD at 4% APY and a 12 month CD for 4.25%. That’s a good percent above my highest earning savings account, so I was about to commit to the 7 month CD last night.
Then I realized:
1. It’s a minimum $5000 deposit.
2. You must have a Wachovia checking account.
3. My E-fund is 5 months’ worth of expenses. If I lock up a third of it for a maturity date of 7 months from now, I’ve got a rather large gap of time that’s not covered by cash in hand. It’s not that I couldn’t break the CD, but I would lose at least half of the interest earned. That would completely defeat the purpose of having it in there to earn more money.
It’s best that I hold off on this until the job situation is settled one way or another. But perhaps this CD will be helpful for someone else!
This blog, though renamed, has been around a shade more than two years now. That’s pretty cool, and it’s been fun, helpful, and informative for me. I hope that y’all are having fun, too! Have a great weekend, all!
FB’s post on her list of shopping wants and Penny’s post on buying a new suit restoked my internal suit debate. (Thanks to Paranoid Asteroid for the link to Penny!)
Just last night, the black pinstriped suit came out of the dress bag so that I’ll remember to drop it off for dry cleaning this Saturday.
It struck me that I’ve been wearing this suit since …. October 2005. I’ve worn it to 2-4 professional meetings a year, where I usually see at least some of the same people. Obviously, my colleagues are usually the same. I’ve supplemented with nice, basic skirts and blazers. I’ve got three basic black skirts, one black 3/4 sleeve less structured jacket that passes for a blazer, and a brown checked blazer.
I usually rotate several tops through to make various combinations of business dress.
The real question is: at what point does it become just plain tacky that I don’t have another suit in the rotation?
Yes, new suit!: It’s been four years. Enough already.
No new suit: I’m the mouse that wants more than just a cookie. If I get another suit, wouldn’t it make sense to have a third? Most of our events require three days’ worth of business wear. Oh wait, I’m trying to leave this job.
Yes, new suit!: I’m trying to find a better environment. Need an interview suit.
No new suit: $400. (or $800. For two suits. š )
Since we’re evenly tied at this point, I’m considering a minor amendment to the PPP money flow. After every $200 cycle, $50 will be diverted to a suit fund. That’s only going to take forever, though, and I’m hearing rumblings that lead me to believe I’m going to need an interview suit in the next three months, not three years.
I have got to stop thinking about clothes today!
Macy’s has been emailing about sales and clearances constantly, and I finally got curious and clicked. I realized that my first instinct is to be drawn towards things that are comfortable and functional, which does not frequently mesh with my need for more professional clothing. For example:
They also come in a plaid (pink or blue):
They look comfortable and they’re not tennis shoes, which are my favorite shoes to wear but have been sworn off for work ….
Uh, I’m totally talking myself into getting them. See, here’s the thing. I have one pair of leather flats that I’ve been wearing to pieces. Literally. They’re getting really shabby, but they’re the only pair of closed toe flats that I have. But, I really think these are only ok to wear with jeans, they’re not going to be paired with any other trousers.
Does anyone have better pairing ideas? They’re $19.99, and I have a Macy’s GC so it’s not out of budget. If not, I should probably skip them and wait for a pair of flats that can be paired with jeans and trousers.
