damselfish | Just Kinda Chugging Along

Oh wow, it's been a long, long time since I've updated here. Mostly because I started a full time job, and didn't have the energy to even upload the pictures I have, though I've had a post ready to go for a couple weeks now. It's about the Alaska trip, but first, I want to be a bit of a consumer at you guys and write a long, rambly post about the state of me because this is my blog and I can do that. Later, I'll post pictures and stuff. Promise.

So I work in an official legal office which shall remain nameless, and while I love professional wear, every morning is... treacherous. I came the first day in my favorite suit (black with white and blue pinstripe) and while suits weren't frowned upon, most people weren't wearing jackets except a few other interns. Given that I take the train, that's a 5 minute walk --> up to a 10 minute wait on an exposed platform --> 20 minute train ride that may or may not have adequate AC --> 10 minute walk to the office, I really didn't want to be wearing my dry clean only clothes and certainly not a wool, silk-lined jacket. All of that in 85 degree weather (or more) with 85% (or more) humidity (like today, except today it's raining and 80 degrees, so it's actually nice). I asked about this, and was told that suits aren't required, but some of the other interns are underdressed. I was like, "buh?" because... they're wearing office clothes that aren't suits! What is there between a pencil skirt, silk blouse, and heels and a full on suit? I always knew that business attire for women was a perilous undertaking, but I never knew how perilous. I have good fashion sense, not cutting edge but pretty good, and I tend to go conservative, so I was pretty sure I had my bases covered, but this perplexed me beyond all measure.

I couldn't freak out about this forever, I have to get dressed every morning. I quickly downgraded to my "dry clean" slacks (sorry, but rayon and polyester does not warrant dry cleaning) and searched in vain for shirts. I have a lot of button downs, but they look unprofessional untucked, and tucked in they add a good 15 pounds to my midsection because they don't stay tucked in all the way and I look like a frumpy old cleaning lady given that I have a big chest from where these shirts hang straight down over my belt; the bust also means the buttons are straining to stay closed and overall, it's not a good thing. I have three silk blouses that look awesome but silk + Miami humidity = dry cleaned after one or two wears (I need to invest in at-home dry cleaning type care). Many of my shirts are meant to be worn under a suit jacket, and are sleeveless, so I have a ton of blouses... that I can't wear because they're either not flattering by themselves, or they're not dressy enough.

Then, last Friday my supervisor tells me that I dress "informally." This wasn't a criticism, we were talking about the casual day. I was gobsmacked. "Informally?" I squeaked, and my supervisor had that "oh God, I've stumbled on a woman thing" look on his face. "It's fine!" he soothed, "but aren't you informal? You don't wear suits." "It's business casual!" I wailed in dismay, and he nodded. "Yes, informal!" I could hardly explain what the difference was, at this point, because I was starting to doubt it myself.

I'd been planning a trip to the mall for some time by that point, because I was in dire need of a lipstain that isn't orange[1] and I had seen a gorgeous red button down in the Express window every time I walked by, and thought to myself "I'd look awesome in that." But I didn't go that day, just like I didn't go any previous day of the week: because I got home at 6 or 7, and I was plum tired. Anyway, my phone died a horrible death[2] which proved to be too much and I played Portal 2 instead.

Saturday, I trekked over to the farm to show the phone to my mother and tell her that since my contract was up with Sprint in August, I'd just go without the phone for a month. It doesn't bother me, though it'd drive my family nuts, so of course I can't do that. Mom looks it up and the contract runs through October, and the cancellation fee would be $50. It would be cheaper in the long run to cancel now and switch me over to an AT&T plan, since I pay $80 as the lone hanger-on at Sprint, but an AT&T line for me would be $54 (they say each new line is $10... sure it is, with no texting or data plan, and the smallest texting plan is $15 for 1,000 or something like that, which is obscene for my needs). Dad's bemused, because they have an old iPhone sitting around that I won't accept because I'm some kind of Apple hating priss.

I did my research and settled on the Motorola Atrix, which of course means I walked out of the store with a Samsung Infuse, a behemoth of a phone. I mean, seriously, it's like a freaking tablet, the thing is so huge. Look at how huge this thing is in my hands. Jeeze that is a big phone. And if you've read this far, congratulations, would anyone care to give me some app recommendations?

As you can see, I also got a shirt for work. Actually, I got a bunch of shirts for work, because Express is amazing and I keep forgetting how amazing it is. This sweater-shirt thing here? Badass for busty ladies and probably many other kinds of ladies, I can only speak for myself. It's soft and feels like cashmere but it isn't so it's not all scratchy, and I've been feeling professional all week in clothes that actually fit properly. I am so tempted to go back and buy this sweater-shirt thing in purple, you guys have no idea. Why can't sweater-things be in all the time, I love sweaters.

[1] I have many lip glosses and a few lipsticks. I love the color from lip gloss, but it's not such a good choice for someone who drinks tea all day or makes funny faces. Lipstains are the only things that have consistently worked for me, and I picked up Stila's Mango Crush a while ago. It's an awesome color for just about everything I wear. Until I got to work and started wearing lighter colors that clash with dark coral. Soooo I got Yumberry, because in store all the others are way, way too dark/red and not at all like the sweet pinks you see on the lying website of lies. I now have my bases pretty much covered no matter what I wear. And yes, I also bought CG's Outlast (Everbloom Kiss) for $8, 'cause I figured it's just $8, why not give it a try? One thing I've learned about cosmetics: you get what you pay for. Though apparently Revlon's Just Bitten line is supposed to be really good. I'll probably use up the CG anyway, since it's a dark, reddish pink on me.

[2] The touchscreen went ballistic. I could set it on the table and watch the screen respond to touches that weren't happening. Frustrating, particularly since it stopped responding to my commands, or when I'd scroll it would interpret that as my zooming in instead, so I couldn't read or see anything. Given that I browse the internet on my phone at lunch, this was a serious impediment. The last straw was when it would turn itself off airplane mode and dial people up randomly. Mostly people I never speak to. Seriously, it turned off airplane mode to do this. I figured I was safe because it was trapped in a little airplane mode corral, but nooooo, it unlatched the gate and set itself free.