Inspired by his post, I’m thinking about clothes. One thing about a big move (when one is not accustomed to them) is that you have a pretty accurate dividing line between pre-move clothes and post-move clothes.* Interestingly, my clothes appear to have a half-life of four years.** There are some spectacular hold-outs; I have a plain black sweatshirt from about 1985 that’s battered but still in service, and of course things like dress coats hang around longer. Like the gentleman to whom I originally referred, I’m a believer in paying for quality because I tend to use things until they wear out. It irritates me that women’s fashion fights me in this; I have a quite expensive suit that I bought in my last year of college for interviews that is too damn ‘80s to wear these days.***
To continue in the vein of consumerism (‘tis the season!) we got an espresso maker. I have to say, it’s awesome. We bought it through Woot, so at about 70% less than regular retail price, and I really think it’s paid for itself. We haven’t been to Starbucks in ages, and not even to Peet’s nearly as often. My dad gave me the heads-up about the Woot offer on my iPhone when I was sitting by our friends’ pool in Phoenix, I ordered it then and there, and it arrived the next week. I really really like technology. R:tAG was able to make really good espresso almost instantly; it took me a bit longer to figure out the mysteries of grind and tamping. He was insisting on being addressed as “The Bean Whisperer” for a while, but I refused to indulge him.
A good thing to do, by the way, is take a double shot of espresso and add hot chocolate mix and honey (proportions to taste). That’s called a “Black Velvet”, and was apparently invented by a barista at a coffee shop near my parents’ place. I salute him.
To continue in the vein of food (‘tis also the season!), we had a potluck lunch at work today and these are a good and easy thing to bring to a potluck. I think they’d be even better with anchovies, but I am respectful of the sensibilities of my vegetarian co-workers. They outnumber me.
* I mean, I can manage to remember in which country I bought a particular item of clothing. Not much else.
** I’m going to try to forestall smart-ass comments and remind y’all that the concept of half-life does not necessarily have anything to do with radioactivity. It’s just the period of time after which there is only half of the original substance remaining, for whatever reason.
*** Plus I’ve gotten slightly broader across the beam since 1991. I can squeeze into the pencil skirt but a containment breach is a real possibility.
The lack of lapels and overabundance of shoulder pads might be impossible to overcome (and I know you also mentioned containment issues) but check out the Wardrobe Refashion blog. Lots of other people feel the same way about clothes.
Although, OTOH, when my best friend and her nephrologist husband were leaving Italy and coming back to the US back in 2003, they went out to buy an Armani suit for him to wear to interviews. The salesman gushed about the classic style of the one they picked, assuring them that Dr. LaClair would be able to wear it for at least two or three years.
Heretofore, I shall refer R:tAG as The Bean Whisperer whenever someone says "R:tAG? Who's that?".
Fashion is fleeting, style is forever. You might want to hang out at a Brooks Brothers or someplace extra-conservative like that... can't hardly go wrong with that kind of stuff.
I feel lucky (a lot) to be able to wear jeans & a t-shirt to work, since my taste tends to run that way anyway. Then again, there are lots of times when I wish I had an excuse to get dressed up. I think the GQ Style Guy would probably be pretty disappointed with me.
.. and doesn't the fact that it's caesar salad dressing automatically mean it's not vegetarian? Worcestershire sauce is mostly fermented fish.
Maybe our friends at the salad dressing factory have found replacements. That food science stuff gets scary sometimes.
If the dress from the previous entry is an indication of your post-move clothing... I'd say it's a pretty obvious dividing line. :P