[See? Did you see that? I just told you that I developed some of the skills I use in my job during the time I've been writing my blog. Does that EVER happen? Did I get inverse-Dooce'd?]

The longer I stayed there, the more people started to associate “Amanda Lee” with “the girl that takes care of the Internet”. So my responsibilities expanded into actual front-end design and development. I pounded away at Photoshop. I made a WordPress-based site from scratch for a short-term project the Foundation was doing. I sulked through the process of re-coding a several-hundred-page site by hand to get rid of useless Javascript and improve load times. And then I started getting clients that approached me directly about working on their web pages.

Am I an expert? Not even close. I’m slow. I have to look things up a lot. I ask a lot of questions and I have my good friend Ian, who’s probably ten times the designer I’ll ever be, on speed-dial for emergencies and things I can’t figure out myself. And every Friday, I quit work at noon and spend the afternoon learning to do something new [lately it's been Javascript and jQuery].

The technology and best practices are always changing, and I started with a disadvantage, so I have an overwhelming sense of guilt about doing anything that’s not work-related. When it’s the evening and I’ve completed all my work for the day, I relax on Reddit or watch an episode of The West Wing…but I feel overwhelmingly like I should be doing more to get better – doing pro bono projects and one-off pages to add to my portfolio, reading about design or watching tutorials, keeping my copywriting skills up to par [because that's where I started out, remember? and it would suck to be only halfway good at both copywriting and design].

Until now, I’ve been hesitant to use my blog as a place to talk about work, except to do a little cheer when I show y’all something that I’ve made. But it might be a good way to allay some of my own fears of Not Doing Enough. So you might see some more of that around here from now on. Cool?

Related posts:

1. The 80/20 Rule…Sartorialized.

Actually get shit done. It’s way too easy to ignore work, especially with all the distractions your home probably has – the dog! the kitchen that needs cleaned! that bag of clothes we should have donated years ago! But you won’t be doing yourself any favors if you can’t focus. There are entire blogs devoted to ways you can get better at Getting Shit Done. I’ve even written a bit about it myself. Right now, two things I’m loving:

1. Block out distractions. When I’m feeling particularly distraction-prone, I flip on LeechBlock, which I set up to limit the amount of time I spend on my non-working sites – Google Reader, Reddit, Twitter – or block them completely.

2. Focus on one task or one set of tasks at a time. I’ve become a Pomodoro devotee – I use the app to give myself a specific amount of time to complete one task only, so I avoid jumping back and forth between working on different things.

Be responsive. For all your boss knows, you are watching Arrested Development for the fourth time on Netflix Watch it Now. You don’t have to answer your emails the minute they’re received, but answer them on a set schedule, and let your boss know. [My former boss was actually great at this - she checked her email only twice a day, and blocked out time during each check to deal with all her incoming requests. I aspire to that.]

Manage up. You get a reduced commute, the ability to work in pajamas if you want, and an office environment that you control completely. You can eat Cheez-Its at your desk without your cubemates giving you snark! You can listen to This American Life without headphones! Your dog can help you edit your copy! In return, though, your boss expects greater levels of productivity. So give it to her. Tell her what you’re working on. If this means sending a weekly status report of Things You Have Accomplished, do it. [That's a pretty good status report to be sending to yourself, by the way.]

Face time is important. If you need to be there – for an important meeting or for some collaborative work – be there. Skype in if you have to, and definitely keep regular contact with all your colleagues. You still work with them, even if you don’t see them every day.

Do you work from home? Any tips that you’d like to share?

Related posts:

1. Five Reasons Why I Love Working From Home
2. Things I Do At Work To Make The Days Better, Happier, and More Productive
3. Losing Your Work Without Losing Your Mind
4. Style Song, Mid-Century Modern Home Decor Edition: 8.11.2010
5. Why Home Decor Magazines Can Be a Really Awful [and Sometimes Depressing] Place to Look for Decor Inspiration

1. I can start my actual work earlier, because I don’t have a commute.

I used to think I wasn’t a morning person. I’m actually with mornings; it’s just that I hated scrambling to get ready and get out of the house to arrive at work on time. I’ve always been pretty efficient with my morning routines, but it was a hassle to wake up, shower, get ready, get the dog walked, eat something, and rush to the bus – I always arrived at work feeling like I hadn’t had time to breathe.

Now, my compulsion for routine hasn’t left me, but I have about seven fewer steps – I wake up and get dressed, walk the dog while my coffee brews, and then get started on work while I eat my breakfast. A couple days a week I drive Chris to his train stop, but that’s kind of like an extended dog walk. And I’m at my computer opening Coda about an hour earlier than I otherwise would have been.¹

2. I work in normal clothes.

I’m not good at professional attire. When forced, I try to pretend like I’m Peggy Olson or Joan Harris, but it takes a lot longer to get ready – I don’t feel nearly as confident as I do in my regular attire. I’d rather be working in denim and tank tops with biggified hair. If I were ever inclined to work in my pajamas or my underpants, It wouldn’t bother anyone. And when I was freezing my ass off in my first Chicago winter, no one cared if I reported to my desk dressed in seventeen layers of leggings, wool socks, robe, scarf, and hat.

3. I have a lot more control of my environment.

When I work onsite, I rely on closed doors and noise-cancelling headphones to keep me on task – but I still get people who barge in, or meetings that break up what could have been a whole morning of diligent work. Plus there are environmental concerns that affect everyone – a power outage that affects the whole building and makes us completely unable to use our computers; an HVAC issue that makes the office air freezing; a road closure that means no one can get there at all

At home, this kind of stuff rarely affects me. The closest I’ve come is losing our Internet for a couple of hours, but I immediately tethered the computer to my phone so I can get back to work.

4. I can eat healthier meals without planning ahead.

I am a champ at packing lunch. But working ten steps away from my kitchen means I no longer have to. It also means that if I forget to plan ahead, I don’t end up at a restaurant getting carryout.

5. My breaks are actual breaks, because I have to take my dog out.

When I was at the office, I tried to be strict about doing Pomodoro – partly for building hard focus, but also for making sure I took breaks to rest my eyes and stand up and stretch. What actually ended up happening more times than I’d like to admit was that I spent my break looking at Twitter or Reddit, so it didn’t feel like a break at all.

Hachiko, though, is an unwitting and amazing productivity tool. I have to let him go out every two to three hours, so I know that when I’m working at home, I actually take real breaks and come back to my work refreshed, and I’m probably in better shape from the four-times-daily walks.

Tomorrow I’ve got a post coming about how to work from home without it taking over your life, or deteriorating into afternoons spent watching Twin Peaks episodes on Netflix. Stoked? You bet I am.

¹ I know that arguably I’ve traded this for a six-hour bus trip every three weeks, but that’s not nearly the pain in my ass that a daily commute is. Pro/con, y’all.

Related posts:

1. How to Work From Home
2. Fun times for Amanda Lee and I Love Life I Love You!
3. Moving In Together: How It’s Working With Chris and Me
4. New Prints in I Love Life I Love You!
5. I Love Life I Love You at Second Sunday on Main in Cincinnati, Ohio!

I initially drafted this article at the end of my contract as a database admin/copywriter at a healthcare corporation. At the time, I was working full-time there, as well as part-time on the evenings and weekends at Cincinnati’s Tony Award-winning regional theater , doing needlework commissions and working for a couple of freelance clients. Add that to writing this blog [which, admittedly, I did little of] and preparing to record an album for The Minor Leagues, and I was perpetually exhausted and hungry and sleep-deprived. My sanity depended on the seventeen cups of cofee I consumed daily.

This summer has been a huge change. The theater is closed for the season, so I’m not working there anymore. And my job is comfortably full-time: thirty-five to forty-five hours a week. I still have client work, but balancing it isn’t as difficult. And TML is on an informal show hiatus until we finish the album [target date: Labor Day weekend], which is hard work to be sure, but not as grueling as twice-a-week three-hour practices that bled into our sleep time and shows that made us leave work early to travel there on time. In short, this summer has been the perfect time to relax, focus on what’s important to me, hang out with the dog, write some fiction, and get lots of rest.

But. BUT!

In three weeks, I’ll be back to my old antics: the Foundation during the day; the Playhouse at night; freelance work squeezed in where I can; and a caffeine dependence of massive proportions. So you see, this old article I wrote and then filed away has become relevant again. This time, I know what I need to do to stop myself from going insane.

• Don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. If you can work normal-person hours and still be reasonably well off, out of debt, and happy, do it. Don’t push yourself this far without a really, really good reason. For me, these include paying off debt, making a huge purchase [new MacBook], and saving up for a move to a much more expensive city [do you even have to ask?]. You’ll have to make this determination yourself, but think long and hard before you get into this kind of schedule.
• Delegate, prioritize, and declutter. If you’re working eighty-hour weeks, you’re not going to have time to keep your place spotless. You’re also not going to have time to blog daily, be in the gym a couple hours each day, surf the Internet, or make art. You wouldn’t [or shouldn't, anyway] choose a schedule like this unless your finances were your absolute top priority, so if they’re the top priority, let some things slide until you get them back in order. It’s okay. You’ll have time. My version of this tip means making Chris do the laundry more often, cleaning my apartment about half as often, potentially hiring someone to groom my dog [because it's time-consuming and messy and the cleanup invariably takes all day], and watching quite a bit less Law and Order and Veronica Mars. [A real sacrifice, let me tell you.]
• Have an end in sight. I’ve been working multiple jobs off and on since the beginning of my adult life. The expiration date on this round coincides with when my work at the Foundation is done, at which point I’ll be moving back to the city that I call home. I can never do something like this longer than about four months. Do whatever works for you: “As soon as I finish this client’s project, I’m quitting this gig.” “After the end of the school year, I’m not coming back.” “I’m quitting when I have enough money to put a down payment on a house/buy a DSLR/adopt another dog/go to Europe.” Do not, do not, do not do this indefinitely. You will burn out. You will make yourself sick, and you’ll probably hurt your relationships. And speaking of…
• Figure out ways to support your friends and be social without going out every night. Not an ideal way to be a friend, I know. That’s why I’m stressing that this should be temporary. But until you get your finances in order, this is one way of prioritizing [see above]. Last spring I went weeks without going to my friends’ shows, parties, open mic nights, or DJ gigs for more than a few minutes. All the people who are closest to me are well aware of the situation, though, and I make it a point to send out texts of the “Good luck! Let me know how it goes! xo” ilk so they know I’m not completely forgetting about them.
• Rest when you have the chance, because you might not get it again. On the rare night that I have free time before 1 a.m. during these phases, I usually go to bed. Your mileage may vary. I’m finding that I need a lot more sleep than I did in college to be functional as a copywriter.
• Multitask. Your commute is time that you can work on your blog. Your lunch break is time that you can shoot an email to your mum. This isn’t an optimal strategy for Getting Things Done in the strictest sense, but let me reiterate: this is a non-standard situation, and you’ve got to do the best you can.
• The temptation will be to indulge in caffeine. Don’t do it too often. Sleep is often the first thing to slide when your schedule gets crazy, so the natural reaction to lack of sleep is to suck down a couple of extra cups of coffee a day. The thing is, while you’re doing that, you’re developing a tolerance, and those two extra cups will turn into six cups in a matter of a week if you let it. And I say this as the ad hoc poster child for caffeine additionc: it’s not ideal. It does a number on your skin, it makes your heart race, it makes you retain water, and it’s difficult to think articulately if you’ve had too much. So save the shot in the dark for absolute emergencies and instead, drink extra water, eat protein and fruit, and do some yoga in your office. [True story: people walk in on me doing the downward dog all the time. I act like it's no big deal.]

How do you deal with busy schedules? Do you or have you ever worked more than one job?

No related posts.

[Yes, that's right. Read it again. I'm still slapping myself to see if I wake up.]

The album is sounding excellent; our engineer Sean Sullivan is amazing; I’ve never been prouder in my life of anyone close to me. I’m glad it’s done, but I can’t wait until we can actually release it.

And I meant to have photos and videos for you that documented the process. Seeing as how I’ve been super-diligent about my money and my savings and my Roth IRA, I bought a super-nice digital camera before I left, to replace the one I broke last fall. And then upon arriving in Nashville, I realized I’d left the battery at home. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

But! Silver lining, guys! I can take pictures now! And show you what my life looks like! Check it out!

The sparkly heads just keep multiplying. I don’t know what’s going on.

In progress.

Teacup of sequins. For breakfast, lunch, and midnight snacks. [Background: a pound of dressmaker's pins, my BlackBerry, and a cup of coffee.]

My most faithful friend.

Lunchtime in the office. Reading Hunter S. Thompson in my cube makes me feel subversive, man.

This is how Chris looks normally. Also, I think those are my sunglasses.

I hope to have more photo goodness coming your way. How’s your week going?

Related posts:

1. My Plans for a Stress-Free Holiday

Q: What is copy editing?

So glad you asked! Copy editing is ensuring the clarity, consistency, conciseness, comprehensibility, and correctness of a document. This varies based on the material that I’m copy editing, but on all documents, I read for punctuation, spelling, correct grammar, factual accuracy, and understandability based on the target reading level. Sometimes I also look at design – for instance, if a typeface or an alignment of an element is wrong, I tell the designers to fix it. Likewise if the layout features an incorrect photo, or if the text isn’t readable. Make sense?

Q: Is this the same thing as proofreading? Do you proofread too?

I do proofread sometimes as well, but it’s not the same thing. Proofreading involves checking one version of a document against another and making sure that no errors have slipped through in the production and drafting process. When documents were printed with a press, proofreaders were there to make sure that all the words were correct, no letters were upside down or backwards, and generally that the press operator didn’t make any errors in typesetting. Or, a more contemporary example: I had a freelance job at a law firm that had scanned all their old typewritten documents and converted the resulting PDFs to Word documents with text recognition software; my job was to compare the scanned PDFs to the Word documents to make sure the conversion was accurate. A lot of contemporary proofreaders do some copy editing; but also, a lot of their responsibility of comparing one version of a document against another can be done by a piece of software.

Q: Are you also a copywriter?

Yes! Some of my responsibilities in copy editing are revision and reworking, so there’s a lot of crossover – and I definitely know what mistakes not to make! My current job description is “e-content writer”, but the position involves bits of copy editing, blogging, web design, and PR. The last gig I had involved writing ad copy for the web on a home goods/modern living blog.

Q: Isn’t copy editing an outmoded job in the digital age?

Ohh, ouch. That stings. Is it outmoded? Well, yes and no. I think with the proliferation of blogging and citizen journalism, people are getting a lot more accustomed to seeing typos and mistakes in written work – and as our education system changes from teaching grammar and punctuation strictly to teaching how to communicate in a more general sense, it’s becoming more and more common among even the most professional writers. Absolute grammatical correctness is a goal of mine when I set out to work on a piece, but it’s not as high a goal as making sure that the writing is actually communicating what it intends to. A lot of my work deals with distilling a piece of writing down to its core idea, getting rid of fluffy prose that doesn’t contribute to the overall meaning. I definitely notice when there’s a misplaced modifier or a missing comma in the fiction I’m reading, but I don’t freak out about it.

Q: How did you get into what you do? What kinds of clients do you work with?

In college, I worked on the school newspaper as a staff writer and then an editor. When I moved to New York, I took a course on legal proofreading at the suggestion of a LiveJournal friend, and then I expanded from there. I’ve worked for law firms, a green construction consultancy, boutique advertising firms, individual authors and bloggers, banks, a fiction writer whose book is about San Francisco after the Gold Rush; and a design company that produced marketing materials for architectural supplies. [They had a dog. The dog didn't have anything to do with my job, but he was kind of fun to have around.] Right now I’m working with a healthcare nonprofit on their web-based communications and PR; and revising some promotional materials for a large insurance company and a mobile advertising firm.

[source, of course]

Q: What do you like about the job?

I like the fact that I get to be very detail-oriented while still focusing on the big ideas behind the writing. I like the fact that I know how to do something that almost no one else does anymore, and that I do it very well. I like working with language and optimizing it for an audience or a medium. I like that it challenges me and enables me to learn. [Case in point: a few weeks ago I worked with a client who needed to decide whether his marketing materials would say "communication" or "communications." I knew the difference, but being able to apply it and justify my decision was exhilarating. Yes, I'm a little bit nerdy. Shut up.]

Q: What do I hate about the job?

I think the worst thing is being unable to leave it behind – once I internalized these grammatical rules, I see mistakes everywhere.

Also, I really dislike it when I’m on a freelance job and the writer questions every editorial move I make. However, I understand that it comes with the territory, because no one likes to have their work critiqued. Still, it means I have to be careful of people’s feelings and be clear that I’m not judging them, just helping make their writing better.

Q: How do you get work?

The same way other freelancers do – sell, sell, sell. I’m registered with a couple of freelance agencies who send my resume around periodically. I have friends at ad firms that put in a good word for me when they can. I send postcards to creative directors and HR types around town. I go to nonprofit and young professional networking events even though I’m shyer than this blog might make me seem. One time someone emailed me a few chapters of his novel to edit after meeting me at Jelly. And when I’m in New York, I have an editorial services firm that gets me work a lot of the time.

Q: I found a typo on your page.

Good. Let me know. You should never edit your own work, because you’ll miss all your own mistakes. So that’s why I have you guys. If you find a typo, I’ll give you a cookie.

Q: Are you judging my grammar/punctuation/capitalization/writing?

Hardly. Whatever you write, I’ve seen worse. Trust me. And besides, your writing isn’t a direct indication of your intelligence any more than your SAT score or your GPA. Good writers are people who are great at verbal communication, but if you’re not great at that, you might be great at spatial awareness or logic or analysis. It takes all kinds. I still love you.

Q: What are your editorial pet peeves?

I don’t like the use of “they”, “them,” or “their” as a gender-neutral third-person singular. For instance: “The person that brought their dirty dishes into the office needs to take that nastiness home with them” should actually be “The person that brought his or her dirty dishes into the office needs to take that nastiness home with him or her.” [If I got my hands on this sentence, it would read "Please take your dirty dishes home with you." To the point, right?]

I’m a stickler for using an em dash instead of a hyphen when it’s appropriate. I’m okay with ” – ” [space bar hyphen space bar] as well as “—” [em dash], but not with “-” [just one hyphen], and “–” [two hyphens] drives me a little crazy. MS Word auto-corrects the two hyphens to become an em dash, and Adobe products auto-correct three hyphens to become an em dash if you turn on the smart punctuation options. But one hyphen just looks like a hyphenated word, which can cause all sorts of muddiness of meaning. [Also? It's "em dash", not "em-dash".]

I don’t use an Oxford comma when I’m making a list joined by “and”; but I do when I’m making a list joined by “or” or “nor”. Like this: “Chris, Tori and Katrina came over last night; but neither Hilly, Ben, nor Courtney could make it. It rained, so we couldn’t go for a walk, play softball, or chalk the sidewalks.” [My current job requires Oxford commas in all cases, and it's the most frequent mistake I make. Drives me crazy.]

Adverbs and adjectives are like truffles: too many of them, and I get dizzy.

It’s/its and there/their/they’re are my gospel. It also really bothers me when people write “would of” when they mean “would have.” I understand the mistake, but it confuses readers.

I go absolutely insane with hyphenated modifying phrases. I might write a whole blog post about this, because it deserves attention. “Long term relationship” is wrong; “long-term relationship” isn’t. “The three-year-old child [hyphenated] was two years old [no hyphenation] when he went to Disneyworld.” “The well-respected teacher’s [hyphenated class was highly demanded [no hyphenation].” “You go on a 5-mile run [hyphenated] after you drive to your gym 20 miles away [no hyphenation].”

I fact-check everything I can with every resource I have.

Q: I have other questions.

Awesome. Post ‘em below and I’ll write up a follow-up post answering them soon. [And if your question is "How can I hire you?", get in touch and we'll talk.]

No related posts.

Spicy sweet potato soup. So, in December, I suddenly came into possession of eighty pounds of sweet potatoes. Bandmate Luke’s day job is farming, and he had a ton of extra sweet potatoes left over after his farming season was up. So he gifted them to our kitchen. Several holiday casseroles later, I knew I needed to make some lunches out of the stock, so thus this soup entered my kitchen vocabulary. I typically forgo the ginger [I only like it when it's pickled!] and up the spice factor. My good friend TJ brought me the requisite coconut milk and red curry paste from Cincinnati’s best grocery store, and we also found out they’re available for a similarly low price from Amazon [here and here].

Protein salad. I first had a salad like this at Pillow in Brooklyn, and have made different variations since then. When I want to splurge I make it with salmon instead of tuna, and I add different vegetables based on what’s on sale. I don’t really eat it with dressing, but I’m sure some kind of vinaigrette would be yummy.

Edamame. Get it in the frozen food section of your grocery store – most of the time it comes in a microwaveable pouch that you can plunk in the microwave at work and then eat straight with your hands. Add salt or soy sauce for extra kick, or add to a salad [like the protein salad above, hmm?].
A smoothie in a thermos. I’ve been doing this for a lot of dinners, actually, but I contemplated taking it for lunch. Use soy milk as a base and then add whatever fresh or frozen fruits you enjoy. Sweeten with honey, raw sugar, or vanilla; add silken tofu for extra protein.

Roasted nuts and dried fruits. I buy them in bulk at shops like Big Lots to save cash. Perfect for afternoon munchies. Eventually I’m going to make these into some kind of trail mix or granola, but not for awhile.

Ants on a stick. Yes, it’s a throwback to the normal kid lunches that I never really took in grade school – I couldn’t stand peanut butter, so I’m glad I acquired a taste for it when I reached adulthood. If I were at home instead of at the office, I would dip the celery straight into the jar [you know you've all done this when your roommates weren't looking].

Kiddos, what do you eat for lunch? Do you make your own every day? Share your favorite recipes!

Related posts:

1. Packing a Lunch
2. How to Avoid Freezing Your Ass Off in Mid-Winter
3. Pre-Move Decluttering: Packing Without Screaming

When I was in school, I brought my lunch every day. However, I didn’t like sandwiches – the jelly always soaked through the bread, and I wasn’t a fan of lunch meat. So I was the weird kid who brought a container of salad, complete with a miniature serving of dressing stored in a Bayer aspirin bottle, served with a mineral water to drink. Getting a new lunch box was a huge thing each year at back-to-school time, until I got too old for lunch boxes and started carrying fashionable [but tree-killing] brown paper bags.

These days, since I’m working outside my house over seventy hours a week, packing a lunch is a habitual thing. Since I’m actively trying to be more selective about what I spend my money on [read: savings account entries and shoes, rather than daily lunches and dinners out], bringing a lunch is a point of pride. It does require a small amount of pre-planning, which was an adjustment, but it’s been worthwhile. Here’s why:

• It saves me money. I can make a soup and salad at home and then bring it with me for about three bucks, instead of paying seven-fifty for the same at the deli downstairs, or upwards of twelve dollars if I end up going out somewhere with my workmates. [Arguably I'm missing out on the social and morale-building exercise of eating with my coworkers, but let's be honest: about forty percent of the large meetings we have are catered, so we do quite enough eating together.]
• It keeps my eating habits in control. Let me clarify: I’m not on a diet. But I know if I run out for a lunch when I’m famished, I’m more likely to order an extra side, and two cookies, and a fancy-delancey latte instead of a regular drip coffee. So it’s better if I avoid the temptation altogether by bringing delicious things from home every day.
• It saves me time. Eating at the office means I don’t have to leave. If I left for lunch, I’d cut an hour or so out of my work day. And since I don’t do working lunches, that means I’d have to stay at the office later to make up the lost time. This way, though, I clock out and spend twenty minutes eating at my desk, and then get right back to work immediately, instead of waiting to be served, sitting in traffic, and spending a ton of time figuring how to split up the bill.

So what can you do to make things easier?

• Make a week’s worth and then pack it all at once. Since it’s been freezing, I’ve been consuming spicy soups like it’s my job. When I make them for lunch, though, I make a huge pot, and then put them into single-serving jars repurposed from my kitchen [cheap and easy, and microwaveable!], store them in the fridge, and take one each day. If your preferred lunch of choice doesn’t require any cooking, you could take this a step further and bring a sack of ingredients [lunch meat; cut veggies for salad] to your office’s fridge every Monday, then assemble the lunch every day. Easy, huh?
• Recyclable disposable containers. I’m trying to stay away from containers I use once and then toss out. But I don’t always remember to bring the container home with me. If you have this issue, use recyclable containers [my soup jars are a perfect example], so that way if you don’t want to bring them home, you can toss ‘em in the recycling bin.
• Put it in an obvious place. Write LUNCH on your bathroom mirror in lipstick, if you’re prone to forgetting. Or on your palm in Sharpie. [Full disclosure: I did this and then woke up with the word LUNCH smeared across my cheek. Classy, but at least I didn't forget.]
• Get a lunch container that you don’t mind carrying. The mini-cooler is functional and all, but if you want something more chic, why not a bento box?

What do you guys like to eat for lunch? Do you pack it all at once

Related posts:

1. Packing a Lunch 2.0: Components of a Grown-Ass Lady Lunch
2. Pre-Move Decluttering: Packing Without Screaming

When we talk about fashion, or when we choose to engage in it, we’re choosing to wear something that shows other people something about us. When an organization requires a uniform, what it communicates [both to insiders and outsiders] is that it values uniformity [and as a result, interchangeability] over individuality. Put simply, the work you bring to the table is second only to your willingness to toe the uniform line and shape up—in some cases, to extreme and ridiculous extents. [Example: I have a friend whose former office forbade sandals. When she broke her toe and her cast wouldn't fit inside a shoe, she showed up with a sandal on the injured foot. She was sent home with a reprimand for violating company policy because, as the HR rep said, "I can't play favorites. If you can wear a sandal, that means everyone else should be able to as well." Ridiculous, hmm?]

Business professional dress is merely a watered-down version of the uniform – a uniform cloaked in an image of flexibility, but deceptively restrictive. The amount that it’s watered down, of course, depends on the workplace. Some offices forbid bright colors. Some forbid heels over two inches. Most frown upon unnatural hair colors or excessive cleavage on display. But only in rare cases does violating the dress code mean you actually can’t perform your necessary office functions. [For the sake of simplicity, let's leave out industrial jobs here. I definitely don't recommend wearing heels to work in a factory or at a construction site.] So it boils down to a question of etiquette.

…which is about making sure everyone knows the rules of behavior so everyone knows what’s expected of them, and what to expect from one another. But many of etiquette’s other rules have long gone. When was the last time any of you wrote a thank-you note? Not an email, but a physical note? How many women were wearing Little Black Dresses at the last wedding you were at? And when do you ever use the shrimp fork to pick up your scampi appetizer? Likewise, no one wears hats and gloves on public transit [unless it's freezing]. No one changes dresses between afternoon and evening. Most men don’t have a wardrobe of suits for each season. So why the entrenchment of a sartorial dictatorship within the office walls?

Professionalism encompasses a lot of things, and dressing the part is just one of them. But the rest—getting your work done, respecting your colleagues and your clients, creating solutions and not excuses—is the important part. I’m not Joan Holloway; I’m not paid to serve as office eye candy. And as such, I will continue to push the boundaries with bright colors, crinolines, bows and flounces, painted nails, and big hair…at least until this contract is up, and I can go back to working from home wearing whatever the hell I want.

What do you wear to work? Do you enjoy it? What would you wear, if you could choose anything?

Related posts:

1. Business Professional Dress: WTF?
2. How to answer the “When are you going to get MARRIED?!” questions [in ways that are less abrasive than "None of your @#&*ing business."]
3. Six Items or Less

So, I’m working in an office now. It’s a contract gig, and I like it a lot. I like the fact that I’m getting paid decently to do what I do best—write, edit, design, and communicate. I like my colleagues. I like my office [not a cubicle! it has a door that closes! and a dual screen monitor set up! and my own thermostat, so I don't freeze!], the free lunches, the gym membership, and the freedom to listen to Pandora while I’m working.

However, I’m sorely lacking in the professional dress department. I have never, ever been one to toe the line on dressing exactly how people expect me to. I’m lucky to have casual Friday; otherwise, I might have to do two loads of laundry a week instead of one.

I can see the benefits of it, really. I enjoy wearing costumes on stage, and wearing a certain type of clothing for work activities should appeal to that part of me. I understand the emphasis on professional appearance so that clients will take you seriously. I can see how dressing in a certain way indicates your respect for your colleagues and your place of employment, and the ideals they stand for.

But to be honest, I don’t get it. I don’t work with clients. Most of the time I’m locked in my office on conference calls with developers or attorneys—calls in which they don’t see me or what I’m wearing. And I know it’s young and idealistic of me, but I wish it were the case that I’d been hired solely for my copywriting and design skills rather than for my adherence to a code of conduct and dress that’s not really my own…and I wish I had the client base to say that if a client didn’t approve of the way I dressed, I didn’t need to work with him. This isn’t Sterling Cooper, yes?

Do you all have any thoughts on professional attire? What do you wear to work? Or, what would you wear to work if you could wear anything you wanted?

Related posts:

1. Business Professional: Oh HELL No.
2. Six Items or Less
3. How to answer the “When are you going to get MARRIED?!” questions [in ways that are less abrasive than "None of your @#&*ing business."]

You’ll be in the single best place in the world for working in television and film, publishing, finance, fashion, advertising, and the arts. And even if you start low in the industry, as an admin or an assistant, there’s plenty of room for advancement for those industrious and ingenious enough to do it right. Once you get high enough on the hierarchy, you’ll eventually make enough money to counteract your astronomical rent prices&8212or, hopefully by then, you will have moved into a rent-stabilized building.

Even if you’re broke, you can always find cheap or free things to do. There are entire websites devoted to the art of drinking for free, and you can find similarly free or cheap food and entertainment&8212my favorites are the ten-for-a-dollar dim sum or super-cheap produce from the street carts in Chinatown, cheese and bread at gallery openings (the Art Students League of New York has fed me more dinners than I’m prepared to admit), the entire collection at the Metropolitan (”suggested donation” doesn’t mean you actually have to pay what it says&8212I’ve never paid more than a buck for admission), and Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park (with a stack of books, a snack, and a blanket in tow).

Since so many people here have come from far away, there are a ton of people who can relate to your situation, and a handful can be counted on to help you out. A friend of a college friend hooked me up with a job recently; a high school classmate bought me drinks when I was lonely and broke; an acquaintance from my current job helped me get a couple of web design commissions. And it’s fun to pass along the good karma&8212when my friend from college moved up earlier this month and was looking for a roomie, we signed a lease together in Brooklyn.

It gives you a true appreciation for other places. I frequently say that I couldn’t live anywhere after New York without being a little bit disappointed. But I have a new appreciation for Cincinnati and Louisville, the two cities I call home&8212for the way I could walk into a bar and know seventy-five percent of the people there, the way the clerks at the record store knew my tastes and were always eager to suggest something new for me to hear, the knowledge that I could always get a decently-priced bourbon of decent quality at the nearest liquor store without having to visit a specialty shop, and the way my apartment was within stumbling distance of all my favorite watering holes. I’m looking forward to visiting both places before the summer is up…but I know that upon arriving, I’ll be ready to come back to my true home now.

It’ll be the most difficult test you can give yourself&8212and to pass, all you have to do is stick it out. A month after arriving, you’ll probably be poorer than you ever thought was possible; but a year after that, you’re ahead of the learning curve, and the worst is over. And you can laugh at yourself, and maybe then you’ll actually call yourself a New Yorker.

Related posts:

1. 7 Things To Do Before You Move to New York City
2. Things You Might Forget You Loved About New York City
3. Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Moved to New York
4. Full Disclosure: New York, I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down
5. I Love Life I Love You: Shop Update

Everyone comes here. Well, okay…maybe not everyone, but a lot of people. I’ve heard it said over and over again that most people living in the city aren’t native New Yorkers, and I believe it. I don’t know the exact percentages, but last summer I saw an influx of post-college kids wandering the subway tunnels and peering out from behind MTA maps…and I’m already starting to see more of them this summer now that school is out and college grads from all over the country have completed their commencements, packed their moving trucks, and arrived here to make it big. Competing with the ginormous population that already lives here, this drives up the prices of almost everything. Which means…

…Rent is damn expensive. My first four months here, I paid more for a room in a three-bedroom in a sketchy part of Brooklyn than I had in my most expensive apartment I’d had before, a two-bedroom in Bloomington, Indiana. Furthermore, your apartment will probably be about the size of a postage stamp, and you’ll probably have more roommates than you ever thought could fit. A bathtub is considered a luxury. A washer/dryer in your unit, rare. And a dishwasher, almost unheard of. And because your rent will be your biggest bill and will probably eat up the majority of every paycheck. As a result…

…There’s a good chance you’ll be broke all the time. I had weeks when I had two hundred dollars to my name—but I had to pay my utility bill, buy a MetroCard, order dog food, and get my suit dry cleaned for a job interview. So in order to avoid the potential casualty of coming up in the red when the rent was due…

…You might have to work two or three jobs to get by for awhile. When I moved here, I worked retail, bartended, modeled for painters and sculptors, answered phones at a call center, and took night shifts proofreading at law offices to make ends meet. It was infuriating to hear from my friends back home in the midwest calling, their voices full of concern: “Wow, are you doing okay? Steve told me you were having to work three jobs…we’re really worried about you. Are you getting enough to eat?” Yes, I was…barely. I worked more than I every though I was capable of working, I didn’t sleep a lot, and I developed a caffeine addiction of massive proportions (the vestiges of which still accompany me today). But Starbucks wasn’t in my budget. It was infuriating, and even more so…

…You’ll be within a brief train ride of some of the world’s best food, drink, and entertainment, but you probably won’t have the money to afford it without putting yourself into credit card debt, nor the time to actually enjoy it. I had a really long stretch of the beans-and-rice diet, and there’s still a stack of ramen noodles in my cupboard left over from the time when I wasn’t even sure I could afford real groceries. The social ramifications of this lifestyle are clear…

…It means you might not meet anyone outside of work. This is the most crowded lonely place in the world, because so many people, despite being in close proximity to one another, are so wrapped up in their professions (or their finances) that they can’t meet up for drinks, or go to the flea market on Saturdays after brunch, or eat Thai food out six nights a week. They’re all too busy working. Some people get by this by tapping into contacts they already have–sorority sisters, fellow college alumni, high-school classmates, that kid who sat next to you in kindergarten that now lives down the street. But this leads to other problems, including…

…You might meet a lot of people who are a lot more financially endowed than you. Which can be depressing, especially in a city where there’s plenty of opportunity to throw money around—on trendy clothing, amazing food, and summer trips to Long Island (or further). Some people resort to spending on credit in order to keep up, which is never a good idea. And also…

…Geography itself can be limiting. When you’re not in the city, it’s tempting to think that public transit will be speedy and efficient, and that you’ll be able to get wherever you’re going in twenty minutes or less. However, when you live in BedStuy and you decide at eleven-thirty that you want to meet friends from Inwood in the Lower East Side, it’s probably going to be a solid hour before either of you arrives at Essex Street–because you have to wait for the G train and then transfer, and they have to ride over two hundred blocks in an A train that’s going local. You start thinking of these friends as your “long-distance friendships” and you rarely see them, except on long weekends and holidays (and then it takes even longer, because the trains are running on a holiday schedule).

But there’s a lot good about the city. Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if there weren’t. Tomorrow I’ll share with you some of my favorite things about this crazy place.

Related posts:

1. Throwback Thursday: 7 Things to Do Before You Move to NYC
2. Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Moved to New York
3. 6 Things You Might Actually Love About New York City
4. How to Love Your Life, Even if You Hate Your Job
5. Throwback Thursday: How to Love Your Life, Even if You Hate Your Job