I am admitting — note it here and now — I selected the WRONG BOOTS to wear while at a conference last week.
I have no idea what I was thinking. Sure, I was distracted with worry about my spouse and having guests in the house while I was packing, but I really should have given two more minutes of thought before just picking out a couple pairs of boots and going to California.
What boots were wrong and why?
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We have had a bout of rather extreme cold and snowy weather in the DC area — and we’re not alone, with the majority of the central, southern, and eastern U.S. experiencing extreme cold relative to their respective averages. Another segment of the Polar Vortex broke south again, and is the culprit to the cold misery that millions of us are experiencing. (Sorry to sound a bit geeky, but my professional side is coming out.)
So back to the situation at hand. Or should I say, situation at-foot.
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Last year, my spouse bought me a pair of Legendary Cowboy Boots. Man, these are really cool-looking boots with 18-inch tall dark blue shafts, fancy stitching, and full quill black ostrich foot.
I wore these boots when we were married. They are very special to me. Very classy and good-looking. They go well with dress clothes or denim jeans.
On occasion, I wear these boots to work. Being a professional in a management position, I often have to dress up in slacks, dress shirt, & tie.
These boots also have 2-1/2-inch (6.4cm) underslung riding heels. And those heels have become a problem when I wear these boots to work …
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I have mentioned on this blog that I was promoted recently. In the nature of my new job, I represent my division at meetings of agency management on a regular basis now. The men at these meetings always, always wear a tie.
How has this guy who has resisted wearing ties for decades responded?
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My boss came up to me the other day and said, “I notice you wear boots a lot.”
Te he, that’s an understatement.
“Can you tell me where I could get a pair of boots and about how they fit?”
Sure. And then in my mind, I was asking myself,
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Do you know the feeling of unease when the boss comes to you and says, “come see me, now.” Then leads you into a private office and shuts the door — all while having a very stern look on his face, which is uncharacteristic.
I know that I had not done anything wrong, but still there is that moment of fear and saying to yourself, “what did I do? What happened?”
The boss pointed to a chair, and said, “sit down. We need to talk.”
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Sorry, not much of a blog today. I am shifting what I do for work back to my regular duties. Actually, pulling a short double-shift today to ease the transition.
In one way, I was glad that my training, skills, and experienced were known and recognized so that I could be asked to work a different job for the last two weeks. That other job was much like I had done back in the days when I had to run when the bell rang. I prefer a more steady, “non-response,” proactive set of duties — more administrative and managerial than reactionary. But it goes to show that having the training, background, and experience to be flexible in employment pays off. I am among few who didn’t miss a beat while shenanigans were going on at the top of the legislative branch of the U.S. Government.
So for now… back to work; back to doing what I love.
Life is short: be a flexible professional!
Due to certain budget or non-budget situation of the U.S. Government caused by the miserable failures of non-representatives in Congress, I am on a temporary job assignment.
I have skills that are needed and thus deemed essential, but in a different job from usual. That’s one good thing about building up professional skills and credentials all these years. Those skills are valued and allow me the flexibility of accepting a temporary assignment when needed.
The only thing is…
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People around the world are watching closely what is going on (or not going on) in the U.S. Congress regarding the exceptionally divisive battle over the U.S. Federal Government budget. It is ugly, awful, and downright shameful how each side of the political spectrum blames the other for the mess they brought on to all of the world. The world economy is already suffering and will get worse with a looming shutdown of the Federal Government.
How will that affect me?
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This is a recap of what boots I wore during the past week, including “boots at work.” That is, for labor I did last weekend, as well as what I wore to my office. That’s me — always booted. I changed boots at least once each day, sometimes more often depending on what I am doing, where I am going, and what form of transportation I will be using. Follow along.
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