Toby made it safely to Scotland - no trip trouble. He said the weather was mild, but drizzling. He is able to walk to work. Although the place he is staying at is very simple, it is comfortable. He also said the Scots were more formal than Americans at work, wearing suites and ties. He had been teased for rolling up his shirt sleeves. If they could only see him wearing his overalls to church, what would they think? When I told him that I had been shopping for my upcoming NY trip and bought a coat, a purse, gloves, scarf, and hat, he asked me if there was anything left at the store. I replied that I would go back and check today :) Actually, I am getting my hair trimmed up and maybe a pedicure (such a wild woman).
Art was wild yesterday. I had twelve kids here. We painted small Christmas cards with watercolor. Although my newest students seem to be good at drawing, they were not worth a darn at painting. It was hectic trying to help all of them. The older students worked very well on their own, but I needed an eggnog when everyone left. At one point during class, a student said, "I think your dog is eating one of your plants." I looked out the window, and sure enough, the great Dane was eating another pine tree. We had to have some doggy discipline in the middle of art and maybe put a little fear in my students too ;)
3 comments:
...the Scots were more formal than Americans at work, wearing suites and ties.
Yet another thing to like about Brit culcha. I've worked at both ends of this spectrum (not counting the military) and prefer the "buttoned-down" environment. My old company (EDS) had a strict dress code when I first started with them. For men it was suits, ties, and ONLY white shirts -- none of this pink shirt stuff (or other colors), thank you --; for women it was dresses or suits, no pantsuits allowed. EDS gave in and went "corporate casual" read that: no jeans) sometime around '96 or '97, and my clothing bills went up. It costs money to be both casual and business-like.
Contrast that to the "anything goes" culture at the start-up I worked at in SFO. I literally had people show up for work in flip-flops, shorts, and a tee shirt. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it. Ask me which of the two cultures I prefer...
/Old Fart Rant.
The first year I taught school, I wore dresses and heels every day. Toward the end of my second year, I broke down and started wearing slacks and jeans on Fridays, but pretty much, it was still dresses and heels. Although I am a jeans and t-shirt type girl (child of the 70's)I think a person should dress up for certain things. One time a young girl showed up to apply for a waitress job at my little cafe wearing a mid-drift shirt. I thought anyone who would wear that to a job interview - no matter what the job - had no brains. Now days, I have very little to dress up for, but I do try to make my jeans and accessories look nice.
Middle-aged fart rant
Yeah, I prefer the more dressy look for certain places as well. Believe it or not, I am one of the few women who will still wear a dress to church. Maybe it's just me, and I don't want to be exclusive, but I feel that if you are capable, you should look your best when going to church.
/Young fart rant
Post a Comment