Adventures in Swanky Dressing
Finally ended up buying some more dress clothes for work and freezing my butt off because my hat and scarf to go along with them haven't arrived yet.
Since the start of the year, I have made several purchases to replace parts of my work wardrobe that has worn out in recent years. To start out the year, I bought a blazer, to replace my very threadbare blazer. I first looked at Salvation Army, as you can get some very good deals there on minimally used clothes. For the first seven years as a professional after college, I used nothing but two different blazers that I got from Salvation Army, but I could not find one this time at the thrift store. I ended up getting a nicely fitted one from the J.C. Penny.
Then over my navy blazer and slacks, I’ve long worn my old – but somewhat dressier – Lands End winter parka, that I think my parents bought for me when I was still in High School. For a long time it had a mismatched-parka hood, but all and all, it didn’t look all that bad with with a suit. But for sure, it wasn’t a proper wool top coat, that you are supposed to wear with your dress cloths. But I am all hesitant to spend money that I don’t have to spend, delaying replacement of things until the last possible minute – and trying to repair thing to get them to last as long as possible.
My Lands End parka finally wore out. The outer shell had cuts in it from getting caught on various things. The cuffs were starting to look thread bare. But what did it for me, is the zipper broke on the Lands End parka, and the end of winter seasons where underway. I was able to find a nice, wool top coat for an affordable price. With the good fitting blazer and wool top coat, has me feeling like a politician, an old man, or maybe just a professional. I guess that is a good thing, because I am more likely to act like a professional, I guess, if I dress like one. Maybe at 31, I should have earlier planned to get dressier clothing, but I am happy with being conservative in my spending habits.
And for normal, casual stuff, I have my Carhartt jacket – which is sta
rting to get kind of threadbare too – but I don’t care as long as it’s still warm and the zipper works.
Great until I realized one minor problem… the top coat does nothing to keep your head or neck warm in the cold weather.
One disadvantage to wool top coat for dress purposes, rather then a mismatched parka, is they have no way to keep your neck and head warm without an external hat and scarf. I should have thought about that when I ordered it from Lands End, but of course I didn’t. I looked at ordering one today, but taken aback by the $8 shipping charge on something together that would cost like $30 including tax.
I was originally going to pick something up at the store this weekend when I went to get another pair of dress pants at the store (which I couldn’t find online) and another dress shirt. But I realized it will be nearly impossible to find something local this time of year, when swim suits are the norm (it’s almost March in Albany, after all). After visiting several of the stores over the weekend, my fears were confirmed.
But my friends and colleagues on Facebook had some ideas. One was try LLBean, which has free shipping, as I use their credit card. That’s a great idea, but I had trouble finding nice looking mens scarfs and hats that I could wear with a top coat. Then it was suggested I try Amazon and carefully read the reviews. Sears offers free shipping to their stores for in-store pick up. Or try the local stores – some may still have winter stuff in stock. I sure hope so, as I don’t want to pay $8 in shipping for a stupid hat.
I ultimately did order a scarf and hat on Amazon with free shipping. It worked out to be $30 together. I will hopefully get it on Tuesday or Wednesday. But for the next two days it might be a bit cold at the bus stop. I guess I could have just thought ahead, or wear my blaze orange hat in the next few days with my top coat. This morning wasn’t too bad, as I was pretty late for the bus, so I only was outside for like 30 seconds.
Why Doodling is a Habit You Don’t Need to Break
This is a good thing, because I spend a lot of time during meetings drawing pictures of highway interchanges ...
Not Sure What My Next Goal Should Be
I try to be careful with saving money every week, and putting a little away for a goal. I contribute to my pension plan and a little bit my Roth IRA every week to save towards retirement. That’s fine, but I also like to save a lot more money into my boring old savings account for more immediate goals — within the next couple of years.
The problem is I really don’t have another goal. I am kind of saving for nothing, or actually one of many choices that I really don’t have a solid figure on what I want to do with the money. It also has grown tougher to save money these days, as the interest rates are so low that money doesn’t really grow much in the bank.
Idea 1: Save Money to Move Out of NY State.
I am not a big fan of New York State by any means. I think it’s policies are so dracionian, and it’s urban dominance means that Upstate will forever be governed by absentee landlords from New York City, who develop policies in wine bars high above the strip in trendy Manhattan.
I don’t like the Sullivan Act. I don’t like the burn ban. I don’t liek the Adirondack Park Agency, or just the state’s official dislike of all rural areas. I don’t like the fact the state increasingly nickling and diming working folks just to feed the beast.
But, hey I like the Adirondacks, Catskills, Greens, Taconics, and other amazing places being so close to home. The recession makes it hard to find a job elsewheres, and the reality is any place I would go would certainly involve a massive cut in salary, benefits, and a relearning of how to live.
But some day I do want to move out of state, on to some rural land, have animals, do a little hobby farming, play in the mud, shoot some guns, and burn things. I really dislike state’s open burn ban. But for now, the Adirondack Park and Catskill Park works well enough for me.
Idea 2: Go Back to College.
I’ve been toying with the idea of going back to college. But it’s so dang expensive. And I really don’t want to sit in class all day, and learn stuff I am not really interested in or could better learn on my own. I struggled through 6 years of college, in and out of school and at work to get my bachelors degree, and I am less then excited about the whole thing.
I would like to go back to school to study GIS map making, and turn my hobby into actually marketable skills. Doing that would allow me to make more money, but more importantly have more flexiability in where I live, so I can live in rural area not run by citidiots.
Idea 3: Sled.
I have been thinking about getting a snowmobile at the end of winter season for next year. Not something brand new, but something decently reliable that I could use to access the deep back country in winter. It might also be fun for camping in the winter, as I could strap a backpack on with gear.
But it’s also an expensive hobby to say least. Plus, even if I got a snowmobile in the spring time, I would have to store it until the winter before I could really use it for much better. But I figure an end of season special would probably save some real money.
Idea 4: Fix Up My Truck.
I got to fix the bumper on my truck. It annoys the fuck out me, to put it the way I see it. The way it is bent — the particular angle — is so ugly. Yet, do I want to just fix the parts that are damaged or do I want to get a real bumper for my truck? I know they make heavy duty off-road bumpers.
Which got me thinking — if I replace the rear bumper, shouldn’t I also replace the front bumper with a real bumper, so it at least matches? Or should I wait until I do something stupid and damage it?
Likewise, I want to jack my truck up. It would be fun to ride up higher, would add at least “visual” value to the truck, and make me like it better. Although, maybe I would eventually get tired of jacked up truck. But should I wait until the first set of tires are worn out, before going for the jacked up routine? I don’t know.
Many Possibilities.
I continue to chew over my choices and possibilities. Moving out of NY State — to a nicer state with more sane policies — continues to be a priority of mine, but that has to be balanced by my good paying job that pays the bills, and the proximity to the great Adirondack and Catskill Parks.
Then there are all the toys I could spend my money on. But toys require gasoline, which sure is expensive these days. Certainly having more money in the bank account makes it grow faster. But I also got to have fun, and have an excuse for saving money. So I don’t know.
Yeah, It’s Monday Once Again
Mondays seem to come much too frequently. Weekends are much too short. Weekends, something we all look forward to, seem to be just fleeting moments on that calender. Just another day.
One could look at it as being only 5 more days until the weekend. 5 days promising to go by just as quickly as the now memory of the weekend. But it still seems like a Monday.
Eight hours and it will be over. And it will be down to 4 more days, but still it seems like Monday comes much too often.