my functional shoes
So I am having a bit of a fashion crisis at the moment.
About a year ago I posted about my plans to transition to take the bus instead of paying the outrageous parking costs. Well it was a successful experiment as I am still taking the bus, and I really like it (for the most part–touching the hand rails and seats still grosses me out and I will never grow accustomed to it).
However, I have started to notice that my fabulous style has declined dramatically:
- I used to always wear high heels–now I still wear high heels in the office, but have opted for a more “functional” shoe for my commute (these tend to be flip flops, flats, or ugg boots).
- These new “flat” shoes have resulted in opting for shorter hem pants, or pants that can get a little bit wrinkled or dirty (from sitting on the seats and walking through the city).
- I have to carry a big 15 inch laptop (== heavy && doesn’t fit into the cute purse-like laptop bags) which means I can’t take my super cute handbag.
- I also bring my lunch (another good way to save money and watch the waistline) but it is another thing that has to be carried (and has the potential to leak–especially salad dressings or fruit).
- Since I live in Seattle (where it is frequently quite cold and rainy) I have been opting for more “functional” jackets than my very pretty stylish coats of the past (that just don’t work that well to keep the elements at bay)
This makes me sad because I have gone from glamorous to frumpy in a short few months. What made this all hit home was as I was walking into the office one day this week I saw a guy I used to to be a coworker of mine, and I was so ashamed of how I looked I hid.
Literally, I ducked behind a mailbox and hoped he didn’t see me.
He did; and we talked (I made the excuse I dropped something by the way when he looked at my skeptically bending behind the mailbox), and since he is a guy he probably never noticed what I was wearing. BUT, it hit a point home–I really need to do something to address my sloppy “bus” fashion–and pronto.
With the economy being what it is, I had resolved to start saving more and spending less. However I haven’t been particularly good at sticking to my mantra. I bought this amazing dress, and I have no idea where I will wear it. In fact, I don’t even know why I bought it, other than it was really pretty (an impluse purchase). At least is was a good deal (about 40% off). Maybe I can wear it to a holiday party this December. Anyway, here is a picture:
While I can’t justify my frivilous spending (although it is a very pretty dress), I will admit that I am saving a money taking the bus. The bus started out as an experiment to prevent paying for parking (my employer used to subsidize our parking). I figured if I drove my car (there aren’t any convenient busses close to my home) to some place other than downtown I wouldn’t have to pay for parking. Parking is about $170/month (and that is the cheap parking) so it isn’t exactly cheap and I got a *free* bus pass, so that part of my commute doesn’t really cost anything. Now the driving portion of my commute is shorter, so I am also saving money on gas (I used to drive 16 miles each way, and now I drive 15 miles total). This means I am cuttting my gas bill by more than 50%. I used to fill up my tank about every two weeks or so (at about $50–depending largely on gas prices) so it is saving me about $50 per month (plus the cost of parking)!
So at least I am saving a little bit of money (and I am also helping the world by driving less and using public transportation, which is always a good thing). The other benefits of riding the bus is more time for reading, being able to decompress on my way home from work (this was harder to do in stressful traffic), walking a little bit more on my commute (which burns extra calories), and having a set schedule (I generally catch the bus around the same time, and leave work around the same time). The last one on the list has probably been the best thing since it has forced me to schedule my time and manage my days more efficiently–I really do feel like I am getting a lot more done. Who knew having a schedule would help so much with being organized and improving time management?
Recently I started taking the bus to work. I did this for two reasons, one is that I lost my parking benefit at work, and the second was that I thought it would be a good way to help the environment (and save money). When I lived downtown I used to ride the bus everywhere and I really liked it. I could walk miles in my high heels, carrying several bags of things, and I would listen to my ipod–almost always dance music as I strolled down to the street stepping to the rhythm of the latest pop hits. Of course, now I live in the suburbs I don’t have to walk nearly as far, but this whole commuting without a care is forcing me to streamline my process. The good thing is that I know have about 30 minutes of free time to ride the bus. Yesterday I used it to start reading the book Results That Last
.
I have only read the first chapter so far, but I feel like I am really getting a lot out of the book. The first chapter is all about performance management and managing the team. It breaks up teams into high, medium, and low performers and explains the differences with each. It gives little anecdotes and guidance on how to talk to these individuals, coach them, and top grade your team (although it doesn’t use that term). None of it is *new* information per se, but I like the methods and ideas–and there are lots of little good tidbits. For example, one thing that struck me was how it described low performers as people who get results but occasionally have a bad attitude or don’t act as expected. I started thinking about this particular line item in regards to myself and my team. And the most shocking thing occured to me–as of late I think I fall into this bucket.
You see, I have been pretty discouraged lately with work (I think part of it is that I want to start my own company and I think another part of it is a long hours for the last 18+ months) and it has been reflected in my general attitude and demeanor in the office. This is really bad, because it has the tendency to impact those around me in a negative way. So needless to say I am now totally focused on improving my attitude towards work.
In the past I wrote an entry on the power of positive thinking. Being positive applies to lots of things, but when it comes to interacting (and leading) others being positive and upbeat can have a major effect on others. Just spend a few moments thinking of all the people you like to be around. For me almost all of those people are a lot of fun. They make me smile and make me laugh and of course they are people I can learn from. I aspire to be one of those people. My negative attitude makes me a little caustic rain cloud and I know I need to flip over a new leaf. So today, when I was getting dressed this morning I smiled, and I made a commit to myself to be positive.
Sending many smiles your way 
I decided next month I am going to start taking the bus to work. Normally this hasn’t been an option in the past because my hours were too long. However, as I am going on vacation next month (yay!) it just wouldn’t make sense to pay for a whole month of parking. This gives me an excuse to cut my commute in half and start taking the bus. I am hopeful that taking the bus will allow me to read, save money on gas, save money on parking (instead of paying $8.50/day for parking I can pay $5/day for bus fare (it is $2.50 each way, but I am hoping it will actually be less to take the bus if I buy ride coupons).
In order to take the bus though, I have to start getting up early to make it to the bus stop. As I have been trying to workout in the morning I have been doing an alright job getting up around 6:30-7am, doing a 45 minutes workout and then showering and getting ready (which takes about 45 minutes or so). Needless to say I want to get more efficient with my time. So I have some options–skip working out in the morning (not my preference), take less time getting ready (need to figure out how to do this), and get up earlier.
I figure I need to get up promptly at 5:45 or so, go workout and then be in the shower by 6:45am. Here are the things I am doing now to get ready:
- Setting my alarm at the appointed time
- Resolving to actually get up when the alarm goes off (I love the snooze button–it is like a little magnet for my finger)
- Paring down my morning routine (you always read about double duty products so maybe it gives me an excuse to try some of those)
- Blow drying and styling less–chignons and french twists more (my long hair seriously takes forever to coif)
- Picking out my clothes the night before (sometimes I can get lost in my closet trying on outfit after outfit–Lucky Magazine’s (October issue) letter to the editor suggested just wearing the first thing you put on, so they may also be another time saving technique)
- Streamlining my handbag, laptop bag, pile of stuff I carry to work. (This deserves a whole post in itself–how to organize your bags so like a girl scout you are prepared (to me this means carrying things like dental floss, advil, lotion, perfume, etc) but everything is neat and pulled together)
- Investigating bus schedules and bus coupons
- Locating a mani/pedi place close to the bus stop (since I used to go after work I have a place I drive to downtown, now I need a new place closer to where I will park my car)
Any other ideas? Suggestions?
