Fuck, Tom, that sucks royally! And after 12 years? That says a lot about the economy these days.

Wishing you for-the-better-ma on your job search.

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Try to figure out a way to hide the fact that I'm wearing a suit?

Do you ever have drycleaning at work? You could bring it in a drycleaning bag and change somewhere else...

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Wear the bottom with the top you plan to wear under the suit with a cardi or sweater. Wear casual shoes, and -- do you drive? -- stash the jacket in the car and bring a change of shoes. If you don't drive, just bring the jacket in a dry cleaning bag -- you had to pick up the dry-cleaning up on the way to work because of your "appt."

And six month's severage is really good, Tom. That gives you a ton of breathing room.

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Luckily, I can just hide the jacket in my coat -- I don't drive, and would never have dry cleaning here! One of the annoying things about this job is the location. I can work it out, obviously. But it's been literally almost 10 years since I've looked for a new job from the old one, so I am rusty!

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Oh, Tom, I am so sorry.

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meara of doom...

Oh, and someone told me Cumberbatch is really a ginger, so I had to go look. Apparently, he doesn't like the darker hair because it makes him look too girlish? DUDE. SO not an issue, really. The darker hair is SO much better.

It's the length he objects to with the Sherlock hair, not the color. He's not really a bright ginger. His natural state hair is more of a rusty auburn gingerish shade. It just went REALLY ginger when the Sherlock dye was removed, and looks natural enough given that, well, rusty auburn gingerish natural hair.

Also, you're a total Hairy Tick! He looks WAY more nommable with the ginger.

I am totally with you on that, but I feel like everyone else I've heard who has an opinion on him likes him better with his natural hair. Maybe it depends on how you see him first? I don't know. But I *love* him with dark hair and think he looks a bit nondescript and, frankly, not attractive with ginger hair.

OMG, I AM SURROUNDED BY INFIDELS! ::weeps::

Jezebel is full of a lot of people complaining about Ugg hate, because Uggs are the only way they can get their feet warm. I hate cold feet with the best of them, but if my boots aren't waterproof and can't handle the ice, they were never good for me for winter.

Boggs. Sheesh, people. Boggs are warm and comfortable and lack fug.

So they just sent an email saying on review, they realize that for some people who just joined that's a large change in compensation, so they're giving us a 1.15% raise, effective Jan 1 (which is when the PTO thing became effective). Now, granted, I figure if you take away six vacation days, which is over one working week, I should get increased compensation of 1/52nd of my salary. Which is closer to 2%. But still. Qualified wooho!

Woo-ish! That's still ooky, however.

Amy, my sister in fruitless bra-shopping, I am going to the mall at lunch (I take a late lunch) to look for bras at Dillards or Macys. (The *real* reason for going to the mall is that my Dad had $20 of gift cards to Godiva that expire tomorrow, and he said he wasn't going to use them and gave them to me. Godiva store in the mall = free chocolate for me. And, I suppose, for Tim. MAYBE.)

Nordstrom. Rack.

If you have one around, I swear, it has been a life saver.

My grandmother nearly died of chickenpox when she had it as an adult. (That was, I think, before penicillin even, never mind vaccines.)

Vaccines pre-date penicillin (well, not all of them, but the concept)! Thank you, Edward Jenner!

Have I not taught you the bra-buying trick? Go to someplace like Nordstrom (and I assume Macy's, but I always go to Nordstrom) and get sized/fitted. Pay attention to which bras fit you the best! If your finances allow it, buy one bra from this excursion. Then go onto your favorite bargain-hunting website and find the make/model of the bra that worked best.

Not Macy's. They are pants at it.

Nail polish! I go through fits and starts. Right now, I'm sticking with a basic French manicure. Polish chips too quickly, even on gel overlays.

Gel polish, man. Gel. Polish. I love my UV lamp.

I'm feeling sick day worthy right now, but I don't have that luxury.

Ugh, I am so sorry.

Ah shit, Tom. I hope the severance is good enough for you to do some thinking about What Next...

Ditto here.

If we get to vote on what you do with yourself in the short term, I'd say (a) sign up with a recruiter or headhunter so that person can do all the dismal Actual Job-Hunting on your behalf and you don't have to shoulder that burden, and (b) take your camera and start wandering and taking advantage of all the interesting late winter daylight shadows and angles and curves your horrible job cut you off from by keeping you there all week and many too many weekends working until stupid o'clock trying to fix various idiots' self-inflicted crises.

And what JZ said!

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Thanks, Erin and meara! I've got a CVS and a Walgreens close to the office. I just hope I can place it at the right spot on my back. It's right in the middle.

Tom, I'm glad you're getting something. Six months will help.

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Six month severance is really good, Tom! I think JZ has great advice: sign up with head-hunters and then give yourself two or three weeks to decompress and shoot a lot of pictures. With six months you have some breathing room to make some decisions.

Good luck with the interview, Jesse!

Me, I've learned that when they finally get around to re-hiring me, I'll be working for the manager I secretly refer to as Eeyore. Sigh. I like my current boss: he can't fix everything (and he really doesn't understand why I complain about My Nemesis), but he's creative and smart, willing to be a bit non-traditional in service of the organization. And Eeyore is, well. Eeyore. "It'll never work..."

And Eeyore has said straight out that he doesn't think I'm a good fit for his department, and he doesn't want to be responsible for the program I run. I agree with him about being a bad fit, and now I'm faced with potentially years of trying to run a program without my manager's support, while he tries to redirect me into doing the work he wants to do instead...

Argh.

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OMG, I AM SURROUNDED BY INFIDELS! ::weeps::

HA! It is YOU, my friend, who are the aesthetic-lacking philistine!

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oh Tom! I am so sorry. 6 months is good though, and yes, take some walk around picture days, and double yes, get on with a few recruiters. You want I should ask my friends in IT who they use?

If you feel like a change of scenery, you know where there is a guest bed for you.

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