Week 10, Day 4 - Feelin' the Urge

Week 10, Day 4 Outfit: BR black suit (which, to my dismay, I discovered that the jacket and pants are completely different materials...how that happened, I do not know, but the camera does not lie!), Ann Taylor blue silk short sleeve blouse with clear buttons (my favorite feature)

Today was Day 2 with another set of executives at a small midwestern bank...this second group was not nearly as intimidating as the first. There were several factors that might have made for this case: 1) I wore a black pantsuit, 2) I was not wearing my glasses (in protest to this dumb eye thing I have going on), 3) did not wear my hair back, 4) was not in a board room complete with 12 person long lacquered table, marble countertops, a panaromic view, and fancy little leather writing pads at each seat, 5) made the client facilitate most of the session, 6) this group of execs was the younger crowd and not the crochety bit that I had yesterday.

Though my session with the client ended early, I was completely wiped by 2pm CST and headed straight to begin the 2nd portion of my Chicago trip and checked into my Hampton Inn. After spending about 10 minutes taking multiple picture of today's outfit (I've discovered that my camera sucks and only produces 1 in 10 shots that are not blurry...anyone who knows anything about photography, please help!), catching up on email, and taking a few phone calls, I decided to call it quits for the day and find a restaurant with outdoor seating - as today's weather was 80 and sunny - a real treat in Chicago this time of year. I found a Gordon Biersch, ate my dinner with a glass of Chardonnay, and was feeling pretty good about the day, especially anticipating being able to get back to my hotel early and watch back to back episodes of Glee. It was painful to be in an outdoor mall with decent shops, on a sunny day, and have to resist all the store windows calling my name...but I did...though I must admit that today was the greatest urge to shop that I've had since beginning this challenge. I did manage to buy a little something - a birthday gift for Maggie's daughter. Stupid me...butterfly wings and a tiara are not exactly the easiest things to fit in an already packed suitcase...I guess we'll find out!

On my way back from dinner, I decided to pull into a gas station to fill the tank so I don't have to do it tomorrow right before returning the car to the airport and discovered that I had left my credit card at the restaurant. DRAT! So, back to the restaurant I go, and on the way back pull into a Shell to gas up, only to find that all stations are packed and witness what I firmly believe was a drug sale at one of the pumps. I should have honked at the guy and threatened to narc on him unless he either 1) gave up his pump, or 2) shared the loot (are blogs incriminating?).

I am so excited about finally heading home after 1.5 weeks of straight travel, activity, and eating total crap. Though I'm keeping up the pescatarian thing (the veg thing went out the window), I still feel bloated and crappy. The guy that gave me a Thai massage the other day was doing some kind of Ayurvedic technique on my foot and told me that I have digestive issues and should stay away from raw foods and foods with too much air - well, in my avoidance of raw foods, I'm still feeling crappy. I guess the glass of wine I have every day or so does not really help the matter...or the fact that I get little to NO water when I travel and am constantly tempted by cookies. One thing Up in the Air did not address about travel is the fact that you become a bloated cow after eating out every day and sitting in meetings all day. Sure, you walk around in the airport, but then spend 3+ hours sitting on a plane, in the gate area, or at the bar as you pass time with your time-passing elixir (aka, alcohol).

I cannot wait for a week of normalcy - kind of - before yet another full week of travel. Geez...I miss the work from home days, but I will certainly be posting a lot of pictures during high travel time!

Week 10, Day 3 - Executives!

Week 10, Day 3 - Outfit 1: Navy Blue JCrew skirt suit, Ann Taylor blue print short-sleeved v-neck top

Week 10, Day 3 - Outfit 2: BR red-orange short-sleeved blouse, Express Jeans, BR black denim wedges (yes, I think you're beginning to see how resourceful I had to be to pack for this trip!)

Today, I had to lead a working session with a group of Executive Vice Presidents of a small midwestern bank. Even though the bank is small, it certainly did not tone down the fear factor nor the intimidating aura off of some of the members. It's hard being a 5'1", small framed Asian that still gets carded when I pull up to a blackjack table or order a mixed drink at a bar. At our annual conference on Friday, I attended a speed mentoring session where two more seasoned practitioners shared stories about how they were able to influence organizational decision makers...it certainly helps to have some white hair and a few wrinkles...but some of their points were valid...like asking the right questions, walking into the room knowing that you are the expert in what you do even though you may not fully understand your client's business. I decided to go with the conservative navy blue skirt suit over the black pant suit, as in a traditional financial institution like this one, showing leg is actually seen as more formal (probably because we women have to wear pantyhose which can be interpreted as some kind of subservient bondage - don't get me started on my woman's lib tirade!). Anyway, as you would probably guess, within an hour of my day, my pantyhose started to run all the way down to just above my knee, so I took great care to keep my skirt as lowly situated on my waist as possible. I hate pantyhose!

I had a hard time sleeping last night, partly from my nerves around today's session with the big wigs, but also partly because I made the mistake of watching 2 episodes of Glee last night right before bed. I could not get the "Don't stop believing" Journey song out of my head and kept waking up to it. In the past week, I've probably averaged about 5 hours of sleep...but I still seem to be functioning okay. Maybe it's genetics - my brother told me yesterday that he gets 4 hours of sleep a night. Hmmmm...

To stay true to my "make the most out of being in Chicago, even if my hotel is in the burbs" challenge, I'm meeting with a colleague for dinner in the city. Should be fun...and was motivating enough for me to change into a completely different outfit today, though I'll classify my suit as my official Week 10, Day 3 attire...so don't be surprised if you see this orange shirt again!

Week 9, Day 7 & Week 10, Days 1 & 2

Week 9, Day 7 Outfit (not shown): Turquoise short-sleeve linen cropped dress (which comes right above the knee on me, being 5'1" and all) - I may re-enact this look so I can post it when I get back home on Thursday.

Week 10, Day 1 Outfit (not shown): BR Off-White chinos (also seen in today's outfit), Old Navy nude tank top

Week 10, Day 2 Outfit: BR Off-white chinos, Turquoise (?) Ann Taylor sleeveless tee, Reef flip flops (my feet say "Ahhhhhhhh" - stop torturing us with those other things you call shoes!"), White House Black Market jacket (thought the picture with it on looked better than the one without, you be the judge)

Yikes...because my annual professional conference (the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychologists, aka SIOP) bled into the weekend, my days are all mixed-up now! My last post was on Friday (I think) and therefore I'm left with updating my blog for Saturday, Sunday, and today. Friday night was my wild and crazy evening - as was evident by the fact that I woke up Saturday morning still wearing my dress, pantyhose, and earrings. My saintly husband escorted me back home (I was clearly beyond the point of being able to walk the 3 blocks back to the hotel, so we had to cab it). I'd blog more about Friday night, but I really don't remember much after 10:30...which would suggest to me that the 5th glass of wine at the 2nd party is what did me in. One of my clients the next day ran into me and giggled when he said "how are you feeling this morning?" I apologized for whatever crazy behavior I exhibited and he very nicely told me "you were fine, you just fell asleep halfway through a sentence while you and I were talking." Those that don't know me should know that I hardly ever fall asleep on people. I'm usually the one that will squeeze out 50 yawns as inconspicuously as possible to avoid offending my guests...so, it was either the lack of food to absorb the alcohol, the 5+? glasses of wine, or the fact that I was just damned tired!

Saturday was another conference day, and I ended up having to wear a suit because I had "booth duty" for my company. This became quite painful as it was the 3rd straight day standing and walking in heels around the massive conference hotel (not to mention the fact that I was hungover and wanted nothing more than to wear jeans and flip flops). I inserted gel soles into my shoes but it only made the shoes tighter and more uncomfortable toward the tips of my toes. I had lunch with 3 gal pals of mine, 2 of whom I don't get to see all that often. We chatted about the blog, my run-ins with the traffic enforcers in Michigan (I hate them now), and the fact that I've been trying to wear colors that flatter my skin tone. Since two of the other lunch bunch were also Asian, they could both relate to how difficult it would be to tease apart my "tranquil" color (the lighter color of my iris) from my "energy" color (the darker part of my iris). After lunch, we ladies decided to join up with others to partake in the CNN tour. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's really cool being able to see all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes when filming a news show.

The rest of Saturday was spent with a good friend/colleague that Mike and I bonded with during a VIP trip we were all on. He and his partner (both of whom I completely adore and get self-conscious around because they are both so HOT) took Mike and I to a great restaurant that had a terrific patio - perfect for enjoying the warmer and sunny southern weather. We snacked on what we ended up calling "ass pizza" because the cheese smelled like, well, you know, drank cocktails and a couple bottles of Viognier (chosen by my personal sommelier, Mikey), and just had a great time catching up and decompressing from the conference (or in my case, had a little hair of the dog - and, no, I'm not an alcoholic...I don't think). My brother then met us at the restaurant to take us to his place where I was reunited with my princess niece, Reese, and her extremely well-behaved brother, Ethan. Though I'm still teetering on mommy-dom (and the decision to even be a mommy), those children never cease to make me want one - really bad...only, I could do without the whole baby thing and fast forward straight to when they are 4ish+. By then, they understand that you can't touch an expensive designer jacket with syrupy hands.

Sunday was spent hanging out with my brother and his family, playing a little bit of Rockband, and finding my new obsession - the Fox series Glee. My brother started playing the premier on his tv and I was immediately hooked. Being the technology guru that he is, he then downloaded onto my computer, the entire 1st season, which made flying time from Atlanta to Chicago today go too quickly! After blogging, I am curling up in my hotel bed with my laptop, and one more episode of Glee before heading off to dreamland - which shouldn't be too hard since Mike and I were abruptly awaken at 5:30 this morning by my brother asking if we were ready to head to the airport...alarm clock failure! I've never packed so fast in my entire life!

This afternoon, instead of heading straight to my hotel in the suburbs of Chicago, I decided to make the best use out of my day and headed to the Chicago Diner to try out their veggie menu. What I ordered still wasn't as good as what Mike and I had at the Vegan soul food restaurant, but it was still tasty for being a fake McRib. I did decide to get one of the vegan desserts to go and took a bite out of it after having dinner at a nearby sushi place...and BAM...HEAVEN! I know better, however, than to think that vegan does not equal low calorie! Tomorrow I think I'll venture back into the city and try a raw food restaurant...should be interesting!

Week 9, Days 5 & 6 - Conference Attire

Week 9, Day 4 Outfit: BR black trousers, BR rose colored button down, BR black tunic

Week 9, Day 5 Outfit: BR blue short sleeved, rouched waist dress, Ann Taylor Loft khaki cropped jacket

It's now Day 2 of our annual conference in Atlanta which has been marked with running into lots of old acquaintances, wearing suits and heels, and running from session to session taking in so many that it's all becoming a blur. Yesterday, after the day was over, I headed to a spa with a previous colleague of mine and got a Thai massage. For those not familiar with what a Thai massage is, think "Couple's Retreat" where the yoga guy is intertwining himself with the personal space of the women during their couple's yoga session. It's a great feeling, but you have to be really comfortable with having your personal space completely invaded. He did this one thing where my femoral artery was shut off by him pressing really hard on my quad (which hurt like hell) and when he let go, a rush of warmth and relaxation overtook my leg. I woke up this morning feeling a bit beaten up, but in a good way.

I've updated a few of my friends who I haven't seen in awhile on my blog and decision to not buy clothes for a year. After their wide-eyed "why" looks, they then remark on how proud they are of me and provide the same encouragement I've gotten from others. They inevitably look at what I'm wearing and say "so, you won't wear that again for another year, huh?"

Though I wore a suit today, since I'll likely wear it again next week, I decided to make today's "outfit" the dress that I'll be wearing to my company's reception, followed by the BGSU alumni party (always guaranteed to be the wildest one as it runs the latest). I will likely "get my drink on" tonight as I had to be relatively behaved yesterday since I had a client meeting for lunch and was chairing a session this afternoon. I'll, of course, exercise some restraint at the company party, and then let loose as the alumni party. SIOP stands for Severe Indulgence of Partying!

Week 9, Day 4 - Travel Clothes

Week 9, Day 4 Outfit: Dillard's (don't know the brand name) tunic sweater, Old Navy nude tank, Express Jeans, BR black denim wedges (probably another one of my oldest items!)

Two posts in one day...I guess I'm making up for being such a slacker last week! I figured I wouldn't have all that much time to post after I begin traveling to my conference, so I'd get one more picture in. Today, I'm sporting what I would best describe as my Obi Wan Kenobe costume with the long tunic like sweater. Again, going back to The Color of Style recommendation, I'm supposed to wear my tranquil color (the color of the lighter parts of my iris...um, that would still be brown!!) while traveling - as that will help me relax into my new environment and likely offset all the hassles you deal with when you fly.

Random thought for the day: Has anyone ever wondered if a female terrorist were to hide a bomb in her bra whether they would make women take off their bras before passing through security? This happened with the shoe-bomber!

Like George Clooney in Up in the Air, I've got going through the security line down to a science. As soon as you are able to scoot up to the metal table where you can begin placing your totes to push forward onto the rolley thingies that preceed the conveyor belt, I grab two plastic totes, place my laptop and shoes in one, and then my work bag and jacket (if it's winter) into the other. Meanwhile, I drag my rollerbag along with me using my right hand as I push with my left the totes that are side by side to each other down the metal table to the rolley thingies and then onto the conveyor belt. I then hoist my suitcase onto the conveyor and wait to make sure everything makes it into the suitcase MRI (my special word for that X-ray thingamabob) as often times, you think it's all in there, and then the TSA person scanning things puts things in reverse thereby shooting all your things back onto the non-rolley part of the assembly line. Like I said, pure science!

While I'm writing in painful detail about the state of air travel these days, can I just share with you my top 5 pet peeves about other travelers? Here goes:

5. People who still have absolutely no clue about the fact that large gallon sized water bottles are not permitted through security...where have you been? Underneath a rock?

4. Obnoxious, overly-confident business travelers who talk on their bluetooth headsets at a volume that people on the other side of the terminal can hear.

3. Fellow passengers that in their rush to get on the plane, completely block the gateway so even when your boarding zone is called, you cannot get through - and then you end up being herded through the gate with the other cows.

2. Ticketing agents who feel the need to announce every little detail about the flight - like, "for passengers traveling on flight ### to ______, I would like to inform you that the plane's restrooms are being serviced because a passenger on the previous flight had an accident on the flight coming in." Ummm...TMI!

And, finally, my biggest pet peeve...(drum roll)...when the exact passengers who were on such a rush to get on the plane, are the first to unbuckle their seatbelts, jump out of their chairs, grab their luggage from the overhead compartment, and then book it to the middle of the aisle, sighing noisily while they wait for the other passengers to get off. If you hadn't been in a such a rush to board the plane, maybe you wouldn't be so ansy to get off of it at first sign of the "ding."

Week 9, Days 1/2 & 3 - Downtime and Crazytime

Week 9, Day 1 & 2 Outfit (don't judge, you know you re-wear things too!): Loungewear: Gap Green velvet hoodie, black Old Navy yoga pants (Sunny the cat once again making a guest appearance...geez, you'd think he could change it up a bit and wear something other than black!)

Week 9, Day 3 Outfit: Blue JCrew button-down, Brown BR trousers, Naughty Monkey stripped peep-toed heels (see previous Week 4, Day 6 post for up-close picture of these wacky shoes!)

Well, Easter proved to be rather uneventful (in a great way) and was spent in a spinning class, catching up on DVRed episodes of Dancing with the Stars and Desperate Housewives (both guilty and embarrassing pleasures), picking up the book recommended to me by my client about finding what colors work best for you, and sipping wine with the hubby on the back porch when he returned from his trip (yep, I was bacheloretting it for the weekend, hence the visit from the gals over the weekend).

This book, The Color of Style, was a bit frustrating to read through as it asks you to identify different colors in your eyes and hair. Hmmm...given that I'm Chinese and that my eye and hair coloring are both BLK in my drivers license, kind of hard to differentiate between black and more black. Upon hard look, however, I did note that I have different shades of brown in my eyes and hair...which makes up for 3 of the 6 different "colors" that I'm supposed to wear. So, when I want to feel energized, I wear...brown. When I want to be tranquil, I wear...brown. When I want to be business casual, I wear...brown. So, the bottom line is that for much of my life, I'll be dressed up like a turd. Nice.

I did put some of the author's suggestions to practice yesterday as I dressed for an office day (though you can't tell, I was wearing brown pants) and also as I packed for my back to back trips - first to our annual professional conference in Atlanta, and then to Chicago for two separate client meetings. I have serious issues with checking bags because Murphy's law dictates that the moment I check my bag for back to back business trips, the bag will inevitably get lost and I'll spend the next week trying to track it down...and will end up having to buy clothes which will break the "fast"...hmmm, maybe I should check my bag (wink). So, because I am not checking a bag, I have substantially streamlined my packing down to 2 business suits (both black, because that's my "formal" color according to The Color of Style), 4 blue-toned shirts (which is my dramatic color), 1 rose colored short-sleeve button down (which is my romantic color), a couple of dresses for the different "going out" events I have scheduled during the conference, 1 pair of jeans, a couple pairs of slacks, yoga/exercise/pajama gear, and TWO pairs of shoes, aside from sneakers and flip flops (this is a real feat, because I have been known to pack upwards of 7 pairs just for a 3 day conference). Thankfully, I'll be staying with my brother over the weekend and will thereby have access to his washer/dryer so I can refresh things before heading into the second segment of my trip. So...stay tuned for some more interesting pictures this upcoming week - as you'll see me churn through 7 more articles of clothing!

One other note, you'll see that I'll be sporting my glasses for the next week as I have somehow managed to get a "rug burn" on the cornea of my eye which feels like I have an eyelash stuck somewhere on my eyeball that I cannot get rid of. Back in college, I did a study on whether glasses make someone appear more attractive and smarter. I found that for men, it didn't make a lick of difference, both in terms of attractiveness and intelligence. But for women, those wearing glasses were perceived as being smarter but less attractive. So...given that I'll be attending a professional conference, I guess it's perfectly fine for me to appear smarter, albeit uglier. Maybe if I wear my hair up, I can channel my Sarah Palin ego and insert the word "ya know" into every other sentence.

Week 8, Days 3-6

Week 8, Day 3 Outfit: BR black tuxedo dress, black patent leather Joan and David heels

Week 8, Day 4 Outfit: Ann Taylor Loft "denim" suit, black BCBG slingbacks

Week 8, Day 5 Outfit: Hot pink J Crew camisole, Black Express Dress Shorts, Nine West black stilettos (and Lyn Cummins making a guest appearance)

Week 8, Day 6 Outfit: BR gold sleeveless dress shirt, Express Jeans, BR taupe patent leather heels

Yes, I know, I'm WAY behind on my blogging! Sorry about that...but it's been a pretty jam-packed half week. Quick recap of this past week:

Week 8, Day 3: Dinner with the CEO - yikes! For that evening, I decided to wear another little black dress (yes, I know I have a ton of them...that's why I'm on this challenge, right?). The dinner was very nice and not as high pressure as I imagined it to be (wine definitely helped). I was able to resist land meat and had the fish...I think my week of "vegetarian" definitely went out the window...but I'm definitely sticking to pescatarianism and vegetarianism when I can.

Week 8: Day 4: All-day client meeting at my company's headquarters...so, I donned a business suit (but one that looks like denim as this was a less formal meeting). Spent the whole day with the client and then 3.5 hours driving back home. That morning, during breakfast, I was chatting casually with the client and learned that there is an expert out there that can "do your colors." Basically, the person profiles you and tells you what colors are most complimentary to your skin tone, personality, and "style." We talked about how, in some ways, this can help address that "I have nothing to wear" phenomenon that we ladies often experience. Case in point, even though I have loads and loads of clothes, I still run into that issue, though sooner or later, the feeling maybe legitimate given that I'm trying to burn through my entire wardrobe! Maybe I should have my colors done...but that would require me to re-stock my closet...hmmm, I guess that'll have to wait until this challenge is over.

Week 8, Day 5 & 6: Ladies weekend! I had some girlfriends from Detroit come down for a Girl's weekend. From wine-tasting, to tapas, to viewing Sex and the City episodes, to spa time, to seeing Wicked (the musical), to ending our jam-packed 36 hour stint of time with a dinner at a local seafood restaurant, I'd say we certainly accomplished "having fun!" When giving a tour of the house, two of the women who have already seen the house mentioned to the third that she had to see my closet to fully understand why my shopping habit needs to be addressed. And her expected reaction - "um, yeah, you have a lot of clothes." Yup...and getting "richer" each month by restraining myself. Now I'm back in my "fat clothes" to accommodate the bulge that managed to develop from excessive eating and drinking...ahhh, gotta love elastic waistbands!