the coco chanel quote drew some fire (well, okay, a mild protest) from a friend of mine who pointed out that the opposite is true: if you dress well, people see your clothes, and if you dress "regular," people see you. it's like the argument we used to have with administration over our uniforms ("they don't allow us freedom of expression," to which the principal wisely replied "no, they challenge you to express yourselves in ways that actually matter.")

true. touche. (i love it when an entry generates e-mail.)

another response: "i say save the makeup and the dresses until you REALLY need them. if you dedicated the time to get all fancy every day, what would you do when you REALLY needed to bust out the sexy?"

it's like i said, though, it's not so much about daily makeup or dresses ... more about making an effort not to wear shorts and a surf t-shirt every day.

speaking of e-mail responses, the coco chanel protester also offered his two cents on utensil theft. said he has seen cutlery swipers hauled off by the blue suits!! (on the other hand, he pointed out, such activity drives up food prices, and, theoretically, his tips.) there you have it.

continued the experiment with a long skirt today. hard to get in and out of the car. tomorrow it's back to work, but i know i'll wear pants. it's kindergarten, after all ... kind of like climbing things. on the shoes (milk for the mouse's cookie) ... peeked in nordstrom when i got tired of sitting on the green bench like forest gump waiting for Eugene's Brother, but same nightmare as always. why not just walk around with hundred dollar bills taped to your feet? kindergarten calls for crap nikes anyway.

what a nice segue into work. stopped by to talk to my friend this afternoon, dished a little about kiddiepark and why everyone scrammed. there's more to life than being jerked around by the guy who pays you, i surmised. i miss the mess. but i know what a dead-end situation it could turn out to be. i was saying to Eugene's Brother that maybe it's a good thing b² is such a dickhead. in my case, anyway. i loved it so much i might have turned out like Hitler's Cousin, on board so long they joked about a retirement pension. who knew being a quitter could be such an accomplishment.

that's gone, and other things have taken its place. i have a bird in hand and two in the bush, plus school (another in hand, but more like a turkey -- good for you but kind of bland.)

speaking of fowl, Eugene's Brother says ping is sitting on shiro. i have to hear this. ta.