Second Interview, Shopping, Lipstick, & My Inability to Dress Myself, etc.

Yes, I had my second interview today at the job on the landing that I really really really want. I think it went well. It was a very conversational meeting with a guy who was quite fatherly and not at all an intimidating business guy. Makes me want to work there even more, but since I didn't get to talk too much, I feel like it's all in their hands now. They have a few candidates for the position, and they told me I can expect to hear from them late next week. More waiting, but this time, I can't do anything. Except write a nice long thank you note to the guy, reiterating my amazing business writing skills and my persistant determination to work for them.

After my interview, I felt somewhat useless. I am broke, and jobless, and even though my sink is still full of dishes from Tuesday night's dinner, I wanted to just get out of the house. So, in an effort to reclaim the front corner of my living room, I decided to finally go make some returns from last December's mad shopping rush. Nothing was a gift, it was all stuff I bought for myself while shopping for others and for whatever reason it needed to go back.

I hit my targets in a logical order: Old Navy, Crate and Barrel, and then the Galleria. I still have one bag for Target, but I wanted to go to the Hampton one, so that can wait till later today.

I got through Old Navy pretty quickly. I intended on exchanging a pair of pants for some black ones that I could wear to a wine tasting Monday, but I wasn't impressed with the two pairs they had, and they were $30, so I wasn't drawn to them as a great bargain or anything, and I decided to wait and see what I could come up with at the mall.

Crate and Barrel was fine, too. I picked up some random kitchen things in exchange for some pans I bought but never gave to anyone, and still got out of there with some money credited back to my card. I didn't go upstairs to covet the beautiful $1000 couches, though. That will have to wait until I actually am hired by someone, and know a real paycheck is imminent.

Then I hit the Galleria. First stop, the Clinique counter at Macy's for....Lipstick. I haven't bought actual lipstick since high school, and I don't ever wear anything except Chapstick Lip Moisturizer. But Katie has pointed out that if I am going to have a "real" job, I probably need to take things up a notch as far as makeup goes. I remembered that I had an old nubbin of a Clinique lipstick that I used to love, it was sheer red with little gold flecks, and it actually looked natural on me, so I hunted that down and brought it to the counter.

Of course that kind was discontinued, but the girl went right to another kind of lipstick, and it seemed to be an almost perfect match. I tried it on and I was impressed that it didn't wash out my extremely pale skin, or look fake, or clumpy or anything. I am still not sold on the idea of wearing it all the time, but for work, I'm down with it. It didn't really leave a mark on my Starbucks cup (because what's a trip to the mall without a Starbucks drink?), so I am not too worried that I will be one of those gross ladies leaving huge marks on wine glasses or anything. Andrew, you have the right to break up with me if that ever happens. I swear.

I returned some cute but too big ballet flats from AE, then wandered around looking for new black flats, black pants, and some cute, dark colored top for the wine tasting (Oh, right, Andrew and I are taking the train to Chicago on Sunday for a big wine tasting on Monday. It's going to be flipping cold there, and there's a dress code for the tasting, so no jeans for me. I'm a bit at a loss...).

I realize that I pretty much hate cheap clothes. I also totally dislike shopping, I always have. It might have stemmed from my general brokeness since I started working and buying my own stuff, or maybe just because I'm not that girly. I don't know. I loathe the atmosphere of the mall, too, so that doesn't help. So since I can't afford Urban, or Anthro, or Banana, or Ziezo, or Mezzanine, and I have a really hard time visualizing myself wearing the cheap trendy stuff crammed onto the racks at H&M, Target, and Forever 21, etc. (not to mention the fashion wasteland that big retailers seem to think St. Louis is. We can't get anything too cute here. Nope, midwesterners don't deserve the Stella McCartney line from H&M, etc.), I am stuck.

My modus operandi then has been to stick with what I know. Some form of jeans, some form of flat black shoes, and some form of tshirt. Boring, yes. Comfortable, of course. But not what you really want to wear out for the night at a good restaurant or whatever.

I call Katie all the time for advice, but I aside from giving her my credit card and free reign to shop online for me, I can't expect too much. She's halfway across the country, in far more fashionable D.C., and has given me more advice than any grown girl should need.

I don't want to turn into a fancy pants dresser. I don't have the money to redo my wardrobe, and I really hate the idea of sacrificing comfort for "style". One of the most nerveracking things I consider when thinking about a "real job" is having to decide what to wear to work every day. I have worn a uniform that requires absolutely no thought in the morning; just pick up a clean pair of pants, a clean shirt, maybe they're a little wrinkled, but who cares you'll be covered in dirt in about an hour so whatever. I have a feeling that I will be in for a seriously messy bedroom floor, a closet in disarray, and a growing credit card bill once I start working. And I better think about giving myself a good hour to figure out what to wear. Shoot, not to mention the fact that I'll have to blow dry my hair in the morning, too. Whoo...that's just too much!

I guess I'll venture out again tomorrow. Just want I wanted to do on a Saturday...go to the mall. For the third day in a row. Maybe I'll try a scenery change at West County. I know they have all the cheap clothes stores with the horrible return policies AND the fancypants Nordstrom. Perhaps I will have better luck there. We'll see...