Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Layers
Today was bloody hot here in south coastal Oregon: 86F, a high for the state. Of the three positions I’m evaluating, Wunderground sez:
Santa Rosa, CA: 89F
Olympia, WA: 63F
Seattle, WA: 63F
If we decide in favor of Washington, weather will be a huge consideration.
Next week, I’ll be going to my interviews in Olympia and Seattle. I was freaking out earlier today about clothing. What should I wear? My nurse anesthetist, whom I used as a reference, told me they asked him all the usual questions (does his head explode on a regular basis; have you ever seen him kill a man with his bare hands — you know, stuff) and they also asked, “Does he dress appropriately to work?”
“I don’t know,” Bill said. “I only ever see him scrubs.”
Which is, if you think about it, the right answer from your nurse anesthetist. But it got me thinking: do they care about clothing that much? My God, what should I wear?!
I left a message with the recruiter. He called me back a little while ago and told me to err on the side of conservatism. If I were an orthopedic surgeon, I could show up in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and they would still want me; ENTs are in demand, but not so rare that I could get away with that sort of nonsense. Suit and tie, he recommended.
So I scrambled to find my suit. I recalled the coat being in good shape, the pants not-so-good, and I was right. These pants are so thirty pounds ago. When I put them on, I look like a balloon animal that’s been squeezed in the middle.
“You HAVE ANOTHER SUIT,” Karen said. I insisted I didn’t. She insisted I did.
She was right, of course.
By now, I had stripped down to my briefs. I pulled on the pants (which are tight, but not nearly as constricting as the other suit pants), put on the coat, and buttoned the top button, creating a plunging V which showed off my salt-and-pepper chest fur.
“Take a picture of me,” I said to Karen. “This looks good enough to blog.”
“I don’t get you. You’re freaking out over what to wear, but you’ll put an absolutely humiliating picture of yourself up on the blog.”
“I’m a man of many layers.” Which is true, but I suppose the CEOs of the hospitals who might hire me should find that out in small doses. “Anyway, what I really need is a white suit.”
“A white suit. Uh-huh.”
“And a pastel tee-shirt.”
“I see.”
“No. You don’t.”
They would have to hire me.
D.
Just FYI – sartorially, Olympia’s going to be more conservative than Seattle, certainly as far as making first impressions go…
Since my exposure’s more to academic medical settings and IT, so I won’t bother giving you any other haute couture pointers.
I’m a man whose criteria for work clothing involves ‘clean’ and ‘no big holes’, so I can’t offer any advice.
I will note that I have never seen a single second of Miami Vice, and I still know that those are the two lead characters. Neither one has done much as far as I know since Vice. I wonder if it’s the residual pastel effect? I dunno.
Don Johnson was in a little known film called ‘The Hot Spot’ and I thought he was damn good in it, so I don’t think it’s because he can’t act.
Yeah, you’re ready. You already have the unshaven look down. Elegant scruff.
My husband does physician recruiting for some of the hospital chains headquartered here. He says khaki pants, button down white shirt & tie, and navy blue blazer is always correct. I think men look great in conservative pinstripe or charcoal gray suits (did you see Obama and Edwards yesterday on TV in identical gray suits), but the pants & blazer look is better if your waist is changing. It seems to me that Docs always wear funky, chunky shoes, probably because they are on their feet so much, so don’t worry about your shoes. Hope this helps.
ps: yes, I’ve heard that. I’m going conservative for both of ’em, though. If they start thinking I’m too uptight for them, I’ll send them here.
Dean; Miami Vice had a lot going for it. Take a look at the cast — they had talent like Edward James Olmos, Stanley Tucci, John Leguizamo, Dennis Farina, Helena Bonham Carter. And Michael Mann (who directed and co-produced, I think) had/has an awesome eye for set design, so it was frequently a beautiful show, as well. I never did see the movie.
kate, yup. Now all I need is that gravelly voice you can only get from smoking thirty years.
lucie: thanks, but I don’t own a navy blue blazer! I’ll stick with the John Edwards look. And yeah, they looked GREAT together, didn’t they?
Hey Balloon Animal. It’s 91 degrees here already in Oat Town and it’s only 11 o’clock. Yikes. Good luck with the interviews
Thanks, CD. It was 80 when I drove in this morning — here, in chilly Crescent City! I hate to think what our master bedroom is like back home. I’ll go home to find my wife and son heat-stroked.
It was 97 today, here in Arcadia…arrrff!
I always thought Don Johnson looked cheesy even then.
Good luck next week.
It’s supposed to be over 90 here this weekend – finally. It’s been a long, cold, wet spring, and it’s nice to finally feel a bit warm.
When I was in university, we’d watch Miami Vice with every radio on the floor blaring – one of the local rock stations did simulcast, so you got the sound of engines revving and bullets flying from 6 or 7 directions at once. Most awesome! So if you showed up looking like Crocket, I’d hire you for sure just for nostalgia’s sake (assuming I were in the market for an ENT, which, sadly, I am not).