finding a formal dress with sleeves is the holy grail of quests for those of us who require formal dresses with sleeves. every year, i am required to plan and subsequently attend a minimum of one formal event.
and every year, i suffer from nightsweats anticipating the horrific process of finding suitable attire.
this year, i decided that rather than spend countless hours combing through racks at department stores, 'discount stores', convenience stores, only to end up with a semi-heinous dress because it was the only one that fit AND had sleeves, that i would beat the system by ordering my dress online.
i found an adorable dress, and it wasn't black, which was a bonus. it was a special order, so when i called to place it, rather than asking me for my size, the lady asked me for my measurements. i had to take them and call her back.
when i gave her my measurements, she told me what the appropriate size would be. i did not think i had heard her correctly, but in fact, i had. the size that she 'suggested', and nearly rammed down my throat, was 5 sizes larger than the size i normally wear. i kid you not.
now, i realize that formal dresses can run small. but there is no alternate universe that i'm aware of that has them running that small. not to mention that i don't know how any company could stay in business telling it's female clients to order 5 sizes up. i don't know one size 0 that would be caught dead in a 10.
okay truth be told, i don't know one size 0, but i IMAGINE they wouldn't be caught dead in a 10.
so, i pushed back and ultimately ordered a dress two sizes up, which was difficult enough as it was.
i was slightly nervous as the return policy is sketchy, and if they recommend a size and you don't order it, it cannot be returned. it needed to fit.
when it came, i was relieved to find that it fit perfectly. with one exception.
the skirt, with two layers of toole under it, looked like a circus tent. now, it's supposed to be a poofy skirt. but not that poofy.
so i dropped it off to have one of the layers of toole removed, thinking that would make a big difference. i picked it up yesterday, and couldn't tell any difference at all!
i realized that the toole was not the problem. the problem is that the skirt just has so much fabric to it, it had no where else to go but out.
so my co-worker called her tailor yesterday afternoon to solicit aid. the tailor said she didn't know if she would have enough time to complete it by saturday as she was also finishing up a couple of wedding dresses. she told me she couldn't be sure without seeing it.
so this morning, i dropped by the tailor's. she determined that it would not be as difficult as both of us had originally thought, and i will be picking up the dress on saturday.
now, since i will be dateless, i normally could care less. i'm not trying to impress anyone. however, since i am being filmed, that puts a different spin on things. i really don't want to look like a circus tent on film. a pup tent, ok. a circus tent, not ok.
so i turn to the other matters at hand...getting the freak out of here.
after an icky conversation with the cfo about an event in october that has not even been scheduled yet, i had an epiphany. the novelty of me has worn off.
when this position was created for me, i took the events from the gutter they were in and gilded them in gold. and now, years later, that gilding has become the status quo. every event i have ever done has been done to the best of my ability within the available budget. five years ago, when i took over, the difference was obvious, but now, it is the 'norm'. while renny was here, he never let it become that way, but now he is gone, and others are completely unaware of what it takes to accomplish what they expect accomplished. i am simply not capable of doing things better (significantly better anyway) without more money, and it seems instead, that they want to keep cutting budgets for events.
ultimately, they will realize the error of their ways, but it likely won't happen until i am gone. and that is the sad sad state of things.
the highlight of the drive down was stopping at sonic in fredericksburg, where i enjoyed a strawberry limeade, chocolate cream pie shake (imagine a chocolate cream pie, crust and all, shoved into a cup and mixed together), and a chili cheeseburger. this would be the first of many sonic stops throughout the weekend!
saturday consisted of a slow start to the morning, a little bit of shopping, a drive through the nc state campus (where colby is currently working) and a stop at nearby pullen park. pullen park is quite cute. technically it is the 14th oldest amusement park in the world, and it has some interesting history to it.
after the park, it was back home for dinner. the magee's joined our cookout, so it was a full house. nathan and wendy used to live here (i went to high school with nathan), but recently bought the house next door to colby and julie. yes--colby and nathan are very good friends.
