Wardrobe Malfunction

Here's what I wore today:

Here's how it malfunctioned:

This is a strapless dress. Obviously a strapless dress is not appropriate for work. So, I wore a cardigan over it. And, because I was wearing the cardigan with one of the buttons buttoned, I just wore a normal bra because the cardigan covered it all up and you couldn't tell. THANK GOD.

I was writing on the chalkboard explaining how to do proper MLA in-text citations. I turn around to face the class and realize that the top part of the strapless dress had FALLEN DOWN, potentially exposing my boobs to the entire class. Now, as I mentioned before, I was wearing the cardigan and it was partially buttoned, so an indecent amount of flesh was not exposed. But I still had to excuse myself and go pull up my dress in the middle of class, and it was really embarrassing. Not as embarrassing as it could have been, but still. Not exactly what I was hoping for, and next time I wear it, I will safety pin the dress to the bra so this does not happen again! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Upper Respiratory Infection

I've got one. It sucks. Here's the backlog of pictures:

Thurs, Feb 11

Wed, Feb 17

I'm Done With Belts

Mon, Feb 8

Except I wore a long-sleeved sweater instead.

Tues, Feb 10

Except I wore brown tights and forgot the necklace at home!

I've gone considerably out of my comfort zone this semester experimenting with belts. I think I'm done with them. The days I've worn them I've felt weird and self-conscious all day, and I don't like how the pictures look either. So, I'm retiring from belt experimentation. Maybe not forever. I have one or two that I really like. But, you know, in general. No more belts.

The Commute is Getting to Me

Tues, Feb 2

Wed, Feb 3

Wednesday's skirt is too short for work, but I wore it anyway with double tights so they were really opaque. The English Office secretary complimented me. I hope she was sincere, and not really thinking "That skirt is indecent!" I'd hate if it's my fault that everyone gets a dress code e-mail.

Now for my commute woes. I haven't minded the commute at all since I started driving to Waco. Living out of a suitcase has bothered me, and not seeing J has bothered me, and missing my dog, etc., but the driving has been OK. I get to practice my classroom lectures, listen to books on audio, sing along to my iPod and all that good stuff. But this semester I've had a problem leaving on time. For some reason or another, I cannot get out the door and I've been consistently late. So, I've had to park on campus illegally, run to the English building, and start class 5 mins late, then excuse myself to go print stuff out or make copies or whatever. Sooooo unprofessional. Plus it stresses me out the whole time I'm driving, thinking "I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late."

So, today I left 40 mins earlier which was going to give me time to do everything I needed to do plus sit around in the office for a while. Except there was a HUUUUGE accident on I-35, and it took me almost an hour just to get out of Dallas. So, then I was running 10 mins late and I was stressed out and upset. I just cannot win. I am tired of it. I know it's my fault, too (well, not today - sometimes stuff just happens), but I'm tired of worrying about driving, and traffic, and all that. Boo.

Not My Favorite Outfit

Mon, Feb 1

I don't like this outfit for several reasons. I actually wore it today with brown tights instead of the trouser socks, and I liked the tights better, so that was a good thing. And I wore a brown geometric necklace with it. The main reason I think I don't like it is the belt. My friend Erin helped me improve this outfit - she suggested I put the belt on the inside of the sweater instead of over it, which was genius. And the skirt is too big, so she suggested I safety pin it to my bra so it would be a better length. Like I said, genius. But, despite her excellent advice, I still felt uncomfortable in it all day, and I think it has to do with the belt placement. Everyone says to put the belt on top of your ribcage, which is what I did, but that makes me feel weird. And it makes me look stumpy. I tried putting the belt on my actual waist, but then you could see the line of my skirt (which was pinned to my bra) through the tank top, and I thought that looked worse. I don't think I'm going to wear this again. No like-y.

Gem of the Day

Tues, Jan 26

Here is a lovely sentence from one of my students' rough drafts. Her topic is racial discrimination on US Census forms:

"Before they even characterized themselves as Negros, people of that race would check the “slave” box due to the fact that white was the only race that was important during the late 1700s. "

OMG.

Signs of the Times

First off, the fashion photo:

Mon, Jan 25

Next, a little diatribe:

Tonight in my "Victorian Poetry" class, my teacher started talking about how the Victorians lived in a time period "with all these issues - religious issues, scientific issues..." She was actually making a very good overall point which is why I didn't make this comment in class, but the vagueness of her description of the "issues" made me uncomfortable. Every era has issues - religious issues, scientific issues... The difference is what those issues are, and perhaps those issues even to some degree define the boundaries of that era. Now it's gay marriage, stem cell research, and are video games rotting our brains? In the early Modern era, it was the Reformation, dissecting the human body, and is the novel rotting our brains? In the Middle Ages, it was celibacy of the clergy, germ theory, and are those pesky minstrels rotting our brains? I find myself really needing to do extra reading to get a historical perspective on the Victorian era and to understand its "issues." But I really don't want to.