Working Girl

So I have awesome news (and no, it's not that I'm actually blogging again...although that's pretty cool too).  I have a job!  I just got hired as a Product Development Technician at ALK-Abello Source Materials, Inc. in Post Falls.  Even though the job has been explained to me, I'm certain I won't actually know what I do until I start training, but I know I'll love it.  I think it's a sort of research and development position.  I know that it requires me to use my science-y skills, and I know that it involves a lot of writing, so both of the things I love the most will be incorporated into my job.  Isn't that the dream?

I also get to work with these guys:

It's a dust mite.  Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus for my fellow science geeks.  I don't care what you're thinking because I'm excited about it.  During my interview, my interviewers had all closed their notes and we were just talking about a few random things.  One supervisor told me that the job gets kind of gross sometimes.  I said, "I love gross!  Gross is my forte."  It made them all laugh and one of them even opened his notes again to quote me on that.  I'd like to think this is how they chose me over the other candidates.

Anyway, it's very late and I should be sleeping, but instead, I'm stressing out about my work attire.  When I interviewed for a previous position at that company, I saw most of the techs wearing these blue scrub/track suit things with tennis shoes.  They have to wear those in the work area, so it wouldn't really matter what I wore to work because I'd just change into that every day.  For this new job, my dress code is "business casual," which means I either need to:

A) Lose 10 pounds over Thanksgiving so that I fit into my old work clothes, or
B) Go buy new work clothes

The first option is ideal but certainly not feasible, so I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be shopping on Black Friday.  Thankfully, my mom has the day off and can wrangle the babies so I can try on a pair of pants without Kaden opening the door of my fitting room to show the world my cottage cheese thighs.  I really should do a blog post on what it's like to attempt to buy clothes while toting Kaden and Khloe around in a double stroller, but I digress.

My next dilemma is regarding footwear.  I've had my share of jobs where I'm on my feet all day, and the right shoes make a huge difference.  I don't mind paying $80 for a pair of shoes if it's for a good cause, but in this case, I don't really know how much time I'll be standing.  I assume during training that I will stand and move around a lot.  The HR guy told me I would probably want to invest in a pair of building-dedicated shoes, but I don't know what kind.  "Business Casual" would suggest that I need some sort of close-toed, mary-jane flat or something with a low heel, but I completely forgot to see what kind of shoes all of the PDTs were wearing when I was in there.  The Production Techs all wear comfy athletic shoes of their choice.  My choice would be a new pair of Keens because they last a long time, they're comfortable, and I love them.  I just don't know if they're acceptable or not.

My rational side is intervening and telling me that I'm WAY over-thinking this.  I know that whatever shoes I get will probably be fine.  The company is really into keeping up morale and making sure the employees are happy, and if Keens make me happy, I'm sure they're allowed.  I'd just really hate to buy a new pair and find out that they aren't.  I know I could wait and ask on my first day, but what the heck will I wear on my feet during my first day?  I can tell you that all of my business casual shoes are out of the question because none of them are tolerable past the length of an interview.

Stay tuned - I'll post all about my first day and you'll get to see how this shoe conundrum turns out.  Oh, but I signed some huge confidentiality contract or something, and since my friend Elisa just got fired from a job for writing about work in her own blog, I'll need to figure out what I can and can't say. Wish me luck!!