Overdressing for science

So, obviously I stopped even pretending I was going to update daily.  Life happens, and it's been happening a lot faster and more abundantly recently.  I update when I have both the time and inclination.  I have the inclination this morning and, thanks to an odd inversion of my usual sleeping patterns, I have the time too.

A few weeks ago, I began an experiment.  I started wearing dress shirts, slacks and ties every time I left the house, apart from going to work.  Whether I was meeting friends for drinks or just running to the grocery store for beer and bagels, I was dressed up.  The idea was to see if people would treat me differently.

Not surprisingly, they did.  But not exactly in the way I was expecting.  I anticipated that people would treat me more formally but, while it certainly started out that way, it really wasn't the case as conversations and interactions progressed.  In most cases, people actually seemed more relaxed, casual and friendly than they had when I was wearing my usual jeans and t-shirt ensemble.  I have no idea why that is.

Maybe dressing up in nicer clothes is having some sort of effect on me; making me more confident and outgoing without me realizing it's happening.  Maybe the mismatch between my formal dress style and my naturally goofy demeanor is responsible.  Probably, it's something I haven't thought of yet.  I'll keep pondering the subject, and perhaps it'll come to me.

Mark Twain said "Clothes make the man.  Naked people have little or no influence on society."  He might be right.  Testing that statement could be my next experiment.  If I ever do decide to roam around naked to see how people react, I'll let you know.

Packrat rehab

I have way too much stuff.  This has always been the case.  I had hoped that, between moving to Japan and moving back, the stuff-valanche would somehow sort itself out, but it didn't.  Just looking around the room I'm in, I can see shirts I haven't worn in years, folders full of miscellaneous papers from grad school, a broken wireless mouse, a box full of worn out shoes...  That's barely getting started.

The thing is, I don't tend to save new stuff anymore.  I thought that was the end of it, but I was wrong.  The packrat urges are still alive and well, and as a result, I'm keeping lots of old stuff that I really have no business keeping.  Obviously, packrat rehab is in order.

I remember Kaleena writing about a hanger trick for clearing out your closet (turning all the hangers around and turning them back to the regular direction when you used the item in question).  That's a good idea.  I'll assemble a few other tricks, and let you know how it all turns out.