I feel like an undercover superhero today. Mostly it's just the clothes, though.
It actually took me some time to decide what to wear today, since I had a flying lesson before work. I needed something I could climb around an airplane in (which lets out tight short skirts). A bigger problem was that it's hard not to get dirty - it's even worse with the newer Cessna 172s (which this was) because instead of having to check the fuel at a sump point (to make sure it's avgas and to look for water or grit in the fuel) on each wing, you now have to check it in 13 places. Thirteen! There are five on each wing and three on the underside of the belly, which necessitates getting down on the ground. For obvious reasons, the ground at an airport is often not a miracle of cleanliness. That is probably my least favorite engineering decision on the new Cessnas. Also, since I was flying at 5AM, I'd be doing all that in the dark.
I didn't want to be too hot, knowing I'd be sweating anyway by the end of the lesson. (Instrument flying is hard!) I didn't want to have to change for work because I knew I'd be in a hurry, since it's forty miles and I had an 8AM meeting. And of course, there's that annoying professionalism thing.
What I came up with was a black camisole, black jeans, and a long loose plum-colored shirt to be left in the car during the lesson and worn over the outfit for work. I got a glimpse of myself in a mirror after the lesson and realized I looked like an extra for Charlie's Angels in the camisole and black stretch jeans. (Maybe an extra who would need a bit of digital touchup, but still.) If I could do a spinning kick at all, I could do one in this getup. Moreover, the tunic on top is closed with snaps, not buttons, so if the need arose I could rip it off dramatically without even needing a phone booth.
I did manage to keep relatively clean, except for a spritz of avgas down my cleavage. Think Rudder would consider that sexy?
Posted by dichroic at September 14, 2004 01:31 PM