Personal Hygiene

You sometimes see people doing interesting things on the train. Getting up early and rushing to be at the stop on time often forces people to perform portions of their morning routine en route. Eating breakfast, applying makeup, even getting that last hour of sleep are all appropriate activities for a train rider. This morning, I saw something that broke all barriers. Flossing. Yes, with teeth and actual floss and stuff. I can forgive the occasional nail clipper provided they contain the projectiles. Even the nail filer forcing everyone to breathe in their nail dust is OK. But flossing? Forgetting for a second the logistics of rinsing, I think this may be one step too far. I know what the mirror can sometimes look like after I floss. Happily I was behind and not in front of the offending flosser. Why not just show up to the train station in your pajamas and wash up in the restroom car? What's next. Clipping toenails? Plucking eyebrows? Shaving? Just get up 10 minutes earlier and floss at home.

Nametags

Over the years I've assembled quite a collection of nametags. With each new client I'm forced to pose in front of a large piece of poster board and fake a smile. It's usually red or blue because, depending on the client, one background color or another indicates that you are a consultant. Easy identification of the second class citizens. Most of the time, when the project is finished, I get to keep the nametag. Some clients force me to return them which always disappoints me since it leaves a gap in my collection. It's a history of Steve's glasses in small grainy photos printed on plastic cards. Big glasses, little glasses, thick plastic frames, thin metal frames. I've got a nametag for every occasion. At my current client, the ID card people accidentally added an 'i' to the end of my last name. So, the 'vich' became 'vichi'. Instantly transformed from an Eastern European to a Mediterranean by that little 'i'.  Now when I go to meetings and people see my nametag, they pronounce my last name with that sort of Italian flair where you stress the last syllable and your voice gets higher as you approach the end of the word. It gives me sort of a sophisticated air. I feel like I should grow a mustache or maybe get a Vespa. I hope they let me keep this nametag when the project is over. It has a really nice pair of glasses in the picture.