My Jump into the Corprate World

I have never understood the piece of clothing called the sport jacket. To me a sport jacket is something you wear while playing tennis in cold weather. "It's snowing outside, but I must get in a game of tennis, oh no bother I have my sport jacket" I was about to find out a sport jacket is a hot sweaty suit worn year 'round in the corporate world. It was just a telemarketing job I got for a certain company we will call Markettech, after all I had only a high school diploma, not a college degree so all they could offer me was a position in their sales department, I.e. Telemarketing.

The dress code required you wear a sport jacket, with slacks or a skirt over a blouse, dress shoes required and no casual Fridays, we were always professional. Well I thought, I'm not going to get paid sitting at home, (I had taken a year off to raise my first son), so off I went to buy the cheapest skirt/slack suits I could find.

My first few months were during the winter. It was the coldest winter on record in Texas, so there were many cold days; I was so warm in my coat and sport jacket that it didn't matter. As every Texan knows though is that with every horribly cold winter there is a horribly hot summer. The summer at Markettech was the hottest on record, just the walk from the car to the oasis that was the glass building that was Markettech left me thinking that we would all turn into puddles of sweat with sport jackets floating to and fro on top. One day as I was walking up to the front door I found myself in step with an older lady, who was breathing very hard and trying to push a dolly of some kind up to the shiny glass building, "Let me help you" I said, as she tried to keep from sliding, she was having a hard time getting traction with the flats she had on. "Oh thank you she said," I nodded took the other end of the dolly. "What do you do here?" I asked. There was a pause while she caught her breath, her face was red and she was very sweaty, the sun was just beating down on the poor woman. "I take out the trash sweep the floor do some maintenance." "Oh" I said "must be nice." She then looked me right in the eye and said "sweetie, no it is hell especially in these suits, I'm the janitor all that other stuff is just fluff to make my job look good, but all I am is a janitor, and I still have to wear suits, do you know what that is like? It is hell" Not knowing what to say I just followed her up to the door both of us sweating and pushing the unbelievably heavy dolly in silence.

I started taking off my jacket at my desk on that day, and when I would get up and walk around or go to the bathroom I would leave it off, people would stare and I didn't know why, but it kept me studying myself in the mirror all day to make sure my son didn't get something on my clothes, or in my hair, or on my face, this happened so often that from all the stares I thought surely some kind of schmaltz was on me. All day long I wondered the reason for the stares, then at the end of the day a not mysteriously appeared on my desk. SeeRalph Diangelo supervisor in his office before you leave, it said. So I threw my sport jacket over my arm and away I went to see Mr. Diangelo.

I had never been to his office before and when I approached the open door he was hunched over the desk. He seemed to be reading something; I slowly and quietly walked closer and stood on my tiptoes to see was it was he was concentrating on when he suddenly looked up. I jumped dropped my things and stumbled forward into his office. As I scrambled to get my things he cleared his throat and said "Linda?" I pushed my hair off my forehead and stammered "Y-Yes, that's me hi nice to meet you." Then I held out my hand for him to shake. "Uh huh he said" then turned back to his desk leaving me standing there with my hand sticking out, he didn't shake it. He continued talking on the way beck to his desk "do you know why I called you into my office today?" Then he turned, I was still standing at the door with my hand sticking out, if he noticed he didn't say anything, he just said "you can have a seat" then he sighed and said " again do you know why you were called in here today?" I jerked into motion then sat down awkwardly. I had picked my things up so quickly that it was in one huge jumble in my arms, "Um no" I said then added "to tell me what a good job I was doing?" It was true I was selling left and right I hadn't had a day yet when I didn't sell anything, you had to or you were fired. "No," he said with another sigh, "apparently you didn't read your dress code policy when you were hired." What? I thought and since I have such an expressive face and always react when I think what? He continued "if you did you would know that you can not walk around the building with out your sport coat on." Dumbfounded I just stared at him, that's what this was all about? I was being reprimanded for not wearing my sport coat to the bathroom? I couldn't believe it now I know what all the stares were about I was doing something wrong! "Uh, no I guess I missed that part sorry." I said the man then rolled his eyes " well this is your first warning, you only have two more, that's all just remember in the future if you leave your desk put your jacket back on." I left that day with my jacket on sweating all the way to my car and rubbing my forehead trying to dispel my headache.

The next few weeks brought with them the worst heat rash I have ever endured. Everywhere I had an undergarment there were small red itchy bumps. Across my chest in the perfect shape of my bra, and around my thighs and waist were my underwear was. It was also around this time that I started to wear sleeveless shirts, and because of my warning I was only taking my sport coat off at my desk. This went on for weeks and I also noticed that the man in the cubicle across from me kept staring, I almost reported him, I thought what a perv he wont stop staring. It was so creepy, then one afternoon again I got a note, See Ralph Diangleo supervisor before you leave. What now I thought and where are these notes coming from they would just seem to float onto my desk by a dismembered arm, which would disappear into nothingness when I turned in my seat to find its owner. So at the end of the day I trudged back to Mr. Diangelo's office this time when I got there he was on the phone, and waved me in. The conversation went on for a few seconds longer with a series of yeah, yeah, yeahs, then he hung up and said, "Ms Dellmont" I felt I had to correct him my last trip to his office wasn't a pleasant experience so I replies "not Ms, Mrs." "uh huh" he said then "You haven't read the dress code at all have you?" I shrugged my shoulders. Of course I hadn't read it who would? It was 32 pages of wear this, don't wear this, wear deodorant, wash your hair, ladies must wear bras. It was ridiculously long when all they had to say was, we are gong to make you wear the most uncomfortable clothes possible. He went on to say in a condescending tone "If you had Mrs. Dellmont, you would have read that all shirts must be blouses with sleeves, no sleeveless shirts or halter tops." He just looked at me after that and I realized he was waiting for some response from me, " um ok sorry ill wear the incredibly uncomfortable hot long sleeves." then I got up and turned to go. "wait excuse me we are not done," then he pushed something on my desk over to me "this is your second infarction, so you have to sign this, it is a write up slip." I signed the dumb thing and left. I was beginning to hate this man and this job.

My sixth and final month at the corporate job was August, the hottest month of the summer, and the day I decided would be my last at Markettech, it was 102 degrees out side before noon. I went to work in a halter top under my sport coat. I mean come on it was ridiculous it was hot and we were all going to gay heat stroke from the way we dressed. We had to park so far away from the building, we were the lowest on the totem pole, so we had to park the farthest away and therefore we sweated the most on the way to the building. So I wore my halter top walked around with my jacket off and received another note from the disembodied arm, but I didn't go, I just went home instead. I had an appointment with the janitor, it was time for a dress code revolution, and she was just the woman to help me.

I found her in the break room, "I am going to get us out of these suits," I said "are you with me?" She looked me up and down, gave a low whistle for my halter top and said "Girl, if you think you can do it then yes I'm with you!" We gave each other a high five then walked out the door. That night I sat down and wrote out a note to Mr. Ralph Diangelo, I let him have it told him how silly and ridiculous and hot it was in these stupid sport coats. I also let him know everyone would be a lot happier without them and if he wanted to keep employees he should take my note to heart. The next day I got to work and the magnetic card we used to get in wouldn't work. I pounded on the door until the security guard opened it, "name please" he said, he had a clip board under his arm and a grim look on his face as if I was breaking some law, "Linda Dellmont yes, you were fired yesterday for not meeting with your supervisor, and for failing to comply with the rules of the company." Then he let the door close in my face and walked back to his post. Thus ending my jump into the corporate world and also ending my first rebellion before it even began.Nifty("div.genericSCorner","top");