Field Gear

I don't have a picture handy of what I look like in my field gear so I'll follow Geotripper's (et al.) lead and just describe it. What I wear/carry in the field varies a lot, depending on what I'm doing but somethings remain the same.

Hair: Somewhat unkempt. Now that it is short, it's just under a hat (baseball or straw) or tied back with a kerchief. When it was longer it was pulled back one way or another and under a hat. At field camp it would start out a down in back, then in a pony tail, then braided by the 3rd day without washing.

Sunburned Peeling Nose: Sure hope not. That's what the hat and sunscreen are for.

Beard: Can't seem to grow one, which is just as well because waxing ain't cheap.

The Ever-Present T-shirt and Logo: Depending on the weather and location the T-shirt would be sleeveless and covered with a long-sleeved light weight shirt (the better to keep off bugs, sun, and prickers) or long-sleeved and under a sweater or, rarely, a flannel shirt. Every once in a while I do wear just a t-shirt by itself. Most of my long- and short- sleeved tees have logos/slogans on them the tank tops don't. Favorites LS tees are the volunteer fire department and crab trap clean up (OK they are about the only LS tees I have); I don't have favorite SS tees too many choices. The GSA one is OK. The big seal on the back and dark green color make it a bit warm in the summer, besides it disappeared after the second time I wore it.

Belt and Buckle: Pants fit o.k. but I need something to hang my Brunton on. I have a big tool belt that I wore over my pants at field camp with a hammer holster and field pack; I don't usually wear that anymore because I'm never that far from the car.

Deep Pockets: (not in the legal sense; geologists are often poor) Keys (if I'm driving), inhaler (if I remember to get it out of my purse), cell phone (if I remember...), and occasional small sample may be in my pockets. Other stuff (water bottle, camera, Brunton, purse, tape, extra padlock, colored pencils,...) are in my backpack and/or camera bag. I usually carry my field book and a pen in my hand or shove it in the back of my pants when I need both hands. This habit has lead to my field book almost disappearing completely in one day when I wore slightly loose pants.

Assorted Scars and Bandages: Actually I can't think of a scar that is geology related.

Rock Hammer: for specimen collecting, fighting off deer flies, self-defense, installing Li-Cor collars, beating stupid computers senseless, etc.

Muscular, tanned legs: Tanned? My legs are always covered with pants. I don't like bites, sunburns, thorn pricks, or random scrapes when they are easily avoided. Therefore they are about as far from 'tanned' as possible. (And I come from northern European stock, too.) Muscular? I don't know about that.

Shoelaces:I still have the original laces that came with the boots. Guess I'm lucky or sit in my office too much.

Cool Socks! And not just for field work.

Boots: for traction on rocks, mud, and snow (hah! like anyone in Alabama would go out in the field in snow). I have two pair. My favorite are a pair I got from LL Bean 11 years ago (obviously I sit in my office too much). I also have a pair of Timberlands I bought a few years ago in an emergency (packed for a society field trip the night before, taught the next day, and ten halfway to the hotel I realized the only shoes I had were the flats I was wearing.). I need to get some steel toed boots but keep putting it off because I can think of other things to spend my money on.

Ironclad Bladders: (not pictured) I usually don't have to go far to the field but bathroom are not terribly close to the research site so this is useful. (Go before leaving the office, at lunch, and upon return). I knew all those long car trips would come in handy one day.

Brunton Compass: to determine strike and dip, fault orientations, and locating next collar location (if we ever get the access agreements signed). We also use GPS receivers to get exact locations.

Eyes: Full of wisdom...yeah that's it. And behind glasses. I love my Transitions.

Brain: (not pictured) Dehydrated, half-baked, freeze-dried, but enjoying every minute.

Other stuffs: There's a lot of things that are task specific, but some common things not covered above are: safety vest during hunting season, bags (sample, grocery, Ziploc), extra sharpies, work gloves, rain-gear (when the weatherman says maybe), survey tape, bug spray, sunscreen, measuring tape, hand lens (around the neck), WD-40, large pocket knife.


I'm either lucky or unlucky in that I spend most of my time in an office. (And most of the "rocks" I look at in a well log.) When I do go in the field it's usually only for a day or two at a time and come home every night. I can usually find decent food nearby (especially if I'm out with my boss for whom this is a necessity). Since I've been at the Survey most of my field time has been spent of two particular projects. For one I and two co-workers were out collecting cores which had been drilled by a local mining company. For the other, I and a grad student were, and will be again soon, going out every week and getting soil CO2 flux measurements (this is why I have a spare padlock and WD-40 in my bag). For those days in the field, gear was fairly light. I get to do some 'regular' fieldwork, like last Friday (when I didn't take my camera, damn it.) when more of stuff is needed.

I own 2 dresses now.

I'm a tag along, I admit it. Honu-Girl has her monthly goals, now I'm going to try it. I tried it last week but not being accountable to anyone but me didn't work out so well. So my goal (starting small here) for March:

Go to TBDC's NIght on Broadway Ball.

Now this may look exceedingly easy - get dressed up one evening and going out but, if you've been following along, you've probably guessed just getting up and going out is a kind of big deal for me. For starters, I've been a member of the TBDC for almost 2 years and haven't actually gone to a dance yet. Heck, I'm taking the introductory dance class again. There are a few things that go along with this goal, such as:

buy a dress (sucess)
not make the above-the-waist bulge any bigger
find appropriate undergarments to minimize the awb*
find a wrap in my or Mom's closet in case it's cool
work on the under arm wiggle (not much can be done in 2 weeks but I can try)
actually go to the dance, no wimping out


I have two weeks to not lose my nerve. Wish me luck.



*I loathe high waisted "shape wear" because it usually just rolls up into my waist the first time I lean over. I think I have one high waisted girdle/thigh slimmer thing that doesn't do that but I'll have to see if it has enough compression.

Ladies, can we talk?

So no one had an opinion about voter registration fraud, huh? Well, I have another question and PSA for teh interweebs today: Why don't women wear appropriately supportive undergarments while exercising?

Many mornings I pass a group of city cops jogging. Twice now I've passed one youngish woman who could really use a more supportive bra. Both times I've thought 'ow ow ow' with each step I witness. Then last night CBS 42 did a segment on a woman who has lost 105 pounds over the last two years by taking up running (and some other exercise) and eating right. And that's awesome and inspiring and all but OMG does she need better sports bras. They had several shots of her jogging and I thought it looked a little painful. Then they had her finishing a 5k and that bounce was even worse. It looked like she was wearing reasonably supportive bras in the shots of her in everyday/work clothes. Why was she running in a bra that left her boobs near her waist? Does it not hurt to bounce that much? Is it just the cost of a good bra? I don't understand. I can't trot down the stairs in my pjs without an arm across my chest, I can't imagine running five kilometers (approx. 3 miles) like that.

Where I taught, there were several students who needed more than a Walmart sports bra could offer. (This was obvious during volleyball, never mind basketball.) I brought it up one day with several and I happened to have an equestrian catalog* with me and showed them a bra that is designed for high impact activities for all (offered) cup sizes. They choked on the $50 price. I mentioned some other catalogs/websites that have a wide selection of sports bras, with no takers. It probably didn't help that the English teacher/assistant coach simply suggested wear up to 3 bras at once which is what she sometimes did**.

Part of the problem is that some woman aren't wearing the right cup size to begin with. Part of the problem is that one style bra may be appropriate for high impact for an A or B cup but only good for moderate impact for a C or D and light impact for Es and above. So if you go to the store and they have a bra marked high impact and think you're good or that that is as good as it gets for a D - but it's not. I get a couple of catalogs that rate sports bras and if a style's bounce minimizing isn't as effective at larger sizes the description will say that. Also some sports bras are designed for larger woman and the different engineering problems posed by large mammaries. (I'm sure there are more catalogs/websites than those linked here.)

So here's the question to y'all: Is it not as painful for some woman as for others? Do some woman think there is no alternative? Can I set up a fund for well-endowed athletes?


* If you don't want your boobs to move, relative to your shoulders, look for a bra that lists horseback riding as one of the activities it's good for.
**In case you are math adverse: 3 $15 bras cost $45, which will buy you one good bra that will probably last longer than the 3 together.

Randomness

May I ramble for a minute? (or two, mostly about TV)

I don't know if I'm being overly sensitive or not but there are a couple of commercials on recently that kind of piss me off with the whole "idiot woman" shtick. I'm not sure why these two or three stick out to me but, man, do they annoy me.

On the topic of commercials, ASPCA has one that I can't watch. I either have to mute the TV and not look up or change the channel. I think the reason ads for things like the Children's Miracle Network don't upset me is that those kid's suffering, as bad as it is to be poor and in a 3rd world country, wasn't intentional. All a dog (cat, rabbit, bird,... any pet really) asks for is to be cared for. All kids really want is to be loved (and fed). The thought of someone being intentionally cruel to an animal (or child) is very upsetting to me, and baffling. I can't watch the animal cop shows on Animal Planet, either.

On last night's "Bones" rerun, why is the administrative guy so set on not getting to the bottom of the deaths? Besides they can prove the guy didn't hang himself, and was dead when he was hung, even if the method they suspect he was killed by (with?) can't be proven. So obviously someone was trying to cover up something big, like possibly the previous murder or, as it turned out, artifact smuggling.

I'm starting to have doubts about the appropriateness of my outfit for my niece's wedding Saturday. I'm beginning to think it isn't dressy enough, even though the bridesmaids are wearing tea-length dresses. Do you think I could hire someone just to dress me? Surely, if stars pay big bucks to be badly dressed I could find someone to do it well on the cheap. Maybe I could just find myself a husband who likes to cook, clean, do laundry, mow, is fashion literate, and can work from home so he has time to do these things.

While I'm wishing, could I get some motivation, too?

Update: Oh, doublespeak reminds me. How inconvenient/cumbersome would speaking only in metaphor be? The fact that Picard manages to figure out anything that alien is saying is amazing. Metaphors would be impossible to translate without prior cultural knowledge. Picard picks up a few based on the situation but any meaningful conversation would require some major archaeological study beforehand to learn the meaning of the metaphors. It also seems that a language based on metaphors would be oddly limited and uncreative. The language can be pretty and bring to mind strong images, with the right cultural back ground. Luckily for Picard and the viewers this species also cries so "Kiazi's children, their faces wet" makes sense.

I seriously overthink things.

I hate "business casual". It's easy for guys. And preppy girls. I have a terrible time figuring out what I'm actually suppose to wear for a "business casual" dress meeting. I'm always afraid of dressing too dressy or too casual. Luckily Nettie helped me pack, she's very clothing conscious. Other than changing the shoes she picked and vetoing the skirt in the car, I'm taking the advise of a 9 year old.

I worry about the stupidest shit.

Have some green beer and kiss a red-head today!

Not Really Me

I've been thinking about image lately, not sure why (might have to do with my incredibly desperate need for a haircut), and the Smart Set articles offered some interesting points but all the advice and history doesn't change my complaints. There are several reasons I don't wear make-up or worry about my clothes too much.

One reason I don't wear make-up is I haven't found a foundation I like; Honu-Girl and Sarah have pledged to drag me to the Mac counter and solve that problem. Another reason is I regularly have one or two of the pimples that make-up only makes look worse, so why bother? Another reason, the five minutes I might spend putting on make-up could be spent sleeping; I don't think anyone has a way to get around that. Then there are all the social/emotional/political problems I have with make-up, which can be boiled down to, "why isn't my face good enough?"

Part of the reason I don't much worry about my clothes is because I'm hard to fit. I'm taller than average and so have broader shoulders, longer arms, longer rise, longer legs, longer torso, and longer fingers and feet, than clothing manufacturers seem to think I should. If you want numbers I posted them here.) I do alright with pants; they've caught on that taller women often need a longer rise as well as longer inseam. But blouses just don't fit. I don't know of any "tall women's" stores around here. There was one at Tyson's Corner but I wasn't tall enough for their clothes, at least not in high school, maybe now that I'm not so skinny I could find stuff there (and I traveled several hundred miles to shop). And no one seems to make tall fat women's clothing; I not that fat but I'm bigger than the largest "tall" size in store and catalogs I've seen, at least for tops, if they carry tops in talls. I like mens shirts - no shape, but they reach my wrists and don't pull at the shoulders. Besides dressing to look nice takes effort and thought (and enthusiasm*) that I have a hard time mustering first thing in the morning.

On the flip side of the coin are all the social/emotional/political pressures that boil down to you'll never get a man looking like that.


*An example of how little thought, effort, and enthusiasm for the morning I have: The stubble on my legs can grow so long it bothers me in pants and I will still forget, or run out of time, to shave my legs during a 45 minute shower. (Most weekday morning showers aren't that long, 10-30 minutes.) This isn't uncommon, unless I'm swimming regularly.

Intelligence ∝ 1/Fashion Sense

The other topic that article that caught my attention on The Smart Set was about clothes. It's actually a review of The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman. Jessa Crispin spends a little time telling you what the book is not as well as what it is.

Crispin brings up the Hollywood stereotype that intelligent women are bad dressers, it makes them easy to identify in a B-movie. Then she tears into fashion books and shopping guides. Most fashion books, according to Crispin, advise a woman on how to dress to hide her (preceived) flaws. From what I've seen of makeover shows, that's the standard there, too. She critiques one shopping guide author as sounding too much like a sales clerk on commission, extolling women to buy designer this and designer that, and making shopping too much work, with the persona inventing and planning around one's hormonal cycle. I like tips on how to dress my body to it's best advantage as much as the next person, but I don't need entire chapters on each problem area. I also don't need shopping to become more work than fun. I generally agree with her critique of the fashion advice industry.

Crispin then tells you about how Sunglasses is different from everything else she's read in the genre. The shopping advice is for real women (you know one's that don't wear evening gowns while riding horses bareback with a lovely barebacked man), practical advice even. She makes the shopping advice in the book sound a bit like the kind a best girlfriend would give you. She says she'd rather have Freeman with her in the dressing room, telling her "she's too old for the mini-skirt", rather than the author of that shopping guide telling her "it's fabulous and everyone is wearing them this season". Woman all over, even well dressed ones, need that kind of honesty in the dressing room. Apparently Freeman believes that fashion isn't to please others but to express one's self, or at least shouldn't be.

I'm not sure how someone else tells you to dress to express yourself but I'd like to see. Hopefully the local library will get it.