Good and bad

 I’ve accepted a job for what really just amounts to "administrative assistant" for a downtown law firm.  The pay is decent considering I’m a secretary, but it’s not exactly what I thought a college education would lead to.  I know I need to go back to school, but I really think I want a little real-world experience before I do that.

The most intimidating part of the new job is the dress code.  Business formal.  I didn’t know any offices still had business formal attire required.  It seems like a thing of the past.  Unfortunately I really own two outfits that would qualify, and I wore each of them to the two interviews I went to.

So I have until Monday to do some shopping.  I looked around the office last time I was there and there was a mixture of how the women were dressed.  Many were in skirts or dresses, and many were in pantsuits.  I’m thinking I should buy a little of both.

In other exciting news, Guy got promoted to the manager of third shift a the place where he works.  It means he has to go back to working nights, but it’s a great raise for him and I think it means a lot to him that he’s making some decent money.  I know he wants to be the "breadwinner" of the family and he worries a little about me feeling like he doesn’t make enough.  The truth is he earns substantially more than I do, and he gets to wear jeans to work.  No fair.

Way back when I was making the final decisions to really transition and live as a woman, even before surgery was a consideration, I remember having a talk with a friend who warned me that I would experience sexism in a way that I probably couldn’t at that point comprehend.  I didn’t worry much about it, it was more important to me to be female, but I know now that it was true.

I’ll always remember the auto mechanic who rolled his eyes at me just because I suggested what the problem might be with my car.  Never mind that I was right. 

Now I walk into a law firm with a degree in pre-law and I’m offered nothing more than a secretary position.  When I was speaking with the woman who will be my boss, I mentioned that I play the piano.  She suggested that I keep up with it because giving piano lessons would be a good source of income after I start having kids and staying home.  What I peculiar thing to say!  I was almost as if she was presuming right from the start that I wouldn’t have a career because I’m a woman.