The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[HappyinHeels]

Three things which will almost certainly increase a man's odds at surviving adverse situations: duct tape (as Cali stated above), a lighter, and a knife.

mlroseplant,

Congratulations at another successful landing in Vietnam! I couldn't help but notice the cooler weather clothes on people in the photo. It must be cooler there than I would have imagined. I don't know if you left after the "polar vortex" visit in the Midwest. Today it was a high of 46F (8C) or some 77 degrees warmer than on Wednesday morning when the temperature hit -31F (-35.3C) at our house. Isn't that range just stupid?? I'm sure you'll enjoy the mild weather there in northern Vietnam.

Asia isn't the only place where heels are still common. Anyone visiting Latin America will attest to heels being ubiqitous. You can even see the difference in crossing the border from Calexico, California into Mexicali, Baja California. Skyscraping heels are a common sight and the independent shoe store is alive and well. I'm guessing Vietnam is quite similar. Do enjoy yourself while there! HappyinHeels

[Shyheels]

I was in Da Nang last year and really enjoyed it. Lovely people and a really fun city. 

My luggage gets used a lot and its not expensive, but it most definitely lasts more than 1.5 trips. It is looking a bit threadbare now and I probably need to start thinking about replacement, but I'm sure I'll get another few trips out of it and it's already made at least twenty trips to the far side of the world (Asia, Australia) in the past five years, not counting travels in Europe and Britain. Been to Africa several times, South America too. Like I say, it's not flash, not expensive, but it has gone the miles.  

[HappyinHeels]

I have been a notoriously light packer for about 20 years now. I have gotten my wife into this habit. We never check bags anymore. It all fits in the overhead bin. We get our stuff faster, pay no bag fees, and our luggage lasts much much longer. When she and I were in South America (Colombia, Peru, Brasil, and Argentina) for three weeks in 2010 we both packed basically a large Adidas bag each and that maintained us until about the 17th day when we bought another bag in Peru to handle the extra purchases. The extra bag fit under the seat so again no issues. Now I suppose if I were doing my best Indiana Jones routine I may have to haul more gear. Plus a whip may take some explaining  HinH

[Shyheels]

11 minutes ago, HappyinHeels said:

I have been a notoriously light packer for about 20 years now. I have gotten my wife into this habit. We never check bags anymore. It all fits in the overhead bin. We get our stuff faster, pay no bag fees, and our luggage lasts much much longer. When she and I were in South America (Colombia, Peru, Brasil, and Argentina) for three weeks in 2010 we both packed basically a large Adidas bag each and that maintained us until about the 17th day when we bought another bag in Peru to handle the extra purchases. The extra bag fit under the seat so again no issues. Now I suppose if I were doing my best Indiana Jones routine I may have to haul more gear. Plus a whip may take some explaining  HinH

Plus the pistol for dealing with sword-twirling assassins in crowded market squares...

Because I have my cameras as carry-ons I generally need to check a bag. Wen I did my back in 15 years ago and couldn't carry camera bags for a while I did only writing assignments and quite liked the freedom of taking nothing more than a notebook, pencil and (sometimes) a laptop. It was wonderfully liberating and for a few years I happily gave up photography in favour of this unburdened freedom. But then I began to miss the visual aspects of photography, using light and colour instead of words and now I am back to packing 10kilos or so pf camera gear everywhere (on a much healthier back too, happily) 

[HappyinHeels]

I left the pistol out since we're not in 1936 anymore. Not even retired law enforcement can take those on an international flight. That scene, eastern swordsman meets western gunslinger, was the loudest laugh in a hilarious movie. It is my favourite movie of ALL-TIME. I saw six timesin 1981 at the theatre, four in Monterey, CA and twice in San Francisco.  Also saw it a year ago when they brought it to our local theatre as part of their classic movies package. For some reason I have always thought of Indiana Jones when I was in Peru and Egypt! HinH

[Pierre1961]

A few months ago I was traveling with KLM. 

One of the flying attendant,a 40 years old woman,nice figure ,was wearing a cure pair of black stilettos. Rond toe cap,at least 4 inches. I indentified them as Louboutin 

As I was surprised to see such cute but expensive shoes ,I complimented her.She said these shoes were not part of the uniform the company provides to the employees. As she hated the ones she was supposed to wear,that was a personal purchase. 

She kept her nice shoes on until she had to start her service. Then she changed for the ones I supposed were the ugly ones. What a change!

i don't know if she noticed that I was wearing 14cm Cuban heels Oxford ( my usual travelling shoes) 

Pierre 

[mlroseplant]

53 minutes ago, HappyinHeels said:

I have been a notoriously light packer for about 20 years now. I have gotten my wife into this habit. We never check bags anymore. It all fits in the overhead bin. We get our stuff faster, pay no bag fees, and our luggage lasts much much longer. When she and I were in South America (Colombia, Peru, Brasil, and Argentina) for three weeks in 2010 we both packed basically a large Adidas bag each and that maintained us until about the 17th day when we bought another bag in Peru to handle the extra purchases.

Sheee-it, 98% of the THREE HUNDRED POUNDS (yes, you read that right) of checked luggage is just gifts for other people! This Asian tradition seems charming at first, but is kind of a pain in the ass for everyone in reality. 

Just got a visit from a sizable group of family. When your mother-in-law has become pretty much the oldest living family member, people come to you, rather than you having to go out and visit them. 

An observation about the women of the family: Hair and heels have generally gotten shorter. I don't know whether this is a result of aging or fashion, or both. The younger generation, who is now between 12 and 15, has not yet begun to wear heels. I don't know whether this is a choice, or whether their mothers won't let them yet. I won't know the answer to this question until a less formal time, when they lose some of their shyness.

[Shyheels]

40 minutes ago, HappyinHeels said:

I left the pistol out since we're not in 1936 anymore. Not even retired law enforcement can take those on an international flight. That scene, eastern swordsman meets western gunslinger, was the loudest laugh in a hilarious movie. It is my favourite movie of ALL-TIME. I saw six timesin 1981 at the theatre, four in Monterey, CA and twice in San Francisco.  Also saw it a year ago when they brought it to our local theatre as part of their classic movies package. For some reason I have always thought of Indiana Jones when I was in Peru and Egypt! HinH

It’s among my favourites too - as a former archaeologist and one who has done a great many stories about archaeology finds and excavations over the years I’ve loved it as a glorious romp. I enjoyed Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade as well. 

[HappyinHeels]

I understand the extra luggage for family gifts angle. When I worked at Chicago's O'Hare Airport I would occasionally work the rover command center where I could see the incoming passenger and bag totals. A fully-loaded Air India (#125 to be exact) from Mumbai to Chicago would have around 450 passengers and upwards of 2200 bags. When I inquired as to why so many the common answer was that India was a very long distance and that once people knew you were going it resulted in spices and gifts coming to the USA and gifts and other purchases going back to India.

I also understand people coming to see you because of the patriarch/matriarch thing. My father's family is like. He is the fourth youngest at 88 of 12 children aged 84-107 and all of them are still alive.  Yes, I typed 107 and that uncle still has Herculean strength. They are part of a longevity (blue zone) study by universities in Eastern Canada. HappyinHeels

[Shyheels]

I'm not surprised your father's family is part of a study - that's an amazing feat for all twelve of them to be alive and in the age bracket. Reaching 107 is pretty good going by any measure. Now don't tell me his father is still around? :-)

[SF]

mlrose.....   Hey now.  Happy New Year as well...

You mentioned flying to Korea on an American owned airline, but never provided the name.  Which airline provided the fine service you spoke of???  

Have fun over there.....   sf

[mlroseplant]

On 2/5/2019 at 11:21 AM, SF said:

mlrose.....   Hey now.  Happy New Year as well...

You mentioned flying to Korea on an American owned airline, but never provided the name.  Which airline provided the fine service you spoke of???  

Have fun over there.....   sf

It was, in fact, American Airlines, the same airline the ex-wife used to work for. It was a much better experience than when we flew Delta over to Korea. The service and food was ok, but in that respect I really don't care--the whole experience is just something to be endured for the privilege of visiting Vietnam in a reasonable amount of time compared to traveling by ship.

My favorite airline for the trans-Pacific flight is still Korean Air. And maybe Asiana, but they are a distant second. Might try Japan Air Lines if the wife will ever agree to it (she is a nervous traveler and hates change). All other routes to Vietnam are significantly more expensive from where we live.

Korean Air flight attendants wear 2 1/2 inch slingback pumps in the airport, and almost flat, square-toed pumps on the plane. You never, ever see the heels on the plane, and who cares anyway? The main attraction about Korean Air flight attendants is the pencil skirt uniforms, which always look great on the young, willowy gals they hire. And those gals have a sense of urgency when it comes to service. That is a double-edged sword, because I had a very nice conversation with one of the American Airlines flight attendants when I made my rounds to stretch my legs during the time when most people are sleeping. During similar experiences with Korean Air, I think their employees are taught to avoid much conversation with passengers beyond what is necessary for service.

 

[mlroseplant]

The time is drawing near for me to leave this place and come back home. The only sense of dread that I have, besides the more-than-24-hour-journey, is that I'm guessing there will be at least 2 feet of snow waiting for me. It seems that for the first time, we actually escaped some substantial, sustained bad weather.

The only heel news I have is that heels are alive and well here in Hanoi, Vietnam, much more so than in the USA. The only slightly disturbing thing is a trend toward Lucite block heels of about 2 - 4". Often, the entire shoe/sandal is made from Lucite or some clear plastic, and they just don't look good to my eye. Even if you completely discount the "stripper shoe" vibe, which you absolutely can, as Lucite has never been associated with strippers or stripper shoes here in Asia, plastic just doesn't look as nice as leather for a shoe. And let's face it, once the plastic straps stretch even a little bit, they never quite fit right, and you get things like nasty-looking toe overhang and such. Hopefully, it's a short-lived trend. There are still plenty of classic pumps and sandals around, both with block and stiletto heels. Wedges, outside of "sports" type shoes, do not seem to be as popular this year. I can say with some certainty that huge platforms of over 1" thick are dead. I have not seen even one pair of 6" heels with 2" platform this year, and several years back they were everywhere. Most popular for office gals who wear heels are either black patent or nude patent pointy-toed pumps with stiletto heels between 3 and 4 inches. Lower than that, gals tend to wear block heels, and I have to say that the most popular shoes for the general population, even for office gals, is flat or nearly flat shoes, which is not at all surprising. It's just that you see WAY more heels here than back home, even in the city.

On a completely different note, that corn that I finally got rid of, discussed in the "Infirmary" section, seems to be acting as I'd hoped. The skin underneath of it has now had a week to toughen up and heal completely, and I have noticed that my toe does not rub inside my shoe like it used to. Of course, I will not know for sure until I get back home and go to work for 10 hours a day. That will be the true test. It had gotten to be a never-ending cycle: because my toe was physically bigger, it rubbed the inside of my boot. Because it rubbed the inside of my boot, it refused to go away on its own. It almost makes me look forward to going back to work just to find out. Almost.

[HappyinHeels]

Yes, the Midwest is firmly in winter's grip. We have had regular snows in Wisconsin and the state is snow-covered border to border. I have been cutting some messy black willow trees making firewood for next winter and what I have cut so far is drying nicely because of the cold.

I'm not surprised by your heel reports from Vietnam. Latin America is much the same. I don't think heels at 5" or more ever went out of style across most of Latin America based upon what I have seen over the last ten years or so. 

We had a Japan Air flight (#010) at O'Hare Airport direct from Tokyo's Narita Airport when I worked there. It arrived in the 0800-0900 timeframe and I believe it still does. Good reputation. Officers in our agency going to Asia raved about how good Korean Airlines was.

Have a good trip back to Iowa. HappyinHeels

[mlroseplant]

I am back home. I am happy to report that the worst thing that happened the entire trip was that the final flight home was delayed for 45 minutes. In other words, it was a perfect trip, logistically anyway.

I am in my fifth day back, and I'm up extra early, but I'm feeling much better, jet-lag-wise. That first day back to work was a doozie. I went to church on Sunday, and wore heels for several hours straight. Like I say every time I come back, wearing heels is not like riding a bicycle (i.e., you never forget how), it's like dancing ballet or playing an instrument. You take three weeks off, and you can tell. Just as soon as I can manage to stay awake after supper, I will begin practicing again in earnest!

[jeremy1986]

Welcome back!

[mlroseplant]

I have been thinking (because I do that sometimes) lately about all of the people at work who don't know about my rather unconventional fashion choices. I had a fairly stable work situation from 2014-2018, but about six months ago, I was laid off and had to get a different job. For those of you not familiar with how employment in the construction industry works, this run was unreal and unprecedented. I have never experienced such craziness in my nearly 23 year career as a 4 year run at a job. Typically, jobs last anywhere from a few days to nine months, then it's on to the next job. A nine month stint is our definition of stability.

However, it looks like the new job I'm at will also be years-long, if I don't screw things up. Thing is, at the old job, people knew what I dressed like outside of work. That is not true at the new job, and I've been thinking quite a bit about that lately. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when someone finds out. I am a little nervous about it, because this is a much smaller and tight-knit job than my old job. My Big Boss is a decent enough fellow, but he kind of follows the Macho Bullshit mold that many in the construction industry continue to adhere to. I have, for some dumb reason, managed to ingratiate myself to him through a mixture of hard work, steady attendance, and geeky math ability when it's helpful. But I do wonder how it might or might not affect my job if and when it is discovered what I actually look like in the real world.

[Bubba136]

As a married adult male with a family to support, I am confident you’re fully aware of the myriad of choices a man has to make when working in a situation where you don’t call the shots.  While in the “ideal” world, along with politically correct regulations concerning employers minding their own business concerning an employee’s lifestyle choices outside of the workplace, owners of privately owned enterprises engaged in competition to obtain jobs, gets to establish rules and policies employees have to adhere to if they want to keep their positions.  And, I fully expect these restrictions would extend to any behavior, conduct or practices which, if known might decrease the company’s ability to successfully compete in today’s world.  

The only relief to these restrictions that I can visualize is that you establish yourself as a “‘private contractor” engaged for the duration of this job and insuring that some of the companies employee behavior restrictions are excluded from any agreement you might establish.  Of course, there are costs to being a “private  contractor.”  But, it might be the only way to get one off of the “behavior hook.” 

[HappyinHeels]

mlroseplant,

You are a highly-trained industrial/commercial electrician and damn good by now at what you do. You show up at the appointed time, carry out our tasks to your supervisor's satisfaction and to prevailing job and industry standards, and get along with your coworkers. If you master the scope of what they pay you for then nobody has any business straying beyond that scope. You're paid and evaluated by what you do on THEIR time and not on YOURS. I have never understood how some companies try to skew things as if people at home in their underwear (or heels) needed to be mindful of what their employer might think. Besides, what is commonly known about the world's dirtiest business, is worthy of a novel and all the skeletons in the closets. Your heels are not one of them. Your proven work abilities should be the only talking points. HappyinHeels 

[Shyheels]

Totally agree that what a person does on their own time - as long as it's nothing criminal - is absolutely none of their employer's business. 

[at9]

Both HiH and Shyheels are right. An employer doesn't own the employees's whole life. However it doesn't stop them trying, both in the past and present.

But that's black and white, life is messier than that. If an employee commits a criminal act in his/her own time then the employer has every right to be interested. But what if an employee is arrested, tried and acquitted? Should that have any effect on the employment? If an employee goes on a demonstration protesting about some controverisal issue. Whether it's pro or anti abortion or anything else. Should that matter to the employer? There are plenty of other grey cases, especially for teachers, social workers and others who work with young and/or vulnerable people.

[Puffer]

We must remember that employment contracts and relevant legislation regarding employment rights varies by country and there are distinct differences between the US and the UK, for example - with the US terms typically harsher and with fewer remedial rights for employees.

Most UK employees with any reasonable status (e.g. skilled manual, technical or clerical; managerial; professional) will have contracts that not only require them (in effect) to be at the employer's 'exclusive' disposal in terms of working times and places but also (amongst other things) not to do anything that 'might bring the employer's business into disrepute'.   Apart from obvious misconduct such as a criminal conviction (minor motoring offences etc excluded), engaging in any sort of public activity (whether within or outside the working environment) that might reasonably reflect badly upon the business could be grounds for discipline or even dismissal.   There is no absolute list, but extreme political views and any type of allegedly anti-social (or just plain 'weird') conduct could spark an action.   My view is that many employers would be potentially embarrassed by knowledge of a male employee's public heel-wearing (or cross-dressing) and quite likely to 'have a word' at the least, but much will depend on the actual conduct, its time and place and of course the nature of the business itself.   I doubt that a high-fashion retailer would take the same line as, say, a firm of solicitors.

[Shyheels]

I think if it was just a matter of your being spotted wearing heels in a restaurant or in a petrol station forecourt or shopping in Sainsbury's in your own time or on the weekends, and your employer wanted to make a big deal about it, especially if they wanted to sack you, you could have decent grounds for a court case and damages.  

Edited March 4, 2019 by Shyheels

[mlroseplant]

I think that perhaps my concerns were misunderstood somewhat. It isn't my employer that I'm worried about in the least. Heck the ultimate customer is one of those left-coast social media concerns, and they'd probably let me wear heels to work if I worked directly for them! Well, maybe not, but it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility, depending on the job. The thoughts I actually had several posts ago were about my individual coworkers, and how they might react. I don't have all my longtime friends working with me on this one, unlike the last job.

[p1ng74]

In my experience with coworkers, the less you hide, the more normal it feels, and ultimately it will have no effect on things overall.  I wear 4+” heels into the office every day.  It’s my normal, we interact normally, and this would continue if we were to meet outside of work.  Hiding, on the other hand, might lead people into imagining association with nefarious activity.  

[Cali]

@mlroseplant I understand you, new environment with people you don't know. Since this job will last longer than the average job, you will be working with these people for some time and you want a smooth working environment. If you had a few friends on the crew then you would have a buffer. Sorry, I wish I could help you but I can't. 

[Shyheels]

You could always trot in there one day in patent pink thigh-high stilettos - anything you wore after that would seem quiet and restrained. 

[HappyinHeels]

mlroseplant,

Okay I understand now. Considering you live in a small Iowa town and wear your heels openly everywhere and haven'y been spotted yet by coworkers I don't think your worries are that big. If you are that concerned now about a possible sighting by coworkers then perhaps you shouldn't wear them just everywhere. This all depends if one of your new coworkers lives in your same town. Is that what you concerns you? Such a new coworker may have already seen you and you just don't know it yet. I say keep on doing the job you are trained for and keep on wearing your heels wherever the hell you want and enjoy your life. HappyinHeels

[Gudulitooo]

4 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

In my experience with coworkers, the less you hide, the more normal it feels, and ultimately it will have no effect on things overall.  I wear 4+” heels into the office every day.  It’s my normal, we interact normally, and this would continue if we were to meet outside of work.  Hiding, on the other hand, might lead people into imagining association with nefarious activity.  

On my point of view this looks great. I don't wear heels to work or with friends because basically I am tall. Being tall is a handicap for relations. It is like not smoking, not going to coffee machine or not watching for football. Thus to me wearing heels is a selfish satisfaction out of any social life.

But it is largely different for you normally calibrated guys.

[p1ng74]

3 hours ago, Gudulitooo said:

On my point of view this looks great. I don't wear heels to work or with friends because basically I am tall. Being tall is a handicap for relations. It is like not smoking, not going to coffee machine or not watching for football. Thus to me wearing heels is a selfish satisfaction out of any social life.

But it is largely different for you normally calibrated guys.

Now I am curious, how tall are you?  I am 6 feet without heels, and for the reasons you state I won’t ever wear platforms.  But it will not stop me from wearing 4” heels.  I love the feeling and look of the feet at the heeled angle.