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Under
the shirt and other things
 At
my last job, an undershirt went unremarked. Everybody
was wearing it in the legacy company to which I belonged.
I've moved to a hot new company that sells attitude
and I recently heard that I am called the Banian Tree
because I wear a vest. What gives?
It was a film called 'It Happened One Night'. If
you haven't seen it, we forgive you because it is a
bit of a chick flick though the chickie bird who is
in it, one Claudette Colbert, has what it takes to make
it a boy film too. But in the middle of the film, Clark
Gable took off his shirt and brought the entire banian-vest-undershirt
business in America to its knees because he was not
wearing anything under his white shirt.
Overnight, it seemed, men decided that undershirts were
wussy and they went out of the window. Marlon Brando
brought them back in A Streetcar Named Desire but although
he was playing a man in the prime of life, he was also
playing someone from the underclass, a man who can rape
his wife's mentally fragile sister. That gave the undershirt
the name wifebeater. As wikipedia says, "the wife
beater or the beater is a slang term used in the United
States to refer to a tank top style shirt when worn
as a sole, outer layer (as opposed to being worn as
an undershirt). This term is often seen as demeaning
and is often associated with the similarly derogatory
phrase white trash."
In India, every little boy wears an undershirt. And
so you're either a lower class white man or a little
boy. That's what gives. Meanwhile, if you're comfortable
in your vest, don't bother with them. You are entitled
to your choice in underwear, just as your boss, who
is probably a swollen leech of a man is entitled to
wear tiny briefs that look like bum floss.
What's
a good gift to give one's boss on his birthday?
How about a big fat sloppy kiss? How about making a
card for him with your own two hands? The best gift
is probably something that shows you know your boss.
If he's a coffee freak, then some high-toned Ethiopian
or Blue Mountain. If he's a golf freak, a club. If he's
a chocoholic, some Godiva's. You need to know what floats
his boat and then float it like a tidal wave.
I
work in a hugely noisy office. I find it very difficult
to get stuff done because I have always worked best
when it's quiet or when I'm listening to music. Now,
I can't expect to get them to all shut up. So I wanted
to know, is it okay if I take my Walkman to work, plug
it in and concentrate on stuff?
In general, you are not expected to keep yourself
entertained in the office. Play is a four-letter word
in the world of work, which is also a four-letter word.
But from what one can gather, your office might be the
exception. Hugely noisy offices generally mean a fairly
relaxed corporate culture. Or a fish/stock/futures market.
No, take the fisherfolk out of that bunch, they're way
quieter. So, yes, it should be okay to take your Walkman
and listen to some Sting or whoever floats your boat.
But do not put it on too loud because you need to be
able to hear when your name is called or when your phone
is buzzing. That kind of thing can have repercussions.
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