work clothes for the unemployed

Last week I bought a suit.

I haven’t bought a suit since French Panic and I worked our way through Vietnam (Saigon to Hanoi via multiple bus trips, if you’re curious).

Although the Vietnam suit was tailored to me, that was the slightly more svelte traveling version of me. I don’t eat as much in tropical heat, apparently. It seemed like a good suit at the time and it only cost me 30$. I know many good deals can be had in Vietnam, but there is a strange bulge in the jacket, and the pants split a couple of hours before my brother’s wedding last year. Apparently, the sweat shop saved some money by buying thread from thread pirates who aren’t known for their attention to quality.

Thus despite the kinda cool asian collar that looks like Canoe Reeves’ collar in one of those Matrix movies, the suit has gone largely unseen except for two weddings. I also have to note that while it seemed cool at the time, I fear it makes me look more like a priest than a science fiction hero. Sometimes a good deal is not actually a good deal.

So now I have a suit that I’m much more comfortable in. As I don’t have regular employment other than my pretend job of super spy, I’m was not immediately sure when and how I was going to wear my new suit.

My idea is now as follows: I’m going to do the morning commute with everyone else in Montréal. I will get up, starting this Monday, put on my suit, head to the closest Metro station and take that metro ride all the way around. Then I will get off at the station where I started, or maybe another station that is also close, walk home with my satchel over my shoulder and a travel mug of coffee in my hand, sit down at in my little home office, and work away - possibly at this blog, probably at the couple of largely ignored projects I should have finished a year ago.

I enjoy a good morning commute. So much people watching to do. No need for small talk, since no one wants to talk. And then there’s the metro ride. I do love a good train trip.

The afternoon commute is not so enjoyable, however, so perhaps I’ll just walk around the block, buy a couple of samosas and announce that I’m finally home when I get back.

It’s fun to pretend to be a contributing member of the workforce.