The first (and last) time I had to wear a uniform at work was when I was a sixteen-year-old Hardee’s employee. The outfit consisted of a stiff polyester shirt, which soaked up the smell of a sourdough Frisco Burger faster than you could mutter, “Would you like fries with that?”, and pleated pants made from the same material which hung from one’s midsection in the most unflattering manner. Needless to say, it was a joyous day when my employee/employer relationship with them came to an end (a story which is best told in a pub).
Fast forward a million light years to Earthling’s office on W. Main St. in Madison, WI, where the joke is, in order to look like a developer, one must wear a grey hoodie. Except it’s not really a joke.
As the frigid Wisconsin air becomes nearly unbearable (for some), we at Earthling turn to our new uniforms with pride and joy. At lunch, the kitchen is full of friendly banter and donned grey hoodies, complete with the Earthling logo; people who left theirs at home after the holiday break have missed the hug of fuzzy fabric. And when three uniformed folks meet at the intersection of our hallway, chuckling ensues.
Pleasantly, the opposite situation from my sixteen-year-old self.