AmyGaleRT
10-31-2013, 09:34 PM
Finally, after months of preparation and waiting, Amy was able to come into the office...as “Witch Amy” for Halloween. The ensuing day exceeded expectations and taught me some valuable lessons.
The night before, I got everything together I would need, all my clothes, jewelry, and makeup, and prepared a messenger bag containing various things I might need, including a small cosmetic bag for all my makeup, a mirror, my hairbrush, my wand, and my actual purse. I also painted my nails, to save time in the morning.
At 5:30 AM, I woke up and started my transformation, taking special care with my makeup. One thing extra I had to accomodate was my security badge holder, which I clipped to the edge of the back tie of my dress, under my right arm and covered by the dress’ voluminous sleeve. I was finished by 7:45 AM, when I picked up my bag and broomstick, put on my satin cape and witch’s hat, and walked out to the car for the drive to work. I put in a CD I’d made of “bewitching” music to help get me in the right mood. The music helped, especially as I started to sing along with Olivia Newton-John: ”Have to believe we are magic, nothin’ can stand in our way…” I also sang along with Heather Nova’s cover of Peter Gabriel’s “I Have The Touch,” from the movie The Craft.
The badge got me into the parking structure, and I arrived at 8:15. I had thought I would get a better spot by arriving sooner, but all the good spots were taken already. I parked the car, shut off the engine, reminded myself, “Remember, confident in yourself, confident in your presentation!”, and opened the door. My heels clicked as I crossed the concrete deck to the stairs; I elected to take the parking structure elevator instead, to keep from having to negotiate the stairs in stiletto heels. With that obstacle successfully passed, I entered the building proper, concentrating to avoid slipping on the tile floor...which was one aspect of this endeavor I had not been able to practice.
The first indication of how the day would go came from the lobby security guard, who said, “I think we have a winner.” “Good morning,” I said to him, in perfect Amy-voice. I entered an elevator with several other people, all bound for floors other than mine. One woman complimented me on my hat before I got off at my floor. I successfully negotiated a badge-locked door and headed for my cubicle, passing a couple of people and telling them “Good morning” in turn.
My cubicle is located along a major traffic hallway that leads from the elevators to the break room, so a number of people came by. It got to be a pattern; someone would come by and express approval or amazement, and I would say, “Good morning,” in Amy-voice. Nobody had anything bad to say, but here’s where I learned my first lesson: People who know the male me can tell that I’m me even while en femme. However, some of them are open-minded enough to switch pronouns without being prompted, like one of my fellow developers who asked me what she should call me. I admitted to the name “Amy,” and she used it for me consistently the rest of the day...and others did, too, as word spread.
Various aspects of my outfit got special mention from various people: my hat, my makeup, my nails, my jewelry, and my shoes. (I was asked if I could really walk in them several times; I would walk a few steps and turn by way of proof. Some GG coworkers would say that they couldn’t walk that gracefully in heels, or that they couldn’t wear that height at all.) However, not one person mentioned something that I thought would get more notice...my boobs. I had expected something like “What are those?” or “Where did you get those?” Maybe they weren’t that obvious, or were just a detail people expected to see. Or maybe people would no sooner draw attention to my ersatz breasts than they would to a GG’s real ones in a work environment.
I did actually manage to get some work done; I ran the code I’d been working on through a couple more test scenarios and then marked the development story as ready for QA. Meantime, I also browsed, touched up my makeup, and used my phone to talk with my fiancee via text message and pass updates to Facebook. I did occasionally get up and walk around; the breaks were welcome, especially since that satin cape was getting overly warm. I sipped gently from a cup of icewater, not wanting to drink too much and have to make frequent restroom visits.
The costume contest started at 11:45, and there were many people dressed in costume, almost stretching end to end in the break room. I stood near one end of the line, broomstick in one hand, wand in the other, easily towering over everyone else due to both my height and my heels. Voting was conducted by applause; when I was called to step forward, I would raise my wand with a flourish, facing both ends of the room. I was picked for the first group of six people, then for the final three...then I was awarded first prize! I received a $50 MasterCard gift card as a result. Second prize went to my fellow developer A., a GG, who was dressed as a voodoo priestess, with a voodoo doll that had a picture of the CEO’s face attached to it. Third place went to S. from the QA department, who was wearing a “morphsuit” that make him look like a cross between a harlequin and a walking anatomy demonstration. (He came by my cubicle a couple of times earlier, miming a threatening posture; I mimed raising my wand to zap him, and he feigned hurt and left.) I spoke with A. later, apologizing if I’d stolen her thunder. She was pleased that I’d dressed, though, even if I’d beaten her, and complimented my outfit. (Apparently the CEO made some joking comment to her like “I’ll be keeping an eye on you!” He said nothing to me, though.)
Afterwards, I shed my cape, and joined the line for the potluck lunch. I didn’t eat much, though. I continued to be Amy through the afternoon, to such an extent that one of my coworkers said, “You’re freaking me out, you never broke character once!” (Little does he know that this is a bit more than just a “character.”) I think I unnerved my manager a bit, though he won’t admit to it and was very complimentary. Later that afternoon, some people brought their kids in to go trick-or-treating around the office, and I got to interact with some of the children.
A bit after 5:00, I managed to negotiate the stairs down to the next floor (where some of our offices are located) and ducked into the ladies’ room. One other woman was in there, but she didn’t see me enter and I never saw her, only heard her. Afterwards, I went back upstairs and packed things up for the day. I shared the elevator ride down with one of our GG executives, who had been very complimentary. A couple of men got on at a lower floor, and one of them looked at me for a second before saying, “Could’ve fooled me for a minute!” Lesson here: I don’t really “pass” all that well, especially at the end of a long day when my makeup is showing wear. As we all got off a the lobby, the executive waved me ahead of her, saying, “Ladies first!” We began the walk to the parking structure, my feet really hurting now from being in those heels all day. That was the only time I stumbled, overloaded and over-tired; the executive stopped to make sure I was OK before we proceeded on. Another lesson: Next time, bring along a pair of flats for the end of the day! (Not unlike what the executive herself does, she told me.) Somehow, I made it up the elevator and to my car, where I paused briefly to dig out my purse and transfer some items into it; that made me feel better to have it with me. As a final note, once I got home, I encountered our new next door neighbor, who had just gotten home herself. “You look great!” she told me. “Thank you,” I said to her, still in Amy-voice. And the first thing I did when I got inside...found my flats! Ahhhh! :)
The day was very positive, in my opinion, and very validating for my feminine self-image. And it was a lot of fun, besides! :D
- Amy
The night before, I got everything together I would need, all my clothes, jewelry, and makeup, and prepared a messenger bag containing various things I might need, including a small cosmetic bag for all my makeup, a mirror, my hairbrush, my wand, and my actual purse. I also painted my nails, to save time in the morning.
At 5:30 AM, I woke up and started my transformation, taking special care with my makeup. One thing extra I had to accomodate was my security badge holder, which I clipped to the edge of the back tie of my dress, under my right arm and covered by the dress’ voluminous sleeve. I was finished by 7:45 AM, when I picked up my bag and broomstick, put on my satin cape and witch’s hat, and walked out to the car for the drive to work. I put in a CD I’d made of “bewitching” music to help get me in the right mood. The music helped, especially as I started to sing along with Olivia Newton-John: ”Have to believe we are magic, nothin’ can stand in our way…” I also sang along with Heather Nova’s cover of Peter Gabriel’s “I Have The Touch,” from the movie The Craft.
The badge got me into the parking structure, and I arrived at 8:15. I had thought I would get a better spot by arriving sooner, but all the good spots were taken already. I parked the car, shut off the engine, reminded myself, “Remember, confident in yourself, confident in your presentation!”, and opened the door. My heels clicked as I crossed the concrete deck to the stairs; I elected to take the parking structure elevator instead, to keep from having to negotiate the stairs in stiletto heels. With that obstacle successfully passed, I entered the building proper, concentrating to avoid slipping on the tile floor...which was one aspect of this endeavor I had not been able to practice.
The first indication of how the day would go came from the lobby security guard, who said, “I think we have a winner.” “Good morning,” I said to him, in perfect Amy-voice. I entered an elevator with several other people, all bound for floors other than mine. One woman complimented me on my hat before I got off at my floor. I successfully negotiated a badge-locked door and headed for my cubicle, passing a couple of people and telling them “Good morning” in turn.
My cubicle is located along a major traffic hallway that leads from the elevators to the break room, so a number of people came by. It got to be a pattern; someone would come by and express approval or amazement, and I would say, “Good morning,” in Amy-voice. Nobody had anything bad to say, but here’s where I learned my first lesson: People who know the male me can tell that I’m me even while en femme. However, some of them are open-minded enough to switch pronouns without being prompted, like one of my fellow developers who asked me what she should call me. I admitted to the name “Amy,” and she used it for me consistently the rest of the day...and others did, too, as word spread.
Various aspects of my outfit got special mention from various people: my hat, my makeup, my nails, my jewelry, and my shoes. (I was asked if I could really walk in them several times; I would walk a few steps and turn by way of proof. Some GG coworkers would say that they couldn’t walk that gracefully in heels, or that they couldn’t wear that height at all.) However, not one person mentioned something that I thought would get more notice...my boobs. I had expected something like “What are those?” or “Where did you get those?” Maybe they weren’t that obvious, or were just a detail people expected to see. Or maybe people would no sooner draw attention to my ersatz breasts than they would to a GG’s real ones in a work environment.
I did actually manage to get some work done; I ran the code I’d been working on through a couple more test scenarios and then marked the development story as ready for QA. Meantime, I also browsed, touched up my makeup, and used my phone to talk with my fiancee via text message and pass updates to Facebook. I did occasionally get up and walk around; the breaks were welcome, especially since that satin cape was getting overly warm. I sipped gently from a cup of icewater, not wanting to drink too much and have to make frequent restroom visits.
The costume contest started at 11:45, and there were many people dressed in costume, almost stretching end to end in the break room. I stood near one end of the line, broomstick in one hand, wand in the other, easily towering over everyone else due to both my height and my heels. Voting was conducted by applause; when I was called to step forward, I would raise my wand with a flourish, facing both ends of the room. I was picked for the first group of six people, then for the final three...then I was awarded first prize! I received a $50 MasterCard gift card as a result. Second prize went to my fellow developer A., a GG, who was dressed as a voodoo priestess, with a voodoo doll that had a picture of the CEO’s face attached to it. Third place went to S. from the QA department, who was wearing a “morphsuit” that make him look like a cross between a harlequin and a walking anatomy demonstration. (He came by my cubicle a couple of times earlier, miming a threatening posture; I mimed raising my wand to zap him, and he feigned hurt and left.) I spoke with A. later, apologizing if I’d stolen her thunder. She was pleased that I’d dressed, though, even if I’d beaten her, and complimented my outfit. (Apparently the CEO made some joking comment to her like “I’ll be keeping an eye on you!” He said nothing to me, though.)
Afterwards, I shed my cape, and joined the line for the potluck lunch. I didn’t eat much, though. I continued to be Amy through the afternoon, to such an extent that one of my coworkers said, “You’re freaking me out, you never broke character once!” (Little does he know that this is a bit more than just a “character.”) I think I unnerved my manager a bit, though he won’t admit to it and was very complimentary. Later that afternoon, some people brought their kids in to go trick-or-treating around the office, and I got to interact with some of the children.
A bit after 5:00, I managed to negotiate the stairs down to the next floor (where some of our offices are located) and ducked into the ladies’ room. One other woman was in there, but she didn’t see me enter and I never saw her, only heard her. Afterwards, I went back upstairs and packed things up for the day. I shared the elevator ride down with one of our GG executives, who had been very complimentary. A couple of men got on at a lower floor, and one of them looked at me for a second before saying, “Could’ve fooled me for a minute!” Lesson here: I don’t really “pass” all that well, especially at the end of a long day when my makeup is showing wear. As we all got off a the lobby, the executive waved me ahead of her, saying, “Ladies first!” We began the walk to the parking structure, my feet really hurting now from being in those heels all day. That was the only time I stumbled, overloaded and over-tired; the executive stopped to make sure I was OK before we proceeded on. Another lesson: Next time, bring along a pair of flats for the end of the day! (Not unlike what the executive herself does, she told me.) Somehow, I made it up the elevator and to my car, where I paused briefly to dig out my purse and transfer some items into it; that made me feel better to have it with me. As a final note, once I got home, I encountered our new next door neighbor, who had just gotten home herself. “You look great!” she told me. “Thank you,” I said to her, still in Amy-voice. And the first thing I did when I got inside...found my flats! Ahhhh! :)
The day was very positive, in my opinion, and very validating for my feminine self-image. And it was a lot of fun, besides! :D
- Amy