Monday's tasks complete
Oct. 17th, 2006 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skyringThe commissionaire at the airport has a small stock of uniform items, and managed to scare me last week with his predictions of ballooning sizes - each year in my career marked by a return visit and "Next size up, please!"
At least the cap is infinitely adjustable, so if my head swells I can accommodate it.
Looking at the fellow giving me the weighty advice, I could tell that he was speaking from experience, becase there are plenty of middle-aged taxidrivers who are lean and keen, and that's the direction in which I'm aiming, being a touch on the tubby side already.
The airport might not have had my generously-proportioned trousers on hand, but I found another outlet that did. Somewhat nervously I tried on the size 92 waist (that's centimetres, not inches, for those of you conjuring up visions of a taxi cab consisting mostly of driver's seat) and found to my vast relief that they fitted perfectly, and I wasn't in that uncomfortable no-mans-land between 92 and 97.
I had to wait half an hour for the embroidery, and I passed the time rummaging through the array of objects that could be personalised with logos, names, pictures and so on. It won't be long before they can inject an animal with some genes and it will grow out in Coca-Cola colours and logo. For a price.
I refrained from getting some warm outerwear. It's the middle of spring and I probably won't need a jacket during the day. If I'm on night shift I'll have enough warning to buy something, but I may not need it. Cabs usually have the engine running continuously, so if I feel cold, I can whack on the heater.
Next stop, once I filled the car up with petrol, was the long hike up Hindmarsh Drive to Woden. I always like cresting the ridge and seeing the valley spread before me, the Brindabellas rising over the far side and a few little toy skyscrapers on the valley floor in the town centre.
Health Services Australia was in one of those buildings. I waited at the counter behind some people who were probably attending for an immigration medical, and then pointed out my problem to the young lady running the show. "The doctor didn't sign my form," I pointed out, "nor did he tick this box saying I'm fit for an unqualified licence."
She looked at it, agreed that the important parts hadn't been completed, and went in search of the doctor, leaving me to wonder if maybe I wasn't as fit as I'd imagined. Luckily she returned with some rubbish excuse and my form filled out correctly before i could make myself sick with worry.
Final stop of the day was Civic. I needed some comfortable black or brown shoes that weren't sneakers. Much as I love my Columbia Razor Ridge boots, their shades of green are an automatic disqualification. I've got some black shoes that are stiff and uncomfortable, used for formal occasions such as weddings and funerals, but I'd hate to spend ten hours in them day after day. Mountain Designs in Braddon is the local Columbia stockist, and I was kind of hoping that as well as their range of hiking and walking and mountain climbing boots, they might have something that could reasonably be seen as fitting into the casual end of what might be acceptable to wear with a cabdriver's uniform.
No such luck, but I used up my ten minutes of parking meter time in looking through the range. There was one pair that might just pass muster, but I'm not accustomed to paying $284.95 for a set of shoes.
Rivers in the Canberra Centre was my fall-back position. They make clothing and footware that is supremely comfortable, and I asked the young lady on duty for advice. She steered me towards a pair of soft leather moccasin style shoes. Brown to fit with the dark blue of my trousers. We started at size seven, my usual fit, but the thick and comfy socks I wear nowadays had me trying sizes upwards until we reached eight and a half, which surprised me, but they were tight enough to walk in and loose enough for comfort, and at $129.95, not too expensive. I've had Rivers shoes before. Comfortable and well-made, long lasting, but not quite the standard of Columbia gear.
But comfort is the name of the game for me. If I'm sitting in a cab for ten or twelve hours straight, I don't want minor irritations in the fit of my clothing turning me into a growling bear at the end of the shift.
So that was Monday. I'm now fully kitted out in uniform, albeit mostly with creases and folds plainly visible, and the next step is to do some practical driving to supplement the mapwork I've been doing in ad breaks for Futurama and Mythbusters.
More later, with photographs.
At least the cap is infinitely adjustable, so if my head swells I can accommodate it.
Looking at the fellow giving me the weighty advice, I could tell that he was speaking from experience, becase there are plenty of middle-aged taxidrivers who are lean and keen, and that's the direction in which I'm aiming, being a touch on the tubby side already.
The airport might not have had my generously-proportioned trousers on hand, but I found another outlet that did. Somewhat nervously I tried on the size 92 waist (that's centimetres, not inches, for those of you conjuring up visions of a taxi cab consisting mostly of driver's seat) and found to my vast relief that they fitted perfectly, and I wasn't in that uncomfortable no-mans-land between 92 and 97.
I had to wait half an hour for the embroidery, and I passed the time rummaging through the array of objects that could be personalised with logos, names, pictures and so on. It won't be long before they can inject an animal with some genes and it will grow out in Coca-Cola colours and logo. For a price.
I refrained from getting some warm outerwear. It's the middle of spring and I probably won't need a jacket during the day. If I'm on night shift I'll have enough warning to buy something, but I may not need it. Cabs usually have the engine running continuously, so if I feel cold, I can whack on the heater.
Next stop, once I filled the car up with petrol, was the long hike up Hindmarsh Drive to Woden. I always like cresting the ridge and seeing the valley spread before me, the Brindabellas rising over the far side and a few little toy skyscrapers on the valley floor in the town centre.
Health Services Australia was in one of those buildings. I waited at the counter behind some people who were probably attending for an immigration medical, and then pointed out my problem to the young lady running the show. "The doctor didn't sign my form," I pointed out, "nor did he tick this box saying I'm fit for an unqualified licence."
She looked at it, agreed that the important parts hadn't been completed, and went in search of the doctor, leaving me to wonder if maybe I wasn't as fit as I'd imagined. Luckily she returned with some rubbish excuse and my form filled out correctly before i could make myself sick with worry.
Final stop of the day was Civic. I needed some comfortable black or brown shoes that weren't sneakers. Much as I love my Columbia Razor Ridge boots, their shades of green are an automatic disqualification. I've got some black shoes that are stiff and uncomfortable, used for formal occasions such as weddings and funerals, but I'd hate to spend ten hours in them day after day. Mountain Designs in Braddon is the local Columbia stockist, and I was kind of hoping that as well as their range of hiking and walking and mountain climbing boots, they might have something that could reasonably be seen as fitting into the casual end of what might be acceptable to wear with a cabdriver's uniform.
No such luck, but I used up my ten minutes of parking meter time in looking through the range. There was one pair that might just pass muster, but I'm not accustomed to paying $284.95 for a set of shoes.
Rivers in the Canberra Centre was my fall-back position. They make clothing and footware that is supremely comfortable, and I asked the young lady on duty for advice. She steered me towards a pair of soft leather moccasin style shoes. Brown to fit with the dark blue of my trousers. We started at size seven, my usual fit, but the thick and comfy socks I wear nowadays had me trying sizes upwards until we reached eight and a half, which surprised me, but they were tight enough to walk in and loose enough for comfort, and at $129.95, not too expensive. I've had Rivers shoes before. Comfortable and well-made, long lasting, but not quite the standard of Columbia gear.
But comfort is the name of the game for me. If I'm sitting in a cab for ten or twelve hours straight, I don't want minor irritations in the fit of my clothing turning me into a growling bear at the end of the shift.
So that was Monday. I'm now fully kitted out in uniform, albeit mostly with creases and folds plainly visible, and the next step is to do some practical driving to supplement the mapwork I've been doing in ad breaks for Futurama and Mythbusters.
More later, with photographs.
