Life in a Suit: The City

Let's talk about the city...

No, I'm not talking about the city and that hit show where fashion and acts of the night are up and about. I'm talking about the city where I currently work where people are trying to pave a good walking experience (despite the smoke and the number of people constantly bumping you). I'm talking about the city I would like to dub thee as the 'Big M'.

After two years of working here, I realized that I'm quite familiar with everything already. From the restaurants, nearby shops, malls and its version of food trucks splattered on the sidewalks.

I'm used to the city.

But I don't live in it.

I'm fifteen minutes away from the city and on a good Saturday, I only need to catch a ride to the train and voila! Leisure time for me. On a working day, I take one of the shuttles that drops me off three blocks from my office. I love this walk and if I'm not rushing, I drop by a coffee shop along the way or near the back of my office building to buy a highly expensive cappuccino.

People are not as fashionable as you may think. A lot of times, people walk wearing flats or flip-flops. People leave their coats behind, unless their rushing to a meeting and are covered by the usual jacket or cardigan. Most of the time, a sea of black slacks would accompany you while waiting for the 'walking man' signal to turn green. During these moments, you are one of the urban workforce. You belong to a statistic of the employed (and hopefully, the dreamer). Sometimes, you might hear a man arguing on the phone or a bunch of girls with their office gossip. Nevertheless, you will always be accompanied by the last hurrah of an old, beaten down engine that is over its last miles.

Once you reach a nearby mall on a workday, the crowd becomes a force, a wave that will lead you to the train station if you do not counter their flow. Best thing to do would be to grab a bite before you tackle the commute home. An affordable sandwich is nearby if you want to feel like you are indeed in NY. You can eat on the steps of the mall center and pretend that behind you is some important building manufactured by history. If you feel rebellious, bars are quite open on a working day. They'd sell you cheap beer and give you a handful of peanuts while you light a cigarette and look important. Truthfully, I love this experience. Walking inside a restaurant, hitting straight for the bar while adjusting my suit to make yourself comfortable. Then, I light up a cig and I tell myself: "You had a pretty long day... at least your not jobless!"

However, the best part of my day would be the moment I step out of the office building with the sky not as dark as it ought to be. It feels early and I quickly put on my earphones. I smile and I start listening to my walking playlist. My step is a little bit faster when the song is upbeat and a little bit slower when I'm listening to something sad. It's that time of the day when you think: "Yeah, my personal time just started."

Because, honestly, the moment you wake up until your working hours end is all about work. It's all about finding the right outfit for work, rushing to be on time for work or even taking a bath because you don't want to smell when you're in work. It's not true that you can have lunch outside (unless you're having it with your own colleagues because you do work still while eating) or you can play hookie just like that (because you probably won't have work when they find out that you have no valid reason to take a leave that day).

Working in the city is hard and people always assume that it will be easy just like in the movies. I guess, what's keep me sane is the idea that when my work hours end, my personal one begins and that's why you have to get through the day.

So that's my life in a suit while working in the city. I hope you understand now why I find it so hard to meet at times. I also hope that you get it, that it's not that I'm pulling away, but I can't always extend the effort. The city is near, accessible and more affordable to me.

Suited,

Someone Anxious.