OK, please allow me a moment of tremendous self-indulgence …
I was talking with a reporter today and he asked me how long it had been since I left my corporate job. I scratched my forehead, looked at the calendar and did the math – and realized that the last day I wore pantyhose as an employee of a large corporation was …
Ten years ago today!
August 15, 1996 was the day I walked out the door of my corporate job, never to look back. I was 29, very tired (I was in the middle of a bout of pneumonia) and not sure what was next.
Boy am I glad I made that decision!
I just had to share that with you.
Congratulations! And we’re all glad you did so you could impart wisdom and great insights to us.
Celebrate the courage it took 10 years ago & enjoy!
I’m coming up on seven years and it has been bliss!
Congrats, sister!
Marilyn.
Congratulations, Pam! I too am celebrating an anniversary this month: 18 years of solo-tude. It’s been scary, it’s been fun, and–all in all–it’s been a perfect fit for this independent-minded personality. Thanks for sharing your celebration and giving all of us out here a sense of community and direction.
That’s fantastic! What an inspiration!
Soon, you’ll be announcing your 10th blog anniversary. Keep up the wonderful work, Pam.
Hey sis, congrats on your tenth anniversary! I have a feeling your next decade of freedom will be even more amazing than your first! Keep on going. You’re a great inspiration to those who are beginning to claim their own freedom.
Thanks everyone!
I am so lucky to have your support.
To misquote a line from a forgotten sappy movie, “You make me a better woman!”
And now… you’re WAY over colored for corporate. Once you’ve worn all the hats, you no longer fit inside of a job description.
Inspiring! I wish I could have done that at 29. But better late than never!
Happy Anniversary!
Thank goodness you did or else we would be the poorer off without your inspiring words and encouragement. We’d be fumbling around, depressed as hell and in jobs we hate with zero prospect of summoning up the courage to get out and do our own thing.But you are here and we are forever grateful.
So, 10 years was a neat and nice prologue to the real stuff.
It now behoves me to advise again that this day shall be forever recalled as the start of the begining of so much more to come.
In the words of that forgettable bard of the outrageous, “Go get ’em tiger!”
What a coincidence. August 15th is India’s Independence Day.
We can see in real, what a decade of passion can make.
Happy Anniversary.
Pam,
WOW 10 years, Congratulations!
And I bet it doesn’t feel as long as the preceding 5 years.
A decade of pantyhoselessness! It must have been a breeze!
______
John, I won’t say I never wore pantyhose again … just not as a forced requirement of being an employee. When I wore them, I did it out of free will, deciding to confine my legs as a gesture of extreme sensitivity towards the culture of my customer. Call it a meaningless distinction if you will – but my working sisters out there know what it means to be FORCED to wear pantyhose.
(Once I did rebel at a conservative client site and let my bare, red toenails peek out of strappy black shoes even though I was told that “women are required to wear nylons here.” A woman has to draw the line somewhere!)
Time flies when you are having fun right?
Just think how long ago it would have seemed, had you suffered in a meaningless void these last 10 years!
Congrats and Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations! I am 29, and I am planning to quit my corporate job in 3-4 months. You have encouraged me to make this decision. Thank you very much. I am sure that after 10 years, I will be as happy as you about this decision.
Happy anniversary 🙂