Business Smart Fashion for Fall

Black tall boots with comfortable short heels, a finely knitted black dress, and stockings (rather sheer).

This attire is compact to pack, it is easy to maintain, it matches any accessories, and above all, it looks smart.  I have proof for that.

I travelled to Oregon last night with a tiny bag that carried all my stuff.  I spent less than 6 hours in a hotel room.  I had enough time to sleep for four hours and 40 minutes, to take a quick shower, and to recharge my iPhone and iPad.

I met with our sales representative, J.R. around 7:34AM in the lobby.  We headed to the Starbucks on the other side of the street where we were served by a very pretty, blue-eyed blond-curly-haired girl; just my opposites in terms of features.  She looked innocent; I think it was her eyes; and I was happy to look at her for as long as I did as J.R. took some time to pick his pastry.

After a quick chat about the account we were going to visit with my colleague we walked back to his car and drove down to the acount.
The downtown area where my hotel was located at looked clean and un-crowded for an early morning rush.  Soon after getting out of the downtown district we reached a road on a hill toward the hospital.  There was a green forest at one side that was a refreshing surprise.

Our meeting was going to happen at the hospital.  The hospital was located on top of a hill with a nice view of the city.  It was in there that I concluded that the people of that city were friendly:

In Oregan it was clearly the beginning of falls as it was chilly and most people were in jackets and even scarves.  It was grey and cloudy.  One would anticipate grumpy people delved in their misery until next spring, especially in a university hospital to where people with problems would come. Not at all!  Inside the hospital, people were walking calmly, no haste, no grumpiness.  They appeared friendly, smiling at strangers (me).  They would excuse themselves for being even close to bump to you (not yet bumping you).  They would hold doors and take turn in getting in and out of elevators.

We got to the 11^th floor where I got introduced to Dr B., the main person I wanted to meet in this trip.  We had never met before but I had sent him one email the day before to introduce myself and announce my intent for the visit. He was busy with cases and mending his interns so we had small talks here and there until finally we were summoned to his office.  As soon as we sat down he said: “so you are in marketing but you are an engineer”.  I was like “!!!! How do you know??!!”.–“well, you are smart and honest.” –“!!!”

So, when I stopped at lady’s room I took a good look at my image.  This was a smart and honest looking lady.  But what was fascinating was how he said I WAS smart and honest, not that I SEEMED smart and honest or I LOOKED smart and honest.  That was neat!  I suspect that it is the smart looking attire ;)

About Portland

The district close to downtown is called Pearl District and has a rather modern vibe to it.  It has old factories converted to lofts, condos, and little shops.  There were small boutiques with modern arts and furniture and quite a few book shops.

I asked J.R. about a local coffee chain to which he responded “stumptown”.  The mocha was just fantastic!  It was indeed bitter with no overwhelming sugary taste, it felt creamy and rich.  I miss its taste already.

Many people walking on foot and apparently the public transportation is well-programmed.

I liked Portland as far as I could explore it in a 14-hour business trip.