Am I a Buddy or Am I a Sir?

Am I a Buddy or Am I a Sir?
by Andrzej, October 2005

One of the many good things about my job is the fact that my company doesn't have a dress code. I can choose what I want to wear, as long as I don't look like a caveman. I don't even have to shave every day, which is great, because I am not crazy about shaving. Compared with many other office jobs, the one I have has very few rules when it comes to outward appearance. Some offices follow the tradition of 'casual Friday' according to which, on each Friday office professionals can shed their suits and ties and put on jeans and T-shirts. I thought it would be nice to start my own little tradition. I called it 'fancy Friday'. I come to work looking like a hot-dog vendor for the first four days of the week, and then I dress up on Friday. I guess, trying to be different is my biggest mission in life.

Until recently, I had not realized how my outward appearance affected the way other people viewed me, but a simple coffee stop in the morning opened my eyes. Every now and then I like to stop at a little drive-up coffee place on the way to work. It has a sign on it that says: "Two eyes, two ears, one bladder - no fair". Well said! The nice people there make the best mochas, wonderful lattes and many other kinds of coffee that will wake you up as you drive. You know what they say, "there is no life before coffee". One of the people working there is a friendly, young man whose name I don't know yet, because he's served me only a few times. On one of my 'fancy Fridays',
I drove up to the window all clean-shaven, wearing a dress shirt and a nice tie. We chatted a little, I grabbed my coffee and as I was letting my foot off the brake, he left me with "Have a nice day, sir." "You too", I answered and took the first sip of delicious mocha.

The following Monday, a 'casual Monday' to be exact, I stopped for another mocha (or was it latte? I forgot). Three days worth of facial hair adorned my face, I was wearing some T-shirt that probably remembered president Clinton's term, and old corduroy pants. The same young man greeted me. We chatted again. He handed me my coffee. I handed him the money. He smiled and left me with the words "Have a good one, buddy". Even before the warmth of the plastic cup traveled from the palm of my hand to my brain, I thought: "Buddy? What happened to 'sir'? Aren't you the same guy who served me coffee on Friday? Oh, wait, I get it, that was on Fancy Friday!". I looked in the mirror and I am pretty sure I said it out loud: "Today, I am a buddy!"

I spent the rest of the day trying to decide whether being 'a buddy' is better than being 'a sir'. After all, nothing really changed between Friday and Monday except for my clothes and the hair on my face. I even drove the same old Nissan that I always drive. I came to the conclusion that I'd much rather be a buddy. Buddies play sports together. Sirs sit and negotiate deals. Buddies go fishing. Sirs travel on business and have one of those silly phones attached to one of their ears, the one that looks like a hearing aid. Buddies grill out and swap crazy stories. Sirs go to fancy restaurants and complain about their steak. Yeah. I am a buddy. Definitely. But from time to time, just for the kicks, I am going to turn into a sir. Friday sounds like the right day.

(to) adorn - ozdabiać
as long as
- pod warunkiem, że
bladder -
pęcherz
brake
- hamulec
buddy -
tu: stary, także: kumpel
casual
- nieformalny, niedbały
caveman
- jaskiniowiec
clean-shaven
- świeżo, gładko ogolony
(to) come to the conclusion
- dojść do wniosku
corduroy
- sztruks
dress code
- regulamin dotyczący zasad ubierania się w miejscu pracy
dress shirt - elegancka koszula
(to) dress up
- ubrać się elegancko
drive-up coffee place -
pokaźna budka lub podobna instytucja do której podjeżdża się po kawę po prostu
except for -
za wyjątkiem
fancy
- elegancki
(to) grab -
chwycić, potocznie: kupić
hearing aid -
aparat dla słabosłyszących
I get it
- rozumiem
just for the kicks
- tak dla zabawy, dla jaj
(to) negotiate deals
- negocjować interesy
no fair
- to nie fair
out loud
- na głos
outward appearance
- wygląd zewnętrzny
palm - tu: wnętrze dłoni
(to) shed
- zrzucić
sip -
łyczek
(to) swap
- wymieniać się (czymś)
(to) turn into -
zamienić się w
vendor
- sprzedawca
when it comes to...
- jeżeli chodzi o...

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