Boiler Suits: Or, the Trials of Being Reasonably Petite

We've finally received a "packet" (in the form of an email) about the first week of classes and what our transition period will be like.  This included our "kit lists" from the veterinary school... the long-awaited document that details the books, odds, and ends we'll need for the practical and academic sides of vet school (and allows us to estimate the financial damage).

So, being a naive American, I was somewhat confused when I first noticed that a "boiler suit"--specifically, a blue one--was required.  Boiler suit?  The name conjures up coal mines, railroad employees, or old people's basements.  Do we even use boilers anymore?  Fortunately, Wikipedia came to the rescue again, and clarified that a boiler suit is simply a pair of coveralls.  You can read more about them here (although I don't believe they're very interesting).  Might be worth it just to look at the silly picture of the boiler-suited old man, actually.

Having defined the boiler suit, I set out to purchase one of my very own.  Tractor Supply Co. seemed the logical place to go, since they carry a wide variety of coveralls, overalls, and rain gear.  Assuming, that is, that you wear a men's large or larger.  Browsing through the abundant supply of coveralls, the smallest size I could find was a men's MT (that means medium-tall, which I am not).  Naturally, I asked the cashier if they ever stocked coveralls in smaller sizes, to fit people like me.  "Nope," she said. 

Hmm.  "Well, do you think you could order some in my size?"

"Probably not."

We weren't getting anywhere, so I extended my search to the internet.  Where all size small boiler suits in the universe were out of stock.  I found one pair, but it was an attractive slate grey... not blue.  Now I'm not big, but neither am I unnaturally small.  I'm 5'4 1/2", which is above average for a woman.  And I'm not skin and bones, either.  So I didn't think it was very unreasonable to think that someone, somewhere in the world might think to manufacture a pair of coveralls to fit me.  Women need to stay clean, too!  Women are air traffic controllers, and mechanics and yes, large animal veterinarians.  What about Rosie the Riveter?  She wore coveralls!

In the end, at a trip to the far-away Tractor Supply (where they also only had size-gigantic coveralls for 8-foot-high giants), the nice man told me about a uniform store where coveralls were sold.  Sure enough, they had one pair of size small coveralls in the store.  Low and behold, they were even a dark blue!  And on clearance (which makes me doubt my previous assertion that there are other small people desperate for coveralls)!

I'm sure I'll have greater trials to come, but it's nice to focus on the small ones sometimes.  It obscures the bigger picture delightfully.  Four more days in NC...