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Updated: Apr 15, 2021 76 Comments · by

Work from Home Hall of Fame: Ultrasoft Denim Leggings

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I've posted these before for Weekend Open Threads, but if you're working from home I thought I'd give these a shout out as great around-the-house pants. Here's why I like them: they're super comfortable. They're easy to wash. They have functional back pockets big enough for your phone. Also, they look polished enough should you need to run an errand. The pictured ones are $48 at Nordstrom, but you can find them in a ton of places, including Amazon and Macy's. Ultrasoft Denim Leggings

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Sales of note for 9.30.24

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Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Never too many shoes...

    I don’t much care for the leggings but can anyone point me to those shoes? I think they will definitely amp up my pj/messy bun look.

    • Anon

      Ha I was just going to say the opposite! Cute pants, want to set the shoes on fire.

      • Anon

        I love those shoes. They remind me of the shoes they wore in the movie Brazil (also on their hats), then Maud Frizon had some like this on the market in the late 80s early 90s. <- dating myself

        But I could never walk in heels that high.

  2. Anonymous

    Something scary happened in my car today. It cut off while driving. It was in motion, so I had to stop it and then put it in park and then turn it off and on to get it to go again. Luckily, almost no one is driving (this was around town, so streets with stoplights and <30 MPH). During all of this, the radio was on (so is it NOT electrical then?).

    I know I need to get it looked at. But how do I translate it into car-speak that will be meaningful to the mechanics? And is this a take-it-to-the-dealer issue?

    This happened once before last week and I thought the car stalled out, but I mis-thought that at the time (I am used to cars stalling but now that I think of it that is b/c I am used to driving stick and my user error; this car is an automatic).

    Car is ~9 years old; 60K miles. Ugh.

    • Anon

      I think you can just call and describe what happened. If you want to sound more knowledgeable you could ask them to check the charging system, it could be the alternator or the belt or something. Don’t take it to a dealer unless you’re under warranty.

    • Anon

      Had something similar and my mechanic suggested it might be an alternator issue (it wasn’t for me, but my car was 13 years old and had over 115k miles so we decided to just get rid of it).

    • MagicUnicorn

      There are several fairly common things that could cause this. CPS, ignition switch/system, fuel pump, alternator, etc. Just tell your mechanic what happened and what you were doing when it cut off and they should be able to track it down, especially if it caused the internal computer to throw any codes.

      Just to be sure, you had gas in the tank, correct? Sounds like you did if you were able to start it without trouble, but that is the one “duh” thing to confirm before taking it in for a repair job.

        • Shenandoah

          I had an old car just turn off/die mid-turn at an intersection. Turned out it was an issue with the fuel pump, and the car essentially thought it was out of gas and shut down.

    • Anonymous

      Check fuel pump, ignition switch and alternator…those are the three most likely causes.

    • Anonymous

      Our old car did this and had a number of other intermittent poltergeist-like issues, and what finally fixed most of them was replacing both of its computers. It was a 1996, and it still had 2 different computers.

    • Anon

      If your car was like my old one and sort of “chugged” for a few seconds before dying, it might be the oxygen intake sensor. That was the cause of mine and even on a 1997 car they were able to tell that from the error code (after my mother argued with them that it was not just an air filter like they suggested and that they really needed to check what the error code was). Agree that it is frightening though; mine did this several times before I could get it home from college to be serviced and it was nerve-wracking.

      • HFB

        Was something like that on my 95 Saturn… (became a problem in 2011) . I want to say it was called an EGR valve…it took many months and visits to many mechanics to get it diagnosed.

    • Anon

      any mechanic should be able to plug into your car’s computer and let you know what happened. Most of them will do this for free.

    • In House Lobbyist

      I had a car that would turn off if I made a sharp turn (like into a parking lot) when the AC was on. It was the spark plugs. But the car was about 200K miles so I was just trying to get a house sold before buying a new car.

  3. anon

    Can anyone explain to me WTH the deal is with toilet paper? I mean, yeah it’s a joke, but some people are actually buying it, because the whole aisles are empty.

    • Mel

      I don’t get it. And what is with everyone buying all the produce? At least paper doesn’t rot. My grocery store was out of almost everything in the produce section yesterday except a few things of parsley.

      • Anon

        No but it’s heaven for mice, so some of the folks who are panic buying will have a surprise when they get down to their last pack.

      • AnonInfinity

        We bought produce so we can have fresh food while it’s available. We’re saving the canned and dried foods for a time if we can’t go to the store.

      • Anonymous

        I have definitely been buying more grocery type things (incl produce) since WFH means having to prepare all my meals every day, instead of eating out or snacking on whatever is in the office. Could that be a factor in your area?

    • Lyssa

      Toilet paper is really bulky, and the demand for it is usually pretty predictable, so stores don’t keep a lot in stock, and if just a little more than normal gets bought up, it looks like a lot more (because it’s so bulky). So, people started buying extra just like they were everything else, but it looked like a major run – so people got it in their heads there was a shortage, and started buying more, and so on.

      We started buying TP on subscribe and save ages ago, but never have managed to get the frequency right, which means we’ve had an absurd amount stockpiled for months. So, I was hording toilet paper before it was cool!

      I’ve got nothing on the produce. Apparently there wasn’t a carrot to be had in the stores today for my corned beef and cabbage.

      • Ellen

        Dad says that people are scared, and the media makes it worse to the point that people are literally $hitting in their panties, so they go to the store and think they won’t have TP when they need it, so they buy like it is going to be none left for them to $hit with. Dad told me he has a pile of old NY Times in the garage that can be used as TP if we ever need it. He says that in France, they used copies of Le Monde as TP when there were no rolls left.

        I think that older people should NOT have to stand on line for food. I went to Fairway’s and the lines were so long that I left and just ordered a pizza from Ray’s and ate all of it with Myrna. Myrna will take me out to LI this weekend, and she is welcome to stay with me in my room b/c the other 4 bedrooms are all fully occupied with Mom and Dad, Grandma Leyeh, Grandma Trudy and Grandma Trudy’s boyfreind Morty is staying in the other bedroom b/c Mom did not want to think her mom was in the next room haveing s-x with someone other then her dad (who is not even alive).

    • Mpls

      It’s panic that fed on itself. A few people freak out and buy all the TP at one store, and then pretty soon there’s a picture of the empty shelves, so everyone else is like “better get mine before everyone else does”. And its everyone buying it all at once and the stores not have the ability to restock during the day (so there are more pics of the empty shelves), or just ordered their normal amount from the supplier, not anticipating a run on TP.

      And the reality is you are going to go through more than usually do if you working from home because you don’t have Employer bathrooms to use. But it’s not going to be THAT much more.

      • anon

        +all of this, and while grocery stores might get daily/near-daily deliveries of perishable stuff, their normal routine for paper goods etc. has longer delivery rhythms. So a TP shelf cleaned out today may not be restocked for a few days, whereas the produce section gets refilled more often. Nobody in today’s world is used to cleaned out shelves, so it’s a cycle of panic buying.
        I read somewhere that producers have upped their capacity somewhat, maybe longer shifts in production and delivery. But clearly, no producer wants to buy a set of new capital equipment to significantly increase their production capacity in the long term. All those stockpiles mean a lot of demand has been shifted, those people won’t buy TP for months.
        I might use more TP at home, but my employer will use less, so it should even out on the supply side very quickly.

      • Anon

        I’ve had a cold for the last three weeks (yes, I’ve been WFH and minimizing contact, and I’ve definitely been wondering if it’s “just a cold”) and I’ve gone through so much TP just wiping my nose. I feel like TP is better than tissues environmentally (no box, smaller pieces). Just saying.

      • Anon

        I bought early because I anticipated possibly not being able to shop for 14 days if I or a family member got sick, per early CDC guidance. I’m a risk averse person so it was sort of a self comforting mechanism to stock the pantry.

        But I only bought one jumbo pack of TP, calculating that it should be enough for a 14 day period. I didn’t anticipate the panic buying and the fact I may not be able to buy more if I need it.

  4. WFH Help

    Hi. My partner and I had chosen not to have internet or cable at home for the last 5 years. Now, we need it because we will be working remotely and indefinitely. Do you have a favorite brand of hotspot? Things to consider as we try to select one? We are leaning that direction because we don’t want a year long contract. We hope to return to having a disconnected home in the upcoming weeks or months.

    • Anonymous

      Can you just tether to your iPhone? That is how I log in to work when I am stranded at some kid activity now that my kids are older (but sadly not old enough to drive yet).

    • Anonymous

      We are relying entirely on cellular hotspots right now for 2 adults WFH and 2 kids homeschooling with all of the screentime that implies. It is working surprisingly well, but we are in a rural area with no broadband where this is somewhat common. I’m using both Verizon and ATT since work is one and my personal is the other.

      • Anon

        LOL

        My grandparents only have a hotspot because they can’t get internet at their house, and they’ve had Verizon for many, many years. It works for them. My aunt also has a hotspot and she uses Verizon- she’s used up the data on it before, but also seems to like it.

      • Anonymous

        Lol, I’m not entirely unplugged like OP, but I do not commonly browse the internet, use streaming services, or have a television and haven’t in years. I do have home internet because I occasionally work remotely, use it for banking and booking travel, and my kid gets a couple of hours of iPad time on weekends (PBS kids apps). We sometimes listen to kid-friendly podcasts and I sometimes listen to NPR. During kid-free moments of downtime, I bake and read (a lot) — both print magazines and tons of books (fiction and nonfiction).

    • Anon

      Try to sign up for the hotspot services on your phones until you get services connected in your house. I don’t know how you’ve managed for this long but you really should have internet capabilities at home (cable is a luxury not a necessity). Your phone will not be a reliable enough hotspot for two people to wfh consistently. You don’t need to enter into a year long contract, many services are month to month now.

    • NOLA

      My dude has unlimited data on his phone plan so he has his phone set up as a hotspot and he uses that with a fire stick for TV and for internet when he WFH. The one issue with it is that his phone has to be in the room to use the TV. If we were to shelter in place, we would probably want to be at my house, where I have cable and wifi. Unfortunately, he is self-isolating because he has been at so many medical facilities in the past few days, consulting on isolation and containment projects.

      • Senior Attorney

        YMMV, but I have unlimited data on my phone except when I use it as a hotspot. After a certain amount it’s no longer high speed. So check your plan.

        • NOLA

          Yeah, he will figure it out, I’m sure. He has been using it as a hotspot for a while for his tablet, but just started using it for TV in the past week or so. If it turns out that we have to shelter in place and he doesn’t have wifi or TV, I’m sure he’ll end up at my place.

      • Ellen

        Do you really think you want him 24 / 7 in your apartement? I worry that people who havent gone through this like me might say OK, but trust me, most men are total buffoons when it comes to 24/7, and they will NOT respect your need for quiet time or just time away from them. My ex was such a schlub that I eventually just told him to go and NOT come back, so just know what you are doing when you take a guy into your home 24/7. Its a mess. Trust me. Don’t do it.

    • Mpls

      Your your local ISPs actually require a contract? I’ve got Centurylink and I don’t think I have to stick it out for any period of time. I feel likes it’s been a while since you need a year long commitment to lock in a price. But I suppose that can vary by region. Benefit is that it tends to be a set price per month vs charging b/c of data.

      • Anon

        Yeah, maybe this was true five years ago, but you don’t need to sign a contract for any of the service providers where I live.

    • Anonymous

      If you are in the COMCAST footprint, they’ve opened up all of their WIFI hot spots for free. You may want to see if you are in there. Many of the cell providers are opening up all the gigs for everyone right now too. Check your mobile provider.

  5. Z

    My little sister’s college graduation just got cancelled for a “virtual ceremony.” I knew it would happen but I’m so mad they’re going right to a virtual ceremony, not even offering to postpone it.

    What are the chances I can get a refund from hotels . com on a previously non-refundable room?

    • Vicky Austin

      I don’t know about refunds, but commiseration – both my sister and my husband’s were supposed to graduate this spring and all of that is just…gone. They are so sad.

      • Z

        I feel so bad for all the graduates. I think most of us can say finishing college with our friends and graduating were amazing experiences. I’m so sad that they can’t have that. Sorry to you and your family too.

    • Anonymous

      I was supposed to be in San Francisco tomorrow. Hotels . com cancelled and refunded my money due to the emergency situation.

    • LaurenB

      “Mad” doesn’t seem like the appropriate response. “Saddened,” maybe. But “mad”? It’s not in anyone’s control right now.

      And wouldn’t it be better to actually call hotels.com and find out their cancellation policy, versus ask us? Go to the source.

      • Anon

        Yeah, when would they postpone it to? Next year, when everybody’s scattered? A lot of this sucks and people have a lot of very legitimate reasons to be sad and disappointed, but mad is not a good reaction.

      • Z

        hotels . com is requesting people not call until their travel is within 7 days, so I can’t call them.

        Also excuse you, don’t tell me I can’t feel mad about it. I can feel however I want about it. Obviously I’m sad, I can’t see my little sister graduate. Other schools are postponing instead of cancelling outright.

        • Anon

          When would they postpone it to? This isn’t something that will be resolved soon and everyone who is graduating is leaving the area and moving on with their lives. I work in higher ed, and most schools are canceling. Postponing just seems like giving people false hope, honestly.

          • Anon

            +1. I get being sad and disappointed, but postponing for anything more than a week or two just doesn’t seem practical. I feel so bad for the graduates and for all the juniors who were called back from study abroad, though.

          • anon

            +2, this is a difficult time and to be completely honest, I think a missed graduation is near the bottom of the list as far as things to be “mad” about. Someone on one of my birth boards is mad because her manager isn’t happy enough about her pregnancy. I mean, people’s lives (and livelihoods) are at risk here – I think a little perspective by everyone would help.

        • theguvnah

          I’m assuming this is your older sister because you sound like an actual child.

      • Anonymous

        Mad??? They cancelled to try to protect the safety of your family and others as these events typically draw all ages. If you think they are going to push this to end of summer and magically not put a bunch of attendees’ health at risk you’re fooling yourself.

  6. Anon

    Question about supporting small businesses- I’m in WA, where everything is closed except for take out and delivery. This is wreaking havoc, of course. People understand why, but it’s still very difficult for restaurants and coffee shops. Coffee shops possibly more so, because they can’t switch to delivery like a restaurant can and they so rely on a consistent flow of small orders.

    Is it foolish to go to a coffee shop (essentially empty…) just to order a latte and take it to go? I’ve been doing that 2x a day when walking the dog. I’m high-risk, but the coffee shops I’m going to are being super, super careful about hygiene, washing hands between every order, wiping down surfaces, etc. I just really don’t want them to have to close.

      • Carrots

        I did this with a coffee shop by my office the last time I walked past. I know I’ll be back there, so I stopped for a coffee, some treats to keep at home this first week, and a gift cards for later when things are back to “normal”

    • Anon

      You can call in an order (maybe pay over phone?) and walk in, pick it up, and walk out, limiting your exposure.

    • Sassyfras

      If you wanted to reduce your exposure, buy a gift card. They get all the cash up front and you can use when things calm down.

    • Anon

      I think this is a fine idea, and if there were an independent coffee shop within walking distance, I would be doing this.

    • BB

      Not sure how to balance this with all the “DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE” advice from this morning. I’m also the one that asked about going to pick up lunch (I ended up running out of time and not doing it), but it’s a similar question. I’m pretty sure the food hall is empty right now. Less than 50% of the stalls are open and all the offices in the area are closed. So either I’m being an AH for not staying in my house or I’m not supporting local businesses?

  8. Anonymous

    Not only is the large law firm that I work at not doing WFH yet, I found out today that the managing partner who made that decision fled the state and has been WFH from his vacation home for at least a week. RAGE. They also told staff that in the event the firm be shut down and they don’t have personal computers to use Citrix from that they will not be paid. Many don’t, and the firm sent attorneys a mass email asking us to loan staff OUR personal computers. You know, instead of purchasing them. DOUBLE RAGE!!

    • Anonymous

      What. The Everloving. F. Please just loan staff your warm and sincere recommendation for a new job

      • Anon employee

        I’ll pitch in. Our boss was annoyed that our building landlord sent out a notice that janitorial and maintenance staff were cutting back to emergency-work-orders-only to protect their health and that everyone else was WFH. I got scolded for responding to her company-wide email with our state governor’s advice that all non-essential offices (such as ours) move to WFH. I basically told her to stop acting irresponsibly with others’ lives for the sake of her own entitlement.

    • Anonymous

      That’s crazy. We can’t use Citrix on our personal computers. It is a violation of our policies. Our firm just bought some new laptops for folks who didn’t already have them.

    • Anonymous

      Threads like this make me appreciate my large law firm and it’s response so much (we’re mostly mandatory work from home and somehow managed to acquire enough laptops quickly to cover the gap for staff that didn’t have personal computers).
      Though honestly I can’t wait to see how many people ask me to explain to them how to use WebEx. (No, I’m not the IT department, just the team’s techy millennial attorney (and by “techy” I mean minimally competent with basic office software.))

      • Rainbow Hair

        “the team’s techy millennial attorney (and by “techy” I mean minimally competent with basic office software)” … extremely relatable!

    • Anonymous

      My BigLaw firm is routinely trashed in Above The Law and yet has good IT people and has been very zen about WFH including staff and has been providing training. Maybe 30% of people in my office today (not west coast or NYC/BOS) or in and out for a bit to use the good printers. Way to go, AnonBigLaw firm.

      FWIW, I have had kids for a while, so they are really used to me doing WFH from some every day (and for weeks when stomach bugs or lice of chicken pox / whooping cough go around randomly (thanx, antivaxxers)), so my team is actually pretty skilled at WFH now (y’all: don’t wait for a crisis to road test things!).

      I get that slackers abuse WFH (but they abuse things generally), but good WFH hygiene is a good business continuity asset to have in place.

    • Anon

      I have a conservative friend who took early retirement and moved to an even more conservative area. Her many, many facebook posts have been all about defending the POTUS, reminding everyone that some people have cancer and they have it much worse than anyone who gets COVID, that people need to stop freaking out, and that she’s had the flu many times and it only lasts a day or two.

      I really need to unfriend her.

      • Anon

        Geez you should. I can’t believe she’d use the cancer example. THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WE ARE ESPECIALLY TRYING TO PROTECT!

    • anon

      Please send this to Above the law. This firm needs to be shamed into doing better.

    • Anon

      I 100% understand the rage about the shot caller doing WFH when he isn’t letting others do it. But do you think that the other measures could simply be about a lack of resources/cost concern and/or inability to purchase computers? It’s my understanding it is becoming difficult to find computers, etc. I would gladly lend a staff member any personal computer I have to help our office/their job/my job. I suspect many law firms anticipate an enormous struggle to keep financially afloat through all this craziness.

    • Anonymous

      So I usually go to court for my large company, litigating a large volume of small disputes. I’ve been here a decade and love my job.

      Company is usually opposed to working from home except after court or as a privilege. They are letting us wfh, reluctantly. They’ve come up with hundreds, literally, of bizarre unnecessary assignments as busy work/punishment. I got them all in a span of three minutes today. Since we have to account for how long they take as if we’re billing, and I haven’t billed since 2008, I get the feeling this is a fight for your job scenario. I called my boss in tears today. I’m definitely getting my dumb weak self fired. I just don’t have the mental bandwidth for learning/ doing this right now. I had plenty of things to keep me busy with regard to my actual job.

    • Juliska

      What?? My tiny law firm – two partners, two associates, one receptionist and one paralegal (me), has cancelled all in-office meetings, bought a laptop for the associate who didn’t have one that would work remotely with our server, told us all to stay home if we feel the least bit ill, and said it’s casual Friday until we meet with clients in the office again. One partner took her desktop computer, monitor and printer home, and uses her laptop in the office. It’s been weird, but there is a “we’re all in this together” feeling.

      Yes, someone should anonymously, but publicly, shame the idiot law firm (Anonymous at 4:01 above) that won’t protect its staff, but allows a partner to be MIA.

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