Lance Signs with Phonak?

There was a Community Halloween Party at work this week, and I decided at the last minute that I wanted to wear a costume. I literally do mean the last minute -- I was on my way out the door when I thought to grab something festive.

All through college, I was the go-to girl for people's various costumes, but it always troubled me that the things they called "costumes" were just a conglomeration of things I wore regularly. How is that my clothes could turn people into gypsies, princesses, Indian movie stars, or just about anything else, anyway?

I once again pulled from my normal wardrobe by grabbing the cycling pants from my drawer, a pair of shorts to go over them (gotta be decent in front of the kiddies), and two of my Phonak jerseys; I layered the long-sleeved one over the other. I even grabbed a yellow Tour de France bucket hat that came with a newspaper this summer, and I remembered where Mom's broken CSC bottle was.

When I changed into that "costume" before the party, I thought I looked pretty good. I was clearly a pro cyclist. If nothing else, you could tell I was in a costume.

I realized that night that Floyd Landis isn't nearly as famous as he seems he is, because nobody recognizes his brand. If you're really famous, people know what you're associated with. It's no wonder people don't know what's going on with his case -- all they remember is that his name was in headlines with "doping."

I guess that the lack of familiarity with Phonak kept me from any awkward accusations of, "You're dressed up like Floyd Landis! He's a doper!"

I wasn't dressed as Floyd, actually, because I was wearing no sunglasses or stubble.

The comment I did get several times was, "OH! Are you Lance Armstrong?!"

I wish Mom and Sara had been there so that we could have laughed at the idea of Lance Armstrong in a Phonak jersey. Did I mention that we're nerds?