I faithful reader in Romania noted that I have not blogged in a while and suggested that I pick up the pace. I happen to be heading to Romania (my flight leaves next Saturday, one week from today). I would not want to arrive to an unfriendly face.
I mentioned in my last blog that I recently make my annual trek to the shoe store for new tennis shoes. While I was there I also picked up a new pair of brown dress shoes. I usually do this (buy 2 pair of shoes at a time) as the store I shop at has a buy 1, get the 2nd pair 1/2 price deal. They did not have a deal going like that this time but after I found my tennis shoes and mentally had accepted the fact of not getting a deal on a 2nd pair, I perused the clearance section.
Just like shopping for tennis shoes, I only look at the sizes on the side of the shoe boxes. There is no need to look at style or design really as historically the shoes that I like and the shoes that are in my size are, well, it is best described in a Venn diagram.
They are not part of the same set. There is no union where a shoe appears in both sets. Such is my (shoe) life. Now, since I am not a woman, I will not purchase a shoe in the “Shoes that I like” set since I am not willing to trade comfort for style. I have considered it once or twice. I have even tried on a pair in the size below mine just in case they “ran big” but nothing in these experiments has ever resulted in an actual shoe purchase.
Anyway, I headed over to the clearance section and started looking for the number 13 (my US shoe size). I saw a few 13’s but the shoes in the box attached to them were very deserving of their “clearance” status. However, I did find a part that was not half bad looking and I thought for a moment there might actually be a union in the Venn diagram after all. Once I tried them on though it was proven that the union still does not exist.
The shoes in the box (and then on my feet) were an odd looking pair of Dockers.
I think the soles of these shoes are supposed to help you walk better or something but all I can tell you is that they felt very strange. Since the soles are not flat, you end up rocking as you walk (words fail me here to describe the feeling). I am sure that if you watched only my head as I was walking (slowly) in these shoes then you would have seen it bob up and down. I walked around in the store quite a bit with these shoes on and then took one final look at the price. They were marked down about 65% so I thought I would take a chance.
I wore them to work a few days later and I still was a little unsure. It was like learning to walk again. I found myself really concentrating on the heel-toe walking technique. Normally I am a very fast walker. When I am going somewhere I am on a mission, namely to get where I am going. I am not taking the journey to enjoy the walk. In fact, I would probably jog or run from my cubicle to the coffee pot if that was socially acceptable. These shoes however made me slow down, and I mean a lot (compared to my normal pace).
As the days passed by and I got more used to these shoes I was able to speed up a bit once I was able to cease concentrating on the mechanics of walking. I was still walking slower (much slower) than my normal pace but a strange thing started happening. I was able to enjoy the walk. I actually took time to say hi to people that I passed in the hallway (or at least exchange a nod – something sometimes not possible when you are walking at the walking equivalent of mach 1). I noticed the framed art on the wall. I noticed the decorations on the outside of some co-worker’s cubicles. I noticed some tiles that needed replaced in the ceiling. I noticed that parts of the carpet could use a deep cleaning. I noticed the breeze on my face as I walked to and from the car. I noticed things that have passed me by when I was a speed walker. I noticed that I did not have to pass or overtake the slow(er) walkers but could merge in with the normal flow of traffic. It is a whole new world out there.
I have gotten better at walking with these shoes on and I really do like this pair that I found on the clearance rack. Perhaps there is a union in that Venn diagram after all.
Jon
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