Horse leather.
Poor horsies.
This video is repeat-y. The same scenes over and over, the same information over and over.
€1,200 = $1,353
€1,800 = $2,029
€500 = $564 (for the last)
It happened again yesterday.
Except at the end not the beginning and from the doctor not from a lady.
I mention this not to brag, rather, to to share information I think is important. It's not just me thinking it either, rather, it's the feedback I'm getting that didn't happen before. The feedback is surprising me because it's so odd.
I had to go back to the clinic for the doctor to sign a state form regarding vee-hickle license plate registration.
I thought that I had to go back. It's possible that wasn't necessary. The form is both threatening and ambiguous. The doctor read it differently than I did. His interpretation makes sense because he is a sensible person, but the form he is making sense of is not sensible. I can describe the non-sensible portions that make it indecipherable but all that is boring.
I waited a very long time, then finally he saw me about the form. He signed it now I'm good.
On the way out he said, "The ladies here really like your shoes."
That's two compliments from the same place. It shows they talked about it when I was gone. The ladies told me themselves the day before, now I see they told him too.
The shoes look like the shoes featured in this video.
Except mine are 10X less expensive.
Here's the thing:
I have three pair of shoes from this company, Thursday Boots.
Wait! I have to read comments to the video before clicking off.
Ew. They're all negative and contradictory and presumptuous. Most the comments are ridiculous.
Back to Thursday Boots.
I'm very happy with these three pair. All three evoked comments from people who don't usually notice. But this company is a bit weird. They know their sizing is off. All three of mine are in different sizes. The size that works best for me is one full size smaller than usual.
First I ordered my real size and I'm happy with that. Although there is a bit more room in the toe.
The second I ordered 1/2 size smaller per their suggestion plus in wide. I like that one a lot too because they fit best when my feet were swollen, although laced up to the maximum width possible.
The third in normal width and one full size lower. I think this fits the best.
However, I like them all.
A lot.
The first one was complimented on at a funeral when I was standing around in a circle. That made everyone look at my boots and discuss them.
The second pair was complimented at somebody's home. "Your boots are gold." And they were, in that light at that moment.
The third pair was discussed at the doctor's office. The compliment was the first thing a woman said to me. The second day the doctor relayed what the woman talked about after I left. This was the first time I wore them in public in the daytime.
Here's why they stick out and get this unusual attention.
Everyone is poncing around in athletic shoes, even non-athletes. I suppose for comfort. I don't know. I don't get it.
So it's very easy to stick out by simply not doing that.
Shoes were a big f'k'n deal growing up. I hated it. "Shine your shoes, shine your shoes, shine your shoes," all the time, week after week, year after year. It was essential our shoes looked great.
My brother and I had to shine our dad's shoes.
Oh, man, I hated that.
His shoes were so BIG!
(They were actually smaller than mine would become eventually, by 2 + 1/2 sizes.)
Shine the shoes, shine the shoes, shine the shoes. What a drag. There was a whole box of crap that goes with this task, filled with polishes and brushes too big for my hands, and rags. Like my brother and I were two little shoeshiners. How degrading.
"Son, do you want to shine my shoes?"
"FUCK NO!" I thought each time. While my mouth said, "Okay."
Such a slave. Ew, I hated myself for never challenging the pussy-ness of issuing an imperative in the form of interrogative." Quit asking me if I want to do something we both know I don't want to do. That's just so mealy-mouth. It's a thing Air Force officers do. Apparently. It's a thing done to me the whole time growing up. It's the thing that made me the asshole that I am today.
Do you want to mow the lawn?
Do you want to wash the car?
Do you want to trim the bushes?
Do you want to clean up the yard?
Do you want to pick up all that dog shit?
Do you want to rake up the leaves?
Do you want to shine my shoes?
Do you want to brush your teeth?
Do you want to shine your shoes?
Fuck you, I don't want to do any of those work-related things. Leave me alone. Why was it so necessary to see me being industrious all the time? What was it about seeing me relaxing or doing my own things that got on his nerves to badly? Quit bossing me around all the time by asking me if I want to do things that I don't want to do.
No, I'm busy making a kite.
No, I'm busy drawing a picture.
No, I'm already busy putting together a model airplane.
No, I'm reading Mad magazine.
No, I'm changing my aquarium.
No, I'm reading comic books.
No, I'm making a clay castle.
No, I'm soldering these wires.
No, I'm copying Japanese.
No, I'm playing with my lenticular photo of King Tut's burial mask.
No, I'm melting crayons.
No, I'm making a Boston cream pie.
Shoes. All the time shoes. Take care of your shoes, clean your shoes, polish your shoes.
On Air Force bases we were total freaks about shoes.
They had to be polished.
And not just regular polished, no, they had to be highly polished.
And then that whole shoe-system collapsed.
And that's how you can really tell a guy by how they are put together.
Regular, ordinary shoes make you stick right out because everyone else has taken the slipshod path.
Literally, slip shod.
The easiest shoe-route possible.
So when you don't do that then you stick out and women in particular notice you. I think because they have a shoe-obsession too.
A woman I dated kept all her shoe boxes. She identified her shoes in her closet by their original boxes. She still does this presumably. That is her system.
And they're all very good shoes. Women's shoes are amazingly expensive compared with men's shoes. She described to me why they are worth it. She went over all the details like this video. It got down to the itty-bitty delicate stitching all around. Stitching on men's shoes is a lot more clunkier, 15X more heavy-duty.
--------------- ------------- --------------
[Incidentally, that doctor called back at my home.
He told me he's looking at results of the blood draw done two days ago and he sees my kidney function way down below acceptable.
He told me to stop taking medicine and start drinking tons of water to prepare for being tested further elsewhere.
He mentioned dialysis and that word freaked me out.
He thinks my kidneys have stopped working, or they are working very poorly for some reason. He was alarmed. And he made me alarmed. He thinks this is the cause of why I am feeling so low energy. So, all of that's coming up right now.]
19 comments:
Damn, Chip. I hope it's something temporary. When will you know?
The kidney thing is alarming. Damn is my response as well. That's a lot to coming up right now. I was feeling hopeful yesterday it was the blood pressure medication and adjusting that would bring relief.
It's good the Dr is following through with attention and a more focused response. A clear understanding of what is really going is needed and that's what I'm hoping for now--good information and answers needed to help you find your way through whatever is going on.
If I have to have problems w/ any organ, it would be kidneys. Being diabetic, my kidney function is checked regularly. Plus, there is kidney disease in my fam. My brother had a kidney transplant a couple years ago. Our sister was the donor. He's fit as a fiddle. I pray your kidney function improves, just wanted to give a positive outlook if it doesn't.
My sister told me she was having all these incredibly weird feeling in her torso a few weeks post surgery. In a follow-up w/ the surgeon he matter of factly said, "That's normal, it's your other organs repositioning w/ the new found space." My sister said, "TELL DONORS THAT during pre surgery meetings!
Good luck with the kidneys. My recent experience showed me that a kidney problem can make a lot of your systems go haywire and some doctors can't see the connection.
I shouldn't give advice but if I did it would be to break past the GP firewall and see a specialist as soon as possible, if you aren't already.
Hey - it's Rabel - how the hell are ya, boy? I was just asking after you and bam, here you are. Well done!
But what I was really here to write is - what the? I buy New Balance shoes at the discount store because they are too expensive elsewhere. They last for years then I throw them away. Now I must away, my yacht awaits without.
I'm running at about 80%, Sixty. I tire easily, but I'm starting to put a little effort into my daily activities. May even try the gym in a day or two.
I don't think my age caused me to get sick, but it is definitely a hindrance in the recovery time.
Good job - hang in there, keep making gains, that's what it's all about.
The weather has been mild lately and I have been getting out on walks more frequently, and that has been a very good thing. Keep on truckin', as the sage said.
Keep us posted, ChipA. Rabel, one foot in front of the other.
Because the shoes that men wear today totally suck.
Everyone is poncing around in athletic shoes, even non-athletes. I suppose for comfort. I don't know. I don't get it.
So it's very easy to stick out by simply not doing that.
Shoes matter, as a protective covering and a source of foot support, with appearance and comfort being the two secondary factors that matter a lot.
I'm guessing the reason people ponce around in athletic shoes has to do with the fact that that type of shoe provides cover, support, and comfort, in addition to being easy to maintain. Sort of like the instant ramen noodle thing. Athletic shoes work for the person who is choosing to use them. What's not to get?
If sticking out or getting noticed is important then by all means, go for it, make your impression, gather compliments like manna and feel good for the day. No need to judge the shoes of others as totally sucky as long as your own feet are happy and you feel good about how you are managing your own appearance.
Exercise your passion to be contradictory all that you like. Dropped you at "if sticking out is important" I have no idea what you said after that and I don't care. Presently I'm in no mood for your passion.
Here's the thing. Commenters admit to tossing them every couple of years. Some reviews say they buy buy them every six months. They suck because they're disposable shoes. The entire world has gone for disposable shoes that last only a few years and are then chucked. And when you don't do that then you automatically stick out, whether or not that's important to you. Buying quality products is important. Being contradictory in all things is important. To you. Apparently.
I do wish you'd put as much effort in writing posts as you do in writing comments with the aim of discovering tidbits to contradict in the things that I write. Why not use that same drive to uncover the hidden motives of media?
Here's another way of putting it: get off my back.
Too bad you missed the last paragraph.
The stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves and others, reveal the motives that eventually end up driving more public stories, including the ones told here on this blog.
It sounded to me like you didn't get why everyone was poncing around in athletic shoes that totally sucked and I offered a reasonable explanation that reflected my awareness and reality.
If you want to view that as being contradictory "in all things important", so be it.
And if you don't welcome legitimate comments on your publicly shared stories, consider finding yourself someone who will privately listen to your opinions and judgments without comment and accept whatever you say, whether they agree or not.
To my understanding, this is still a place where agreement is not necessary or required.
It’s an entertaining turn of phrase about an observable cultural trend, not a mass indictment of the tennis shoe wearers.
Fifty dollars for shoes that I wear every day for two years is a bargain. Seven cents a day. Also, I truly don't give a crap about what others think about my foot wear. My feet care, therefore I care. That's the extent of the problem.
I would rather save my money and leave it to my grandchildren than spend hundreds of dollars on shoes that sit around in a closet and gather dust. I am not Imelda Marcos - I do not, nor will I ever understand shoe fetishism. Shoes are like tools or clothes - buy them, use them, get rid of them when they wear out. Simple.
Observation, opinion and judgment/indictment are three different processes.
Observation: What is seen, heard or taken in as with the other senses.
Opinion: Thoughts and considerations that mentally form around the observed data received, with recall of previous experiences coming alongside to support or refute.
Judgment/Indictment: A conclusion reached based on consideration of data, thoughts and opinion.
Noticing that people wear athletic shoes a lot nowadays, and wondering about or speculating as to why this so involves observation and opinion.
Deciding the shoes men wear today totally suck is a judgment. Use of the phrase poncing around to describe what everyone is doing in athletic shoes also moves from observation into the judgment/indictment category, with ponce defined as "derogatory slang" for an effeminate person or pimp, or an "offensive insult" (dictionary's judgment, not mine) for a person who does not behave in a traditionally male way. (From the OED, ponce is a slang term, chiefly British, 1872, originally "a pimp, a man supported by women" (pouncey in same sense is attested from 1861), of unknown origin, perhaps from French pensionnaire "boarder, lodger, person living without working." Meaning "male homosexual" first attested 1932 in Auden [OED]. Also as a verb.
Entertainment in the eye of the beholder, as this exchange reveals.
Not every joke is going to land with every person. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Too much nagging and scolding dilutes your message and your credibility.
I read the post again looking for jokes and came away with the same impression this time through: it all sounded serious.
Narrator's voice - he wasn't joking.
Chip Ahoy, unfortunately, what's on your back these days isn't me.
I can however, stop commenting for a while on the information and stories you post, and will commit to doing so while you figure out what's going on and how you want to deal with it.
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