Monday 13 August 2001

Pic of the day: Yes, they are that big.

Sole of a City

Bought new shoes today. Ecco City. They set me back kr 950, ca $105, for a pair. You can see why I don't buy new shoes often: With prices like that, it feels like a luxury. But it is not really.

I have pretty wide feet, particularly toes. Most shoes are simply too narrow, and they hurt. I already use size 46. I have no idea what that is in imperial measures, but it is the second to largest size many shoes are found in, in ordinary shops at least. Some models are not even that large. This means I cannot just buy shoes that are wide enough but too long.

Sure, in the past, people made do with much simpler footwear. Then again, people died younger. I'm not saying they died from bad shoes; rather they died before the effects showed up. Bad shoes don't just damage your feet, but also your back. Already the large loss of workdays to back pain here in Norway is "holding back" our economic growth.

***

I know you are bright people and I don't really need to explain myself to you. Mostly I'm trying to convince my conscience, who is restless at the use of money enough for 19 full meals at McDonalds. (Not that I even buy those all that often.) My conscience would like me to wear the same pair until my toes show through.

That's what I did with the previous pair. And then my friendess, SuperWoman, saw them just before Christmas. She summoned up a thunderstorm, threw a hissy fit, whatever you call the stuff women do when they're convinced that a male is a mule. Basically she forced me to go out just before Christmas in an unfamiliar city and buy shoes, if I wanted to spend the holidays with her. Normally this would have been a tough choice: I love her like myself, but not much more. Problem was, I was already in Oslo, the trains home were full-booked, and Oslo is pretty cold in late December. Tough love!

So of course I ended up buying shoes that were more expensive and less comfortable than I would normally buy. ("Normally" meaning when I start to feel the stones through the soles, or something similar.) I have avoided such a mistake this time, by buying a pair of shoes identical to those I had 2 years ago. I could have bought sandals on sale, but I can just image the reaction: "Magnus! Someone has stolen half of your shoe!"

***

I guess I could buy a pair of sandals too, and wear when the weather is good. Then the City shoes would last that much longer. Actually that's a pretty good idea, even though I doubt my conscience would be impressed. It tends to scoff at slogans like "Buy more, save money!"

And somehow I don't expect SuperWoman's opinions to be binding for me in the long run. That's kind of sad in various ways. Such as because she does have more common sense when it comes to human behavior. Sometimes I feel that I'm just winging it, trying to fit into this world without losing myself. I may be ironic about it, but I do appreciate the help she and some others have given me. I'm not sure how well I'll connect with this world all on my own.

But that's a question of soul, not soles. Hmm, wonder if I have been reading too much lovesick teenagers lately. :) Nah ...