So I thought I’d google and find prayers to recite that can help fend myself and micasa off evil people. And instead I found these prayers. I tell ya, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!!!
Anyway, seeing it’s Ramadhan, let’s speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil. So let me talk about a topic close to my heart [and appropriately featured in this month’s National Geographic magazine too!]: So, let’s talk about shoes [no, sorry, not food!].
I have more than a dozen pairs of footwear. OK, OK, I confess, it’s actually waayyy more than that. I’ve stopped counting. I’m Sure they are less than 30 pairs [and no, I’m not going to start counting!]. Anyway, numbers are not significant. Err, although not so to Abah who once discovered my shoes collection and questioned who they belonged to. Who indeed! Of the three girls in the family, my feet are the largest. No, it isn’t fair that Mummy and Akak have smaller feet than mine [in fact they could probably swap and borrow each other’s shoes]. Anyway, I have since resorted to storing my shoes in The Office to address storage problems [and inquisitions]. Heh.
Back to my collection of shoes. Mules. Wedges. Sandals. High heels. Sling backs. All of varying heights. No stilettos for me though ‘cause I don’t feel stable walking and strutting in them. And I still haven't yet developed that fondness for kitten heels. Maybe Someday perhaps? Sometimes I wish my feet length can be adjusted – especially when I can’t fit into a pair of gorgeous but smaller-size footwear. And as large as my feet are, I suspect they are of average size here ‘cause that’s the size that would normally run out first! And the odd sizes that are still left are either too small or too big. Come on shoes producers, I don’t think anyone of our generation wear size three footwear anymore so why manufacture them? I only know an aunt who fit that impossibly dainty size and her taste in footwear couldn’t be more different than mine.
I know where the warehouse that stocks Clarks shoes in England is [and also the Bally factory store which is in another part of England]. That's how Crazy, err, well-informed I am. An old mate of mine once bagged a good pair of Clarks boots for only five quids. Five quids! Enough to make me want to go rushing to the warehouse. And being in England meant having to change footwear quite regularly. It’s boots for winter and as the seasons change, so do footwear as they make way for spring and summer sandals. [Well I still buy a few here even where the season doesn’t change!].
I can never have too many shoes. They are an investment. They last. They make me feel good when I step out and give me self-confidence as I put my best foot forward. If they are uncomfortable, they give me pain; by contrast if they are comfortable, they give me much pleasure. In fact, more often than not, my choice of footwear would depend on my mood. They lend me height, bolster my confidence and make me feel pretty, draw attention from me and Sometimes give a good topic for conversation and discussion. If I recall correctly, one of the earlier Bruno Magli advertisements went something like this: Every girl should be shod like a princess.
Face it, since we were born, we have been shod with footwear from booties to boots, from flip flops to sneakers, from lace-up espadrilles to platforms. Aye, we spend most of our waking walking lives in shoes. And from them, we may learn something about our culture, our history and ourselves. For instance, I notice enough from my Korean drama viewings that Koreans normally wear house slippers indoors [probably 'cause it's too cold to walk barefooted]. And according to the National Geographic article, ‘You can chart the rise and fall of prosperity from the elevation of a heel; hear the distant rumblings of war in the configuration of a toe; measure social change by the thickness of a sole.
Every shoe tells a story. Shoes speak of status, gender (usually), ethnicity, religion, profession, and politics (the Russian writer Maxim Gorky said a strong pair of boots "will be of greater service for the ultimate triumph of socialism than ... black eyes"). Last, far from least, they can be drop-dead gorgeous.’
I wear basic footwear to work – taking the public transportation necessitates a comfy pair – before changing them at work. And for weekends, comfy shoes are also a must. I’m Sure you know what I mean: there are shoes for every occasion. Shoes for formal dinners; shoes for Shopping trips; comfortable and practical shoes for traipsing all over when you’re backpacking; flip flops for the beach, sun and surf; formal shoes for The Office and/or interviews; shoes when you visit relatives, attend events, meet up with old friends, socialise; shoes when you go flying, hiking, trekking, treasure hunting…
According to the National Geographic article also, shoes are not merely a necessity to protect our feet from the urban grind of city asphalt. ‘Should we be silent and not speak, our raiment … would (betray) what life we lead,' according to Shakespeare. And so it is with shoes. Shoes are our armour. They don’t just symbolise the weakness of vanity but also the easily wounded nature of our souls. How many of such pairs have I bought while nursing depression? And they are there for me to help me Escape my depression [can’t say the same for guys really; in fact shoes may be even more effective company than guys at times]. And anyway, why shouldn’t we dress up our feet? Surely they need all the attention after all the walking they’ve done for us!
If you’re a guy, you probably won’t begin to comprehend the importance and significance of shoes to us girls. Nahhh, you likely wouldn’t. Mummy and I had to buy a pair of sandals for Abah once. He would insist he doesn’t need another pair. But just Put Yourself In My Place, I mean, put yourself in my shoes for a while OK [pun intended].
OK maybe I have a fetish for shoes. I do have a weakness for them. I’m only normal. I’m only a girl. If I start losing interest in shoes, I worry about my mental state. And I can assure you that that is more worrying than what I spend on shoes.
Wow, this is a pretty long entry! I really should have done an MBA in fashion at Milan and write a thesis on shoes or clothes or handbags. I can’t promise if I will talk about my other ‘passions’ – for clothes, handbags, toiletries and lipsticks. Anyway, it’s time for a short nap!
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