shoe love

you know me. i love shoes.

to even use the word "love" might be an understatement. but let's just say that that's the most extreme emotion one can feel for some inanimate object that can never return the feeling no matter how hard one tries.

having established that my heart more than flutters at the thought of shoes, let's just say i try not to buy shoes full price. because given the amount i already spend on shoes, buying them full price would make me financially irresponsible already. and, come on, we all know that if there's one thing i'm responsible with, it's with my money.

yes, i really am, notwithstanding the accusations that were hurled my way when i bought myself ferragamo sling back pumps for my 30th birthday. come on -- not only were they Php5,000 only, they also were my exact shoe size. no making pilit, no corks -- it was as if god knew then that i was going to pass the bar and needed lawyer shoes to wear on my signing of the roll.

once in a while though i fall in major love with a pair of shoes. and when that happens, all thoughts of fiscal responsibility, savings, and never paying for anything full price flies out of the window.

enter my merrell shoes.

a week or so before my HK trip, i stumbled upon lovely addidas ballerina flats. i didn't try them (i found the sale price still prohibitive ... in hindsight, it really wasn't, at least compared to what i paid for my merrell shoes) but it entered my mind that i needed non-rubbershoes, but with rubbershoes comfort, walking shoes for my upcoming vacations. i had envisioned lots of walking, for which rubbershoes would really do the trick, but i figured that i don't really look great with rubbershoes and shorts.

however, we searched high and low in the week leading up to the HK trip but i wasn't able to find anything that made me happy. so i ended up walking around HK in my ratty, dirty pink ballerina crocs. they were comfortable, and i still love them dearly, but i wouldn't mind replacing them for the vietnam trip.

so the night (yes, night!!! i was cutting it close!) before my friends and i were set to leave for vietnam, (and ironically the night before a hearing! crazy lawyer girl) i went on a search for some non-rubbershoes walking shoes once more. my store of choice, SM. oh, henry sy, you must love me so.

i first saw the fila stand. there were cheap shoes (not that cheap, but let's just say i wouldn't mind paying that price for those shoes) but they weren't exactly what i needed. they would look great with jeans, but not with my shorts. so a big fat x. i checked the others and while i marginally liked some -- and even tried on a couple -- there was always something wrong. one which was really cheap hurt the back of my ankles, and if it hurt just walking to and fro the mirror, i can't imagine how much it would hurt walking around an entire city. so goodbye cheap, pretty shoes. there was another one i liked -- i really liked -- but they didn't have it in my size. the guy said he could order one for me, but i didn't have the heart to tell him i needed them in less than 24 hours. nahiya ako.

so i left sm and walked around the mall. some were okay, but as i said, unless they had the word SALE marked on them (or that tiny second sticker saying it's now so and so less than the original price) i wasn't really tempted. this girl wasn't going to pay more than what was absolutely necessary for shoes that might not see the light of day once i ceased being the globetrotter i briefly turned into this year.

and the i saw the merrell shoes at sporthouse. they were lovely. and expensive. so i walked away. i looked at more stores but none came close to the merrell shoes. oh there was one -- and it was mighty cute too -- except that they were for kids. me and my juvenile taste.

i went back to SM to try the others once more, especially the one-size bigger shoe but, unfortunately, it really was one size bigger and there was no way it would fit my feet. i tried on even shoes i marginally liked once more but by this time, i knew i was a goner. i truly had fallen in love with the merrell shoes.

add to that the memory of my mom praising the merrell shoes she wore all over HK (and her entire manila vacation for that matter) and i could not help but want the shoes.

so i looked at them. and looked at them once more (they also had a booth at SM ... kanis). and i walked away. they were beyond my budget. they weren't on sale. and while they were exactly what i wanted, it wasn't like i was going to climb mountains and cross rivers and need protection from oil slicks. as a matter of fact, all i was going to do was walk along the paved streets of ho chi minh. so i needed none of the fancy-shmancy stuff that went with buying hi-tech shoes.

so i bought snacks. and looked for a raincoat (my aunt's instructions). and i went back and looked at the shoes once more.

sigh. they were pretty.

so i said, hey, maybe they're pretty, but they (a) won't fit me well, (b) won't look good on my feet, or (c) didn't have them in my size. so i told the saleslady (who was already laughing at my indecision by this time) i wanted to try them on.

and they had it in my size. and they looked great on my feet. and they fit me like a glove. i couldn't have asked for more.

i closed my eyes, and paid for them, and prayed that lightning wouldn't strike me for spending that much money on a pair of shoes that i won't ever get to use regularly. then again, they made me extremely happy and happiness isn't exactly something you could buy in a box ... unless they were these pair of shoes.

p.s. here comes the sad part -- SM is having a mega shoe sale this coming weekend and merrell is going to be one of the brands on sale. i want to go (cole haan is going to be on sale too) but there's a part of me that's scared to see my merrell's on sale. i might just die (or some approximation of it). after all, remember the puma's i sort of wanted but passed up on? a week later, they were 50% off.