New additions to the family

It's been about 5 years since I've bought shoes. I know my shoes are grubby, peeling, and ready for the trash bin but they're still wearable so why buy new ones? Shoes are for walking; life isn't a fashion show. (I know I'm kidding myself with this - life IS a fashion show). But something came over me yesterday. I walked past a shoe store and was called into it, then suddenly found myself heading home with two new pairs of shoes.

Before coming to Japan I shopped at cheap outlet stores and bargain basements and stayed away from name-brands because of what they signify. I don't even know what that means anymore. If you want nice things, buy nice things. I guess over the years Japanese consumerism and the worship of name-brands has been wearing me down like a file on a heinous toenail. With enough effort, even the ugliest toenail can become shiny and beautiful. Anyhow I got my shoes at the mall and threw my card down for the first two pairs I liked.


These are them (Did you know that grammatically this sentence should read "These are they" - how ridiculous is that.) The orange PUMAs were $60 and the black Adidas were $100. Back in university there's no way I would have paid $100 for shoes, but like I said I'm a toenail that's been filed down.


Speaking of shoes, last week I was watching my favorite program about rich people who have nice things when last week's guest opened her shoe closet to expose 288 pairs of shoes. The cameraman was astonished and began picking out shoes, asking how much they cost. Of course I expected them to be expensive, but I nearly pooped my pants when he pointed at a pair and she said $20,000.

Then they checked out the room that she uses as a closet. There was a bunch of purses lined up on the shelf, and she casually mentioned that the row of purses on the right side cost more than $100,000 each. That's when I really did poop my pants. So you see, Japanese consumerism is simply out of control. And that's why I didn't think anything of spending $100 on a pair of shoes, and in fact thought they were pretty cheap.

To compare myself to this woman, I decided to take all my shoes out and see what kind of collection I have. It's not enough to get invited onto the program just yet, but I'm almost there.

Please don't judge me by my footwear. I'm keeping the nasty old ones for when I go hiking or tromping through rivers.