So "Frickin" Picky

The shoes I own I’ve now had for more than a year and a half. In fact, in 3 months I will have owned them for 2 years. They smell horribly, look like they’ve been run through mud a few times (which they have) the soles have little traction left and they just give my entire look (when I wear them) an overall “shabby/I don’t care what I look like” look. Which, I really don’t. But still. I need new tennis and/or running shoes. Sometimes I just want to be that guy that has clean white shoes. Because clean white shoes stand out. It’s like that brand new car. You can always tell when someone’s driving that brand new car because it’s got the temporary license number in the upper left hand corner of the back window, it is spotless, and the license plate advertises the place they purchased it from.

Plus it’s got that new car smell. And I wonder how many people buy those cars just for that new car smell. I have heard it is toxic. The pleasure derived from that smell though is worth it. New shoes have a smell to them too. At least Nike’s do.

Here is the problem, as I see it: 1) I need shoes that will last me a long time. The current pair I am wearing has done a fabulous job of staying together, and compared to other pairs of running shoes I owned, really doesn’t smell that bad after a year and a half. 2) I need shoes that not everyone else has. I hate it when I see another guy with my same shoes. In this regard, you can call me a woman. 3) I am picky overall when it comes to what I wear. Most things just don’t “fit me right” or are the “wrong color”. Other than shoes, I have a minimum wait time for clothes to be included in my “daily rotation”. I guess this is why shoes are so important to me. Is because the day I get them (in the mail since I order from Eastbay because no one but Nordstrom’s carries my size 14s, and their selection sucks when it comes to my size) is the day I put them on.

I always say to myself when I find a pair of shoes I really love, “I should have bought two pairs”. Why? Here I am now, stuck with old stinky, dingy shoes, wishing I had a new pair of the same shoes. But because of my pickiness, I haven’t seen a shoe that absolutely grabbed my attention like every pair or every piece of clothing I own (other than needed stuff like jeans/khakis/socks). So now, I am waiting. Waiting for someone to put out a shoe (preferably with some white in it for that clean look) that looks good to me.

I just ordered a pair of white pumas, but of course they were backordered, only to be cancelled on me. Lovely. Every single one of my groomsmen gets a pair and I don’t get one.

And sometimes, this kind of stuff just sickens me. Because 80% of the rest of the world would just be happy owning more clothes. Or new clothes for that matter. But because I work, because I earn money, that gives me the opportunity of choice. Suddenly if I’ve got the ability to spend $200 online on a new pair of shoes, the entire world opens up to me. So many brands, so many styles…too many choices. Really, I don’t need new shoes. I just want them. For some reason there’s still that little kid in me, that believes that when I put on new shoes I can run faster and jump higher. I literally used to get home from the mall in my brand new Reebok pumps and run around the cul-de-sac feeling like suddenly I was 10-25% faster. I also used to, actually, scratch that, even to this day when I get home from being outside in my new shoes, I’ll grab a paper towel and wipe the shoes down. This will go on until about the 2-3 month mark.

I think one of the things I took from high school from one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Aetzel was that if you pay for quality, and maintain the product well, you’ll end up spending less than if you buy a crappy product but maintain it just the same. Quality will show over time.

Something I had completely forgotten about was my wedding band. I don’t know why this never crossed my mind. Michelle definitely mentioned to me that we had to go shopping for mine. And I found the one I want. I really wanted a graphite colored one. Nothing very bright at all. Of course the one I want is $1500. And it is “the one”. Unfortunately Michelle and I are too cheap to get it. So, she brought home alternate ones for me to try on. They look similar, but they just are not “the one”. I don’t know if anyone feels this way about things too. But I have to absolutely love something to buy it. It has to be perfect. This way, I rarely deal with buyer’s remorse. I guess part of what I don’t understand is how we can spend more than $10K on her ring and less than 20% of that price on mine.

Maybe this is so typical of how men and women are in the US. I think women have felt the need to be showered with material gifts to feel loved whereas men, not really. Sometimes I wonder if men even really need to feel loved at all. Honestly, I would opt out of the wedding ring if I wasn’t told I had to wear one. My dad doesn’t wear one. I’m just not a big fan of accessories at all. Never wore a watch. Never will get my ears pierced, or anything else for that matter. And a ring on my finger? Eh, ok. If I’m going to wear something for the rest of my life, at least get me something that I wouldn’t mind seeing on there.

6 days until we leave for the bachelor party. 23 days until the wedding. Should I be scared that I’m not scared? Hmmm…