Saturday, November 5, 2011

If the Shoe Fits

I'm not what you would call "fashion conscious", which is another way of saying I have no real style, unless jeans and t-shirts are a style, and not just me being lazy and placing comfort above all else in my clothing choices.  I noticed this morning that my t-shirt that I got at Yellowstone a few years ago has a hole in it, which means I apparently need to visit another tourist attraction or run another race - since this is where the majority of my shirts come from. 

I'm regretting a little bit my decision last week to turn down an offer for a free shirt.  I heard that there was a blood drive going on to collect blood to send to Afghanistan for the troops' use there, and they were short of O negative donors.  Since I'm O negative I headed down to the bloodmobile to make my patriotic contribution; unfortunately I was unable to make a donation due to medicine that I am on.  Also unfortunate was the fact that the nurse didn't make this conclusion until after we had gone through the whole rest of the screening process, including pricking my finger (hemoglobin levels were good) and detailing the 16 countries I have visited (nothing disqualifying there).  As a consolation she offered me a free t-shirt, but somehow I just wouldn't feel right wearing a shirt that declares that I gave blood when, in fact, I didn't.  If she had produced a shirt that said "I tried to give blood but was disqualified" I would have taken that, both because it would have been true, and to keep people guessing as to the reason: "Does he have a new eagle tattoo across his back?  A piercing, maybe, or some blood borne illness?"

Fortunately my stock of t-shirts is still sufficiently deep to guarantee a rotation of fresh shirts daily, but my trail shoes are also in need of replacement, and my shoe roster isn't as deep.  So I spent last week performing one of my least favorite  activities - shopping for clothing.  I think I may have finally found some shoes that meet my criteria - comfortable, with decent traction for off road hiking, and not ridiculous looking (at least to me).  Unfortunately the store didn't have my size, so today I have to continue the quest.  I'll be glad when I'm done shopping, and I'm sure my feet will be grateful to slip out of these 2.5 year old shoes and into something a little more comfortable.