Transient Transplant

It’s no secret that my primary motivation for working so much is to save money so I can travel.  But sometimes I get sidetracked and blow my money on clothes and shoes.  And not even practical shoes.

I don’t need another pair of shoes, and I used to have a rule that if I bought one pair I’d have to throw out an older pair.  But it’s gotten way out of hand as of late.

So the old story goes:  girl gets invited to David Bowie Tribute concert, girl has no decent shoes to wear and this gives her the perfect excuse to buy fur lined slide on mules, said shoes do not arrive in time for this outing so girl decides to compensate by wearing obnoxious fur vest to concert and decides to keep the shoes when they arrive anyways.

I figured since the look I go for most days is “old man chic,” a fur slide on mule could only help up my game.

The problem is, sometimes people in Seattle think I’m actually wearing slippers in public, which I consider a cardinal sin and take incredibly personally.

Like when I was waiting in line for the bathroom and the girl in front of me complimented my shoes, stating that she has a pair like that herself.  I, finally having an ally in my shoe conundrum, stated, “Doesn’t it drive you up a fucking wall when people mistake them for slippers though?”

She looked at me and without missing a beat replied, “I take that as a compliment because I look comfortable.”

“That’s not a compliment,” I retorted.  Needless to say the rest of the wait in line was silent.

Didn’t she realize how hard it was to successfully pull off old man chic and still look pulled together?

My fur mules were a splurge, but I also am finding that I have an affinity for a loud shoe as of late, which is wonderful, but once I started down the rabbit hole, I couldn’t stop.

Yesterday I was looking for shoes that would work with the dress I will be wearing in my friend’s wedding in a few weeks.  Instead of being successful, I bought some more statement slide on shoes with buckles around the front.

Not really wedding suitable.

But they bring in quite the compliments.  And I’ve owned them for a day.

This must be how Cinderella felt at the ball.

But just like Cinderella, I would have to be knocked down a peg and go back to slumming it like I was the weekend before.  I was just Cinderella with a side hustle.

When I worked my t-shirt selling gig last weekend in Seattle, I tried to find a way to add some crazy shoes into my wardrobe, but it was fruitless.

I was stuck in tennis shoes, yoga pants and a tee shirt for the whole weekend.  I was sweaty, filthy, and gross at the end of every day.  My body was sore from doing so many squats to grab tees for my customers.

My boss was there and mentioned that he never had seen me in anything but active wear, and I died a little, sensing it might even be a deliberate blow to my ego and debating whether that was more of a compliment than someone looking me dead in the eye and asking where I got my slippers.

I decided it was better.

And decided to blow part of that paycheck on more clothes and shoes after convincing myself to put away some travel funds first.

I rationalized my behavior by convincing myself that I clearly needed some new things for my trip to New Orleans coming up in a few weeks.

And as long as I’m able to lie to myself to fuel my habit and manage to plan a few trips throughout the year, I get by convincing myself that I could have some far worse addictions to feed.

Sometimes you have to be your own fairy godmother.