I've imagined having them for so long, and now, there they sit on my floor, side by side. New shoes! They even have a little "N" on their sides because I'm so "nifty." Or maybe it's because they're made by New Balance. Either way, I am thrilled!

Because you see, I've needed new shoes for a very long time. My old Skechers (like 4 years old, really) are sitting in their coffin, the box the new shoes came in. Poor old Skechers... Thank you, friends, you served me well.

I took BART into the city just so I could go to the cool New Balance store! I saw it for the first time when I was at JournalCon in October. I didn't get a chance to visit the store that weekend, but have thought about it ever since. And today I went! Better late than never, right?

It only took TWO pairs for me to find the right one! The SECOND pair actually fit my feet! This is huge for me, people. Shoe shopping for me has always been a three day epoch journey, with swords and dragons and... pinched toes. I have wide feet, and usually, when I find a shoe wide enough to fit my foot, it slips right off my narrow heel, making me shout things like, "Gah!" and "Curses!"

It usually ends with me slinking sadly home without even a new pair of shoes to show for my painstaking efforts. That is, until I find The Pair. And once I find The Pair, the pair that fits and feels good and is nice to walk in, I latch onto those babies until they freakin' fall apart off my feet. I walk barefoot to the shoe stores! I am hard core!

So today, I was astonished. Pair number one was too tight. So we looked at some others, and the guy actually helped me try to stay within my price range, god bless him. Then he went and got pair number two. Pair number two looks so totally cool, with silver and blue streaks. I tried them on. They felt good. I swapped out their insoles for my custom orthotics, and they still felt great. I smiled and said to the guy in total amazement, "Wow, these feel really good. I think this is it! I'm getting them!"

And then he asked me the question I haven't heard since I was a child: "You want to wear those out?"

Oh my god, it was so cool! I got to pack up my old shoes and keep my shiny, new ones on as I left the store. I felt like a little kid, so excited, with a bounce in my step! With every step I took, I felt the sensation of my new beauties wrapped around my feet. It was awesome!

Then I went ahead and pushed myself and I walked all over the freakin' place! I went to China Town and popped inside a few of their stores, then I walked back down to a corner deli where I had the most amazing honey ham sandwich! I went to The Gap, Williams and Sonoma, an African jewelry store, Walgreen's, Starbucks (to use their restroom, they are SO nice!), Jamba Juice, a hiking/fitness store, and a scary Eastern Art store which seemed deserted and whose squeaky door seemed so much like something out of a horror flick that I felt the need to rush right back out. And a bunch of other places.

When I asked her, the Jamba Juice girl said there weren't any bookstores around. But lo and behold, I walked a few streets over and found one! That's where I was loitering and browsing when Joe called me to pick me up. He and his co-worker were able to leave work a bit early to meet me, and we all rode home together. It was really cool!

So I had a nice day in the city! And then I had a nice evening playing on There. Well, until I crashed anyway!

The rest of the evening will be filled with late night t.v., journal browsing, and and reading some more of my new book. And possibly, just possibly, a banana soy pudding.

~~Meg