Perpetual Ruminations

Sunday

Made it in a little earlier tonight, but still don't have much time before it's my bedtime. Even so, considering I worked until five thirty, stopped and shopped for some groceries, and then cooked up a light supper after I got home, I think I'm doing pretty good.

It was pretty busy again at work, and I got a lot of time in on my feet. It was a good chance to try out my new shoes, and they are much better than the old ones. My old ones just weren't the best when I bought them, but that's what I get for not trying them on before purchasing them. See, what happened was this. I had bought a pair of Avias and like them a lot. They were light, supportive, and very comfortable. But, being on my feet so much, working on concrete and blacktop, and putting quite few miles on each day wore them out pretty fast. Once they were almost smooth from wear, they just didn't comfort my feet anymore, and I found myself slipping quite a bit.

It was clear, I needed new shoes. Only last summer was a hectic mess with very little time to do anything other than work. But, I seen a pair of the same Avias shoes in Shopko one day, so I just grabbed my size and bought them. Normally I am very picky about my shoes, since I have a lot of problems with my feet if I don't get just the right shoe. But, since the pair I had just wore out were so good, I just figured the new pair would be just as good. Therefore, I didn't try them on, but just bought them and took them home. The next day I put them on before leaving for work, and they were not very comfortable at all.

Again, I should have trusted my feet, they knew. But I again jumped to an assumption and figured my feet were sore from the previous day at work, being there for ten hours, and from my old shoes being so wore down. Now, the time on my feet and the old shoes was correct, but it wasn't why my feet were not comfortably in the new shoes. It was the shoes that were uncomfortable, and they never got any better. They didn't' get worse, but they didn't' get better, either.

After work they were not in any condition to return, so I just kept them and wore them anyway. I did put a different insole in them, which helped, and it was soon cold out and I was wearing boots instead. But, with spring and the warmer temperatures, I soon found myself wearing these uncomfortable shoes again. It wasn't long and I had them wore out, since they had seen a lot of miles last fall. That left me open to buy some new footwear, and I looked at a few places, and I tried on a lot of shoes. I did try some more Avias, two different styles, one like my old ones, and then a regular training shoe, but they both were uncomfortable.

I don't know what they changed, but they just did not feel good on my feet. This time I listened to my two feet, too. I had been on my feet for twelve hours on Friday, eleven on Saturday, then went shoe shopping. So, my feet were plenty sore and very sensitive. I had tried about every type of shoe I could fine, that was permitted at work, and wasn't having any luck. I had one more stop, Famous Footwear.

As soon as I walked in, a guy asked me what I needed. Not those words, mind you, but the same message. So, I explained what I needed, what they had to provide, and he pointed me at some of the most likely shoes. Some of the kinds I had tried already at different stores, and I told him that. Then, he came to the Sketchers and told me they were a very good shoe. There was a style there that looked nice, would be very fitting for work, and looked like a good shoe, so I tried them on. As soon as my old shoes were off and into the new ones, they were happy. Still pretty sore, but happy.

These shoes actually made my tired feet feel better. So, I looked at the price, and they were right in the same price range as most of the others I had looked at. I bought them and tried them at work today, and my feet are much happier. They are still tired and sore, but more from yesterday and Friday, today seemed to be a lot better. Tomorrow is another early day for me, but I get done around eleven, so only a little over six hours. Also, it won't be nearly as busy, so less time on my feet. Then, I have three days off before I have to work another long day, so my feet should be rested up and feeling good again. Then we will see how well these new shoes are.