A Tale of Two Boots

I stand accused of being cutting edge.

Yeah, it's even funnier if you knew me in high school, like my accuser did.

See, Jeffe† said she was getting some of those slouchy boots, like we wore back in the 80s, when we also hacked our t-shirts up Flashdance-style and thought the bi-level haircut‡ was the height of edgy, futuristic sophistication.

We were teenagers. Our taste was questionable.

Yet here we are again,§ shoulder pads, pegged jeans, neon colours... but the elf boot¶ is classic.

I had a pair of black suede elf boots. And when I say "had," I mean until six years ago when I decided to hand them off to ARC# in the cleaning-for-moving frenzy when I bought my house. I'd had the heels rebuilt†† and recapped,‡‡ but the suede fuzz on the toes and heels was worn to a shine, so I decided my 24-year-old boots had their day.

On into the future, I was doing a little wardrobe work last fall, when the personal shopper at Nordstrom suggested a pair of Steve Madden boots.

Boots EXACTLY like my elf boots, only cured leather instead of suede.




And, y'know, with the Steve Madden label inside.




The rest of the story is that when Jeffe said she was getting a pair of 80s boots, I told her I got a pair last year, at which point, she declared me cutting edge.§§

We all know different - I'm a dork with a streak of nostalgia who's never quite gotten over having to give up her elf boots.

Let's just call it trading up.¶¶


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Of still-Jeffe fame.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): Now known as The Coach.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): And by, "we," I don't mean you and me, or even Jeffe and me, I mean "society in general."

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): If you were into Dio or Dungeons & Dragons in the 80s, it was definitely an elf boot. I'm not confessing, just sayin'. You don't have pictures, you can't prove anything.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): I did not, however, hand off my 31-year-old Nike All-Courts with the baby blue swoosh. They're in terrific shape for their age, and I love when the skate punks stop me in the mall and say, "Rad shoes, dude. Where did you get them?" And I say, "1980."

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Once.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Twice.

§§FOOTNOTE (two slouches): And challenged me to a blog-off, in which she was going to use my "Like high school, only Steve Madden" line first. I lost the race in spectacular fashion, but maintained my stubborn insistence on ignoring people trying to get me to blog. Small victories are better than none.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (two boots): 'Cause it sounds much classier than "old people nostalgia hoarding."

Puzzling

My friends at Nintendo sent me something new.†




Let's take a moment to step back from the simple glory of games showing up on my front porch; the creativity of the packaging and quality of work amazes me.

Look at this box:




Hand painted.

I envision a little Brand About Town sweatshop where an assembly line of sharply-dressed marketing genii% carefully hand paint and hand build these packages.

Plus, this cool tag‡:




I was just thinking to myself, "Self,§ what are you going to do with that tag?" Then I realised I never removed it from the box, so I have no idea how long the chain is. There's some chance I'll recognise its intended use if I actually look at the thing.

I'm a dork.




You may remember the story of how I skipped the video game revolution.

Well, I like Professor Layton. I like Professor Layton because he doesn't make me feel stupid, clumsy and inept.¶ No, Professor Layton makes me feel *smart*. I whiz through the Laytonverse, solving puzzles, searching for coins and I don't lose.

I get stuck sometimes, but the aliens don't land on my head because the time's run out.

And that's why I like Professor Layton.#


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): They've sent me a few new things over the last couple or *mumblefourmumble* months, but I haven't told you here. If you really loved me, you'd follow me on The Twitter. I talk a lot on The Twitter.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): I've met the Nintendo team from Brand About Town. They are all bright and remarkably well dressed.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): I suspect BAT commissioned these, but I'm still envisioning marketing elves at a workbench with tiny hammers.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): My little voice always calls me Isabelle.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): I have no explanation for my fascination with Guitar Hero, which makes me feel stupid, clumsy and inept every time I play it.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): And that's what I did on my summer vacation.

I'm learning...

...that if you have a post of, say, zero words, you should probably still split it into a series of posts because people get cranky if you choose Twitter over Blogger and absent yourself from the many-word world for months on end.