The best laid plans

I ran into a work colleague today. For exchange of pleasantries, we talked about vacation plans. I said I planned to take the last full week of July off, a bit of staycation to relax before the rush of Fall semester preparation begins. The colleague informed me he’s already taken his summer trip: to Hawaii, more specifically the island of Maui. After congratulating him on a good time, I remarked that my friend and I were suppose to go to Hawaii during spring break (March) of 2020. Other plans, as they say, got in the way. To say the least.

Three years later, I still don’t desire to visit Hawaii, even though I’ve never been. Besides, the whole reason for going - back in 2020 - is no longer there. This is a good thing, mind you.

Today is Amazon Prime Day, a Black Friday of sort for Amazon Prime subscribers. I didn’t plan to buy anything during the festivities (there’s never any discounts on the photography stuff I want) until my friend informed me that New Balance shoes had a site-wide 46% discount. So like a chum with money burning in his pocket, I plopped down some unplanned cash on a pair of New Balance running shoes, and a regular pair of the classic 515. Not bad for under $100 shipped (free two day shipping, obviously). I paid more for my current single pair of Allbirds.

But that should be it - no more spending during this year’s Prime Day. Please do not notify me of any deals you’ve found. Because I’m as memetic of a person, with little self-control, as the rest of you. For our generation (read: millennial), interest rates are at historic highs. The move to make right now is save as much as possible, and put money into a high-yield savings account. These days, my monthly interest earnings are nearly as much as the monthly payment on my first car. Somewhat humble brag.

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Take bathing seriously.

Return of Chuck

For the first time in a long time, I bought a new pair of shoes. It’s one I’ve been missing in the rotation for a while: a basic pair of Converse Chuck Taylor low top, black and white. This used to be my go-to shoe until I converted to lightweight running shoe just like everybody else. Athleisure is ruling out world! Do people even wear actual pants anymore? We all have a pair of Allbirds, don’t we?

The problem with my pair of Allbrids is the wool construction exacerbates my sweaty feet. Taking them off at the end of a work day is kind of a yucky situation. I would spray Lysol into my pair after each use like a shoe rental at a bowling alley. I’m sure the synthetic version of Allbirds is better, but as we know, Allbirds are not cheap. It was time to go back to something old and classic.

Enter the Chuck Taylor. Surprisingly, Amazon does not ship and sell these Converse shoes from its own warehouse. Plenty of third-party merchants, however. Seeing this, I decided to go directly to the source: converse.com. The official website ended up being the least expensive as well. Win.

When did Chuck Taylor gain cushioned insoles? This was a pleasant surprise the first time I slipped the new pair on. My old pair definitely have the typically hard and flat insole - you didn’t buy Chuck Taylor for orthopedic benefits. This is great because I plan to wear these shoes often, and the orthopedic benefit is a nice bonus for my old-man feet.

Does anyone know how to recycle old shoes? Seems a bit odd to just throw them into regular garbage.

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The tongue can never stay straight.

No shoes indoors

Pro tip on how to feel refreshed after a long day (physically) at work: wash your feet! You’ve been in socks and shoes the entire day, sweating through it all. No doubt the feet feel incredibly yucky soon as you get home and take off your shoes. I mean, you do take them off before stepping into the home, right? I will never understand the culture of wearing shoes indoors. It’s just… not sanitary.

Anyways, I head straight for the bathroom to wash my feet at the sink with a nice soapy scrub. I can see why people love to get pedicures. Something about washing of the feet really soothes the rest of the body. The feeling afterwards is incredibly relaxing, putting me in a good spot to begin the home portion of my day. It’s one of the few times I wish I had carpet, because hardwood flooring is too cold for barefoot. Freshly washed feet on carpet feels excellent, and I generally prefer going barefoot at home.

But I’d gladly trade that for the easy cleaning of hardwood. Even though I don’t wear shoes inside, I still have to use the Swiffer on the floors once every two days in order to keep it free of dust. Granted, my standards of cleanliness far exceeds the typical person. One thing I dislike about American hotels is the unclean floors, because the typical guest keeps their shoes on! Honestly, the Asians got it right on this one: no shoes inside of living spaces.

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Phone dials.

Size up on Allbirds

I finally bought a pair of Allbirds Wool Runners that everyone else have been raving about for years. They are not inexpensive at about $115, but my pair of Nike Roche 2 have finally worn down, so the time was right to finally try the Allbirds. If they last as long as the Roche did (about five years of wear), then the over hundred dollar entry fee isn’t so onerous.

As standard, I purchased a pair in size 9. Shipping is of course free, and I received the shoes in about three days. On first impression, the Wool Runners wear a bit tight: my big toe is jammed right on the cap, and my heel is right up again the back. I figured the Allbirds may need some breaking in, and what better way to do so than a 10 hour trip to and from Fresno, California. In 90 degree heat.

Turns out the answer is no: the Allbirds do not break-in with wear. The pair remain as tight as it were out of the box yesterday when I wore it to work. I definitely need to exchange them for a larger size. Thankfully, Allbirds provide a 30-day return policy, no questions asked. Even if you’ve taken your pair of Allbirds on a hike to the ends of the earth, the company will still give you a full refund. No wonder the price for a pair is so relatively high: we’re all paying for the generous return policy!

Well, I very much like to keep a pair of Allbirds that fit, so back goes the size 9 and incoming is a size 10. I would have chosen a size 9.5, but like Converse with its Chuck Taylor shoes, Allbirds doesn’t do half sizes. I sure hope the size 10 Wool Runners won’t be too large, the opposite problem from the size 9.

Obviously, all of this may be idiosyncratic to my situation. I anecdotally know people with Allbirds that fit them fine in their usual shoe size. Nevertheless, the shoes are made of thick wool, so perhaps sizing up to begin with wouldn’t be a bad strategy. Either way, exchanges are free - they pay shipping - for 30 days.

I’ll let you know how the size 10 fits once it arrives.

Middle California.

I need new clothes

The reason I can afford a six-figure sports car on a decidedly not-so six-figure salary is because I don’t spend much in other areas of life. One such area is clothing. Most of the stuff I wear are close to a decade old, and the amount of clothing isn’t great either. I can fit every single piece I own into two reasonable sized suitcases. I know this, because I did just that when I moved last November.

Back in college, there was a brief period when I bought a few too many sneakers. I am glad that phase was brief and gone, because spending over $100 dollars on a single pair of shoes is just not my idea of a good time. A rotation of about four pairs - including one for running - is about all I really need. Some of the shoes I bought back then, I still have, and in the coming years I hope to finally wear them out.

And I don’t plan to buy any more shoes until I do.

What I have started doing is replacing my wardrobe piece by piece. Any items that looks tattered are getting tossed. There’s also a hygiene factor: hats that are worn regularly and more than five years old are probably not the freshest thing. So recently I’ve completely replaced my aging hats with brand new ones. Thankfully I am not sentimental about having old hats around when I’m old and retired. I have no problem throwing away the SF Giants hat that commemorates the 2014 World Series victory.

My philosophy with clothing is to try to buy items that last, and I reckon I’ve done a pretty good job. Enough so that my relatives in China remarked that I’ve worn the same things that previous six years I’ve visited. Perhaps that was the signal to start changing it up. Slowly but surely.

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Guardian of the Keurig.