Shoe shopping

Again I'm in the midst of a flurry of activity. Sunday night I drove into Harlem to meet with my bisexual women's group at Sylvia's Restaurant, a famous soul food eatery on 125th Street just north of 7th Avenue. All along the walls were pictures of famous visitors like Denzel Washington and President Clinton posing with Sylvia, the owner. I had their famous barbecue ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and baked mac and cheese. The ribs were pretty good, but I've definitely had better in Texas.

Today it was a dreary rainy day, but I wanted to get out and do some shopping in Paramus. There's a recently remodeled mall called Bergen Town Center with a Nordstrom's Rack, Filene's Basement and Saks Off Fifth that I wanted to check out. I found some nice legwear on clearance at Filene's, but the real find was Nordstrom's Rack, which had a very nice selection of large size shoes. Unlike most stores, Nordstrom's groups their shoes by size, not by style, so I could see everything in my size. If I wanted to, I could have spent a couple hundred dollars on shoes, but as it was, I didn't buy anything. It's nice to know they are there when I want to shoe shop though. I've always liked Nordstrom's Rack ever since I discovered one in Salt Lake City, Utah many years ago.

While I was shopping, I got a call from a recruiter whom I had submitted my new resume to earlier in the day. We chatted for a while and she invited me to drop in tomorrow when I'm in the city for my women's poly group. They are located in the Chrysler Building, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful skyscrapers ever built. I've always wanted to visit, so this will be my chance. I'll visit with the recruiter at 5 pm, then my group meets at 6:30 pm. Then it's back home to watch Game 2 of the Rockets-Trailblazers playoff basketball series.

From the mall I drove to Pearl Art Supply to pick up some packaging for the CDs I'm putting together for my friend Linda, then turned around and browsed at the big Barnes & Noble bookstore. I got a copy of Jill Thompson's Sandman spinoff At Death's Door and found Paulo Coelho's novel The Witch of Portobello in hardcover in the bargain section for only $7.

Time to turn in early then, after I figure out what to wear for tomorrow's interview. Good night!

Heel thyself

Interesting article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal:

Heelpolitik: The Power of the Stiletto
Why Female Executives Keep A Pair for Clashes and Crises; Ferragamos to Be Fired In

Look under many a powerful woman's desk and you'll find a serious pair of heels. Whether they're on her feet or tucked in a drawer, the shoes' key attribute is a three-inch spike that, if redirected, could put your eye out.


I've been wearing a modest heel more often lately, not the lethal stilettos a la "Single White Female", but heels nonetheless, usually about two inches. Being almost six feet tall, I really don't need the additional height, and with my size 12W feet it's hard to even find decent shoes to begin with. Despite this, I have a fairly impressive collection of shoes, most of which I've never worn outside my bedroom. I bought most of them after the fire of 2005 when I didn't have any shoes and got caught up in building a shoe wardrobe.

Back when I was job hunting in New York, I wore heels on days I had to walk a good piece from interview to interview. I picked shoes that looked good and made my feet look smaller, but they didn't fit well and consequently I have problems with bunions now. These days I'm a little more sensible with both buying and wearing my shoes, but it was a hard lesson to learn.

Probably the highest heel I have is a three-inch skinny heel on a bright pink strappy sandal. It actually does fit pretty well, but it's hard for me to walk in, and I'm sure I couldn't go very far if I did try to walk in them. I suppose I bought it because it's such a rare event to find a pretty shoe that actually fits me. Plus, I thought I might want something dressy if I were ever to go to a cocktail party or fancy dinner where I wouldn't have to be on my feet very much.

But the truth is that I'm not really part of that world anymore, if indeed I ever was. However, I do admire women I see who can walk around on four-inch heels with ease - I just feel sorry for their feet.