stubborn flipflops cause cold feet I have an old friend named Julie and if I recall right one thing we have in common is that we both loathe to wear socks. It's become fashionable among people over the past 6 or 8 years to wear flip flops around, and while I recall wearing flip flops for years before noticing others doing so it is still a very comfortable fact of life for me. It's not that I do so to be fashionable or be cool, but because I generally hate wearing white socks. Athletic socks are okay, thick wool socks are nice, but plain white socks are just uncomfortable. I've worn them inside out for a few years now, and that helps with the strip across the feet, but just slightly. Back home in TX you could more or less get away with wearing flip flops 10-11 mos out of the year. Up here in RI however it's a little more of a struggle to do so. Little more chilly...yet I push on whenever I can, my big toes out for everyone to see. I'm a VISTA and I work for a nonprofit; we don't have a strict dresscode unless of course the situation deems a certain appearance (fake!). I'm not sure what my office policy is on flip flops, or maybe I do and I'm choosing to ignore it, but occasionally as it's warming up I find myself sneaking in with the flip flops on more and more. Don't get me wrong, I try to be pretty conscious of my dress but I don't do the suit and vertical striped shirt or whatevers fashionable (no money for that stuff). Still I do wear the slacks, usually khaki and un-ironed (sorry Mom) and a shirt tucked in, with my sweet blue shoes (not exactly tennis shoes, not exactly suede either). If it's cold I wear the warmer, thicker socks, and as the day progresses my feet sweat and by the end of the night my feet begin to smell. Just the name of the game man. But I don't like smelly feet, and while I like warm feet I'd much rather take cold feet over smelly feet any day; so when I can I default to flip flops as often as I can.

Somedays when I go to work I show up with an un-tucked shirt covered by a fleece or a sweater of some kind. And somedays when I dress like that I wear my baggy cargo pants and my flip flops. Pretty casual, pretty typical for people my age. I dressed like that today and at one point I was in my car thinking about my appearance and realized maybe it wasn't as professional as I could be, but A) I didn't need to be and B) I was pretty darn comfortable.

I don't like being told to dress a certain way, although I will and usually default to dressing relatively presentable when left to decide on my own. I just like to be comfortable...and I like to be young. I think part of the reason why I dress this way still is that if I were to dress otherwise it would force me to be someone I'm not yet ready to be. Maybe I know who that is, maybe I don't. But I know who I am right now, and that's what matters. I tend to think about things too much, and when I can just throw on my flip flops and wander around town comfortable (and yes, usually with cold feet) it reminds me that I'm still young and it helps me in my own little way to take life a little easier. Somedays it defines my entire day. That seems pretty stupid, but it's true.

Hey! I'm going home tomorrow! Can't wait to see my family, it's been almost six months. I think this beats my record by about a week or two of the longest I've gone without seeing them. So excited...but I have to be at the bus station downtown to catch the bus up to Logan at 5:45 am! It's about a ten minute walk from my house, although having a suitcase might add a few minutes. I'll have to leave wicked early. Yikes...I need to go to bed soon.

"wicked early." like that, ya'll?  ¶ 5/23/2006 08:47:00 PM