Ramblings of an uninhabited mind...

Shoe-Shopping

This title is as unimaginative and boring as the activity itself.

Let me let you in on one of my best kept secrets - When it comes to shopping, I was born the wrong sex. And for some horrible reason, it is presumed that all women are just supposed to know this as if it were some genetically-embedded, pre-historic basic instinct that the survival of the entire species depended on! Not only am I treated like a social outcast when I don't go over shopping-bag(s) full of the day's kill with my female friends, when I'm in a shopping-mall, I actually feel like a fish out of water!

So now that we have established that I belong to that small, dying breed of women who don't believe in the benefits of retail-therapy (even though I have had some ridiculously impulsive adventures with my debit card), you will understand how hard it is for me to be stuck in Russia at the start of the winter in dire need of a brand-new winter wardrobe!

Last week it became evident that I had dealt my best card in terms of winter-clothing. As the temperature dipped below my appetite for shopping, I knew it was time to go sh...shh...shop! So Anya, Meritxell and I made it a Ladies' Day Out sort of a thing and went to MEGA at Ulitsa Dibenko.

With every shop, every try-room, every sweater and every shoe, I was just craving to find something I would like so I could buy what I needed and get the hell out of there. A couple of hours down, we were done with my knit-wear items but one big thing still remained on the agenda - shoes! I needed winter-shoes that would keep the water and ice out and keep me warm.

If there's anything I hate more than shopping, it's shopping for shoes! I think it's probably because the pressure of getting it right is much more. With clothes, you buy plenty. There's plenty of variety, colours, styles etc. And if you suddenly realise - within the 30 day return period - that it wasn't meant for you, you can still exchange it or get your money back. But shoes are a very different game. You buy fewer of them and hence wear the same thing more often. Plus, even if you wore it once or twice, worn shoes are practically impossible to return. And then there is the fact that a slightly wrong size with the clothes may make you look a little out of shape but a mistake like that on the shoe front would kill your feet! In fact, shoe shopping can be a lot like getting married!

And last Sunday proved to be the ultimate nightmare to pick a pair I would take home with me! There were black shoes, brown shoes, white, beige and grey. There were boots with fur and no heels, there were boots with heels and no fur. Some looked too feminine and some didn't look feminine enough. After a couple of hours, I realised there was no scope for love at first sight. Nothing seemed to impress me much, nothing caught my eye that I would even want to try it...

Given my desperate situation - the fact I was running out of time and really needed winter shoes for the following week's snow forecasts, Anya and Meritxell began to arrange a match. I still don't think I was feeling it yet with any pair of shoes I saw but I guess at least I had started to try them out. Some that didn't look so nice initially, didn't look so bad when I tried them but within five minutes started to hurt! Some others looked great but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my feet into them! Another couple of hours later, I had started to doubt my feet. Wasn't there any pair of shoes that would fit? Wasn't there anything that would look nice and feel great? Meritxell's boots were so nice and comfy and Anya's shoes - cool and classy. Was there really nothing out there for me? Was it too much to ask to unite my feet and the ONE pair of shoes in holy matrimony till death do us apart? (And hopefully the shoe would predecease me!)

After much persuasion, consultation and walking around with one pair of black shoes at ECCO, I decided to buy them and take them home. They fit fine and felt good. Their soft and light fur lining inside was pampering. They looked a bit tougher than I usually like but the shop assistant said that they were water-proof, kept the warmth in and water out so I guess that was for a reason. Perhaps, I just grew into them. I took a deep-breath and walked down the store aisle holding this black pair in my left hand and my debit card in my right. This was it...

PS - Has it ever happened to you that you bought a pair of shoes and within 5 minutes of the purchase saw another pair that seemed to be so much sexier and cooler? I found something exactly like that at Zara...but oh well...I really meant it when I said, "till death do us apart!"

I'm a Slave 4 U

Last thing before I kick-start my Saturday morning (now afternoon) with something more productive than blogging about shoe-shopping...

I have come to realise that at this time in St. Petersburg all Britney Spears songs can be sung to the Sun (that big yellow thing in the sky that's absconding!)

(Oh baby baby...Oh baby baby)
Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know
That something wasnt right here...
Oh baby baby, I shouldn't have let you goooooo
And now you're out of sight (yeah)
Show me how you want it to be
Tell me baby coz I need to know now, oh because...
My loneliness is killing me (and I...)
I must confess I still believe (still believe...)
When I'm not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign, hit me baby one more time!

Or...

It’s getting late to give you up
I took a sip from my devil's cup
Slowly...it’s taking over me

With a taste of your lips
I'm on a ride
You're toxic, I'm slipping under
With a taste of a poison paradise
I'm addicted to you...Don't you know that you're toxic!
And I love what you do...Don't you know that you're toxic!
Intoxicate me now
With your lovin' now
I think I'm ready now

And the winner is...

What's practical and logical - What the hell, who cares?
All I know is I'm so happy when you're dancing there
I'm a sla-a-a-a-ave for you....
I cannot hold it; I cannot control it
I'm a sla-a-a-a-ave for you....
I won't deny it; I'm not trying to hide it
Baby, don't you wanna, dance upon me?