Freeze tag

Things I learned today:

1. Junior high figure skating girls playing tag on the ice? Almost as annoying as tiny hockey boys chasing each other on the ice. Their greater mass and speed makes injury more likely if they actually run into you, but at least they know enough to look where they're going. I don't think any of them were even in a class, so what they were doing on our class practice ice, which is filled with people who are just a few steps up from tripping over their own feet, I don't know. I at first thought they were doing some kind of legitimate practice pattern, so I kept moving around to try and get out of their way. Then I realized they were just playing, so I planted myself in an out-of-the-way spot that still had enough room for me to do what I needed to do and sent out "screw you, you can go around ME" vibes. I felt bad for the ten-year-olds who didn't have fifteen years of confidence on these jerks, and was on the verge of grabbing one of the girls and saying something, but luckily one of the coaches told them to knock it off before I could.

You have to be REALLY annoying to overcome my aversion to interacting with kids. Just sayin'.

2. How to check from my gut rather than getting my arms right and having my shoulders fight me. Which led to inside three turns that actually worked! You know, today. Hopefully I don't lose them by the next practice.

3. A waltz jump.

Let us be more accurate: I did this while clinging to the wall for dear life. My jump also covered approximately six inches. But, jump! OMG!

Capitalistic pursuits

It's November! And I went to the World Market in Murfreesboro! Know what that means? Früchte lebkuchen, baby! I am thoroughly addicted to this stuff, and consider it a blessing it's only available for two months out of the year, and it's a fair drive to get to the place selling it as well.

I also went to this store in hopes of getting something similar to my brown boots. These boots are, by far, the best shoes I've ever owned, and I've owned them since 2006. I've had them resoled--after duct taping them to keep out rain in the last weeks of winter during grad school--and they still definitely work, but they're starting to show their age. Most of the actual footbed has worn away, and I currently have a couple insoles in there to put something in between me and the new sole. Said new sole didn't cover the heel, which is getting just a bit awkward to walk on because the outside is so much more worn down than the inside. The toes are seriously scuffed (much more than in that old picture), and the lining around the heel and ankle is threadbare at best.

They're still comfy, but won't last much longer with daily wear, so I wanted to put them into a sort of semi-retirement, only taking them on out weekends and such. I'd been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but hadn't found just the right replacement. Today, finally, I managed! The new ones aren't quite as comfy as the old ones--although insoles fix much of that--but they do look a bit more professional, and are tall enough that they might be able to be worn with skirts without looking too strange. We'll see.

Because that store is seductive, with its incredibly low prices for very well-made shoes, I also walked out with some awesome red shoes. I've wanted red shoes forever, but have always been stymied by my inner cheapskate whining about how they'll only go with a few things, black and brown are so much more versatile, etc. etc. Today I silenced my inner cheapskate and bought them anyway.

I also got some adorable brown shoes, because why not. These are Orthoheels, which have arch support that might be a little much even for me. I did not think this was possible. I bet it'll feel awesome once I get used to it, though.

Since I'm on the subject of shoes, have a picspam. I dug out my wingtips last week, and found they fit better than they used to. (They still aren't great, but they were like $12 and I think I bought them for a Halloween costume, so I figure getting any wear out of them at all now is gravy.) Here they are with stripy socks. Filters courtesy of some of the sites on this list.

Nikki & Nora

So apparently Nikki & Nora is going to live again as a web series?

Possibly the first time ever an unaired pilot (which you can watch basically everywhere) got turned into a new web series? Especially nine years after the fact?

I'm unclear on exactly how it's going to be distributed--the site has a confusing mix of pay and free content--but I enjoyed the pilot so much that I would actually pay cashy money to watch this. A small amount, anyway.

Woo!