I'd Rather Fall than have to wear these shoes ever again!

You might be thinking to yourself right now, "Why are these hideous shoes posted up on this blog?" And let me tell you, there is a reason! I promise....just let me get there...these shoes, as do all of my other shoes, have a story---a life, if you will---and they have significant meaning in my life. Here goes nothing...

So, yesterday I had an amazing day at Glen Ivy Day Spa with my friend Daniela from work (it was her birthday, so we needed to celebrate)! Also, it was our first day of "real" summer vacation. We both taught Summer School (aka Educational Rehab) and Thursday was our last day! Woohoo!!! Well, as we were driving home from this fantastically relaxing day we started talking about other jobs that we had before we became teachers. And I realized that I had a whole lot of really random jobs throughout my high school and, mostly, college years. My life as an employee began as a "counter girl" at Frantones (hmmmm I wonder how I got THAT hook up???), then I worked for about 5 minutes (seriously) at Sushi of Naples, then worked at Macaroni Grill for about 3 months (only to eventually be "phased out"), I drove 3 elementary aged kids to school for a semester for $50 a week (straight rolling in the dough! PLUS I HAD to wake up early on Friday mornings even after a "Thirsty Thursday---come on, I was a wild freshman in college! Waking up and driving kids to school after a late night while they argued over who got to sit in the front seat was TORTURE!), then I worked at CURVES---The Gym For Women (30 minute workouts/3 times a week LOL), worked as a receptionist/eBay girl/random office slave at L&C Coins (thank you, Lee Crane) which was probably my favorite job out of all of them, only to eventually be hired as a server at Outback Steakhouse in Norwalk---which brings me to the aforementioned (and pictured) shoes.

Working at Outback was probably the most fun and the least fun I have ever had in a job all wrapped up into one weird experience. The restaurant business---for any of you who have not had the pleasure of participating in---is super strange. It's strange in the sense that it is a revolving door of employees who really have no long term goal of staying at this job for more than a year or two (usually....there ARE a few exceptions!) But, for the most part, the people who work there are generally college aged kids who are just trying to work to make enough money to then go out and spend that money at a bar after they get off of work. And, in the beginning of working there, it was so fun.

But however, as I got older (I worked there for about 3 years) and graduated from college and did not see a career job in my near future, I began to resent working there. I was annoyed with the stupid customers who bossed me around and treated me like trash---so many times I had to stop myself from slamming their drink down on the table and asking them where exactly they got THEIR college degree? Oh, what's that? Oh, you DIDN'T graduate from HIGH SCHOOL? Ohhhhhhh, well then, stop treating me like an idiot! UGh!

Okay....rant OVER! But, these "Shoes for Crews" slip-resistant ladies style shoes are the kind of shoes that I had to wear at least 4 times a week for about 3 years whenever I went to work. And y'all know how I feel about shoes. The higher the better, flats are a sickness, and kitten heels are the mullets of shoes. I should add into this equation "black tennis shoes with a thick sole are meant for unstylish Grandmas ONLY"---no offense to any G-Ma's out there :) But seriously....can they BE any uglier??? Also picture these show with a pair of black Dickie work pants, a collared baggy Outback shirt (which was inevitably FILTHY because I didn't care enough about how I looked at work to EVER wash my work clothes), a ratty pony-tail and some Outback "Flair" (that's right, FLAIR)...and I looked GOOD. Hahahaha....

Moral of this story, as I was driving home from the day spa, I realized how grateful I am for my job. I seriously LOVE being a teacher, I love my students, I love my co-workers, and the thing I love the most? I can wear whatever shoes I want to wear! I am grateful for my job at Outback Steakhouse---I know that if I had to, I could do it again---but experiences like that make me even more grateful for the decisions that I have made in my life AND for my job, even though I spend waaaaaaay more time there than I ever did at Outback! Adios Slip Resistant shoes. you are too ugly, and we can no longer be seen together :)

My Guardian Angels wear adorable shoes!

So, my summer has consisted of some VERRRY exciting activities such as: teaching Summer School (aka Educational Rehab) and running Cheer Practice. While I get to do this with a couple of my BFF's (Daniela and Erin), it still kind of sucks to realize that the summer is almost over and it has been consumed by school and cheer....it sounds dangerously similar to what my normal school year consists of! Eeeek!

However, in the midst of the madness I had two Guardian Angels come to me and help make my life easier. Sarah and Kayleigh (2 of my former cheer captains) volunteered their own precious time and energy to come and practice and help shoulder some of the burden. Now, while this might not seem like a big deal to you, it means the world to me. Wrangling 39 (yes, 39) girls at cheer practice and trying to get them to look perfect and "game ready" is exhausting. So, the fact that Sarah and Kayleigh came to help me really means a lot. As a teacher/coach/advisor, I always hope that I am making a difference in the lives of SOME of my students (let's be real, not every kid is "on board" with my learning agenda) but when kids like Sarah and Kayleigh come back and want to just help "just because", it warms my heart.

That attitude is the attitude that I hope my students walk away from my class learning: that it is important to try to make life a little bit easier and more bearable for one another. And when you care about someone, you should want to help them out and ease their burdens. Kayleigh and Sarah are wonderful girls, they work really hard, do well in school (CSULB and Chapman), and are all around wonderful young women. I am so proud of them. And I am so glad that now that they have not been my students for a while, we can be actual friends! It's so fun! I LOVE THEM!!!

ALMOST as much as I loved the shoes that Kayleigh was wearing when she came to help out! I have to give credit to my students for much of my "fashion sense"....their style is infectious and it keeps me wanting to be stylish. While I don't LOVE showing up to school wearing the same outfit as one of my students (it's happened before, people!), I do love looking cute, and girls like Sarah and Kayleigh continue to inspire my clothing (and shoe!) choices. As of late, I have become fixated on "deck shoes"...you know, the kind that you wear when you're sailing? They make me feel like I could put on some khaki shorts, a light blue button-up shirt, a straw hat, and go sailing in the Hamptons. However, here I am. In Downey. Not a body of water on which to sail a boat in sight. But a girl can dream, right? And soon enough, I will break down and buy a pair of these:



Until then, Happy Summer :)