Updates are going to be sporadic for now. I'm working a 7pm to 3:30am shift and this is going to require some adjustment for me (I'm usually asleep around 2am, and I can defiantly feel that while at work).
I've got to say I am very disappointed... my new job is at a call center and I expected some barefoot freedom with this. There is a rule in the books that says "shoes must be worn at all times" (even if only flip flops) with the claim being someone may step on a staple or some other silly such thing.
I'm going to have to consider what I'm going to do regarding this (sadly I can't rock the boat too hard because, frankly, I need this job).
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Barefoot Speech
If you look back a few posts you may recall I mentioned something about a speech on going barefoot, well that was just given on Tuesday.
I'm in a public speaking class at college and was told to write a persuasive speech on anything I wanted and thus I chose to persuade people why they should remove their shoes more often (sorry guys but I think telling everyone to burn their shoes and go barefoot everywhere would be a bit too much for many).
As I doubt anyone here wants to red a 4 page outline the basics of what I went over were the following:
1. I talked about the natural gate of a human being thrown off by shoes (There is a wonderful article on that subject here).
Mostly I explained the heel-strike, push off, and stance phases and how shoes interrupt each of them. There is also a wonderful picture explaining this in The Barefoot Book which I did use to help me illustrate the point.
2. Foot arches- I showed a short clip to explain to my audience how the arch expanses and collapses, explained the main jobs of the arch (shock absorber, spring, weight distribution, and uneven terrain accommodation), and explained how shoes force the arch into a position where it is unable to do any of those job.
3. Some physical deformities caused by shoes and how shoes cause them: Hallux valgus, hammertoe, bunions, and knee arthritis.
4. Fungal infections and how shoes are a nice dark, damp, and warm environment for bacteria to grow in.
5. Broke down some of the myths including the fact there is no rule with the Health Department, or the Department of Agriculture (and thank you Society for Barefoot Living for having both letters for my state for me to print out as mine still have no made it). That bare feet are no more dirty than the bottom of a shoe (and likely less so as we wash our feet more often),that glass is not on ever street corner and that it doesn't much effect a seasoned barefooter, and that germs are everywhere not only on the ground (we don't wear gloves all day, why shoes?).
... And that was my 11 minute speech in a nut shell. However Thursday (the class following this speech) brought about some interesting things:
Firstly there were questions, quite a few surprisingly. People asked what I do in the winter, if I go into public restrooms still, about confrontations I've had, and what troubles I had with it in general.It was actually a pretty nice question and answer session with no one saying anything negative, though a few people laughed when I said I do indeed keep the health department letter in my purse.
There were also comments that eased my paranoia. Despite having been going to class ever day barefoot for months now... The vast majority of the class never noticed! Even the teacher who I had previously thought had noticed claimed never to have seen it, and that I did have many people in the class lean over and down to look (considering I've given all my speeches barefoot as well this surprised me- Of all the times I would think standing in the front of a room would give you away).
The most interesting thing though was finding that there apparently is another student that goes barefoot! I have no idea who, why, or if our paths will cross but it's nice knowing there's someone else so close by going barefoot. I hope to run across him at some point and have the guts to go up and speak with him.
I'm in a public speaking class at college and was told to write a persuasive speech on anything I wanted and thus I chose to persuade people why they should remove their shoes more often (sorry guys but I think telling everyone to burn their shoes and go barefoot everywhere would be a bit too much for many).
As I doubt anyone here wants to red a 4 page outline the basics of what I went over were the following:
1. I talked about the natural gate of a human being thrown off by shoes (There is a wonderful article on that subject here).
Mostly I explained the heel-strike, push off, and stance phases and how shoes interrupt each of them. There is also a wonderful picture explaining this in The Barefoot Book which I did use to help me illustrate the point.
2. Foot arches- I showed a short clip to explain to my audience how the arch expanses and collapses, explained the main jobs of the arch (shock absorber, spring, weight distribution, and uneven terrain accommodation), and explained how shoes force the arch into a position where it is unable to do any of those job.
3. Some physical deformities caused by shoes and how shoes cause them: Hallux valgus, hammertoe, bunions, and knee arthritis.
4. Fungal infections and how shoes are a nice dark, damp, and warm environment for bacteria to grow in.
5. Broke down some of the myths including the fact there is no rule with the Health Department, or the Department of Agriculture (and thank you Society for Barefoot Living for having both letters for my state for me to print out as mine still have no made it). That bare feet are no more dirty than the bottom of a shoe (and likely less so as we wash our feet more often),that glass is not on ever street corner and that it doesn't much effect a seasoned barefooter, and that germs are everywhere not only on the ground (we don't wear gloves all day, why shoes?).
... And that was my 11 minute speech in a nut shell. However Thursday (the class following this speech) brought about some interesting things:
Firstly there were questions, quite a few surprisingly. People asked what I do in the winter, if I go into public restrooms still, about confrontations I've had, and what troubles I had with it in general.It was actually a pretty nice question and answer session with no one saying anything negative, though a few people laughed when I said I do indeed keep the health department letter in my purse.
There were also comments that eased my paranoia. Despite having been going to class ever day barefoot for months now... The vast majority of the class never noticed! Even the teacher who I had previously thought had noticed claimed never to have seen it, and that I did have many people in the class lean over and down to look (considering I've given all my speeches barefoot as well this surprised me- Of all the times I would think standing in the front of a room would give you away).
The most interesting thing though was finding that there apparently is another student that goes barefoot! I have no idea who, why, or if our paths will cross but it's nice knowing there's someone else so close by going barefoot. I hope to run across him at some point and have the guts to go up and speak with him.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
A Beginners Guide to Going to College Barefoot
I notice quite a few people finding my blog by googling "going barefoot to class" so to help out the students having trouble I've wrote a short step by step guide.
Step one: Remove shoes.
Step two: Take normal transit to school without shoes. Drive barefoot, walk, hop on the bus, have someone drive you... What ever floats your boat. Just don't bring the shoes with you! (hard to back out when you have no alternative).
Step three: Breath.
Step four: Walk to class with your head up. Don't shrink down, don't avoid people, you're in the right and doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Some other newbie tips:
- Barefoot sandals may help you to gain some confidence as less people tend to notice you're barefoot.
- If you need a distraction use one. Put your nose in a book, call a friend while you're walking to class, walk and talk to a supportive friend, put some head phones in; people are less likely to confront you if you look busy and even if they try you're less likely to notice.
If you have questions or even further advice you're welcome to put them in the comments section.
Step one: Remove shoes.
Step two: Take normal transit to school without shoes. Drive barefoot, walk, hop on the bus, have someone drive you... What ever floats your boat. Just don't bring the shoes with you! (hard to back out when you have no alternative).
Step three: Breath.
Step four: Walk to class with your head up. Don't shrink down, don't avoid people, you're in the right and doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Some other newbie tips:
- Barefoot sandals may help you to gain some confidence as less people tend to notice you're barefoot.
- If you need a distraction use one. Put your nose in a book, call a friend while you're walking to class, walk and talk to a supportive friend, put some head phones in; people are less likely to confront you if you look busy and even if they try you're less likely to notice.
If you have questions or even further advice you're welcome to put them in the comments section.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Rob Zombie- Not as barefoot as I would have liked
Ugh. I'm sorry everyone, it's been very hectic lately with a new job (a call center which means I'm going to be looking into barefoot at the work place), classes to get done, and life throwing me curve balls left and right. I have a few posts I want to write up that can be expected in the next few days, but for now I'm just going to talk a little about attempting to go to a Rob Zombie concert barefoot.
Security did NOT like me. They took one look at my feet and told me it was a no go. I asked why, argued their points ("We have food inside!" "So?" "There's a health code!" "No there isn't") and their final argument came down to I'll get stepped on or slide in something spilled and they'll get in trouble. In short- If I wanted to get in they expected something. I came back with flip flops and through security they let me go.
There was security everywhere as to be expected at a concert of that size, but I slid my shoes off, hooked them to my purse, and not a word was ever said. The floor was padding placed over top of ice that slid slightly as people walked across, and there was the occasional damp spot and cigarette bud (way to follow laws there guys), but I ran across nothing that would be safer in flip flops.
Over all I stuck near the wall and had no worries about being trampled and could feel the vibrations of the speakers through my bare feet better than anyone with shoes could. Sadly though I don't find indoor environment that spectacular these days even while screaming along with a crowd for Alice Cooper (who played before Zombie who I sadly missed due to sickness).
Security did NOT like me. They took one look at my feet and told me it was a no go. I asked why, argued their points ("We have food inside!" "So?" "There's a health code!" "No there isn't") and their final argument came down to I'll get stepped on or slide in something spilled and they'll get in trouble. In short- If I wanted to get in they expected something. I came back with flip flops and through security they let me go.
There was security everywhere as to be expected at a concert of that size, but I slid my shoes off, hooked them to my purse, and not a word was ever said. The floor was padding placed over top of ice that slid slightly as people walked across, and there was the occasional damp spot and cigarette bud (way to follow laws there guys), but I ran across nothing that would be safer in flip flops.
Over all I stuck near the wall and had no worries about being trampled and could feel the vibrations of the speakers through my bare feet better than anyone with shoes could. Sadly though I don't find indoor environment that spectacular these days even while screaming along with a crowd for Alice Cooper (who played before Zombie who I sadly missed due to sickness).
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Things to come...
There are new barefoot activities on the way! Well ones that will defiantly have posts to go with them I mean.
A few posts back I mentioned a local Rob Zombie concert coming up and the grand debate to go barefoot or not. I've decided that this will be a barefoot event for me. If I fail to get in the door barefoot flip flops will be used to get inside but stashed into my purse at the first opportunity.
I also have not mentioned the fact that one of my college courses is a public speaking class. I have indeed given my first two of four speeches barefoot and have received no comments regarding it. My next project however is a persuasive speech and I've registered the subject of "persuading my audience to kick off their shoes more often." Sadly this is only a 6 to 8 minute speech so I am unable to go into too much detail but I do intend to speak of the health benefits of going barefoot, the health issues caused by shoes, and the legal parts of going barefoot (as many people believe there to be laws against it). I'm hoping to kill some myths through this speech, but if that will get it's own section or not has yet to be decided.
While this may not be a huge thing to many individuals I'm quite excited to get the word out to between 30 and 40 college students, and hopefully the truth will take another step in slowly spreading.
A few posts back I mentioned a local Rob Zombie concert coming up and the grand debate to go barefoot or not. I've decided that this will be a barefoot event for me. If I fail to get in the door barefoot flip flops will be used to get inside but stashed into my purse at the first opportunity.
I also have not mentioned the fact that one of my college courses is a public speaking class. I have indeed given my first two of four speeches barefoot and have received no comments regarding it. My next project however is a persuasive speech and I've registered the subject of "persuading my audience to kick off their shoes more often." Sadly this is only a 6 to 8 minute speech so I am unable to go into too much detail but I do intend to speak of the health benefits of going barefoot, the health issues caused by shoes, and the legal parts of going barefoot (as many people believe there to be laws against it). I'm hoping to kill some myths through this speech, but if that will get it's own section or not has yet to be decided.
While this may not be a huge thing to many individuals I'm quite excited to get the word out to between 30 and 40 college students, and hopefully the truth will take another step in slowly spreading.
Out for a Walk
Despite lack of their mention before I do indeed have pets. I have an Australian Shepherd names Aleu, and 2 ferrets named Twilight and Sora.
When I walk in general I walk barefoot and when walking the dog there is no exception. I live in a nice enough neighborhood (lower middle class, but one of the quieter areas as far as crime goes), and thankfully the only issue I tend to run into are the leavings of other dogs with owners not polite enough to pick it up (on the odd occasion I do step in it I simply rub it off on the ground to the best of my ability, and wash when I get home). I notice when walking my dog I don't get many, if any comments. I'm simply one of quite a few locals that walk their dog, and Aleu gets more of the attention than I do.
As the weather cools off though I find my ferrets enjoy going on the occasional outdoor outing as well, and while the ferrets don't tend to walk as far they seem to draw far more attention. Yet as odd as tit is to see ferrets out and about... Somehow that attention transfers over to my bare feet far more often than walking my dog.
I've asked a couple of people, and most of them seem to give me some variation of 'I've never seen ferrets before, and their so close to your feet!" This may be true as at least Twilight is shy of people and will try to get me to pick him up when presented with a new person, but I wonder if it's simply the fact that people tend to ignore the little things when they see what they're use to and the mind simply fills in the blanks. I wonder if people don't simply see someone walking a dog and move on, but are jolted by some other animal at the end of the leash and thus see the other oddities as well.
Just a theory, likely based on taking far too many psychology courses, but I wish there was some way to really test it.
As cold weather is soon coming in I await the "aren't your feet cold?" comments, and some of my class mates are taking bets as to when I'll put on shoes (never if I can help it, but I've considering investing in some soft soled moccasins though I honestly doubt I can due to the high price tags they tend to carry).
When I walk in general I walk barefoot and when walking the dog there is no exception. I live in a nice enough neighborhood (lower middle class, but one of the quieter areas as far as crime goes), and thankfully the only issue I tend to run into are the leavings of other dogs with owners not polite enough to pick it up (on the odd occasion I do step in it I simply rub it off on the ground to the best of my ability, and wash when I get home). I notice when walking my dog I don't get many, if any comments. I'm simply one of quite a few locals that walk their dog, and Aleu gets more of the attention than I do.
As the weather cools off though I find my ferrets enjoy going on the occasional outdoor outing as well, and while the ferrets don't tend to walk as far they seem to draw far more attention. Yet as odd as tit is to see ferrets out and about... Somehow that attention transfers over to my bare feet far more often than walking my dog.
I've asked a couple of people, and most of them seem to give me some variation of 'I've never seen ferrets before, and their so close to your feet!" This may be true as at least Twilight is shy of people and will try to get me to pick him up when presented with a new person, but I wonder if it's simply the fact that people tend to ignore the little things when they see what they're use to and the mind simply fills in the blanks. I wonder if people don't simply see someone walking a dog and move on, but are jolted by some other animal at the end of the leash and thus see the other oddities as well.
Just a theory, likely based on taking far too many psychology courses, but I wish there was some way to really test it.
As cold weather is soon coming in I await the "aren't your feet cold?" comments, and some of my class mates are taking bets as to when I'll put on shoes (never if I can help it, but I've considering investing in some soft soled moccasins though I honestly doubt I can due to the high price tags they tend to carry).
Monday, October 4, 2010
Driving Barefoot
Now for anyone that does not know driving barefoot is in no way illegal.
Because I don't want to argue if it's legal or not here (because that's not the point of this post) I'm just going to direct people to check out this page for more information in regards to it.
Looking at that link I also notice the Virginia letter is from 1994... I may just have to take it upon myself to get an updated version of that.
Now onto the topic at hand:
I don't take shoes with me when I leave the house anymore. I don't want to risk myself chickening out at the last moment, and so I can honestly say "I don't have any shoes with me" when someone asks.
My issue? No matter how safe a driver I am (and I'm not saying I'm the best out there, everyone makes mistakes) I can not guarantee how safe the drivers around me are.
It's inevitable that at some point in your life you're going to get pulled over or get into an accident. That's just the way life is. Maybe you'll be in a strange part of town and miss that stop sign, maybe you're running a bit late for work and speed, maybe you'll slam on your breaks and be unable to stop in time for the person that pulled out of the gas station and directly in front of your car- There's always a possibility.
My worry? I'm going to get stuck dealing with a police officer and it's going to be that one office that is going to make it into an issue. I've had good experiences with cops before, and bad experiences but I admit the bad ones are the ones that sit more visibly in my mind. I don't consider cops to be bad people by any means, but most everyone has a horror story, and I think many people would agree they worry when they'll get their own.
I enjoy driving barefoot- It's comfortable, I can feel the peddles, and there's no guess work as I find there is with shoes breaking up that connection between my foot and the peddle. But what's going to happen when I get slammed with a reckless driving charge by a cop for driving barefoot? How would you even argue that case?
In that light I often wonder... Is it worth being able to honestly say I have no shoes with me, or to keep a pare of flip flops under the seat just in case?
Because I don't want to argue if it's legal or not here (because that's not the point of this post) I'm just going to direct people to check out this page for more information in regards to it.
Looking at that link I also notice the Virginia letter is from 1994... I may just have to take it upon myself to get an updated version of that.
Now onto the topic at hand:
I don't take shoes with me when I leave the house anymore. I don't want to risk myself chickening out at the last moment, and so I can honestly say "I don't have any shoes with me" when someone asks.
My issue? No matter how safe a driver I am (and I'm not saying I'm the best out there, everyone makes mistakes) I can not guarantee how safe the drivers around me are.
It's inevitable that at some point in your life you're going to get pulled over or get into an accident. That's just the way life is. Maybe you'll be in a strange part of town and miss that stop sign, maybe you're running a bit late for work and speed, maybe you'll slam on your breaks and be unable to stop in time for the person that pulled out of the gas station and directly in front of your car- There's always a possibility.
My worry? I'm going to get stuck dealing with a police officer and it's going to be that one office that is going to make it into an issue. I've had good experiences with cops before, and bad experiences but I admit the bad ones are the ones that sit more visibly in my mind. I don't consider cops to be bad people by any means, but most everyone has a horror story, and I think many people would agree they worry when they'll get their own.
I enjoy driving barefoot- It's comfortable, I can feel the peddles, and there's no guess work as I find there is with shoes breaking up that connection between my foot and the peddle. But what's going to happen when I get slammed with a reckless driving charge by a cop for driving barefoot? How would you even argue that case?
In that light I often wonder... Is it worth being able to honestly say I have no shoes with me, or to keep a pare of flip flops under the seat just in case?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Barefooting Day 10
Look at that number 10 there. Double digits- woot!
Excitement aside I got the dreaded negative comments today... Thankfully from no one that could do a dang thing, and I was too busy talking on the phone to even need to stop and comment back (though I kind of regret that at this point).
I'm pretty short at 5 foot 3, and being short makes finding the proper length pants a bit more difficult. Finding short sizes isn't always easy, and I find taking them to be altered too expensive of a job (and I don't have the time, insensitive, or real ability to do it myself), and because of this I've always worn pants that are a bit too long. I've grown to enjoy the style really, and tend to keep my pants short enough I don't trip on them, but long enough that my feet tend to be covered. Today I wore properly fitted pants and found that my long pants offered more camouflage than I ever realized.
Going into school people looked, no one said anything (or anything loud enough for me to catch in any case) but people gave me funny looks. Doesn't matter much to me- I''m comfortable, happy, and it's healthy.
However, leaving the hall and off campus I did catch some stray comments, though no one seemed actually willing to stop me and say anything. I walked out of my class having just completed a test and two males behind me saw the bottom of my feet, I heard one talk about it being odd and the other replied with "Can't you get like.... Gangrene or something doing that?"
Now I've heard all sorts of things before- People worry about feces, worms, glass (I like to have a little more confidence in a small community college campus being clean at least)... I really think gangrene takes the cake though. Maybe if I sliced my foot open horribly on something nasty, let it get infected, and then ignored the infection for months? I have no idea where people come up with some of these ideas. I continued walking without a hitch in my stride, and said hello in a sing-song tone as my phone call is answered.
Outside I pass the smoking block, I hear someone behind me ask a general "Can you even do that?" loud enough for me to hear, but it doesn't sound like it's specifically directed at me. I'm busy talking about strategies used while playing the Xbox 360 game Oblivion, and missions my friend is about to get to. I rather regret not pausing to say "I don't see why not," "apparently so," or some other such thing. I wonder if it's the oddness of seeing someone walking barefoot, people weary of the human foot, or maybe wishing they could do it too but always being told it's against the rules.
Other people give me funny looks as I keep walking in the direction of my car. It's been raining and I find it a lot of fun to walk through the puddles and leave my foot prints in the dry areas under trees and over hangs. I like feeling the ground under me and knowing I'm not going to slip (something that gave me a broken elbow back on new years eve). I like knowing I've gotten far more support than anything in doing this, and that even with the odd negative comments I've met no one outright hostile.
Excitement aside I got the dreaded negative comments today... Thankfully from no one that could do a dang thing, and I was too busy talking on the phone to even need to stop and comment back (though I kind of regret that at this point).
I'm pretty short at 5 foot 3, and being short makes finding the proper length pants a bit more difficult. Finding short sizes isn't always easy, and I find taking them to be altered too expensive of a job (and I don't have the time, insensitive, or real ability to do it myself), and because of this I've always worn pants that are a bit too long. I've grown to enjoy the style really, and tend to keep my pants short enough I don't trip on them, but long enough that my feet tend to be covered. Today I wore properly fitted pants and found that my long pants offered more camouflage than I ever realized.
Going into school people looked, no one said anything (or anything loud enough for me to catch in any case) but people gave me funny looks. Doesn't matter much to me- I''m comfortable, happy, and it's healthy.
However, leaving the hall and off campus I did catch some stray comments, though no one seemed actually willing to stop me and say anything. I walked out of my class having just completed a test and two males behind me saw the bottom of my feet, I heard one talk about it being odd and the other replied with "Can't you get like.... Gangrene or something doing that?"
Now I've heard all sorts of things before- People worry about feces, worms, glass (I like to have a little more confidence in a small community college campus being clean at least)... I really think gangrene takes the cake though. Maybe if I sliced my foot open horribly on something nasty, let it get infected, and then ignored the infection for months? I have no idea where people come up with some of these ideas. I continued walking without a hitch in my stride, and said hello in a sing-song tone as my phone call is answered.
Outside I pass the smoking block, I hear someone behind me ask a general "Can you even do that?" loud enough for me to hear, but it doesn't sound like it's specifically directed at me. I'm busy talking about strategies used while playing the Xbox 360 game Oblivion, and missions my friend is about to get to. I rather regret not pausing to say "I don't see why not," "apparently so," or some other such thing. I wonder if it's the oddness of seeing someone walking barefoot, people weary of the human foot, or maybe wishing they could do it too but always being told it's against the rules.
Other people give me funny looks as I keep walking in the direction of my car. It's been raining and I find it a lot of fun to walk through the puddles and leave my foot prints in the dry areas under trees and over hangs. I like feeling the ground under me and knowing I'm not going to slip (something that gave me a broken elbow back on new years eve). I like knowing I've gotten far more support than anything in doing this, and that even with the odd negative comments I've met no one outright hostile.
Afroman Concert: A Simi-barefoot Affair
Simply put I really didn't want to risk sitting in line for 2 hours only to be told I could not go in due to bare feet. In hindsight I really doubt I would have had an issue, but... It's one of those things you don't know until later.
Ish and I got to the hookah bar at around 6pm, sat in the cold rain until around 7:30, and after being let in got some nice couch seats where we proceeded to order some pizza and a hookah. I slid my shoes off pretty much immediately and there on the floor they sat for the rest of the night.
I didn't have any issues with this, but then again sliding your shoes off in public I find is a very common thing for people to do. It's almost as if seeing those shoes on the floor reassure people that the person sitting there is just relaxed, not doing anything "too weird."
In other concert and barefoot related news: I have floor space tickets to a indoor Rob Zombie concert come up. I'm very much debating if I should enjoy it barefoot for the good vibes and general relaxation I will feel, or if, for safety reasons, I should pull out a pair of boots.
If it was an outdoor affair I would go without shoes without a thought, but indoor concerts with so many people in such a small space (especially at shows where I'm sure things such as mosh pits (read: a bunch of people in a circle trapping individuals that want to throw themselves at one another) will be going on) may not be the safest place to be without foot protection.
Ish and I got to the hookah bar at around 6pm, sat in the cold rain until around 7:30, and after being let in got some nice couch seats where we proceeded to order some pizza and a hookah. I slid my shoes off pretty much immediately and there on the floor they sat for the rest of the night.
I didn't have any issues with this, but then again sliding your shoes off in public I find is a very common thing for people to do. It's almost as if seeing those shoes on the floor reassure people that the person sitting there is just relaxed, not doing anything "too weird."
In other concert and barefoot related news: I have floor space tickets to a indoor Rob Zombie concert come up. I'm very much debating if I should enjoy it barefoot for the good vibes and general relaxation I will feel, or if, for safety reasons, I should pull out a pair of boots.
If it was an outdoor affair I would go without shoes without a thought, but indoor concerts with so many people in such a small space (especially at shows where I'm sure things such as mosh pits (read: a bunch of people in a circle trapping individuals that want to throw themselves at one another) will be going on) may not be the safest place to be without foot protection.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Oh heck...
And I've missed a week worth of posting... I feel really bad and guilty about that actually. I'm committed to this blog darn it, I can't be missing a full week of postings.
Sadly there just hasn't been anything to report upon as of recent. I'm still going barefoot, but I've had no issues, no real change in my feelings, and just nothing to write an interesting post about. A blog amounting to me saying I went to class and nothing happened, and I stayed at home working all day just wouldn't be fun for me to write or anyone to read. It doesn't really help when I'm so swamped with school work I finish up and go straight to bed either.
In any case, I should be back to regular updates this week, and I apologize to the few regular readers I have.
On a positive note though (because it's always a good idea to end on those):
Tonight at 9:30pm EST there's an Afroman concert at my local hookah bar which I will be attending with a close friend.
For anyone that does not know, a hookah bar is simply a small shop where you can order a large water pipe called a hookah with flavored tobacco in it (despite popular belief hookahs have nothing to do with drug use. Although, like most any tobacco smoking device, I'm sure people use them for other things).
Hookah bars (at least around here) tend to have friendly, relaxing atmospheres, and tend to be mostly filled with individuals roughly of college age (and in my opinion I find this age group to be the most accepting of "oddities"). The lighting is kept low, there are couches as well as tables with chairs inside and out to use, Mediterranean food and cool drinks made to order, and in generally everyone is pretty care free.
Seems like the perfect barefoot environment to me, but I suppose I'll find out Sunday (09/26/10) night.
Sadly there just hasn't been anything to report upon as of recent. I'm still going barefoot, but I've had no issues, no real change in my feelings, and just nothing to write an interesting post about. A blog amounting to me saying I went to class and nothing happened, and I stayed at home working all day just wouldn't be fun for me to write or anyone to read. It doesn't really help when I'm so swamped with school work I finish up and go straight to bed either.
In any case, I should be back to regular updates this week, and I apologize to the few regular readers I have.
On a positive note though (because it's always a good idea to end on those):
Tonight at 9:30pm EST there's an Afroman concert at my local hookah bar which I will be attending with a close friend.
For anyone that does not know, a hookah bar is simply a small shop where you can order a large water pipe called a hookah with flavored tobacco in it (despite popular belief hookahs have nothing to do with drug use. Although, like most any tobacco smoking device, I'm sure people use them for other things).
Hookah bars (at least around here) tend to have friendly, relaxing atmospheres, and tend to be mostly filled with individuals roughly of college age (and in my opinion I find this age group to be the most accepting of "oddities"). The lighting is kept low, there are couches as well as tables with chairs inside and out to use, Mediterranean food and cool drinks made to order, and in generally everyone is pretty care free.
Seems like the perfect barefoot environment to me, but I suppose I'll find out Sunday (09/26/10) night.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Barefooting Day 9
Monday September 20, 2010:
I'm STILL sick, but going back to classes now simply because missing class is not a good idea for the most part. My level of caring seems to go down when I'm sick though as a barefoot sandal slid off as I walked towards class, I simply bent down, picked it up, put it into my pocket, and kept on walking. I had pants short enough it was noticeable, especially considering people sit on the floor all over the school (much nicer than the couches in my opinion, but that's for another day I suppose).
I stopped to talk to the teacher after class to get a quick question answered, I saw another student waiting had a helmet and started talking to him about motorcycles as I have one myself. He kept glancing down at my feet, but never said anything- I'm sure he noticed, but I don't know why the look of concern.
I started talking to another class mate as I walked to my car, she eventually looked down and asked "are you wearing shoes?" I extended my foot and said "yes?" and flipped my foot to show there were no bottoms to go along with the crochet tops- She laughed and I just said I go barefoot everywhere.
I suppose it's odd these days to go barefoot everywhere, but no one has tried to stop me yet.
I'm STILL sick, but going back to classes now simply because missing class is not a good idea for the most part. My level of caring seems to go down when I'm sick though as a barefoot sandal slid off as I walked towards class, I simply bent down, picked it up, put it into my pocket, and kept on walking. I had pants short enough it was noticeable, especially considering people sit on the floor all over the school (much nicer than the couches in my opinion, but that's for another day I suppose).
I stopped to talk to the teacher after class to get a quick question answered, I saw another student waiting had a helmet and started talking to him about motorcycles as I have one myself. He kept glancing down at my feet, but never said anything- I'm sure he noticed, but I don't know why the look of concern.
I started talking to another class mate as I walked to my car, she eventually looked down and asked "are you wearing shoes?" I extended my foot and said "yes?" and flipped my foot to show there were no bottoms to go along with the crochet tops- She laughed and I just said I go barefoot everywhere.
I suppose it's odd these days to go barefoot everywhere, but no one has tried to stop me yet.
Barefooting Day 8
Sunday September 19, 2010:
Barefooting down on the farm! Yee-Haw!
Okay, hopefully that didn't insult anyone, and if it did I am very sorry.
Boyfriend and I got invited by my aunt for a cookout down at her house Sunday, and free food always being nice we of course went. Now, here's the thing about my family- Many of them live out in the country, and I really want to when I get a bit older and it's financially convenient (I'm not much of a city person- Give me woods, some dogs, and a couple other animals any day). The best part of being out on the family farm though? The younger ones at least are almost always without shoes.
So sitting down by the river barefoot is me, 4 younger cousins of mine, and their mother. On the shoe side are my grandmother, my boyfriend, 2 male friends of my cousins, and my uncle. What made this day so nice though was that we eventually got 8 out of 10 people out of their shoes- Even my shoe obsessed boyfriend.
My grandmother is hard pressed to remove her shoes. At her age I figure she's allowed to not be harassed by me about shoes- I've told her many times it would likely help her knees but she'll hear none of it because she always ends up banging her toes on something (even inside the house). It actually makes me want to study what, if any, effects shoes have on the human foot's ability to give feedback (of course shoes cause us to loose sensory feedback as we can't feel the ground, but do they kill that completely over time?)
My uncles, being the working sort also find shoes necessary. Around cattle my first instinct is about how large the animals are and how that's a good idea, but later reflection has me disagreeing with myself. I'm not sure how all cows are, but ours are spooked by anything. Sure they'll follow you around, but as soon as you turn around and walk near them they scatter. I suppose we could go with the argument of their being things on the ground but most of the things one would step on can be washed off, and I've walked those woods since I was a child barefoot with little problem.
The 2 friends that were invited along I can't comment much on... They did however lose their shoes to jump into the creek, and left them off for some time after, but they both did put them back on before leaving.
My 4 cousins (3 girls and 1 boy) are all high school aged kids, and I know they all wear shoes generally (2 of them even have the girly shoe obsession), but we're relaxing around the farm no one sees a point. In and out of the creek, into the woods, across the soft grass, across the not so soft gravel... It doesn't really seem to matter. Everyone would be pulling them on and off to often for it to be convent in any case.
Boyfriend is who I'm really proud of though. After some pressure he was convinced to get into the creek with the rest of us,and slowly walked across the pebbles barefoot (the 3 girls very sadly grabbed shoes worried about glass, I would fall flat on my butt wearing flips on those slick rocks). He even kept them off as we dried off sitting on the ground, though pulled them back on before walking up stream in the grass.
The air was cool in the shade, the water was freezing (that didn't stop us from swimming of course), the ground was soft, and most everyone was barefoot. A good day indeed.
Barefooting down on the farm! Yee-Haw!
Okay, hopefully that didn't insult anyone, and if it did I am very sorry.
Boyfriend and I got invited by my aunt for a cookout down at her house Sunday, and free food always being nice we of course went. Now, here's the thing about my family- Many of them live out in the country, and I really want to when I get a bit older and it's financially convenient (I'm not much of a city person- Give me woods, some dogs, and a couple other animals any day). The best part of being out on the family farm though? The younger ones at least are almost always without shoes.
So sitting down by the river barefoot is me, 4 younger cousins of mine, and their mother. On the shoe side are my grandmother, my boyfriend, 2 male friends of my cousins, and my uncle. What made this day so nice though was that we eventually got 8 out of 10 people out of their shoes- Even my shoe obsessed boyfriend.
My grandmother is hard pressed to remove her shoes. At her age I figure she's allowed to not be harassed by me about shoes- I've told her many times it would likely help her knees but she'll hear none of it because she always ends up banging her toes on something (even inside the house). It actually makes me want to study what, if any, effects shoes have on the human foot's ability to give feedback (of course shoes cause us to loose sensory feedback as we can't feel the ground, but do they kill that completely over time?)
My uncles, being the working sort also find shoes necessary. Around cattle my first instinct is about how large the animals are and how that's a good idea, but later reflection has me disagreeing with myself. I'm not sure how all cows are, but ours are spooked by anything. Sure they'll follow you around, but as soon as you turn around and walk near them they scatter. I suppose we could go with the argument of their being things on the ground but most of the things one would step on can be washed off, and I've walked those woods since I was a child barefoot with little problem.
The 2 friends that were invited along I can't comment much on... They did however lose their shoes to jump into the creek, and left them off for some time after, but they both did put them back on before leaving.
My 4 cousins (3 girls and 1 boy) are all high school aged kids, and I know they all wear shoes generally (2 of them even have the girly shoe obsession), but we're relaxing around the farm no one sees a point. In and out of the creek, into the woods, across the soft grass, across the not so soft gravel... It doesn't really seem to matter. Everyone would be pulling them on and off to often for it to be convent in any case.
Boyfriend is who I'm really proud of though. After some pressure he was convinced to get into the creek with the rest of us,and slowly walked across the pebbles barefoot (the 3 girls very sadly grabbed shoes worried about glass, I would fall flat on my butt wearing flips on those slick rocks). He even kept them off as we dried off sitting on the ground, though pulled them back on before walking up stream in the grass.
The air was cool in the shade, the water was freezing (that didn't stop us from swimming of course), the ground was soft, and most everyone was barefoot. A good day indeed.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Barefooting Day 7
Saturday September 18, 2010:
So I thought a Greek festival would be the perfect place to wear barefoot sandals... Apparently other people don't agree.
Now for anyone who doesn't know this is a pretty casual affair. It's outdoors, there's a ton of people, a ton of food, music, dancing, and.... that's about it really. There's a small area with boots selling stuff inside (I didn't go inside this year, I would have wanted something and lack the money), and outside there's a stage, chairs, benches, a large tent with all sorts of food, and some smaller tents with specific foods.
I jumped out of the car and boyfriend and I started walking across the street to the festival. After getting our bearings we check out the menu to remind me what everything is (and how expensive it is for that matter), we grab some drinks, and jump into line.
Now I liked the line, the pavement was shaded and not near as hot as the walk from the car was. Some girls behind me in line didn't like me as much it seemed- They stage whispered about how it was nasty, how my feet must be dirty because they were black (for anyone that doesn't know pavement will darken your feet pretty quick), and how I shouldn't be barefoot so close to food. How bare feet would do something to food... I have no idea. I would be more concerned with the fact that people were reusing trays, and a lot of people were skipping the hand sanitizer on their way through the line.
I got my food, sat and ate, enjoyed the heck out of it, and then fled the scene (boyfriend nor I am big on crowds or the heat). The only other people barefoot I saw were the people crushing the grapes (which looked like a ton of fun by the way), even the dancers wore heels.
So I thought a Greek festival would be the perfect place to wear barefoot sandals... Apparently other people don't agree.
Now for anyone who doesn't know this is a pretty casual affair. It's outdoors, there's a ton of people, a ton of food, music, dancing, and.... that's about it really. There's a small area with boots selling stuff inside (I didn't go inside this year, I would have wanted something and lack the money), and outside there's a stage, chairs, benches, a large tent with all sorts of food, and some smaller tents with specific foods.
I jumped out of the car and boyfriend and I started walking across the street to the festival. After getting our bearings we check out the menu to remind me what everything is (and how expensive it is for that matter), we grab some drinks, and jump into line.
Now I liked the line, the pavement was shaded and not near as hot as the walk from the car was. Some girls behind me in line didn't like me as much it seemed- They stage whispered about how it was nasty, how my feet must be dirty because they were black (for anyone that doesn't know pavement will darken your feet pretty quick), and how I shouldn't be barefoot so close to food. How bare feet would do something to food... I have no idea. I would be more concerned with the fact that people were reusing trays, and a lot of people were skipping the hand sanitizer on their way through the line.
I got my food, sat and ate, enjoyed the heck out of it, and then fled the scene (boyfriend nor I am big on crowds or the heat). The only other people barefoot I saw were the people crushing the grapes (which looked like a ton of fun by the way), even the dancers wore heels.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Still sick...
Which means I haven't been going out, which means no interesting stories of being barefoot. On a positive note I should have an interesting story tomorrow- I'm planning to go to my local Greek Festival, but being outdoors I don't expect any sort of issue (except maybe going inside to shop and the non-barefooting boyfriend).
What I would like to mention today though is feedback. Mostly... I need it from anyone reading this.
Love the blog? Tell me! It's hard to keep writing when you're not sure anyone is listening.
Hate how I'm doing things? Let me know! I can't write what people want to read if I don't know what they don't like.
Want to know why I go barefoot all the time? Ask! I can write posts on it, and share links with everyone if people are interested (I just assume my readers know about barefoot lifestyles).
Have a question? Ask!
I would love to get feedback from you even if you've just stumbled across the blog somehow- You can leave comments on the blog using a number of different types of accounts or even anonymously, so please feel free to leave a comment.
What I would like to mention today though is feedback. Mostly... I need it from anyone reading this.
Love the blog? Tell me! It's hard to keep writing when you're not sure anyone is listening.
Hate how I'm doing things? Let me know! I can't write what people want to read if I don't know what they don't like.
Want to know why I go barefoot all the time? Ask! I can write posts on it, and share links with everyone if people are interested (I just assume my readers know about barefoot lifestyles).
Have a question? Ask!
I would love to get feedback from you even if you've just stumbled across the blog somehow- You can leave comments on the blog using a number of different types of accounts or even anonymously, so please feel free to leave a comment.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
No Shoes For Me...
... But no leaving the house either.
Sadly I have nothing to report for Wednesday or Thursday for this week. While I've been barefoot 24 hours a day, I've been stuck at home sick.
So to tide any readers over for now I figure I'll go ahead and answer a question I imagine will show up eventually:
Why "Bluish Nights" for a blog name?:
Long ago my mind made itself up- My two favorite words in the English language are "bluer" and "bluish." I stumbled across the beauty of both of these words with-in poems in a high school creative writing class and they've stuck with me for some odd reason.
I debated for a bit if the blog should be "Bluer Days," "Bluish Days," "Bluer Nights," or "Bluish Nights" before finally sticking with the final name. I'm not a day person by any means, so eventually I decided on "nights" rather than "days" and decided "bluish" didn't sound quite as much like a low times of life blog as "bluer" did.
So there you have it... One of my favorite words, and the time of day I'm most often awake to make a blog name.
Besides I'm not stuck with a name my blog may grow out of.
Sadly I have nothing to report for Wednesday or Thursday for this week. While I've been barefoot 24 hours a day, I've been stuck at home sick.
So to tide any readers over for now I figure I'll go ahead and answer a question I imagine will show up eventually:
Why "Bluish Nights" for a blog name?:
Long ago my mind made itself up- My two favorite words in the English language are "bluer" and "bluish." I stumbled across the beauty of both of these words with-in poems in a high school creative writing class and they've stuck with me for some odd reason.
I debated for a bit if the blog should be "Bluer Days," "Bluish Days," "Bluer Nights," or "Bluish Nights" before finally sticking with the final name. I'm not a day person by any means, so eventually I decided on "nights" rather than "days" and decided "bluish" didn't sound quite as much like a low times of life blog as "bluer" did.
So there you have it... One of my favorite words, and the time of day I'm most often awake to make a blog name.
Besides I'm not stuck with a name my blog may grow out of.
Barefooting Day 6
These events are from Tuesday September 14, 2009:
So… Did anyone know colleges have fire drills? I for one did not know this.
Really the day was the same thing I’ve been going through for about a week now- No shoes, no comments, no problem. There was however a fire drill which I found quite unpleasant. A crowd of students leave their rooms, we walk down a set of stairs, and out the door…
We ended up walking across the student parking lot. The small pebbles were no match for my feet, the heat was however quite uncomfortable. The only time I’ve needed to walk across hot cement thus far is from my car into the building, and there’s plenty of shade, grass, and dirt to step on instead (and feeling much more pleasant on my naked feet, that’s what I usually choose to step on). For this drill I had to stand full on for a good 5 minutes.
Going back inside and walking across the cool tile was wonderful. Thankfully it’s getting to be fall and I hopefully won’t have to worry about training my feet up for the hot weather until next year.
Barefooting Day 5
1 step forward 2 steps back... Sorry guys. but tonight I should be able to get back up to the current date.
These events are from Monday September 13, 2009:
Different class today, I haven't gone barefoot to this one yet, but the idea doesn't bother me near as much as it did when I started doing this. I decide to test my barefoot sandals a little more today- I walk to my class, pull out my phone, and call my brother while I stand outside the class room. A good 15 minutes later I'm finally walking into class without a comment (positive or negative) coming my way. I’m not sure if I’m looking for my first bit of trouble at this point, or simply someone to spread the enjoyment of living barefoot with.
On my way home I stopped at the local gas station I frequent for my caffeine top ups, the same one I mentioned a few days ago with the dreaded “no shirt, no shoes, no service” sign posted. No one even noticed… I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to get too relaxed doing this and the day I get stopped I’ll panic.
These events are from Monday September 13, 2009:
Different class today, I haven't gone barefoot to this one yet, but the idea doesn't bother me near as much as it did when I started doing this. I decide to test my barefoot sandals a little more today- I walk to my class, pull out my phone, and call my brother while I stand outside the class room. A good 15 minutes later I'm finally walking into class without a comment (positive or negative) coming my way. I’m not sure if I’m looking for my first bit of trouble at this point, or simply someone to spread the enjoyment of living barefoot with.
On my way home I stopped at the local gas station I frequent for my caffeine top ups, the same one I mentioned a few days ago with the dreaded “no shirt, no shoes, no service” sign posted. No one even noticed… I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to get too relaxed doing this and the day I get stopped I’ll panic.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Barefooting Day 4
Another post to help me catch up.
These events are from Sunday September 12, 2009:
Today is another wrestling show day.
First boyfriend and I head up to the camp where he trains. I wear shoes to this, there’s a good 50 or more people in a very small space and I’m just not ready for that step quite yet. Maybe that sounds bad, but I’m still not really all that confident yet. I do kick the flip flops off as I sit, and even stretch my legs out across the bench barefoot when saving some seats, but sadly the shoes are very much there.
Boyfriend and I get in the car to go to West Virginia, there’s a show him and I are both working there at 6. The shoes are discarded for the entire trip, Boyfriend finds this to be acceptable behavior; I think it’s the public bare footing part that really confuses him.
We get to the building and I drop my shoes off with my bag in the locker room. We’re in an empty skating rink, it’s the same guys from the show in Virginia yesterday, and still no one cares. Much to my dismay I do need to wear footwear of some sort into the wrestling ring. I have a pair of vibrams for the task- They aren’t the same as being barefoot, but about as close as I’m going to get while doing my job.
Once I’m done refereeing for the night the shoes come back out, they’re in my bag, and I relax in the car. For Boyfriend’s sake I deal with the flip flops for the 5 minutes we’re inside McDonald’s- I might take the risk alone, but I don’t want him to have to deal with the risk of getting booted. I don’t have West Virginia Health Department letters saying there are no laws on going barefoot in a restaurant on hand in any case.
We get into his house and the shoes still don’t come out. His finally come off and I still wonder how anyone can deal with socks and shoes all day.
These events are from Sunday September 12, 2009:
Today is another wrestling show day.
First boyfriend and I head up to the camp where he trains. I wear shoes to this, there’s a good 50 or more people in a very small space and I’m just not ready for that step quite yet. Maybe that sounds bad, but I’m still not really all that confident yet. I do kick the flip flops off as I sit, and even stretch my legs out across the bench barefoot when saving some seats, but sadly the shoes are very much there.
Boyfriend and I get in the car to go to West Virginia, there’s a show him and I are both working there at 6. The shoes are discarded for the entire trip, Boyfriend finds this to be acceptable behavior; I think it’s the public bare footing part that really confuses him.
We get to the building and I drop my shoes off with my bag in the locker room. We’re in an empty skating rink, it’s the same guys from the show in Virginia yesterday, and still no one cares. Much to my dismay I do need to wear footwear of some sort into the wrestling ring. I have a pair of vibrams for the task- They aren’t the same as being barefoot, but about as close as I’m going to get while doing my job.
Once I’m done refereeing for the night the shoes come back out, they’re in my bag, and I relax in the car. For Boyfriend’s sake I deal with the flip flops for the 5 minutes we’re inside McDonald’s- I might take the risk alone, but I don’t want him to have to deal with the risk of getting booted. I don’t have West Virginia Health Department letters saying there are no laws on going barefoot in a restaurant on hand in any case.
We get into his house and the shoes still don’t come out. His finally come off and I still wonder how anyone can deal with socks and shoes all day.
Barefooting Day 3
Sorry everyone I've been out of town for a few days so now I'm playing catch up on all my work.
These events are from Saturday September 11, 2009.
Today I'm planning to take my two ferrets (Twilight and Sora) to a ferret play date at my local library. I'm not really invisible as usual as I'm carrying the small pet carrier with the animals inside. I make it into the back room without shoes though and no one comments. We watch the animals play, and a few other people kick off their shoes, but I'm supposing it's simply because it seems to be the right kind of environment.
I get home, drop the ferrets off, and jump into Boyfriend's car (he's asked me if I do use a name for him use his stage name of Shawn, so for simplicity and to protect his identity he will simply be referred to as "Boyfriend" in my posts). Boyfriend doesn't really understand me going barefoot constantly, but he deals with it for the most part. I'm slowly arguing the good points of the lifestyle with him (that's a post for another day though).
We both work Indy Pro Wrestling shows- He's a wrestler, I'm a referee in training. Today we're working inside of a school gym, and though I walk into the building wearing flip flops I quickly discard them as it's raining and I "worry about slipping." I help put together the barrier and watch the guys bring in and set up the ring barefoot, no one comments.
We've got quite a bit of free time to kill before the show and Boyfriend and I stay while a lot of people head out to grab a quick meal. We sit in the ring; I'm comfortable feeling the materials under my bare feet. Eventually a practice match starts and I enjoy refereeing barefoot- I feel like I can move better feeling the ground.
I can’t actually work today lacking my Virginia license, but I sit and watch still barefoot. I walk across the gym and outside leaving my shoes somewhere in the stands, Boyfriend's mother joins me in going barefoot even.
I get dropped off at home shoes still in hand, and wonder why I didn’t just leave them at home.
These events are from Saturday September 11, 2009.
Today I'm planning to take my two ferrets (Twilight and Sora) to a ferret play date at my local library. I'm not really invisible as usual as I'm carrying the small pet carrier with the animals inside. I make it into the back room without shoes though and no one comments. We watch the animals play, and a few other people kick off their shoes, but I'm supposing it's simply because it seems to be the right kind of environment.
I get home, drop the ferrets off, and jump into Boyfriend's car (he's asked me if I do use a name for him use his stage name of Shawn, so for simplicity and to protect his identity he will simply be referred to as "Boyfriend" in my posts). Boyfriend doesn't really understand me going barefoot constantly, but he deals with it for the most part. I'm slowly arguing the good points of the lifestyle with him (that's a post for another day though).
We both work Indy Pro Wrestling shows- He's a wrestler, I'm a referee in training. Today we're working inside of a school gym, and though I walk into the building wearing flip flops I quickly discard them as it's raining and I "worry about slipping." I help put together the barrier and watch the guys bring in and set up the ring barefoot, no one comments.
We've got quite a bit of free time to kill before the show and Boyfriend and I stay while a lot of people head out to grab a quick meal. We sit in the ring; I'm comfortable feeling the materials under my bare feet. Eventually a practice match starts and I enjoy refereeing barefoot- I feel like I can move better feeling the ground.
I can’t actually work today lacking my Virginia license, but I sit and watch still barefoot. I walk across the gym and outside leaving my shoes somewhere in the stands, Boyfriend's mother joins me in going barefoot even.
I get dropped off at home shoes still in hand, and wonder why I didn’t just leave them at home.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Advertisements
If you look below the posts and on the right side of this blog you may notice ads. I like having these ads around as it's very good for me when someone clicks one of them.
Of course... There's a problem with my ads. The idea is that google is suppose to take information from my page and then show ads that are relevant to my posts and hopefully you're tempted to clicking them. The theory is fine I suppose, but obviously it's not working out so well outside of that. My ads are all about shoes, which doesn't work so well when my blog is about going barefoot.
So...
Dear google,
You have your ads here to be clicked. I have your ads here so people can click them. It doesn't work so well when you take my words out of context and then advertise items that my readers will more than likely not want to buy. Until you fix this I'm doubting this relationship will work well for either of us.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Of course... There's a problem with my ads. The idea is that google is suppose to take information from my page and then show ads that are relevant to my posts and hopefully you're tempted to clicking them. The theory is fine I suppose, but obviously it's not working out so well outside of that. My ads are all about shoes, which doesn't work so well when my blog is about going barefoot.
So...
Dear google,
You have your ads here to be clicked. I have your ads here so people can click them. It doesn't work so well when you take my words out of context and then advertise items that my readers will more than likely not want to buy. Until you fix this I'm doubting this relationship will work well for either of us.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Barefooting Day 2
After one day of no one noticing or caring that I wasn't wearing shoes there was far less anxiety in going to my class barefoot today. Sadly though there's not all the much to report.
I did chicken out when it came to going barefoot buying a drink at the gas station before class this morning. There's a hand written "no shirts, no shoes, no service" sign in the door- I wonder how many people realize there's no legal reason for this. The hippie movement is long over (at least in the manner it was in the 70s), I wonder why the signs have stuck around for so long after though. Maybe one day when I have more time before class I'll try, but I wouldn't have gotten my caffeine this morning if I got booted.
I still wore the barefoot sandals to class, I believe a couple more people noticed today, but I didn't get any comments (good or bad). I did feel comfortable enough taking the barefoot sandals off after class, and walked to my car enjoying the cool day and the warm ground (and I admit the cold tiles indoors are quite appealing on the warmer days).
It's nice to know there are people in the world still tolerant of others habits regardless if they understand them or not. Maybe by the end of the semester I can find someone else willing to give it a go, one student did remark enviously that they hate wearing shoes.
I did chicken out when it came to going barefoot buying a drink at the gas station before class this morning. There's a hand written "no shirts, no shoes, no service" sign in the door- I wonder how many people realize there's no legal reason for this. The hippie movement is long over (at least in the manner it was in the 70s), I wonder why the signs have stuck around for so long after though. Maybe one day when I have more time before class I'll try, but I wouldn't have gotten my caffeine this morning if I got booted.
I still wore the barefoot sandals to class, I believe a couple more people noticed today, but I didn't get any comments (good or bad). I did feel comfortable enough taking the barefoot sandals off after class, and walked to my car enjoying the cool day and the warm ground (and I admit the cold tiles indoors are quite appealing on the warmer days).
It's nice to know there are people in the world still tolerant of others habits regardless if they understand them or not. Maybe by the end of the semester I can find someone else willing to give it a go, one student did remark enviously that they hate wearing shoes.
Barefooting Day 1
For now on I'm going to try to post these on the days they occur.
This experience was from September 7, 2010...
I sit outside the school in my car finishing up a quick fast food meal before I go into the building to present a speech for college Principles of Public Speaking. I'm already wearing my new barefoot sandals, but my shoes are on the car floor, and the inner debate begins:
It's hard to break yourself of social habits. Look around, we all follow social "rules,", and it's been drilled into everyone's heads that "shirts and shoes are required." Being female I don't mind keeping my shirt on but I've decided enough is enough with the shoes.
I pull my copy of the barefoot book out, grab my bag, and use the book as a double method of protection- If I look busy people are less likely to bother me, if I actually read while I walk I'm less likely to hear anyone talking. I make it into the building and I'm too light blinded to keep reading, that's okay though the stairs are empty.
As I reach the hallway where my class is an old high school friend grabs my attention, he checks my feet as he has every time he's seen me for the last couple of years. I've always hated shoes and getting me into anything close toed is considered near impossible (I'm not stupid enough to leave the boots when I ride my motorcycle), he tells me I'm cheating. He doesn't question it though, I suppose early 20s is still a good age to be odd and rebellious.
I walk on to my class only to find the last class still inside. I stand outside the door and start chatting with a fellow class mate. For one reason or another she notices my feet; she glances at them a couple times and says "those aren't shoes are they?... What's on the bottom?" I show her the bottom of my naked foot. She asks why I do it, I tell her I believe it's healthy and I feel more connected to the earth. I feel more at balance with myself and the world without shoes, and as it's my first speech of the year I figure I should have some extra comfort anyway. I didn't notice the teacher standing a few feet away from me, but he never commented. That's alright I got approval for a persuasive speech on kicking of your shoes for later in the semester.
I'm sure other people noticed my lack of footwear during the day but if they commented I never heard it. Over all I would consider day one to be a pretty big success, and we'll see if this success continues on.
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