What's old is new and other odds and ends

Is it a bit selfish or myopic to say that boots and REI have renewed my faith in humanity? Since the electoral process left me feeling hungover and/or tired and certainly not very inspired when I considered our public officials. And to think that this was only the mid

-term cycle! All I know is that if I were Meg Whitman, I could have definitely spent 140 MILLION dollars on something better. Like supporting Prop 19. Okay, that's kind of a joke.

Since I don't have that much cash lying around, I try to find my happiness in smaller, everyday happenings. For instance, boots! REI sent my much-beloved hiking boots from Spring 2001 off to 'the shoe-sole guy'. I don't know who he is or what his name is, but he lives somewhere in Washington state and fixes shoes for REI. What a job! At any rate, I personally want to kiss this guy! Although the boots still look rather battered and worn, especially in the shitty light (and the photo, taken with a shitty iPhone), he fixed the soles! Well, replaced them. But the shoes should be more or less as good as new. I will keep my fingers crossed that they last at least another 8 years. Then, I won't complain when/if I have to invest in a new pair. In the meantime, it does bring me great happiness to have these back and to daydream about all of the trips that I will take in them!

On a different note, but still talking boots here, I have major lust for a new pair of boots this fall. Obviously boots are the "in" thing, and I already have two pairs of good boots that I like - one pair is black with a heel, the other boots are of the cowboy variety. I like them both very much, but an itch for a 'tougher' looking boot has certainly bit me. I actually went shopping for boots a few weekends ago but came up empty. And then, after looking on-line at Zappos, I discovered these beauties:

Yes, they are Doc Martens, and yes, I might be too old to pull them off. I am, however, obsessed. This obsession will have to wait until Thanksgiving weekend when we are in the San Francisco area and can go to a Doc Marten's store - how fortuitous! Until them, I will just dream about them.

And if they don't fit, I will cut off my bunion or my toes, just like Cinderella's sisters did. Beauty? At what price?

Finally, something that is both old and new: A French-press coffee maker/pot! Old, in the sense that I've used a French press coffee maker/pot for the past eight years of my life, but I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to buy a new one every few years because the pot breaks or one of the pieces falls apart. Last year, we bought a cheaper model - still Bodum, but, again, a cheaper model, and I kind of hated it. Well, we both did. I can't explain it, but the fit wasn't as tight and we couldn't screw all the pieces together well. If you have a French press, then you'll know about what I speak! So, yesterday morning, I woke up, put the kettle on the stove to heat up the water, and pulled out the coffee pot from the drying rack, only to discover that the glass carafe had broken - it was missing a huge piece of glass. I cursed the coffee pot, but then decided that now was as good a time as any to purchase a new Bodum.

And voilá! We have a new coffee pot - and it is RED! I was so set on replacing our coffee pot that I didn't even notice that it could be a different color. We pulled it out last night and after our initial surprise, we both decided that we liked the new color. This morning, when I made coffee, I also decided that I liked the new pot. All's well that ends well, or so it seems! Especially after a nice, strong cup of joe.

Equipment failure!

I believe that in a fit of overconfidence I said that I would post a few tips on hiking, camping, backpacking. In retrospect, I spoke far too soon. Not that we didn't have an incredible time, because we did. Words fall a bit short, but I will try to describe the experience in the next post. And despite my trepidation, my knee functioned fine, and was a bit sore, but no more so than my neck, shoulders, butt, calves, back. You know, my entire body has a few aches and pains.

But for now, let me just say that before one sets off on a hiking/backpacking adventure, it is always a plus to check one's equipment. Let's just say, for instance, that if your long-beloved boots fail on you, it is good to have this piece of information WELL before you are on the trail. Also, rather than scoffing at packing lists that include "Duct tape" as a necessity, you should go directly to the Home "Despot" and buy rolls and rolls of the stuff so that you can tape your boots back together.

Aaaaah,hindsight is 20/20.

Anyway, my boots did not totally fall apart, but I did not even look at them when I put them on. Obviously I looked at the laces and strapped myself in, but the boots felt fine as usual. Then, once we arrived at our destination, I took them off when I was putting on my long-underwear (very sexy detail, that is!), and when I put them back on, I noticed that the sole was starting to separate entirely from the boot. I believe that the hiking gods had cursed me because I had been so smug about these boots! Just as we were driving up to Sequoia/Kings Canyon, I boasted about how wonderful they were, 8 years old and still going strong.

Despite my fantasies of a barefooted trip back to the trailhead, the boots did survive the trip back down, but they might be headed to the land of dead boots. This makes me incredibly sad because I have a strong attachment to them. My parents bought me these boots as a birthday present before I hiked down the Grand Canyon, back in the spring of 2002. They've accompanied me to Ecuador twice and on several other overnights and any sort of snow adventure that I might encounter.

Here they are now, having seen better days:

In an effort to salvage the boots or to get something from them, Michael and I headed to REI today. He was convinced that I could ask for a refund because of their very generous return policy, but I felt that in good faith I could not tell them that I was disappointed with their product. Yes, I was disappointed that they had fallen apart after eight years, but I didn't see it as "equipment malfunction". The woman at the return desk was skeptical about them, but she sent me to the Dave, the shoe guy. I, in turn, was skeptical about Dave, until he took

the boots and gushed about what wonderful shoes they were and ruminated about the fact that REI no longer makes the product. I felt like ruminating too, but he did give me one glimmer of hope - REI would send them to their "shoe repair guy". If he could fix them, then he would.

I should find out in just a few weeks, but I'm going to keep my fingers double-crossed!

I can't even tell you how excited I would be if if REI sent resoled boots back to me.

Nor can I tell you how bummed I am going to be if the shoe wizard cannot fix them. While I like to shop and love a new pair of shoes, I am also faithful to those shoes, like these boots, that truly symbolize the places where I've been and proudly show the wear and tear of years and excitement. I know, they are just shoes, but I just might shed a tear over them.