Category: Shoes

The Shoe Situation

The pair of Crocs that I wear everywhere I go.

If you know me, you would know of my hatred for shoes. 

And you’d know that I have a million pairs already (even though I dont wear them). 

And I have tried rather unsuccessfully in the past to start wearing em. At times its been at the insistence of my mentors, at times at the need thrown by attempts at losing weight, at times by my own wild thoughts and opinions about how I want to run my life. 
But then none of these have been successful. And lapse back into this routine where I just throw on the Crocs and I am on my way. 
But this changes from today on. Here are some reasons why.
Reason 1. I want to dress better.
No serious. 
I mean even though I love all the ads that Raymonds makes, I have hated the concept of a well-dressed man. But now I know that I need to change that. Because I work in a world that evaluates people on the basis of what they wear and how they look. 
I cant change the way I look but I can for sure change the way I dress. 
Shoes is a great starting point! 
The next would be clothing. At some point in life. 
Plus, at the Mastermind group that I am a part of, I have made a commitment that I will be more presentable. This means that I need to have “decent” clothes on. Including shoes. And even though my design sense sucks, my choice of clothes is probably the worst ever, I will make an effort to be better. As long as I dont have to buy way too many clothes, minimalism you see. 
Reason 2. Mumbai Metro! 
Yes. The Metro. 
No, people arent stomping on my feet just as yet but the entire city of Mumbai is dug up like a minefield and the ones like me who like to walk (and live in chappals) end up with feet that look like a mason’s. 
Which is ok. 
But then most times when I walk, I club it with work. And like I said, we are judged by what we wear and signals we create rather than work we do. So I dont want to reach meetings with my feet covered in dust and muck. 
From what I know, its ok to have a pair of shoes that is dirty but its a strict no to have feet that are dirty. Ergo. 
And yes, I know people that carry a pair of shoes in their cars. You see when they step in a meeting, they change into those shoes. 
I’d do this as well someday. 
But lemme get a car. Which if all goes well, will be this year! Like I’ve been planning for almost 5 years! 
Reason 3. Age. 
Age? 
Well, I am 36. And that means my body is on a downward spiral now. Joints, cartilages, muscles, tendons and I dont know what all are now weak, brittle and prone to breakage. And if I have to live till 120 (one of my #lifegoals), I better take care of these “assets”. 
Reason 4. All Birds. 
All Birds has done what Nike (or Shoe Dog for that matter could not). No, they dint make a smart shoe or whatever. It has captured my attention (like all other things that wannabe hipsters like me chase). This is a pair of shoe I want! I dont need it. I have enough. But I want. You know what am saying?  
*** 
In the end, if 2019 has to be a year of change (and superlative success), why would I not want to change this thing called dressing up? 
Even though its devastating to have to change at 36 to be able to fit in. To get proved wrong after half the useful life is over.
But I think its not too late. 
We remain students and we ought to continue to grow. 
And improve. 
And change. 
Starting with shoes. 

The Partying Predicament

Fact. I dont go to parties.

Why? I dont know what to do there. I dont drink. I dont enjoy crowded places. I dont have the balls to be able to strike conversation with strangers. Wait, I dont even wear shoes that allow me entry into most party places. If I am allowed entry, I can’t dance. As they say, I have two left feet.

But I do love music. But then I am too much of a Delhi guy. So my music better be Hindi. Or may be Punjabi. Which is often a problem in Mumbai. Too hip.

Funny because I am in the entertainment business and nothing like parties if you want to understand the entertainment business.

Why this post? I went to a party last night. And for a change I wore shoes. White one at that. Saboot here. And a party where I stayed till the end. Well, almost. And where I danced a bit. Whatever my two left feet could manage. The only step I know. The Bhangra one. Where you point a finger and move it up and down. Oh, you must check out those Bhangra Empire vids on Youtube.

Thankfully the first place we went to played some Hindi music. And Punjabi. The kinds I’ve grown up listening to. The like of Kawa Kawa, Kaala Chashma, Gori Naal Ishq Mita etc. Rarity in Mumbai if you ask me. But then Mumbai is one of those places that always had this harmonious coexistence of polar extremes – rich vs poor, celebration vs hardwork, house vs punjabi. You get the drift.

The point of the post is that while the DJ played some hindi remixes (of Kishore), I realised a few things. Here they are in. In no particular order.

  • I miss company. I miss people. I miss “my” people. My refers to people that are mine. Where I am on in their VIP / Favorites list on their phones. I miss things that I could do with friends. Places I could travel to with friends. Impromptu drives I could go on (Addendum: Need a car for that Mr. Garg). One look back at life I realise that I haven’t done too much. Most plans gets cancelled for some reason or the other. And I believe that busy is just another work for having things low on the priority list. So, I dont have too many “my” people. I have tons of connections that I could do things with. But I dont have too many people that I want to go back to. And the ones I have, they’re married, with kids and thus busy. And I am too old busy to make new friends. So, in all, it sucks. I think I belong but I dont. Anyhow. Big deal.
  • There is all sort of music in the world. The kinds I love. The kinds I want to groove to. The kinds that I play on loop all the time. Like the recent favorite – Aazadiyan. And then, and then ladies and gents, there is Kishore Da. You play a song by Kishore Da and you are teleported to a different zone like no other. Which is amazing. I wish I could see him perform live (which I know by experience is probably half as cool as recorded music). The closest I’d ever come is this.
  • The concept of shoes suck. I have no clue why they make the shoes mandatory to allow people at fancy places. What does it say about a person? Rather, what does it hide about a man? More on this some other day. 
  • The youth of the country (and not so youth) is MAD about partying. Both places I went to, I could see hundreds, if not thousands of kids, youths, oldies binging on alcohol, dancing and making merry. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the jubilations and fumes from other drunk people around them. Guess that’s the point of alcohol. Or maybe they faked things well. To someone like me (who wants to make people happy, give them joy and make money from these things), the realization was a cool one! 

What next? Well, next time I am invited to a party, I am going to say an emphatic no. Unless it is SUPER important to/for someone I know that I attend the party. As I move onward (and hopefully upward), I need to find sanity in life and make time for more important things – partying is definitely NOT a thing that I want written on my epitaph.


When is the next post? When? I dont know. Subscribe to the feeds ðŸ™‚

P.S.: Before last night, I can’t remember the last time I went to a party. May be a new year’s party in 2014. Yes, I am that old boring.

The Shoe Story

Today was a big day. In fact I am lucky that first thing I did in the morning was to watch Steve Jobs’ version of Think Different Commercial. Everytime I hear it I am filled with so much optimism that I believe I can achieve anything I want to. I think motivation, right in the morning helps set the pace for the day. I dont really believe in self-help books and tips but this is something that I’d try doing tommorow as well. And if tomorrow goes as well as today went, I would make it a routine. Lets see.

Anyhow, so today, I had a big meeting with a big big guy. The meeting went ok. Phew! I may have some interesting news to announce in a few days. But then, that’s not the point actually. The point is, since it was a big meeting, I was advised to dress properly. And that meant I was politely asked to wear shoes and a formal shirt.

Now, I have a big big problem with that.

For starters, I dont want someone to evaluate me by what I am wearing. I know that the world works in a certain way and all the older and experienced people want to see prospective employees and vendors in a certain dress code. I know that its hygiene for those people. I know they are used to working in a certain style. But I am sorry, I am not part of that crop. And I have issues when someone judges me on the basis of what I wear!

Second, I really genuinely cant think when I am wearing shoes. No serious. I cant. I have tried and I have failed. Everytime I wear shoes, the pores get blocked and I cant think at all. Whoever said that gray matter resides in the brain must’ve been kidding. At least in my case, its down there. In the toes.

And third, I am trying to experiment with my look. Which means I have all sorts of weird colors and cuts and none of them may not be appropriate for such serious occasions. So I had an option of wearing a bright yellow shirt or a deep pink one or a black one with a funny cut. No points for guessing the one I finally wore for the meeting.

Anyhow, I just reached home (its 11:45 PM) and I’ve now been wearing shoes since noon or so. And its almost 12 hours. Straight. Without a break. I am going to take off my shoes and let me feet breathe. You must try it for yourself. Go to work, office for one day without shoes and you’d thank me for the rest of your life.

Go try. Serious.

And thankfully, tomorrow I dont have to wear shoes. But yes, I would start the day with some motivational video for sure.

3M: Of Shoes, Books and Travel

Starting this week, I shall try and post something or the other every Monday. I shall call it Monday Morning Musings. Or 3M in short. Why would I do this? I dont know. I just want to. When would I stop doing this? I dont know.

Anyways, so this week I shall talk about places and things where I spend most of my money on.
To start with, I spend waste invest heavily in shoes. The paradox is that I hate to wear shoes but then I love to buy shoes. I have about 12 pairs right now and I think in terms of brands, I have more Puma than Nike than Converse that Reebok than Adidas. And yes most of these are sports shoes. I do have a pair for those odd occasions when I am made to wear formal trousers. So attached here is the latest addition to my collection! And believe it or not, I bought these from Patiala.


Then, once am done with all shoes, I buy books. I buy books about anything and everything. And more often than not, I use flipkart.com‘s wonderful COD. If I ever wanted a job, I would want to work for flipkart. Their execution of things is impeccable. If Amazon.com ever thinks about entering India, they should start by acquiring flpkart.com. Jeff, are you listening?

And then after all the shoes (that I buy and do not wear) and books (that I buy and do not read), if I am left with money, I buy air tickets. Between Delhi and Mumbai. I have that frequently that the counter girl at GoAir now knows me my face and moment I show up, she volunteers to give me my favorite seat on an aircraft – second last row, aisle seat.

Wondering what are three things that you buy most with your money? Anyone?

Anyways, until the next 3M, adieu!

May 2009: Goals and Output. And bits of miscellany.

I have been away form all kinds of blogging (except twitter and occasion spam on JFK) for last week. I dont know why. Last week was actually one of those few times when I did some heavy soul-searching. Without any benefit …

Not that I dint have opportunities. I went on this bike ride till Pune but again dint want to publish it. I put my bike on my website and twitter. I dint publish that. I made few cartoons (on the lines of Slog_More()), dint publish them either. Then I discovered this band caled Faridkot from Delhi. They do Hindi rock and are very good. I meant to blog about them but I did not.

I dont know why. I think I was living in some kind of an orb. More I try getting out of it, more dragged into it I get.

I am having this hard time understanding myself. This is one of those rare moments when I am ranting my true emotions and all. Please ignore the rhetoric.

Anyways, here is the monthly post on Goals and what I did about them. I had two simple goals for May. Start wearing shoes (that implied buy them and get used to them) and start writing the book (this implied stat re-writing the book that I started about six months back). Ladies and Gentlemen, I did neither. No, I am not proud.

And coming up in some time … is goals for June 2009.

May 2009: Goals!

In April this year, I started this monthly series of posts, called Goals. I will write on paper what I want to do/achieve in the coming month. I cant plan for the future. Leave alone thinking of 5, 10 year goals. Max I can do is think ahead like a week. Thinking ahead for a month is a way to try and do better. Also, Month is a good quantum of time to make realistic goals. I cant really get a lot of things done in a week. A year looks like an eternity. And hence a month.

Also, I have realized that I need to be able to measure my progress and I need measurable and frequent gratification (in terms of results and achievements, howsoever small they are) for my efforts. With these monthly goals, I can see sucess/failure very soon. BTW I am not only moved by success alone. I take failure with similar spring in stride. I need results. Something that gives me feedback.

Finally, I hate when output of my effort has to depend on too many external factors. I understand I need to be able to work with others and everyone has their limitations (of time, brains, efforts, motivation et al). My monthly goals are mostly personal in nature right now. Would try to extend them to work eventually.

So, monthly goals sound like a good idea. And here I am implementing them. Anyways, coming back to the goals, when May 2009 would end, I would have

  • Started wearing shoes. Not that I see any benefit out of it but I think I will.
  • Started on the book.

Thats about it. Small list for May. Lets see how it goes. BTW, this is the goal list for April 09. And this is how I fared on it.