for pennies a day, you can support my shoe habit
September 04, 2003, 7:23 pm

The Good News: I bought five pairs of shoes that I really, really needed for school.

The Bad News: I spent enough money on those shoes to support a village of starving African children.

Shit.

Why am I so self-indulgent? And why am I so fiscally irresponsible? I mean, I paid my car payment, bought my plane ticket for JournalCon, and then I decide to blow half of Ms. Bradshaw's shoe allowance on a bunch of trendy leather shoes.

I had to though, really, I mean, have you seen the blisters on my feet from my dear cheap Payless shoes? Have you? No. They're nasty. I need GOOD shoes. I consider it an investment well made.

I also reached the horrible conclusion that I'm too old to shop at Claire's.

Oh come on, don't even act like you don't know what Claire's is because you've been going there since you turned nine and it was probably where you had your ears pierced. It is the quintessential mall boutique for the preteen set that boasts the trendiest of the trendy crappy plastic "austrailian crystal" necklaces, tiaras, scrunchies, and Pillsbury Dough Boy notebooks.

Wandering in yesterday, so much 80s cartoon nostalgia was shoved down my throat that I almost vomited a Care Bear. Really. I look at the proliferation of this stuff that I ADORED when I was young that I winced as I saw a girl no older than 14 pick up a Strawberry Shortcake pen and squeal, "Oh! She's cute!"

No dear, I wanted to grab her head and scream, no she's not! They've updated her image! She's wearing jeans now, dammit, and it's WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Now I know how all those Gen Xers felt when all that 70s crap was in a few years ago; I also know how my mom felt when my sisters and I were lugging our Treasure Trolls to school ("4 in a set! Cute, you bet!")

I bought an old school Strawberry Shortcake pen and a pair of socks and shuffled to the register. The girl, all of 18, looked at me and said, "Long day, huh?"

"Um, well, I just realized I shouldn't be shopping in Claire's anymore. I've outgrown it."

"I know, I mean, I'm almost 19, can you believe it! I'm too old for this place!"

*sigh* "But at least now I have a credit card, right?" I smiled because it was true. I never want to be 18 and stupid again.

But being 25 and stupid...that I'll accept.