High Heels and Hills: A Sorrowful Combination

I love these shoes.

Most of the time these shoes make me deliriously happy.  You wouldn't think shoes could make you more productive during a day but these do.  They make me feel professional.  And sometimes, feeling professional is what counts.

Yesterday, however, Chip and Rusty were in town.  And when two of your suppliers come to town, you really want to look and feel professional.  What's more, when they take you to Niagara Falls for dinner and Chip says he hasn't seen the falls since he was ten, you try to focus more on how they're one of your favourite suppliers and less on how much your feet will hate you after you walk down the hill and then back up.

The great thing about feet, however, is that eventually they go numb.  At that point, it's imperative to pop your foot out of the shoe occasionally to gauge based on colour how bad the situation is.  It's a pretty simple rating system.

• Bright red means lots of blood is still flowing to the toes.  They're angry, but they're alive and hating you.
• White means the toes are about to pass out.  They've reached their limit; they've fought the good fight and they're losing.

You really don't want to get past white.  Toes take a good deal of punishment as it is, so if they're losing the battle, it's best to just throw them a bone, toss professionalism out the window and walk up the hill bare foot.  Chip and Rusty are cool.  They'll understand.  And they're gentlemen: they'll probably carry your shoes.

In the end, both my toes and my shoes survived. My professionalism managed to do the same, thankfully, since I hobbled up the hill in those shoes and made it to dinner without any mishap.  Dinner was delicious, the conversation delightful.  Chip and Rusty? Seriously cool.  I wish I could take them up on the invitation to visit them in Denver.

My toes? They're still pretty angry.
And my Achilles tendon will never be the same.

Worth it?
Oh yeah...