Shoes in disrepair

April 17, 2008

It felt like my feet were aware of the battered condition of my old shoes all night. For quite some time large parts of the soles came unglued, and the leather underneath had started to split about a month ago. I had this pair for around 2 1/2 years, and after about 8 months they looked tattered - a sign of high level of use; Daniella complimented me on the look of those shoes after 15 months of use. After that I deliberated kept them looking ragged and rarely bothering with things like shoe polishes. Anyhow, I decided that I might want to have a new pair ready in case this pair dies and possibly for nicer occasions. I took the new pair to Prague but ended up not using them - mainly because they were untested. I probably should break in the new ones, but I should also repair the old ones. I guess I am a little afraid of changing and moving away from the familiar comforts the old pair provides, but in the long run I think it would be best to get used to different shoes.

Sergio was very early to CS - his Nando's outing ending earlier than he expected. Nat likes chicken. His text prompted me to get there a little earlier than originally planned. It also gave me a chance to catch up with Vish, who seemingly forgot that I had told him about my Prague trip back in February. Sergio and I also talked a little bit of Prague with Ivan, who also was not a big fan of the local cuisine, dumplings and white bread and such. Ed was seen in the class in Hayden mode, which prompted me to try some follower's footwork, which in turn prompted Sergio to make corrections, which of course made things more difficult (it gets harder before it gets easier). Agnes too made an appearance - supposedly the last one until June.

Haihan showed up with Isabelle. I had a few dances with her and made her laugh - a good thing. The first dance started as On1, then switched to On2 after 10-20 seconds, then ended On1 for last 10-20 seconds. I stuck with On1 for the others. I think I danced mostly On2 with Steph including a short Cha Cha not quite successfully away from Sergio's line of sight. Sergio had a dance with Isabelle too; it seemed to go very smoothly by Sergio standard. According to Haihan, Sergio looked like he was having fun.

At the end of the evening, absence of the hot French guy was mourned. Cyrille and Sebastien were compared and contrasted. Steph gave much import to facial hair. We also talked about other people, who left or who expect to leave in near future - including both Mimis. The only person immune might be Ivan, who hopes to settle in Cambridge forever. Try imagine him still anchoring the scene 20 years from now as the don of cross body Salsa in Cambridge and lecturing to anyone who will listen that he was responsible for this and that. How about 40 years in the future and probably cantankerous and calling everyone sonny.