I’m not sure what constitutes a lot of footwear for a guy. I keep mine pretty organized so I was a little surprised when the total hit 39 pair. That includes everyday wear, sneakers, boots and dress shoes. If my wife is a fair example for women, my modest collection isn’t even close, but again, for a guy-I don’t know. I don’t buy new shoes often and take reasonably good care of them so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised with the total. At this stage though, I normally rotate out the ones I haven’t worn since my last new purchase, keeping this total pretty constant. As many pairs as this seems, like I mentioned before I don’t buy new shoes often and then only for a specific purpose which over the last 12+ years has been for durability and comfort. That changed today. In my oddly organized brain, well maintained and polished shoes are a reflection of success or at least a respect of ones appearance. (Of course if you are preforming a particularly dirty job, you likely change into a pair for that function-no harm, no foul.) In other words; if you want to be successful, act successful, which (in my mind) means dressing the part. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the pandemic offered me time to pursue a new dream; getting my real estate license. This culminated in one of my most important interviews, meeting with my new broker. I realized the offices would be generally empty due to to the pandemic so I would only interact with a precious few, but for me this was huge and I needed every confidence I could muster including these new shoes. So whether anyone else even noticed them, I did. Besides, my wife loves them too, so there is another plus.

This past week has only reinforced my plan to move on. The rank and file here are good, hard-working people. Like all of us, they are just trying to navigate 2020 and keep a measure of sanity. Unfortunately, the people that manage the universe they are forced to operate in continue to amaze me with their utter incompetence or at least their naivety to the real world. For some unknown reason, this middle-management team is allowed to operate as if the world hasn’t changed, expecting those servicing the customers directly to have fewer and fewer resources while they sit in their isolated bubbles looking for ways to cut overhead. Corporate purchasing has devolved into nothing more than an inaccurate algorithm designed by number crunchers with apparently no experience in the industry we service, causing constant shortages which puts more pressure on an already stressed work force. As I reflected on the scene above, I truly shook my head in appreciation for the decision I made early in the pandemic to put my head-down and get my license. You can hope things will improve or you can do something about it. Of the many lessons learned in 2020, perhaps the most important for me anyway, is to never give up!

A little off-topic here, but I had to give a shoutout to a customer/friend Pedro. Every year, with the inspiration of his two young sons, Pedro creates a Halloween outfit more incredible than the year before. He hand built every part of this costume, from the 3D printing of the helmet, to the sculpting of the armor and the building of the LED lights in the wrist controls and helmet. The sad part is with the pandemic he was unable to visit the local hospital and amaze the young patients like he has done in years past. Pedro does this with his sons, to show them what creativity really is, and that an imagination is a wonderful thing. For what its worth he paints cars for living and is very good at that too.