...with which I am well pleased

Last weekend I got a new pair of shoes. They're hiking boots, but they're ostensibly disguised as a pair of street shoes (hmm...perhaps the "transformers" of footwear?). They're pretty nice-looking, but I've had to get used to wearing dark shoes - the last pair that I wore as my everyday footwear was a pair of light-colored cross-trainers. As was the pair before that. And the pair before that. And the pair...

You get the idea.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that I've been really happy with this new pair. They're sturdy, but at the same time they're flexible and comfortable. I can do that ridiculous Michael Jackson move where he pops up onto his toes (from "Billy Jean", I think? Anyway, I'm not very good at it, but I can still do it which is pretty amazing), I can roll my ankles around comfortably, and I've got enough traction in the soles to climb that slick muddy incline at the back of the apartment. On a good day, I could manage to do that with my previous pair of shoes, but only if it was dry. And the best part is that they've formed amazingly well to my feet. I had a little blistering after I wore them the first time (of course, I also probably put like 5.5 miles on them just that first day...not the best idea with a brand-new pair of shoes), but it was far from the worst I've ever had. Uncomfortable, of course, but not overly so, and gone in about 2 days even though I was on my feet almost the entire day for both of them.

All in all, I've probably put 10-15 walking miles on that pair of shoes, and I've had them for exactly a week. I am extremely satisfied.

PLUR!