Wow, an entry instead of a meme.

Today is a "free" day. I don't go back to the day job for a month, y'see, so today is one of those days where I need to get things done, both in the apartment, and out in stores.

I am frantically getting ready for Australia. Tomorrow I leave for WI/MN, and I will be gone until next Tuesday. Then I will be doing a show here in MI for a weekend, and then I will drive like a bat out of hell to get to WI late Sunday evening, because on Monday the 11th I will be heading towards Australia.

So I've had to put my OCD mind to good use, coming up with things I may need for my trip.

Topping the list is a new pair of shoes.

I need an all-purpose pair of extremely comfortable walking shoes so that I can walk about everywhere there. Unfortunately, with size 12 wide feet/euro size 43 wide, it's a bit difficult. Most stores have a cut off at 11 or 42. And they don't carry as many wides. *sigh* So I've been attempting to find a pair of nice, dark-colored (but not black) shoes that will match a lot of different things and feel incredibly comfortable.

Next on the list is watch, because my wonderful watch is terrific, and I've been wearing it for ten years, but I don't like getting it too wet, and I don't want anything to happen to it. So I bought some Timex thing to bring with me.

I also needed to buy a few more clip on cheapy sunglasses for my glasses. No, not the horrid flip ups, just a pair with a tiny spring so that they fit perfectly over my current kind of rectangular shaped glasses. Found two pairs, yay. I now have three pairs to take with me, because I am such a crazy person that I am always losing a pair. Always.

Also needed various other items. Yes, I do travel all the time (will be gone four and a half months this year total), but in this very special case I want to minimize EVERYTHING possible. I will be doing my usual tricks...bring mags for the plane that I can throw away afterwards...but for things like shampoo and such I have to devise a way to get them into the smallest and lightest package possible.

Yes, I am obsessed.

Anyway, must get going to try to purchase shoes. Or at least look longingly at all of the lovely women's shoes, and sigh and walk over to the men's department as I usually must. I'm getting really sick of buying men's shoes. Really. Yes, I do love my steel-toed wonders for shows and all, but sometimes I really want to look...well...like I'm wearing women's shoes. Though women's shoes in size 12 do sometimes inherently look like men's shoes.

Attempting to find shoes.

No luck at any of the stores. Though I did lasso some poor clerk at Famous Footwear into my own private hell for a few minutes. He couldn't find anything either.

Fortunately, both arachniaarkhe and webbapettigrew have links to larger size and wide size shoe places. I am attempting to find a pair as we speak.

I tried on a shoe at some store a few days ago that was perfect, but light beige. Can't have light beige, I'm too hard on my shoes. *sigh* But online I've found a coffee colored version.

So do I order it now, wait the supposed "4-5 business days", and end up with only a few days to break them in before Australia? Or do I look in stores in WI and MN over the weekend?

I think I'm just going to order them today, and cross my fingers bigtime.

On a weird note, I thought of tviokh and her Kerry-love today when I stopped at FYE (a music store) and they had large cardboard standups of Chewbacca, Legolas, and...John Kerry.