Shoetember: Rain And/Or Shine

[Edit: It seems that my power of being wrong about everything extends even to the weather. I wrote this entry on Friday evening; over Friday night, directionally-challenged Tropical Storm Lisa arrived in the Bay Area, apparently having mistaken it for the tropics. However, I am leaving the post as-is because, while not exactly factually accurate, it is still essentially true.]

Brand: Aerosoles
Purchased: Aerosoles
Materials: Plastic
Work Wearability: Good, In Appropriate Weather

Notes: Sometimes, you learn about the value of a shoe from what happens to it. I bought these on sale, as a kind of fun "whatever" purchase, worth the thirty dollars they cost. But they have gotten a surprising amount of use, thanks to a good level of comfort and the fact that what at first passed as patent leather to my then-undiscerning eye turned out to be waterproof plastic, useful for the three months in California when it rains (January, February, March). (Sometimes November, and everyone gets very excited and forgets how to drive.) But they really proved their worth last year on the Stuttgart/Strasbourg trip, when I needed a shoe to prove I was not the stereotypical white-sneaker American, but still keep my feet reasonably warm and dry.

They worked just fine, though at some point they seemed to get noisier, and my traction wasn't that good. Late in the trip I happened to take a look at the soles and discovered the reason why: I had lost the tip off one heel and was walking on the bare plastic. So I packed them up, brought them home and took them to my favorite cobbler and had them fixed up, good as new.

I'm not going to make the Germany trip this year (I tell you, it is an absolute injustice that I do not get at least four weeks of vacation), and the hills here are still golden*, but when the time comes, the boots will be ready.

*The only acceptable description for the California summer landscape.