I Have Big Feet

I have friends with reallybig feet, but that’s because they’re 6’10-7′ tall.

I’m ‘only’ 6’4.”

I have size 13 (US) feet.

That’s a UK12, or 47.5 in local terms.

Not a lot of choice for shoes in Hong Kong.

Asking only gets me laughed at.

But it’s okay, because then I say “Yeah, that’s really f@#$ing funny, huh?” in Cantonese and the person looks mortified.

Hong Kong is a city so safe you can blithely insult people 3 times your size with (almost) no risk of them kicking the mortal sh*t out of you for being an ignorant, rude tw@t.

But never mind that boorish tangent.

Bad Boy Ben Lo is in town, and I have blogging to do about meeting him, but I am waiting for photographic proof of things I will talk about since otherwise no one would (justifiably) believe me.

I want to talk about shoes.

Ben recently added me to the What’s Good? Conspiracy blogroll. In our correspondence ironing out the technical details (i.e. helping my retarded @ss figure out basic computer functions), I told him I really liked the ProSpec 2.0 shoes he had recently blogged about, and how I am lucky to find any shoes that fit me at all here.

At the risk of getting all sensitive, let me just say that being just outside the average in terms of shoe size ( shut up, Zoe) means that you don’t choose your shoes, you findthem.

You settle for the 1 or 2 pair that they have, and you learn not to bother being interested in shoes because you’re not likely to find the ones you like in your size.

I scrupulously avoid Sneaker Street in Mong Kok because it’s pointless for me to look at all these great shoes that will never fit me

Well, Ben is here to DJ for the DC Shoes Spring 2011 Fashion Show.

He offered to order a pair of ProSpecs for me in 13 and bring them to Hong Kong, and I instantly agreed. When I met him last night I made sure to have the $ in hand, since I was not about to let the shoes get away from me.

I’m not certain, but I think his immediate boss Cherice brought them from the US for me.Which was already an immense favor; shoes that big eat up space and weight in luggage like you can’t imagine.

Then she gavethem to me. I didn’t know what to say (other than ‘Thank you’).

As a show of gratitude, I bought the drinks at Felix, atop the Peninsula Hotel, but again, I am sure you’ll demand photos. Be patient, ye of little faith.

I tried very hard to appear appropriately grateful and not, as I truly felt, abjectly, effusively adoring.

How sad is it that a 44-year old man gets all mushy about shoes?

Well, if its the first time your f@#$ing life that you can do something as normal as get a specific pair of shoes that you like, without some Herculean effort, an Act of God, or a Congressional Miracle (wait…), it’s pretty understandable.

For the first time ever, I feel like I have cool shoes.

And in this weather, that’s important.

Enough of my maundering. Let’s look at these things:

Look but don’t touch: They’re mine, b*tches!

Soles so thin you can step on bubblegum and tell what flavor it is. Facilitates ‘pedal feel.’ I just like the way it looks.

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I really like the shades of blue and yellow, and the various textures of the different materials.

The rounded heel is a racing shoe standard and is very useful for stability when manipulating pedals. Acceleration and brake pedals, not effect pedals. Though I’ll let you know.

One of my favorite design features. Beneath the insole, there is this ‘window’ which contributes to traction and stability. Because this way your feet can see where you’re going and make any necessary adjustments.

I’m pretty proud of this photo for its technical and compositional qualities.

I’ll be wearing these to the fashion show this evening, and  for once I’ll be able to say to myself “Yeah… they dig the shoes.”

These will also become my ‘gig shoes,’ since they are form-fitting enough to allow for accurate FX pedal manipulation.

And I’ll look like a rock star wearing them.